Pregnancy Journal 5.1 (Midway)

We turned 5 months pregnant this week. Hoorah! If things go well (which I claim they will), we should be halfway there.



At this point, the baby's the size of a grapefruit...

...and I look noticeably pregnant, not just busog. See?


One of the issues that I had when we first learned I was pregnant, was the fear of people touching my belly. I'm very particular about my personal space. In fact, I have a batchmate in law school whom I still dislike because she placed her bag too near my bag in the rest room five years ago.

But now, I find I like people touching my belly to interact with the baby while s/he's inside. With my consent, of course. Just ask first. I think touching makes the baby feel welcome, and that people in the outside world can't wait to meet him/her. Sometimes, s/he likes to show off by surfing in the puddle of fetal urine that is called my amniotic fluid. So I think s/he's responding well to touch.

Speaking of which, the baby's moving a lot this month. I was starting to feel paranoid about not feeling any baby kicks last week. Now the baby's making up for it.  For reference, the baby's movements feel like a heart that I've grown in my stomach is pumping serious blood. It throbs but in a good way. I just love the feeling. It's very reassuring.

Finally, I notice that I like to eat a lot AND more frequently these days. Since I learned during our last doctor's visit that I gained 8lbs in the last month alone, I've been trying to cut back on the sweets and to watch my diet. So far, I've been successful. I've gained a healthy 3lbs since. But the recent rainy weather is just tempting me to indulge on sisig and bulalo. Ah. We'll see.

Next month, we'll know if the baby will grow up to be handsome like his daddy or beautiful (and sometimes handsome) like me. 

Pregnant and Able

I wonder. We have a friend who says we're now free to use parking spaces reserved for disabled people because I'm pregnant. She says they used to do that when she was expecting, and the guards at the malls were fine with it.

The idea is tempting, considering how difficult it is to find a safe and convenient parking space these days. Megamall is a reason. So is Trinoma, and Gateway, and Glorietta...

On the other hand, I do not (will never) feel comfortable taking rights away from people who really need them. What if an actual disabled person arrives at the mall at the same time as I do? And the only parking space left was the one I occupied two minutes ago?

It has become inconvenient for me to walk large distances, true. But I'm not disabled am I? So I'm definitely parking at the back lot and walking the rest of the way, like the abled person that I am. What do you think? Would you take up this pregnancy "perk"? 

Bubble Boy (or Girl)

For the record, I think I felt the baby move for the first time last night. It felt like bubbles were popping inside my tummy - the feel-good kind, not the kind that makes you want to reach for Diatabs.

We were watching an Episode of True Blood when it happened. I think it was the part where Sookie and Bill were meeting with some vampires from Dallas. We put the player on pause to observe, and s/he moved again twice after that.



The baby hasn't moved since. Too bad. Maybe s/he likes to be awake at night. By the way, s/he's the size of a mango today. One week to go and we're half-way through. We're so excited! Yipee-yay!

Sa Pula o Sa Puti

Behold! Baby's first onesie! It's printed with dogs, which will remind us dearly of Pipo, who will have to leave our home before the baby is born because he sheds like there's no tomorrow. We miss him already. Sniff.

Anyway, I wonder. This onesie's meant for a baby boy. Could this be a sign? We don't know. I personally don't believe in signs, even though the last time a sign came along, we had the surprise of a lifetime and suddenly became expectant parents. Unless they're accompanied by lightning, a parting of clouds, and/or a booming voice from heaven that says "I AM," I'd say signs are pure coincidink.


We'll know, I think for sure, by next month (our 5th). In the meantime, let's guess a little in the spirit of good fun, why don't we? It's 50/50 for me. Some days people tell me I'm carrying a girl. Some days (mostly when I'm not in the mood to put on eyeliner), they say it's a boy. What do you think?

Correct guessers get...uhm, fame and glory! Sorry, although I wish I could be like somefamous bloggers who give away prizes, I'm really just you're regular journal freak with neither sponsors nor funds. So winner/s get what I can give away for free, meaning, air time! Wahaha.

* * Thanks to our friend Minnie, who brought baby's onesie all the way from the land of flowing milk and honey. Cheers! 

Pregnancy Journal 4.3 (Shrek)

This is a photo of Shrek and his belly. He's wearing my white tank top and black flats, on carpeted floors that just happen to look like the ones in my office. Heehee

Seriously, I don't look too bloated yet. I think it depends on what I wear. Here, it either looks like I'm pregnant or I drank too much beer...


But look at me wearing this loose jersey tunic the next day, and the Baby's not showing so much...



Our doctor told us I wasn't gaining enough weight during the first trimester (I gained about 5 lbs. total). I apparently took her advise seriously, because I gained a whopping 8 lbs. in the 4th month alone! Nya. I haven't been this heavy in my entire life. I didn't even know it was possible for a person to gain that much weight, that fast.

It makes sense now. When a friend (whom we will call Smchina :p) was pregnant, she complained a lot that she was getting fat. I brushed her whining aside and told her that of course she's going to get fat, she's pregnant. But I realize now that pregnancy carries with it self-image issues, especially when you've never been this "plump" before; more so when you've always watched your weight as an adult. Nya talaga!

To address my "issues" whenever I look at the mirror, I try to see past the cellulite and focus on my growing belly instead. So long as the Baby's happy and healthy in there, it's all good with me. My only problem with all the weight gain is the pressure that my body's been exerting on my feet. Just a few minutes standing up are enough to hurt my soles. And don't even get me started on the back pains!

This month, our goal is to gain "only" 4 lbs. I guess this means I would have to eat only 1 cup of rice per meal, and to lay low on the sweets. Farewell, Dairy Queen! 

Pregnancy Journal 4.2 (Waiting for Tonight)

I can't wait 'til Saturday because that's when our doctor's appointment is scheduled. I just looove it when someone licensed tells me everything's fine. These days, I like to think of our OB as a constant bearer of good news.

We're almost at 18 weeks now but I haven't felt any flutters or movement yet. This may just be because I have no idea what to look out for; I honestly don't know. So like any self-respecting first-time mother would do in these worrisome times, I Googled.

In my "research," I came across this video of twins moving inside their mom's belly...

  Whoa! Nevermind the slight creepiness. I still think child-bearing and childbirth are the most amazing miracles in the world. * Sigh * 

Pregnancy Journal 4.2 (Pregzilla)

17 weeks - I'm feeling pregnant for the first time today. The baby's not that big yet but I'm starting to feel the extra weight. I feel some cramping on my sides. My back is killing me. I just want to go home and lie down.I'm also feeling unusually exhausted. Maybe because I seldom get uninterrupted sleep now. Most days my bladder wakes me up in the middle of the night.
I can't even get up like I used to in the morning. It takes extra effort because my belly prevents me from getting up suddenly. So I try to take my time, until I find myself sleeping again.


I am itching all over, especially on my stomach. I use shea butter twice a day to relieve the itching but I haven't felt any genuine relief. I find myself involuntarily scratching my belly even when at work. It's sometimes funny but it's embarrassing more often.

The good thing is, I'm going to be a mommy in 23 weeks. Seems like a long way to go. In the meantime, I'm feeling just blah. I think I owe my mom an apology for carrying me for 9 months. Argh. Bleccch. Gagh.

Rakenrol

Now that the baby's ears are in the right place, and his/her hearing would be well-developed by the end of this semester, we figured we should start exposing him/her to music.

There is such a theory as the "Mozart Effect," which basically says fetuses exposed to classical music in utero become more intelligent. (Some suggest they become advanced only with respect to their spatial-temporal reasoning, or the ability to visualize spatial patterns and mentally manipulate them. This affects a person's ability to read a map, answer abstract-reasoning tests, land an aircraft, etc., all of which are more pronounced in men than in women.)

The "Mozart Effect" has never been scientifically proven. Some books even theorize that an O.A. attempt at turning your unborn child into a genius may disrupt natural sleep patterns and thus hamper development. The popular advice, though, is to expose fetuses to music to soothe and bond with him/her, although not for the specific purpose of making him/her smart.

So now baby and I are rocking to Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the occasional Jack Johnson. Yipee. I used to only hold the iTouch against my belly while lying down, until I figured out a way for us to listen to music hands free. Introducing, my still unnamed but about to be patented invention, Invention X.

What you do is get hold of one of these security money belts, originally meant for passports and foreign currency. I bought this one for a trip about a year ago but never got to use it because it felt hot against my skin. This brandless type retails for about P199 in SM.


You take your iPhone/iTouch or any ol' mp3 player with an external speaker and put it inside one of the pockets...


...and then you place the contraption on top of your belly like so. Viola! Now we're free to read a book while listening to music, wash the dishes, eat, work, and do all sorts of other things that require both hands. Of course Invention X would have to be placed inside your clothing rather than on top it. Belt bags are so 80s and that way, the sound waves travel a shorter distance to get to the baby. What genius! 


Special thanks to John Flloyd, our green huggable pillow, who played the part of today's fake belly. Hello Flloydie!

Pregnancy Journal 4.1

It's that time of the month once again, when I force Pao to take pictures of the baby and me for posterity's sake. Today, the baby is 16 weeks and 2 days. We're on our 4th pregnancy month and s/he's the size of an avocado.



Here's what I look like now. Nothing much going on upfront.

But lookie-here. Looks like somebody's getting bigger by the hour.

I'm at that stage where my regular clothes don't fit anymore, but I still don't feel large enough to have to wear maternity clothes. For example, the dress I'm wearing above is a regular shift dress from Haze, only it's two sizes larger. Also, I've developed prickly things on my chin. I hope I'm not growing a moustache! These should just be small colorless rashes, probably still due to the hormones.

Emotion-wise, I find that I like to laugh/giggle a lot contrary to my usual dead-ma disposition. Last night, I was laughing so hard at Pao's pronunciation of the word "odor" ("awe-dor") I ended up crying. Weird.
Okay, that's about it this month. Come see us again in a couple of weeks!