Athena’s Chronicles

Last updated June 27, 2023

Hi, if you’re reading this, then you’ve stumbled into the About Athena page. This page is to record the updates of my daughter’s journey in photo journal format. This was meant to be a living record, especially for donors and for those who wanted to keep track of her updates.

Mary Athena Catherine T. Ty (nickname: Athena) is my daughter. She was born prematurely at 32 weeks, on July 31, 2021 — which incidentally was also our anniversary.

Currently, Athena is now two years old. She is as healthy as she can be and has now caught up in terms of physical health.

Pregnancy and Preterm Labor Woes

Her mother Lizzie has had a history of difficult pregnancies (including miscarriages) starting with our firstborn, Joaquin. During this pregnancy, she had gestational diabetes and was taking a lot of different medications. Eventually, during her 7th month, her amniotic sac ruptured. This caused her to go into preterm labor and her OB needed to do an emergency C-section.

Actually, two weeks before delivery, we were confined for around 5 days due to preterm labor. This was due to her uterine scar opening a few mm. We were able to arrest the labor successfully using medication. We thought we could prolong the pregnancy to full term but unfortunately, we could not.

The COVID-19 pandemic also made our confinement difficult, as we needed to get an RT-PCR test before we could get confined. We needed an instant 5-hour result, so at that time, we went to Chinese General Hospital to get swabbed. It cost us Php 10,000 for that particular procedure.

We didn’t hesitate at this price because the alternative is that you would be confined in a COVID-19 ward/room and the cost of PPEs will double your hospital bill.

Update: Going Home! (as of Sept 6, 2021)

We’ve already taken Baby Athena home on Monday, Sept 6, 2021. It’s the first time we’ve seen her after a long while. She’s still on the lean side of 2300g (around 5 lbs) which is still tiny, and I’m a bit afraid of lifting her as she seems so fragile. All of the clothes we bought for her were still too big for her, except the premie one we bought. Her older brother Joaquin was 8 lbs when he was born and I definitely can say that he was heftier.

To everyone who was invested in our story and to those who donated their resources and prayers for Athena, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

About Athena’s Chronicles

I thought that I should create a living record of Athena’s progress as a lot of people seem invested in her progress. As she was 32 weeks old when she was born, I’m going to start my journal from that point on.

Jump to week:

Week 32: July 31 – Aug 6

July 31

Athena was born around 5:30 pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital; she weighed around 1450g (around 3lbs) and was really tiny. She was admitted into the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).

Aug 1

Early morning, the consultant doctor noticed that Baby Athena was having a difficult time breathing. He opted to intubate her and attached her to a ventilator. Based on the x-ray results, she seemed to have acquired pneumonia. They put her on first-line antibiotics.

Aug 2

The objective of the ventilator is to help Baby Athena breathe, but the nurses also try to wean her off the ventilator, until she can breathe on her own. Notice the cloth “cords” around her wrists — this is because she was so “malikot” that she kept trying to pull the tubes out. This is also the day we (Lizzie and I) get discharged from the hospital.

Aug 3

The doctor noted that she was turning yellow in color, meaning Baby Athena was acquiring jaundice. This is normal for babies with different blood types from the mother. The solution is to put her into UV, which also explains the eye pads.

Aug 4

In the early morning, we were called by the NICU consultant because based on her recent x-ray, Baby Athena’s pneumonia seemed to be progressing. However, when we visited her the actual conditions seem better as her ventilator settings have been lowered to low.

Aug 5

Even though she had pneumonia we knew she was fighting as the ventilator settings kept going down. Milk consumption is also increasing, so Mommy is under pressure to produce more breast milk. She is also “malikot” to the point of her lifting her whole body whenever she smelled Mommy.

Aug 6

Lots of milestones today. Baby Athena was successfully weaned off the ventilator and Mommy was able to produce 30mL of breastmilk. Her pediatrician officially rules out the progression of pneumonia as she was able to breathe on her own for a little while.

Week 33: Aug 7 – Aug 13 ^

Aug 7

It is the first time for me to see Baby Athena without the mask. Also, her milk consumption is now up to 15mL per feeding at this point.

Aug 8

Another day of firsts and lasts. First time to see Baby Athena in the prone position. Also, this is the last day that I can visit her personally in the NICU. Once she transfers to the IMCU (Intermediate Care Unit), I/We cannot visit her anymore as they don’t allow outsiders in due to possible COVID-19 exposure.

Aug 9

This is the first time for me not to be able to see Baby Athena in person. 🙁 However, the nurses are nice enough to take pictures for us. There’s no change in her condition so far.

Aug 10

I had an official update regarding the weight, now Baby Athena is 1474g — higher than her official birth weight. Baby also had a check-up with the ophthalmologist, to check for ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). Her pediatrician recommends she take a human milk fortifier with her breast milk. She also takes in 27mL of breast milk per feeding now.

Aug 11

First time to see Baby Athena look at the camera and smile! Also, it seemed that the nurse woke her up that’s why she was so grumpy.

Aug 12

The consultant doctor called, she said that Baby Athena “held her breath” in the middle of the night. To prevent it from worsening into apnea, her doctor started her on aminophylline.

Aug 13

I asked about Baby Athena’s apnea, there were no outstanding episodes. But the aminophylline is still being administered.

Week 34: Aug 14-20 ^

Aug 14

I was able to talk with Baby Athena’s pediatrician. He said that her condition is good. And even though that some events that happened recently may seem alarming, this is ultimately the result of her being premature. The best way to resolve this is to let her grow. There weren’t any good pictures taken that’s why there’s only a single pic here.

Aug 15

The consultant doctor reported that Baby gained 30g since being given the fortifier. And also, she’s now wearing clothes! The expected weight gain is around 30g every couple of days or so. Hopefully, we can reach 2200-2500g in a couple of weeks. Once she gains more weight, they can ramp up their feeding as they’re limited to 27mg every 4 hours.

Aug 16

It seems that Athena’s gotten a bit plumper this time. It looks like the fortifier is working well. The opthalmologist said that her retinas are almost mature. No reported apnea episodes, but she’s still under medication.

Aug 17

The bloodwork came in, and her hemoglobin is a bit low. The doctor recommended a transfusion to speed up her recovery. Otherwise, one good news is her weight is now at 1559g. She seems more like a baby now than before. Also posting a Youtube video this time for posterity.

Aug 18

Lots of good news today. The transfusion was a success, Athena’s weight has increased to 1644g, and there have been no episodes of her apnea reoccurring. Another is Lizzie was able to get the first shot of her COVID-19 vaccination. The antibodies will eventually be part of the breast milk she is producing.

Aug 19

Nothing much to report. Baby Athena now consumes 30mL of milk every 3 hours, so that’s around 240mL per day.

Aug 20

Baby Athena has officially gained another 85g. At this rate, she would probably be out of the hospital in around 2 weeks’ time. Also, the nurse said that she has more than enough stash of milk, and I can take a breather in bringing milk to her. With enough surplus, I can make my milk runs every two days.

Week 35: Aug 21 – Aug 27 ^

Aug 21

I wasn’t able to visit Athena as her milk stores are still plentiful, and I needed to get my second COVID-19 vaccination dose. But no news is good news, so hopefully, nothing big happened.

Aug 22

Athena has gained weight again, and some hard-earned 57 grams. According to the doctor, she will most likely be out of the incubator by next week. She has also started feeding by cup, in combination with OGT (orogastric tube) feeding.

Aug 23

More good news: OGT (orogastric tube) has been removed and Baby Athena has been doing cup feeding exclusively. All her medications are also orally given now, and not given via IV anymore. She was also given some newborn vaccinations as seen by the updated title card. Milk production is also consistently increasing for Mommy Lizzie, and we are starting to store surplus milk.

Aug 24

Baby Athena is officially weaned out of the incubator today, as her weight has reached 4lbs (1814g).

Aug 25

Baby Athena is very expressive today and it’s really encouraging. No exceptional issues. We’re just waiting for the day she can go home. 🙂

Aug 26

Baby Athena did not gain weight since her last weighing, but her doctor approved that she can go home at 2200g. They’re now trying to wean her off the doxofylline (the medicine that prevents her sleep apnea). Hopefully, this goes well.

Aug 27

I wasn’t able to visit today as Baby Athena still had spare milk. However, the nurse reported that she has increased her weight to 1899g. A little more to go before she can finally go home.

Week 36: Aug 28 – Sept 3 ^

Aug 28

Baby Athena was able to gain 57g again, which makes her weight 1956g. Almost 2 kg, it seems 1474g was so long ago. I feel that she can go home next week.

Aug 29

I wasn’t able to visit as I wanted to minimize COVID-19 exposure (unbelievably there are 18500 active cases today) and Baby Athena still has spare milk.

On a side note, a lot of close friends and family contracted the virus so if you’re reading this right now, please always take care of yourself and get vaccinated as soon as you can.

Aug 30

Went to deliver milk and fortifiers to Baby Athena today. I was also able to talk with her pediatrician. The doctor plans to have blood tests done on her and a new set of newborn screenings. This is to make sure she is ready for next week. Hopefully, she’ll be able to go home by then as her updated weight record has reached 2012g.

Aug 31

Today is officially Baby Athena’s first month. She has developed quite an appetite now, consuming 1-2oz (30-60ml) per feeding.

Sept 1

Baby Athena has officially gained weight — she’s now 2069g, a little under 5lbs. Almost there, just around 100-200g more to go.

Sept 2

I will not be going to the hospital today as Baby Athena still had milk. I called the IMCU and they said that there weren’t notable updates.

Sept 3

Reweighing today. Baby Athena is now 2154g. I was also able to talk to the pediatrician, and he said Athena can go home either on Mon or Tues next week.

Week 37: Sept 4 – Sept 6 ^

Sept 4

On a side note, Mommy has been on a roll with the milk production. Nothing much on Baby Athena’s updates.

Sept 5

Baby Athena officially exceeds 2200g (she is at 2256g). We also had a pledge from the pediatrician that she will be coming home tomorrow.

Sept 6

After a very long wait, we were finally able to take Baby Athena home. She doesn’t need any extra meds, however, we still need to go back after two weeks for follow-up check-ups.

How We Got Donations

As a matter of fact, most HMOs typically do not cover maternity issues. So pregnant women are often at the mercy of fate when something happens during a difficult pregnancy as what happened with us.

We are thankful for donations, as they helped us to pay for hospital bills and took care of the baby’s needs. We got donations through word of mouth on Facebook and by posting my account numbers during the drive.