Welcoming Baby Gian to the Christian World

 

Christmas this year is extra special. Baby Gian will also be baptized at the local Bradford UCCP Church. That’s one thing that made us  go to sleep early after watching some fireworks display on Christmas Eve. Church service starts at 9:30 and we need to be there an hour before, so everybody went to sleep a little earlier than our usual Christmas noche buena.

But of course, that does not stop baby Gian to feel sleepy during the service. lol.

Here are some photos of the baptism:

 

After the church service, we had a simple lunch at home and some pictorials with cousin Chummix, who also celebrates her birthday on the 26th.

At 10 days short to 4 months old, baby Gian was officially baptized Gian Jibril. Although the pastor mispronounced the first name ‘Jee-yan’ instead of ‘Gee-yan’. not a big deal but I find the former a little feminine.

Well, if you see a ‘G’ and a ‘J’ in a name, that probably hints that the G is not pronounced as ‘J’ coz I could have spelled it Jian Jibril if I wanted to. But no big deal anyway.

Gian is turning 3 months old!

No, he still could not sit. We just placed him on a towel to help him keep upright in the sofa – just for the photoshoot.

 

[Choco Rolls and Egg Tart for the simple celebration]

 

Gian at 3 months:

• he can now turn to his side and sleep like that for hours.
• he occasionally lie on his tummy now
• he can now hold his head upright, although there are times that you still need to support it.
• he’s making a lot of sounds now. he even mumbles back to you when you ask him questions or when you talk to him.
• he loves to listen to “Row row row your boat” and ‘Twinkle twinkle little star’ on YouTube
• he goes to sleep with “Rainbow Connection” Jazon Mraz version or “You” by the Carpenters – sung by Mommy of course!
• he loves to play with Rusty the Robot, a Lamaze toy I bought shortly before he turned 3 months.

Lamaze Toys for Babies

 

I first saw the butterfly Lamaze toy from a Facebook friend and the colors attracted me. I looked at the label and it says Lamaze. I don’t know where it came from. The only thing that came into my mind is the Lamaze breathing technique that I have been doing ever since the start of pregnancy.

Now, I could not believe it is also a brand of baby’s toys. How would I know that in the first place? I don’t even spend a minute at the infant’s section before.

[Gian with Rusty the Robot – sleepmates!]

[Rusty the Robot]

What I found good with Lamaze toys:

• they’re full of colors!
• they have lots of textures, shapes and sounds that give your baby a lot of experience with even just one toy.
• my little Gian just loves it!

Gian at 2 months

Baby Gian is now 2 months and he’s showing his smiles and stares!

{Gian at 2 months}

 

we just got him a number of cupcakes and put the candle on top of it. just wanted to put that number into something to celebrate his second monthsary.

 

{with Daddy}

sleeping early at night when her Pedia-neighbor came in for his 6-in-1 immunization. you know what happened next - he cried to sleep.

One Month Old Gian

 

My little Gian is now a month old.

Time flies so fast, my ordeal in the delivery room faded like a bad dream. My recovery is good but I still have discomfort sleeping on my back so I have to lie on my side. I also find it difficult to get out of bed. Argh.

…. and I think I’m suffering from post partum depression. I don’t know if this is indeed one. There were instances when I just locked myself and baby in the room and I started to cry.

I cried to the thought that I can’t even carry my baby because I find it uncomfortable with my operation still hurting a bit.

At times, I cried to the thought of being helpless. Hubby is home only on the weekends and I’m left with the baby the rest of the week. I do the dressing of my wound myself. The household helper I brought with me to my in-laws was sent home a few weeks before I gave birth, so I have to hand wash the baby’s clothes every morning. Sometimes grandma would do it for me but I don’t want an 80-year old woman doing laundry. Even if its just a few pieces of baby clothes, so I sometimes hide the laundry basket.

 

I cried because I don’t know how I will be able to pull through with our finances. Me, being out of work for 1 month now and all our savings were spent.

 

But I comfort myself with the thought that these are all just about my hormones and of course, the sight of this beautiful baby always help soothe my worries away.

Had a C-Section Delivery and Feeling Frustrated

I have set my mind to a normal delivery and in fact, I have been viewing Lamaze birthing class on my laptop to help me with my breathing.

Yes, I was able to overcome the pains of labor. In fact, my mother-in-law and grandma-in-law who were with me at the labor room thought it would still be several hours before the delivery because I was looking okay.

But a few minutes before my OB said I was 3-4 cm dilated, I was then advised to go to the delivery room. She said I was fully dilated.

Now the sad part is, 2 hrs in the delivery room and no baby was coming out.

Cervix fully dilated, no crowning after 2 hrs and baby’s heartbeat started to go down.

My OB suggested a caesarian section delivery but I asked her what other options I have. I am still feeling okay and in fact, I still want to pursue a normal vaginal delivery.

She said I could squat. So I did.

But no baby was coming out. We had no other options left.

She asked the nurse to let my mother-in-law (who is by the way an acquaintance of the OB) and my hubby in. Told them we have no other options. The baby’s heartbeat is going down and there’s no progress with the descent of the baby.

So I was wheeled to the operating room. I did not even notice how the anesthesia was given, all I knew was that, I was feeling very cold and my hands were shaking.

After a few minutes, I was given a quick glimpse of the baby and I was stitched up.

The minute I was wheeled to my room, I was not able to stop my tears. I have never been so frustrated like this in my life.

First Few Pics of Baby Gian

Baby Gian was born at 7:08pm, September 05, 2011.

These are his first few pictures and the sight of these tubes in his body really breaks my heart. In fact,I don’t want to look at these pics. He had Asphyxia Neonatorum or Newborn asphyxia. His pediatrician later told me that it took a couple of minutes for Baby Gian to breathe after he was born so they have to resuscitate him.

In fact, his Apgar score was 5 when he came out then rose to 8 and then to 10. Thank God, Baby Gian was able to survive it and he's now well and good.






Thank you dear God for such a wonderful gift of life.

A Baby Boy is Born

September 05, 2011
4:15 am

my water broke.

i wondered before if i could ever tell that the water broke. now i could say it is really totally different from just a trickle of pee. it is indeed a gush of fluid out of your system.

i was ecstatic at the same time a little nervous. this is the day!

i told hubby about the breaking of the water and in just a little while, my mom-in-law was knocking on the door. she looked tensed. i could tell she's trying to hide the anxiety or the tension of facing this very day. She was bringing a matchbox and she was asking about the books i have been reading lately and the papers that i have been working on. i don't know anything about the ritual but she tore a small piece of each book that i have been reading as well as the papers lying on my table and she started to light them up.

she also pulled a single strand of hair from hubby and throw it on the small flame on the tiled floor. she uttered a few words and after having some time in the kitchen for coffee, we then head towards the hospital.

6:15 am

we checked in at the emergency room of the Hospital at the break of day. i was then led to the labor room and was asked to change into adult diapers. several student nurses are there to monitor and take care of me. one good thing about these student nurses is that, they attended to my every little need because there were a number of them and they probably want to do something and prove to themselves that they can take care of patients very well.

i was still feeling okay. no pains. just feeling excited.

first IE: 2-3 cm.

11 am

After i had lunch, the contractions are now starting. the pain is very bearable. in fact, i was smiling when my OB came in and she just said i'm still not in active labor because i still can afford to smile. From the Lamaze classes i have been watching lately, i fairly knew the stages of labor, what to expect and what to do to ease the pain.

second IE: 3-4 cm.

based on the internal exam, i was thinking i am still a bit far from active labor and full dilation which is at 10cm. as the contractions grew stronger and stronger, the pain is also getting intense.but of course, everything is bearable. i started applying my 'cleansing breaths' and 'hi-his' that i have learned from Lamaze classes. Equipped with these Lamaze classes, i cringed less in every pain.

one funny thing when i started to do my 'Hi-his', one student nurse asked me if i have difficulty in breathing. i wanted to laugh.

4:00 pm


i don't know if i am indeed fully dilated but my OB said i am and i was led into the delivery room. i don't know how that 3-4 cm dilation led to 10 cm. the pain is totally bearable.

6:00 pm

2 hours in the delivery room but the baby isn't out yet. the baby isn't moving down and out to the cervix. my OB asked my consent for Cesarean operation. the baby's heartbeat is going down. but i am fairly ok. i told her what are other options. she said, i can squat, so i did. but the baby still isn't coming out.

after all the consent and consultation from hubby and mom-in-law who are there with me, i was wheeled to the operating room.

7:08 pm

Baby Gian is born.

Little Pleasures of Walking

Aside from the flexibility I get from my early morning walks, and hopefully make labor easy, I also get to enjoy the little flowers that I get to see along the way… and it’s a good thing that I can also practice my photography skills with them.

 

enjoy.

Morning Walks at 39 weeks

Since I came here in Tagbilaran, I do my early morning walks at 5:30 in the morning and usually end it an hour after.
Since I got my D5000 last week, i  decided to bring it with me and do some practice shooting while having my one-hour walk. I was thinking if I go into labor anytime soon, I won’t be able to have the opportunity to take pictures of the place, so I grabbed the opportunity and document the road I have been traversing everyday for more than a month now.










Yes, it’s a university campus and since I usually do my walking early in the morning, I can only see a few joggers, street sweepers and security guards in the area and I make sure I’m out of the place when students start to come in for their classes.
I also tried to get some snapshots of beautiful flowers along the way. You can find them HERE.

Updates…updates

I left home on July 23 and it’s been more than a month since I spent my days in this little room… waiting for the baby and still working (ugh).


I was not imprisoned nor hidden. I am at my in-laws’ house. They told us they prefer me delivering the baby here than at our own home where only me and hubby and our new household help will be taking care of everything. So I am here.
… at 39 weeks now and will be giving birth anytime soon.
The last time I went to my OB (I had a new OB by the way), she gave me Evening Primrose Oil (Eveprim) to be taken thrice a day until the onset of labor as she said she wants me to go into labor before the due date as the baby is now 6 to 7 lbs.

Of course, that is also a relief on my side as I don’t want to deliver a big baby and of course, I am excited to meet the little one now.
It’s been 4 days since I have taken the Evening Primrose Oil but I haven’t seen any preliminary signs of labor yet. In some forums I‘ve read, they went into labor in just a matter of 3 days after taking the supplement (yes, it’s a supplement, not a medication), but of course, others say it took them 7 days. Ok, then. I am hopeful that this will put me into labor earlier than Sept 9 or Sept 10.

The anxiety of waiting has lead me to dreams of holding a baby boy, dreams of tsunami, dreams of giving birth already only to find out in the morning that I still have that baby bump. But of course, I am wiling to wait. I know I’d be able to finally meet my little one in a few days from now.
… and I pray everything will be all right.