Note: Optional reading ahead (aka Yumi's birth story as told by Nanay). :p
Truth be told, I was feeling a lot of anxiety and less mentally prepared for this birth. I was afraid that I would be less brave and less pain tolerant knowing what was coming based on my first pregnancy. I was not looking forward to the IV, pain, perineal tear, and "4th trimester" symptoms like itching. I also worried about the logistics of Lily's care and not getting enough support during labor. However, it's true that no two births are alike and thank God, those fears did not materialize and were not as inevitable as I thought.
It was the night before when labor started. I thought it was the usual night discomforts but it did not get better during the day. Even though the trip to the women's center the Friday before (due to bleeding more than expected after first IE and less movement) confirmed that the same cramping I was feeling were actually contractions (6 minutes apart but eventually stopped, 1 cm dilated at that time), I was hoping that it was due to constipation. I timed the contractions in the Baby Center app nonetheless.
After coming home from work, I asked Topeng to buy me stool softener and fiber to rule out constipation while I went on to watch/cram some labor breathing/positions on YouTube. I tried hard to get some dinner in but my water undeniably broke. Topeng never curses/says bad words but during this instance, he did out of shock.:)) After dropping Lily off at a friend's house, we headed to the women's center.
Although her name means gentle/happy, this one is fast and furious. I believe the duration from check-in/registration to triage (8cm dilated) to the actual delivery took less than 30 minutes. It worked out for the best since it left me no time to be scared, no time to get an epidural, no time for an IV. As soon as they wheeled me to the delivery room, it was time to push baby (and p**p.. TMI!).
Obviously, the all-fours position and breathing techniques from the YouTube videos were very effective. No doula required.
Note that hubby offered some supporting words but I ignored him most of the time as I was concentrating on my breathing. I'm so relieved that I did not need stitches this time which helped me recover faster than I expected and less challenging for me to take care of a newborn especially since our moms are arriving after almost 2 weeks.
I'm very thankful that Lily coped well with the overnight stay away from us (I was told that she was very talkative and excited to meet her little sister) and that Mayumi, although slightly small for her gestational age and was at risk of ingesting meconium at birth, is healthy (Apgar score 8/9), did not get an infection (despite me being positive for Group B Strep and was not administered with antibiotics via IV) and eventually was cleared from jaundice.
Praise God!!!
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