Learning his first words...

Happy 7th Month!

Happy 7th Month Kale Andrei!

How time flies so fast...

It's been seven months

but it seems like only yesterday when you were brought out of this world.

You were so small then.

And now, you've grown big and very active, learning to sit up, stand up and walk!

Everytime we look at your smile,

everything seems bright, and according to Tatay,

"feels heaven".

Indeed it is.

We love you so much baby!

May you stay healthy and cute (haha!).


With lots of love, hugs & kisses,
Nanay & Tatay

Five days to go...

And he'll be seven months!

Kale Andrei @ 6 months [in Pictures]

Enjoying his new walker

"wake up na Tatay"

Eating his rice cereal. Messy! Messy!

Caught in the act (again) eating Caterpi's antenna

Caterpi: Kale Andrei's favorite toy and foodie

Pa-cute!

Pacified? Haha!

Bulaga!

Kale Andrei @ 5 months [in Video]

[Late Post]

This video was taken on 15^th July 2010.

Kale Andrei’s fifth month.

This was his first day in Sharjah, UAE.

I was soooo tired and sleepy because of previous night’s flight Manila to Dubai.

I don’t want to reminisce the details of the 8-hour long flight plus some 2-3 hours of waiting at NAIA.

Just imagine a 45-kilo Mom (that’s me!), carrying her 8-kilo baby, who was fussy and couldn’t be tamed because he is with the Mom who was absent for more than 3 months! In short, nanibago!

But it’s all worth it.

I am so so so glad that we have our baby with us now.

Kale Andrei @ 5 months [in Pictures]

Getting ready

"Hey Tatay, hurry up!"

"Happy Birthday Nanay!"

At The Top entrance, with Tito Januar & Tita Leni

With Tita Florence.

At The Top open terrace. Happy Birthday Nanay & Tatay!



So tired na that Kale Andrei is asleep. We're just waiting for the dancing fountain below.

Kale Andrei: 2 months and 3 days

Here is Kale Andrei.

2 months and 3 days old.

Super cute posing for his (supposedly) passport picture last Wednesday, 17 March 2010.

Taken outside the DFA Pampanga Branch, 4pcs for 150 Pesos.

When they got inside DFA (Dept. of Foreign Affairs),

Hubby found out that the pictures are no longer needed (Yay! We’ve got souvenirs instead.)

Passport holder’s image is now captured through the webcam.

The passport had cost him 1,200 Pesos and he’ll get it after 7 working days, which is on 29 March 2010.

Hubby told me that he was not informed as to what kind of passport he was paying for.

Is it the Machine Readable Passport? Or the newest Biometric Passport?

We'll see on Monday next week!

1 month & 3 weeks old

A cute darling he is.

His eyes reminds me of my dad.

Although my sister insists that it is “my” eyes.

When he was 2 weeks old, hubby nicknamed him “Red”

Coz every time he cries or concentrates for his poop

He turns SO red!

My hubby got him a new nickname though.

Toby.

Short for Toblerone.

According to hubby, our baby’s skin color now is almost chocolatey.

But let’s forget about his color.

He’s just the cutest baby for me!

Last night I texted my hubby asking him to tell our baby that I love him and I miss him so much.

A few minutes after, I received the most touching message since I came back to Dubai:

.

“You know what? I told him what you’ve asked me.

He did reply. He smiled.

Then I tried telling him for the second time.

He smiled AGAIN! J”

.

Awww....my heart just swelled.

And that, what I think is

“Love that goes the distance”

It's not easy being away

Especially for that little boy

who had grown to your womb for nine months

who gloriously came out of you after hours of labor pain

who made you smile and cry and laugh at the first sight of him

who made you nervous and careful at the same time when you first carried him to your arms

who achingly cried for your milk or for just feeling wet

whose diapers you’ve changed every 4 hours or so

whom you sang lullabies to over and over again, until you ran out of songs to sing and makes you struggle to invent any humming sound

whom you made a warm bath in the mornings, between 9 and 11, and sponge bath in the evenings

whom you carried to the morning sun so his skin won’t turn yellow

whom you carried tirelessly for him to sleep, just so you’d feel his warmth and smell his baby skin

who makes you cry when he cries from his vaccines

who makes you worry all the time even if you’re just out for a bath

to whom you exchanged baby talks and funny made-up noises

who makes you sleep less at night because he just won’t sleep

who makes you, again, sleep less at night because even if he’s asleep, you just can’t help but watch him and wait for that smile to form his lips

who always makes you wonder if you are a good mother

who makes you think if you are doing the right thing for him


whom you MISSES ALL THE TIME


whom you ALWAYS LOVE

Kale Andrei, 5 days old

Kale Andrei, trying to be funny on his Day 6

Kale Andrei on his Day 7, looking fairly skinned

Kale Andrei, 1 month old, on his 3rd pedia check-up

Kale Andrei, you little cheat, you are now showing the signs of dark skin!

LOL

Celebrating his 1st month and his 1st Valentine!

Kale Andrei, one month and four days old, a day before my flight

Kale Andrei, the sexiest baby alive, hahaha, after daddy gave him his morning bath.

A day after my flight.

Announcing the birth of my baby boy

This is rather late but I just wanted to share the joy of the mommy in me!

(Insert lots of smileys in here)

J J J J J

KALE ANDREI

Born on the evening of 14 January 2010 at 8:48 PM, San Fernandino Hospital.

He came out through Normal Spontaneous Delivery.

He was big at 7.04 pounds (3.2 Kgs) and an Apgar Rating of 9/10.

He is amazingly beautiful and cries so loud in the nursery.

That time, I wonder if it’s normally like that for newborns. (Just a worrier here)

Anyways, I love and miss him soooooo much!

He or She?

This is already long overdue but I thought sharing something that made me & hubby happy will also make you smile somehow.

This was taken during my 3^rd visit (12 July) to my ob-gyne. Our baby on his/her 3^rd month (12 weeks)!

The moment for me was very surreal. My doctor even laughed at me when she saw me teary-eyed while viewing the scan. Kaloka di ba? I just can’t help it.

I’m a proud Mama!!!!

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Last 6^th of August, I had my 4^th visit because I wasn’t feeling well. Me and hubby are so worried because I am feeling some small contractions on my belly, which at first I thought, was normal. There was no pain.

Anyways, the doctor said that I don’t have to worry that much as long as I don’t have any bleeding or spotting and/or not feeling any pain. We had a short session of scanning the baby again to check for vital signs like heartbeat and fetal size whatever. She was also trying to verify the baby’s gender but she’s only 80% sure that my baby is a boy!!!!

Well, 80% is a lot already and I’m so happy and excited for a baby boy but hubby is still a bit hopeful that our baby is a girl. He’s got this mind-set already as he is, most of the time, unaware that he calls our baby on its girl name.

You see, we’ve thought already of a name for a baby girl (like 2 months before pa) but still can’t decide a name for a baby boy. Until now.

all-day sickness and more

Since that day I came to know that I’m “expecting”, I’ve been very neglectful of my blogging and plurking activities.

I’ve been missing a lot lately.

I have known from other pregnant women how difficult pregnancies could become. But I never ever really thought that it is THIS difficult. It surely needs a lot of sweating and crying and flushing.

In the onset of my 6^th week, I started feeling very uneasy in my stomach and some cold sweating EVERY morning. Medically, it is called “morning sickness”. On my part, it’s an all-day 24/7 sickness that can be triggered anytime, anywhere.

What causes my “all-day sickness” and vomiting spells:

1. Waking up in the morning or while taking a shower in the morning

2. After travelling or while travelling

3. The smell of anything being cooked

4. When feeling so tired

With the first one, it’s a real hardwork that every time, the task leaves me so weak to my bones, and tired (first thing in the morning!). I’ve tried sitting up first and eat some crackers before I leave the bed. I got this advice from a lot of pregnancy sites. Result: I don’t feel nauseated anymore but I still throw up the moment I go for the shower. And even if I my stomach is uber empty, I can’t help running to the nearest sink.

With regards to travelling, I thought that eating before or while travelling could help. I’ve also tried eating citrus fruits just to ease the queasy feeling. Result: It’s a hopeless case. The moment I reached my destination, I would run for the nearest toilet again or take out a plastic bag I always carry with me. Even at work, walang patawad (“no mercy”).

The third one is of course the most common among pregnant women. Like other moms-to-be, the smell of garlic cooking is very offensive. When I’m at home, since anything being cooked in the kitchen brings a pungent flavor around the house, I just usually stay in our room, lie down and cover my nose. Just to make sure I don’t smell anything. For me, anything being cooked is offensive on my ultra-sensitive nose. I don’t think there’s a cure on that but just to avoid it. This why I also don't cook lately. It's hubby's major responsibility now. Hehehe.

With the last one, I never knew it would be possible until last Saturday when me and hubby went to Sharjah City Centre. We arrived at the mall at 6.15pm and headed to Carrefour, the supermarket, for some stuffs. By 7pm, we were having our dinner at Pizza Hut, just because I was craving for pizza the other day. There is a mall-wide sale of up to 70% discount so we started strolling around the shops at past 8 o’clock, bought a pair of Nike for hubby and a blouse for me at Sun & Sands then started our way to the ground floor. We went to Splash for some super discounted clothes and goodies. I have found a dress, a pair of leggings and a nice comfy blouse. But when I saw the super looonnggg queue, I instantly felt tired and uneasy again. I was so sure I won’t be able to wait for my turn even if hubby could do it for me. From that very moment, I just wanted to go home and forego the opportunity of buying very nice and very cheap goodies. I was right anyway coz when we got home, the moment I changed my outfit to something more comfortable, I caught myself running to the nearest sink. Dinner wasted. It was very draining and “Eeewwww!”

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Pregnancy surely gives anyone a new experience. I am right now on my 8^th week (yippee!!!) and I just wanted to share some of my aversions and cravings.

Cravings? This is something very inconsistent to me. Today I like to eat mangoes, as in the Pinoy small green mangoes, with bagoong! Tomorrow might be a different craving. Some days I like balut or tukneneng or pancit palabok or malunggay with kalabasa leaves & flowers or KFC fries and chicken strips (Filipino version please). Or maybe I am just craving to be back home in the Philippines and enjoy more of Pinoy foodies. I miss home!

Aversions? I used to like porkchop A LOT! And now, I don’t even like the smell or the sight of it. Weird? But this one is the “weirdest” as my friend P calls it. I’m having an aversion to our laptop. I’m okay with my office PC or other people’s laptop. But when it comes to our own laptop, my blood boils. When I’m at home, I don’t like to turn it on or even see it lying on the table. When hubby uses it, I tell him to position it where I won’t be able to see the screen. And when hubby listens to songs, I ask him to shut it down or use the headphones instead.

It’s still normal right? LOL

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Nevertheless, me and hubby are always excited about our little baby. Most nights, hubby would have some baby talks with my tummy. I do that too! Even if I am not feeling okay most of the time, the joy and happiness brought by "him/her" is just exhilarating. I once told my friend P in an email that I so wanted to just scream out of joy.

it's positive!

just a quick one here before i go to bed.

i know. it's crazy.

super happiness makes us crazy too.

i tried two pregnancy test kits last night and this morning. all positive! =)

and to confirm it all (before i blog about it), we went to an ob-gyne this evening.

i can't describe the feeling when i saw my tiny baby through the ultrasound. sorry if we weren't able to take a picture. it was just so fast and we were so happy and excited.

mixed emotions, i say.

this is why lately ---

i've been feeling a bit dizzy in the morning...

i've been having some crazy uneasiness in my stomach...

i've been having the urge to throw up...

i've been having aversion to some food/dishes that i usually like...

i'm 14 days delayed...

i am so laaaaazzzzzzyyyyyyy...

i am sooooo sleeeepppyyyyyy...

and

patience is not my virtue a.k.a. "irritable"...