Our 32nd Week and Buntis Goes Out to Dinner

I am now in the 8th month of my pregnancy with Baby Lucas. We had our scheduled pre-natal check up last Friday and everything is okay according to the doctor. We heard our baby's heartbeat (galloping horses galore) and I, so far, gained 21 pounds since I became pregnant. We will be back for an ultrasound (to check baby's position) in three weeks time. From the next check up, our appointments with the OB would be on a weekly basis. Malapit na, as in, malapit na talaga ako manganak. Our hospital bag's already packed with a few items such as the baby blankies that we had washed just last week.

Saturday was the scheduled dinner thingy with Sam (I won in the BPI EPS promo). JJ, sis-in-law and sister accompanied me to Trinoma for the "date". First thing in the agenda was the Bench Shopping Spree. Thousands worth of Bench GCs came with the price package and boy was it difficult to shop. I was having a hard time buying things for myself given my condition and the fact that Bench has no Maternity line. Those assisting us were resigned to handing down XXL-sized clothes to me (yeah, ganyan na ako kalaki ). After a while, I just concentrated on getting stuff for JJ, my parents and my in-laws. After an hour of shopping, I was told by BPI's Kitty that I only have 10 minutes left to shop as my appointment with Bench Fix Salon is in 15 minutes.

I sat at the salon and in 2 seconds, I was told that my hair will be curled and that it would be put up, half-pony style. Before I can even say "ok", the salon person was already starting to curl my hair! Buti na lang ok lang sa akin magpakulot (since I plan to have my hair curled after I give birth). My make up was also done in the same salon. In an hour, I was done. The HMU was okay but it is not that great. JJ even commented that I looked mature. Oh well, for P950, puede na rin :-)

With my Tita Blyn, sis-in-law Eunice, sister Chissa and Iya (hehe) after the HMU. Oo na, I am big na

with hubby ipinag-drive pa ako para makipag-date sa iba.... haha!

Sam's really nice, I guess one would know naman kung kunyari lang na mabait yung other person. My sister and I were basically asking "Da-Buzz" questions hehe We didn't have pics with him in our camera (at least ako wala) because we have a photographer (it comes with the BPI price package rin) and she took most of the pictures. Will post it here when I get them from her.

Eunice and Sam

Chissa and Sam

Tita By and Sam

One thing pala that ruined our day is the mall's parking system. My tita's car kasi won't start (she left the headlights on or something) so we have to go back and help her. She parked sa rooftop ng Mindanao Parking. Grabe pala ang tagal lumabas sa parking area nila around 930PM. Promise, it took more than 30 minutes for us to get out of the parking area. Yun pala, they just have 1 booth wherein you'll pay. Ohmy! When we asked her kung talagang isa lang ba yung booth, she said that there's another one sa Third Floor. But we didn't see it (or baka sa kabilang side lang). Hay, since we're from the South, feeling ko we won't be back in Trinoma for a long time. And if ever bumalik kame, mag-MRT na lang kme

Sad...

I am sure that most of you have been reading the same frontpage headlines since Monday. MV Princess of the Stars, capsized, 800++ passengers, less than 100 survivors, this agency blames another group, why was it allowed to sail? etc. etc.

While I've been asking some of the same questions myself, I cannot help but feel for the families of those who lost their lives. Let's all say a prayer for:

• the lola who has 15 relatives on-board the ship and so far, not even one included in the survivor list
• the teenage girl whose parents and 4 other siblings were on-board
• the husband, whose wife and children were on the ship
• the boss, who sent 5 staff to do some work in a branch in Cebu. Only one is listed as a survivor. No news on the other 4 as of the moment.
• the little girl holding a picture of his dad, who works as a crew for the boat
• and the rest of the families who lost their loved ones in this tragedy. May they all be given the strength and may their faith in God remain strong.

Our 30th Week

Countdown: At least 7 more weeks (hopefully) before Lucas pops out.

JJ and I started shopping for baby stuff and things we’d need in the hospital. Side kuwento: My mom was always telling me that I shouldn’t shop for Lucas before I turn 7 months (pamahiin, I think). So following her advice, I only started collating baby checklists on week 28. Week 29, I visited my parents and the first thing my mom tells me, “O, anak. Dapat complete na gamit ni baby. Kahit yung dadalhin lang sa hospital. Anytime kasi puede ka na manganak”. Nyak! I was like, “Ma, 1 week pa lang ako 7 months eh”. Mommies talaga But then I assured her that we will start shopping by week 30. Naku, Friday night, may mega-long SMS pa yung mom ko on what we should buy. Hay, sayang talaga that my mom cannot join us sa shopping due to her condition. Mas masaya sana

Week 30: Our first stop was SM Makati. I was told that the best place to buy baby stuff is in SM or Landmark pa rin. Coming from Park Square 1 parking, the walkway to SM will lead you to the children’s/ infants’ section of SM. Ikot ikot kami ni JJ and while checking out First Years baby products, the saleslady asked us if we’re shopping for baby. She informed us that I can register sa kanila and then everything included in my registry will be at 10% discount (sis Clarice from N@wie also told me about this). Even the stuff that we’ll be purchasing that day will be at 10% discount rin. Not bad right? Thinking that my baby shower will be in 3 weeks time, I listed that event na lang. So, I filled up the form and we were told to choose the items na and bring the items back to the registry counter for them to include the items in the list. JJ and I really want to avail of the 10% discount so we chose items that we’d be buying rin talaga kahit walang magbigay kay Lucas. Saya saya mag-shopping ha pero siempre pigil pigil rin because yung mga saleslady kanya-kanyang push ng product nila. We just bought the stuff we’d be needing sa hospital and several other items like sterilizer, nursing bib, diapers and other consumables. The other items, di na muna namin binili but we had included in our registry. We’ll be back na lang after the baby shower to purchase the items that Lucas will not get. We’re not really planning to register naman but since there’s a 10% discount, ok na since bibilhin at bibilhin din naman naming yung most of the items sa list. We only bought several sets of newborn clothes (specially yung mga pambahay) for Lucas pala kasi marami siyang nakuhang hand-me-downs from his cousins (from Ate Michelle’s boys and yung mga nalakihan ng 2 nephews ko). Buti na lang all-boys sila Hehe. Kaya dami dami cute na socks, etc ni Lucas. Ipapalaba na lang namin one of these days.

This weekend, we plan to arrange Lucas’ stuff sa cabinet niya and to pack na rin our hospital bag. Nyay, malapit na talaga ako manganak!

Sunday was Father’s Day. It was JJ’s first father day Mas masaya siguro next year kasi Lucas will be out of my tummy na to greet his daddy. Sunday kasi kicks lang ang bati niya kay JJ eh. We had lunch at my parent’s house (as usual, stars na naman ang mga nephews ko. kakaaliw talaga sila!) and we’re back at my in-laws in time for dinner. To JJ, daddypops, dadi Gani , my brother TJ and all daddies out there, Happy Father’s Day!

Sunday night, Nadal beat Djokovic in the Finals of the Artois Championships. Ha! Did I mention that it’s a grass court tournament? Well, Roger won a grass tourney rin in Germany but according to reports, he didn’t face anyone from the Top 10. Oh, I cannot wait for Wimbledon. Start na next week!

Random Pics:

Me at 27 weeks (I think).

Matty ogling the cake.

Hope Rafa wins...

Today is the French Open Men's Semis and the match between Nadal and Djokovic is one of the most anticipated matches in the clay court. I am a Nadal fan so I am rooting for Rafa to clinch a slot in the Finals. Here's the match preview from the French Open website:

Day 13 - Match of the day: Rafael Nadal – Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal Spain VS. Novak Djokovic Serbia

BACKGROUND Rafael Nadal has been unbeaten in his 26-match career here at Roland Garros. If that were not impressive enough, in none of those was he pushed to five sets. He is the king of clay, the master of his art, and his outstanding performance in his first five matches (25 games lost, an Open era record) only serves to reinforce his commanding status. The Spaniard is far and away the favourite to win. Winner of the Australian Open and of the Masters Series at Indian Wells and Rome, Novak Djokovic has been the in-form player in first part of the 2008 season. To such an extent that the Serb, like Nadal, can consider himself to be a serious contender for Federer’s number one crown. From this perspective, if he shocks Nadal, he will move closer to the top spot. He has the weapons to worry the Spaniard, as he proved here last year in the semi-finals, but he still lost in straight sets… CURRENT FORM Outstanding. Rafa has been suffering from blisters on his foot since Rome and he still wears a protective bandage but as he said himself, he is physically in excellent condition. Just ask any one his five defeated opponents, especially Nicolas Almagro who was crushed 6-1 6-1 6-1 in the quarter-finals. Nadal has perhaps never been as strong at Roland Garros. Nole lost the first set he played at the tournament, to the German Gremelmayr. Since then he has become stronger with every round. The Serb played a very good quarter final in what could have been a tricky match against one of the surprise stars of the tournament, Ernests Gulbis. But he made an even better impression in his fourth round clash with Paul-Henri Mathieu. He is in good physical form, but questions could be asked about his mental freshness, after playing, and winning, so much in the first five months of the year. STRENGTH We are getting to know Nadal’s strengths very well. Firstly, he is extremely strong physically. His footwork and movement are exceptional, as is his stamina. But he also has an almost superhuman eye and anticipation. His cover of the ground is unmatched by anyone on the tour, he is mentally unshakeable and his confidence is sky-high. Add to that his devastating top-spin forehand, his great touch on the ball (ah, those drop shots…) and the fact that he’s a left-hander means that his opponents have practically no solution. Djokovic, like Nadal, has no weaknesses and is a force to be reckoned with. A great server with a fantastic first serve percentage and brilliant return, Nole has a destructive forehand and a solid backhand. His shots are very difficult to read and he can play inside-out shots or crossing shots at will, on the forehand or on the backhand. He is comfortable at the net and has improved his stamina over the last year. The man from Belgrade overflows with ambition and his confidence rocketed after his win in Melbourne. TACTICS Nadal is already being compared with Björn Borg, even though the Spaniard does not welcome this comparison. But, like the Swede, he seems indestructible. We have yet to see any mistakes in his game here at Roland Garros and he has never shown any signs of weakness, even against Federer or against those rare players who have tested him, like Puerta or Mathieu. If Rafa plays at his best level and moves quickly into the lead, he will win. It is almost a certainty. Djokovic is not afraid of anything, but nevertheless he faces a huge hurdle. He will have to connect again and again, take risks, vary his game, come to the net…in short he will have to play some exceptional tennis in order to win. If he wants to keep the scores level he will have to get a large percentage of his first serves in. The first set will, without a doubt, be vital. He will have to take the lead rapidly in order to sow the seed of doubt in Rafa’s mind. HEAD-TO-HEAD Nadal leads 7-3 in his head-to-head with Djokovic. In last year’s semi finals here at Roland Garros, the Mighty Mallorcan blew Djokovic away in 7-5 6-4 6-2, despite a strong start by the Serb. Even at Wimbledon, just afterwards, Rafa was stronger. On clay the head-to-head is even clearer cut: 4-0 to Nadal. Djokovic has beaten his opponent three times, each time outside on hard court. This year at Indian Wells he won 6-3 6-2. He also showed great resistance against the Spaniard in their last clash at Hamburg. Nadal won 7-5 2-6 6-2, but it was undoubtedly one of the most spectacular clay-court matches of the year.

Go Nadal!

28th Week

Yup, you read it right. We're on our 28th week already. According to babycenter.com, our baby boy is about 15 inches from head to toe and weighs around 2.5 lbs already. We're in the homestretch as we're in the third trimester na. I am excited to see my baby and at the same time a little (well, okay, more than a little) scared of the pain that comes with childbirth. But I guess what I feel is normal.

Last Saturday was a full day for me and baby. I had my Glucose Challenge Test at 7am in the morning. Nagulat ako when I saw that I have to drink like 25oml of the glucose solution pala. I thought mga 100ml lang. Buti na lang I was able to drink it and keep it down (it was really sweet and I have stop once in a while before finishing the drink). Thankfully, the results were okay as confirmed by my OB's assistant this morning. But then she warned me that this does not mean that I can go back to eating chocolates and other sweets whenever I please.

We were scheduled to have our 3d/4d ultrasound around 8AM that same day (Saturday) but we had to move it to 8:30AM because of the GCT. Luckily, the one scheduled at 9AM was late ( initial usapan kasi is we have to stop and balik na lang if the 9AM preggy lady comes in and di pa kami tapos with our session). Baby L was asleep the entire session. Good, because the sonologist was able to measure easily dahil di siya malikot. Me and hubby just didn't see him move around much. So happy when the sonologist told us that everything is a-ok in my tummy. No fetal anomaly detected. :-) Below are our babies first pics...

Baby happily playing with his foot. Yup, that's his foot!A smile for daddy and mommy :-)

Cutie fingers.

There are video clips from this session too. I will find ways to upload it later. Our families were all happy to see the pictures/ video clips. When I showed the videos to my 3-year old nephew he said, "Tita, bakit parang moo moo si baby?". Hehe :-)

On another note, my parents celebrated their 28th church wedding anniversary last Sunday (June 1). My sister prepared lots of yummy food for the occasion (I helped by slicing veggies and washing the dishes :-P). She cooked kare-kare (so yummy), lengua, angelhair pasta with white sauce and fried chicken. Me and my brother bought ice cream and cakes for dessert. It was a fun day as my 2 nephews were there to make everyone smile with their antics. To my parents, happy happy anniversary and many, many more anniversaries to come. Next year, our baby will be joining the celebration na. I can't wait!

Two more months to go. Please continue praying for my and baby's health.