My Christmas Gift Came Early

I finally get the chance to write a week after I gave birth to our little boy, whom we consider as our early Christmas gift.

I am supposed to deliver on December 23, 2013, according to my estimated date of confinement (EDC). But as the days progress, I easily get tire and can't move easily. It's already a burden for me to wake up every morning and go to work. All I want is to lie down and rest my very pregnant body. My OB-GYN is not even convinced that I will go into Cesarian Section by December 18 (although I am already 38 weeks). But I pleaded and finally she gave in to my demands. So, I got admitted last December 17 at 1:00 PM.

My actual C/S schedule is December 18 at 9:30 AM. But I did not reach that schedule. After I finished reciting the rosary that night, I suddenly felt a pop inside me and I knew that my BOW (bag of water) is now leaking. I called for the Resident-on-Duty and she did confirmed that I am going into labor. Talk about timing! By 11:30 PM they prepared for STAT C/S and I was rolled into the OR.

Our Baby Boy

The only thing that I remember was hearing the cry of a baby as they are doing their own businesses with me while I was on the operating table. I heard somebody saying "It's a baby boy." Seriously??? Yeah, my mind is still intact and I felt that I cannot hide my excitement if indeed it was a boy (or was I just having a haze consciousness due to the anesthesia). Nonetheless, I have a strong conviction that we have a baby boy this time!

And it's indeed true! AT 2:29 AM, I gave birth to a 7.7 lbs baby boy and 53 cm in length. My husband is very much surprised about the revelation. He even insisted that I planned all of this as a surprise for him. I told him that I did not underwent an ultrasound. Why? Aside from the monetary part (it's Php850), I decided not to have one so that I will not feel frustrated and  pass it on to my baby if ever it's going to be another girl. No offense, but of course, we are aiming for a baby boy this time after having 3 girls already. It would be such a blessing to have a baby boy. So, to spare my unborn child with this feeling, I sad that whatever gender he/she will be, I will accept wholeheartedly.

We named him - Sealtiel Jude Miguel.  Sealtiel is the archangel for Holy Orders, Jude from St. Jude Thaddeus, and Miguel (also known as St. Michael) the archangel. Here are his first photos taken in the nursery of The Family Clinic Hospital. I personally would like to thank Ms. Catherine Cipe, RN who personally attended to his newborn care.

Our Christmas gift.

After settling all of our financial obligations with the hospital and my doctors, we went home on December 20, just in time to celebrate Christmas as a whole family. My two daughters, Mary Gabrielle and Aryanna Mikaela arrived the following day.