Not yet Home Free
Sheesh. Last week, I was gushing over one of my last remaining dates as a non-lactating woman (for the next year or two) with hubs. Alas, the date was marred by a cranky me who got tired walking the length of Mall of Asia to get to the IMAX theater... and then a sick me the morning after.

I woke up to great hunger pangs just before 7 am. Then the pain turned into an intensely gassy feeling, which farting wouldn't relieve (TMI na ba?). Then I was reduced to writhing in pain... that led to several hours and several bowel movements in the Emergency Room of Manila Doctors Hospital.

Fecalysis and blood test showed I was ok... and because I was feeling ok already, I was discharged at 3 PM.

I felt ok till around 8 PM, even making an appointment with my reflexologist. But the dinner I had proved my stomach was far from ok, so Evelyn (my masseuse) arrived to find me vomiting my dinner out.

The vomiting got so intense (we all thought i'd pass out) so I was rushed again to the ER. That was Friday evening. I'm just glad Madocs reserves it's 3rd floor rooms to OB cases so we were able to get a room (because their ER has been really busy all day). I was discharged yesterday afternoon.

Ugh. The verdict? Viral gastroenteritis (my second confinement was bacterial... and yes, this is the third confinement of my life, and all admissions happened during my first pregnancy). The good thing about it being viral is that it's usually self-limiting, and often goes away in 2-3 days on its own. Unfortunately, I am pregnant and every little drop in my electrolytes needs to be addressed.

Plus, the vomiting was violent enough to result in a sub-conjunctival hemmorhaging (read: a blood vessel or two popped in my eye, resulting in this blod-clot of sorts in the whites of my right eye). Sheesh talaga.

I underwent another pelvic ultrasound (which confirmed that Yakee is male, his balls were pointed out to me, wehehehe) and a Fetal Non-stress Test (which stressed me because my belly was wrapped in straps that evoked mild claustrophobia... which had me wanting to cry and scream for the first 5 minutes... but yeah, I managed without doing so). Yakee is just fine and seemingly happy in his bubble... it's I who am still contending with an unstable stomach (just after getting discharged yesterday, I went on a burping and gagging mode that scared hubs again).

Oh and yeah... my poor Baby Jojo got stressed so much that he slept all the time through my confinement. He admits to feeling really exhausted everytime I get sick... he even skipped work today too (I opted to rest for a day before returning to work). As punishment (of sorts) for stressing him, I was put on bedrest with toilet privileges lang... as in I can't even watch TV or surf the net downstairs (buti na lang we have many laptops and he has mobile broadband).

And Yakee continues to be happy and playful inside me... that i've also started to feel pain along with his kicks.

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My OB said that there's been a surge in cases of viral gastroenteritis and dermatitis these days. Even she got sick last week. Heck, even our Intellicare agent visited the ER. And Dr. de Guia further informed us that the diseases they expected during the summer are all just coming out now... so even sore eyes is common.

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It kinda makes me feel guilty, thinking about it in retrospect... but when my head was reeling from the violence of my nausea, I found the energy to be lucid enough and tell Jojo that Yakee will be an only child. At that time, I couldn't wish for death because I knew Yakee still needed me to live, but I really wished for everything to just stop... and that I at least be given something to make me sleep and not have to endure any more.

Now that am fairly OK again... i'm willing to have another child again someday (but definitely not so soon). But if my second pregnancy will be as hard (or heaven forbid, tougher), I think i'd really have to be happy with just two kids.

I know... other Moms have suffered far worse during their pregnancies. I'm just being honest though... because it's really very traumatic to handle an illness magnified with the fear and responsibility of still being the baby's host.

No wonder FIL is recommending that we stay with them till I give birth. No wonder Jojo is trying to make me give up work this soon. No wonder the A/C unit has been running for 24 hours now without rest because my darling husband has mandated that I am to stay in bed.

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Rebelling, I ate champorado with two tablespoonfuls of powdered milk. Hehe.

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Which brings me to wonder... how could I possibly handle labor?