So we pray with Emma every night. It’s been a routine since she’s learned how to say words. I honestly wish I could video record each night, recording our conversations and esp. her prayers. Last night, after asking her to pray for baby Z, she said: "Jesus, thank you for baby Z, for Mamam and Tatay, and Emma to be healthy. And pink paper. And Mamam to get a hair cut because it’s messy. In Jesus name, Amen." This morning, I honestly had the craving to trim my hair and cut off the dead ends. And that I did. God is good; all the time. hahahahaha
I still weigh 115. So far, after almost 3 months, I’ve gained only one pound. The lack of weight gain is mostly due to my lack of appetite. I eat a little and feel full, or I plainly get turned off by eating meats. Some nights, all I eat is cereal because it feels and tastes fresh. Sometimes I crave meals that don’t need to be cooked, like sandwiches, salads, breads, cereal, etc. So what do the books say? Suuuuuuposedly, the first trimester allows you to add 1 pound each month, so 3 pounds the first 3 months. But most women don’t even gain weight because of all the nausea. My problem isn’t that I’m throwing up or dry heaving, but I do feel sick sometimes because of the odors around me. I become like wolverine and each smell intensifies, esp. when food is around, or when food is being cooked. Even thinking of cooked food makes me feel sick and I have to strongly control and suppress.
That’s us with Tita Sally, Perze’s second degree cousin who’s studying at the graduate school SIT in Vermont. She recently arrived in the US in the beginning of the fall term so last weekend was the only open window for us to visit her. It was actually a great weekend for us to visit because the weather permitted us to experience fall in Vermont. We stayed in their graduate dorm building, which really allowed Emma to meet so many people. During our stay there, she hardly wanted to stay with us in our room to rest; instead, she was hanging out with the dorm residents, talking and playing with them. Imagine? Without intimidation, she carved pumpkins with them, watched DVDs and even handed out Halloween treats by sharing her bag of packed m&m’s. And every morning, she’d wake up early so she could play with the residents again and say hi to them as they passed by our room. To her disappointment, weekend mornings mean sleep time for students. Due to her hanging out, she learned more about carving pumpkins, and she had her first experience with pumpkin art. We simultaneously learned how to open up the top of the […]
So we’re 11 weeks and today was our first ultrasound for Baby Z (Zias [zia-as]/Zienne [like zion, fem.form]). We were super excited, and got up, prepared zem, and found the place. The radiology center was impressive, esp. compared to my first pregnancy. This one had a complete dressing room, like one you’d find in a spa, where you change into nice gowns, stored locker, and bathrooms. My last pregnancy, no room, no robes; you were just in your own clothes while having the procedure. They even had a waiting room for Perze and Em, where they waited to be called into the ultrasound room to see Baby Z. Their computers and screens weren’t even two years old and much clearer than the ones used for Em. (Em on the left, Baby Z. on the right) I was the first one to see Baby Z, and I couldn’t help but be such a sap about it. For the record, I did tear a bit, and thanked God wholeheartedly for making such a miracle and for letting me be a mom again. I couldn’t stop smiling every time I saw Baby. Em was extremely excited to see Baby Z on the […]
"23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ." Colossians 3:23-24 This verse has been in my head lately. You know what verses precede these concluding verses of the chapter? It goes like this: "18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. 20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord." Yep, they deal with authority. Verses 23 and 24 seem as if they can generally be isolated in a lesson on stewardship, esp. in ministry, but in context, they’re connected to authority. Verses 23-24 are so empowering, but 18-22 are quite sobering. You know, one thing I love about our […]
Last sunday was my Nanay’s 56th birthday. I remember stories of her walking 6 kilometers just to get to school. She was in elementary when she would walk really early in the morning so that they can get to class two hours later. Going home was even worse because unlike the early trip, you travel when it was dark and get to school when the sun was up, this time you walk through bamboo thickets and every step you take brings you closer to a more darker place. Streetlights weren’t popular back then and torches were out of their budget. She’s come a long way from walking to school. She still walks to get to work mind you but now she has a Ph.D. in Mathematics and is the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in one of the most prestigious universities in the Philippines. Please pray for her because there has been rumors of certain persons in “power” at the university that have been included in a list of the next people to be kidnapped. The President of the University has implemented some security measures as a response to the declared threat which I can’t detail in this post. Nevertheless, […]
Babies So yes, we are pregnant and yes it was planned. We had the chance to visit the OB-GYN today and found out that our bundle of joy 2.0 is now on its tenth gestational week. So as of today the baby is 3 inches long and is probably happily floating inside her mama’s uterus, causing mayhem on marchesa’s olfactory and somatic systems. After going to the OB, Emma and I got dropped off because marchesa needed to have her similitude imprinted onto plastic courtesy of the NJ DMV (i know you want to look that word up, go ahead, this blog post will still be here by the time you come back). Papers While the wifey was gone, I had to work from home and deal with my ever present blogs related issues. Well, the two week headache has finally been resolved, the other one will never ever be resolved and the week old headache .. we’ll see by tomorrow. With all that work stuff going on, emma was in the other room making paper crafts, painting, origami, using all of marchesa’s sticker collection and watching noggin all at once. from time to time she would go to my […]
