...inventory

i'm doing an inventory of tsugtsug's things.. and let me tell you, it's A LOT! i've filled up about 5 plastic boxes already and tsugtsug's not even born yet!! LOL! Pangs and I didn't have the experience of actually buying something for the baby together.. back in SG, we would go to baby stores, but never really bought anything. you know why? baby stores can be pretty intimidating! there's just TOO much stuff there!! (too much ALIEN stuff) I needed to read a loooot of books and forums just to understand all these unfamiliar baby terms.. (rompers, creepers, layettes, etc) Who knew nipples/teats come in different no. of holes? Or that breast pumps can be electronic/manual? and Anti-colic bottles? (What the hell is a 'colicky' baby?) I learned quite a bit thru googling and from n@wies(yahoogroup for pinoy newlyweds), TG.

Here's a list of tsugtsug's stuff so far (btw, my balikbayan box arrived safely!):
CLOTHES:
6 sleeveless shirts
3 short sleeve shirts
9 shorts
a dozen nappies (for punas punas daw.. also learned that lampins have 2 kinds! and have weird names! gauze and birdseye!)
8 onesies including his going-home outfit



i love SM Mall! ehehe. actually, all Malls here in Manila.. clothes are so cheap compared to SG and i didn't even go to Divi! (was initially planning to, but got so lazy) I bought this set on discount, so cheap and they're even 100% cotton!


This one i bought in SG. It's kiddopotamus (something like that) swaddling something. Swaddling is when you wrap the baby and make it look like a burrito. Apparently, newborns like to be swaddled, like how they used to feel while they were in the womb. This swaddler has velcro and stuff so swaddling can be idiot-proof.

I also bought:
9 mittens (the string kind, i've read in forums that garterized kind easily get off)
9 Bibs
4 caps
7 booties (also bought the string kind, 1 is from the matching set from the photo)
3 receiving blankets (hooded)
3 baby blankets (without a hood.. don't ask.. i'm not sure also why i bought)

BATH GEAR:



I bought a cheap bath tub (around 300 bucks, 10sgd) cause i won't be able to bring this to SG. but i bought the cradle thingie for newborn from safety 1st: (again, who knew? apparently for neck support. you can support the baby's neck with your hand, but at least with a cradle you can use two hands to wash the baby)

3 hooded towels (i thought hooded towels would look literally like a hood, as in little red riding hood's hood.. but its more of just a triangle patch at the corner of a towel.. so i was like, this is it?)
2 in 1 Pigeon Head to Toe wash
3 wash cloths
1 sponge

SLEEPING:
1 playpen




Bought at Sta.Lucia Mall.. its so cheap!(under 200 sgd) 3 in 1 Disney Babies playpen siya. It has a changing table, bassinet and playpen. There's even an organizer for diapers and wipes. It's like a cheap version of Graco pack and play. Again, not sure if we can bring the playpen back to SG so will not buy Graco stuff here. Future Grandpa contributed 3k for the crib (Yey! thanks Daddy!) Actually, I was dead-set already to buy this 3.2k crib we already checked out before. We would pass by the Disney Baby playpen but not ask about it cause it has a tag of 5.5k. But then we saw this awesome, awesome (not Graco, forgot the brand) crib and it was 8.5k.. the salesman made the demo and we were impressed but not with the price.. AND SO, when we looked around again and saw the Disney Baby playpen, it now seemed super INexpensive hahaha! so we went home with it. Also, salesmen for baby cribs are sca-ry. as in. they're so competitive with each other haha. "Ay yan mam (sabay turo sa kabilang crib), madaling masira net nyan eh!" then the other one says "Ay mam, hindi totoo yun, sa kanya plastic yung lining, eto cloth" etc. etc.. LOL! I'm surprised these guys haven't knocked the lights off each other!




with changing table and organizer
Anyway, I also bought 2 comforters for the playpen. Not sure where to buy fitted sheets, perhaps i'll just use regular sheets and tuck it in really well.

FEEDING:
I think i went overboard with the bottles. Think I got too much! Anyway, I'll keep some in boxes so I can give/sell some in case I won't be able to use it.
3 4oz feeding bottle
4 9 oz feeding bottle
2 7 oz feeding bottle
--> It's different sizes cause the 4 and 9oz are Avent ones, and the 7oz are Pigeon bottles. I think someone mentioned some babies like the nipples/teats for Avent, some like Pigeon that's why I bought 2 brands nyahaha.
Also have tongs,bottlebrush for cleaning. Haven't bought the bottle cleanser.. waiting for Reeyuh. AHAHAHA.(*winks*)

I bought the Newborn starter set, then the 3 pack 9oz bottle. got the 4th 9oz one from the Breast pump.


Since I'm keen on breastfeeding, I also bought the Avent Isis IQ Uno Breastpump. I decided on this because its the only reasonably priced electronic pump that I found. (I bought it for 270sgd, about 7.8k)I was first hesitant to buy a pump because some people told me not to buy cause i might not be able to produce milk, etc. but after googling and reading about breastfeeding, napipilit daw yun. :D. And a pump actually helps to stimulate the milk.


Got this breastmilk storage sets as well.


This is the Electronic Sterilizer I bought. Got to remember to read the manual and learn how to use it! ehehe.


Also have Pigeon disposable breast pads (for leaks). Oooh, i have a 'milk story'.
(WARNING to Squeamish and underaged people!)
I saw milk come out from my left boob ehehe. I was so freaked out! ahaha. My nips have been aching lately so I guess I was bored and decided to play with it LOL. I just pinched the whole thing and I saw a teeny bit of liquid come out. I stopped breathing for a whole minute, then tried it again. Liquid still came out! I told my sister right away (Ate! Meh gatas ako tingnan mo oh ahahahaha!) Then that night, I was reading "What to expect on the First year" and saw that you're not supposed to stimulate your breasts as it may cause uterine(?) contractions ehehehehe. I felt really guilty hihihi. I'm not gonna do it again, ok? Was just really happy (and shocked) when I saw the milk.

Okay, back to tsugtsug's stuff...
EVERYDAY CARE
I haven't bought baby wipes yet. It's recommended that you don't use baby wipes until the baby is 2 months old (Alcohol in wipes are harmful daw on baby's skin). So cotton and warm water will do.




Vivian recommended: No-rinse cleansing fluid by Mustela. She swears by it. She said sometimes, even after you wipe the baby's butt it still smells of poopoo and this one gets rid of the smell. So I decided to buy one (it's 20 friggin bucks, almost 600php.) and try it. Tsugtsug's behind is precious. harharhar.

Also have 2 tubes of drapolene cream (for every diaper change to prevent rashes) I couldn't find the DESITIN brand some n@wies recommended. Anyway, ito muna.

I think that's it so far. *whew* OH, I also have this baby laundry detergent by Enfant (again, who friggin knew babies have their own) and a couple of waterproof mats. (for the crib, changing table, etc.)

Today was my check-up (I'm on my 34th week!) and my OB said April 10th is my 37th week already so I can have the baby anytime after that. On my mind when she said that was "noooooooooooo tsugtsug and I will wait for Pangs!!! lol. But at least, I won't worry too much after April 10 with regards to tsugtsug becoming a premature baby. My checkup from now on will be weekly so I hope tsugtsug behaves and waits for his daddy! :D

That's it for now, bye folks!

...ooops mali

the other night, i woke up at 2am because of a veryyy painful stomachache. on my mind was "oh shit, hyperacidity na naman badtrip".. so i went down to our kitchen and ate some blue skies biscuits.. i've had hyperacidity before (more so when i became pregnant) and from past experience, the relief after eating just one biscuit was almost instant.. but this time, i finished the whole thing but it was still very painful.. it was so painful, it made me feel sick and i puked the whole thing again. (water i drank and the biscuits).. i was trying to fight the urge to puke, i puked tuloy in front of my sister's bedroom door so i tried to catch it on my hands hahahaha (ewwwww). after that.. i attempted to eat again another packet (maybe its because its blue skies and not skyflakes that's why it wasn't working??? that's my theory. LOL) but it was about 3am then and i couldn't tolerate the pain anymore. i never went to the doctor before about this and when i asked, they would tell me that prevention was the best cure.. (eat small but frequent meals.. have a light midnight snack an hour before sleeping) but i remember that night, i didn't eat my usual cookie, and hence the hyperacidity. i woke up my mom and she gave me a cup of warm milk but it still didn't work (lalo pa atang sumakit). when she suggested to go to medical city, i was in so much pain i agreed. (big mistake!!! lol). 3:30 we were at the hospital, first time i got to ride a wheelchair haha. all pregnant patients go directly to the pre-labor room so at least, i now know what that looks like harhar. i was asked to put on the dressing gown (which i attempted twice to put on right.. i always forget the opening goes at the back! as if i haven't watched enough hospital shows) and then i lied down and hooked to a fetal monitor to check if i had contractions. 20 minutes daw for them to know. but my oh-so-pasaway-na baby kept on moving so his movements would dislodge the fetal monitor and screw up the monitoring so we had to do it again and again and again. i think it was the 3rd attempt when we were able to complete the test and the doctor said i had one contraction so she needs to do an IE on me. ohmygosh, first time i heard this term (yeah, sorry, my OB in SG never did this to me!!). The doc inserts her fingers in your you-know-what to check if your cervix (or whatever's down there) is open. gawd it was painful, perhaps it's because pangs is away i felt like a virgin again AHAHAHAHA. anyway, doc says my thingie was closed. (good! tsugtsug will wait for his daddy!)

But that's not the reason why my blog is titled as such. its because after the fetal monitor was wrapped around me, after only 5 minutes, every ounce of pain i had felt was gone. as in zero. as in nothing. no more tummyache. (blue skies finally took effect!) so you can imagine how foolish i felt lying there, totally pain free. when someone will check on me and ask me "humihilab ba?" i would murmur "mahapdi pa" HAHAHA. it was very stupid. i was already thinking how much this will cost me. and then another patient came in and she was experiencing pre-eclampsia (right spelling? dunno) which made me feel more shameful that i was taking up some needed manpower when i should just go home and get out of the way so they can focus on this lady. (she was only 26 weeks pregnant, and they were poor. they were transferred there because the clinic they came from didn't have enough facilities. she had medicard but her coverage was only for consultation and not for admission. her baby's heartbeat is slowing down and since she's only 26 weeks pregnant, her baby needs extra care in nursery that will cost them roughly 15k(500sgd) a day! when you're lying and have nothing else to do, you tend to hear everything ehehehe.) so there i was, (i haven't completed the monitoring test during this time) feeling embarassed and thinking why i didn't eat a friggin cookie last night. finally, the doc came in and did the IE thing. She called up my OB and my OB wanted to admit me and i was like "no way! i can't pretend anymore lol" i mean, outloud i said "no, i don't think that's necessary" and they injected me with this medicine to lessen my nausea and prescribed me maalox. haha. maalox lang pala, kainis. anyway, the whole thing only cost me 1100 bucks(35sgd) so at least THAT part wasn't so bad.

*sighs* last night i ate like 3 times after 7 o'clock (pasta, then some minatamis na saging and then the slow-acting-blue-skies) and the night went by without incident. TG!

lessons i've learned:
eat the friggin cookie before bedtime
pregnant women can take maalox
don't take milk when you have hyperacidity! (my mom and i both didn't know okay?)
wear a nicer shirt before going to hospital (don't ask me what i was wearing)

that's it. hope you also learned something from my experience eheheeh.

..tsug-tsug, tsug-tsug, tsug-tsug

i think my heartbeat now is as fast as tsugtsug's! lately, i have been restless and filled with anxiety.. super kabado.. i usually can sleep easily, but now, i can't sleep before 1 am. It's a mixture of how uncomfortable my tummy is now and this funny feeling i get in my stomach (like hyperacidity with indigestion, lol) AND all these thoughts going on in my head. so much stuff like.. how will i know i'm even in labor? LOL. i've had a smoooooth ride so far (no complaints here!) but sometimes, it makes me wonder if i'll ever be feeling any sorta pain or contractions. (i don't even know how braxton hicks feels like) Or like will i be able to breastfeed successfully? Or mundane stuff like what if tsugtsug doesn't like Avent nipples! wahahah. What will i friggin do with all the bottles i bought! (i think i bought 6, plus those that came with the sterilizer) And where is my friggin balikbayan box? It's been 2 weeks already! TG we brought the Quinny with us but that box has tsugtsug's Sterilizer, bottles, breast pump.. baby books.. and my gingersnaps preggy jeans wahahaha. i knoooow i'm an advocate of positive thinking but it IS really tough to stick with happy thoughts when i keep thinking that THAT box contains my 640sgd worth of baby stuff nyahahah!

And then, there's the issue "will pangs be here when i deliver". I dunno why we thought May 1 is okay day for him to travel. That's my friggin 40th week! (okay, getting nauseous now).. He's supposed to buy the infant car seat for tsugtsug! What will tsugtsug use if he's not here L O l. (yun talaga naisip anu!) What if he's still in friggin Japan when i go in labor??? Hay. so many worries. But yeah. writing about it helps.. it makes me read my post and say "We can't do anything about it! Might as well not worry" hehehe. (i'm going locooo)

Yesterday was my first visit at a local OB. I must say, the system kinda sucks here. I went to Medical City and I got there at 9am. I called them before to confirm their opening hours and the receptionist did say 9am-2pm. Lo and behold I got there at quarter to 9 and it was still friggin dark inside the clinic. No one was there yet! I wanted to be early cause the girl said they don't take appointments, its just a first come, first serve basis. I guess I got used to my previous OB's clinic.. when they say they open at 9am, it means the DOCTOR comes in at 9. And you can get listed as early as 8am. Okay, so the girl/receptionist came in at 20 minutes after 9 (no biggie right?) but the Doctor came in at 11am! *sighs* at least I was warned by the girl receptionist to eat first as the doctor will come in at 10 (10 daw! hmpft) so I wasn't THAT hungry. When Doc finally came in, they even chit-chatted for 10 mins before seeing me. (okay, i'm being a b*tch now haha! but like my mom said, they know we've been waiting since 9am, the least they can do is entertain me ASAP) My OB was pleasant enough (mommy-like) and she's my friend's Tita so I have no complaints with HER perce. She just used a doppler to listen to my baby's heartbeat and then just felt my tummy to determine size and position of baby (hehe how old school)

But that's fine. My actual complaint is that when they need your bloodwork done, ultrasound done, or whatever kind of test, she just writes requests in her little notepad and you have to leave her clinic and go to some other level in the hospital and have someone else do the test. (which means one whole day of queueing) i guess these stuff i just took for granted in SG. Its pretty convenient to just go in the clinic, have your blood/urine taken from you and lie next to my ob's ultrasound machine, all in one room. (and yes, pay your bills there as well) I'm pretty ticked with the blood/urine.. that can easily be taken by the doctor and they can send it to the lab. OH WELL. (i'm sure there are pinoy OBs out there who have their own equipment inside the clinic) forgot its not the norm.

oh Pangs, my EVER sweet and thoughtful husband sent me flowers today! I panicked a bit (is it our anniv? is it our gf-bf-anniv? is it MY Birthday!??? lol) but it was him being super supportive.


my loveeeeeely flowers


It came with this message:

Dear Che,

Cheer up pangs! Don't worry too much, I'm sure everything will be ok, with you and tsug-tsug. I'm quite confident that he'll come on time and I'll be there with you in the delivery room.

I miss you pangs, really really miss you. Can't wait to see you this May. I love you so much.

Lastly, happy white day.

Your pangs,

Mond

P.S. Kain ka lagi dami, dont forget your vitamins and drink lots of liquid.


I am so spoiled by my hubby. Miss you a lot! (*tingin sa taas*)

That's it for now. Oh, and white day is like Japanese Valentine's day. So happy white day to everyone!!

...ate's wedding

more of the pictures! these were just taken by my dad (so no photos at the church yet hehe)



bride and groom


drunk bride.. i love her gown! (looks similar to mine ehehehe)


with cousins


me and ate chary


mom and dad.. look at mom's gown, so bongga hehe.


missed my pangs so much.. next day they went to mt. fuji!!! i'm so so so envious. here's his photo


with sir tony and vivian .. its so beautiful!


that's all for now.. bye guys!

...me and my drunk cousins

was my sister's (Ate Ging) wedding yesterday... everyone had a blast, and the open bar was a BIG hit (not to mention, super sulit). even the bride was drunk hahaha!


No, L is not for loser but Lasheng. Lasheng na Lasheng. my cousin doctor (bottom right) went hurling at the toilet after this photo was taken. (gusto mo pang magSerendra uh!)


Was I green with envy? Only a teeny weeny bit.. watching their crazy antics (imagine my cousins shouting to Chad's dad "One MORE SHOTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!") was the next best thing. right, tsugtsug?

more pictures to come! (of the bride, at least!)

...i got a quinny!!

or should i say tsugtsug got a quinny!!! my wonderful and very generous colleagues bought tsugtsug his very first stroller!!!! ohmygosh up to now i couldn't believe they bought me such an .... .expensive gift hahahaha! thanks so much! i just told them to buy me a "nice-to-have" and this really exceeded my expectations. now, pangs just has to buy the infant car seat to go with the stroller so tsugtsug can use it as soon as he is born!



tsugtsug will look good in red!!! luvv u guysssss!


m, me, j, l and yy enjoying the pizza


l with gf, a, r and mommy in red too! color of the day


L singing 'like a virgin' on the magic sing.. such an appropriate song for her L O L!


L doing the speech.. she's such a sweetheart (and b*tch in one, lol), i will miss her terribly. she's like me, we both cry easily hehe.


my mom and i are almost packed and ready to go.. (just a few more stuff).. so excited for my sister's wedding! after a lot of drama and suspense.. she will be walking the aisle and we're so happy for her! congratulations to my Ate!

yesterday was my last day at work and it was still hectic.. was still working at 6pm and i almost didn't make it in time to meet my agent! they will do the paperwork for me (cancel my EP and stuff like that) i'll definitely miss my filipino and local friends... i'll also miss my team lead.. (the nice one!) i told him (xw) that it was a good thing i was transferred to his team halfway thru my employment as i would've quit earlier if i wasn't! lol! i told him how grateful i was and how much i learned so much from him. oooh i wanted to hug him there and then when he said goodbye to me bwahaha! (must be my preggy hormones)

anyway, i'm so happyyyyyyyyyyyy to be work-free!!! (stress free!) i have bought some of tsugtsug's stuff as well (they're all in my balikbayan box!)... some avent stuff that people told me to buy here as they're more expensive in manila.. but other than that, i'll buy the rest in SM! haha! i'm so excited to do some major shopping for tsugtsug..clothes, blankets, bath stuff, the works! pangs also bought some baby gap stuff .. (sabi ko nga, mas sosyal pa si tsugtsug kesa saten uh! abah naka gap!) seems like gap is cheaper in tokyo than here in sg. He bought onesies that say "YES, I have always been this cute" hehehe.

that's all for now. see you guys soon! (oh, here are some more pics from our bbq last last week at A's condo.. their condo had a freakin bowling lane.. how cool is that!?)





anak ni rommel.. super cute! clap siya everytime magroll yung ball.. khet nga canal ka, palakpak siya! (look at the pic before this, pumapalakpak din siya hehe)


mommy doing it.. abah, mukhang strike uh hehe.

ay onga pala.. belated happy valentines to everyone and happy birthday to my pangs!! (he now has someone sleeping with him.. teddy bear he named rocky! c/o vivian who he met on the 26th. thanks vivian for being my courier! heehe)

side kwento lang..
i guess my husband has spoiled me a lot (okay, yeah, its a fact) and i have started to expect these flowers and gifts on special occasions.. (you can't blame me pangs!) and with everyone in the office saying "where's your flowers, Ann?" i couldn't help wondering myself... on the morning of valentine's day.. my mom texted me:

momi: "may package ka from raymond!!"
i then squealed at my seat and sent an instant message to my officemate M "I got a package from raymondddd" so i texted my mom.. and asked what was it.
momi: "ewan ko. baka card"
and i was like "huh? card..." it was so not pangs' style and so i thought about it and then WHAMMMM. my giddy feeling was gone. i texted my mom.
me: "that's not a card. its the security pass and some cds raymond took with him by mistake"
and momi was still optimistic:
momi: "malay mo!"
me: "buksan mo na!"
momi: "nyah. security card nga tsaka isang cd. hehe"
(nang-asar pa si momi lol!)

so i told M about this and she was laughing so hard and told me to lower my expectations haha.

but then of course pangs still gave me flowers (received it at 6pm) when some random chinese guy just called me and asked "what time you leaving, eh?" and me saying without hesitation, without asking who he was "8pm" and said goodbye. THEN i told M i finally got my flowers haha. The guard already knows me by my name because of the flowers i get.. cause they're only a few months apart (november- my birthday, january-our anniversary and now feb for valentines)
and i got mama and baby giraffe as well!!!


with mama and baby giraffe


look at my tummy! pictures c/o paparazzi jeff.

that's all folks! bye!

...i wanna go home

.. cause everyone has left! its the eve of chinese new year and work is half-day for all employees.. and lucky us, contractors not included. (not in our team anyway).. my TL did tell us we can go home at 7ish if there wasn't any major problems.. (poor R and L has to stay 'til handover).. he gave us this weird creepy smile while saying it.. i guess i'll be happy too if i was on sick leave monday-tuesday and then on holiday for thursday and friday. (he knows how to time his sickness well)

anyway.. mom and dad are here! and cousin C also! haven't had time to go anywhere with them because of work but since its holiday tomorrow til friday, we'll probably go to the usual spots (sentosa, night safari.. ohmygosh night safari again??) its sooo nice to have my parents here.. i missed them sooo much. now my mom prepares me breakfast (rice for breakfast, how great is that! lol! no more froot loops ehehe) and she even did the laundry for me last night! (I showed her the many advantages of an automatic washing machine.. lol. my dad doesn't like the automatic ones, he says its waste of soap and water.. i told him, i'll never go back to a tub with a separate washer and spinner.. neeeever againnnnnnn!!!)

Pangs also feels so much better now that my mom is here.. at least he's assured that someone is taking care of me. I'm especially scared for the late night cramps.. now I just put some ointment every night and I try not to stretch with my legs pointed. that usually causes my extremely painful leg cramps. speaking of pangs.. its snowing in tokyooooooo. shhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeet. i'm so inggit. super major jealous. hay. demmit. lol. oh well. will just shave some ice and throw it around. lol. ingats ka dyan pangs.. bawal madulas sa snow.

Going home now.. looking forward to the looong weekend ahead. Happy Chinese New year!!

...tsug tsug power!

...tsugtsug power!!

last wednesday, for the very first time, a kind lady offered me her seat at the MRT.. i was late (left at quarter to 11am) so i decided to take bus 40 to the Aljunied MRT.. I usually don't take that bus.. mainly because i have to take a pedestrian overpass to get to the station.. but anyway, i didn't want to be late (again) so i took it.. good thing i did! this lady, perhaps in her 30s looked at me and offered me her seat.. wowwwwwwww! i feel its official, i now look pregnant! (after 28 weeks haha) i was also wearing a sorta tight fitting blouse (sorta, because it wasn't really tight fitting, but it was my most tight fitting empire cut blouse) so i thought that might have helped.. anyway.. i'll neverrr forget her hahaa. i was profusely saying thank you to her. there are signs here above some selected mrt seats that say "please offer this seat to someone who needs it more than you do" with a picture of an elderly and a pregnant lady. so I walked towards that and held on to the bar but the 2 gay guys didn't offer me their seat, it was the lady who did. i knew they were gay cause as soon as I sat down, they began talking to each other "oh my gawwwd, we're so meannn. we didn't offer seats! i completely forgot this sign. we're seated under the siiiigggggnnnn. oh my gawwwwd." LOL. it was funny. hehe.

Aljunied MRT station must be a lucky charm for me because today, i got offered a seat again!!! (i am sooo amazed hehe) this time by a man... perhaps 40s.. AND, i was wearing a very loose empire cut blouse! so, this means, i really look pregnant now! (so happy hahahaha) Pangs calls it "tsug tsug power".. hahaha. i'm now re-thinking the Bus 40.. might be taking that route more often if i get seats from there hehe. I've stared people down in Lavander MRT to no avail.

I think tsugtsug is really getting visible now (i'm sooo glad). Although I have painful back aches, leg cramps, and my tummy feels really heavy AND I get tired sooo easily, I'm glad i'm finally showing a tummy. I was getting a bit worried but I've even googled about my small tummy. They say as long as the doctor says its okay, then there's no need to worry. I have my checkup tomorrow so I'll ask her then.

Speaking of checkups.. ammm sooo excited to see tsugtsug again. I'll try to ask for a picture again.. (for you pangs! hehe) that's it for now..

Advance Happy Birthday Harbie! and Have a good weekend guys!

...konnichiwa

pangs left sunday morning at 4am. i promised him i wouldn't cry so i didn't. i didn't go with him to the airport anymore, knew it would be worse if i came. anyway.. i was watching him by our balcony as he went inside the cab.. as soon as he closed the door.. i suddenly felt this shooting pain on my chest.. then the tears began to fall.. wahahaha. i tried to go back to sleep after that.. i gave up after an hour.. so i got up and watched TV.. Disney had America's Funniest Videos on,and i laughed on the silliest things..who knew watching people bump on glass doors (repeatedly) would be therapeutic. at 6am i went back to bed.. and i fell asleep til 11am..went outside to the dining area and saw TP.. then i cried again hahaha. i couldn't control it, (now i'm trying to control it again.. *tingin sa taas*) my tears just fell non stop for 2 minutes..

i was so restless that day.. i couldn't even sleep.. i got a call from pangs on 330pm.. i felt better instantly.. i am sooo envious.. i want to be there with him.. i want to see tokyo for myself! but his stories are the next best thing.. we talked on and off until it was time to sleep.. he has the laptop (the new company didn't give him one) so we bought a skype phone which didn't need a PC.. was a good buy for us, cause he can call me anytime (and i can talk to him while lying in bed! hehe).. i liked his vendo story.. now he can eat his dinner without speaking a word to the staff! all he has to do is insert some money on a vendo outside the fastfood store, select his food by pressing a button and a paper comes out. The paper is then given to the fastfood staff and then they give him the food.. pretty cool! he had japanese curry which he says is like our curry.. not spicy, but sweet. (all for just 450yen) Did i tell you i'm soooo jealous? i made him promise that he'll have to go back there with me! he says its so cold there (1-4 degree celsius! he says today is 1 Celsius) you have to learn to walk faster hehe...i think he is using now all the stuff he thought he wouldn't use.. scarf, gloves, lip balm! just to beat the cold (ei pangs, don't forget to use the moisturizer!!!)

oooooooooh found out that EAT BULAGA and SOP are coming over here in SG on Feb 24. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! something to look forward to. i am so going there so early to secure a spot hahaha. i already texted my mom and my housemates and they're all coming (hopefully i can convince them to come earlier).. so exciiiteddddd. i wish everyone is there.. (vic, janno, regine hehe) i've never watched any of these shows live before so its a new experience.. and i'll get to see how many filipinos are here in SG. bwahaha.

that's it for now.. will try to update regularly (for pangs too). bye folks!

...manila, manila

it's been more than a month since we got back from Manila (and not really Manila, but Antipolo) .. spent christmas and new year's there. (i swore i'll never spend christmas in SG again. never everrrrr.. to friggin quiet.) nothing makes me feel at home than firecrackers and bloody "juan lost his finger again" news.

its always exciting to go back home.. first week my dad hit a motorcycle and a jeepney (TG my dad was okay.. TG the motorcycle driver is alive.. TG the jeepney is actually impounded so he couldn't claim money for the damage my dad has done to his jeep. lol.) .. 2nd week, my parents' mayna birds got stolen. demmit!! (goodbye muymuy and maimai the 3rd.. or are they the 4th? i've lost track) this robber climbed on my parents' balcony.. ignored everything else there and just stole the birds. they didn't even take the cages. wonder if they're still alive. huhuhu. just when maimai (or is it muymuy) was learning to speak hello.. guess his first word should've been 'help' or 'saklolo' or 'magnanakaw'.. much more useful.

i cried at the airport when it was time to leave. (must be this preggy hormones) i didn't want to go back.. i guess its because we got settled in at 2 weeks staying at our house.. we already had a routine.. ooh i miss pandesal. every morning, pangs would buy pandesal just 2 houses away and he'll cook bacon and hotdog for me. lunch time it would be out somewhere in a mall or jollibee!! hihihi. i love jollibee now. i love chowking too. waaah. i miss chowking wanton noodles. wanton noodles here taste,..chinese! lol. i dont like chinese tasting wanton noodles.. i want the fake chowking ones! bwahahah! and mangoes. huhuhu. i love our mangoes. hindi lasang gamot. dito lasang gamot! bwiset!.

christmas day was our houseblessing. we had sooooo much food. we had lechon, lengua, caldereta, pancit malabon, bbq, rellenong bangus, embutido, lumpiang ubod.. a lotttttt. i only spent like 10k(php) to feed 50 people. and we had sooo much leftovers we could feed another 30. that day was soooo tiring. never imagined entertaining could be verrry tiring. we'll have to think twice of doing that again. (but pangs loved it.. he said to make it a yearly thing) we also bought our bedframe and sofa just for the houseblessing. we didn't want our guests to see our older-than-me-double-deck-turned-king-size-bed and the safety-hazard-rattan-sofa. and ooohh so happy how the renovations turned out. my dad did an aweeeesome job. everyone got the mediterranean theme hehe. (i am so over modern-asian) and some said our lot looked more spacious than its 240 sqm.



house facade... see the rounded grill thingie? has our initials on it!


side gate.. love the brick! (just found ideas in magazines, internet)


had everyone at the back of the house..we have so much food! all of us except ate chary (she was at my parents house at this time)


my makulit cousins..look at tenten! teenager already!(right of kris, one with the headband)


tenten playing taboo.. (that's my dad's hand at the back hehe)


The chad on the mic.. yep,...there's always time for magic sing!


bryan and vian... tired after all that running.. (just watching them made me tired!)

new year's day we used our newly built brick grill.. though we discovered some design flaws (haha) but its easy enough to fix. we didn't have any fireworks but i've got some pretty rich neighbors cause they had these really awesome fireworks that i only see on TV hehe.

we also spent some 2 days in bulacan with my in-laws.. finally got some shopping done for maternity pants and stuff. everything was so hectic.. first the shopping of the bedframe and sofa (which i had no idea would be quite difficult..there was the problem with the delivery date, we had to have it before christmas and then everything we liked was already sold/reserved!) then grocery shopping for the houseblessing.. then shopping for office clothes (for me and pangs.. his new work entails longsleeves and a tie!) .. never imagined shopping could be so stressful. we bought a center table also and curtains and rods. (that's how bare our house is)

eiii.. tsugtsug received gifts already! (lucky guy!) chad (ate's fiance) gave us this really great looking diaper bag and this thingie we can use to record and hear tsugtsug's heartbeat! he got feeding bottles from pangs' cousin.. and shoes and clothes from jing and kate! (thanks guys!) i have a feeling this baby is going to get sooo spoiled with gifts. (first grandchild in both sides of the family!)

i got great christmas presents as well.. makeup from 2 sisters (laura mercier concealer from ate ging and prestige eye makeup palette from ate chary).. maternity pants from mom.. pangs got this gorilla tripod thingie and lots of shirts..

also celebrated our 2nd anniversary!!
pangs had flowers delivered at my office (so sweet, as usual!mwahhh).. L and M liked my flowers hehe.


of course, had to take picture of my present once we got home


had dinner at our new favorite japanese resto at Suntec. (had very nice pinay server too!)

there's big news for pangs.. he's gonna be deployed to tokyo for 3 months. he's leaving on sunday. totally mixed emotions for me. i'm excited for him and also sad that we'll be apart when i'm in my last trimester... (okay, more on the sad part haha) but we realized its time to grow a bit and prepare ourselves to make these kind of sacrifices.. it has its pros anyways.. we'll be able to save, (they're giving him per diem for that) save more (cause i'll have the baby at Pinas).. and I'll have help from my mom once tsugtsug is out..

mom and dad are going here in SG on Feb.. dad will stay a week, mom will stay the whole month, and then we'll go home together. so its not so bad for me. Hopefully, it'll be okay for Pangs too. we still have so much stuff to do.. packing (we're letting go of the condo), buying stuff (he never had winter clothes! skype phone!!) and difficult decisions made that led us to this point.. we've dealt with this before (being apart for 6 months when he first got here in SG) so i hope it'll be not as bad as the first time..i would like to think we've matured since that time...
anyway.. good luck to us. and to tsugtsug hihihi. (my baby should get a proper name)

speaking of tsugtsug.. i am so addicted to looking at baby stuff online.. and all these terms i'm learning.. bassinets, layettes, rompers, creepers.. LOL! never understood what these meant before (still vague on the 'creepers').. but we haven't bought anything yet! twice, pangs and i went to the baby section thinking of buying something but twice we have failed. (too much baby stuff confuses us, i think) i'll probably buy a few avent bottles here before i go(they say its cheaper here) but the rest i'll buy in Manila.. i still like looking at stuff online though.. all the pack and plays.. cribs.. strollers.. wahahah. i think its what's causing my 'baby dreams'. first i dreamt i was giving tsugtsug a bath (with his diaper still on!).. but he's caucasian! (perhaps from looking at all the baby models online?) and then i dreamt of ate lala's babies (she only has one in real life) and the second one looked like ziggy! (search for him online) and everyone was pretending he looked normal except for me! bwahahah. M tried to search for the meaning of my 'ziggy dreams' but even google had no answer. Also, my tummy isn't THAT big yet (still not getting seats in the MRT!!).. although tsugtsug is very active (kicks a LOT) i'm beginning to worry a bit.. my next checkup is on feb 2 so i'll ask my doctor again. (though she does measure every checkup during ultrasound.. so i guess i'm just being paranoid.. i think its everyone's 'you're tummy's so small!' or the 'there's no bump there' comments that are getting to me)

that's it for me.. (quite a long post) byeee for nowwwwwwwwwww.

tsugtsug, sisig, atbp.

ei.. how come none of my friends are blogging? what's up guys!? too busy christmas shopping? anyway.. had celebrated my birthday last month.. got birthday flowers from pangs (delivered to office again! all the girls there were so envious hehe) and the controversial 200dollar scrapbooking stuff that pangs still insist i will get tired of.. which is true.. similar to my holga camera.. my actionsampler lomo.. wahaha.. i can never keep a hobby. anyway, the scrapbooking stuff we bought at 'made with love' store.. that store is a scrapbooker's dream.. has EVERYTHING. i bought distress inks, tons of paper, clear stamps, and a blank calendar.. i'll do it as soon as i'm jobless muwahahah.

here's me with my birthday flowers. so loveeeely.


had my officemates taste filipino food at this restaurant we found in Marina Square.. (7107 flavors).. I didn't make any reservations cause I've been there on a sunday twice before and it was only half full.. so I didn't think there was a need.. well, i was wrong of course! when we got there, the place was packed, even the tables outside were occupied! everyone was like "Annnnnnn, we told you to reserve!!" L O L. There were so many filipinos my officemate W said, "I feel like a foreigner" hahaha. We were lucky to get a seat near the door. I ordered (oh, J literally ordered for us.. I taught him 'isa, dalawa, tatlo' and 'gusto'.. so he was like 'gusto ko isang crispy pata'. lol. then the waiter asked him.. how many rice? .. and there were 6 of us.. so he told the waiter.. 'i only know until 3, haven't gotten past that' hehe) Crispy Pata, sisig, adobong chicken, lumpiang sariwa, ensaladang mangga and bulalo. surprisingly, they liked the sisig a lot. I think they liked the food because they finished everything (or they were hungry).. J liked the Ensaladang mangga.. he liked the bagoong! L and her husband finished the chicken Adobo. crispy pata there was sooo good, it was really crispy! hehe. The lumpia they said it tasted like popiah so that was something familiar. and of course, SAN MIG light which they loved. only place here so far i've seen that serves san mig light. (friggin 9 dollars per bottle!). they also tasted halo-halo, leche flan and bibingka. seems they've enjoyed filipino food. L just said filipino food is so fattening hehe.. its true. and we love our pork.

pictures!!


S and me.


v, pangs, me, J, W, L, I


me and M


me and J


also have big news.. well , not really big.. but new NEWS! hehe. tsugtsug is a baby boy!!!! hi hi hi. so happy. i actually have no preference but its nice to please in-laws, as if i was responsible for tsugtsug's gender. its quite early, we learned on my 3rd checkup (4th month).. the doctor said it so casually i almost didn't catch it.. she was like "this is the arm.. the leg.. the penis and the testicles".. i was like "whatt? a boy!? (of course lol) hehe. Pangs is very happy.. he's the only boy left in his family. during my last checkup, i still couldn't feel tsugtsug.. i've read books like saying, it feels different for every mother.. like butterflies in their stomach or something like that.. so i wasn't sure i would know if it was tsugtsug then... but about 2 weeks ago, i started feeling something in my puson.. and its quite frequent! the frequency really surprised me.. i thought it would be like once a week or something like that.. but in a day, i could feel him numerous times! i'm pretty sure its tsugtsug cause i'm feeling it in my puson, and not in my stomach... its like a ripple/wave-like feeling.. i think tsugtsug can hear also because one time everyone laughed at the same time and he moved too.. maybe he was surprised or something hheeh. my stomach's not that big yet... i can still wear lose shirts and not look pregnant.. i don't like it actually.. i want it to become bigger and more prominent.. cause i still don't get offered seats in the MRT! lol! i just look like a thin girl with big puson wahahaha. so sad. i can't wear my old pants anymore.. so now it's either the loose jeans (i used to wear them with belts.. now i don't have to) or my slacks that were loose before (also, no longer loose).. i attempted to buy pants in maternity shops but turns out i'm still too small for anything maternity oriented.. perhaps in Manila i'll have more luck.. i also tried to look for garterized pants in non-maternity shops to no avail.. hopeless.
that's it for now.. this saturday is tsugtsug's 4th checkup.. and i'll see him again! so excited!! bye for now!

...tsug tsug 2nd visit

last weekend was my 2nd visit to the OB.. we always go on mornings so there's not much queue and we got called just after about 10 mins of waiting.. i was asked to pee on this stick, it was to monitor my protein and sugar level.. think it was normal cause the assistant just glanced at the stick and asked me to throw it. next was the usual checking of weight.. and i.. lost 100 grams!!! huhuhuhuhu. how can that be? i guess i have been quite picky with food during the last few weeks or so.. but still.. i eat every time i'm hungry, and that's ALL the time. guess it's not enough. anyway, when we got called in, doctor said its okay that i didn't gain weight. She said some do lose weight on the first trimester because of loss of appetite and such. i'm finished with folic acid and bcomplex supplements, for this month, i'm on iron tablets and calcium. its a bit tricky though cause i can't take them together and the iron tablet has this shitty before and after taste. you know some tablets, if you drink them fast enough, you won't be able to taste anything.. but iron isn't like that, trust me. as soon as u get a whiff of it and it touches ur tongue.. ewww ewww and triple ewww. smells like rotten ovalteenies.

after a few questions (constipation, food choices, etc) i got ultrasound-ed. woaah, didn't know they ultrasound here every check up.. i googled about frequent ultrasounds.. says its safe and won't harm the baby. i guess i'll just have to trust my OB, she knows best. positive thing is we get to see tsug tsug again!! (negative.. check ups are expensive wahaha 150 sgd or tumataginting na 4500 pesoses)

here's tsugtsug at 12 weeks:




when i first saw it.. i was hesitant to shout something like "oooh the head!" cause the first time i thought the yolk sac or whatever was the baby hehe. so i just asked cautiously, "uhmm.. doc.. is that the head?" lol! and turns out it is! from the picture you can see the head, body, arms and legs! and it was infinitely clearer while we were seeing it live.. tsugtsug was already moving his/her arms.. he would touch his head, touch his mouth.. wave his arms prompting my doctor to say "helloooo thereeeeeee!" at first i was so shocked to see him moving i said "eh!? it moved!?" and my doc just laughed and said "of course lahhhhh.. it's alive!" (OH YEAHH hahahaha!) then it was like floating/jumping hehe, so active! never imagined he will be this clear and so bibo at 12 weeks! i swear i saw fingers a bit. my doc was satisfied with the baby's size so i had to say goodbye. i cried again. haha. i couldn't help it! my tummy is still so flat it still amazes me that we're having this baby!! and that its actually moving wahahaha.

i'm on my 13th week now and soon going to 2nd trimester. i've only puked once.. and i think it was more of motion sickness hehe. i took a cab home and the driver was insane. i reached our toilet in time and i puked with bag still on my shoulder and pangs holding my hair.. on my mind was "ooh orange juice".. or "oooh porridge" wahhah i could taste what i had eaten just an hour before. super gross. so glad i never experienced morning sickness, don't think i can deal with puking on a daily basis.

pangs claims i've become more emotional now, cause i cry more easily. last night i cried because i couldn't think of anything that i would want to eat and it made me feel so guilty that i was starving tsugtsug and wasn't responsible enough and that this early, i was already failing to be a good mother. yah i know, so melodramatic. all my life i have struggled to gain weight but it was okay then cause its just me but now i have a baby to think about and it worries me and sometimes i feel a bit pressured. i guess its hard to understand especially when people just say "its so easyyyy to gain weight" anyway.. pangs talked to me and i'm feeling better now and i'm just gonna try harder to eat right and not worry that much.

i guess that's it for now.. bye bye!

...on my 11th week

...and still no morning sickness (yey!). I experienced a bit of dizziness during my 6th week when I still wasn't sure if i was pregnant but after i've eaten, it went away. (so I thought i was just hungry). The only symptom I have is this constant hunger i'm feeling. and it's not the ordinary kind of hunger too.. its the i'm-so-hungry-i'm-gonna-pass-out-right-this-minute kind. so i've learned NOT to wait til i'm hungry to eat. cause the feeling's just not good. but it still hits me sometimes, and when it does it makes me so hungry and weak i have no energy left for eating so that's just not healthy. now i'm drinking milk (anlene.. cause i don't like anmum. huhuh. anmum tastes like crap) so i hope i absorb most of the calcium.

i find myself reading labels now.. always checking out nutrition information. my OB says i must gain at least 1 kilo a month. which is almost impossible given my history. i weighed myself yesterday and no weight gain yet. Next week is my 2nd check up, *sighs* I was hoping I would at least gain a pound or something.

i'm extremely lazy now. i'm lazy before but now its worse. my body feels heavy (even though i haven't gained a single pound) and it worsens with my feeling of inadequacy mixed with guilt with not helping in the house. sometimes i wish pangs and i are back home in our own house.. sometimes i miss my mom and my dad and my sisters.

i've told some of my officemates here (okay, most of them). i've told vivian because i need her OB. i told lynette 'cause she already knew i was delayed for 11 days. i told malvika and javern just because i want them to know (and i can bug them about eating lunch early because of that). i told raj because we were talking about contracts and i had to tell him about my situation (about not knowing if i'll want to extend my contract on december cause i'm pregnant). i told padma just now just because i wanted to. ehehe. so far, the only ones who don't know are my manager and my boss hehe! i'll probably let them know when they talk to me about my contract.

geeeeeeeezzzzz i'm so sleepy. i sometimes take a very expensive cab ride on mornings just to get to work. it was raining AND a monday. *sings.. rainy days and mondays always get me downnn* lol. u know i sang this to Malv, she didn't know the song. haha. i guess i'm showing my age.

last weekend, i didn't do much.. just slept and watched tv. i also watched 'Knocked Up' starring Katherine Heigl (u know, Izzy from Grey's anatomy).. its very appropriate movie for me to watch.. hehe. it did make me nervous though.. thinking about delivering a baby. wahaha. and i still can't imagine my tummy getting big. i had varied reactions when i told my family i was pregnant. i first told my mom.. she was happy but was still confused cause she said "di ko alam sasabihin ko sayo". next was my ate ging and she said "wow preggy. mukha ka sigurong butete". then i asked ate ging if daddy already knew and what was his reaction. he said "ang tagal pa". l o l. anyway, that's my family. only normal reaction was from ate chary who just said congratulations. hehe.

coincidentally my mom visited us here 3 weeks ago. she didn't go because she found out, it was already planned. but it was good timing cause i got to show her my baby's first ultrasound picture:

at 7 weeks:




it's as big as a bean. i know its hard to decipher it but tsugtsug is the one in the left. but during the ultrasound,i could see something fluttering, and it turns out to be the heart! so cool. ooh. i was so nervous about the first checkup i forgot to call raymond. haha. so when i was lying down and about to be ultrasound-ed, my doctor asked "is your husband here?" i was like "oh yeah. could you please call him?" lol! good thing the doc remembered or he would've missed out in hearing/seeing our baby's heartbeat.

it was pretty amazing to see it cause up to that moment, all i had was a stick telling me i was pregnant.




i was late for 13 days and i bought a test friday night. saturday at 4:30am, i went to the toilet.. read the instructions. pee, close the test firmly and then wait for 4 minutes. 1 dot ur not pregnant, 2 dots u are. sounds simple enough. so i did just that.. peed.. closed the test.. put the test down and wait a minuuuuuuute.. there's already two dots. i thought i should wait for 4 minutes. i decided to ignore and wait for the 4 minutes. then i looked at the test. 2 dots still there. got nervous a bit (i dunno.. that was my first feeling. i got a bit scared all of a sudden) and then prayed *thank you God!* i've been wanting to get pregnant for 3 months before this. i was already counting my period (without raymond knowing hehe) and my fertile days.

after taking the test, i went back to bed and woke up pangs whispering "Daddy.. daddy" then he woke up in a start and said "talaga? positive?" and he did this Edu manzano dance while lying down. (hilarious. regret not video taping it)

i told anshe that morning and she cried more than i did. (i got teary-eyed because of her). then i called vivian and told her and asked for her OB's number and the rest, as they say, is history.

i'm on my 11th week, and yep, i'm pregnant! :D

...sawa-dee!!

halu guys! i actually had a blog before this but never had a chance to post it. anyway, there wasn't anything much in that blog, except on how excited i was for the bangkok trip..

had the bangkok trip and can i just say how muuuchhh i looove that country?? L.O.V.E. reminded me so much of home.. paglabas nga namin ng airport lahat kami eh (asa Magallanes ba tayo?) the outside electric poles, the billboards, the flyover, the traffic.. everything was the same except for the sanskrit signs haha.

we just spent 3 days there (bitin!) but i had a greaaat time shopping and sight-seeing. (si janey ask nyo kung nag enjoy magshopping haha! peace!) i bought 200 baht shoes, knock-off lacoste shirts (110baht onlyyyyy)and small items we don't buy here in SG cause its too damn expensive (panyo, medyas, bra, haha!)

i loveeeed the street FRUITS! they have something like dried bagoong which is just geniusss. the taste without the mess. (all for 10 baht!)

here's some of the pictures:

we went to ayutthaya, the ancient ruins:

so nice right? like i'm in cambodia or something (not that i've ever been to cambodia, but i've watched National Geographic)

in Bang-In Summer Palace.. so nice there.. like we were in China naman hehe.


another shot in Bang-In Summer Palace..


we went also to the Grand Palace..


and ooooh.. we met a celebrity hahaha.. check us out with alicia mayer! my dad will be so proud haha! she's very nice, .. i approached her and asked "pwede pong papicture?" and she said yes .. after the picture she was even the one who made small talk like "bakasyon din kayo dito?" .. after the pic we thanked her and went on with the tour


and a tour can't be complete without a jumping shot!


and a weird shot!


and a friendster shot hehehe!



i loved thailand!! i'm definitely going back there, even for just the fruit street vendors.