S-E-B-A-S-T-I-A-N

Sebastian at the NICU on his first day.

These days, seven weeks and two days in since my son's birth, I am barely able to organize my thoughts. But because I feel like it'd be a huge injustice to my baby boy if I didn't document how he came, I knew I really had to steal a few moments to sit down at least for these tidbits:

S  -  "S" is for "son". Or "Sebastian". Our firstborn, a baby boy named Sebastian Gabriel Cardenas Prieto, was born on February 24, 2015.

E  -  "E" is for "early". He was born about a month and a half early or at 34 weeks and five days to be exact. I had not even attended any of my labor or newborn classes or finalized the packing of my hospital bag, let alone finish filling out our labor plan form when my water broke.

Born healthy at 4 lbs 7.4 ounces, jaundice
and weight gain were the only reasons
why Sebastian stayed at the NICU for six days.

 B  -  "B" is for "birthday", not his birthday, but my birthday and that of my husband's. Because I found out I was pregnant with him a day after my birthday and two days after my husband's (Sergs was born on July 18, I, on July 19, and we found out on July 20), to date, he's who we consider as our best birthday gift ever.

A  -  "A" is for "anticipation". We had been married exactly five years and a month when he arrived.

S  -  "S" is for "San Francisco". Sebastian was born early enough to merit him being delivered at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San Francisco and not at that new Kaiser hospital in Redwood City. I was told that any birth before 37 weeks should be done at said facility as it's only there that they have a Neonatal Care Intensive Unit (NICU) facility at our area. True San Franciscan? Yup!

Car seat test two days before
Sebastian left the hospital.

T  -  "T" is for "three". At 20 minutes past 3 in the morning was his official clock in time.

I  -  "I" is for "IVF" and "infertility". Because I dealt with infertility (I wasn't ovulating regularly) and two unsuccessful inseminations, an In vitro fertilization (IVF) was in our plans. I even drew out a plan: Travel to Europe first then come back for, hopefully, a single round of successful IVF (just one round as it is expensive and completely out of pocket). But as they say, once one stops trying (to conceive), that's when the "magic" happens. Two months' worth of over-the-counter fertility supplements and boom! God's plan, not ours, presented itself, I mean, himself. :)

A  -  "A" is for "Air France". I was one of the three pregnant women at our office handling all kinds of Air France passenger issues at SFO. My passenger service colleague, Laaina, gave birth on January 2. My immediate supervisor, Elizabeth, gave birth on January 6. I gave birth on February 24. All of us had boys. :)

Sebastian currently is a bottlefed
naughty baby who loves cuddles and music.

N  -  "N" is for "natural" and "normal". I didn't have a natural childbirth but I did have a "normal" or a "vaginal" one. In fact, the words of my boss clearly rang in my head the moment I was wheeled into the hospital: "I will not be shy to ask for an epidural." And shy I wasn't. It was the sweetest relief. I was shielded from the pain beyond my most intense contractions and that nasty intravenous (IV) needle insertion.