Ruling Out

Gahhhh! 

I flunked my 1 hour glucose test so the Dr. sent me to the lab to take the 3 hour glucose test. 

I flunked that one too! 

My "slightly" elevated blood sugar level had the Dr. immediately calling me at work.  He said there's no need for me to take insulin because it's not severe.  However, he DID refer me to see the endocrinologist just to do further testing make sure that gestational diabetes and other metabolism issues are ruled out of the health risk for me and the baby.  I haven't made the appointment yet, but I will next week.

I really hope that it's NOT gestational diabetes or anything to do with my thyroids.  Since then, I've been really careful about my eating habits.  This has never been an issue when I was pregnant with Maddy and I was even less careful with my diet.

Name for the Golden Child

Our baby boy will be the 12th grandchild for my MIL and FIL.  Sure they have grandsons, but they all come from both of Erwil's 2 older sisters.  Erwil's older brother had 3 girls, which his wife proclaimed that they're "done with having more babies."  Awww!

My MIL and FIL have been wanting to have a grandson carry the "Untalan" name.  So this child that I'm carrying is like their "Golden Child".  Before the BIG full anatomy ultrasound, I sort of had an inkling that the baby was a boy because Erwil and I were always brainstorming names for boys, not girls.  Erwil and I still cannot agree on a decent name for the kid. 

By the way, now that I'm in my 19th week...I feel him kicking me a lot!

Ultrasound Appointment

Erwil, Maddy and I went to my ultrasound appointment this morning.  The baby is a BOY!  I'll post the ultrasound picture later.  It's really hard to figure out what you're supposed to look at, but I guess a trained eye knows what it is.

Maddy's Eating Habits

Maddy has come a long way when it comes to eating. 

• As a newborn, I breastfed every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Those feedings would last an hour long, 45 minutes if she was being efficient.  I didn't have any other purpose in life than to be housed in her nursery as personal milk wagon.
• At 3 months old, she finally learned to self-soothe and was sleep through the night in her own crib.  I made sure she was nursed as much as possible during the day so that she would sleep well.  She ate as much as she wanted for as long as she wanted.  I had no clue how much she suckled in ounces, but I was able to pump about 6-7 ounces in a sitting.  So I imagine she was getting about that much in every feeding.
• I had to wean Maddy from breastfeeding when she was only 5 months because I had to report back to work.  My original goal was to breastfeed her for a year.  That just didn't happen.  You don't know how disappointed I was for not reaching my goal.  She didn't compromise with taking a bottle, so Erwil and I had to bottle train her for a full month and just to get her babysitter ready.  Good thing we had a frozen supply on reserve!
• She started eating pureed baby food at 6 months.  I waited until 6 because I wanted to make sure her immune system would be able to handle it and to avoid food alergies and eczema outbreaks.  I wasn't the diligent, wholistic mom who made home made organic baby food.  I was the mom who would empty the whole shelf if I saw that Gerber baby foods were on sale.  Please don't judge me or stone me to death for taking short-cuts. Maddy still turned out healthy and happy and it was convenient for her babysitters to feed her this way.
• Her two bottom teeth didn't break through her gums until she was 11 months old, so we stuck with mincing almost all the table food for her.  My baby is still at the stage where she loves eating all sorts of food--chicken, salmon, rice, pasta, veggies and fruits.  She eats everything she sees us eat, plus all of the baby food sitting in our cabinet that I bought on sale.   
• Now that she's almost a year old, we will start weening her off of Enfamil formula and try to introduce her to organic whole milk.  That will save us so much money!  We don't want her to get used to eating the processed foods like fried Spam, corned beef and hot dogs, even though it's the staple meal at every Filipino house.

Maddy's Favorites
Filipino foods: My mom's Salmon sinigang (salmon in sour tamarind broth) with spinach and also roasted eggplant torta (omelette)
American food: Macaroni & cheddar cheese with steamed broccoli on the side 
Japanese food: BBQ chicken terriyaki, with steamed rice, carrots and broccoli.  Miso soup with rice & soft tofu.
Vietnamese food:  Pho with rice noodles
Italian food: Beef lasagna with extra tomato sauce
Mexican food:  Haven't tried it yet
Junk food:  Trader Joe's White Cheddar corn puffs, Top Ramen noodles, cake
Fruit:  All.  Hates peaches tho!
Veggies:  All of them, even daikon turnips (labanos) and red beets
Drink:  Milk and occasional water.  She doesn't like fruit juice.
Snacks:  Gerber cereal puffs and Cheerios

It's really fun for me to ask moms what their own little toddlers love and hate to eat.  It gives me more ideas on how I can help Maddy eat healthy and avoid her becoming so finicky at the table.

I also took the time to read Ellyn Satter's books Child of Mine:  Feeding With Love and Good Sense and How to Get Your Kid to Eat: But Not Too Much.  Our pediatrician recommended Child of Mine and I liked it so much, I also ordered the second one from Amazon.com.

Welcome To 2011!

We want you all to know that we wish you a Happy New Year 2011! 

Our Best & Worst List of 2010

Best of 2010
Maddy

Worst of 2010
Maddy

Biggest News of 2010
Maddy

2nd Biggest News of 2010
What?  I'm pregnant AGAIN?

Newest Phrase of 2010
Explosive Poop

#1 Reason for Insomnia
Maddy

#1 Fatigue Inducer
Maddy

Biggest Reason to Laugh
Maddy

Biggest Reason to Cry
Maddy

Reason Why the UPS Guy Knows Our Address
Maddy

Reason Why Chinese Food Delivery Guy Rings Our Doorbell
Maddy

Reason Why Redbox Sales Have Gone Up, While Movie Ticket Sales Have Gone Down
Maddy

Best Excuse of 2010
Maddy

Reason Why Our Lives Will Never Be the Same
Maddy