AHA Moments with My Family

I learn something new about my family everyday.

I learned the cries of my son -- he has a separate cry when he's feeling hot, hungry, uncomfortable, made poopy and if he just wants to cuddle.

I learned how my daughter grows everyday -- she now knows how to do bubbles in the pool, do flutter kicks, how she argues with me (she wins a lot of times), how she cries when she's jealous and how she keeps quiet when thinking.

I learned that cooking gelatin for my husband revived his childhood memories. When I presented the gelatin to him, he brightened up and looked at me while playing Playstation. (he never looks at me when he's playing NBA).

I made the right decision.

My Own Kangaroo Care Experience

My son had a difficult time sleeping today. He would wake up at the slightest creak and cry his lungs out. Probably because his two front teeth are about to erupt. My trusted manzanilla, my solution to problems that cannot be solved, could not do its usual trick.

What I did was take off my shirt, took off his shirt, and hugged him close to me. He started calming down. This is known as kangaroo care, similar to kangaroo pouches. Kangaroo care was started in Colombia where premature babies are born in the most primitive of conditions.

When a child is born premature, he is whisked into the NICU, wherein a drop in normal levels (blood, fluids, etc) would mean very loud beeping sounds. The baby needs its mother to calm him down. In the kangaroo care philosophy, the baby, only in diapers, would be placed under the shirt of the mommy, and they would be "skin to skin". The baby then mimics the breathing of the mommy.

All babies, regardless if premature of not, can benefit from skin to skin contact.

Call it mothers' touch. Call it skin to skin contact. My son slept through the night because he was literally enveloped in my used shirt. Motherhood at its best.

On Jeepneys and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

With my last day at work less than a week old, our family has started making adjustments. What was formerly a dual income household has become a single income household. Some adjustments that we have done so far: leaving the car at home, letting go of one yaya, and riding public transportation.

Jeremy rode a jeep today. With me. I would not want to do it again. Why?

1) She used the railings as monkey bars -- and the jeep was full.
2) She shouted, "Mommy, open my laptop please!" because she wanted to listen to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. -- at full volume --- again with the jeep full.
3) She repeatedly pressed  the string that lights when somebody wanted to go down.
4) She placed the fare of others passengers inside  my bag.  She thought that everybody was giving her money.
5) She said "Babay everybody!" when we alighted from the jeep.

On second thought,  I would ride with her again. Just to see what mishap will she do next time.

Milk Maid Mommy

I went to Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC) to donate about 200 ounces of milk. Here goes...

I placed the milk inside a big cooler.  My daughter was alarmed when she saw me put down my milk from the freezer. She told me that it was her baby brothers' milk.  I told her that many sick babies will be happy when they drink my milk.  I could see the pride in my three year old daughter's eyes after I said those words.

My daughter wanted to come with me to PCMC. I was worried that the milk will melt. It was  a good thing that the crew suggested we put newspaper inside the cooler. The cooler housed two big bags of ice from 7-11. We placed the  milk, and then covered them with newspaper to regulate the temperature. Instant thermal bag! That would have to do, because I could not find any dry ice.

The travel from Taytay to PCMC took about 45 minutes.  The nurses were very accommodating. I just filled out the required forms. A daddy was there, and he was very thankful to me. Eventhough his premature baby cannot get my milk yet (it would have to be pasteurized first) he told me that there should be more mommies like me. =)

By the way, if you're going to donate milk, PCMC requires a Hepa B and an HIV blood test, plus an Xray.

I nourished my babies with my milk alone. Now I'm going to help babies SURVIVE with my milk.

Bottoms up little ones.

First Day Heaven

The first thing I did was to count how many ounces of breastmilk I have accumulated. Grand total -- 722.5 ounces. No wonder my husband was always complaining of my milk hogging the freezer. He was right. It's a good thing my in-laws' house is just a 2 minute walk away. We can place our meat inside their ref.

I'm going to Philippine Children's Medical Center this afternoon to donate some of my milk. Not all, so I can have a stash for emergencies.

I am blessed by Papa God. with bountiful milk supply.  I can donate milk.

The fact that I nourished my children with my milk alone is a feat in itself. What about you?