Puppy Gym

Something is keeping our baby busy lately. It's a play gym. We were looking to buy one for him but we were able to borrow one from my sister. Thank you Lord!

Timmy's so cute when he's playing with it. Our boy is so active. Always waving his arms and legs. At least now he has something solid to kick and not just do some air hockey.

Happy days are over

I had my first fight with my almost three month old son last night. What did we fight about? Thumb sucking or better yet fist sucking.

I've always felt against thumb sucking because I saw what it could do to your thumb (aesthetics) and that it pacifies the baby thus he doesn't learn to sleep by himself. Early on hubby and I have been talking about whether we would let Timmy thumbsuck and decided that we would since his only a baby. But then last night while I was putting him to sleep I decided to not let him thumbsuck and boy did he react violently almost like he was throwing a tantrum. Our "fight" lasted quite awhile. I eventually got tired and just let him continue sucking his thumb.

I had to ask my hubby again if we were right in letting him have his thumb because I was surprised by how Timmy reacted. We decided to ask the doctor and she said to not let him thumbsuck because it's his way to pacify himself and she jokingly (half half) told us that we let him do it so that he would keep quiet. Yikes! so true for me! It got me thinking that ya since we let him thumbsuck it was a bit easier for us to keep him quiet. Timmy quiet = more time to do what I want. When you think about it kinda selfish.

Ha! to be a parent you always have to do what is right for your child even if it means that sacrificing your wants. So now, we've (much to my hubby's dismay) decided to be firm against thumbsucking. From now on Timmy will always have mittens on. We won't always be there to grab his hands away from his mouth but at least we're doing our part. Actually his doctor gave us an good idea....pin his mittens (with his hands in it) to his clothes! haha! I wish it were that easy. Looking forward (yak!) to more fights with my son.

Sweet Smell

The family had a very long (and tiring) day. First we went to worship at 10am meaning we had to wake up by 8am so that we could give timmy a bath and prepare ourselves to go out. After worship we headed to my brother's lunch to celebrate my sister in law's birthday. The food was yummy! Loved the pasta with shrimps and mushrooms. I'm not a fan of white sauce (in pasta) but I loved this one. Yummy!

Hubby went to watch a ball game which left me with Timmy. Timmy was behaved. Cried when hungry or when he needed to have his nappy changed. Good boy! My folks drove us home and that's when I felt really tired. Timmy was tired too because whenever we're out he doesn't get his normal snooze time. Realized this when I put him to sleep at 6pm and he only woke up to eat at 730pm. Hubby and I made the mistake of waking him up so that we could go have dinner with the other side of the family. Big mistake because he was a bit cranky and I felt guilty for robbing him of the precious sleep time.

And now Timmy is sleeping and hubby and I are screen sucking. Oh and did I mention I've a headache because of the heat and not eating on time.

What have I learned today?

• You can never eat on time if you a have baby to take care of (given that you don't have a yaya like me). I stopped eating on time since I gave birth and have had a few headaches because of this....more to come
• Never wake up a sleeping baby. I always thought it was crap whenever other parents would say that they never wake up their child. I'd ask myself why? Well, now I know. Aside from the crankiness that comes with waking a sleeping baby I also felt pity for the baby. I never want anyone to wake me up from a nice deep sleep so why would you want to do it to your child?
• Family time is important. No matter how many times you argue or disagree with family members your family relationships are still important. They're there for you when you need them most and it's unconditional love at it's finest. It takes precedence over friends and other obligations. As others would say it family is family.
  

At the end of the day through all the chaos, headaches and stress what makes it all worth? Going home to great husband, a cozy home, countless blessings, family that loves you, having a little angel in heaven and hugging and smelling the sweet smell of my little timmy. Thank you Lord!

Blah

That's how I'm feeling at the moment. Don't know why. It could be that I've got bad sniffles or that I'm bored? Timmy's sleeping (thank you Lord!). Hubby's in church and I'm here at home in front of the computer. I'm done going through mail, surfing the usual sites I go to and now downloading Eli Stone. Oh well! nothing else to do and I'm used to being busy all the time. I guess this is good.

Had my quiet time and prayed for God to take away this feeling. God led me to the book of Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" I'm excited what God will give me in the future to busy myself for Him.

Silence

Lately, I've been doing some me time late at night after I put my baby to sleep and my hubby has also fallen into slumber land and I just realized that I'm enjoying the silence. Nobody but me is awake in the house. All I hear is the gentle buzz of the fan and the keyboard clicking. It's bliss.

After a days worth of the baby's cry, the noisy dogs and neighbors, a honking jeepney that always passes by our house in the afternoon, a barrage of cars and trucks passing by, tv blasting and after taking care of household affairs it's a simple pleasure to be alone and enjoy the silence.

This I can enjoy for at least an hour. An hour to screensuck. An hour to eat. An hour to relax in front of the tv. An hour to do what I want to do and then I head off to bed and then wake up and deal with the hustle and bustle of the day's activities.

Thank you Lord for this precious hour of silence.

All Natural

There is a growing awareness on health and wellness. You can see it in the ads on tv and print. Nestle has a product line that is suppose to help you to be healthy. There is also a growing number of spas and wellness centers. More and more people are paying attention to what they eat and how they can sweat it out all for good health's sake.

And so if you want to live healthier you have several options for the food you eat, creams and lotions you put on your skin and several sweat it out sports to choose from but has it ever occurred to you that the cleaning products we use at our homes contain so much chemicals that are harmful to our bodies?

I was forced to take a hard look at this when I became pregnant. When you're pregnant you are restricted to do a lot of things, limited to what you can eat and should be conscious of what you use on your skin and in the house.

And so began my search for all natural skin care and cleaning products that are available in the market and this has proved to be a challenge. So far I only know of a few sellers of all natural lotion, insect repellant, soaps and shampoo. At least there were a few to choose. What was more difficult was looking for all natural household cleaning products. I saw a few but they were expensive. It cost 3 times more than the chemical cleaners in the grocery.

Why are household cleaning products bad for us?

• Most of these items from bleach to your dishwashing soap are poisonous when ingested.
  
• Bleach can burn your skin and eyes. (Now that's why my clothes get holes when too much zonrox is used on it)

To know more about the harmful effects of these things, please check this.

So now my search continues for all natural cleaning products.

Breastfeeding

When I was still pregnant I made the decision to breastfeed my son. I read about breastfeedingto equip me into doing a great job. I bought things to help me with task and to make things easy for me and my son. I also asked my friends and sister for advice but nothing could've prepared me for the challenging task of breastfeeding.

I started breastfeeding Timmy in the hospital when he was just two days old. The doctor said to start asap to stimulate your body to produce milk. For the first day close to none came out (which is perfectly normal) and as days passed the milk production increased. This was still easy since I did not breastfeed the whole day. Things changed when we brought home Timmy and started breastfeeding full time.

Nobody told me that a newborn (at least this one) eats every hour regardless if it's daytime or nighttime. He poops almost every after feeding and after you feed and change nappies you have to lull him to sleep. On top of this I just gave birth with episiotomy and endured 12 hours of labor. I was a zombie. I was tired and cranky. I almost gave in to giving him formula in exchange for some sleep. This went on for more than a month. You learn things along the way that makes it easier. You get to know your baby and become sensitive and intuitive to his needs. You just keep on learning new things about your baby and yourself.

I'm going on my third month of breastfeeding and I've no regrets. I see Timmy growing bigger everyday. He's smiling a lot now and I love it when he does his happy dance after feeding.

What have I been learning from this experience?

• Breastmilk is really best for babies. God blessed us mothers with the ability to produce milk for our babies and it would be a waste if we did not use it.
  
• Sacrifice. It takes a lot to be a parent. Good health and nutrition for your baby in exchange for sleep and doing what you want.
• To value this time I have with my son. They're only babies once. This is the time they need us the most. Babies will grow up and then you have to let them go and grow. Plus the fact that life is short. You never know when the Lord will take you.
• Selflessness

Breastfeeding is a decision one must make. It is a commitment. It is so easy to quit and take the easy route but are you ready to miss out on things that you cannot take back?

Major production number

I never imagined how difficult it can be to go out with a child. I thought it was easy and simple until I went through it myself. Somebody told me that it was major production number and it really is.

The first time I went out with Timmy was for a simple dinner with daddy. The driver picked us up at the house and he drove us to where we would meet daddy. It took us about an hour to reach our destination and in that one hour I changed his nappy twice. He pooped horrendously, peed on the car seat, puked on his clothes and so had to change his onesie. All this in an hour and throw in some loud crying for background music. By the time we reached the parking lot I wanted to go home. I was tired and overwhelmed with taking care of this cute little baby.

I didn't want to stay in the car while waiting for daddy so I brought Timmy with me in a sling to go around and tried to enjoy. It was ok at first when I saw Timmy wide eyed looking at this new place but when he started crying I panicked, wanted to cry myself and decided to go back to the car. And so we stayed in the car and when it became hot he started crying. To help him a bit I turned on the aircon and fed him. We left the car after feeding for fear of carbon monoxide poisoning. In between these events I told my hubby that this was a bad idea and maybe we should just go home. After much talking I changed my mind and agreed to go on with the original plan to have dinner.

After much prayer I calmed down and went to the resto and continued to wait for my hubby. Timmy fell asleep so it was pretty easy already. I thank God I listened to my husband because we had a good time eating good food and even had energy to go around with Timmy.

It was an overwhelming and tiring experience but was all worth it to spend a nice night out with my hubby and me son.

Cutie cutie

Hubby, Timmy and I attended our first formal event as a family yesterday. We went to a friend's wedding at the Sofitel and we were excited to see Timmy wear his preppy look.

Days before that we were already thinking of what we would make Timmy wear and remembered that I bought a blue sweater vest for him when I was still pregnant with him. And so days before that I was already preparing his clothes.

And so this is how our cutie cutie looked during his first formal event.

Unhealthy me

With all the talk on health and wellness, I've come to the conclusion that I am so unhealthy. I don't exercise, I love to eat junk food and chocolates and I sleep late.

It's been so long since I've done some aerobic activity and the desire to go back is there but it's quite difficult with a baby around. I've gained so much weight when I was pregnant and I want to lose it all. The mind is willing but the body is not...hehehe so all I can pretty much do right now is control my food intake which is soo difficult when I see hubby eating all the junk and sweets he wants and not gain an ounce. Oh well that's life!

It takes conscious effort to be healthy, discipline and prayers. You always have to think before you eat, be organized so that you can squeeze in exercise and support from the people around. It's a decision one has to make and I'm not sure if I'm ready give up my cheetos and chocolates.

Tim's day out

Yesterday we went to Timmy's doctor to have him checked and for a vaccine shot. It was also the day of the rally so the traffic was horrible. It took us two hours to get to our destination. But cute little Timmy was oblivious to the traffic and the hot heads in the car.

Timmy was so behaved when his doctor was giving him the vaccine. He would usually cry at the top of his lungs but yesterday it was just a small cry. Afterwards, we headed to the Fort for dinner with Daddy, Lolo and Lola. Dinner was at Pancake House and their Pan Chicken is yummy! Timmy slept through dinner (because he had his in the car) so it was an easy time for the grown ups.

The highlight of the night was grocery shopping! Don't ask me why but for some reason hubby and I love to go to the grocery. Timmy was awake the entire time we were at the grocery. He kept looking around with his big eyes and hubby and I were talking to him about things.

So how was Timmy's day out? Well, he slept most of the time but mommy had a great time :)