Looking back at the past 20 hours after Isabel’s birth

– Isabel –

Sleeping Isabel

Isabel is a bundle of surprises, being a lot heavier than her big brother; Isabel started her life right away, wasting no time at all.  The moment she was transferred to Dra. Enriquez and her team she promptly pooped on Dra’s hands, and she immediately informed Dra about her displeasure of leaving mommy’s tummy.  So far she has no hesitation letting anyone know how she feels, and loudly at that. One of her nurses dubbed her as a singer, in fact you can hear her singing from down the hallway.

She can also hold up her head, something that her big brother could not do till a few weeks after he was born.  She moves her head up and down and though you lay her on her tummy with her head facing left, she can lift up her head and face the other way.

Within a few hours with mommy she latched on and coaxed mommy’s mammaries to give milk.  She has pooped three and peed six times since she started breastfeeding.

Isabel holding her head up!!!

Solid 7.9lbs!!

Isabel's first bath

Isabel's first morning

Meet our new born baby daughter, Isabel :D

Anna Isabel Patolot Paulino, born around 8am, March 19, 2011, 7.9 lbs.

Anna Isabel Patotot Paulino, born 8:00 am, 7.9 lbs

Funky baby word

Little Miguel’s cousins do a song and dance number for him.

Funky baby – word

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Little Miguel smiles

Miguel Smiles

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Breast milk boot camp

October 29, 2009

“breast milk is still best for babies”. Who ever wrote this slogan probably worked for some multinational baby formula company. Breast milk is the best for baby. We knew this and Catrina and I were resolved to breast feed little Miguel as much as we could and as long as it was feasibly and practically possible. No one ever told us about the “trying” part.

The trip to the nursery that afternoon was a revelation. Catrina, in pain since the 27th, smiled for the first time. Cradling little Miguel washed away any sign of pain from her face. Her eyes lighted up like stars and her hands would not stop moving when she talked about the experience. Catrina’s recovery leaped forward with the very presence of our little piece of joy.

I requested little Miguel to be roomed in with us. Little Miguel was wheeled in our private room at 3pm, at the same time his own personal nurse moved in as well. Her name was Lisa. Later on that night she was replaced by a night shift nurse, her name was Cynthia. The minute the private nurse moved in the breast feeding began.

I envy those mothers whose milk flows freely and abundantly the instant that their babies touched their breasts, as if Moses himself took his staff, and conked them one right at their nipples. I sympathize with those mothers, who with all the best intentions in the world, endured every stab to their hearts as their babies cried themselves hoarse with hunger, while trying futilely, to produce their own milk. With the challenges of giving birth, the pain of labor or the fear factor of cesarian, people just did not tell us about the trauma of trying to induce breast milk.

That night, the first time little Miguel latched on to Catrina, her facial expression told the entire story. Catrina compared it to someone using a pair of pliers on her. Watching her writhe in pain, I believed her. And I wondered, is there anything about having and raising a baby that does not bring physical and emotional pain to the mothers? Like always, as was these past few days, I felt useful as an appendix.

Our nurses and Catrina tried all night, every two hours, until Catrina fell asleep in pain and the nurses continued even while she was semi-comatose. Catrina felt like a cow being used for milking rather than a mother feeding her son. But the facial expression of little Miguel and his little gurgles and burps encouraged us on.

Mommy and Little Miguel

October 29, 2009

Witnessing Catrina’s stone faced resolution to visit little Miguel in the nursery despite the pain of her surgery, the lightheadedness due to medication, and the nausea of not having eaten anything for the past 48 hours, brought me to quiet tears. Our room was on the third floor annex; the nursery was a good five-minute brisk walk to the second floor. Just getting up the bed took ten minutes. The nurse slowly wheeled Catrina out of our room, to the elevator, and down to the second floor. Every bump on the floor, every separate tile on the hallway, sent little winces of pain through Catrina’s face. She kept her eyes closed the entire trip. Before that point Catrina, so exhausted from the previous day’s ordeal, had to make due with my failed attempts to describe our son. Now, this time, description just would not do, mommy just had to see her baby.

Arriving in the nursery, Catrina scanned the many carriages with blue tags; already trying to get a glimpse which one was hers. It took a while as I negotiated with the head nurse, they would not allow a wheelchair through as I explained that Catrina could not possibly walk the extra four meters to the feeding area. Finally a compromise was made, switching to a nursery owned and sterilized wheelchair, Catrina was escorted in. But just as success was within reach, the wheelchair would not fit into the feeding area door.

We agreed to be wheeled to a quiet corner, facing the wall, away from the other babies and visiting parents, little Miguel was finally scooped up and presented to Catrina. In the small corner, the quiet hum of various machines and the calm bustling of nurses around us, our little family was finally together. We held each other’s hands and silently cried happy tears.

Welcome Miguel Javier Patolot Paulino :)

Little Miguel Javier0

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Catrina’s labor by the numbers

2am: Catrina complains of severe contractions. Dazed and blurry eyed we drive to St. Lukes and get Catrina evaluated at the Delivery Department

4cm: Catrina’s cervix on initial exam.

25: The measured intensity of Catrina’s first contraction, Catrina describes as worst than the worst dysmenorrhoea

95: The measured intensity 0f Catrina’s contraction before she was eventually sedated and wheeled into the labor room, cannot imagine how painful each contractions were.

11am: Catrina is now 5cm dilated, it took –

9 hours: for Catrina to advance 1cm from the time of admittance

2pm: Catrina jumps to 6-7cm, encouraging doctors to proceed with induced labor

4pm: Catrina stops dilating, doctors declare labor officially arrested, calls in Migs to recommend c-section procedure

5 seconds: time it took to convince Migs to sign papers.

89bps: Catrina’s heartbeat as doctors began cutting into her

100kph: Mig’s heartbeat as he watches and slowly cries a silent prayer to God to not take his best friend away from him

25-30: total number of minutes it took to get little bun out of Catrina

16: hours of painful labor to give birth to –

3,170: grams, or 6.889 lbs of baby bun. That screamed out into the world to leave him alone inside Mommy.

19: inches of little bun is stretched out on the crib and promptly ignores everything around him and goes back to sleep

4:30pm, 10-27-09: Little Baby Boy Bun is born into the world and Mommy and Daddy Paulino are so proud and thankful

Gifts for Little Boy Bun

Baby Bun has a Bed

Catrina and bought a crib a few weeks ago. Strange as it may seam, it was a little emotional for me.