Oh, Brother! It's a Boy!

I went to see my doctor today for an early prenatal checkup (scheduled this Saturday). I was at the office when I experienced a severe pain at the lower right-hand side of my belly. I had to rush to the hospital to see if I'm doing well and if our little tummy dweller is fine.

The doctor had to do a quick ultrasound to see if there are no internal bleeding. Thank God all's perfectly well.

While she was moving the scanner, of course I had to tell her we hadn't really got a straight answer if our baby's going to be a boy or girl when we had our last ultrasound.

And to our delight and surprise, she showed us what little boys are made of.
Oh, Brother!

It was very unexpected. We had planned a baby girl's name which we plan to keep secret until the baby's out... But since it's not going to be a she - I might as well tell you what was suppose to be "her name" It's Yeemi! We loved the sound of it... Zaiid and Yeemi :) I even got "her" a Tummy Adventure journal - good thing I haven't really started it. Maybe it was instinct and that I didn't really feel like writing my second tummy journey on a set of pinks and flowers! It was just me being crazy for journal collection.

All in all, we thank God BabyManghud's doing well inside me. When we got home, I told my 1.11yo boy he's going to have a baby brother soon. He embraced my tummy and ran to get his new book "Oh, Brother!" brought all the way from Cebu by Momila. He demands a story from me. Although the pain was still there, I was at peace. We lied in bed and I read to him. I can't believe I'm going to have two little boys! Oh, brother I can't wait!

welcome Momila!

Momila arrives in Dubai! It was a perfect timing: Manona's here for her round-2 visit, we're coming back to Cebu together, and...well, it's just that there's no better time than now. Even if it's going to be the peak of Dubai's summer, we'll all have a wonderful time together.

My boy was all-smiles waking up this morning to see her Momila. To see a total of 6 toy cars plus one motorbike toy (not to mention two more books!). It was pure bliss for him. He haven't got any time to act on his shyness around her. After a few hours of warm up, he's all over her.

Welcome to our little home in Dubai, Mommy!

celebrating the man i married

To my first, my last, and one and only boyfriend - the man I married - my best friend. I love you.

Thank you for everything that you are - including some annoying parts because they make me love you more.

Thank you for the "me" I am becoming, you are responsible for that (well, I hope you got no complaints with the results).

Thank you for our family. For keeping us safe and proud for the things that we own and hope for. Thank you for the dreams you weave for us, for creating the best in The Puddings. We love you hon, we lovelovelove you PapaGoy, happy father's day.

how big are you, bellylove? (24weeks)

To get on with the cool real-world guide comparison (showing vegetable or fruit and a coin!) on how far along i am with my bellylove, here's how big it is this week:

24weeks
Bellylove has caught up with an ear of corn in size and gained about 1/4 pound since last week. (Length: almost a foot.)

My tummy's getting heavier of course, but my appetite is not as big as I use to while I had my first baby. Maybe she's going to be petite like her mama but as talented as his papa and as loving as her kuya. Above all these maybes, we just hope for a healthy baby.

Finding that Perfect Nanny

I got a newsletter from babycenter.com that talks about the signs of a bad nanny or babysitter. Finding the "perfect" nanny for your kid is tough. If only we all could be stay-at-home mums while earning as much as we would having day jobs.

My son had 4 nannies before settling to our current yaya. Although our first one was good, we had to let go of the first one due to some health problems. As a new mother, I learned a lot from her as she had 4 kids of her own. The second one was my husband's yaya. Can you believe that? She only lasted for a night and requested she'd like to quit the job because she can't carry my baby anymore. The third came as a shock since she was younger than me and that she just came from a car accident and that her mother forced her to get this job. So I let her go of course. I got another yaya whom I find it funny in terms of her beliefs and the way she does her thing. But she was good although I couldn't keep her long enough because she had a family business to take care of.

At 6months old, my son finally got his Yaya Amy. She had a son of her own too and I can sense that she takes care of my kid by heart and not just because it's her job. I know that Zaiid is getting all the fun, vitamins, and care he need while we're away. Our family is blessed to have her and we're proud to have brought her here in Dubai with us.

In photo: Yaya's yaya-friends from left to right - Yaya Amy (carrying Zaiid), Bing, Ate Dory (carrying Rashid), and Ruby

growing wonders

I prayed for a baby after being married for a year. I wanted to prove to myself I can be a mother despite my extraordinary small figure. I wanted to prove to the world I too can have the right to love another human being who is my own flesh and blood. Was I being selfish? But the heavens were kind to me and gave me more than what I had prayed for. A healthy, kind-hearted, smiling baby boy. That very moment of smelling him for the first time made me complete, made me who I wanted to be. Even if it wasn't perfect - not having my husband on that special day - I am still amazed at how the wonders of life turn out to be perfectly simple, laid out in front of you. Thank you for choosing me, Zaiid.

As we are expecting another bundle of pudding, I pray I can be twice as I had hoped I am to my family. I lovelovelove you Baby Manghud with all that I am. See you soon.

snoring babylove

We went to Zaiid's doctor to complain about his snoring. He snores every now and then but just recently, we noticed that he's having breathing difficulties - as if he's running out of air. He was disturbed and was never comfortable in one position.

This worries us a lot because he may not getting enough rest. I thought that this might be because of his overweight issue, and not something scarier like sleep apnea (God forbid!).

His doctor advised us to get him into a higher sleeping position (2-3 pillows up) and of course lose some weight. Right now he's got 6kilos excess.

We hope he'd shed off those extra weight sooner. It's not going to be an easy job but we will try harder than the last few months.