We Are Family

The maternity leave flew so quickly and i was back to work after 3 months. The main question in my head is to how continue breastfeeding. The manual pumps became my new bestfriend. They were manual Avent Isis Breast pumps which we had SIL bought from the US. Why? Cos it’s cheaper there, half of the selling price here. 
I started expressing milk 2 weeks before returning to work. It was frustrating in the beginning as i could only get a trickle, at most 2 ozs only per session. Later i found out that expressing milk before B.boy feeds works best for me. I get more, than doing it after nursing. (Wala na na-express yung pump) I have adjusted in time and was able to have stronger let-downs. Drinking lots of water and eating malunggay leaves helped to increase the supply too. However, i attribute the supply boost to having regular pumping schedule. I strictly follow a 3 hour interval. There was a time when Morning and I were out and i expressed milk inside the moviehouse just adhere to the schedule. Que horror! but i was that religious. Since the pump would squeak, i would pump pag barilan na. hahaha! (we watched mi3)

We only have a small ref so i store the milk in disposable plastic liners. The bottom part is folded so that it would stand when filled.  Then this will be put inside the bottles as i pump. Once it’s filled, i seal it with scotch tape and label it. We also bought Lock & Lock containers which are upright so that we can put the filled liners there and have it stored in the freezer.

We have an empty room at work and i use it to express my milk. We also have a fridge and since our house is just nearby, i just put the Lock & Lock containers in a thermal bag. At first it was hard trying to fit your pumping schedule to your work schedule. I’ve talked to my boss and my co-workers about my desire to continue breastfeeding and was grateful for their support. They now understand that i have to pump and sometimes meetings have to be adjusted to give way. hahaha! I don’t wash the pumps every session as it is very time consuming.  Nakakahiya na rin kasi sa work pag matagal akong wala. At first it takes 30 minutes but now it was reduced to 15 minutes.  Maybe i’m getting better at it.  :)  It also helps that I have two pumps kasi pag nag let-down naman sabay eh. I get more milk at a shorter time.

When i’m at work, B.boy drinks from the bottle. I was thankful that he drinks milk well both from me and the bottle. I’m not sure if this is because of the Avent bottles that employs the same mechanism as suckling from the breast or because we introduced the bottle at the right time. It is yaya who does the bottle feeding ever since. Kasi pag ako…gusto ni B.boy direct feeding.

He feeds directly from me at night and during week-ends. There are times that my supply dipped low due to stress so i tried to avoid that as much as possible. I try to relax and adopt a more positive outlook. I also try to be healthy. Hirap sobra nung na-confine ako sa hospital. Buti na lang i was released after a day.

(Up next …. 7 months up: introducing solids and teething)

Popularity: 8% [?]

We’ve been breastfeeding for 10 and half months now. Just a little bit more and we’ll hit our 1 year target and from the way things are going right now, it might be extended for another year. Yay!

However looking back i haven’t posted much about the breastfeeding experience, have i?  So, here it is without further ado.  
Day 1 to 3 months

We we’re deadset on exclusively breastfeeding our child ever since. BFing moms from our egroup inspired me. Morning & i have always believe that knowledge is power. Thus, we began to educate ourselves to be able to succeed. The information from the net esp from kellymom were extremely helpful. It taught us the basic tips to a successful start, among which is:  Inform the doctors and nursery your decision to breastfeed. Include it in you birthing plan if you have one. It would have instructions for hospital personnel not to give your infant formula or glucose water. It was very fortunate that the baby is wheeled to our room whenever we call the nursery for 3 days. (I had 2 IVs and was too weak to go to the nursery) Since B.boy seldom cries, he stays in our room most of the time. The good thing in this setup is that we have him most of the time so we’re sure he wasn’t bottle fed and we can bring him back to the nursery when we’re already exhausted. Most of the time he stays with us for the whole night. (hahaha! I guess they never miss him in the nursery)

It’s quite easy getting him to latch. I break it off and re-latch when it’s no good. We’ve read that a good latch is achieved if the baby is transferring milk and mom is not hurting. The whole aerola should be inside the baby’s mouth.

There wasn’t really milk coming out for the first few days. I think it was after 4 days that the actual milk finally flowed. I wasn’t concerned at all. They say that they get enough nutrition from the colustrum (first milk) and the baby doesn’t really need a lot of milk on the first days. So i just ignore comments from nurses that my baby gets nothing from me. Meron noh! Di lang nakikita. During those days, i just position my baby, latch and let him suck away. 
The major hurdle we encountered was when B.boy was diagnosed with jaundice. He undergone phototherapy sessions and the nursery staff wouldn’t let me breastfeed. They say that I’m interfering with the treatment because they have to take B.boy away from the bili lights, dress him up and undress him and return him to the bili lights after. Hmpft! If i know tamad lang sila noh! They even suggested that i just express milk and bring it to the nursery. I was so frustrated that i cried over it. We know that giving in will jeopardize our breastfeeding success. We we’re determined and we won over the battle. Good thing that the pedia backed us up.

The first week was a breeze. B.boy’s sleeping for 4 hours and will wake-up and nurse. We got plenty of rest and sleep. However, the following weeks proved to be taxing for he demands frequent nursings. I think it went overboard when the nursing intervals became 30 mins apart. Seems like he’s stuck to my breast forever. I can’t eat, sleep, take a bath properly. During those times i purposely neglected any household work and just sleep everytime B.boy sleeps. It was also on those times that i want to give up BFing. Had we opted formula, i would have a bit of rest and “me time”. It drove me crazy but determination and commitment got the better of us. Afterall, it is just a phase and we adopted the mantra: ”this too will pass”. It did, and we’re glad we did not give up. 
We found out later on that this is what they call “growth spurt”. My boobs overproduced after that and suffered a mild case of mastitis. I had chills, fever and breast engorgement. It was too painful to nurse from the affected area. I was advised to bed rest, increase fluids and nurse frequently. It cleared after 2 days. whew!

(Coming up next : Going back to work and expressing milk. Stay tuned)

Popularity: 7% [?]

Morning’s Career

I hope he gets a day job soon. He had a job interview last Monday and Jobstreet said he’ll be endorsed to the HR of the hiring company. I hope he gets that job. Although it’s still call center, working hours are 7am-4pm. The company is still starting and will support Australian clients.

DH said that if he can’t find a day job by March, he will venture into business. He’s looking into food carts and I support his undertakings. Our family will be better if we have the same schedule.  Although i’ve adjusted to our current setup it is still difficult sometimes. Besides, he needs bonding time with his son too.

So i hope i hope things will be for the better.

My Work

Debbie has transferred to the new team already. I’m still hiring her replacement. Good thing that someone from HD applied and I’m keen on getting this person soon. He’ll have an interview with Vincent today and i hope he likes him. The next step will be to inform HR. Oh i hope ihope he will be on board before the end of Feb.

Investments

We are so happy that the stock market is UP for the past weeks. I hope it will still continue to surge. hahaha! I’m super hopeful. 
We have something invested in equity mutual funds and we are happy with the market’s performance. Sana mag tuloy-tuloy.

Popularity: 9% [?]

We usually eat out just once a month and this is made to coincide with our monthsary celebrations. (yup, we still celebrate those. ) Morning & I had a hard time last night recalling where we went on those 12 months last year. It took as a while to complete the list. Lest we forget, i’m posting it here.

January - Tagaytay. Nurture Spa, Bag O’Beans, Starbucks, Leslie’s, R&M Lutong Bahay

Feb - Vivere

March - We did not get to eat out. This was the day we we’re released from the hospital. We’re happy having B.boy.  
April - Cascada, Greenbelt

May - Our anniversary. We had a spa treatment and had dinner at Top of the Citi.

June - Shakeys with Noreen and yaya.

July - Soul Food. Nanay and Tatay’s anniversary treat. 

Aug - Gumbo at MOA. With mama, and Noreen

Sept- Cebu. Had dinner at Abuhan. Best tasting pochero in town! 
Oct- Habourview Restaurant…near Luneta

Nov- Lunch at Tempura at Convergys

Dec - Habourview Restaurant with Nanay, Tatay and April.

There! Halata kung kelan low ang budget namin.  lol!

Popularity: 7% [?]

We celebrated our 51 months last Sunday at the newly opened Cyma in Greenbelt. Oppa!  :)  This is an advance celebration as we don’t have time to go out on the 23rd.

Cyma is located at the ground floor of Greenbelt 2 which is near Italianni’s. They are on their soft opening so the furnitures are yet to be complete. There are a lot of clients at that time so we were seated on their area upstairs. We are wondering why the staff is asking us if it is alright for us to be seated there. Yun pala monoblock chairs yung andun. We’re okay with it since the food is what we’re after.

We ordered Pastisado which is a Greek Osso Bucco.  It was heavenly! The beef is so tender and the sauce is mouth watering.  We also had their chicken kebabs. The creamy dip goes well with the chicken.  Their iced tea is perfect too. They have generous servings so Morning and I just shared their ’solo’ portions.

At 750 bucks, it is quite a steal! We will definitely go back or maybe try their Boracay branch when we’re there on April. We’ve heard raves about their Flaming Mangoes, got to try those soon. 
Happy 51 months!

Popularity: 4% [?]

I love Fridays. Who wouldn’t? The promise of week-end which means spending time with your family is really worth looking forward to. What do we do during week-ends?

Well, Saturday morning is for preaching work. It starts at 8 am and finishes at 10. When the territory is just nearby we bring B.boy along. He enjoys it, so probably he’ll be a pioneer when he grows up. (we fervently pray that he will) After that we will go to Waltermart for our weekly groceries. Of course B.boy is with us. He loves doing the groceries. The different goods displayed amazes him and he loves to ride those grocery carts. Here’s the proof.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=5470357407637905813]

We have a book study in the evening and we go to bed early to prepare for the Sunday Meeting which are held 9 am the next day. Sunday afternoons are reserved for our appointments to our bible studies. We bring B.boy along too.

If we still have enough energy or have little money to spend, Morning and I will go on a date in the evening.

So this is how our week-end goes more or less. And this is what i anticipate. Happy week-end!!!!!

Popularity: 4% [?]

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=2664341132404677329]

Mama (my mom) gave money for B.boy’s high chair. We bought a booster seat which is more practical for our small home. It occupies little storage space and we can bring it whenever we travel. B.boy loves it and can sit on it for hours.  hahaha!

He now joins family meals and we can feed him better. Dati kasi anlikot likot sa playpen. 

Popularity: 4% [?]

10 months na si B.boy today! 
Here is his progress report:

• Dami na nyang teeth, a total of 6. Another one is erupting and will be here anytime soon. We bought him a toothbrush last Saturday. Worried kasi kami ni Morning na masira yung teeth nya. We even bought Sanflou toothpaste and we are so excited to try it. Nag ready pa si Morning para i-video sha. He seems amazed every time he sees us brushing our teeth. But much to our disappointment, ayaw nyang mag brush.  :c  Yaya suggested to try it again the next day but this time sans the toothpaste. Ayun nagustuhan! We just dip the toothbrush in distilled water. He likes it even better when the brush and the water are a bit cold. (We’ll capture it in video next time. Promise!)
• He claps and wiggles his legs when he is delighted or excited about something.
• He points to indicate what he wants or when he sees something new or interesting. Minsan nga nagtututuro na may kasamang kwento in his made-up language. Like when i ask him what he sees outside, he’ll point up aand he’s making kwento about the birds he saw.  Amazing!
• I think he already understands the words that we say. Kasi when we ask him where’s the lizard, he’ll point the spot in our house where lizards usually pass. Or sometimes i tell him to play with aso-oso (his favorite stuff toy), he’ll get the toy and wrestle it. hahaha!
• He now eats coarser food. Hindi na kailangan i-puree. Nakakatuwa! 
• He is now able to walk while we are holding his hands. Ambilis bilis nya talaga. Yung playpen nya naiikot nya yun.
• He can sit on his own.

Haaay! Time really flies so fast. 2 months na lang 1 year old na sha. Hindi na baby.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I have a lot of reasons to be happy today:

It’s pay day. 
I don’t have work for the next two days. We’ll have a great time playing with B.boy.

I had a good performance review from the boss. (hehehe!)

Popularity: 8% [?]

My sister Noreen, borrowed a great book from their library.  :)  It’s so sweet of her to help me address my worries on feeding problems. Not that I’m having one with B.boy but I dread experiencing it. There a lot of true life experiences related by mommies wherein a one year old refuses to eat solid food, or is lazy in chewing food or toddlers who are too choosy.

Scary! So i would like to be armed with knowledge to be able to start it right with B.boy. Here are some of the things i’ve learned while reading and i agree with it 100%

• Food is one of the best forms of preventive medicine.
• Homemade meals accustom babies to the natural variations in taste of freshly cooked food, and this helps them adapt to family meals and grow up to be less fussy eaters. So while parents are giving their baby the best nutritional start in life, they are also helping to guard aginst future feeding difficulties.
• Parents are the ones in charge of what their children eat, and it is up to them to give their children the opportunity to follow a varied, healthy diet.
• Do not add salt, sugay, or honey to baby food. Salt can strain immature kidneys and cause dehydration; both sugar and honey encourage a sweet tooth and the latter carries a slight risk of botulism infection.
• It is not a good idea to offer smooth purees for too long as your baby may become lazy about chewing and have difficulty developing the tongue movements needed to deal with real solids.
• Up to the age of 1 year, babies should have at least 400ml of milk each day, mostly in the form of their usual breast or formula milk.
• Eat with your baby whenever possible. Try to make feeding a sociable experience from the start.
• Towards the end of your baby’s first year, solid food will replace much of her milk diet. It is important to introduce lots of different textures and flavours while your baby is so receptive to new foods. Offer some food mashed, some whole, some grated and some diced, it’s surprising what a few teeth and strong gums can mange.

The book has a wide variety of recipes, complete with colorful illustrations. It also has a day-by-day menu guide for babies 4-6mos, 6-9mos, 9-12mos, 12-18mos, 18mos-2yrs, 2-3yrs, and 3-5yrs.

Great book for a first time mom like me. I love it! Thanks sis. 
Title: Feeding Your Baby & Toddler (The Complete Cookbook)

Author: Annabel Karmel

Popularity: 4% [?]

Destination : Ilocos Norte

Places visited: Bangui Windmills, and Villa Lita River Resort

When: Dec 27-Jan 3, 2007

Our recent trip was really memorable. Morning got to see other must-see places that he didn’t got the chance to visit before. Bangui windmills are spectacular. Feeling mo nasa ibang bansa ka. We heard that those windmills are from Denmark. Super lakas din ng hangin dun sa site. B.boy was a bit afraid so we stayed inside the car most of the time.

We also had breakfast while the sun is rising over the magnificent river. Eto yung sa Villa Lita. The place is near the breakwater and has cottages overlooking the river. The beach can also be seen in a distance.

It also has a swimming pool, nipa huts, ihawans, boats, and playground.

B.boy also had a grand time looking at the farm animals. He saw goats, chickens, cows and carabaos. Chickens, especially roosters are the hands-down winner in capturing his fancy. He also saw lots of dogs, cats and even rabbits.

Kumain din sha ng corn on the cob. hahaha! It was really funny. He was chewing like an old toothless man.  We had it all in video.

You can view the complete pictures and videos here.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Somebody broke in our house last night and stole hubby’s 3-month-old bike. 
We did not notice any intruder as we were sleeping soundly. The bike was parked inside our compound so the thief probably climbed the gate to get inside and sneaked it out. Kakahinayang lang kasi gift ko yun kay hubby. Nonetheless, we are still thankful that it is the only thing they got. They tried to see what else they could get inside the house because the window screen was opened forcibly.  Scary!

We reported the incident to the Barangay and we also informed our landlord. We have to be extra careful going forward. We also need to bring the washing machine inside every night or if we are leaving. Morning will also install more locks for the doors and we are also seriously considering getting a dog.

Mabuti na yung nag-iingat.

Popularity: 5% [?]

{{{{{{I’m back}}}}}

I’m itching to post since last week, but i’m too busy catching up with work. Ngayon lang mejo nakahinga so i’m free to blog again.
We started the year at Ilocos. We had a marvelous time there. A bit tiring din on my part because B.boy has separation anxiety. He had a hard time adjusting to the new environment and to the new people he saw. So ayun, he only wants mommy and mommy alone.

We’re back in Manila on Jan 3 and I reported to the office the next day. There are tons of unread emails and things to do. I also arranged a phone interview for Vincent so that he can also assess the applicants. We are still unsure if we are going to get one of them. We are hoping someone within the company, would like to transfer to our group. That will be more beneficial for the team.

Debbie hasn’t transferred to the new team yet. HR are still processing the papers.

What do i expect this year? This year is really different as I don’t know what to anticipate.

Work : Two of our bosses resigned. One of them is Vincent’s boss, Callie. The other is Callie’s boss, Raymond. It was a surprise to see them leave. They both have been with the company for 12 years already.
For sure, there will be a lot of changes in the coming months due to the departure of these 2 BIG people. However, no idea on what they are and it’s impact on us. For now, i’m bracing myself to the inevitable whatever that may be.

Last year, i am also comtemplating resignation. We’re looking at residing permanently at Ilocos. If Morning likes it there, i will be staying with the company until end of June 2007. However despite our recent trip to Ilocos to survey that likelihood, he is still indecisive. He’s still on the look-out of other options like finding a day job or manning a food cart business. So i’m still not sure if i will be resigning or not. It all depends on Morning’s decision.

Home : Our yaya told us that she is planning to leave us by March. Napapabayaan daw kasi yung mga anak nya. I told her that she is free to leave as soon as we find a replacement. Pero mukhang di rin maka-decide eh. Di pa daw sha sure kung matutuloy sha sa March o hindi.

Ayan…so lahat puro di sure. I really don’t know what to expect. I am praying that everything will turn out for the better. I hope this year will be a good year for us.

I hope i will be able to do more serving Jehovah God. Last year, i wasn’t been able to pioneer at all. Sana this year makaya ko, kahit one month lang.

Sana larger increase or promotion. hahaha! Sobrang tinipid ako last year. huhuhu talaga.

Better health for everyone in the family. Last year masasakitin kami masyado

So far yan lang naman ang munti kong mga hiling for this year. Sana mangyari. 

Popularity: 8% [?]