All About TRENT

A Preemie Surprise!

Contractions.. Blood... These were the symptoms when I was about to give birth..but wait, my tummy's just on its 34th week (+ 2 days) then. My OB said that I need at least three more weeks so that my baby won't be at risk. Or else, he will surely stay in the incubator for days until his organs are well-developed.

My OB prescribed meds that would delay the moment we've been waiting for, but it was no help at all. At 11 am the following day, I was rushed to the hospital as my cervix was open at about six cm. We reached the hospital after 30 minutes. I cannot explain the pain, and all I could think of was not just for the me and the baby to be safe, but also for my nephew who was rushed to PGH as he was having convulsion at the same time. 

Preemie, excerpt from Wikipedia

Goosebumps got into me after hearing about the old saying "Palit Buhay" as we were clueless whether all of us will survive that day.  

On November 30, 2010, Tuesday at 12:15 p.m., Trent was born and weighed 1.9 kgs. Maybe because of lack of sleep (since Monday afternoon), I fainted, and all I could remember was I had a glimpse of his nose and his sex organ (as I wanted to make sure if it is a boy :D).

I had vague memories of what happened later. Good thing, video camera and camera phone were invented for me to still experience the highlights of being a mom - giving birth. My sister, my cousin and Trent's dad were able to capture my after birth experience. His dad told me that Trent's lips were almost black as he lacks oxygen and was gasping for air. It was a wonderful feeling though after the doctor placed him on my bear chest. :D

Many were asking what is the cause of preterm birth. As per Wiki, a preterm birth refers to the birth of a baby of less than 37 weeks gestational age. At the time of this writing, the cause behind preterm birth is still unsolved. The cause of 50% of preterm births is never determined. It was said that anxiety and depression have been linked to preterm birth.

Kangaroo Care for Preemies

As for me, I think the biggest factor could be because I travel from Bacoor to Roxas Boulevard (MOA) everyday when I was pregnant, and from Bacoor to Tagaytay (Mendez) every week, which could have stressed me out. I also did the "squat" exercise due to fear that my cervix would be too small for the baby (as they say, "maliit ang sipit-sipitan). I didn't know that the exercise is best done during the third trimester. That I would recommend, but not during the 5th and 6th weeks of pregnancy like I did! ☺

Going back to my son, it was a big surprise to the doctors (my OB, and Trent's pedia) that his organs seems to be well-developed, and does not show as if he is a preemie. All the tests though (including the ultrasound) says that he is just 34 weeks, and two days then. We had expected for him to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for the next few days, but to our surprise, he stayed there only within the first eight hours of his life. He needed two drop lights in order to give him heat aside from my warm embrace. Preemies need Kangaroo care as they need warmth from their mothers.