Elementary School Lessons

Exactly six years ago on a rainy July afternoon, a Friday the 13th, I was on my way to the children’s hospital where I am scheduled to give birth to my second child, a son we would later on named Julian. I remember my husband and only child then, Ate who was almost 6, accompanying me to the hospital. When I was wheeled in to the labor room where they attached me to a machine that will monitor my contractions, they went home to husband’s family’s house a few minutes away from the hospital.

Ate was scheduled to sleep there since we didn’t have a maid.

I was lying on a bed, watching the monitors with numbers recording my contractions. I specifically requested the doctor, a high-risk ob-gyne doctor, to have my ceasarian operation on July 14, which is incidentally my birthday too.

I wanted to share this special day with my son. Since I have no choice but to go the CS way, I thought I would make my childbirth extra special. It had to be CS because the son was in a transverse position. It was already late when hubby came back and I was then back into my room. Poor Ate, she wanted to be with us and was crying and she refused to sleep in Grandma’s house.

For every check-up that I had, for every ultrasound that was done, she was with me all the way, until the very minute I was about to give birth so I can just imagine her wanting to be with me.

I was brought to the delivery room very early the next day. I prayed to the Lord to give me strength to go through this childbirth and that my son would turn out to be fine and healthy. I was still awake when they were cutting me up. I even heard a nurse exclaim “Ang laki!” when they got my son. I heard his first cry then they gave him to me after he was washed. His cry must have been one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. Oh, how wonderful it was to feel him, to smell his lovely smell. When he was roomed-in with me after a few hours, I can say that he is the most adorable baby boy I have ever seen. He has to be, he is our son!

Now he would be turning six years old in a few hours and a lot has changed. He refuses to be called baby boy. He is growing up to be a responsible and thoughtful little man. He has lost a tooth. He is being schooled at home and taught by us. He can chat to relatives through his YM account. He even had his first post in our homeschooling blog. All I can say for now is, “Thank you God for this blessing of having the son in our life.”