MANILA, Philippines — Former beauty queen Sandra Lemonon and her husband, former PBA player Sol Mercado, have entered a new chapter as parents after welcoming their second child, Zaliyah Joie Mercado, through a home water birth that Sandra described as one of the most physically and emotionally intense experiences of her life.
Sandra revealed the arrival of their baby girl on Instagram on August 23, sharing intimate glimpses of the delivery and telling followers that Zaliyah had already been home with the family for 10 days by the time of her announcement. The reports reviewed did not independently specify the baby’s exact birth date, so it is safer not to assign one based solely on that timeline.
A 15-hour labor at home
What made the announcement especially striking was Sandra’s account of the birth itself.
The former Miss Universe Philippines candidate said she went through 15 hours of active labor during the home water birth, describing the experience as a mix of extraordinary strength, vulnerability and surrender.
“I’ve never felt so strong/connected and so weak/humbled,” Sandra wrote as she reflected on the delivery.
She also spoke emotionally about finally holding the daughter she had prayed for, while thanking the people who supported her during labor. Sandra said she hoped other mothers could likewise receive the level of care she experienced.
But there is another part of Sandra’s story that gives this latest birth an even deeper meaning.
Her first birth went very differently
When Sandra was preparing to welcome her first child, Zaiah Rafael Mercado, in 2022, she had also planned a natural home or water birth.
That plan changed dramatically.
According to a detailed account published by Smart Parenting after Zaiah’s arrival, Sandra ended up undergoing an emergency Cesarean section following what she described as a routine 41-week obstetric appointment. She later recalled being frightened because it was her first surgery and said the experience required her to relinquish the birth plan she had originally envisioned.
Zaiah was born on June 21, 2022, and Sandra later revealed that their newborn had developed an infection, resulting in a hospital stay that extended to around 10 days.
That history makes Sandra’s account of welcoming Zaliyah at home particularly personal: four years after her first planned home water birth took an unexpected turn, she was able to document a very different experience with her second child.
Zaliyah’s arrival had been months in the making
Sandra and Sol first publicly announced their second pregnancy in January 2026. Their announcement featured Zaiah preparing for his new role as a big brother, including a beach photo with the words “Big Bro.” Sandra said at the time that she was already three months into the pregnancy.
Then in April, the couple revealed they were expecting a baby girl and confirmed that they had chosen the name Zaliyah. Sandra said she had suspected she was carrying a girl even before the reveal and wrote an affectionate message to her unborn daughter about their connection during the pregnancy.
Now that Zaliyah has arrived, Zaiah officially becomes a big brother and the Mercados become a family of four.
From engagement to a Bali wedding and two children
Sandra and Sol’s family has grown quickly over the past several years.
The couple announced their engagement in March 2022, welcomed Zaiah that June and eventually married in an intimate destination wedding in Bali, Indonesia, in September 2024. PEP reported that photos from their wedding ceremony were shared on September 8, 2024.
Sandra is known to pageant audiences for competing in Miss Universe Philippines 2020, while Mercado built his career in Philippine professional basketball, including a stint with Barangay Ginebra.
Their latest milestone, however, has shifted the attention away from pageants and basketball and toward an intensely personal family moment.
For Sandra, Zaliyah’s arrival was more than simply the birth of a second child. Her account portrayed it as the culmination of months of anticipation—and, viewed alongside the very different delivery she experienced with Zaiah four years earlier, another significant chapter in her journey as a mother.
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