Little James healthier than Mama Kris

Three days after she prematurely delivered James Jr. by Caesarian section last Friday, April 19 (also the birthday of former Pres. Joseph "Erap" Estrada), Kris Aquino remains bedridden attached to an oxygen tank while recovering from a blood clot that could have led to a stroke.

Kris suffers from gestational diabetes and hypertension when she’s pregnant like she did while heavy with Joshua, her first child who’s turning 11 in June. She undergoes a blood check twice a day.

Little James is healthier than Mama Kris said who has so far remained incommunicado because of her delicate condition. Weighing only four pounds at birth, Little James is in perfect health but he has to remain in the incubator for a few more days.

Mama Kris is confined at a well-guarded room at the Makati Medical Center where she delivered Little James a full week ahead of schedule. Little James is brought to Kris four times a day for breast-feeding.

"I’m okay," Kris told The STAR in a very brief phone chat late yesterday afternoon. "I’m breast-feeding James (the junior) at the moment."

Kris was supposed to give birth last week of May yet but the schedule was advanced first to May 13, a day before the May 14 elections, so as not to distract her mom, former Pres. Cory Aquino, and the rest of the Aquinos. Kris’ older brother Noynoy is running for senator under the Go Team.

But the delivery schedule was again reset to April 29 to complete the 37-week pregnancy, until last Friday when Kris started experiencing continuous contraction. The doctors didn’t let Kris go home anymore and decided instead to cut her up because the baby had reportedly eaten waste matter, with the umbilical cord tied around its neck.

"Kris is in stable condition," said her doctors. She should be out of the hospital in a few days.

Through it all, Kris’s husband James Yap has been beside her. He keeps a photo of Little James in his cellphone but politely refused to forward a copy to The STAR because it might make Kris mad.

The couple is still going through a healing period two months after the controversy involving James and a woman named Hope. Due to strtess, Kris suffered a "spotting" and risked losing her baby, prompting her doctors to ask her to go on maternity leave from her two ABS-CBN shows, The Buzz and Pilipinas Game KNB? in which Edu Manzano has taken her place.

Like Little James who came too early, Kris might return to work last week of May or first week of June, three weeks ahead of schedule.