6th Visit with a Nurse Practitioner

So I just had my monthly visit at the clinic today and I had to drink the glucola for my glucose test. I was actually a little bit late. For some reason, I wrote 1:15PM in my phone calendar instead of exactly 1PM. I drank the glucola at exactly 12:30noon following the instruction paper (45 minutes before the appointment). I was confident that I will be early for the 1:15PM appointment, too late when JJ called me and asking me if I was already on my way. Oh well, no biggy because unlike last time where the office was full packed, I was the only patient this time around.

As usual, they checked my weight and my blood pressure and everything was perfect. They've been asking questions if I felt anything weird for the last month and all I could think of was the headache's here and there, I also felt pain in my calf lately. I was told to drink plenty of water hehehe I know I am bad at that. I hate drinking water. I can only manage to drink at least 4 glasses of water and 1 glass of that was the coffee/milk combination for my breakfast. For my calves, I was told to just massage it, maybe do some stretching but I tell you what I've been doing (going up and down the stairs!) It seems to work! I also have a hard time getting a good sleep and the attempt to take a nap in the afternoon doesn't work! Ughh, I hate faking a nap! They also hear the baby heart beat, it was normal at 160bpm. Then, the NP measured my belly. I also asked if its ok for me to get a deep hair moisturizer at a salon, well according to her so far there was no study that those chemicals that salon's use have a bad side effect. So, I guess I could get a little makeover pretty soon, eh?

After that, the nice old lady who's in-charge of the blood test called and ushered me to her room and extracted 2 vials of blood. She's really nice and a sweetheart. She asked how my name is being pronounced and then mentioned about my date of birth which is July 4th 1976! I kidded her that I am destined to live here in the United States, LOL! And then she became nosey hehehe okay since she is nice, let me call it "curiosity" instead, 'coz she asked where I am from and where JJ and I met! JJ also asked her if there is any chance that they will be doing any ultra-sound before the baby is due and she said that so far, according to her observations, unless the pregnancy is at high-risk they won't be doing any u/s anymore from here on, unless we wanna do those 3D u/s where we have to pay extra moolah for it.

My next visit to the clinic from here on is every 2 weeks! Yikes! Right now, I am on my 29th weeks and 6 days. I have also signed up for my birthing class which will be at the Bethel Road Office. Overall, the visit was pretty smooth.

I actually visited the girls at my previous work today. I kind of miss them. I went to get food and shared with them and waited Lyn to get off from work. It's been awhile since I saw her. Oh and guess what they told me??? Haha! I was so flattered. They said my face still looked the same as before. Meaning I did not swell and looked uglier! I will take that as a compliment, thank you very much!

A Little Progress

At last, we have finally picked a baby furniture. We spent a good 3 hours browsing for Direct Buy's catalog this afternoon and we are so glad we made a progress. We have chosen the Bridgeport collection. With an additional guard rail and a conversion kit, the crib will turn into a toddler bed and then a full bed. We also added a combination dresser with a hutch. I found an online picture of it to give you an idea.


However, as soon as we are ready to order it we were told that the ordering has just ended for the day. Sigh, oh well at least we have already listed it and we can just order it online or maybe we can go back to their office next time around.

Guess what I picked as a theme for the baby room? It's the Lambs and Ivy's Wings! I am so glad I finally found it. I've spent countless hours browsing online for a perfect theme but could not find anything that suits us best. As soon as I saw it I knew that JJ would approve it 'coz he loves aivaition is general.

Wings has the aviation theme bedding collection. It has woven plaids, stars, and wings that compliments the airplanes. I'm sure our little boy will love these classic planes in navy, slate, green and red. The sheet and wall appliqués were decorated with colorful stars, while the ceiling sculpture and propeller airplane lamp will help our little aviator earn his wings, sounds exciting huh? Well, to give you an idea, its going to look like this:


While we are in the process of ordering it and waiting for it to be delivered, we can start painting the room and just getting everything ready for our little to come.

Visiting COSI

Center Of Science and Industry

We just visited COSI today. It was my first time and to tell you honestly, I was only interested because they have the Lost of Egypt exhibit/gallery for a short period of time. We spent the whole afternoon there and it was not enough. Wish we would've spent a whole day to see everything. It's a very interesting place to learn science and industry. This place is perfect for kids, well, JJ and I are big kids! So far COSI is the No. 1 Science center in the country according to Parent's Magazine, big deal huh?

My favorite was of course the Lost of Egypt gallery. I am always fascinated with mummy's and Egypt in general. I also liked the Rat basketball, in fact I took a video of it. They are so cool and could not believe that rat's could learn such skills! I am so amazed and fascinated with it. JJ loves the Gadget's section where one can learn some engineering principles. It's a venue where you learn basic physics, chemistry, engineering, and energy. It's kinda loud in there though, my only complain. Overall, it was an interesting place to spend our day with!

Here's the Rat video to share:

Fifth visit with a Nurse Practitioner

stay tune...

Fenced in!

In preparation for the coming of our first baby, we've also prepared our fuzzies. We knew it can be hard to take care of 3 dogs and a baby. Most of our friends have been asking us if we wanted to get rid of our dogs before the baby gets here. Were like, no way. We love our dogs and we will do everything to continue to love them and care for them. That's why JJ decided to build a fence to ease up the load of taking them out of the house for potty and exercise. I so love my JJ! See how good of a heart he has? In no time the fence was built and the fuzzies so far has been enjoying it. They can go anytime and play as much as they want. I have only taken a picture of them out but you should see when they are playing. Man, these dogs chase each other like crazy and run like tiny horses! Oh and they get to bark our neighboring dogs too. It can be annoying but seeing them free outside, laying in the grass and eating it as if they are goats and seeing Star doing her poppy dance (she runs around a 100thx!) is just priceless.

Velvet Ice Cream Festival

So glad we got the chance to visit Ye Olde Mill today. It was fun being there in time for their 35th festival. They had a bunch of activities going on. One of which we got lucky to witness was the exhibition of the Border Collies. These dogs are so good at herding a group of sheep or duck under the direction of the handler using hand or whistle signals. Those dogs were phenomenal, no wonder they are consider the best working dogs.

Among the activities they have were Pony rides, ice cream eating contest, magic show, sack race,
wheelbarrow race, water balloon toss, plank race, egg toss, kiddie tractor pull, three-legged race, some good entertainment, a display of antique engines and tractors, and then the famous Ye Olde Mill Rod Run which features antique cars, vans, street rods, custom cars, and special interests vehicles. The owners were so proud to exhibit their finished products and were ready to answer questions from the attendees.

We also checked the arts and crafts at the Tent. It's amazing how much they have in there for sale. They also have good food, drinks and desserts. It was then that I had my first taste of Greek food, it wasn't bad but I am not a fan.

After we ate, we decided to cross the street and check out the Museum and Gift shop. That's also where the Ice Cream Parlor is. I can't help but admire that building. Yes, it is old but you can see there is a lot of history built in it. Its amazing how pretty it was inside. You can shop and look at the history display at the same time. We were about to moved on when the rain started pouring and so we were stuck inside the building...one reason to stay and enjoy my Velvet Vanilla Ice cream, my favorite!

An ordeal

Just two days after JJ's birthday was his schedule for a diagnostic test called biopsy. Everything was perfectly fine during the prep process. I had to wait by myself at the waiting room while the doctor's are doing the procedure. It probably took about an hour and before I knew it he was back for recovery. He wasn't allowed to go home until after 3 hours! So we waited and while we were there, he tried to use the restroom but he could not urinate. The nurses gave him a lot of water to drink and he finished a bag of IV. He tried to use the restroom again before we have to leave the hospital but he still can't. The nurses told him to try it again at home. So off we left the hospital.

He took a nap right after we got home only to wake up with an excruciating pain. He had problems with urination and before I knew it, we had to rushed to the emergency hospital. It was my first time, there were too many people in there waiting for their turn. It's a first come first serve base. I don't know what to expect and I don't know what to do. It was hard for me emotionally, looking at him with so much pain. I have never seen him so helpless. It took us probably about 30-45 mins. before it was our turn. He had to be interviewed about what he feels at the moment, what was the process they did to him, what are the medications that he is currently taking and a lot more.

Finally, we were at the ER and even then, it still took a long time before they do something. I was never been in an ER before and I don't know what to expect. A doctor came to assess him and he was probably the one who decides what was the best procedure or remedy for his pain. I tell you it was hard being at the ER and what happened next was something I did not hoped for. For JJ, if its the only thing they can do then so be it, as long as he won't be in pain. Past midnight when the nurses decided that he is ready to go home.

He took a shower that night and then we were off to bed. He did get to sleep but he woke up with a mess and the next days his urine was still bloody. His temp was ok although it almost reach to 101 at some point. The following monday, here we are again we are back to the ER! At this point, the doctor's had to do something. Everyone involved has to be called. It was another long process and I was bored to death. Finally, they found out that there was a huge blood clot in his urinary track preventing the urine from flowing out freely thus causing him that excruciating pain. It was around 3pm and I decided leave the ER and get something to eat at the cafeteria. I got a call from JJ that we can now leave the hospital, yayy!

The next 2 days were a sick leave for JJ. He had to take it easy and he can't drive to work because he was on vicodin. I became an instant nurse for the last few days and I can tell I am not fitted for such a job. I am not strong enough seeing someone in pain. There was one point that I broke down. His temperature went up and the blood pressure was a little high., enough reasons for me to panicked. Finally, friday of the same week, he had an appointment to see his doctor. Before we left the house, he went to urinate and there the 3 cm. blood clot came out. Whew!!!
Everything turned out well after that. The doctor's visit was non eventful but very important and the good thing is after a week he got a call from his doctor. Basically he was told about the result of his biopsy and thank God, it wasn't something major and that the medications he is currently taking was already remedy for it. Yayyy...I'm so glad that ordeal is over. Sheesh!

Happy Birthday my Darling!

Its my Babe's birthday! Yay!! Do i sound excited? Well, a little bit. He actually worked today which is fine. I got him a personalized German Chocolate cake from The Suisse shop. With him not around the house, means I could just pick it up and hide it inside the refrigerator until after dinner. He was a little antsy when he got off from work. He kept texting me if he needed to pickup his own birthday cake from the grocery (the frozen one's) or if we needed a dessert.
I told him to go home asap and I will start making his birthday dinner which is of course - steak with baked potato and veggies.

He was surprised seeing his presents in the table. I got him a bouquet of flower, a birthday card, a mug that says: "I don't remember things the way I used to...and also, I don't remember things the way I used to", that cracked him up and made him read it twice! I also got him his fave Starbucks sugar free vanilla syrup and a gift certificate from Best Buy.

After dinner, I took the cake out from the refrigerator, lit the candle and sang a birthday song for him. He was surprised that it wasn't just the usual frozen cake from the grocery that he always gets to enjoy on his birthday. We enjoyed the cake, it was yummy and very moist, the sweetness is just perfect.

You know what, this is the first occasion where we decided to cook and just stay home and chill. It was actually kinda nice and I told him we will do it again on my birthday.

Visiting the Topiary Garden

We just got back from a long day out in the woods, we sniffed the flowers in the gardens and admire the beauty of nature. I had been wanting to go to the Topiary Park in downtown Columbus for quite awhile. We finally had that chance today. The day was perfect, nice and warm. The topiary park is a work of art. It is famous for its topiary interpretation of Georges Seurat’s famous Post-Impressionist painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grand Jatte. The park had a beautiful landscaped walks, benches and picnic tables. There is a pond with big and colorful fishes, water lilies, adult and baby duck and a few work of art.

Inniswood Metro Gardens

Later that night, JJ decided to take me to Inniswood Metro Gardens which is located pretty close to our house. I don't know why we haven't been here but I love this place. They have paved pathways, herb gardens, roses and woodland rock gardens. They have a lot of wild flowers and wildlife. My favorite is the beautiful landscaped flower beds with beautiful and colorful flowers, and that area where you can see the statue of Mary and Grace Innis. The garden was huge with 121-acre, a place we could not cover in that span of time. It was getting dark so we promised to come back later when the roses are about to bloom.

Fourth Checkup with an Ob-Gyn

Today was a big day. We found out that we are going to have a baby boy! How exciting :) We are still in heaven as of this moment. I was texting and asking my friends to guess about the baby's gender last night and everyone seemed to guess that its going to be a boy. Was I happy about it? Yes, I am so happy, real happy. What is funny though is that ever since we found out that we are pregnant, I kept thinking about a baby girls name. Its weird. What probably made me think that its a girl is because late fil wants a girl. Something changed over the past weeks. I began wishing for a boy. I guess JJ was hoping for a boy too based on his comment that if its going to be a boy then he will have someone to ride the roller coaster with! What a cute thought!

So what happened during the visit? It started with my routinary check. Weight and blood pressure and then the doctor came and asked if we are ready to find out what the baby is going to be. She checked everything that needed to be checked. She measured the head circumference, the spine, she showed where the arms are, the legs, the heart and so much more. Suddenly she said, "I think, I kinda know what is the gender but I wanna make sure first". I started looking intensely on the monitor where there is one position that she wanted a clear picture of. I suddenly said, Is it a boy? And she said...."I think it is!" I gave a high five to JJ who was sitting on a chair to my left. We were very happy and as soon as the doctor printed the scanned pictures we left the room and proudly showed the pictures to a staff who is going to schedule my next appointment.

We left the building with all smiles. There was even one moment when we said "Good job, Babe" to one another, in tune. So I guess that shows that our wishes were met. Hopefully, if we were to have another one, then it would be perfect to have a girl, right? That would be real nice, but will see :)

Third Checkup with a Nurse Practitioner

Well, I had my 2nd monthly checkup today at 1PM. I don't really know what to expect on this visit. I've been researching it online but I was unlucky to get info's. It turned out just perfectly fine. No test at all which is Good! They only did the usual check like finding out how much I gained which is just 1 lbs. from last month's. My blood pressure was also normal. I waited for the Nurse practitioner assigned to me on that visit and when she came, she just checked the baby's heartbeat which is at 156 bpm. A little slower than last visit which is 176 bpm. The baby's heartbeat will slow down as the baby gets bigger.

The fact that there will be no test at all on this visit is a big relief but I have so many concerns that I wanted to discuss. She was in fact very helpful and very informative. She advised me to practice Kegel exercise which can be very helpful to prevent "leaks" during coughing.

We also discussed about "seafood". It's really hard to stay away from my favorite milkfish and shrimp and I am glad that she cleared it up to me.

• She told me to stay away from:
• Swordfish
• Shark
• Mackerel
• Ahi tuna (yellowfin tuna)
• Blue Marlin
• Trout
• Albacore Tuna
• Crab
• Sea Bass

The first 3 have a very high content of mercury. The rest I can eat in moderation but make sure it is cooked.

The following contains the lowest content of mercury and that is perfectly fine to eat, as long as it is not raw.

• Shrimp
• Squid
• Salmon

*Yay for the above! Wohhoo but milkfish is not in the list. I asked her about it and she said as long as it is cooked and eaten in moderation. So there ya go.

About caffeine. I was told no more than 1 glass of coffee a day, so yayyy!
She also told me to avoid soft cheeses and that means no Brie, Feta, and Gorgonzola.

I also confessed to her that I am very lazy in taking my 3x a day iron pill. Yeah, I hated it but she did not give me a hard time. She said not to force myself if I don't feel like taking it. However when I feel like I can take them, to make sure to take those meds separate from the folic pills. As it will work better without them taken at the same time.

I also developed a distaste of milk and she then asked if I eat sardines (with bones) which is a big YES. She said that is actually good source of omega-3 and calcium. Overall, today was a very informative visit. She sat and chatted with us, made is very comfortable about out concerns and shared us very good insights. I did not at all feel like she was trying to hurry as up. We all laugh from time to time and we left the clinic with a big sigh of relief and content.

I can't wait for next month's visit. We will get to find out the gender of our baby....yayyy!

Second Checkup with Ob-Gyn

JJ and I just got home from my 2nd appointment, this time to see Dr. Rahl at her Westerville clinic. Its pretty close to our house like a 10-15 minutes drive depending on which route we use. This time, they checked my weight and my blood pressure. Then, I was told to undress the bottom part, cover with a sheet and sit down on that examining table and wait for the doc. Gosh, you should see the horror of my face when I was told to undress! I was like, AGAIN? I guess I just have to get used to showing off what I got eh? More horror is about to happen in 6 months! I don't wanna know!

Well, the ob-gyn checkup was pretty quick. I was asked how I felt lately and then she did an ultrasound.


We saw the baby inside of me and its as if he/she knew that someone is checking him/her out! The baby flipped like it wanted to show off! How proud :) That was the coolest experience! We also heard the heartbit and its 176.20 bpm. My doc said its going to slow down in a few months. The baby right now is 3.94 cm and I am now on my 10th weeks. It will be 2 weeks more and I am over with my first trimester. Guess when is my due date? It's September 19th and that is our wedding anniversary day. It would be nice if baby will come out on that very day, isn't it?

I just learned from my blood test a week ago that I have mild anemia. Basically, I have to take ferrous sulfate added to my multi-vitamins with more folic acid medications. I need to eat lots of red meat as well. Before I left the clinic, I did one more test for hemoglobin. Basically more blood extraction (my favorite), she had more vials too! I don't get it! I have mild anemia and yet they kept extracting more blood! But get this, I did not look to the other side most of the time (this time around), I managed to look at what the lady was doing and making sure she is doing it right! :) So proud of me!

First Checkup with a Nurse Midwife

We have chosen who is going to be my ob-gyn for this pregnancy. She is a doctor from Professionals for Women's Health. She serves several clinic and hospitals in Columbus. She has one very close to my house (about 15mins. drive) . However, I could not get in to that clinic until March 19. We decided to go to one of her clinic in Dublin who has available appointment on this day.

The first visit would be to a nurse midwife. I was kind of nervous and scared about this whole thing, not very much looking forward to it but I am doing it for this tiny one inside of me. On this checkup, they run a bunch of test but the very first thing they did is to check my weight then my blood pressure and then I was given a couple of wipes and a little plastic cup to pee on. They did my urine test and was told I was indeed pregnant.

JJ and I had discussions with the nurse midwife. I am so glad he came along with me, he asked questions, stuff that I could not think off. Basically, do's and don'ts. We mentioned that I did not get enough sleep last night because I had bad cold and that I am very gassy. She told us tylenol and tums are very safe for pregnancy. I should mention that I am told to stay away from seafood! Will that be possible? Will see!

I had my pap test which I absolutely hated it, Gosh, I knew you girls can relate to this! After the pap test was the pelvic test and then finally I had my blood test. I couldn't wait until the lady stopped drawing blood on me. She had tons of vials and it really scared me because I hated to see blood! Well, she was really nice and very gentle though. She had this little cute pillow where she had me rest my hands while she is extracting my blood and the only thing I can do is to look to the other side :)

One Gift to Last a Lifetime

Finally, its Valentines Day, the day I've anxiously been waiting for. Anxious not because of the occasion but because I have a great news that I wanted to share to my hubby on this very day. It's something that is not anticipated and I thought that this day is the perfect day for him to know it. I never thought breaking a news like this could be this hard. I have thought a lot of ways how to break it. Do I have to utter the words or maybe I could use a prop and let him figure out the meaning. So I decided that I won't do good saying it in front of him. I don't wanna loose my composure which I know I easily will.

So yesterday, I left work earlier than normal. I stopped by at Hallmark to get a valentines card and a possibly anything I can use as a prop. It took me almost an hour to decide the least I can do. Well, this morning I woke up and assembled my best valentines day gift ever to hubby.

Now, as to when and where to give it to him was another dilemma. I made some nice breakfast this morning, we watched tv shows and movie and then we just had to wait for our dinner at McCormick and Schmick's which is at 5:30PM. It has been really hard and I felt like my heart is pounding too fast and its going to burst in any minute. I just found myself getting my stuff out. I am about to drop the bomb! LOL. Really, it was that hard. Finally, told hubby happy valentines day and handed him a tiny paper bag with my card and my gift in it. He told me, I shouldn't get anything for him and I replied that I did not get any. I made him read my card first and after that he grab the bear inside the bag and was surprised that it is not just a bear, there is something that came with it that says we are pregnant! I think he had positive mixed emotions about it. Surprised, maybe shocked? It's just surreal that it is happening. I mean he lost his Dad back in December and now someone is growing inside of me. Dad mentioned it the last time he came to visit us last christmas, that he said while talking to my dogs that it would be nice to have a little someone running around the house. JJ and I just never replied about it however like my friend Aya and Lyn said, maybe Dad knew in his heart that I already have something inside of me. That just tears me up and I am sad that he passed away in this very early stage of our pregnancy.

Got flowers!

Well I got home late tonight from work and hubby surprised me with proflowers waiting for me at the island table. I immediately opened it and saw my fave flowers, they are my fave colors as well. This is the second valentines day that he gave me these flowers and he knew he can never go wrong with it. Indeed it captured my mood for tomorrow's Heart's Day, and Babe you knew these and my I-phone is more than enough gift for me. Now I've got to figure out how will I carryout this great news, and best gift that awaits you and me.

My Baby is now a Girly

Twinkle turned 1 year old! Can you believe that? It seems like its was like a month ago when we first saw her. We had no plans of getting another critter but as soon as I hold her, we knew she'd be happier with us and we can give her much love a fuzzy critter longs to. Well not to make this rant too long, here is my baby girl in her first birthday outfit, and she did really good job modeling it for Momma:

She of course received some gifts which are mostly in pink! from her loving human parents. We are so happy for her and are really proud how she has grown. She is well mannered. She is a stinker, goofy and always starts a play. Just imagine when we are settled in the great room watching tv, movie or something. Star and Sunny were just laying around and her comes, little Twinkle running in full throttle back and forth the great room and on to the stairs going up and down! That leads to the big sister and big brother Sunny wanting to catch her and pin her down, maybe telling her to stop her craziness! However, when someone's really wanting to pick a fight with her, she will just ignore it like she is supposed to. She is feisty but well behaved dog, I tell ya.

Anyway, what did the stinker gets for her birthday? She had a pink donut, pink buddy, pink coach dog collar, pink photo frame and pink pup-pie cake! Her birthday outfit is a hand-me-down outfit from Star's first birthday but it was huge to her. It seems like she already reach her final size so I might get her a perfect size birthday tee for next year. The day after her birthday, Dada bought her more toys! and some chew2x and canoli.

And where are party buddies? Well of course, as usual its Star and Sunny. The boy looked handsome here while Star was kind of nervous the whole time. She was drooling and is not enjoying the party, oh well.....

Snow! Snow! Snow!

We just had snow mania in our place and so its time for fuzzy play! Star loves snow so much! I think she would play in the snow all day long if given a chance. She loves it when she is all covered up with snow. She just runs around me and only stops when we took picture.

Sunny on the other hand used to love snow but this time he did not. Maybe he felt it too cold and the snows could reach his boybits! I wanted him to really just run around like Star but he just really wants to taste the snow as you can see in the picture. Before he could warm up he already wanted to call this snow playing thing quits!

Twinkle's first was awesome. I thought she'd freeze after seeing so much snow but no she even had fun poopin' out! She went around to the bushes and sniffed, she even showed her goofiness and no signs of calling it quits until I had to!

In themed outfit

The fuzzies are in tune for today's Trick or Treating! We've shopped their outfit since the beginning of this month and we are quite happy with our choices. Though, Sunny's costume was kind of weird. Blame it to Dada! He picked a hot dog outfit for poor Sunny. He thought it will be more of Sunny since he loves hot dogs toys. They had their bath and grooming that morning so they smell pretty good and were looking handsome and pretty wearing their outfit. Twinkle and Star wasn't bothered at all. They wore the outfit with pride. Sunny was uneasy with the heaviness and hugeness of his custome. Overall, I think they had fun. They would bark when someone rang's the doorbell and then they would come to the door and sniff the kids when I hand them their candies. Here's my adorable doggies with their outfits!

I carved!

Wow so many first before this year ends! I just had my first pumpkin carving! It was so much fun and thanks to my ever loved JJ who did all the "fun"part. When I got home from work, the pumpkin was all cleaned up and was ready to be carved. I just had to choose what pattern I would want for my pumpkin to look like. He showed me a bunch of websites that I can use to print the stencils. Mine was pretty basic and was very easy to work with, same with JJ so we finished carving in no time. I then took them out, sat them in bed of dried maffle leaves. I lit a candle in it and took a picture. I think they were pretty and I am so proud I got my first pumpkin carving experince!

JJ's pumpkin

This is my pumpkin

Pumpkin's in the dark