Abi Notes

So I won't forget:

First Time to cut nails - February 7, Ninang Odie helped :)
Cord stump fell off - February 11.
First Full Bath, First time to go out of the House, First well-baby check-up - February 14.
First Explosive Poopoo (believe me when I say it was really explosive, LOL!) - February 15.

These notes deserve a separate post each. How I wish I can get around to writing 'em! I'm still writing the birth story, I hope to finish it soon. With a demanding Abi and the desire to catch sleep, I'm able to write an average of six sentences a day. Kamusta naman yun?! :) Wish me luck!!

She's here!

I gave birth via emergency C-section last friday. Will update you peeps soon! Still writing my birthing story :)

Ang sarap maging Mommy!!! :D

Yes, still pregnant.

I would have shared the blow-by-blow details of our last OB visit but words are escaping me now. Well, the bottomline is I gained weight (when I shouldn't), my tummy has lots of amniotic fluid, Baby Dot is fine and my cervix is still closed at 39 weeks. I was advised to stop drinking momma milk, walk some more, get my calcium needs from veggies and to take Buscopan for three days (to soften the cervix).

I've been doing a lot of walking since Friday. We walked in Megamall (the entire 5th, 4th and 3rd floors and a bit of side trip at Cyberzone and the ground floor) after the check-up. On Saturday, I woke up early and literally dragged Ane to join me in Greenhills. We were able to walk around the shopping center four times (or five, Ane thinks). And then in the evening, my family went to ATC to accompany li'l bro, to have dinner for Mom's birthday, and of course to walk. This afternoon, after my nap, I went walking here inside the compound for about 45mins (that includes climbing up and down the 45degrees ramp a lot of times). I would have chosen to walk some more but the neighboring compound started to light up some leaves and I can't risk another allergy attack. I'm tired and bored from walking but I am doing this for me and the baby. So I'm going to walk some more until Baby Dot decides to come out, LOL!

Please continue praying that I will have a normal delivery. I have reasons for not wanting a CS operation (nope, not afraid of going under the knife at all) : 1) Healing takes time. I wanna enjoy my daughter as much as I can, 2) we can use the money for CS for something more important, and 3) my skin has the tendency to turn into keloids. So, prayer warriors, you know what you need to do, LOL!

My weekend has tested me emotionally. And to end this post, I would like to share this, it's all about my roller coaster ride, something that I just wrote a while ago :)

We're ready, she's not :D

Baby Dot and I are already on our 38th week! Our hospital luggage is ready, all the documents are prepared. But it seems like Dot has other plans! :D She's probably uber comfy in there that we'll prolly reach our 40th week! My OB didn't perform an IE anymore, saying my tummy isn't that hard yet, a sign that I am not contracting yet.

Our check-up yesterday went pretty well. I lost a pound and that's good. We're back on track! Everything is normal and good. Except that I need to get better from this allergy so I can practice the breathing and pushing exercises.

I was able to do some walking in Megamall yesterday and in Galleria today. Of course we were in the malls just after they opened, so no heavy crowds yet, yey! And we were out just before them people swarm the place, LOL!

That's the update for now. I am so so excited to see my princess!! :D

The search is over...

We started the search for the kiddie cabinet weeks ago but never really took it seriously. So on Thursday, after Ane's work, we went to SM North to check out if the cabinet we initially saw was still available. The cabinet was still on display so we asked someone if there are still stocks available. The guy was kinda hesitant to accommodate us saying the person in charge is not around at that time. I didn't take that as an excuse (syemps, the customer is always right, ayt?) so he had no choice but to find out himself. The guy was gone for about ten minutes only to inform us that the person in charge is not available so he's not sure if the cabinets are readily available too. I almost threw a tantrum because 1) He could have gotten a better answer than that and 2) Why would the person in charge be unavailable when it was only 630pm and still hours before the store closes? I was ready to call the supervisor but Ane stopped me as he started to walk away.

After I calmed down a bit, Ane made a deal with me: That we will check-out the stores in Caloocan the next day (Friday) and if we don't find anything we like, we'll go back to SM over the weekend to insist they order for us. Hehe.

And the search ended on Friday morning, after less than an hour of store-hopping on Maypajo Street :) Here's what we got, exactly the same design we found in SM:


We got two cabinets, for P800 less than the price at SM! And free "same day" delivery, too! That's P1600 savings! Steal!

I just had to quote the phrase "same day" because they failed to deliver on Friday afternoon. Turned out they only had one unit in stock left and they had to order for the manufacturer for another before they deliver. We spent our Saturday just waiting for the delivery, and was even worried they will not turn up. We got some preaching from my MIL, telling us why we paid in full, etc etc.

The cabinets came around 4pm and while being assembled, the delivery guy realized one of the panels of one of the cabinets is damaged. Argh. We couldn't do anything but just let them come back for another panel. But one of the cabinets was properly assembled, we were able to bring it to QC. And that's the one pictured above. The other cabinet was done the next day, before lunch.

Yes, there were problems with the delivery but I guess all is well that ends well, right? :)

Dot is a good Baby :)

I'm currently on my 32nd week. We went to my OB for the check-up. We left the house later than planned. We had to drop by TMC first to get an LOE from Maxicare. By the time we got to my OB's clinic around 930am, I was already fourth in line and Dra. A hasn't arrived yet (she was doing her rounds in the hospital). We were attended to a little past noon already. I actually fell asleep waiting, I'll tell you why in a bit.

Me, so far. I gained 3lbs from the last check-up three weeks ago, about 2olbs since pre-pregnancy weight.
Although the weight I gained is the prescribed weight gain, Dra. A said I should eat more (the healthy stuff, of course) because Baby's weight is now below average :( My tummy also got bigger faster, fundal height is now 31in. Dra. A also said it's nice I haven't developed stretchmarks yet, yay! But I noticed some small kamot marks below the navel, uh-oh.

I was advised to continue with Obimin and twice a day Anmun milk. And added a new vitamin, Iberet, an iron supplement.

We were also able to discuss "money matters" with her which actually relieved me since money talks make me uneasy. :)

Baby Dot, now. My prayers (and others' prayers) were heard because we found out today that Dot has spun to cephalic position (the music and penlight sessions worked!). Now, I am more excited to give birth knowing that everything is in place. Just hoping Dot won't spin again! We also confirmed that Dot is a GIRL! Dot is a Hamburger and not a hotdawg, as my OB puts it, LOL! I'm not running a guess-the-gender contest anymore, since Dot took this long to show, it seems anti-climactic already hehe. She's now about 4lbs and heartbeat is 140bpm.

Last night, I slept a little because her kicks were getting stronger. I was hurt and wanted to cry already. That's why I was so sleepy while waiting for Doc this morning. My mom said, it's better to feel her moving rather than not. She has a point right?

That's it for now. I need to rest now. I am just so elated Dot has been very good and that God is putting everything in place that my worries are slowly going away.

Ciao! :)

Baby Stuff for Baby Dot

Ane and I were delaying the shopping for Baby Dot until we have confirmed the gender (that's tomorrow hopefully!). But while chatting with my mom about last week, she mentioned that when she was pregnant with us, she would already prepare the hospital bags by the time she's 7months on the way. I seriously panicked since I'm already 30weeks then. I just had to drag Ane to the mall on Friday and buy the necessary stuff for the hospital (which I haven't washed until now...was supposed to wash today but it rained!).

Here's what we bought (generic whites and unisex yellow colors):
- Diaper Bag
- a pack Disposable diapers
- 1 dozen Cloth Diapers
- 3pcs sleeveless tie shirts
- 3pcs tie shirts with sleeves
- 3pcs receiving blankets
- 2pcs hooded towels
- 3pairs of pajamas
- washcloths
- bibs
- mittens
- booties
- a pair of onesie
- 2 pairs of rompers
- diaper clips
- wipes

And then some that are on my list:
- Bottle basket
- Bottle brushes
- Washable nursing/bra pads
- Formula dispenser (in case I get no milk)
- Cycles detergent
- Bath tub

We're definitely not yet done shopping although we already have: the cribs, Playtex drop-ins, Steam sterilizer (thanks to the Tabernillas) and carseat (thanks to the Luises).

On Saturday, I met up with my college girlfriends for lunch. They planned a mini-baby shower for Baby Dot! And we were gifted with a nursing pillow and additional cloth diapers (because we can never have enough!) from the Gamoses, a grooming kit (yay!) from the Cortezes, and a cute Precious Moments Gift set from the Ongs. Thank you, thank you, girls! Love you all!

Preggy Update - 29 weeks

The Check-up. Had my monthly check-up on Saturday. I hate scheduling OB visits on Saturdays because I have to wake really early lest we fall in line and wait for hours before our turn. But I had no choice, Ane had a Training on Friday. So we woke up early. We got to the clinic before 730am and we were already second in line (there's a list posted on the door)! My OB arrived a little after 8am, probably there were no new deliveries so she went straight to the clinic instead of doing rounds. I was just so glad. I didn't even finish reading the broadsheet from cover to cover! And since the first patient didn't arrive yet, Dra. A, called me in first. Yay! We were done before 9am! Double yay!

We decided to go straight to Trinoma to check-out stuff (so I could do some walking also, heheh) and miss the "sale" crowd. We did some grocery shopping (the Supermarket opens at 9am), then early lunch at Kenny Rogers. After lunch, we were off to look at baby things in Landmark. We ended up buying 2 cribs for Dot and some feeding bottles. We bought the Playtex Drop-in System gift set (3 8oz and 2 4oz bottles) and some liners. If the crowd didn't start to grow, then we would have stayed longer. We were outta there before 1pm.

The rest of the day was spent lazing around. I was starting to feel really sick already.

Me, so far. My OB worries that I caught some colds virus. There's nothing we could do but just depend on water therapy, and refrain from drinking fruit juices first (will worsen the scratchy throat). I gained 5lbs from the time of Congenital Anomaly scan (about 19lbs since the start of pregnancy. It seems like all that weight went directly to Baby Dot! :) Dra. A. commends my discipline, thanks to Ane who watches what I eat for me, heheh. with my progress, I am allowed to gain a pound or two more than the prescribed 1lb a week. I feel restless nowadays and is having a hard time getting a good sleep at night. My legs gets tired even for just a few minutes of walking. And don't ask me about the backpains! Argh! I'm lucky though that I haven't noticed stretchmarks coming out yet! Yay! I hope Lubriderm will keep working for me hehe.

Baby Dot, now. The baby's weight is about 3lbs and 2oz which is normal. The kicks are getting harder but I'm glad Dot is very active. We still cannot confirm the gender, Dot just won't cooperate! The baby is still in breech position, and I'm starting to worry since I'm already on my 7th month. Please help us pray that Dot will still spin to cephalic position soon. We don't wanna go CS, do we? Dra. A suggests we flash a penlight for 15 minutes everyday, just below my navel. And play music from the same area. She also asked Ane to talk to Dot from there and told me to stop singing to the Baby first because babies tend to move towards the mother's voice.

Our next check-up will be on December 5 :)

I scrapped! (and a Baby Dot kwento :))

Oh yeah, oh yeah! I scrapped last night! I made two layouts. They may not be entirely from scratch (because I used templates), but I'm pretty glad that I was able to finish 'em in no time. I hope this is that start of a better relationship with darling mojo, LOL! Click on the images to lead you to their respective posts in my creative blog :)

For the Dot story, I haven't shared here that I've been reading stories and playing songs for the baby. Usually, Dot would just stay still, as if listening to my voice or to the music. For the songs, I'd play kids' songs. Then last week, hoping to get another reaction, I played love songs (hehe only because the the children's songs lull me to sleep, LOL!). But Dot still wouldn't budge.

This afternoon, we were watching Eat Bulaga because we were waiting for the return of Francis M. Guess what!? Dot started moving a lot the minute Ely Buendia started singing and continued until after Francis M finished SuperProxy. And this is the first time I felt Dot move like that, like what other mothers say -- parang may alon sa tiyan. What's that about, eh? I imagine Dot tapping the fingers and stomping the feet just like in a concert. Are we going to raise a rakista?!? :D

Thank you!!

Thanks to those who left messages in my post on Dot's CAS:

Yen, Amore, Chikai, Mae and Faye :D

Really appreciate it ladies! :D Kakatuwa naman, you're all guessing Dot's gender (except for Mae who thinks she's right na talaga, LOL!).

I'm not telling yet, just the same! :) I'm still thinking whether I should run a contest for that (maybe when they approve my $30 overdue opps, eh?). We'll see :D

Dot Update - Congenital Anomaly Scan

We went to my OB's clinic on Wednesday for the congenital anomaly scan. Although my OB, Doc Alfiler was there, it was Doc Pineda who did the scan. We were second in line so we had to wait for an hour or so. It didn't matter because we enjoyed checking out the new clinic's spunky look! :) The main color scheme is green (wow!), so cool to the eyes and I'm liking the over-all effect. Doc A. did a great job designing with the help of her architect. Her office is in lavender (yay, girly!) and the new pedia office (her husband's) is in yellow :) Ane also helped in setting up the AV system. She's still fixing the pictures of the babies she delivered and she will lay it out on the waiting area walls. She also plans to buy a digital frame to showcase the babies pictures :) Next time we just might be able to shoot some pictures, hehe.

Whoa, that's a long introduction to a post, LOL! On the scan...

Dot has grown bigger...from my last check-up when the baby is mid-average to above average :) Dot now weighs 688 grams and the heart is beating normally. I've gained about 13lbs from the time I learned of the pregnancy, so I'm right on track.

We're waiting for the official results but we were told there's nothing to worry about because everything is normal. The head is normal-sized and has no signs of hydrochepalus. Nose has a bridge. Distance of eyes from each other, normal. Kidneys are okay. Heart beating normally. Breathing is normal, the diaphragm working perfectly. Spine has no signs of scoliosis. No cleft on both the lips and palate. Fingers are complete and Dot can close fists. There are ten toes. Lookie at the right foot scan! :D (I realized I need to clean our scanner LOL!). Dot is still in breach position but moves around a lot anyway, so no worries. There are no bumps on the neck, and the cord isn't twisted around it.

Lastly, we know the gender but I'm not announcing yet in this blog :p

Ayayay!!!!

Something amazing happened this afternoon!!!

I felt Baby Dot kick me hard three times!!!! I couldn't stop laughing :D The past weeks, I could only feel light tapping and today, I am so happy that I felt a "stronger" Dot. Yay!

Ane missed it since he was "busy" with Cabal harharharhar!

Cotton

I've been really really lazy and negligent. I was twitting the other day and I wrote there that, these days, I am asleep 70% of the day. No kidding! I don't even know how I can do that! Baby Dot is as sleepyhead as his/her Nanay!!

Anyway, days passed and I was never able to blog about our Anniversary as Husband and Wife! That deserves a post, noh? So yeah, we celebrated our second anniversary on July 1. I would have checked on the best flight deals so we could have a little getaway but my condition didn't permit that (more like the budget didn't permit a getaway, heheh).

We attended the 6am (!) mass at the church where we got married, Our Lady of Consolation in Tandang Sora. I think it's gonna be an annual trip to that church starting this year (we were away last year). We were kinda surprised that the parish cut down some trees in front of the church to make way to more parking slots. Sigh. And then we braved the Katipunan morning traffic and had a buffet breakfast at Seven Corners in Crowne Galleria. I was ready to pig-out and consider July 1 as a cheat day when I realized Baby Dot and I weren't that hungry! Imagine hubby's face when I told him I can't maximize the breakfast cost, LOL! Don't get me wrong, the food was okay...but after salad and cereals, I was full! I tried to eat more but was not able to try everything.

That's about it. The rest of the day was uneventful (I was asleep from 10am to 530pm, totally skipping lunch!). We didn't give each other gifts anymore as we are saving for the baby's arrival :)

Week 8

It is the start of week eight. I feel less sexy and even more unglamorous (maybe I should get myself a new set of lingerie so I'll feel better, whatdyathink?). I stay in bed all day and have no desire to do anything but lie down. I am eating more but I watch what I eat (gawd, I miss junk and soda!!!). I'm on a medication just to be sure since my OB saw a slight bleeding inside but she also said there's nothing to worry about because Baby Dot's heart is beating at 128bpm and the yolk sac is at a healthy size. I am *forced* to drink momma milk (anything for the baby!!!) twice a day. I am lactose intolerant so I'm also having upset stomach for days now but I'm glad it's not a cause of dehydration. I chose Gerber for Moms among all milk brands because it doesn't taste milk at all (but I still gag when I drink, sigh). I am still allowed to drive but Hubby wants me to refrain from doing so, if I can help it...the same with commuting, Hubby wants me to avoid it.

Our next OB visit is on July 15 and Doc said we can bring the camera so we can record the ultrasound ;) Yay!

Here's information from babycenter:

How your baby's growing:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

How your life's changing:

You may notice that your bra is getting more snug. Soon you'll likely need a larger size with better support. Rising levels of hormones cause breast growth and other tissue changes, all in preparation for lactation. Your breasts may continue to grow throughout pregnancy. Don't be surprised if you go up a cup size or two, especially if it's your first baby. Keep this in mind, and allow for room to grow when investing in a new bra.

Feeling fatigued? Hormonal changes — in particular, a dramatic rise in progesterone — may be contributing to your sluggishness. Nausea and vomiting can certainly cost you energy, too. And you may be having trouble getting a good night's sleep at this point, especially if you're uncomfortable or find you need to get up to pee.