I'm in my sixth month of pregnancy and I experienced a sudden weight gain. It is actually pretty disturbing. What did I do wrong? I can't figure out an accurate answer. Is it the cakes that I've been eating? The extra slices of bread I had for breakfast? The brown rice that we are now eating? Sigh......it's disturbing. I seldom take supper unless when I'm working. That too, i only take snacks and not heavy meals. The nurse has instructed that I take another glucose test which I took this morning. The experience was horrible. I had to fast and drink a glass full of very thick syrup (so thick that it was a little bitter) and wait for two hours without consuming any water or food before I had my blood drawn to test if I was diabetic. I will not know the results until my next medical appointment which is 3 weeks from now. I am worried that I will have diabetes because that will lead to many other risk for myself as well as the baby. The constant heartburn continues from time to time. I've searched for remedies but there seem to be none as the solutions that are available are not appropriate for pregnant women.
Today, while waiting in clinic, the nurse shared with us about birth control. The government is advocating healthy pregnancies and is highly recommending that women space out their pregnancies by at least two years. The nurse shared with us on family planning methods and to be honest, none of the suggested methods were useful for me as it is wrong for Catholics to use them. Among the suggestions were the use of condoms, birth control pills, vasectomy, birth control implant.....just to name a few. Two things ran in my head as I listened. Firstly, i felt disgusted when some shared on the different options. Some shared about what they do to prevent pregnancies. They were honest and open but I felt it was inappropriate to share such a personal encounter with strangers. Secondly, how about Catholics who are not aware of the Church's teachings? I'm sure they would listen and accept all the method's that is being suggested and practice them. Would that not be a sin then? Before we dismissed, the nurse reminded us to discuss with our husbands on which birth control method to opt for. I was truly uncomfortable. Don't i want to have a healthy pregnancy and remain free from all the unwanted aches and pains at the later years of my life? of course I do. But then again, I've been taught that it is wrong to do what I was taught to do at the clinic this morning. Why didn't the nurse teach us about the family planning method that's being promoted by the Church? Getting pregnant to be honest has made me see life very differently. I believe once the child comes, Leslie will also see a lot of changes take place in his life too. Lets pray and hope that the changes will lead us to grow in a positive manner.

I read a note on a friend's facebook yesterday stating that she has been diagnosed with cancer. I am still in a state of shock over what i read. I laid in bed last night thinking over her situation. She is married with two very young kids. I wondered how did her husband accept the news. As far as I'm concern, he loves her deeply and i'm very positive that this news really breaks his heart. How is he going to cope looking after the two kids while my friend undergoes her treatment? They just recently bought a landed property and are still paying for the loan. It must be a very difficult period for this family. I tried to figure out the cause of the cancer but it just did not make sense. My friend leads a very healthy lifestyle. They don't smoke and don't drink. In fact, my friend is a health freak. She exercises A LOT and is always careful with her diet. Yet she has cancer. How could this be? I'm shocked by what is happening to my friend, it also serves as a reminder to us that cancer can just hit anybody, without any signs and symptoms, even when we try our best to be healthy. Scary isn't it?

Recently, someone seems to be giving me cold shoulders. This person is a new friend. I had not met her for a few days and suddenly after she returns, she begins to give me cold shoulders and I don't even know why. Did I do anything wrong? I hardly speak to that person and only say hi and bye and yet I'm receiving cold treatment from this person. What did I do wrong I wonder. Gheez..... people are really weird. As I grow older, I tend to meet really weird people around.........don't they feel miserable this way?

According to the pink book, I am 24 weeks pregnant. Why am I not confident to declare the age of my pregnancy? It is because I lost count of my last menstrual cycle and thus the doctors are unable to accurately confirm the age of my fetus. The pink book is a record of my pregnancy. It carries the details throughout my pregnancy. Every expecting mother who seeks treatment at the government's health clinic will be very familiar with this pink book which looks like an exercise book. It is an essential item to carry with us whenever we see our doctors.

Unlike most of my peers, I think I've been pretty lucky. I do not suffer from much complications throughout this pregnancy. So far, I've not vomited. I have other symptoms and discomforts but I think compared to other expecting mothers, mine is rather minor. Recently, I've been experiencing heart burns. I feel discomfort below my chest, the websites on the Internet tells that this is a normal experience for mothers who are moving towards the end of their second trimester. I do not have cravings but I'm gaining weight pretty rapidly, around 2 Kg per month. It is actually pretty disturbing as I do not want to be obese again.

Am I ready for motherhood? Not really. In fact, I cannot imagine what lies ahead. I don't know if Leslie is ready as well. It sounds simple enough and most of my friends have gone through it but then again, are we ready to sacrifice the freedom that we currently have for the little one that is expected to arrive in January? I don't know. I also am not sure if our finances are sufficient to lead a comfortable life after the little one comes. But then again, I'm sure we are financially better off then many other poor people out there and they seem to be coping well with parenthood, so I guess we should be able to pull through, unless....we start comparing ourselves with other people who seem to be able to afford everything under the sun.

At 24 weeks, how is my baby? Well according to books and websites, it already has all the vital organs and has a 40% survival chance if it is born. It can hear and function like a human and even pee but its skin is still delicate. It's starting to require more calcium and I must make sure that I have enough so that it won't need to share the calcium needed for my body. Am I excited? Well...OF COURSE!!!