Our big little miracle

After I found the surprise money last week, C and I went to my routine OB check-up. When my OB saw me, she was in shock to see that I was 5-6 cm dilated (before giving birth, one must be 10cm dilated) and told me to go down to the maternity ward to have myself checked-in. We were in a daze on the way, I gave C last minute instructions. Our hospital bag was still at home. Everything happened in a blur and it wasn't because of the epidural.

Nine hours later, I became a mommy and C a daddy. I will forever remember the moment when I first saw E being put on my chest and hearing her first cry. From then on I couldn't take away my eyes off her, amazed that she came from my womb and forever thankful for this blessing. It was nice to finally see the actual knees who kept on kneeing my arm and other people inside my tummy!

I can almost feel my heart burst for all the love that I'm feeling for my family. I'm grateful for having such a beautiful baby girl and a very supportive husband who's as smitten with E as I am.

All the sleepless nights are worth it.

{P.S. Read C's blog entry about our little game changer}

Church Baby Shower!

The day after my Hootin' Baby Shower, our church also held a baby shower for us and celebrated my sister-in-law Andrea's birthday.

We weren't able to take much photos. Most of the photos were of baby Marco, hehehe.

C practicing how to hold a baby :D

Tita Alex and Marco

Marco fell asleep while Tito Roy was carrying him!

One of the games was to guess my waistline, hahaha. The new moms were spot on!

Moms and dads gave us all kinds of advice. Our pastor, before giving us advice, confessed that he also wants to have his own grandchild soon, hahaha. Being part of a small church community makes everyone closer to each other and I'm glad that we're part of one because it's much easier to raise a child if surrounded by supportive people (and I don't want to have post-partum depression!!!!).

Thank you so much tita Ina for hosting and to everyone who was there. The presence of children made the shower extra fun, hehehe. Thank you also to those who weren't able to attend but left gifts :)

Hootin' Baby Shower!

Last week, my best friends Kitsie and Leslie (who were also my maids of honor) hosted my baby shower. It was their first time to host a baby shower and they did great with the decors, games, and program <3

It was owl-themed

My mother-in-law prepared most of the yummy food. Thank you Mama Luchie! Thank you also to my mom, our ninang Amar, Kitsie, and Les for contributing other food and desserts. :)

My parents and mom-in-law gave touching speeches which includes useful tips, fond (and funny) memories, and lullabies. (Photos by Chappy)

Instaxmax galore! (Will have these scanned someday, promise!)

A big thank you to those who came and for your gifts (the baby stuff ones and the wise advice for us): Papa, Mama and tito Jessie, RA2K, Avic, Mama Luchie and the Callanta siblings (and Nan, the Callanta-to-be!), ninang Amar and tito Ruben Torres, Tin and Roj, Jowill, Miks, and our fellow buntis-couple, Biya! And of course, my lovely hostesses! Gosh, I claim the pregnancy card if I forgot anyone!

Yes, E's a SHE ;p

We feel really blessed that we have very supportive family and friends that would never hesitate to help us and to give advice or just panic with us when they don't know what to do either :p I feel the love <3

Surprise Money!

The house and my brain are in mild chaos right now because we're gonna have a baby soon! One of my to-do is to move our important paper documents from a make-shift filing case made out of a carton box and recycled envelopes to a more proper container (for now).

Since I have yet to make proper labels, I just removed each envelope content into a folder and included the envelope in the folder for the meantime. I'm glad I checked each envelope carefully because I found this in one of the envelopes:

Five thousand pesos in cash. I immediately messaged C if he put it in but he doesn't remember. I can't remember anything either. We concluded the same thing: it's from God! Maybe it's His baby shower gift to us or this amount will be needed soon.

There's a reason why I found it and only He knows what it is for.

GV Mondays

Whenever I need an extra pick-me-up lately, these two surely does the trick. :D

This baby panda

caption this :p

And these twins!

I hope you have a great (short) week ahead!

My pregnancy lifesavers

I'm two days away from my 36th week and it feels like I'm always carrying a bowling bowl on my tummy. I'm enjoying it while it lasts because almost all my mommy friends say they miss feeling pregnant so I want to make the most out of it. Feeling my baby kick my arm away from my tummy can be annoyingly cute, actually.

Being pregnant is such a joy and pleasure if you erase all the discomforts (bloating, backaches, etc.) you'll have for the next 40 weeks, especially during the third trimester. I have the following lifesavers to thank for because they have lessened my pains and aches for the past months :

source

Prenatal Yoga - I've been going to Yoga Manila for prenatal yoga since my second trimester and it has helped a lot not only because of the different poses and breathing methods we do but also because our teacher, Nature (she's the one in the photo above!), is very supportive and gives a lot of helpful advice.

Shea butter - My very first tub of shea butter was from Tree Hut and was given to me by mom. Since we don't know where it's available here in Manila I got the one from Vanilla & Co. instead.  So far, no stretch marks for me! And I hope it will stay that way...

Karmakamet Room Perfume Spray in Siamese Lemongrass - Again, from my mom. Our room smells like a spa whenever I spray it. Sometimes I play soothing music and sit or lie down with my eyes closed after spraying this. Ta-da! Cheap spa!

Mothercare Multipurpose Pillow - It's more flexible than a regular pillow and it's portable enough for travelling. I can even sit on it or use it as a neck pillow. 

Massages! - I've tried a lot of different types of wooden massagers and the one above is the winner. I use the TP massage ball for my wrists and hands because I often lose circulation in those areas. But these two are nothing compared to my husband's massaging skills <3 

I hope this list helps other pregnant ladies and soon-to-be pregnant ladies. What else might help pregnant women to soothe aches and pains? I've been wanting to do acupuncture again but I haven't had the chance to lately. 

Husbands, this is also a good list of things to get for your pregnant wives :)

GV Mondays

source: Tumblr

Is it just me or it feels like summer? Perfect excuse to eat ice cream! Please don't tell my doctor I said that...