My Baby’s In Utero Photos

last saturday, Dec. 5, the whole family trooped to The Medical City, to have my baby photographed via 4D ultrasound.

Daddy and kids were there, like a bunch of kids in a school bus — noisy, agitated, excited. but alas, Baby was NOT in the mood for some photo ops, even with the whole bunch’s presence. he was in prone (backside) position. the doctors advised me to take a few minutes walk and return after the baby has moved. we went back to ultrasound queue to have another photo taken but to no avail.

everyone went home disappointed.

finally, yesterday, Daddy and i went back to The Medical City to try the 4D ultrasound again. and yes, we were successful after 2 attempts. the first attempt, Baby was covering his face with both hands and feet (imagine that!). we were able to finally determine the gender of our little one — HE IS A BOY! but then, since he is still not in the mood for picture-taking, i had to take another walk somewhere and really TALKED to Baby to be cooperative.

i told Baby that it didn’t matter to me that he was a boy, we accept him and love him all the same. we initially wished for a girl, but God gave us a boy and it wouldn’t matter to the world as long as he’s healthy and strong and happy. finally, Baby loosened up a little bit, and there, the pictures were taken.

the sonologist/OB-gyne was very excited to see his face, finally, after 3 attempts and said she couldn’t move out of excitement. she kept on taking pictures of Baby’s face and commented on his prominent nose and lips and cheeks. it was an absolute joy to hear her say, ‘Mommy, you have such a beautiful child!’ (her exact words:’ Mommy, ang ganda ng baby mo!’). i didn’t think she was humoring us or just making-bola, i know i do have a beautiful baby growing inside! 

as promised, here is my baby’s first photo in utero… 

Baby Noe’s first photo!

Baby Noe looks a lot like Ate Chloe, Kuya Duds and Kuya Troe. again, my recessive genes gave in to Daddy’s dominant traits for a better result!

ahhh..  the joy of motherhood!

My Pregnancy Saga

pregnancy is a strange thing. 

it is my 4th this time, yet it feels new and odd everytime.

a month ago, my ob-gyne was quite amazed (read: disappointed) at how i have NOT gained weight at all. for 2 months, my weight remained the same. thankfully, i did not feel the noxious nauseous feeling brought about by eclectic hormonal changes. my cravings were minimal if at all present, and i was not the usual whiny preggy mom. my body’s only obvious reaction is how it responds to exhaustion, i feel quite tired these days.

in my visit to the OB 2 months back, she ordered me to take a coupla multivitamins, including amino acids, due to my minimal weight-gain. one morning i woke up with a really bulging tummy, my baby seemed to have grown overnight! it was altogether a surprise and an astonishing event for a 4th time mom like me. not that it hasn’t happened before, but to feel the baby inside you to have grown bigger overnight was one for the books!   

now, 28 weeks and running, i feel a lot more confident and at ease with my pregnancy. i rarely feel the desolation and oddity of pregnancy. hubb and kids were very supportive and i feel their excitement grow everyday. my grown up kids each have a specific gender-want for the baby, which to me is amusing and altogether funny. of course, my boys want the baby to be a boy, while Ate Chloe wants to have a sister. me, as mommy, wanted to have another baby girl (if God so allow) as girls are more tamed and easier to get along with, and i surmise, even had higher EQ intelligence. i think i’ve had enough boys’ experiences having 2 sons in a row. 

the only funny part of the pregnancy was external: the office atmosphere. i didn’t really divulged to everyone (except those who were really close to me) about my condition. on my bosses’ side, it’s funny how they see me everyday and not even notice the changes on my bulging tummy. it was only last week when we had business planning that they noticed how ‘busog’ i look like. most of my officemates were surprised at the bulging tummy, since my face have not undergone any unusual change at all. i think i still look pretty flaired and uncomplicated inspite of the stress and workload.

during the last month, i already dreamt about my baby twice. the first time, the baby was wrapped in a swaddling cloth (pranela) sleeping peacefully, the gender still unclear. the second dream was just last weekend, the picture was closer and the gender already identified: it’s a boy! i had mixed emotions (coz i really want to have a baby girl again) but then God has better plans and who am i to intercede? what’s important is that my baby is strong and healthy and intelligent and the family’s constant joy. nothing else will matter. 

we are considering the name ‘NOE’ as the baby’s first name, after Ate Chloe, Zoe and Troe (sounds alike, eh?). The second name is still being debated in the higher courts. Daddy is suggesting Kahlil  which sounds like Clark Kent’s kryptonian name, Kal-el. note that Kahlil Gibran is also my favorite poet and forerunner so i think that Kahlil  is a really good second name. i just have apprehensions on the masculinity of the name combined. 

i’ll have my 4D ultrasound scheduled soon. will just update you guys and hopefully post pictures of my newborn baby in 4D. i’m excited and happy of the support i get from everyone around me. 

BLESSED AND THANKFUL. Ü

Just Some Thoughts…

sorry again for the long lull…

i have been logging into this blog and creating posts but i can’t seem to find the time to finish them. all of the thoughts i have written would be a waste if i’ll just delete them. 

so, here…  snippets of thoughts i had for the past few months, hoping to finally make you understand what is going on inside me.  

written 2009-06-01 @15:14:00

tell me of misery. of sadness. of warfare and desolation.

tell me of times where there is no life. where nothing important matters to who you really are.

not even success. or wealth. or knowledge. 

misery completes the picture.  

 

the person that you really are do not set you apart from your misery.

[whatever the feelings  i had on this day reflects a rather gloomy perspective. gladly, it’s just the rush…]

o ~ 0 ~ o

written 2009-06-03 @12:16:00

i’m still crazy about going back to school.

but i can’t seem the find the time or energy or the hard push to get there or to get moving.

 

i am at a threshold asking whether i ‘want’ to or i ‘need’ to.  want is something superficial, like gushing for that candy. need is something deeper, as in one cannot live without it. at present, i’m at the stage where i am in deep want of something to disturb my mediocre corporate life. i want something to excite me, and going back to school will really speed me up.

  

either way, it will benefit me entirely.  

[this post was weeks before i learned i am pregnant…]

o ~ 0 ~ o

2009-07-31 13:28:00

i just sooo L-O-V-E my kids!!!

 

they are growing up so fast and growing up to be good-natured and cool kids. though they still have their unique naughty notions, one cannot discount the fact that their genes were strewn out of mine. we share the same smile, laughter, funny faces. and we love making fun of ourselves without getting too emotional or onion-skinned. they loved laughing loudly and laughing their hearts out.

they aren’t afraid to show their weaknesses, not afraid to be caught in an uncompromising position because of their actions. they aren’t afraid to show their feelings at me and towards me. and yes, they can be subversive sometimes,  but that is probably my trait and they got it from me.

they make me feel loved all the time. they love to hug me so tight and kiss me like babies (even if they are all too grown up now to kiss their mom like babies!). they are expressive in sharing their thoughts and feelings at me because i encourage them to speak up about what they feel. for example, i tell them: ‘tell me what you feel coz i am not a fortune-teller and i hate guessing games.’

o ~ 0 ~ o

2009-08-04 13:14:00

this pregnancy thing is really peculiar.

 

i had my 3 kids born consecutively almost every year and rarely felt any peculiarities and cravings on the first quarter of pregnancy. but this one is notably annoying.

foremost, my mornings are dependent on her (let’s assume she’s a she…). either that i’d roll out of bed gracefully or i’d roll out of it bummed. either that i have a terrible headahe or that i am heady and geared completely.

i hate all kinds of BAD smell! i don’t like eating the food i cooked and would rather eat out and buy fastfood. 

i am  crazy about japanese food especially sashimi in kikoman and wasabe! i crave for it almost everyday. most days, FRUITS are my companion especially watermelons! 

 

[yes, the peculiar feeling is still going on inside me like ‘first time’. sometimes, i feel like such a bum… but then again, i feel that i have a rather glowing aura, which some deduce as a certain ‘coming of age in pregnancy’ which to me is a positive thing… ] 

Me, Pregnant???

on no. 16 of the previous post, i wrote about one queer thought: PREGNANCY.

this morning i had a dream of becoming pregnant. it was surreal, as all dreams are, but it seemed very real. when i woke up, i was quite emotionally charged.  

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