My Muntinlupa Civil Registry and COMELEC Experience

As much as possible, I try not to go to our government offices as not only does it strain my patience, but can be physically exhausting as well.

I had to go to our local civil registry so I can get a certified true copy of my son's birth certificate. Apparently, the one that I got from Asian Hospital did not have the stamp and registry number so our HR did not accept it.

Resigning myself that I will be wasting a day, I proceeded to the Civil Registry Office (CRO) this morning. Good thing that I did some research as the place is located at the Star Mall along South Luzon Expressway at the Alabang Viaduct.

So I parked at Festival Mall and took a jeep going to Star Mall. The CRO (together with other government offices), are located at the 3F. Apparently, not only is the Civil Registry located there but the Comelec and NBI as well.

When I got there around 1130AM, I was dismayed when I saw the long line as well as the cramped offices. Dejectedly, I asked if I should line up for my request but was pleasantly surprised when I was told that I should just go to the other room which, fortunately, has a shorter line.

I was given a number and I was 29 and the number being serviced was 26. In less than 20 minutes, I was called and had my turn with the person in charge for birth certificates. Apparently, I came to the right queue and he processed my request immediately. A certified true copy costs P40 (I requested 3 copies just in case) which I gladly paid. However, the person in charge who was supposed to sign was on lunch break so I had to wait for an additional 30 minutes (so much for the "no lunch break" policy). All in all, disregarding the breaks, it must've took me an hour in the office.

So while waiting for the signing authority to return from his lunch break, I decided to check out the Comelec office beside the CRO to check if my Voter's ID is already available. Though it's been years since I registered and I already voted numerous times without it, I need it as an additional government ID as my driver's license plastic (which services as the primary government ID when I'm requested to present one) is already expired. When I renewed it last year, I was told that I can only get it this July.

When I arrived at the Comelec, lo and behold! There was no line! I gleefully gave my name and they handed me my ID (which was printed way back 2011 when I registered in 2009). I was surprised when they handed me two copies as apparently, they made a duplicate which they still gave to me.

All in all, I cannot say that it was a pleasant experience as it was SO HOT inside the waiting area. Moreover, the lines were depressingly long (at least for those requesting for copies of their birth, marriage and death certificates). I can't understand why they had to do so when they can request for copies through phone or online.

However, my struggles are not yet over as I would still need to go to the Registry of Deeds and the Land Transportation Office with regards to my car registration. Now, that's another story and I am not looking forward to it.

My Birthing Story - The 2017 Edition

Baby Boy

 
My target date to give birth was March 13 thru CS section. But fate had a different plan for me when the bundle that I've been carrying in my tummy decided to make an appearance on March 4, 2017 at 3:12 in the afternoon. Weighing in at 7 lbs and 6 oz and measuring 59 cm in length, he made quite an entrance.

The Waiting Game

I've been on maternity leave since February 21 when I was having irregular contractions. I was supposed to start my maternity after March 3 but it was becoming difficult to go to the office due to the heaviness of my tummy.

My due date as per my first ultrasound was March 19 but as per my last menstrual period, it's March 11. My OB, Dr. Regina Manahan (who was also my OB during my first pregnancy), opted to be conservative and used the first ultrasound instead. So my 39th week should fall on March 12. She refused to do a CS earlier than the 39th week or if I suddenly contract. 

I didn't know if it was a good idea to go on maternity so early as I was able to finish so many things in my to-do list that I became so bored waiting for my baby to arrive. I took to walking at the mall daily and finish some puzzles to help me cope.

Unlike my previous birthing, we opted for Asian Hospital this time around as we had to take into consideration the horrendous traffic at the Skyway unlike before where taking the Skyway meant faster travel. Moreover, we don't have a nanny yet so we have to stick close to home.


This Is the Day!

Early afternoon of  March 4, my OB called me and asked if I was having any contractions and if I could come over so she could check. So my husband and I brought our things to Asian Hospital and had me checked in at the Genesis center.


We arrived sometime after 1PM where I was immediately hooked to a machine which monitored my contractions as well as the heart rate of the baby. Amazingly, I was already contracting (which I've forgotten hurt like hell. And I've also forgotten the breathing exercises that helped me cope during my first pregnancy) and as per the resident's IE, I was already 1cm dilated. My OB then decided to perform my CS on that day which definitely sounded good for me.

They called in the resident anesthesiologist,  Dr. Cristina Tiongson, who delivered spinal anesthesia in preparation for my CS. This was different from the epidural that was given to me during my first delivery. Instead of sitting down, I was made to lie down on my side. It worked fast because it was less than a minute that I couldn't feel anything below my waist.

They wheeled me in the CS room and prepared me for the operation. However, I began to panic in a sense that I was telling the anes that I couldn't breathe. She mentioned that I have oxygen and I remember trying to move my hands which was secured on the side. Next thing I knew, I was asleep.

I recall waking up just in time to hear everyone call out, "Baby Out!" and I heard my baby cry out LOUD! Boy, was he loud. He was a direct contradiction from his older brother who barely whimpered when he was taken out of my womb 8 years ago.

They immediately brought him to me where he instinctively latched on my breast. Good thing my husband was in the room and took the necessary pictures.

From there, it was another wait for them to sew me back up and brought me over to my own recovery room.

One thing I like Asian over Makati Med, was that the former is more peaceful and quiet. Makati Med was just so noisy and quite a lot of people who will ask you the same questions over and over again. Not surprising considering they are a teaching hospital. At Asian, I had my own recovery room and I liked the care that my son and I got.

My baby and I were brought together to my room at 8 in the evening, 7 hours after I was admitted. I was exhausted and feeling was beginning to return to my legs.And with it, the PAIN.

Pain with a capital P! P%$&*^ I^!

Painless IV insertion FTW!

Since my last operation was 8 years ago, somehow the pain was forgotten. I don't know if it was age or I deliberately forgot the feeling but this time around, everything hurt like hell. My OB gave me three kinds of medication to manage the pain. But when I started breastfeeding, the contractions brought about by the release of oxytoxin hurt a lot. All I could do was whimper every time I would feed my son.


My catheter was removed Sunday evening and I tried sitting and standing up after then. The binder that I was wearing somehow gave me the assurance that everything that should be kept inside is still inside. I walked to the rest room and tried to move around as I wanted to get used to walking immediately.

Sleep was already forgotten as my son would feed almost every hour. As he was purely breastfed, I had to be available all the time whenever he wanted milk. And he can be quite vocal over his demands.

Breastfeeding Friendly

I liked it that the hospital is breastfeeding friendly. They had specialists teaching me to breastfeed and the nurses even know how to make the baby latch. Quite a different experience from MMC 8 years ago (sorry, I just had to make that comparison. I hope that they have improved the last few years).

Breastfeeding is not easy and I envy mothers who are pros at this. I'm glad that Asian has a good support system to ensure that the new mother is equipped with the knowledge as simple as having the baby latch.

Prepubescent Milestone - Done!

Like his older brother, we opted to have our son circumcised immediately after birth. We were pleasantly surprised to know that the pediatric surgeon, Dr. Rodolfo Tuazon, who worked on my older son, also has a clinic at Asian. We contacted him and scheduled the operation when Bennet was 48 hours old.

Actually, some pediatricians and obstetricians can also do the circumcision but his pedia, Dr. Victor Morada nor my OB can do the procedure. Nevertheless, we prefer the surgeon as the process can be quite delicate considering how tiny he is.

We were taught how to clean the small organ (which only involves Betadine) and I cringed when I saw how swollen it became a couple of days after. But afterwards, it cleaned up pretty good.

Price Tag

Ribs

Steak

 
At Makati Med, I remember our bill reaching P180K including all the PFs and the 4 day stay (excluding the horrendous parking fee. Boo MMC for not offering free parking for your in-patients. Another plus for Asian as we had free parking the whole time I was confined). Eight years after considering inflation and additional tax of the doctors, my total bill (including that of my son's and his circumcision procedure) reached P230K. I had a small private room and all the professional fees of the doctors were paid directly to the hospital. Another wonderful thing because the last time, I had to go to the doctor's offices and pay there.

I think the price increase is relatively small and I'm happy about it. My OB's fee doubled from the last time and we somehow expected it. However, it's still relatively modest compared to that of other doctors. She's worth it though as she took really good care of me and according to my husband, my CS scar is unnoticeable until I pointed it out to him.

There are also additional perks for giving birth at Asian:
- Steak and ribs dinner for two
- Baby bag with free diapers

I don't know if there are others but the dinner was wonderful and delicious.

Oh, and they send text messages for reminders (about my son's birth certificate) and even messaged me asking me if my wound has healed.

SUMMARY:

Hospital: Asian Hospital
Date of Confinement: March 4, Saturday; Discharged on March 7, Tuesday morning. Was only charged for three days.
Procedures Involved: Cesarean for me; Circumcision for baby including the following tests and vaccines -- Hepa B (given immediately after birth), BCG; Newborn hearing screening, cardiovascular test, Newborn Screening, blood typing
Obstetrician and Gynecologist: Dr. Regina Manahan
Anesthesiologist: Dr. Cristina Tiongson
Pediatrician: Dr. Victor Morada
Pediatric Surgeon: Dr. Rodolfo Tuazon
Total Hospital Bill + PF: P230K

Barely Breathing

My recent prescription

When I said in my blog introduction that I'm asthmatic since I was a child, I'm not kidding. I've been hospitalized before because of it and I do not want it to happen again.

Ever since I returned from the US last December, I haven't stopped coughing. I've visited a doctor twice: one on Dec. 22 and the other on Jan. 14. The December doctor noted (this was at the Asian Hospital ER) that I just arrived from the US a couple of weeks before my consultation and immediately had x-rays done. Since I was not showing any signs of infection, he just prescribed Strepsils for Dry Cough. I went home relieved and bought my first batch of lozenges. Unfortunately, even if I'm sucking on those tablets like crazy, the cough still won't abate.

I went back to the hospital on January and this time, visited a pulmonologist. After listening to my breathing and my lungs and considering my other symptoms, she ruled that I'm having an asthma attack. I was surprised as I was barely wheezing but apparently, the cough is already a symptom in itself. Since my attacks have been not as frequent lately, I have not been taking my maintenance, moreover, I'm not comfortable in taking in medication. I just use my inhaler whenever I'm having an attack.

So, she gave me steroids, asthma medication and something for my cough. I took those things as prescribed but the cough, though it abated a bit, still won't go away.

When I had a bad attack last weekend which kept me in bed the whole time, I succumbed and found another pulmonologist yesterday. This time around, she added to my medication as noted in my prescription above. I was shocked when I saw it but since my symptoms were not going away, she decided to aggressively treat my asthma. It was that or be hospitalized due to bronchial spasm which my lungs will I will end up with if I don't treat my current condition. I was also given antibiotics as the lethargy that I was feeling which made me take half the day off last Friday was already a throat infection, which exacerbated my cough.

I've also been ordered to rest for another day. Hopefully, I will get better soon. I miss walking and biking. I want my life back!

Asthma is a condition which I have to live with for the rest of my life. I just have to learn to live with it and not let it rule my life. Unfortunately, having a low RBC count is not helping my case. I'm still having tests done for that as I'm perennially anemic which means that oxygen is also not circulating properly in my blood. Thus, it was not a surprise that I feel faint whenever I push my heart rate (in fact, in my last Executive check-up, the nurse made me life down after my treadmill as I was quite pale and my blood pressure was dropping too fast). Let's just see where that will go.

In the meantime, I hope this latest batch of meds will do the trick!

P is for Pneumonia

My son has been struggling with his cough since early this week. His cough was so bad that his school sent him home Tuesday morning and he was made to rest for another day.

He returned to school on Thursday and come Friday evening, he was complaining that he was not feeling well. I woke up around midnight with Basti burning with a 39.1C fever. I panicked as it was the first time ever that he sported such high temperatures. We gave him Paracetamol which he fortunately was able to take and we went back to sleep.

The next day, I had to go to school to give my final exam and I immediately went home afterwards. When I saw that Basti's temperature was not improving, we brought him to the ER at Asian Hospital.

I was initially hesitant to do so as my recent experience with them was not pleasant at all (e.g. we were here last month when Basti was complaining of an ear ache and the ER doctors had no beside manners and the ER nurse gave my son Ibuprofen without asking whether he ate something. It was not surprise that he started throwing up afterwards). But since I was anxious already, we hurriedly brought Basti to Asian.

A few minutes after we were ushered into a cubicle in the ER, a Dr. Carlos Vicente Gabriel checked Basti and I was very happy with the way he did the examination. He certainly knows how to handle children and he was definitely a big improvement compared to the previous pedia resident that looked at Basti before. After a couple of tests, it was found that Basti has pneumonia and since it was at the early stage, we were sent home with an assortment of medicines that will do a drug dealer proud.

However, Basti could not tolerate the oral medication and would throw up everything that was given to him. I called the ER spoke with Dr. Gabriel. I mentioned that we will be returning and would request for confinement. He readily agreed and waited for us to arrive to process our admission.

The admission process was also hassle-free. I was very pleased with the nurse when he was able to administer the heplock with no fuss at all and with no need of a repeat. I was also amazed with Basti as he insisted on observing when we told him to look away. He did not scream although he did voice out his pain. He also stared with wonder when they extracted blood from his arm. He barely flinched when he saw the needle enter his skin.

Unfortunately, his pedia, Dr. Clemente, no longer has a clinic at Asian so we went by his referral, Dr. Morada, the same pedia that admitted him a couple of years ago also due to pneumonia. He was able to see Basti earlier today and prescribed more medicines which would hopefully kill the bacteria, thereby bringing down his temp and ultimately, letting us go home in the fastest period of time.

I decided to stay in the hospital every night with no assistance from the yaya to take care of my son. It's our bonding moment and something that I hope he would remember when he would start questioning my love for him when I practice my usual tough love stance.