a baby is on the way

I can finally write about this since most of our families and friends know about it already. So yeah, we're having a baby. Did we plan on it? Well, we might have mentioned about planning a baby within 1 or 2 years after marriage and my 2013 resolution was to be more productive. So, go figure...

When did we find out? We found out back in January. Yeah, we waited quite a while to tell people because we wanted to complete the first trimester before announcing it. I was 3 days late for my monthly menstrual cycle and usually, I'm pretty punctual. I started to joke to Oli that I might be pregnant. I bought two pregnancy test and tested myself on fourth day and within minutes both tests showed positive. We were already pretty excited but again, we wanted to be more sure so we booked an appointment to see the gynae the coming week. It was my first visit to the gynae and I was pretty nervous. I did the ultrasound and true enough, we were pregnant. We started thinking about a lot of stuff, or at least I did. I started taking prenatal vitamins, paying more attention to my food intake, thinking about motherhood/parenthood and a lot of other things. 

The symptoms and some other challenges. I didn't actually have my morning sickness until week 7. That was when things started to go downhill for me. Contrary to the name 'morning sickness' , it actually lasted the whole day, morning to night until  I pretty much cried myself to sleep just to wake up the next day and repeat the whole cycle. I tell you, it wasn't fun. The constant nausea, vomiting, and just feeling tired all together. Sometime during week 10, I developed some rashes underneath my nose. At first, I thought it was because I had been blowing my nose too often since I had the flu and I was constantly wiping it with tissue that it might have been too harsh for my skin under my nose.  But then, it started to spread to the area under my mouth (almost goatee like rashes). When I googled the symptoms, I suspected that I might have Perioral Dermatitis. It was confirmed by the dermatologist some weeks after. So there I was feeling weak from morning sickness and the rash was a blow to my self esteem. I tried a few home remedies that was recommended in the internet such as treating the area by applying apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, and grape seed oil, none that was effective. I tried covering the rashes even with light make up, it only aggravated it. When I visited the dermatologist, he couldn't give me any medicine because it is risky for the baby. I was advised to only leave the rashes alone and wash my face with plain ol' H2O and nothing more. I heed to the doctor's advice. 

Moving forward. Feeling resigned, I decided to accept this is all part of the big miracle that is happening in me. Oh, and Oliver has been really patient, supportive, encouraging and extra nice through it all. Sometimes, a little too over protective. :) But it is so nice to be able to call 'dips' just for being pregnant. So am really thankful for him. I also felt myself reaching out to God more often, thanking Him each day for this 'life' that is growing in me and sometimes desperately praying to Him for consolation during 'hard nights' (talking about nausea, heartburn, congested nose or constant coughing which thankfully ended sometime between week 14 and 15). By the way, as I am writing this, I am currently between week 18 and 19. Like I mentioned, I am feeling much better now. I read that a lot of pregnant women regained their energy during the second trimester and this is when you should try to get as much done to prepare for the baby. Oh, my rash has improved tremendously and I actually feel my skin breathing better sans make up and other facial products that now I realized has tons and tons of chemical in it. I have yet to feel big baby movement in me although I like to believe that when I lay really still at night on bed and lay my hand on my belly, that I could feel some tiny flutters or movement. My belly is expanding each day and all in all, I feel pretty darn great. :D

So I guess we'll just wait and see. We're about half way there. We really appreciate your wishes, thoughts and prayers. Till next time. 

P.S. If you have any experiences with perioral dermatitis or just some pregnancy tips, do share. I'll appreciate it very much.

Our Valentine with Sophia

So this year on Valentine's Day, we offered to babysit our friend's toddler, Sophia, while they went out for their Valentine dinner. We were more than glad because Sophia is such a charm and you we just can't resist. She was really easy and fun to babysit except when we tried to put her into bed. So while the parents were out, we had our dinner prepared by our friends before they left, watched a bit of Sound of Music (because Oli never watched this classic), woke Sophia up, played with her, fed her dinner, and continued playing with her. When it was time for her to go to bed, that was when we faced quite a hurdle. After trying for a while, we decided to just continue playing with her and feeding her with cheerios until the parents came back. That kid definitely brings joy to our heart and perhaps ignite a bit of maternal/paternal instinct in us. 

Just woke up dazed look.

Are you ready to play? 

Had to take one of us with Sophia. So we could remind her of us when she grows up.  

That look that can melt our hearts.

I was sick that time, hence the shitty look. :(

Boo, Happy Valentine Sophia!

Prague (Part 2) and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!

On New Year's eve, we decided to hike up to Prague castle. The weather was perfect. Not too cold and the walk sort of warmed us up. The scenery while walking and hiking up and down the castle was pretty. 

Along the way, I stopped to try the waffles on stick that was sold beside the road. It was delicious.

And soon, we arrived the castle. It was swarmed with tourists. We, of course, had to take picture with the guard by the entrance gate. 

There were other architectures beside the castle like St.  Vitus Cathedral which is the largest church in Prague. We didn't spend a lot of time around the castle area. 

After that, we headed back down and went to the town's 'Silvester's' or New Year Eve's market to grab a bit.

In the evening, we got ready in our apartment, made a toast and headed out for dinner and afterwards for the NYE countdown.

Everything looked good in the menu. 

The ladies. 

Oli ordered ribs which was amazingly delicious!

I ordered lamb shank with potatoes. Pretty good too but not as good as Oli's rib.

After dinner, we waited for the countdown in New  Town Square instead of the Old Square because we were told the Old Square would be very packed with tourists. And as customary, at the stroke of 12 midnight, we kissed and toasted to 2013. Possibly the most happening NYE I've had because usually, it's always with families and we'll do BBQ and lit up our own fireworks. But come to think of it, I kinda miss that too. Simple, familiar and just nice.

Some pictures to show you how it went down. :)

Speaking of 2013, let's just say, this year will be a big year for us. We're entering into another new phase that comes with big changes, new and challenging things. We'll share it another time. :)

Prague (Part 1)

I know this is long overdue but hey, better late than never. Okay, bad excuse. Since the last time I wrote, I am feeling much better now. So is Oliver. Last week, Oli took a couple of days off from work and we headed to Amsterdam for Easter. But, as the post title says it, I am not going to write about Amsterdam, yet, but about Prague. Oli visited Prague a few years ago and he was always saying how it was beautiful, cheap and the girls were also beautiful and friendly. So I've always wanted to visit Prague to see it for myself. :) The trip was planned pretty spontaneously. We had some friends over for dinner and we were just talking about our plans for New Year 2013. We mentioned Berlin, Munich, Paris and even some cities in Belgium but finally, we decided on Prague. 

We arrived Prague a few days before the new year. And off we went to explore what the city has to offer.  The first thing that we saw was the Fred & Ginger Building, also called 'The Dancing Building' for its curvy architecture. 

It was winter so it was cold. It didn't help that the temperature went down a couple notches in the evening and the breeze blowing as we walked along the river chilled us to the bones. But we tried to distract ourselves, taking in the sights of the city, the bridges, the castle on the hill from a far and just other interesting things. We walked through Old Town street, observing the night life, the people; locals and tourists, and scouting for a place to have our dinner. In the picture below, you could see a bit of the famous Charles Bridge. More of it later.

We had dinner with the Masons, another family who happened to be in Prague (we didn't plan the trip together) in an Italian Restaurant. Food was decent. Tasted better Aglio e Olio.

After dinner, we headed to Charles Bridge. You can see a bit of the old castle from the picture below, that  is somehow illuminated by light. Our friend, Kyle, wanted to bring us to the oldest medieval pub across the bridge.

Shana and I with our hot red wine. Perfect beverage for cold winter night out (besides Hot Chocolate).

A little bit of inside the so-called oldest medieval pub. More pictures later because we came back again the next evening to have dinner and watch some gypsy like performances.

The next day, we got ready and went to the Old Town Square to catch a free tour. 

A pretty sunrise view from the bridge we're at.

Here's a tip for those who would like to save money when travelling to a new city in Europe but still would like to know the stories and histories behind one, always check if there is a free tour. Oliver and I always go for the Sandemans Europe Tour. They offer free tour in several touristic cities in Europe. Now, although I say free, at the end of the tour, which is usually 3 hours and I'd say, pretty informative and interesting, it's up to you how much tip you would like to give. We did it in Berlin, in Prague and in Amsterdam recently, and we're always happy and satisfied with the tour. So, each of us usually give about 5 euros which is still pretty cheap compared to other tours that cost 3 or 5 times more.

After the tour, we went back to the apartment to meet up with the remaining of the crew who just arrived that day. We then went back to the medieval pub to have dinner and catch the show.

While the dinner was nothing to boast about, the performances were entertaining. They had staged sword fight, belly dancing, a bit of acrobat stunts, and fire shows. Suffice to say the night ended well. More on our New Year's eve celebration in Part 2. :)