Time flies so fast

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Hit me babies one more time!

Last Thursday and Friday, i've been slightly bothered with minimal fetal movements. Those flutters were somehow kept at minimum. I wondered what was happening with my twins and if there's a need to panic. Last Saturday morning about 6am, while still lying in bed, I felt a strange movement. My baby boy kicked! (After our last ultrasound, I can now clearly tell which baby is moving - the boy who's on top or the girl who's positioned under the navel). I was so thrilled! I asked Che to place his hand on my tummy and twice that baby boy let his daddy felt his moves.

While Che was taking a bath, the baby girl also moved. The feeling is sooo good that I just want to lie in bed and wait till they kick me again.

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of holding on to my tummy everytime I feel they are moving - that is, whether I am in bed or at the cinema watching Ratatouille.

They said that the kicks will soon be painful especially if the baby kicks your ribs. Well, I couldn't really tell now but i'll take the pain so long as I know that they are fine and enjoyfully playing inside my tummy.

By the way, i'll be turning 6 months (24 weeks to be exact) this weekend. I can't imagine it will be very soon that we'll see our twins! My tummy is growing BIG. Some says I am already of same size as those who are already due. Hehe.

Last Friday, I bought 2 empire cut dresses (in rust orange and magenta) in Glorietta. That's the place where i bought 2 other dresses of the same cut but were both printed (a green and white bermuda design and a black and off-white pattern). I love them! They can be used even after pregnancy. I normally do not buy several items of the same cut/style but this one was something. It was comfortable to wear. Besides, they are dirty cheap! I somehow regret buying the maternity pants and a tube dress in Havin' A Baby which I have, so far, worn once only - and I don't think I can wear them again when I give birth. Tsk.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Buena Vida - The Good Life

Buena Vida, where we currently live, actually means the 'Good Life'. The first time I saw the place, I immediately fell in love. The community is nice. Everything is well-maintained. The park is spaceous and clean. The village has their own gardener and a maintenance boy. The place is secured (with 3 guards at a time). The household help needs to secure ID to allow entry. The village is equipped with basketball court, swimming pool and 2 kids playground. The common areas are well-plotted with parking spaces meticulously planned and marked. There are various activities for the families which includes swimming lessons and dance clinic for kids during summer, easter egg hunting for kids and others. A monthly editorial is sent out every month on status of finances of the village as well as update on various activities and projects. Indeed, it is very conducive especially for start-up families.

I am not saying it's perfect. Except for the fact that the units are small and the water supply is erratic, for me, I was still more than happy to have found this place.

We only had few instances when we have made use really of the facilities. I celebrated my birthday last March with family and close friends at the clubhouse were kids went swimming or played at the park. We had few instances were relatives especially the kids came over on a weekend to play basketball and swim. I envisioned though that when we will have our own kids, we will stroll early morning in the park and enjoy the morning sun. That after a few months, we can teach our babies to swim at the kids pool. All these, albeit temporary, is something that we will be able to enjoy at least for a few more months. But, there are things we need to sacrifice for yet more important things. And that being said, we may need to soon say goodbye to a place I really did fell in love.

No definite place yet to move into as of this writing (we are torn on buying a house or renting again). A yet another decision we as a couple needs to take despite the challenges and a complicated situation.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Cute!

I saw these pictures of fraternal twins (girl and boy) at http://multiples.about.com/ and I can't help but be very excited to see and dress up our twins! Oh, and i like the pink and blue combination! :)






We got another gift! We were told that Che's cousin in the US already bought the twins the tandem stroller. :)

I am already so tempted in buying baby clothes. Last weekend, after our lunch at Jack's Loft, we went to the infact section of SM department store together with mom and sisters. Oh, how I already wanted to grab a pair of pink and blue hooded towels, mittens, sleepwear etc! They are screaming 'Please get me!'

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Leg Cramps

Ouch!!!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Peso appreciation against the US Dollar

Actually being a Filipino citizen, I should be happy, right? Call me selfish, but for years now, I have been hurting. When I was repatriated in the Philippines after 2 yrs expatriation in Hong Kong back in 2004, nearly all my savings are in USD. At that time, I was earning it as high as USD 1 = PHP 56. In 2004, when I was already working in Davao, it went down up to Php 54 and it prompted me to rethink of having to convert it all to Peso. My parents disagree and told me to trust them that it will increase again. Sadly, they were wrong. Not that I blame them though because it was my decision. When it hit Php 48, I almost decided to consolidate it all and have it exchanged but I still ended up not doing it, probably because I don't need it yet. But every time I heard or see the foreign exchange rate going down every time, i am hurting. Yesterday, I saw it was down to Php 45.40. Ouch! I already lost at least Php 300k and counting -not even considering deposit interest rate difference between USD and PHP.

What to do? What to do?

Baby Names and a Wardrobe for our Little Girl

Had a doctor's appointment last Saturday and my OB (who's also a sonologist) agreed with the ultrasound pictures that indeed they seem to be a boy/girl. :)

Since we learned about out twin's gender, i can't help but think of baby names. Here's what I instantly had in mind:

Racquel Sophia M. San Gabriel
Raniel Sean M. San Gabriel

All of Che's siblings and the next generation (nephew and niece) have names that starts with R and ends with an L (Rommel, Rhoel, Ronnel, Raphael, Rusell and Rosell). My friends and sister didn't like the first name especially Racquel but my choices are somehow limited. We'll see.

A friend suggested Reese and i actually like it. My sister also had the same name in mind. I saw from the internet Reese Sophia Ashley. And i find it cute! But, that is too long and i don't want to punish my kids with having to write long names so maximum two names should do. But Sophia and Sean are still top of my list. Sophia means 'wisdom' and Sean means 'God is glorious'.

After knowing that we might be having a girl, my sister-in-law gave me a box full of various items for our little girl which she has been keeping and reserving for us for months now. Those were hand me downs from our US relative to our only niece Sachi and now passed on to our little girl! The clothes were really nice and from brands that i like (Gap, Old Navy, Osh Kosh, Carters etc)! Some are new and some slightly used.

The box contains 8 pairs of shoes, a dozen dresses, blankets, 3 swimwear and several casual wear. If you notice, half of them are tickly pink! :)


Among my favorites are the following:

...Ralph Lauren 2 pc swimsuit (Isn't it cute? I can't wait to bring our twins to Boracay summer of next year!)


...Old Navy pink jacket with bib and a shirt that says 'Princess' :) I should find something similar in blue that says 'Prince' for our little boy just to be fair. Haha.


...A formal dress we can use for special occassions. This was actually used once by our niece during our wedding last year (matching our pink and gree motiff)
...Some cute dresses and casual wear to be used from 6-18months

...Cute infant wear and 8 pairs of shoes

I can't wait to do some more shopping!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

My quick trip at the Delivery Room and a Peak at our Twin's Gender

Few hours ago, i was just blogging the planned trip to the 'In the Womb' ultrasound center in Parksquare. Things suddenly changed. Here's how...

I noticed some increased discharge today and so i called up my OB and to also ask some questions. I asked if it is normal to have an increased discharge. She asked me to describe it. I said it is watery. She said that is not normal. I am not really sure what it was. Whether the stain was just a urine or vaginal discharge. She said, i should have it checked and i should go the Emergency Room so they can do some testing to ensure it is not amniotic fluid. I also asked her if it is ok if I'll have my ultrasound this weekend to know our twin's gender and she said it may be too small and too early to tell.

For my peace of mind, I asked Che to accompany me to the nearest hospital and he quickly picked me up the office at 5:30pm. We went to Makati Medical Center which is just a block away from my office. I went immediately to the ER where they did some usual checks. I was then brought to the Delivery Room in a wheel chair. It was a strange feeling being carried in a wheel chair when you can physically walk on your own anyways.

I was then brought to the Delivery Room. Geez, the feeling is not good lying there in bed at the middle of the room. Scary and i thought this is how it feels 4 months from now.

I was examined (like a pap smear) and the lady said it doesn't look like an amniotic fluid. I am also not dilated. She then went out and came back to tell me to have an ultrasound to ensure there is no leak inside. Inside, i was smiling as I know it will be a way to take a peak of our babies again.

The OB sonologist started scanning through my abdomen and said 'oh, dalawa nga'. After a few strokes, she said 'You're having a boy and a girl!' I was ecstatic. She said to look into the measurements first per baby and she'll show me the genitals. Baby A is malikot! OB said she doesn't want to show her genitals clearly to Mommy. But during her initial scan. she saw it was a girl. Baby A is in cephalic position and positioned under Baby B. Baby B, on the other hand, is on transverse lie. He is clearly a boy! His genitals is obviously showing. OB typed 'boy' in the ultrasound screen. :) And oh, the boy looks dominant. Aside from the fact that he is on top of his sibling, he was slightly bigger. Both of them were right for the gestational age and everything seems fine. She then went back to Baby A, still malikot. OB then saved the screenshot and said, 'I think it is really a girl'. She then typed 'girl' in the screenshot. OB said I am lucky. I felt I really am! :) I was so kulit and asked her how sure are we of their gender. She said, Twin B is definitely a boy and as to Twin A, she may have 20% error because baby girl is malikot. The report that was given to me anyways reflect 'female' and 'male'. :)

Here's the scan copy of the ultrasound. Not sure if you can clearly see. First photo is Twin A (the 'girl') and second photo is Twin B (the 'boy'). Look how his little thing is clearly showing. :) If you magnify Twin A's genital area, it looks like it has a cut in the middle.



P.s. I tried my best to enhance the quality of the picture but it is just too small when i upload it. I have also uploaded it in Friendster and it looks clearer there. Here's the link:
That was an expensive trip to the hospital but it was all worth it. At least I know they are doing fine.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

2 nights to go!

We have been really looking forward to the day that we will know our baby's gender. The other day, i have decided that we will go have our ultrasound this weekend to know our baby's gender (whether or not i get approval from my OB). I texted 'In the Womb' in Parksquare when is the best time to know the gender for twins and was told 20weeks is the best. We'll be turning 21 this weekend. I do hope we can accurately see their genitals by then.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Baby's Gender

Every week (i think sometimes even almost every day), Che and I will tempt ourselves with having an ultrasound to know our baby's gender. A lot of people have been asking whether it is a girl/boy or girl/girl or boy/boy. Majority do hope it is a girl/boy. Some predicting I will have a girl (I am blooming daw and my tummy is really round!). But I am just soooo 'inip' in knowing what their gender really is. I know it can already be seen now in the ultrasound but doctor suggests we wait for 6-7months before we determine gender. That's 1-2 months more to go. I can't wait!

Less than a week of help

Actually, we had our household help for 4 nights and 3 days...

THURSDAY - She arrived Manila.

SUNDAY - We picked her up at in-laws place. We went to the mall to buy her beddings and went grocery shopping (mostly canned goods as our fridge was not working properly). She did some cleaning. We had some of our clothes picked-up by the laundry shop to ease the load for her. I noticed she don't know how to iron clothes especially barongs - still crumpled. Thought this will be a problem and a lot of teaching and guiding to do. We heard mass together and had liempo and chicken for dinner.

MONDAY - She waked up early and prepared breakfast. I was having headaches again! I didnt go to work. I took a rest for the entire day while she did some cleaning. We had our fridge repaired (home service). I asked her to clean the bathroom - not exactly my standards of 'clean' but i told her to scrub the tiles further to remove the dirt. I told her to do the laundry (1 laundry basket left) but she chose what to wash (less than 10pcs of shirts i believe -due to the limited drying area). She went to the garage and did some gardening at her own initiative. I had food delivered for lunch (KFC) since fridge is still not working. In the afternoon, I asked her to go to the nearest wet market and she returned home safely. I cooked sinigang for dinner. It was the easiest viand i so far cooked. Before dinner, she begged to take a rest as she is having some stomach aches. Gave her medicines and gave her a cup of hot tea. We washed the dishes.

TUESDAY - First day she'll be alone at home so i listed down things for her to do. I asked her to fill up the biodata required by the village guards to secure her ID. When we arrived home, we had dinner. Then she delivered the news ... 'Ate/Kuya, may sasabihin po ako sa inyo.... Kelangan ko na pong umuwi kasi inaatake na naman daw po ng high blood nanay ko....Babayaran na lang po ng tatay ko ung pinamasahe ko (his father is working in Valenzuela pala)'. We were stunned. I went upstairs and see if she finished ironing clothes when i was pissed to see 1 barong (still crumpled), 1 longsleeves and 6shirts of my husband that were ironed. That was it?! After dinner, i saw her did some ironing.
Observations: The bathroom is cleaner this time. The room was not cleaned. The floors didn't seem polished (but she said she did polished it). My closet was more organized as compared to the last time when it looks like a room of ukay ukay.
I talked to her and asked her the real reason for moving. Why the sudden move? Will she move to another employer etc? Did she felt lonely being alone?

WEDNESDAY - As usual, when i woke up, she's already preparing the breakfast. I still did some ironing. When i thought she continued ironing, she finished about 2 pieces i believe.

THURSDAY - She prepared breakfast and we asked her to pack her things. Che will bring her to my in-laws.

That's how short we had some help. There were good and bad things about her. I think it is better said in tagalog. Good: Mabait, May kusa, Mukhang simple - di mukhang malantod (sorry for the word hehe), Marunong magalaga ng bata (based on previous work experience). Bad: Needs some guidance on ironing and washing (skills to be learned).

Whew! I hope we can find a good replacement soon. I am just hoping it is a blessing in disguise.