35 more days to go!

... or less... i am now 35 weeks and will be a full-term baby in two weeks :) so, i will just do yet another list of what my parents do in preparation for my coming.

1. classes, classes! my parents' childbirth class was cancelled last saturday. it will be moved to either a three 3-hr session from the 6th to the 8th or a whole day class on the 9th. both are conflicting for my folks since they have the breastfeeding class on the 6th and will be attending the baptism seminar on the 9th. bummer! they have the newborn care and parenting class on the 2nd though (weirdly though, they'll have that class before the childbirth one)

2. my clothes are all sorted (according to size -- yeah, i've got some gifts that i can only wear when i'm a bit bigger). and those that i can use now (and 3-6month sized clothes) have been washed! dad did not enjoy folding my clothes though since they're very tiny for his big hands. he said that they folded theirs a lot faster than mine. haha. oh, and he still mixes up receiving blankets/swaddlers with my towels. well, eventually he'll know which one is which.

3. the hospital bag is almost packed. they add little things every night to it and mom has already made a list on what to add further on the last minute (things that they are still using now like laptop, cellphone chargers, etc). they'll fill up the labor bag soon (as if there's more to pack in the labor bag -- they'll actually just use it for all the freebies at the hospital, heehee).

4. they started shopping for more essentials last weekend. and despite all those that we have received, mom was surprised to still have a long list of things to buy. fortunately, target gave us a 10% coupon on all registry items not purchased. so mom added more stuff in the registry just to be able to use the discount. shopping continues next weekend. and then they will start to sanitize all my things once they complete the list.

5. mom has already filed for her family and medical leave of absence at work and has been approved for 8 weeks. yahoo! she'll just have to file for the short-term disability thingie from matrix so she still gets paid (even if it's just 2/3 of her salary) for 4wks.

6. dad will have the carseat installed (finally!) and inspected at the fire station by friday.


there are still more items to cross out!

all good stuff

just listing down some of the good stuff that has happened from my last update til today on my 34th week. so here goes nothing in no particular order...

#1. my folks finally got hold of the travel system that they want! they bought the sterling metrolite stroller from graco and it's matching snugride carseat about two fridays ago. dad's very much itching to get the carseat base set up and have it inspected at the fire station. but mom was able to talk him out of it and delay the setting up til after the childbirth class :)

#2. dad and mom's friends in bgy boise threw her a surprise baby shower last last sunday! it seems that mom and everyone else present had a blast since the only sounds i heard were roars of laughter and shrieks! mom's stories are in her blog. thanks for all your gifts titas and titos!... and i'd like to thank tita jen (and tito jojo), and tita nova (and tito by and kuya gabriel) as well. we have received your gifts! thanks!

#3. mom finally saw the dermatologist on monday. the doctor said that there's nothing serious with the rashes on her legs. thank God! it's just eczema most probably brought about by the swelling in her legs and feet, then worsened by the dryness here. hopefully, everything that was prescribed to her will work wonders.

#4. the "pin-and-needle"-like pricks that mom feels down there are normal! whew! the ob called this the "cervical knife" feelings. and oh yes, it really felt like a knife cutting through and it really hurts according to mom. she'd really stop whatever she's doing whenever she feels that. and she normally feels that when she's on her feet.

#5. mom's tummy seems to be lying low already (that's what everyone says when they see it). she's concerned that i am probably getting ready to go down. the doctor confirmed though that i still am floating.

#6. i am lying head first as other typical babies (as of today according to dr. bouchard). she confirmed this by feeling all my body parts by hand. she felt my head, my butt and back and probably my feet/legs.

#7. mom was so worried that her amniotic fluid might be leaking without any symptoms (which happened to their friend and she never felt any leaks at all). but the doctor told her that she has probably more than enough since it would've been easier for her to feel my body parts if she has lesser fluid.

#8. the cramping that mom's been frequently feeling lately is a good sign that her uterus is exercising, toning and getting ready for labor, according to the OB.

#9. my superpokes are more hurtful now than ticklish as mom said. well, that's a good sign that i am growing right on track right?

#10. everything else from our doctor's visit today was a-ok! and as expected, mom's uterus is still 2wks ahead in terms of measurements. probably coz of fluid? hmmmm.

#11. my nursery is really almost done! my parents will just be adding a little bit of some baby stuff here and there. ;) will show pics soon, promise.

#12. dad and mom will start to prepare everything after their childbirth class on saturday... from completing their shopping list (of baby essentials), to cleaning and washing all my clothes and stuff, to preparing the nursery, to packing their labor bag, etc.

whew! a long list of the great stuff heh?!

bloopers

this funny thing happened today (well, not funny for mom, she's blaming her rustic brains on this incident... )

at 9:45 am today, mom and dad were at the ada west dermatology clinic since she thought she had an appointment today at 10am, only to find out that it was next friday, the 25th.

mom insisted that she talked with somebody telling her that it's this friday and that she even wrote it down on her pad at work when they called. unfortunately no one's cancelled an appt today so they couldn't squeeze her in. they had her appointment moved earlier though on monday the 21st.

when mom got to work, she looked for the pad right away, and yes, there it was, clearly written, JULY 25. nice one mom! :)

32nd week updates

it was time for another biweekly appointment with dr. bouchard, so we went there last wednesday. and like the usual, she would answer mom's questions first (her list is getting shorter by the way... and the doctor's probably thanking the heavens for that :D), then she would measure mom and they would all listen to my heartbeat. and like the past appointments, everything's a-ok! despite the fact that mom's uterus is measuring a week-and-a-half more. i guess, you all won't be surprised if i come out a week-and-a-half earlier.

however, we learned from lola mami that my mom came out 8 days later than her due date. does that mean there's a chance for me to come out late too? hmmmm. well, we'll have to find out if dad's on the same boat when he was born.

oh, there's just one whoopsie. mom had some weird rashes spreading on her legs. during the last two week's checkup, dr. bouchard suspected that it was just heat rash and nothing related to mom's pregnancy. she has prescribed some cortisone cream for her dad to apply on her legs. but it didn't work and was just spreading and getting all the more itchy. so she's now being referred to a dermatologist. hopefully she gets seen soon coz the itchiness would often wake her up from deep slumber.

another whoopsie. mom's been swelling a little more now that she had to buy two pairs of sandals that are a size bigger than hers (same style but of different color -- that's how comfy it is, specially with the edema lurking, haha). she could still wear around three pairs of flats that she owns and of course all her flip-flops. but that's all. she should've been happier for this good reason to shop for more shoes, but she never wanted to have pairs that won't fit her anymore after giving birth. also, her engagement and wedding rings (which are now being worn on her left ring finger) are now tight and had been leaving marks when removed. pretty soon, she'll be wearing them on her scapular chain. perhaps she should get nightly hand massages from dad too aside from his soothing leg massages. that might work.

on the carseat end, my folks have finally decided on getting the sterling snugride carseat and the matching metrolite stroller. thanks to all the pieces of advice, inputs and suggestions that you gave. they definitely enlightened my parents and so they'll march to babies r' us after work today to get them. hopefully they're still in-stock.

alrighty! happy weekend everyone! :)

the travel system challenge

the three day weekend has passed. we went to a picnic with mom and dad's friends, watched hancock and went around to shop for more stuff, but i still don't have my travel system at hand. mom and dad spent those days looking for the best one that they can find from most of the stores offering them. they even looked at some online reviews on these travel systems, but still, nada.

one thing's for sure... they are getting it from graco, nothing less, and they're set on getting a metrolite stroller. also, they want a neutral, unisex design. buying the set (stroller + carseat + base) is out of the question since the metrolite systems' designs are limited in stores nearby. buying online is also out since they want to see the designs personally. but the question is, should they get a snugride carseat which can hold up to 22lbs or the safeseat one as tita haney is recommending (which can hold up to 30lbs)? because if i grow up fast and go beyond 22lbs before i reach one, they'd have to buy another infant rear-facing carseat for me (that's the rule here), then buy a front-facing one when i turn 1. you see, most of the matching carseats of the metrolite strollers are snugride. they saw a good metrolite stroller design that has a matching safeseat carseat but it can only be ordered at amazon. so out of the list, hay. plus, they want to make use of the $40 off coupon from babies r' us so they want to purchase from there. that's still a lot of savings!

so i don't know what they will be getting. maybe they'll settle for the sterling design that they saw from babies r' us and just be ok with it being snugride. anyway, mom and dad aren't big so maybe i won't be a big baby so as not to fit the snugride carseat before i turn 1. well, we'll all see. at least i know that they were extremely happy when they saw the matching nursery rhyme crib set, crib mobile, and soft wall designs that go well with my wall borders, on clearance (and additional 40% off) at burlington. so they bought them immediately!

so there, the search goes on i guess :) well, maybe you have some pointers and tips that you can share?

9 more weeks!

and we're almost there! just two months to go (well, more or less)!

mom and i are too busy at work and (with a lot of activities lined up during the past weekend - she'll most likely tell you about it in her blog) that we never had enough time to update my blog ;) well, that tiring weekend actually scared the hell out of mom. i was too tired i never wanted to move as much last sunday, so mom was a little panicky! i could hear her and dad talking to me, praying to my guardian angel, and tickling me just so that i'd move. well, i would, but just a wee bit. teehee. sorry mom, i was really tired just like you and dad. but i am back to my regular programming now :)

anyway, just a short one, we had our biweekly checkup with dr. bouchard last week and as usual, everything was doing great. when mom asked about the results of her OGTT, dr. bouchard said that it was GOOD... that is NORMAL-GOOD and not BORDERLINE-GOOD! so both my parents were happy. she also made sure that her anemia isn't on the bad side of it. her levels are just slightly low according to dr. b. nothing that a daily iron supplement couldn't combat. mom will just be checked on her anemia again when she's about to deliver. my heartrate is a-ok based from what they heard (152bpm), but mom's uterus is really measuring 2weeks ahead (32cm at that). dr. bouchard teased her that i will end up as a 12-pounder. uh-oh! :) well, we'll see next week if it has grown 2 more centimeters ;0)

oh before i end, i'd like to make a shoutout to my tita abby and tita grette (and tito romel of course). we have received your gifts! woot woot! mom loved them so much. thank you soooo much titas! :) tita abby gave us my really cute tummy time mat and tita grette gave us that swaddling thingie and a changing table organizer. oh and thanks also to tita leah for giving us a boppy pillow!

so, what's everyone's plans for the july 4th weekend?! as for us, we really don't have travel plans, but mom and dad will do some serious shopping for me coz time is really running short. yep, they already did (and with the hand-me-downs and gifts that we've been receiving, my stuff are piling). but there are still some more basic little baby items that i would be needing (and yes, that travel system that they're still looking for up to now).

have a great holiday peeps!