A Birthing Story on Father's Day

sure it does not jive quite well, right? maybe in the end it will.

my transvi ultrasound says i am due to give birth by nov 12 '08. i gave birth earlier.

i was supposed to have my weekly check-up on oct 23, but the day before, on the 22nd - - - our 7th wedding anniversary (goodbye 7 year itch!), i felt like my baby stopped moving. so as not to make the husband nervous, i suggested that we visit the clinic first before we have dinner outside. so to the clinic we go.

to our greatest surprise, i was already 1cm dilated! it was my first IE. it wasn't as traumatic as i expected it to be. the OB covering my OB (who was in the US that time) did not allow me to go elsewhere but to the hospital. she surmised that it is best for me to be admitted and monitored.

during ultrasound, i was contracting but could not feel it. i was immediately sent to the labor room. the husband and i shared a take-out meal at the labor room's ante room (disclaimer: i figured it's a perk i was allowed because i'm a hospital employee *lol*). come to think of it, we were celebrating our wedding anniversary!

after 7 hours at the labor room, i was sent to a regular room. that was the wee hours of oct 23. i was again monitored that whole day with the same status: 1cm dilated; regular contractions. on oct 24, i recieved an sms message from my OB saying that she's scheduled to arrive manila that day and hope that i'd finally burst so that she'll be the one to attend to me. i hoped so too. so after lunch of oct 24, i was sent again to the labor room. i felt that i was improving because i could feel a little of the contractions. talk about pain tolerance! the residents attending to me were even encouraging me to show pain if i feel it, but man, i still managed to smile.

by dinnertime, i was encouraged to eat but i can no longer get out of labor room. so my bed was placed outside th ante room, where a very anxious husband was waiting w/ a soup from mr. choi kitchen. several hours later and a lot of pee in between (thanks God, the labor room nurse was so caring), my dilation increased to a measly 3cm. i was quite relieved that my OB was patiently waiting for me considering that the following day, she was all set to leave for bangkok. before 12midnight of oct 24, i woke up running a fever! i sensed that the doctors were alarmed. i saw in the fetal monitor that my baby was already bradycardic! she must have been impatient inside.

around 3am of oct 25, my OB explained to me our status w/c i pretty well expected. i still can hurdle another 12-hour labor. but w/ a bradycardic baby, there was no other better way to go but CS. with that finally laid, my OB summoned the husband to get inside the labor room. i was so happy to see him all garbed in fresh scrub suit. he went near me, felt my forehead and asked why i have a fever. my answer was a question: did you bring the camera? *lol* then i heard a burst of laughter around me.

immediately i was preped for anesthesia (the anes has also been at the labor room for like eternity - - bless her heart!) and i was transferred to the delivery room. all i felt was a cold gush of fluid down my spine. all throughout, the father-in-waiting was a feet away from me, clutching his camera. i recited the rosary w/ my fingers and several minutes later.....

i heared somebody say: baby girl out!

i also heared somebody say: kamukha ni daddy! (looks like daddy). i looked at the wall clock but could not figure what time it was. good thing, the new papa took a photo of his watch and this is what he got:

the very minute our precious baby said hello world!

when i heard my baby cry, i also cried. i was the happiest woman on earth that time. my anes kept wiping my tears and i was floored. how sweet of her.

then my baby was put beside me and the husband kissed me. huwaw!

after 5 hours at the post anesthesia care unit, i was wheeled to my regular room and was so thrilled to see our baby inside. she was roomed-in ahead of me!

three's not a crowd!

seeing our baby now, i don't mind the post-op stitch pain and the side effects of anesthesia. our baby is finally home!

and yes, the husband was at his happiest when he was greeted "happy father's day" for the FIRST time.

The Complication Just Got Sweeter

it all started over breakfast on easter sunday of 2008. dh summoned me to utilize the pregnancy test kit he bought while i was asleep. i went frantic with a why and a hearty laugh. he made me understand that he'd ben noticing nuances, enough to make him suspect that we're infanticipating. i hesitated at first, lest i be disappointed again, for the nth time.

i ask what the nuances were. the list went like: being a worst case of a sleepy head, getting lazier, practicing gluttony that i gulped in one sitting a good-for-four-bowl full of sinigang in kalye juan. and the wost in the enumeration? i don't color pink my lips anymore!

next scene you see me shouting at dh 'coz my head went blank and i couldn't figure out what the two lines meant. even before he could answer, dh literally and figuratively jumped with glee. i digress. i cried. we could be infanticipating.

first sign of life

the following day, the transvi-ultrasound has this impression: single live uterine pregnancy, 6 4/7 weeks by mean sac diameter, 6 6/7 weeks by crown rump length. dh didn't believe at first, prompting the doctor to increase the volume so he could hear the heartbeat loud and clear. what a sweet sound. now it's safe to say we are indeed infanticipating. dh sent sms to almost everyone in his phone's contacts to announce the good news . minutes later, we were bombarded with congratulatory messages.

when we counted back 6 weeks and 4 days, it fell on february 6, ash wednesday, the day we heard mass officiated by fr. joey faller, the healing priest. coincidentally, on maundy thursday, dh and i with his sister and brother in law, went to fr. joey's kamay ni hesus in quezon province. unknown to us then that we were pregnant, we climbed the 500+ steps to get near the statue of the risen christ. we must haven been blessed. greatly blessed.

considerng that we had difficulty conceiving (not minding my age *lol*), i asked that i be allowed to take a leave from work on our 6th month until dear baby comes out. request granted. the next 3 months-in-waiting went like a breeze.

on our 7th month, we learned tht we were having a girl and she's in perfect condition! dh had his hair zapped that day. it was his way of expressing how happy he was. not that he didn't like a boy. he just prefer a girl for a first baby. so that meant we're having a 2nd, a 3rd and so forth? only heaven knows.

at my best

while she was still inside me, we made sure she only hear the sweetest of music and her storybook. i could feel her move whenever we play her songs and we read her her story of a baby who grew up to be a man but remained a baby to her mother. i knew in m heart of hearts that she's happy with what she hears.

and oh, i felt so, so loved by dh. not that he didn't love me the past 7 years of trying to succesfully conceive. it's just that he gave in to all my whims during our pregnancy. maybe, it's safer to say this: i felt so, so spoiled by dh *lol*.

A Whole New World

after 8 months in absentia, my life takes a sweet, sweet turn to a world that seemed elusive for the past 7 years - - - motherhood.

for sure, there are much better things to blog about this time. only that, i'm relishing 24/7 my new-found joy.

i promise to be back the soonest.

please bear with me dear blog.

For a Worthy Cause

unsure that i will be able to attend the march 8 fundraiser for the carmelite nuns in tarlac, i made sure that i will be able to contribute some cards as part of the fund drive.

i'm not much of a card person, but making all 15 of these was a breeze.

in hindsight, i think the universe conspires when a purpose is for a noble cause.

to my delight, the universe conspired yet again, because i was able to attend the fundraiser!

i was happy to see both familiar and new faces (for the latter, it meant a thriving pinoy srapping community), watch cabbie & nita's demo, and witness the lee-led auction of scrappy goodies at low, low prices. i couldn't imagine 'til now, that the cricut went to the luckiest bidder at 3.5k. my, oh my, almost 1 yr ago, i got mine at 15k *sigh*.

among the activities of the day was a charity themed-challenge which i joined, using pre-selected kits by the organizers.

this was my entry -------->

which was chosen 2nd place and earned me this cosmo cricket kit
that i so, so love.

<------------------

my luck didn't end there
because i also won a dozen of raffled patterned papers, these ----------->

and shopped these yummies on a discount.
<---------------

all things said, let me congratulate the organizers behind the event. it was really so worth it (especially that i had to traverse the long route from makati to loyola heights - - - whew!).

and oh, thanks a bunch lindy for these ------------>

{Note}worthy Challenge

whole day of feb 10 was left to me & myself while dh watched basketball & did some 'for the boys thing'. it gave me an opportune time to do my mini album entry for scrapbukan's {note}worthy challenge. i tell you i dreaded tearing apart the oh-so-cutie pie making memories journal, but i just needed the pages w/ the red brackets for my mini album (and i still can use the other pages for some layouts or minis maybe). so from this:
i achieved this:

8 days later, i learned that my mini placed first in the challenge. i'm so happy *blush*.

Urban Lilly Album - A Gift

i made a 12x12 album for my mother of the '06 del rosario feast in our town where she was the hermana. i tried finishing this in time for christmas, but failed. fast forward to january, i was finally able to dish it out.

i was content with the fact that i was able to manage with white cardstock and the colorful urban lilly papers. oh, i'm so lovin' urban lilly a lot now.

technique-wise, i didn't do much except for cutting, cutting, & some more cutting *LOL*.

the closest english translation i can think of for the visayan word

'padul-ong' is 'to accompany'. the holy rosary image stayed

in our house for the whole year of '06.

the 'padul-ong' in january '06 sort of kicked-off the event.

a breakfast buffet at our garden awaited the participants

9 months later, or 1 day before the last sunday of october '06,
the holy rosary image was transferred from our house to the church,
and again, food was abundant *LOL*

(left LO) still part of vesper day; (right LO) the feast day!

the procession passed by our house

(left LO) procession; (right LO) the con-celebrated mass

still at the church

after the mass, it's dinner/party time!

this LO speaks much of our feelings - - - indeed grateful.

materials used:

cs - white bazzill & dcwv;

pp - UL everyday lilly collection (sushi dot, sushi & blush dot),

happy everything collection (beautiful & forever),

may ella collection (bliss);

chipboard alpha - heidi swapp lemonade & scrapworks;

paint - deco art metallic gold & li'l davis brownie mettalic shades

ink - colorbox chestnut roan;

rubs - mm simply stated;

flowers - prima;

others - mm snaps, colorbok brads, the happy hammer eyelets,

canson tracing paper, rikrak

At Home for Christmas & More

nothing beats in making my DH & i happy than being with our families. so when i learned that he bought for us pal promo tickets for the holidays, i was rather ecstatic. but a week before christmas, i found out that what we had were business class seats for the manila-tacloban route.

i consider myself a frequent flyer, but have never experienced business class, ever. on dec. 23, i realized that with the fare almost 4x the promo rate, comes many amenities like: no more queueing at the airport entrance & check-in counter, a business lounge to while away pre-boarding time with free internet access & buffet breakfast *LOL*.

i so love the mango crepe...yummmmy!

the feast didn't end at the business lounge, for aboard the plane

awaits a sumptuous breakfast.

i tell you, i am just used to the usual crackers *another LOL*.

after a 1-night stay in tacloban, we headed to home-sweet-home on dec. 24.

after celebrating 2 christmas parties: at my in-law's & ours, our family re-lived a christmas tradition: family portrait on christmas morning. ahhhh, i looked forward to this while i was young, i mean the girly young.

what is sad is that 9 family members are in far-away places. back home, we were a minority. and while we are used to dressing up to the nines for our christmas picture, we went laidback this time.

our backyard is so perfect for our christmas morning picture

on dec. 27, my DH & i, with my BIL & his family, & 2 SILs & their families started our un-planned travel to cebu via ormoc. our group of 7 adults & 4 kids were just enough the hired van from tacloban to ormoc (1.5 hours). in the nick of time, we boarded a huge boat, m/v heaven star. we occupied 2 cabins so that we can take a rest during the 4 hour-sail, but with 4 hyperactive kids, i wasn't able to shut my eye.

i was impressed with the physical facility of the boat. it's very unlike the boats in the '80s.

cool food court

no waves at all

what's so funny about our 1-day & 1-night stay in cebu is that, we weren't able to move around historic spots 'coz the kids' butts were glued at the malls *sigh*. the good part is that we were just enough in the huge family room of royal court business hotel adjacent to ayala mall. talk about bonding time at its best.

while lazying in our beds on our first morning in cebu, came the idea to move to bohol. so to bohol we go on board the speedy supercat (2 hrs.). i was surprised that pinoys were a minority on the supercat lift, a big number of travellers being foreigners. that speaks well of bohol's tourist promotion.

at the port of tagbiliran city, bohol. first impression: it's clean.

we were fetched at the port by a tourist van we hired while we were at the supercat boarding area of cebu pier.

the van was to tour us around bohol for 8 hours. from the port, our first destination was the majestic chocolate hills, and passed by the man-made forest and a private garden where we viewed tarsiers. from the tarsiers, we headed to a private house where my companions viewed a phyton in captivity. i said my companions 'coz i did not dare look. eeeew. we also dropped by the historic baclayon church and shopped at the aproniana souvenier store. we were too tired to go further, thus, the next stop was bohol tropics resort hotel for dinner.

we were not told that food service takes ages at bohol tropics. my DH & nephew couldn't hide their disgust. taste verdict: not good, either.

we at least hoped to stay at bohol tropics for the night. but there was no more room *sigh*, so we settled at the nearby hotel la roca, which is not as physically pleasing as bohol tropics.

after a much-needed sleep, i was again ready for a city tour.

by noon, we were at the pier back to cebu.

after 2 hours, we were in cebu. as we planned to take the boat back to

ormoc later in the night, we went straight to sm cebu to deposit our luggages.

a traveller's lounge is such a cool idea. huge hotel savings here.

by 10pm, we were headed to ormoc on board m/v heaven star, this time we took the suite room. and yes, all of us 9 squeezed in there. bonding time once again *LOL*.

my niece bea was too engrossed w/ her tarsier experience.

she climbed the pole all by herself!

to get myself to sleep, i took a peek at the only souvenir item i have of cebu: a cheap-y pocketbook i found at sm cebu booksale. now i can say i just bought a book in cebu *LOL*.

indeed one for the books

we reached ormoc by 2m of dec. 30. after a 1.5 hours road ride, we were at my SIL's house in tacloban. w/o being told, the kids continued their sleep, much to our relief. by noon, we headed back to home-sweet-home to welcome 2008 with our families.

during my sister's bday party on jan. 1, came the idea to visit our great-grandfather's island, around 5-minute boat ride from the town. the visit happened in the morning of jan. 2.

i so love the virgin green of the island....

....& the pristine waters facing the pacific.

3 male cousins took the challenge to find food, as if to relish how our

great-grandpa survived in his lonesone at the island. true enough,

barely 30 minute after, they came back w/ these:

by 3pm, my DH & i were on the road to tacloban. almost halfway to our destination, our tire blew. it could have been easy to replace the tire had the tire wrench been A-ok. but it wasn't and it was getting dark, and rain was starting to fall. fear struck. as if an answered prayer, the occupants of the only house nearby offered help to find a tire wrench in the next barrio. 2 hours after, our blewn tire was replaced. thanks heavens for kind strangers. lessons learned: check your tools & pray more.

who would have thought this huge tire would blow?

early morning of jan. 3, we were bound for manila, this time, to fly ordinary *LOL*

it was a 12-day breeze, and my only disappointment is that i wasn't able to finish the album i intended as christmas gift for my mother. now, i have yet to finish my 12 days of christmas mini album, and i have accumulated again holiday pictures to scrap. so help me God.

as i unfold our tree back in makati, my thoughts of the year that was

continued to play on my mind. i thank the Almighty for His many blessings,

and i continue to pray for His guidance.

A BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!