Reese's 2nd month!

Seems like it was just yesterday when I gave birth to my adorable baby girl, and now she's completed her 2nd month.. They were right, babies do grow up fast. When she was just a newborn, I would wish for her to grow up soon so that I can carry her without having to support her head and neck with my other hand (since I was having a hard time with a newborn), that she would be able see so I can play with her and make her smile, and that she would be able to crawl already, then eventually learn to walk and so on.. but realizing now that they really do grow up fast, now there are times that I would wish that she would just remain this cute, tiny creature without any cares in the world, and would only sleep, feed and cry at times, haha!

On our visit to her paediatrician for her 2nd month check up, she weighed 5 kg, and with a length of 56 cm. Her previous weight and height were at 4 kg and 53 cm. Thanks God for her continuous growth and for the good health He has given her, and no sicknesses until now.

Her activities/milestones:
* sleeps and feeds (of course)
* stretches too much (that it gets hard for her grandma to hold her when she does so better put her in bed and let her stretch all she wants)
* smiles while awake (this time, I saw her first real smile at mommy last Sep 12.. aww.. priceless!)
* laughing (before and during her sleep.. good that I was able to take a video of her once)
* lifts her head up (for longer seconds now)
* turns her head from side to side
* grasping our finger to lift her body up
* looks at your face
* didn't cry during bath time (and was looking at grandma and mommy while we bathed her.. first time without crying exactly on her 2nd month, Sep 13, and I hope its just the start of the many no-crying-her-lungs-out-during-bath times to follow, haha)
* 2nd vaccines - 1st dose of Rotarix

2nd month pictures:

Reese's 1st month!

Wow, my baby has completed 1 month! Happy 1st month, my darling.. As me and my husband had agreed on, we'll be celebrating her monthly growth with a cake (which is a must, and an excuse for mommy to eat, haha!). But since it was her first month, we planned to have more than cake, we ha a simple party and invited friends over to our house to celebrate with us.

On her visit to her paediatrician for her 1st month check up, she weighed 4 kg, and with a length of 53 cm. Previous weight and height were 3 kg and 50 cm on the day she was born. Thanks God for her growth and for the good health He has given her.

Her activities/milestones:
* sleeps and feeds (everyday! I can't remember a day when she was able to stay awake for a long time. oh well, at least she's quiet and doesn't get irritated or fussy)
* lifts her head up (especially when burping or winding.. though she still tends to make a headbang)
* smiles (aww.. such a lovely smile she's got)
* 1st vaccines - BCG and Hepa B (at the hospital before being discharged)

1st month pictures:

Baby Reese has finally arrived!

My due date was around 25-27th of July. Anyway, here's a recap of the events leading to the most awaited arrival:

July 2- had my 3D and 4D ultrasounds and already on my 37th week, which means that baby is already full term, yey! Good thing that I was able to experience 4D before I delivered. Found out that baby is doing well, already on the right position (head down) for coming out and confirmed its a girl (whew, what a relief! Haha!)

July 6 morning - Friday service and I scheduled myself to do one last visuals for the 9am service before I deliver my baby. So, so thankful to a brother in Christ, Sagar, who willingly accepted to step up and take my place while I'm on my maternity leave, and I'm sure God will bless him for his great work.

July 6 afternoon - Hubby's 2nd basketball game playing for Brgy. Ginebra in Seeb Basketball court which was a best of 3 game between them and Pinoy Kargo. They won, yey! If they didn't become champions that day, hubby was surely not allowed to play in the last game (probably will be July 13, since games are held only during Fridays) as I dont want to risk having my water bag/membrane rupture there and look like I peed on my pants or to feel labor pains and look stupid having to call my hubby out in the middle of the game, haha. Headed to Coach Art's home for the victory celebration, and for me, I see it more as my ticket to unlimited food intake because they always prioritize the kids plus the preggy one when it comes to food. How could I get so lucky, right? :)) Hoping it will not wear off after I deliver, haha.

July 7-11 - another work week, and hopefully my last for now. I did manage to come to work for 4 days and excuse my monday for a sick leave because I also had my weekly checkup that day.

July 9 - my weekly check up and my 1st IE experience (ouch!) and fetal heartbeat monitoring plus my contractions were monitored for around 20 mins.

July 11 - last workweek day! Good that I managed to prepare all my work endorsements before going home. I dont know why but I really felt that I will not be able to come to work on Saturday (July 14) as I have a feeling that I'll be delivering during the weekend (now I understand what they call as mother's instinct). So I told one of my staff to make sure that she already knows everything because I told her I have a gut feeling that I wont be in the office on Saturday (not just because Im feeling lazy again), and she said "No, you'll still be here on saturday I am sure".

July 12 - thursday and a weekend. Hubby and I planned to do some early morning walking. I woke up at 5am, couldn't return to sleep so I was able to do my walking and stairs climbing for 30mins at around 7:30am. My hubby on the other hand, did his part of walking in his sleep. Haha. After that, I had my breakfast and slept. I woke up around 3pm, peed and feeling hungry, I headed towards the dining room to see whatever I can have. While I was in the living/dining room, I felt a trickle of pee on my underwear, thinking to myself that maybe I wasn't able to release all my pee earlier but thinking that it could also mean my water bag breaking, I headed back towards our room's toilet. While I was in the toilet, the water just flowed and I wasn't able to stop any of it at all, so I realized that was not another pee, but my water bag. I didn't panic because I knew that it was only the start and because the color of the water was just clear white, nothing to be worried about. I then called my husband who was just right in time to reach home, told him what happened. I went to the toilet to take my bath and seeing me, hubby said you're still going to take a bath now (he didn't know anything about the signs or what will happen so he thought I was just plain crazy to even take a bath and not go to the hospital immediately)and I told him of course, first I dont want to deliver smelling awful today and embarass myself from the doctors and nurses, and second, I didnt plan to immediately take a bath after delivering just to be on the safe side. Upon reaching the hospital, I was then admitted and checked by my OB, and informed that I surely wasn't going to deliver that day. She knew that I really wanted to have a normal delivery but my contractions didn't start yet so she said she'll let the contractions start. As in I really felt no pain at all, so I kept joking that I was having a painless delivery, haha. Hubby posted my status on fb so that family and friends can also pray for me. Dr. said I need to get some sleep/rest for tomorrow's delivery, but how could I with all the anticipation, anyway she gave me a medicine to take so I was really able to doze off. By the way, I was just 1 cm when she checked me.

July 13 - The judgement day. Nurses checked if I was contracting early morning but I said I'm still not able to feel any pain.. Not even the slighest pain. Dr. checked as well and instructed that I start taking pitocin (to induce my labor or contractions) and hopefully my cervix would dilate to 10 cm within 6 hrs as she said final time will be up to 1pm only. If progress is not enough for a normal delivery, then I have no choice but have an emergency C-section. We prayed and we knew that whatever delivery its going to be, it is God's plan and at that point it doesn't matter already, as long as our baby's safe and healthy. After 6-7 hrs with pitocin, my cervix was only 2cm so there's no way I was going to have a normal delivery, and I accepted my fate. I trusted the doctors and prayed to God for a smooth operation.

I was then prepared for operation, injected at the back with a spinal block and then I went completely numb and sleepy but tried my best to stay awake during the operation so that I could hear my baby's first cry and see her at least. I just felt that the doctors were like pushing and pulling from my stomach, as if playing tug of war.. And finally, at 1:43pm, she came out of me with a cry and it felt so good because I knew that she was ok, and I could see her soon. They immediately cleaned her up, clothed her and finally showed her to me.. And though I was too groggy, I smiled when I saw her.. I tried to say something but no sound came from my mouth, but deep inside, I was bursting with joy.

And so, DANIELLE CERISSE, aka REESE came out into this world on July 13, 2012, Friday at 1:43 pm (Muscat time), weighing exactly 3 kg and measuring 50 cm.

Here is her picture right after she came out of mommy's tummy as captured by her happy daddy. She seemed different from most of the other babies because her eyes were wide open.

And some more photos during her first few days when we were still in the hospital, all captured during her favorite activity - sleeping. :)

We praise & thank God for such a wonderful daughter (and may I add cute, which is just a bonus) that He blessed us with, He really made all our waiting worth it.

Baby Girl Checklist

I tend to be organized at times, and when I need to prepare for any event, I usually prepare something in Excel (one of my favorite tools in MS office I must say), as long as I'm in the mood. I made so many checklists already - for my wedding, vacations/outings, etc.. I must say, all have been helpful to me as I dont want to go on an outing/event and remember when I'm already at the place that I missed something. So I have a print-out of my checklist, and I just take 1 everytime I need it. Maybe I'll have it laminated later on.


With the expected arrival of our baby girl, I got excited again.. Searched for different sites for tips on what I need to have and buy for my baby, so expect that some of the items on my list are actually exaggerated.

If anyone wants a copy, just let me know, I can send you this checklist plus my Outing-Vacation Checklist. :D

Hand-me-downs

I for one, have nothing against hand-me-downs.. Ever since I was a child, I was already used to it, being the youngest daughter in a brood of 3, I have an older brother, and an older sister. So most of my things which came from my sister were hand-me-downs. Whatever fits me, then I can still use it, but when I started growing bigger than her (and I still am until now), then that was the time when I had to stop using her clothes, shoes, etc.

As for our expected baby, we really saved a lot with her clothes because most of it were just given to us.. whether its new or used, we really didn't care because I had heard lots of advices from mothers/parents that its really not a practical/wise decision to buy newborn clothes because babies grow big fast, as in FAST.. most of them even said that most of the clothes they bought were worn only once or twice, which I have observed based on the clothes I've received, some of them even looks new. And babies always smell good and are always clean, so I dont think its even an issue to use someone else's clothes (as long as you wash them first of course, plus iron just to be on the safe side). The only thing which cannot be shared from one baby to another I believe is a used diaper. haha! Im not ashamed to take any free stuff when anybody offers to give us their baby's old items, even if we don't use it, then we can also hand it over to others who will have a better need for it later on.

Mind you, we didn't receive just clothes, but everything else from friends and even those we really didn't know (thanks to a facebook group in Oman called Muscat Mums, because they would even advertise free items they would want to get rid of) - bathing items, new diapers, cots/cribs, playards, car seats, shoes, and lots more.

In short: Baby has so many nice and cute clothes already, plus mom & dad were able to put her money into a better use - buying her other necessities and furniture, and saving it for her diapers.

3D/4D

Yesterday, we went to the hospital for my scheduled 3D ultrasound (covered by my insurance, thanks God!), and since I was already there, might as well request for a 4D (wasn't covered by insurance, but I paid only 50% since insurance can pay the other half).


The only downside to having 4D is that if the baby is covering her face, maybe with her hand(s) or feet, then you won't get to clearly see the whole face, and it happened to us. Even if I tried moving my tummy just so she would move, but I guess our baby is really shy and very sleepy as I saw her yawn once from the monitor, haha.


I should've drank some juice or ate something sweet before having the ultrasound, unfortunately, I was already having a bad sore throat from the night before, so I didn't want to make it worse. But still, the experience of seeing your baby in 4D is worth it.. and since they'll be giving you a cd of the videos and captured screenshots.. still worth it!

And because mommy is too excited about the arrival of her lil' one, I also managed to make a quick and short video of her ultrasound videos (thanks to Macbook's easy to edit movie trailers from iMovie, haha). Here is the link of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrTITah9ick&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Reese's 4D photo - showing her face with her hand covering her chin

Reese's 3D photo - showing her mouth and nose

Useful Pregnancy & Baby site and applications

Being an Apple user, I have some apps which I read daily and religiously (better than those big and thick books since I am not actually a bookworm, but I do love collecting books, haha). The apps which I always use are:

• Babycenter: My Pregnancy (If you're up for watching videos and having ideas on what to expect when you deliver (whether its normal delivery, c-section, water birth) or how procedures are done in providing epidural, or inducing labor, as well as helpful tips like breastfeeding, then you can also watch videos in this app, as long as you dont feel stressed afterwards, haha!)
• What to expect: Pregnancy (has weekly and daily articles and tips for you to read)

While some of the useful links I read whenever I'm on my computer are:

• What to expect's Week by week pregnancy calendar http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/landing.aspx
• What to expect's Eating well during pregnancy Week by week http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/Eating_Well/archive.aspx 
• Family education's pregnancy http://pregnancy.familyeducation.com/
• Babycenter http://www.babycenter.com/

I also have 1 (thick) book only which I borrowed from a friend and is worth reading:

• What to expect when you're expecting

Recently, I downloaded the movie, "What to expect when you're expecting". Still haven't watched it though, but will inform you if its helpful or not.

Baby Shower!

Oh how I love baby showers! I was blessed enough to enjoy 2 baby showers for our princess. First baby shower I had was a surprise, prepared by our Basketball group friends/families, with my husband as part of the planning, and the 2nd one was not a surprise because I took part in the planning, inviting and preparing of decorations & souvenirs. And both occasions were really fun!

Make sure to include games in the shower as it will surely bring tons of laughter. Here's a helpful link for planning what games to play. http://www.babyshower101.com/baby_shower_games.html


I just want to share some of the decors and cakes which we had during both showers for ideas.

B-A-B-Y S-H-O-W-E-R

Searched for coloring book-style onesies from the internet, and typed in each letter, then printed on a pink cardboard. Bought some pink/white ribbon as clothes string and used clothespins to hang the printed onesies. 

BALLOONS

This was a gift and made by our friend. So cute! 

3-TIER DIAPER CAKE

This is what mommy had accomplished (and I really felt proud of what I did, haha!). It was easy to make, thanks to so many ideas from the Internet, and for the earlier gifts received, especially the packs of diapers.

IT'S A GIRL PINK CHIFFON CAKE

Given by a friend from church. Tastes as good as it looks.

WELCOME BABY GIRL CHOCOLATE CAKE

Yummy as well..

IT'S A GIRL CHOCOLATE CAKE

Too bad Mommy can't go on eating all these cakes or else, baby would get so big inside her tummy

Baby Bible verses

When I was planning for our 2nd Baby Shower (1st one was actually a surprise from our Basketball group friends), I wanted to use some Bible verses/quotes for our baby.. and so, here is my compiled and loved verses which I would use later on if needed.. Got it from the internet of course..

1 Samuel 1:27–28
"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." (NIV)

Psalm 127:3
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. (NLT)

Psalm 139:13
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. (NLT)

Jeremiah 1:5
"I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart ..." (NLT)

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (ESV)

Sweet sleep:

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
~ Prov. 3:24 from NKJV

Mother’s womb:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
~ Psalm 139:13 from NIV

Woman in labor:

A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
~ John 16:21 from NKJV

Blessing upon child:

The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.
~ Numbers 6:24-26 from NKJV

Wonderfully made:

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
~ Psalm 139:14 from NKJV

In the womb:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...
~ Jeremiah 1:5 from NKJV

Prayed for this child:

For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.
~ 1 samuel 1:27 from NKJV

Heritage from the Lord:

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
~ Psalm 127:3 from NKJV

Every good gift is from above:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above
~ James 1:17 from NKJV

One blessing after another:

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
~ John 1:16 from NKJV

Lord has called me from the womb:

The LORD has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
~ Isaiah 49:1 from NKJV

An answered Prayer!

Let me share with you our story and my testimony in our Bible study group on how God blessed us with a darling baby to love..

Praise God for his faithfulness and perfect timing. As our pastor said before, indeed, there is power in prayer. And now more than ever, I've come to realize that it is true because of our personal experience. And not only that, but God really works in His own, different way.. far from what we have thought of.

To give you a background about us.. Me and my hubby got married last 23rd December of 2009 in Oman. He knew what I wanted, which was not to have a baby immediately as I told him I want to enjoy "us" first within our 1st year as husband and wife.. Little did I know that it really didn't work that way, that we can say let's not have a baby or let's have a baby because it doesn't depend on us, but on God's perfect will in our lives. And so, we made the most out of our first 6 months as a married couple, even went home to Philippines for our 1st ever vacation. After having spent time with our families and kids back home, and due to the fact that I really do love and adore kids (me, my older sister and mother used to babysit as part time job when we were still studying highschool in Oman :), it then hit me. I told my husband that I changed my mind, I want to have our own baby starting now (knowing that it would take some time to work on). So my original plan (as if I really had the decision or control on whether I'll have a baby or not, and when.. haha) was gone and we found ourselves trying to conceive in the succeeding months.

Days and months passed by, until we celebrated our 1st year anniversary, but still, there was no bun being baked in the oven, and all the while I thought it was going to be easy, haha. Honestly, I really reached the point where I got frustrated at myself (for the idea of using contraceptives and the fact that I was the one who actually "planned" that we should not have a baby before we complete 1 year). The pressure was on especially when you're on facebook where you'd see from your left and right of ultrasound photos, status of friends announcing what they're expecting, and so much more. It was just too much to bear, and especially when I think that somehow it is unfair.. that some unmarried couples who didn't plan on having a baby ended up conceiving before marriage, and yet here we were where everything seemed perfect - we were married, financially stable, and ready for that next phase - parenthood, but how come we were still not blessed?

We tried the advices of family and friends who already have children (well, not all, but almost all that we could do), but still, nothing proved to be effective. I even wasted around 5 pregnancy test kits before, because there were some months that I was really hoping and got too excited.. Hoping and wishing! Each time I would confess to my husband that I tested but it came out as negative, he would always have a sermon ready for me because I was too advance, and thus getting disappointed everytime.

Attending bible studies really helped us - especially the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ since they knew that this was our heart's desire. We knew that everyone was praying for us, and we really are so thankful to all of them for always keeping us in mind.

After 1 year, we then consulted an OB (which was my 2nd time only to visit her since I got married) just to check how I was doing down there, and so she did some tests for me and for my husband as well. Thanks God, all results were normal.

Then time came when I finally gave up the idea and reminded myself that all we can do is to lift it to God in prayer. The more we tried with that goal in mind, the more we got disappointed. We just continued our life without expecting this time, worry-free since we know that worrying wouldn't help as well. If its not yet the time that God has planned for us, then we believe that we just have to wait... patiently.

Whenever people would ask us why we still don't have a baby, our automatic answer is that we're waiting for God's perfect timing.

Now here is a recap of the dates which became memorable for us and the start of our answered prayer..

Oct 18, 2011 - was my first day

Oct 22 - I dreamt that I was pregnant. I only told my dream to our friend Ate Mimi because I didn't know if I was just (and still) obsessed with the idea or it was really part of God's plan to reveal to me in my dream. I told another Christian friend so that if its true, then we'll know that God really has revelations through our dreams.

Nov 17 - I was blessed by Tita Mayet's sharing about healing, not to pray for complete healing but claim that you already received it, and so I did the same that night, claiming that we will have our baby. Both of us are also shy especially when speaking in large crowds or sharing our testimony, but I prayed to God to give us a testimony worth sharing to show His glory, and so now, we are here testifying of His goodness.

Last week, I kept singing "Walang imposible sa ating Diyos" (Nothing is impossible with our God) and everytime I did, I can really feel that the song's lyrics is true, and God proved it to us.

Nov 19 - I still went out for my usual 1-hr aerobics, although I wasn't feeling well that day because of colds and constant sneezing, but still I told myself that I have to continue my usual activities, and if in case I was pregnant, I prayed that God will protect me and my baby, and somehow that day, I really felt that something was there, so I didn't put much effort on my exercises.

Nov 20 - I was still reporting as temporary CEO's secretary, and then an HR report was handed over to me for getting CEO's signature. I read the report, just in case he would ask me something about it, so I would be aware. The report was about a new scheme for our medical insurance coverage, and as I read the report, I was so happy because it will now cover maternity (for female staff and wives of Senior managers). So I made sure that CEO would sign it that same day. I told myself, wow.. God is really great! He's already preparing for our future baby and it will really be a big help to lessen our expenses.

Nov 21 - Hubby was in Salalah (around 10-11 hrs drive from Muscat, but only 1 & 1/2 hrs by plane) for some work inspection. I, on the other hand, was cleaning so much and hadn't eaten at all that night because I was so busy and wouldn't want to be interrupted since I was also enjoying. Then I thought to myself, my baby (if there was one already) would be suffering just because her Mommy's too lazy to even eat. Then remembering that I still had kept 1 pregnancy kit in my drawer, I decided to test that night, but before I did, I prayed first.. I told God that whatever the result was, I was ready (I should be, since I was already used to getting negatives before, so getting a negative result now meant nothing to me anymore, I was already used to it, haha). I waited for some seconds without excitement, but then.. the result came as positive. I really cried in our toilet that night and really praised God! I used a different kit so to make sure, and because of my new excitement, I even googled that kit to make sure that I was reading the result correctly. I could not explain my joy and I wanted to surprise my hubby and see his reaction when he returns from his trip the following day. But knowing me, I could not contain the excitement and I really had to share it to my husband. So I called him up that evening and told him the good news. I knew he was happy, but didn't show much as I think he wants to confirm it first. I told him to buy at least 2 more different kits on his way home. :)

I knew that that was already God's answer to our prayers, and to the prayers of many.

Thanks to all friends, families, brothers & sisters in Christ for all the prayers. And I really thank God that He has blessed me with a husband that loves and takes care of us.

God has allowed this weakness so that in our weakness, God may be glorified. It is only Him who gave us this baby and we believe that He will keep this baby.

I even told God in my prayer, "Lord, wala ng bawian ha". :)

Picture on top was the first test I made which was last November 21, 2011. Now, I'm currently on my 36th week of being pregnant, praise God! A few more days and we're close to hugging and cuddling our little one! To God be all the glory!