Update on the Nursery

I just want to share the final look of our nursery room :)

@36 Weeks

Any minute now I can give birth, yup it will be a bit earlier than expected because my baby is so excited to come out and she doesn't have enough room in my tummy anymore. Last Saturday, I was ordered to have bed rest because I had contractions the day before and my baby is already in position, meaning her head is down there in my pelvis and can already be felt by my OB when she did an internal exam on me.

My OB was a bit worried because at 35 weeks, she's still early and we all know the implications if she will come out early. So my doctors visited me at home, my other doctor tried to fastrack her maturity while she is still in my tummy so in the event that she comes out early she will not need an incubator or drugs/antibiotics/steroids. During the time they were with me, I was having contractions every 5 minutes and these were strong and slightly painful contractions. My baby descended further down into my pelvis. The doctors were saying that I might give birth that night or the following day. Although, Cal's movements were very slow, meaning she was taking her time descending. After 2 hours, my doctors said she is fine, her cells are complete, she is estimated to be at 38 weeks already and she is so excited to come out.

So here I am about to enter my 36th week tomorrow and she is still in my tummy. I had my biophysical exam yesterday and everything was normal. The score was 8 out of 8. Her estimated weight is 6.8 lbs (+/_ 1.1lbs). Lo and behold her measurements are already at 38 weeks. So true enough, as what my other doctor said she is mature enough to be able to come out anytime.

Another thing that we have to prepare right now is our pedia. We already had our initial consult with her and we discussed our concerns about vaccines. Yes we are opting not to have any vaccines administered to her because we feel that it will be better for her in the long run. Call us radical, some may even call us stupid but we believe that since she will be purely breastfed she will get all her needed antibodies from that. So choosing the right pedia was also critical because she must be willing to allow us to what we want. Good thing my OB recommended a very nice pedia who is an advocate on breastfeeding plus the fact that she is willing to allow us not to administer the vaccines as long as we sign a waiver.

So there you go, we are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of our baby girl Callista Kaori or Cal. Just this morning when I woke up, felt her moving around in my tummy I suddenly burst into tears. I was just overwhelme with joy and no words could express how thankful I was to God for blessing us with our daughter. I just couldn't help but recall nine months ago wherin I was on the verge of getting furstrated and giving up but I am just so glad that I held on. Now in a matter of days we will finally see our very beautiful daughter. Thank you God, I just feel so happy and blessed right now (I am even crying as write this).

To all those trying to conceive, never loose hope because your time will really come. Just trust in Him and be confident about youselves because in due time you will also be where I am today. I will continue praying for all of you.

@ 33 weeks

I think its about time to update my blog. I've been really remiss in doing so because I have been really busy. I started off my year with very hectic activities.

We started off buying the baby stuff. This was really a hard task and a very expensive activity. First off, our daughter will be the first grandchild on both sides. So imagine that everything is new because there are no available hand me downs. Then the most difficult part was finding all the stuff we wanted in one store. We had to jump from mothercare, rustan's and baby & co. We even had to visit the Trinoma branch and Shangri-la branch of mothercare because Trinoma had more items compared to Shang. The sad part is, I still had to resort to buying stuff from the States through an online seller simply because we really have limited baby items here in Manila. Honestly, until now I still have a few more items that I need to buy before I can say I'm done with shopping.

Another thing that kept me busy was preparing the nursery. It took us around a month to finish the nursery. I'm still in the process of completing the accessories. More or less this is how it looks like. My theme is orange, green and white.



Its a bit more updated now but I have not been able to take some pictures. I'll upload the final look once everything is complete.

About the pregnancy, it was pretty uneventful until I reached the end of my 7th month. I had edema or "manas" and my doctors were really concerned about this. The culprit was the 3 pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken I ate last week. After that, I bloated really bad so the doctor had to do a slight LDT with my CST. Good thing it already subsided right now. The only thing I am watching out for is my blood sugar. It also started fluctuating and the culprit was the banoffee at banapple. Haaay, its just too good that I couldn't resist. So I'm off to see the endocrinologist on Monday to find out what do. I am just praying that I don't need to take insulin for this.

Other than that, it has been a wonderful journey. Each time my baby moves in my tummy, it makes me cry. There are still times that I couldn't believe that I'm finally pregnant and that I am actually about to give birth. The most wonderful time is also being able to communicate with the baby. She actually says yes and no whenever she wants to. Case in point is her name. Her full name is Callista Kaori and we gave her Callie as her nickname. She never responded when we call her Callie so we were at a point of getting confused what name to give her. Until finally my doctor was also communicating with her and she said she likes her full name but hates her nickname. She feels that the name Callie is a name for horses and that Callie does not sound good together with our family name "Lim". So the nickname she wants is "Cal". Right now, me and hubby are trying to get used to the idea of calling her Cal. Here's one baby who knows what she really wants. I wonder where she got that :)

We have been trying to finalize our birth plan as well, of course with the inputs of Cal. She wants with lights on, her nursery rhymes playing, eucalyptus aromatheraphy, among other things when she comes out. I'm still trying to find out what else she likes because we really need to finish everything.

Another discussion we had with Cal is the date of her birth. She wants to come out April 5, which is actually the death anniversary of my Dad. The thing is my OB feels its still a bit early so she is suggesting that Cal should come out April 10. I said this was on Good Friday, Holy Week. My OB said maybe she wanted to come out when everything was quiet. Hubby and I were just concerned that it will be difficult to celebrate her birthday if it will fall during Holy Week. So we have been convincing her to come out April 12. Last night, at first she wasn't answering but later on it was a weak yes and after much convincing it was a strong yes already. We do hope that she is convinced with an April 12 birthday :)

Hmmm, are we sounding really weird? Believe it or not there has been a lot of instances that me, hubby and my doctors have been able to communicate with her even if she's still inside my tummy.

This journey or pregnancy is really such a wonderful experience. It is a very demanding, physically exhausting and an emotional rollercoaster but I would gladly go through it again.

Next step is the delivery :)

Reborn...

Those were the exact words my doctor said to me earlier when we had our consultation.

She is back from more than a months training in the US so as expected it was a long consultation with her. It lasted for about an hour and a half.

As our usual routine, the first thing she asked me was "How are you?". Upon hearing that questions, I said I'm but I noticed some changes in me. At first I disregarded what was actually happening to me but to my surprise it was actually a major breakthrough.

So, I told her surprisingly I started writing, telling her that I have a blog about my journey in conceiving a baby. I said that I've never really written like this and this is a bit new to me. I think the last time I jotted down my thoughts was about five years ago. Then I said I'm a lot bubblier, happier and a bit more "kulit" than I used to. Another change is that I started being conscious again about how I look, wearing make-up, change of wardrobe and its like a new me. Lastly, I said that I started being more "sociable" now. After I resigned, I had this urge to just be myself most of the time and was not really in the mood to socialize that much. Nowadays, I'm the certified "social directress" in the group. I always organize the get together with my friends.

After sharing all this she said, that's good. You shed of a "layer". You are Reborn.When she says layer, it means that as we grow old we have the tendency to change from who we really are because of the environment, crisis/problems, family, etc. Meaning anything that affects us tends to change who we really are. She said the "layer" I accumulated or that molded me during my "corporate life" is being shed off. The true me is coming out. She also said that this time she's confident that I truly and have finally grieved my miscarriage. This major crisis (miscarriage) that happened to me affected me so much and in order to cope I added a layer to myself.

Upon hearing this and when she said that I was reborn, I started crying . Upon hearing all of these things, everything really made sense. It also explained all the changes and this lighthearted feeling that I had.

She also said that being in tune to yourself or being "spiritual" is the best or ideal state for me because it signifies that I am ready to face the world. Being spiritual does not mean being religious but more of knowing and being in tuned with yourself. She says that I am completely ready to move on and readier than I'll ever be to become a "Mommy". She is actually encouraging me to continue writing because this will help me to heal completely.

Whew, the whole time we were discussing my situation I was really crying.....After that she shared her experiences in her convention in the US. She mentioned "water birth". Literally, giving birth in the water which she is planning to set-up here. She said I think you and your husband are just waiting for this. She said this because she knew that my husband loves the water :)

For my next consultation, she will again re-take my constitution because she feels that will be different this time because of that layer I shed off.

It was a very enlightening and encouraging consultation from her....

My Do's and Don'ts

Since I'm into homeopathy and of the principles behind this is that the treatment is very specific to an individual based on the background of the person. Some of my do's and dont's are very common but some are just applicable to those in homeopathic treatment. . These are the list as recommended by my Homeopathic OB.

DO's

1. Drink a lot of water; about 2-5 liters everyday.
2. Eat more fruits, fish and vegetables.
3. Religiously chart my basal body temperature (BBT).
4. Exercise everyday. Alternate a cardio workout with Pilates.
5. Get enough sleep; at least 6 hours a day.
6. Take supplements everyday (all from Healthy Options): Ultimate Anti-oxidant, Buffered C, Virgin Coconut Oil, and Evening Primrose Oil.
7. Take medicines twice a day before meal times. I am currently taking 6 medicines: thyroidinum (thyroid medicine), gallium heel (mobilize my visceral fat), strumeel (metabolism), engystol (immune system), and gripp heel (immune system). I also take AMN 200 (fertility) every other Thursday.
8. Take my medicines with mineral water only.
   
9. Take only organic food as much as possible.
10. Eat the fruits and vegetables first before eating beef or meat.
    

DON'Ts

1. Don't eat pork and processed foods.
2. Stop smoking and alcohol drinking.
3. No coffee, soft drinks and powdered juices.
4. Don't use nail polish unless there's one available made of natural or organic ingredients.
   
5. Minimize sweets especially ice cream, cake and chocolates.
6. Don't use tight underwear to avoid blocking the lymphatic system.
7. Don't take any conventional/synthetic/orthodox medicines.
8. Don't take mentholated toothpaste and candies.
9. Avoid fried food.

As of now these are my do's and dont's while trying to conceive through homeopathy. I am not sure whether this list will increase or decrease as we go along with my treatment.

Check-Up Routine With My Doctor

This time I just want to summarize what my homeopathic OB regularly checks whenever we have our consultations. Every consultation with her would take an hour for me and an hour for my husband.

First, she always ask me how I am? From there she'll ask me changes/updates on what's happening with my life. Am I stressed? What's causing my stress? Do I sleep better or am I having a a hard time sleeping. What have I been eating lately? Any noticeable changes in my body? About my bowel movements-How often, what's the color and whether its a floater or not? Any hot flushes? Have I been regularly exercising? How's my food intake?

Then we discuss my basal body temperature chart. She checks whether I had a good rise in temperature during my ovulation period. We also discuss how's my level of libido, how was the blood flow during my period? What color was the blood and were there blood clots? Did I experience any pre-menstrual symptoms?

After that she'll do her physical examination. She will check my tongue to see if if I'm hydrated or dehydrated, temperature, BMI (body mass index) and blood pressure. Then she'll do a cervical exam using a speculum. She always tells me whether my cervix is happy, shy or mad. She says a good sign of a happy cervix is when its really pink and smiling while it's mad if its reddish with pimple like growth. Shy when the os or opening is somehow close. Then we discuss my cervical mucous. Ideal state is when its oozing with the egg white like texture.

After that she'll check how my visceral fat is mobilizing. She also does breast examination and check my lungs and throat.

From there she'll discuss what medicines should I take, when to take it and until when do I take it.

Then we schedule for our next appointment.

Establishing My Constitutional Type

Hubby and I were scheduled by our homeopath for a 2 hour session each. This was needed to be able to clearly establish our individual "constitutional" type.

What is a "constitutional" type? As mentioned in one my posts, getting into homeopathic treatment is really personalized. This means that the treatment or remedy given to two people with similar sickness will be different depending on their constitutional type.

The 2 hour sessions was very extensive. Aside from the early discussion on my healthy history, we discussed my personality, habits, fears, did I have a happy childhood, how do i deal with stress, what stresses me most, what do I like to eat, what I don't like to eat, how do I react to cold and hot weather, what prompts me to smoke, what do i enjoy the most, and a lot more.

One particular question that strucked me the most was that when she asked what was the most important things for me? I paused for a while and I answered that family was my top most priority in my life.

On our next appointment she'll discuss with me my constitutional type and she will give me my constitutional remedy.

When I got home, I thought about what we discussed. Thinking about what I said regarding what stresses me the most and what is the most important thing in my life. At that time the greatest stress in my life was work. I was happy with my work but what really stressed me out was the environment in the office. I was no longer happy with the politics and certain mandates in running the category I was handling. From there, I started thinking that if family was the most important thing for me, shouldn't I prioritize or focus on that rather than my career?

After several soul searching and discussions with my husband, I decided to resign and be a housewife. After being such a workaholic for 12 years, being career oriented, earning a 6 figure salary, prime position in a good company and another promotion in the offing, it will never truly make me happy unless I have a baby.

After 4 months of being a housewife, I couldn't be happier. I am truly glad that I made this decision in my life. I don't miss the deadlines, stress, meetings, waking-up early in the morning, etc. We are now focussing on conceiving a baby.

This also lead to my writing this blog or documenting my journey.

Lymph Drainage Theraphy (LDT)

It took 5 months before my husband and I were accommodated by our other doctor (partner of our homeopathic doctor) for our lymph drainage theraphy because her schedules are full since she also administers cranio sacral theraphy (CST).

Before undergoing LDT, we were required to drink a lot to ensure that we were hydrated (water and fresh juices only), schedule to take a leave or make sure that you stay at home after the theraphy, and eat a light before the theraphy.

We were recommended to undergo this theraphy to detoxify our body, stimulation of our immune sytem (due to our reproductive immunology problems), fertility and regeneration of tissues especially for me since I have undergone surgeries. This goes hand in hand with our homeopathic treatment.

The initial theraphy will be done in 4 sessions and were scheduled Tuesday and Thursday for 2 weeks (an ahour each for me and my husband). The rationale behind the intervals is to determine what kind of reaction/effect/changes in your body after each session.

What is lymph drainage theraphy?

"The proper functioning of the lymphatic system is critical to our body's ability to operate at peak performance. This system drains fluids, detoxifies and regenerates tissues, filters out toxins and foreign substances and helps us maintain a healthy immune system. If lymph circulation stagnates however, toxins accumulate and compromise cellular functioning, which opens the way to physical ailments." (Source: http://www.upledger.com/therapies/ldt.htm).

It involves a very light touch, lighter than a regular massage from the head to to toe and front and back of the body.

For my first session, the doctor tried to determine which part was blocked in my system. She said that my liver, kidneys, thyroid, and left ovaries were blocked. My thyroid blockage was a result of my two operations. Liver and kidneys were blocked due to the toxins/chemicals in my body, meaning these were the toxins coming from the unhealthy lifestyle (drinking/eating) for the past 30+ years.

One thing that really surprised me was the blockage at my left ovaries. When I was a kid, my immunization/vaccinations shots were in my left upper thigh that was very near to one of the major lymph node/vessel located in the inner left thigh. All the metals from those vaccinations were stored thus creating the blockage in that area as well as my ovary.

During the session, the doctor noticed that I also had a curvature in my spine (slight scoliosis) that was causing my back pains previously. She said she'll do a cranio sacral theraphy (CST) to correct the scoliosis.

By the way aside from physical release, LDT also touches on the emotional/mental release of the person. This means that if you are also suffering from emotional depression/sadness/problems LDT is interrelated with this. So, all kinds of release will be expected after the sessions.

Detox Effects on My Body

The bathroom became my best friend after taking all the medicines prescribed by my homeopathic doctor. I really felt that was releasing all the toxins accumulated for the past 33 years.

I was consuming about 2 liters of water everyday. One liter the one with all the medicines for my detox and the other one is plain water. I frequently urinated as in about every 30 minutes interval. Then my bowel movement significantly increased as well.

On our next visit, which was two weeks after our doctor wanted to know in detail what where the changes in our body that we noticed. I mentioned the frequent urination and bowel movement. She said this was good because this means our toxins were mostly coming from the gut and the lungs. She then prescribed me the homeopathic substitute for my thyroid. By the way unlike the usual OB's I've encountered, she never did a transvaginal ultrasound for the past two consultations.

She also recommended for me to take ultimated antioxidant and bufferred C as supplements. Aside from that, we will still continue with our detox drink.

We are also scheduled for a lymphatic drainage therapy (LDT) which is being done by her partner who is also an accredited doctor who can do this treatment. LDT is a deeper form of detoxification. I'll try to look for another site that will further explain this.

Seeking A Second Opinion Through Homeopathy

Hubby and I decided to seek a second opinion regarding our condition. A friend referred her doctor who is into homeopathy.

"Homeopathy is the system of medicine which works on the principle of 'like cures like' (Similia Similibus curanter). The theory behind the working of homeopathy is that the body of every human being contains a vital force within the body which regulates the functioning of the body. Due to reasons such as heredity, environmental conditions, stress etc, this vital force weaken causing disease. So, disease is nothing but a complex of certain symptoms observed in the human body. The homeopathic physician make a study of not only the symptoms the patient is complaining of, but of the entire patient himself. This leads to a picture of the patient." (Source: http://bringhealth.com/index.html)

This doctor is also an ob/gyn but she's praticing homeopathy. What made it really interesting for me was her principle of trying to find out what was causing the immunological problems rather than just trying to cure. She explained that everything is all natural, no synthetic medicines but it would take a longer period of time compared to conventional medicine. She explained that there is an imbalance in our system thus causing the immunological problem. The whole objective is to make hubby and me healthy and find out what's causing the imbalances to ensure that we will be able to conceive, carry the baby full term and give birth to a healthy baby.

After a 2 hour consultation with her, hubby and I went home and tried to discuss which route to go. Whether we should go conventional or homeopathy. I immediately recommended that we go homeopathy. Hubby was a bit hesitant because it was not convetional medicine. I said that there will be no harm in doing it because at the end of the day the main objective is to make us healthy.

The main factor that we discussed was our level of commitment. It will not just be me who will be treated but both of us. Another factor was that it would be a longer process because the treatment is based on our level of health. If we will not be able to commit to homeopathy then it will defeat the whole purpose of the treatment.

After a very thorough discussion, we both agreed that we will go the more natural way which is homeopathy.