My Little Fairy Princess and My Little Wicked Witch

Last Sunday, my daughters were given a chance to join the Halloween Party in our subdivision. Although I was a little hesitant at first because I don't have ready costumes for my two girls, I've decided to let them join because I want them to socialize with the other kids in our new neighborhood. The two were so excited; it was actually their first time to join a Halloween Costume Party. For Gab, I've chosen a fairy princess costume while for Yana, it was a wicked witch one. Yana was so unhappy about it because she wanted to be a fairy princess too. Unfortunately, there was only one piece left, so no choice indeed.

Anyway, here's a photo of Baby Gab as a fairy princess.

I'm So Glad to be Back!

After two months of working from home and one month from being on maternity leave, I'm finally back to work here at the office. I so missed my desk and my PC that I hardly noticed that it's almost 4pm. Whew! I'm stressed. But I'm glad to be back. The 2-month bedrest and work-from-home and the 1-month maternity leave were no fun at all. So, I'm so so happy that I'm back to my normal life again.

I still have lots of stuff to tell you, but then I have to bid bye-bye for now. See you again tomorrow!

Baby Gihan Turns 1 Month Old

Yup, he's one month old now. See how time flies. It was just like yesterday when I was still in labor and tried so hard to push him out of me. And guess what? He now weighs 3.6 kilos, 1.3 kilos more from his birth weight of 2.3 kilos. Of course, we're all so happy about this progress, myself particularly. He doesn't look premature anymore and he's no longer suffering from UTI.

Really I'm so thankful that in spite of giving birth early, me and my baby boy were able to manage well. See, I'm even planning to go back to work by Tuesday, just a month of maternity leave at that.

Anyway, let me share to you my baby's pics at 1 month.

I Survived...We Survived Part I

This post is all about my labor and giving birth experience to the new baby in between. Why it's entitled "I Survived..We Survived"? You'll find out as you read along.

September 24, 2009 - It was a typical day, supposedly. I was still on bedrest but working from home at the same time. The night after, I was already complaining that I was feeling different, on which as if I was on labor. I even texted my friend Lyn about it. My stomach was contracting but the pain was not at close intervals so I thought it was false labor again. We didn't have water and electricity during that day, so that really stressed me out. In the afternoon, again I started feeling contractions. But I ignored them. When the water went back, I immediately told Gab that we will take a bath together. But even before I reached the bathroom, I felt a sudden gush of wetness. At first, I thought it was my water bag. But it wasn't. It was blood and it was flowing through my legs.

I tried so hard not to panic. But I'd admit, I was so scared. Scared about the thought that it was time, that baby was only 36weeks, and that it was just me, the nanny, and the two kids here. I still managed to take a bath and was thinking hard how to go about everything - the kids, me, the nanny, the finances, yet the thought of the impending labor pain came last. After taking a bath, first things first - I called my neighbor who has a tricycle to bring me to the hospital. But before we proceed, I first informed my friends Lyn and Nays and my boss Mel that I'll be giving birth in hours time, and then left the two kids to our very kind neighbor.

At the hospital, the typical procedure was done. Filled up the necessary forms and paid a deposit. After which, the nurse instructed me to lie down so she can conduct an internal exam. I was already 2 cm dilated. A few minutes later, my OB - Dra. Mia Almeda of Binan Doctors Hospital, arrived and conducted another IE. Just the same, it was 2cm; but since I was already bleeding heavily, she told me that I'd be admitted already.

Excitement. Fear. Anxiety. Relief. I felt mixed emotions when the nurse walked me through the labor room. Excited because in just hours time, I'll be seeing my baby already. Scared because my baby hasn't reached full term yet. Anxious because my two girls were left at the care of my neighbor. And relieved because the time has finally come. But in spite of these mixed feelings, all in all, I was ready - ready to go through the labor pain and ready to push the baby out.

I Need Help with Used Cars

With the newest addition to the family, I realized that having our own car is not anymore a luxury but more of a necessity. Why? Because with the distance of our home from major establishments and with the number of kids that we have now, not to mention the two new house help that will be arriving soon, all the more that we need a car to make commuting more convenient for us. So now I'm looking at some used cars to buy. Actually, last year, Daddy and I already reserved one. But then after a month, we changed our mind and decided to refund our money. So, I'm back to zero when it comes to searching for used cars. If only I'm in the UK, everything would be easier for me. There are lots of car portals that allow anyone to search and compare prices of new and used cars. Really helpful especially for first time buyers like me.

Can't Breast Feed

It's so frustrating that I can't breast feed my newborn baby. I tried since Sunday when we got home, but the baby just won't latch on my breast. The reason: because of my flat and inverted nipple. Aaarrgghh. It's so frustrating. I already made a research to find a remedy but it didn't work for me. So, my last resort is to pump my milk using a breast pump. Quite painful, but it's enough to give me relief and for baby to be able to get even a small amount of breast milk.

As of now, I don't have a choice but to do infant formula feeding. Costly, I know. But what can I do. I can't leave baby feeling hungry just because I can't breastfeed. I really envy those who can breastfeed their young. Because after all, breastmilk is still best for babies.

New Baby, New Site

Prior to giving birth, I already created a new site for the new baby in between entitled Gerby's Humble Beginnings. But then at the last minute, Daddy decided to change baby's name from Gerby to Gihan Raphael Paulo. So, I also thought it would be best to replace the title of the site or create a whole new site for our new bundle of joy. Perhaps, we can call it Gihan's Journey. And to make the site more personalized, I'm thinking about getting its own domain name and web site hosting service.

Getting a domain name for Gihan's site is an easier task since I've already acquired my own domain name in the past. But for web hosting, it's quite new to me since the last time I had my web site hosted, I asked my colleague to do it for me. So, now I'm thinking what could be the best web site hosting provider to get. I've already asked a couple of friends about it and they told me to check on WebHostingGeek for some web hosting reviews.

After doing a short reading, I found out that WebHostingGeek is the best guide to help me find the right web hosting for my new site. It provides reviews of the top web hosting providers - according to their features, rates, and others. It sure helps me a lot to compare the options available and arrive at a decision. Now, I already have a web host in mind. And it's good to know that I can very much do something to reduce the cost of web hosting after reading the site's blog.

So, in a couple of days, I'm off to creating my Baby Gihan's site. And with WebHostingGeek's help, I'm sure, I'll be off to a good start.