DINGDONG and Marian (center) with Baby Zia
Being an only child, Marian Rivera has always wanted to have a big family. And the actress didn’t seem to be kidding when she giddily revealed that she wanted to have as many as five children.
This, despite her tough experience giving birth for the first time to daughter Maria Letizia—it took 18 hours and involved a whole lot of crying. “Go pa!” Marian told reporters at a press conference. “Friends have been teasing us to hurry up with the next.”
But before she and husband, Dingdong Dantes, actively try for another baby, the GMA 7 star said she first wants to make sure that she has devoted enough time on Zia (her firstborn). “I want to focus on her. I’m afraid that if I get pregnant so soon, I wouldn’t be able to take care of her well,” Marian said, adding that a two-year gap would be preferable.
According to Marian, it almost pains her to leave baby Zia, whom she described as “jolly and giggly.” “I’m a very hands-on mom,” she said. “I bathe her, feed her, play with her, tuck her into bed—everything. And when I have to go to work, I leave her only with my mother or grandmother.”
“I haven’t given her (infant) formula so far in three months. I try my best to breastfeed, even if it turned out to be more difficult than I expected. But I don’t mind because I know it will make her healthier… I’m willing to make sacrifices,” she added. “That’s why every day, I eat something with malunggay in it!”
A miracle
But the reward is priceless. Simply holding and looking at Zia, Marian said, make her and Dong emotional. “We’re so lucky to have been blessed with a child. It’s a miracle. I feel complete,” she related. “We have been looking forward to this moment since we got married.”
Zia, who was born last November, was christened last Valentine’s Day at the St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish in Makati City.
As per Marian’s request to Dong, the event was kept intimate, attended only by family, close friends and godparents—including Sen. Grace Poe.
The 31-year-old celebrity mom stressed: “All the godparents we chose are people whom we think could stand as second parents to our child if we’re not around.”
While she needs to go back to work soon, Marian, who’s set to host a talk show and star as Ynang Reyna in the remake of the fantasy series “Encantadia,” admitted to feeling a little halfhearted about it—she loves her job, but Zia is her priority.
“That’s why I’m so grateful to my home network, which has taken those things into consideration. My load wouldn’t be so heavy and I’ll have a cutoff time, so I can still take care of my baby,” Marian said.
E-mail apolicarpio@inquirer.com.ph