@ 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 :)

@ 5 months

I am officially 20 weeks and 4 days pregnant as of today. I have been too lazy lately that's why I have not been able to update my blog. Plus the fact that I can't really stay long in front of the computer because I easily get a headache.

I decided to update this today because we reached another milestone in my pregnancy. Today I had my congenital anomaly scan at St. Luke's. Weeks before having the scan, my prayer this time was for a normal and healthy baby. That the scan result will yield a very good result for us. It was also the time to find out the gender of the baby.

The scan lasted for about 15-20 minutes. From the head down to the toes, each one was shown and explained to us. Everything was normal!!! Thank God for that. The kidneys, heart, number of toes/fingers, no cleft chin, bladder, etc. Heartbeat at 160 RPM, good amniotic fluid, and no placenta previa.

Then the gender, we are having a baby girl. As in this is 100% sure because she showed it several times during the scan. She was also very active the whole time, she kept on moving around that's why the ob-sonologist had to keep on chasing her to be able to show us each part.

When I heard that everything was normal and that we will be having a baby girl, I was teary eyed. I actually wanted to cry but I tried hard not to because I was embarrassed. I am really having a hard time expressing how happy I am right now. Its similar to how I felt when I found out I was pregnant.

After the holidays, we will start buying all her stuff. Also, we need to settle her name as well. Since hubby and I have been calling the baby Rico since she was weeks old, all the while thinking that the baby is a boy. So now I refer to her as little girl or baby girl since we don't have a name yet.

My prayer right now is to continue having a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery and a baby for each of the couple who has been trying to conceive.

What Changed?

A lot of things changed as soon as I found out I was pregnant....

• I don't go out that much anymore. At most I go out once a week or twice a week if i had to go to the doctor.
• I'm not allowed to go up and down the stairs. So most the days, my world evolves around our bedroom and computer room. I take my meals in our room and spends around 30 minutes in front of the computer. Can't really stand staying long in front of the computer because I get so dizzy.
  
• I used to love fried chicken but now I hate it to death. Just thinking about fried chicken makes me want to puke.
• Our toilet bowl has been my best companion since week 5 of my pregnancy. We are together at least 5 times a day.
• I started my cravings with crabs then watermelon then ripe mangoes then ice cream then sweet and sour soup then boiled peanuts and so on and so forth. I pity my husband because he is going crazy figuring out what I want to eat. I maybe craving for something right this instant but a few hours later or the next day I don't want that food anymore. Not that I eat a lot, I only eat small portions otherwise i'll end up vomiting.
• I tend to get really sleepy after eating but I can't really lie down because for sure when I wake up I'll just vomit. So at times I have to wait at leas an hour or two after eating before I take a nap. But if at times I can't really help it, i just lie down and take my nap then prepare myself to suffer the consequences.
• I don't have the energy to fix myself despite the fact that I only go out once a week. I am just too lazy which so unlike me. I haven't had a haircut for 2 months.
• Can't eat raw food and vegetables. The vegetables I was surprised but as advised by my ob, we really can't be sure with all the pesticides being used right now so its better to have it cooked. So, no salads for me :(

These are just some that I can distinctly remember right now. I am sure that I am not the only pregnant person who is going through the same thing.

Being pregnant is no joke but for someone who has waited for such a long time to get pregnant, I don't mind going through all these things at all.

Prayer to Saint Gerard: A Novena For Expectant Mothers

Prayer of An Expectant Mother

GREAT SAINT GERARD,
Beloved servant of Jesus Christ,
Perfect imitator
Of our meek
And humble Savior
And devoted child
Of the Mother of God,
Enkindle within my heart
One spark
Of that heavenly fire
Of charity which glowed
In yours and made you
A seraph of love.

O glorious St. Gerard,
Because like you
Divine Master,
You bore without murmur
Or complaint
The calumnies
Of wicked men
When falsely accused of crime,
You have been raised up by God
As the patron and protector
Of expectant mothers.

Preserve me
In the dangers of motherhood
And shield the child I now bear,
That it may be brought safely
To the light of day
And receive the sacrament of Baptism.

Hail Mary (3 times)