Monday, January 28, 2013

Lately, my nights and days.

i've been off work now for a little over a week.  my baby showers have come and gone (posts coming soon, i promise). nesting is in full throttle.  yesterday i took a break and headed to my in-laws for nanay and tatay's wedding anniversary.  this is what my night looked like =)

isn't she the cutest?  her and ella are going to best buds.









and this is what my morning looked like.  nowadays, sleep is more like a novelty for me.  i woke up at 4 am and started organizing and washing ella's clothes.  while jojo was fast asleep, bubba heard me and decided to join me and make himself comfortable.  oy vey, life is about to get interesting with 2 dogs and a newborn. 







Friday, January 18, 2013

Interested in seeing fat?

what a title right?  you'll see what i mean in just a second.

a few days ago, i told john to buy steaks from costco.  instead, he came home with short ribs.  even better, right?!  i love short ribs.  when cooked right, they are super tender and tasty.  of course, i went straight to my cookbooks and the internet to find an easy recipe.  by now, you must know that i am fond of one-pot meals.  so i was leaning towards using my crock pot.  i found an easy recipe online (pregnancy brain has made me forget which recipe it was) and utilized these ingredients.  *tangent*  i plan on cooking short ribs again using my mom's recipe.  i will post her recipe because it is way better than this one.  it calls for 7up!  


ingredients

before i put the lid on and said sayonara for 8 hours.

after the short ribs were cooked, i separated the meat in a plate and put the sauce in the fridge over night so that the fat will rise and solidify.  see?

yes, that's the fat that solidified overnight in the fridge.


 before i went to work, i removed the pot from the fridge and skimmed off all of the fat.  see?

the de-fatted sauce, minus the short ribs.

then i put the meat back in the sauce and simmered everything until hot.  the husband and i enjoyed this meal and didn't miss the fat at all.  i know that fat = flavor, so some of you may want to skip this step.  but once you see the fat, can you really eat it knowing that that's what's going into your bodies and clogging your arteries????  ok, maybe only occasionally ;-)

First day of maternity leave....and a baby bump update too.

today is my first day of maternity leave!  and it really couldn't of come at a better time.  not only is work  insanely busy right now, my feet have begun to swell despite my compression stockings, watching my salt intake, and drinking a ton of water.  i plan to use this time to nest, relax, and prepare myself mentally and physically for d-day.  i have several posts i plan to write (sorry for getting behind), which will include my 2 baby showers that will be happening next week.  as for the baby bump update, here you go...

24 weeks

26 weeks

28 weeks

31 weeks

35 weeks 

Sunday, January 6, 2013

2012. What a year.

2012 was an interesting year.  it really taught me that in life, when a door closes, sooner or later, another one opens.  as i think back to the earlier part of the year, i can remember feelings of sadness, anger, and jealousy.  i'm really embarrassed to even admit that those feelings were a part of me because deep inside, i know i was/am truly blessed and lucky for all the good things in my life.  but sometimes, one cannot see beyond one's own nose.  that kind of tunnel vision can really mess you up.  it's toxic for your mind, body, and your loved ones around you.  pregnancy is such a beautiful journey, but when 1 month turns into 3, then turns into 6, then turns into a year, then turns into 2 years, the journey somehow losses it's appeal and looks and feels more like the worst ride of your life.  if you're like me, then you're used to working hard for what you want and achieving it.  fertility, is whole other ball game.  conception is truly a miracle if you look at the statistics.  the odds are actually against you.  now, if you are one of those lucky women who can get pregnant at a drop of a hat, then awesome for you.  but for the rest of us, it may not happen that easily.  even with help from western medicine, it is still up to God to make it happen.  

in the beginning of the year, john and i were trying to get our mind off of things and decided to do some traveling.  one of our favorite pass times.  some of the places we went were new orleans, new york, and boston.  we just love exploring big cities.












we also decided to do some running to get our mind off of things.  here are some of the things we saw during our runs.





then the most amazing, wonderful, and epic thing happened to us.  we got pregnant.  and the pregnancy stuck.  wow, what a game changer.  so long to anger, sadness, and jealousy.  it's mind boggling to experience such a dramatic turnaround.  one minute you feel one way, and the next minute you feel something completely different.  without sounding hokey, it really is kind of  life changing.  of course, i was cautious to let my emotions loose and feel too happy because of the fear of having a miscarriage again.  but we got through the first trimester, and the second, and now we're in the long stretch.  until, i actually see and feel her in my arms, i'm  not totally letting go.  it's just too surreal for me.  the funny thing is, is that i thought getting pregnant would somehow give me some relief.  ironically it didn't.  throughout the pregnancy, i was always worried of something whether it was a pain, a test result, a symptom.  now i'm thinking about the labor, and hoping it goes well.  i'm also praying that she's healthy and strong.  i'm also worried about breast feeding.  geez, does the anxiety ever let up???  the funny thing is, is that i know that my fears and anxieties will never let up.  you reach one hurdle of life, and another one...sometimes, even bigger hurdle presents itself.  but that's what's so unique and special about life.  how boring would it be to have everything perfect and neat and expected.  john always said that life is about the journey and not the destination.  God made us wait to have our first child.  the long wait made this pregnancy that more sweeter of a ride.  we feel so blessed beyond our wildest dreams.  life is no where near perfect for us...we're still looking for a house, my career is not exactly where i want it to be, we are still bogged down by problems and insecurities just like everyone else.  but at least the tunnel vision opened up a bit.  we can finally see beyond our noses and feel gratitude and humbled by what God gave us.  oh 2012, what a year it has been.  cheers to you!  2013, what are you going to bring to the table????

Friday, January 4, 2013

Happy New Year. And now for the sake of prosperity...

...here are some photos from christmas 2012.  i know, i'm a little late.  but better late than never, right?  john and i spent christmas eve in the bay and christmas day in san diego.  enjoy.

first up, christmas eve in the bay.

husband and brother.


husband and cousin

i'm sitting on my niece's lap 32 weeks preggo, lol.

please excuse the hair.  i just worked a 12 hour shift and threw on
some clothes.

handsome nephew biting his lip.

cute couple.

niece opening a big present.

i'm not sure where my pop is...

next, we have christmas day in san diego.


what a cute baby.

sister and brother with nephew

sister with her daughter and our nephew.  he's part filipino if you can believe it.


we wanted to illustrate their sizes against each other.



"dad of the year" mug.

he's currently reading this book.



the huge christmas tree at the san diego zoo.



i hope you had a great holiday season and a safe and exciting new year.  hello 2013 =)

Preparing to breastfeed. **warning--long post**

hi friends.  it's been awhile since i've posted on this 'ol blog.  but the holidays got the best of me and this third trimester is looking/feeling a lot similar to the first one.  more on that in another post ;-)

on top of all the holiday frenzy, i've been trying to tie up a few loose ends at work before i head on out for maternity leave.  my last day on the job will be 1/17.  i can't tell you how excited i am to take the time off to get ready physically and mentally for baby gabriella.  oh, and get the house ready as well.

so back to this post.  i took a breast feeding preparation class yesterday and learned lots!  the class certainly de-mystified a lot of the "unknowns" of bf-ing for me so i thought i'd share all the deets with you, just in case you were planning to bf soon or in the future.  please keep in mind, bf-ing is not natural, it's a learned behavior for mommy and baby.  of course, i plan on exhausting my lactation resources once gabriella makes her grand appearance.  but i'm big on preparation and education which is why i decided to take the class.

first off, can i tell you that i gave my husband the night off yesterday?  i told him he didn't have to come with me to the class.  but i ended up to be the only one without a partner!  oh well.  the men in the class were surprisingly as eager, if not more eager to learn about this topic than the women.  how cute and endearing is that!

despite the title on this post, the good thing is that women do not have to do anything to prepare their bodies for breastfeeding.  luckily, nature takes care of that for us.  the rest of the info will be presented in bullet form.  be prepared, this may be a LONG post.  so if bf-ing doesn't interest you, please feel free to go on about your business.  you've been forewarned.

  • when you are in the hospital, every time the baby wakes up, get ready to bf.
  • around day 4, your breasts will increase in size like you've never imagined.
  • things to buy before you give birth: a medela sleep bra, bravado nursing tank, nursing pads, and nipple cream (you can also use olive oil or coconut oil)
  • when babies are born, they are not hungry.  but they have a high suck need.
  • you must put your newborn to breast at least every 3 hours because the more the baby sucks, the more you increase your milk supply.  continue the every 3 hour routine until your 2 week pediatrician appointment.  if your baby's weight is back up to birth weight, you can relax a little on the every 3 hr. feeding schedule.  
  • remember: weight gain = bf-ing is going well
  • babies are born full of poop and are very sleepy.
  • sucking moves their bowels
  • do not introduce a pacifier at this time.
  • on day 4, when your breasts are engorged and hard, use ice compresses.  
  • babies have growth spurts. this typically occurs on day 9-11/3 weeks/4 weeks/6 weeks/12 weeks/16 weeks/6 months.  every time a growth spurt occurs, the baby will go back to sucking a lot, which can last 2-4 days.  this may throw off your feeding routine that you thought you had established.  this increase in sucking can last 2-4 days.
  • 4 bfing positions: cradle hold, cross cradle hold (this is the one i'm going to try first), football hold, and lying down.
  • how to latch: rub your nipple back and forth on baby's mouth.  get baby to open mouth wide, point nipple upward holding breast in a V like fashion, make sure baby's bottom lip is tucked out, make sure nipple is far into the mouth.
  • the deeper the latch, the better the feed, the more comfortable bfing is for mom.
  • signs of hunger: rooting, hands to mouth, crying is a late sign.
  • if bfing hurts, take baby off by breaking the seal with your finger first.  then try again.
  • bf on one side at a time, alternating breasts with every feed.  the reason behind this is that initially, the milk that comes out is watery.  however, the longer the baby breast feeds on 1 breast, they start to get hind milk which is higher in fat and calories.
  • there is a difference between active sucking and pacifying.  if the baby is pacifying, take baby off the breast.
  • how do you know baby is getting enough milk? listen for audible swallowing, the baby is peeing and pooping (this can occur with every feeding), your breasts will feel softer after feeding.
  • tip: change baby's diaper after a feed b/c sucking moves their bowels
  • weight gain typically occurs on day 5.  babies gain wt 1-2 lbs/month.  they double their birth wt by 6 months.  and triple their birth weight by 1 year.
  • tip: "dessert trick".  after feed, change diaper, swaddle baby, then bf baby for a few minutes to top her off.  then pick her up and "shush" baby with rhythmic movements into a deep sleep. deep sleep may take 15-20 min. this is a great thing for dads to do.
  • tip: place a heating pad in the crib to keep the sheets warm.  once baby is ready to be put down, remove the heating pad before laying down baby.
  • tip: the foundation of getting a good milk supply is simply to put the baby to breast a lot for the first 2 months of life.
  • tip: set up a bfing station at home: glider w/ ottoman, water, phone/ipad, nipple cream, and bfing pillow.
  • you can expect to bf 8-12 times in a 24hr period. continue to take your prenatal vitamins, and drink lots of water
  • it is ok to drink 1 glass of wine and bf baby!  it is only when you are drinking multiple glasses and drinks that you need to pump and dump.
wowzers, that was a long post!  the class went into more information and details, but i figured this is a good place to start.  once gabriella is here, i'll be posting a lot of information of what i'm doing, she's doing, tips/tricks i'm learning, and schedules.  i'm hoping this will help you with your own newborn.  oh, and if you've got some things you'd like to share, please do so!!!