Stuff for Baby Number 2

I'm on my last week of a two-week bedrest as advised by my OB-GYN. I had spotting two weeks ago and when we came back for another ultrasound, it appeared that the Subchorionic Hemorrhage has grown bigger instead of disappearing. My emotions are all mixed up these last few days, with worry about Baby Number 2's condition, the stress of having to render additional leaves without pay at work as I've already used up all my sick leaves while all my vacation leaves are already plotted for the rest of the year, my patience is being tested with Johan wanting me to be by his side all the time instead of letting the new yaya take care of him so I can get that much needed rest. Ahh, the joys of being a mom. :)

Anyway, to keep me sane these days, I enjoyed the pretend plays that Johan and I have shared,  I have surrendered to the great invention called cable TV, I played games on my Android phone and I window-shopped online.

With nearing four months along in this pregnancy, I thought I should be listing down all the things that we would be needing before Baby Number 2 arrives. So, here's a short list:

We definitely need a new crib. Johan's old crib was a hand-me-down from his cousin and it has long since seen it's full potential. 

With two kids soon to ride with us, a carseat is a must for the baby. Johan's at this age that he cannot sit still and has to tinker with buttons or the compartment or worse, the door so there should always be a grown up holding on to him while in the car. I simply cannot hold the baby on one arm while trying to wrestle Johan with the other. This is why a carseat is necessary.

We need more storage space for the baby's clothes. Our existing storage cabinets are nearly full and cannot simply hold any more clothes and bedsheets and towels.We really need a new one for the baby's stuff.

A bathtub for the baby. I haven't seen Johan's old one for a long time so I am guessing that it was given away or was already broken.

A bottle sterilizer. I'm looking into this Farlin brand as this is the one being used for my niece's bottles. It is also cheaper compared to other brands which is great as we do need to save as much money as we can these days.

New feeding bottles. Johan is still drinking milk from his bottles and looks like it will take a little more time before we can convince him to stop. 

For now, those are all I can think of in addition to the other necessities like towels, cloth diapers, diaper covers, baby clothes and toiletries. It's a good thing that I have stored Johan's old stroller and it is still in mint condition so there's no need for us to buy a new one, also I know that I wouldn't have a problem with regards to clothing as I have a few pieces in storage and I can easily ask my relatives for old ones.

Having a new baby surely means a lot of expenses but we know with it along comes great joy and more love for our now growing family.

The Mall of Asia Incident

March 30, 2014 was my Mother-in-Law's scheduled flight to the United States. Eventhough, I was advised to take a  bedrest, I simply cannot stay home and not say goodbye to the woman who took care of my son since birth.

We arrived at the airport around six in the evening and after seeing my MIL pass through the gates of Terminal 2, we went on our way and decided to stay for a while in Mall of Asia while we wait for a text message from her telling us she's checked in already and passed through Immigration without any problem.

We arrived in MOA around 6:20 PM and was able to park around 6:45 PM - there were just too many people that day that made looking for a parking spot doubly hard. We proceeded to the Department Store to purchase some new beddings for our bed. I think we spent around 30 minutes there and after paying for our purchases, we went out the 2nd floor exit, I stopped by a BDO atm machine to withdraw some money and proceeded to walk. We were supposed to have dinner then when we heard a band playing downstairs. So, we walked closer to the banisters to watch the band for a while because Johan's always been in love with drums.

As we were walking away, we suddenly heard loud bangs. The hubby first thought they were fireworks and we again looked down the first level and that's when we saw the people below running away from something. I instantly became nervous and my instinct told me to look for a place where we can hide. The first store that I saw was a photo developing store which I wasn't able to know the name until I searched for the MOA map, it was Photoline. As we enter the store, rushing, the store attendant asked me what's happening. I told him that people are running at the ground floor and we heard shots being fired. He then said, it must have been just the fireworks. But by then, I know that it's not.

The proximity of where we were to the location where the shots were fired is very scary.

When the shots stopped, I told hubby to get out of the store and move farther away from where we are located. If they were indeed gunshots that we heard, the last thing that I wanted was for us to get stuck in the middle of it. All I was thinking at that time was they cannot take us as hostages. So, we immediately went out the Photoline store and walked quickly. Johan was getting scared by the minute and I guess it's because he felt that I too was scared. I kept on telling him to walk faster and to not stop. I was the one holding him while hubby carried our purchases, a huge beddings set with comforter and two huge pillows. 

While we were rushing away, people from the 2nd floor stores came out and looked down to see what's happening. That's when the second wave of people running started and by this time everybody is panicking. The people at the 2nd floor started running back to the stores, locking their doors. I was telling Johan to walk faster since I cannot carry him nor can I run given the pregnancy. I told hubby to look for a store, a restaurant, anywhere that we can get in and hide. But, since we're almost at the bridge connecting the mall to the seaside grounds, hubby said we should just proceed to the seaside where we were parked. 

Some of the mallgoers are still clueless as to what's happening and as soon as we reached the seaside grounds and looked back at the mall, that's when we saw the huge crowd of people running - everyone was just rushing to get out of the mall, they were running down the stairs and the escalators out into the street. And I was terribly scared, whatever it is that's happening inside, it is still not over. We seriously need to get out of there.

When we stopped for a while to send messages to some people, Johan was already screaming, "Let's go, let's go!". We immediately went to the car and prepared to leave. We just had to wait for a while for my MIL's reply but Johan kept on shouting at his Dad, "Dad, let's go! Drive!". So, the hubby did and while moving out of the parking lot, he asked the guard on duty what's happening inside. He did not answer and we then proceeded to exit. 

While driving away, I received a text message from my bestfriend asking me if we were still in MOA and I replied that we're driving away then because we heard shots being fired. Apparently, a college friend of ours posted on Facebook that they were also in MOA, heard the gunshots and were hiding then in one of the restaurants' kitchen.

When we got home, I immediately turned on the TV and went online to look for news about the incident. I found this:

‘Martilyo Gang’ strikes again at SM Mall of Asia; 1 arrested, 6 robbers escape

March 30, 2014 8:01pm

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(Updated 8:26 a.m., March 31) The "Martilyo Gang" is believed to have struck anew at an SM mall, using the cover of a heavy weekend crowd to hasten their escape after a brazen jewelry heist, this time on Sunday night at SM's crown jewel, the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

It was a very scary experience, even Johan was traumatized by it and up until today, he still does not want to go back to SM.