a leak in the plumbing

Check-up. Another routine check-up for me with BBB in tow. Belly’s still growing so baby’s still growing. Sometimes the doctor has to hunt around for the heartbeat, because baby’s facing away from the world. Funny that. I imagine there isn’t much space inside of me for a little baby to move around in, but that is the case. Towards the end of the check up, I asked my doctor if it was possible to leak amniotic fluid. She should’ve seen the change in her face. From the usual smiling amused expression, it changed to dead serious.

Are you serious? She asked. Yes it’s possible.

I explained that there were about two occasions when I felt a wetness that I was sure was not pee. But it wasn’t a lot and wasn’t happening on a continuous basis. She was serious when she said that the next time that happens, I should immediately go to the maternity/delivery room and have myself examined. Whatever the results of the examination were, she would be informed for her to make a decision. It was likely amniotic fluid, and leaking could lead to two things. 1) running low or even out of amniotic fluid puts the baby in danger (no more sea to float in) and 2) leaking means the membrane is open—so if something can go out, other things like bacteria could come in and infect the baby. In the event that either one happens, she will have to induce me for delivery. Whoa. Serious stuff. Sure doc, I will. 

review: bench fix salon

i am a super low maintenance person. salon visits are not part of my monthly schedule. but when your super long hair starts to really get in the way (read: its so long you can sit on it), then perhaps its time for a haircut. 


(by the way, this pregnancy thing about not having nuclear hair fall out is true. my hair has never been as thick nor as shiny. ever. ever.)


also, guess what. when you have a belly that's about to pop, one of the things you cannot do is wash your feet properly. also, you can't reach down and cut your toe nails. a bit elementary, these things, yes. but all contribute to one's sanity. 


so it was off to Bench Fix, so they can fix me. they won the non-bid by default. i was gonna avoid Salon de Rose forever (because there is a 3-inch difference between 3 and 6 inches, and when its your hair, it does matter), and none of the basement salons appealed to me. 


+ Bench Fix looked clean and modern and popular
-  so popular that i had to wait my turn for about 15 minutes. 


around me were mostly kids. ok, i call them kids coz they look like they're in college or early 20s. the one beside me was definitely still in high school, a fact that was proven by his teenage friends who all looked like they had their hair done at Bench Fix too. meanwhile, i'd been going Daisy since 6th grade til after i graduated from college. Daisy, whose neighborhood parlor was a few blocks from st. scho. hair cut all those years was 50 pesos. beat that!


+ the place was crawling with floor staff, but they all looked like they knew what they were doing. 
+ i like that they had these caddies on wheels that they wheeled into place only when needed. that left the floor area free of permanent structures, so much so i could imagine yoga or dance classes in there if it wasn't a salon. 
+/- the staff were courteous though i still had to put up with 1) is it a boy or a girl? 2) is this your first baby? 3) and the various follow through questions possible. 
+ the foot spa lady (i upgraded my planned pedicure to a foot spa) was nice enough to explain that the reason massages are not recommended for the preggers was to do with the swelling and the veins. that is the closest i've received as an explanation from anyone. 


in the end, they all got the jobs done, and i walked out with a lighter head, shorter hair, and clean, relaxed feet with trimmed toenails. 


am i going back? likely yes, but not likely soon. 


cost:
cut: Php 350 includes shampoo and blow dry
foot spa-pedicure combo: Php 350

pack that bag

The Expectant Father and my doctor’s check up book both tell me that I should be packing the hospital bag just about now. obedient reader that I am, I am packing. One bag for mummy (and daddy) and another bag for the little one coming.

Have decided that my long-standing Neil Pryde messenger bag will be our baby bag stand-in until we decide we really want another bag for baby. it is comfy, sturdy and roomy, and does NOT look like a baby bag. In it we have placed

            ~ a change of clothers (tie-side top, shorts, booties, mittens and bonnet)

~ a pack of Pampers brand newborn nappies. We also bought a pack of EQ since the salesgirl at SM said that was their most popular brand. But for some reason the pampers one appeals to me better)

~ cotton balls (in lieu of wet wipes)

~ receiving blanket

~ little bottle of alcohol (germs! germs!)

In my bag (which happens to be another Neil Pryde bag --a skid-proof, water resistant sailing duffel—both were freebies when I covered the Philippine Hobie Challenge before I moved to Cebu)

            ~ my cotton kimono

            ~ pajama set with overlap top

            ~ my 8 year-old Habagat toiletry kit with my usual weekend supplies (shampoo, conditioner, face wash, cotton buds, hair ties, body wash etc. )

            ~ pack of modess brand overnight feminine pads

            ~ bra & knickers

            ~ comfy Guess? gym pants

            ~ cotton button down polo

            ~ contact lens case & fluid

            ~ tshirt and spare boxers for BBB

           

being a veteran of "your flight/ferry leaves tomorrow" means my toiletry kit is half packed most of the time and i can pack with utter lucidity and minimum weight. but notice the number of items for mummy versus baby. Its true. let’s start life simpler, shall we? 

Fete de la Pregnant (part II)

Fete started at 4pm and ended at midnight. It wasn’t too different from many live events that I’ve handled before that required strict timing and coordination with the parties involved (performers, coverage, hosts, sponsors etc.). however, the main difference is that previously, I covered a lot of ground on foot, walking around the backstage area, across to the soundbooth, and anywhere else I might be needed. This year, I had to remind myself that I am 7 months pregnant and had to take it easy. 

I stationed myself at the side of the stage near Café Laguna—coincidentally the designated entry point for all performers headed for the stage. I ordered bibingka, palitaw, buko juice and sago’t gulaman from Café Laguna and settled in. I remembered to phone rather than run off to the person I needed to talk to. Took it easy. Enjoyed the music. I think baby did too.

Btw, great performances by the 560^th Airbase Wing Command, Urbal, and Sheila and the insects. 

the only real hiccup happened after we packed up. we got home after 1am and i realized i did not have my laptop with me. we had hooked it up to the projector to show commercials and such, and Sam (the friend who borrowed it, as well as BBB and i) forgot to pack it up. gah. we did not have the numbers of the actual projector people but Sam promised he would get on it, and he did. there were moments during the program when i looked over at my laptop and thought (must remember to bring that home). gah. maybe pregnancy brain is true after. 

cartoons on the blankie

still working on "to buy" stuff and hied off to SM for that. the strange thing is, i caved in and bought the baby-something with a cartoon character in it. 

i am not a fan of winnie-the-pooh. but i ended up with that character on a blankie/towel, a bonnet and booties from the disney display. what did attract me was that they looked to be quite well made and had a good cotton feel compared to the other items available. and the character print was mercifully done in a very non-descript beige against white. more like the color scheme of the classic a.a. milne stuff and not the disney-fied version. 

so hello winnie-the-pooh

june 20 sm 

blankie 299.75 

bonnet 69.75 x 2 

booties 59.75 

wash basin 129.75

nasal suction thing 79.75 

nail set 69.75 first years 

total 778. 25

Fete de la Pregnant (part I)

When I was in Manila, friends and I would attend the staging of Fete de la Musique, the world-wide celebration of diversity through music. There were always several stages in one venue, each one dedicated to a genre or style of music, so there was rock, world, blues, reggae/ska, etc. The first one I went to was at the now burned-down Republic of Malate, then at El Pueblo in Ortigas, and the last one at Eastwood City in Libis, and i think there's another year i went that i cannot pin down clearly. It was always a great night of rushing from one stage to another, and watching one act while worrying if you were missing something better at another stage. There was always a great sense of being one because of music (cliché! cliché!) and a festive carnival atmosphere brought about by walking around with friends, drink in hand. 

Last year Alliance Francais de Cebu (and the Arts Council of Cebu) asked BBB and I to help them organize the first ever Fete in Cebu. It was an acknowledgement of our extensive network in Cebu’s music scene, thanks to this magazine we publish that focuses on Cebu’s “music, arts, and the scene.” We gladly obliged.

We’re doing it again this year, at the Terraces of Ayala Center. We are again in charge of the band line up and directing the program.  On top of that, I am again writing the continuity script. Event is tomorrow. I’m writing this as a script-writing break. What a life. Writing as a break from writing.

shopping for baby has begun

it has officially started. gone is the desire to make and embroider baby clothes. i simply did not have time to spare for that. so i have been to the shopping places here to buy newborn-sized stuff and other basics as listed in "the expectant father." 


there are only 3 department stores i care to shop in. 
1) Rustan's with their mini-stock of items. the size of the rustan's here in cebu is a joke compared to the multi-level one they have in makati. even the harrison plaza one was better. but i can save that for another write up.
2) Metro Ayala Department Store. from my multi-tasking production experience which included buying props and wardrobe items, i discovered the Metro is quite good for choices, as long as you can get past the mint green uniforms of the sales staff and the weird square islands they have as payment counters. 
3) SM. their tagline says "we've got it all for you." not all, but they do come pretty close


decided to stick to plain white as much as possible. no issues with color matching, no dyes, no cartoon characters, plain utilitarian white. i myself wear a lot of white. and black. there was a time when my daily wardrobe consisted almost entirely of black and white. i digress


so my stash (accumulated over 3 trips) include: 


june 6 sm 
total 2465.50 most infant clothes 80/pc (these are tie-sides, shorts, sleeveless tops that button at the shoulder, etc. the generic SM branded ones are pretty good to me)

june 7 metro 
wash cloths (pack of 4 = 69.75 x 2), booties (4 pairs each 17.75), mittens (17.75 x3 pairs), shirt & short set (120), onesie (135) total 518.75

june 9 sm 
face towels 104.25


i realize i haven't actually bought at rustan's, just browsed through their stuff. i'm still at the comparison shopping mode for them because much as i like the options at rustans (in the other sections too, not just the baby stuff) it seems they're priced slightly higher. they tend to stock special high end items that appeal to parents with big budgets (judging from the brands they carry  like Dr. Brown's, and items that are more design-orientated)

the pirates are here

in the "notes" bit on my facebook account, i had proudly said that i do not patronize pirated films and  pirated music discs. i have had to go back on that. i still do not buy pirated copies of music/cds/albums, but we have now succumbed to buying pirated films to watch at home. 


APOLOGIES


we are doing it for convenience. blame being pregnant, being busy, and not wanting to go out during the day (or even late at night) to catch a film. plus, blame the fact that sometimes i'd rather watch old films that i know are good rather than put up with the latest hollywood blockbuster. please. i'm one of those that used to camp out at greenbelt 1 on cinemanila days, armed with sweater, food and drinks to watch one artsy film after another. so...


we have bought some pirated dvds and have been having good evenings watching them after dinner. i think it was in "the expectant father" where i read that having dvd nights is a good idea. and i certainly don't expect to see the inside of a cinema in the year the baby is born (as i don't expect to hire a babysitter) and likely that the first film we will watch after all this is a kiddie one targeted at our future little one.  


GUILTY. now press the play button. 


cost: one pirated DVD costs anywhere between Php 50 and Php90, depending on
1) how good the copy is
2) who you are negotiating with
3) some reason i have not figured out. 
yes, it can be random. 

moving office

i'm moving office. nobody else is. just me. i am giving up my big desk and am moving to the living room couch. 


you read that right. i have no core muscles to help keep my back straight to sit up and my back muscles cannot take the brunt of that. also it doesn't help that my desk chair is a freaking backless monoblock chair. because i don't like our space age bungee-chord office chairs, and BBB has not figured out what to replace them with. i keep looking at the japanese surplus shop next door to see if they had some suitable cast offs but no such luck. fortunately, all my work can be done on my laptop with some occasional paper support. we have a wireless router so all i really need to plug to the wall is the power for my HP. so to the sofa i shall go, to lean back on the down cushions and put my feet up. 

green purse tip #9 use 2nd-hand baby furniture & goods

the lucky thing about having friends with children is that they know what you might need and are willing to turn over items they don't need anymore. 


so we have been lucky because now we have two batches of 2nd hand baby furniture & goods that would otherwise cost an arm and a leg--


batch #1 from tomas & clara


+ graco pushchair. i don't know what the model is but its certainly less than 3 years old. it has a thing in the bottom to stash bags, the main seat has 3 settings (flat for sleeping, halfway for reclining & upright for sitting up. comes with a detachable food/cup tray and a folding canopy. it has lockable rear brakes and lockable front wheels. good height. its not lightweight tho but its great. now i don't have to look at all these chunky graco monsters with the removable car seat/carrier


+ irdy brand playpen. it folds down to about a 10-inch square about 3 feet tall. its quite clever and can be used as a travel cot. has its own mosquito net. almost new condition


i know, those two aren't immediately needed by a newborn and we still intend to buy some kind of crib. i think we will opt for the old-school wooden variety. have i said it before? yes, we like contemporary designed stuff but we like old school too. why redesign something that is working well?


cost = totally free. 




batch #2 from our french friends
+ avent Isis breast pump. holy camote. breast pumps have come a long way since i first saw my aunt's one in 1988. this one can be manual or plugged in or battery operated. how cool is that? not that i know how to use it yet.


+ baby first baby travel day bed. neat it folds to about the size of a small suitcase and comes with a little led night light, and waterproofed mattress. the thing is entirely washable (just the light bit is removable. 


+ mothercare brand microwavable sterilizer. these things have come a long way too from the stove top or plug in kind. this is just a gigantic microwavable container. you pour in some water in the bottom, place the dismantled baby bottles and pop it in the microwave to let the steam do the work. nifty


cost = these were not totally free, but the whole lot was purchased for Php 7,000. still great value considering the avent isis alone is Php11,600 when bought brand new.


there is another item given by friends that i failed to mention. our visiting friends from canada bought a car seat for their 9month-old who was used to traveling in car seats. they were worried about what to do with the seat after their 3-week stay last march. we said no worries, we would have a use for it. heehee. so they were among the first to learn that we are expecting a baby. the car seat is evenflo brand and can be both rear and front facing. it is not meant for newborns though because it is quite upright. not sure what we are doing for a newborn carseat yet. 


yey for friends. 

tetanus shots & letters for delivery

went in for my check up today and was given the first of 3 tetanus shots. they are to prevent tetanus infections when its time to delivery the baby. no big deal to me as i am not afraid of needles and see such as useful precautions. i just thought i'd mention it here as a note of interest to whoever is reading. 


other than that, the check up went without issue. we listened to the baby's heartbeat which sounds like some kind of machine thumping through slush. we've also asked for info about what to do since BBB is interested in being in the delivery room. apparently, chong hua allows it but you need to get written consent from the hospital director and the head of the ob/gyne department. also, in case the delivery has to be a c-section, the father will NOT be allowed in the operating room. i've read (tho not in chong hua) of fathers/husbands to be going berzerk at the idea that the mother to be is about to be sliced open to get the baby out. not an ideal situation.

baby furniture

we've been checking out the shops for baby furniture but have not bought any yet. when we first started looking around, i really had to tell myself to NOT do the math, because the cost could spiral to anything you think you could spend. being pregnant, as i can see, can make you vulnerable to marketing ploys, turning you into emotional suckers with empty wallets. 

case in point. crib options. Php5,000 wooden crib (without mattress & net) versus top of the line graco branded ones that are under Php20k inclusive of a newborn changing basinnet, mobile, mosquito net, and some place to put nappies and other accessories. gah. never mind that the models in between those two prices are horribly kitschy, corny and just generally not passing the tastes and standards of a designer father to be.

case #2. strollers/pushchairs. i've obviously never ventured into the children's section of department stores since i was a kid myself, and i was shocked to discover mclaren pushchairs going for about Php18k. gah. for that amount, i expect to be able to ride it myself, not have to push the damn thing around!

those are just the top 2 items, and we have not gone to the nitty gritties of bonnets, nail clippers and the like. oh joy. i love shopping. but i don't want to spend money. 

  

green purse tip #8 ukay maternity wear

in general, thrift-shopping for clothes is called ukay-ukay here. from the tagalog word "hukay" which means "to dig." however, the real hardcore ukay where you literally have to dig through piles of dusty used clothing is beyond me. multiply the badness of that by cebu's heat+humidity and the fact that i am pregnant, and hardcore ukay is an absolute no. i go to these airconditioned places that have the clothes on hangers, grouped as sleeveless tops, sleeved tops, skirts, pants, dresses, etc. and if it sounds like i am omitting too much info here, why, yes i am! i could write the style bible on ukay, but that's for another day. 


i am what i would call an ukay connoisseur, having had tons of practice that would require a separate blog page, if not a separate blog altogether!


the need to get maternity clothes was obvious from the day it was confirmed i was pregnant, but i've held off buying as long as i could, mainly because i was too busy with the telecoms commercials which are now thankfully done. i am not intending to buy brand new maternity clothes unless i think i can wear then after the pregnancy, so the easy option, really, is to go ukay-ukay. 


i have a few favorite places to go to (but you might have to pay me for me to reveal them!) and suffice it to say that i have got a few more things to wear that can accommodate my still growing belly. bought a couple of cotton dresses (with no waist) and a an office-y top by a brand called mothercare. 


cost: if a dress is "new arrival" it can cost as much as Php180. if the place is doing a clearance sale to make room for new arrivals, i've been lucky to get good finds for Php50! or better. my cheapest find is a black linen ankle length dress (in great condition after all the dust washed off) that i got for Php10. strange but true. 

not like a butterfly

books and websites describe the "quickening" (the baby's first movements in the womb that the mother feels) as something like having a butterfly fluttering in your belly. i first felt it around march before we left for morocco. i was not consciously anticipating it, but at the same time, i knew it was supposed to happen around then. 


truth be told, i wasn't sure if it was just the stuff in my intestines moving around, like when you have gas or you eat something you're not used to. seriously. except it was the baby moving. i'm not the type to jump for joy with such things though. yeah, corny mother to be me. but that is how i am. 


sometimes it gets hiccups, which the doctor says is normal. now IT moves, nudges and bumps me along from inside, and it is a strange funny feeling. hey, IT seems to say to remind me, i AM in here.


i know. see you in august.  

beating the sugar monitor

i've been very good at monitoring what i eat and testing my blood sugar as advised by the diabetes expert that my OB recommended. so far, i've only gone over the limit 2 times since i got the monitor. having been for my follow up check, i've been told that no, i do not have pregnancy-related diabetes. to which i heave a sigh of relief, not because i was scared, but because i was glad it was one complication i did not have to worry about. this pregnancy having been one of the easiest i've ever heard of, it reminds me of how surreal it all is. 

not a teetotaler

it is strange how, once the pregnancy is obvious, people seem to think they can tell you what to do and that their advise is welcome. mostly i guess they do so in reaction to the idea of "what if they were the pregnant party."


case in point, i still occasionally drink beer or wine. and by occasionally, i do mean like one serving once every two weeks. in the rare instances that i am caught with some alcohol in hand, concerned people broach the subject in various ways, but always with the same summary--"you're pregnant, are you supposed to be drinking?" and my response is inevitably:


"let's put it this way. do you think all the pregnant women in france and italy totally give up alcohol until the baby is born?" 

core no more

bending over to pick up things is becoming more of a challenge, and getting up from the bed and the sofa tells me how good my core WAS thanks to yoga and the bit of pilates i did the couple of years before getting pregnant. i have to remind myself to use my arms to push myself up instead of relying on my core. easier said than done. and worse, i imagine if my body will ever be in the same good condition as it was a year or two ago. 


*sigh*



also i am started to feel tired faster than normal, with some occasional back pain and discomfort here and there. nothing that rest can't handle, but i am just noting what's different from before i was pregnant. the laptop feels much heavier and i loath lugging it around and do so only when absolutely necessary (not that it is a monster at 2.2 kg). i feel the heat more than i used to and i'm bent on getting an aircon for our bedroom. unfortunately, it seems the heat is really something i am having issues with as everybody else in this home/office is carrying on as usual (i.e. natural ventilation). truth be told, i cannot stand wearing leggings because of the heat and end up wearing shorts and skirts that still fit, or dresses. i will have to find me some forgiving linen pants with stretchy waistbands.

moisturise moisturise moisturise

i'd read a friend's blog who wrote that she was so deathly afraid of stretch marks around her belly when she was pregnant. i would guess that all her worrying was for naught as today she can rock a bikini and the only proof that she was ever pregnant is the toddler walking beside her!

people swear by moisturisiers and body butters with cocoa butter, saying it totally prevents stretch marks around the belly. i'm not one to suddenly run out to get myself some as i was never the lemming type. besides, i happen to have a stash of moisturisers here so i use what i have. 

current on this rose-scented stuff that BBB's mom bought in morocco. that in itself was interesting, because we were headed to Essaouira on the coast which required driving through the countryside. one of our stops was already in the Naturally Morocco itinerary--i think--but if it were not, it was no big deal as the place was right on the highway anyway. we also needed to get out of the car to stretch our legs so we conveniently stopped at this women's coop that processes argan oil. 

in short, argan oil is morocco's answer to olive oil. it is their health oil and use it for everything--cooking, as peanut butter, soap, and you guessed it, moisturizers. BBB's mom was convinced to purchase something to support the coop (while BBB and i did choose a few bars of soap to bring back as pasalubong). the moisturiser was in the neighborhood of 20Euros. in the end, she gave me the pot of rose-scented argan oil-based moisturiser because my face started to suffer from the non-tropical weather and i, totally not anticipating temperatures would dip below 15 degrees, failed to bring any stuff for my face. 

in short, i'm using the stuff on my sometimes itchy belly. its light and rose-scented so i can't really complain. when that runs out, i have a pot of Asquith & Somerset ayurvedic body butter which i happened to buy from Beauty Bar for Php 50. that's right, it used to be Php 550, but since no one knew the brand, it went for a low down sale that i snapped up. 

will these things work? 

of shoes and swollen feet

one of the things about being pregnant that i've read often about is the swelling of the legs and feet. it was not something i'd imagined would happen to me, but then again, i never imagined myself pregnant either. 

after the flight back to morocco, i was appalled to discover (when i took my pants off) that my bony ankles had disappeared. i unlace my shoes during long-haul flights and wear boot length socks, so i didn't notice/feel/see it happen. i'd heard of people needing compression socks when flying to avoid swelling, but it was strange to see it on my own body. fortunately, it only lasted for a day, but now I am also careful about eating salty stuff. We ate at Big Mao in ayala once and my ankles swelled a bit. that was the first and last time i am eating in big mao. note to self: stay away from salty food and stay away from restaurants with msg.

my friend in hongkong said her feet went up an entire size when she was pregnant, which resulted in her giving me a very nice pair of brazil-made black suede peep-toe pumps that were sitting prettily in her shoe closet (she has a shoe closet!). she was a size 6, became a 7, then went back to 6 after the pregnancy. not sure which baffled me more when she gave them to me--the fact that her feet went up a size bigger, or the fact that she still wore high heels when she was pregnant. i am not a fan of high heels since i tend to do a lot of walking. i do wear them, so don't get me wrong. but i only really do for dinners and some nights out. and oh, i have worn that very pair she gave me--for the Creative Cebu launch in Ayala back in March, when i was about 19 weeks.

i also did buy a pair of Tsubo mary janes last March. they're about 3 inches high, plus a slight platform. as advertised, they were quite comfy. and i bought them because they were on sale (50% off, from Php 5,000 down to Php2,500). if i must justify, they are very well made, very comfy, and the style is a funky twist on a classic that will look good for a long time. i just don't have any desire to wear them lately.

my defaults are my slim havaianas, the beige puma doll shoes, the suede rockports, and my nike bowerman series sneakers. walking on air is good when you are pregnant. 

maternity leave

i can imagine not doing anything for 3 months, but that just means not doing anything that equates making an income, which i would loathe. i am difficult to bore, so I could be sewing and making things when the baby is new. or i could be reading books. finding some kind of work out to do. something something. the list of inconsequential things to do could go on. 

what i am mentally preparing for are the months i give birth and the month or two after that. because from what i’ve read, routines practically stop once the baby arrives. because i am freelance, the word routine remains a vague concept because the tasks of the day vary from day to day, depending on what projects i have going. in reality, i have no concept of “maternity leave” although that is what i am preparing for.

acting diabetic

so finally i get to write something. been putting the may issue of the magazine together. it goes to print tomorrow.

cebu has been blastedly humid with summer rain in between. other than that, things are more or less the same.

doctor said i failed my glucose test so i was sent to a diabetes expert. i was told to avoid cake, ice cream and soft drinks--all of which i had in morocco--so maybe those did affect the test which i had done a few days after arriving. plus i am to limit my servings of food to one cup. Not that i have been abusive, but i have not been demure with the eating either.  

it was suggested i keep a diary to write down what food i ate in the course of the day, and i was told to monitor my blood sugar for the next two weeks, around 1 random meal time a day (have my blood tested an hour after eating) and there were a couple of options on how to do that. 

the obvious one to most people is to go to a medical laboratory to have the test performed. its just a pin prick of blood from one finger that's needed. the test itself is about Php 50. however, the time and commuting fees spent were not appealing to me as i did not want to waste at least an hour everyday to get to and from the nearest lab. 

the other option was to buy this blood sugar monitor gadget (like a real diabetic!) and do my test myself. I have to prick my finger once a day with this pen-like contraption that holds a disposable lancet, place a drop of blood on a special strip, and insert that strip into a little reader gadget. its been 2 days since I got the gadget and results have been within the normal range, so what the heck. not sure which one is worse--anticipating the prick of the lancet, or knowing that this gadget has made me several thousand pesos poorer as a price to pay for convenience.

Last night I cooked chicken liver with a can of pork and beans. Having been an anemic kid, I am used to liver and actually enjoyed my dinner. Our graphic artist ate with us. He liked it, and described my concoction as “earthy”. Yes, like eating flavored soil.

cost: the gadget is called a One Touch Horizon monitor and comes with the pen-like pricker, some disposable lancets, a container of the special strips, and the electronic reader itself. i also had to buy more lancets, a small bottle of disinfectant (alcohol) and a small thing of cotton (these two to disinfect my finger of choice prior to pricking). total cost at Rose Pharmacy was Php 2, 999 

random pregnancy thoughts

I was wanting to start embroidering baby clothes or something but am still too busy to do those. in morocco there was this charity that sold gorgeous hand-embellished fabric items, mostly women's and baby clothes. they were so pretty, as they were mostly white woven cotton and embellished with colored embroidery or crochet. they cost an arm and a leg though, as i swear morocco tends to exploit tourists. but that is for another blog entry.  

I read about pregnancy brain, and then I read that it was some kind of hoax invented by a bunch of people. Not that i am experiencing it, but my Kiwi friend says she is (on top of of her difficult pregnancy). My own theory is, your brain is trying to make you think of the baby as the most important thing (plus all the things that go with it) so your brains diverts you from focusing on “less important” matters.

Interrupted sleep is supposed to gear you towards the first month with the baby who would have an erratic sleep-wake pattern. Don’t quote me, I just read random stuff. Sometimes I wake up and I’m totally lucid. Sometimes it’s because I’m conscious that I’m changing position. In reality, if I didn’t know that you’re not supposed to sleep on your back (which I tend to do) I would have gone on doing it. Now changing position wakes me up, I guess subconsciously making sure I don’t end up on my back. 

Sometimes I do wake up in the night with some pain around my lower back, hip level. Sometimes my hip clicks, but it started doing that more often when I got pregnant.

I’ve really only had two annoying days. One in morocco when we kept walking everywhere and my belly just wanted me to stop walking. One last week when I was sure the baby was dancing on my bladder. Otherwise I could forget I am pregnant, though it is getting more difficult to bend over to pick up pumpkin the cat, and on occasion, i feel more tired than I am used to. If I do some lengthy walking at night, my legs are not able to recover and are “ngalay” until the next day, so I limit my already limited walking to no later than late afternoon.

Sounds like I’ve been reading a lot. Not really.

I want my body back. Konti na lang.

scan #2

we had our scan done yesterday. yep, there IT was, no longer a vague blob as in the first scan, but something that resembles a human form with torso and limbs, head--with a face! its just a standard scan, not one of those fancy 3D scans that you can get (like in sm). seriously, not interested. not appealing. yes, that's a baby, but we can wait for the features when it is born. 

we also told our doctor not to tell us what the gender is. both BBB and I are not that keen to find out. we are old school that way, and we can wait a couple more months to find out. Whichever is fine really.But random friends (at least those who know about it) think it’s a girl, basing it on the opinion that i am looking good, and blooming. true. i did read that you get less hair fall and better skin when pregnant, thanks to the hormones. now, can we retain those hormones til after i'm pregnant? 

those incredulous enough when they find out we don't want to know the baby's gender follow it up with--but what color are you getting the baby's things in?! white. duh. blue. duh. green. duh. yellow. i am not a fan of pink in the first place (tho i do wear it sometimes) and i am not a fan of too serious gender-related color-coding for kids and babies (barbie pink euw). but mostly white. i may be painting myself into a corner here as i haven't done any serious baby shopping so i may be stumped by some items. however, i do know that a lot of newborn basics come in plain white. we are safe. 

I’m around my 24^th week and have gained 10 pounds since the pregnancy. i’m due august 15 +/- 2 weeks. I am not looking forward to getting bigger. Most clothes here in cebu suck anyway, so being pregnant, that gets even more limited. Still wearing a lot of my lose dress shirts and tops. I’m on a quest to find these long dresses that they call maxi dresses, but the ones you find here are in cheap material or wild prints. I am not a printed clothes person. Rarely. I fell in love with a precious white cotton summer dress in mango and it was gone the next day. 

She who hesitates wastes the opportunity.


cost: Php 600 for the scan

failing the glucose test

visited the OB today and have been told that i failed the glucose test. blech. i hoped that doesn't mean i need to do that horrid test again. probably not, but it did mean i might be a candidate for pregnancy-related diabetes which is NOT an ideal thing. i was referred to a diabetes specialist who will tell me what to do. what? at 32? diabetes doesn't really run in our family although my mom was told a similar thing last year and had to cut down on her sugar intake (and she probably takes 2x the amount of sugar i take). 


i have been also informed that i am anemic (according to the same set of tests from last week). no surprises on that one. i was anemic when i was ten years old and learned to eat chicken liver--which by the way is nicer than pork liver. to add to my collection of supplement pills, i now have to take Sorbifer which is an iron supplement. on top of continuing the folic acid (for more iron!) which is usually discontinued by the end of the first trimester for most pregnant women. 


we're scheduled for another scan this weekend. 

green purse tip #7

peg it


clothes peg it. use clothes pegs to reseal opened food packets. certainly useful in this tropical country where corn flakes and crisps left out in the open lose their crunchiness in the blink of an eye. clothes pegs are better than those cutesy plastic clips specifically marketed for chips & such--they are always over-designed but can't actually do the job. clothes pegs are cheap too--about Php 30 for a packet of 12. can't go wrong with that. they're reusable and not a heartache in case you lose one on a boat trip or picnic. i use them for packets of:


breakfast cereals
crisps
bread crumbs
flour & cornstarch
cookies
bread
chocolate
cheese
...anything 

bad vision

i've been wearing glasses since 6th grade, contacts since college. its near sightedness and astigmatism from reading a vast quantity of books in summer, when i had the run of the normally closed school library, thanks to my mother who teaches at the school. 


yes nancy drew, i blame you.


but this pregnancy seems to make my bad vision worst. blurry. but i've read that its not unusual, and pregnant women are advised not to do any laser eye surgery because the results may vary from being mildly inaccurate or horribly wrong. too bad, as in the back of my mind, and before i realised i was pregnant, i was wanting to line up laser eye correction as my thing to do this year. my disposable lenses may not matter to landfills much, but the lens solution bottles probably have nowhere to go around here. 


anyway, to illustrate how bad its gotten, i walked into Marks&Spencers to and found what i thought were good bargains. having chosen 2 pieces of knickers a size bigger than usual (in preparation for when i turn into a balloon), the check out reveals that it is "buy 1, get the 2nd at half price" and not buy 1 take 1 as it registered in my brain. 


at Php 495 each, i thought i would be paying Php 495 for 2, not 495 PLUS 247.50


total damage was Php 742.50. argh. quite extravagant when i am happy with their 5-pack knickers that go on sale for about Php 495 a pack. 


argh.