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. ;)