My 40th Birthday and Baby Gender Reveal at Jollibee Burjuman

Ever since I attended a birthday party at Jollibee in the Philippines many (many, many) years ago, I knew I wanted to have one as well. No, not for my future kids (because I was still single then), but for me. I didn’t care if others might think it would be “too childish” or “not appropriate” because I was way past being a child. I wanted to have a birthday at Jollibee. So you can imagine my delight when they opened the franchise here and put up branches that could hold parties.

On Not Announcing Your Pregnancy During the First Trimester

Disclaimer: No, I am not pregnant...yet.
These were my tests when I was pregnant with Sophie

Several people I know are either pregnant or have recently given birth. Of course I’m happy for them. No doubt these babies will bring them a certain chaotic life that, no matter how crazy it would be, they wouldn’t trade for the world.

But my thoughts which are the reason for this post came about because of this particular lady I know. Here’s her story…

Princess Diana and Sto. Niño

The other night during our weekly household at our home, one of our friends remarked that Caila was so well-behaved and acted prim and proper already at such a young age. She even went on to say that she could see her grow up to be a sophisticated lady just like Lady Diana! Needless to say, I was surprised at her statement. I couldn’t believe it. But of course, deep inside I was pleased at her words. Imagine, comparing Caila’s future self to the Princess of Wales? What a compliment!

The conversation continued to my cravings and what I liked to look at when I was pregnant with Caila (in Tagalog: mga pinaglihian), and I remembered that we had a small statue of the Sto. Niño (Holy Infant Jesus) at our home in the province that I asked one of my brothers to take a picture of and send it to me. I know there are countless Sto. Niño images on the internet, but I really wanted this one in particular. And when I received it, I printed it on A4 paper and always looked at it every day. I was in my 4th or 5th month of pregnancy then. Our friend told me maybe that’s why Caila was so pretty and behaved like she did. Her words, not mine.

And because of this, I searched my e-mail to see if I still had the picture my brother sent me…and I did. Here’s the image, in case you were wondering.

What do you think? Could there be some truth in that old wives’ tale?

things i'll do after the baby comes out

I’m sure many mothers will agree with me when I say that being pregnant has its ups and downs. You’re given priority in queues, offered seats in the metro and/or bus, bosses and colleagues don’t give you too much stress at work, you can eat early before the official lunch break or nibble on some snacks at your desk, you can ask the company drivers to drop you off at home after work (err, ok, I admit...even when I wasn’t pregnant I would ask our drivers to drop me off if they weren’t busy), etc. On the other hand, there’s so many things that can make you miserable like the frustration of not having anything decent to wear that can fit because your tummy keeps growing, having to decline or limit your intake of yummy desserts (and other foods) because you fear getting gestational diabetes, waking up several times in the middle of the night to pee (and then not being able to go back to sleep), going through a roller coaster of emotions...I can go on and on.

still working

Yesterday I had completed my 39th week of pregnancy, so in the afternoon, I left the office for my regular appointment with my OB...and to my colleagues’ and managers’ surprise, I turned up for work this morning. Even the managers in Japan were surprised to hear from me when I sent them an e-mail this morning, replying to their queries. Yup, I’m still pregnant, and still working. I had already filed my leave application a couple of weeks ago, stating my last day would be the 18th of September (yesterday), but after I took the day off last week for Caila’s first day of school, I decided that I’d rather work until my 40th week...because if I just stayed at home, I’d end up stuffing my face with food, sleeping, watching television, and just gaining more weight. Plus, I didn’t want to waste my maternity leave days just waiting (we’re only allowed 45 days as per the UAE Labour Law). Good thing my line manager and the company in general are lenient when it comes to these matters.

pregnancy update

I am now on my 30th week of pregnancy, which means that I’m into my 7th month and have approximately 2 months left before Baby Tummy pops out. Beginning the 28th week, check-ups should be done every 2 weeks; and because scheduling appointments with my OB needs to be done 1 month in advance to be able to get a slot, I made sure to book all my appointments way in advance until my 35th week.

the household with the pregnancy virus

Is there such a thing as pregnancy being contagious? Because if there is, our CFC household gets infected pretty easily. Back in 2008 when Hubby and I had just crossed over, Che was already pregnant, and Dab and I had just found out we were expecting; Nanay Alice followed immediately after, then Cherrie, and finally Jean. Tintin also got pregnant about the same time, but unfortunately had a miscarriage. So from November 2008 to May 2009, babies were popping out one after the other in our household. And all of us had to deliver via caesarian section, and every one of us had baby girls. Pretty cool coincidence huh?!

pregnant with pharyngitis

I just came back to work from 1½ days of sick leave. My throat suddenly started to hurt from Monday night whenever I coughed and swallowed; Tuesday morning when I woke up to get ready from work, I felt a bit weak, but still felt I was well enough to go to the office. By 9am, I was coughing non-stop (and my throat hurt every time), so I scheduled an appointment with an ENT specialist, and informed my bosses and colleagues that most probably I wouldn’t return until Thursday.

glucose tolerance test

According to babycenter.com, the Glucose Tolerance Test (or GTT) is usually taken between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy; but during my appointment with the OB two weeks ago, she recommended that I take it, even though I was just 20 weeks along then. I’m guessing that it’s probably because I have diabetes in the family (Papa had it), so she wanted to know the results as early as now. However, I didn’t take the test right away. The laboratory was open 24 hours anyway, and I was told that I could take the test any time, as long as I took it before my next OB appointment. So I decided to take it after 2 weeks, when our Thursday night and Friday morning schedules were free; which is why I took it yesterday. I had been instructed that I should fast 8 to 10 hours before taking the test, so I made sure that the last thing I put in my mouth on Thursday night was at 9 o’clock (it was a glass of milk); and at 6am the following day, Hubby and I were on our way to the hospital.

lucky preggy

The other day, I received a personal and e-mail invitation from the Sales Manager of Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers to their Starchoice Party. I had turned down the invitations I received from other hotels during the first trimester of my pregnancy, so I opted to attend this time; and since he said I could bring along a friend, I decided to bring Hubby (para date na rin namin).

cheesecake craving

I’ve been craving for New York cheesecake for several weeks now…up to the point that I’ve been looking over the internet for recipes. Unfortunately, I don’t have the equipment to make it (they cost too much!), so I have to settle on buying one. Although Hubby has been willing to pass by any restaurant to buy a slice when we go out, I always seem to back out at the last minute because my craving instantly fades (and then returns right after the opportunity passes by and it’s too late to go back).

the secret i’ve been keeping

I haven’t been completely honest for the past 3 months. Although I’ve been hinting about my condition in a few posts, it’s only now that I’m confident to share the news here. Why only now? Well, let’s just say I wanted to get past the risky period first before revealing it. Although many of our friends know (when they ask, we answer), Hubby and I haven’t declared it openly (via FB) yet. I’m sure you can guess what it is, but just to keep you guessing, here’s a rundown of the posts that have clues: