Braxton Hicks contractions - going stronger!

They usually call it a dress rehearsal! I think my uterus is now preparing me for the big day. I've been noticing that my contractions are getting more frequent and intense! I'm feeling the tightening of my uterus at least 4 times a day now! I find it hard sometimes because aside from the Braxton Hicks, I also get these lower back to nape spasms  right after each contractions. 

Oh my, I hope our baby waits for 3 more weeks! I'm now scheduled to be confined by Feb. 9 and then C-Section on Feb. 10 at 7:30AM! I'm so nervous and excited at the same time! We pray that everything goes well, that the baby will want come out on time and may he be healthy and normal! 

On Pregnancy-Related Superstitious Beliefs

Pregnant mommies, what do you feel when you receive unsolicited superstitious beliefs during pregnancy? Don’t get me wrong, I admit I’m not an expert on this pregnancy thing and I really appreciate other people giving me ideas on how things are going to be but sometimes you get tips or comments that are just senseless! Like what you eat in your first trimester will affect how your baby will look like, so you have to avoid eating dark fruits if you don’t want your baby to have dark skin. My yaya even told me that because I eat a lot of pineapples, my baby’s gonna cry a lot!

Here are more examples:

Eat limes so your baby will have smoother and rosy cheeks.

Don’t drink ice water or the baby will grow bigger.

Don’t take pictures to avoid radiation.

Always carry a garlic to avoid  bad spirits.

Always wear red. (I forgot why.)

Always watch feel-good movies and never watch stressful ones.

Talk to your baby so you’ll have an easy labor.

Don’t drive or you’ll have cord-knots!

If your tummy is pointed you’ll have a boy, if it’s round it’ll be a girl.

No sex for 6 months after a C-Section. – definitely/must-be a superstitious belief and this we’ll find out soon! Ha ha ha!

I don't believe in superstitious beliefs but yes, I did try to follow some of them. I’ve been very hopeful about getting pregnant so when others told me things that might help or avoid the risks of losing it, I obeyed-  but to a certain point of time only. Like when some people said that I should not announce my pregnancy to everyone yet (Facebook or something) during the first trimester, I tried to keep it for a while but then I was so eager to share my very good news to my friends that I announced it after my first gender ultrasound! Some people already knew about it but the things is, it felt really good to have so many people praying for your safe pregnancy. After all, we could use a lot of prayers and well wishes from our friends and relatives! I call them GOOD VIBES! I also thought that if things didn’t work-out in this pregnancy, why would I be ashamed of telling people about it, it’s not gonna be my fault, right? Thank God I’m still pregnant now!

The most important thing for me is to trust in the Lord. I was pessimistic about my pregnancy before, mainly because I don’t want to expect a lot and be disappointed after. When you experience miscarriage, you feel scared the second time around. There were things I thought I would or wouldn’t do. I was just hopeful, taking everything one day at a time. So I prayed a lot… really prayed my heart out every single day. I announced my pregnancy in FB, took a lot of pictures, ate everything I want, went to different places, watched all the movies I want, drive everyday and etc., because for me – “If it’s meant to be, it will be.”. Nash would always reassure me that God gave us a chance to be a wonderful parents, and no amount of superstitious beliefs can take that gift away from us. All we can do is to pray for the best.

I think it only takes 1 experience of delivering a baby to be considered an “expert” in pregnancy. There’s just too much to learn on your first. You ask a lot of people, you read books, you research on almost everything because the whole thing is new to you. Then on your second baby, you know almost everything especially on what to expect! I think that’s also the reason why mothers give their unsolicited advises. Maybe next time it’ll be my turn to share tips or whatnot! The first on my list would be: "Don't be stressed out about all the superstitious beliefs you hear, just ask your doctor and enjoy your pregnancy!"

On My Nesting Stage

I've been physically tired lately. I know I can't walk too much anymore, but since it was the holiday season - I was driving a lot, visiting families and friends, strolling malls and doing my final shopping for hours and hours! One time, I even borrowed my grandmother's wheelchair just to be able to shop non-stop! But even though I’ve been worn-out physically, my mind won’t rest at all. All I want to do now is to prepare for THE BIG DAY! Since I already know that my delivery will be on February 8, I want to be fully ready with everything. Especially when baby decides to come out earlier than expected. My mind is never exhausted thinking if there are other things I must prepare by now and I just knew yesterday (from my Aunt) that it's called the "Nesting Phase" of pregnancy! Wow! I'm amazed how every experience is labeled in pregnancy! I thought I was just having my normal OCD attacks!

We had a first run of baby shopping at Baby Company - Power Plant Mall a few months ago. With the help of their baby checklist we were able to identify the things we need the most, the things we can buy a little later after the baby is born and the things most people will give as gifts. Then I waited for all my baby shower, birthday and Christmas parties, to be over so I can open all the gifts and cross out some of the remaining items from our baby checklist. Wise! We were able to avoid buying too much items. Then, since we have a gift registry at SM Makati, we were entitled for a 10% discount on all regular priced stuff at SM! That’s a good deal we wanted to take advantage with, so we had our final baby shopping completed at SM Department Store before the expiration of our gift registry. Check out the “Checklist” tab for my personal Baby Shopping Checklist!

Baby Shopping = Done.

Next important thing I did was to gather all documents I will be needing during and after the delivery especially for my Maternity Benefit Claim: PhilHealth, SSS, Medicard and Company requirements. I have all the forms and IDs now and I also filed a Maternity Leave at work on the dates of my absence to avoid  inconvenience with my pay and any other deliverables at work. Check out the “Checklist” tab for my personal Documents Checklist!

Documents = Done.

I already packed my hospital bag including the necessary baby stuff! They are now inside the car! Check out the “Checklist” tab for my personal Hospital Bag Checklist!

Hospital Bag = Done.

Then I found myself finally fixing the nursery room! Yey! Thanks to my loving brother for buying us a crib. It’s a Cuddle Bug wooden crib convertible to a toddler bed for kids up to 5 years of age. I also bought RoomMates Decal in amazon.com to have some designs on the walls. They actually have them in Rustan’s for around P4,000 -P5,000 and they are reusable! Brother-in-law also bought the crib bedding set! I have organized the baby’s clothes, linens, toys, books, toiletries, diapers, accessories, etc. etc. Everything is now on its place!

Nursery Room = Almost Done.

I find my “Nesting Phase” very very therapeutic. I love organizing stuff and I loved it even more because I’m preparing for our first born son! I’ll post a final picture of the nursery room when we are “almost there”!