40 Weeks
A weekly recap of our 40 weeks of pregnancy.
Week 3 — God kept on reminding me about his word during the last Prayer and Fasting that I’ll be pregnant before the next prayer and fasting.
Week 4 — It was the week before the mid-year prayer and fasting. I took a pregnancy test just to confirm if the word was really from God or it was just me thinking about it. Lo and behold, two lines! But Ace was in the USA and I had to wait a week until he arrives before telling him. I was still in shock, and excited, but it hasn’t really sunk in because I didn’t have anyone to share the joy with.
Week 5 — Ace found out he was going to be a Dad!!! We weren’t able to do an ultrasound that week because it was still too early. We prayed that everything would be normal and that I wouldn’t have any morning sickness or any hormonal related discomforts. It is when we also decided not to announce our pregnancy yet on social media and just tell our families and friends personally.
Week 6 — Our first ultrasound! But the doctor didn’t see anything — no fetal pole, no heartbeat — and told us to do another ultrasound a week later just to be sure it wasn’t a miscarriage. 3 days later, we went to another doctor just to ask for clearance to travel. She did a series of tests just to make sure everything was normal, including another ultrasound. Lo and behold, we saw a tiny little embryo with a heartbeat! THANK YOU, LORD! The feeling of seeing the heart beat the first time was so surreal and magical. Everything was normal so we had clearance to travel!
Week 7 — Our first out of town trip with this little peanut in Singapore! It was pretty scary, knowing that the first few weeks is the most dangerous for any pregnancy. I tried not to walk around too much or do any strenuous activities, but I still ended up walking an average of 16,000 steps per day. It’s also the week when we told our immediate family about the new addition to the family!
Week 8 — Two months preggo and still no morning sickness or cravings!!! Thank You, Lord!
Week 10 — Our first appointment with our OBGYN. It took a while for us to decide which doctor to choose, but after praying really hard and deliberating, we finally chose Dr. Menefrida Reyes! She’s also a Christian and was highly recommended by a lot of my officemates at Every Nation. Plus she’s also the Gynecology Department Head in St. Luke’s QC. Unfortunately, she wasn’t available that day so we met up with a reliever.
Week 12 — Three months and still no morning sickness or cravings!!! The only pregnancy hormonal thingy I’ve been experiencing was food aversions, which caused my food intake to decrease because I suddenly lost appetite to almost all the food. All I wanted were my mom’s spaghetti and a couple of Filipino dishes.
Week 14 — Our first road trip with the baby! We went to Clark, Pampanga for Couples Getaway. We wanted to make the most out of this event, because this will be our last Couples Getaway before the baby arrives. It’s also where a lot of people also found out about the pregnancy!
Week 15 — Our second pre-natal appointment. Unfortunately, there was another woman in labor so we were attended once again by the reliever. But it’s okay, we still like her. We told her that I’ve been having migraines and palpitations recently, and my heart rate would go as high as 146 beats per minute whenever I would go up a flight of stairs. She got a little bit worried so she referred me to a cardiologist. After having a consultation with the cardio and finishing a series of tests, I was told everything was normal and that it was just because of pregnancy. We also found out that I lost 5 lbs from the food aversions.
Week 16 — Hello second trimester!! We had another ultrasound because it was Ace’s and my mom’s birthday. It was our first time to really see the baby move! We saw the head, spine, legs, and of course, those tiny feet and hands. Everything was normal, according to the doctor. We were so glad that the baby was normal in size even if my belly hasn’t really shown yet.
Week 18 — Our first trip to Bohol and our last plane ride until the baby arrives. It was also the week the bump started to show! It wasn’t that obvious though, I just looked like I ate in a buffet. Haha.
Week 19 — It was the first time I felt the baby kick and move! No more guessing anymore if it was just gas or the baby. It was so clear that it was the baby, because my belly would move every time he/she kicks, and Ace would even feel it whenever he would touch my belly. Finally, a clear sign everyday that the baby is alive and doing well! Not to mention that my belly’s size grew significantly bigger this week.
Week 20 — We had another ultrasound because it was my birthday, and yes, we found out the gender! It’s a healthy baby BOY!!! Best birthday gift ever :) Before the ultrasound, we were praying that the baby would position himself the right way so we would clearly see the gender. And he did! Thank you, Lord!
It was also the week where we finally met our OBGYN (we instantly loved her.) She prescribed a uterine relaxant because I’ve been having contractions the past few days, which has also been documented during the ultrasound. When the doctor was inspecting the belly and the baby, he was moving so much which made the doc say “Yes, he’s really a boy!” Good job, baby!
We finally revealed to our family the baby’s gender. We made them guess by shading HE or SHE in a Hershey’s bar, and most of them guessed that the baby’s a boy.
Week 22 — Ace went to Japan for a week-long business trip. It’s the first time he’s been away from home since the pregnancy, so what to do during the 4-day long weekend? Stay in my parents’ house and once again experienced their love and care!
Week 25 — We were scheduled for a Congenital Anomaly Scan (wherein they will check the baby thoroughly from head to toe and inside out for any physical defects) and a Doppler Velocimetry (to check if the baby is getting adequate blood flow). It’s true, these tests were scary because you wouldn’t know what to expect. Thank God everything came out normal! Yay! He was awake the whole time, but the doctor said he was actually cooperating that’s why she didn’t have a hard time.
Bonus for us: We were able to see the details of the face! ❤
Week 26 — We spent the whole week preparing the house for his arrival. Preparing, meaning buying cabinets and shelves, setting up the crib, doing general cleaning, and of course, decluttering. Gotta let go of old things to make way for new ones. And I noticed his kicks are getting stronger and stronger! He also made a grand appearance during the ENPH Christmas Party, and I won best in costume!
Week 29 — We took an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) to see if I had gestational diabetes. We heard really bad stories about how awful the “drink” was before taking the test, so more than the results, I got really scared of the taste. Haha. Thank God we passed!!!
Week 30 — MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! This week, we announced to the whole world, aka social media, that we’re pregnant by posting this year’s Christmas Card.
Week 32 — 8th months!!! Starting this week, we’ll be having our OB check-up every two weeks instead of having it monthly. We also had an ultrasound to check the baby’s growth, and thank God everything is normal! He now weighs about 3.5 lbs, which is just right for his gestational age. We also enrolled in a Birthing Class with Rome Kanapi. We’ll be attending the class every week for the next six weeks.
Milestone: Ace heard baby’s heartbeat when his ear was against my belly!!!
Week 33 — Baby shower name reveal! For the first time, we revealed Navi’s name. The people who came were our immediate families, the married people from my coaching group, couple friends, and our ninongs/ninangs in our wedding.
Week 35 — We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary, which is also the last anniversary where it’s just the two of us. We’re so excited to spend our next one with Navi! He was able to experience his first musical, Wicked. He was awake majority of the time, so he could probably hear the songs.
Week 36 — Total weight gain as of this week is 16 lbs. And I noticed that my nose and feet are starting to get bigger! Not edema-level, just a little bigger. We also had a baby shower with our relatives, both from our sides. We also had a maternity shoot c/o my good friend, Jamie!
Week 37 — Contractions every 20–30mins on Monday, every 10–20 mins on Tuesday, and down to 5–10 mins on Wednesday! So we decided to start the maternity leave on Thursday. But when we went to the labor room (hoping that they wouldn’t send us back home), we were told to go home because I was just 1cm dilated. Lol.
Week 38 — Still 1cm dilated and not effaced….
Week 39 — The doctor advised us to have another ultrasound within the week. After the ultrasound, the sonologist told us to text our OB that my amniotic fluid is already at 6.1, which was low. So the doctor texted us to go to the hospital. I was going to get induced! My labor lasted for 3 days (58 hours to be exact), which made me sooo tired from all the pain that’s why we opted to get an epidural once I hit 7cm.
Week 40 — At exactly 1:04am, after about 20-something pushes and a vacuum assisted delivery, Samuel Navi was born!
