A Complicated Pregnancy All of a Sudden ;(

April 2, 2009 --- That was my appointment to my ob-gyne. She measured my tummy and as expected, it was still quite small for my being thirty weeks pregnant. My weight was continuously shooting up but the measurement of my tummy, or what they call fundal measurement, is not at all matched with the weight gain I am having. Her facial expression was full of worry so I got scared too. Was there anything wrong with my pregnancy, or my baby? She then asked me to step to the ultrasound room to check on the measurement of the baby and to know if there is anyting wrong inside. The result showed that all the parts of the baby is quite okay and so far are measuring normal to his age, except the abdominal area. That shows, according to her, an early sign of malnutrition. I could not believe what I heard, for I know I have been eating for two, one for me and one for the baby. So how come he is having signs of malnutrition?

I know there is something wrong when she asked me to meet again the next day at St. Luke's Hospital to do another round up of ultrasound. This is a more extensive type of ultrasound which they call maternal and fetal doppler. There we will see the full details of what's going on inside my womb.

April 3, 2009 --- St. Luke's Hospital. Hubby and I went there early just to be sure. I was nervously waiting for my turn. At around 11:30am, my name was called and my obgyne performed what she had to do. This kind of ultrasound took us for like 45 minutes to complete. According to her, there is a notch somewhere in my left uterinary artery and she asked me to buy Aspilet to be taken once a day. She also asked me to buy a steriod and meet her again the next day to explain the results of the doppler. The next day? So that meant I had to see her again. This kind of appointment is really not normal anymore, for we would just usually meet once or twice a month. But here we are now, having three check ups in a row.

April 4, 2009--- Healthway Clinic. The doctor interpreted the results of my ultrasound. According to the report, there is a notch in my left uterinary artery and that means it is sort of blocking the nutrients or food that is supposed to be for the baby. Good thing though, according to her, my placenta which is also responsible for the transmition of food to the baby, is mostly concentrated on my right area. And good thing also that my right artery is not having any problems. So that means that the baby is "so far" still okay. But then, there is still bad news. The notch on my left side also shows that I am a candidate for pre-eclamptia. Pre-eclamptia is a condition affecting pregnant women wherein the blood pressure shoots up during the course of pregnancy. It is a fetal condition that compromises the mother and the baby. There is no other treatment but to take the baby out,meaning the baby has to be born earlier that expected. Otherwise, mother may suffer stroke, or worst, even death. Hearing that, I got extremely furious. Why is this happening to me all of a sudden? I have been bragging about how easy my pregnancy is, then all of a sudden I am hearing all this? I wanted to cry right there and then. Good thing the doctor told me that pregnant moms now a days are so lucky because these conditions can be predicted and can be avoided. That sort of gave me a peace of mind.

She then shot the steriods to me. The steriods is for the baby's lungs. It will prepare the baby and will make him mature ahead of his age so just in case worst case scenario of preeclamptia attacks and he has to be taken out, he is prepared to the outside world. I also have to take aspilet once a day to avoid thickening of my blood, again, another prevention for preeclamptia. I also have to take anibiotics 4x a day for my UTI. Some of my vitamins were increased: Amino vita to be taken twice a day, calcium to be taken thrice, vitamin c to be taken thrice, macrobee once a day, milk twice a day, and lots and lots of water. I was also asked to load on protein for the baby's sake. I never had this so many medications in my entire life!!

I am hoping and praying that all the preparations are worth it, for I really wanted to have a normal and easy birth for our baby. And of course I do not want to compromise the condition of our little angel. I am looking forward to my next appointment and this time I want to hear some good news.









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Buying Baby Stuff For the First Time

Two weeks ago, hubby and I went to SM megamall to buy few of baby stuff. It was a combination of hesitation and excitement on my part. Hesitation because as a first time mommy, honestly, I am not sure if I knew exactly what I am doing, or what I will be buying for the tiny kiddo. Excitement because this is a different kind of bonding moment for me and hubby. After years of buying stuff for ourselves, for the house, for the car, and all other things, now we are facing a different phase of buying stuff for our own firstborn.

First stop-the pram, or commonly known here as the stroller. We were already sure of what we were going to buy since we scouted for it several weeks ahead. We were set to get Chicco Trevi. It is within our budget and it's quite okay for us. But when we went there to get it, they already run out of stock. They actually had one left, but it was the display unit. For obvious reasons, we did not want the display unit. So we looked for another brand and we landed to Graco station. Graco prams have a reputation of being one of the best brands when it comes to baby prams, cribs, carriers and the likes. Like Chicco, it is one of the best brands for baby carriers. We agreed to get the Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe in elegant green and brown combo. It's quite big and much expensive than Chicco Trevi, but the added features it has, are so convincing, we did not have doubts at all.
-It can be both for a newbord and a toddler, meaning our kiddo can use it from day one up to say three years old.
-The frames are all made of aluminum so we are talking of rust-free material here.
-There are lots of compartment available for baby stuff--baby tray and cup holder in front, parent tray at the back, 2 cup boards at the side, and a load basket below.
-Canopy can be rotated from front to back.
-Wheels made of rubber.
-Washable linings.
-Four stages reclining position.
-And the "it" and "deciding factor" for hubby-the one-touch-easy-fold.


Next stop, baby bottles. We were deciding wether to buy the ever popular feeding bottle brand Avent or the one as equally as popular brand Pigeon. Philips Avent from the UK is no doubt The Man of all feeding bottles. This brand has a superior quality to boost, and it has all the features the baby needs when feeding. With all its top most advantages, the price is no doubt higher than the usual brands. I believe this brand is the most expensive when it comes to feeding bottles, but then it's all worth it. But I did not buy it. We agreed to get Pigeon brand instead. The simple reason we had in mind: We have to know first what the baby's reaction to feeding bottles would be before we indulge into something expensive. We got Pigeon because its quality is not far behind. In fact, it's one of the expensive and saleable brands too. I just got particular with the nipple, since they say the nipple must be patterned from the nipple of the mother, so i bought this type they call peristaltic nipple. This type of nipple allows the baby to suck in the same way they would from a mother's nipple. We bought 3 cutely printed bottles and 3 plain transparent bottles and some extra peristaltic nipples.

Last stop-the crib comforter. We do not have a crib yet, but then we agreed on buying this wooden crib that suits the theme of our place (our pad has sort of all-wood theme). We did not buy it yet since we did not have much space in the car anymore. We just bought the comforter first. The comforter is such a cutey!! It's creamy yellow and light brown color with teddy bear prints. First time I saw it, I did not look for other designs anymore. The set includes the overall side linings, one head pillow, two bolsters, one fitted sheet for the mattress, and one blankie. I know our baby Migo will definitely love it!

I never thought buying baby stuff can be this toxic, but then who cares? I enjoyed every second of it!! This is a first time for me and so far, I am loving it. As a matter of fact, I cannot wait for our next date. I am looking forward to buying some more baby needs. I really love the experience!









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Bra Extensions

My tummy is getting bigger and bigger and that is not the only body part that is expanding. Expectedly, my breasts are not far behind. From 36c, they have grown to a whopping 38c. I have never been proud of this size!! However, discomfort finds its way to interrupt my happiness. My current brassieres are still good enough to use so I did not buy a new set, but I can feel discomfort at the back area since i cannot hook them up anymore. Good thing there are bra extensions available in the market. They are so helpful!!! Aside from expanding the scope of my bras, they now prevent my boobies from touching each other since it's now more spacious and loose. I bought one set of bra extensions for only p145.00. These are available in all maternity shops. Mine I got from Havin a Baby, Trinoma Branch.









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The Linea Nigra

As a pregnant woman, there are tons and tons of changes I have to face everyday. On the onset of knowing that I am indeed pregnant, fear of physical changes gushing through me. I have seen a lot of pregnant women changing from slim to stout, from pretty to scary (me bad). And I know I am not an exception. But as of this writing, I am fortunate enough not to look as bad as I expected. In fact, I do not look an inch of a pregnant woman, with the exception of the bulging tummy of course. My face still looks the same, and my neck and nape have not changed it's color. My underarms though are becoming darker by the day, but it's okay at least I can hide that. What I am bothered though is this line in my tummy which is also becoming darker and longer everyday. I am getting conscious about this thingy and sometimes I hate looking at it in the mirror.

This vertical line in the abdomen area is what we call the Linea Nigra. This goes from the pubic area up to the belly button, and in some cases even extends higher. It is dark and is most obvious to fair skinned women like me than dark skinned ones. It is most likely to appear on the second trimester, but I started noticing mine when my tummy started to be obvious. That was, I guess, on y 11th week. The cause of it is not known, though experts say what causes this is the one also resposible for the darkening of the areola. Linea Nigra is much likely to happen to pregnant women.

So what is to be done to prevent this? Bleaching creams? Peeling creams? All pregnant women by now know that any topical treatment, whitening agent and the likes are not safe to be used during pregnancy, so one thing to be done is ---NONE. Just let it be, leave it alone. This is bound to happen. Not to all preggos though. It is said that after giving birth, this is likely to fade, but not on an instant. Give a year or so before you finally say goodbye to it. But knowing that it will be not forever there is a relief already.









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Baby Kicks

I am 22 weeks pregnant to date. By this time, I can already feel our little boy's prominent kicks. I have already established his kicking patterns. He is active most of my lunch breaks so it is also an opportunity for us to listen to his classical music since I very well know that he is aware and listening. Everytime I will put the speakers to my tummy, I would feel his movements. As if he's very excited and making some martial art kicks inside. He is also very active at night, specially at around 10:00. So this is another round for our classical music. Too bad the baby is shying away from his dad. For some reason, everytime his daddy would feel him, he won't move. And if his daddy puts his hand away, he moves again. Naught boy indeed!





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Pregnancy fashion

I am finding it hard to decide what to wear every single day. Since I am now 21 weeks heavy, I am more and more conscious of my protruding tummy. Most days I want to hide it, most days I want to flaunt it and announce to the world that I am carrying a baby. Good thing I am not having a love-hate relationship with my current wardrobe. When I learned that I am pregnant, picture of my mom wearing sailor-type tent dresses flashed through my mind. What a horrible phase for her, I believe! Good thing those days are gone for preggos like me have tons and tons of chic and stylish maternity styles to choose from without compromising comfort and bodily figure.

I gathered some pictures that can help preggy moms like me be inspired in choosing what clothes to wear. These are the clothes that I would personally wear too.




* i am liking the one in blue *


* this one looks chic and cool *





* the black for casual days, the white for dinner date with hubby,
the pink for everyday wear *





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My Pregnancy

Hubby and I constantly enjoy each other's company. We have endless dates on weekends, heck, even on ordinary days. We both love hanging around in malls, feasting on some food we always crave for. No wonder that in our two years of being together as husband and wife, we both lost our waist lines. In some days if we have the luxury of time, we would go out of town. It maybe in Tagaytay, Subic, Baguio or Sagada, just to have a breath of new, fresh air. We are loving the life couplehood is giving us, till we decided it is just about time to bring this bliss to a higher level. We decided to have a baby, finally.

Several months of trying to conceive, I finally got the good news from this pregnancy test I bought from the neighborhood drugstore. Two pink lines. Definitely a positive result. Pregnancy embraced me, and I welcomed it with open arms as well. My first trimester is very challenging. There are times that I could not eat, and times that I would binge. There are scents that I do not want to smell, even the fragrances that I used to love. My husband is all supportive of all the changes that are happening to me, and I appreciate him all the more. Now I am on my second trimester and everything is going well. I am done with the morning sickness and all the "negative" side of pregnancy. This phase is much lighter and easy to take. I am more energetic and more focused to my office work, as if I am not pregnant at all. I love maternity fashion these days and I am fond of beautifying myself. I am also much heavier now because my appettite becomes friendly again. And most of all, I can now feel the baby's movement and know already his gender.

I still have one semester to go. They say this last trimester is as difficult as the first, but who knows? Maybe I will have a different take on it. Maybe not. Whatever the last trimester would bring me, I will still accept it with my warmest hug. For everyday of my pregnancy is different and everyhting I experience all throughout this ordeal is to be treasured. For I know I am going to be a mother soon, and that alone is a blessing.





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