A Birthing Story on Father's Day

sure it does not jive quite well, right? maybe in the end it will.

my transvi ultrasound says i am due to give birth by nov 12 '08. i gave birth earlier.

i was supposed to have my weekly check-up on oct 23, but the day before, on the 22nd - - - our 7th wedding anniversary (goodbye 7 year itch!), i felt like my baby stopped moving. so as not to make the husband nervous, i suggested that we visit the clinic first before we have dinner outside. so to the clinic we go.

to our greatest surprise, i was already 1cm dilated! it was my first IE. it wasn't as traumatic as i expected it to be. the OB covering my OB (who was in the US that time) did not allow me to go elsewhere but to the hospital. she surmised that it is best for me to be admitted and monitored.

during ultrasound, i was contracting but could not feel it. i was immediately sent to the labor room. the husband and i shared a take-out meal at the labor room's ante room (disclaimer: i figured it's a perk i was allowed because i'm a hospital employee *lol*). come to think of it, we were celebrating our wedding anniversary!

after 7 hours at the labor room, i was sent to a regular room. that was the wee hours of oct 23. i was again monitored that whole day with the same status: 1cm dilated; regular contractions. on oct 24, i recieved an sms message from my OB saying that she's scheduled to arrive manila that day and hope that i'd finally burst so that she'll be the one to attend to me. i hoped so too. so after lunch of oct 24, i was sent again to the labor room. i felt that i was improving because i could feel a little of the contractions. talk about pain tolerance! the residents attending to me were even encouraging me to show pain if i feel it, but man, i still managed to smile.

by dinnertime, i was encouraged to eat but i can no longer get out of labor room. so my bed was placed outside th ante room, where a very anxious husband was waiting w/ a soup from mr. choi kitchen. several hours later and a lot of pee in between (thanks God, the labor room nurse was so caring), my dilation increased to a measly 3cm. i was quite relieved that my OB was patiently waiting for me considering that the following day, she was all set to leave for bangkok. before 12midnight of oct 24, i woke up running a fever! i sensed that the doctors were alarmed. i saw in the fetal monitor that my baby was already bradycardic! she must have been impatient inside.

around 3am of oct 25, my OB explained to me our status w/c i pretty well expected. i still can hurdle another 12-hour labor. but w/ a bradycardic baby, there was no other better way to go but CS. with that finally laid, my OB summoned the husband to get inside the labor room. i was so happy to see him all garbed in fresh scrub suit. he went near me, felt my forehead and asked why i have a fever. my answer was a question: did you bring the camera? *lol* then i heard a burst of laughter around me.

immediately i was preped for anesthesia (the anes has also been at the labor room for like eternity - - bless her heart!) and i was transferred to the delivery room. all i felt was a cold gush of fluid down my spine. all throughout, the father-in-waiting was a feet away from me, clutching his camera. i recited the rosary w/ my fingers and several minutes later.....

i heared somebody say: baby girl out!

i also heared somebody say: kamukha ni daddy! (looks like daddy). i looked at the wall clock but could not figure what time it was. good thing, the new papa took a photo of his watch and this is what he got:

the very minute our precious baby said hello world!

when i heard my baby cry, i also cried. i was the happiest woman on earth that time. my anes kept wiping my tears and i was floored. how sweet of her.

then my baby was put beside me and the husband kissed me. huwaw!

after 5 hours at the post anesthesia care unit, i was wheeled to my regular room and was so thrilled to see our baby inside. she was roomed-in ahead of me!

three's not a crowd!

seeing our baby now, i don't mind the post-op stitch pain and the side effects of anesthesia. our baby is finally home!

and yes, the husband was at his happiest when he was greeted "happy father's day" for the FIRST time.

The Complication Just Got Sweeter

it all started over breakfast on easter sunday of 2008. dh summoned me to utilize the pregnancy test kit he bought while i was asleep. i went frantic with a why and a hearty laugh. he made me understand that he'd ben noticing nuances, enough to make him suspect that we're infanticipating. i hesitated at first, lest i be disappointed again, for the nth time.

i ask what the nuances were. the list went like: being a worst case of a sleepy head, getting lazier, practicing gluttony that i gulped in one sitting a good-for-four-bowl full of sinigang in kalye juan. and the wost in the enumeration? i don't color pink my lips anymore!

next scene you see me shouting at dh 'coz my head went blank and i couldn't figure out what the two lines meant. even before he could answer, dh literally and figuratively jumped with glee. i digress. i cried. we could be infanticipating.

first sign of life

the following day, the transvi-ultrasound has this impression: single live uterine pregnancy, 6 4/7 weeks by mean sac diameter, 6 6/7 weeks by crown rump length. dh didn't believe at first, prompting the doctor to increase the volume so he could hear the heartbeat loud and clear. what a sweet sound. now it's safe to say we are indeed infanticipating. dh sent sms to almost everyone in his phone's contacts to announce the good news . minutes later, we were bombarded with congratulatory messages.

when we counted back 6 weeks and 4 days, it fell on february 6, ash wednesday, the day we heard mass officiated by fr. joey faller, the healing priest. coincidentally, on maundy thursday, dh and i with his sister and brother in law, went to fr. joey's kamay ni hesus in quezon province. unknown to us then that we were pregnant, we climbed the 500+ steps to get near the statue of the risen christ. we must haven been blessed. greatly blessed.

considerng that we had difficulty conceiving (not minding my age *lol*), i asked that i be allowed to take a leave from work on our 6th month until dear baby comes out. request granted. the next 3 months-in-waiting went like a breeze.

on our 7th month, we learned tht we were having a girl and she's in perfect condition! dh had his hair zapped that day. it was his way of expressing how happy he was. not that he didn't like a boy. he just prefer a girl for a first baby. so that meant we're having a 2nd, a 3rd and so forth? only heaven knows.

at my best

while she was still inside me, we made sure she only hear the sweetest of music and her storybook. i could feel her move whenever we play her songs and we read her her story of a baby who grew up to be a man but remained a baby to her mother. i knew in m heart of hearts that she's happy with what she hears.

and oh, i felt so, so loved by dh. not that he didn't love me the past 7 years of trying to succesfully conceive. it's just that he gave in to all my whims during our pregnancy. maybe, it's safer to say this: i felt so, so spoiled by dh *lol*.

For Uncle

hubby and i anticipated the long weekend from the last week of october on to november, so that prior to that, we busied ourselves with our respective backlogs. who would not be, with a b-r-e-a-k waiting for us?

or so we thought.

the night before we flew to home-sweet-home came a shocking news: uncle gerry didn't survive a massive heart attack.

i remember as a toddler, i used to cry on the short but bumpy tacloban-manila plane ride. but on our flight home on oct. 26, i cried because i dreaded to see our once lively uncle, now gone.

my father was to speak in the necrological services in behalf of his 2 sisters. but days before, he didn't assure me that he'd be able to do the task. so i prepared my own eulogy to pitch in for him.

i was glad my father stood up to the podium when his name was called. for sure, that would have what uncle gerry wanted. in ending his eulogy, he said: "this is a joyful day because my brother is already in heaven". oh how brave of him to have said that of his younger brother.

while tatay was speaking, uncle's close-up photo was flashed

in the wide screen. this just breaks my heart.

hereunder is my prepared message. i bet i wouldn't have been able to finish reading it.

---------

good morning.

i am darlene, joseph's daughter, uncle gerry's favorite niece. that's what uncle gerry would say when i am at a hearing distance. i am sure, he also say the same thing to my siblings and cousins whenever uncle gerry is sure that they hear him.

that's our uncle gerry - - - very expressive and never fails to make us laugh.

i learned from my father that even as a young boy, uncle gerry was boisterous; he never runs out of story to tell. and even at times when he'd caught our grandfather's ire for his mischievous ways, he is sure to reason with all the jokes he has mastered. so all of you who know him can now imagine how he was in his youth.

that mischievous boy grew up to be a soft-hearted man and subservient brother. as they say, comedians are always the first ones to cry. that is true of uncle gerry. in a rare gathering among uncle gerry, my father, aunties lina & elen, and our family's tenants in the family farm early this year, uncle gerry in his message, couldn't help but cry when he thanked our family's loyal tenants all these years. that's the other side of uncle gerry that some of you may not have known. uncle knew when and to whom gratitude is due.

uncle is full of surprises. you see, we were scheduled to meet in manila next week where he asked me to have him scheduled for some facial cleaning in the hospital where i work. i never knew that he needed more than that. for the past days, i looked for the answers to the many whys on my mind. of late, i realized, he must have done his share that's why he had to leave us this soon.

i am thankful to have known him. i am grateful for the affection he has shown me and my siblings. sure i will miss his calls to me and my husband, most of the time, just to ask how we are. even while we are geographically far apart, i could feel uncle's concern. there was one time he called, pleading my husband & i to go home quick because he saw on tv that there's a fire in makati. you could just imagine how wide makati is, yet he insisted that we go home. that's uncle. you just have to follow him sometimes.

i will be forever thankful for his thoughtfulness. i have always known october to be a busy month for him, so that when i told him i was getting married in october, i said i'll never take a no for an answer. sure enough, he was at my wedding. i think he missed manning his staff at the civil service exam that month.

for all these uncle, thank you is not enough. i may not have been able to repay you in the best possible way, but rest assured that your memories will not be forgotten. if there's one important lesson from you i wish my siblings and my cousins will learn is this: it's true, tatay and uncle gerry never fought. they were loving siblings in the truest sense that i hope we will all emulate. i think the surest i will miss is hearing you call tatay 'gurang'. and because i hate goodbyes, i'd rather say: uncle gerry, until we meet again. we love you.

A Playmate

that is what husband had over the weekend - - - his 7-month old cutie pie nephew, dwayne.

they look so alike that we wish he is ours :)

Missing My Sister

...but happy she finally set foot in b.c.

here she is beside the 2010 winter olympics teaser

funny, i used to sing her to sleep when she was a baby. in retrospect, i realized that what i used to do was to carry her and swing my arms vigorously so that she'd get dizzy and...yes, sleep. now, we'd burst into laughter whenever i'd remind her of this ploy.

ours is a typical sister relationship - - - me the over protective and she the pasaway.

oh i'm happy of the many opportunities that lies ahead.

my ever sociable sister: barely 2 weeks,

she already attended the phil. day celebration,

and proud to be a true-blooded waray

To: My Man

...who is a year older today.

your birthday always reminds me of how lucky i am to have you - - -

despite my tantrums, moodswings, shopping binges,

and lots of imperfections, you continue to love, love,

and love me even more.

thank you dear. like i often say, i shall forever be behind you.

may you always be blessed. haPpy bIrtHdaY!

~ your sweety

{disclaimer: i still have to hear husband call me this,

though in his mobile, he refers to me as his sweety :> }

Merry Month of May

another leaf has been turned yesterday. yah, i'm a year older.

hubby & i, w/ my sister in tow heard mass at shrine of jesus & shared dinner at superbowl of china. of course, their crispy noodles had to be served for 'long life'. quiet celebration huh. and while i was changing into my night wear (yah, i do <"sigh">) & hubby was staring (yah, he still do), he said something to the effect that he has an "old", sexy wife now. hmmmp kapal. of course i didn't like the old part, to think that we are of the same age. in 16 days, i'll have the chance to tell him that i like my older husband more.

~~~

in 2 days, husband & i will be flying to samar again, this time, to exercise our right to suffrage, & to help our aunt win, ehem, again. and since the activity will tire us to the hilt, we opted to stay for 4 days more after may 14, and will fly back on may 19 in time for the scrapfest at makati parks & gardens {pray heavens that PAL will be on time}. and oh, my overseas sister is arriving home this month while another sister is leaving. it's really a mix-full of emotions. truly a merry month!

It's Time to Match

i happen to have a husband who doesn't give roses or chocolates on valentines day. we'd just eat outside & ever since our lives depended on emails, we send each other mails to say how long we have been 'celebrating' valentines together.

this year though, he thought of buying us gifts - - - these:
















next year, i bet it'll be a matching squared fossils ; )