The gift of life
Our little girl turns two today. It seems like only yesterday that I first found out I was pregnant with her. I had no inkling at first that I was expecting, since I am used to having “delayed” periods. I would get really, really tired, but I thought it was just because we were in the midst of our “conference season,” back-to-back conferences between May to November in Timor. When I started experiencing pain whenever Tim, our eldest, would breastfeed, I thought it was normal. Little did I know that all these were symptoms that I was preggy!
Hubby, Rysse and I at the hospital in Timor Leste
When I finally took a pregnancy test and found out I WAS pregnant, hubby and I were ECSTATIC! We had actually been using the Billings Ovulation Method in the hopes of conceiving a girl, and 7 months later, we found out that the baby in my tummy was INDEED a girl! What a blessing!
We decided to name her Alyssa Therese, so we could call her “Rysse” for short. Her Kuya’s complete name is Timothy Alan, or “Tim” for short, and we wanted their names to reflect being Timorese (what the people in Timor are called) since they were both born in Timor. Alyssa comes from hubby’s mom’s name “Alicia,” and Therese from my mom’s name “Teresita;” also from St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
Holding 1-day-old Rysse
I must admit now that with this second pregnancy, I was less cautious and OC (obsessive-compulsive) with doing things “right” than with my first. I didn’t drink as much milk as I should have, I didn’t take my pre-natal vitamins as regularly as needed, I didn’t get as much sleep and rest as I did with Tim.
I was always “on the go,” especially during the months before giving birth, since we were preparing for CFC Timor Leste’s first ever Pro-Life Month. We had a guest speaker coming all the way from Human Life International in the US, and activities in Dili and the nearby districts (provinces in Philippine terms). I was the Head of CFC’s Pro-Life Ministry at the time, so I was on top of all the preparations.
I was due to give birth on July 22, which fell on the week after the busy weeks of our Pro-Life activities. However, our little baby, our precious Rysse, decided that it was time to come out on July 5, right after our “kick-off” activity for the Pro-Life month, CFC Timor’s 1st Pro-Life Rally.
I had spent almost the whole day on my feet, making sure everything was in place, despite hubby’s and my mom’s protests and warnings. On our way home from the Rally, I was already experiencing some back pain, which I attributed to fatigue. However, when the pain wouldn’t go away, I told my husband to bring me to the hospital. “Anyway, if it’s a false alarm, we can always go back home,” I even told him.
You can guess how surprised we were when the midwife who checked me at the hospital said (in Tetum, the local language there) that I was 6cm dilated! Rysse was all ready to come out into the world! And not a moment too soon, it seems her umbilical cord was twisted around her neck!
Rysse was hospitalized after birth for sepsis, UTI and jaundice.
Rysse’s birth was less “documented” than Tim’s (i.e. we don’t have a video of her coming out). My mom was too nervous and forgot that she was the assigned camerawoman (we love you po, Ma!). Nonetheless, Rysse was received into the world with much love and hope. I gave birth to her naturally, 100% painkiller-free, just like Tim, and once again, I was amazed at how a woman’s body is really created to nurture and “produce” life.
Newborn Rysse being cleaned
It’s been two years since then. Our little girl is growing up fast, and she’s changed from a signing, babbling wobbly-on-her-two-feet toddler into a talkative “little lady” who never fails to make her Papa’s heart melt, and her Mama’s heart break whenever she has to leave her behind.
Our little lady
Rysse loves babywearing her doll, just like I love wearing her!
She shows her love for her Kuya Tim in the sweetest of ways, and complete strangers have even come up to us, asking for permission to photograph her! People say they love seeing her pictures on Facebook, because “just seeing her smile makes us happy.”
Tim shows newborn Rysse some brotherly love!
Rysse returns the favour at almost two years old. Hehe.
More than all these though, I am so grateful to God for using Rysse as a living reminder of the gift of LIFE. Born at the height of her Mama’s pro-life “career” (if you can call it that!) in Timor, Rysse is truly a gift of LIFE from the Giver of life Himself.
Papa’s princess, Rysse
Happy, happy birthday our dearest Baba Girl! (That’s her nickname now, her Papa gave it to her. Incidentally, Baba in Afrikaans means “Baby,” according to our missionary friends who’ve been to South Africa.) You are a blessing to the whole world! We love you very much!
Rysse, you are well-loved the world over, but especially in Timor Leste! Here Rysse is with her “Maun” Nelson and “Maun” Aleixo, our youth missionaries in Timor. (Maun is Tetum for “Kuya.”
