Baby Shower

Not even the rains could ruin the lovely and wonderful baby shower that my relatives threw for me. I admit that I pressured my sister into organizing it for me but who can say no to a pregnant lady? I was a bit apprehensive at first if people would be going other than my relatives but those friends who did drop by seemed to have had as great a time as me.

The food was also entirely home-cooked as my relatives pitched in cooking their specialties. The only commercial dessert there was the mango torte from Dulcelin but that’s because it’s a favorite. We had lengua, empanadas, potata au gratin, baked macaroni and chicken lollipops. Dessert was chocolate cake by Ate Kris, chocolate flakes and chocolate bears by Mariel. I ate so much!

The picture above is me at around 30 weeks and that weird looking bulge is my maternity belt. I swear that maternity belt is a lifesaver supporting this heavy belly.

I got some wonderful loot from this baby shower like clothes, bottles, a newborn grooming kit, car seat/baby carrier and a MacLaren stroller! Of course Lloyd considered the stroller and car seat his loot since he’ll be the one in charge of them.

We also played some baby shower games. The balloon blowing game was new to me but we had to exempt the pregnant ladies. The trivia game was truly intriguing because there were some questions that even I didn’t have answers to at first!

Here’s a picture of me with the baby shower organizers: my sister and my two cousins. Thank you so much!

About me today

I’ve been tagged by an officemate to talk about 6 things about myself today. So here goes…

1. I did my to-do list today on my Palm Centro. I’m the type of person who needs to write down my to-do list or else I’ll forget it. Sometimes when I remember something in the middle of the night I can’t sleep until I write it down.

2. I walked to work today since I waited for the sunshine to come out. Got a bit scared when it was raining around 6am but the weather is finicky.

3. I forgot my Flyff jacket at home T_T

4. I failed twice to get a chocolate sundae from Jollibee. Sira machine nila. Darn it.

5. However I was able to persuade someone to buy me a hot fudge sundae from McDonald’s

6. I’m just waiting for people to pop in to the office cause I need to meet with them.

Whom to tag? I tag Van P, Van D, Cecil and Jane.

Here’s to THE mom

Well, before I can actually become a mom I have to remember that I came from one as well. Here’s to my mom since it is her birthday today. We’ve had our ups and downs. Maraming downs. Lols. But I would not be here if you didn’t carry me in your womb for 9 months and go crazy over blueberry sauce topped ice-cream. Happy Birthday Mom!

All due in the next few months

Here are two pictures of the members of our childbirth class.

We started the class in small groups talking about what we wanted to happen during labor. It was as usual a very interesting class since I had no idea there were so many options to consider. The most I knew about labor is from small stories that my relatives or friends mentioned to me. In fact, I was then convinced that maybe going to Medical City wasn’t as good an idea as I thought since we have relatives who are doctors in Cardinal Santos. So, why not give birth in Cardinal Santos? We also got a sample of a bill of the same OB and now have a better idea of how much it costs.

I really like the classes so far and it is a good thing that I didn’t get lazy or think that it was useless. There’s more to this childbirth class than just lamaze, it is about knowledge of pregnancy, giving birth and the huge change of having a child. Best of all you get to bond with people who are undergoing the same experience as you and compare notes. It may mean waking up early on a Saturday morning but I find myself looking forward to these sessions.

Lorenzo Joao Manaloto first peek!

It’s highly convenient that Lolo Tek wanted to take a peek at his grandson’s progress. Not only did we get an ultrasound but we got a 4D ultrasound! I was surprised when he suddenly suggested it. How amazing is it when you get to see the hands and feet of the person kicking you from the inside? However we don’t have that clear a shot of his face, we don’t know whom he will resemble yet. But we do know that he’s healthy!

Joao's foot

Joao's hand

Joao's face

7 months

I’m now more or less at 29 or 30 weeks depending on how you count it. We went to visit our OB this morning since Saturday mornings will be dominated by the childbirth classes for the next month. It turns out Baby Joao is in the transverse position meaning he’s lying down. His head is at my right side while his feet are at my left. Most pregnancy books will tell you to sleep always on your left side so that you don’t cut off circulation to your uterus. That is what I’m used to. Lately however, our darling baby has enjoyed walking from the inside of my stomach whenever I lay on my left side. I used to wonder how I could get simultaneous movement from the left and right side and now I know why. It’s Joao stretching!

On other news, my OB says that I need to gain a bit more weight. I asked her if it was ok to not totally avoid sugar and she said fine from time to time. I made sure Lloyd heard that so that he wouldn’t be totally strict on my diet. Dra. however said not to eat too much carbs. Protein however is good. In celebration of this piece of news I promptly told Lloyd I wanted to eat at Pepper Lunch.

After our appointment we drove to Rockwell and had lunch at Pepper Lunch where I got to have that sinful Hitokuchi cut steak. Turns out the honey brown sauce is for the meat while the garlic soy is for the veggies. To think that the first time I ate there I was alternating the sauces on the meat trying to figure out which one I liked better Lloyd I think got a little umay with the same order. He however loved the shake shake salad and said whoever invented it was brilliant. After consuming my steak I was liable to agree with him on the umay factor and will probably steer away from oily food this weekend.

Lastly, we finally got a yoga mat. No more sheepish grins during our childbirth class floor exercises! Hooray! Siyempre Lloyd wanted to get the generic yellow/gray color but of course I insisted on the hot pink one. He he he. I luv it and can’t wait to try it out tomorrow.

Karma?

I still walk to work everyday. It’s become my mandatory exercise despite the bulk of my protruding stomach. It’s quite a short walk and is quite easy to manage. Lately though I’ve been harboring some anger at cars that do not stop when I am walking on the pedestrian lane. Some will coming zooming in from nowhere while I’m already in the middle of the pedestrian lane and have the gall to honk their horn at me. I’m friggin’ waddling like a duck with all this weight in a very unmanageable area and you expect me to walk fast in the rain?

Is this karma for all the times that I laughingly referred to M’s joke of getting bonus points on a pregnant woman since two for one? o_O I’ve always felt it was a sadistic joke but I still laughed. Is that laughter now haunting me?

Tagged!

I have been “tagged” by my friend Van to talk about my latest shoe purchase. Siyempre she can buy lovely high heeled shoes but I am stuck finding shoes that are comfortable and allow me to walk with without the fear of tripping. I bought Crocs. I saw Rome (our childbirth instructor) wearing a pair and bought the exact same thing since it looked so comfortable and is waterproof.

**********************

What’s your shoe size? Are your feet the same size as your mom’s feet? How about your sister’s feet? Can you borrow shoes from each other?

Post a picture of your latest shoe buy. Tag the number of women of your shoe size, i.e. size 5 = tag 5 friends. Don’t forget to drop a line in this blog when you’re done.

**********************

So my shoe size is 6 to 6 1/2. It can actually become a 7 if I get really bloated or right now when I’m pregnant. My mom has smaller feet than me around 5 1/2 to 6 while Margaux has bigger feet and Mariel has just around the same size as me. I swear I had to ban Margaux from squeezing her feet into some of my shoes while Mariel is hopeless as she borrows anything and everything from me.

Thus I tag the following.. I’ll think of whom else to tag…

Margaux

Mariel

Van D.

Conci

Knowledge is Power or so they say

Lloyd and I attended our second childbirth class. However, this one was held in the Forbes area which is much nearer than going all the way to Katipunan. Thank God his office mate felt lazy and backed out so the slot opened up for us.

It was a very enlightening session at the start and relaxing near the end. Why do I say that? Well, Rome’s topic at the start was the 4 stages of labor. Labor has always been something that seemed quite scary to me and it is the very reason I wanted to take this childbirth class. I thought that by learning more about labor and what it really is I could work with the pain and not be frightened.

Rome told us to look at our workbook and she described the thining out of the cervix and the dilation. Which means that it would be opening up to let the baby out. Man, I visibly freaked out when I saw a diagram of 10cm dilation because it really hits you when you realize you have to open up that much for the baby’s head to come out! Lloyd of course was laughing at me again since I am so visibly shaken. However it was really nice to learn about the timing of contractions and all.

Then we proceeded to the relaxing part when our partner performed touch therapy and massage. Who knew a used tennis ball could be so useful in releasing tension in your back? What I appreciate the most is the fact that Lloyd participated with me in this and he will be my coach when I go into labor. He’ll be part of my labor and the birthing process. I mean it is only right since I wouldn’t be in this condition in the first place without him! ^_^

On other news, I decided to buy a maternity belt. I have been feeling extremely heavy lugging around this weight in front of me. I’ve felt so awkward and unstable especially with people teasing my about my “duck” walk. My office mate  suggested a maternity belt and Rome said it does help relieve the pain for some women. She suggested I try folding a scarf/shawl and tying it around my belly. I tried it and it did work! I went to Having’ a Baby and they had a real maternity belt that was thick and really meant for supporting the entire belly area. It is a bit warm to wear but the support has really lessened the pain. This is a godsend for me since I walk to work every day and waddle about the office. At least I don’t have to walk anymore clutching my belly for support.

Lastly, my weight is starting to catch up with me. I’m now around 133.5 pounds. Which means I’ve gained approximately 15 pounds. Everyone’s telling me I’ll get even more humongous in the next two months. Sigh, as if I didn’t feel huge already. I admit I’ve been a bad girl, I know I’m supposed to avoid sugar but sometimes I get crazy! I don’t finish entire tubs of ice-cream or eat donuts but sometimes iced tea is just too tempting. I try to water it down by adding water if I find it too sweet. I still haven’t had soft drinks since Feb so that’s good. But we do have an open package of Hershey’s kisses and a tub of cookie dough ice-cream in the ref. I like to have a taste of chocolate even just a little bit to brighten up my day. I swear, I will do better in the next few days!

First childbirth class

So the day actually came when I attended my first childbirth class. It was held in the ISO in Ateneo, Katipunan. I was a little worried since we were running a bit late but turns out there were other couples who came much later than us.

It was a very interesting experience especially since we were able to talk about our expectations and fears about pregnancy and childbirth. Lloyd finally came clean on his fear of actually holding a baby. If you’ve seen him with a newborn you’d be scared too at how he seemed so fearful and nervous with the baby. I talked about my fear of not entirely avoiding the “bad” foods that had sugar and preservatives.My OB was quite specific about the foods that I’m supposed to avoid.

Another subject that came up was the weight gain that the ladies in our group had. I’m so happy to say that I had the least weight gain. Rome was quite surprised that with the other ladies in our group they were announcing they had weight gains of 15 to 25 pounds! Lloyd said one of the gained 30 pounds. I only gained 12 pounds so far. Maybe it’s because I offset the weight gain of eating 3 times a day with the avoidance of junk food.

In the later part of the class, Rome was teaching us all some pregnancy exercises. I brought a towel instead of a mat to lie down on the floor but was a bit embarassed when I realized everyone else had a decent mat! Worst of all is that Lloyd mentioned that the towel was obviously taken from a hotel since it was emblazoned with a “Paradise Hotel” in huge letters! This is what I get for grabbing something at random from my parents’ house. I don’t think anyone noticed it though. I told Lloyd we’d have to buy a yoga mat asap. Haha!

Last but not the least is the workbook that Rome gave us to write our expectations in and for me to put my weekly food diary. Siyempre one of the questions is a fill in the blank one where it says “My wife’s pregnant body is……..” Lloyd took a look at it and teased me “Huge!” Of course he wrote something else.

This coming Saturday we’ll start attending the Makati class since it is more convenient for us. Our Sundays are busy enough as it is. So it’ll be a different group and hopefully it will still be as interesting as the first one.