Dawn of a Glorious Day

BREAKING NEWS: At press time yesterday, Dawn Zulueta sent the following text message to Conversations:

Ultrasound last Wednesday shows we’re expecting a boy between Nov. 26 and Dec. 9. I saw his profile for the first time and watched him open and close his mouth, as if swallowing.

Like all expectant mothers, Dawn – along with her husband, Anton Lagdameo – is excited about the arrival of the baby, maybe more so because it’s their first-born.

"I can hardly wait for that glorious day," says Dawn.

It has taken Dawn and Anton more than seven years to have a baby. For a while, they thought they’d never have one.

It’s a difficult pregnancy so Dawn is extra careful.

Until two weeks ago when Conversations dropped by the Lagdameos’ home in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City, the doctor had been closely monitoring Dawn, stopping her from flying to Davao City, her new home, because it might be bad for her and the baby.

According to celebrity photographer Richard Chen, during the pictorial he didn’t make Dawn move too much and simply let her sit pretty while, at some point, caressing her growing tummy.

She should ever be more careful on the set of GMA 7’s Encantadia, her second soap since she broke her six-year "leave" from showbiz after she and Anton got married on Dec. 27, 1997; her first was Forevermore in which she co-starred with former boyfriend Richard Gomez and ex-sweethearts Regine Velasquez and Ariel Rivera.

"My character has been in and out of the soap," said Dawn. "Now, they’re asking me to come back. It’s a good thing that I’ve passed the crucial period of my pregnancy."

Her pregnancy should put to rest quiet rumors that her and Anton’s marriage was "shaky" all because Dawn suddenly returned to showbiz, a world she willingly turned her back on to, she said, "start an entirely different life" away from the limelight.

The couple just came back from their annual US holiday when they received the good news that they’ll be parents soon.

So how are you into your fourth month of pregnancy?

"I’m now out of the critical period."

What do you mean critical period?

"The first trimester was the most critical. Thank God, I’m over that already. Now that I’m on my fourth month, things are more stable now. Medyo relaxed na ako."

Do you experience difficult pregnancy?

"I have this problem with my immune system; it has something to do with my auto-antibodies which were attacking the fetus in the early stage of my pregnancy."

It’s your first time to get pregnant, isn’t it?

"Well, I got pregnant once but I suffered a miscarriage. Come to think of it, that wasn’t really a real pregnancy; it was more of a chemical pregnancy. It happened when I was having my fertility work-up. According to the doctor, it really happens. Your body mimics a pregnancy. I tested positive but after a week, I suffered a miscarriage."

Are you having the usual symptoms?

"I’m starting to experience them only now. I’m always sleepy, feeling fatigued. Even then, I’m enjoying my pregnancy so much."

Are you infanticipating?

"A bit. Whatever I want to eat, I must have it. One week, I wanted to eat only squid – adobong pusit. Now, I want only mashed potato."

How’s Anton taking it?

"Oh, he enjoys it, especially now na may kasama na siyang kumakain. He’s gaining more weight."

How long did you and Anton wait for this happy event?

"Seven years! Wow, it took us this long! By the time we celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary on Dec. 27, we will already have our baby. I’m giving birth between late November and early December."

Why did it take you so long to get pregnant?

"I don’t know; we don’t know. Imagine, we’ve been trying and trying...I even had a fertility work-up. There’s nothing wrong with me naman; neither is there anything wrong with Anton. Wrong timing, maybe."

Are you expecting a boy or a girl?

"Well, we’re waiting. It’s too early for an ultrasound to detect whether it’s a boy or a girl. Three more weeks and we’ll know. Oh yes, I want to know so that we can prepare everything."

Have you prepared any names?

"Not yet. We’re researching pa."

Is the baby made in New York?

"Yes. We were there in March for our usual vacation, for one month. We usually go there during winter para malamig. Anton has a family there; they have a place there. His sister lives there with her family. His cousins are also there, so everytime we go there we kind of have a reunion."

It dispels the rumor, whispered around, that not all is well in your marriage?

"Oh, is there such a rumor? I’m not aware of it. I don’t know where it’s coming from. Maybe it’s the usual speculation. Ganoon lang siguro."

The seven-year itch?

"Oh, we haven’t experienced that. I guess that rumor started to be, as you said, ‘whispered around’ because of my decision to go back to work. Some people must have started wondering, ‘Why is she back at work? Why does she suddenly have time?’ You know. But, wow, it’s far from the truth. Anton and I are so much together."

So why did you come back? Did you get bored?

"Yes, I did. I did get bored. I was climbing walls. You see, we wanted so much to have a family and I couldn’t get pregnant. But since we didn’t have a baby – yet – and I’ve gotten used to my wifely duties, the house is in order...everything is going well...what else is there to do? I keep myself busy. I join mga bazaars kapag Christmas."

Are you active in the Davao social scene?

"Oh yes, I am. Also, with socio-civic projects. This year, Anton is going to be inducted as president of the Davao Rotary Club. Anton is busy with their plantation...with their family’s agriculture business. We have livelihood programs; we’re helping certain barangays. I’m active with the Davao Beautiful Foundation, I’m supporting the Women Against Violence Group."

So you’re really a Davaoeña now.

"Yes. Davao is my home now. I come to Manila only for work. When I have a taping, I stay for a week or two and then I go back home to Davao."

So how has your life been so far as Mrs. Anton Lagdameo?

"I love it! After we got married, I got out of showbiz because I wanted to concentrate on being a wife. It’s a totally new experience for me. Besides, I was tired of working. How many years na ba was I working so hard? Finally, now that I’m married, I couldn’t imagine myself following that kind of crazy schedule. I wanted a change of pace, a new life; I had to adjust to a whole new world. And I did that. It took me all of five years. Like I said, when I finally got everything in order, I know what it takes to be a wife and the kids were not coming yet, and I was getting bored and climbing walls, I told Anton, ‘I want to go back to work.’ And he said, ‘Why not?’"

It’s good that Anton is supportive of you.

"Well, the only thing he doesn’t like is the fact that sometimes I’m away from home."

But not for long periods...

"...But with us, one week is too long already."

How did you adjust to the laid-back Davao lifestyle?

"I love it! It was easy for me; it didn’t take me long. I was looking forward to a laid-back kind of life, a change from the harassed kind of life in showbiz. Walang tulog, walang kain. Everything that I had always wanted but I couldn’t do due to lack of it, I was able to do, like sewing and baking and cooking."

Have you blended into the Lagdameo clan – and vice-versa?

"Oh yes, I have. Anton is the eldest of seven children. He comes from a big family. Me, we’re only two children in the family; I’m the older. It took me three years to grasp the whole idea of...okay, this is married life pala. Suddenly, I was a member of a very big family. It took for me to memorize all their names, what the business of each and everyone was, what everybody was doing...who is the cousin of who, who is the father of who, and so on and so forth."

You come from a smaller family.

"Relatively. My mother is Palestinian but she was raised in the Philippines. It was my grandfather who was pure Palestinian."

I wonder, how did Anton court you?

"We started as barkada; mga common friends lang. We used to go out as a group. I didn’t know na may gusto na pala siya sa akin. Kaya lang, he couldn’t go near me because at that time, I was always attached, palagi akong may boyfriend. Besides, he wasn’t staying here; he was based in London working for his grandfather. Everytime I broke up with my boyfriend, Anton would be in London so hindi siya makasingit. When he finally came home one Christmas, I was attached again. Of course, I came to know all this when he told me after we got married."

And finally...

"...And finally, he was here when I again broke up with my boyfriend."

You complement each other...

"...I think so. We both like entertaining. We like people; I’m outgoing but he’s even more so. He was practically raised abroad."

So you are not a lady of leisure in Davao.

"I could be if I wanted to but who’d want to be like that? How boring! I want to explore new things. There was this other side of my life that I wanted to discover. And I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to do it."

So you’re now on maternity leave?

"Sort of. Between now and October, I’ll be moving between Manila and Davao. But on the seventh month, I’ll have to stay in Manila because I’m giving birth here."

How soon after giving birth will you go back to work?

"Not so soon. I want to enjoy my baby. I’ll be a nursing mom. But the moment puede nang iwanan ang baby sa yaya, I’ll be back to work na."

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