Megan Young and Mikael Daez open up about their experience welcoming their first child, Leon. In the latest episode of their podcast, the couple recounted the days of anticipation leading up to the arrival of their baby.
Megan’s initial due date was May 18, but the day came and went without any sign of labor.
"So, my initial due date was May 18, 2025. And days leading up to that, I was already thinking every single day, is this the day? Am I gonna give birth? As in literally two weeks before my due date, I was already telling Fofo (Mikael's nickname), is today the day? Is today the day? And that day was never the day," Megan relayed.
Mikael shared his own surprise when progress seemed stalled. "Bonez (Megan's nickname) was 1 cm dilated like three weeks earlier, three weeks before her due date. So ako akala ko tuluy-tuloy na 'yan, hindi pala... She's still at 1 cm [on her due date]."
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On May 19, a day after her due date, the couple went to the hospital. "The first thing that we had to do was get your ultrasound. So we got the ultrasound and ito ang I guess for me this was the start of the birthing process at least in my mind," Mikael recalled.
Megan explained why the ultrasound was essential. "It lets the doctor check how is the baby in the sack, how much amniotic fluid you also have, so that they can see the condition of the baby. They wanna see the heartbeat, the position para at least pagdating namin dun sa OB ko she could already decide kung ano 'yung proseso na gagawin namin."
By May 20, Megan had finally reached 10 cm dilation and was given an epidural in preparation for her delivery.
"As soon as doc May came in, my OB, she was like, 'Megan are you ready na? Ito na parating na si baby?' So once she arrived she just made sure everything was set up to her liking," the former Miss World recounted. "And then doc May prepped us na because ito nga raw parating na si baby. All of a sudden everything was fixed and she was like, 'Okay Megan on the next contraction we're going to try to push for the baby.'"
Mikael recalled: "Doc May said, 'Okay, Bonez you're going to start pushing now.' And I was like, 'Oh, wow ang bilis...' They were like, 'Okay,on the next contraction, you're going to push... We will have our doctors helping you. Also, our residents helping you. They'll also help you push.'"
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Megan described how she was guided through the pushing process. "I think she was like, 'It's like you're doing a core workout and you're pushing like you're pooping but you're also like doing a core workout... It's kind of difficult to explain, but like once you're there, I think parang may muscle memory na siya, especially if you work out."
Mikael recalled: "I remember naman what doc said: 'Sasabay tayo sa contraction. That's why we need the monitor. As soon as you start contracting, that's when I'll tell you to push and we push for 10 seconds and then we'll rest and wait for the next contraction.' She pushes. Okay. 1, 2, 10. And then the doctor said, 'Oh my god that is a great push.'"
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Mikael recalled that his wife gave birth to Leon in less than a minute. "On the second push, less than a minute into starting her pushes, Bonez finally gave birth to Leon. And then the doctor was holding Leon upside down. I was like wow ang bilis.... I wasn't prepared 'cause it was so fast... It all happened so fast, way faster than any of us expected," Mikael relayed.
Megan added: "And we weren't able to process our emotions pa. So you were kind of like 'Ha? The baby's there? In our pictures my face is literally, 'Ha ? Like the baby's there? That's our baby?' So it was kind of like a whirlwind experience for us."
Megan and Mikael have been sharing their journey as first-time parents, including their thoughts on how to riase their child.
"We're in the middle of our lives and the whole time that I have been alive, everything has always been an unknown. Nothing is certain and that doesn't really change when you have a child. It's still all unknown, you don't know how your child is going to grow up. You can hope to influence it, hope to do the right thing but ultimately, the answer is, I don't know what is going to happen," Mikael said in a previous vlog.
The actor went on: "We try our best, but we do not know and I'm okay with that. Parang I've come to accept na parang that's what life is, and we make most out of the moments na you have presently, and for everything else moving forward you do your best and try to be flexible."