Baby Blues

It's been almost three weeks since I brought Little J home.

And I have something to share with you . . .this was ME . . .

Image from www.mommastime.com

When I got home from the hospital!

(Okay, I was actually thinking of putting an image of a HEADLESS  chicken, haha!)

I was happy and excited to be back home and enjoy Little J with the whole family.  I was also looking forward to being with the Little Miss again! (whom I missed dearly)

But the first night back home proved to be. . .challenging.  (Ok, stressful!  Haha!)  It wasn't easy.  I was still physically tired, there's the need to breastfeed and the million things I have to do (at least in my mind, haha!) for the kids.  Little J was still adjusting to his new surroundings that he doesn't want to be put down (yes, it was a rough night!).  One of the hardest things I have to deal with was the guilt I feel when I look at our Little Miss.  It breaks my heart that when she runs to Mama and asks to be carried, I couldn't.  Yet she sees me carrying her little brother.  But I think she understands when I explain to her that Mama couldn't carry her because she still has an "ouch-ouch" in her tummy.      

And so the next day, I found myself crying for the most part of the day.  Sometimes, I would just be sitting down and the tears would just roll! It didn't help that the person I would like to be with and who always make me feel better is thousands of miles away (miss you Huney!).

I was just really tired, I was overwhelmed.     

This must be Postpartum!  (I didn't get any during my first pregnancy.)  I prefer to call it "baby blues" though, haha!  It's just that Postpartum sounds dreadful.

I read from Babycenter that during Postpartum:

You may also feel exhausted, unable to sleep, trapped, or anxious. Your appetite may increase or decrease, or you might feel irritable, nervous, worried about being a good mother, or afraid that being a mother will never feel better than it does right now. Rest assured: All these feelings — known as the "baby blues" or "postpartum blues" — are normal during the first couple of weeks after childbirth. In fact, up to 80 percent of new moms experience them.

Yes, I belong to the 80%!

I was in that sappy mood for just a couple of days.  You know what helped?  A good bath and a Big Mac with an ice-cold Coke Zero!  Hahaha!

This is me now. . .

I'm feeling much better, I'm getting my groove. . . Thanks to a loving husband, a supportive family and thoughtful friends.

So goodbye baby blues. . . Hello happy Mommy =)

My Feel Good Stuff

Just like our Little Miss' delivery, I gave birth to Little J by C-Section too.  I'm sure that anyone who will go under the knife would have his/her fears.  I think I was more scared this time around (compared to my first delivery) since I have an idea of how the procedure is going to be. . . what will happen, when it's going to happen. . . and having a mental image of those things didn't help at all!  Haha!

I stayed in the hospital for three days.  Besides the love and utmost concern from my dear Hubby (who may be thousands of miles away but managed to make his presence felt), my family and friends and the excellent care provided by the hospital staff, there are some things which made my stay at the hospital more bearable.

Colorful PJs!   All I can say is, colors just make everything brighter!      

Big THANK YOU to my  little sis for my PJs =)

Make-up - I remember a funny conversation I had with R, a dear friend.  We were talking about how to get that "natural, barely there" make-up look when our guy friend just jumped in and said, "If you want that kind of look, just don't put any make-up at all!"  He can't understand why women buy make up that would make them look not made up, haha!  (Mennnn!  Though come to think of it, he has a point, noh?) 

I am not big on make-up but I have enough stuff in my kit to give me a little color here and there.  After a couple of days of just lying down in the hospital bed, not being able to take a bath, I just want to look good and feel good about myself.  I know I should . . . because I am one happy mom!    

Blusher from Face Shop, Lip gloss from Etude House,
Burt's Bees Lip Balm and GAP Dream Cologne

My caffeine fix - This was probably one of the best tasting coffee I ever had (that is if you didn't have one for 9 months!  Haha!) It didn't matter that it came from a vendo machine, I just want my coffee!!!  It is probably one of the things I'll miss from the hospital, heehee . . .But in all fairness to Nescafe, their coffee actually tasted good and the vendo machine came with a lot of drink choices (you can even adjust the amount of sugar in your coffee)

Cappuccino "ala Vendo" - My 1st cup after a loooong time!

These may be just simple things but they did make me feel better while I was at the hospital. . . these AND a good dose of Epidural!  Haha!

Have a good week ahead!  

Hope you get to do something everyday to make you feel good =)

Almost there . . .

Three more weeks to go before we see our Little Man!  Just like any expecting moms, there are stuff to prepare before the big day comes. . . I've done some of the things I have to do---check things needed for the Baby and the Nursery and I still have some left in my To-do list---My Hospital Bag (MUST.start.packing!) . . .oh and finalize our Little Man's name! (Hubby and I are getting there!)  

I have all of these in my list and . . . "more". . . 

Hot Oil Treatment - check

AND THREADING! - check

Foot Spa and Pedicure -check, check

My oh so chubby fingers! Haha!

No color for me (for now) . . .just playing around with these nice
summery colors =)   Which color do you like best?

And after a couple of hours of pampering. . . 

In an attempt to hide my oh so chubby self,
I used a small picture, teehee

I'm ready!

And this is how I roll. . . Haha!

Can't wait to meet you Little J!  See you sooonnn  =)

My Cup of Joe

One of the hardest things I have to deal with through both of my pregnancies was (Nah, NOT the morning sickness because I didn't have any) give up coffeeee!!!!  It  is pure torture when all you can do is just smell that intoxicating aroma of coffee and drink water!  Haha!

Just a few more weeks and it's going to be bliss for me . . .

Photo from www.illy.com

Dear Mr. Coffee, 

I miss you so much . . .I've been dreaming about you. . .I can't wait to get hold of you. . . .and I'll make sure Ms. Biscotti will be there to join us too.

I'll see you soon. . . (and I'll definitely drink to that!)

Sincerely,
Me

Temptation Island

I know. . . it's another food post!  I think you'll be seeing lots of food posts now that I'm pregnant!  Haha!

I've mentioned in an earlier post that I was put in a low salt, low fat diet. . . .when I'm at home, these diet  restrictions can be managed easily.

But this is where the hard part comes in. . . imagine having all these diet restrictions, then you get invited for dinner and you are served with food like this!

Sisig!!! 

Sisig is one of our province's (Pampanga) food specialty.  It is actually made from pig's head, liver and meat (which were boiled or grilled then chopped) and then seasoned with vinegar, soy sauce, onions and chillies.  Anthony Bourdain described sisig as "a divine mosaic of pig parts, chopped and served sizzling and crisp on one side on a screaming hot platter" (as I've read in Casa Veneracion's food blog). 

Yes, you try to reason out and find something that would give you a free pass like . . .

"Hey, there's actually more meat than pork fat in here!"
(Which makes it okay for me to eat then)

Haha!

So I thought hard about the momentary bliss brought by this sinful (and heavenly!) sisig . . . and being the good patient that I am (ahem!) . . . I just settled for . . . 

The Roast Beef!  heehee

Hey, they said I can eat lean meat! Just saying. . . 

And you know what's the hardest part?  Having to drink water (bleh!) while eating all these glorious food! (Ms. Ice-cold Coke Light, where were you when I needed you?  Haha!)  

I told you I've been pretty good! 

Photo source

Note: For the record, I just had a taste of the sisig. . .  =P

Writing this post is making me hungry. . . I think I'll just sleep over it! Haha!

Goodnight everyone . . .  

Something Fishy

Photo Source

The first time I got pregnant, I read up on everything about Pregnancy, what to expect, the dos and don'ts, what to eat, what NOT to eat . . . . until Zola's Dad told me that if I follow everything I read, I 'll end up eating nothing! Haha!

But one of the things I took note of was to be careful with eating fish since some of them have a high mercurial content.  It is dangerous for a pregnant woman to be exposed to Mercury because this liquid metal can damage the developing baby's nervous system and can also cause brain damage (scaarrryyy right?)

So now that I'm pregnant (again), I googled (again!) and found a list from the American Pregnancy Association website.

Here's the list of fish (and shellfish) with the highest and lowest mercurial content:

Highest Mercury

• Marlin
• Orange roughy
• Tilefish
• Swordfish
• Shark
• Mackerel (King)
• Tuna (Big Eye, Ahi) - Shame. . . I love Tuna!

High Mercury (No more than three 6oz servings per month)

• Sea Bass (Chilean) - Sea Bass!!!! Noooooo. . . *sad face here*
• Blue Fish
• Grouper
• Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
• Tuna (Canned, White Albacore)
• Tuna (Yellowfin)

Lowest Mercury  (Two 6oz servings per week)

• Anchovies
• Butterfish
• Catfish
• Clam
• Crab (Domestic)
• Crayfish/Crawfish
• Croacker
• Flounder
• Haddock
• Hake
• Herring
• Mackerel (N Atlantic, Chub)
• Mullet
• Oysters
• Perch (Ocean)
• Plaice
• Salmon (Canned, Fresh)
• Sardines
• Scallops
• Shad (American)
• Shrimps
• Sole
• Squid
• Tilapia
• Trout
• Whitefish
• Whiting

Okay, I'm only familiar with half of what is in this list (Haha!) but it's okay. . .nice to know that I can eat tilapia, salmon, shrimps, squid, sole and SCALLOPS!!!  (If I can't have Sea Bass, Scallops would be perfectly fine!)  

I'm a happy camper!  =)

Going Healthy

Pregnancy has changed me. . . and my eating habits!  I went to the grocery to get some "healthy stuff" because I couldn't find anything healthy to nibble on when my hunger pangs set in.  The trip to the grocery (a happy place of mine!) was quicker than usual. . .because i skipped a lot of aisles (read the good and sinful stuff, Haha!)  

Goodbye to the colorful world (for now, heehee) of junk food, processed food and caffeinated drinks . . .and everything I should not be eating now that I'm pregnant. . . 

and say Hello to. . . .

The Healthy stuff

I was put in a low salt, low fat diet . . .thanks to my high-normal blood pressure *sigh*   

So I got some:

1) Fruits and cucumbers (vegetables sticks anyone?)

2) Wheat crackers (I prefer the Garden Brand over Hwa Tai---they don't taste like cardboard)

3) Chocolate soy milk (I don't drink milk but milk is important in my diet so I settled for soy milk.  The only brand I like and drink . . . Silk brand for its chocolatey goodness!)

4) Cereals (Nestle's Banana-Nut cluster remains a fave)

5)  Brown rice (I've had other brands before but thought of trying Harvester's . . . just because it is endorsed by Chef Laudico, hahaha!  I just find him nice, heehee =)

6)  Wheat pasta (I can't . .  and won't give up pasta. . .ever!) 

Looking at this list. . . all I can say is . . .I am a changed woman, hahaha! 

Have a nice week ahead! =)

Plus ONE!

I blogged about being in a bad mood and not being able to take any caffeine a couple of weeks ago and I promised that I would share with you why. . .

I am 7 weeks pregnant!

I actually took the pregnancy test around the last week of July.  Since it was my Mom's birthday, I thought it would be nice to surprise her with the good news!  I've put the test kit in a box and when she opened it, I think it took a few seconds before she realized what it meant!  It was priceless to see how delighted she was.  And you know what she told me. . . "Kaya pala masungit ka!" (That's why you're cranky!) 

Hahaha!  

I thought of waiting until my 7th week (a good time to hear the baby's heartbeat) before I share this wonderful news with everyone.  I went for an ultra sound a few days ago and I'm so happy to hear how strong our bunso's ("bunso" means youngest child in English) heartbeat was.

Did Zola's Dad and I plan on having a baby?  Not really. . . the topic comes up once in a while but we don't  seriously talk about it.  It's true what they say, sometimes things happen when you least expect it.  We are thankful and blessed that we were given another blessing in the family.  There is so much love to give and to go around =)

When I was at the mall, I dropped by Booksale and was browsing randomly when I saw this book . . .

The timing couldn't have been more perfect!

I started reading the book to the Little One and though she may not fully understand the story yet, I know that she can feel that Mommy is going to have a baby.  It is so nice to see her kiss my tummy when I ask her "Where is Mommy's baby?"  

There is a page in the book which shows a family  . . . it could well have been our family =)

Mama, Papa, Ate and Baby =)

A perfect illustration of what's to come . . .in 33 weeks! =)

And the countdown has begun. . . .