Unmitten

My baby just grows oh so fast. Today we are getting rid of her mittens, she has outgrown scratching her face. Plus we realize that BBB is developing her feet and toes farther ahead than her clasped all day hands and fingers. She's had limited discoveries about holding, grasping and just plain feeling because her hand is all-gloved up. She does that with her feet -- curling her toes around our fingers everytime we touch her. I once teased baby that her foot is her hand, and her mittens her shoes.

So good bye mittens.

BBB learns so fast. This weekend she is starting on "open-close."

the gas blog

Baby tummy was too hard, she cries on regular intervals. Poor BBB, i can hear her discomfort from her mouth and butt. Burps and farts. In times like these, we need a juicy :)

1. Induce burps every 5 minutes, even if its in between feedings.
2. Head should be higher than tummy to avoid reflux.
3. Massage the tummy.. I do this while humming a tune for timing. Gently massage from ribcage to tummy to diaper using alternate hands. Then move the knees to touch the tummy/ chest with the same tune. Massage again the tummy in a circular clockwise motion. And another session of knees to tummy/ chest.
4. let her rest on her left slide.. remember our pregnant days, this is the best position even for baby. It assist gravit to keep the liquids down.
5. Supervised tummy time, i have a 1 month old child who still does not have much neck control. She sometimes get too comfortable with her tummy pressed while her mouth and butt that airflow becomes easier.
Just a caveat, stomach sleeping can increase the possibility of SIDS on infants, the Amercan AAP recommends back sleeping.
6. And the manzanilla, tried it once, scared actually of possible skin irritation for baby so I used it super thinly on her tummy and applied more of it on the back of my elbow so if the chamomile properties really calm, she'll get aromatherapy.

she's 1 month today

I have read her first book HOP ON POP*

"since you are 1 month old today
i will read 1 book per day
is it ok?"

*I've read yesterday from a homeschool blog that a mom read to her baby daily since week 2 and regretted not to have started from day 1 since her baby was on NICU. I didn't have much access on 0 year baby books but I have my collection of Dr. Seuss.

Hooray! BBB and I would enjoy Theo together. :)

breastfeeding woes

i really was planning a 100% breastfeeding pact with my daughter, so the initial days were really a struggle to find the latch and find the most comfortable hold to keep up with the minutes of mealtime with baby. nakakangalay!

one has to really be patient, healthy and passionate about the "advocacy." first few
days, my baby developed a frustrated effort to latch on my breast, trying to shoot her mouth to my nipple like a pecking bird.. cute becomes angry when she just could not catch me.. i feel so guilty and inadequate when she cries her face red especially during the start of our session when my milk was not yet flowing.. now everytime i see that frustrated face, i try not to add to the frustration (milk supply might get affected with emote.) and laugh it off.. i just smile when i guide her face to my nipple.. smiling to see how cute my little angry bird's face

when she finally lands.. :)

post - whine

after all the pinching, and the self convincing, and while i stare at my baby..
i am all good.

:)

there's not a part of me not hurting

ouch!

ouch!

ouch!

i want to say i couldn't bear it anymore, but that would be underestimating the power of my body who can bear major changes and major pains, this should just be peanuts.

but my bleep hurts and my bleep hurts, my back and my sides..
my tummy is actually not connected to me yet, yet it hurts
my ego hurts because i still look pregnant.. :(

ouch!

ouch!

ouch!

temple of the holy spirit

after giving birth and going through the miracle of pregnancy and delivery.. i truly believe that my body inspite of being mine, abused by my usual late sleeping, bad diet, alcohol, caffeine, chocolates, sedentary lifestyle etc.etc. is just a vessel, the Lord could easily take control of it to become an instrument of creation. The chemistry of hormones that would allow a body to maintain a baby for 9 months and then act to birth, release this baby in perfect ripeness.

at night i still wake up from the gag reflex of my body to naturally expel.. i notice this until after my 40 weeks.. body knows when to make hormones to make the baby hold on to your body, and then in due time it allows the baby to push itself out. even if mommy doesn't know a how to "ire" perfectly.

a time to make milk, a time to cleanse itself.. i am just a vessel.

rooming in

I have met her already day 1, when I was in twilight after delivery was the first time and I missed it, good thing the hospital allows baby viewing for mothers anytime in the guise of breastfeeding.. I let myself wheeled(chair) in 2 times. The next day they roomed us together. Meet my room mate.

this is it!

wow!

wow!

wow!

words cannot express. the irony of the simplicity of the process and the overwhelming consequence of giving birth. on one part of my brain, remembering the pain I am shaking my head in disbelief, nakaya ko iyon? Lucky me since i only had 2 hours of major labor pains, about 10-15 major and painful contractions.. i pity mothers who have undergone half days of these.

and then the other half also shakes, iyon na iyon? I remember asking the people in the DR if it's over, maybe i have asked about 3 times, "tapos na po?", "girl po ba?", "normal ba ako" I had to be sure I wasn't just on a dream break and then waking up in the middle of labor again.. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10

I woke up around 7 am and was getting ready for an early morning walk.. am getting impatient already awaiting my due, 39 weeks is ripe enough. Been reading about natural ways to induce labor and was really into working on to hasten the phase. that morning, i went to the toilet for my usual early empty bladder moment, changed my underwear and was about to fill my bladder again with water when i felt the bloody show. i told my still sleeping hubby prepared for breakfast and called my mom.. I wasn't in a panic since i have a sister who still had time to go back from Las Pinas to Sta. Cruz, Laguna with lots of time to spare. upon checking though, my contractions were 10 minutes apart, though this was just mild versions, i was doubting if this already was 'it." my mom said that she also didn't feel much pains.. later in the labor room with a resident's matter of fact tone "sasakit pa iyan," it truly did.

spent about 30 minutes in the waiting room, about 930ish a place where nurses check if the signs are just false and they would probably let you go home if signals would not progress.. then i was chaired into the labor room where they monitor my baby's signs as well as mine, here i had my dreaded 150/100 BP. here was where the MD resident's words came to be.. uber mega pain! they gave me a dose of sedation as per my OB but i progressed to another level they had to move me to the DR, i was supposed to be given another shot but my contractions got faster..

and more painful!! "mother, lipat ka na (transfer beds from labor to delivery table) baka dito ka na manganak"

but my in my head i was still waiting for my second dose of sedatives! it was mega pain! anyway it was a series of "ire 101s" from 4 to 5 voices including my much loved and trusted OB. I didn't even had a chance to look at my anesthesiologist who amidst my stressful surroundings was the voice of calm. "I need your cooperation, kailangan mo lang ire hanggang lumabas ang ulo then kami na bahala."

"ire ulit!" and your colleagues just enrolled me to ire 101, "i think i have wrong ire techniques! waaahhh!"

anyway, it turned out i learned fast. I had a good opening but initially my baby was still way inside my tummy. Even if they told me to hold breath- push silently- release slowly i couldn't help but to do my bruce lee howl!

12:27 pm a bouncing baby girl..

the last thing i could remember is making sure she was out. then everything was a blur.. for me it was an episode of glee, britney spears edition. imagine the "what you missed recap" during my twilight moment due to anesthesia..

"doc color violet na po ang kamay ko." - was complaining about the BP monitor
"12:27 pm"
"tapos na po ba?, girl po ba? normal po ako?"
"can I have a drink?"

the last 2 questions I asked at least 3 times

then woke up at the recovery room minutes before i was transferred to my room. 3 hours had passed.

when i was reeled to my room, there was my hubby waiting at the corridors, my mom at the room, i still asked my question, "tapos na ba?"

hmmmm

being uber busy the past few weeks disn't allow me to step back, relax, calm down and silently bond with bbb..

an opportunity to be still and count the taps and kicks..

morse code conversation.. i love you baby.

starting the 60 days

on my 39th week and this is the first time i'll blog about my pregnancy. yes! we are pregnant. i have officially declared my pregnancy leave and awaiting the coming of bbb, my first. scared and excited.

yesterday, as a last day of my being a working pregnant mom i had one eventful day.. rainy and stressful travel to work, a major presentation to our malaysian principals and a long day that extended to dinner.

at the end of it all i had a good talk with my bosses. its a good feeling for a working lady to be assured that 60 days of absence will not affect "job performance" it's a basic benefit to any employee but surely it's additional stress on a woman in workforce to double time efforts prior to the leave and overextend when she comes back to compensate the absence. cherry to the cake, i got my baby a gift :)