Our little angel is finally home! She was confined in the nursery for a few days initially for observation, but later for antibiotics treatment due to infection cause by meconium inhalation. We were told she’ll be discharged Tuesday but we were glad when her pediatrician told us that she can be discharged by Monday. And so this afternoon, after final check-ups, a lot of paperwork, and bills, we boarded the car for the long drive home.
I had bought an infant car seat in anticipation of this exact moment. We put her in it but she was there only a few minutes and then she started crying for food. We hadn’t prepared a milk bottle had no choice but to unstrap her and breastfeed her. Unfortunately, she takes a long time to nurse, usually a few hours, so we decided to continue on while she’s feeding.
Naturally, I was rather concerned during the whole drive. I have this tendency to be risk-averse and to go for safety equipment. Be it extra camping and diving gear, mask and padded vest for airsoft, seat belts for driving, infant car seats for babies., I usually have it. They’re all easily available but a lot of people don’t use them. The general mindset seems to be that they’re too much of a bother or not necessary. My opinion on this is that sure it’s not comfortable or may be a hassle, but definitely it’s more comfortable than even a minor injury. And it quickly becomes necessary when something untoward happens.
Fortunately, nothing did and after the slow trudge through traffic, we were finally home. Jeanne is finally home! Welcome home baby!
This afternoon, I was driving back to the hospital after buying some stuff. I was almost at the hospital when I got an SMS from Michelle to buy a can of baby milk. We’re on a breastfeeding regimen but we needed something to supplement for when we were at home. I doubled back to the nearest Mercury to buy one. When I got to the hospital, the nurse told me I got the wrong milk. It was supposed to be S-26 Gold, not the S-26 that I had bought (what’s the difference?). So off I went back to Mercury to swap it with the real stuff. It wasn’t too far but the traffic always make drives longer. Wish I had the Midas touch.
Tales of Music of Bojo Luzentales provides music from duo, trio, quartet to full band set up for any event. They have top rated pianists, violinists, percussionist, guitarists, flutists and singers. In fact, during the reception, we found out that one of the guys performs with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.
We called them up and turned out that Bojo is very easy to deal with. We went and listened to them perform (the undying Canon in D, what else?), reviewed their repertoire, and selected songs. They have a pretty comprehensive repertoire and they were willing to practice songs not on the list. In no time at all, we closed the deal.
On the wedding day, they arrived on time and in neat barongs that matched the requested attire. Most importantly they were able to play all the songs we requested very well. And what’s more, they were even able to do excellent vocals for a surprise song.
I have just one very minor issue: I requested for a string quartet and they agreed. But on the wedding day, they arrived with a keyboard :P Still, the music ended up very nice. Like I said, it was a very minor issue.
Cost: P13,000 for a quartet plus P3,000 out of town fee
Rating: 5/5
Michelle noticed the long awaited “bloody show” early yesterday morning. We quickly wrapped up house preparations, packed up last minute items, and leisurely left for the hospital. It felt strange since I was expecting to be going to the hospital at high speed, with blinkers on, and a screaming wife on the passenger seat. So I guess, so far so good.
On the way, we decided to drop by Mom and Tina’s along C-5 to buy a chocolate cake. Glenn and Mines had given one to us during the baby’s shower but Michelle decided not to eat any since the baby is becoming bigger than average. Since it was past lunch and we haven’t eaten, we decided to also have lunch there. Turned out that their lunch was quite respectable, definitely worthy of their cakes and pastry.
After lunch, we went on to the hospital, straight to the labor room, and got ourselves admitted. We were expecting that labor would take time but little did we know that it was the start of a long, sleepless day and night…and day. Michelle’s labor progressed slowly, cervix dilation was a slow 1 cm per 2 hours instead of the normal 1 cm per hour. And after 24 hours, it got stuck at 8 cm. And that’s already with an oxytocin labor-augmentation drip.
Finally, after being stuck for over two hours, we elected to go caesarian. Luckily, the doctor allowed me into the delivery room. I suited up while they started with the initial steps. They then invited me in during the emergence of the baby. I watched in awe, and couldn’t help but be misty eyed, as our baby came out squirming, kicking, and not-too-softly protesting her removal from her warm watery bliss.
The staff cleaned her up good, washing and suctioning her airways since she had already expelled some meconium due to the long and stressful labor. Also the reason why we couldn’t be with our own little angel yet since she had to spend some time under observation at the nursery.
Still it was one big event done and over with. Amelie Jeanne has been born. Michelle and I are now parents! I am now a dad! Awesome!