Painting with the Kids

 

 When the lockdown started last year, my son suddenly developed high-grade fever followed by intense coughing. COVID tests were really scarce then and we were scared to go to a hospital. We gave him paracetamol every 4 hours but the fever kept coming back. We had no choice but to bring him to the ER where he was diagnosed with acute respiratory infection and sent home to continue meds. When he and hubby arrived home, he had watery poop. His former pedia said to treat him as if he had COVID. We had no yaya then and my senior citizen MIL was helping us out so we had to send her to my SIL's house so she won't catch what my son had. I became mommy, yaya, cook, lavandera and cleaning lady for 2 weeks so I didn't have the luxury of bingeing on Netflix, decluttering, or taking up a new hobby like the rest. It was the longest 2 weeks of my life and while we never found it if it was COVID, I am now grateful that we managed to survive it.

Alas, we are back on lockdown and mercifully, none of my kids are sick. I finally have the time and mental head space to open the big box of crafts my friend sent my kids last Christmas pa. We discovered that my kids like to paint. Well, more of my daughter, who has appropriated a big box of crayons and markers supposedly gifted to her brother.

Here are my son's works:

Search for New Kasambahays

Just when I thought that this pregnancy is going to be relatively stress-free compared to my first, my kasambahays dropped a bombshell: they will be leaving by the end of June. They are sisters hence they're a packaged deal.

They've been with us for two years, the longest we've had. They have our routines down pat and I can leave P with them without worrying (much). They are young, just out of their teenage years, and single. Sometimes, I feel like I have two teen-age daughters but they proved to be hard-working and responsible. They said that their aunt recruited them to work in a factory. Of course, I tried to persuade them to stay by increasing their salaries and stating the cons of factory work but they remain firm. To be fair to them, they were the only ones who tendered notice, the rest of the yayas would usually not come back after a vacation.

It's just the end of May, but I'm already dreading the end of June. Just another heartbreak.

Forced Weaning

P is currently 30 months old and I've been thinking of weaning him after he turned two years old. He only latches before sleeping and when he's fussy in the car. Every time I tell him he can't latch, he kicks up a fuss so I end up feeding him.

When my operation was scheduled, I once again tried to wean him but I could not bear his crying. Besides, he became extra clingy after my ovarian cyst was discovered, as if he knew that something was wrong. I was not about to push him away then, figuratively speaking.

So we ended up forced weaning cold turkey. I spent 2 nights in the hospital. My sister was the one who slept beside him and she said ge tried to pull up her shirt while half-asleep. Hahaha. When I got home, he tried to come near me for me to carry him and I would show him my bandages. He'd say, "Funny, Mommy." At night, we kept pillows between us especially on my stomach area, and he'd try to cuddle. However, he never specifically asked for "dede mommy".

I guess that's that, we're weaned. Now I have to wean him from the bottle and maybe potty train him.

P Goes to Summer School

We enrolled P in summer school for the month of May. We wanted him to have more interaction with other kids. I was thinking tuloy, when I was younger, our parents' problem was that we wanted to play all the time that we sometimes go home at dinner time already. Now, as parents, our problem is that our kids seem to have no one to play with outside. Also, his cousin was supposed to enroll in Filipino tutorial classes at the same schedule but the same did not push through. Unfortunately, we have paid a P3,000.00 non-refundable deposit.

We enrolled in a small progressive school near our place. They meet twice a week for 2 hours. I was a bit surprised when I saw the requirements – birth certificate, immunization and baby book records, and a long list of clothes and wipes and shoes to bring to school. Akala ko summer school lang?

I went with P on his first day, only one companion was allowed inside. They started with songs, then free play, recess, then an activity. P was the youngest in the group and he showed no interest in participating. Waaa. In the subsequent sessions, he went with his dad and ate, but they were not allowed inside so he kept on crying daw. It was only during the last class that his ate was allowed inside. He still would not participate but at least he did not cry much.

We have 3 more sessions to go. I'm just sad that there's no Gymboree Trinoma, that would have been the best place for him to learn to play with others. And I concede that he is really too young for a structured school set-up, seems like I am right in my plan to enroll him when he's 4 years already - plus I have time to save up!

Raising a Bookworm

I grew up, and am still, a bookworm. My father loved to read, but I don't remember him reading to me. I also don't remember my mother reading a book to me, but she loved to talk, so I guess we could pretend that she read to me, haha.

I've been reading books to P since he was a baby. He progressed from seemingly intent on listening to grabbing the book and trying to destroy it. He's not a big talker but he likes singing nursery rhymes. Sometimes he sings even while still half-asleep. Just recently, he has started handing me a book he wants me to read. I've also discovered that he knows some of the words, as I've been reading the same books to him for two years now, hehe, I really really really hope he grows up to be a bookworm, even if his love for basketball and running around is really strong. :)

 

23 Months Old

Yesterday, P turned 23 months old! One month until the terrible two's, eeep! Although I feel like he's been transitioning to his terrible two's as early as last month. We went abroad for around two weeks sans yaya thus we were together 24/7. The good thing about the trip was that he was without a TV for a long time and he became more talkative and yakked gibberish all the time. The bad thing is that we discovered he can now throw tantrums, throw things when he's on a tantrum and even hit people! So far, he has hit me and the yayas and it's been a struggle to control my temper. Admittedly, I've yelled at him a couple of times and he cries and then we make up. He has not hit his Daddy as it seems like he is more afraid of him.

He had the time of his life during our trip as he had more space to run around in. He has taken to singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” all the time, with the tune and some discernible words. He also sings the alphabet song and “The Wheels on the Bus”.

Last week, after much insisting from my mother, I started teaching him to eat using utensils. I have been putting off this task because the thought of the mess alone is stressing me out. But we have two househelpers right now who are sisters, might as well take advantage of the plenty of manpower. So, when he was spoonfed, he is a voracious eater. We call him “Boy Buffet”. But when we introduced the spoon and fork to him, he has used them to play with his food. So much so that after a few minutes, I tell the ate to spoon-feed him already. I figured the utensils are still a novelty? Ay, caramba! One week-end or holiday I will sit with him and we won't get up until he starts and finishes eating by himself.

Also, I am still breastfeeding him at night because he still demands for it. He is so heavy though and likes to nurse while on top of me so, poor mommy. I plan to wean him after he turns two. Yikes. And then maybe potty-training time? Double yikes.

 

Finally, Mommy!

Last Saturday, July 30, I was cleaning one of our electric fans, hence, I was dusty and grimy. P was with his yaya and I kept passing them to wash my hands. I'm not sure if he knows it was a Saturday, or probably he was wondering why I was at home and I was not holding him. Suddenly, he extended both his arms and called me, "Mommy, Mimi, Mama", over and over. Oh, my heart. But I still did not get him then because I was dirty, hehe. Sorry, baby. :)

Took him nineteen months! Finally, MOMMY! <3

P's Words and Gibberish at 18 Months

I am subscribed to Baby Center, and lately, the articles I'm getting are about language or talking milestones. A few of my friends have their kids in therapy now because of speech delay. At first I wasn't worried because P has been delayed in most milestones, but well, the articles got to me. So I'm going to list down here the words P has been saying lately.

1. Dadi
2. Dede
3. Ka for cat
4. Kaki for Snorkie, our dog, and all dogs
5. Bo for ball
6. Ba-ba for bye-bye, with waving motion
7. Ah-te
8. Tita
9. Papa
10. Teet-wa for peek-a-boo
11. Sus for shoes (heard once)
12. Ba-ho (heard once)
13. Apo-Apo for ligo
14. A-li-ka (for water, or when he wants something)

GIBBERISH

1. Da-du-de for 1, 2, 3?
2. Ba-ba-bu with matching patting of the head with both hands.
3. Tats

Baby Center also says that he should point to at least one body part when asked, and all he can do is lift up his foot when I say "fooot!" Attempts to have him point to other body parts are ignored, huhu.

He babbles though and tries to sing along to A, B, C and Wheels on the Bus and that darn Tatlong Bibe Song.

Parent vs. Mommy

We're having a bit of a snafu with one of my siblings and I've been having long talks with my mother over the phone. As she griped over dealing with my sibling and asked for my help, at one point, I thought, "But you're the parent. Thank God, I'm not a parent." Then, I backpedaled, "HOLY MOLY, I am a PARENT!" See, I've always regarded myself as P's "Mommy" and the word evokes warm hugs and cuddles and laughter. However, a "Parent" is about being strict and disciplining and all those serious stuff. 

My parents were really strict with me growing up. I said "me", because they've become lenient with most of my siblings. My mommy was especially strict that I developed angst and was sort of rebellious towards her (as rebellious as a goody two-shoes could ever be, meh). I've since appreciated their strictness when I got older, thankful that I have two degrees without getting pregnant nor involved in drugs and other vices. However, their being strict was at the expense of fun stuff, like I was not allowed to go to concerts and most summers were spent indoors instead of attending summer camps or classes.

With baby P, I hope to strike a balance between being a "Parent" and a "Cool Mommy". I hope I can afford to travel with him and send him to extra-curricular activities which I think I missed out on (I cannot swim nor ride a bike, phoeey). Wish me luck!

Tickle Time and Ba-ba

One of the reasons why I choose to stay in government service is because I can still go home early even if the commute takes one to two hours. Unlike if I'm in private practice where 9PM is probably considered early. Hence, I still have time to play with the little curly top unless he's too tired from playing and already asleep after I eat dinner and shower.

I'm not sure if this comes with having a baby boy, but P's bedtime routines are bedtime shenanigans. There are no bedtime stories or gentle cuddling. He prefers crawling and rolling and jumping all over the bed. The few times I've cracked open a book, he is not interested. Although I should strive to read to him before sleeping. Mostly we wrestle though, and last night there was a tickling session pa.

I now know what it means to consider something as "music to my ears" and for now, that is P's pure laughter. :)

On the talking front, Baby Center is filled with articles about a toddler's talking timeline. At his age, P is expected to say 50 or so words but since he has been late in a few of his milestones, I've decided to wait and see. This morning, I heard a new word, "ba-ba", for "bye-bye", with matching waving motions. When he saw his maternal lolo who wants to be called "Popsy", he said "Pa-pi, Pa-pi." So cute. But you know, still no "Mommy." SOB SOB.

Baho

Baby P can say "Daddy". So much so that last night when he saw his father's laptop, he started saying "Dad-di, Dad-di!"

This morning, as I was saying goodbye to him, he pooped. As I handed him to the yayey, I said "Baho!" And he said "ba-ho". Yet. Still. No. "Mommy". SOB.

24 Hours in Japan

Hubby's kuya has been living in the US for around ten years now but his family has not seen his place. Thus last year, they decided it was time to visit kuya. Ate and hubby proceeded to compose this "ambitious" itinerary of flying to Japan, then to Chicago, then to Florida for 2 weeks, then New York for four days, then California for four days, then Japan, then Manila. And oh, they thought it would be fun to stay in Japan for 24 hours before flying to Chicago.

I was anxious about the trip because we will be traveling with a fifteen-month old toddler who still drinks milk from a bottle, sans yaya, and the weather will be alternately cold and hot. Two words: "packing nightmare". Like a true-blue excited Mommy though, I shopped more for P's stuff and just bought Uniqlo heattech tops for me.

Let's goooo, Daddy! P was learning to walk at this time.

First stop: Japan!

We arrived at Narita then boarded the Narita Express to Tokyo. It was already around 5:00 P.M. when we arrived at our hotel, Shinjuku Washington Hotel. After freshening up a bit, we went out to have dinner at Fuunji. Before the trip, I gave hubby a list of recommended places to eat in Shinjuku, and he chose this ramen place.

Apparently, the place is really popular because there was a line outside. I thought it was not a bad-looking line but then (1) it was freezing; and (2) it turns out that the inside of the place was just a long counter and while you're eating, there's still a line behind you. See this post for more photos.

Inside, you punch in your order on this machine. They have the ramen we all know and tsukemen - which is also ramen but the noodles and soup are in separate bowls. Since I was carrying P (which would be the story of my life for this trip) and the place was cramped, I opted for the regular ramen.

 

Lined up in the cold for this.

Unlike the ramen I've tasted in Manila, the broth was really rich and thick. I found it a bit salty though. P liked it and just kept slurping the soup I gave him. I would have enjoyed it more if I was not carrying P hehe. After dinner, we felt so tired we just decided to go back to the hotel. 

Getting Ready to Wean from the Breast Pump

I think I am ready to wean myself from the breast pump at sixteen months post-partum. Note that I said "wean" and not "self-wean" because so far, P shows no signs of self-weaning. However, his demand for the boob is not as frequent as before.

I love breastfeeding despite the complications I had. Especially so that when we went abroad for three weeks a couple of weeks ago, direct latch proved to be so convenient and helpful. I usually breastfed P before take-off and he'd be asleep during the actual take-off and usually for the rest of the flight. I breastfed him when he got antsy during the shows at Disney World and Kennedy Space Center. Now at home, I breastfeed him after dinner and he falls asleep.

However, despite taking malunggay tablets, drinking malunggay tea and gorging on oatmeal cookies, my pumping output is beyond pitiful. I pump 3x at the office and I hardly come up with half an ounce. So it really makes no sense for me to lug my heavy pumping paraphernalia of parts and cooler with blue ice all the way to the office for half an ounce, or even lesser, a day.

Lest I get mastitis again, which I've read could still happen, my strategy is to drop a session this week, then another session next week. So I guess I won't be pumping on May 10 henceforth.

As for weaning P from the boob, I think I'll keep offering it if he still wants to. Again, I've noticed that he's not demanding more of it naman, and he falls asleep immediately after a few minutes, so I guess he wants it more for comfort rather than for sustenance.

Wish us luck.

11 Months

The little curly top turned 11 months old last Sunday. 11 months! In a month he'll be celebrating his first birthday. Gah, too fast, too fast! It literally feels like yesterday that I was stressing about giving birth, that I was stressing about breastfeeding and keeping up my milk supply.

We are still mixed feeding. My supply has really dwindled but he shows no signs of self-weaning. He prefers to direct latch at night. Sometimes he'd take a bottle at night but if he senses I'm nearby, he'd outright refuse the bottle and cry until I give him the boob. Hence, I'm still pumping at work despite the pitiful amount just to keep my supply.

I was away from for one night last November 9 because I had to attend the (free) MCLE in Tagaytay. Yaya Dub was MIA that time so my MIL took over. This crazy baby doesn't like both of his grandmas so they told me he cried his head off that night when he woke up at night and it was just him and his lola. Poor baby.

Another milestone, if I dare call it that, more like a nightmare, is that he fell from the bed the dawn of November 18. There were just two of us in the bed, I was still asleep and he was surrounded with pillows. I woke up to his loud cries and I scrambled off the bed to see him face-down on the floor. The blurry image, as I was not wearing my eyeglasses, will forever be seared into my memory. The pillow on the side where he fell was still on the bed so we believe he dove over it as he likes to wake up at ungodly hours and play. We brought him to the ER where we were told to observe for vomiting or losing of consciousness. Thankfully, he was okay so we were still able to go home for the rest of the APEC vacation. Ay, caramba.

Ack, he grows more and more magulo. He can stand up and hold on to his crib railings and he likes to shake the entire thing. I'm worried that one day he can tip it over because he's not even one year old yet and he can shake that thing. We need to get on to the childproofing of the entire house. 

On the solids front, this kid has gobbled everything so far. I'm still preparing his food via the food cube method but he's tried table food with no or little salt for a few times already. I've decided to wait until he turns 1 (which is just in a month anyway) until I totally give him table food. Besides, he only has two lower teeth so far so I doubt if he can chew meat already. I'm also thinking if we can ditch the expensive formula and give him fresh milk. I dunno.

So... that's it so far. I am such a bad mommy blogger. I hope I can set more time aside to blog to put all these memories and milestones on a tangible record.

Mommy Me-Time

I used to find it odd when mommies emphasize the need for "me-time." I mean, babies are the best and sweetest and the cutest and how hard can it be to take care of a teeny tiny creature?

And here I am, thinking that the lunch hour I spent paying bills, lining at the bank and eating lunch so quickly I burned my tongue already counts as "me-time."

There aren't enough hours in a day when you're a mommy. The baby has to be fed, bathed, changed, entertained, cuddled, put to sleep, talked to, read to and repeat all over again. There will always be bottles to be washed, food to be prepared, groceries to be bought (the bulk of which are baby stuff), clothes to be sorted, nails to be cut, butts to be wiped, ears to be cleaned. Just tonight I had to multi-task by cleaning his ears while nursing him in a side-lying position. Ow, my neck and back.

I really really really love you, baby. But I do miss my "me-time". I do miss having a hour-long massage without you crying in the middle and just when I'm about to doze off. I miss roaming the mall without being side-tracked by bibs and baby food containers. I miss buying dresses which are not nursing dresses. I miss sleeping instead of washing the pump.

Oh, I do miss sleeping the most.

I love you, baby. I'd rather have you and me than just me.

Let's Be Pro-Moms, Yes?

While I am mixed-feeding my baby, I think I'm not precluded from sharing my thoughts on breastfeeding on the occasion of Breastfeeding Awareness Month.

As I've posted here quite a few times, my breastfeeding journey has not been easy. In hindsight, I attributed it to my being a first time mom, to not being prepared (because I did not attend any seminars nor read articles), for naively thinking that breastfeeding would be easy peasy, for not trying hard enough to exclusively breastfeed.

Then I read Patty Laurel's own difficulties with breastfeeding. She's also a first time mom. She also underwent surgery on her breast a month post-partum. She mentioned in Instagram that she had mastitis. So while she did not clearly spell it out in her blog, I think she also had a breast abscess, had incision and drainage surgery, and has decided to end breastfeeding.

Then I thought, here is this very lucky girl, with all the resources in the world (she even consulted a lactation nurse), with the most wonderful support group (her handsome hubby, family and fellow celebrity moms) and she still found breastfeeding difficult. Whereas I could not afford the best breast pump and had the worst support system in the world (one side was pushing me to go full time on formula while one side made me feel that if I didn't breastfeed, I'm the worst mother in the world).

Bottomline is, while breastfeeding is best and beautiful, it is not easy. And to quote Patty: "Instead of being PRO-this and ANTI-that, we should just be PRO-MOM, period." Mommy shaming is mommy shaming, no matter what side you are on.

7 Months

Our cutie pie turned seven months yesterday. The months are flying by so fast now! Gah. I guess it's really true that it's the first three months which are the hardest, in fact, it's called the fourth trimester. Ours was especially hard because I had to look for and transfer to a new office after my first month.

P's milestones:

1. Eating solids. So far he's eaten squash, carrots, potato, camote, avocado and papaya. He eats everything we offer him so far. In fact, he opens his mouth as soon as he senses a spoon near his mouth. We went home last week-end and then we got flooded in, I wasn't able to prepare his food. He would stare at us whenever we ate, my poor munchkin hehe.
   
   
2. He refuses to drink water though. He'd bite on the nipple whenever we make him drink water.
   
   
3. Although he has no teeth yet, he has started chomping on mommy while nursing. I would tell him “NO” in a stern tone but he'd laugh at me.
   
   
4. He rolls on his tummy then on his back with ease. He can push up his upper body AND his butt but not at the same time. Mommy says he need to do this as a precursor to sitting up. Hence, the next number.
   
   
5. He can sit up in his tub while taking a bath by holding on to the sides. However, he cannot sit up by himself yet. Wah.
   
   

Time to Diet!

It was just recently that I was bragging here that I was almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight 11 weeks post-partum.

Not anymore.

I got fitted for our office uniforms around such time. This week, we started wearing them – and oof, muffin top galore! I can hardly zip up the pants huhu. I went to the clinic to check my weight and I'm a whopping 135 lbs., most of them in the tummy area.

The culprit:

Source

Breastfeeding has made me hungry like I've never been before and I took to snacking on these Max's chocolate rolls. Two pieces. Every work day. On top of my other snacks like crackers and nuts. I don't have any exercise apart from carrying the baby and commuting. I now eat three solid meals with rice and snacks in between. 

Argh, need to go on a diet!!!

Solids: Carrots and Potatoes

After squash, we've fed baby P carrots and he is currently eating potatoes. Pedia advised us to give the same food for three days to check for allergies. Baby LOOOVED the carrots for he would lunge at the spoon. With potatoes, not so much. I don't know if he was just distracted by the television or he really just did not like the taste.

Solids: Squash

After dilly-dallying for one week and one day after he turned six months, we finally started baby on solids this Tuesday, June 30. I've been OC about the whole thing - for weeks I've been thinking and researching about how to prepare and store his food. I have trust issues with the cleanliness of the yayas, well, with everyone really haha because I am so OC. So I wanted to prepare and store his food  myself. I also did not want to buy too much gear so after much thought, I bought a stainless steel steamer basket to steam his food, a Lock&Lock container for the cut up veggies or fruits and a baby food bowl with grinder and spoon. True to my OC-ness, I had another Lock&Lock container where I store said steamer basket and his baby bowl after use. (We love Lock&Lock, sponsor us! Hahaha!)

Monday night I started cutting up a squash into cubes and stored them in the Lock&Lock container. Pedia said to feed him three times a day the same food for three days to check if he has allergies. The squash went into the ref.

Tuesday morning I was up earlier than usual. I steamed three cubes of squash, mashed them in the bowl and squeezed fresh breastmilk on the mush. I then woke up the sleeping hubby for picture-taking haha.

At first, baby was like "Huh?" but then he gobbled every bite! I prepared too much so I did not let him finish everything.