ᴏᴜʀ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ ᴊᴏᴜʀɴᴇʏ

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ꜱᴍᴏᴏᴛʜ. ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ. ᴇxᴄɪᴛɪɴɢ. ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜰɪɴᴇ.

Until last 𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟹𝚝𝚑, 𝚃𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢 - I was at my 34th week and 3 days. We had our regular check-up and our OB said she felt like my tummy is too big for 34 weeks pregnant. She asked us to do an ultrasound and send her the results asap, and so we did. When she received the results, she suddenly told us to come back to her clinic on 𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟻𝚝𝚑, 𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢, at 10 am. We were originally scheduled to come back on the 𝟸𝟽𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 but when she received the results, she hurriedly told us to come back. That moment when she asked us to come back, I knew there was something wrong. Lance and I were preparing ourselves for the news we were about to hear. I was anxious, uneasy, sleepless, tensed, everything. I was hoping and praying that what our OB saw in that ultrasound was about me and not our baby.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢 - I'm at 34 weeks and 5 days. We came to see our OB. She told us that based on the result, the baby's weight, cardiac activity, movements, and breathing are perfectly normal for her age. She said I'm severely polyhydramnios which means the baby's weight is normal but the amniotic fluid is too much that's why my tummy is bigger than usual. I slightly calmed when I heard that it was about me and the baby is fine. But then she paused and told us that she wanted to talk to us personally because her concern was the double bubble sign seen on my baby. She was diagnosed with duodenal atresia, which means the baby's intestine did not fully develop. Her intestines are small and she can survive on my tummy because she's not eating on her own yet, but when she's out she needs to undergo surgery, 1-3 days after giving birth. Our OB said this is a rare case with 1 out of 40,000 babies having this congenital disorder. Typically, babies swallow amniotic fluid in the womb but a baby with duodenal atresia won't be able to swallow and absorb amniotic fluid resulting the excess amniotic fluid on my tummy. Our world crashed with this horrible news. I can't help but ask, what did we do wrong? Lance and I, we've been very careful throughout our pregnancy. Why out of 40,000 babies, why does it have to be my baby? I can't stop crying. I can't stop thinking. I have to cancel all our plans. We have to focus on the baby's health and recovery. I knew I have to be strong but I can't help myself. I am worried about my baby's health and what would possibly happen.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟽, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 - My OB told me to retake all lab tests and ultrasounds. At 9:00 am, we came to the Hospital for my scheduled lab tests and ultrasound. Lab tests were perfectly normal, while on ultrasound, the same observation was found. I'm still diagnosed with severe polyhydramnios and the baby still has duodenal atresia. I got admitted for close monitoring to undergo amnioreduction at the High-Risk Maternity Unit with no phones and companions allowed. Our doctors were worried that my amniotic sac will rupture without the full term of the baby. The baby needed to undergo surgery after birth and she needs to be on a full term, 37th week, so we don't need to worry about her other organs failing while on surgery, especially her lungs.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟾, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚃𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢 - At 11:00 am, I did undergo amnioreduction. It was unbearable. They could have reduced 2L of amniotic fluid but since I can't bare the pain anymore they've only reduced 1.5 L. After the procedure, I still went close monitoring and needed to take a few more shots for the baby's lungs.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚆𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢 - I am still at the Hospital, yet I had a meeting with the Neonatologist who will take care of our baby. Our neonatologist was kind enough to share her experience about her twin grandchildren who had duodenal atresia. She shared that the twins are 6 y.o. today and she's not seeing any risks or complications with them caused by their surgery. Somehow, I felt relieved that our Riri will successfully recover and overcome this phase.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚃𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢 - Luckily, all my results and the baby's results are normal. I'm not experiencing pre-term labor (contractions) anymore. Baby's very active and her heartbeat is normal. I was allowed to go home and got finally discharged at 06:00 pm. I was scheduled for admission on Nov. 3 for monitoring, and C-Section on Nov. 4. She explained that we can do normal delivery if we prefer but there is no guarantee of an exact date and time, our baby needs to be scheduled for surgery on Nov. 5, and so we agreed. But I was worried, every day, we were getting closer to our baby's surgery.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢 - At 9:00 am, we had a meeting with the Pediatric Surgeon who will perform the surgery for our baby. He explained everything about the condition of our baby. He said the surgery will be performed the day after the baby was born. Our baby needs to undergo some tests and screening to prepare the baby for surgery. We informed our Pediatric Surgeon that I'm scheduled for CS on Nov. 4, and he immediately arrange his schedule for the procedure.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟽, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚃𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢 - I had my BPS, NST, and check-up. All test results are normal. We are just waiting for the big day.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢 - I was preparing to go to sleep at 09:30 pm, 15 mins after I lay down, my water bag suddenly broke. It was raining so hard and we rushed to the hospital. I was advised that I'm still at 3cm yet my fluid is non-stop overflowing. Since I'm severely polyhydramnios there is a tendency that the baby would slip so we need to perform Emergency CS.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟹𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 - At 02:23 am, my baby was born with strong and normal vitals. I got the chance to meet her. She was crying so loud and the nurse laid my daughter's head on my chest and she stopped crying. She fell asleep on my chest. It was a very emotional moment. I had my epidural but my mind was clear and I can't stop worrying about her surgery the next day. My heart was full and I did not stop kissing her. Suddenly, the nurse told me she needs to get dressed. I know at that moment, I won't be able to see her until she recovered. I whispered, "Stay strong for Daddy and Mommy, Anak. Mahal na mahal ka namin. Kaya natin to." then she cried when the Nurse took her away from my chest. It was bittersweet to see my daughter taken away. If only I could jump out of the operating table and grab her from the nurse, I would.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟹𝟷, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 - At 01:00 pm, Riri's operation started. We were informed that usually, the procedure takes 1hr to finish. Lance was outside the Operating Room and I was in my room waiting for updates. Time has passed and at 03:30 pm, still no updates. I was already crying with thousand thoughts. "What is happening?" "How's my daughter?" "Is she okay?". I was praying so hard and suddenly Lance came into our room and cried and said the operation was successful, she's now stable and she's in the recovery room. We hugged and cried together. We felt a little relief. Our baby is a fighter. Lance narrated what the Pediatric Surgeon told him, he found intra-operatively that the annular pancreas was the one causing the obstruction and not the intestine itself.

𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚆𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢 - At 07:30 pm, I finally got discharged. I still have follow-up check-ups for the upcoming weeks. Our daughter is still at the NICU waiting for her to recover. Her Oxygen support shifted to Ventilatory.

𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟽, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 - She started on Intensive Phototherapy.

𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 - She started breastfeeding.

𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸, 𝚃𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢 - Finally, Riri's discharged with home medications.

- ɪᴛ ʜᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀɴ ᴀʙꜱᴏʟᴜᴛᴇ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʀᴏʟʟᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴀꜱᴛᴇʀ ʀɪᴅᴇ. ᴡᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅɴ'ᴛ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴜᴘᴘᴏʀᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴜɪᴅᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ. ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ!