What Is Transverse Lie?

            In my 8th month of pregnancy, I was told by my ob that the baby inside my womb was in transverse lie position. The immediate question that popped-up in my mind was "what is transverse lie?" Well, obviously, I knew that time that something was wrong. Though, not that seriously wrong but I knew that her position/presentation was not normal. I was advised not to move that much because if my water bag will break it will be dangerous for my baby - her umbilical cord may be compressed which might cause her to be short of air resulting to her death. (That really got me scared.)

            Transverse lie means that the head is to one side and the feet or bottom are to the other so that neither the head nor the feet or bottom are presenting to the cervix meaning the fetus is lying sideways.

           A transverse baby may be a temporary condition due to the positioning of the mother, or it could be due to other reasons. Common reasons for a transverse baby are multiple babies, low-lying placentas, small pelvic inlets, weak abdominal wall, and issues with the uterus or baby.

          Fetuses cannot deliver safely in a transverse lie. They either need to turn such that they are facing head down or need to be delivered by C-section.

          A transverse lie could be fatal to the fetus if the woman goes into labor and breaks her water, allowing the fetal [umbilical] cord to come out and be compressed.The cord can protrude first and become occluded, which can result in oxygen deprivation and brain damage, and possible death to the baby.

Milk and Vitamins for Pregnant Women

             Pregnancy is the most exciting and nerve-wrecking part of a woman's life most especially when it's the first time. Upon knowing that I'm conceiving, I immediately surrendered myself to my obne-gynecologist and had my whole reproductive system checked. As per doctor's advise, she recommended two supplements for expecting-moms like me- milk which is high in folate and multivitamins.

          According to my OB, two glasses of Anmum Materna is needed everyday. One at breakfast and the other one before bedtime.
          Anmum Materna is rich in folate, gangliosides and essential fatty acids. 

          Folate is the natural source of vitamin B9 found in a variety of foods, most often, in leafy green vegetables, dried beans, and peas. When folate is used as an additive in foods, generally in bread, grains or breakfast cereal, or when it is taken as a supplement, it is called folic acid. It is an important vitamin, especially when taken by women who are pregnant, planning to get pregnant, or nursing.
         Gangliosides are lipids that help in the development of child’s brain functions, especially the synapses or connections. The more the cells of child’s brain connect, the more potential his brain has for learning.

            Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs support child’s brain development, especially his eye functions. A baby cannot make his own EFAs, so he has to rely on your diet to get what he needs.

      Aside from milk supplement, I was also advised to take one tablet of Obimin everyday.This is a vitamin and mineral supplement for pregnant and lactating mothers.

      But, of course, these two are just supplements. It's still best that pregnant women eat a well-balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, get enough sleep,exercise and regular visit to their ob-gynecologists.

Baby Names

             The big day was getting near and we haven't chosen a name for our soon to be little princess.Well, we are certain that she's a girl from the numerous ultrasounds confirming that we are having a baby girl. Originally, I wanted a baby boy and I'm sure my husband too though he was silent about his choice from the start. He used to tell me that what's important was for the baby to be healthy with no physical deformities.

             I was already on my 38th week and still our baby had no name. We asked for suggestions from our relatives. What's certain was that her name has to start with a letter E and her second name should be K following our initials. Here's the list of our supposedly baby's name:

• Noel wanted her to be named Eloisa but I opposed so it was crossed from the list.
• Mommy suggested for Erika but the name seem to be so strong 
• Mama wanted Hannah Cossette. This was supposed to be my name
• My brother, Ronnell suggested for Elisha
• My Tita Weng wanted Elijah Kendra
• My Tita Rubs suggested for Elisha Cathburt
• I wanted her to be named Kassandra or Keisha

              After so many days of deliberation, my husband and I, both agreed to name her "Elisha Kendra" and her nickname will be "KEISHA". Elisha means "God is gracious" while Kendra means "water baby, magical, powerful, all knowing.


              

Pregnancy

            I was shocked when I knew that I was pregnant. It was not planned but we were very thankful for the gift of life. I can still remember the day when I told my husband that we're going to have a baby. He was so surprised too.

            My first few months were really hard. I had morning sickness not only in the morning as well as in the afternoon and in the evening. I was just lying on the bed the whole day due to headache and nausea. I hate the smell of my room and even I'm at a far distance I can still smell the awful odor of our dog. I was always irritated and agitated. I can't eat, I don't like the taste of all the food. I never craved for anything, all I wanted was to lie down and sleep. I vomited a lot. When I eat, I vomit. When I vomit, I sleep. It was a traumatic experience though. I don't know what I was going through and I never thought that it would be that hard.Everything was new, my body was changing and I was anticipating what changes will happen next. Literally, I was afraid of the changes. But, thank God I didn't had pimples I even had a better skin in my entire pregnancy.

              My second trimester  was a bit easier. I still feel sleepy at all times but now I can eat. But when I started to eat I can't stop eating. From 1 pm to 5 pm, I'm chewing something - fruits sometimes chocolates. my husband reprimanded me from eating chocolates but I can't stop. I loved it so much though I was really a chocolate-lover by heart since birth. I made sure that I was able to eat all the nutritious food except for my yummy chocolates.                                                       

I was 6 months pregant in this

               My third trimester was not that hard except for the more intense ankle and back pain that I was feeling. Maybe, it had something to do with my height. I guess my body can't support my increasing weight. Big thanks to my ever supportive and sweet husband who always find ways to make things easier for me. All throughout my pregnancy, he never failed to give me a foot massage every single night even though, sometimes he's so sleepy and tired.

my 8th month

            Well, I didn't grew that big except for my 9th month. I was more of bed-ridden during that month. I was so afraid to move because according to my ob-gynecologist, my baby's position was transverse and if my water bag will break something bad will happen to our baby. I was extra cautious that time.

Married Life

            From the day I said "I do", I started to be a housewife. It was never my dream to be just inside the house but I must say that I've enjoyed it and still continuously enjoying it. My vision of a wife is someone who is always available for her husband, someone who takes in charge of everything - the food, clothing, house. I've seen how my grandmother served my grandfather until the last air that he breathe and that's what I wanted to be.
            I woke up around 5 AM and started to cook. I act slow that's why I have to start early. Cooking was very new to me and it was really a challenge. Before, I never stepped into our kitchen to cook, it was always my mom who prepares everything for me. As a new wife, I had to impress my husband. I'll wake him up around 6, we eat together and I wash the dishes afterwards. At 7:30 am my husband starts to leave our house. By this time, I'll go back to sleep again and get up around 9 am. Cleaning our house was my favorite, it was never hard because our house was small.

the first food that we cook after moving in tour house

 

my husband enjoying our sinigang na hipon

            At around 11 am, I started preparing my husband's food for lunch which will be brought to his office. My lunch was always served in my in-laws house since I was always left alone in our home. After eating, I take afternoon naps, watch TV or DVDs. Around 5 pm, I started to cook again for our dinner and wait for my husband. Night time was only our moment to bond. Sometimes, I got bored but I always fill my schedule with a lot of house activities.

my husband and I

My Work As A Financial Advisor

            Before getting married I was a Financial Advisor/Planner working in AXA Philippines. My work deals with counseling Metrobank clients with long-term investment opportunities, giving them the best financial solutions to their problems, educating them in income protection and wealth management, assessing their tolerance for investment risks and constantly monitoring the investments in client's portfolios and being on top of new investment strategies and investment vehicles. I love the stock market. I'm very much interested in learning the ups and downs of it. I was assigned in three Metrobank branches: first in Xavierville, second in Barangka, and lastly in Marikina Center. I strongly believed that I was able to penetrate and tap the clients in those branches. Work was easy but stressful, tiring but rewarding. All my hardwork paid off when I received an award for having the most number of case counts for the month of January 2008. From then on, expectations started to screw up.
         I can still remember the most challenging days of my financial planning years. It was during the American financial turmoil - the collapse of the Lehman brothers which began as a mortgage market crisis in the summer of 2007. The fears were based on the fact that the firm was a major player in the market for subprime and prime mortgages, and that as the smallest of the major Wall Street firms, it faced a larger risk that large losses could be fatal.The bank's demise set off tremors throughout the financial system. That contributed to credit markets freezing, forcing governments around the globe to take steps to try to calm panicked markets. This really caused me too much falling hair. Clients go in and out of the bank worrying about their investments and wanting to withdraw all their money. Pacifying panicking clients was the hardest part especially when the market value of their investments were starting to go down.The experience was very hard and challenging but in that time I have learned a lot-professionally and personally. 
         I decided to leave my job when my company asked more than what I can give. I have nothing against my previous employer. It was just that during the lowest time of the economic crisis, I didn't like the way they handled their people. That's why even though I love my job I was forced to let go. I wanted to be more of a financial planner/advisor than a sales person. But, still I am so thankful for all the things that I've learned, experienced and of course for the friendship and camaraderie that I've built with my workmates.



       

New Home

           After one month of being married, we were finally able to move in to our new home. It's just a small house located beside my in-law's residence just inside their own backyard. This was our parent's wedding gift for us and we are sincerely and truly appreciative of this. Now, you know how lucky we are with our parents.

entrance door and kitchen

 


 This was how it was when we first moved in. Our entrance door's with screen. The right side was our kitchen. That's where I learned how to cook and I'm so proud that even just a bit I learned. The other door is our comfort room.

dining area

Our dining area was perfect for my husband and I. This was where we had most of our morning talks with a cup of milk and our dinner served with my yummy-licious food.

living room

As you can see our living room looks so bare. We don't have much furniture and decorations for our house. That sofa is my in-laws property, they just handed down that to us so we'll have a nice sofa for our house.

bedroom

Our bedroom is so cozy. This is my favorite part of our home. It's so relaxing especially when I'm feeling so sluggish. This is where we bond most - watch TV, DVDs, and share our daily stories.

TV, DVD and our altar (at the back of the fan)

Our mini entertainment gadgets and our altar (covered by the fan) is placed at our bed footsteps. All the spaces in our small home are maximized thus, making it a perfect home to start a happy married life.

Gifts! Gifts! Gifts!

    Weddings will not be complete without the fabulous gifts of godparents, families, relatives and friends. I must say that this was one of the things that I was so excited and furious about. But, who would not love gifts? Little children, grown-ups, gray-haired individuals love it too. The excitement while opening it is definitely priceless. Well, I don't mind whether it's lucrative or not. The important thing was they prepared something for us to love and to appreciate.

            We received a lot of rice cookers, if I'm not mistaken about 5-6 pieces of it. Oven toasters were also a big hit. These two were the usual gifts to newly weds. No doubt, there's no couple who didn't receive a rice cooker or oven toaster on their wedding day. We also got lots of bed sheets, comforters, frying pans, set of plates, glasses and others. And of course, we got lots of red envelopes. Hmmmm. You guess what's inside. Some also issued manager's check addressed to our names. Yahoo! We were able to buy our first television, refrigerator and air-con set.

These were just few of the gifts that we received.

           But, the best gifts that we received was first, the bible and second, the presence of all the people that matters to us. The bible will serve as our guide in life. It will keep us humble, good and a God-centered couple. The presence of the people around us really made us feel important. Since we were wed on a Friday afternoon, most of them were on leave from work. We sincerely thank them for giving us their time.

           Thank you Lord for all of these gifts. May you continuously shower us with blessings!

Marikina Hotel

The Reception

             

For the reception, we were first booked at the Water Nymph Resort ballroom which can accommodate 250 persons in SSS, Marikina. But, due to the increasing number of guests we were forced to move to a bigger place. Fortunately, the Marikina Hotel which was just few blocks away from our original reception venue was still open for reservation for May 8. The place can accommodate up to 700 people, well, it was really too big for our guests since we were only expecting 350 to 380 visitors. And this was where the creativity of our caterers infiltrated.

 

 

The Officiating Priest

As per the request of my in-laws, the wedding ceremony was officiated by Fr. Gerry C. Evarola, the stationed Parish Priest of the Immaculate Conception in Vista Verde Executive Village where my husband resides. He’s my husband’s family friend and spiritual adviser who happen to be the priest assigned to OLA Parish during my elementary days. When we were processing our wedding papers, I was surprised to see the signature of Fr. Gerry in my first communion certificate.

Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish (OLA)

The church, Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish in Marikina, was requested by my grandmother. I studied Kinder and Elementary in Marikina Catholic School right beside the OLA Parish. The church played an important part of my childhood days. That’s exactly where I had my first communion, confirmation, Kinder graduation, and my first Friday masses.

 

The Day I Said "I DO"

          It was May 8, 2009 when I finally said “I do” to the most affectionate and responsible man I’ve ever met in my 25 years of existence. It’s always nice and refreshing to look back at that certain point of my life where everything was close to perfect. Honestly, I was not the hands-on type of bride who chose to take care of all the details of the wedding not because I don’t want to be a “bridezilla” but just for the simple reason that I want to savor the moment and to be contented and thankful for whatever it is that was in stored for me on that day.  I was involved a bit but not that focused and detailed. Fortunately, the wedding that I wanted to have when I was young was exactly the same that I had. The people that I love most were present – my papa, mama, my three brothers, my relatives and my closest friends. And of course, I’ll be settling down with the person that I truly love and admire – my soon-to-be husband.

I can attest that God will give you the right person at the right time and at the right circumstance. There is really “someone” out there that is made specially to unconditionally love, respect and take care of you, someone who will fill the empty spaces of your fingers, someone who will stand by you and who will choose to love and fight for you despite of your shortcomings and in spite of the unexpected circumstances that will come your way.  Truly, there is. Love is the greatest blessing from God. And I thank Lord God for giving me my husband.