Mom Exchange

A day before D-Day

My mom had all of her five kids at 40-41 weeks, while my sister had her baby at 40 weeks, so I had a good feeling that I would also give birth at 40 weeks. True enough, on the first day of my 40th week I woke up to a sudden gush and waddled my way to the bathroom to find my underwear soaked with a thick liquid tinged with brownish spots. Not quite the thick and gooey mucous plug I was expecting, but there it was.

That afternoon, during my ultrasound session, my OB-mom declared that my fluids were still of a good volume and my cervix was still 1 cm. dilated. Birth wasn't imminent yet. But the following morning, I woke up to some menstrual like pains which I dismissed as merely Braxton Hicks because they were spaced too far apart at almost an hour with every contraction. However, when I went to the bathroom by 7am, I was shocked to see my underwear drenched in bright red blood. Holee sheeyet.

We had a fairly peaceful and non-controversial national election and I gave birth to my son.

Definitely an action packed week :)

We always hear about how living in the USA is so much better than living here in our sun-drenched archipelago. But guess what, when it comes to maternity leaves, we Filipinas apparently trump our American counterparts.

This is it. The homestretch.

I really thought that I would coast through my pregnancy but wouldn't you know it, just when I was getting the hang of waddling on my swollen feet and psyching myself up for the inevitability of childbirthing pain, I get hit with horrible rashes on my swollen feet with some more threatening to develop on my thighs and knees. Wah!