I WAITED outside the delivery room for hours, unsure of what the outcome will be but unceasingly prayed that everything will be okay.
At around 2 o'clock in the morning of September 7, 2019, the same day that SunStar Davao celebrated its 24th anniversary, I was informed that Lyka already gave birth to a healthy baby boy and was now in the NICU.
Immediately, I went there to finally meet my son, Uno. He weighed 2.3 kilograms or 5 pounds at the time and he looked so fragile and adorable.
Along with the indescribable feeling of finally seeing our son after 39 long weeks, I was already anxious on what kind of parents we will become. Nevertheless, we knew we were ready for this stage in our life and that we will always strive to become the best home for him.
Lyka gave birth through normal spontaneous vaginal delivery. Before we went to San Pedro Hospital, she actually labored at home for two nights. It took us a long time to decide to go to the hospital because we thought it was just false labor or Braxton Hicks contraction since the estimated due date from her last ultrasound was October 2, still a month away. However, she had been complaining that the pain is getting unbearable and the contraction interval is getting nearer with a duration of an average of one minute. According to our researches, the symptoms are indications of true labor so at 4 AM, we packed up her hospital bag and went there.
We spent two days at the hospital and the first day was very challenging since Lyka was not able to produce milk yet. The nurse said he needs to be fed so I asked the help of a relative who has been breastfeeding her two-month old child. Later that day, a friend came to visit bringing with him a pumped breast milk of his wife. I was grateful to these people. At night, Lyka was finally able to breastfeed our son with her own.
After series of screening to make sure there were no complications in our baby, we were discharged by the doctor.
The first night at home, we were not really able to get a good sleep as the baby wakes up every hour or two. It is either he peed, pooped, or just hungry. The second night was the same and now it has been 13 days since the first one and we still did not have the luxury of sleep that we want. We are tired, sleepless parents who get energized every time our son smiles on his sleep. We cannot even take our eyes off him. Sometimes, we just stared at him on his sleep feeling so in love and so alive.
Becoming parents are indeed very challenging and we are well aware that this is only the start. We will continually learn through experience and at the same time learn from other parents from proper breastfeeding to giving a bath because we only want what is best for him.
We will never be perfect and may fail at times but one thing is for sure, we will love and care for him the best way we can.