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.

little bookworm

Our little boy loves books - I think he got that from me. He's got a total of 27 favorite books on his shelf. We needed to get him new books after he has become too familiar with his old books that he tore them all out of boredom. And, we need new books to bring along on our plane ride back to Cebu next month.

We all had a great time at Borders, especially my son who was so happy with the trip to the bookstore. I got him "I was So Mad" his all-time favorite Little Critter, "What Do You Love", and Baby Einstein's "See and Spy Shapes".

He doesn't want to leave the place anymore even if I showed him that we already bought his new books.

how big are you, bellylove? (23 weeks)

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:

23weeks
Bellylove weighs about as much as a large mango -- just over a pound. (Length: more than 11 inches.)

What's in tune with this whole comparison is that I just ate, finally, the manggang hilaw I have been craving for. Asluuuum kaayo yum! It was given by yaya's boyfriend - funny, it seemed I enjoyed more than his girlfriend hahah!

View the past weeks' comparison development.

While the littlest of the puddings is at 23 weeks, the BabyKuya is now 23months old.

oversized

My boy before bedtime wearing my jacket looking like a rockstar.