i finally met lolo

the happiest lolo in the world visited us last week. he came from his yearly conference in ohio and arrived boise last saturday. i was so excited to finally meet him (but i am more excited in meeting my grannies personally in september), and he was so happy to finally see me through my mom's bulging tummy. he just couldn't believe that i've grown so fast. :)

he just stayed here for a while though, tsk tsk. and with mom's crazy schedule last week, i wasn't able to spend more time with my lolo. he was with my dad the whole week, shopping and bonding ;). aside from that lone weekend and weeknights that we all spent together as a family, the only time i was with him longer was during mom and dad's 4th year wedding anniversary last thursday when she took half of the work day off.

we went strolling at ann morrison and julia davis parks, but he couldn't stand the wind chill. well, i didn't feel the chill. i was too comfy inside mummy's so all i felt was the loving warmth. so my folks brought him to the discovery center right away. it seems that they really had fun experiencing a few of those 150 hands-on science experiments. too bad they weren't able to finish all the sections since they close early on weekdays. but it's ok. mom told me they'll bring me back there when i get a little older. i'm sure i am going to have tons of fun.

after some more last-minute shopping, they had their anniversary dinner at sakana (sushi and steak grill at eagle road). since they planned on ordering hibachi dinners, they were seated at one of those teppanyaki tables. they really enjoyed watching the chef doing some exhibitions and fun tricks while cooking their orders. it was a great show! i think, mom has a video copy of the chef show at her multipy site. oops, before i forget... happy happy anniversary dad and mom!

too bad it was lolo's last night with us since we had to bring him to the airport for his flight back to thailand early friday morning. like what mom said, picking someone up from the airport is a lot happier than bringing them there for their flight back home. needless to say, mom's a little sad. as they bid their goodbyes with tight embraces, lolo told my folks, for the nth time, to take good care of his "apo". awww!

i'm already missing lolo. i wish it's already september so that i'd be able to meet and spend more time with the happiest lolo and lola in the world. hmmm, i wonder if they want me to call them lolo and lola? lolo daddy? lola mommy? ah, i'm sure they would let me know when they visit us in september.

see you both in september!

first appointment with dr. bouchard

my parents wanted to see me again through the powers of ultrasound so they were really looking forward to their first appointment with dr. bouchard, from the st. alphonsus medical group. mom chose dr. bouchard since her name sounded great she was one of the doctors referred by dr. slater, plus she really wanted to give birth at st. alphonsus.

this morning they were finally able to meet her. but before that, they were greeted by the nurse who used to work with dr. shearer-depp and recognized them. she's just so happy that they finally have me. she said that dr. bouchard is a sweet doctor. well, based from first impressions though, mom doesn't know how she defines "sweet".

dr. bouchard is very accomodating though. she really spent time answering all the never-ending questions that my parents could think of. she never showed any signs of "i-still-have-patients-waiting-for-me-so-can-you-please-hurry-up" syndrome. however, most of the questions that my parents asked, she just answered with "it's just normal" or "that's not a problem" or "don't worry about it". and this could only lead to worry-free parents (since so far they aren't showing any potential risks based on her answers) or worry-freak parents (since they might think that she's just another uncaring ob). my parents are a little of both right now :)

aside from the blood and urine tests done to mom, dr. bouchard also checked her physically. she confirmed that the bleeding was coming from mom's sensitive cervix which is normal for some women. so she said that we all have nothing to worry about. she then used the doppler thingy to hear my heartbeat, but it could be a bit early to hear or i was in a different position so they weren't able to hear it.

she also asked if my folks wanted her to do a quick check on me through the ultrasound (ain't that standard?). it wasn't as hi-tech as ICRM's equipment, but enough to get a good glimpse on me. she initially used the one that checks on me on top of mum's belly, but she couldn't get a good view. then she did it again, transvaginally, but had a hard time looking for me (yep, i was playing hide-and-seek again). she said that it could be because of the position of my mom's uterus, which is retroverted. but she assured them that the uterus moves and probably by the time she gives birth, it'll be in its normal position. and alas! the tiny flickering heatbeat was seen, and soon after, they all saw me. she didn't measure me though (i don't know if she just forgot or the low-tech movable ultrasound equipment can't do that) but lookie, i look more like a real baby now (with bigger head though :D):


i am now 10 wks and 2 days old! in about 3 weeks, the rest of the world will learn about my existence. ahhhh! exciting!

some random stories

these are just some random changes that my mom's experiencing while having me in her tummy...

* she still loves eating.
well, she said that she really has a good appetite (and her friends can attest to that). but now that she's eating for her and i, she really eats a lot, and gets hungry almost every two hours. but poor dad, coz she's having a hard time eating leftovers, so he's the one to finish all the leftovers from the fridge.

she also noticed that i don't like the smell of "ginisa" and because of that whenever dad's cooking she has to stay upstairs. and also because of that, she doesn't like "ginisa-based", saucy and oily viands. so my dad's having a difficult time thinking about what else to cook from day to day. but she still loves soup-based food and japanese cuisine.

we both aren't really craving for one thing in particular. but since she's trying to stay healthy for me, she's craving for those that she can't eat like raw sushi, ready-to-eat noodles, canned food, chips, french fries and coffee.

* the mood really swings
the increasing hormones are to be blamed.

she is a cry baby eversince. but now she's 10x that! she cries over any happy or sad scene she sees on tv, or on what she's reading about or thinking about. she cries when somebody teases her at work. she cries when telling stories. she cries with somone who's crying.

she also has a short list of persons that she doesn't want to see or talk to. most of her male colleagues are counted. and boy is she cranky!

and since most of the time, she doesn't feel well, she's too lazy. i guess i'm making her lazy :)

* on things she can't do or take
because of the bleeding scenarios, she doesn't want to exercise nor just walk. she's just too scared. but she needs one specially since she's more constipated now. dad alone does the grocery shopping because of that. or when mom comes with him, they really walk very slowly, as in OA slow :). she doesn't want to shop nowadays (when she was sooo much into it before i came into existence);)

she's too paranoid to apply anything on her face or her body that could probably affect me or my development. so right now she's a pimple with lots of pimple :( but it's all worth it according to her! though she keeps on saying that she doesn't have the preggy glow, she's still the prettiest for me and my dad.

thanks mom for letting me know that these little discomforts, aches, pains and changes are all nothing when you're thinking of your priceless little gem (that's me!). awww, i can't wait to see you both in person too!

by the way, i am 9 wks and 2 days old today! and most of my relatives, some of my parents' friends (tita S, tito M, tito K, tito J, tita J and partners), and mom's prayer buddies (auntie M and auntie E) and spiritual directors know about me already. auntie E even said prayers and blessings for me through my mom's tummy last sunday. and they're as happy!

oh, auntie M told mom to also always invoke my guardian angel. wow, my guardian angel! :)