I found out I was pregnant the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend 2008. The day before Dan, Chloe and I took a roadtrip to Hickory, NC to visit Dan's sister Sue and her family. Sue and her husband Pat thought I was pregnant since I consistently refused to drink wine.
Everyone except Dan and me thought we were having a boy. Folks would say things like "JR, you're carrying differently"; "Looks like Jill Robin has gained that much weight this time"; "Your belly doesn't look as wide as it did with Chloe" - therfeore, I must be having a boy.
Dan and I debated girl names ten minutes before the c-section. We readily agreed on boy names.
Lesson learned - after a c-section, it's okay to take pain medication. In fact, take as much as you need. I stupidly tried to tolerate the pain, which only made the pain worse later. Percocet (in moderation) is your friend!
Another lesson learned - get out of the hospital gown as soon as you're able. You'll feel at least 50% better!
I really wanted a VBAC, but I didn't go into labor before the scheduled c-section.
None of the natural remedies to induce labor worked on me - primrose oil, walking, yoga, etc.
While waiting to be wheeled in for surgery, a woman in the room next to me, who was also waiting for her c-section, went into labor and had a VBAC.
I met a new mother who went to my high school. She was shocked to learn that I graduated in 1991 while she had graduated in 2001.
Dan was really surprised that we had a boy - He figured since his brother Ted has two girls and his brother Brian has three boys that his chances of having another girl were good.
I'm sleep deprived. They say sleep when you're baby is sleeping - but how in the world does one sleep in broad daylight?
Even though I'm sleep deprived, I still have a great smile and sense of humor.
Perhaps sleep deprivation has made me delusional...
I'd come up with 11 more items, but Dylan is calling...
I love these random un-seasonably warm days during winter. Today was sunny and temps reaching the low 50s - a great day to hangout with Chloe the day before her little brother or sister joins her. I may be making too big a deal of how much her life is going to change. Perhaps I'm projecting my small fear of change onto her. Anyhow, it was a fun day.
The morning started with our usual breakfast oatmeal with chocolate chips and honey. Something I highly recommend - just a smidgen of honey with about six Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips - we need to get our anti-oxidants from somewhere. :) We watched "Handy Manny" and "Little Einsteins", drew pictures with triangular shaped crayons and played with oversized Lego blocks. We took an early nap on the couch at around 11:00 and ate lunch. We read some Curious George and Dr. Seuss books and then spent the rest of the afternoon at Baskin and Robbins and the playground. Dan came home from work and took us out for an early dinner. Chloe played with the sugar packets at the restaurant while Dan and I discussed girl's names - we have a couple of boys names picked out that we strongly agree upon, but it's a girl's name that has us stumbled.
They say when you have a second baby, you're first baby suddenly seems so much older. I was labeling the video disks from the past year and was amazed how much Chloe has changed in the past year. Her cheeks aren't as cheeky anymore, and she's become more adventurous - climbing onto anything and everything to reach things she's not suppose to play with. She picks up phrases quicker and likes to repeat them. The other day, Dan, Chloe and I were in the car and she kept saying "cheeky monkey" and wouldn't stop. She knows almost all the words to "Do-Re-Mi" and her favorite songs to sing are "Ooh Eeh ooh ahh ahh ting tang...", "Zippity do dah", and "Ring Aroud the Rosey".
While I'm sure Chloe and I will have more "just us" days, this one felt a little more special.
I've spent the past hour clearing out the camera disks so that we'll have enough space to take pictures when the new baby arrives. Dan and I have two digital cameras: a Nikon D70 which takes awesome photos - there's no delay when you push the button to take photos plus you can change the lense and a Cannon Digital Elph SD 1000 which is about a quarter of the size of the D70 and takes great photos. You can also shoot video with the Elph SD 1000 and every once in a while, when I mean to take a still photo, I accidentally take video. As I was cleaning out the disk on the Elph I came across the video below. It was taken by the water in downtown Charleston, SC last July.
One of the things I've enjoyed the most about having Chloe is watching Dan become a father. He has so much patience and will do just about anything to make sure she's safe and happy. During Chloe's first year, I rarely had to get up in the middle of the night to tend to Chloe. Dan would get to her so quickly that I wouldn't even wake up to hear her cry. It took a while to convince him that sometimes it's good to let her cry it out and that she needs to learn how to comfort herself. When giving her dinner, he still makes sure that the food is cut up into little pieces so she won't choke, even though she can (and does) put all the little pieces of food into her mouth at once. I wonder if it's a father-daughter thing and perhaps if Chloe were a boy he'd be a little tougher and less concerned.
Both Dan and I went into baby mode soon after the New Year began. Not only did my tummy stick out even more, but my feet and fingers have swelled up a bit. I can no longer wear my wedding ring. It's funny how during the holidays, family members asked if we were ready for this baby to arrived. At the time, it felt we plenty of time to get ready. But then after New Year's, we realized we had about three weeks left and we quicly shifted gears. I've been buying gender neutral baby clothes. Dan cleaned out the kitchen and made trips to BJ's for bulk purchases of diapers and wipes, food and coffee. He grabbed baby stuff out of our storage unit and installed the car seat. We've both been busy cleaning out the apartment.
I think I'm ready. Towards the homestretch, it's a getting harder to sleep and last week I
felt my lower area stretching - The cold weather and rain didn't help. For the most part this pregnancy has been easy. It doesn't seem that much different from when I was carrying Chloe except I haven't been exercising as much, I haven't gained as much weight and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law think I'm carrying differently. I'm a little anxious about how the labor will go. I'm trying to go for a VBAC . I love the practice that I go to - they're open to VBACs and have both physicians and midwives. I wish I had gone to them when I was carrying Chloe.
While I'm happy that Chloe is going to be a big sister, I'm a little sad that her world is going to change. She knows that a baby is coming soon, but I don't think Chloe knows just how much things will change - I may not be able to hold her if I'm feeding that baby or give her immediate attention whenever she calls. Luckily she has Daddy wrapped around her finger and he'll help make up for any attention that I can't provide. Being the youngest, I never had the experience of feeling slighted by my parents due to a new sibling. I'm not sure how my older sisters Jennifer and Janice will ever get over knowing that our Mom loves me the most. :P Luckily, there are young babies where Chloe goes for daycare, so being around babies won't be foreign to her.
Just a couple of more things to do - pack the to-go bag, narrow down the baby names, charge the camera batteries and then wait. Anyone know of any tricks that induce labor?
Dan and I quietly rang in the New Year. Chloe went to bed (after pulling ornaments off the Christmas tree, which she called "Mrs. Tree") and Dan and I watched "Stardust" on DVD. I fell asleep during the movie and missed all the scenes with Robert DeNiro. I did wake up in time to see the ending. We toasted the new year (I had a nice glass of grape-apple sparkling cider) and watched the Clintons and Mike Bloomberg push the huge button to make the ball come down in Times Square.
As for resolutions, I only have two, one of which has already been broken:
Get more sleep - Um, if you check the time of this post, you'll see that I'm still up past 1:00 am. But overall, I've been good about getting sleep - actually taking naps on the weekends (being pregnant has forced me to do so...)
No baked goods like cookies, cakes, etc unless I baked them or someone else that I know baked them. Why is it whenever I say "baked goods" I think of weed-laced brownies? But seriously, this pregnancy has heighted my sweet tooth and I've indulged a little too much in McDonald's apple pies and donuts. So this resolution will discourage from impulsively eating sweets and encourage me to bake more.
I'm looking forward to this year. It'll be full of change - the baby that will arrive soon; watching Chloe become a big sister; plus Dan and I will continue our house search.
Dan, Chloe and I left the morning after Christmas to spend time with Dan's family near Annapolis. Betty and Jerry's home was filled with all three of Dan's siblings, spouses and kids. It was nice catching up with everyone. Sue's daughter Ashley showed photos from her trip to Thailand. The kids had a great time playing on the Wii that we all chipped in for as a gift for Betty (who knows she may win some medals at the next Wii Olympics at the Senior Center). Chloe, being the second youngest cousin, had a grand time with her cousins. She enjoyed playing soccer with them in the backyard and checking out baby David who is now six months old. She enjoyed the attention she received from Mary Kate who loves to hold her. I won't forget how she showed her filipino side as she sat at the kids' dinner table and kept saying, "Rice, please Momma".
The next day, the Miller family helped out the neighbor next door with yard work. The neighbor is an elderly woman who lives alone and for some unknown reason stopped her regular gardener from coming. The Millers chipped in and raked many bags of leaves, cleaned gutters and trimmed some bushes. In the afternoon, the ladies went after-Christmas sale shopping while the men let the kids roll down the hill in the front yard. It was a nice visit, but again it seemed to go by in a flash.
Dan, Chloe and I spent Christmas Eve evening and Christmas at Janice and Jim's. It was a whirlwind getting there with very last minute gift wrapping (I didn't start wrapping gifts until the 23rd and Dan saw how far behind I was that he stayed up until 12 am - way pass his bedtime - to help me wrap). Not to mention the last second baking. The nesting instinct really started to kick in because I felt the need to make Peanut Butter Cookies with Salted Caramel and Mini Pecan Tarts (which in my opinion are way better than a pecan pie). The pecan tarts turned out great while the caramel in the peanut butter cookies was replaced with chocolate chips (Here's a tip - if you've never made caramel before, do not attempt if you're in a hurry and trying to multi-task - apparently, you're suppose to watch over the sugar and water boil and a candy thermometer usually helps!).
We finally arrived at Janice and Jim's at 5:30 - we were suppose to be there by 3:00. It was okay we were late, since my Mom, Dad, Jennifer, Tom and their kids were busily helping Janice and Jim put things away in their baauuuteeeful newly renovated kitchen (the workers had finished up very early that morning). My Dad had a great time cooking in that kitchen. We all did as we pitched in to prepare dinner - Janice fried lumpia; Dad made mashed potatoes and gravy to accompany the prime rib he cooked; I made a holiday salad; Jennifer enjoyed a nice pinot gris.
Later that evening after most folks went to bed, I continued wrapping presents with help from Jennifer while Janice continued to arrange the kitchen. I must remember that while early online shopping is great to avoid crowds at the mall, gift wrapping ASAP is even better! Around midnight, I fell asleep as Jennifer and Janice arranged the gifts in piles so that the kids could pace themselves in opening their gifts.
Christmas morning, Chloe woke Dan, me and everyone else who was still sleeping as she cried and struggled to open the bedroom door to go downstairs. She had heard her cousins Justin and Reid downstairs and wanted to join them. Apparently, the double trouble twins re-arranged the piles that Jennifer and Janice had made the night before! After a nice breakfast of fried rice and eggs, we opened gifts. The rest of the day went by in a blur - the kids played with their new toys; Mom and I baked bibingka and I baked two batches of Altoid Brownies (one for my family and one for Dan's family. If you saw the new kitchen, you'd want to bake or cook something, too!); Unfortunately, Mom was sick most of the day with a stomach virus and Dad was just getting over a cold so they both napped most of the day.
Overall, this was a great Christmas - just wish it didn't go by so quickly.
When I get home from work, I'm often greeted by Chloe running and plowing into me for a hug. Then, I always ask her the following questions: Did you have a good day?, Were you a good girl?, Did you play with your friends. After each question, she nods her head and replies either "Yes Momma", "Yeah" , or "Yes". For a long while, I was amazed that Chloe understood everything I was saying and she was giving me thoughtful answers (for a two-year old). Then one day I ended my wave of questions with "Are monkeys flying out your butt?" To which she answered, "Yes".
Today, my Mon turned 73. The photo above was taken over 30 years ago when she was almost 40. She looks great and is a very active retiree - aerobics, volunteering to check other senior citizens blood pressure at the mall, shopping with her friends Mely and Cecil, going to parties and dances with my Dad.
I don't know what I'd have done, if I didn't have my Mom while growing up. We almost lost her when she had a heart attack at the age of 45. All I know is that without her, I wouldn't be able to play piano; I'd have crooked teeth (she paid for my braces); would have never known the joys of chicken casserole with uncooked noodles (she does cook a kick-butt Pinakbet, Afritada and back in the day she would make Ensaimada almost every weekend during the winter); and would have not have half the sense of humor that I have now.
From my Mom, I think my sisters and I all got her playful sense of humor (I think Jennifer got most of it.). In addition to describing her day at work at dinner - (detail descriptions of surgeries), she would often tell somewhat dirty jokes that she heard in the operating room. Janice and I got her shopping disease, especially for shoes and bags - but always at a good bargain. To this day, whenever I visit home, Mom shows me her latest bargain finds - often at a 75% discount. We also got her love for singing. Mind you, we're no Renee Fleming, but we like to belt out a tune. If you stand near her at church, you can definitely hear her singing.
Happy Birthday Mom - can't wait to see you this week!
Chloe enjoyed her first venture in trick-or-treating. Dan and I showed Chloe how to ring the doorbell and when the door opens, say "trick or treat". She had it down pat at home, but when we were at the first house, and the door opened, she fell silent. I said, "Chloe what do you say?" and she looked at the lady and said "Please?". Then, she got more excited by the homeowner's dog than the bowl full of candy presented in front of her. By the fifth house, she would take the candy and then say "Trick or treat!"
