MaKulay Cowboy: "Howdy Pardner!"

Pattern by: Alan Dart
Published in: Simply Knitting Magazine

I started making this about a month ago... I set it down when I had to make something for a friend's newborn twins.

It was Josua's eagerness that I make this which made me really want to finish it. -- daddy-to-be wants his son to be a cowboy...

NOTE: Hat, Gun, Holster, Green waistcoat are all removable.

Dr. Google and Latest Ultrasound Results

In this day and age, nothing is ever so difficult to understand... even medical jargon that doctors themselves have difficulty explaining in layman's terms.

This is what I do every time I have any prenatal tests, I bring home the results and google the terms and their normal or abnormal values. This makes me rarely surprised with what the doctor will be telling me the following day...

I, of course, still listen to how my OB-GYNE would interpret the results I hand to her.

Yesterday, I had, as my FB status says, possibly my last ultrasound prior to "Labor Day." It has words like posterior placenta, cephalic presentation, amniotic fluid index, estimated fetal weight (self explanatory), etc...

So before explaining my googled results, lemme share my most "assaulting" ultrasound experience...

I was to see another OB-Gyne Sonologist (Dr. B) as recommended by my own OB-Gyne Sonologist (Dr. A) because she rather have two points of view with the results. I was told to go to the hospital early so that I'd be served first. As early birds go, I arrived 15 mins before the doctor's scheduled clinic hours, 3.45 pm. Good thing I had my handy dandy knitting kit, Dr. B arrived at the hospital before 6pm and she seemed tired. I was supposed to be the first one but since, another "later" patient was a friend of the MedTechs, I came second. Coming out of the the ultrasound room before my turn, Dr. B states: "I'm so tired." My heart goes to her, even if I was half cursing all the people in the world who turn up late and cause unnecessary stress to the people who wait for them. After all, she could have been saving hundreds of babies that day...

As I wait for Dr. B to interpret the results for her first patient of the night, I lay back on the ultrasound table and chit chat with the technician who knows I've been waiting long... apparently she's a chronic late comer. Ashamed by my myriads of stretch marks, I opened up by stating how ugly my tummy looks. It was nice of her to say that she's seen worse and that mine wasn't that bad.

Dr. B enters the room, with some sort of a tired smile, robotically asks:

"When was your last menstrual period?"
I reply.
"First baby?"
I reply.

She types these info then methodically squeezes uber cold KY jelly on my hugely engorged tummy. She then places the scanner and starts prodding in all directions... Seeing what seems to be the head I gush and smile (I guess like all expectant mothers do.) She starts measuring, marking, and inputing texts and numbers on the screen. And the miss-eager-beaver-mother-to-be in me asks her: Is that the arms? That's the head? Oh, that's the lips.

She shuts me up saying let me do my measuring first then I can show you which is which. hehe... I wasn't offended really, I know I could be too "kulet" It was when she was showing me Kulay's face that I felt assaulted. Kulay's hands and fingers where covering half his face. We could only make out his lips and two nostrils. To sort of nudge Kulay to move his hands away, Dr. B started vigorously pushing my tummy sideways... She did this several times. It didn't really hurt me but I thought it might have hurt Kulay. I know if Josua was with me, he'd have stopped the doctor from what she was doing. Although, a part of me knows, that she wouldn't be doing it if she knows that was wrong. But still... All this vigorous prodding was to no avail. Below is the uber grainy 2D low tech ultrasound picture of Kulay's lips without a cleft pallete (Thank God!):


This session ends with "Okay we're done." as she quickly strips the print out off the printer and leaves the room immediately...

Glad it was over, and I could head back home, I brushed off her "cold" send off.

Here are some words that scared me at first:

posterior placenta - early in my pregnancy I was told my placenta was low lying, after googling it then, it could be what was termed placenta previa, which is a case where the placenta is blocking the birth canal. This usually causes heavy bleeding and would require and emergency C-section. Now after googling "posterior placenta presentation" I was happy to know that it's the best possible result. My placenta is by the uterus wall near my spine.

cephalic presentation - with how the picture was looking on screen I was, once again, scared that my baby was in horizontal position on my tummy which would mean C-section again, because it wouldn't be Kulay's head trying to push down the birth canal but rather his back! After googling, I was relieved to know that even if Kulay hasn't yet "locked down" on my pelvic bone, his head was pointing down and ready to "enlighten" anytime soon. (Sigh of relief here.)

estimated fetal weight (self explanatory) - this I guess is a very important factor... hmmm... the first value I looked for when the result was handed to me. It was written in grams and not in pounds. So I had to take out my cellphone and go to tools and open my measurement converter application. 2980 grams equals a whopping 6.57 lbs!!! Sheesh! Kulay is big! I hope he fits. I need to start walking A LOT! and I think last night would be my last hello to rice.

I'm still praying for a normal delivery...

What did I do to deserve this?

I have wanted to visit this spa in Quezon City which specializes in prenatal massage. When I hit 2nd trimester I knew my back was going to suffer really badly, so I craved a massage everyday and would only read about this spa and its reviews over the net but not really knowing when I'd be able to get it done on me. It's just an awful waste of time, effort, money and energy to travel from Cavite to QC just for a massage when I'd have to travel back to Cavite soon after...

Then yesterday morning, as I was settling into my now normal routine of feeding my shih tzu's pups and making sure that Sofia (the dam) gets to take her meds and drink her milk (since it's the only thing she tolerates, although I still have to force it on her), a question was brought up by my dear dear Josua: "Gusto mong massage?" (You want a massage?) And acting a little bit less excited, I said: "Well, who would say no to that?", while I hide a grin that has spread across my face.

I didn't know when this massage was going to transpire, but I looked forward to it the entire day.

Apparently, he's been youtube-ing prenatal massages the entire day and learning the strokes...

That night at around 8.30pm, from the very first warm oily stroke along my calves, I have felt heaven. He didn't knead me like a dough, as I was accustomed to with previous massages I've experienced, it was a very gentle, very loving rub. And I could feel my dear Kulay moving in my belly, probably sensing the relief and relaxation his momma is experiencing.

I loved the shoulder rub, my shoulder's have been taking a beating since the pups have arrived, but the best part of it all is when Josua told me: "Nag-eenjoy ako sa ginagawa ko." (I'm enjoying what I'm doing.) That just sealed it. I am sure to coax another round of this before and after I give birth. At least I didn't force it on him.

When he finished with both sides of my body, I was sort of in a trance, super relaxed and almost asleep but conscious enough to know it's over. If I didn' have to feed the pups for the last time before I sleep, I would have just dozed off at that moment.

Just to be certain, as I was going through the pups one last time before I sleep, I thanked my love, Josua, for the best massage EVER! (better than the most expensive ones I've tried) and I subtly, vocally, wondered "Mauulit kaya ito?" (Would it happen again?)

And the answer was a happy "YES."