Chris Tiu welcomes baby Amanda to the world
The now celebrity dad shares stories, pictures of his—and wife Clarisse’s—newborn for the first time
CHRIS Tiu is now a daddy.
The basketball superstar and his wife Clarisse just gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Amanda Claire, earlier this month. The bundle of joy weighed 8.2 lbs when she was born through normal delivery.
“It’s a feeling that I’ve never felt before. It was surreal. It was overwhelming joy. As if my heart wanted to melt,” Chris told the Inquirer in an exclusive interview.
The celebrity TV host was inside the delivery room when his wife was giving birth, cheering her on. The labor was quite long, Chris said, but the pushing lasted for only about 20 minutes.
Chris recalled the first time he saw the baby’s head come out. His first thought was: “Oh my God, it’s real! What we’ve been waiting for for the last nine months. Our baby is here!”
Chris admits he cried tears of joy upon seeing and holding baby Amanda for the first time. In an Instagram post he uploaded right after her birth, he said that “no achievement, no accomplishment could ever, can make me any happier.”
Baby Amanda put the first time parents to work even before she came to the world. Chris said they cleared out an area in their house, which used to be a guest room, and converted it into a nursery. Chris also helped Clarisse shop for the baby’s things, but said it was the latter who had the last say of what things to get or not to get.
The entrepreneur was grateful for the generosity of their families, who continue to give them baby stuff. Because baby Amanda is the first grand child both in Chris and Clarisse’s side, every one was really excited to welcome the baby.
Before Clarisse went for the ultrasound session that revealed the sex of the baby, the couple wasn’t really concerned about the result.
“As long as the baby is healthy and normal, that’s all that mattered to us. The gift of life is the best blessing that God could ever shower us with. But I’m actually happy we have a girl. I’m sure she’ll take care of us when we get old,” Chris said.
As to what kind of dad he think he would be, Chris thinks he would be on the strict side, the disciplinarian, primarily because Amanda would have lots of uncles, aunts, and grandparents who would surely “spoil” her to pieces.
Chris doesn’t want Amanda to grow up “spoiled.” What he wants is to impart the values of having a close family; being disciplined, and being hardworking.
“We’ll try to not make her feel very entitled. My wife and I agree that we will remind our kids that what’s more important in life than having achievements is that you become a good person. So I guess, we will try to encourage her to get into music, sports, and arts,” he said.
Chris said he’s pretty hands-on, too, when it comes to being a dad. He helps out wherever he can, especially because he knows that breastfeeding, even when you’re just sitting down, is exhausting for Clarisse. Right now, his primary task is to make the baby burp after breastfeeding. That happens almost every hour.
Chris makes sure baby Amanda gets a dose of sunlight in the morning. He also puts the baby to sleep, thanks in part for his skill in singing lullabies.
“I’m so amazed that babies really do like the rocking motion. When she starts crying, all I do is gently rock her and she starts to quiet down and fall asleep. Totoo pala ito!” said Chris.
As to whether being a dad may affect his career choices, Chris is pretty sure there would be an impact. Even now, he tries to lessen his commitments so he could have more time at home. And even when he’s at work, he tries not to tire himself too much because he knows he needs the energy for when he goes home.
But that doesn’t mean he’ll be dropping out of the limelight anytime soon. For Chris, it’s a matter of being more selective with the projects he chooses. He knows that what he needs to do is to select the ones he loves the most or feel most passionately about so he can have the ideal balance between personal life and work.
These days, to say that Chris is busy would be an understatement. He still plays in the PBA, which is very demanding because of training every day. Chris also hosts “IBILIB,” a weekly infotainment show, as well as another lifestyle show.
Chris is also an accomplished entrepreneur, involved in advertising and food. Some brands that many might be familiar with are Happy Lemon and Eric Kayser.
“My wife is also has a store called Urban Pantry in Promenade, Greenhills. And I’m also helping out as a barangay kagawad. And then the foundation work which is KARIS Foundation. We have a lot of yearly projects for the development of young leaders,” he said. Didn’t wemention he was a busy guy? When Chris started receiving “Happy Father’s Day” greetings, it felt a bit unusual. That’s because he is used to being the one who greets the patriarch in their family during the occasion. But now, he receives the same greetings as well.
“This experience also makes me appreciate more the goodness and greatness of our fathers and our God. The last few months, I’ve also learned to appreciate mothers more because of the physical and emotional rollercoasters they go through. Very thankful and proud of my wife for doing an excellent job,” said Chris.
Chris admits he takes a million photos of baby Amanda every day. He wants to document her development as much as he can.
He said: “You don’t get to welcome your first baby very often. Having a baby also made my relationship with my wife so much healthier. Because for the longest time, it was just me and her. Now, we welcome a new member to the family. It teaches us to be self-giving, to be more patient. Ultimately, to become better people.”