Waiting Time

I guess patience is not so much one of my best virtues. Super inip much!!! I really hope baby dagny would come out already. As the days go by, I get more paranoid. I’m really hoping and praying that everything will be ok. My OB always reminds me to take note of baby’s movements, given that I’m diabetic. Even if my sugar level has been controlled, there’s always that impending possible complication *sigh*

I’d really prefer that baby would come out already before she becomes bigger and might be riskier for me to have a normal delivery. I’ve been doing a lot of walking lately, thanks to my very supportive hubby who’s been very patient with me. With my belly growing bigger and heavier by the day, it’s so tempting to just lie down and take lots of naps. It’s a good thing that hubby has been really urging me and encouraging me to do more walking. We’d pick different paths around the neighborhood every night. We even went walking around UP last sunday. Later we’ll probably do several rounds around the mall.

I was already at 2 cm last monday. But we still have to wait and see how this will progress since there are instances that one can last at 2-3 cm for even 3 weeks! Well, I hope that wouldn’t be my case. I’m really hoping I’d give birth before christmas. My OB has prescribed me to drink Eveprim, but I’ve been having a hard time finding one since most drugstores don’t have stocks of this. Good thing that there are alternate brands (naturalle and atc).

Anyway, this morning I already saw some mucous plug discharge. Well, I don’t want to be excited since it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll give birth already. I’m really just getting anxious when baby will decide to come out. I wonder what my birthing story would be…

Nesting

We still got a lot of cleaning to do!!! *sigh*

We plan to stay at my parents’ house by the 1st week of December.  But since my bedroom at my parents’ house has been transformed to a storage room for almost 3 years, there’s just too many stuff we need to organize, throw, clean, and disinfect.  We’ve been going there almost every weekend so we can prepare the room for when Baby Dagny comes.  So far so good.  But it looks like we wouldn’t have enough time to sort out all the cabinets and drawers.

It’s good that an aunt gave us a big plastic drawer for Baby Dagny’s stuff.  I can’t imagine putting her stuff inside the musky cabinets!  We also bought some big plastic bins we can put her other stuff.  It’s amazing how much stuff a baby can have.  We’re just really grateful that a lot of friends and relatives have contributed to Baby Dagny’s stash! We still have a couple of items in our list, though, that we still need to buy like a baby bath tub, a crib/playpen, and stroller.  We’ll probably wait for the baby fair this January to buy those stuff.

Anyway, we also need to clean our current home now to make sure that it’s baby-ready when we get back in January.  There’s still a lot of cleaning to do.  I think our problem is that we don’t have a place where we can put our stuff.  It’s an old house and we didn’t really have much cabinet space where we can put our stuff.  The cabinets have other stuff that my hubby’s family owns.

I bought a couple more big plastic bins to put some of our stuff in (I just got tons of scrapbooking stuff and other arts and crafts stuff begging to be put in their proper place).  Maybe we also need to buy some drawers and shelves.  We just have to make sure that everything has a storage box to go to.  I guess we never got around to that previously since our mindset was that we would be transferring to our condo unit soon so if we would be buying stuff, it should be something we would be using for the condo.  Well anyway, it looks like transferring to the condo would have to wait…

We also need to better utilize the other room which has become a storage space for us.  I still got a long list of things to do, but unfortunately it seems like my energy is waning as the days go by so I’m taking things slowly, lest have the baby come out prematurely.

It’s great that my hubby would start his leave by Dec. 5 and he also has a couple of leaves lined up before that as well so we still got time to do all the cleaning that we need.

Hopefully everything would be baby ready in due time.  Hold on, Baby Dagny! Don’t come out yet!!!

Prepping cloth diapers

I'm very excited to use my stash of cloth diapers for Baby Dagny! I already prepped them last weekend. Here's what I did: Inserts: - Soaked in warm water overnight - Washed with cycles detergent powder the next morning (used up my cycles sample) - Rinsed 3 times - Line dry under the sun Covers: - Soaked in normal tap water overnight - Washed with cycles detergent powder the next morning (used up my cycles sample) - Rinsed 3 times - Line dry under the sun *sayang di ko napiktyuran ng nakasampay. Anyway, here's my newly prepped stash: Current Cloth Diaper stash: 2 bamboo dappy 3 baby leaf 3 next 9 3 alva 5 happy flute I didn't fold the bamboo dappy nappies yet since they were still a bit wet (as expected. since bamboo material usually dries longer) I have 12 more Alva CDs arriving this December which I ordered through group buying. That would be a total of 28 CDs which would be enough if I will be washing them every other day. But then again, I feel like I'd still end up buying a couple more if I wouldn't be able to resist some cute designs. I'm trying to hold back on pink stuff and trying to order some neutral colors so that in case we have a baby boy next time, he'd also be also be able to use them. Anyway, I'm planning to wash these prepped CDs again when my Alva CDs arrive . They say that it's advisable to wash the nappies a couple of times to prep the absorbency of the nappies. I really hope we'll be successful in cloth diapering. I just pray that Baby Dagny wouldn't experience diaper rashing while using them.

Baby's Name

Even before I got pregnant, hubby and I have been talking about what names to give our future children. The names and nicknames have evolved over time. We would fondly call our future kids as Bochog and Dudai. We would even imagine how they would look like and what their personalities would be. Now that I’m finally pregnant and we finally know the gender of our baby, we had to finalize what name to give her. Here are our initial conditions 1. We want 2 names, one has to start with a letter J since both of us have J’s in our name. The other one should start with a letter D (since we’ve been calling our (then) imaginary baby girl as Dudai) 2. We want a unique name, unique enough to avoid getting hit during NBI clearances (hehe). Anyway, we’ve been looking at baby books and googling baby names. Finally, here’s what we have decided to name her: It’s pronounced as Dag-nee Ja-ney. I know most people have a hard time pronouncing it the first time they see it. It’s a unique name indeed and we’ve grown fond of her name. Meaning: Dagny = New day (sakto, based sa 1st ultrasound, jan 1 ang due date nya… it was also inspired by one of the characters in one of my favorite books, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand) Janae = God has answered/ God is gracious / God’s grace People would often ask what her nickname would be and would often deduce it to be DJ. Well, we’ll just call her baby dagny and let her decide when she grows up how she wants to be called (specially when she reaches her teenage years). Side note: the felt letter pillows and felt flowers were some of my DIY stuff for my birthday/baby shower :)

Our baby in 3D

I have been urging my hubby for us to have a 3D ultrasound. Thankfully he finally gave in. It’s a good thing that I was able to find a package that wasn’t too expensive so it was easier for him to say yes. The place was also recommended by my OB. So finally, we went to Face2Face at SM the block last Oct. 18 to have the 3D ultrasound. The package we took includes 1 facial picture and 1 gender picture print out with biometry for Php1,500. We were there around 4pm. I was made to sign a waiver form which indicated that they do not guarantee that images would be clear especially if the baby is not in the right position. Since we only got the lower package, a rescan on another day would cost Php500. We were really hoping and praying that our baby would cooperate during the scan. Finally it was our turn. Unfortunately our baby’s hands were blocking her face. The sonologist proceeded, for the mean time, to scan other parts of the baby. Finally we were able to 100% confirm that our baby is indeed a GIRL!!! Anyway, the sonologist tried poking my belly and made me turn sideways but our baby was sleeping soundly and didn’t want to budge. After a few more minutes of trying, the sonologist advised us to do a bit of walking for the meantime and to drink something cold and sweet. Good thing the rescan within the day is still free. So off we go and walked around the block and drank Taro Ice (which I’ve been craving for some time already). After around an hour we went back again. There were other preggy mommies who were made to come back as well, probably with the same case as mine. Our turn came but unfortunately our baby hasn’t moved significantly enough for the sonologist to have a good facial picture of her. We can see her move but her hands were still in the way. :( It was getting a bit frustrating, escpecially considering that the previous days she’s been soo malikot in my belly. A few more minutes passed and the sonologist once again advised us to come back again. It was a good thing that she was very patient with us. We walked around for another hour and checked out some baby stuff as well. And while waiting for our turn again, we were talking to our baby and begging her to cooperate already since it’s nearing closing time already of the clinic. It would be our last chance already. We were the last couple to be entertained. Unfortunately, she’s still in the same position. It was really a bit frustrating but the plus side of the whole experience was that we were able to see our baby for a long period of time, probably an hour in total. Anyway, after a few more pokes and turning sideways the sonologist was finally able to get a decent enough picture. I really commend the sonologist for being oh so patient with us. Here’s our baby girl!!! :) :) :) Sinong kamukha? Parang si BJ no?

Belly Bump

Finally I’m able to post a decent picture of my belly bump since it’s more pronounced at 30 weeks! Well, actually, it’s more obvious when I’m wearing a dress and when I’m standing up. When I’m wearing leggings or shorts I can still just pass up as someone fat and not pregnant. When I’m sitting down you can still see the 2 big flabs and not 1 round pregnant belly. Probably because I still got loose belly skin that’s still not filled up yet since I’m still around 15lbs far from my heaviest weight way back in 2007. Oh well. That’s my body. I still get a bit overwhelmed whenever I consciously think about the presence of a baby inside my belly! And as the day goes by, we get more excited when we can finally hold and kiss our baby! Woohoo! Konting hintay na lang!!!

Baby's Movements

Feeling our baby move has been one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt. It’s somehow an assurance that our baby’s doing fine. It would often cause me some paranoia whenever I wouldn’t sense any movement for a long time. The first time I felt our baby was when we were waiting for our turn for my OB checkup. I was only around 12 weeks pregnant then. Some would say that that’s a bit early but I’m pretty sure it was our baby. It was like a bubble like quick swish feeling. I’ve never felt that ever before. I knew our baby was making its presence felt already. I felt it once in awhile specially after meals. Then our baby’s movement revolved during the 2nd trimester. It wasn’t bubbles and flutters anymore. I felt more pronounced thumps but still not enough to physically see it on my tummy or for my hubby to feel it. But late in my 2nd trimester even my hubby can feel our baby move, sometimes he would be surprised how strong the movements were. It’s not just kicks or jabs, I can feel like our baby’s turning. I would sometimes even wake up when the movement’s just too strong. It’s also amusing to feel our baby hiccuping in my tummy.

Cloth Diapering 101

Event: Cloth Diapering 101 When: Saturday, October 6, 2012 (1:00pm) Where: Medela House (#29 1st St., New Manila, Quezon City) I really looked forward to going to this event since I really want to get into cloth diapering when our baby comes out. Not only is this option more environmentally friendly, it’s also very economical in the long run. As discussed by Jenny of Chronicles of a Nursing Mom, you may, more or less, incur a cost of around 24K to 37K on disposable diapers per year (depending on the brand of disposable diaper you use and that is assuming that you’d have to change baby’s diaper on the average of 8 times a day). That’s a lot of money!!! And imagine how much diaper trash we’ve accumulated over the years! You may have to shell out quite a lot initially to build your stash of cloth diapers pero walang wala yun sa matitipid mo in the long run! Imagine, you can use those cloth diapers even until you get to potty train your babies and even pass them on to their other siblings! Sulit talaga! And super bonus pa na and daming cute designs ng cloth diapers available nowadays! Ms Clarice and Ms Abbie of Tickled Moms discussed how to use cloth diapers, suggested number of cloth diapers to have depending on every when you plan to wash nappies, how to wash cloth diapers, and how to take care of them. It was really a very informative event. Now I’m more confident in using cloth diapers. I really hope I can make it work. I know how easy it is to just succumb to disposable diapers since you wouldn’t have to deal with washing those nasty nappies, but with all the information I’ve gathered on cloth diapering I’m now more determined to chose it over using disposable diapers. Even if you can easily find most of these information online, I’m still glad that I went to this event since I was able to hear experiences from actual mom who have been using cloth diapers. Iba talaga yung naririnig mo yung actual experiences nila since it helps you prepare how to tackle certain problems that you may encounter while using cloth diapers. They were very generous with tips on what worked for them and what didn’t. What I extra love about this event is that Tickled Moms offered discounts on their cloth diapers. They sold Happy flute only at Php250 and Alva at Php275! Normally these would cost around Php300-350. I ended up buying 5 happy flute and 3 alva cloth diapers. I probably would have bought more kung di ako naubusan nung ibang design and if I had more cash on hand. Medyo takot din ako pagalitan ni hubby na nagshopping na naman ako since we agreed to do the baby shopping after the baby shower na lang. But I just couldn’t pass up on these good deals! They also gave away a free fluff stuffer with insert from Next9! That would cost around Php200 if you order it. It transforms any diaper to a stay-dry, waterproof diaper. They also gave away samples of charlie’s soap. I can use these to prewash the cloth diapers that I just bought! Cool! They also gave away lots of raffle prizes like tip tap shoes, cloth diapers, etc. I won one of their raffle items: a tickled pouch! It’s a baby carrier good for babies who can already sit unassisted (most babies are able to do this between 4 to 7 months) up to toddlers around 30 lbs. It’s light and very easy to use since it doesn’t involve any rings or buckles. Since the size depends on the adult and not on the baby they had to measure me up since the large size would be a little small for me to use and they’d have to produce a personalized one for me. I’m excited when I would be able to use it for my baby. Thank you, tickled moms!

Baby Shower Wishlist

*post updated based on the gifts we got during the baby shower. We’ll be forever grateful to friends and relatives who gave us gifts that our precious baby Dagny would be able to use. I usually make it a point to celebrate my birthday with friends and family. It’s a good excuse to have a mini reunion. With everybody’s busy lives, it’s really hard to meet regularly with friends and loved ones. I’ll be celebrating my birthday on November 4, sakto sunday yun. We decided na isabay na lang din yung baby shower para isahang pagod na lang din. I’m really looking forward to it since it would mean seeing friends and loved ones and doing some catching up. Iba rin kasi yung sa FB lang kayo nagcha-chat or nakikitsismis na lang sa mga status updates. Some friends and family members have been asking what baby stuff we still need which they can provide. Sa totoo lang, we’ve barely shopped so marami pa talagang kelangang bilin. Mostly mga basic clothes for newborn pa lang. Pinagshopping din ako ng mom and tita ko ng ibang clothes, cloth diapers, and receiving blankets (yey!). Anyway, we decided to sign up for a baby shower registry at SM Department store (since it’s the most accessible and have relatively cheaper products as compared to stores like Mothercare). But of course we’re not imposing that guests bring gifts or to buy their gifts from SM for that matter. Their presence is most important since I rarely get to see them anymore nowadays, how much more when I start becoming a mom and be busy with taking care of our baby. Nakakatuwa lang din magparegister sa SM registry for the baby shower. Guests can avail of a 10% discount on regular items included in our list (except for toiletries/diapers). They can also avail of their free gift wrapping services. They just need to go to the customer service/ gift registry area so that the staff can assist them. They just need to say the GR Code: 11266 or in case makalimutan, kahit sabihin na lang yung married name ko. The staff will print out our wishlist and the guest can just pinpoint which gift they would want to give. Yung sales ladies na yung kukuha nung mga stuff na napili, no need to go around. Anyway, guests are not limited to the list we have registered at SM. Sino ba naman kami para mag-impose, diba? Any gift is a big blessing for us, considering ang gastos talaga bumili ng baby stuff so any help we get are truly very much appreciated. Generally our wishlist includes: 1. Diapers - Preferably cloth diapers (mahal lang yung nasa SM (Charlie Banana brand), kaya personally, we’re looking at online stores for this like http://calebscloset.multiply.com. Marami na brands available online like baby leaf, alva, happy flutes, etc. *we got 2 bamboo dappy CDs with extra bamboo insert. yey! - Disposable diapers – any brand would do since we still don’t know which one mahihiyang si baby, preferably newborn/small sizes since we really plan mag cloth diapers in the long run. *we got 3 different brands of disposable diapers. yey! 2. Consumable stuff like: - Baby wipes (Giggles, J&J, etc) *we got 4 packs of baby wipes. yey! - Baby wash *we got J&J top to toe wash. yey! - Baby-friendly Detergent: Cycles powder/Cradle/ Charlie *we got cycles powder detergent. yey! 3. Feeding Bottles and Sterilizer - Kahit ano basta BPA free *I plan to exclusively breastfeed, but we’d probably need a couple of bottles in case there would be occasions when I would need to leave for awhile, atleast may maiiwan akong pumped milk kay baby. *we got 3 avent 9oz bottles. yey! 4. Breastpump - I’m considering Medela Harmony Manual Pump *we’re still on the lookout for a great deal on breast pumps. 5. Receiving blankets *we got 2 receiving blankets. yey! 6. Bolster Pillows/ comforter set/ Boppy pillow *we got a bolster pillow set and fleece blanket. yey! 7. Clothes - We’ve mostly covered the newborn clothes so if ever we’d prefer getting clothes na pang 6-12 months na. *we got 2 dresses, onesies, pajamas, and tiesides. yey! 8. Nursing Cover *I bought one already. 9. Baby Sling *we got a next9 ring sling. yey! 10. Educational Toys/ books *i joined a group buy for lamaze toys and cloth book. 11. Baby bath tub *still need to purchase this 12. Health and Grooming Kit (Brush/comb, nail clippers, nasal aspirator, thermometer, etc) *we got nail clippers and nasal aspirator. yey! 13. Stroller *hopefully kuya will buy this for us. hehe! 14. Crib/ Folding Bassinet *we got a cuddlebug moses basket. yey!

3rd trimester, Here we go!

I’m 28 weeks pregnant already. How time flies so fast! I’m on my 3rd trimester already! It excites me so much knowing that the day when we would be able to hug and kiss our little one is coming closer and closer. Somehow it scares me as well, especially whenever I think about the actual giving birth of our little one. We’re really hoping and praying that it would be an easy, risk-free, normal delivery. I really need to read more on information about giving birth. We have to discuss our birthing plan as well with our OB. So what have been my pregnancy symptoms lately…hmmm… well for one, it looks like frequent trips to the bathroom is back again, only this time, it’s a bit harder getting up from bed since I’m getting bigger already. That’s why I love having my hubby around coz he can help me get up but when I’m alone and my hubby is at work I would take my time rolling myself into getting up. I’ve been experiencing back pains as well. I really need to exercise more and do more stretching not just walking. That’s why I’m really looking forward to this saturday’s yoga event for preggy mommies. I just hope I remember the steps that they will be teaching so I can do them at home more regularly. I’ve been experiencing heartburn as well so I try to make it a point to sleep na medyo more elevated yung head. Lately super antukin ko sa umaga. I’d often snooze again after breakfast and around lunch na ko magigising. Well, probably coz I don’t get to sleep early din, like usually around 1am since I’m having a hard time sleeping at night (probably since that’s the time na medyo malikot si baby). With respect to my belly bump, well it’s bigger, but not as big as I thought it would be at this point (but then again I would have to remind myself na medyo exponential ang growth ni baby this coming months). I guess I’m just a bit insecure that it’s still not 1 big round belly but 2 flabs. So feeling ko tuloy minsan akala siguro ng mga tao sobrang taba ko lang talaga and di talaga mukhang buntis. Oh well. I just have to remind myself that before I got pregnant, I was 25lbs less than the fattest I ever got way back in 2007 so my belly skin is relatively loose. Anyway, I’m just really thankful that I’ve never been ordered by my OB to go on bed rest and so far she’s has no complaints regarding my weight gain. I hope the rest of the trimester would be smooth sailing.

Baby stuff shopping

I really didn’t intend to go shopping for baby stuff but I was at SM north last last week and decided to check out the department store. There were a couple of sale items which I really had a hard time saying no to. I’ve been to mothercare and there’s really a big price difference. Mukhang ok naman yung quality and 100% cotton naman. So here’s the stuff that I bought: 3 pairs of socks (Php90 instead of Php179.75) leg warmers (Php79.75) receiving blanket (Php135 instead of Php269.75) 3 sleeveless tieside (0-3 mos) (Php155 instead of Php174.75) onesies with pajama (Php125/set instead of Php249.75) 3 onesies with bib (0-3 mos) (Php125/set instead of Php249.75) 2 onesies with bib (3-6 mos) (Php125/set instead of Php249.75) Around Php1200 lang lahat yan since most are around 50% off!!! Sa panahon ngayon, kelangan talagang maging sulit mommy! baby stuff shopping Mukhang najustify ko naman kay hubby ang aking biglaang shopping spree given the amount of money that I saved. Ang comment lang nya: “What if boy pala si baby?” Nyarks. Actually there’s still that possibility lalo na di pa talaga 100% confirmed na baby girl na talaga. But then again, 2 OB sonologists have already said na mukhang babae nga daw, ang likot lang kasi ni baby during our last scan so di nya ma-picturan ng maayos. Oh well. I’m really hoping we can have a 3D scan soon so we can see baby more clearly and mas maconfirm yung gender nya.

Baby stuff checklist

It’s a bit overwhelming whenever we think about all the stuff we have to buy for our baby. We’ve been doing a lot of window shopping but haven’t really started on buying stuff., specially the big ticket ones I’m just really thankful for the giveaways I’ve won which somehow saves us a couple of moolah. Anyway, I got this checklist from baby company to serve us our guide. We wouldn’t probably need to buy everything or follow the quantities to a tee but at least we have a guide on what stuff to buy. We just really need to prioritize what stuff to buy. I noted which stuff we already have (there’s really not much yet! hehe!) We’re thinking of probably doing our shopping by early November. Hopefully we’ll have enough funds by then. Some friends and relatives have been asking what stuff we would want to receive. We’re not really choosy. Haha! Any gift would be considered a great blessing, specially since we haven’t really started on any major shopping for baby stuff yet. Maybe I’ll make a separate post for our wishlist :)

Another freebie: a tall starbucks drink

Have you experienced ordering from Starbucks and be randomly picked to evaluate them? You’re actually randomly picked and notified through your receipt. It includes a special instruction on how to answer their evaluation survey, wherein you have to go to www.mystarbucksvisit-ph.com. You get a free tall starbucks drink for doing this. This is not actually my first time to experience this, I think it’s my 4th already over the years. Nakakatuwa lang to get another freebie, specially considering that I’ve been on a roll of kaswertehan these days. I even got 3 out of 6 numbers correctly in a recent 6/49 draw (lucky pick). Well, I hope my luck never run out! :)

Baby & Me Event: Pregnancy and Childbearing Tips

This was another event I was looking forward to. I’ve been encouraging my hubby to take formal birthing classes but the cost somehow turns him off (can’t blame him, ang dami pa kasi ibang baby-related costs that we need to think about). Since this is a free event, we took the time to take advantage of it so that we can somehow have a glimpse of what to expect during childbirth. I know there are lots of information available through the internet pero iba pa rin yung may nagsasalita sa harapan mo at nage-explain. I was extra looking forward to it since it was Rome Kanapi who was going to be the resource speaker. I’ve heard good words about her from one of my bestfriends who attended her birthing classes. While waiting for the event to start they distributed samples of frisomum milk drink. It did taste good but my endocrinologist and OB advised me not to drink so much milk since it might affect my blood sugar and cause it to shoot up so I just need to opt to get calcium from other food sources. Frisomum sample There were more pregnant mommies this time since they accommodated 100 mommies to sign up as compared to the previous event where they limited it to just 50. As usual I was a bit insecure with my belly bump with all the other preggy mommies around me since my belly wasn’t as pronounced considering I’m on my 6th month already. Depending on what I’m wearing, minsan mukha lang talaga akong mataba specially that my belly’s not yet just one big bump but still 2 big flabs! Minsan lang hindi halata … Oh well… Mary the host Rome Kanapi - a childbirth teacher Rome Kanapi started her talk by asking what are the body aches that we, pregnant mommies, have been experiencing lately. Usual answers were back aches and leg cramps. She taught us several exercises we can do to help relieve and avoid these aches. She even let us stand and try out the exercises. The daddies were encouraged to do the exercises as well. In fairness, the pelvic exercises did feel good! I plan to do those regularly. Then she proceeded to discuss about childbirthing – baby’s position, water bag breaking (take note of the COT: color, odor, and time), contractions, breathing, pushing, CS, naturally inducing labor, etc. It was very informative and I’m glad my husband was with me. He certainly learned a lot as well, specially what his role would be during childbirth. I just really hope he would be allowed to go inside the delivery room when I give birth (we still need to discuss that with my OB). I really do hope and pray that our baby would be in the right position come birthing time so that we would have bigger chances of a normal delivery. I also hope and pray that I wouldn’t have a hard time giving birth and that we would have a healthy normal baby. She brought with her a toy doll which is almost the size of the usual asian baby as well as a pelvic bone sample. It was really effective seeing those since these aids helped me understand even more what happens to the body when giving birth. cervical dilation chart She also brought with her a cervical dilation chart. It’s just amazing how a woman’s body is enabled to give birth to another human being. I really just hope and pray that I wouldn’t have a hard (long) time reaching that 10cm. I’m just really not looking forward to having an IE. It still scares me whenever I think about giving birth. But at least I now have a picture somewhat of what to expect and what to do during childbirth. Pero syempre iba pa rin pag totoo na talaga. Nyaaaaaay!!! looking forward to holding my own baby Unfortunately we had limited time so it really is just a crash course on childbirth. I really hope we can attend her extensive classes so we can learn more and prepare ourselves for THE DAY. Anyway, there were other parts of the program, such as Mothercare’s presentation of their products, Frisomum’s demonstration of how to make smoothies using Frisomum milk, picture taking with Truman the mascot, and of course the much awaited raffle time. Unfortunately we didn’t win this time…OK lang, give chance to others daw :) They also distributed some snacks care of Sexy Chef as well as loot bags from Goody, Avent, Cycles/ Cradle, and Sweet Baby Diapers. snacks from sexy chef Here are the lootbags which everybody got, besides the free Moms Today magazine and Sweet Baby disposable diapers : Goody lootbag: cup with cover from avent avent moisturizing nipple cream avent disposable breast pads Cycles and Cradle lootbag: cycles mild laundry detergent sample cradle baby bottle and nipple cleanser sample insect repellant sample 20% discount coupon on cycles and cradle products if you buy at mothercare aprica stick on notepad It was just a bit of a turn off when the distribution of the loot bags became suddenly disorganized and the mommies started going to the lootbag table to get the stuff on their own. Some even got 3 or more loot bags! All in all, it was another great event from Baby & Me. Hubby and I definitely learned a lot. It was somehow an eye opener for us on what to expect during childbirth. I’m really glad that hubby came with me to this event since he will be my main supporter during the momentous event of childbirthing. I just really hope and pray that I would have an easy, risk-free, normal delivery. We can’t wait to hug and kiss Baby Wopwop already! Anyway, off topic, as we were walking after the event we saw these dogs lounging around BHS. Wala lang, natuwa lang ako…super cute and friendly nila! Nakipaghake hands pa sa kin yung isa :)

Hubby's spaghetti

Usually on sundays we go to my parents’ house, but on days that we don’t I would usually urge the hubby to cook or just have food delivered or probably just eat out so I can take a rest from cooking (and washing the dishes). Last sunday hubby decided to cook spaghetti. It’s one of the few dishes that he can cook (besides cooking corned beef and frying stuff and cooking instant pancit canton). This dish was the first food he cooked for me way back when we were still bf-gf. He came up with his own recipe and is very particular with the ingredients that he uses, specially the brand of spaghetti sauce. Ang bagal nya lang talaga magluto. Super gutom na kami ni baby when he finished. It was worth the wait naman since his spaghetti tasted good. Too bad my blood sugar has been going crazy lately so I couldn’t eat much of it even if I wanted to. No, I’m not making an excuse not to eat it, masarap talaga spaghetti nya! :) Hubby's Spaghetti

Smart Parenting Baby Shower

Here’s another delayed post (as this event happened last Sept 1 pa! hehe!)… Smart Parenting’s Baby Shower was one of the events I was looking forward to attend. For one, I’m not sure if I would be able to have my own baby shower so I might as well enjoy one already. The event also includes a yoga class which I really wanted to take part off since I really need the exercise. I used to do yoga before getting pregnant but I wasn’t sure which moves are still safe for preggy women so that was put to a halt. Hubby and I were supposed to go to a friend’s baby’s baptism in the morning that day but something came up and he couldn’t accompany me anymore and he wouldn’t allow me to commute all the way from QC to Magallanes alone. It can get pretty frustrating when plans suddenly change. It’s good that at least he still allowed me to go to the Smart Parenting’s Baby Shower since it was just in Ortigas. I really didn’t know what to expect from the event since I just saw it in FB and signed up for it. I’m really glad I did since Smart Parenting really prepared for it and preggy mommies were in for a treat! Yummy food c/o Discovery Suites The event started around 1pm. They first served buffet lunch before the actual program started. I’m not sure how many preggy mommies were there, probably around 70 or more? The hubbies were just made to come back after the event. Pretty delamar The event was hosted by Delamar from RX93.1. It’s the first time I’ve seen her in person. She’s really pretty and such a good host. She would often share some of her personal experiences when she got pregnant which was amusing to hear. With fellow preggy mommies There were several speakers who shared information on pregnancy myths, what food to eat and avoid, fashion for preggy moms, apparel for babies, etc. They were indeed very informative. In between there would be a question and answer portion to see if the preggy mommies were indeed listening to the speakers. It was fun to answer since they would give you a gift if you do. Luckily, I got one of them! Diaper purse with portable changing mat from Nursing Mom At some point, some of the preggy mommies who signed up for prenatal yoga were ushered into another room while the others were left to enjoy more baby shower games. I’m really glad that I signed up for this class! Oh how I missed doing yoga! I’m proud to say that despite being a plus size, I’m pretty much flexible (although I just have to work on my balance more). Ready for yoga Our yoga instructor See if you can find me and my big butt! Haha! I really enjoyed that class! I wish I can do it more often. I just hope I can remember most of the moves so I can do them at home since it feels really great and I really need the exercise. Anyway, after the yoga class, we went back to the main room to enjoy more talk and more games. I was lucky to get invited to join one of the games where we would have to guess how much was the total price of the pile of baby apparel presented on the table. Unfortunately my guess was pretty off but they were very generous to give each of us Php1,000 worth of GC’s from Goldilocks as consolation prize! The winner got Php2,500 worth of GC’s for Goldilocks as well as all the apparel that they made us guess what the total cost was. Lots of fun games and loads of prizes given away Hmmm...I wonder how much all these cost? :) Php 1,000 worth of GCs from Goldilocks as consolation prize They capped off the event by raffling prizes. Even if we didn’t get the grand prize of an overnight stay at Discovery Suites, I was still very lucky to get the first one raffled off which was a big diaper bag with changing mat. That would really come in handy whenever we would be going out with the baby. Raffle prize: Diaper bag with changing mat All in all, it was a fun afternoon. Kudos to Smart Parenting for organizing such a wonderful event. I’m sure all preggy mommies had fun! I sure did! And thanks to the generous sponsors as well. There were so much stuff given away. Even those who didn’t win the raffle all got loot bags with so much baby stuff in them! Loots galore! Para akong nag todo shopping! Here’s what’s inside the blue loot bags which everybody got: 3 pairs of mittens 3 pairs of booties 3 bonnets 3 bibs 3 washcloths 3 burpcloths Milk container Soap sample from Oilatum 2 Disposable breast pads sample from Avent Avent milk container Tiny Buds Baby bottle and utensil wash sample Stick on notes and pen from Discovery Suites Smart Pregnancy Magazine Smart Parenting Magazine Inside the loot bag which everybody got This is a really nice way to start with our baby stash. But then again, we still got lots of stuff to buy. I’d like to do a little more researching before buying stuff, especially the big ticket items. Anyway, I really had fun attending this event. It makes me think whether I would still have my own baby shower. It would be fun to have one but it’s just a bit weird if I’ll be the one to organize it. Well, I’m considering probably having it the same time as my birthday celebration. Bahala na si batman! :) Pinagdidiskusyunan pa namin ni bossing.

6th month check-ups

Had check-up last week with my OB. Time flies by so fast! I’m on my 6th month already! As usual, the routine would be to listen to Baby Wopwop’s heartbeat through the fetal doppler. Heartbeat is at 151bpm. She also measured the fundal height which is at 25cm. My belly’s not too big but that’s OK. OB wants to avoid having a big baby. The doctor noticed I had cough and colds. It has been a couple of days already and there’s still a bit of phlegm (sorry TMI). I had dry cough and sometimes I have a hard time breathing through my nose. The doctor prescripted Muconase (saline solution nasal spray) so my nose wouldn’t be as congested, as well as Fluimucil (like an alka seltzer which you put into water to dissolve) for my phlegm. She also advised me to take lots of water and increase my vitamin C intake. I really hate getting sick, specially now that I’m pregnant. I really hope that our baby is doing just fine. Anyway, I’m a bit better now, konting sniffles na lang… So far my pregnancy is progressing well naman. I just have to make sure to monitor my food intake so I wouldn’t get big too much to avoid having CS. I also need to monitor my sugar more closely, specially lately when it seems to be shooting up (which is a bit expected at this phase due to the placenta, as explained by my endocrinologist). This morning, my FBS was at 81 which was at a normal level. But after 1 hr of eating 2 pandesal and 2 hotdogs, my blood sugar was at 155 already! Max limit was supposed to be 130! Crazy blood sugar! I was supposed to go to my scheduled monthly check-up with my endocrinologist last week but opted to just stay home for the mean time and rest since my cough and colds were taking a toll on me. I finally saw her today. She corrected my insulin dosages since my sugar is starting to go crazy again. But she didn’t want to increase it too much and just advised to adjust the types of food that I eat. I would have to get my Hba1C again in 2 weeks and go back to her. As my pregnancy progresses, she wants to monitor my sugar more closely so as to avoid complications. It can be a bit tiring going to check-ups but I know it’s for my own good as well as our baby’s. I’m thankful that our checkups are covered by my husband’s medical card. That’s a big blessing specially now that I would need to have to go to my doctors every 2 weeks already instead of once a month!

I won another raffle: 4 bottles of Victoria’s Secret perfume

It looks like I’m on a roll! Haha! I woke up to yet another wonderful surprise. I won another blog giveaway, this time from Mommy Fleur’s blog. I am the second place winner and won one (1) box with four bottles of Victoria’s Secret perfume (Sheer Love, Amber Romance, Love Spell and Pure Seduction)! How cool is that?! Swerte nga daw talaga ang buntis! Thanks, baby wopwop! You’re indeed my lucky charm! I know we can’t win every raffle we join, but you sure did increased the chances of winning most of them! Thanks, Mommy Fleur, for this giveaway! :) Thank you, Lord, for all these blessings! :)

Bonding with the hubby through UFC

They say that couples should find activities that appeal to both and do them together as bonding activities. I guess for me and my hubby, that would be EATING! hahaha! It would also be healthy to take interest in your partner’s interests too. So since my hubby loves boxing and UFC, I try to make it a point to somehow get to know the sports a bit more. We also make sure to download and watch major bouts. I would usually ask (stupid) questions on which moves are legal/illegal, what the moves are called, how to get out of a certain compromising position, etc. In fairness to him, he would patiently answer my questions (although sometimes rolling his eyes first! hahaha!) Sometimes we would also reenact some moves (as requested by him!). He would wonder how much certain moves would hurt. He would teach me how to do the moves on him, but of course with not much force! I wouldn’t want to injure my hubby! Haha! And of course it’s cautioned with the instruction to let go when he taps out already! Ang sadista e no? Haha! We’ve tried the bare naked choke, arm bar, elbow hit (ala Jon Jones’ move), etc. One time hubby and I were discussing: Me: so kung boy ang baby natin sisimulan mo na magdownload mula UFC 1? BJ: syempre! Classic yun! Wala pa mga rules nun… Me: kahit ano pde gawin? …pde manabunot? …pde mangiliti? …pde manundot ng pwet? …pde ututan yung kalaban? BJ: *gives a frustrated look*

Breastfeeding Basics Event

It’s great that there are events like this organized for the benefit of pregnant women (and breastfeeding moms). I previously attended last August a breastfeeding talk at St. Luke’s so hubby was asking why I would be attending another one. I did enjoy the talk at St. Luke’s and definitely learned a lot, but somehow I wanted reinforcement on those learned knowledge and I knew for sure that I would be learning more from attending another breastfeeding talk. And I was right! I really really want to breastfeed my baby so as early as now I want to equip and empower myself with all the information I can get with regards to breastfeeding. I know it’s not as easy as one thinks and there’s really a lot of potential pitfalls for one to end up giving up on breastfeeding. I know there are a lot of information available in the internet (I’ve been doing my research as well), but what I really appreciate from these kinds of events is that you get to hear first hand experiences from real breastfeeding moms. You get to hear questions you didn’t even imagine asking and problems you didn’t even imagine that you may encounter. It was really enlightening. It was a good decision to arrive early. I was already safe and dry at the venue before it started raining pretty hard. There were a lot of latecomers, probably due to the rain and the traffic it caused so the event organizers decided to start at a later time. Since the venue was inside the Mothercare store, I killed time going around and looking for potential stuff to buy. There were just too many nice stuff I’d want to buy for our baby! (Oh and how expensive some of them can be! *sigh*) Ms Abigail Yabot was the main speaker regarding breastfeeding. She was definitely a very able speaker and knows a lot about breastfeeding. She was able to breastfeed one of her kids for more than 4 years! How cool is that?! She discussed the benefits of breastfeeding, correct breastfeeding positions, etc. She also aptly answered questions from the attendees regarding breastfeeding. Hubby arrived around 3pm since he came from work. The talk was already about cord blood banking by the time he arrived. If we had extra money we would definitely do cord blood banking. There are really a lot of benefits, but then again, it’s really just a bit expensive! Then there was a talk on breastfeeding related products by Medela. It’s amazing how so many products have been developed like those discs for correcting inverted nipples (so your baby can latch correctly), hands free breastfeeding pumps, nipple creams (to relieve sore and dry nipples), etc. Then it was raffle time. So far baby has been lucky when it comes to raffles. I was rubbing my belly for luck! Haha! Unfortunately I didn’t win the breastpump and other mothercare products. Good thing there were other goodies that they raffled. There were a couple of diaper packs that they decided to raffle. I really thought we wouldn’t win anymore since almost all the diapers were given away. But luckily, we got the last one! Hubby and I were really happy. We were joking that probably baby was playing a trick on us since we were beginning to lose hope already. During the baby shower event from Smart Parenting, I got the first raffle, now I got the last! :) Baby won 38 pieces of large disposable diapers! Those would really come in handy when baby arrives! Sitting down for more than 2 hours was a bit tiring for a pregnant woman. It made me really hungry as well! Good thing that they had free snacks c/o of Conti’s! Yum! Here’s baby’s prize up close: And here are the other loots that we were able to take home: - Cordlife lootbag - Cycles lootbag - MOMStoday Magazine - 4 medium diapers frome Sweetbaby Here’s what’s inside the cordlife lootbag: - red rabbit rattle from cordlife - mittens from St. Patrick - baby wipes and top-to-toe baby wash from J&J - cycles mild laundry detergent sample - bite block - pregnancy journey magazine - pamphlets from J&J, cycles, and cordlife And here’s what’s inside the cradle lootbag: - Cycles sample - Cradle sample - Bite block - Post it from Medela - Pamphlets from Medela and Cradle All in all, it was a great event. The loot bags and raffle were definitely a plus, but more than those, it’s the learnings that made it more valuable. I’m looking forward to attending more events like this. Next saturday, it would be about pregnancy and childbirth tips!

First time hubby felt baby move!

Last night was a milestone for us. For the very first time, Daddy BJ felt Baby Wopwop move! It was such a joyous awesome moment! We were about to sleep and the lights were turned off already. Hubby was talking to Baby Wopwop and his cheeks were pressed on my tummy. He was telling baby how much we love baby and how much we will be showering our baby with love when baby comes out. Then suddenly we felt baby move! He felt something tapped his cheeks. I know how much hubby was very happy at that moment. He has been waiting for this moment. It’s been a long time since I first felt baby move and somehow I couldn’t share how wonderful the feeling felt since the kicks and turns weren’t that pronounced for one to feel it by just touching my tummy. A few days back was the first time I saw a part of my tummy protrude a little at the same time I felt baby move, but too bad hubby didn’t see it since he was in the other room. I called him but baby didn’t repeat it. I knew he was a bit disappointed. One time I was browsing my tablet and the cover of the tablet was resting on my tummy. Suddenly I felt baby move and the cover was lifted a bit. I was ecstatic! Baby’s kicking stronger already. Too bad hubby didn’t see it again and when hubby went into the room, baby didn’t repeat it anymore. So last night was a breakthrough for us! Hubby felt baby move a lot of times! It was like baby was showing off and making her presence felt. In just like 10 minutes we felt baby move around 10 times! Baby was responding to hubby specially when he was repeatedly saying “I love you, baby”, baby was kicking repeatedly too! I asked hubby how he felt. He jokingly said “Naiiyak na ko!” and laughed. I knew he wasn’t joking. Since the lights were closed already I couldn’t see so I opened my cellphone so the backlight would light his face…and true enough he was teary eyed!!! awwwwww!

Sugar on the rise

I wasn’t able to track my blood sugar level for 2 days since I ran out of test strips and we can’t seem to find some in the drugstores that we’ve been to. Good thing hubby was able to finally get hold of some yesterday. Unfortunately, when I tested, my pre-dinner BS (6:15 pm) was at 141 :( , after dinner BS (7:30 pm) was at 157 :( :( :( (dinner was 3/4 cup brown rice and 5 shrimps with butter and garlic) and my late night BS (10:15 pm) was at 96 (thankfully it got lower already). But then again, I woke up this morning and took my FBS (8:15 am) and it was at 101!!! :( :( :( I haven’t gotten these high numbers for a long time. Looks like I would have to adjust again my food intake and insulin dosage to correct it. I’ve been happy that my sugar level has been at the normal level for quite some time. Maybe this is the time which my endocrinologist warned me wherein my blood sugar would rise due to my placenta even if I was eating the right way. I’m 25 weeks pregnant and usually this is the time where pregnant mothers are given the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) to see if they have gestational diabetes. Anyway, I better monitor my food intake and blood sugar more intently these coming days. Good thing I’m due for my monthly checkup with my endocrinologist next week so she can advise me what to do. ***UPDATE*** Nyak! Super major booboo!!! I tested 1 hr after my breakfast and it was at an awesome high of 181!!! HUWAT?!?! That can’t be right! I was on the verge of testing again when I noticed the vial of my test strips…the Code says 45! Super nyarks! Sabi ko na may mali e… My glucometer was set at Code 2. Haaaaay! I’m so used kasi to having vials with code 2, this is the first time we got a vial with a different code. Haaaay…so that means all my tests from yesterday until this morning are all wrong! shocks! all those wasted strips! :( Each strip pa naman costs Php25 each. Anyway, I finally calibrated my glucometer (thanks to an online manual on how to code my meter) and tested again…it was at 152! That’s still high! My max for 1 hr after meal should only be around 140. :( oh well… at least it’s not as super high as 181! Oh well…looks like I still have to adjust my food intake and insulin dosage…

Winning the Malunggay Capsules Giveaway

I’m starting to enjoy joining these awesome online raffle stuff! It looks like swerte si Baby Wopwop sa mga raffle. I won another one: Amazing Grace Giveaway by Moringana! I won 2 boxes of malunggay capsules. I got an email last Aug 30 regarding winning this awesome prize and they were delivered to our house for free the week after! As we all know, malunggay is one of the most nutritious vegetables around. It’s a great source for vitamins and antioxidants. It’s also known to help increase milk production for breastfeeding mothers. This supplement would really be very beneficial for me to take and it’s just extra awesome that I got it for free! This supply would last me for a couple of months! You may take 2 – 3 caps as your daily nutritional food supplement. It’s available at Mercury Drug, Watsons, Generika Actimed, Rose Pharmacy, 360 Pharma and other leading drugstores nationwide at Php5.50 per capsule. Since I got 2 boxes (100 capsules per box), that means I was able to save Php1,100 from winning these healthy giveaway!

After getting much needed rest…I’m back!

The past 2 weeks have been a bit busy for me, helping out my cousin, Digs, with their wedding. I’ll make a separate post about that so watch out for it. I’ve been trying to get as much rest after the wedding since it was a bit exhausting for someone who’s 5 months pregnant. I was really thankful that Baby Wopwop was cooperative. I was really worried kung ok lang sya, mukhang oo naman since super likot nya during the actual wedding, sipa ng sipa at ikot ng ikot! :) I’m really thankful for my hubby who has been doing the dishes lately and mostly doing the cooking so I can just lie down and rest. Sometimes we’d also end up ordering out instead so I don’t have to tire myself from cooking. Anyway, now that their wedding is done, it’s time to focus on my 2 supposed weddings for December. Before I got pregnant, I was helping out my bestfriend, Kathryn, and my other bestfriend’s sister, Arlene for their wedding (Dec 17 and Dec 28). I don’t want to say that it was unfortunate that I got pregnant since this is the most wonderful blessing that we’ve got and we’ve been waiting for this for the longest time, but of course I have to ensure that I would be able to turnover those 2 events properly and help ensure that their events be as awesome as they want it to be. Getting pregnant has been a bit overwhelming since it’s my first time so I got a bit sidetracked at some point from wedding planning. My baby has now become my priority. Thankfully my pregnanct hasn’t really been that hard for me, except for the fact that I have to inject insulin 3 times a day and prick myself to check my sugar around 4 times a day. Anyway, hopefully I get my groove back soon and get back on track on planning their weddings so I can properly turn them over to their on-the-day coordinators. Anyway, besides the wedding planning stuff, I’ve been meaning to work on some more blog posts for this blog. So before I forget any of them, I’ll initially list them down to remind me which ones to write about. - Winning 2 boxes of malunggay capsules from another online raffle - Smart Parenting’s Baby Shower Event and all the prizes that I won - Digs and Adette’s wedding - Ultrasound session Got some pending paid posts as well for my other blogs which I need to finish soon! Looks like my list of things to do is starting to pile up. Oh well. I just have to remind myself to take things easy. Hopefully with the right time management I would be able to accomplish everything and still get enough rest.

Managing our worries

There would be lots of times I’d be paranoid if my baby is doing ok. It’s great that my hubby took a video of my congenital anomaly scan so we can have something to watch to remind us that our baby is doing just fine. Baby Wopwop thumb-sucking Despite the lack in fundal height at 18 cm at 21 weeks, which falls only into the 10th percentile:(, our baby’s estimate fetal weight is at 441+/- 66 grams which is just right. The other measurements done during the congenital anomaly scan also showed that our baby’s developing just right. I just need to continue eating healthy food and managing my sugar level… maybe increasing my food intake a bit more (although I still need to be careful coz my baby might get too big naman). I know it’s hard to stop worrying but we need to have more faith that everything would be just fine.

Baby Leaf Prizes!

Yey! I got my prizes from Baby Leaf/ Truly Rich Mom’s Raffle already! I’m so happy to win these cool stuff! Out of 12700 entries, I won!!! Swerte! At first I wasn’t aware that I won! Somehow, I missed their email dated Aug. 2 pa. Buti na lang they emailed me again last Aug 17! I really wanted to win that raffle since the giveaways would really be useful when Baby Wopwop comes out na. They texted me so that I can choose what color of the goodies I would want. At first I was thinking that maybe I should wait until we know the gender of Baby Wopwop, but then again, I realized that it may be best to get unisex colors/designs instead so in case we have another baby again with a different gender, we can still use the stuff. Here’s what’s inside the package: It’s a microwaveable teddy bear with lavender scent. The red one is the wet bag. The blue one is the organizer bag which would be useful for putting bottles and nappy changing stuff. The 3 baby leaf cloth diapers with inserts (alphabet blue, red, and bubble gum design) would be the most useful, considering how expensive diapers can be in the longer run. I really plan to buy cloth diapers and this is a really awesome way to start stocking up on them. That’s around 1K already saved up from the free cloth diapers, not to mention that we would be able to use these over and over (imagine the amount of disposable diapers saved up!). Thank you again to Baby Leaf and to TrulyRichMom for these awesome prizes!

Week 21 OB Checkup

I always look forward to OB check-ups since that’s the time I get to hear our baby’s heartbeat through the fetal monitor. It somehow takes away some of my worries and serves as an assurance that our baby is doing just fine. I’m very thankful that my hubby always makes it a point to come with me whenever I have my OB check-up. I know he also loves hearing our baby’s heartbeat. I know he would be super puyat to come with me to the checkup since he’s on night shift (10pm-6am) and the OB appointment is around 10am (not to mention that we would be having the congenital scan at 2pm pa with my Perinatologist). I really appreciated that he’s willing to sacrifice some hours of sleep to be with me and Baby Wopwop. I had my HbA1C the previous day and he had to get my result from Capitol Hospital (where my endocrinologist is) and he would just meet me at Delgado Hospital for the OB checkup. At least I would have something to report to my OB just in case she asks if I’ve been controlling my blood sugar. We weren’t expecting that the OB would be coming in early since she’s usually late. Hubby wasn’t there yet. :( The first part would usually be listening to the heartbeat. The OB was taking longer than usual in finding the heartbeat. I really got scared and was really praying that she finds it already. Maybe Baby Wopwop was trying to wait for daddy. The OB was pressing all over my tummy trying to find the heartbeat. Thankfully she eventually found it! (Baby Wopwop didn’t want mommy to worry anymore). It was at 137bpm, a little slower than usual (last time was at 150) Hubby got there just right after I got up from the bed. Sayang! Oh well. Atleast he came bearing good news, my HbA1C level was down to 4.5 from 5.7! That’s really awesome news! Anyway, it seems that my tummy isn’t getting as big as it should. I’ve been really paranoid with it and have kept on asking the hubby if my tummy is getting bigger. Of course he would always say yes, but I would often not be satisfied. And true enough, when OB measured it, it just measured at 18, which was supposed to be a 20 or a 19 at the very least. Anyway, it’s still not much a cause for alarm, she just advised me to drink Aminovita every other day just so we can play catch up.We would know naman from the congenital anomaly scan how the baby is really doing. She also gave me a request for the congenital scan as well as some other prenatal laboratory tests which I still haven’t had (cbc, urinalysis, hepa, bloodtype tests, etc) It’s just a bit ironic that we’ve been scared that our baby would be too big (due to me being diabetic), and now we’re a bit worried that our baby may be small. We don’t want our baby joked around in school as a bulilit! Hehe! (No offense meant to those lacking in height) Anyway, we hope that everything would be alright. Sabi nga ng iba, mas ok palakihan ang baby pag lumabas na kesa habang buntis pa lang. I only gained 1 pound this month. Last month 1 pound lang din. Well, that’s not yet a cause for too much concern since I’m fat to start off. Ang recommended is around 2 lbs a month for obese pregnant women as compared to 1 lb per week for those with normal weight. Anyway, I plan to eat more a bit just to make sure our baby is getting more nutrients. I admit to have been extra careful in the amount of what I eat since my blood sugar tests (which I do 4 times a day!) would automatically show if I’ve been eating too much. I’ve been really trying very hard to keep my blood sugar at a normal level. Anyway, lately I’ve been having low readings so I guess it’s a good indication that I can eat a bit more! :) Aug 22, 2012: 4.5% (around 21 weeks pregnant) –> woot! woot!!! June 15, 2012: 5.7% (around 11 weeks pregnant) May 5, 2012: 7.4% (hospitalized at Capitol, started my insulin shots) April 30, 2012: 7.7% (day we had our 1st OB checkup) March 29, 2012: 7.2% (before I was pregnant) May 19, 2011: 8.4% (before I resigned from work)

Congenital Anomaly Scan

Finally, after a very long wait (around 3 months actually), we’ll be able to see our baby again through ultrasound. This one is extra special (and extra scary as well) since we’ll be having the congenital anomaly scan wherein we would know if our baby is developing normally. We have been really praying that God would bless us with a healthy normal baby. We arrived early at East Ob-gyn Ultrasound Clinic. This is where my perinatologist holds clinic (besides Delgado). I usually have my ultrasounds here since it’s much cheaper as compared to others. Their transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) only costs 800. The 2D congenital anomaly scan (CAS) only costs 1300. Anyway, we were really excited while waiting for our turn. It’s the big day that we would be able to finally know the gender of our baby (or not! boo!). He wants a boy and I want a girl. We were joking na palakasan na lang kami kay God. But of course, in the end, it doesn’t really matter, just as long as he/she is healthy and normal and we would be ecstatically happy and thankful already. Kainis lang while waiting, one of the patient’s companion made hirit to me kung may baby din ba ako sa tummy, di daw kse ako mukhang buntis (oo na, mukha lang akong mataba! boo!). Oh well. Anyway, our turn came. Hubby isn’t allowed inside but he can view through the TV outside. I instructed him to video the whole thing so we can have something to look at over and over. I was sooo happy to see my baby again! Seeing Baby Wopwop move was really such an experience. At some point it even looked like he/she waved! Too bad it wasn’t a 3D scan. It made me really want one so we can see our baby better. Oh well. Hanap pa kami ng sponsor (hehe! baka may willing dyan?!). Ang mahal e, luho lang naman since the 2D CAS would suffice already. Anyway, we were just a bit disappointed that we still didn’t find out the gender of the baby yet. Breech position pa kasi si baby so hindi masyado makita pero sa na-glimpse daw nya, mukhang baby girl. But she still doesn’t want to confirm daw, mga 50% girl. Haha! Hanep sa probability e noh! Oh well. Atleast normal si baby, happy na kami. Here’s the result of the CAS: General Presentation: Breech Previa: No Previa Location: Posterior Amniotic Fluid Volume: Normal Placental Grade: I Biophysical Profile Amniotic Fluid BPD: 53.8 mm (22W3D) Fetal Tone HC: 193 mm (21W4D) Fetal Breathing AC: 166 mm (21W5D) Gross Movement FL: 36.7 mm (21W5D) Estimate Fetal Weight: 441 Grams (1lb) Estimate Due Date: 12/27/2012 Fetal Heart Rate: 156 bpm Others: CAS shows intact cranium and intracranial structures, (TCD: 21.3 mm, CM:6:3mm) nuchal fold not thickened; no cleft lip; no neck masses; intact spines and cord insertion; 4-chambered heart; 3 vessel cord; single stomach bubble below diaphragm; fluid filled bladder; well aligned extremeties; normal looking kidneys Final Impression: Pregnancy uterine 21 6/7 weeks AOG by fetal biometry Live, singleton, complete breech position EFW=441+/- 66 grams Good cardiac activity and active fetal movements Adequate amniotic fluid volume (SVP=3.79cm) Placenta, posterior grade I maturity no previa No obvious gross anomaly of organs seen for AOG at the time of this scan

Blood sugar update

Lately my sugar has been at a normal level, with fasting blood sugar usually around 72-78. That’s really awesome! Until my 19th week it would usually be around 90-110 (I know that’s high) Although I’m just a bit confused since my endocrinologist said to expect my sugar to go higher as my pregnancy progresses and would need to increase my insulin dosage. Week 17-18 weren’t too good for my in terms of my blood sugar. Sometimes my blood sugar would shoot up to 155 an hour after meals (130 is my target). Once it even shot up to 203! :( I increased my dosage by 3 units for 3 days and after that it seems that I’m at the normal level again. I guess that did the trick. Anyway, I will be having my HbA1C by the end of the week. I hope that it’s lower. My endocrinologist wants to aim for less than 5%. Here’s my HbA1C history: June 15, 2012: 5.7% (around 11 weeks pregnant) May 5, 2012: 7.4% (hospitalized at Capitol, started my insulin shots) April 30, 2012: 7.7% (day we had our 1st OB checkup) March 29, 2012: 7.2% (before I was pregnant) May 19, 2011: 8.4% (before I resigned from work) Normal level is around less than 6.5% Anyway, I really need to track my sugar regularly so I can adjust my food intake and insulin dosage accordingly. Unfortunately, last night I had another hypo attack around 11pm. We were already in bed and ready to sleepy when I felt that my hands were super clammy. I knew right away I was having hypoglycemia and that I need to get up to eat something. I tested my blood sugar and it was at 44!!! Yikes! (Normal is 72) I drank half a bottled iced tea immediately and ate a sandwich. That usually does the trick. I went back to bed and prayed that my spikes and dips won’t affect my baby.

Halfway through!

I’m on my 20th week already! So near yet so far til the day we can hold you in our arms, our baby wopwop! It’s good that my lower back hasn’t been hurting as much as it used to a few weeks back. But recently I would usually get leg cramps and would often wake up with hands na namamanhid. Paranoid days aren’t over yet. Lots of times I’d end up worrying if our baby is doing alright. I still don’t have a prominent preggy belly, it’s still composed of 2 big flabs. I can’t help but worry if our baby’s growing normally. We’ve been worrying that our baby would grow so big (effect of being a diabetic preggy mom) and would cause caesarian, but now I’m also worrying that he/she might be too small! It doesn’t help that lately I don’t get to feel him/her move too often. Well, not as often as I used to feel him/her. *sigh* I just can’t wait til our next ultrasound next week. The last time we did was during my 8th week. Many times I’ve been tempted to go for one but my OB said that it was unnecessary and I can just wait til I’m around 20 weeks when we can have our congenital anomaly scan. If only ultrasounds are much cheaper, I would have gone behind my OB’s back and have those ultrasounds just to have peace of mind that my baby is doing just fine. We’re really excited with the next ultrasound since that’s the time we would know if our baby wopwop’s a boy or a girl! Hubby wants a boy and I want a girl. But it doesn’t really matter, we only wish that he/she is healthy and normal.

Yet Another Sundate

I’m glad that everything’s back to normal. Being away from the hubby for a week (the longest since we became husband and wife) was terribly hard. It’s a nice sunday today. We went to mass in the morning at Padre Pio near Eastwood. We love going to mass there. It’s so serene and peaceful and homilies are nice (as compared to political ones from others we’ve been to). (plus points for being airconditioned also) Then we went to Cubao and had an early lunch at French Baker. Oh how I missed Chicken ala King! I knew instantly that’s what I was ordering without looking at the menu. After a hearty lunch, we did some grocery shopping, which I really love to do with my hubby since we get to discuss what our meal plan would be for the coming days. I love cooking but there are uninspired times when I don’t feel like cooking or even think about what to cook so I’d have to consult my hubby what he wants. It was a nice sunday for us. I love bonding with my hubby even if it means doing mundane stuff.

Viral Infection

I’m glad to be finally home! The past few days have been really agonizing being away from my hubby specially when he’s sick. Background: July 24 (Tues) Hubby went home sick with fever. July 25 (Wed) Hubby didn’t go to work since his high fever hasn’t ceased yet. He wasn’t even able to go to his college barkada reunion. We thought it was just your typical flu. July 26 (Thurs) He was feeling much better and was even able to go to work already July 27 (Fri) Was alarmed to see this on my hubby’s back after he took a bath: Rashes I panicked and instantly thought it might be measles! I was really paranoid since me and my baby might be at risk if it was indeed measles! I immediately googled about measles and almost all descriptions match: having fever a couple of days before the rashes appear. Then I read about possible complications for pregnant women and was really alarmed. Reading that there’s even an incubation period before one can get it also added to the paranoia. I knew I had to get away from my hubby for the meantime so that me and baby would be safe. I packed my stuff and went to my parents house to spend a couple of days there until my hubby is ok already. It was really hard to leave the hubby especially at his state when he needs someone to take care of him. But we have to consider our baby’s health also. It would be dangerous to have measles since it might cause some abnormalities or miscarriage. July 28 (Sat) I’ve been urging my hubby to go to the hospital already to have a check up to verify if it was indeed measles, what he needs to do to get well, and if I would have to do something as well to ensure I don’t get it too. It took a lot of prodding for him to go. I really felt guilty not being there for him. I know how sick he feels and it would be nice if someone was there to take care of him. While he was at the hospital, I went back to our home to bring some groceries so that he would have something to eat while I was away. I cooked him some spaghetti sauce which he could also use to make pizza (his favorite, especially when he’s sick). I also made him some lumpiang shanghai and lumpiang toge which I put in the freezer which he can just fry whenever. I also made sure to clean the dishes and clean the house a bit before going. It’s the least I can do. Finally he called me to tell me about the results of his check up. The doctor said it wasn’t measles but just a viral infection (wait, measles is a form of viral infection, right?) and would just have to take paracetamol and something else for the rashes. I was really relieved that it wasn’t measles. But then again, we’d have to stay away from him until his rashes are gone and we have clearance from his doctor that it’s ok to come back home already. July 29-Aug 2 (sun-thurs) His rashes were gone after a few days and already went back to work. Just to make sure that everything is indeed well, I made him go back to his doctor to get clearance. Aug 3 (fri) Finally he got clearance from his doctor that I can go home already. He fetched me from my parents’ house and was really happy to hug and kiss him again! It was very evident that he lost some weight. Now we’re back home. I truly missed my hubby sooo much! While being away, it was then that I realized that home is being with my hubby. I hope this doesn’t happen again. I hate being away from him for such a long time.

Another hypo attack

I woke up around 3:30 in the morning with clammy hands and partially numb tongue. Usually this indicates that my body’s telling me that I’m having hypoglycemia. I got up and tested and true enough my blood sugar was at 69=3.8. Normal would be around 72. My number wasn’t too low but I didn’t want to wait until I really crash. I was too sleepy to eat anything. Good enough there’s bottled iced tea in the refrigerator which usually serves as my quick fix whenever I get hypo. I only drank half of it since I didn’t want my sugar to spike up. I know that would be enough. I went back to bed and prayed that my baby would be ok and not be affected with the spikes and dips of my blood sugar. I woke up around 8am and my blood sugar is at 90, the normal level for fasting blood sugar. I’m going crazy over my blood sugar numbers lately. It’s a bit frustrating really to get spikes and dips. Well, I try to analyze what I did wrong so that I could correct it and not do it again. My endocrinologist has been teaching me how to adjust my insulin dosages since she won’t be beside me everyday monitoring my blood sugar. I know I shouldn’t have eaten the pancakes for my afternoon snack. Well, maybe that would be ok, but maybe I shouldn’t have eaten as much. Even if I didn’t put any sweetener (no syrup nor sugar or condensed milk), the carb count matters. I know my evening blood sugar numbers would be affected. So I decided to add 2 more units to my insulatard and actrapid before dinner. I only ate bbq with half a cup of brown rice, my blood sugar 1 hr after dinner was at 155! I felt that it was just right that I added more units so that my blood sugar would be corrected accordingly. Unfortunately, it resulted to a hypo attack. :( Maybe I shouldn’t have added the extra actrapid. Oh well. This is definitely a learning process for me. It’s so important to track your blood sugar level and what you eat regularly since that’s the only way you will learn how your body works. It’s not always the same for everybody.

Endocrinologist check-up

Whenever I have a check-up with my OB, I (or my hubby) would usually go to Capitol early in the morning to sign-up for the check up. They only release the sign up sheet every morning when she has clinic and since she only accepts 30 patients. Patients would usually sign up very early despite her clinic still starting at 2pm. Unfortunately I had to go and sign up instead of my hubby since he’s in nightshift and would be coming from makati. He’d probably arrive there by 8:30 if he did it so it would be better if I sign up myself. Usually I’d arrive at the hospital before 7am and I’d be number 5 or 6. One time I was even number one! But today was a different story, I was number 19!!! I couldn’t believe it! :( Nyarks! I wonder what time would my turn be! Anyway, I went home first to get some more sleep and just go back around 3pm. I foresee that I would be accommodated around 6pm but I have to go early since I still need to get an approval form from cocolife and they only issue around 2-4pm. I really hate the going back and forth to the hospital since it’s pretty tiring, especially when one is pregnant. But then again, gotta sacrifice a bit since it’s for the benefit my lil one. It was definitely a long wait but I had to be patient and wait for my turn. I was entertained around past 6pm already. It would have been at a later time if all those who signed up were present already. Anyway, I showed my doctor my blood sugar monitoring book and discussed with her my spikes and hypos. Managing the insulin dosages can really be tricky since there are a lot of factors that can contribute to the highs and lows of one’s blood sugar. Right now I have fixed dosages (3 times a day) but she’s teaching me how to adjust it based on my blood sugar monitoring so I can correct my spikes (especially in the morning). It’s a learning process indeed. Sometimes even if I just eat 2 (gardenia) pandesal for breakfast, my sugar would hit around 150! But that wouldn’t be the case if I eat it in the afternoon. Recording what I eat and it’s effect on my blood sugar level really helps in understanding my body. This enables me to plan my meals better so as to avoid spikes and hypos again. I’m not an expert yet with regards to insulin management but I’m surely learning a lot. On a side note, I found out I didn’t gain any weight for the past month. I have mixed emotions about it. I’m really trying to manage my weight since I’m trying to avoid having a big baby which would cause a caesarian delivery but of course I still want to make sure that my baby is getting enough nutrients to ensure that he/she is healthy and normal.

Banapple

I just love that Banapple is just a tricycle away from our home. Anytime we crave for their chicken/tuna pies or their cakes or their baby back ribs, we can just easily go there. This has become our default date place already After hubby jogged around UP we decided to have dinner at Banapple. I was able to finally try their Asian Sunshine Salad. I loved it! It was so good that even hubby didn’t mind eating it (he isn’t much a salad person). My default order would usually be their Hickory Smoked Barbecued Country Ribs. I just love how their ribs are fall-off-the-bone type. Not to mention how budget friendly it is as well. Super yummy and super sulit! Winner talaga! Hubby decided to get something else since I was getting the ribs already. He got the Herbed Chicken Rolls with Basil Cream Sauce instead which tasted good as well, but of course, I’d still go with their ribs!

While the hubby jogs

It’s been a long time since hubby did some exercising. We used to regularly jog/walk around UP during sundays and during midweek he would also do other cardio exercises as well as lift some weights. I think the last time he ran/jogged was during the hyundai marathon (the day after we found out I was pregnant) This sunday, he decided to go back to running/jogging. Since we would be going to my parents’ place after, we had to bring lots of stuff (mostly his stuff pampalit). I would’ve gone walking as well around the academic oval while he jogs but our bag was too heavy so we decided that I would just wait for him at Chocolate Kiss. Vigan Longganisa with Egg and Fried Rice at Choco Kiss The vigan longanisa was so good! I just felt so guilty eating a hearty breakfast while my hubby was sweating himself jogging around the acad oval. I do miss jogging. I promise myself that after giving birth that I would step up and try to be more disciplined in losing weight again so that I can be healthy for our baby.

Cravings

Here are the stuff that I’ve been craving for lately. I would make the effort to go to certain places just so I can satisfy these cravings. Red Ribbon’s Palabok Red Ribbon’s Empanada My Thai’s Shrimp Pad Thai KFC’s Macaroni Salad Amongst all these, KFC’s Macaroni Salad is the most that I’ve craved. At one point, I was having it 3-4 times a week!

hello 2nd trimester

14 weeks, baby!!! I’m just really glad we’re on our 2nd trimester already! The 1st trimester wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, but it wasn’t too bad as well. I may have lost most of my pregnancy symptoms, but lately my lower back would ache once in awhile and would usually have leg cramps and tingling hands. I’ve also been having a hard time finding a good sleeping position since either my back would ache or my sides would feel a bit numb and would hurt sometimes. I’ve been really anxious to get another ultrasound but hubby has been encouraging me to be more patient and just have faith in God that eveything would be alright.

Belly Bump

Unfortunately, I still look just like a fat lady with a big tummy. I have these 2 massive tummy flabs. My hubby and I would often joke that the upper one was the “taba” and the lower flab would be the “bata”. I did lost a few pounds before getting pregnant so I have some loose skin on my belly area used to be occupied by fat. I was a bit jiggly in my tummy area. And despite the baby growing inside of me, it still hasn’t significantly shown. I’m just really excited when the time will come when it would look like 1 big pregnant belly and not just 2 massive tummy flabs so that people won’t have to second guess whether I was pregnant or just really fat!

Giving attention to hubby

For more than 2 years, my hubby was my baby. He loves how I take care of him, cook for him, and make him lambing. He gets all my attention, especially when I resigned from work last year. Now that I’m pregnant I know that my hubby would also have to make lots of adjustments. He used to be my baby but would now be promoted to being a daddy. I know it’s so easy to get caught up with being pregnant and giving all your attention to making sure that you’ll have a healthy pregnancy to ensure that baby would be healthy and normal. More often than not, pregnant women usually (but not intentionally) tend to overlook the husband and his needs. I am a bit guilty with this during the early weeks when we found out we were pregnant. With the lifestyle adjustments that I have to make since a diabetic (and obese) pregnant woman would be very prone to pregnancy complications, I expected him to shower me with lots of attention and understand my emotional roller coaster ride. Having raging pregnancy related hormones didn’t help as well. During those early weeks, I would just prefer to lie down on the bed and rest rest rest. I’m just thankful that he stepped up and tried understanding what I was going through as much as he could. I really feel guilty during his am shift wherein he has to be at work by 6am in makati. I used to cook him breakfast no matter how early it was. I would just go back to sleep afte he has left. But lately I just really couldn’t manage getting up and make him asikaso. I would often wake up to seeing him iron his own clothes for work and no matter how guilty I feel, I was just too sleepy to get up. He would also just end up having his breakfast at work. Anyway, now that my energy’s slowly coming back and I’m almost on my 2nd trimester. I’m consciously trying to give more attention to the hubby. I know I was previously too lazy to cook (well, not to mention the fact that I despise certain odors while cooking and that my tastebuds were sometimes not cooperative as well) so now I’m trying to get my cooking groove back and cooking him food that I know he likes coz I know that’s one of the things he misses. I’m starting to get back the responsibility of ironing his clothes again. And of course I make sure that I don’t scrimp out on hugs and kisses as well. I’m just really thankful to be blessed with such a wonderful, understanding, and supportive husband. So far, I’m enjoying going through this pregnancy journey with him despite feeling like a pincushion with all the insulin injection and blood sugar monitoring that I’d have to do.

baby’s heartbeat

We just heard the awesomest sound ever – our baby’s heartbeat! Wop wop wop wop wop wop It was truly an amazing experience hearing our baby’s heartbeat through a fetal doppler! I’m glad my hubby was there with me. And he is a proud father indeed! At first my OB was a bit worried that she’ll have a hard time finding it due to my flabs of fat, but we’re really thankful that it just took a few seconds before we heard that awesome sound. Good job, baby!!!! I have been anxiously anticipating this OB visit and have been really paranoid if everything’s alright…if we would be able to hear baby’s heartbeat. Especially that lately, almost all pregnancy symptoms are gone, except for some ocassional barfing and lower back ache. Maybe I can attribute that withe fact that we’re almost at the 2nd trimester. Anyway, we’re just really glad the OB visit went well. She was happy that my hba1c went down. I just really need to make sure that I control my weight gain for the 2nd trimester. Since I’m obese, I would only need to gain 1-2 lbs per month as compared to those with normal weight who would have to gain around 1 lb per week. Also, I wouldn’t need to take folic and multivitamins, but instead she prescribed me to take iron and calcium supplements which my baby would be needing at this phase of my pregnancy. I was hoping she’d give me an ultrasound request since I really want to see my baby but she adviced that we just wait for my 5th month when I’m scheduled to have my congenital anomaly scan (CAS). Oh well. That’s a bit of a long wait! At least we’ll have the opportunity to hear baby’s heartbeat again on our next visit next month. There are lots of times that I’m really tempted to buy a fetal doppler so we wouldn’t have to wait for check-ups and we can listen to our baby’s heartbeat any time we want to, especially during those times when I get paranoid. I just need to make sure to follow my doctors’ orders, keep on praying, and trust God that He will bless us with a healthy, normal, strong, happy, and smart baby! :-)

weight gain

Obese pregnant women, especially those with diabetes, should monitor closely their weight gain during pregnancy since they are more prone to have bigger babies which usually causes a caesarian delivery. Usually it’s recommended to only gain 11-20 pounds for obese women as compared to 25-35 pounds for those who have normal weight. I’m aiming to have a normal delivery as much as possible so I’m really trying my best to discipline myself. Before I got pregnant, I was trying to lose weight so that I would be healthier. When I resigned from work in June I was at 240.5 lbs. At around 4 months I already lost 20lbs but a lot happened (parties, outings, xmas holiday, etc) and I started gaining again. And when I got pregnant I was around 226lbs. Two weeks after I got hospitalized so that my blood sugar would somehow normalize, I lost around 2 lbs which alarmed me a bit and got a bit paranoid, hoping that my baby is still getting enough nutrition. I’ve been trying to be really careful with what I eat and how much I eat so as to have a steady normal weight gain. It really is a struggle especially that I’ve been super hungry lately. It takes a lot of discipline in ensuring that I eat at the right time and at the right amount. Sometimes I just get super paranoid since I might not be eating enough for the baby and that our baby is not getting enough nutrition. But my sugar level can really go crazy at times that even if I don’t eat as much it, shoots up within an hour just like the other day (ex. breakfast: 2 gardenia pandesal 2 scrambled eggs –> blood sugar level: 178 1 hr after) but turns to almost hypo in 3.5 hrs (blood sugar level: 69!!!). I would easily know that my blood sugar is low since my hand would be a bit shaky already and I would usually panic a little in finding something to eat. At 12 weeks I already gained 3 lbs. So far I think that’s good progress. But I was starting to get paranoid again since I weighed myself this morning and I lost 1 lb, to think that I only last weighed myself the day before yesterday. Oh I just hope my baby is doing alright. Is it because I didn’t eat any rice yesterday? I’m trying to avoid rice since it’s usually the main culprit when my sugar shoots up. This whole diabetic pregnancy can really be challenging. It entails careful food planning if I want to ensure that my blood sugar is at a normal level and that I would be gaining just the right amount of weight and that my baby would still get all the nutrition that it needs to develop into a healthy normal baby. We still have a long way to go but I’m more determined to become better at this all for the sake of our baby.

Happy father’s day

It’s father’s day and the whole gang was at Project 6 again. We had a hearty lunch with sugpo, palabok, and liempo. In the afternoon we had a humongous pizza delivered from Big Guy’s Pizza just like last mother’s day. the daddies the gang Nothing beats spending time with the family!

pregnancy symptoms

I have been a bit paranoid a couple of times regarding my pregnancy symptoms. I hate it when I feel all these pregnancy symptoms all too much then one day I feel perfectly fine without any tinge of symptom. During those times I can’t help get paranoid and doubt if I was still pregnant. My mind can really go crazy at times. Anyway, what have I been feeling lately? Well, I’m usually very sleepy and lethargic. I would force myself to get out of bed to inject insulin and eat my breakfast then I’d usually go back to bed. I used to program my alarm to go off at 6am for breakfast (just like when i was hoapitalized so i can have snacks at 9 am, lunch at 12 nn, snacks at 3pm, dinner at 6 pm, snacks at 9 pm) but lately I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed and would end up getting up at around 8:30. I still try to eat every 3 hours but i often end up getting so hungry around midnight. I also end up feeling so tired even just after doing some household chores so I would usually try to space them out a bit and take naps every so often. But i know I still need to do a bit of exercising so usually I just do a bit of walking either going to a nearby market or doing grocery shopping. I never experienced throwing up until I was around 10weeks. I thought I wouldn’t go through that phase but I guess I spoke too soon. And unfortunately, my first major barfing episode was when I was cooking adobo which my hubby requested. Unfortunately, my tummy couldn’t handle the smell of adobo, much to me and my husband’s dismay. I had to instruct him to finish cooking and just locked myself in our room so I wouldn’t smell it anymore. He just ended up frying the pork and threw out the sauce so I wouldn’t smell it anymore. I couldn’t bear eating it, good thing we had leftovers of a different viand from lunch. Lately, brushing my teeth has also been triggering my barfing episodes. I really hate the feeling of barfing so I’m hoping by the 2nd trimester I’d graduate from it already. Another major symptom would be the frequent urination. Frequent would be an understatement. I almost go every hour and usually 2-3 times during bed time. I wouldn’t want to refrain from drinking water since I know I have to stay hydrated. It’s just a bit of a discomfort dragging my sluggish self out of bed just to pee. One of the 2 things I hate the most is having those nipples get soooo sore! As in super sensitive in a non-sexual way. Argh! It hurts darn bad! :( Well good thing that the last few days it doesn’t hurt as bad anymore but they just look a bit bigger. Now the other things I hate the most is the getting super constipated. I never experienced this before I got pregnant, especially since I was taking Metformin for my diabetes which makes me prone to pooping 2-4 times a day (usually right after meals!). But lately I’m really having a hard time doing my business and sometimes end up having blood when I do my thing which really scares me a lot. My OB suggested that I eat oatmeal and probably drink cilium fiber to help ease my constipation. Unfortunately I hate those 2. Oatmeals are so bland and I can’t add any sweetener to it. I don’t like drinking cilium as well since I don’t like the taste and I hate the bloating feeling after. Unfortunately too, I can’t eat as much papaya since that would also trigger a high sugar level. I just really need to drink more water and find other alternate foods which are high in fiber. Oh well. Despite all these, I’d still want to think that I’m pretty much doing ok with my pregnancy. I’m lucky enough that I’m a housewife and doesn’t have to drag my sorry ass to work. That would have been much stressful. Atleast I can pace myself and rest whenever I feel the need too. Despite the discomfort these symptoms bring, I’m still thankful that I have them since they just affirm my pregnancy. How I wish I can have an ultrasound whenever I want to just to make sure my baby is doing fine. Well, that would be too costly. I’m slowly but surely learning to trust more in God that He would help us get through this and that I would safely deliver a healthy normal baby.

Meet and greet with my OB

Finally I was able to meet my OB at Delgado this morning. The first time I was supposed to have a check up with her, she was at a conference and a different doctor attended to me instead. Not much was discussed and she didn’t examine me. She just looked at my ultrasound and also commented na maganda naman daw yung kapit. She gave prescription in case my constipation persists as well as prescription in case I would have persisting lower back ache and cramping (which I hope I don’t experience). I would be going back to her during the last week of June wherein my baby’s heartbeat may already be heard through a fetal doppler. We still haven’t decided fully if I would indeed give birth at Delgado or at Cardinal where my OB is also affiliated. We still need to weigh the pro’s and cons.

8 weeks and 1 day

I was really excited and anxious at the same time to go to my perinatologist for my next ultrasound. She initially did my TVS 3 weeks ago and we only saw a gestational sac. Especially with my health condition, there is that possibility that it might not progress to a fetus. I did all my best to take care of myself, injecting insulin at the right time, eating at the right time and eating the right stuff. I do not want to jeopardize my baby’s health and is more than willing to do whatever sacrifices it would take just to make sure that we would have a normal healthy baby. What made me a bit more scared was that the past 2 days, my pregnancy symptoms were a bit lessened. My nipples weren’t too sore anymore (sorry, TMI!), and I don’t seem to urinate just as much as the past days. Crazy thoughts were indeed going through my mind and I just hated the paranoia! It even made me research on blighted ovum, which I was dearly praying not to have! Lying down and getting ready for my TVS was nerve wracking! I was just hoping and praying that all my efforts didn’t end in vain and that my baby is doing fine. And finally when I saw our baby on the screen, I almost got teary eyed! My perinatologist was also happy with what she saw. She said “very good! malakas ang kapit!” I breathe a sigh of relief and silently thanked God for this wonderful blessing. And finally the heartbeat of the baby can already be detected! It’s at 175bpm! Yey!!! Funny lang how she made hirit na isa lang naman daw. (The mom before me was having twins kasi). Well, that’s a relief! We’re good with just 1 for the mean time. We’ll probably add another in 2-3 years time. :) With my baby’s size, she estimated me to be 8 weeks and 1 day pregnant and forecasted my due date to be new year’s day! Wow! Our baby might have the same birthday as my mom! But then again, usually, women don’t really finish the entire 40 weeks and more or less give birth by the 38th week. So there’s that chance we’ll have the baby before Christmas (or maybe on Christmas day itself!). My husband and I are really happy to know that our baby is doing just fine. I couldn’t help have that smile on my face and once in awhile still get overwhelmed. I’d crazily say to my hubby every so often: “there’s baby inside me!” It’s such a wonderful crazy feeling. It’s super scary but I know everything will be worth it by the time we get our hands on our baby! I would be going back to my perinatologist by August when I’m 18-22 weeks into my pregnancy for the congenital anomaly screening. Now that’s another thing to worry about. I just really hope and pray that everything would be fine and that we would have a healthy normal baby! It’s going to be a long wait. I just have to make sure that I keep eating the right stuff and inject my insulin at the right time.