Just a note, after about 12hours of labor, I gave birth to Issen, or Constantine Keith for short last November 2, 2006 at around 1:55pm. He was 6.6lbs and 47cms. I had a normal delivery but it was a difficult one since his umbilical cord was coiled around his neck twice. I'm home now but Issen has to stay at the hospital until Thursday, Nov9. He is still under observation as he ingested a small amount of feces. he's doing okay now, don't worry , but he has to stay just to be sure.

Here's one of his first pics: (Click here to view more)

Our angel... HE got his daddy's scowl and his mommy's eyes...
And here are a couple of videos, one is about a few hours after his birth and the other 2 days later... Don't worry, they load pretty fast...

I'll be posting the complete story about my delivery soon so don't forget to come back and check once in a while...

Thanks for your prayers!

I'm not a very religious person, but I am spiritual.

As I continuously prepare for Issen's arrival, who decided to stay in my tummy until God knows when (more about that later), I came upon this prayer to a certain St. Gerard Majella, the patron saint of expectant mothers. And I'm sharing it to everyone...

O great Saint Gerard, beloved servant of Jesus Christ, perfect imitator of your meek and humble Savior, and devoted child of Mother of God, enkindle within my heart one spark of that heavenly fire of charity which glowed in your heart and made you an angel of love.

O glorious Saint Gerard, because when falsely accused of crime, you did bear, like your Divine Master, without murmur or complaint, the calumnies of wicked men, you have been raised up by God as the patron and protector of expectant mothers.

Preserve me from danger and from the excessive pains accompanying childbirth, and shield the child which I now carry, that it may see the light of day and receive the purifying and life-giving waters of baptism through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

*~_~*~_~*

Mr. Frost and I went to the OB last Monday, Oct30, for another check up. Another IE revealed that my cervix is only 2cm dilated. My progress is proving to be slow. I wasn't surprised when the OB prescribed a couple of meds to help me dilate faster. With those meds, she assured me that Issen will see the light of day within the week. The waiting game is extended.

I was so paranoid the whole day yesterday, observing every little thing I feel in my uterus. The contractions are there, but they're all painless. The OB said to wait for the painful ones as they are the sign that my dilation has progressed. Sure enough, I felt one of those contractions late last night. But that's it. Just one and nothing followed.

Today, Nov1, I plan to do my grocery as I learned that SM Makati will be open at noon till nine in the evening. I just hope our prayers will be answered and I won't give birth on this day. Hopefully, as well, my trip to the mall will help Issen descend further down my pelvis and actually bring on contractions, as mentioned by WhatToExpect.Com. (Click the image for a better view.)

Oh well, right now, I'm just resigned to the fact that Issen will be here in a few days. And no matter how hard we hope and pray, if Issen is destined to start terrorizing humanity with his cuteness on the dreaded day of November 1st, then there's nothing we can do about it.

And seriously, I came to realize that it doesn't matter at all what day Issen will come out. What matters is he come out safely, healthy, and normally.

So... what was the prayer again?