What I thought was going to be a healthy and uncomplicated pregnancy turned out otherwise.
During a routine scan sometime around the second trimester, my ob-gyn said I had placenta praevia. My placenta was hanging low, close to my cervix, which means I can't push the baby out. If it didn’t move up as the pregnancy progressed, I would have to undergo a c-section. Since there was a risk of bleeding, the doctor advised me not to exert too much effort.
When I reached week 21, my ob-gyn checked the placenta’s position again. It was still lying low. Fortunately, everything went really well. There wasn’t any spotting or bleeding. It was certain though that I would have to deliver the baby via c-section. I thought everything would be smooth sailing from there.
However, during my prenatal check-up on week 32, my blood pressure was higher than normal. My ob-gyn also noted that the baby’s tummy wasn’t growing as much as it should, which may be due to my blood pressure or the placenta praevia. But she told me to relax. She said we should give the baby some time to catch up and that perhaps my blood pressure will normalize.
Neither of those two happened.
Instead, I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. My blood pressure continued to skyrocket, my highest being 160/110, which necessitated a trip to the emergency room. My uric acid level was higher than normal too and protein was leaking through my urine. My doctor made me take medications to control my blood pressure and told me to rest as much as possible. And since the baby wasn’t growing as he should, she said it might help if I lie down on my left side to allow more nutrients to flow from the placenta to the baby.
When it was clear that my condition was too risky for me and the baby, my ob-gyn told me we’d have to perform the c-section as soon as I reach week 37.
D-day
The operation was scheduled on March 7, when I exactly hit my 37th week.
Even if I was going to undergo a scheduled c-section, I still created a birth plan. The one-page document stated that I preferred to have an epidural instead of general anaesthesia and I wanted Reden to be there during the operation. I wanted the screen lowered once the baby is out so I can see him. If the baby was doing well medically, I wanted him to be brought to me immediately. I wanted Reden to cut the umbilical cord. All these demands seemed reasonable to me but I was prepared to be flexible because I know births rarely go as planned.
I presented my plan to my ob-gyn, and after skimming through it, she said, “I prefer you to be completely under.” She explained that she didn’t want to risk my blood pressure rise again due to nerves. I just agreed with her so general anaesthesia it is. But since I will be unconscious throughout the operation, it meant that I won’t see the baby immediately, Reden won’t and can’t be there, which meant he wouldn’t be able to cut the baby’s umbilical cord. That’s four items off my plan! But anyway, these changes were acceptable to both Reden and me.
We checked in at Mount Alvernia Hospital on the evening of the 6th. My c-section was scheduled at 7 the following morning. I was both excited and nervous. Excited because I would finally meet my little one, nervous because it was possible he might need to stay at the NICU. Nevertheless, I managed to get some shut-eye for a couple of hours.
I woke up at 5am. I took a shower and then the nurse prepped me for the operation (btw, catheter insertion was hell!!!). It was almost 7 when I was wheeled into the operating theatre. Last I looked at the clock before going under, the time was 7:45.
When I woke up from my anaesthesia-induced stupor, first thing I heard were the nurses congratulating me. “The baby is healthy,” they said. I was still groggy but I managed to look at the clock. It was already 9am and it was all over. My son arrived into this world at 7:57am.
I was then wheeled back into our room. When I got there, mama and Reden were waiting for me. The first thing I asked was “Where’s the baby?” They said he was being bathed at the nursery and will be brought to our room as soon as possible.
When I saw our little boy for the first time, I fell in love, if not infatuated, with him instantly. It was like a high school crush. I couldn’t get enough of him and wanted to be around him all the time. I couldn’t take my eyes off him and when I held him, I felt my heart overflow with love and joy and gratitude.
We named him Ziv Nathaniel. Ziv means radiance, brilliance or light of God, while Nathaniel means God has given. He definitely lived up to his name.
We stayed at the hospital for three days and I ended up throwing my entire birth plan out the window. I originally planned to breastfeed exclusively but Ziv never latched on so we had to give him formula. I wanted him to room in with us, but I was too tired and I wanted to be able to rest so I let him stay at the nursery. We didn’t plan for him to be circumcised, but we opted to do it anyway. Nothing went as planned!
Recovery was definitely not easy for me. On the day I delivered, I didn’t feel any discomfort because pain relief meds were coursing through my veins. The following day, when they finally removed the IV, the pain caught up with me. I got so overwhelmed by it all I broke down on our second night at the hospital. I was tired and uncomfortable and frustrated that I couldn’t breastfeed. I felt sorry for little Ziv because I wasn’t able to feed him. Thankfully, Reden was there to comfort and encourage me.
In the end, what mattered was that Ziv was healthy. We were able to take him home and were able to carry, kiss, feed, bathe and rock him to sleep. He was ours and after all the challenges we had to face, he is finally here.
During a routine scan sometime around the second trimester, my ob-gyn said I had placenta praevia. My placenta was hanging low, close to my cervix, which means I can't push the baby out. If it didn’t move up as the pregnancy progressed, I would have to undergo a c-section. Since there was a risk of bleeding, the doctor advised me not to exert too much effort.
When I reached week 21, my ob-gyn checked the placenta’s position again. It was still lying low. Fortunately, everything went really well. There wasn’t any spotting or bleeding. It was certain though that I would have to deliver the baby via c-section. I thought everything would be smooth sailing from there.
 |
| 31 weeks pregnant, oblivious to what was to come |
However, during my prenatal check-up on week 32, my blood pressure was higher than normal. My ob-gyn also noted that the baby’s tummy wasn’t growing as much as it should, which may be due to my blood pressure or the placenta praevia. But she told me to relax. She said we should give the baby some time to catch up and that perhaps my blood pressure will normalize.
Neither of those two happened.
Instead, I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. My blood pressure continued to skyrocket, my highest being 160/110, which necessitated a trip to the emergency room. My uric acid level was higher than normal too and protein was leaking through my urine. My doctor made me take medications to control my blood pressure and told me to rest as much as possible. And since the baby wasn’t growing as he should, she said it might help if I lie down on my left side to allow more nutrients to flow from the placenta to the baby.
When it was clear that my condition was too risky for me and the baby, my ob-gyn told me we’d have to perform the c-section as soon as I reach week 37.
D-day
The operation was scheduled on March 7, when I exactly hit my 37th week.
Even if I was going to undergo a scheduled c-section, I still created a birth plan. The one-page document stated that I preferred to have an epidural instead of general anaesthesia and I wanted Reden to be there during the operation. I wanted the screen lowered once the baby is out so I can see him. If the baby was doing well medically, I wanted him to be brought to me immediately. I wanted Reden to cut the umbilical cord. All these demands seemed reasonable to me but I was prepared to be flexible because I know births rarely go as planned.
I presented my plan to my ob-gyn, and after skimming through it, she said, “I prefer you to be completely under.” She explained that she didn’t want to risk my blood pressure rise again due to nerves. I just agreed with her so general anaesthesia it is. But since I will be unconscious throughout the operation, it meant that I won’t see the baby immediately, Reden won’t and can’t be there, which meant he wouldn’t be able to cut the baby’s umbilical cord. That’s four items off my plan! But anyway, these changes were acceptable to both Reden and me.
We checked in at Mount Alvernia Hospital on the evening of the 6th. My c-section was scheduled at 7 the following morning. I was both excited and nervous. Excited because I would finally meet my little one, nervous because it was possible he might need to stay at the NICU. Nevertheless, I managed to get some shut-eye for a couple of hours.
I woke up at 5am. I took a shower and then the nurse prepped me for the operation (btw, catheter insertion was hell!!!). It was almost 7 when I was wheeled into the operating theatre. Last I looked at the clock before going under, the time was 7:45.
 |
| All prepped for the c-section |
When I woke up from my anaesthesia-induced stupor, first thing I heard were the nurses congratulating me. “The baby is healthy,” they said. I was still groggy but I managed to look at the clock. It was already 9am and it was all over. My son arrived into this world at 7:57am.
I was then wheeled back into our room. When I got there, mama and Reden were waiting for me. The first thing I asked was “Where’s the baby?” They said he was being bathed at the nursery and will be brought to our room as soon as possible.
When I saw our little boy for the first time, I fell in love, if not infatuated, with him instantly. It was like a high school crush. I couldn’t get enough of him and wanted to be around him all the time. I couldn’t take my eyes off him and when I held him, I felt my heart overflow with love and joy and gratitude.
 |
| Ziv weighed only 1.9kg when he came out; first family picture :) |
We stayed at the hospital for three days and I ended up throwing my entire birth plan out the window. I originally planned to breastfeed exclusively but Ziv never latched on so we had to give him formula. I wanted him to room in with us, but I was too tired and I wanted to be able to rest so I let him stay at the nursery. We didn’t plan for him to be circumcised, but we opted to do it anyway. Nothing went as planned!
Recovery was definitely not easy for me. On the day I delivered, I didn’t feel any discomfort because pain relief meds were coursing through my veins. The following day, when they finally removed the IV, the pain caught up with me. I got so overwhelmed by it all I broke down on our second night at the hospital. I was tired and uncomfortable and frustrated that I couldn’t breastfeed. I felt sorry for little Ziv because I wasn’t able to feed him. Thankfully, Reden was there to comfort and encourage me.
In the end, what mattered was that Ziv was healthy. We were able to take him home and were able to carry, kiss, feed, bathe and rock him to sleep. He was ours and after all the challenges we had to face, he is finally here.
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