Charlize Jaeden: Our Birth Story

It has been exactly three weeks since our little angel has arrived and yet I remember the events as it happened as if it was yesterday. Our saga started on the 16th of November. I knew honey would arrive home at around 3pm so I decided to wait for him to have lunch so we ended lunching at around 3:30 pm so that night I decided not to have dinner coz I was still full from the very late lunch. I was happily re-reading new moon in anticipation of watching the movie in a couple of days when I remembered to bug honey to buy our tickets online for the coming Thursday (19th of November) which was the first day of showing of New Moon here in the Netherlands. He ended up buying the tickets at around 10 pm while telling me to stop reading and to go to bed.

I was still reading at around 11pm when all of a sudden, a gush of liquid came out of me. My water broke! I immediately called honey and told him “honey, I don’t think we’ll be able to use those tickets after all, my water just broke.” My general practitioner instructed us that in case my water broke late at night or very early morning, I should sleep and call them in the morning, so I tried to sleep. However, the contractions started, at first mild but were gaining strength by the hour then at around 4 am, when I went to the toilet, there were traces of blood in my undies and so I told honey to call the midwife. When the midwife and the assistant arrived, they told us that they we’re not sure if it was really water or pee that came out of me so they said I should rest coz I might not even give birth any time soon.

So I tried to rest but no avail, the contractions started to get stronger. At around 9 am I told honey to contact the GP again and when they arrived, they checked me and told me that I was 2 cm dilated, they told me that I should just wait a while and they will come back to check on my status after a couple of hours.

At around 3pm, the GPs arrived and checked on me again. At this time I was really exhausted and I haven't eaten except for 2 pieces of bread that honey insisted I eat. After checking on me, the GPs told me that I was only 3 cm dilated so it was going really slowly. They suggested that we go to the hospital already so that I could be given morphine for the pain so that I could rest coz the labour process could be long.

Honey and I arrived at the hospital at around 4pm and when we arrived, the doctor explained to me the options for medication but that time, the pain subsided so I decided not to have any medications. However, around 8pm, the pain was already too much and I was too tired from the long labour, not to mention lack of food coz I was not able to eat anything at all (I tell you labor messes with your appetite), so I asked for medication. However, since I’m already 7cm dilated, epidural was out of the question, I was given morphine, but the medication didn’t have any effect on me so it was a long and painful labour. Honey was starting to worry about me as I writhe in bed with agony. Now I know why they call it such.

After what seemed to be an eternity of torturous pain and squishing honey’s hand that would definitely require him to undergo therapy, the doctor finally said that I was fully dilated and should push when I felt the pushing contractions come. Within half an hour of pushing, the doctor told me that I was pushing well but the heartbeat of the baby rises each time I push so they would need to make the delivery quicker by using a clamp. With a few more pushes and through the help of the clamp, our little angel was out, finally. The moment they placed her on my chest, all the pain seemed to have vanished. Honey cut her umbilical cord and he told me it was a really strange feeling, good kind of strange.

Giving birth to our little Charlie is something that I would remember for the rest of my life. I have experienced pain that I have never experienced in my whole life. But in spite of the exquisite pain, I would go through it all again just to have Charlie in our lives.

7 going for 8

I know this weblog has been neglected for so long. Ever since we got back from our vacation from Rome, things have been crazy busy at home and at work. It doesn’t help that I have to slow down my work pace so that I can teach the person whom we hired to temporarily replace me while I’m on maternity leave, which by the way is in two weeks!!! Yey!

I noticed that after I completed my 7th month of pregnancy, my tummy grew bigger and is now much heavier. It’s becoming more difficult to turn around in bed. I am grateful that I still get my much needed sleep at night.

Highlights of the 7th month:

@ Birthing classes kicked off and I’m really learning a lot. Our classes are every Thursday night and we discuss breathing, relaxation and exercise techniques that are supposed to be very helpful during D day. Our classes also touch on maternity care here in the Netherlands, common practices, stages of labor and how to cope once the baby is out. I have learned gazillion of things that I know would be very helpful when Bee is finally ready to come out. Oh and it’s a plus that our adorable birthing class instructor informed me that with the kind of health insurance that I have, I can actually claim the maternity class fees. Sweet!

@ Furniture for the nursery has finally arrived although all of them are still in boxes stashed away in the other room as we are still in the middle of repainting the nursery.

@ The wall papers in Bee’s room have already been stripped off, the walls have been cleaned and the part where the mural will be painted has been painted white for the base. Our dear friend, who agreed to do the mural, started sketching on the wall and from the first strokes that she has left on the wall I know it’s going to be perfect!

@ Honey has already had the car checked, as hubby wants to make sure that we are all safe when we’re in the car. And as Bee is coming on the dead of winter, Honey also scheduled an appointment for our heater to be checked and all sorts of preparations to make sure that when Bee comes home, it’s going to be comfy and cozy.

@ We received the maternity box from our insurance company. This is one of the benefits we get from our insurance where they will send us a box filled with baby goodies one could ever think of. Actually, I don’t even know that some of the items in the box are but I will definitely ask some of my friends here about what they are.

@ The hospital bag is taking shape. Honey and I have placed all the things that we already have (which are the basic stuff) in a bag ready to be picked up when Bee finally arrives. There are a couple of things still missing (I call these missing things as nice to haves) but Honey and I are shopping for the rest of them when my maternity leave starts. (Anyway, in theory that is still 5 weeks away from my due date).

Looking forward to:

@ completing the nursery
@ completing the birthing classes
@ Shopping! (I’ve been avoiding baby clothes shop for so long coz I might not have enough strength to not buy so much clothes for Bee)


Whew, it has been a whirlwind month for Honey, me and Bee but I’m really looking forward to the next stage. As I told Bee a couple of times, I’m so happy to be carrying her in my tummy but I also can’t wait to finally hold her in my arms.

Final Trimester Begins

I can’t believe that we’re on the final lap of our pregnancy. The last two trimesters have been pure bliss. The past six months that baby Bee has been in my tummy is a journey honey and I will cherish forever.

During these first two trimesters, honey and I have kept ourselves busy with trying to prepare as much as we can for our little angel. We have already been shopping for some of Bee’s need when she comes out. We also started researching for child care assistance so that there will be a smooth transition when I come back to work and of course we started preparing for the documents that we’ll need if and when we decide to bring someone over from Manila (and OMG, it is a tedious process). With the help of plurk and online friends, I’ve also read (and still is reading) some of the books for pregnancy and childcare that they have recommended. I’ve also contacted my health insurance and they have arranged for a child care specialist to visit me for two weeks after I’ve given birth (kraamzorg in Dutch). Honey and I also managed to secure a spot in a birthing class, finally. We also chose the colour palette for the nursery and we’ve made a list of the things that we need to buy for our baby and also for the mommy and daddy bag.

Indeed, the first two trimesters have been very busy, nonetheless fun, for honey and me. And as much as we cherish these past six months, we’re so looking forward to the last trimester of our pregnancy.

The last three months, we’ll be busy with attending the birthing classes (which starts on the 17th of September), painting the nursery, processing the papers for our nanny, shopping for all the things in our list that we haven’t bought yet, and preparing mentally and physically for the coming of our little one.

It’s undeniable that the first six months have been a blast for honey and me but I so look forward to this last trimester and ultimately the time when honey and I will be able to hold our little Bee in our arms.

5 months and getting bigger

This week marks the end of my 5th month of pregnancy and my, oh my, what a journey it has been so far. Over these past five months, I have realized more than ever how blessed I am. As I have mentioned time and time again, this has been one smooth sailing pregnancy and our little baby Bee is not giving mommy any difficulties at all, added to the fact that honey is with me all the way making these entire pregnancy a breeze…

Honey and I have read in one of the many weekly updates that we receive from fabulous pregnancy sites that Bee’s hearing us loud and clear now and this is the perfect time to start reading to her, so every night before honey and I go to sleep we read 2-3 stories from the illustrated stories of Jesus, one of the children’s books that we bought while vacationing in Manila. I’m so thrilled to receive the illustrated fairytale book that I’ve ordered online so that will be the next book we’re reading.

My baby bump is becoming more obvious now and I’m finding dresses, skirts and leggings more comfy to wear. I sometimes feel some fluttering in my tummy but I’m really not sure if that really is baby Bee moving, but honey and I are sure looking forward to the time when we’ll know that the movement is really Bee. Although I'm really not worried coz our midwife told us that my placenta is placed in such a way that it serves as a cushion so it might take a while before I can really feel the baby's movements but she assured me that when the baby's kick is strong enough, i'll definitely know it. I also noticed that my shoes are getting tighter, looks like it’s time to shop for a new pair. We also ordered a maternity belt coz I’m starting to feel my tummy getting heavier and I think I’ll need all the support that I can get.

This week we’re choosing colour palettes for the nursery that we’re preparing for the coming of our little princess. I’m leaning towards a purple and pink palette, although, the freshness of apple green seems to be a nice idea to. We’ll see what honey and I will come up with.

We are also signing up for the birthing classes being offered in Amsterdam, honey and I are really looking forward to it coz it will not only discuss breathing techniques and the process of giving birth, it is also a class specially designed for expat couples because it will discuss the technical stuff that we need to undergo like how to register the baby, how the Dutch medical system works and all sorts of information which should settle most of the questions that have been bugging since we knew we were pregnant.

Wow, I can’t believe how time flies, we’re already on the halfway mark of this pregnancy and as much as I love being pregnant, I am also excited to finally reach the end of this pregnancy and hold our little angel in my arms. We’ll get there soon enough!

Pinks & purples!

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Honey and I have so been looking forward to our scheduled ultrasound last Monday which will finally tell us if it will be dresses or pants and trousers. Surprise, surprise…. Bee is a girl!!!

To be honest I was really surprised to know that our little angel is a girl. See, since I got pregnant, I’ve dreamt like five times (or even more!) that Bee is a boy. So when the technician asked us what we think the baby will be, I immediately said boy but it was such a pleasant revelation. I knew honey preferred to have a girl, as for me I really had no preference (on the contrary, I actually wanted both!). The experience is overwhelming really!

This ultrasound also told us that everything is in order that our little daughter is perfectly healthy. The technician measured everything, her head, her heart, her spine, her tummy and everything that can be measured. I had to laugh when she measured our little girl’s feet and told us “hey, your baby has big feet.” haha, takes after her mom, I guess. Good thing we live in a place where my shoe size is readily available, unlike in Manila.

It’s so surreal to know that in a couple of months from now, we will be caring for our very own little girl. See you soon Bee, our little princess.

The Second Trimester Begins…

(baby Bee @ 11 weeks and 4days)

It’s been a smooth sailing ride for the three of us for more than three months now. I can’t believe how much joy, excitement and anticipation your daddy and I have while waiting for you to come out. I vividly recall that morning the stick finally turned blue, we almost jumped for joy. I still remember the first time we saw you on that screen, you tiny little angel, it was pure magic. And how about the first time we heard your heartbeat… oh we were ecstatic, I had tears welling in my eyes and my heart filled with so much love and yearning to finally hold you in my arms. You are the gift that we’ve been praying for, for quite a while now and now that you’re finally here, it’s so surreal, I have to pinch myself sometimes.

Now that we are embarking on the second leg of our journey, the three of us, I’m so looking forward to feeling your first kick inside my tummy, to soothe your movements with my voice and to caress my belly knowing that you’re there appreciating the touch. I can’t wait to learn if I should buy you pretty tiny little dresses, or will I be shopping for cute little shirts and shorts. There are a lot of other things that we are about to experience together and your daddy and I are looking forward to all those marvellous things.

I cannot guarantee that your daddy and I will not have doubts or fears in the coming months, for like you this is also something new to us, but if there is something that I can guarantee, that is, you are loved and will forever be loved. Hang in there our little baby Bee, mommy and daddy are patiently waiting for you.


(baby Bee @ 11 weeks and 4days)

Our Precious Gift

The past couple of weeks have been uncertain for honey and me, not the restless kind of uncertain but the type of uncertainty that nags here and there just because we didn’t know. I’ve missed my period, my last was end of January but I’ve tested a couple of weeks ago and it was negative. Honey and I were a bit disappointed but we thought, oh, well there is always the next time. I was a tad worried coz, I may have delays in my period before but not this long so I went to the doctor, I told him that I’ve missed my period for almost two months but tests turned negative and so he had some blood tests done on me. Before the weekend after consulting my doctor, I got a call from the him telling me that everything was fine with the blood test, all my hormones were ok. I was not so convinced about the results, I was thinking that it was so odd that they didn’t even recheck if I’m really pregnant or not so come Saturday (28th of March) morning, right out of bed, I decided to take another test, and what do you know?!!!




We were so thrilled that the other line finally turned blue, honey couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, and he immediately grabbed the phone and called Mama Lits. I still wasn’t convinced so I asked honey to buy me another pregnancy test and don’t tell anyone else yet until we have confirmed it. The second test turned positive again.

After having an ultrasound, we learned that we're six weeks pregnant! Oh, pure joy! I was filled with a mixture of so much excitement and happiness and a little bit of fear all at the same time. I've never felt like this before. I still can't believe it, we're finally having our little angel, our little baby Bee.