I just can't believe it. My son is one. When I was pregnant, we thought Gabriel was a girl for sure. But I was certainly carrying my belly much differently than when I was pregnant with Aitana. Plenty of people guessed boy and I thought it would be hysterical to prove them wrong. But, we had thought Aitana was a boy, and we were very wrong, so we fully expected to be wrong this time. Sure enough, this time around, it was a boy! We were (and still are) thrilled! That very day Kinwa and I went to lunch and it was there that we decided his name was to be Gabriel Jude Ghing-Jun. Perfect.Fast forward and one week ago today, we celebrated his birthday. I'm not sure who said this could happen so quickly. One year went by faster than I had hoped. I can hardly remember when I was doing one year ago today, but I do know what I was doing a one year and one week ago.
I'd been having contractions for a few weeks. My doctor said I needed to take it easy, drink water, keep my feet up, don't pick up Aitana (haha, yeah right). It didn't matter, the contractions still came. The ob didn't even want to check me because I had a scheduled c-section. I'm sure if Gabriel had a smaller head, he would have come sooner than Aitana did, but alas, another child who didn't seem to want to move down into the birth canal.
On the morning of June 3 I was having level 10 painful contractions. These made me fall to the ground, so I rested and waited for my mom to get off work. Throughout the day I had more level 10 doozies and my cousin Angela (Gabriel's godmother) took me to the hospital. Luckily this time Kinwa was working near the hospital this time and not in San Diego again. The nurse told me it was too early to have the baby, but she would check with the doctor. I was 38 weeks and 4 days, same exact gestation date as when Aitana was born. She came out big and healthy, so I was sure he would too. After endless days of contractions, 4 hospital visits, many hours away from Aitana and 1 cm later, I finally found a nurse and doctor who would believe and take pity on me. Luckily the doctor on call was the same one as when I had been there a few nights before. She new I had been just MAYBE a fingertip at that time and now was 1 full cm. The nurse believed the amount of pain I was in and they together decided there was no point in keeping me that way. I began to cry knowing that very very shortly I would have my baby boy in my arms. Of course they made me wait a little bit to make sure the lunch I had earlier was digested. But it was a short wait.
At 7:22 pm on June 3, Gabriel Jude Ghing-Jun was born. He had a bit of trouble breathing when he came out, but that was soon fixed. He was 7lbs, 9oz, which we were surprised by because Aitana was significantly bigger! But no matter what, he was healthy and beautiful. And the best part is that he looks like me (mostly)!
Since that day, Gabriel has brought such joy to our lives. He is not only a beautiful boy, but has a fabulous personality. He's not quite as exuberant as his sister, but is just as pleasant. For the most part, he is a mellow boy. Doesn't have much to say - he observes more than anything. He is a terrible flirt with a contagious laugh ... it sounds like a deep man laugh. Instead of trying to talk, he has this look that he'll give you that tells you he knows ... he just knows. He is very sensitive, if you speak sternly to him, he cries. If someone is crying, he'll go up to them and give his charming smile that tells you all will be OK. But my favorite part is that he is often mischievous. He conjures up so much mischief it's not even funny and be cause he's little and quiet, he thinks he can get away with it! And his latest tick is purposely trying to be funny and make us laugh.
I love my little sonny boy. He is such an awesome little guy. He will let almost anyone hold him and everyone who does asks if they can take him home with them! But I'm not letting this one go. He's quite the catch and I think I'll keep him.
I love you Gabriel Jude and Happy 1st Birthday! I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for us and I'm looking forward to watching you grow!
