Guess what's coming to SM City Marilao?

Ok, just taking a little segue from my preggy/Miggy updates...

So, do you know the answer?

It's... (drum roll please, hehe)

DAIRY QUEEN!

DQ is coming to our town! It will be across Kenny Rogers and in front of Hypermart's entrance

Yes, Marilenyos, Bulakenyos! DQ is coming to SM City Marilao! Yehey! Who doesn't love DQ? Naynay and I were strolling in SM earlier when I saw this and my eyes just lit up. I was so happy I took a photo at once and posted it on my FB, Twitter and Plurk accounts. Haha Excited much?

Soon, we can have our fix of blizzard, moolatte and other yummy, cool desserts as often as we like. Sakto sa padating na summer. :) I love DQ!

Miggy Update

Went to my ob-gyne today and had an IE. I'm now at 2 cm (from 1 cm last Saturday). At least we are making progress. :) She said if I don't go into labor until Saturday (Feb. 12), I would have to be admitted in the hospital and induced. Having the cervix open for a long time is not good as it becomes exposed and susceptible to infection. We are praying that I will go into labor by Saturday... Yesterday, I felt a bit worried, what if my cervix won't fully dilate? I found out that there are cases wherein the cervix doesn't dilate to the required 10 cm, as with the case of one of our HR managers, ROJ. Hers only dilated to 3 cm, so she delivered through c-section. In some, the cervix doesn't dilate at all, as with my bestfriend, Ese. She was induced (for labor to start) but was not responsive, cervix dilation did not happen, hence, c-section delivery.

Paul, Naynay and I are just continuing to pray and hope that I will have a normal delivery. I'm also thinking about my kuhmareng Marge's case. Before she gave birth, she was 1 cm for one week, then she went 3 cm and that's when labor started. She gave birth to her baby boy Bach through normal delivery. And boy, was he big, he was around 8 lbs! Idol ko nga yang si Marge, eh! Haha She's petite but she was able to endure it. Imagine, 8 lbs!

Anyway, so after my check up, Naynay and I went straight to SM, had lunch and did a lot of walking. We went home late afternoon already, then I walked and walked some more inside our apartment's compound. Good thing I could still access our wifi within the compound, so I wasn't that bored while walking back and forth in the area. :)

Hay, we're almost there, Miggy. We're almost there. I can't wait to see you and hold you. Your daddy is so excited, too! More excited than I am, actually. See you very, very soon, anak.

Miggy's 3D pic while in my tummy... He looks like his daddy!
I'm so excited! Soon, hindi na ako sa picture lang titingin. :)

Planning for Miggy's Baptism

Miggy hasn't come out yet but I'm already starting to plan for his baptism. Haha No, I'm not uber excited, it's actually not too early to plan because we want him to be baptized when he's around 2-3 months. So, that will be some time in April or May, not so very far, considering how time flies!

Anyway, our first option for the food is our wedding caterer, Ms. Leda of L. de Vera Catering, based in Sta. Maria, Bulacan. We were very much satisfied with their service during our wedding reception, that's why we are not having second thoughts on getting them for our next occasion. Our second option is to avail of the baptismal package of Max's. However, we're not very keen on getting this because of the venue... We find the function area of Max's SM Marilao branch too small to hold 100 people (our estimated  number of guests).

So, before I ramble away, I just wanted to share some photos from a supplier I'm eyeing - LoveLots. It's a supplier for cakes, cupcakes and other baked pastries. It's based in Manila, but I found out they're baking their stuff in Malolos, Bulacan (go, Bulakenyos!).

Check out these samples of their baptismal cakes and baby cupcakes, so cute!!! I want these for Miggy's baptism!

Baby with Mommy and Daddy

Hiding under the blanket...

Baby with teddy bear

The topper is edible!

And now, for the cupcakes...

Sitting baby

Sleeping baby

Cute hands

Babies!!!

They also have boxed cupcakes, great for giveaways! I'm thinking of having these as tokens for Miggy's ninongs and ninangs. :)

Baby under the blanket

  

Sitting baby

Aren't they cute? Will be sending them an e-mail to inquire about costs and arrange for a cake/cupcake tasting (which will happen after I give birth, of course). I can't wait!

Photo credits: All photos are taken from Lovelots' Facebook page

All Set for "D" Day

Yup, Miggy and I are all set for "D" day! Delivery day, that is.

All our bags are packed, we're ready to go...


Miggy's bag (blue), my bag (black), clearbook of all maternity & baby-related docs,
baby book and sanitary kit

Miggy's bag contains a baby head pillow, the clothes he'll wear after delivery (I put these in a zip lock plastic bag), extra/changing clothes including receiving blankets, additional binders, mittens, booties, bonnets and wash cloth (I put these in a separate zippered plastic bag as well) and newborn diapers -- we didn't buy many as we still don't know which brand will be "hiyang" for Miggy. We just bought two small packs - one pack each of Huggies and EQ Dry. We wanted to try Pampers but unfortunately, the stores/groceries in our area didn't have stocks, the smallest size they have is small, which is still large for a newborn.
 

Contents of Miggy's bag

Aside from our clothes and sanitary kit, I also packed all maternity & baby-related documents and placed them in a clearbook (got the idea from legendarymommy.com). It contains my pregnancy book, check up notes, prescriptions, ultrasound results/reports, medical certificates and other important documents such as PhilHealth MDR, SSS MAT-1, our marriage certificate, etc.
 

Clearbook of docs plus Miggy's baby book

Miggy's ultrasound reports



Our marriage certificate

 

I also put a photo of Miggy in one of the clearbook pages
so I can take a look at it while I'm in labor, for inspiration/strength. Hehe :)


And of course, how can I forget my Sto. Niňo and rosary. I've had my Sto. Niňo since 1996, it was a gift from Naynay. I always bring it with me every time I travel. The rosary (blessed by the Pope) was given to me by my brother, Bong.

So there, we're all set. We're just patiently waiting for labor to kick in and off we'll go to the hospital. The hospital I'll give birth in is just a stone's throw away from our house, as in we could just walk (think Times Plaza to Manila Doctor's) to get there. :)

But I think we won't be waiting too long. We had a check-up yesterday and based on the IE, my cervix has dilated to 1 cm already. 9 more cms to go! I haven't felt any contractions yet so I was cleared by my ob-gyne to go home and relax, do some more walking (but just inside the house, no mall trips, don't use public toilets to avoid infection). If I won't go into labor today, I'll see her tomorrow for another IE to see how the dilation is progressing. I need to give birth not later than Saturday (February 12)  because the longer the cervix remains open, the more susceptible it is (and the baby, of course) to infection.

I'm still half excited, half nervous... We're just continuing to pray for a safe delivery.

Amici's Chorizo e Spinaci Pizza

Just a segue from the baby anticipation. Haha I love this pizza so much, I'm giving it a post of its own. :) Presenting, Amici's Chorizo e Spinaci pizza -- spanish chorizo plus spinach in white sauce...

Delicious but not overwhelming. I didn't like spinach that much before but after tasting this, man, I could eat spinach everyday! Hehe Oh, I just love pizza! I love Italian food! :)

Any Time Soon...

Yay! Miggy might be coming out in a few days, a week or two (at the latest)! Oh, how time flies! Last Saturday, my ob-gyne did an IE on me and found out that my cervix started dilating already. Whoa! That's why she advised me not to go to work anymore. So here I am, starting my maternity leave earlier. I'm due on the 18th, and I was planning to report for work until the 11th. But of course, I couldn't risk having an early labor while in the city, 1.5 hours away from my hometown, where my birthing hospital and ob-gyne are based.

I'm filled with excitement and anxiety at the same time. Thoughts keep running in my mind... Go for normal delivery! Epidural or saddle block anesthesia? Can I handle labor pain? How long will my labor period last? WIll I be able to push hard enough for Miggy to come out? Hay... I keep praying that we will both be safe during and after the delivery.

On a lighter note, I've been a busy mom-to-be during the past week. Running errands, attending to maternity-related requirements for HR, baby shower with friends, etc. Last Friday, I went to SSS East Avenue branch to apply for an updated SSS ID, which is one of the requirements for the maternity reimbursement. Thank God, I'm pregnant, because I got to be in the priority lane! I was done in less than an hour. :) Naynay was with me, and from SSS, we headed straight to SM Megamall to have lunch and visit the Grand Baby Company Fair, which was held at the Megatrade Halls. It was a shopping haven for mom-to-be's and mommies alike. So many discounts! And the freebies, I love them! You'll get a swag bag full of free baby items just by purchasing P1,000 worth of items (single receipt). I was so happy with the freebies I got. :) I'll post a separate entry on that trip. For now, here's a sneak peek at the freebies I got from the fair:

Swag bag contents

Freebies from CordLife

These are all yours, Miggy. :) See you in a week or two! Love you!

Photo credits: Moi. :) Sorry for the low res shots, my iPhone's camera is just 2MP. Perhaps it's time to get an iPhone 4! Haha Just kidding, need to spend money more wisely now that the family's growing. :)