That Big Head

Boys will be boys. So the saying goes.

And what is it that boys actually do? Let's see if I can remember as much as I think I can.

Back in the Philippines, we had an electric fan. A small desk fan with plastic blades and rather standard sized grills. Jakjak was just a year and a half old (I'm guessing here). While the fan was dwindling down after being turned off, he stuck his finger in. It rattled a bit and we only saw his arm retracting back to where it had been previously. "Ouch", he said.

There was this time that we were sitting patiently at Food Republic in Suntec while looking around waiting for a seat. Jakjak was just a little more than 3 years old, and he was sat beside a candelabra lit with a standard incandescent bulb. Curious, he touched the bulb and all we heard after that was a swoosh. His hand flew out of the candelabra faster than how it went in, and then a small squeal, "ouch", he said.

When he was 5 years old, he had a Valkyrie. That's a Robotech toy, a jet that can transform into a walker and then a robot. It was one of those Japanese culture unique super deformed toys. This one, however, had tires that could be removed (but shouldn't). One day, there was supposed to be 2 tires, but there was only 1. When we asked him where it was, he said he put it in his nose. We did not want to believe that he would do that to himself (we taught him better - or so we thought). Since mum did not want to take chances, she brought him to the doctor. But the local doctor was not fit to remove the tire from his tiny nostril, so he had to be sent to a specialist children's hospital. True enough, they plucked the tire out of his nose (after knocking him out with some sleeping gas).

Recently, he had been in and out and down and under the shelves at a shop in the mall. He always does this, to hide inside the clothes hanging on the racks so we paid him no mind. He soon stuck his head between two rails holding the shelf up. "Mum, I'm stuck". When we found him, his head was under the shelf with his body dangling out from the opposite side. "Mum, I'm stuck. Really!". And as we tried plucking him out, we found out that his big head was indeed stuck between the rails. While trying to get him out, we caught the attention of a couple who were probably thinking "what in the world are those three blokes doing?". A few nudges and pulls later, we decided to do it the other way around and push him in further. Luckily, his body was small enough to fit further in and he managed to get on the shelf and slide out from the side of it.

Oh yes, the things that little boys do.

Christmas Real | 2006

Jakjak's very first Christmas was spent at the hospital's Neo Natal ICU. We celebrated it with only ourselves and the nurses that were on duty that night.

One year after and Jakjak has come home. Celebrating his first real Christmas with the whole family. Being too young to understand what the whole event was all about, he spent his happy moments ripping the wrappers off gifts and sticking them on himself using some left over tape.

Of course, for me and Judy, it meant more than just gifts and Noche Buena. It meant thanksgiving most of all, because we were given the best gift of all. And I believe that He did not just give Jakjak to us because we wanted him so much, but because we earned the right to be Jakjak's parents during the most difficult times of his life. A life that we now share at every moment, be it near or far from each other.

On Christmas morning, we opened our gifts, we visited our relatives and we greeted each other with warm Christmas wishes. Jakjak showed his appreciation for his gifts by giving everyone his bestest smile and his infectious laughter. And so it was that Jakjak's first real Christmas was a simple and heartfelt moment of thanks.

Labour Day | 2005

February 14. Valentine's Day. Everyone is excited for, then "Mum and Dad's Baby". All four grandparents are ready with camera in hand and smiles passed around for everyone. The delivery room door opens ever so slowly (like in the movies) and the doctor comes out with a smile on his face as he removes his face mask. 

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Unfortunately, that's not Jakjak's moment of birth. Although the doctor gave an estimate that Jakjak will be born on the 14th of February, he was too excited and came out two months earlier. Do the math and we come to Jakjak's birthday, the 24th of November. Born via C-section at a featherweight 811 grams. Of course, all this to the shock of mum and dad who were not expecting him until his due date.

Yes, Jakjak was a premature baby boy at only 28 weeks. He was so fragile that he had to be in Neonatal Intensive Care as soon as he got out. From day 1, he was strong as an ox and stubborn as a bull. From the doctors' and nurses' point of view, he was a pretty good fighter and they told me that his chances for recovery were quite big. Of course, they all could have just told me that because I was the father of a ti-nee-tiny baby boy who was as thin as bones. Add to that the fact that this was our first baby. And also probably because my sister was a nurse at the NICU facility in Asian Hospital back then.

Believe me. For a first time dad, seeing your first-born in that state of helplessness is not the best memory of your baby's childhood.