"Im going to breastfeed her, so she has to be close," says her mom Angela, who was sitting up in bed the afternoon I visited mother and daughter. She looked none the worse after her Caesarian, and was savoring a bite from a bar of Food for the Gods. It was the first time she took in solid food in 48 hours.
She was rushed to the hospital at 8 a.m. Monday, four hours after her water bag burst.
"I have a high tolerance for pain," confides Angela, "I wasnt screaming or kicking even when the contractions hurt."
Angela was expecting a normal delivery. But since her water bag burst and the baby wasnt engaged in the birth canal as yet, Dr. Greg Pastorfide decided to perform a Caesarian on her by 9 p.m. Monday night. "Otherwise, bacterial infection would have set in," Angela pointed out.
Angela says she was awake as Dr. Pastorfide performed the Caesarian on her. "I felt a lot of action in my stomach, but no pain," she recalls.
"The baby was out in 10 minutes," recalls Angela. In the recovery room a few hours later, she called for her sister Rose.
"Please hold my hand," she asked Rose. At that time, Angelas husband Mikey was in San Francisco, as he was not expecting her to give birth just yet. Her mother Charito was also in the US. Angelas sister Emilie Yupangco spent the night in the hospital with her.
Despite hourly calls from Mikey and seven bouquets (three on Monday night and four on Tuesday) accompanied by "I love yous" dictated via long distance to the florist, Angela felt alone and lonely in the wee hours after her delivery.
She has thick wavy black hair that clung to her head like a bonnet. Angelas aunt Linda Morelos said the baby has GMAs upturned nose.
"The cheeks are Mikeys but the chin is definitely Angelas," added Rose.
Mikaela has a dimple in the right cheek, just like Angela.
She has even installed a small Zen water fountain in Mikaelas nursery to help relax the baby.
Angela also is determined to lose the 50 pounds she has gained during her pregnancy in the next couple of months.
If Mikaela remains as good-natured and well-behaved in the next few weeks as she was on her first day in this world, Angela wont be having sleepless nights. Her baby seems to have the disposition of an angel.
(You may e-mail me at peopleasia@qinet.net