First Steps!

Happiness is Pio walking! Well, taking his first few un-assisted steps tonight, February 8. We were hanging out at his cousin's house and he was with his daddy when he turned around and walked three steps towards me. We were surprised! Then we made him do it again for the video! Haha.

He's not totally totally walking though. As soon as we make him stand, he rushes forward so he loses his balance. Hay, baby, don't rush things!

7 Months

Our cutie pie turned seven months yesterday. The months are flying by so fast now! Gah. I guess it's really true that it's the first three months which are the hardest, in fact, it's called the fourth trimester. Ours was especially hard because I had to look for and transfer to a new office after my first month.

P's milestones:

1. Eating solids. So far he's eaten squash, carrots, potato, camote, avocado and papaya. He eats everything we offer him so far. In fact, he opens his mouth as soon as he senses a spoon near his mouth. We went home last week-end and then we got flooded in, I wasn't able to prepare his food. He would stare at us whenever we ate, my poor munchkin hehe.
   
   
2. He refuses to drink water though. He'd bite on the nipple whenever we make him drink water.
   
   
3. Although he has no teeth yet, he has started chomping on mommy while nursing. I would tell him “NO” in a stern tone but he'd laugh at me.
   
   
4. He rolls on his tummy then on his back with ease. He can push up his upper body AND his butt but not at the same time. Mommy says he need to do this as a precursor to sitting up. Hence, the next number.
   
   
5. He can sit up in his tub while taking a bath by holding on to the sides. However, he cannot sit up by himself yet. Wah.
   
   

Firsts

It's no secret that we've been trying to have a baby for years. When we finally confirmed that we've successfully conceived, I busted out the blessed hashtag. Thus, I was expecting rainbows and butterflies and confetti when I give birth.

But no. Even without consulting a doctor, I knew I suffered post-partum depression. I was tired, sleep-deprived and crying all the time. The day after I gave birth, I learned that my prospective employer after my leave decided not to honor our agreement so I was going to be jobless. The yaya left two weeks after. I wanted someone, anyone, to take care of me but everyone was unavailable. However, I was expected to take care of this little baby.

Do not be confused, I love my baby as soon as we met him. But as it is with PPD, or more probably the sleep deprivation, I had the craziest thoughts.

People told me it will get better, that it's all gonna be worth it.

So I kept waiting.

I got a job a month before my maternity leave expired. This made me more stressed but I think it also helped me a little that I was out of the house. As soon as I get home from work, I would take a shower, scarf down dinner and take care of the baby until the next morning. On weekends, I'm on full time mommy mode.

Yesterday, we finally witnessed the “it's-gonna-be-worth-it” part. While I was inside the grocery, baby was with hubby who was meeting a customer. Hubby said that after the transaction, P suddenly launched an all-out crying fit. He prepared a bottle but P was still crying. So I went out of the grocery before paying to see what was wrong. After feeding, I carried P in the burp position and we went back inside the grocery. While waiting in line hubby was telling me that while P was crying in his stroller, he was kicking so hard that he was sliding down the seat. Then suddenly, P GIGGLED. And then giggled again. I motioned hubby to take out his phone and we managed to record the third, albeit shorter, giggle.

I'm so happy we were there to witness that. I hope that even if I'm a working mommy, I will get to witness all his other firsts, all the other “it's gonna be worth it” moments.

Hello again, bagoong!

A couple of weeks into the pregnancy, I was cooking my weekly pinakbet with bagoong na isda or liquid bagoong. While it was bubbling away, I felt like throwing up. I ate noodles for that dinner and all the pinakbet was hubby's baon.

I am 16 weeks pregnant today. We have some left-over fried boneless bangus and veggies so I decided to cook dinengdeng, another Ilocano dish which requires bagoong. I could cook it with salt but it doesn't taste the same. Since my nausea has gone, I haven't been throwing up, and my appetite has returned, I decided to try cooking with bagoong again. And yay, I cooked and ate dinengdeng again without throwing up! My Ilocano heart is so happy. :)

First Time with the Doppler

Last Saturday's check-up was our first time with the Doppler. We were excited to hear baby's heartbeat. The OB was using the Doppler way way down there, and after a few seconds of swooping around, we were hearing nothing. I was scared.

The OB said to transfer to her transvaginal ultrasound. I was instructed to pee. During the TVZ, there were a few seconds of silence until the OB heaved a sigh of relief. Baby is okay. I was further relieved when the OB exclaimed, "Ay, sumisirko-sirko siya!" when she was trying to get measurements. Fetal heartbeat is 147. OB has a portable TVZ with a small screen so I didn't see the baby. Hubby was also disappointed hehe, he wanted another video.

We've been taking shots of my "bump" since 2 weeks ago. But with this experience of knowing that the baby is way way down below yet, I conclude we've been photographing my "belly bump" and not a "baby bump". :P

#Blessed

I honestly thought this day would never come. You know, I hate how some people use the hashtag #blessed. I've tried not using it ever. But I think this is the best exception:

We've been trying to conceive for years. We have issues, we've had treatments - ranging from work-ups to injections to acupuncture. We've spent many pennies on medicines. And I always got one line when I peed on a stick.

My cycle has always been irregular so I take a pregnancy test on the 36th day or so. April 30 was my 36th day so I took a test. Negative. The next day, May 1, was a holiday and hubby and I made plans to run in UP in preparation for Run United 2. I was aiming for 10km but I felt so heavy that I ran-walked, mostly walked, around 7km. I blamed the heat.

Come Saturday, May 3, we were scheduled for acupuncture. Still no Aunt Flo in sight. I took another test. Negative... or was that a faint second line? I had another test. A really faint second line, if you held up the test near a light. I called the hubby, who was watching the NBA. He wasn't sure if there was a line. So we still went to our acupuncture appointment.

But I was feeling antsy. We tried calling my OB but no one was picking up. We decided to go to an ultrasound clinic. After a couple of hours, the sonologist saw nothing, and could neither confirm or deny if I was pregnant. She said to have an ultrasound again after 2 weeks.

I took a few more tests and the second line was getting darker. Mother's Day came and passed and we couldn't tell anyone, not even our parents.

We finally went to the OB on May 12. She saw a yolk sac and teeny tiny embryo that she called "bulinggit". Finally! We told our family and closest friends right after.

BUT. There's more.

During our next ultrasound, the OB suddenly asked, "May lahi ba kayong twins?" I said no, on our side. Turns out she was seeing two yolk sacs. Ack! Hubby later said his grandma had twins-siblings. However, after a few weeks, the yolk sac was empty, the embryo never really developed. The OB said it was vanishing twin syndrome. The good news is, Baby A is A-okay.

Today, I am at the end of the first trimester. I am still (unfortunately) experiencing morning sickness. I hate the smell of bagoong cooking so goodbye to my staple pinakbet. I am not yet showing much but I'm bloated so I now live in Uniqlo stretchy jeans. 

I am due in January. I'm excited and I'm scared. And I can't believe this blog is going to be a mommy blog! Haha. :)