28 weeks

Felt guilty for abandoning my blogsite for almost 5 months. Well, i really need to set priorities as I've been juggling the long travel, work, family and rest.  I am always out of energy after the long working hours plus the stresses in driving due to the frequent heavy traffic in C5.  

I went back to work after 5 weeks of bed rest. Slowly, I again started doing field works and at the end of the day, thankful that hubby is always there to drive us back home, so I have time to nap while he battles for the traffic.  On weekends, I still have some few errands to do aside from the monthly check-up with my OB-gyne.  So basically, I only have Sundays to rest, as in sleep all day long.  Para makabawi, I'll give you updates on what was happening in my life for the past 4 months.

May 16, after a week of returning to work and doing field calls. I had another spotting on the day of my birthday. The OB recommended again for a week of bed rest. Sorry for the mugtong mata, we still celebrated my birthday even after finding out the spotting.

June, attended the Christening of baby Robin (my ex-boss' daughter)

July 5, morning, It was my 5th month and we had the congenital scan.  We just thought that the ultrasound will just tell us the gender of the baby.  We were surprised that the doctor checked everything from head to toe, we were so tensed and nervous during the process and thankful that everything is normal.  We are having a baby boy. :)

In the afternoon was my mom's 60th birthday celebration.  We originally planned for a simple dinner and we'll just give her a brand new smart phone. But a week before, she demanded, este asked for a birthday celebration with guests.  So here I was, tarantang gulay to cancel the reservation for the dinner and search for a venue that can accomodate 50 - 75 pax.  

July 12, attended my bestfriend Irene & Gold's wedding.  My hubby & I were originally part of the entourage but because of my condition I begged off. Good thing, my condition got better and we were still able to witness their vows.

July 13, attended baby Seppe's birthday/christening.  I was the ninang of course :)

August, we had our group outing in Batangas.  Yes, this is how good my condition is now, I am able to join out of town trips.

Then, surprisingly, we are receiving a lot of gifts for our baby.

Two weeks ago, my nephew had an on/off fever. Without the parents, we needed to have a shifting schedule of sending the kid daily to the hospital to monitor the CBC, we were like this for the whole week.  And on the 5th day, my nephew was finally admitted to the hospital.  We stayed there for 3 days.

Last week, I've got a surprise baby shower from my team in the office. I originally thought it is just my other preggy officemate since she's already due for delivery on the next weeks. And then, the party was prepared for both of us. 

Now, I am now on my 28th week (7th month) and I can now feel his movements whenever he's awake, hungry or if we are stressed.  We are still debating for the name and we are still undecided.  This baby is giving his mom and dad a more deeper connection, love and so much happiness.  We are thankful everyday to God for giving us this precious gift.

Carmen's Best Artisan Ice Cream

You'll know the latest food craze if they flood your IG (instagram) with it.  And yes, carmen's best ice cream is one of them.  

On our way to my check-up this morning, we thought traffic will be mild since it's already Holy Monday and everyone is on vacation mode.  But we were surprised by the early bumper to bumper situation in Eastwood so we needed to have a detour in White plains.  Then I happen to saw the sign of Carmen's Best Ice Cream in Kids Academy and told hubby that it is very famous in IG.

During my check-up, we received a very good news from my OB-Gyne that I no longer have the bleeding, thanks much God, and the baby is growing fine.  Which means no need for bed rest and i can already go back to work after the holy week.  Yey! Then I totally forgot about the ice cream after the check-up.

Lunch time, I asked hubby if we can grab our lunch in Recovery in BGC but no luck, the restaurant is full and there's long queue for customers waiting to be seated.  So we just decided to just drive back and see if we can find something in Eastwood.  Then, hubby thought of eating in Flaming Wings in White Plains and he remembered about the ice cream.

At first, we thought the Carmen's best ice cream was just an advertisement since there's no store in the area.  Good thing, hubby braved to ask the security guard of the school and wallah! Freezers of Carmen's best ice cream are there inside the school.

Price is 50 pesos higher in White Plains than when you buy them in Makati.  The best sellers and their regular flavors are 400 pesos (350 pesos in Makati) and the 450 pesos (400 pesos in Makati) for the special flavors.

I chose pistachio almond fudge for 450 pesos and I just love it.  It's not that I'm pregnant but it really tastes good and creamy, hubby also loved it and we finished 1 pint in 1 sitting, yay!  

You gotta taste it for yourself to judge... But promise, it's really really good. 

Wonder why Carmen's Best is this famous and expensive?  Here's the reason why. Captured this from the tube: 

Carmen's Best ice cream - Pure Indulgence.  If this is your first taste of Carmen's Best, you may wonder why our ice cream only comes in small tubes.  Well, like the finest artisal ice cream, it is homemade, the old-fashioned way, in small quantities.  

We use only 100% fresh cow's milk and cream thant brought over daily, at dawn, from the family's dairy farm in Bay, Laguna.  The amount of ice cream that we make depends on the amount of fresh milk that we get.  From the fresh milk, we extract the cream that rises to the top, and this is what gives Carmen's Best that incredibly smooth, silky texture.

We source the rest of our i gredients from all over the world.  Horlicks malted milk from England, chocolates from Switzerland, rum from Jamaica, the finest vanilla beans from exotic Madagascar Vanilla, and Turon de jijona from Spain.  

Quality means taking no shortcuts, and getting no substitutes for the finest ingredients.  Very simply that is the secret of Carmen's Best.

7 weeks

Mommy and daddy was so worried on your 6th weeks.

Mommy was crying hard fearing to lose you baby.

So they promised themselves to be extra careful

And do whatever it takes to keep you safe.

Mommy followed her OB and almost did not leave her bed except for restroom breaks. 

When mommy feels some pain in her abdomen, the more she never moves from her bed.

Daddy helps mommy to sit and stand and transfer to a moving chair

So we will not walk and just enjoy the ride for the weewee breaks.

Mommy welcomes the ever painful breasts because she knows its preparing for your milk.

Mommy tries eating more even for just few bites, her tummy says I'm already full

Mommy loves talking and singing for you everyday, and

Mommy and daddy also pray to God to protect you and keep you safe.

On your 7th week, mommy and daddy were so happy.

You grew bigger and even grew more than your age.

Your head and body are starting to develop, and

Your heartbeat was moving fast and loud saying mommy I love you.

Mommy and daddy are so relieved

And thanking the Lord for hearing their prayers.

Although mommy still have the bleeding,

Just continue to grow and she will take care of the rest.

Uratex Bio-aire Mattress Pad

So then, my complete bed rest started yesterday.  As in, I'm staying in bed the whole time but I cannot just turn sideways because I feel some pain everytime I do so.  I really don't want to take risk so I really have no choice but to lay on my back the whole time.  Although the AC was on the whole time yesterday I can still feel my back becoming too hot.  I now know the feeling of the babies that cry when they are left in bed for a long time.  Also, I believe we have the best quality mattress and I never felt uncomfortable sleeping in it since but yesterday was different.  I was complaining to hubby about it so he's helping to put me in sitting position but the pain in my abdomen is startng if I am in sitting position for longer time.  So I have no choice but to lay down again.

After breakfast this morning and after making sure I will no longer need to use the restroom, he went out for a while.  He was actually out for more than 1 hour and when he went back, he had some groceries and a Bio-Aire Mattress Pad from Uratex.

He helped me get up and i got a very quick shower while he puts the mattress in my space of the bed. I asked him to take pictures of course before setting up the bed sheets and pillows back on their places.  Well, the colors of our bed sheets are still very bachelor and the mattress that he bought is still blue.  I asked hubby he could have gotten the other colors like the yellow or the cream but he chose blue because this is the softest among the others, hhmmm... Sige na nga! :)

This is what's in the label.  Bio-aire Mattress Pad has a convoluted shape which prevents and helps heal skin ulcers, eliminates bed sores, reduces pressure pains, allows air flow and prevents your body from becoming too hot during sleep.  Its peaks provide softness and comfort while its hollows provides passageway for air to pass through.  Truly a great addition to your mattress!

We are just on the 6th week of my pregnancy and I don't know how long I need to be on bed rest but having this bio-aire mattress makes my bed rest more bearable and comfortable for me and baby.  Thank you hubby for being so thoughtful.

6 weeks

"The essence of being a woman is bearing a child in her in womb and deliver it to the world".  This was the winning answer of a candidate in a pageant during my intel days and alas! She won the crown of Ms. Intel Summer Bodies 2006. #tbt

Being pregnant is the most wonderful news a couple/family could ever receive.  But pregnancy is not as easy as 1, 2, 3... Only those women who experienced pregnancy could tell.  There are those who are very lucky that may have not experienced any trouble during pregnancy and those that need utmost care and doctor's supervision.  Well, sad to say, i belong to the later.

Yes, I am on bed rest for a week now.  I saw the OB on my 5th week & 4 days and that was just last week.  There's bleeding inside of me and there was no heatbeat yet.  The baby was as small as a sesame seed that time.  I was advised to have a bed rest, no oily food, no coffee and no milk and few medicines such as folic acid, aspilet to absorb the blood and the other one "pampakapit".

I followed the advise of the doctor.  I took a medical leave from the office and just stayed at home.  I was on bed rest but from time to time I sit down in the sala to watch movies, go downstairs, go to my in-laws for each meals riding a car because their house is few blocks away from ours.  Last Sunday, We still went to the church early in the morning to hear a mass and oh, still working from time to time... This was pretty much my routine last week.

Today, was my follow-up checkup with my OB.    On our way to the hospital, i was feeling some pain in my abdomen, and this was the same pain i was feeling since yesterday.  I was scheduled to have the ultrasound first before going to the OB.  This was the 2nd time i experienced the most uncomfortable  ultrasound which is the transV, last week was the first because my baby was so small so it can not be detected yet by the normal ultrasound method.  Before taking the transV, i was again advised to empty my bladder.  I was surprised to see some blood on my panty and became so nervous.  My husband was itching to call the OB when I told him about the spotting, but i said let's see first the result of the ultrasound.

I was praying that the baby will have a heartbeat before the procedure begins. And when the doctor said, oh wow, we now have a heatbeat, my tears started to flow because that was what i was afraid of, that my baby do not develop a heartbeat.  But I still have the bleeding as per the doctor.  Some more measurements on my uterus was made and my hubby was called to enter the room.  The doctor showed us the movement inside which was not there last week.  The movement was the heatbeat and even my hubby was teary eyed hearing the good news.  The doctor said, the baby measures 6 weeks and 1 day, and that i started asking because I should supposed to have 6 weeks and 4 days old baby. My OB was immediately prompted of the result and advised me to go see her immediately.

The OB said the bleeding is preventing the baby to develop that is why it is already delayed for few days now.  The bleeding is also blocking the oxygen of the baby so it needs to stop.  The doctor cannot do anything but to advise me to take the medicine and have complete bed rest.  That means minimal movements, no standing, and walking.  It's up to me how i will be taking care of the baby since she already advised the same last week and the result was the same.  I was also advised that if i experience spotting again, any time of the day, be it midnight or dawn, we need to call her immediately and go straight to the delivery room.  I have a threatened abortion case as per my OB.

Hearing that last advise from the OB seems the most painful news i ever received that day.  It was as if the doctor is expecting something bad to happen on my baby.  Ok fine, the OB was really not harsh when relaying the info, she was just telling me to strictly follow her advise and see what happens when i didn't.  Maybe it was my fault too because i still did a lot of movements since last week. I was already crying going out of her clinic.

I still have ranging emotion that kept me crying but I am determined to keep my baby safe.  Now, i will be staying in bed all the time and will do this just to save my baby.  We are praying to God to protect our little one and stop my bleeding. Please please God.

God's gift

Eversince 2014 came in, a lot of changes happened in my life.  I became a happy wife after i married my 12-year long boyfriend last new year's eve.  Packed my things and live together with my husband, and that means driving 1.5hours from home to office compared to when I was at home with my parents which was just 8 minutes drive. At work, new roles were given to me, meaning 3 bosses from the business aside from the 2 bosses that I have from technical.  Who's complaining? I'm not :). These are also the reason why I've been missing in the blogsphere for more than a month now.

Another big change is coming....

Last weekend, I thought my period was about to start.  I had some few drops of blood but then, it stopped.  I thought it will restart again after few hours or on the next days but it didn't.  This was when i started to suspect that I might be pregnant.  I also started to have some weird feelings.  Sometimes, I feel light-headed, feels like I wanna throw-up and in the morning, my breast are swollen.  I was scared to take the test at first, I wanted to follow the advise of my bestfriend Irene to wait for 2 weeks, baka delayed lang daw ako. Hubby and I agreed to wait for another week before we do the test.  You know it was so difficult to see the pregnancy kits just sitting on our medicine cabinet in the bathroom and not to use them....everytime I start opening the kit, i feel scared and immediately close the box again.

And today, it's been a week and it's time for us to do the pregnancy test.  Early this morning, before taking a shower to prepare for the Sunday service, I have confirmed that we are soon to become parents. Yes! Yes! Yes!  God has given us this wonderful gift... ❤️A baby soon! ❤️... Indeed a very beautiful blessing.  God is really good.  Thank you again papa God. 🙏

Puerto Princesa Palawan 2014

We had an early summer outing last February in Palawan with my hubby's family.  My hubby and I were actually just singit in this trip.  The trip was originally planned by hubby's cousins last year but it coincided when typhoon Yolanda badly hit the Philippines.  When the children re-booked their flights, the parents decided to also book theirs, then kami ni hubby we just booked last January and luckily found a promo in Air Philippines, 3Kphp round trip for two. 

For the past years we've been meaning to visit Palawan but everytime we plan to go, we always end up buying tickets to Boracay.  So I was really excited for this trip...  We were 3 batches to arrive in Palawan.  My hubby and I and his cousin RA we're on the 1st batch and arrived in Palawan at 5pm, the next batch arrived at 6:30, the 3rd batch on the next day.  

So being the first to arrive in Puerto Princesa, we looked for a coffee shop and found the Crossing Bridges just outside the exit gate of the airport.  The place is so open, no walls just pavements and the food was very affordable.  We had 2 french toasts and 1 clubhouse and several drinks and the bill if i'm not mistaken was just 600php, with free wifi pa.  We stayed here until the next batch arrived.

When the 2nd batch arrived, we went directly to the RAQ pensionne house.  It is not a hotel so it has a homey feel.  The place was very clean and the staffs were very accomodating.  When we arrived, there were welcome drinks and a rainmaker souvenir for each one of us.  The rate is php500/pax only.  Super affordable. 

Then we decided to take our dinner to one of the most recommended restaurant in Puerto Princesa, The Kalui.  On the entrance, you need to take your shoes, it was a barefoot dining experience for everyone of us.

The food was so yummy and affordable, 200-300php per dish.

The place was so beautiful, it seems like we had a photo-ops in here.  One thing that I was awed in that restaurant was the restroom.  I think i failed to take picture but it looked like a room where you can relax, ang bango at di mo feel na restroom sya.

We wrapped up the night with our tummy so full and the feeling so wonderful because of our dining experience in Kalui.   On the next day, we went for a city tour.

First stop, was the Roxas boulevard of Puerto Princesa, we just passed by the area so no pictures for the place.  Next, the Immaculate Conception Church which was damaged on World War II and was rebuilt 1961.

Across the street was the Plaza Cuartel, were hundreds of american soldiers were burnt in this place.  It was kinda creepy so we did not went inside.

Next stop, the PEARLs and the pasalubong centers.  We went to Delma Pearls and they offer the different kinds of sea pearls.  If you are eyeing for pasalubong you can get the fresh sea pearls from P10- P70 so I got few pairs for my sisters and my mom, t-shirt and sando for the boys.  But there are South Sea Pearls which are very expensive, naka-vault pa talaga sya because they are the most valuable pearls in their store.  1 pearl costs a thousand pesos, so if you want a pair of earings that will cost you 2kphp and just count the pearl for a necklace... Ang mahal!  But that was my only chance to get my own South Sea Pearls so i asked hubby if I can get one pair, and yehey he paid for it.. I was so happy, nakalibre!

Crocodile... Crocodile... Before going to the crocodile farm, we had a chance to taste one in Croconatics, there's a stall near the pasalubong center so we ordered crocodile sisig and tapa for take out. Crocodile was unbelievably delicious, promise!  On a side note, may nakapark na tricycle sa gilid, in Palawan it is called taxicle... It has a huge body compared to the normal tricycle we have here in the metro.

While eating crocodile sisig, off we went to see live crocodiles in the Crocodile Farm.  We had a chance to meet Rio, the 2nd biggest crocodile, 16.7 feet versus the famous Lolong of 20 feet.  So big and scary!

Hubby was so scared of the crocodile he didn't want to touch it... But I was persistent and convinced him to just have a picture with me for few seconds and then he left the crocodile in my arms na.. Hahaha!

Next stop, Senator Mitra's resthouse called Rancho which is overlooking the Honday bay.  They also have the zip line but we opted not to try them because we still have few more places to go to.

Then, we went to the butterfly farm and the tribal village.  I wanted to try to hold the snake kahit hubby was so against it but when my chance came, biglang naninigas na yung snake and pumupulupot na. Hubby was so relieved, hehehe! The tour guide said, baka nastress na, so ayoko na din noh!

And finally, The Baker's Hill... My MIL parang nag panick buying na naman.. Dami binili, so libre na naman kami lahat sa pasalubong and madami baon going to El Nido...Oh I so love their hopia...

...and I love the place too!  Sarap mag photo-ops... :)

Few things that Puerto Princesa must be proud of:

1) Puerto princesa is the most cleanest city. Mayor Hagedorn did a very good job implementing the no littering law.

2) The tour guides are excellent!  

3) People there are very tourist oriented

4) Abundant in fresh sea food and affordable restaurants.

5) Beautiful culture and tourist spots to showcase, and

5) the pearls of course

This is pretty much the end of our city tour.  We just waited for the 3rd batch to arrive then off we went to El Nido.  Watch out for my next post... Hopefully, it will be soon :)