Pregnancy Update - 26 weeks

• I can't see my feet anymore which sometimes throws me off-balance when I'm walking.
• Baby Johan is moving. A lot. There are times that it hurts when he kicks.
• Despite the nightly ritual of rubbing Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula, I found out today that I now have stretch marks under my belly and on my thighs. So much for preventive maintenance.
• My feet are swollen and I can't remain standing for too long or my legs would hurt.
• Even my arms have swollen, I noticed it only last Sunday when I wore my watch to church and it has tightened a bit on my wrist.
• I'm unusually sleepy all day and all night. Whenever I get up in the morning, it's just to eat breakfast then go back to sleep.
• I sometimes get this feeling that I'm tired being pregnant and I just want baby Johan to arrive.
• With more or less 14 weeks to go, I'm getting a bit nervous about labor and delivery. This is due to the fact that I'm such a wimp when it comes to injections. I have very low tolerance to pain and I wonder how I will be able to deliver baby Johan without making such a scene. :)

Baptism Planning

Just to get my mind off how painful labor and delivery could be (after reading What to Expect When You're Expecting), I busied myself over the planning of our baby Johan's baptism. My cousin is urging me to start early on because I won't have the time (and energy, I suppose) once baby Johan arrives. 

I know I blogged about DIY Teddy Bears a few posts away but I don't think I would be able to push through with the idea given that I won't be able to canvass for materials anymore given the already huge belly that I now have. Such a waste, I think those bears are really cute.

Anyway, I got this idea also from my cousin who recently helped her friend plan for her daughter's baptism. Also, I would want to hand out edible give aways like what we did for our wedding where we gave away cupcakes.

Here are some inspirations:

For the sponsors, I'm planning on giving out chocolates in glass jars just like these. I already found a supplier of glass jars in Multiply selling 150 oz jars for just P12.00 each. What a steal! I'll purchase the chocolates from Chocolate Lover's

As for the other guests, I will make chocolate lollipops like these. The mold and the chocolate will also be purchased from Chocolate Lover's

I did my math and I think I will only be spending more or less P1000.00 for the give aways.

As for the cake, I'm torn between ordering an edible cake and making a diaper cake. The latter would be way cheaper but I can't resist getting a sweet treat from our cupcake supplier during our wedding: Frupcakes.

I already asked Clarissa for a quote on this cake but with a different topper, of course.

But this diaper cake is also nice.

So much to think about for the baptism which we would like to happen by December before Christmas. We would like Johan to be baptized before we head to various family reunions come Christmas Day. Still got a few months anyway, so there's really no rush. :)

Just Sharing - Tuesday Vargas' Wedding Video

Just saw this on Facebook and I love how funny and sweet their wedding turned out.  

Jerico and Marizel (Tuesday Vargas) from Mayad Studios on Vimeo.

Clay Pots of my Younger Years

I was browsing through my files when I saw these pictures that I completely forgot to blog about. These are some photos of mini clay pots and fruits that I took in January during a trip to Divisoria. I just could not resist the urge as these toys bring back tons of childhood memories.

I remember as a kid that I ask my Mom or my Lola to bring me these clay pots after their trip from the market. I would play "luto-lutuan"  with my sisters and pretend that we were serving sumptuous meals out of these pots. We usually break a few and Mama would readily buy new ones for us.

I'm just wondering, in this age of PSPs, Wii and those other gadgets, do kids still play with toys like these?

And we name our Little Man...

After days of searching the net and asking suggestions from friends and relatives, we finally came up with a name for our little man and we are loving it. Thanks to my cousin, Ate Leslie, for suggesting the name Johan. The meaning of the two names fit perfectly as we were asking for God's grace to give us the blessing of a child. I went to Quiapo Church on the first Friday of February and prayed that I bear a child, a few days after, on February 8th, we confirmed that I was indeed pregnant! 

My New Best Friends

Obucort Swinghaler and Ventolin Inhaler.

It's been three weeks that I've been harboring this persistent cough. I was given antibiotics, cough meds and Vit C by my OB on the first week of this cough. After a week, I was still coughing and was advised to consult my Pulmonologist already. I was diagnosed with (what else?) Bronchial Asthma and was put under Ventolin Inhaler and another set of antibiotics and cough meds. I declined the advise of my Pulmo to put me under steroids for fear of the side effects it might cause to our baby.

Now, after two weeks of medication, I'm still coughing, I don't have a choice. I went back to my Pulmo and he told me that I have to take steroids or my baby will have less oxygen. He gave me a new inhaler, Obucort - a corticosteroid swinghaler which is safer because every puff will go directly to the lungs. I am to puff both my Ventolin Inhaler and Obucort everyday so we can control my asthma.

I just hope that we can control my asthma this early so I won't have an attack come labor day.

 

Showered with Love

Yesterday, June 20th, my sisters and cousin organized a baby shower for our Little Man. It was held at my parents home in Laguna and was attended by most of our relatives and a few family friends. Everybody had fun at the games prepared by my sisters and everybody had full, satisfied tummies with the delicious food prepared by Tito, Tita, Mama and cousin.

Many thanks to everyone for the all the gifts you showered us with and for traveling all the way to Laguna just to attend. I got most of the things on my wish list and I couldn't thank the Lord more for the blessing of a family. 

Our "It's a Boy!" Diaper Cake

The Food

The Buffet Table

Party Hats

Pabitin

The Best in Costume winner - my brother Paulo wearing adult diaper with hat and bib 

Souvenirs - mini chocolate mallows in DIY favor boxes

The many, many gifts we received

The Best Dad

My father is the most silent man I've ever known. He is not the stereotypical kind of dad who is usually the disciplinarian in the family. During my teens, when I thought I already knew everything and I've made quite a few a mistakes, I remember my Papa not giving me any tongue-lashing not even raising his hand to hit me. What he would do is talk to me at the breakfast table before he went to work. These talks are what gets to me much more than a slap in the face. I ended up crying after these talks and I know that my father's discipline method is what made me a better person today. I was raised with respect for my father instead of fear.

Today, my father is older and I would say wiser. He values his family so much that he would do everything he can to help my other siblings who need assistance, he gives advice when we ask for it and he respects every decision that we make.

He is still the silent man I grew up with, choosing to walk away from an argument than meeting anger with anger, he is still the handyman at home who knows how to fix everything, he is still the loving father who kisses us and hugs us whenever we come home to visit him and Mama and he is still the father that I greatly respect and truly for me he is the Best Dad in the World.

Here is Papa trying to fight back tears when he gave his message during our wedding reception.

---------------------------

The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through
My instrument
And his song is in my soul --
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
I`m just a living legacy
To the leader of the band.

-The chorus from the song Leader of the Band usually reminds me of my Papa and never fails to put tears in my eyes.

Happy Father's Day, Papa!

Raining and Reading

I love rain. I love reading.

When combined, it's a perfect time for me. I love to stay in bed, curled up with a pillow and spend the entire day reading. Unfortunately, I ran out of paperbacks and hardbound books to read. Good thing is I chanced about something online that can be downloaded to the PSP so I can read pdf files. I had to delete the Tekken 6 game from the PSP memory card to make way for this software. (Hopefully hubby doesn't find out as he's currently hooked to the World of Warcrafts game).

I've read Sophie Kinsella's Can You Keep a Secret (for the nth time) using the PSP followed by Jodie Picoult's My Sister's Keeper and I am currently reading Charlaine Harris' A Touch of Dead. 

 

Here's my company for tonight: Heidi Murkoff's What to Expect.., hubby's PSP with my ebook collection, a tumbler of hot Anmum Materna Chocolate and the heavy downpour of rain outside.

Perfect.

They Don't Fit

...anymore. My rings that is.

Part of being pregnant not only means having a huge belly but also swollen hands and feet.  As for me, my feet are still of the same size but my fingers are starting to swell already. I noticed this two weeks ago when hubby and I are about to leave the house. I usually take off my rings when I'm at home but I never leave the house without wearing them. On that particular day, when we were to go to church, I can't slip my rings on my finger anymore. They were just stuck there halfway through my finger and I really had a hard time taking them off. So, I decided to keep them in the drawer until my fingers go back to their pre-pregnancy size.

I miss wearing my rings..

Look at them stuck halfway through my finger.

New DIY Project on the Way

Getting pregnant indeed has its perks. Baby shower is one and in two weeks time I will be having a second baby shower for our little one. My sisters and cousin are throwing an animals theme baby shower for me on the 20th and I cannot tell you how excited I am.

However, I cannot just sit on one corner without giving any input on what I want. I'm OC that way and surely makes me a person not up for surprises. I want to be in on the planning and the execution. I would like to think of myself as the creative artist behind the curtain rather than being the lead actress. =)

So, after much pangungulit on my part, my sisters and cousin allowed me to contribute a little to the baby shower. I made the invites, the banner design and I will be the one to provide the favors.

I'm already done with the invites and the banner. As for the favors, I am planning to give out candies or chocolates repacked in small plastic bags and then put into favor boxes. I'd like to make the boxes myself and I even downloaded several box templates and tried creating some. So far, the one that tops my list is this favor box which would only require folding the cardboard. No more cutting or glueing so this one is pretty easy to do.

This one is from the website where I got the instructions how to make the box. Get the instructions here.

I will be making at least 30 boxes like this in aqua colored cardboard with brown ribbon and this gift tag that I made.

I will post finished products once I am done with all the boxes.

What are we having?

We were set to have our monthly prenatal on June 11th but we asked if we could have it set yesterday as well along with the check up for my cough and colds. We did our second trimester ultrasound to check on the baby's gender and lo and behold! Our little one was not a tiny bit shy on showing his 'pototoy' to us! So, what are we having?

Rain on the first day of June!

I so welcome the rain! After months of incredible heat, double it up with the abnormal body temp of a pregnant woman, the sound of the falling rain is like song to the ears.

I am hoping that this is the start of the rainy season. 

I am sick and I've been tossing and turning all night unable to fall asleep with this terrible cough. I've been drinking lots of fluid already and warm calamansi juice but I don't think I'm getting well. I already texted my OB and she advised me to observe first and should the cough be persistent until tomorrow (with or without fever) I should come to her clinic so she could could check. I hope I get well today, I do not want to take any medications for fear of the side effects it could bring to our baby.