an extraordinary path to parenthood

54 days to go

mari — 2010-03-08T09:30:00Z

In 54 days, more or less, I'll give birth again to another baby girl. I feel excited and nervous at the same time. Something that I didn't feel when I was about to give birth to baby Gwen.

I feel different. I think I am more afraid this time despite my past experience. I think it is because I know what to expect by the time that I am admitted to the hospital. I think this is because I wanted to have the same 'easy' delivery as I had before. I think because I know that there are more people waiting for me to go out of the delivery room.

On the other hand, I pray that I will be stronger this time. Since I already know how to 'push', delivery would be a lot easier. I pray that baby Stef would also be strong and be out as soon as she can. That she will be stronger and will find her way out faster. I just pray that both of us will be safe because when we get out of the delivery room, tatay and ate gwen-gwen will be there waiting for us.

new drawers

mari — 2010-03-06T08:26:00Z

I've been planning to prepare baby Stef's things since I was 7th month pregnant but I have been postponing it until today because I still need to have an additional cabinet and drawers to put her things. Yesterday after attending the mass, we went to a plastic store to buy a new cabinet for her. Actually, its more of baby Gwenks' cabinet since it is bigger and she has more things now. The old one from ate will be her temporary cabinet until we can have their cabinets made on their respective rooms. For the meantime, I just need something to keep their things organized, not really a mmf drawer.

Just like the 'older' cabinet, it is a simple plain durabox where we can put stickers for design. I prefer it this way since I can choose which sticker and what theme to put without extra expenses. I've noticed that Disney boxes are more expensive because of the design when in fact, you can avail of the same sticker on house deco stores.

Anyways, I will just have to ask our house help to help me with the cleaning. I wanted to do it myself but I am already having a hard time bending and kneeling these days.

sickie

mari — 2010-03-06T07:43:00Z

After several trips to the doctor, the rashes are finally out. Baby G has roseola also known as 'tigdas hanging'. Rashes are now all over her tummy area. She is feeling the itch but I try to help her by wiping her body with wet towel.

We have been up the previous nights because of her high fever. Her highest ever temperature was 39.9 degree Celsius, which is very unusual for her. There were even instances that tatay won't report to work because he was up the whole night looking after her daughter. I can't stay up too long because of my condition and I myself has not been feeling well.

This started when we got back from Baguio. She was already feeling low the time we left Victory Baguio. She immediately slept when the bus left the terminal. She was in fact sleeping the whole trip home. She had slight fever when we arrived home. That night I was terrified because her temperature went up to 38 degree C. The next day we went to the nearest pedia since tatay has to work again. We weren't satisfied with how he handled baby's case. Baby G's fever subsided during the day but it went back again that night. This time the fever reached 39. Good thing we make ice, we had something to lower her temperature. I just added water from then kitchen sink and we had a cold compress. She likes this better than her 'kool aid' gel.

show your teeth

mari — 2010-02-24T14:34:00Z

and little G will immediately comply.

She would show her happy face with matching loud laugh with it. I hope I won't need to bring her to a Plano cosmetic dentist soon since I am really trying to take care of her teeth. For now, she loves brushing her teeth with me. Whenever I brush my teeth, I make sure that she brushes hers too. During times when she couldn't brush, I use the baby wipes to clean them. It is tedious but that's the only way that I know. She doesn't drink water from her bottle, rather she prefers it on glass. So there is no possibility that she would drink water before going to sleep.

role playing

mari — 2010-02-24T14:16:00Z

Ate Gwen-Gwen is playing the part well.

One time, tatay asked her to put her baby to sleep. She got her stuff toy and danced with her, more of swayed her from my POV. Then before putting her down, she kissed the teddy. After a while, we saw her tapping the bears butt while she was singing to her.

Another scene that we like is when she 'nebulize' her stuff toy. Whenever she sees the mask that I used when I nebulized her, she'd put it also on her teddy. She would put it over the teddy's face and waits for sometime before removing it.

She is really a very good 'gaya-gaya'. I bet that if ever she'll see other medical equipments like pulse oximeter, she would easily do what she sees when grown-ups are using it.

I hope she only learns to imitate the good attitude from older people... if not, I hope I can teach her to do only what is good and righteous.

party planning

mari — 2010-02-18T03:38:00Z

For baby Annie's Christening...

While tatay is searching for car prices on his laptop, I am busy looking for a theme for baby Annie's baptism. I have several things in mind that I want to incorporate, like pink & brown motif or blue & silver, or another pink & violets plus angels or bears or stars or fairies...

I am starting to feel excited but there are some 'oldies' who keep reminding me that I shouldn't move until the baby's out. If that will be the case, I may not be able to get what I wanted again. By the time baby Annie's out, I will surely be very busy then. Imagine having 2 kids to look after. The ate will surely need more attention since she would share it with someone already.

Whatever they say, I will already start. I need to make the announcements ready and the invites and the...

love letter 13

mari — 2010-02-16T08:09:00Z

This is another long overdue letter for you my sweetheart.

I wasn't able to write for you the past months. As you know, we have been having problems with house helps. They come and go. Since you were born, we had 6. The 6th one is the one who is taking care of you now. As a baby, you were so very behaved. I can still manage to do chores during your sleeping time. It was fun for me since I do not have to take any of the best weight loss products available in the market. You alone is the better alternative for it. We have dealt with the chores with flying colors... until your ading came to us. Since then and since my tummy is growing bigger and you becoming more active, our life had been more challenging.

To date, I am still very proud of your achievements. You are better than most of your 'age-mates'. You fascinate me and tatay each day. What we love most about you is your being 'malambing' to us. You always want to kiss and be kissed. You would hug and kiss tatay in the morning to wake him up. You would cry or should I say wail whenever he stands up from the bed for his bath. You always wanted to be assured that he will go back.

Anak, I love you more because you show signs of affection for baby Annie. You kiss my tummy whenever you get the chance. When people ask you where your sister is, you would point at my tummy and you would give them your big smile. I hope this won't change once she's out with us. As I've always said, you are my firstborn and that I love you first

when traveling with a child

mari — 2010-02-16T07:20:00Z

We traveled to Isabela last December and it was not easy. It was an 8-hour trip so it was boring and tiring for the little girl. Based on that experience, I learned that there are certain things that I need to bring when I am traveling with her.

1. diaper bag original contents

water in feeding bottles
pre- measured milk in canisters
a couple of diapers
extra clothes
baby wipes

2. additional food that the baby can eat - this can be biscuits, fruit juices in sealed containers to avoid spilling
3. toys that can entertain the child - bring at least 2 to 3 so that he can choose which one to play with
4. a radio or ipod - again to entertain
5. sling or carrier
6. insect repellant
7. extra shirt for the caregiver - for emergency purposes
8. coin purse - for easier access to money

These are the things that I can think of at present. These will surely save you the added pressure of travelling. It is like a generic accutane which can help you solve problems along the way.

experience pain

mari — 2010-02-16T07:02:00Z

It has been sometime since I last had a toothache. Actually, I already forgot how it felt until last night. The pain started at 2:00 am and until now, it is already past 3 pm I can still feel the tingling pain. I wanted to cry but it won't help at all. I haven't taken any medicine yet, hoping that it will 'finally' go away.

I just texted my OB asking what medicine I could take. I am still waiting for her reply. I hope to go to the dentist tomorrow or maybe on Thursday since I will also go out for my OB appointment. I just pray that the pain will go away soon. I am writing now so that it will help me forget about the pain that I am experiencing. I tried searching for articles on toothache and pregnancy and most of them suggest that I use clove oil. I don't know if we have one here or at the drugstores, I'll ask tatay to check it out later before he goes home, For now, I'd rather check on eczema treatment, not that one of us needs it, but for additional knowledge on it. After that, I'll also try to work on the monogram for my sister's wedding...

I need to be busy. I need to forget the pain... ouch!

13 months milestones

mari — 2010-02-15T01:24:00Z

At 13 months, ate Gwen is more active than usual. She is 'bibo' and funny most of the times. Here are some of the things that she can do at this stage.

* She can identify people. She knows who her tatay and nanay, wawa, ninang, lola nanay, lola Butchay, ate Jen, ate Lea, tita Ellen and all her playmates.
* She can also 'point' at the light, the moon, her nose, tatay's car, the neighbors' dogs, flowers and even SM.
* She borrows an animal book from her wawa and she can find the page where there are dinosaurs and pandas.
* She can do the actions of I have 2 hands, she can 'patay-lamok', 'pagpag kamay', give anything that you want her to get.
* She can walk really fast but she can't run yet.
* She has been practicing on how to jump.
* She can climb a couple of steps but she is still afraid to go down. She is really an all natural fat burner at present.

Physically, she had grown bigger but she still weighs around 9.0 to 9.5 kilos.
* She prefers to drink water on the cup rather than on her sippy cup or feeding bottle.
* She prefers to eat on her own, hold her own spoon and fork rather than being fed.
* She wants independence at this early stage.

Another thing that we love about her, she is so malambing. In the morning, when is wakes up, she would wake her tatay too. She'd call him 'tatay' and would shake him until he speaks.

Time really flies. I wish we could spend more time with her but with ading Annie arriving very soon. We just have to give her the quality time that we can give her now.

update on my pregnancy

mari — 2010-02-14T09:35:00Z

I am now on my 29th week... in 7 weeks time, baby Annie is already safe to be born. As of this time, she is so active especially in kicking me. She would respond with kicks whenever she'd hear her ate gwen talk. She also loved it when ate kissed her

My next schedule for OB check is on Thursday. I had to report to my OB that I already visited my Diabetologist and I was only asked to record my sugar level from time to time. Together with this, I should also watch my diet again. I need to lessen sweets and at the same ti me I also need to watch for the food that I should take. I really need multivitamins to make up for my daily needs. There are times that I wanted to eat more but I just can't. I'd rather diet than have my insulin shots again. This is the only challenge for me during pregnancy, GDM

In addition, I am also thinking if we should have the 3D ultrasound for baby Annie. I am afraid that there might be something wrong with her since she always gets hit with ate's big body. Ate is more of 'karinyo-brutal'' especially when she is getting sleepy. But with the amount that I will pay for it? I can already use it for buying baby's new things... which I hope to do this weekend since there will be a sale at SM. I pray that I receive more work so that I can allot an additional budget for baby Annie's ultrasound.

PS...
paging lola mommy, its time to buy for baby Annie's things :p

happy valentine's day

mari — 2010-02-14T04:18:00Z

Happy Hearts Day everyone. I hope you enjoyed it in whatever way you could.

We had an early celebration for the Vday. It is not common for the household to celebrate Vday but for the first time we did. After attending the Sunday mass last week, tatay brougnt us out for dinner. We (me, baby Gwenks and mama) were all he needed to make his valentine's complete. I thought we'll eat at our favorite Mang Nitoy's but he opted to eat the sinigang na hipon at Max's.

This was our first time to eat at this branch because it is not that accessible for us. We usually eat at Max's Pacita Branch since it is 'along the way'. But he took the turn at Max's Balibago instead. There were no other customers when we entered the place so the waiters were very attentive to our needs. They immediately gave us a high-chair for the little girl even before we asked for it. They were also fast in getting our orders... but I was disappointed that it took them too long to prepare the sinigang the hipon. We were nearly finished with our meals when it arrived. The good thing, I was feeding baby gwenks first so I enjoyed the 'sabaw'.

This made up for today's celebration. Tatay has been telling me that we go to Nuvali but I am so lazy to prepare things. The ending, we decided that we will go there next next week, on my birthday instead. We 'might' go out later tonight to watch a movie but I am still thinking about it. If I finish my work on gold bullion, I might agree that we go out... but if not, we'll just be contented ending the night early since he has work again tomorrow.

singer-performer

mari — 2010-02-14T04:02:00Z

I remember that I once blog about her humming at an early age. I think she was less than 6 months old when she would 'sing' early in the morning. At first, we thought she was just dreaming but then she was consistent with this activity. Before she turned one, she would sing with us at the church. Again I thought she was just shouting but when I analyzed, she was already singing This was also something that our new house help observed when we brought her with us when we went to church.

Now she holds the microphone and sings with any music. To make her performance better, she would even stand in her highchair and turn the speaker volume up. I guess this will be a great job for her in the future. As tatay said, 'microphone lang puhunan'.

my soon-to-be driver

mari — 2010-02-05T08:30:00Z

The little girl has fascination for cars. She loves to look and play with them. She has a pair of magnetic cars (these are used to hold notes on our ref) that she would always want to play with. In fact, she loved it more than her dolls. In the morning before her tatay leaves for work, she should hold the steering wheels first. She would just hold it and make a few turns and she would be satisfied.

These days, she is more into action. She also enjoys the rides found at amusement centers. She likes those with steering wheels that she can hold and play with. Last time we went to the grocery, she found a new 'tambayan'. She was so engrossed with the rides that she doesn't want to go home anymore. She is contented even if we don't drop tokens as long as she sits and plays on the cars.

Now, whenever we go to the grocery we make sure that she takes her ride. This will surely make her behave at the stores. Too bad that the grocery store where we shop do not have those carts with steering wheels for kids.

Anyway, have to get back to my shopping list. I need to make sure that I include Anilox cleaner on it. It has been ages since I am wanting to buy one from the store. I just kept forgetting because it is not on my list

ate Gwen-Gwen

mari — 2010-02-02T06:44:00Z

We address her with this name nowadays and so far so good. She has been responding to it well and I think she loves it. Often times, she would kiss her little sister when she sees me lying down. When we ask her who is ate, she will instantly point at herself. But our dear ate Gwen is still a baby at her age. She always wanted to be carried around and even cuddled no matter how hot the day is. She would hug and kiss me just to get my attention. Whenever she is awake and she sees me within distance, she wants to be near me as much as possible.

There are times when I pity her because she hasn't gotten 'all' the attention yet and soon she'll have someone to share with already. But we make sure now that we will make up for it. We shower her with so much love and attention. We also make sure that we are always here for her from her waking hours until her sleeping times. There are even times that we bring our netbooks to bed so that she won't feel alone.

Having 2 kids in a row has its advantages and disadvantages. With balance and sharing, we will surely be able to shower them both the love that they needed.

valentine's gifts

mari — 2010-02-02T06:36:00Z

This years Valentine's day fall on a Sunday. This is also the day after baby Gwenks' 13th month bday. Last year, we had an advance Valentine's party since we celebrated baby Gwenks' first month. That time, we had cake and pasta and ice cream I think. Then on the Vday itself, tatay bought me and baby Gwenks' our flowers

This year, I am looking forward again to what tatay will give us. For sure he won't miss the chance giving me and the little girl flowers but will he also give us something that has loose diamonds on it? Will he give another jewelry piece just like he did last Christmas? Or will he save the money for our Baguio trip? We'll wait and see... but if it comes from the heart then it is more worthy than anything else.

first firsts this weekend

mari — 2010-02-01T03:44:00Z

There are several first firsts for baby Gwenks this weekend...

* First Swimming Lessons -

* First Birthday Party that is not held at Jolibee

* First Real Ride at the Carousel

* First Dentist Appointment

But there are no photos to share...

So instead of thinking about it again and again, I'll just read on information on rheumatoid arthritis. Lola Nanay (our neighborhood lola) is always in pain when her arthritis occurs so I may find something that can lessen her pain.

lost files

mari — 2010-02-01T03:12:00Z

I am to be blamed for this. I accidentally deleted all photos taken this weekend.

Our weekend get-away started saturday night when tita Tine invited us for an overnight swimming. We were supposed to go to Calamba but ended at the neighborhood pool. Since it was already late and the little girl was already sleeping, she took her dip at the pool only in the morning. We were supposed to go to Nuvali for some photo opps later that day but other family members were too sleepy already. So we just continued with our initial plan of attending Isa's bday party at Pixie Forest in Alabang. We got home around 7 in the evening.

While watching Mel & Joey and their discussion on Earthquake 101, I was tinkering on the digicam and looking at the day's pictures. Maybe I was fascinated with steel buildings and how it is safer to have one these days, I accidentally formatted the memory card. Imagine my face when I saw the 'No Image' words on the cam. I was so devastated about it that I was not talking for a few minutes.

Hay... if only...

new year pics

mari — 2010-01-21T03:13:00Z

Some of the pictures during our Christmas vacation at home.

family vacation

mari — 2010-01-20T03:35:00Z

Hopefully we can have one by October of this year. The only problem is whether we will bring little Stef with us or it will just be the 3 of us. We are now anticipating for zero fares or minimal fare trips if it would be an out of the country trip. On the other hand, we can bring baby Stef with us but our destination would either be Baguio or Bacolod.

My wish to avail of Orlando vacation packages is still open but not in the near future. I wanted to have one when the children are bigger and can walk on their own. The time when they can move around freely without us bringing a stroller or big luggage along. This is possible, maybe 5 or 6 years from now.

If not, then we will just wait for the Holiday season again and visit the grandparents in Isabela. This time, there will be no long trips because I prefer taking the plane with the kids in tow.