SweetSimpleJoys

It’s never too early to prepare. So when my 7th month rolled in, I decided to have a few trips to the mall, often with D, sometimes with my mother, to buy baby’s stuff. But before heading to the mall, I compiled a monster list of things that most babies use and trimmed it down to the essentials.

Most first time moms tend to overcompensate for their baby’s needs and end up buying things that they won’t be able to use simply because they have too much of everything. But I wanted to be practical and planned to buy only the things that our baby will use for the first month or so. I figured that if I need more of a particular item, or if baby will need something that we don’t have, I can easily go to a nearby mall and buy, or ask someone to do it for me (in my case, it’s probably going to be D). This way, we can be sure that the things we purchase will actually be used by our baby and therefore, avoid overbuying stuff.

So I remove from the list the items that serve the same purpose as another item, items that are nice-to-haves but not really necessary and items that our baby won’t need for the next 1-3 months.

And these are what we ended up buying:

• 9 shirts (3 sleeveless, 3 short-sleeved and 3 long-sleeved)*
• 2 pairs of pajamas*
• 2 onesies*
• 1 frog suit*
• 9 pairs of mittens
• 3 pairs of socks* (rather than booties because they say booties tend to fall off easily)
• 2 bonnets*
• 3 bibs
• 2 dozens of gauze clothes (I need a lot because I want to put baby on cloth diapers as soon as he stops excreting meconium)
• 3 pairs of nappy clamps
• 4 hooded receiving blankets (2 plain and 2 towel fabric)
• 8 pcs of wash clothes
• 3 pcs of burp pads
• 2 sets of comforter with bolster pillows (1 for use on the bed and another for the crib)
• 24 pcs newborn disposable diapers (good for the first few days while baby is still pooping meconium)
• 2 pcs 4-oz. feeding bottles (only 2 because I plan to breastfeed)
• 1 bottle cleaner
• 1 changing rubber mat
• 1 baby bath cradle
• grooming kit and toiletries which includes nail clipper, comb and hair brush, tongue cleaner, baby powder and powder puff, warming oil and regular baby oil, baby wash, baby wipes, alcohol, cotton
• baby clothes powder detergent
• lots of plastic storage boxes

*0 to 3 months size

I still have a few things that I need to buy, but I don’t think they’re as urgent as the ones above:

• bottle sterilizer
• breast pump
• cloth diaper system (sized diaper covers, fleece fabric as liners, hybrid cloth diapers)
• nasal aspirator
• medicine dropper/spoon

While these are hand-me-downs from my 3-yr. old nephew that we don’t have to buy anymore:

• baby bath tub
• crib/playpen
• stroller

Hospital Bag

A lot of moms advise to have the hospital bag ready as early as the 8th month. I started packing mine a week or two before I entered my 9th month. My OB said that in the hospital where I will give birth, baby normally stays in the room with the mother after she gives birth, provided that birth is via normal delivery and baby has no complications that will require him to be at the NICU. Unlike staying in the nursery where most baby’s stuff are provided for, room-in means we have to bring everything that my baby will need during our stay in the hospital.

So what are the items that went inside the hospital bag? Well, like what I said, we need pretty much everything on my list so I placed a few of each items:

• 3 long-sleeved shirts and 1 “borrowed” short-sleeved shirt (something about my mom’s superstition)
• 2 pairs of pajamas
• 1 frog suit (going-home outfit)
• 6 pairs of mittens
• 3 pairs of socks
• 2 bonnets
• 4 pcs of gauze cloth
• 4 hooded receiving blankets (2 plain and 2 towel fabric)
• 8 pcs of wash clothes
• 3 pcs of burp pads
• 1 set of comforter with bolster pillows (for use on the bed and in the car)
• 24 pcs newborn disposable diapers
• 1 changing rubber mat
• toiletries which includes baby powder, warming oil, baby wash, baby wipes, alcohol, cotton

I also placed and segregated baby’s clothes inside resealable plastics, to keep them clean and the bag organized. I brought more plastics so clean clothes won’t mingle with used and soiled ones.

Likewise, baby’s hospital bag contains other things that are equally important — the documents. Here’s what we’re bringing:

• Photocopy of marriage certificate
• CF1 and CF2 forms, MDR and ID from Philhealth (I think you can also secure CF1 and CF2 forms from the hospital)
• MAT2 form and ID from SSS
• My OB’s admitting orders
• Baby book and other pertinent medical records (such ultrasound and lab results, etc)
• Mock birth certificate (You know how some hospital personnel would mess up spellings and info, or how in the middle of a painful labor, a nurse would ask you to fill-out your baby’s birth certificate? One mom smartly suggested to prepare a mock birth certificate that you can just hand over to the nurse, to your husband or to whoever is tasked to get these information. You can even pattern it after your own birth certificate to make sure that all possible questions are covered. It’s also better to have it printed out than handwritten to ensure legibility and avoid wrong spellings.)

I am now on my 9th month or exactly 37th week of pregnancy.

At 37 weeks, my baby is considered full-term already and should he wants to come out anytime now, he can without us worrying about a premature birth. For the last two months, I’ve had frequent contractions characterized by abdominal and lower back pains, pressure in the pelvic and cramps that I got scared and thought I was going into preterm labor. But my OB said that unless these contractions come at regular intervals, like every 7-8 minutes, they are still just Braxton Hicks. So I kept my cellphone near me always and timed my contractions. To my relief, I wasn’t able to establish a regular pattern. Sometimes they came 5 minutes apart, other times 10 minutes or more, but nothing regular.

One thing that’s evident though is that by the 8th month, my belly has grown a lot  such that during my prenatal checkup, my OB was surprised at how big baby has grown. I said I didn’t do or eat anything differently. Well, maybe I lied a bit. I may have indulged in some sweets — like ice cream, cakes, pastries, and juice drinks — a little more than usual. Couldn’t help but give in to a few cravings, especially when we celebrated 3 birthdays in the family last month (my mom’s, my nephew’s and mine). And if you’re taking iron supplements thrice a day and calcium tablets twice a day like me, you would also want to mask the taste of those meds by having something sweet.

But I have gained little weight despite this indulgence. From 100 lbs on my 6th month, I am now (drum roll, please) 110 lbs — 10 lbs in 3 months, I guess that’s okay. Unfortunately, I am still slightly anemic so aside from the prenatal supplements that I mentioned, my OB added one Folic acid tablet to my daily meds. And I already have a bit of swelling on my feet and legs (edema), which everyone assures me is normal as long as it doesn’t reach my knees and other extremities like arms, hands and the face.I’ve been reading about preeclampsia (one symptoms of which is excessive swelling of the extremities) and it’s something I don’t want to be at risk for.

Overall, me and my baby are doing well especially if baby stops packing in more pounds in the next few weeks. I’m hoping for a normal delivery, and my OB is, too because we both don’t want me to undergo another operation again. It’s important that baby doesn’t grow too big that it would risk me to give birth via C-section. Aside from that, she sees no other complications.

So, it’s basically just a waiting game from now til my estimated due date on December 26.  If it were up to D, he wants him to hold back a little longer and come out on New Year’s day. As for me, anytime between 37 weeks and 41 weeks is okay as long as I give birth to a normal, healthy and bouncing baby boy. But it’s baby’s call really. We’re leaving it up to him to choose his own birthday.

Now that baby’s gender is determined, we can get down to the business of choosing his name. Although sometimes, I wish that he can already talk so he can tell me what he wants for a name because honestly, I really don’t know what to give him.

Well, okay, I’m not exactly clueless clueless. I know I want a Chinese-sounding name, or at least one of his name is, if we end up giving him two (because D’s surname is Chinese). And maybe something that has a significant meaning (just like when we chose our wedding date).

I know I don’t want a name that’s too masculine or boyish or popular or funky or weird-sounding or anything that’s too ‘something’.

I scoured a few ‘baby names’ websites, looking for that perfect baby boy Chinese name and carefully considered the meaning, the sound and the likability of each. I thought I found 3 that matches my short criteria. And they are:

• Shan, which means “coral” in Chinese
• Jie, which means “one who rises above the rest” in Chinese
• Rui, rather Japanese-sounding, but means “sharp”, referring to someone who is intelligent in Chinese

Among the 3, I like the sound of Shan best and I think it will go well with a second name. But “coral” doesn’t mean anything — significant, that is.

I also like Rui, which sounds like a Anime name. Its meaning is not bad either, but I doubt if I can find a second name that will blend seamlessly with it.

Jie’s meaning is the one I like the most, but like Rui, I find it hard to pair it with another name.

“How about Ben-jie?“, D cracked up.

Or Ken Jie. I also like Ken as a name and what a coincidence that Kenji is the name of Kenshin and Kauro’s son. We used them as our caketopper, remember? But I find Ken Jie too Anime-ish.

What if I combine Rui and Jie, as in Rui Jie? And combined, they will mean “intelligent one who rises about the rest”. Not bad, except that it sounds like a rather odd variation of the name Luigi.

Or better yet, let’s combine all 3: Rui Jie Shan (an intelligent, high-rising coral?). Lol! I think my son will hate me if I give him that name.

And what does D say about this?

“Does it have to be Chinese?” and “Does it have to be two names?”

But he can’t think of a name either, and until he came up with something better (better-sounding with a good meaning), we’ll stick with my choices. Or maybe not. I’m not so sure anymore if my picks are any good, to be honest.

Or maybe, I’ll just name him after myself. Did you know that Sheng is a boy’s name which means “victory” in Chinese?

It made me love my name more (even if it’s just a nick name) and makes me feel confident that I can win any battle because my name means “victory”. Which is why I want a name that means something positive — not because it will influence his fate or destiny, as others would like to believe, but because it will influence his beliefs and convictions and will make him feel good about his name, if not himself.

Now, if only I can decide which name it will be.

Perhaps, she will never understand why it happened. But he said something that somehow made it easier to accept, albeit still painful. He said, “I thought I was looking for something new. But when I found it, I realized that what I was looking for — what I really wanted, is something I had all along.”

He had reencountered his wife — at the very moment when he believed he had lost her forever. Because (and Chris could never know it) he had fallen in love with Valhalla.

That was when he learned the difference between infatuation and love. Like conversing with the angels, it was really very simple.

Valhalla was a fantasy. The warrior woman, the huntress. The woman who conversed with angels, and was ready to any risk in order to surpass her limits. For her, Paulo was the man who wore the ring of the Tradition of the Moon, the magus who knew about the occult mysteries. The adventurer, capable of leaving everything behind to go out in search of angels. Each would always be fascinated by the other — so long as each remained exactly what the other imagined.

That’s what infatuation is: the creation of an image of someone, without advising that someone as to what the image is.

But some day, when familiarity revealed the true identity of both, they would discover that behind the Magus and the Valkyrie there was a man and a woman. Each possessing powers, perhaps, each with some precious knowledge, maybe, but — they couldn’t ignore the fact — each basically a man and a woman. Each with the agony and the ecstasy, the strength and the weakness of every other human being.

And when either of them demonstrated how they really were, the other would want to flee — because it would mean the end of the world they had created.

He found love on a cliff where two women had tried to stare each other down, with the full moon as a backdrop. And love meant dividing the world with someone. He knew one of the women well, and had share his universe with her. They had seen the same mountains, and the same trees, although each had seen them differently. She knew his weaknesses, his moments of hatred, of despair. Yet she was there at his side.

They shared the same universe. And although often he had had the feeling that their universe contained no more secrets, he had discovered — that night in Death Valley — that the feeling was wrong…

…He was still thinking about Chris and Valhalla as he made his way to the ravine. I think I’ll probably be infatuated many more times, he said to himself. He felt no guilt about it. Infatuation was a good thing. It gave spice to life, and added to its enjoyment.

But it was different from love. Love was worth everything, and couldn’t be exchanged for anything.

 

– Paulo Coelho, The Valkyries

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month but it doesn’t have to be October for us to be aware of this very serious treat.

Statistics say that:

• The chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman’s life is a little less than 1 in 8 (12%).
• The chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman’s death is about 1 in 35 (about 3%).

These two facts alone are scary enough, especially when you consider the possibility that you could be the 1 in 8 women. But the good news is, American Cancer Society has noted a significant decline in the incidence rates and death rates of breast cancer patients since the 1990′s. They attributed this positive development to increased awareness that leads to early detection, and improved treatment. [Source: Cancer.org]

I believe awareness is a very important key factor in the fight against this terrible disease, which explains why a lot of groups, organizations, and companies (especially those that are targeted for women) are coming up with their own breast cancer awareness campaigns. I personally like what Estee Lauder is planning for their 2011 BCA’s campaign:

Partner with Philips to illuminate approximately 200 global landmarks worldwide in bright pink using LED lights.

Take look at some of the landmarks they lit last year:

Rockefeller Center, USA

Harrods, UK

Tokyo Tower, Japan

Parliament Building, Canada

Niagara Falls, Canada

Cristo Redentor, Brazil

Penha Building, Venezuela

Il Biancone, Italy

Zappeion, Greece

Beautiful, aren’t they?

But individuals like us, who neither have the money nor the influence to create such big impact, can do a lot in our own small ways. We can participate in these types of campaigns/programs or buy products from merchants who pledge contributions to legit breast cancer associations or wear something that supports and promotes breast cancer awareness (like these cute breast cancer t shirt designs) or we can simply tell people about it (our mother, our sister, our female friends and relatives).

We can create awareness and make a difference.

*All photos courtesy of FemaleNetwork