Week 21 update (Nov 8 - 15, 2009)

My best preggy photo yet.. ^_^

This has been one of my busiest weeks ever since I got pregnant! I organized our closets, cleaned up our bedroom, made space for baby, went grocery shopping, sold all my pocketbooks (I lugged 45 books in the streets of Davao, gahh), and celebrated my father in law's birthday. Busy, busy!! Thank god I had the energy to do all these stuff. Hooray for second trimester energy boost! ^_^ Also this has been another food-gasmic week! Hubby cooked for me early in the week, I had my fastfood fries and pork barbecue fix last Friday, Labsie got his pistachios (super yum!!) from his aunt in the US, and we had a grand food spread for my FIL's birthday. Roasted pig is to die for!!

How far along? 21 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Around 6.5 - 7.5kg (14.5 - 16.5lbs)

Maternity clothes? Nope. I'm wearing more dresses now to accommodate my growing belly though..

Stretch marks? None! Yippee!

Sleep: Finding it hard to find a comfy position at night -_- I'm also napping during the afternoons to rest my back for 1-2 hours.

Best moment this week: When our sweet baby kicked me real hard last Nov12! It was his/her strongest kick yet and it surprised the hell out of me while I was resting. My belly literally jigged from the impact :p Another best moment was last Nov13 when baby and I played the poking game: s/he kicks me and I poke him/her back. So far the longest we played was 14 straight back-to-back kicks and pokes. Quite intelligent our baby is! ^_^

Movement: LOTS!! See above answer.

Food cravings: Hubby's french toast! He said he's gonna cook for me last Nov10 & I was expecting his yummy toast but instead he made a pork & chicken dish. Still yummy but I want his special french toast! *saliva dripping*

Gender: I want a boy right now! :p

Labor Signs: None!

Belly Button in or out? Still in.. And I cleaned it! Lots of 28-year old gunk inside, yuck!

What I miss: Labsie at home on weekends. His sked is Thursday to Monday, and it's been ages since we went to church on a Sunday! -_-

What I am looking forward to: Shopping for baby stuff!! We still do not know our sweet baby's sex but I wanna buy cutesy stuff already! I'll just buy it in neutral colors just to satisfy my nesting & shopping cravings :p

Weekly Wisdom: Do all the cleaning / arranging / renovating in your second trimester. That way, your growing belly won't get in the way.

Milestones: Being able to play games with our baby! This means s/he responds to stimuli and has an intact nervous system! *happy dance* In other developments, our baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if we're having a girl, her vagina has begun forming already.

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our 20-week old baby is a cantaloupe!

Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed! (SOURCE: The Bump)

pregnancy checklist (part 2)

Check out part 1 of the pregnancy checklist HERE!

Week 11
Start shopping for maternity clothes - I started window shopping, no purchases of official maternity clothes. I bought leggings, loose blouses and dresses though =)

Week 12
Milestone: Belly starting to show - You bet it's showing! Take a look of my 14th week belly HERE. Looks really bloated -_-
Milestone: Tell friends and family - Told my parents on Week 10 while we told hubby's family at this week. Everybody's excited!

Week 13
Start looking at maternity leave - I'm not working so..

Week 14
Research and sign up for childbirth classes - Researched and reserved a slot for January 2010 classes! If you're in Davao and looking for Lamaze classes, contact Ms. Alexandria Hao in her Multiply page.

Week 15
Schedule amniocentesis and multiple marker screening - Not done -_-

Week 16
Schedule monthly OB visit - Checkup last Oct 7, before we left for our babymoon =)

Week 17
Milestone: First baby kick - Felt baby flutters since Week 14 and I felt baby's first strong kick on Week 18. It was unreal!

Week 18
Pick up some baby books - My sis-in-law lent her baby books 2 months ago. Thanks Rye! =)
Consider using a doula and start interviewing - No doulas or midwives..

Week 19
Research public and private cord blood banking - I don't think we have this in our country, or at least in my city -_-

Week 20
Schedule standard mid-pregnancy ultrasound - Had this last Oct 4 but our sweet baby hid his/her privates from view! Thus, until now, we don't know his/her sex. Til next month then! Other than that minor hiccup, our baby is all normal ^_^
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Week 20 update (Nov 1 - 8, 2009)

How far along? 20 weeks! Or 5 months! Woohoo!

Total weight gain/loss: I gained 1.5kg since my last OB checkup.. Which brings my total weight gain to 6.5-7.5kg in 5 months! My weight is now 51.5kg -- shocking but not all bad, hehe!

Maternity clothes? Still not wearing.. I bought 2 new blouses and 1 dress (pink!!) last Nov 4 though, both non-maternity but loose enough so I can still wear it while pregnant =)

Stretch marks? None!

Sleep: Still good but I'm trying to sleep on my left side (better circulation for baby) and I panic when I wake up lying on my back or right side -_-

Best moment this week: Seeing our sweet baby again last Nov 4! And knowing s/he's growing well =) Currently our baby is 9oz heavy, in breech position. On a sidenote, my placenta is posterior and high-lying. All good! ^_^

Movement: LOTS!! Our baby is quite an acrobat and I'm not exaggerating!

Food cravings: Pansit Molo by Ate Minya (hubby's cousin). My MIL brought several servings to our house last Nov 3 and I've been rationing it to make it last the entire week, hehe =)

Gender: 80% chance of being female! Our baby hid from view during the ultrasound and our OB can't say for sure if baby is male or female. Naughty baby! :p

Labor Signs: None, though I feel my uterus contracting at times. Mostly painless though..

Belly Button in or out? Still in..

What I miss: Sleeping in whatever position without worrying if baby is getting enough blood / nutrients. It's making me paranoid!

What I am looking forward to: Knowing 99% sure the sex of our baby! I badly wanna shop for his/her clothes and baby stuff in blue or pink! Plus Black Friday and Cyber Monday is coming up, lots of discounts!

Weekly Wisdom: SHOP!! You're entitled to it! After all, you need new clothes for your expanding body plus stuff for baby =)

Milestones: Halfway the pregnancy!! And everything is all good, thank you Lord! ^_^

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a look back of the first 5 months

Yep, we're halfway there!! ^_^ Here are the highlights of the first 5 months:

FIRST MONTH

SECOND MONTH
THIRD TO FIFTH MONTHS (click to enlarge!)

Week 19 update (Oct 25 - Nov 1, 2009)

How far along? 19 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: Around 5-6 kilos.. I'll know for sure in 3 days in my monthly OB checkup.

Maternity clothes? Still wearing my mom's clothes and leggings.

Stretch marks? None! Cross fingers I'll never get it =)

Sleep: is GREAT!

Best moment this week: Hubby's birthday last Oct 31! We went to his family home and had an intimate dinner with our 2 families. The food? ALL seafoods! Super yummy! =) My photo above was taken before traveling to hubby's home.

Movement: Plenty! Baby kicks me left and right, up and down my abdomen. Crazy kid!

Food cravings: Seafood and spaghetti! We cooked the latter last Oct 27 and we had the former last Oct 28 (Yellowfin Resto) and 31. BURP!!

Gender: Toss up between boy and girl.. No preference.

Labor Signs: None!

Belly Button in or out? Still in =)

What I miss: Traveling by land long-distance without worrying about how it affects baby -_- This weekend was very travel-heavy as we celebrated hubby's birthday and All Soul's Day. From our home, we went to hubby's family home (90min) on Oct31. The next day, we went back to our home and traveled to my family's ancestral homes (120min), spent the day there and went back the same day to our home. 3 cities in 36 hours, PHEW!

What I am looking forward to: Baby's ultrasound and celebrating the 20th week of our pregnancy next week ^_^

Weekly Wisdom: Don't feel bad that you're getting fat -- at least you have an excuse, you're pregnant after all! =) Gaining 25-35 pounds is just normal as long as you're eating healthy.

Milestones: My relatives seeing lil me with a pregnant belly for the first time =) Also, surviving the travel-heavy and food-gasmic weekend! Super tiring, I was full with food most of the time (which is really uncomfortable with my uterus pushing my stomach), but it was all worth it!

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our baby / my pregnancy wishlists

Please click the pink links below.. ^_^
Our "Babies R Us" Wish List
Our Amazon Baby Registry
[ please enter "Melissa Solito" or "Norbert Elbanbuena" to access the Amazon list, thanks! ]

Sleeper Keeper Total Body Comfort Pregnancy Pillow

Smart idea, sensational results: Take the concept of a pillow, stretch it to an elongated curve, contour it to provide the right kind of support where it is needed, and make it flexible so the user can shape it as necessary. Voila! This pillow does the work of 5 and is great for back and stomach support during pregnancy.

Gabriel Feeding Pad Break-Away

The Gabriel Feeding Pad Break-Away is a 3-in-1 product for nursing, burping or bottle-feeding! The Nursing Veil has finger loopholes to hold veil in place while minimizing infant distractions in public feeding situations, and end flaps that lift for mom-to-baby eye contact. The pad flips over to burp baby on soft fabric or to allow baby to rest comfortably on lap or shoulder. The bottle-feeding feature holds a 2-9 oz. bottle of milk and frees one hand while feeding baby upright.