Unlike most first-time moms, Andi wasn’t the type who bought all the pregnancy and parenting books and researched on the Internet to be fully armed before giving birth. She banked on growing up as the eldest of five kids and took a class on breastfeeding to inform her and gain a support group. The conscientious and organized Andi prepared an Excel sheet for what was necessary like wet wipes, cotton, a few tie-sides and onesies. She was, however, more afraid of giving birth.

The night before she delivered, Andi still watched a movie with her siblings despite experiencing back pains, which continued on, thus signaling to her that she was already in labor. At the hospital, she received an epidural (“it’s the best drug ever!”) and waited to fully dilate until the next morning, when she only pushed a mere three times to deliver her beautiful baby Olivia into the world. “It was so easy. After that, I said, ‘I can have more kids.’ I was so scared [of giving birth], I was praying. It was an answered prayer,”she recalls.

Andi hasn’t been back at work since giving birth, so can she still see herself working? “Radio is just three hours—but I know leaving Olivia for three hours is already hard!” she admits and, addressing her baby, jokes, “You have to be asleep for three hours!’ Turning serious, she adds, “The first six months is important for me also. Maybe I’ll go back when she’s crawling or more independent.”

Family affair

Growing up in a tightly-knit family, Andi says there’s only one lesson she learned from her parents that she wants to pass on to Olivia. “It’s the fear of God. My mom, when we were young, forced us to go to church. Even if we were sakit sa ulo [headaches], she still instilled that and always prayed for us. And I’m thankful for that.” Every morning, Andi reads Bible verses to Olivia, holds her hand and prays with her. “Slowly, GP is kind of doing the same so it’s becoming like a family thing. I think, with that, everything will follow.”

It seems as if many good things will be following Olivia, arguably the Philippines’ most famous baby on social media. As of press time, @oliviamreyes on Instagram has 35,300 followers and #convoswitholivia, a hashtag that dad GP started for posts of imagined conversations where he often pokes fun at himself, is a popular search. How did it start exactly, and which came first, the hashtag or the account? “I don’t know…” Andi says. “It was just me and GP posting because we wereso happy.”

Andi’s sister Isabella started and manages the account but Andi herself is glad to know that their little bundle of joy can bring happiness to others, too. Olivia is recognized when she is at the mall, even without Andi, while others come up to Andi to say that looking at Olivia’s pictures is a stress reliever. A mother even told her that her misbehaving children would stop when she would show them Olivia’s pictures. “It’s nice to know that somehow, that’s her effect on people. It’s not because we want her to have endorsements. We’re just so happy and we want to share it with people.”