All about our Princess

Tummy Tales -- 11th to 12th Weeks

October 21, 2011



I have just crossed 12 weeks (1st trimester) on the pregnancy scale, which is an exciting-looked-forward period for me! That’s when the early pregnancy discomforts are said to shy away. Oh, those times of eternally feeling hungry but feeling nauseaus at the sight and smell of food!

I have my constant pee visits, not that I feel the need, but my son wiggles three times nightly and is relunctant to stand until I pull him out the bed. I dislike now this exercise though when my pregnancy hormones make me a light sleeper. I fear unable to go back sleep and be groggy at work next day. Once it took me at 3am to get my sleep when I was already in bed at 10pm.

I was at the doctor last weekend (11 weeks) and had another ultrasound. I would have declined feeling I am having an ultrasound overdose, but I agreed being excited to show my Gremlins our Little Precious One swimming in my tummy as the doctor assured it’s now visible.

Now I forgot how I felt uncomfy with the doctor’s knowledge on operating the ultrasound machine during my first visit (she seemed to be at at her late 30’s though), kept asking help from the nurse (!) and eventually calling the other doctor. This recent ultrasound, she cannot  see any image from my tummy so she has to do  it from ‘down’ (again!). From ‘down’ she meant the vagi_ _.

On to the ultrasound. At 11 weeks, my expectations did not come full circle, not sure if it’s due to the doctor, the machine, or maybe Little Precious One is way small. During my Gremlin Kalel’s first trimester ultrasound, I was in tears of awe looking at his full body literally swimming on the screen. I did not want my Kalel and his dad to miss it this time, but they have yet to exactly experience it – hopefully next month’s ultrasound.

But Little Precious One didn’t totally disappoint. After about 20 minutes of trying the doctor found a partial view of moving limbs. We got to hear heartbeats too! So that made us happy. Even Kuya Kalel was acting out how Little Precious One was moving on the screen. Thing was, their dad missed to bring the camera cum video to record. Luckily, the clinic gave us a copy of three images, each on 3 seconds each. These were compiled below, and the best view would be on the 6th - 10th seconds:



I have done my blood and urine tests at 7th week, and so far so good. Last week, I declined a test:


Dr : Should I schedule you for a Nuchal Transluceny Scan?
Me:  Do I need it?
Dr:  I’ll take care of it. (Silence, senses I am more unwilling)
Me: My baby is normal and should be ok.
Dr: So you’ll continue with the pregnancy whatever it takes?
Me: Of course! I have a healthy baby!
Dr: That’s the spirit!

Not that I'm confident but I'm avoiding being too paranoid. I have faith in my baby, in my self, and all loving people around me. I have resigned on slowing down on everything and focus on healthily nurturing Little Precious One in my tummy.

By the way, Little Precious One is 4.61 cms at 11th weeks :-)

Thinking Out Loud

How cool can you be -- love proposal

October 19, 2011

Okay, I am married with a five year old Gremlin and another Little Precious One on the way, but the video below shared on cousin Geri's facebook account moved me, kilig pa rin ba :-) . (Dont get me wrong, My husband do surprise me once in awhile giving the same feeling as below, near tears, naks!)


It was an act 'supported' by the Marvels Dance Company, and oh boy, they seem to be gaining global attention now, of course online. The video has now reached two million plus hits and going, and their facebook page is receiving nice words. 

The kids looked much as Southeast Asians, and checking through their facebook info, some of the members' family names sound Filipinos. Way to go!

Oman

Oman's Bimmah Sinkhole On the Way to Sur

October 17, 2011

Any place of unique natural wonder or of historical story is attractive. On our first road trip to Oman, the Bimmah Sinkhole (a wide and deep natural inland 'hole' with salty water) and Bibi Maryam's Tomb (that's within the Ancient City of Qalhat, visited by Marco Polo and wrote about the place during the 13th century) were on our list.

From our google map prinout then, the place trickily seemed to be so near from Ruwi, Muscat. It turned out that it's actually more than 200 kilometers drive away. From our Al Suwayh offroad drive out to the highway, we unexpectedly realized we were near the  Sink Hole!

We missed the sign and had to go back. If you intend to go, turn in as soon as you read the sign 'Hawiyat Najm Park'.

When planning to take a dip, be prepared that shower water might not be available in the toilet.


The flights of stairs is tiresome, emphasizing how deep the hole is.

At the opposite side of the hole

The big Gremlin and his signature jump (I am in for an explaining on posting a tummy :-) )

Notice the fearless man jumping from the mid-upper middle, we witnessed two of them.


Do not miss this sign, it leads to the sink hole 

Philippines - Baguio

Oh My Gulay! sa Session Road

October 06, 2011



Baguio’s cool, overcast skies and rainy afternoon weather makes it so inviting to lounge in cafés, especially in an artists’ haven that drifts you away from the bustles of the city when you’re actually in the heart of it.




Tucked at the top level of La Azotea building along Session Road in Baguio is Oh My Gulay – which on your first visit confuses you on your purpose of taking the flights of steps to the discreet resto, err, arts haven.




Owned by artist Kidlat Tahimik (Eric De Guia), the place is a mini- museum sort of intriguing visual arts.

For the food part, there’s just a limited choice on juices and coffee, salads and pastas and desserts(crepes). Some are so uniquely named in the menu as much as the atmosphere is. How about “Anak ng Putanesca” for your pasta? Menu below is on high resolution, you may click to enlarge






My tastebuds are now much inclined to simple, tangy and a bit bland food, ones where I can identify what’s been into the sauces and spices, so Oh My Gulay’s menu suits me.





It’s nice to come as a group to share plates. When sharing among three, a per person cost is around PhP 200. For the very hungry and voracious eater, you would need to spend more (or in our case, we trek up to SM for our main course, anything in OMG is our appetiser J).

In between waiting for the food and after, a tour around shows that much of the artistic displays are wooden sculptures that mirror the Ifugao skill in the region.






For more of above Oh My Gulay's photos overload, the resto is at the 5th floor of La Azotea building along Session Road in Baguio.

Philippines - Baguio

La Trinidad in Benguet: Of Strawberries, Vegetables and a Valley

October 02, 2011

The bustling town of La Trinidad in Benguet is usually a side trip destination for Baguio tourists who fancy picking fresh strawberries straight from the farm.

Originally inhabited by the Ibaloi-Igorots, it's now home to various cultural groups, including my dad and his siblings who saw their childhood through in the valley.

It's now populated and the value of the land had skyrocketed. Say in 2011, it's PhP 10,000 per square meter at Km.6 that's 300 meters away from the highway. Even the steep mountain which seems un-inviting for a kid like me then two decades ago to pace up and down everyday, now witnesses dense neighborhoods. But again, where you call it home, it does not matter.

Reminiscing my childhood (nostalgia's in the air!), I miss those times we would trespass on farms sneaking few pieces of strawberries and lettuce heads, God knows how far we'd  reached. The farms used to irrigated by small streams where we catch tadpoles (and as darkness falls, the resident frogs serenade the neighborhood by their coordinated croaking). As soon as we reach Pico, the streams/ irrigation canals were lined with calla-lilies which we cut a stem or two each. Those were then before the farms have now commercially grown with buildings.

What to do in La Trinidad, Benguet:


Admittedly, I am yet to explore the nooks of La Trinidad as much as my brother is doing, so I could only give a limited list here:

1) Pick strawberries from the strawberry farm.
2) Buy fresh vegetables from the Trading Post.
3) Check the Benguet Museum at the Capitol
4) Have dinner at Kalei's Grill in Km 4.
5) Pass by the Bell Church at Km3.
6) Walk to Balili ascending up to Tawang for a good view of the valley

The Strawberry Festival is annually celebrated around the month of March . It was in this festival in 2004 that the municipality baked the world's largest strawberry cake and got recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Minus the strawberries, here's an overview of La Trinidad valley in Benguet:





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