The Magic of Christmas

Even now that I am a mother with two kids I still feel like a kid myself during Christmas. Every time I hear Christmas songs I feel instantly transported to my younger years where I wake up with much excitement during Christmas morning to see what Santa has left for me. I would wake up early and hurry to the Christmas tree where I hung my sock. I would not immediately peek inside but I try to feel first with my tiny hands and try to guess the item inside the sock. It is usually apples or chocolates and I would feel very happy with that. There was a time I remember that the sock was empty and I felt really disappointed but my mother told me that the gift wouldn't fit inside the sock so Santa placed it underneath the tree. I squealed with glee to find a toy robot underneath the tree. Yes I wanted a toy robot then. I actually wanted Optimus Prime because the boy next door had one and I was really envious.The Transformer robot must have been pretty expensive back then because all I got was a small R2D2 of Star Wars but boy I do love that robot because it moves and lights up!

My parents and brothers all colluded to make me believe in Santa Claus. I only discovered the hard truth when I was in Grade 5 where I learned from my classmate who the real Santa Claus is. My world shattered then but because I still got presents from my parents I moved on.

Now as a parent, I also want my children to experience the magic of Christmas. My husband and I started the tradition of putting socks for them but we explained to Kulay that Santa Claus used us to give him and Lili presents. 

Apart from the magic of Santa Claus, I want them to experience a real kind of magic...the magic of putting a smile on other kids face. The magic of loving and sharing. I asked Kulay to sort his toys so we would donate those he doesn't want to play with anymore. 

Some of the stuffed toys we Donated to Naprey's The Gift Giving Project which we left at My Skin drop box

I hope through this we would instill in him positive values that would allow him to see the good and something magical in this world.

Mindanao Blog Awards 2013 Best in Home and Parenting Blog

Last night was truly a milestone in my blog life! This blog was recognized by the Mindanao Blog Awards 2013 as the Best in Home and Parenting Blog. Wooohooo! I really felt ecstatic and honored.

I really didn't expect to win because the other finalist in this category were all really good and are way better than my blog that is why until now I still have a feeling of disbelief that I won.

I am really thankful for the people who voted for me and to the judges as well. Now I realized that blogging is not about having a dot.com, high PR Rank, number of followers, number of traffic and other statistics but it really is about writing from the heart and finding joy in sharing to the world your life and experiences. I am really happy that the community recognizes that.

Receiving this award renewed my energy in blogging and I promised myself I would strive more in keeping this blog updated and to continue sharing relevant information to other parents out there. 

Thank you everybody and I dedicate this award to the loves of my life, my husband Mike  my son Kulay and future Baby.

On Suicide

I rarely blog about current events because I am not updated with the news. I don't like watching news because it only gets me down and angry when I see children getting raped and abused, people getting killed and robbed, war breaking out and etc. This time though I will share my 2 cents on the recent suicide of UP student Kristel Tejada. I've seen many FB status and blog of friends and I decided to also share my point of view.

Suicide is an issue close to my heart. I can't exactly remember what were my problems before during my teenage years but I have toyed with the thought of killing myself. I've never been that close to doing it but I just thought of it, maybe it was part of being a Drama Queen or being rebellious at that stage in my life. I didn't do it because I know it is a SIN. It is irreversible and physically hurts.That is why in my opinion, nobody is to blame for the death of Kristel. She made her choice. It is just sad that she came to a point in her life when she felt that she had no other option but to end her life. It is sad that she had no hope left. I think this angle needs more attention other than the circumstances surrounding her death. 

It is such a silver lining that people, the government and various organizations are united are doing steps to better our educational system. They should not have waited this long and I wish they could sustain this need for change and really come up with concrete solutions.

But going back to the suicide, I am not judging Kristel. In fact my heart goes out to her and to other people who are in the same predicament as her.There was also a recent news about a HS student who attempted suicide because she did not become and honor student. What's happening to the youth of today? I have heard several cases of suicide that I felt the need to write this post and hope that somehow it helps.

I do firmly believe though that no matter how compelling and hopeless your situation might be, suicide should not be an option. Here are some things I would like to share to those who are contemplating suicide:

1.Do your research and know that the odds are against you. There are 25 attempts at suicide for every one success. and think about what might happen if you fail, you might be in a coma or get physically hurt. You might suffer an ailment or injury that will affect the rest of your life.

2. Think of the consequence. How will your death affect your family and the people around you?

3.Talk to someone. Family and friends are the best options but there are also lots of hotline where you can keep your anonymity.

4.Express your thoughts and feelings, don't bottle it inside. Find an outlet for your problems.

5.Pray. No matter what your religion is pray to the God you believe in.

6.Listen to other people's advice. Read testimonies about those who are in similar situation.

7. "This too shall pass" this is the mantra that i keep repeating to myself every time I have overwhelming problems. Everything heals in time. Never lose hope. Never give up on life.

Note: Photo is courtesy of my husband. Model is my sister in law. They wanted an anti-Glamour shot and came up with a Suicidal Concept :)

Laundry

It is 1:40am, I am folding my son's clothes when out of the blue I remembered that I had an article that I was planning to submit to Philippine Daily Inquirer's Youngblood.I wrote this ages ago. I know I am over the age limit now  (limit is 29 years old) so I decided I would publish it in my blog instead. I can't exactly recall why I didn't submit it in the first place, I think it was too short, topic is not that relevant or maybe I just made up excuses because I was just scared of rejection and did not muster enough courage. Now I am not overflowing with self confidence or courage but I have accepted and embraced the fact that one of of the gifts God gave me is writing and that I should mold it and be the best writer that I can be.

Without further ado, here's my article:

         Thesmell of detergent often gets me nostalgic. It would remind me of my workingdays in Laguna. I had my first taste of independence when I got off college. Igot a job in Sta. Rosa,Laguna. It is a hundred miles away from Davao city.

      Living on my own has presented somedifficulties. Among others were doing household chores like cooking andlaundry. I completely gave up on cooking and limited myself to the oven toasterand pouring hot water to the instant noodles or cereals. I relied on fast foodoutlets and local carinderias.Laundry, well it was something I learned myself. I know the basics from Home Economicsin Elementary and from washing my Barbie dolls clothes when I was a kid. Iwasn’t completely helpless when it comes to washing clothes even without thewashing machine.

        I know that you need a large basin. Then youfill it with water and immerse all the dirty clothes but of course you have toseparate the colored ones from the whites.  Then you use detergent soap bar or powder. Iprefer the powder because you just have to sprinkle it generously over the immersedclothes. Then the tedious task of kneading and twisting the clothes comes in. There’sno general rule, you just knead to your heart’s content. When I feel lazy sometimesI would use my feet and stomp all over the clothes immersed in the basin. WhenI get really really lazy I would deliver the clothes to the nearest laundryshop. After rubbing you then rinse the soapy clothes. At first I thought it wasokay to rinse it once but then I noticed that my white shirts turned yellowishafter they dried. My housemate told me that I have to get all the detergent offthe clothes. So I rinsed it thrice or even a fourth when I still see a fewbubbles on the water. Getting stains off is another story so I would really beextra careful not to dirty my clothes too much.

       Myhousemates would often raise their eyebrow every time I would get ready to washmy clothes on Sunday morning. They would tell me to just send it to the nearest laundry shop asthey do. I would just smile and say that I’m saving up money. They didn't knowthat doing the laundry has become therapeutic for me.  It has become my time alone with my thoughts. Ifeel good doing something for myself. I feel so independent and grown up takingcare of myself. Mostly doing the laundry helps me wash away the tides ofhomesickness because I know that every Sunday morning a hundred miles from me, mymother is doing the same thing and most probably thinking of me as I wasthinking of her amidst the grime and the bubbles. In that simple household task, one way or another,despite the distance... I am spending time with her.

Newborn Screening Saved My Baby

What is Newborn Screening?

It is a procedure where blood is extracted from a newborn baby to test for metabolic disorders that will affect his body's normal processes and functions. It is ideally done within 3 days of birth. Below is a table of Disorders Tested and the effect if "Screened and Managed" versus "Not screened".

Disorder Screened	Effect if NOT SCREENED	Effect if SCREENED and managed
CH (Congenital Hypothyroidism)	Severe Mental Retardation	Normal
CAH (Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia)	Death	Alive and normal
GAL (Galactosemia)	Death or Cataracts	Alive and normal
PKU (Phenylketonuria)	Severe Mental Retardation	Normal
G6PD Deficiency	Severe Anemia, Kernicterus	Normal
Maple Syrup Urine Disorder*	Death	Alive and normal

Source: Newborn Screening Philippines

My Story

     It was two weeks after I gave birth to my son when I received a call from the Newborn Screening Center. They told me that our Newborn Screen test showed a positive result and that they need to conduct a repeat test to be sure. They didn't tell me what disorder my son had so hundreds of scenarios ran through my mind.I was really scared that we might lose our baby or he might not grow normal. We immediately went to the hospital for a repeat exam and waited for the result. The repeat test showed that he is positive of Hypothyroidism. 

     I was confused because I was diagnosed as Hypothyroid during my pregnancy but I was religiously taking my meds and my blood test showed that my TSH,FT4 are within normal range. I had Hyperthyroidism even before I got pregnant but became Hypothyroid later on.      

    Anyway they referred our son to a specialist for further check up. We consulted a Pediatric Endocrinologist and she requested another blood test for my son. The test showed that his TSH is way high above the normal range.Physically my son didn't manifest any signs of Hypothyroidism like jaundice and enlarged tongue. The doctor told us that our son might be suffering from Transitional Hypothyroidism meaning this might be temporary. His hormones might have been affected by my medication.We have to come back after a month and have another test. After a month and several more test later which included a Thyroid scan and Bone ageing Analysis my son was diagnosed as having Congenital Hypothyroidism. We started his medication which is same as mine, Levothyroxine tablet which he had to take daily for the rest of his life.

    Fast forward to present, my son at 1 year and 11 months (almost 2 years old) is healthy and is developing at a normal rate. He can talk and string words together though he can't pronounce S and R yet. He can sing "Happy birthday to you" and prefers it over the Alphabet Song. He can even dance Gangnam style. He loves cars,balls and animals.He is a happy baby but is now starting to show tantrums.

    Looking back I am very glad that there is such a thing as NBS. I shudder at the thought as to what might have happened to my son if he wasn't diagnosed and treated at an early age. Thus I highly recommend to all parents to have their babies screened esp. those who gave birth to Lying ins and at home since most private hospitals automatically conducts NBS. 

More info at Newborn Screening Philippines

The Help

To hire or not to hire a helper...that is the question!

My husband and I have survived for almost two years now without any helper. I have a day job while my husband is a freelance photographer. He is the one left at home to tend for our little monster toddler. Whenever he has any work during weekdays we leave our son at the grandparents. Our household chores is equally divided, Mike does ALL the cooking while I do MOST of the table setting, dish washing and cleaning. On weekends we do the laundry together while our son is asleep or when the grandparents are visiting. We have managed but barely and it is becoming really tiresome. Lately we have been discussing hiring a helper because our son is becoming more active that it's hard to juggle tasks. Our son needs 100% attention because the moment you turn your back to do something he would climb up furniture ,tear books, break cds, reach for breakable objects,eat foreign objects and a thousand other "dangerous" things. There are advantages and disadvantages in hiring a helper, I made a little list.

Advantages

-A more orderly and clean household

-We can focus our time in watching over our son and spending time with him.

-We don't have to leave him at the grandparents when we have to go out.

-Our house won't be left abandoned when we go out(we used to rely on our dogs...an askal and a daschund)

Disadvantages

-Additional Cost of P2,000 a month plus the meals and overhead.

-Lesser privacy (I can't go walking around the house naked ;))

-We will lose our stockroom and turn our 3rd room into a bedroom for the helper.

I realized though that it is very difficult to find a helper. I tried asking around and I haven't received any solid feedback for recommendations. They say it is very hard to find someone who is  trustworthy and industrious so we are taking our time to decide and choose one. 

A Belated Father's Day Post

First off, I thought father's day was last June 3, the first sunday of June so I greeted my husband, my father, father in law and my boss. I later learned that Father's Day was moved to June 17 or was it always the 3rd Sunday of June? Or was it moved because of Pacquiao Fight? Whatever, I'll just confirm it next time so I'll know for sure. 
On the "real" Father's Day, Mike was commissioned for a shoot out of town (Santa Maria, Davao Del Sur Festival)so we did not celebrate it. It was just me and Kulay alone in the house while praying that Mike would get home safely. He did got home at 4:00am Monday.I took a leave at work because I was so sleepy, was not able to sleep waiting for Mike. Later that day we had our grocery and we just ordered out Yellowcab and 360 Pudding Milk Tea. All in all it our celebration wasn't anything grand but I am still happy that we are all together and that Mike never wavered in being a good husband and especially being a good father to Kulay.

To the 2nd greatest Father in the world,  My own Dad is the 1st ;) ,

Happy Father's Day, We love you :)

My Customized Blog Header

I've been pestering Mike to make me a blog header but  he seemed to be always busy. So last Sunday, after all the chores have been done and the lil monster was asleep, I decided to do it myself. With my beginners level Photoshop skills, I am proud that I was able to come up with this one :) I just uploaded the photo as header and voila! instant customized header. I'm still figuring out though how to resize the header because I just used the "shrink to fit" option.

A little explanation not that it needs one but just because I want to :) 

The first photo from the left is our wedding rings shot by Mike.

The second photo is one of our prenuptial photo taken by Mike's friend, Dot.

The third photo is Kulay's tiny little feet and Mike's hand when Kulay was just a week old.

The fourth photo is Kulay's pre- Baptism photoshoot when he was still 5 months.

The last photo was our first New Year in our own house, we just used a tripod to take this photo.

So that's it! I love that it sorta represents our journey as a family. This header will probably be staying for a while as I am too lazy these days to fiddle with the layout of this blog.

Staycation

It's been a while since Mike and I traveled. The last adventure we had was our Surigao del Sur Escapade which seemed ages ago. We do have family outings with Kulay at local pools and beaches but Mike and I wanted to have a family trip ideally outside of the city. Some place close to nature where we can conveniently bring our son and some place where he would enjoy at his young age of 1 year and 3 months. We were thinking of Nature Parks like Eden, Malagos Garden or Philippine Eagle Center but we're still waiting for our car to get fixed. In the meantime we thought of an activity to bond as a family. We have an inflatable swimming pool we use as Kulay's play pen and we filled it with water and invited a couple of kids over and we had an instant pool parteeey right in our own backyard! Street Smart! We actually enjoyed it and took turns bathing in the pool because it has limited space. 
I realized that for those like us who are budget conscious, one need not go far to bond and have a good time as a family. One can always be creative in finding ways to spend quality time with people they love.

P.S. After the pool partey...Mike and I recycled the pool party and used it for our laundry :)

Shopping Cart Cover

We usually bring our son with us every time we do our grocery shopping. Thank God grocery carts are design with a seat for children that makes it convenient for parents like us. Some carts even have toy cars at the bottom where your child can play driver but I find this hard to maneuver so we prefer to use the regular shopping cart. We noticed that Kulay bites the handle of the cart when he's bored so Mike and I became concerned with the sanitation. He said we should   look for shopping cart covers. I haven't seen covers on the malls so I decided to shop online. I searched on Ebay philippines and luckily I found one! A used but in good condition Infantino Shopping Cart Cover and Activity Playmat for only P550. 

I also found brand new shopping cart covers from multiply but the price range is around P1500. I placed a bid on the item on Ebay and won. Luck is on my side because the seller is also from Davao so we agreed to meet thus I saved on the shipping cost and bank charges. Mike and I found the cover very useful and we believe that it protects our child from virus and bacteria left behind on the cart by the previous users. Also it keeps our son comfortable while we cruise from lane to lane. The cover we bought can also be used on high chairs and as a play mat so it was a really good buy which I would also recommend to other parents.

Sick Baby

   
Our son Kulay got sick last Sunday. He started vomiting after he feeds and he developed a fever later in the evening. The following day he had diarrhea and his temperature got higher at 39 deg C so we rushed him to the hospital. The doctors have to run several test on him, CBC, Fecalysis and Urinalysis. He seems to get weaker and while we were at the hospital he vomited again so we were advised to have him admitted so he can be further observed. The first results all returned negative test so the Doctor advised to run a further analysis on his blood, stool and urine through culture test. We have to wait for 48 hours for the result. Meanwhile Kulay's fever never lowered down during the first day even after medication. Mike and I got so worried. It was the first time Kulay got sick since he was born. He only had a slight fever once after an immunization but he recovered quickly after the medication. It pains us to see our son lying on the bed weak with a dextrose hooked on him. He didn't have any appetite and he just kept on sleeping. 

   The second day his fever went down and he started to gain his energy back. He begins to smile, baby talk and crawl. The doctor also told us that the initial result of the test showed that Kulay have Amoebiasis and the medication started. We were unsure were he got Amoeba, maybe on his water, food and etc.  So we have to be extra careful now in preparing Kulay's food.

     Kulay got better and we were discharged on the fourth day. After a torturous 4 days stay at the hospital we finally went home. Kulay still has diarrhea but the frequency lessened and the stools are no longer watery. We will see the doctor again after a week.

     The most painful part in holding a sick baby in your arms is not just seeing him in pain but seeing him looking at you with trusting eyes that believe that you can make his pain go away. It really tears my heart to be helpless and powerless in making him well. This experience made me feel the huge weight of responsibility in being a parent. It made me realize again that I have a vital role in taking care of a life and that I should do a better job at it.

Tiwala ng Ina sa Tempra

Last April while waiting for our son's pedia to arrived, we saw this poster of Tempra's Photo Contest on her clinic lobby. I read it and was interested because all you have to do is take a picture of a mother and child/children with Tempra then post it on their page on Facebook.The contest was already underway and actually on it's last week so when we got home we cooked up a concept and did a photoshoot. We then submitted 4 entries on the Tempra Facebook Page. And Guess What? We won! YEY! There are 4 winners each place, Luzon,NCR,Visayas and Mindanao. We were one of the 4 winners in Mindanao during the Week 4 Contest. This was our first win and our first contest ever that I am motivated now to join any baby contest.

This was our entry 

Kulay's Baptism

Our son Kulay’s Baptism was postponed a few times until we arrived at the perfect date. We planned to have Kulay baptized after his 1st month on the feast of Sto. Nino (Jan.16) but due to some budget constraints we had it moved to May. May 8 was the original choice but again due to Pacquiao-Mosley fight (which gave me another reason to hate Pacman) we moved it to May 1. May 1 is the feast of St. Joseph the parish worker, coincidentally the church that we chose since it’s nearest to us. May 1 is also the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Thus for us it was the perfect date to have Kulay baptized.  

My Little Bookworm

I am very passionate about books and I really2x hope my son kulay would share the same passion.I wish that someday I could pass on to him the books I've colllected. I've started reading him books even when he was still in my womb and now that he's 3 months old I've started buying him his own books.I was really excited when I visited Learning is Fun bookstore (Located at Lanang, besides Express Hardware, In Front of Davao Central Warehouse) because they have plenty of books for kids at a very cheap price.I bought him Playful Puppies at P95, an 8 page board book with a toy that squeaks when you squeeze. So far Kulay pays attention when I read to him that's why I'm encouraged to buy him more and make him a mini-library. Apart from my own personal bias on reading, reading to babies is encouraged because it helps in their language and communication skills development. Ideal books for babies are board and cloth books because babies tend to put the books in their mouth. Books with glitters and textures are also attractive to babies.

Love at first sight-not

I was still lying on the delivery table, tired and drained when I first laid my eyes on Kulay. I didn’t feel this indescribable sense of awe and wonder when I saw him. There were no tears of joy. I felt so tired like I’ve never been tired in my life and groggy because the sedatives where beginning to kick in that I just looked at him and thought, Is that my son? Why doesn’t he look  like what I imagined him to be? I had this image in my head when I was still pregnant on how Kulay would look like and the actual Kulay was nothing like it. In actual, he was fair-skinned and looked like an alien with his weird-shaped head that infants usually have. I saw him covered in blood and after the nurse cleaned him up, she brought Kulay to me for breastfeeding and before more thoughts could enter my head, I finally fell into a deep sleep.

My first encounter with Kulay was definitely not love at first sight…because I loved him even before I saw him. I felt the indescribable sense of awe and wonder the moment I learned there was life inside me. That was the same moment the tears of joy fell.