34 weeks. I’ve been pregnant for 34 weeks. Wow. Has it really been that long? In about 3 weeks, I can already give birth…

I can still remember the day that I found out that  I was going to have a baby. We were at the beach and I couldn’t bring myself to take a dip because I wasn’t feeling well.  Then my mother-in-law called. I told her I wasn’t feeling too well. She asked me if I was pregnant. I was like “Uhmm… No. I don’t think so. I’m not sure…” When we got home I took the (home) pregnancy test (we have a bunch at home because my sister, who is a nurse, gave me tons of it). The second line was really faint but it was visible. I showed it to my sister and told her not to tell our mom. Shhhesh! And to think that I was already married!

I was not really sure. So, I took another test and it was positive still. I waited for a day or two and took the test again. The second line just got darker. So, off to the doctor I went. I was scheduled for an ultrasound and there “it” was… A sac with a yolk inside… I didn’t understand the doctor when she said that, so I asked my sister (nurse). She said “Congratulations! It means that you’re having a baby”. Wow. I’m going to have a baby!

Then I started to feel the symptoms. The nausea, tender breasts, urinating frequently, and etc.  I wasn’t barfing yet. Then I left for Arizona and started to barf day in and day out. I can still remember barfing inside the restroom and someone knocked on my cube door and asked if I was okay. How sweet… I told her I was fine and it was just the pregnancy. I remember getting soup every morning, before the meeting would start, that Theresa would call me the Soup Lady.  I also remember asking Jun to get me apples from the hotel’s restaurant. I noticed that the apples helped.

It was the longest two weeks of my entire life. I was away from home and I couldn’t eat a full meal without barfing. Thank God I had friends around me who gave me gingersnaps, peppermints, crackers, flowers, and tons of support—that I was able to survive Arizona’s dry heat and Macky’s driving.

We went to Universal Studios and my aunt wouldn’t let me take the rides. Well, she did let me take the Back to the Future ride and I barfed right after. Sweet. I got pizza from Sbaru. I barfed again. Waaahhhh!!!

When I finally got back to the Philippines, it got from bad to very very very bad. I barfed five to seven times a day that I was losing weight!!! I finally had to stop working for several weeks. The hospital was (already) the extension of our house.

Finally, I got back to work, but the “excitement” didn’t stop there! Despite the vitamins that I was (and still am) taking, I was (and still am) a sickly pregnant woman. I had premature contractions and it would happen every 15 to 20 minutes. It scared me to death. The doctor informed me that my baby was still very small. She (greatly) needed to be delivered full term. Or at least, 37 weeks.

34 weeks… 3 more weeks and I can relax—a bit. At least, I know that  if I give birth on the 37^th week, our baby is ‘full term’. I think.

Now I have to think about my maternity leave. My doctor’s been bugging me to go on leave since October.  I might just go on leave next week or by December. I’m not yet sure. I know that I’ll be bored at home. But I also know that I get exhausted at work. *think* *think*

On my 32^nd week, I had the 3D/4D ultrasound. I’ll never forget that day. November 5, 2007. I saw my baby yawn… It was really cute. Good thing it was on video and I get to play it everyday.

I thought that I was excited when I found out that I was pregnant. Now, I know that I’m more than just excited. It’s a feeling that can’t be described. I’m ecstatic and nervous at the same time. I don’t know how I’m going to react the first time I hold or see my baby Bela. I know that it’s going to be another feeling—not like any other… I can’t wait.