Baby Stuff

Dear Nicolo,

Daddy fixed mommy's bluetooth laptop connection to the phone last weekend (Yey!). I can now post some of the random pics I took of your stuff :)

Bags are packed and ready to go! Daddy and Mommy's hospital stuffs are finally all packed, just in case you decide to come out sooner. :)

You and Daddy are sharing a cabinet. Daddy's clothes are on the right and yours is on the left.
And look! You have just as much (if not more) clothes than Daddy! Haha!


This is your "baby room". But for now, it's just the room where we put in all your things, since you'll be sleeping with us for the first few months, maybe even years. Lola is complaining because there's hardly any space left after we bought all your stuff! Hehe!


These are your bottles and mommy's breast pump accessories. I dismantled all of them so that the maid can start washing them already, to get ready to feed you!

And lastly... these are mommy's feet... all swollen and huge from carrying you all day long. Don't worry baby, it will shrink back to its old size (I hope!) eventually. Mommy is happy to have big feet, as long as you are all well, healthy and happy once you come out.

That's it for now. Can't wait to see you! :)

Love, Mommy

Novena for Safe Delivery

Surprise "It's a Boy!" Baby Shower

Dear Nicolo,

Last April, I was kidding your Tita Fran to give usa "surprise" baby shower sometime in July (around July 16 perhaps?). Jokes like those are half-meant, by the way. More meant, than not. :p But ever since your lola was diagnosed with kidney problems last May, which required her to undergo dialysis, I told Tita Fran to just skip the shower and just concentrate on attending to lola, since I couldn't help out much given we were already entering the third trimester already.

So, days passed. I totally forgot about the baby shower. So, when friends invited to get together at 2pm on the 16th of July, I didn't even think twice on saying yes. I had NO IDEA, until probably 10 minutes before we arrived in Paul Calvin's Deli in Fort Bonifacio, where the shower was being held. I started getting some ideas because:

1) Your dad insisted on wearing jeans and shoes, instead of his normal shorts and slippers... therefore, that day was "extra" special somehow.

2) Tita Fran texted Daddy: "Papikitin"... and since I normally check daddy's phone when he's driving (parking at that time), obviously, that got me wondering.

Nevertheless, we were in for a surprise. When we entered the place, it was a shock to see all familiar faces in one room. It was ever more heartwarming (and embarrassing) to realize that Tita Fran continued the party, even if I kinda ruined her day already by ratting (I was really mad) at her that morning for using my slippers. Ooops.

Sharing with you below some pictures of your shower. Know that you are surrounded family and friends who love you even if you haven't even been born yet! Isn't that such a blessing? :)

Love, Mommy

Friends and Family who joined us for your shower.

Tita Fran and Tito Jester even prepared fun games!
The Milk drinking contest was especially funny!

Your gifts! Yes, all those for you.

Our Lady Help of Mothers

For a Successful Pregnancy

Powerful is your intercession with God, Mary, for you are his mother. Tender , too, is your love for us, for you are our mother. Confidently , then, I come to you as a child, poor and needy, to seek your aid and protection. In every trial of motherhood, I beg your aid. For the grace of a happy delivery, I come to you. For your holy assistance in guarding and directing each tiny soul with which God entrusts me, I call to you. In every sorrow that comes to me in my motherhood, I confide in you.

That I may have strength to bear cheerfully all the pains and hardships of motherhood, I lean on you. That the sweetness of motherhood may not through my neglect be embittered in later years by pains of regret, I trust in you.
That the will of God may always be fulfilled in me through each act of my motherhood, little and great, I beg your aid. Never forsake me dear Mother, my hope, my consolation, my confidence, and my trust, but ever be at my side to aid and protect me, your needy child. Amen.
Mother of Love, of Sorrow, and of Mercy, Pray for us!

During Pregnancy

Dearest Mary, I look to you now for the help of your maternal love. You understand my trials as an expectant mother. You bore Jesus in your womb. You know the doubts and anxieties that beset me; you know the bodily suffering I endure. Like you, may I turn all these sorrows into joy. You overcame anxiety by a loving trust in God; you overcame doubt by gentle resignation to His will.
Your motherhood lifted your mind above earth and kept it close to God.
So speak to Jesus now with me, beloved Mother, as I seek prayerfully to learn to bear the trials of motherhood with joy.
Mother of Perpetual Help, Pray for me!

Blessing Near the Time of Birth

Blessing of the Mother; may be prayed by anyone with her:

Loving God, Your love for us is like that of a mother, and You know the hard joy of giving birth. Hold the hand of Your servant (mother's name) now and keep her safe; put Your own Spirit into her very breathing and into the new baby, for whom we wait with awe and hope. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to be prayed by the Mother giving Birth:

Lord God, You made us out of nothing and redeemed us by the Precious Blood of Your only Son. Preserve the work of Your Hands, and defend both me and the tender fruit of my womb from all perils and evils. I beg of You, for myself, Your grace, protection, and a happy delivery. Sanctify my child, and make this child Yours forever. Grant this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Thanksgiving for a Newborn or Newly Adopted Child

On first holding a newborn or newly adopted child, on bringing the child into the home for the first time, and on other occasions before the child's baptism, this blessing may be given to the child by the parent(s):

Prayer A:
God, our Creator, cherish this child. Jesus, our Saviour, protect him/her. Holy Spirit, our Comforter, strengthen him/her.

OR Prayer B:
Source of all blessings, Protector of infants, look with favor on this child, (child's name).

Then continue:
Hold him/her gently in Your Hands. When he/she is reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, bring him/her into the Church, there to share in Your kingdom and with us to bless Your Name forever. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

The parent(s) trace the sign of the cross on the child's forehead.

(Name of the child), may the Lord Jesus, Who loved children, bless you and keep you in His love, now and forever. Amen.

A Parent's Thanksgiving Prayer

O God, we give You thanks for (Child's Name), whom You have welcomed into our family. Bless this family. Confirm a lively sense of Your Presence with us, and grant us patience and wisdom, that our lives may show forth the love of Christ, as we bring (Child's Name) up to love all that is good. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Blessing on Bringing a Child into the Home

Good Lord, You have tenderly loved us, and given us this home and good friends. May we make a true home for this child where he/she will learn trust in us and in You. (May his/her brothers/sisters rejoice in their own growing up as they help to care for this child). We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayers to Saint Raymond Nonnatus

Prayers to Saint Raymond Nonnatus

Patron of Childbirth, Children, Falsely Accused People, Fever, Infants, Midwives, Newborn Babies, Obstetricians, & Pregnant Women

Lord, help us to remember that without You we can do nothing and with You all things are possible. May we, through Your grace and power and the intercession of St. Raymond, bring many souls to truth. We ask this in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.

Novena to St. Raymond to Obtain Some Special Favor
Especially effective August 23 to 31

Glorious St. Raymond, filled with compassion for those who invoke thee, and with love for those who suffer heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at thy feet and humbly beg of thee to take the present affair which I recommend to thee under thy special protection. (mention your intention)

Vouchsafe to recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary and lay it before the Throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to Face, and with thee and Mary and all the saints praising and blessing to all eternity. Amen.

Good St. Raymond, pray for us and obtain our request.
Good St. Raymond, pray for us and obtain our request.
Good St. Raymond, pray for us and obtain our request.

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, and 1 Glory be....

O Blessed Saint Raymond Nonnatus, so loving to all your devotees, I being last of them all, I am happy to know that through the infinite goodness of God, He has deigned to make you a Saint, adorned thee with special graces and help, for which I am most thankful. On the Most Holy Trinity, and you my adorable patron saint, through your merits and those of the blood poured by our Savior Jesus Christ, and through the Immaculate Conception of Mary, I most humbly beg thee, deign to intercede from the most sublime God, protection for the holy Mother Church, that through your prayers, God's wrath be taken away, see the progress of true faith, defeat the wrong doctrines, the peace and understanding of all Christians, peace of the whole country and the redemption of the Christian captives.

I am humbly begging you my devoted saint, that you be may be my intercessor. Since for many hours you did not die of the womb of your dead mother an you were successfully delivered from her side, to be the joy of the world, and that my soul may live in grace in this earthly world, may I imitate your live and exemplary holiness, so that when the hour of my death comes, I may detest all evil thoughts and temporary wealth of this world, so that with the burning love for God, my soul may reach heaven and together with you and the angels and all the saints, praise God Almighty forever.

Deign to grant me most amiable father the favor I am asking in this novena (mention the request). I firmly believe most amiable father that you will be my protection since you are merciful to any one imploring thy help. But if the favor I am asking will not be for the glory of God and the good of my soul, then beg from God that I will be resigned to his Divine Will, so that I may have the peace of soul while I live, till the hour of my death and that I enjoy true happiness in heaven. Amen.

What to do after giving birth?

We're 35 weeks now! Yahoo! As much as I love the thought of being a mom, I also have to admit, I can't wait to deliver Nicolo. I'm naturally a worrywart so I worry if he's doing okay there, if he's naiipit ba, if he's too cramped, etc. Plus, the past 3 months have just been dragging so slow.

So, to let the time fly faster ~ 4 more weeks to go, I decided to maintain a list of things that I look forward to doing after giving birth. Even though I'm not sure WHEN after I can do all those things (in anticipation of taking care of Nicolo and the sleepless nights), I think it's good to have something to look forward to. I know such "treats" may not come as easily as before, but who cares? As long as they come, even in thought. Hehe.

Here's my work in progress what-to-do-after-giving-birth list. Let's see how long it will go.

1) Coffee!! (Gotta make use of those HSBC starbucks receipts)

2) Coke!! (I'm a coke addict.. and it's been such a sacrifice not to have a nice cold coke drink during meals)

3) Buffet! (Not sulit during pregnancy - not only will you feel guilty, but there's also not enough room!)

4) Massage (I used to have weekly or bi-weekly massages. Tried having some massages while pregnant, but I get stressed more than being relaxed)

5) Wax (Not looking forward to the excruciating pain though)

6) Hair Spa and Color (I look like a lola with all my white hair.. Must look like a mom, not a lola!)

7) Renew Driver's License and Change Name (I'm dreading going to LTO.. huhuhu)

... what else?

@30 Weeks

So many firsts happening so soon! So while I stop and reflect on all the many blessings, I thought of jotting them down, with the hope that I can sustain, another attempt yet again in blogging. :)

Nicolo @ 30 weeks

This time, I think I have to be clear on why I want to blog. Given that our baby boy is coming soon - 7 more weeks! - I want to keep as many memories of him as possible. So this is for him, our first baby - our little Nicolo! :) This is for you baby, that someday, even if there's no one else who will read this site, it will just be for you and me... our journey together. So with this first post is also your first pic, with your chubby, chubby cheeks! :) Can't wait to see you!

The Paradox of our Time.

By George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spent more, but have less,we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses andsmaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgement, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend toorecklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.We've added years to life not life to years. We'vebeen all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour.We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplishless. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less andless.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion,big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, andpills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, tokill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones,becausethey are not going to be around forever.
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up toyou in awe, because that little person soon will growup and leave your side.
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you,because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner andyour loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes fromdeepinside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,but by the moments that take our breath away.

Acupressure

Acupressure... more like, 30 minutes of poking on my back, neck and head. I liked it, but it's not something I would get very often. Well, not only is it pricey (P560 for 30 min!!), but it was also a bit painful. It's more ideal if you have specific pains that you want immediately relieved because of it's therapeutic methods. At some points, I thought I heard air coming out of my shoulders and back. Not your usual "spa" experience. Was advised not to take in cold drinks and a cold shower within 8 to 10 hours, like the "doctor's order". All in all, it was good. Although, not something I would be doing again unless I can no longer stretch my back or move my shoulders or something like that.