Month: May 2012


May
2012

My mother, my hero

categories: Family

Dear Mommy,

We’ve come to this day again when we honor you. It seemed as if it was only yesterday that we celebrated my first mother’s day as a full-fledged mom and you as a full-fledged lola.

But one day in a year is never enough. We want to honor you even on Fathers’ Day, Grandparents’ Day, your birthday, Christmas, Valentines Day, today, tomorrow, and every single day!

We love you, you know that. Even if we disagree on so many things. Even if we argue about parenting styles and choices, which I now realized is truly inevitable given the quarter of a century gap in parenting a newborn.

We know you love us, and that love extended to my family, especially to our daughter, which I will be forever grateful for. Ariadne is such a unique girl. She’s smart and playful, naughty and beautiful. She’s easy to love, though sometimes hard to take care of because of her playfulness.

I thank the Lord for giving me and Myk such a thoughtful and caring mother. We wish we could be as thoughtful and caring as you are. You’ve shown me what a mother’s love can do. And now, it’s my turn to show my daughter that this is how my own mother showed her love for me–that whenever the need arises, the world will stop and mother’s love will shield everyone from harm. You perfected that, Mommy, for the past 28 years and until now your love remained the same for me and Myk, even doubled! That’s how amazing you are. And if we could show the same love for our children, we really have ultimately honored you well and good.

I love you, Mommy!

Your daughter forever,

Em


May
2012

Few thoughts about parenting choices

categories: Breastfeeding, Family, Food, Parenting

Advanced Happy Mothers’ Day to all moms in the world! Whatever choices we make as a mother, trust that it’s best for your baby. We surely make our mother of all mothers, Mama Mary, truly happy in this wonderful day!

A few weeks ago, I told my husband how expensive it is to be a modern-day parent.

Sure, we breastfed, we attempted cloth diapering (as in the good ol’ lampin), we made our own baby food and bought only fresh veggies and fruits and meat for our toddler’s meals (no hotdogs, no processed, though sometimes we’ve succumbed to fast foods). And after doing the math, we therefore concluded it’s expensive to be a modern-day parent.

Luckily, I am now able to work full-time, thanks to my mom who volunteered to take care of our daughter (Happy Mothers’ Day, Mommy Luz! We love you!). Even my mom and I have a hard time bridging the 25-year gap of parenting a newborn, but we were able to get through it. At least that’s what I think.

Feeding the baby for the first year: breastmilk vs. formula

A manual pump would cost around P2,000. If you’ve been back after the two-month maternity leave (oh why is it so short?!), you could get a double electric pump which would cost at least P8,000. Add to that the bottles or milk bags, cooling bags and ice bags for keeping your milk fresh as you go home. Can be pretty expensive, right? That’s probably the reason why some families opt to formula-feed, which would cost around P4,000 for the powdered milk alone, not yet counting the bottles, clean water, sterilization of bottles.

Our choice: breastfeeding all the way. I would never have it any other way. I delayed full-time work for more than a year to focus on the baby mainly, but still do things that I love occasionally, like teaching, singing, and pampering of course!

;

Collecting booboos down under: cloth diapers vs. disposables

My mom wanted us to try it their way: lampin. So off we bought 2 dozens of lampins and almost always, at least almost all of it gets used up within one day. After a month, we totally dissed lampins and went on to use disposables, which cost us an average of P1,000 a month. I know we’re not being environment-friendly on this one, but it was the better solution than washing off all those dirty laundry!

Nowadays, cloth diaper makers have taken a step higher, or even ten steps higher, with all those cute designs and special absorbent powers that come close to a disposable. It could be quite an investment, but many have attested to its convenience. Something to consider with the next baby.

Our choice: given that we live in a small condo unit and there are constraints in washing clothes, disposables it is. Good thing our baby likes the cheaper brand more than the expensive one!

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Feeding frenzy: freshly-made or instant?

Nowadays, almost everything comes in an instant, and we have the industrial revolution to thank for that. But we chose to give our daughter freshly made foods as her first solid foods. Every morning, we boil or steam veggies, mash it and mix with breastmilk and voila, better-than-bottled foods!

I’ve seen these gadgets that have been marketed for making baby food fast. They cost expensive and clean up could sometimes take time. What do we use then? A fork, what else!

And now there are also organic bottled foods which cost a little higher than your popular brands. I once tried but my daughter easily recognized the different taste and she didn’t like it. What I buy her is the organic cookies and puffs which she loves (and hey, their prices may be high, but it’s far better than the sugar-filled Marie!).

Now that I’m raising a toddler, her food should be always freshly cooked and nutritious. Our grocery budget sure skyrocketed (and we’re not even buying organic or free-range at that!), but my husband doesn’t mind at all. He’d prefer to spend on food, educational materials, be it iPad apps or books or toys, and vaccines which we get from her pediatrician.

Our choice: cook-it-your-own! I have learned to cook food, bake oven toaster cookies for snacks, and concoct simple desserts all from scratch!

;

After all these musings, I wonder how life was when it was my lola’s time. It definitely is not that expensive as it is today. I haven’t even mentioned the choice of toys nowadays — iPad or Waldorf toys or dirt on the ground? Take your pick!

;

~ Touringkitty


May
2012

Life’s firsts

categories: Breastfeeding, Family, Finance, Health

A TMI post, I know. But please bear with this first-time mommy who didn’t expect this to happen just as when they’re preparing for a family vacation.

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First word, first tooth, first solid food. As moms we anticipate those. I can’t believe there will be a first hospitalization for my little big girl.

On Labor Day Tuesday, she woke up, rather lazily. She took a few minutes tossing and turning around the bed. We thought it was just one of her new tricks. But when I touched her forehead it was hotter than the usual. True enough, her temp went almost 39 degrees celsius. We gave her paracetamol ad just vomitted it. We held our decision to proceed to the ER until after lunch, when we gave her another dose if medicine and spat them all out. She was uneasy, sweating, cranky, and crying.

We were sent home so we could just monitor. But at 10.30pm, when she’s about to take another dose, she was shivering. That moment, we decided to head back to the hospital, nevermind the pambahay clothes. Her temp went as high as 40. Good thing there was no convulsion, bad thing because depite the meds, hydration, nonstop breastfeeding, and attempts to give her food she’d take, our efforts weren’t enough. We had to check in at the hospital.

It was almost midnight. We weren’t aware of the hospital policy that no guardian is allowed while IVs are put, so imagine our worry leaving Aria to the nurse and doctors. If we were worried, more so my mom, who can’t go an inch behind the door where our poor baby was shouting, crying helplessly. I told my husband that if they weren’t finish in five minutes, I’d bang the door open. Finally, what seemed like forever took less than five minutes, and as the door opened and I was getting Aria, she kept on shouting ‘goodbye!’ to the doctors. My poor little one. We warned them of her kalikutan and yes, it proved to be so according to the nurse.

We were assigned a private room and good thing my daughter has a health card! (thanks, daddy!). We watched Little Einsteins and it’s as if nothing happened; though weak, she imitates Leo the conductor, got ready for blast off and tapped the rhythm from slow to super fast!

Today, Wednesday, Aria pooed, peeed, and vomitted her meds in the morning. I pity her, she’s not the usual happy kulit baby I know. But we prayed, really hard, to take whatever pain out of her little body. Medicines were administered by doctors and nurses and boy did she hate all of them now! Just hearing their voices makes her cry. So hard.

The antibiotics we hope will cure whatever infection she might have gotten. I’m just so exhausted to think of things other than Aria. Schedules were forgotten and people may have been affected but this is out of my hands already. Both Aria and I just want to go home, cuddle, sing songs and play. Please offer a prayer for all the sick little kids all over the world. They don’t deserve to be sick at all.

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No one’s gonna hurt you, not while I’m around.

~ Touringkitty