Can you recommend the safest diet pills that work. I am still breastfeeding so I am looking for a way to loose weight without posing harm to Cobi. I also delivered via Caesarean section so I am not sure if I can go back to the gym already to work out.

I am really desperate to loose weight. It has been almost three months already and I haven’t shed even one single pound. But now that I am back at work, I am hoping that I will start loosing weight because I don’t eat as often now as compared to when I was just at home when all I do for almost the whole day is just eat. Plus add to that the daily stress that I get when commuting to and from work and my daily exercise in doing my work, so hopefully I will start to loose weight soon.

It is my second day at work today. Since my target is to breastfeed Cobi for a minimum of six months, I continued expressing milk even while at work. So everyday, I brought along with me my breastfeeding gadgets:

• My Electric Breastpump – This was a gift from my Twitter and Bebot friends. I am really glad that I got the electric pump because it is so much easy to use to express milk. If I have the manual pump, I might be needing compression stockings for my hand as it gets a little painful when expressing milk two to three times a day for 30 minutes per session.
• My Milk Storage Kits – So I can store my milk and freeze it while I am still at work and just bring it home so Cobi has milk for the next day.
• My Fridge to Go – I bought this from Indigo Baby online site and it has a cooling performance of up to 12 hours so I can see to it that my expressed milk is in a cool compartment when I bring it home from the office.
• My Milk Trays – I tried using it today but it takes longer for the milk to freeze using this as compared to freezing milk in the bottle.

I am happy that Cobi is still getting breast milk even if I have to go back to work already. I just hope that I will really meet my goal of breastfeeding Cobi for at least six months.

It is almost 1 AM already and I am still up. Cobi sleeps in the morning and is awake almost the entire night as he wakes up almost every hour to feed. We also suspects that he has reflux as he vomits after every feeding so I have to carry him all the time while feeding and even thirty minutes after feeding so he will not vomit. That is why he is so used to us carrying him all the time that once we put him down to his crib, he wakes up instantly that we have to carry him again or feed him to put him back to sleep.

I am sure he will continue to have this sleeping routine within the next few months so I have to change my sleeping pattern also and get used to a lot of sleepless nights. But at least even if I don’t find diet pills that work, this is one way to help me loose weight. I haven’t hit the weighing scale though so I am not sure if those sleepless nights is indeed helping me to loose weight or not.

This picture was taken when I was already 8th moth pregnant. Gosh I really look big already. I was 149 pounds on my full term and when I had my check up last week, I am down to 129 pounds which means I still have to work hard to loose my extra baggage so I can go back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

I read that moyoberry is the ultimate way to lose weight and since it is made of fruit, I might be able to take it even if I am breastfeeding.

When I had Bela, it took me seven months before I was able to loose my pregnancy weight but I am hoping that it will not take that long this time. We will be having the baptism of our baby boy in a month’s time and I am wondering if it is possible for me to loose weight that fast or is it just wishful thinking. LOL.

Looks like I will be giving birth earlier than we expected. LOL I am already scheduled for June 24 since I will deliver via Caesarian delivery but I guess my baby has his own mind and he has his own plan on when he wants to come out. LOL.

I was on leave for two days since I accompany Bela for her first two days in big school but I had bleeding today and I was asked by my doctor to see her tomorrow and if I feel contraction anytime tonight, I have to go directly to the delivery room.

This is so stressful. I already have everything planned and I will start my maternity leave on the 23rd of June. I still have a lot of pending jobs in the office and I was hoping that I will be able to finish it before I take my maternity leave. Hope that I just need some rest and my baby can wait until the 24th of June.

One of the reasons why I always stay up late (and one of the culprits why I need best acne treatment) is because I am doing some research on nice names that we will give our baby.

So have we made up our mind yet on what to name our baby boy? I think we are 90% convince already on the name that we have chosen but we will keep it as a secret first.

The first name was actually suggested by a friend and it is one of the names that he listed in our message card during our wedding. The second name was chosen by Bela and there is no way that she will agree to change it. Ever since we found out that I am pregnant, she has been calling our baby with that name. The name is actually cute and is one of the names in my list of favorite names so we just gave in to Bela’s request.

So just wait for our announcement cards after I gave birth to unravel the name that we will be giving our baby boy.

During my last check up a few weeks ago, I am already 142 pounds that is why I am dreading Saturday because it is the time for me to visit my OB again and I am scared to find out how many pounds I gained after only two weeks. (But honestly, no matter how many pounds I gained, I will definitely need weight loss supplements after I give birth to help me get back to my pre-pregnancy weight).

You see after my last visit to my doctor and after she told me that there is a big chance that I might deliver via CS again, I haven’t been really conscious with what I am eating. Just like yesterday and the other day, I had chocolate muffin and cinnamon swirl with Strawberry Frapuccino for breakfast which I know is really high is sugar. My thinking is, I will delivery via CS anyways so why should I go on a diet.

But I guess I have to watch what I eat also especially now that whatever I eat goes to my baby.

Last Wednesday, I took a leave from work since it is the day after Howell arrived from his three-week posting so we can spend some quality time together as most of you have noticed how much I mentioned here in my blog how much I miss him.

While waiting for Bela’s class to finish, we dropped by at Chinese General so I can have my monthly checkup. I am already on my 29th week and I am almost at the last leg of my pregnancy.

My OB checked the heartbeat of the baby and she said that everything is okay but she warned me that I have to lessen my sugar and sweets as my Glucose Tolerance test showed that my reading are higher than normal. But other than that, my OB said that we just have to wait for the coming of the baby. This reminds me that I should check on NC health insurance for our second baby as I want him covered too as soon as he is eligible for a health insurance. This has always been our number one priority especially for our kids.

In just a few months we will be seeing our baby boy. Bela, Howell, and I and the rest of my family and hubby’s family are all excited for his coming….

I posted in a previous entry here that we are having a baby boy for our second child. Howell and I are really excited. It has been almost five years already since I gave birth to Bela so it is like we are first time parents again. LOL.

Even if Howell is away, we have been discussing already on what name we should give our baby boy. We actually already agreed on a name but I will keep it as a secret for now.

I also started buying stuffs for our baby. I went to Hello baby store in Bel-air a few weeks ago and I am almost complete with all the baby clothes that my baby needs. Next on my shopping list now are:

1. We will be checking out baby strollers as we wanted to buy a smaller and lighter stroller that we can conveniently bring every time we travel or for short trips to the mall. Bela has the Graco stroller, which was given to her by her grand parents, but it is bulky and heavy that we end up just leaving it at home every time we go out.
2. BPA free bottles. I might just order this online as it is cheaper compared to buying it at the local stores here.
3. Breast Pump. I am not successful in breastfeeding Bela but I really wanted to give it a try for our second baby and hopefully I will be successful this time.

We are really counting the days so we can finally get to see, touch, hug and kiss our baby boy.

My next check up was supposed to be scheduled on April 10, but because of the accident that I had (which I blog here) last Sunday, I decided to take a leave from work Monday to have another ultrasound and Tuesday to visit my OB.

As per my last ultrasound, I am now on my 25th week and my expected date of delivery is June 23, 2010. I can’t believe that time flies so fast and in less than three months, we will finally be able to see our baby boy.

Hubby and I have been discussing and we promised that we really have to work hard and save to provide for the needs of our kids especially now that our family is growing, Problem is, hubby and I doesn’t know how to be frugal. LOL. But we heard that there are software programs available that can help us manage our family’s finances and budget. I was checking the site HomeBudgetSoftware.org and they reviewed and analyzed budget software that are out in the market to recommend the best home budget software to their customers that will really work and will really help their costumers manage their budget better.

All parents want but nothing but the best for their kids. All we wish for is that we will be able to provide for their basic needs, send them to good schools, give them extra curricular activities that will help develop their personality and raise them as responsible and God fearing individual so they will be ready to face whatever challenges life will bring them.

This is me at 5 months (never mind the picture if it is small as I don’t want to zoom my face because it is full of pimples and blackheads that I really need blackhead remover. LOL).

I am now on my second trimester and I am savoring every moment of it because I think this is the most comfortable stage of my pregnancy

• Morning sickness and my everyday dizziness are already gone.
• My appetite is back and I am now eating more and I am back to loving sweets again (which I know is bad because I should be monitoring my weight gain but I miss eating sweets and desserts).
• I was able to go back to work already though I sometimes still feel pain in my back which means I still have to take it slow.

I will have my check up again on March 6 and by the third week of March, we will have our Congenital Anomaly Scan (so we are hoping to know the gender of the baby) and our 3D ultrasound.

We are so excited already but I am really praying that the results of the Congenital Anomaly Scan will all be okay. Please pray for me and my baby.

LMP: Sept 16, 2009
Menstrual Age: 12 2/7 weeks
Problems/s: Follow up scan to determine viability

Scan: TVS
Gestational Sac Visualized: Yes
Location: Intrauterine
Borders: Thick and well-defined
Fetus Recognized: Yes
Number: Single
Well-Formed: Yes
Heart Motion: Yes (171/min)
Body Movement: Yes
CRL: 4.77 cm

Remarks: Single, live, intrauterine pregnancy about 11 4/7 weeks by CRL with good cardiac activity. A fundal subchorionic hemorrhage is seen measuring 2.31 cm x 0.81 cm x 0.71 cm. no cervical funneling noted.

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This is the reason, why I have to take a bed rest. I thought that I am already ok since the hemorrhage was gone already during my 2nd TVS but maybe I got really tired from doing all those Christmas shopping (pasaway kse. LOL). And by the way, the doctor who conducted the ultrasound said that there is a possibility that the gender is male since she saw something pointed. LOL. But she said that we have to do an ultrasound by 7th month to really determine the gender of the baby. But Howell is already so excited. LOL.

I went to my OB last Friday for my weekly check up. She was still not able to hear the heartbeat of the baby the last time I had my checkup using her Doppler and so she wanted to be sure and she ordered for an ultrasound.

Thank God, the baby is ok and he/she has a good cardiac and somatic activity as indicated in the ultrasound. But the bad news is I again have subchorionic hemorrhage and the size is almost triple than my first hemorrhage. So my OB got alarmed and ordered me to have one month complete bed rest. She also increased the dosage of my medicines and I will have to visit her every week for my weekly injection. Ouch.

Too bad, I am already planning for a Tagaytay trip this Christmas vacation since Bela got new equestrian apparel so she can go horse back riding in Tagaytay. I also wanted to eat at Bag of Beans.

Oh well, I guess I just have to follow my doctor’s advise as it is for the safety and health of my baby. The good thing is, at least I will be at home the entire holiday season. Hubby is jealous. LOL. I can spend bonding time with our dear princess since it is also her vacation.

I had my check up again with my OB yesterday. I lie on her exam table (which I think she ordered from Claflin Medical Equipment because it is so comfortable and so durable. They even offer discounts and free shipping.) to check my condition. She was still not able to hear the heartbeat of the baby using her Doppler so she asked me to come back again next week to check the heartbeat. If she can’t still hear the heartbeat again next week (since I am already on my 11th-12th week that time), she will order another ultrasound just to be sure.

I had my second ultrasound two weeks ago and the results are all okay. I was a bit worried when my OB told me that I need to go back next week to check the heartbeat but she assured me that it is just normal. I even checked my book, “What to Expect when you’re Expecting” and I confirmed there that the baby’s heartbeat can be heard from a Doppler anytime between 10-12 weeks.

Below is the result of my second TVS:

LMP: Sept 16, 2009
Menstrual Age: 9 3/7 weeks
Problems/s: Follow up scan for AOG and subchorionic hemorrhage monitoring.

Scan: TVS
Gestational Sac Visualized: Yes
Location: Intrauterine
Borders: Thick and well-defined
Fetus Recognized: Yes
Number: Single
Well-Formed: Yes
Heart Motion: Yes (182/min)
Body Movement: No


Other Findings: The right ovary measures 2.14x1.66x2.07 cm. The left ovary is not seen. No subchorionic hemorrhage seen.

Remarks: Single, live, intrauterine pregnancy about 8 4/7 weeks by CRL with good cardiac activity. Right ovary is normal size. Left ovary is not seen by transvaginal scan. No subchorionic hemorrhage seen at this time.

I was checking bcbsnc health plans online when I remembered that I haven’t posted results of my ultrasound here.

I went for checkup with my OB last November 7, 2009. Since my OB said that I am already on my 7th-8th weeks of pregnancy based on my LMP (September 16), she recommended that I undergo a TVS. And here is the result:

LMP: Sept 16, 2009
Menstrual Age: 7 3/7 weeks

Scan: TVS
Gestational Sac Visualized: Yes
Location: Intrauterine
Borders: Thick and well-defined
Fetus Recognized: Yes
Number: Single
Well-Formed: Yes
Heart Motion: Yes (114/min)
Body Movement: No
CRL: 0.44 cm

Other Findings: The right ovary measures 1.76x1.42x1.34 cm. The left ovary measures 2.18x2.18x1.78 cm. The corpus luteum is seen on the left. An area with subchorionic hemorrhage measuring 0.96x0.46x0.30 cm, is seen on the posterior fundal area.

Remarks: Single, live, intrauterine pregnancy about 6 1/7 weeks by CRL with cardiac activity noted. Both ovaries are normal size with the corpus luteum on the left. Posterofundal subchorionic hemorrhage is noted. EDC based on today’s scan is July 2, 2010.

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I am now taking Duvadilan and Duphaston for the hemorrhage and Folart for my vitamins. I am trying sometimes to drink Anmum but the taste is making me feel sick so I will try again on my second trimester. I will have my second checkup this coming Saturday and I will find out also about the results of my laboratory exams and hopefully everything is ok. When I had Bela, I had problems with UTI so I am really praying that I will not have the same problem again this time.