1 month and 8 days has passed since that Monday morning when I woke Robert up at 3:20 telling him I thought that my water bag just broke. A bit groggy from our late night, it took him a while to process what he’d just heard and I had to repeat what I said one more time. I called my mom who told me to let my OB know and then I sent my OB a text message. Afterwards, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, take a quick shower and change into my ‘going to the hospital’ clothes. I was trying to remain calm, and besides I couldn’t not be hygienic even at times like that LOL. I knew it was more than likely that I would give birth that day so I might not have the chance to shower in a while (and of course I was completely spot-on). When I got back to our room, I checked my cell phone and found that Dra. Noble replied and told me to get to the hospital right away. Robert had changed and notified my sister-in-law, who then quickly got dressed as well, and then we left for the hospital – again.

3 days prior (Oct. 9, Friday), I had a false labor and Robert and Apples brought me to the Las Piñas Doctors Hospital ER where I was examined and told that I had not dilated enough yet (was barely at 1cm) and was sent home. Later that day, Robert took me to see my OB and was asked to have an X-ray Pelvimetry done so we could be sure if my birth canal was wide enough for the baby to fit through. Unfortunately, the X-ray results wouldn’t be available for pick-up until around lunchtime the following Monday, as all the doctors who did the X-ray reading (or whatever they are called) were in a convention.

SO, we got to the hospital at a little after 4am, where I was examined and told – once more – that I had not dilated enough, but since I was leaking amniotic fluid I had to be admitted. The I was brought to the labor room at 5am and there found out that since it was in a sterile environment, neither Robert nor Apples could accompany me. By the way, in my opinion, it’s just a horrid, horrid way to go through labor, without anyone you love to support you, hold your hand, give you ice chips, apply ChapStick to your lips and occasionally throw dagger looks at while you suffer. Tsk, tsk. But I digress. Fortunately, the nurse was kind enough to accommodate my request to have my cell phone and the digital camera brought to me so I could at least keep in touch with Robert and so that I could ask any one of the nurses to take a picture of the baby when she comes out. The first few hours weren’t so bad – only at around 7am did I start to feel real labor pains – and man, they weren’t exaggerating about how painful they can get (I just have to say, I cannot wrap my head around the fact that my mom actually went through that experience 5 times! Wowza. My hats off to you, Mom!)! Dra. Barroso, the relatively young resident surgeon assigned to Dra. Noble (since she was just a visiting physician at the hospital), checked on me from time to time and at about 8:30am she told me that the X-ray Pelvimetry results came back and that it showed that my birth canal was wide enough for a normal delivery. I was told that Dra. Noble, who would be coming shortly, advised that we wait out the labor, and hopefully by the time she arrived I would be dilated enough and thereafter transferred to the delivery room.

2 hours and buckets of held-back tears later, Dra. Noble arrived. She was examining yours truly to check on my dilation progress and was telling Dra. Barroso that I wasn’t even dilated 1cm, and that the fluid I was leaking was turning green signaling that the baby was starting to go into distress, when someone from the radiology department asked to speak to the resident surgeon. She excused herself and came back minutes later, apologetically explaining that my X-ray was re-read by another doctor and this one concluded that the baby’s head was 0.4cm bigger than my birth canal – which meant I had to undergo C-section. I watched as my normally sweet, motherly and good-natured OB’s face register displeasure. She then turned to me and discussed the need for me to be prepped for surgery ASAP so the baby won’t go into further distress. I agreed and sent Robert a message to let him know of this development – at that point all I could think of was to let them do whatever was necessary to make sure that the baby was safe and healthy. Orders were issued for the nurses to prep me for surgery and as they were wheeling me into the OR, she took the resident aside and asked for her to admonish whoever did the first X-ray reading as they could have spared me from the past 2 hours of labor, as Dra. Noble had relied on the results when she decided to let nature take its course – she and I both were counting on my being able to give normal birth right from the very beginning of my pregnancy.

I remember being transferred onto the operating table and someone turning me onto my left side, instructing me to curl up into a fetal position and to not move (I now know that was the anesthesiologist hehe). A man in scrubs informed me that he needed to hold me in position to make sure that I do not make the slightest movement and then I realized that they were going to give me the epidural right then. I froze for a sec, felt something cold being applied to my lower back and then to my surprise, the needle inserted an instant later. It all happened so fast I hadn’t even had time to finish the prayer I was whispering all the while all this was transpiring. I have no idea how long it was after that I drifted back into consciousness hearing Dra. Noble instructing someone she was addressing as Dr. Arroyo (who I later learned was the anesthesiologist) to start pushing again – and felt a pressure on my abdomen as he did so.

I blacked out again after that and the next thing I knew I woke up to the sweetest, most amazing sound I have ever heard – my baby’s cry. It was 11:52am on October 12. The doctors and nurses cheered and I must have passed out yet again for a few minutes, because I was nudged awake as someone held my daughter near my face so I could kiss her. I was lucid enough to know that a nurse snapped a photo as I kissed my crying baby, Sophia Leigh, for the first time. At that moment, I felt like crying myself, but as woozy as I was from the drugs, all I was able to do was fall back into unconsciousness.

The first thing I noticed when I came to in the recovery room was that I felt like my whole body was weighted down by something heavy. A nurse who happened to be there to check up on me and the other 2 women in the recovery room told me that if I were able to move and lift both of my legs then that would mean the anesthesia had worn off and they could have me taken up to my room. I so wanted to see my family who I knew was waiting for me there and was relieved when I managed to move both of them. I was wheeled into my room and found Robert, Apples, my Mom and Dad and Ate Rholyn, a family friend already waiting there for me.

I spent the next 2 days there under Dra. Noble’s care to make sure I was recuperating well after the surgery. On the second day we asked for Sophie to be brought to my room so she could stay with us already instead of her being in the nursery. Since I couldn’t move around and wasn’t physically able to take care of her just yet, Robert and I asked my mom to stay with us at the hospital overnight, in the hopes that by Wednesday, Oct. 14, my OB would deem me recovered enough to discharge me. And by God’s grace, 2 days after giving birth via C-section, I was wheeled out of the hospital with Sophia.

Though it wasn’t the most difficult thing I have had to endure (I think I had it easy considering I didn’t have to bear labor pain beyond those 2 hours), recovering from the operation was still a veritable challenge. The dull pain radiating from the incision and difficulty with which I have had moving around the first few days were tolerable, especially since I was able to rely on my extremely amazing Mom who took time out from work to look after me and Sophie (I was blessed to have a wonderful family who welcomed us into their home so we could be taken care of). But having to settle for sponge baths for the first few days and then a half-bath for 2 weeks afterward was, in my opinion, pure torture. Eww. My OB made it clear that I would have to undergo C-sections for all subsequent pregnancies because my birth canal isn’t wide enough for a baby to fit through. And though I know I wouldn’t be going through all that yet again (it seems one has to wait 2 years for it to be safe to get pregnant and give birth again after C-sections), I wouldn’t rule out having another baby. But for now, I am content. During the long, uncomfortable and sometimes seemingly unbearable months of the pregnancy, I would think of the day when I’d have my baby in my arms and that would be enough to help me overcome any difficulty. Those days are here and now, and looking back on all that I’ve had to experience to get here, I know I wouldn’t change one thing even if I could. Sophia Leigh is the best gift that God has given to us. The adventure of parenting has just begun, and with it comes numerous challenges. At times, things start to look a bit daunting and overwhelming, but I know with God’s guidance and wisdom Robert and I will be the best parents we can be and in time will become pros at taking care of this tiny, fragile human being, for which we are tremendously thankful.

FIRST MONTH

Last November 12, we celebrated her first month with delicious pasta made by her Auntie Apples and a huge yummy cake, both of which were enjoyed by the adults more than Sophie. Hehe. After her bath time, Robert took photos of our photogenic baby to mark her first month:

 

The baby shower was supposed to be a surprise – Chilie, Ate Zaida, Jill and my mom were planning to throw one for me and Robert – until I started messing everything up by planning one on my own. Haha. They were basically forced to tell me to quit meddling, relax and just sit tight. And even though it went against my obsessive-compulsive nature, I let go of everything and did what was asked of me. Even when one day, little Sammie, as she was drawing and coloring, let it slip that she was ‘just like Mommy, coloring for Auntie Cy’s baby shower’, I just let the comment pass especially after seeing Ate Zaida’s ‘Oh no!’ expression. I was dying to ask them if they needed me to do anything, but was afraid of coming to bodily harm. Lol.

WELL… Robert and I might have known that my family and relatives were planning this for us, but we weren’t exactly prepared to see how much they outdid themselves. Ninang Loida let us use her amazing home (again) as the venue for the event. The lanai was decorated with stuffed bears and balloons, the food was great and Apples’ cupcakes were just fantastic.

The traffic was just horrendous, I know that for a fact. Which is why it was all the more wondrous how so many people turned out for the baby shower. Even Camille (whom I haven’t seen in YEARS), one of the best friends I have had since grade school, came all the way from Los Baños to be with us. Knowing that almost everyone came all the way from Quezon City, Manila and Laguna to Las Piñas, where the traffic knows no bounds, makes us feel so loved. Hehe.

The games were HILARIOUS, kudos to the organizers for them. The gerber-eating-baby-bottle-drinking contest was pure win. Haha. But the most surprising of all this came when towards the end of the whole afternoon of fun and games and food and wonderful company, they showed the surprise AVP that Direk Mike Plana made for Robert and myself. There were both old and new pictures of me and Robert (note: Robert’s long, err, BIG hair. Lol.). But what brought me to tears were the surprise videos of well-wishes that my friends and relatives from abroad had sent – people who I were wishing could be there but couldn’t, and suddenly, there they were.

I’ve said it many times and I will say it again – we are VERY BLESSED to have such a LOVING, GENEROUS (in more ways than one!), THOUGHTFUL family and relatives and such AWESOME people for friends. You guys are the BEST.

TO EVERYONE who made this day very special, we will one day, very soon, meet little Sophia. And we will be more than happy to tell her how you have loved her even from the beginning, as much as we have – A GREAT BIG THANK YOU:

Mama Nev, Daddy Monty, Mama Babes, Papa Jun, Apples, Ninang Loida, Marta, Ninang Doay, Ate Zaida, Kuya Bong, Chilie, Bombing, Sam (part hostess of the day), Jill, Bernard, The Twins – CJ and JADD, David (the Rockstar – sorry Dave, just had to put that in as per Robert, lol.), Direk Mike, Tito Pano, Ninong Jojo, Ninang Grace, Kaye, Ninang Tess, Piah, Casey, Leah, Norwyn, Jeah, Ate Liza Manayon, Mei and Jon Balona, Katie DeGenarro, The Chalmers, Esther Shin, Edrei Olarte, Kuya Dasig, Ate Hyacinth, Kai, Agham and Camille Cuevas and the boys, Divine Lopez, Tanya Harris, Wilson Calibo, Richie Lo, Jason Tamayo

View more photos from our photo gallery.

 

After a few weeks of trying to get our schedules organized, we were finally able to visit our Lola Norma to celebrate her 70th birthday. Unfortunately, Dave (whose erratic gig schedules wouldn’t coincide with ours, hehe) wasn’t able to come with us – his flight from Butuan arrived a little late.

We hadn’t seen our Lola Norma and Tito Jay for a very long time – we’ve missed them so much – and so this was also the first time that they met Sam, who of course didn’t fail to charm her way into their hearts. It was a great way to celebrate Lola Norma’s birthday – with her surrounded by loving family. Looking forward to more times like this.

It started with a conversation I had with Domini while we were on our Baguio trip. We were lamenting the fact that we would be missing the cool Baguio weather the moment we got back to Manila and would have to face weeks and weeks of heat. I have nothing against the sunny, summer season – would relish it in fact – if we got to spend a little time at the beach or by a pool at the very least.

Then she mentioned how her aunt owns a resort in Laguna and we were welcome to it. All we had to do, she said, was text her in advance so she could book the place for us. That got the ball rolling…

For weeks we planned every detail of the day trip – it had to be on a weekend as none of us could afford to take time off from work anymore, and staying overnight was out of the question if we wanted to do this before school started for the twins (busy schedules for the lose). With the budget all worked out, I had one thing to worry about – what swimsuit to wear as I was getting huge! LOL. After trying on my now ridiculously too-small tankini, I had to settle for my old two-piece. Good thing this was just a family trip!

SO, almost a month later, the plan was set and we were off to Jovita Resort at the Villa Consuelo Compound in Calamba, Laguna. A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to Mom, Dad, Tita Doay and Tito Erie for the scrumptious food – Grilled Tilapia and Chicken, steamed Okra and Eggplant with Bagoong Balayan, Salted Eggs with Tomatoes, and Mango Ensalada. It was heaven especially for this pregnant woman with the truck driver’s appetite! As usual there are no pics of the food – as everyone’s too hungry and is wont to forget taking any once the food is set. This family is quite one-track minded when we see food. MUST DEVOUR.

The whole day was spent playing with and fawning over Sam as usual, hehe. And by the end of the day the guys were bone-tired from their ‘water sports’ LOL. It was too-short a trip, that’s for sure. That’s why we have to plan ahead for next year’s – we need more than 1 day of this people!

Click the thumbnails below for more photos:

 

Every year, Cyrene’s side of the family makes it a point to spend a few days together – most of the time in Baguio City, Philippines, as was the case this year.

It was a great trip – the first time in a few years since we were all able to join, including Daddy Monty, Ate Zaida and Ninong Bong, as well as Direk Mike and his mom. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t as cooperative as we had hoped, nevertheless we all had a wonderful time together. David also brought along his friend and bandmate Domini, and she in turn brought along her mad guitar skills – the usual nights at our Baguio house was spent jamming it up. Took a heap of pictures, but as said earlier, the weather wasn’t ideal for a lot of outdoor shots, so most of them didn’t make the ‘final cut’.

4 days and 3 nights is just much too short! We hated having to leave, but real life beckons. Already looking forward to next time (swimming trip anyone?)!

 

This photo was taken last December 2008 at Direk Mike’s Mansion, Tagaytay City.

Direk Mike’s Birthday Party at Oceana Restaurant.

We were all invited by Direk Mike to celebrate his birthday at Oceana Restaurant, Roxas Blvd. Everything was perfect and we took pictures after dinner. Here are the photos of said event.

The band – Sunset drama pose, lol.

The highlights of Direk Mike’s birthday party, the fireworks.

Click the thumbnails for more photos.

 

Josiah and Chelsea Showdown at Kampon ni Pakakak.

Jadd and CJ were invited by Ninang Loida and Tito Ferdie to participate in the organization Kampon ni Pakakak’s event last December 29, 2008. They rehearsed for week’s to do a modern waltz which was really fun to watch. Here are the photos of said event.

I like this shot.

Farewell dinner for KC, our worship team drummer.

KC Shin, UCM’s 3rd service worship team drummer will be leaving soon for Korea to serve in the military for 18 months. After practice tonight, we headed to Greenbelt 5 and had dinner at Fely J’s courtesy of Jen and Phil – our “last supper” with KC until he comes back, hehe. We were all a little tired and stressed from the heat (and coming from our respective workplaces) and didn’t have the chance to take as much pictures as we could have. Take care KC and we will certainly miss having you in the team. God bless and keep you safe!

Casey Laxamana’s 2nd birthday party was celebrated at Jollibee – The Fort, Taguig last April 4, 2009.