I’m back! Warning: Long post ahead, with many long-running thoughts (lots of them in parentheses), plus lots of un-blogworthy photos taken with my phone. Just giving you a heads up! 😉

It’s been exactly ONE whole month since I last updated this blog, though I’ve been writing regularly over at Philstar.com about some of the things that have been happening in my life, mostly about Baby Anne plus the amazing support we’ve been getting from people because of her condition.

(Yes, I know I could have written posts on my phone, just like I did previously when we were at the hospital and afterwards and then in the hospital again and afterwards again, but I honestly didn’t know where to start. So now, here I am, taking advantage of Anne’s nap time and “willingness” to stay asleep on the bed {she’s usually in my arms for kangaroo mother care, and wakes up whenever I put her down} writing this post.)

I was hoping that my “back to blogging” post would be full of good news, but… well… such is life.

In my last post here, I wrote about how Anne was hospitalized for a UTI and was almost done with her antibiotic treatment. Well, apparently, that infection didn’t really clear up (or could have been a whole other infection… let me explain in a bit). You see, because her urine and stool output (sorry if it’s too much information for you) was still not considered what is “normal” for breastfed babies, we went to see another pediatrician, one who is a breastfeeding advocate (Dr. Anthony Calibo — if you moms out there need a referral, let me know).

During our first visit to him, Dr. Calibo did an extensive examination of Anne and interviewed us thoroughly about her medical history since birth, plus my pregnancy with her. He also checked how I breastfeed Anne (surprisingly, I didn’t feel as self-conscious as I thought I would!), then gave us instructions on how to help Anne gain more weight (she had lost a significant amount of weight since birth and had not regained it, plus lost some muscle mass too). He also ordered a repeat urine culture via catheterization as this was the recommended method of obtaining urine samples from babies, not the pediatric urine bag. The latter is what was used during Anne’s previous urinalysis and urine culture (at a different hospital, under a different pediatrician).

We wanted to have the catheterization done that same night so off we went to the Pathology department. BUT after three hours and three (failed) attempts by the pediatric residents to catheterize Anne, we were advised to return the following day. (Let me stop for a moment and tell you that inserting a catheter into a neonate is no joke, and while it agonized Anthony and me to see Anne in pain every time the doctors would attempt to insert the tube into her, we don’t bear any grudges against the doctors who tried to catheterize her. OK, moving on.)

So we went back the next evening, after Anthony had finished work. The catheter was inserted on the first try! Yey, praise God!

Sadly, the results of the urine culture a few days later showed that Anne still had an infection. So she was prescribed antibiotics to be taken at home.

A day after we went to Dr. Calibo, Joyce Martinez, the in-house lactation counselor of (who is also a registered nurse with a vast experience with newborn babies), came to see me and teach me techniques on how to help Anne gain weight through supplemental nursing. Can I just say how AWESOME the people over at Medela Moms are? And I’m not saying this just because they’re one of my loyal blog partners! They are AWESOME! Super kind, super helpful!

Anyway, so, armed with Dr. Calibo’s prescription and Joyce’s advice plus lots of prayers and support from people everywhere (yes, including YOU guys, you are totally AWESOME too!), I set about doing everything I could to help Anne gain weight and get better. Thank God again for Anthony and my mom (whom I wrote this post for) and the rest of my family who were there to support me.

My mom stayed with us to help out with house chores and the other two kids while Anthony was at the office. Thankfully, we have two new helpers now, so Mama is getting some much-deserved rest at their place. (What, two new helpers, you say?! Yes, I know — we could get by with, and, to be perfectly honest, can better afford just one, but we need another one for when I have to start reporting to the office again, to focus on Baby Anne’s needs.)

OK, for brevity’s sake, and because I hope to finish this post before Anne wakes up, I’ll fast forward to the present time.

Yesterday, we had ANOTHER urine culture done for Anne because the urine culture done last week, after her last round of antibiotics, still showed bacterial growth. Her pedia was as surprised as we were! He said that the culture results seemed to contradict his findings during Anne’s last check-up on June 1, in which she had gained a bit of weight and looked much better than she had prior to taking antibiotics. Her urine and stool output had also improved greatly by then.

So now… we are praying, praying, praying and claiming in faith that the latest culture results will have no growth, and that last week’s results are totally wrong. Because if the results STILL show bacterial growth, Anne will have to be confined again and a whole battery of tests need to be done to see why she still has an infection. Which means more stress for her, for all of us, and more expenses too.

So yeah… claim it with us, yes? And chant with me: “Negative growth, negative growth, negative growth…” (This has been my “mantra” since Monday, when we found out about last week’s culture results.)

Despite everything though, I’m still praising God (in the storm).

I’m praising Him that we have more dirty diapers to wash now, because it means Anne’s peeing and pooping (sorry, is this too much info for you?) more often now than in previous weeks.

I’m praising Him that my arms are a bit sorer now after having to carry Anne for most of the day, for breastfeeding time and skin-to-skin time with me (this helps prevent further weight loss and actually helps babies gain more weight! Cool, huh?!).

I’m praising Him because we’ve started to have some sort of a routine again at home, even when it comes to the two older kids’ homeschooling.

(OK, well, the eldest one’s homeschooling anyway. The other kid? She is SO into pretend play most days I don’t want to interrupt her.)

I’m praising Him because despite the “bad” start to breastfeeding Anne and I had, she’s nursing well now (I wrote about our early days of breastfeeding at the hospital in — quick, go read it and then come back here… please?)

I’m praising Him because even if my maternity leave ends in a few days, my boss has so kindly allowed me to work from home fulltime (meaning I don’t have to report to the office two days a week for now) until Anne is much better and has gained enough weight.

I’m praising Him because people all over the world, even complete strangers (who aren’t strangers now), have been pouring out their love and support and lifting up prayers for us, especially for Anne. (I like to call these people “the village.”)

Lots of people have been sending gifts, too, that Anne or I can use, mostly previous and present  and fellow homeschool moms — God bless your kind hearts! (Some people have even given cash gifts for Anne, to help with all the expenses and all. Gosh, we are blessed! You know who you are — God bless you! :)) Seriously, all the expenses we’ve incurred so far? I have no idea where we’ve been getting the money to pay for them, but God truly, truly provides! (OK, well, some of the expenses, I know God provided through Anthony’s monthly salary, since I don’t have a salary while on maternity leave. Of course, my sideline writing gigs are a huge help too! So yeah, thank You, Jesus, for the gift of work!)

I’m praising Him because I know His Amazing Grace lasts much, much longer than the 50 Days of Easter. It actually lasts all the way, in the words of Buzz Lightyear, to infinity and beyond.

So, dear friend reading this, if you’re going through trials, or experiencing difficulties right now, remember: His grace is enough. Always.

And in case you’re doubting that, let this cutie-patootie angel be a reminder to you:

Till my next post! Hopefully, it won’t be that long! 🙂