22 weeks

Dear Baby,

It has been a busy 4 weeks for your Daddy and me -- or maybe sleeping just takes too much of my time now so I have no time left to blog. I realized though that I want you to read something about how I carried you in me for 9 months and how Daddy and I got all giddy watching you grow.

The biggest news of the last 4 weeks is that we found out that you we are having a baby girl! Yes baby, you are a little baby girl and we are gonna name you Marga Alessandra. Everybody is so excited about the news! Your Mamu even posted it on facebook before me. Since you are a baby girl, everyone thinks you are a baby doll. Clothes keep coming from all direction that maybe - if my self control wins over my mommyhood, I won't be shopping for your clothes for the first year of your life. You are loved baby, and everyone is looking forward to meeting you :)

I also celebrated my first Mother's day about a week ago. I know it would be more meaningful next year when I am holding and you are showering me with hugs and kisses in between drools. This year Daddy made a big deal about Mother's day and took me out to dinner and gave me the kitchen cabinet I have been requesting for. Baby, you have to know that Mommy appreciates cabinets more than flowers. I am practical that way. 

See the picture above, baby? That's you when you were just a dot in my uterus and then there you are - a 5month old baby girl. See how much you've grown? I am so proud of your progress my love. And Daddy is proud too! You should hear how much he talks about you, you topped his favorite-topic list -- Imagine how special you are since you beat basketball and UFC and went straight to number 1! He loves planning about your future. He plans on making you a baby brother to ward off possible suitors in the future. lol

I am more than half way through my pregnancy, baby -- proof would be my bulging tummy, my penguin walk and my Pamela Anderson boobies. I can feel you kicking me more and more often. Sometimes I wonder what you want me to do when you kick me, are you hungry or am I too noisy or am I tiring you with all the walking I am doing. I feel you baby, I know you are there and I love the feeling that I am carrying you in my tummy. I love being a mom already. 

As much as I love being a mom, your daddy loves being - well a daddy. A daddy to you our little Marga. When we went to Bora for vacation all he did was touch you and talk to you and play with you. He said it's our first vacation as a family and he is looking forward to bringing you back there when you get to the age that you can make sand castles and swim and ride in his ATV. 

Baby, kick me all you want. exercise those baby arms and legs so you would be strong and healthy when we see you in a couple of months. We are excited to be your parents baby.  Take care and be a strong baby girl. We love you!

Love,

Mommy

My PAL Express experience

Ever since our Cebu Pacific fiasco last year in Naga Airport and my Cebu Pacific experience in Busuanga almost 2 years ago, I never booked a flight with Cebu Pac again - no matter how many piso fares that come my way. Hey, I take grudges seriously and the inconvenience the airline gave me is just totally unacceptable. 

So since then I have been flying with PAL and it's budget friendly airline Airphil Express - now called PAL Express. I never had a problem with the airlines up until my I booked a Kalibo flight with them. Last December 2012, I booked a flight for nine people for a family vacation. Come March 2013, I got a notification via email that our flight back to Manila from Kalibo was moved from 5:15pm to 7:55 pm. I get it. Things happen. So I let it go and just continued planning our trip. Then come April, I got a call from their booking office and was told that our flight from Manila to Kalibo was moved from 11:25am to 4:30pm AND our flight going home which was scheduled for 7:55pm was again moved to 8:40pm. I called their hotline again and was told that I have no choice but take the flight because all the earlier flights are full already. After a lengthy conversation with their booking officer I had to give in since they really did not give me any other option. 

Imagine the inconvenience they caused! First, our hotel booking starts at 2pm but since our 11:25am flight was moved to 4:30pm we got to Boracay at around 10pm already! I forgot to mention that our 4:30pm flight left Manila a little past 5pm  already. We totally wasted our first day with just travelling. Second, our hotel booking ends at 12pm so our original 5:15 flight back to Manila was just right, no waiting time and no rush at all. But nooo they had to move our flight to 8:40pm. Imagine the time we had to spend in the scorching May heat with our bags in tow. I am pregnant by the way. 

On the day of our flight, all nine of us were lined up in the PAL Express check-in counter about 2 and a half hours before our actual flight. I allotted an extra 30 minutes since I am pregnant and I had to be cleared by the airline's clinic.Once we were at the counter they told us that only 5 of us can board and 4 would be left for the 7:10pm flight. They said that our flight was overbooked and they are allowed to overbook as allowance for no-show people. I stood my ground and asked them to find a way for all of us to be in the 4:30pm flight. Flying at 7:10pm would mean the risk of not being able to get to Boracay on the same day since the last trip of  the ferry going to the island is 10pm. I am travelling with the my sisters and the baby daddy plus his brother and sisters. most of them are first time flyers that is one of the reasons why I don't want them to put us in different flights. I gave PAL EXpress my EMIS (Expectant Mother's Information Sheet) so they knew I was pregnant but still I waited standing up for almost an hour while they figure out how they can fit all of us in the 4:30pm flight. I had to remind them that I was pregnant before they finally provided me a chair to sit on while I was waiting. It was almost 4pm and I had to walk up to them at the other end of the check in counter to get an update. They told us that we were all flying at 4:30pm. Wheew! But since they had to print out our boarding passes and check-in our baggage we were still at the check in counter at 4:10pm and our flight is at 4:30pm. We had to walk fast to get into the security area and the clinic and all the way to boarding area in 20 minutes! I was running out of breath and my back was hurting - but still we made it just in time to board the plane. I was disappointed by the experience but relieved at the same time because we were all in the same flight even if we are seated far away from each other. It was an exhausting experience. 

Our return flight was a breeze though - I even got an SMS from a PAL Express representative the night before our flight to confirm that we are flying at 8:40pm the next day. While we were traveling from Caticlan to Kalibo I got a call from PAL Express again and the rep informed us that were checked in already and that they got all nine of us seats that are next to each other. There was no delay in the flight as well and we got to Manila 7 minutes earlier than the expected arrival time. I am happy with the updates they provided me on our return flight  - maybe it was because of the comment I made back at the Manila check in counter that hopefully our return flight won't be as stressful for me and the baby as our flight out of Manila. I am glad I stood my ground and demanded what was due to us, other passengers were not as lucky and got left behind. I just wish that PAL Express would review  and improve their overbooking policy. It is totally unfair to paying customers. They are after all our flagship airline - we deserve better from them.