I had a baby in Peru!!!!

A week ago yesterday we welcomed a healthy 7 lb, 20 inch little boy. Little Liam was born here in Peru....our very own Puerto Rican, Mexican, Spaniard, mixed U.S. American, Peruvian babe!!!

Yes, I had a babe in Peru. What a VERY different experience then my first born Eli. Both my boys were in the breach position so I had a c-section with both boys....two very, very different experiences to say the least.

When we moved here we started seeing a WONDERFUL doctor here in Arequipa. He was referred to us by mom Tovar and it was the same doctor that delivered dear Danny Tovar (the little brother of John).  I could not have asked for a better doctor here. He was exactly the kind of doctor we needed...calm mannered, kind and very professional. Much like the doctor we had in the states. He took great care ofus and come to find out when it came time have my c-section he had a lot of "pull" in the hospital we delivered in. It was because of him we were able to have our own private room which is a BIG deal!

I could tell you about all the Dr's visits but blah blah blah that is boring stuff, instead let's get to the good stuff....the birth of our little babe!!! We went to the doctors office on July 15th to have a sonogram and see how the babe was developing, turns out he was COOKED ready to come out and play, so we scheduled the c-section for two days later. The plan was set: Don't eat anything of real substance starting the night before, eat nothing the day of and drink a giant glass of tea so I would have to potty every 5 minutes....awesome. Arrived at the hospital at 7 am to check in and secure a room, stay there until surgery at 3 pm....Difference #1 from the states. Usually the surgery is scheduled way in advance and you go in weeks earlier to check in so you only have to arrive 2 hours prior to surgery...not 7 hours prior to surgery! We arrive at the hospital at 7 am to check in and nobody that works there is in yet...they don't actually arrive till 7:15 am. Difference #2....The US is a very timely country, nothing is on time in Peru. When the employees arrived we checked in and are told that my surgery was moved to 5 pm. The attendant calls our Dr and within 5 minutes he arrives at the hospital to talk to us about the surgery. Difference #3...He came to the hospital at a moments notice to talk to us! He did let us know that my surgery was pushed back (typical in all hospitals around the world...stuff happens!) and he ensured us that we would get a private room. He sent me home, phew,  and told me I could eat something very lite for breakfast, double phew! Little did I know that would be my last meal for 24 hours! We were allowed to go home and come back at 12 pm....only 5 hours prior to surgery...what an improvement! We come back to the hospital at 12 and "checked-in" to our room. So commenced the waiting. We waited and waited and waited and in-between waiting we spoke to what felt like 30 different people about our medical history and personal information.

Waiting for surgery

  Difference #4...people here have two last names, mothers maiden name and fathers name or married name. NO ONE could understand why I only had one last name...its like I was an alien from another planet and no one could understand my breed! Finally at 5:15 pm they come to get me for surgery. They put me on a bed and wheel me to the operating room. I meet the doctor in the hall and he asks me how I am doing. He pulls Virgil to the side so they can go change while I wait...in the hall...by myself. After a bit a nurse comes and gets me and wheels me in the OR. It is a very un-American OR....what did you expect this is PERU not the USA! Virgil comes in and out while we sit there and wait and watch them prep for surgery...Difference #5...Surgery prep is done prior to you getting in the room in the USA, not while you are in there. Finally, everything is prepped and they asked Virgil to leave so that they can administer anesthesia...my LEAST favorite part. They lay me back down and the doctor comes in and starts to work. I now am FREAKING out because A.) I have a tendency to freak out under anesthesia B.) my husband has not returned to the room yet C.) I can still feel my legs and D.) I can see EVERYTHING they are doing....are they really going to make me lay here and watch me be cut open???? "Please take the gas mask off" I ask the anesthesiologist and at the same time in walks my husband. They finally put a drape up so I can't see and the anesthesia starts to kick in...phew OK things are starting to seem normal. I can "feel" the doctor make the cut and they ask Virgil to go to my feet to watch the procedure...BIG DIFFERENCE #6...Virgil didn't actually see the whole surgery in the states, he only saw the effects of it...here they practically let him do the surgery!!! After a moment Virgil asked to come back to my head...not because he didn't want to watch gallons of amniotic fluid come rushing out of me but because he knew where I really needed him was next to me holding my hand. They allowed him to come back and he watched and told me everything that was going on. My husband was lovely and supportive and the anesthesiologist was as sweet and kind as could be and really helped me take my half mind off of what was going on.  Soon after our little boy was born. They showed him to me for 2 seconds and rushed to clean him off.  They finished putting all my insides back in me and sewing me up. They came back with Liam and let me see him for another 20 seconds, then rushed him off to observe him. What we didn't know was what came next. 1.) I wouldn't get to hold or really touch my baby for another two hours and I would go to recovery for an hour and my husband wouldn't be allowed to see me in that time either...Difference #7 & 8... In the US I would be sure to hold my baby right after surgery and while I was in recovery in the US my husband would be with me and I was allowed to nurse and hold my baby....time of separation from both my spouse and baby...20-30 minutes. In Peru, time of separation 1-2 hours...it felt like an eternity. As I laid in the recovery room not knowing where my family was and laying next to some other guy that just had surgery, I just sort of laughed and thought this sort of stinks...it isn't bad and certainly could be worse, but it sort of stinks. So when life gives you lemons you make lemonade right? That is what my drugged up mind thought at least. So I decided to strike up a conversation with the other surgery patient in the room. The person attending us was gone 90% of the time so I thought hey why not use what little capable brain cells I have right now and keep us both entertained. We chatted nicely for a few moments until they wheeled him off then I was alone. The nurse came in at some point to ask how my pain was. I told her that I could still feel the anesthesia in me but I was starting to have some pain. She gave me some med to, what I thought was to control my little pain. By the time my hour was up the nurse came back to wheel me to my room. She asked me how my pain was and I told her the anesthesia had completely worn out and I was in extreme pain. She proceeded to be confused. She said "I thought you told me you only had a little pain...I reminded her that was true 45 minutes ago and under the influence of much anesthesia! She said she would tell the nurses upstairs and took me up. I got to the the room where 2 or 3 nurses asked how my pain level was but proceeded to do nothing about it. I didn't know where my baby was and I felt like I had just been sliced open....mainly because I had! After about an hour they brought my baby in but I was not allowed to nurse him till tomorrow. They said I needed to have less pain and they would keep him overnight and bottle feed him. Difference #9...the lack of choice. In the states you choose if you want to keep your baby overnight or put them in the nursery, you also are encouraged to nurse immediately....not 24 hours later.  An hour later they picked him up and took him to the nursery and we were left alone and still without pain meds. Here is where it starts to get funny and the biggest difference of all...Difference #10...Pain management.  In the US I was given pain meds...LOTS OF PAIN MEDS and immediately after I left the OR till the minute I left the hospital. Here I got a small dosage of pain meds right after surgery and didn't receive anything again until 12 pm the next day....and only because we had to call our doctor and get him involved.  Throughout the night I asked several of the nurses to give me something to control the pain and they all gave me the same response...I'll check your "chart" (which by the way, I'm sure consists of 50 small pieces of scrap paper with confused notes about what my last name is supposed to be that random people threw in a folder labeled: Yahaira...American Citizen that doesn't know what her name is). Here is where it gets a little personal...By 4 am I still hadn't peed yet...I couldn't, it hurt to badly to make any effort to do so. When the 4 am nurse asked me how my pain was I told her terrible, she asked me if I had peed yet, I informed her  No, that it hurt to much to do so. She then proceeded to let me know that I probably have pain because I haven't peed yet. I'm sorry what??? Did you really just say that???? Yes ma'am I'm sure that is why I have pain...I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with the fact that I was just sliced open and had a child pulled out of me. I'm sure it is because I need to pee. And furthermore ma'am, you are not allowing me to eat or drink anything if you just give me some Dang water I could probably pull a tinkle out of me but since my throat is drier then the Sahara Desert, I am positive you aren't getting one drop from this girl. Now please if you will give me some pain meds and water and I'll do whatever you want! Well, sure enough I got no water, food or pain meds at that point, instead of that I got the next best thing. About 5 minutes later the nurse brought another nurse into the room with two glasses of water....."Yes, finally they are bringing me water to drink!" No, the nurse proceeds to tell me, I am merely going to tease you and swish this water back and forth from one cup to another in hopes that I will you into peeing. Virgil looked at me and asked "are they really doing this?" Yes I laughed and laughed and laughed. After 15 minutes of her doing this and not getting the results she or I wanted she left the room. Oh water water in my face and not a drop to drink. Cruel, unfair world! Finally around 6 am, I, still in pain called the nurse to let her know that I just might be able to pee. She left the room because she didn't believe me. So I called her back and let her know..."No Really I have to pee, what do you want me to do about this since I can't move, my pain level is a 12 out of 10 and my bladder is going to explode." I'll spare you the moments that followed except this one...Whenever my son goes potty on the big boy potty he throws his hands in the air and with all the excitement in the world yells "I did it!" In all honesty I may have found myself having a small Eli potty moment!!! And to the nurses bewilderment I STILL had pain afterwards and proceeded to have pain until 12 pm when we had John call our doctor and explain that the nurses weren't helping me. He RUSHED to the hospital and was at my bedside within 5 minutes, 10 minutes later I FINALLY had pain meds and every 5 hours on the dot afterwards the nurses never missed a beat on the pain meds. Now that I have an empty bladder and pain controlled I realize again that I'm thirsty as can be and starving. Difference #11...they starve you and request that you go home and starve for 4 more days. In the US I was eating burgers, fries, salads and had a pizza party in my room when in Eli was born. Here I was given nothing but broth, REALLY weird jello and by the last day dry toast. The doctor proceeded to tell me to adhere to a strict diet of soft veggies and fruit and nothing more for 4 more days....advice I did not follow and I'm doing OK.



There are plenty more things that are different but I'll spare you. Overall in the moment I wanted nothing more to go back to my overpriced plush health care in the US. I stayed 2 nights and begged to go home by Friday. I was done. As "rough" as it seemed at moments, my care was wonderful. I was cared for. I had a room, my own room. I had a soft bed, I had an amazing doctor and better health care then most the world can ever say they have had. It was safe, sanitary and my baby and I are healthy. I am blessed. I don't need $30,000 health care to make having a child wonderful experience. I had everything I needed and more. I had my beautiful baby, supportive and loving husband and the hand of God right in the middle of it. I was able to have an experience that now bonds me with other Peruvian women here. I have a story to share with them about my Peruvian babe!

I am blessed and now that much more with the love of mom of 2 beautiful boys and Christ taking care of me.