Daddy Jarbs' 1st sprint triathlon relay race!

We celebrated Mother's Day at Lake Anna down in Spotsylvania, VA. Daddy Jarbs participated in a sprint triathlon relay. We had to get up at 4:30 am and drive down at 5:30 am! Lake Anna is about a 1.5-2 hr drive from DC. The race started at 9 am.

Swimmers waiting for the race to start

Daddy Jarbs anxiously waiting for their swimmer
to cross the finish line and get the team's chip

Finally got the chip!

And off he goes..

18 miles and 1hr 15 mins hrs later, I finally saw him approach the finish line! Of course I cheered, "go Daddy Jarbs go"! :-)

Baby Jarbs and I congratulated Daddy Jarbs after he crossed the finish line

Daddy Jarbs with our friends/teammates who also participated in the race

What an exhausting day. I felt like I raced too! Daddy, Mommy and Baby Jarbs took a long nap as soon as we got home :-).

1st Mothers Day!

Mothers day is not until tomorrow and technically, I am not a mom yet, but Daddy Jarbs surprised me with beautiful flowers and a very sweet Mothers day card.

Later in the day, we went to McCormick & Schmick at the National Harbor and celebrated Mothers day with Grandma & Grandpa Jarbs.

My mom, Lola B, is in Manila so I sent her a card along with a framed sonogram picture of Baby Jarbs :-). The framed photo looks something like this (note: photo below is not of Baby Jarbs).

Happy Mothers day to our mommas, Grandma Jarbs and Lola B. We love you!!

More classical music

We were at Borders last Wednesday and Daddy Jarbs finally bought a classical music cd. He has been playing it whenever we are driving in the car.

I get scolded whenever I listen to Hot 99.5 while driving! Daddy Jarbs said he doesn't want Baby Jarbs listening to Kesha! lol. Why, what's wrong with Baby Jarbs singing "The party don't start till I walk in..." :-).

Mangoes, mangoes and more mangoes!!

I LOVE mangoes!! It's one of my favorite fruits in the whole wide world :-). It seems like Baby Jarbs is starting to like it too. I had been consistently craving for green mangoes every week. I pretty much HAVE to get them every weekend. This past weekend, I went to the Asian store in Seven Corners and saw them selling boxes of ripe mangoes!! They are Mexican mangoes but very close to the sweet Philippine mangoes that I used to have in Manila. Needless to say, I came out of the store with a whole box :-). I've been eating mangoes every day for the past week. I eat it by itself or make mango shakes. I also made a frozen mango dessert that has been waiting for me in the freezer. Mommy Jarbs has been enjoying all these fresh mangoes and so does Baby Jarbs :-).

15 weeks today!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 15w3d
How big is baby: The size of an orange!
Weight gain/loss: +5 (from pre-pregnancy weight)
Pregnancy symptoms: Increased appetite, growing belly, weight gain, dreaded back pain!
Maternity clothes: Nope but I've been wearing a lot of baby doll tops/dresses this past week. They're so comfy!
Stretch Marks: None
Sleep: I get about 7-8 hours of sleep each night so it's all good. I haven't had any sleepless nights lately.
Best moment this week: Daddy Jarbs playing classical musical for Baby Jarbs
Movement: None. Hopefully, I can feel some movement soon!!
Food cravings: Salty food, mangoes
Food aversions: Still frozen yogurt!
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: Still in!
What I miss: Working out 2x a day :-/. Have to take it easy now.
What I am looking forward to: Babymoon which is in 3.5 weeks! The countdown begins!
Milestones:

Continuing the march toward normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure his arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably can't feel the movements just yet.

Classical music

We all know the benefits of classical music (and music in general) for babies. According to this article, classical music won't necessarily make a baby smarter but it will them develop his/her auditory memory and improve their ability to decode auditory data. For several weeks now, Daddy Jarbs has been mentioning about playing classical music for Baby Jarbs. He even said that when he was at Target a couple of days ago and he tried to look for classical music CDs. He did not find any though. Well, yesterday, while we were driving back from Gaithersburg (had to drop off our car in the shop), he tuned in to the classical radio station and played classical music during our entire drive back to DC! He was even conducting in the car and kept touching my belly. How sweet :-). By the time we got to DC, I was feeling sleepy from all the classical music that we've been listening too. All I wanted was to take a nap!! LOL. I am sure we'll be listening to more classical music in the next few months. I am also sure Baby Jarbs will turn out to be smart since he/she will take after Daddy & Mommy Jarbs' genes :-).

14 weeks today!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 14w3d
How big is baby: The size of a lemon!
Weight gain/loss: +5 (from pre-pregnancy weight)
Pregnancy symptoms: Increased appetite
Maternity clothes: Nope but my friend just loaned her maternity clothes to me and another co-worker offered to loan her mat. clothes too! Yay!
Stretch Marks: None
Sleep: Still learning to sleep on my left side. Sleep this past week has been good except for last night when I woke up at the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep.
Best moment this week: Somebody at the gym that I go to asked my co-worker if I am pregnant. I guess I am slowly starting to look pregnant and not just somebody who gained weight :-).
Movement: None but I can feel my uterus stretching
Food cravings: Salty food
Food aversions: Frozen yogurt and sweet food in general
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: Still in but it gets stretched out when my belly is full!
What I miss: Eating poke (raw tuna)! Daddy Jarbs made poke 2x during the past week and I can't have any :-(.
What I am looking forward to: Hearing Baby Jarbs' heartbeat during our next doc's appointment which is in 2 weeks!
Milestones:

Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine, and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over her body for warmth.

Baby gears...

The past couple of weeks have been pretty uneventful since we did not have any baby related things to do. I took the opportunity to read and start my research on baby gears. There are TONS of baby stuff out there so I want to read up and research on them before we purchase anything. I know it is easy to fall into the trap of buying stuff for Baby Jarbs. After all, the baby stuff are just so adorable :-). However, Daddy Jarbs and I want to be smart with our purchases. We do not want to end up buying things which we won't really need or end up as unnecessary junk in our house.

I just finished reading The Gilfriends' Guide to Baby Gear. It tells you what stuff to buy/not to buy, what to borrow and what not.

I have started reading Baby Bargains. It has different reviews of different baby products which will helpfully make our decision easier in which products to choose, taking into consideration the safety ratings, cost, usefulness, etc. I am hoping to slowly start putting together a list of the basic baby things that we need so we will not feel overwhelmed when we visit the baby store.

          

More yoga..

Daddy Jarbs and I took two yoga classes this week at our neighborhoos yoga stuido, Yoga District. We went to a beginner's class last Wednesday and a restorative yoga class today. The classes were not prenatal yoga but I made the instructor aware that I am expecting. They had me make adjustments and do prenatal poses. Daddy Jarbs have not had any yoga experience prior to these classes. He liked yoga though so we may continue going to these classes together. It's a fun activity that both of us can do before Baby Jarbs arrives!

Maternity dress shopping...FAIL

Daddy Jarbs and I went to Tar-jay (Target) today to buy a couple of things for the house. I do not need maternity clothes yet but since we're already at Tarjay, I decided to venture over their maternity section and check out what they have. I refuse to spend money buying expensive maternity clothes which I am only going to use for a few months so I am all for buying them for cheap. Just for the heck of it, I tried on a couple of maternity blouses. They were waaay too big for me :-(. Long story short, Daddy Jarbs bought me 2 kimono sleeve dresses which I got at the JUNIOR'S section for $15 each! Score! I'll be able to use them now, as my tummy gets bigger and even after I give birth :-).

Daddy Jarbs

A couple of days ago, I went through Daddy Jarbs' memory box which was given to him by his mom, Grandma Jarbs, two Christmases ago. I saw his baby book and found out that he was born with a weight of a whopping 9 lbs 4 oz!!! Holy moly, what a big baby!! For a second, I got scared that Baby Jarbs might take after Daddy Jarbs and turn out to be that big as well. With my built, I am not sure if my body can handle popping out a 9 lb baby. I may end up having c-section!!

How big do you think Baby Jarbs will turn out to be? We'll just have to wait until October to find out.

Daddy Jarbs - what a chubby little baby!

13 weeks today!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 13w3d
How big is baby: The size of a peach!
Weight gain/loss: +4 (from pre-pregnancy weight)
Pregnancy symptoms: HUGE appetite! I can do nothing but eat all day :-).
Maternity clothes: Still wearing regular, pre-pg clothes although I am leaning towards wearing dresses/loose tops since they feel less constricting
Stretch Marks: None
Sleep: I've had good days and bad days. There are nights when I sleep through the night with no problem. There are also nights when I wake up in the middle of the night and just toss & turn. I am a "side-sleeper" and most of the time sleep on my right side. However, since I now sleep on the left side of the bed, I have been training myself to sleep on my left side as well.  I read that sleeping on my left side benefits the baby by improving blood flow – and therefore nutrients – to the placenta. It also helps the kidneys efficiently eliminate waste products and fluids from your body, which in turn reduces swelling in your ankles, feet, and hands.
Best moment this week: At my dentist's office this morning. After I told the receptionist and 2 hygienists that I am expecting, my hygienist (after recovering from shock from the baby news lol) said "oh that's why you look so beautiful" lol. Made my day :-). I guess I look crappy all other times that I have gone to the dentist! Haha.
Movement: None. Hopefully, in a few weeks I will start to feel Baby Jarbs move.
Food cravings: Salty food. I know I have to be careful and not eat too much salty food which leads to water retention and possibly pre-eclampsia!
Food aversions: Frozen yogurt and sweet food in general
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: Still in!
What I miss: Still missing my allergy meds
What I am looking forward to: Yoga class tonight with Daddy Jarbs!
Milestones:

Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords...savor this, their nonfunctional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with his head now only one third the size of his body. And intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy -- much more convenient.

Prenatal yoga!

A week ago, I ordered a pre-natal yoga dvd on Amazon. It was recommended to me by my friend Christine who just recently gave birth. I had the chance to try it out last Saturday. I did the 45 min. pratice and loved it! Most of the poses are not new to me since I had already been going to yoga classes before I got pregnant. With this dvd, we did a lot of hip stretching/opening poses which I know will be helpful in preparing for labor later on.

In a few weeks, as my belly gets bigger, I'll enroll in a prenatal class. It will be a good way to meet other pregnant mamas!

Incidentally, I am taking Daddy Jarbs to his first yoga class tomorrow! We had been meaning to do this together since a while back but have not had the have the chance. We are going to Yoga District which is walking distance from our house. We just bought Daddy Jarbs' yoga mat tonight. It should be pretty interesting to see how he'll do given that he is not the most flexible person in the world :-).

Goodbye 1st tri...

As I say goodbye to the 1st trimester of my pregnancy, I can't help but think and look back how the 1st three months have been. I feel very blessed and fortunate to have an easy and comfortable pregnancy so far (knock on wood). I haven't had any morning sickness or any other crappy symptoms. I hope it stays this way through 2nd trimester and beyond :-). Daddy Jarbs has been great and very supportive. He has also been understanding from the getgo, especially when I have my moods :-). Our friends and family have been very supportive as well. To our little pumpkin, Baby Jarbs, thanks for not giving Mommy Jarbs a hard time so far. We can't wait to feel your kicks and find out whether we need to paint your nursery blue or pink :-).

Time does really go by fast. We only have 6 more months before we meet Baby Jarbs. For now, Daddy Jarbs and I are enjoying spending quality time together and getting a lot of sleep before Baby Jarbs rocks our world :-).

Sour & salty cravings

I am back to craving sour & salty food again. Mid-day today, the only thing I can think of is to eat salted popcorn or salt & vinegar chips!! I went to the convenience store right by my office building and got myself a small bag of UTZ salt and vinegar chips. Salty heaven!!! It was not enough to satisfy my cravings though. Then I started thinking about green mangoes and shrimp paste :=). This was one of my very first cravings even before I found out I was pregnant.

After work,  Daddy Jarbs and I drove out to Grand Mart (Asian store) in Virginia to buy some green mangoes. I was disappointed that they did not have the kind of mangoes that I want so I settled for the slightly ripe Mexican mangoes. It was good enough to satisfy my cravings but I would have preferred the unripe, sour green mangoes.

Daddy Jarbs ended up buying fresh lobsters at Grand Mart and made us yummy lobster dinner with baked yuca on the side.

 Daddy Jarbs ready to attack the lobsters :-).

12 weeks today!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 12w3d
How big is baby: The size of a plum!
Weight gain/loss: +3 (from pre-pregnancy weight) but -0.5 lbs from last doctor's appointment
Pregnancy symptoms: Nose bleeding, increased appetite, round ligament pains
Maternity clothes: Have not bought any maternity clothes yet but had to buy new bras. Went up a cup size already :-/.
Stretch Marks: None
Sleep: I feel like I am slowly getting my energy back so I can now stay up a little bit later than I used to. It helps me sleep through the night rather than sleep early, wake up and toss and turn in the middle of the night. Daddy Jarbs and I have switched sides of the bed where we normally sleep. He used to sleep on the side closer to the bathroom. Since I have to get up at least 3x a night to pee, I forced him to switched sides so I'll have a closer walk to the loo :-).
Best moment this week: Hearing Baby Jarbs' strong heartbeat via the doppler
Movement: None but in a few weeks I should be able to feel some movements
Food cravings: Cosi's artic mocha, green mangoes
Food aversions: Still do not like sweets.
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: In!
What I miss: Taking my allergy meds. Because of the extremely high pollen count this season, the netipot and Benadryl are not enough :-/.
What I am looking forward to: 2nd trimester and being out of the danger zone!
Milestones:

As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of her systems are fully formed.

12 week appointment

I had my 12 week doctor's appointment this morning. Everything went well. It was just a standard routine check up where they checked my weight (lost 1/2 lb from last appointment?!) and got my blood drawn. My OB said it looks like everything is going great since I do not have any issues. She said since I am petite, she will not be alarmed if I only gain about 20 lbs. The highlight of the appointment was being able to hear Baby Jarbs' heartbeat via the doppler. The doctor said some babies do not cooperate and she has a hard time finding the heartbeat but not Baby Jarbs. As soon as the doppler touched my belly, there goes Baby Jarbs' heartbeat :-). It was beating at about 150 bpm. Daddy Jarbs cannot join me for the appointment so I recorded Baby Jarbs' heartbeart for him. At first my phone was not cooperating but glad it eventually worked. Go to THIS (click download and then "open" to play audio) link to listen to Baby Jarbs' heartbeat at 12w2d.

My next appointment will be next month at 16 weeks and then we come back for the big appointment at 20 weeks where we will find out Baby Jarbs' gender :-).

Day care

As I previously mentioned, we did another day care tour at the Bright Start Childcare center in Petworth last week. This is the third (hopefully the last) center that Daddy Jarbs and I have visited. Despite the location, we really liked this center. When we got there, we were given a tour by Ms. Wright who was the assistant director in the center. The day care is clean, spacious and bright. They just opened their center last October so they are fairly new. The center has coded entry. We were told that parents will be assigned their own key code which they can use in entering the center. Therefore, no code, no entry. They also have webcams all around the center. We can go online anytime and see/watch our kid. We thought that was pretty cool. The center is also bilingual Spanish which is great. The teachers can teach Baby Jarbs Spanish which will hopefully help him in understanding the Filipino language (which is very similar to Spanish). While we were there, we have bumped into a couple of parents who dropped off their kids and they only had good things to stay about the center. We felt that the providers genuinely care for the kids and that they give the kids more personal attention especially the infants who need it the most. We did not get the same impression when we visited other centers. Overall, we were pleased with this daycare. We signed up on their wait list. Since we signed up early, we have high priority in their list and a spot will be ready for Baby Jarbs whenever we are ready. This is a huge sigh of relief for us. We now do not have to worry about finding child care for Baby Jarbs when I am ready to go back to work. One downside regarding this facility is the location. It is 3 miles north from our house which is out of the way to work. However, our plan is to put Baby Jarbs here first and then move him to the DOL daycare when a spot opens. This way, Baby Jarbs will learn how to adapt to change easily ;-). The DOL daycare is only a few blocks away from our offices and if Daddy Jarbs ends up getting assigned there (keeping our fingers crossed), it will be much more convenient for us.

I am glad I could cross the day care out of our to-do-list. On to the next...

Girls day out!

This afternoon, while Daddy Jarbs is playing softball with his new softball league, I went out with my girlfriends to the Bump It Up Party at the W Hotel. It is a book launch event for Amy Koch's Bump It Up pregnancy style bible. The event is for moms-to-be and to those who are planning to get pregnant. As soon as we walked in at the party, we got goodie bags from Bliss Spa and Great Beginnings store. We were also treated to yummy cupcakes, mocktails (we had non-alcoholic mojitos) and pampering treatments from Bliss Spa. It felt good getting a nice shoulder rub for a few minutes and a refreshing oxygen treatment. We also met the author of the book, Amy Koch, who gave some advice on style do's and dont's for pregnant moms. 

After the Bump It Up party, the girls and I had fabulous lunch at the W's POV rooftop lounge. The weather was great so it was a nice day to have lunch overlooking the city. Overall, it was a fun girls day. Thanks to my friend Malia for passing the 411 for this event :-).

Yummy cupcakes

Patty getting her oxygen treatment

Arlynn and second time mom Patty with her adorable 4 month old baby Valentina

1st Trimester screening results are in!

I got a call from the genetic counselor from GW Hospital. She told me that the results for the 1st trimester testing are in and everything is NORMAL. This means that Baby Jarbs has very small risk of having chromosomal abnormalities, including Down’s Syndrome Trisomy-21 and Trisomy-18. We also do not have to have further genetic testings such as the chorionic villus sampling (CVS), or second trimester amniocentesis which are more invasive. Great news!! Hooray for Baby Jarbs :-).

11 weeks today!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 11w3d
How big is baby: The size of a lime!
Weight gain/loss:  +3 (from pre-pregnancy weight). So far, my weight gain has been in check and within the normal weight gain range for 1st trimester. Slowly but surely!!
Pregnancy symptoms: Had one day of dizzy spell! Tender breasts and slowly growing belly Maternity clothes: No. I can still fit in my regular clothes but since I haven't outted myself at work, I prefer to wear loose tops to hide my slowly growing bump.
Stretch Marks: None
Sleep: Been having trouble sleeping through the night. I would pass out around 10 pm but would wake up around 3 am and don't fall back to sleep until after a couple of hours. According to my research, this is normal for pregnant women since the hormones are changing.
Best moment this week: Seeing Baby Jarbs in the NT scan yesterday!
Movement: None although I can feel some minor cramping on my lower left abdomen. It's probably my uterus stretching.
Food cravings: No significant craving this week
Food aversions: Still do not like sweets. Thank God!
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: In!
What I miss: None that I can think of this week
What I am looking forward to: 12-week appointment with my OB next week and finally being in the 2nd trimester!
Milestones:

The fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.

Baby Jarbs looks like a baby now...

Daddy Jarbs and I started the day with a daycare tour at Bright Start Child Care Center in Petworth. We really liked the center and have signed Baby Jarbs on their wait list. More than likely, Baby Jarbs will have to go to this daycare before we switch him/her to the daycare downtown. I will write more about how the daycare tour went in a separate post.

The highlight of our day was our appointment for the first trimester screening. Mothers who are age 30 and above are recommended to have this non-invasive genetic screening to assess the baby's risk of having Down syndrome and some other chromosomal abnormalities. Not all health insurance covers this screening. I am lucky that my insurance covers it so we decided to go ahead and get it. The screening includes an NT scan (nuchal fold scan) which uses ultrasound to measure the clear space in the tissue at the back of the baby's developing neck. They also have to take a blood test.

For our first trimester screening appointment, we had to go to a medical facility across from GW hospital. I was advised to come with a moderately full bladder. On the way to the appointment, I drank about 16 ozs of water. By the time we got to GW, I had to go to the coffee shop to relieve myself :-). Daddy Jarbs bought me another liter of bottled water to drink to refill my bladder. Worried that my bladder would not be full by the time we have our ultrasound, I finished drinking the whole liter of water in like 15 mins! By the time my name got called to see the genetic counselor, I was ready to go to the restroom again! :-/ However, I HAD to hold my pee since I can't have an empty bladder for the ultrasound. It was torture to say the least.

Long story short, we got to see Baby Jarbs again and now he/she looks like a baby :-). At first, we thought we would have to come back for another ultrasound appointment since the baby was not measuring as big as what they would need for the test. However, a few minutes later, Baby Jarbs stretched and the technician was able to do the test that she needed to do. Smart baby! :-). I guess Baby Jarbs was getting smooshed by my full bladder. The technician said that next time I do not have to drink THAT much before an ultrasound! LOL.

 Here's the photo of Baby Jarbs at 11w2d. 

Daddy Jarbs thinks he's a boy. He said the arms are flexed so he's showing his muscles! LOL

Overall, the appointment went great! Baby Jarbs looks like a baby now and not like a big blob during the 8 wk appointment. We got to see  him/her move. We also got to hear the heartbeat which was 163 bpm! What a strong baby :-). The technician said Baby Jarbs' nasal bone is already formed which is a great sign. Most of the time, the absense of nasal bone is an indicator of down syndrome. Baby Jarbs' nose was also very prominent. Perhaps, he/she will have Daddy Jarbs' nose and not take after Mommy Jarbs' Filipino nose :-). Here is a video of the ultrasound. Pardon Daddy Jarbs' shaky hand. 

http://vimeo.com/10724685 from Mommy Jarbs on Vimeo.

This day could have not gone any better :-). What a great day!

Babymoon booked!

With Baby Jarbs' impending arrival in October, Daddy Jarbs and I had to make changes to our vacation plans this year. We were originally going to the Philippines to visit Mommy Jarbs' family and to get some R&R in Boracay. I was very close to booking our ticket to Manila but I am glad that I kept stalling. Little did we know that God has other plans for us. We have finally decided that we will forego with the Manila trip. Daddy Jarbs wants to use his vacation days when Baby Jarbs arrives. That way, he will be able to help me at home especially during those crucial first few weeks. 

We got invited to attend my cousin's wedding in Los Angeles this coming June. Since we will be out on the West coast for the wedding, we thought we'd plan our babymoon around it. We found a good deal on a flight to Cabo San Lucas so that's where we're going! We are staying at Pueblo Bonito Rose Resort. We have friends who have stayed in this resort and highly recommend it. It's in a good location and is a close walk to downtown.

This will be our last adult vacation before the baby arrives. Our exotic vacation in the next few years may be limited to trips to Disneyland & Hershey Park :-). We're looking forward to doing nothing but relax. I will be 19 weeks then so my belly will be bigger but it shouldn't be too bad. According to my doctor, second trimester is the best time to travel since I will (apparently) have my energy back. I can't wait!

Sympathy pregnancy

This morning was the first time since I got pregnant that I experienced a dizzy spell. It was one day short from turning 11 weeks! My dizzy spell was not very bad but I had to lay down to keep my head from spinning. I ended up falling asleep on the couch in the living room while Daddy Jarbs was doing his garden work outside the house. A couple of hours later, I woke up from my nap and went up to the bedroom to lay down in bed. A few minutes later Daddy Jarbs came in the room and asked why I felt dizzy. I said, I do not know. He said "I feel dizzy and nauseous now too!" and then laid down in bed beside me.  I thought he was pulling my leg but he really wasn't feeling well!! He had to stop what he was doing so he can lay down. nstead of feeling sorry for him, I started laughing :-). He started laughing too. Coincidence? I don't think so. Sympathy pregnancy? Maybe!! According to this article, having sympathy pains or also known as couvade syndrome is not a pregnancy myth.

"Psychology-based theories suggest that symptoms of couvade may be physical manifestations of a man’s subconscious attempts to adjust to the pregnancy. During his partner’s pregnancy, a man may manifest symptoms in order to (subconsciously) identify with his partner, bond with the fetus, assert his paternity, or reclaim his wife’s attention."

Aww, poor Daddy Jarbs. I know I should feel sorry for him for not feeling well but I can't help but think it was hilarious. All the laughing actually helped me feel a little better :-).


I was craving for KFC chicken today. Daddy Jarbs, who is vegetarian, drove to KFC to get me my chicken :-).

Another day care tour

It was another nice spring day so Daddy Jarbs and I decided to walk from home to work this morning. We had a 10 am appointment at the US Kids Day Care. We stopped at Chinatown to grab a quick breakfast and then walked to the day care. On our way in, a group of infants in their buggy were on their way out for their morning walk. They were so adorable. One baby was waving goodbye and the other one was chilling in the stroller with her pink sunglasses. So cute!

US Kids is on 14th Street which is about a 5-6 block walk from Mommy & Daddy Jarbs' offices. We met with the Director who gave us a tour. This center is smaller compared to the one we visited last week. As expected, there is about an 18 month wait on their waitlist. Since this is our second day care tour, we now have a better idea on what we should look out for and can compare to the previous one that we have visited. Overall, we still like the DOL day care better. They seem to be more organized compared to US Kids. At DOL, the kids have their own cubbies where you can put all their stuff. At US Kids, they just have storage room and each baby has a plastic storage box for their stuff. It was a little bit disorganized for me.We also did not like that they do not have a secured outdoor playground where kids can run and play. Not that Baby Jarbs will be running anytime soon but a playground is always good to have.  Since this center is smaller, it does seem like the kids are given more attention. The kids also walk to the park and museums during the day. Anyway, we did end up signing up on the wait list for this center. The Director said we can call her every week to check if there is an  open spot whenever we are ready to put the baby in day care. Well, she will definitely hear from me. I can bug her every week or even every day! It's what I do best! :-). After the day care tour, Daddy Jarbs and I walked back to our offices. We had a total of 2.5 mile walk this morning. I got half of my work out done for the day. We'll walk again from office to home this afternoon and that's another ~1.7 miles :-).

On a related topic, we found another day care that is about 3 miles north of our house. It is a little bit out of the way but the commute should not be that bad. I found out that there is NO wait list in their center. Whew! It is a fairly new, bilingual Spanish day care center.  They have webcams which we think is pretty cool. We'll visit their center next week. At least now I feel relieved that we will be able to bring Baby Jarbs here anytime we need day care help. We can always switch him to DOL when a spot opens up.

10 weeks today!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 10w3d
How big is baby: The size of a prune!
Weight gain/loss:  +2 (from pre-pregnancy weight)
Pregnancy symptoms: 10 weeks and still no morning sickness :-). Bloat has subsided. Tender breasts and slowly disappearing waistline :-/.
Maternity clothes: No. I can still fit in my regular clothes but pants and bras are getting tighter. I started using my belly band and love it. I can still button my pants but the belly band helps give support to my potbelly :-).
Stretch Marks: None. Still slathering myself with cocoa butter
Sleep: I have not been getting much sleep this week but the trip to the bathroom at night has decreased
Best moment this week: Hitting the double digits..10 weeks! Saw Baby Jarbs in my dreams
Movement: None
Food cravings: Granny smith apple and fruit smoothie
Food aversions: Still do not like sweets
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: In!
What I miss: Not having to think twice about everything that I put in my mouth :-)
What I am looking forward to: Another day care tour tomorrow
Milestones:

With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. Soon, legs will start working too.

Dreamt about Baby Jarbs

I have read that having vivid, weird dreams is one of the pregnancy symptoms. Well, I dreamt about Baby Jarbs last night :-). In my dream, Baby Jarbs was a girl! She was so cute but she was a big (I mean tall) baby. I did not start producing milk until 2 days after I gave birth. I then tried nursing Baby Jarbs but she won't take my milk :-(. That is where my dream ended. I told Daddy Jarbs about my dream as soon as I woke up this morning. He said "you sure that wasn't me?" Haha! Ummm, no! :-P.

Hmm..was the dream a premonition? Will we have a baby girl or was that my subconscious mind talking and wishing we'll have a girl? Will the baby get Daddy Jarbs' height and not take after mommy? :-P. We'll have to wait about 10 more weeks to find out the gender!

The neti pot works!!

Last week, I mentioned how I was feeling miserable because of my allergies. Since I am pregnant, I cannot take the allergy medicine that I normally take during this time of the year. I have been hearing a lot about the Neti Pot and how a lot of people swear by it. It is basically a nasal rinse and is good for sinuses and allergies. It is all natural and does not involve any chemicals.  I decided to try it out and see if indeed works. I got nothing to lose but everything to gain. I bought the starter kit from Amazon.com. The kit contains a ceramic neti pot which looks like a small genie lamp, salt jar and peppermint/eucalyptus oil.

The process involved in washing the nasal passages seems complicated. The process also sounds and looks gross especially to anybody who has not tried it. I made sure I followed the step by step instructions in the starter kit . I tried it for the first time a couple of days ago and was pleasantly surprised on how easily it worked for me! I did not have any problems with the rinsing process and felt instant relief from my stuffy nose! Wow! I am a believer!!! I now make sure I do the rinse two times a day, before I go to bed and when I wake up in the morning. Daddy Jarbs wanted to watch me do my rinse but I don't let him. I know he will just laugh at me. It will mess me up and I'd end up snorting the saline solution!!

You can watch the video and read the instructions here on how to use the neti pot. I know it looks gross but trust me, it works!! :-). Instant, drug-free allergy relief. Two thumbs up for the neti pot!!!

Day care tour

This morning Daddy Jarbs and I went on a day care tour. We went to the Esther Peterson Child Development Center at the Department of Labor building. This was our first day care tour so we did not really know what to expect. As we were walking in the center, there were two buggys full of toddlers on their way out for their morning "walk". The kids were so cute. The assistant principal showed us around the center. We got to visit the infant, toddler & pre-K rooms. They also have a little outdoor playground where kids play everyday. The infants get their own mini-crib where they can take their naps. We like that this center is relatively close to both our offices and our house. We also liked that the building is secure and that the parents can visit the baby anytime they want. Overall, we were pleased with the center and signed up on their waitlist. We had to pay a $75 non-refundable fee. Only downside is we get third priority on the list since we are not DOL or  federal employees. Daddy Jarbs is a Federal contractor though so we do get third priority in the list.  There is about an 18-month wait on the list. We are crossing our fingers that a spot will open up for us on our desired date which is around spring of 2011. Baby Jarbs will be around 6 month old by then.

We have another tour scheduled with another day care center next week and plan to sign up on the waitlist for three more centers. Hopefully, we'll get a spot in at least one of those!

9 weeks today!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 9w
How big is baby: The size of a green olive!
Weight gain/loss:  +1
Pregnancy symptoms: 9 weeks and still no morning sickness. Thank God! The bloatness is starting to subside. Aside from sleepiness and frequent urination, I still feel great!
Maternity clothes: Nope but I bought a couple of Belly Bands last week. They were on sale so I had to buy them. I know one day I'll eventually need them.
Stretch Marks: None
Sleep: I still get 7-8 hours of sleep but need to get up 4-5 times a night to go pee :-/.
Best moment this week: Telling immediate family members and close friends about the addition to the family
Movement: None
Food cravings: Crabs, crabs, crabs! After last Saturday's crab feast in Baltimore, my sister bought 3 dozen crabs last Monday. I ate a dozen :-). I think I am finally done with my crab craving. On to the next...
Food aversions: Still do not like sweets
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: In!
What I miss: Taking allergy medicine! I have pollen allergies which I get every spring. I normally take claritin, use nasal spray and eye drops but since I am still in my 1st trimester, I can't take any of them :-(. I am starting to feel miserable now with my stuffy nose and itchy eyes!
What I am looking forward to: We're doing a tour of the day care at DOL tomorrow and will decide which day cares we'll sign up on the wait list for.
Milestones:

 

Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like...well...a baby!

I love spring BUT

...I hate allergies!!! :-(. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, itchy eyes and stuffy nose :-(.  I am allergic to pollen and my allergies normally peak around early spring. Since I am pregnant, I can't take any of my allergy medicine. I normally have to take claritin, use nasal spray (flonase), and eye drops (Pathanol). Yes, the works! Needless to say, I felt miserable all day. I called my doctor's office and talked to the nurse to ask if there is anything that I can take. The nurse said I can take Claritin and Benadryl. During second tri, I can start taking Flonase. I told my sister, Dr. Elie about this but she advised me not to take Claritin and just have Benadryl instead. She said they don't prescribe Claritin to patients especially during 1st tri. She gave me a website where you can check whether a drug is safe to take or not. The site says this about Claritin: "Data not available in human pregnancy but reported possible association with some congenital defects: Cardiac defects, diaphragmatic hernia, cleft palate, microphthalmia and deafness". I do not want to take any chance so I had to pass on Claritin and researched other natural ways to relieve my allergy.

Lately, I have been hearing a lot about the Netipot. A lot of my friends swear by it so I thought I'd give it a shot. It is a nasal rinse which is suppose to relieve allergies and other sinus problems. I ordered one at Amazon.com and will get it on Wednesday.  I can't wait to try it out!

At this point, I am willing to try anything just to feel better and relieve my allergies naurally so on Saturday, I scheduled an appointment with an acupunturist! I have not tried acupuncture but have heard a lot of people get allergy relief after a few treatments. My insurance covers acupuncture treatments so I don't have anything to lose. Given how bad my allergies are, I can't last the whole spring season without getting some sort of relief.

Baby shower

Today, I went to a baby shower for our good friend, Barbs. She is having a baby girl and is due on May 7th. Our babies will be 5 months apart. We'll definitely schedule play dates together when Baby Jarbs arrives!

With my bestest girlfriends Barbs, Ana, Dulce & Haydee

Congrats to the soon-to-be parents Barbs & Rommel!

The cat is out of the bag...

Today we had a Jarbs family get together to celebrate the birthday of Daddy Jarbs' sister, Terri, nephew Zach and niece Kaitlin. During dinner, we broke the news.  Everybody was happy to hear the news. The aunts and cousins were excited to hear about the addition to the Jarbs family!

Day trip to Baltimore

We were blessed with another amazing spring weather today. Daddy Jarbs and I took the day off from work and took Lola Bebot and Tita Elie to Baltimore. We got there around lunch time. Since my doctor gave me a clear pass to eat crabs, we went straight to a crab house called L.P. Steamers for lunch.  I ordered a dozen jumbo crabs which I shared with Daddy Jarbs, my mom and sister. They each ate one or two crabs. I had eight!!  The crabs were sooo yummy and the bebeh in my tummy was so happy!! :-).

After lunch, we went to the Baltimore Aquarium and enjoyed looking at all different kinds of fishes and sea creatures. They also had a pretty cool dolphin show and 4D theater.

To wrap up our day trip in Baltimore, Tita Elie treated us to an awesome dinner in Daddy and Mommy Jarbs' favorite restaurant, Roy's.

Dinner at Roy's won't be complete without having the best chocolate souffle in the whole world :-). I had been staying away from sweets but I had to have this one!

Funny Lolo...

So we finally told my dad, Lolo (Grandpa in Filipino) Eddie, about the baby news. He is in Manila so we had to call him to deliver the news. This was how our phone conversation went:

Mommy Jarbs: "Hi Dad! We got news for you!!"
Lolo Eddie: "You got neosporin?"
Mommy Jarbs: "Nooo! I said we got newwwsss forrrr youuu"
Lolo  Eddie: "Neosporin? Thank you!"
[Daddy Jarbs, Lola Bebot & Tita Elie were listening and hysterically laughing]
Mommy Jarbs: "NO! NEWS FOR YOU!"
Lolo Eddie: "Oh news!? What?
Mommy Jarbs: "You're gonna be a LOLO!"
Lolo Eddie: "He-llo??"
Mommy Jarbs: "No, LOLO!!"
Lolo Eddie: "Ah..really? Ok, I will go there and babysit!" :-)

LOL! Lolo Eddie's so funny :-).

8 weeks today

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 8w
How big is baby: The size of a raspberry!
Weight gain/loss: Still +/- 1 depending on the day
Pregnancy symptoms: Besides bloat, breat tenderness, sleepiness and frequent urination, I feel great! Still no morning sickness. My doctor said I should feel lucky!
Maternity clothes: Nope although I prefer wearing loose, comfortable clothes to hide my bloat.
Stretch Marks: None. I've been religiously applying Palmer's cocoa butter everyday.
Sleep: On the average, I sleep about 7-8 hours a day. My sleep gets interrupted though since I now have to get up and go to the bathroom about 5x during the night.
Best moment this week: Finally seeing Baby Jarbs yesterday
Movement: None
Food cravings: My cravings varied this past week. One day, I craved for Korean food, next day, Italian food and a couple of night ago, Mexican food.
Food aversions: Still do not like sweets
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: In!
What I miss: My energy
What I am looking forward to: Telling the baby news to our family and close friends. We do not plan to announce to the rest of the world until much later.
Milestones: 

Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways.

1st prenatal appointment

We had our first prenatal appointment today and it went very well. I am soo happy and relieved. We met our doctor for the first time. We really liked her and the whole OB practice overall. Our doctor was pretty cool. She's not old school which is good. She practices at Sibley Memorial Hospital which is one of the best hospitals in the city. The doctor told me that 1) I can eat soft cheeses as long as they are pasteurized, 2) After the 1st trimester, I can drink 1 to 2 glasses of wine per week  - not that I plan to but good to know, 3) I can work out as hard as I used to as long as I can still carry a conversation. Obviously, I need to modify things as my tummy gets bigger and lastly, 4) I can eat crabs as long as they are cooked! Yay! I was so happy to hear the last one :-).

During the appointment, they did a sonogram to determine my estimated date of delivery (EDD), how far along I am and whether there are one or more babies in the uterus. First of all, the technician confirmed there is only ONE baby. Unfortunately (or fortunately?!), no twins :-). Baby Jarbs measured 8 weeks 2 days and the EDD is October 24th! It is 5 days away from Daddy Jarbs' birthday which is on October 29th :-). Daddy Jarbs and I also saw Baby Jarbs' heart beating! It looked like a little flicker on the screen. It was pretty cool. The heart was beating 143 bpm which the technician said was normal. There is an old wives tale that supposedly predicts the baby's gender based on how fast or slow the heart is beating. Supposedly, if the fetal heart rate is above 140 you are expecting a girl. However, if the heart rate is below 140, it is supposed to be a boy. Hmm...what do you think?

Meet Baby Jarbs!

Daddy Jarbs also took a video of the sonogram. Click HERE to see the video.

Since the 1st appointment went well, we went to Todai for dinner to celebrate!

Daddy & Mommy Jarbs

Crab legs..yum!

Daddy Jarbs also had to feed the "baby" in his tummy! lol.

7 weeks today!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 7w
How big is baby: The size of a blueberry!
Weight gain/loss: 1 lb but I look like I have gained way more!
Pregnancy symptoms: Bloat, breast tenderness, sleepiness; still no morning sickness (knock on wood)
Maternity clothes: Nah but my pants are getting a little bit snug
Stretch Marks: None and hopefully won't have any! My sister, who is a dermatologist, just had me buy Palmer's cream for stretch marks which she said I should start using now.
Sleep: I still pass out around 9:30 - 10:00 pm and sleep through 6:30 am the following day.
Best moment this week: Telling my family about the baby news
Movement: None
Food cravings: Korean fried chicken
Food aversions: I still do not like sweets
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: In!
What I miss: Not having to watch what I can/cannot eat! I had to stop myself from eating prime rib during brunch last Sunday because it was cooked medium rare :-(.
What I am looking forward to: Our first OB appointment next week and hopefully see Baby Jarbs!
Milestones:

Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long.

Craving for Korean chicken!

I woke up this morning thinking about Korean friend chicken :-). When I have a craving, I HAVE to have it so after going to the gym, I dragged my mom and sister to Bonchon to get my Korean fried chicken. Mommy & Baby Jarbs were happy :-).

Nice spring Sunday

Finally, spring is here. We were blessed with a gorgeous weather today. We met up with my Uncle Jun, Tita Marissa and cousin Anabel for brunch at Kennedy Center's Roof Terrace Restaurant. We celebrated my sister's recent graduation. Since we have the family together, Daddy Jarbs and I  took the opportunity to let everybody know the impending addition to the family. Needless to say, the whole family was thrilled and are hoping for twins! :-).

During lunch, we found out that twins run on my dad, Lolo Eddie's, side as well! Holy moly! Uncle Jun said, Nanay (my grandma) had twin siblings. They were fraternal twins - one boy and one girl. Okay, so twins run in both sides of MY family. Everybody's rooting for us to have twins. I have a gut feel that it won't be though. Hopefully, we will be able to find out when we have our doc's appointment, which is in 9 days!

Twins run in my family!

I found out today that twins run in my mom's side of the family! My mom said my grandpa had twin siblings! Very interesting info :-).

Baby Jarbs' Lola & Tita are here!

My mom and sister arrived from the Philippines today. In the Filipino language, grandma is "lola" and aunt is "tita". They will be here for three weeks. I am glad that they will be here when we have our 1st prenatal appointment and we'll be able to share our experience first hand. We will spill the beans to them this coming Sunday when our family meets up for brunch :-). Baby Jarbs will surely be spoiled with yummy Filipino food for the next three weeks.  

6 weeks today!

..or so we think! Since we will not know for sure how far along I am until our first prenatal appointment, we'll stick with our counting based on my last period.

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 6w
How big is baby: The size of a pea!
Weight gain/loss: My weight fluctuates everyday. My guess is it's because of pregnancy bloat. I am (+/-) 1 lb everyday so I really do not know what my real weight is.
Pregnancy symptoms: Bloat, breast tenderness, fatigue
Maternity clothes: Nah. I can still fit fine in my regular clothes although my pants are starting to get a little snug because of bloat!
Stretch Marks: None and hopefully won't have any!
Sleep: I start to feel sleepy around 9:30 pm. I normally pass out on the couch while watching tv and move to the bedroom around 12 mn or until Daddy Jarbs is ready to go to bed.
Best moment this week: Calling Daddy Jarbs and telling him about the blood test results - that we may be a little bit further along or that we may have twins. I swear I heard some sniffles over the phone when I told him that :-).
Movement: None
Food cravings: All salty and sour food. I have a bag of salt and vinegar chips and sour candies in my lunch bag :-).
Food aversions: I do not like sweets. I came to hate frozen yogurt which I previously LOVE. Now, the thought of it makes me sick :-(.
Labor signs: None. Still waay too early
Belly button in or out: In!
What I miss: My energy! I am pretty much useless when I get home from work. I do not have energy to do anything. I just want to lay down.
What I am looking forward to: Telling my family this weekend that we are expecting :-)
Milestones: The nose, mouth, and ears are beginning to take shape. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long.

Got the blood test results!

There was a vmail message waiting for me this morning when I arrived at work. It was from my general doctor asking me to give her a call back for the results of yesterday's blood tests. I gave her a call back but she is not available :-(. I am so anxious to hear what the results are. Several things (good and bad) are running through my head. I hate it. I hope everything is well with our sweet little pea. Now, I anxiously wait for the doctor to give me a call me back...

12 pm - OK, I Just heard back from the doctor! She said the results were normal and that I may be further along than I think!! She said my HCG level was 32,000!! A bit too high for somebody who is 5 weeks along. Off I went to Google to find out more about HCG levels.

The American Pregnancy Association cites the following chart as normal ranges of hCG for the number of weeks after the woman’s last menstrual period:

3 weeks: 5 - 50 mIU/ml

4 weeks: 5 - 426 mIU/ml
5 weeks: 18 - 7,340 mIU/ml
6 weeks: 1,080 - 56,500 mIU/ml

7 - 8 weeks: 7, 650 - 229,000 mIU/ml

9 - 12 weeks: 25,700 - 288,000 mIU/ml

13 - 16 weeks: 13,300 - 254,000 mIU/ml

17 - 24 weeks: 4,060 - 165,400 mIU/ml

25 - 40 weeks: 3,640 - 117,000 mIU/ml

The doctor said I can be a week or couple more weeks further along than I thought OR that we may having twins. Whaaaaaaat?!?!?! She said the numbers were all over the place and those two scenarios are the possible explanation. The doctor said we will be able to confirm everything when I have my first appointment with my OB GYN doctor and after the ultrasound.  For now, I am so happy and relieved to know that the HCG results were normal. After talking to the doctor, I emailed Daddy Jarbs right away and asked him to give me a call back. He was pleasantly surprised to know that there is a slight possibility that we are having twins. We have always joked about this and that he wants us to have twins. My OB appointment is in exactly two weeks. I.can't.wait!!!

Today, Daddy Jarbs told Grandma & Grandpa Jarbs that we are expecting. They were both thrilled to hear that they will have a Filipino grandchild soon :-).

1st trip to the doctor

I went to my general doctor today to get my blood drawn and have tests done. The test is basically to confirm the pregnancy and to make sure that my progesterone levels are normal. I will find out the results tomorrow. The doctor did not tell me anything that I did not already know. She basically told me that I can still work out the way I used to as long as I feel okay. She also mentioned the foods that I should stay away from like soft cheeses, raw fish and seafood with high mercury.

After my appointment and while waiting for Daddy Jarbs to get out of the office, I stopped by FroZenYo - the new soft serve yogurt place that opened close to our office. I LOVE frozen yogurt and can eat it everyday. Today, however, for some reason I did not enjoy my froyo which was weird. I do not even crave for it now. I do not think I will be eating froyo again anytime soon. I guess it is a good thing that I am not craving for sweets. On the other hand, I stopped at CVS to buy myself 3 packs of sour candies :-).

When Daddy Jarbs got off work, we drove down to Maryland to go to his Grand Uncle's viewing. He passed away last week. We saw Grandma & Grandpa Jarbs there. Daddy Jarbs was hoping to break the news to Grandma Jarbs but unfortunately, did not find a perfect timing to talk to her. I guess it will have to wait until we have the next family get-together which is in 2.5 weeks. We also saw Uncle Floyd who asked us "so when will you have my grandson?" Daddy Jarbs and I just looked at each other and bit our tongue LOL. For dinner, we all went to Captain John's and we got snow carb legs. I immediately googled to double and triple check if this is okay for me to eat. I was happy to find out that crab legs are low in mercury and as long as it is eaten in moderation, it is okay.

Today, Daddy Jarbs has started calling Baby Jarbs our sweet little pea :-).