Kiko, KC and I waited so long for this precious one to come into our lives. Two miscarriages before her may have caused us unspeakable pain, but certainly did not succeed in making our faith in the Almighty waver in any way.
When I first found out I was pregnant, which was just after we all arrived home from our Holy Week vacation in Bangkok, I sat all alone in what I used to call my Dad’s room and what is now Frankie’s. I gave myself a few minutes to savor the moment, and then called Kiko in his office. He immediately came home and all we could do was embrace each other and say, "I love you". Our happiness was not what we’d call ‘complete’, because we were also fearful that the pregnancy might not reach full-term. I guess no one could blame us because of what we’d had to go through twice before. So we kept this piece of news to ourselves for a few days, knowing that our family and friends would understand once we decided to finally tell them the good news.
The first trimester was painful. Because it was a pregnancy in the "high-risk" category, I had to have daily injections, and see my OB-GYN weekly for ultrasound and other tests, and my Reproductive Immunologist (I won’t go into all the details as that’s quite private and a long story!) once in a while, to find out how my baby was doing. I wasn’t allowed to work, except to do my weekly hour-long television show. The sadness and frustration brought about by the fact that I couldn’t work for almost a year was nothing compared to the uncertainty, the fear of losing my baby. Kiko lit a candle and said a prayer every night for a baby to come our way before I got pregnant, and he got down on his knees and prayed harder once I did. We thanked the good Lord as each day went by without a hitch. So you can imagine how we felt the first time we heard Frankie cry, how tears welled up in our eyes upon first sight of her.
Nowadays, Frankie is quick to give us a smile during our "cooing" and "playing" time. She is a big baby, and wears clothes for a three-month old! She has beautiful eyes, that seem to speak to us. She has my fingers and toes, my chin. When people see her for the first time, they say she looks like me, and some have even gone as far as calling her "Sharon! Jr."! But we think she is a combination of Kiko and me, and even resembles her Ate KC in some ways. She is good-natured and cries only when she’s hungry or needs a nappy change, and doesn’t fidget much.
I’ve had to re-learn how to take care of an infant, as it’s been almost 16 years since KC was one. It was a pleasant surprise to see so many new, helpful things available in the market now that weren’t around when KC was a baby. I was all of 19 years old, too, when I had KC, and often said that I wished I had more time to spend with her. It wasn’t just that I was young, and in many ways still growing up myself. It was also that I had to work for our living, to provide for her future without depending on my parents. Frankie was born about three weeks short of my 35th birthday, so of course I am now more mature, more ready, more experienced. I have lived a fuller life than when I was 19, and embrace motherhood better-equipped this time around.
Kiko and I would like to have two more children, but are putting-off the next pregnancy until Frankie is about a year-and-a-half-old. We want to enjoy her and give her all the love and attention we are capable of. She is a gift to us and to KC, and has brought so much more joy into our family. Now more than ever, we are assured of God’s faithfulness and love. And we thank all of you who prayed along with us for this precious gift, our precious little angel.