I can’t wait for the week to end. I can’t wait to give birth, but this time, for something very different from my usual reason.

I’ve been having back pains since Saturday. It’s tolerable, but it feels like I’ve been reaching for my toes the whole day. At times it would be gone, only to come back a few minutes later.

It’s driving me crazy, really.

I went to my OB yesterday and she said the pain is caused by the increasing weight of my tummy. Also, she informed me that I’m not that far along and she’s expecting me to give birth “soon”. God knows what she meant by “soon,” but I certainly hope I still have time to prepare.

Argh. I’ll get back to you as soon as I get my mind to think of something else other than the damn back pain.

I owe a couple of girls some tags; I promise I’ll do them as soon as I feel better.

Yes, finally! Wooooot!

The pregnant nanny is still here with us, as I still need her while Issen warms up and becomes familiar with his new nanny. Today is the new nanny’s first day, so I couldn’t really say much about how she is, but so far, Issen seems to like her.

This whole week will be their time for transition. Hopefully, my boy won’t have a hard time adjusting to his new sitter. And I certainly hope that the new sitter will be up to the task, as Issen is already quite a handful at almost 16 months.

No, don’t worry, Issen doesn’t have “special powers of darkness” like Jack Jack of The Incredibles. Well, at least, he hasn’t shown anything yet, unless you consider farting like a grown-up man (sound and smell) a special power of darkness.

Oh.

Credit goes to USA Today for the image of Kari and Jack Jack of The Incredibles.

I feel so stupid to wonder why my Google Page Rank is still N/A (not available), which, according to Page Rank Checker, means “it is not possible to show any page rank now.”

And how could I get a page rank when my blog is just a little over a month old and I haven’t really done much to boost its traffic?

When I realized that, I immediately searched for blog networks similar to my interests and signed up. Thus, you will find a couple more badges on my mommy networks on the sidebar.

It’s a two way-thing for me, being a member of blog networks. One, I get to expose my blog to more bloggers who share the same interests as mine, meaning they would most likely become regular visitors of my blog should I come up with significant content. Two, I get to discover new things and learn from fellow bloggers whenever I do my rounds within the network.

The give and take philosophy taken to a new and more high-tech level.

And of course, I haven’t forgotten that the key to getting more and sustaining traffic is good content. Don’t worry, I’m working on that. I just hope they’d be interesting enough to those who are kind enough to drop by.

By the way, here’s a tip I got on how to become a famous blogger.

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Note: This post is a revised version of a blog post in my other blog.

I can’t wait to give birth. I can’t wait to breastfeed again.

I enjoyed breastfeeding Issen, my now 15-month-old boy, so much that I was so devastated when we had to stop. I got pregnant again when Issen was about 8 months old, and my OB advised against breastfeeding while pregnant. Also, my irregular schedule of milk expression at work caused the continuous decrease in my milk supply. I was using a manual pump then and the stress at work didn’t do much good to milk supply, add to that the fact that I sometimes skip my pumping session because it has become a really tiring chore to me.

Still, I was lucky that I didn’t go through the usual first-timer breastfeeding dilemmas. Issen learned very easily to latch on to me, and I never experienced cracked nipples or extremely painful plugged milk ducts.

Here are a couple of lessons I learned that could have made my breastfeeding easier and last longer.

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As a mother, I always want to be able to give the best of everything to my kids. Of course, I’m conscious about the cost, but there are things that I’d rather splurge on than risk my babies’ health and safety.

I don’t hesitate to spend, for example, on his medicine/vitamins, milk, diaper, drinking water, and food. I scrimp, however, on a lot of things that I know he wouldn’t appreciate the financial value yet or those that he would outgrow in a short while.

Toys, however, are a little different. I won’t hesitate buying him something pricey if I know that the toy will have a positive effect on at least one aspect of his development. I find ways, though, to get pricey educational toys at a low price. Like second-hand but in excellent condition toys off eBay.

Anyway, a friend sent me this video about why you shouldn’t have to buy expensive toys for your babies to enjoy. Check out its version I found on YouTube, it’s hilarious.

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The stress I’ve been experiencing since last week has drained away my creative juices and left me with nothing to rejuvenate this blog with.

Anyway, I do not follow mixed martial arts fighting as religiously as a big fan does, but I do know some personalities and I try to watch every chance I get. Same thing with porn. C’mon, give me a break. I’m a married woman.

So why am I saying this? I’m probably waaaaaaaaaay behind the news but I just found out that Ultimate Fighting Champion legend Tito Ortiz has been dating “the world’s most famous porn star,” Jenna Jameson, apparently since 2006.

Check out this video of the couple being lovey-dovey, after signing autographs for fans.

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My 15-month-old baby boy, Issen, did the cutest but most tear-jerking thing today.

He usually sleeps in his crib at night, but last night, I let him sleep beside me on the bed as my husband is away anyway. When he woke up this morning, he woke me up by patting my back then kissing me on the face. It’s such a nice way to wake up, to see your baby boy’s sweet smile first thing in the morning.

When I said good morning to him, he started looking around the room saying, “Dada?” I said, “Sweetheart, Daddy’s not here. He’ll be home tomorrow night.”He looked at me like he didn’t understand a word I said (I doubt if he did), and started getting off the bed, still calling for his Dada. He went to the PC area (where he usually see his Daddy sitting), then knocked on the bathroom door. When he can’t find his Daddy, he started to cry so I immediately picked up and tried to divert his attention by showing him his Daddy’s Marvel Legends action figures and Gundam kits. It worked.

I’ll be needing more than those toys to comfort him when he starts looking for his Daddy tonight at sleeping time. Wish me luck.

Hurry home, Daddy! You’re babies miss you so much!

By the way, if you wanna see more of our pictures, check out my Multiply album.

My apologies for not being able to post anything yesterday, which happens to be Valentine’s Day. I’m not really a big “fan” of Valentine’s Day, but I was planning to write something “motherly”. Unfortunately, possibly due to the stress I was experiencing (as described in my previous post), I wasn’t able to go to work yesterday.

I can hardly get up from the bed and I had fever. I can’t breathe properly through my clogged nose and I was aching all over. All I can do was lie down and sleep. I can’t even catch up on my reading as I’d fall asleep by the time I’m on my second page.

Add to that the fact that my PC at home is broken. We’re still having ti fixed and I was actually hoping it’d be fixed today. The unit came in today (we had it delivered at the office), but as it turned out, the motherboard is still broken. I am getting really frustrated already, but there’s nothing I can do. My husband talked to the seller and good thing they’re willing to check up on the unit again. They’d be picking up the unit tomorrow, a Saturday, but good thing I have to be at the office anyway for a report I need to do and submit.

By the way, my husband is away for the weekend for an event at a province up north of the country. This is the first time we’re gonna be away from each other for the whole weekend. Well, first time since we had a baby. I had to go to a city south of the country a couple of times a couple of weeks after our wedding.

Anyway, I’m sorry if I’m boring you with episodes of my sorry life, but I’m feeling really down right now. But who can blame me? My son’s nanny is pregnant and I can’t find a replacement, my PC is broken, I’m aching all over and suffering from colds and fever, my beloved husband is away for the weekend, and we’re being back stabbed by somebody who used to be dear to our family.

Sucks to be me. At least right now.

I promise my next entry will be a lot better and more interesting than this.

Thanks to Powermixradio.com for the sad girl pic.

I am so stressed right now.

I have so many ideas for blog entries lined up but I can’t string sensible words together.

We’ve just confirmed this morning that my 15-month-old son’s nanny is pregnant. She’s 20 years old. Actually she already told me a couple of weeks ago that she’s planning to go home to her province to look for her mom, who hasn’t replied to any of her letters yet. She’s in no hurry, though, and she was willing to wait until I find a replacement. She didn’t know then that she was already pregnant.

But now, I’m kinda pressured to find a new nanny ASAP. I don’t want to take the risk of her having a miscarriage due to too much exhaustion while taking care of my son.

It didn’t help also that I just got betrayed by somebody who’s saying things about me and my husband behind our backs. I’m just ignoring her and I have no plans of stooping down to her level, but my pregnancy hormones have magnified every single emotion I feel so I’m very sensitive these past few weeks. And that sensitivity is making me feel really bad about something that isn’t worth my time.

Argh. Please let me get through this week with my sanity intact.

Here’s an amusing anecdote, sent by a friend.

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner.

I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, “If I give you this money, will you buy shoes with it instead of dinner?”

“No, I’ve been walking barely with my feet years ago”, the homeless woman told me.

“Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?” I asked.

“No, I don’t waste time shopping,” the homeless woman said. “Besides, I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.”

“Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?” I asked.

“Are you NUTS !” replied the homeless woman. ” I haven’t had my hair done in 20 years!”

“Well,” I said, “I’m not going to give you the money. Instead, I’m going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight.”

The homeless Woman was shocked. “Won’t your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I’m dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.”

I said, “That’s okay. It’s important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and shoes.”

I don’t totally agree with the punchline, but heck, I could use the good laugh right now.