Our 5-day Ordeal

 

How did we get here? Let me tell you the story of our 5-day ordeal.

As you may know, from my first blog (https://www.rollyminiano.com/2021/01/1226-0601-pm-when-everything-changed.html), we had a very joyous occasion as we welcomed our son. As per usual cases, a normal delivery would only be required to stay in the hospital for 2 - 3 days. As you can see from the title of this post, we stayed in the hospital for 5 days.

A few hours after Akiro's birth, we had a lot of firsts already. His first feeding after the initial feed. His first burp. His first poo and pee. His first diaper change. So far, I'm enjoying this new chapter in our lives as we welcomed parenthood. I gladly took turns with Leslie in making sure he is alright. I let Leslie rest since the first 24 hours is the most critical.

Prior to his birth, we made sure we would capture all of Akiro's milestones. The first one is his 1-day old milestone. We brought with us the swaddle backdrop, as well as the card. Sorry, Akiro, you have millennial parents.

Coffee is also a no-no during pregnancy. Leslie had to give up drinking coffee for 9 months. After her delivery, as a post celebration, I bought coffee and cake from Starbucks. Good thing St. Lukes Global City has a Starbucks branch on the hospital premises already. It's so convenient. I have been loving this Triple Chocolate Cake as well. Too bad, it's a limited edition.

As we enjoyed the aroma and taste of the coffee, little did we know that we'll be encountering our first ordeal. Leslie had a fever. During this pandemic, having a fever is a no-no since it may be correlated to COVID-19. Her OB did not think it's related though, it could be caused by the stress from her delivery. She was advised to rest and hydrate. I let her rest and I attended to Akiro's needs.

The next day, Dec 27, Leslie's fever went down. We were hoping to be discharged later that day or tomorrow. Little did we know, our 2nd ordeal is coming. Before we go to that, let me share with you some pictures of Akiro. Seeing him really happy melts away all of our stress, tiredness, and anxiety.

The residents of Akiro's pediatrician came to our room and explained to us that Akiro's bilirubin levels are borderline high. It was discussed to us even before that this is a possibility due to Leslie and I having incompatible blood types. To avoid this from progressing to Jaundice, Akiro was subjected to Phototherapy.

This was one of the most heartbreaking moments I had. Seeing him in that state, him having no clothes since he needs to be fully exposed to the LED light, and him having eye covers, it's saddening. I felt so powerless since I can't do anything to help him. I did my best to make him comfortable. I played white noise during the duration of his phototherapy. Every time he cries, I attend to him and pat his back or chest. I made sure that the eye covers stay in place so as to avoid the light damaging his eyesight.

Due to the phototherapy, he also needed to have additional milk, on top of the breast milk he's getting from Leslie. The phototherapy can dehydrate him.

After 24 hours with his phototherapy, his bilirubin levels went down. We were so happy and relieved that it did not progress to Jaundice. We are now ready to be discharged.

Unfortunately, Leslie's fever came back. She was under observation again. The doctors weren't certain what is causing the fever if it's viral or bacterial so they did a lot of tests. They got blood cultures and urine cultures. But in all of it, I'm really proud of Leslie. Even though she's not feeling well, she made sure to breast feed Akiro and bond with him.

It's December 30 already. Leslie is feeling much better now. As per her OB, she needs to complete a full 24 hours observation window with no fever so that we can be discharged. Akiro has already been given permission to be discharged. We also transferred to the Maternity Wing since the network cabling is already done.

We were given discharge permission later that day. But since the room is already charged to us until December 31, we opted to stay and go home the next day.

It's December 31 already, our 5th day in the hospital. I settled our account and prepared to go home. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for the past 5 days. Through all of it, our family powered through and came out stronger.