twice the joy

my second child "ice".

she was born april 9 of this year. we named her denzelle gabriela. denzelle is a mixture of my name and my husband's(eden & noel). we just added the letter z. i was the only one who made up this name actually, my husband just approved. i also added gabriela since it was the day filipinos yearly celebrate the "araw ng kagitingan". coincidentally, it was the same day of the year 2000 when noel and i began our relationship.

my labor. at twelve midnight of april 7, i had spotting. april 8, we stayed the whole day in my mom's house so she could send us to the hospital whenever i feel signs of pain. at 6pm we went to the hospital, though i have not felt any pain yet. we decided it would be best if we settle to the hospital and wait there. we checked in tagbilaran city maternity and peuriculture center. the opening of the cervix was still 2cm so we still had to stay at the private room. they told us that if gets wider and i can feel continuous pain in the abdomen, then i can proceed to the labor room. my husband and my cousin-in-law (ate bebie) was with me the whole time. and rain, my eldest daughter also stayed for the night with us at the hospital (we can't stand to leave her at home without mommy and daddy). it's good that the hospital staff is not that strict about having kids around. during that night, noel and ate bebie gave me two uncooked native eggs(ew!), "salabat" or ginger tea, and would not allow me to eat heavy meals. they also rubbed "a wonder oil" in my tummy. they said, "to make the delivery easy".

april 9, 5am, the opening of the cervix was already 6cm. this time, the pain is no longer tolerable so we informed the attendants. i was admitted to the labor room. when i entered the labor room, there were two other women who were also having their labor. the other one looked very calm and relaxed( good for her). but the other lady, was obviously having a difficult and painful time out there. but i did not let that get into my nerves. i stayed calm, at least just for a few minutes or so. one nurse attended for me and assisted me through my labor. after few minutes, the pains kept coming into shorter intervals. at 10am, there was already a full dilation of the cervix so i was sent to the delivery room. boy, it was the painfullest moment ever.

at exactly 10:42am my daughter "ice" came out of this world. i felt overjoyed, not just because all the pain just disappeared in an instant, also because i saw an angel, she was crying,yes, but it sounded like music. i was wide awake. i saw her being cleansed and dressed by the nurses. oh, that moment was so heavenly. success.. fulfilment.. how could have been something so good become real, and just right here in front of me. i have been blessed. someone above must really love me this much to have sent me such precious thing. i never thought i'd deserve to be blessed like this.