Thank God for Technology

Paul is currently in Singapore for a work assignment. He left last May 21, a week after Miggy's baptism. We miss him so much! He will be there until the end of June. That's the original plan, but knowing his bosses, there's a big chance that his stay will be extended.

It's a good thing keeping in touch with loved ones is a breeze nowadays. During day time, Paul and I exchange text messages, he uses Chikka and I use my local mobile; he's on roaming so a text message costs only Php 1.00. Cheap-o!

At night, we chat on Skype. In the past, we used YM, but after we tried Skype, we preferred the latter. With Skype, calls are clearer. Here's a snapshot of our recent chat (taken minutes ago):

We are family! :)

Miggy gets excited when he sees his Daddy-o on the screen. Paul talks to Miggy and it's like he understands him! He coos, moves his hands and kicks in response. Hehe I'm so glad that Paul can see Miggy even from miles away. I can see and feel his happiness every time he sees Miggy, it's like all the stress from work and the sadness of being far away just disappear. Miggy is his ultimate stress-buster! And mine, too.

Thank God for technology!

Happy 1st Anniversary!

Today, we celebrate a year of marital bliss. Here's to forever, Dy! Love you and Miggy so much!

Miggy's Baptism: The Invitation

Six more days to go and it'll be Miggy's baptism! Just a few more things to settle and we're good to go. Hehe An item that has been recently marked as done on our list is the invitation. I wanted a simple-looking invitation for Miggy. No heavy artwork. I just wanted two things - the dominant color should be light blue and there should be clouds. I love clouds, cumulus in particular. They soothe the eyes and make you feel relaxed every time you look at them. :)

Going back to the invitation... I absolutely have no Photoshop powers, so I asked the help of my friend and teammate, Toink, a graphic artist. I just sent him the texts and Miggy's photos. He came up with two layouts, one on vertical orientation, the other on horizontal. Here they are:

I actually liked both! Well, after looking at them longer, I thought I liked the horizontal one better. But Nanay and Paul voted for the vertical layout so they won. Haha. Well, it's not as if I don't like the vertical layout. Now that I think about it, it's actually cuter, plus it has two photos of Miggy! We had it printed earlier at SM. We'll give the invites to the guests tomorrow. We only printed a few because for most of my friends, we'll send the invite and map through e-mail. Thank God for technology. Hehe

Happy Mother's Day!

It's the day to celebrate the most important woman in our lives... Our moms! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, most especially to my Nanay dearest!

Nay, You taught me what true love is. It's sacrifice. It's giving. It's unconditional. I love you so much. Words just can't describe how great a mother you are. I love you so much...

This is also my first Mother's day! Hahaha But really, I think I should be the one celebrating for myself (not other people) because I have the most precious gift... Miggy. He brings so much joy into our lives. He's our little ray of sunshine. I love you, my Miggy-o!

I Miss Blogging!

Yikes, haven't posted in weeks! I miss you, Blogger!

Anyway, what have I been up to lately?

Well, I'm already back to work. Went back last April 18. I didn't want to, to be honest! Haha It's just so hard to leave the house knowing I would not be with Miggy for 10-12 hours. Every single day, I would be late because I would delay going out. I would see Miggy and that's it, I'd stay a few more minutes to play with him. Hehe

I've also been busy planning Miggy's baptism. It will be on May 14, Saturday. So far, everything is set. Will just post a more detailed entry on this.

I actually took a leave today to attend to some family-related matters. So, I'm gonna log out now and start my to do's! Hehe

Before I head out, I'd like to share a photo. This is the design of Miggy's giveaway for the guests (ref magnets) on his baptism:

Thanks a bunch to Tekk, my bro Ronald's kumpare, for making this cute layout! I love it! I also love Miggy's picture used in the layout. He's so happy! And that's smile, so genuine. Even his eyes are smiling. :) My baby is so pogi! Hahaha

Ciao!

Miggy at 2 months

Our prince is two months old today! We had a small celebration at home. Nanay cooked penne with carbonara sauce and I bought this cute dedication cake from Red Ribbon. It's simple but very cute, with the sugar confetti outlining the cake. 

Here's a photo of the birthday boy with his cake:

Look, Mommy, I'm carrying my cake! :)

Happy birthday, baby! We love you so much...

Miggy at 1 month

Last March 12, Miggy turned a month old. And he has grown so fast! At one month, he weighed 4 kilos. That means he gained 1.25 kilos since birth. The pediatrician said the average weight gain is 1 kilo/month. Miggy even surpassed it by a quarter! :)

We had a small celebration at home. Nanay cooked one of her specialties, spaghetti. We also bought pizza (yes, Italian mode hehe). And of course, a "birthday" celebration won't be complete without a cake.


Miggy's handa: Hawaiian pizza (Nanay's fave), spaghetti and cake.



Daddy has a gift for Miggy! Hmmm... What's inside? ;)

 

A bouncer! Yipee!

Miggy test-riding his bouncer... Haha

I like it here... Thanks, Daddy! :)

A few more photos of Miggy during his first month:

First "pagbibilad" :)

First trip to SM Marilao... Not to stroll, but to have his first check-up
(his pedia holds clinic at Primehealth, located inside the mall).

Another "pagbibilad" session, this time in his stroller :)

Wide-eyed :)



Smile! (^_^)



First jersey sets... :) Daddy and Mommy are Celtics fans so go Celtics din si Miggy! Haha

Sleeping like an angel...

We just love Miggy so much. He's our little ray of sunshine. Seeing him seems to take away any bad feeling. We are forever grateful to God for giving him to us.

Joaquin Miguel Conquilla Baral

On February 12, 2011, at exactly 10PM, I gave birth to our little bundle of joy, Joaquin Miguel... Or Miggy, as we fondly call him. :)

11 hours of induced labor. Inexplicable pain. Indescribable joy.

Miggy weighed 2.75 kilos at birth and was 52 cms. long. We were not able to take him home with us right away because he was diagnosed with a blood infection, or what is also called ‘sepsis’. He had a very poor suck and when he was fed through a dropper, he vomited every milk intake. A stridor was also initially observed. Thank God, it was ruled out after a laryngeal endoscopy was conducted. He still spent almost two weeks at the hospital’s nursery care unit, for his blood infection medication.

Thank God, he is well now. He seems to be growing so fast, actually. He is such a lively and cheerful boy.

Here are some of Miggy's photos during his first few weeks:

Sleeping at the nursery...

Wakey, wakey...

First smile...

Sleeping again... :)

Wowa's boy! The day he was discharged from the hospital (13 days after birth)...

Welcome home, Miggy! Love, Daddy :)

We thank God for giving us this little angel, who never fails to brighten up our days.

We also thank our family, relatives and friends for all the prayers and well wishes.

Welcome to the world, Miggy! We love you so much. :)

Our Sleeping Angel...

Watching Miggy sleep has become one of my favorite past times. I just love seeing him make faces, from smiles to frowns to "hikbis" while he's sleeping.

I took this photo yesterday:

Miggy sleeping so peacefully...

Ain't he the cutest? :) I just love our little angel so much...

Quick Update :)

I miss blogging! I have so many post back logs. Been busy taking care of Miggy, that's why. And I'm loving it! True, it can get tiring and I almost lose my cool sometimes due to his tantrums -- yes, he already makes "marakulyo", as Nanay calls it, at his very young age. But despite the tiring days and sleepless nights, I just love being a mommy! I particularly like watching him sleep. He makes faces while he's sleeping, so cute! And I also love holding him in my arms, it feels so poignant, I'm like, I must have done something good to deserve this little angel.

He's growing so fast, too! At one month, he weighs 4 kilos. Here's a recent photo of him in his bouncer:

Thanks for my gift, Daddy!

Will be posting more about Miggy soon...

My Boys

Paul was as excited as I was when Miggy finally came home from the hospital, after 13 days of confinement at the nursery care unit.

It was picture taking galore when Miggy got home. Hehe Here are my fave shots of my adorable boys -- yes, even the big one is adorable! Haha

Sarap panoorin matulog ni Miggy

Kunot noo

Gaya gaya si Daddy hehe :)

I love my boys to bits!

Hey, Miggy!

Look who's finally home after spending 13 days at the nursery care unit...

Joaquin Miguel Conquilla Baral... a.k.a. MIGGY!!!

My boys... Sleeping baby and super happy daddy! :)

Will post his story and more pics soon... :)

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.