It’s been a while and I have not written  an update on my baby. It was a hectic and stressful week before I gave birth.

The Unexpected

It was Nov. 23 when my parents arrived from Saudi so we went to the airport and went straight to Duty Free. It was one week before my scheduled CS delivery. So everything went fine until my daughter fell off the high chair while waiting for our ice cream. She fell on me as I was the one in front of her.  I asked her what’s wrong but she just stared at me. My husband took her and tried to calm her. We thought she was in shock for falling off the chair. But when she did not respond to my husband and became stiff, it was the time he brought her to the clinic. She was already having a seizure!

So the staff of the medical unit brought her, together with my hubby and brother in law, to the nearest hospital. My dad said she already responded but we opted to follow them at the hospital. I was almost running from second floor to first floor then back to second floor. I thought baby would come out that evening.

So Ria was admitted at the Olivares General Hospital in Paranaque. She was diagnosed with benign febrile convulsion that was secondary to high fever, which was due to upper respiratory infection and the effect of her Penta vaccine given the day before.

Luckily, baby was still not in the mood to go out and meet us.  Ria’s pedia, Dra. Chanyungco, said that her seizure will be in her medical history already. So after that, we are already vigilant when her  body temperature starts to climb.

The Skin Week Photography

Dann submitted his photo of my baby bump to theSkin Week Photog Contest at St. Luke’s Global. His entry was among the finalists. Though we did not win, it’s still an honor to be a finalist.

The Recital

Since Ria was well enough few days after the confinement, we let her join her ballet recital on Nov. 30 at the AFP theater. We watched her with my parents. Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures or video of the recital so we just have to wait for the official pictures.

The DAY

So we managed to meet the deadline, our scheduled delivery. Everything went smoothly. I was admitted at 8am for the preparations and waited until 2pm for the delivery. At exactly 2pm, I was transferred to the operating room and my OB arrived.

At exactly 2:39pm, Juan Jaime Kismet was born weighing 3443 grams. He was immediately put on my chest and introduced my breast in preparation for breastfeeding. It’s good to experience the unang yakap or skin to skin with my newborn. Details on my next blog.

I was discharged on the third day. Ria was so happy when she saw her brother.  She wanted to carry him but she can’t.

On the first day that we stayed at home, Dann noticed that my face was swollen. I told him it was because of the medications, especially the dextrose.  After a while, he told me he will get my BP. We were shocked that my BP was at 130 already from 90 a day before.  So we monitored my BP. The only difference in my routine was the pain meds. I was told not to take them if there’s no pain. So I took both Algesia and Arcoxia but my BP was still going up. I texted my OB. She said I should continue my meds.

The next day, I was doing chores at home and took meds as instructed. At 5pm, my BP was already 160/100. My head started to hurt but I did not tell anybody. My vision was already blurry and it seems I have tears at the side of my eyes. I slept and prayed to God to make me well. I texted my OB and at 7pm, she instructed me to go back to the hospital as it was already an emergency case.

I started to pack baby’s things. After I completed his diaper bag, I told Dann to get some clothes as we will be going to the hospital again. We kept it to ourselves at first. We asked ate mabeth to look after Ria while we were out.

We reached the hospital and was transferred to the OB Gyn Complex from the Emergency Room as instructed by my OB. I was admitted again.

Good thing they allowed baby to be with me at the hospital. I was admitted at the high risk unit so they allowed my baby to be there. Besides, the hospital promotes breastfeeding.

I was given a tablet to lower my BP and administered the 24-hour urine protein test. I was also given 3 doses of magnesium sulfate. THREE! The first one was thru the IV, the second one was injected to my right butt cheek then the third to the left. It was very painful! I could not sit properly after that.

My BP was also monitored every hour. It was at 120/100. We told my parents that I was readmitted the morning after.

We stayed there for almost 2 days. It was pre-eclampsia again but this time, after the delivery. I told Dann that if my pregnancy is always like this, it is better that we only have 2 kids. At least we now have a girl amd a boy.

I was discharged even if my labs are not that ok since mt BP was already normal. They took a last blood exam before I was cleared to go home. Thank God that blood test turned out just fine.