Sunbathing for Strong Bones

Hubby and baby

It’s usual for us to see newborns sunbathing in the early morning sun. The scene is very picturesque indeed. Mother and child bathed in the soft light of the sun.Ok, it's Father and child. : )

I never really thought much about this. I actually took this for granted.

However, the last time we went to the pedia, she commented that my baby boy is looking yellowish. My boy was two weeks old then. The pedia took him from me and even went outside the her clinic to better see if my boy is indeed yellow. She said my baby is jaundiced.

This alarmed me of course. Jaundice, or the yellowish tint of the skin, results from an impaired liver. And my baby just had his Hepa B vaccine when he was born.

The pedia asked if we regularly sunbathe the child. To this I have to answer truthfully. We’ve been remiss during the past week. We live in a busy street and I still haven’t gotten much sleep. So I prefer to sleep in and rationalize that it was better than being exposed to all the pollution. Bad idea.

Babies, I was told, have a condition called physiological jaundice. I guess this means that they turn yellow easily. I researched this on Encarta and according to it “Newborns can also be jaundiced as a consequence of the condition known as hyperbilirubinemia. In these cases, there is a temporary defect in synthesis of the enzyme that breaks down bile to an excretable form.”

But although, it is medically proven that sunlight is good even for newborns, exposure to it should be kept at a minimum. The best time to sunbathe a newborn is between 7am and 8am, for not longer than 30 minutes. For us, we start sunbathing around 6:45 am until 7:30, when I find the sunlight already painful on the skin.

Two weeks after, my boys skin color, especially in his face, has significantly improved. The whites of his eyes have also cleared.

I think my boy likes sunbathing too. The warm sun on his skin makes him drowsy. He has never been awake during those times and is always peacefully at sleep.

Got milk? notes from a *new* nursing mom

My baby is now three weeks old and is exclusively breasfed. I’m a nursing mom!

Last Saturday though, I had a panic attack and asked for a prescription for a formula milk. From four am until nine in the morning that day, my milk has dried up. My baby was hoarse from crying and falls asleep only from exhaustion. Everytime I let him nurse, I would let my breast go and looked like he would throw up for sucking nothing. I pitied him so much that I went to a pedia to ask for a good formula milk.

We got to the clinic at around 9:30 in the morning and had to wait for an hour for the pedia. She was thirty minutes late her clinic hours. By the time she got there, I’ve got milk already!!! And eversince, the milk floweth. Now, I feel satisfaction whenever I hear my baby gulp down his milk and I see milk overflowing from his little babe mouth, trickling down his chin.

We still bought a small pack of formula milk, (which has remained unopened). I know, a mortal sin for all those starting to breastfeed. We also bought a breastpump to aid in stimulating milk production.

******

I now understand why the first few hours and days are the most crucial to any mom starting to breastfeed. I nearly quit within thefirst 24 hours because I thought I was starving my two day old baby. I almost quit because of my sore nipple and the fear of “wearing out” my other nipple. And last Saturday I almost quit because my milk “dried up”.

That first 24 hours of breastfeeding, we were still in the hospital. Nurses were coming and going round the clock. The were always asking whether the baby has pooped or peed, and how many times if so. I always tell them the same thing, the baby pooped only once and it wasn’t much. They all just nod their heads as if it’s the most natural thing. So I guess that’s ok.

When the pedia came in the next day, I asked her what I should do because I think I don’t have enough milk. I was hinting on a formula recommendation, but didn’t receive any. All said was, “That’s ok. It’ll increase over time, as his demand increases

After a few days, when I have gotten used to the sleepless nights, I read in Babymama.ph that a sign that baby is feeding well is the yellow, seedy poop which is exactly what my baby has! Alright! :D

Cephalopelvic Disproportion

For the second time, I gave birth via Caesarian Section. My doctor says I have a medical condition called CPD or Cephalopelvic Disproportion. This was diagnosed the first time last 2004.

Back then we were gearing for a normal delivery. A week before my scheduled induction, I was only 1 cm dilated. It stayed that way until the date of my induction. During those hours that I was IVed and being induced, there was no sign of visible labor. My tummy wasn’t aching at all, although the baby is pretty active inside me. I was in the Labor Room for a good 24 hours without any progress. All around me, mothers in various stages in labor and making all kinds of noises because of the pain. I was wondering when I’ll experience that kind of backbreaking pain they were all going through. I watched them being wheeled in and out of the Labor Room.

After 12 hours of induction and zero progress in the dilaation department, my OB IEd me and twisted her fingers to force open my cervix. I was officially 2 cm dialted after that. But that’s it.

They sent me back to my room after 24 hours of induction to let the baby rest. Apparently, the induction can only be done for 24 hours. After that, the baby is at risk of suffering from fetal distress. At around 6am the following morning, I was again wheeled into the Labor Room for another go at induction.

At around 10 in the morning, the resident doctors decided to call in my OB and had me set-up for an emergency CS. The baby’s heartbeat has been on-and-off in their monitors.
The baby came out ok, she just changed positions.

This time, my OB advised that we do a repeat CS since a trial normal delivery has already been done before to no avail.

So what is CPD?

Cephalopelvic Disproportion is a condition where the baby’s head is bigger than mom’s pelvis. True CPD is rare, but accounts of “failure to progress” is also diagnosed as CPD. (This is my case, in my two pregnancies, I’ve never known labor pains)

What causes CPD?

It can be caused by:
- a large baby due to hereditary factors, diabetes, postmaturity or mulitparity
- abnormal fetal position
- small pelvis
- abnormally shaped pelvis

Does this mean that once diagnosed with CPD, women can only give birth through CS? No. Although it would be more convenient to just schedule a caesarean section, those diagnosed with CPD during prior pregnancies can still undergo VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean section). Citing a study by the American Journal of Public Health, “over 65 % of women who had been diagnosed with CPD in previous pregnancies, were able to deliver vaginally in subsequent pregnancies.”

In my case, maybe I can still give birth vaginally the next time. IF ever we decide to have another baby. IF.

Philippine General Hospital

A week ago I gave birth to a healthy and handsome baby boy. And I’ve been itching to go online and blog about it for the longest time but I just just find the time nor the energy to do it, until now. After a week of sleep-deprived nights, my body is finally adjusting to the rigors of a nursing mom to a newborn. It also helps that my hubby is in full support-mode and has been doing the household chores that I can’t and shouldn’t be doing still.

I gave birth in Manila, at the Ospital Heneral ng Pilipinas (that’s Philppine Genral Hospital to you! :D) . We picked this hospital mainly for financial reasons. It is still the cheapest hospital that offers high-quality hospital care. It may look dilapidated and old, but the best doctors are still here. This is also where I gave birth last time, six years ago, to our daughter.

When we trooped to the patient admission area, we immediately noticed that they had the area renovated. It is now airconditioned and the seats are new. The officers in charge of admission now also sit behind a glass wall instead of the open table they used to occupy before. The line wasn’t really long but we did spend more or less an hour before being shown our room. They had the number system to attend to the patients in an orderly fashion, but they also entertained various inquiries which I think sidetracks them for a while.

They also gave all admitted patients a hospital kit which contained:

• a digital thermometer
• a bottle of povidone-iodine
• a bottle of alcohol
• cotton
• a roll of gauze bandage
• a roll of micropore tape
• a decent pair of utensils –spoon and fork (not included in picture)
• a small tabo
• a plastic measuring cup
• a small measuring cup (the one used to measure liquid medicines with)
• the PGH blue card
• the watcher’s ID
• the hospital tag
• and a vacuum-packed pillow

We were excited to be getting these! Last time we were here, we got nothing. Just the blue card and the hospital tag. It felt like being admitted into a private hospital!

A sad note though is that just like private hospitals, the PGH is also implementing the deposit-system now. Last time, we were just admitted into the hospital, presenting the admitting orders of my doctor and gave nothing else, no deposits whatsoever. And the deposits are also based on the room that you’re getting. For us who asked to be booked into the Pay Ward, we paid P5, +++ (more than five thousand pesos). For those getting a small private room, the rate would actually reach more than nine thousand pesos!

We opted for the Pay Ward to minimize costs. We’ll still be attended to by our doctors, not be subject to the prodding of medical students, but for a lower cost. Last time they Pay Ward I was booked in had 8 beds in all. This time, there were only seven of us. It was also air-conditioned and had a decent Comfort Room where patients and their bantay can take a bath in.

Luckily we were placed in the bed by the windows, next to the air-conditioning. The night I was admitted, we thought we’d freeze to death, but it was the opposite. Since the lay-out is quite funny, with half of the room obviously colder than the other half whose air-conditioning is being blocked by a wall, some bantay would lower the temperature down. During the day too, when the sun is beating down on our side, being near the air conditioning made it nice actually. J

What I discovered that night though was more than the superficial renovations of PGH, I also was surprised that I was subject to a different preparatory steps this time. I don’t know if its because I’m scheduled for a caesarian section, instead of the ordinary “giving birth” tag. I’ll write about this next time.

*I seem to have a problem uploading pictures. I'll upload some next time. I promise!

*Feb. 6 -- just uploaded a picture. :D