Of Labor and Childbirth

visited my OB today.  

tomorrow, i’m 37 weeks pregnant. 

baby is  already full term and i could give birth very soon.

things to watch out for:

1. labor pains

2. bloody show

3. watery discharge

my OB-Gyne already gave me an endorsement letter to the hospital in the event that i experience any of the 3 in the list.

honestly, i’m scared.

it didn’t help that i had 3 previous childbirth already since all circumstances related to labor are very, very unique. even the so-called EDC (expected date of childbirth) is not an exact calculation (except of course, during C-section, wherein there is a scheduled childbirth). ONLY GOD KNOWS WHEN MY BABY WILL ARRIVE.

at this point in time, i already feel some slight, chronic, subdued but tolerable pain around the lumbar area a few times each day. it is an intermittent and latent tell-tale sign of minor labor. i know that, like me, baby is preparing himself for the big day. yet inspite of all these, i know that no amount of preparation can really guage the outcome or the actual event.

remember the Agony of Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane? i find this first sorrowful mystery apt to my present situation. like Jesus, i am anticipating the pain and the arduous labor. imagining that kind of pain and the entire scenario makes me gritt my teeth and sends shivers to my spine (Jesus had worse experience because he sweated with blood while praying…). i know the pain will climax in a way that will be unique and unforgettable until my last breath.

that’s why i already sought my counsel of friends to PRAY FOR ME, for my labor and for my baby. PRAY that i’ll be able to pull this off with grace and ease, inspite of the pain and hardship along the way. 

at present, my current inspiration and solace is the Passion of Jesus Christ which we share each year during Lent. i realized that no matter how painful ANYTHING can happen to me and to my life, it will NEVER be as painful as what Christ had experienced on the way to the cross. and whatever pain and hardship i will experience and encounter in this road to labor and childbirth, i will offer it completely to Jesus Christ.

Paul Tornier gladly calmed me with this thought:

Everything that is worthwhile in life is scary. Choosing a school, choosing a career, getting married, having kids–all those things are scary. If it is not fearful, it is not worthwhile.  

my friends, i also urge you to PRAY FOR ME, my baby and my safe delivery.

please read this prayer in the silence of your heart:

thank you for your kindness… hope to return the favor someday.

;-) 

Goodbye 2009…Hello 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

thank you for bearing with me in 2009… and i am glad to  be part of your young 2010! 

thanks to the nameless souls who’ve read my 2009 writings. thanks for your appreciation… and for coming back to re-read and update.

2009 has been both a trial and a blessing year for me and my family. there were lean months and rough ones, but most of them offered learnings, as each of us has a unique cross to carry around during the year. i could say life (and love) is a bed of roses, but each season offered a unique rose with or without thorns, that you lay upon depending on your current situation. 

i’m glad to be able to write again. i wanted to write sensibly during the holidays but i guess the christmas spirit in ‘09 isn’t as jovial as in the past years. the thought of christmas did not inspire me to write at all. i dunno if i was just too tired to be 7 months pregnant and working so hard or that the spirit isn’t as cheerful as it was. or maybe there is also such as thing as an emotional crunch.

anyhow, i attended a few chrismas parties… and the highlight of the holidays was the wedding of my ‘inaanak sa kasal’ Aya and Brian last December 18. our company christmas party also fell on that day but i was too tired to go to the event as i fell asleep when i got home to change attire for the party. oh well, major exhaustion took its toll on me that day.

christmas  was spent with my nuclear family with exhange gifts and the regular videoke happening. but i had the worst allergy attack on dec. 25 so i stayed home all day to sleep, groggy with antihistamine fighting off my pregnancy urticaria. timing naman, daddy had a trip to pangasinan on christmas dawn until the next day. so our family just had bonding moments at Timezone MOA when he arrived home from the trip the next day.

at dawn on new year’s day, Duds’ fingers got burnt by ‘Darna’s’ spark (note: Darna is our childhood term for the spark caused by lighting the firecracker powder. kids love to gather firecracker powder after the new year’s eve celebration which can be very dangerous and can cause burns.) his thumb had 2nd degree burns while his 3 other fingers had minor ones. we took him to MMC for wound sterilization and anti-tetanus shot.  

but all in all, my new year was a lot better as i had controlled allergies though it appeared sporadically during the supposedly ‘restful’ holidays. also, taking antihistamine medications solved my exhaustion as i had longer and better sleep patterns and therefore a refreshed outlook in the young 2010.

i still have a few assignments in tow for MYSELF which i will be posting eventually in this blog.

there’s ‘The Year in Review 2009′ which is my yearly reflection and recollection of the events that was, and a chance to understand the lessons taught in the past year.

also in line is ‘Moving Forward in 2010‘ which houses my goals and ideals for the year, my future plans, my dreams and wants, as well as my long-term and short term projections.

there’s still a lot to write about life and i hope that i’ll be able to post more this year than i did last year. i’m happy to be able to reach out to people and i hope you’ll still join me in my journey towards self-realization and growth.

there is so much to hope for, so much zest that i hope to be be able to squeeze out of life. and then there’s my Life-Purpose to think about, the ultimate reason for my existence.

oh well… 

goodbye to the crunch-filled 2009…

and cheers to a hopeful 2010!