Your Shoe Collection

Rafael,

Look at your  baby shoe collection! Most of it are from your cousin Keegan while the cute brown booties were gifts from your Tita Gaill - she brought it here to our house last night from Dubai.

Mama kept thinking of ways to keep your shoes organised and visible so we can use them when we you need it. Best of all, the whole thing cost Mama 0 centavo as she just reused old ribbons and clips to create this. Do you like it? Hope you do as Mama loves it! Hehehe. Mwaaaah!

Love,

Mama

What's In A Name?

If you noticed, I've been calling you Baby the whole time. I will be very honest, it's because until yesterday (March 1), mama and papa haven't been successful in choosing a name for you.

Some of the strong contenders for your name were:

• Joross  - combination of Joy, Rommel, and your late grandmother Rosa. While meaningful, the name garnered ridicule from all as the name is similar to a B rated actor in the Philippines

       

• Red
• River
• Ross
• Rai

• Jommel - recommendation from your Tita Lala; combination of Joy and Rommel. Ewwww, I must say.Your Tita Gaill, Tita April, Tita Janice, and Tita Lala persisted on calling you Jommel during the time we haven't picked your name yet.
• Ayrton - your papa is an avid fan of Aytron Senna, a legendary F1 race car drive and even before marriage, your papa would always refer to "Ayrton" whenever he talks about our future kid
      

Your papa and I had simple wishes for your name. They were as follows:

• It must start with the letter "R". Why? Your mama wanted to retain the tradition in your papa's family. All the names of your papa's siblings begin with the letter "R".
• Your name must depict someone who is simple, kind, wise - qualities your mama and your papa value the most
• And of course, your name must be unique, must not be subject to ridicule etc.

You were exactly in your 35th week and the night before your mama and papa were discussing your name. We were feeling a bit pressured because until then, we have not picked your name. Your mama had dreams, worries regarding it and in an act of desperation began to consider naming you as "Jommel". 

Eureka moment...

The moment of pure inspiration came when your mama and papa, hands held, went to a hospital tour in Mt. Alvernia during your 35th week. While the tour guide was busy explaining the hospital's layout, your mama spotted the name of the ward - "St. Raphael's Ward". It was as if lightning struck. Your mama immediately whispered the name to your papa and your papa's face lit up. It was perfect. It was you. 

We can't wait to see you, our son: Rafael Ayrton Marquez. Your nickname: Rai - ask your papa! - still to be discussed!!!

Raphael

The name is of the meaning God has healed. A biblical name, it is derived from the elements 'rapha' meaning to heal ; 'el' God, powerful. Rephael (Hebrew) is an older form of Raphael. The name was borne by one of the seven archangels who appeared in the apocryphal tale of Tobias but was not named in the Bible. The short form Rapha was borne by several minor Old Testament characters in the Bible. It was consequently a favourite among early Christians, but its medieval use was mainly Jewish, before its widespread adoption among English speakers by the 16th century. The name was borne by the famous Italian Renaissance painter and architect Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520). In Europe, the name has been more popular in the southern countries than in England. It later saw a modest revival at the endof the 19th century. The name Raphaela (English and German) is the female form of Raphael.

Raphael is a widely used name; it has 36 variants that are used in English and other languages. Variants used in English include Falito, Raf, Rafe, Rafello, Raffello, Raffi, Raph, Rapha, Raphaello,Raphale, Rapheal, Raphello, Raphie, Raphiel, and Ravel. The pet form Rafi is another English variant.

The Big Reveal

Baby,

Mama and papa immediately shared the news of your impending arrival to your lolo/lola, tito/titas and some close friends but we waited until the end of the first semester to announce your presence to the world. Your papa was also so happy to learn that he was going to have a son during your 20th detailed scan. 

Love,

Mama

Coming Out Soon! - first trimester

It's  a Boy! - 20th week

Shopping and Getting Ready for You

Baby,

Mama often gets teased by your Tita Lala because Mama did not buy any stuff for you until after Christmas. Mama wants you to grow up to be a simple boy, not attached to material things but more to the simple pleasures in life. She waited till Tita Lala handed over your cousin Keegan's old stuff. Tita April, Tita Gaill, and Tita Rhona even lent you a lot of stuff as well. 

After this, your papa and your Tita Lala went to Mothercare and scanned the prices of items that you'd need while Mama sat on a chair while watching them (her back was aching). Upon reaching home, your papa ordered most of your stuff in Amazon global - with free shipping! He was ecstatic when they finally arrived.

The next big purchase mama and papa did was when they attended the baby fair in expo. There, mama and papa finally bought your crib, stroller and other essentials. Just in time as after that, mama developed high blood pressure and could no longer go shopping.

Mother Care vs Amazon Global Free Delivery

Your Crib inside Your Nursery

your papa assembled your crib as soon as he came home on the day your crib arrived. before that, he packed our hospital bag, cleaned the nursery, hand washed your clothes, and sprayed dettol every single day to ensure your room would be ready when you arrive. your papa is outstanding indeed!

Doctor Check Ups

Baby,

Do you know that mama and papa never missed a single one of your pre-natal appointments? There were even times when mama would become so paranoid and want to ensure you're ok that she'll visit the doctor way ahead of the appointment =) She was even rushed to the emergency hospital in St Lukes Global Manila during their Christmas vacation because she was imagining that she had an incompetent cervix. After two visits and too many tests - the doctor told her that her cervix was very competent indeed!

Mama was relatively healthy while carrying you inside her tummy except for a few misadventures with allergy, left leg & upper back pain (had to go to physiotherapy 3 times), stretch marks, gas pains, and high blood pressure (bed rest for weeks!). Easy peasy!

Love,

Mama

First Doctor's Visit - 5 weeks 

As soon as we learned we were expecting you, we met our ob-gyne immediately and during the first checkup, you were still not visible so they just took mama's blood and had it tested. 

Second Doctor's Visit - 7th Week

 During the second, you finally appeared as a baby sac but no heartbeat just yet. Papa was caught taking a picture - we didn't know it was not allowed till then so we kept it anyway =P

Emergency Hospital Visit 

Mama suddenly developed allergies so I was rushed by your papa to emergency in Simei General Hospital. The doctor was pressuring mama to take steroids but she refused - good thing we didn't take it as our ob-gyne later confirmed that it won't do you any good. A little anti-histhamine made it go away after 3 days. Your papa even bought a number of bed bug sprays and tackled the bed in case it was the one causing mama the hives.

                        

        

TLC - 35th Week Visit

We changed ob-gyne after mama got an ob-gyne recommendation from Tita April.

See picture of mama below looking stunned during your 35th week as she was just advised to take a prolonged bed rest due to high blood pressure. Too much excitement from Mama!

Childbirth Classes

Baby,

Only your papa has experience taking care of little ones as he took care of your cousins when they were young. Mama is absolutely inexperienced so we both enrolled in Childbirth classes in Mt. Alvernia, the hospital we have chosen where you'll first open your eyes to the world. 

Love,

Mama

First Day

What to eat/not eat; all about nutrition 

 Second Day 
Floor exercises to get fit (hmm, maybe a bit too late for this)

 Third Day 
Labor practice, we had much fun pretending to give birth anytime soon. After this class,

mama did not feel very well and the following week developed high blood pressure so we did not make it to the fourth class.