Update Update

Louna, 3 years and 1 month old

- She believes in Santa Clause but quite afraid to approach him. She met him twice - at school and at the company party. The only motivation for her to approach him was when I told him that Père Noël would give him candies again.
- They celebrated Christmas party at school last week. They sang a song but Louna wasn't singing, only observing. She was happy when she saw me among the crowd but that didn't motivate her to sing. It was quite difficult to take a picture of her because even if she's one of the youngest in her class, she's one of the biggest too. She's positionned at the last row.
- She watched her first movie, Madagascar 2 last week. She cried at the end of the movie, not wanting the film to end. Now, she can't wait for the next film to watch at the grande télé (big TV).
- She could form longer sentences right now. Like Papa n'est pas gentil. Il a tapé le visage à Maman. (Papa is not kind. He slapped the face of Maman.) That was when Papa jokingly slapped my face because Louna said there was a fly. But Louna didn't get the joke. She thought it was real. She's been repeating that sentences over and over. I just hope she's not telling that to her teacher or to other person. We need to be careful at home now, lol.
- She can do a 15-piece puzzle easily, even with her eyes closed, lol. So we bought a 45-piece puzzle which she can do with a little help from us.

Kyla, 2 months and 3 weeks old

- It's more agreable to get into conversation with her now. She's responding with sweet smiles, tiny laughs and some boo and coo. In fact, she loves to communicate with the person infront of her. She could stay calm for 2 hours like that.
- She takes 5 bottles of 150ml a day. But the best part is that she's got rhythm now. She takes her bottle almost always at the same time - 11am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm and the last one at night varies from 4am to 6am.
- She has discovered her hand and she's fascinated by them. I would oftentimes catch her looking at her hand intensely then try to put it in her mouth. She even tries to suck it. She also tries to hold everything infront of her but she's not ready yet. She's able to grab a toy sometimes but it's more accidental than intentional. But that milestone is not far from now. A week or two from now and she'll be able to hold her toys. I can't wait!
- She's calmer now and could even sleep on her own after an hour or two of playtime - provided that she's got clean diapers. Playtime means conversing with me, observing her toys and her hand and grabbing some toys.
- She loves to look at the telly when Louna watches her favorite DVDs.
- She could hold her head erect for a few moment when sitting down and lying on her tummy. She tries to lift her head when she's lying on her back, like she's doing crunch exercises, lol.

A Smile A Day Keeps Worries Away

Louna's View of Us

I asked Louna to draw Kyla and she ended up with this:


Then I asked her to draw Papa, Mama, Louna and Kyla and look at how she drew us:

Pedia Visit

The 2 girls had their pedia visit this morning. Louna for her 3rd year, Kyla for her 2nd month. Louna hates to see her pediatrician, traumatized by the vaccinations she had when she was younger. No matter how we explain to her that her doctor won't inject anything, she nevertheless started to cry upon arrival at the clinic till the doctor finished his usual examination. It was almost impossible to do the check up, Louna was battling against the 3 of us! Anyhow, the essential is that, nothing is wrong with the mademoisselle. She measures 1 m and weighs 16.5 kg at 3 years old.

Kyla had 2 vaccins today, Prevenar and Infanrix. She measures 61 cm and weighs 4.9 kg. The 2 vaccins knocked her down, she'd been sleeping since an hour now. On development, the little girl started suck her hand and show us her real smile on her 2nd month.

She normally starts her day right - with a sweet smile for her mom.



Louna, on the other hand, starts to take care of her sister under my supervision, of course. She's still jealous I think but she knows how to manage now. Or should I say, we know how to manage now. Most of the time, she would say Maman à Kyla, Papa à Louna which I correct at once by telling her that Maman and Papa are both for Louna and Kyla. I don't want her to have in mind this unhealthy division between the 4 of us.

She plays a lot with her doll now, often placing Kyla and her doll next to each other. She uses most of Kyla's stuffs like shoes and diapers for her doll. It's funny to watch her sometimes because when her doll cries, she sings and rocks her baby in exactly the same manner as I do. I have to catch that on film one of these days. It's really cute.

Her behaviour at school has apparently improved. She re-started to participate in class. Her teacher finally told us her worries about Louna when Kyla was born which lasted for about two weeks as she said. She didn't tell it to us before to avoid adding problems and anyway, she was sure we were aware of Louna's change. Thankfully, everything turns back to normal now. Louna and Kyla are healthy and happy kids. That is all that matters.

Opps, by the way, I asked Louna to babysit Kyla this midday while I prepare lunch. This is how she takes care of her sister..

Louna's Bday & Kyla's Milestone

It's Louna's 3rd birthday today and it's also the 3rd time she blew her candles for this special day. She celebrated her birthday with the family last week. Then with her teacher and classmates yesterday. Today, she blew her candles with her nanny.

On her 3rd birthday, she promised to be kind because otherwise, Santa Claus or Père Nöel as they call him here won't be giving her gifts this Christmas. Good deal. Let's see if she could hold her promise till Christmas.

Kyla on the otherhand had been sleeping straight since two nights now. At the first night, she was able to hold 7 hours without asking for milk. We woke her up at 6am to nurse her. Even second time parents are still afraid of leaving their kids sleeping that long for the first time. At the second night, meaning this night, she was able to hold for 9 long hours! Whoa! That, is a milestone! Congratulations Kyla!

So what's the trick? Well, I have started mixing between breast and bottle feeding, right? I introduce bottles once or twice a day since she's a month old. But since two nights ago, I give her a bottle at around 10:30pm and that knocks her out till sunrise.

Another change is that, I let her sleep in her bed now. Since she arrived at home, she always slept with me on our bed as she's being breastfed. It's more convenient for everybody. I nurse her twice, around 3am and 6am without waking up even Papa who sleeps in the same bed as us. I think we're synchronized. We wake up at the same time so even before she cries and claim for her milk, the boob is already jacked in her mouth, lol.

So who says she'll get bad habits in sleeping in the same bed as her mom? She didn't say anything when I tucked her in bed last night.

Kyla Turns 1 Month Old

Kyla has turned 1 month old this week and yet, it seems like nothing has changed in her behaviour. She still cries quite a lot and claims her milk almost every 2 hours during daytime. The thing is, she sleeps once she's breasfed inspite of the constant stimulation I do to wake her up. As a result, she's not taking enough milk making her grouchy all the time. It's really hard to lie her down on her bed without waking her up after breastfeeding.

Night behaviour is another story tho. She sleeps 5 hours straight after her feeding at around 10pm. That, is a good point.

She had her appointment with the pediatrician yesterday. She now measures 57.5 cm long and weighs 4.2 kg. Everything is normal, as what her pediatrician confirmed.

Jealousy is one thing we had been dealing with difficulty since the arrival of Kyla in our lives. Louna had apparently changed behaviour at school - from a joyful toddler to a pensive child. She seems to be lost and thinks about something else all the time, giving less focus on school activities. We had observed a certain change at home too. She became demanding and dependent - a real change from a totally independent Louna who wanted to do everything on her own.

It pains me to see her being scolded by me and her Papa. Never in her life had she cried and been scolded this much. If only I could take whatever suffering she has right now, I would certainly do.

With this, I just decided to start mixing between breast and bottle feeding so I could have more time to take care of my Louna. It will allow them to participate in rearing Kyla as well. I hope this decision will bring back my joyful and independent Louna.

Class picture 2008. Louna is the only kid with a sad and serious face. This is taken a day after the birth of Kyla.

At 2.5 Weeks Old..

I can be...

2nd Week

Kyla turns 2 weeks old today what tha! time flies! but geez, I still look pregnant. I lost 7 kg after giving birth which means I still need to shed off 9 kg. I haven't started any post-partum exercise yet as I'm not yet in my best form. I prefer to wait till I regain all my energy and I'm sure there won't be any complication if I do. Quite traumatized with my recent hospitalization.

Changes are a-bounty when a new baby is added in the family. Louna finally got her new bed and she's really proud of it. She was the one who chose the bed cover design and is happy each night when it's time to hug Winnie the Pooh. She's becoming more jealous tho, asking for more attention from us.

The big sister is taking her new role to heart too. She helped us with the preparation of the baby announcement cards which we sent to family and friends in France (those who reside outside of France and those with email addresses received the e-card below). I'm glad we're done with that task which was quite hard to finalize because of the chaos at home.

The little girl on the other hand starts to have her own rhythm that's why I could update this blog ;). She's being breastfed 100% and her autonomy between 2 breastfeedings becomes longer, from almost every hour to almost 3 hours. It's even longer at night, up to 4 hours which gives me ample time to rest in between 2 feedings. She seems to be calm in the morning and more agitated at night, just before bedtime.

Since we arrived at home, I have been co-sleeping with her which is really beneficial not only to her but to me and L too. She seems to sleep longer when we sleep together. L jokingly says that the umbilical cord wasn't cut yet. Talking about the umbilical cord, it fell down yesterday, barely two weeks after her birth. Bathing is easier now.

Kyla is developing quite a funny habit at home. She prefers to stay on her car seat or on the sofa rather than her baby seat or the platform we specially made for her. Well, okay, we can't oblige her to like everything we offer her, right?

She's full of energy too. She could already move her head left and right and she could even lift it when we hold her against our shoulders. But well, Louna was the same at that age too. No surprises!

So that's it for the 2nd week update. The whole family is glad with this new change and is adjusting at our own rhythm. No rush. Cuddling time is our priority at the moment.

Louna’s Baby Sister Is Here !

The long wait is over. Kyla finally decided to join us on the 22nd of September, 2008. She weighs 3.7 kg and measures 54 cm. Yes, as big as Louna, just 200 grams lighter. She’s being breastfed so she requires Maman’s presence almost every 2-3 hours. She had been monopolizing our time since we went home last Saturday but she’s more cooperative today, allowing us to do other chores than taking care of her. She’s currently sleeping so I have the time to gather my scattered thoughts and put them into writing.

Kyla’s Birth Story

We had a short walk around the park the day before. Louna was with her bike and I jokingly told her that at the speed she’s taking, it will never induce my labor. Then arriving at home, I helped L to fix our wallpaper. It was on purpose to induce labor naturally.

At 6:30 am the next day, I woke up with an excruciating, almost unbearable pain. I woke up L and told him that this must be it. We counted the regular contractions and in less than 10 minutes, we knew it was D Day. He hurriedly took his shower and busied himself preparing the remaining necessary stuffs to bring at the maternity clinic. I took my shower during that time, with a lot of difficulty of course.

At 7 am, Louna was already awake. We took our breakfast together and explained her that she will take her lunch at school and stay there the whole day. The school nursery opens at 7:30 am so a few minutes after that, Louna was already at school. It was the nanny who fetched her from school that day. She then stayed at the nanny’s place for the night.

We arrived at the maternity clinic at exactly 8 am. I was hurriedly examined and surprise! I was already 10 cm dilated. I was then transferred immediately at the delivery room. They asked me if I still wanted the epidural but since I was already 10 cm dilated and I knew that actual giving birth is nothing compared to contraction pains, I finally declined that option. I chose the side-lying position as I was too tired and too much in pain to try the semi-sitting position. Well, at least that was what I felt during that particular time.

At 8:40 am, my water bag was pierced. I pushed at each contraction and I could actually feel the baby coming. There was a little pause once the head was out since the umbilical cord was around her neck. The OB cut it at once and the delivery proceeded normally afterwards. I was even the one who took her out completely from my womb, taking her out and putting her on my chest. Isn’t that lovely?

At exactly 9:15 am, Kyla was already out and I didn’t suffer from episiotomy. Talking about fast and effective delivery!

A Delivery That Was Almost Perfect

Minutes after delivery, after they cleaned and examined Kyla, they brought her back to us so I could start breastfeeding. But the little girl wasn’t really hungry. She was calm and quiet – so adorable and looked remarkably the same as Louna.

I, on the other hand continued bleeding and my uterus refused to contract. They did a series of massage but each time they stopped, the bleeding continued forming blood clots inside my uterus. They then injected anaesthesia so they could examine if any part of placenta was left inside. Nothing.

They continued massaging my tummy making it real painful, as painful as the contractions. They also added 2 more perfusions, one to induce contractions, another for supplements, I think. They explained that if bleeding continues, they will be obliged to transfer me to the hospital for further interventions.

True enough, at 4 pm, I was transported to the hospital by an ambulance. They again examined me, checked my uterus, massaged my tummy and injected God-knows-what. At that time, I was already too tired and hardly conscious. I wasn’t allowed to take not even a drop of water.

After their intervention, I was again transported by an ambulance to another department, Radiology department. There, some veins of my uterus were apparently plugged to stop bleeding. The worst consequence of this kind of problem is the total removal of the uterus to which I was luckily spared.

At 2 am, I was transported back to my room, allowed to take dinner with the help of L and drink gallons of water. Whew!

That day, probably more than 20 people saw that most intimate part of me at its most unglamorous state. But I didn’t care. All I wanted was to get over and done with it so I could be with my family the soonest possible time.

I was back at the maternity clinic the next day, free from any complications. With the amount of blood I lost, I was lucky not to take any blood transfusion tho my hemoglobin count went down to 8 (normal is 12 – 16).

I was separated from my daughter for about 24 hours. Everybody in the clinic commended me for my courage to continue breastfeeding inspite that experience. I was supposed to be tired. The sole inconvenience I have right now is an allergy I got from one of the medicines they injected to me during the operation – my arms, back and tummy are itchy!!

And Life Goes On…

Louna is happy to have her little sister, even asking to hold her and give her the bottle. There are bouts of jealousy here and there but not at a worrying level. We take extra careful tho not to focus all our attention to Kyla. Balance is something we need to master at this particular moment. L is on paternity leave this week which helps a lot especially right now when Kyla has no fixed schedule yet. Organization at home starts to be settled little by little. It will be a long journey till we get back to our normal schedule. Nights are shorter and nap opportunities are too rare to be grabbed.

And all that .. is part of parenthood. These angels worth all the efforts and sleepless nights.

34th Month Update

Yay! Time flies. When was the last time I updated Louna's milestones? Since time immemorial? Can't even remember when. But that doesn't mean nothing interesting is happening to this active toddler. Or should I say, pre-schooler?

She's attending pre-school since two weeks now. Aside from the shy tears she shed on the first day, everything is going impeccably well now. She's excited to go to school everyday - you can't hear her complain. She already knows the direction going to and from her school which is just 2 blocks away from our place. She's attending morning classes now, 8:45 am to 11:45 am, while I'm on maternity leave. Then we will switch progressively to whole day classes as I approach the end of my leave which would be by the end of December. Teacher B remarked how disciplined she is and how attentive she gets when she's reading a story. I even witnessed it once when I arrived earlier to fetch her and watched the kids by the window. Louna was actually imitating Teacher B's geste, even doing hand movements even before her teacher executes.

She's talking quite a lot too, forming short but complete sentences with subject, verb and complement. But that's when she's in the mood to talk clearly. Because there are a lot of moments when she's in the mood to talk like a baby. She hadn't even mastered talking perfectly that she already starts to deteriorate her level, lol.

She likes helping with the household chores when she's in the mood (Well, in fact, she likes doing everything in just one condition - when she's in the mood to do a certain task). She likes staying in the kitchen with us so most of the time, she's the one arranging the utensils in the dishwasher then arrange them in their proper place afterwards.

Eating habit starts to be a little tricky. She starts to have her preferences, eats slowly but leaving quite a lot of mess on the table, doesn't like certain food and takes a lot of time to finish her glass of milk. She also likes to display her independence all the time, wanting to do everything on her own including cutting meat on her plate.



Well, so far, I have not much complain about her. She stays to be a model child to some friends who have hard-to-manage kids. She's also impatient to have her bébé soeur with her I think, basing on her reactions when she sees other babies around. Well, I hope it will be the case when the baby is physically around.

Picture attached is her first ID picture for school.

First Day of School

Today is Louna's first day at the pre-school. The night before, we were able to let her pronounce her teacher's name which is Barbara. The next day, everybody was up quite early, too excited maybe to prepare ourselves for the first day. Even Papa took his morning off to experience this special milestone with Louna.

Arriving there, some kids already started crying while Louna stared at them, holding our hands, quite teary-eyed herself. She was probably thinking if crying was SOP. Does she have to cry too? Then she started to try the new toys around, then moved from one table to another. She was even able to talk to another girl and asked her if she could take the toy camera. Then she started taking pictures till it was time for us to leave.

Teacher B took her hand trying to assure her that everything will be alright. She cried silently when we left. But like a spy, we peeked on the window before we left. There, she was already mingling with other kids. She in fact stopped crying in no time.

She was already smiling when we went back to fetch her. First day was a promise of a fruitful school year. Parents had worried faces when they brought their kids to school. But all those worried faces were replaced by happy faces, excited to know how their kids fared. My, still can't believe I'm one of those parents.

8th Month Visit

Almost there. Reaching the finish lane is the ultimate challenge. The road to D Day, especially now that I'm but a month away must be the longest and the hardest obstacle that I need to brave. Could you imagine a 14-kg balloon, the size of a football that I need to carry everywhere 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? That's exactly me nowadays.

I met my OB Gyne this morning and I expressed my worries about my bulging tummy which seems to be bigger than the first pregnancy (based on the graph, at 8th months, I already gained more than what I gained in 9 months during my first pregnancy). So she checked and re-checked but confirmed that the baby is just the normal size at 3.1 kg (well, more than the average but smaller than Louna). She did all the routine check afterwards then adviced us to wait and try to do it naturally since everything was A-ok - which I prefer by the way (Louna was induced at 38th week). She nonetheless told us that if at 38th week I feel exhausted and my tummy really starts to disturb me, we could then set an schedule.

Knowing that this must be my last pregnancy, I would prefer to experience giving birth the natural way. You know, natural effacement of the cervix, losing the amniotic fluid, having regular contractions, and all the other symptoms till the baby finally decides to move out.

Organization must be tough tho. We don't have any family nearby (unlike in the Philippines where my whole clan could be around me even 2 months before D Day) so we need to check on some friends who would be willing to take care of Louna in case D Day falls on a midnight. There are some volunteers but night-time organization doesn't stop there. Who would take care of Louna the next day (almost all our friends work)? Who would bring her to school? Would she understand all these urgencies and changes in organization?

I know that we will find the best solution. Induced labor is not yet out of the game in case organization deems to be really tough. That would be the most comfortable way out.

In the meantime, I need to wax my stretch-marked mega-tummy with a cream which I hope would work. My, these stretch marks had even attacked above my navel. I think I need to bid my final goodbye to two-piece swimsuits, really.

But well, these stretch marks would be the most beautiful scars I could have in my entire life. A loving souvenir of my two girls which I would keep with me for the rest of my life. So no complains (but well, if you have a miraculous solution to get rid of them, just let me know ;).

Summer Vacation 08

I'm still on vacation with my grandparents and my cousins for 2 more weeks. Just getting a long break before I start pre-school. Even toddlers need to unwind from everyday life, right?

But prior to that, I was already on vacation with my parents. We were at my uncle's house near the seaside where we enjoyed playing in the sand, riding a boat and eating ice cream. Maman's preggy condition didn't stop me from discovering new activities. First, a ride on a pony named Nougat. Oh, he was calm and gentle. I enjoyed the ride especially that I was able to chat with another girl who did the same adventure as me. I was too proud!
Next, I tried accro-branche - a monkey adventure I really loved! I was able to glide from one cord/path to another with just a little help from Papa. That was a really great experience for a pre-schooler like me!
Take a look at our vacation pictures here.

7th Month Update

7th month! That means only 2 months to go and I change my status from first-time-mom to mom-of-two! Life is beautiful.

I was in my birth class with two other moms yesterday. I had the biggest bump and yet I have the farthest due date. My tummy is a lot bigger than my first pregnancy, I feel a bit more tired and I experience quite a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions lately. So when my OB Gyne told me that my cervix is not at all dilated, I was assured to take my vacation this weekend.
At my 31st week of pregnancy, I already gained a disturbing 12.6 kg. It didn't seem to alarm my doctor though. She just told me that since it's my 2nd pregnancy, my belly has been stretched already so it's normal to be bigger. My baby is a bit bigger than the normal size but a bit smaller than Louna, so that's already a good thing. She is currently 2.137 kg with a heart working at 140 bpm. If she continues to follow the same development curve, she could be around 3.7 to 3.9 kg at birth. She's in head down position now. That explains those almost-painful jabs under my ribs.

Well, baby. Stay stuck till D Day, okay? Ate Louna will be patiently waiting for you.

Tu n'as que des Bonbons dans ta Tête

Translation: You always think about sweets/candies.
Word-by-word translation: You only have but sweets/candies in your head.

Scenario:

We were having breakfast and Louna only had her fruit juice and wouldn't want to finish her milk nor her bread so I asked her what she wanted. To which she answered: Bonbons (Candies). So I told her Tu n'as que des bonbons dans ta tête.

She immediately touched her head and looked at me with an inquisitive regard and said: Il n'y a rien. (There's nothing.)

Ngek. Oo nga naman.

Innocently Sweet

I have been wanting to chronicle those sweet and innocent phrases our little girl is saying lately but the burden of pregnancy started to hit me. Backache, fatigue, shortness of breath, laziness.. name it. Add to the fact that I need to translate each of them without losing their essence - because yes, she's expressing herself 100% French. So there, I finally found a little courage this evening. Read and laugh with me.

Scenario 1: Louna wanting to ride the lift. Papa asked her to call the elevator (that's the word by word translation of manually pressing the lift button). Louna then shouted, calling: Ascenseur!

Scenario 2: Papa exclaming aïe (ouch!) after seeing the euro-dollar rate on the evening news. Louna's reaction: Ca fait mal? (Does it hurt?)

Scenario 3: We were at the pool when suddenly, Louna asked me to accompany her to the toilet. Once there, she didn't even pee a single drop. So I asked her where her pipi was? To which she answered: Je ne sais pas où il est. (I don't know where it is.)

Scenario 4: She inverses the names of objects/people on purpose. Like she would say I'm her Papa, and her Papa, her Maman. Or fork instead of spoon, and vice versa.

Scenario 5: She just can't control when she farts. And she finds that amusing. And worst is that, she would broadcast that she just did it to everybody! She would say: J'ai pété (I farted) followed by a contagious laugh.

Scenario 6: Whenever somebody farts, belches or coughes near her, that person would surely have his life's lesson from a 2-year old. Louna's reaction: Pardon, on dit. (Sorry, we say.)

Scenario 7: Once on the table, I asked her if she already washed her hands. She answered: Louna, elle fait la douche. Main propre. (Louna, she takes a bath. Hands clean). Evidently, she's got no notion of past tense yet. But that's not the main problem. That night, she didn't take a bath so her hands were of course, dirty. Laziness striked her.

Scenario 8: I was showing my bulging tummy to her and asked her to talk to her baby sister. She then started talking while caressing the bump. After a while, she looked at me with a tinge of sadness and said: Elle ne parle pas. (She's not talking.) A bit disappointed.

Scenario 9: Papa preparing breakfast. He accidentally spilled milk on the table and forgot to close the cabinet. Louna, playing the tidy little girl said: Papa, partout partout. Pas fermer la porte. (Papa, everywhere everywhere. Didn't close the door.) while pointing on the table and the cabinet door. Look who's talking. She's not arranging her toys either.

Scenario 10: She wants to do everything on her own. And if you're in a hurry, better not help her. Otherwise, the task would be doubly long. Because she would surely redo it. Or else, she would sulk and wouldn't move. Like, if you already put on her pajama and she decided Je vais le faire (I will do it), she would then remove and wear it all over again. Did you know that patience is a virtue? Especially with a toddler?

So that's it folks. More of Louna next time. ;)

Le Tour de France Candidate

She finally understood how it works. She loved it and she's proud of her new skill. She had her first bike long time ago and I think we really bought a big one for her. She loved staying with her bike but she just couldn't play with it. She sometimes ride on it and we stay at the back to push her but that is quite a tiresome activity.

Then we thought of this old bike. This is somewhat a heritage thing in the family. Her cousins rode and learned how to pedal from the same bike. And look at how Louna fares. She's biking like a pro!

The Little Mermaid

I have been boasting about our little girl's love for water - how she jumps without fear. She's been learning more and more tricks each passing week - without us teaching her. Here's a new one..

and another one..

A real copycat, right? Oh my, she's too proud of her new tricks!

The Gymnast

She's been attending baby gym classes with her nanny and here's another trick..


That's when we were waiting for her Papa to finish his 10-km Run for a Cause. Notice those people wearing pink shirts? All of them supporting the fight against Breast Cancer. I had the same shirt too! Louna had a Mickey Mouse stuff toy and she's happy for it.

This afternoon, we visited an Agricultural Fare not far from Dijon. Louna, the animal lover had a grand time caressing the rabbits. She had the luck to ride a tractor too!

6th Month Visit

I have this impression that this pregnancy goes faster than my first pregnancy. Or am I just a little too inattentive? My gynecologist asked us to get an appointment with the anaesthetist at the maternity clinic. Then with a midwife for my childbirth preparation courses. My reaction was - Déjà? That sounds too soon.
Well, I'm not really preparing myself on giving birth yet. I'm still focused on something else. It might sound unfair to my second daughter but it's true that I talk a lot less about this pregnancy than what I did with Louna. Not that I ignore it but first pregnancy is a whole new experience so I had a lot of new stuffs to share. Whereas the second pregnancy is a sort of déjà vu. Well, sort of. I nonetheless savour every minute of this pregnancy, though it always ends up comparing it with the previous one.

So for a quick update, the little girl is moving a lot more than Louna at this stage of pregnancy. Louna was a sleeper and the hiccup girl. This little girl is a kick-boxer. She's pretty active and basing on the echography results, she's a bit bigger. Sleeping has been an ordeal these past two weeks. The baby bump is becoming heavier each day so I wake up each time I change sides and she's also able to wake me up in the middle of the night because of her kicks. So imagine when she's out.

She's weighing 1.10 kg now and the bulging Maman gained 9 kg since the start of pregnancy. So far, I'm practically following exactly the same weight gain curve as that of my first pregnancy so this doesn't really worry me a lot.
I feel more tired though. Probably because I have a toddler to tend to and life has to move on as usual. I could hardly stand staying infront of the computer so excuse me for not bloghopping. Yesterday, I had my first incident of hypoglycemia at work. I was on training and it was probably over an hour that I was standing up while listening to instructions (infront of a machine so it was quite hard to take a seat). Then suddenly, I thought they stopped the airconditionning. I felt hot, started to transpire, wanted to vomit and go poop, had difficulty to focus on what was being said, my vision got blurred, and then... total blackout. Within that few seconds of malaise, I had the reflex to slowly glide on the wall so I could sit.. on the floor - in the presence of the supplier training us and few colleagues. I didn't care anymore about what they would say. I was pregnant anyway. I had the excuse. If I didn't do that, I probably fell directly on the floor.

With that incident, my gynecologist required me to eat salty breakfast instead of my regular café au lait and toasted bread topped with Nutella. So okay, I think I'll shift to Filipino breakfast starting tomorrow morning.

Aside from that one minute discomfort, everything else goes impeccably good - a little backache, a bit of fatigue, a moment of hormonal imbalance here and there.. life is good.

This update wouldn't be complete without a word about Louna, right? Oh, this talkative little girl could handle a conversation now. Errr, I mean, she could go monologue. Listen attentively and you'll know all about her.

Last weekend, we were again at the pool because Louna starts to claim for it. She loves being in the water. And more precisely, jumping from the edge of the pool. She also mastered turning around and swim from one end to the other (~10 meters) with the bicycle movement (she saw me doing aquagym).

At one moment, she tried to catch the attention of a lady with her sweet smiles. Once the lady looked at her, she said Louna, deux ans et démi (Louna, two and a half year old) with her hands raised showing her two fingers. Then she started to move out of the pool, looked at the lady and said Régarde (Look.). She quickly jumped onto the water, less than a meter away from the lady. After jumping, she immediately looked at the lady to make sure she was being watched and said Plouf dans l'eau (jumped onto the water). She continued by pointing at me and said C'est Maman, ça. Bébé, pétite soeur. (That's my Mom. She's got a baby, my little sister). And so on and so forth. In less than 5 minutes, there were already 4 adults around her listening to her stories and watching her jump.

It was the same scenario when I brought her with me in a bar (bars in France are now entirely no-smoking areas). She started to present herself and talk about what happened during the day.

Well, I try to explain to her that she sometimes need to wait till other people ask her. But that sounds too complicated to comprehend to a talkative toddler.

Father's Day Special

Bonne Fête, Papa!

We're supposed to go to a theme park today but since it's raining outside, the plan was cancelled and we just stayed at home like couch potatoes. Good thing my parents anticipated a bit so we were nevertheless able to celebrate Papa's day yesterday.

I painted this picture frame with my Nanny and gave it yesterday morning to Papa. That was his breakfast treat. He was overwhelmed to notice that I could be an artist at my age. I was too proud when he said he would put it on his office table.

This gift was accompanied by a letter written by my Petite Soeur (Little Sister), with my approval and with the help of Maman, of course. I asked Papa if I could blog it here and he said it's okay. So here it is:

Dear Sir,

I wrote you this letter because I am in big trouble and I strongly believe that you’re the best person who could help me with the problem I face right now.

5 ½ months ago, I moved to a comfortable and spacious apartment owned by a charming lady. The contract was all inclusive – food, heater, etc. Everything I needed to live an ideal and stress-free life was cheerfully provided by the owner. I was actually starting to really love this cozy place until this problem.

Lately, I was apparently taking more and more space and my daily activities start to disturb the owner. I talked to her but as much as she wanted to keep me, she informed me that I needed to relocate on or before October 3 of this year for reasons too hard for me to comprehend. She also informed me that proper authorities would intervene in case I stay beyond this date. Not that she wanted to get rid of me. Apparently, we could get ourselves into big trouble if I don’t move.

The lovely lady was too kind though. She told me that she would watch over me till I finally settle down and get my independence and that I could always count on her.

This is the reason why I call your precious attention, Sir. I badly need a place to relocate and I’ve heard that you have rooms available. I would certainly need a lot of help and attention at the beginning because it’s always hard for me to adapt to new environment and new people. But I’m confident that you would help me deal with this situation. I promise to be a good tenant.

If it’s okay with you, I plan to pay you on a daily basis. Will a daily dose of love and happiness suit you? I know it’s not too much but I could add a lot of smiles which could surely help you forget your worries.

Hoping for your favorable response.

Love (oh yes, I already love you),
Your Future Tenant

PS: The girl who gave me your name is Louna. She’s been a friend since I moved to this place and she fondly calls me PETITE SOEUR. She’s been staying with you for two and a half years now and she highly recommends your place. Two thumbs up, as she describes it. She also told me that I need to call you PAPA. She also advised me to greet you HAPPY FATHER’S DAY today!

See you soon.

Papa read it with full attention. Maman told him that it's a letter she saw in the mailbox that morning. At first, he was like shaking his head, thinking how could somebody he doesn't even know could have the nerves to ask such help? And we could even put ourselves into an unknown trouble if we do something (he read the first 3 paragraphs 3x, asking Maman if she knew the sender). Then, not really understanding the first 3 paragraphs, he continued reading the rest of the letter. As he went through it, a smile started to dawn on his face, looked at us, and told us how lovely the letter was.

After that beautiful breakfast, we went to centre ville just to hang out. To each his own interest. While Papa was checking on laptop chargers and Maman on Ipod Speaker Systems (her gift to Papa), I was busying myself to other stuffs.

I then had a ride at the merry-go-round. yes, you read it right. One ride! Life isn't fair :(.

We then went to the market to buy some local produce. Maman was craving for some grilled fish, so grilled fish we had. It was supposed to be a garden lunch but the weather was too unstable so we finally had our lunch inside. We just picked some Cherries and Blackberries from the garden for dessert. These fruits are just too irresistible that I already ate a lot before even starting lunch.

After lunch, we headed to the swimming pool and look at what I could do now:

In fact, I saw a lot of kids doing the same so I tried. Maman was surprised I did it. I really had fun and did it a lot of times. Maman told me that we will surely go back especially that she could practice aquagym. She said it's good for her and my Petite Soeur. Yipeee! In fact, I could imitate her too. I was doing the bicycle exercise inside the water and Maman said that I finally understood what equilibrium means. I was doing great. She just reminded me not to jump into the water without my flotter.

That evening, Papa's friend went over and stayed with me while my parents went out for dinner. They said it's their anniversary, for whatever that means. It was my first time to stay alone at home with another person but I didn't really mind. This morning, they said they were proud of me for being a cool toddler. Oh well, I know I'm cool. And so what?

5th Month Visit, Mother's Day, etc..

So it's confirmed. The lil bunny is a little girl. She's weighing 530 g at 22 weeks of pregnancy. I had the second echography last Friday, May 23, and everythings seems to be A-ok. Here's her first portrait:
She's becoming more and more active lately, kicking here and there and turning upside down. I saw the culprit. Look at that long leg kicking Maman non-stop.

It actually became an everyday routine to wait for her to kick me. That's a sign of life. I start to know when she's awake or not. She's particularly busy just after every meal, she's a gourmande in the making too.

I start to feel her weight too. Or should I say our weight? Sleeping became difficult as I wake up each time I change position. I start to have backaches too! I think the inconvenients of the 3rd trimester start to weigh on me. Poor me. But hey, only 4 months to go and I'll be with my lil girl. Louna's getting excited too.

Look at how round I am! Oh by the way, to those Mommies who wowed me on my 4th month portrait for not having any stretch marks, I actually have them. Not that visible yet, but I assure you, I'm not spared!

Bonne Fête, Maman!

Today is Mother's Day here in France. Louna arrived with a gift which she bought with her Papa last night. After greeting me Bonne Fef, Maman (that's how she pronounced it), she immediately asked Il est où, bonbon, Maman? (Where's my candy, Maman?)

She's apparently bribed to greet me on Mother's Day!

The picture above shows another gift which she gave me this morning. She did it with her nanny.

Link: Louna's pre-natal check-up at the same period.

Salad Eater

She loves tomatoes and she likes eating salad with me (for my dose of vitamins and folic acid!). Oh, and she loves salad sauce too!