The Favorite Parent

I have a feeling Pao is going to be a fun dad. A couple of weeks ago, I was forced to contribute to the purchase of his first ever magic (not the cards) kit. You know those stalls in Megamall that teach you magic tricks for a purchase? Pao's a patron -

He now knows a few card tricks, although I have to "manage" him during his "shows" because he still has the tendency give the tricks away. Hay naku.

Pao also likes to play with his cousins. Last month, he couldn't decide between making like Darth Vader -

- or Rambo ...

... so he went with both. Friends, meet Ramvader -

The competition is going to be stiff. I may have to resort to bribery to make our son like me more. Heehee 

Pregnancy Journal 6.1 (Feet 'R Us)

We turned 24 weeks pregnant this week, which is about 6 months. Things are basically the same as they were last month. I still have backaches that keep me awake at night. My skin is still breaking out. I notice that my hair's thicker than usual. Whereas I could be the poster girl for Regroe 6 months ago, now I feel I'm ready for my Pantene ad. Naks.

The baby's the size of an ear of corn now, which is weird because I've been told he's approximately the size of a papaya last month. Isn't papaya bigger than mais? Anywho.


Here's what we look like now -


My belly should be all baby-no food, because I try not to eat so much anymore. Well, with the exception of today's brunch. I had bacon and grilled chicken swimming in melted cheese, between heavenly buttery croissant. PLUS, I had one buttermilk pancake after. The fries also tasted like they were actually cooked in butter. Yum. They tasted soooo good. 

Pao agrees -

I'm hoping I could make up for this next week. No more desserts I guess, except for those fruit cups from the supermarket. Booo.

This month, the spotlight is on my feet. I seem to have gone a size and a half larger than my usual shoe size. I tried on my regular office shoes yesterday and they don't fit anymore. Hala.I'm scared of the cost of having to refurbish my office wardrobe, shoes included. Will my feet return to normal? Gad, please.

Also, my soles and legs are tired all the time. As in achy breaky feet. My solution is to stay away from closed shoes on weekends. I've taken to wearing sandals (1 1/2 sizes bigger) that have excellent sole support instead. They're not very fashionable, but they will have to do at this point.


That's all for now. I'm feeling very sleepy. I had to stay awake late last night because I was on a bidding war for maternity clothes on ebay. I won, of course. Yey. Zzzzzzzz.

Pregnancy Journal 5.2 (SOS - Breakout)

Baby boy is growing up fast and he's taking my belly and flabby parts with him. About 3 weeks ago, we looked like this...

Now, I look like I've grown a barrel over my stomach...


The line in the middle of my tummy is also now pronounced, although I'm surprised my belly button hasn't popped out yet like most pregnant women I see. Here are photos of our baby and his cousin Gabby playing for the first time. That's my linea nigra right there.























My issue at this point is the fact that my face is breaking out like never before. As in pimples are appearing all over my body. Eeek.
When we learned I was pregnant, I stopped going to the dermatologist and began applying nothing but Neutrogena on my face. I thought I could survive like that for 9 months. Apparently not. Here's a picture of me and Pipo on his day off. My chin is covered with pimples so I had to cover it up with my hand. Yikes.

After getting the go-ahead from our OB last Saturday, I waited 4 1/2 hours to consult with my dermatologist. This is my after-derma pic...


He has guaranteed that my creams are safe for the baby, so now I'm more at ease. I really hope these things go away. I gave up coloring my hair, exercise, my regular clothes, and my usually okay figure. If these pimples stay, I don't know how I'm ever going to stave off depression. Okay, I'll call it "sadness." 
Anyway, last week, baby was the size of a spaghetti squash. I know. I too had no idea what that was. So I Googled and here's what I came up with...





This week, he's the size of a papaya. Aha. That we know, us crazee tropical dwellers.




As always, I'm still having trouble getting continuous sleep, my left lower back is increasingly becoming painful, and my hands and feet are starting to get swollen. Nothing the matter. Because now, the baby's moving more often and that's the feeling I love most in the world.

The Results Are In

We learned yesterday that we're going to have a...

As you can hear above and see below, Pao is happy...

I am too. But I'm happier that our pregnancy's coming along smoothly; nothing in there that should be cause for concern. Since counting our baby's ten tiny fingers, I realize that every bit of a child ought to be considered a miracle. It's just amazing how this life is growing inside me as I go about my usual business. He has a face already! Do you see? Do ya?

We've had names set aside for both a baby boy and a baby girl even when we were still trying to get pregnant. The one for the baby girl was set in stone. The one that we're going to use for baby boy Zamora is still under negotiation. I love both first and second names. Pao only has issues with what his initials will be. We'll see how that turns out. Meanwhile, at least I'm spared from having to use "him/her," "s/he," and "his/hers" everytime I write about our baby. From now on, baby Zamora will definitively be referred to as a HE.

By the way, the voting on whether our baby's going to be a boy or a girl came out even. Split down the middle. 50-50. But the ONLY person who expressly got the baby's gender correctly is our friend Grace. To Grace, here's your 5 seconds of fame as promised...

Winner! In closing, I'd just like to say to our active little boy that I apologize, on behalf of your dad, for exposing your "happy parts" to our friends this early. We're just so excited to meet you. Your dad is especially excited to take you to his Saturday basketball games. He's happy he'll have you to hang around it, instead of lugging my shopping bags around all the time. I hope you understand.

Anyway, I promise to keep this entry, and the accompanying video, within our network of friends. When you grow old enough to create your own presence in the Internet through Twitter or Facebook or whatever is the equivalent of these things 20 years down the road, I promise Multiply and your mother's blog will no longer be around to cause you shame. XOXO Mommy 

Donde Esta Waldo?

It's hard to start working right away after a mid-week holiday, especially when rain is beating down your window like this. We need something to jump start our brains, like a steaming cup of brew or for people like me who can't take coffee, a good ol' game of Where's Waldo. You know the drill. This is Waldo. The British call him Wally. Say hello, Waldo ...



The object of the game is to find our friend Waldo in everyday scenes like this...



Did you find him? Are you ready for some more? Here you go. Find Waldo!




Now back to work you freeloaders! Haha

Itlog (Para Maiba)

Except for a pair of denim jeans, all of my maternity clothes come from Egg. We do have local brands specializing in maternity wear, i.e. Gingersnaps, Pois Belly & Kids, Buntis, but their clothes make pregnant women look like tents, which we don't like. No, no, no.

Before the New Zealand brand began closing their stores in the Philippines, their clothes were ridiculously expensive. Shirts alone cost PhP2000 upwards. No one could make me buy maternity clothing at those prices, even when they're the only decent-looking ones in the market. I just don't think it's practical to have to shell out so much money for something that you'd wear for only a short period of time.

But Egg's "moving out" of the Philippines - permanently - and they've been on sale since. Luckily, the only remaining Egg store in the country is just a 10-minute walk from where I work. I've been there so many times now, the salespersons already know me. Hihi Here's my latest loot...

                                                   3/4 Sleeve - Damask Top in Gray and Black
                                                       Regular Price: PhP2000 / Now: PhP600

                                                    Short Sleeve - Damask Top in Cauliflower
                                                     Regular Price: PhP1500 / Now: PhP450

                                                                  Gathered Top in Red
                                                   Regular Price: PhP2800 / Now: PhP500

                                                                   Seamless Top in Baby Pink
                                                           Regular Price: PhP1100 / Now: PhP330

Since I'm now BFFs with the ladies from Egg, I get free stuff everytime I pay them a visit. This time, I got to take home this bathrobe with matching bedroom slippers for free. Woohoo. (Grace, the bedroom slippers are for you.)

I'm hoping though that these don't bleed in the wash, like the last free stuff I got.