Miguel Our Little Miracle Boy

I'm going to share with you Miguel's birth story and how we spent our first months with him in a whirlwind of emotions. I am writing this down too for Miguel so when he grows up he can read about how he was born. What he, Veegee and I went through and how brave he was even as an infant.

On April 2, 2008 around 5am in the morning, my husband Veegee and I were having one of our all-night-long chats which we often had even when we were just dating. We were talking about the future and how in about four weeks we will be new parents to a baby boy. I checked the time and saw that it was already 5am and we are still both wide awake. I told Veegee we should get some sleep and that the baby was awake and moving around in my tummy. I stood up wanting to go to the bathroom to pee and I felt a sharp kick from inside my tummy then my water broke! While warm water gushed to my legs I told Veegee "may water na!"(there's water!) He said "umaga na kasi eh" ( its because its morning already ) referring to the water shortage we had in our neighborhood back then. I told him "no ako may water na ( no from me, there's water coming out).. we need to go to the hospital!" He stood up shocked and wide-eyed, he said he will get our things and the car ready. I woke up my Mom and said that it was time, she said "diba next month pa??" ( Isn't it your due date is next month? ) I just told her that my water broke. I called our OB and she said we still had time since I wasn't having contractions yet. She told me I should take a bath and eat breakfast,  I did everything she said and in less than 30 minutes we were on our way to the hospital.

Veegee being the neat and meticulous person that he is had the car seat covered in very thick towels and blankets, I smiled thinking the way he wrapped the seats I could give birth inside the car and it will still be clean. When I stepped out of the car warm water gushed out once more as I walked to the Emergency Room at St. Luke's E. Rodriguez. I wore a loose shirt and denim pants which are now soaked. They made me sit in a wheel chair, I signed a few papers and they wheeled me into the Delivery Room.

Standard procedures were done and at around 8am I still wasn't having contractions, my fellow pregnant moms at the delivery waiting area were screaming all around me declaring they were in unbearable pain. This made me even more nervous, I asked an attending nurse if I could be transferred to a private area and she said there will be an hourly rate as I had to be transferred to the special care unit. I told her take me there now. When I was there at the High Risk Pregnancy Unit Veegee was allowed in and so was my mom and my sister which made a huge difference to me. I was calmer and very sleepy, my OB came and she said I will be given Oxytocin to speed up my contractions.

 

My sister Maita and Mama were there to help out every way they can. My in-laws were there too outside waiting for news and praying for a safe delivery. 

At 11am I was having contractions; I felt ok and I could handle them, the pain wasn't as much as I imagined it would be or maybe because I was too sleepy since I've been awake for more than 24 hours now. A resident came, did a very uncomfortable internal exam and said that it will take awhile and that I was just dilated at 3cm. After a few minutes the contractions came one after the other I didn't shout and I didn't complain my sister was there to help me ride out each and every contraction which she and Veegee monitored at the screen beside my bed.

 The monitor which predicted each and every contraction

 

 Mid-contractions I was still able to take calls from friends and relatives wishing me well, saying that in a few hours I will be a mom! I was huge when I was pregnant with Miguel I gained 40 pounds!

Around 11:40am I told Veegee to call the doctor I was sure it was time for the baby to come out, I could feel his head coming out I was sure of it! The resident very calmly came and said that what I was saying was impossible that I was just examined 30 minutes ago. I told her to just please check and so she did, in a few seconds she was up on my bed trying to hold the baby down. It felt as if she was pushing the baby back in, panicking telling me not to push. I told her I wasn't pushing and that the baby is ready to come out! I was wheeled to the Delivery Room my OB was there and the Anesthesiologist did his thing and in three pushes Miguel was out! I felt him slide out, I think the anesthesia hasn't taken full effect yet and I was relieved. They showed me the baby; he was so tiny, they asked me what his name was and I told them Miguel Victor. I saw Veegee all teary eyed and smiling and then I was out.

Miguel was a very tired and tiny baby, our O.B. said it was a struggle for him to survive and that she was shocked to see how thin and short his umbilical cord was. A thin umbilical cord can cause a baby to be small for its gestational age at birth and increases the chances of distress during delivery. I've also read later on that babies with thin and short umbilical cords often had chromosomal problems and most times these babies are diagnosed with down syndrome.

 Miguel's first picture after they cleaned him up, he looked real tired and was frail, thin and tiny. I had a very normal pregnancy. I ate every nutritious food I knew and gained 40 pounds all the while I thought I would deliver a big baby, it was truly a surprise to see my first born so thin and fragile. I truly believe that the sharp kick I felt inside my tummy before my water broke could have been a sign from Miguel that he wanted to go out because the nutrients and food supply he was getting from his thin and short umbilical cord wasn't enough. Our OB said that if he had stayed inside longer there was a possibility that he would have died and I would have delivered a stillborn baby.

When I woke up a nurse asked me if I was ok and if I needed anything, she said that my husband called four times asking if I was already awake. I told her I felt fine and that I wanted to be transferred to our private room, when the doors opened Veegee was standing outside the Recovery Room. He didn't look happy at all, he looked tired and worried. I asked how Miguel was and he didn't say anything he asked me if I was ok and I said I'm fine. Again I asked how is the baby, Veegee said I needed to talk to the doctor. My heart sank I knew something was wrong I remember Miguel being so tiny the first time I saw him and that I had given birth four weeks early. Then I asked Veegee " bakit may problem ba? Buhay naman sya diba???" He said yes the baby is alive but there was something wrong.

Miguel weighed in at 3.9 pounds the doctors told us he was up for a fight and his first 72 hours will be crucial. They said we should prepare for the worst and hope for him to make it through. A hosts of medical terms were thrown at us they said Miguel could have Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and that they needed to perform genetic screening as well as chromosomal testing before they could declare the baby's definitive gender. Blood tests were done showing he had very high Sodium which could result to salt-wasting and severe dehydration and if his condition didn't improve there was a possibility he won't make it.

All this I had to take in and understand just a few hours after I had given birth to my first child. I did not sleep a wink that night, I asked Veegee to wheel me to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit every three hours, I wanted to see and visit Miguel. When I was pregnant I wasn't sure if I wanted to breastfeed, nobody encouraged me to do it everybody said its up to you and that its perfectly ok to use formula and bottle feed babies.

This picture was taken the very first time I held and met Miguel. The first time I held him he stared and smiled at me, I knew right then and there God won't take this little baby away from us. That we will both be up for a fight, I was willing to do whatever it takes to help my boy. I knew right there that I wanted to breastfeed him, so I could provide the best nourishment I knew I had to help him. Our Neonatal Pediatrician was very supportive and my journey towards breastfeeding began.

 Miguel was the smallest baby I've ever seen, everything about him was tiny but he was very willing to breastfeed and latched on perfectly, in a few tries I was confident and even if I didn't exactly know what I was doing with the help of the Nursery aides we were successfully breastfeeding and I would visit Miguel every two to three hours so I can see if he was ok and so he could breastfeed.

The next fourteen days was a whirlwind of emotions and scientific terms we had to understand and decipher. Veegee was there the whole time during the ups and downs. We had to talk to a geneticist, and a lot of doctors who explained Miguel's case. After just a few days Veegee had printed hundreds of pages of information from the web which we both read so we can keep up with what the doctors were saying. I had lost 25 pounds in two weeks and never felt any discomfort from the delivery I guess I was too busy thinking about Miguel I never thought of anything else.

In the end Miguel was diagnosed with Hypospadias and cleared of all possible chromosomal abnormalities as well as the possibility of Down Syndrome. Hypospadias  is a birth defect of the urethra in the male that involves an abnormally placed urinary meatus--the opening, or  male external urethral orifice. To correct this he had to undergo two major corrective surgeries at age one and before he turned two years old. With the help of the best Pediatric Urologist, Miguel is doing well and is finally declared as a normal boy with all normal bodily functions. 

 

After 14 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit we were finally able to bring Miguel home! This picture was taken the day he was allowed to go home :)

Miguel's growth over theyears!

Me and Miguel before he turned one, we were still successfully exclusively breastfeeding!! :)

Miguel at almost five-years old!! He is one of the tallest boys in his class, who would have thought! :)

 

This picture was taken a few days ago, we were at St. Luke's hospital and Miguel said he wanted to see where he was born and where he stayed after to recover. We took him to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, this place brought back many memories. Miguel said he wanted to see the babies who like him stayed in the hospital after they were born. 

To my brave boy who has taught me how to be strong at a time when I thought all hope was gone, we love you!! You and your brother are the greatest gifts God has ever given us. We are very thankful to have you in our lives! Everyday we spend with those we love truly is a miracle! :)