Basti's Prayer

We've been teaching Basti to pray and I managed to record one of his nightly prayers.

Let me translate his prayer:

(Sign of the Cross)
Papa Jesus, thank you for our food, my blessings..
Bless Mommy,
Bless Daddy,
Bless Lolo
Bless Lola
Bless Yaya
(and starts to name his classmates)
Bless Valerie, Carlson, Rhian, Megan, Zachariah, Inigo, Gabrielle, Sebastian
Bless Mommy!
As I pray
(trying to pray Angel of God but end up being garbled)

Nesting Instinct

Before my twin sister gave birth five months ago, she detailed in her blog how she coped with her nesting instinct. Now, I think I'm having the same feeling.

For the past couple of days, I've been waking up at 430am, either due to a nocturnal restroom trip or due to contractions/braxton hicks. This Monday morning is not an exception.

Though I was still groggy with sleep (Leo and I only went to sleep at 1130 last night), my mind started thinking of the things that I need to do today. I originally thought of going to work but my back pains are really bothering me so I don't think I'll be efficient. I'll just wait it out here at home. So my 90 day maternity leave started last Friday and here I am waiting with people texting and asking me if I've given birth already. I've already turned off my phone and just open it from time to time. Instead, I've focused my mind on preparing for the baby's arrival.

My yaya arrived on Saturday night and we went to SM yesterday to buy her 3 sets of uniforms (2 sets of white ones with blue piping and a blue cotton one. Yeah! Looks really spiffy on her). I'm sending her to the village clinic later for some medical tests to ensure that she doesn't have anything that the baby might catch.

Last night, she and I cleaned out the other room and moved some stuff. Since I'll be exclusively breastfeeding, we reaaranged some stuff and moved the crib to our room. We've unpacked the linens and other stuff that have been kept in their boxes since I've gotten them. However, I'm still not yet satisfied with the way things are so I'll probably do another round of cleaning later. And by cleaning, I mean just sitting on a chair and directing Yaya Amy what to do (hehehe). Hey, my doctor did caution me on bending or squatting too much and my back does hurt! :)

I also intend to tackle my long-delayed project of fixing our pictures. It's still there buried in the baul all mixed together. I already took out the pictures frames that we got as wedding gifts and would want to hang them. However, I need our all-around handyman to help me with the hanging as we need to drill holes in the wall. Unfortunately, he's still out of town so I just have to wait. I need a hole drilled in for my bag hanger too. Leo and I tried the 3M hook ones but they won't adhere to the wall. Either the weight of the handbags together are too much or the wallpaper's texture is not smooth enough. Right now, all my handbags are stacked together in the baby's room and it's an irritating sight.

I'll also go to church this evening (of course I'll walk). In my impatience on getting the birth over with, I've forgotten how I should be wording my prayers. I've forgotten that God's will should supercede my wants. So I've just lifted everything to God and asked for His forgiveness for my lapse. I've changed my prayers from "Please let me give birth now!" to "Please give me the strength and patience to get through this and to accept Your will as my own." Somehow, it gave me the peace and strength that I needed to get through the contraction-less hours. It was also the time that my nesting instinct kicked in. Must be God giving me the necessary distraction that I needed. :)

9 MONTHS!

This is it. I'm on my 37th week already and I can give birth ANYTIME. I just had my check-up this morning with my OB. Sadly though, I'm still not yet dilated and my stomach is still "high". I JUST WANT TO GET THIS OVER WITH!!! Aaaargh!!!! According to the IE, the baby is pressing against my bladder and hip bone (I could definitely confirm that when I have to go to the rest room almost every hour) and his head is still not yet engaged. My cervix has also not yet softened. All the while, I thought I'm dilated already as I felt really strong pains during the new year's eve celebration. It turns out it was just my baby moving around as he was annoyed with all the noise.

Last night, I got paranoid and thought I have pre-eclampsia as I was nauseous the whole afternoon and there was pain in my upper abdomen. Turns out it was just indigestion as my BP is still normal (100/60) and there is no trace of protein or glucose in my urine. However, I did gain 4 lbs in the last 2 weeks due to all the Christmas eating that I did totaling my pregnancy weight gain to 13 lbs. Not bad. At least I'm not nagmamanas. My feet and hands are still ok (although I can barely wear my wedding band now).

Leo has already installed the baby's car seat in the backseat of our car and we've packed our bags (3 bags all in all!) for the hospital stay. I'm having second thoughts why I'm giving birth at Makati Med when Asian Hospital is closer. But well, I've decided on Makati Med so I'll stick to that. Besides, I'll have more visitors there. :)

I really want to give birth by next week but it looks like it's not meant to be. I don't mind going to work but I hate going to work with interrupted sleep. I mean I wake up 3-4x during the night and I wake up woozy and cranky. I won't also have a ride going to work next week as my mother-in-law, who usually brings and fetches me from work, will have a minor operation at St. Luke's next week (please pray for her quick recovery). The driver is also not available as he's out of town and won't be back until end of January, I think. I'm still persuading my husband to bring me to work everyday at least only for next week (it's easier to find a ride going home than going to work).

If I won't give birth by the 2nd week of January, I'll start my maternity on January 19 to get ready for my due date on January 24. So that means I'll only be in the office for the first two weeks of January. I think I can survive that.

Wish me luck and please keep me, my baby and my mother-in-law in your prayers.

36 Weeks!

This is it. This is the last week of my 8th month. By next week, I'll be 37 weeks already and will be considered full term. I can give birth anytime by next week. I really really want to give birth already. My stomach is so heavy and the aches and pains have already intensified.

I think my stomach has dropped. I really don't know how a "low" stomach looks like and I'll know when I return to my doctor for my weekly check-up on Saturday. Nevertheless, I have to keep on walking and exercising.

We're off to Tagaytay tomorrow to spend the rest of the holidays there with my in-laws. We'll be back though before the New Year. We were told to bring sweaters and jackets as it's bloody cold up there. Hopefully the trip up won't be too difficult for me but I have to get out of the house and as they say, kailangang matagtag para bumaba pa yung baby.

Probably the difference this week as compared to the previous weeks is that the bathroom trips are more frequent. Previously, I only wake up once during the night to relieve myself. Sometimes, I can sleep the whole night through. Nowadays, I get up 3 to 4 times during the night and the interrupted sleep can make me cranky. I guess it's practice when the baby inevitably arrives and interrupted sleep becomes the norm.

My lower back, lower tummy and thighs are also aching which is an indication that the baby is settling and getting ready for his birth. I returned to doing my stretching exercises which somehow relieves the aches.

I've also packed my hospital bag and have had the baby's clothes washed (with Cycles, of course). The baby cabinet (chest of 4 drawers) also arrived today. Will have the clothes washed in batches so we can start storing them in the cabinet. Leo also unpacked the baby carrier/car seat (from Tita Chit!) and has prepared it for the baby. Which reminds me, we still haven't purchased a stroller yet and a bottle sterilizer. Those are the two items remaining in our list. We'll probably go sometime this week. And I still don't have a yaya!

I have prepared the nursery as best as I could. Although we'll be moving the crib in our room to make breastfeeding easier. I'll probably try it until I return to work and will go for mixed feeding.

Ok, wish me luck! Please pray for an uncomplicated delivery and for the baby to come out safe and healthy.

Love Thy Neighbor - A Prayer to God

Lord,

I never thought that this commandment of yours would be very hard to follow.

I believe that you have never and will not ever create a bad person. All of us are created in your image and therefore, we our all inherently good. But there is this person who is really hard for me to accept. I do not want to reach the point where forgiveness will no longer be an option--actually, I have already reached that point.

Though I have already moved away from him (thank you Lord for granting me that prayer), he still continues to give me grief. I don't know when it will end or if I can still move further away.

Help me Lord to accept this person for who he is and not who I perceive him to be. Shelter me from his sharp words. Help me to decide what is best for me. Help him to understand me and to help him hold his tongue. Help him to change for the better. Help me to forgive.

Most of all, help me Lord to forgive.