My Short Vacation Trip with Yanna (Part 2)

Day 2 of our trip -- We strolled along the beach early in the morning to catch Mr. Sun. This was the beach we regularly went to when we were still kids. When I was still young, I really enjoyed swimming here, until I discovered Boracay haha! I never thought I'll enjoy this beach again but this time with Yanna, I learned to appreciate it again. This beach was full of childhood memories and now I'm back with my own daughter. Sniff!

Yanna was having some colds then and my mom said that sea water can cure it. You know how grandmothers are. I don't know where they get those ideas! Well, moms know best so I took a handful of sea water and wiped it on Yanna's face. I think I did that 5 times. (Result --- effective!!!)

Before heading home, Yanna had a crying fit again when I left her to take a bath. Her cry was so scary! It's as if she's going to lose her breath! I had to quickly finish my bath. That was not a good bath! Eeww! But a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do!

At around 10am, we were back in the car to head home but of course, a trip isn't complete without stopping by Tagaytay. We went to Bag of Beans and we were surprised that it's now bigger! The last time I went there was 8 years ago. They now serve buffets and everything in the brunch buffet menu was absolutely delicious! If I remember it correctly, it costs PhP 385/person.

 Lots of saffron rice for me! Breastfeeding eh! 

Chloe shows some love. They're so sweet together!

Yanna's really happy :)

 With my sister and her Chloe. I think Yanna adores her Ate Chloe. 

We stayed at Bag of Beans for close to 2 hours! The place is so relaxing and we kept on getting food! Yanna was very cooperative this time so I got to eat a lot! Breastfeeding really makes me hungry!

The drive home went smoothly. Yanna dozed off by herself again while watching her fave video in the car. As I looked outside the window, I can't help but smile. I knew that I did really well. I was glad that I had this yaya-less experience. I have proven myself worthy to be a mom. 

Yanna can be a challenge sometimes but my love for her makes me stronger, wiser and happier. In my quest to mold Yanna into a good person that I want her to be, I realized that she also molds me into a better mom that I can be.

Cheers to more future trips with Yanna! I am so ready!!! :)

Mommy May

Taking A Deep Breath. Life Is Always Good.

It has been 3 months now since I left the corporate world. I remember feeling excited, relieved and scared. Excited to spend more time with my baby. Relieved that hubby finally agreed to my pleas of leaving work. Scared of the unknown life of a full-time mom and wondering how we can cope with our family expenses. Honestly, I just wanted a short break from the corporate world. Caring for a high need baby while working (8:30am - 2am at monthend week!) left me with little sleep or no sleep at all! There was never a week that I didn't catch colds. I had to wear masks at home so that our baby won't catch the virus. I wanted to rest when sick but I just couldn't. Not with a baby who depended on me for her food (I still breastfeed) and comfort (She only wants ME!)

Life is now a huge question mark for me. Should I go back to the corporate world? Will I ever get back to the corporate world? Should I try becoming a WAHM? Am I cut out to be a WHAM?

While I'm overanalyzing again, I found a nice quote from the blog The Happiness In Your Life --

We all get overwhelmed, fed up, and it seems the chips are stacked against us at times, no matter how hard we try, how positive we are, or how much faith we have.
You just have to get through it.
Take things one day at a time and don't get on the negative spiral of thinking. Always know inside that it WILL get better and it WON'T always be this hard.
For now, take a deep breath and think about everything, even the tiniest things, that are good in your life right now.
~Doe Zantamata

The last line struck me! I realized that it's either I give in to the frustration or just look at the brighter side. As a Catholic, I have a strong faith and I believe that God only gives you trials that you can overcome. Only He knows the reason for everything. And so I came up with a short list of things that I am thankful for right now.

I'm thankful for this chance to be a full-time mom. Sometimes I think that the reason why I'm having a hard time looking for work is that God wants me to spend more time with Yanna. Not everyone's given a chance to be with their kids all the time. I know how hard it is for working parents to leave their kids while working. So instead of feeling sorry for myself, I will aim to make the most out of my time with Yanna because work might be just around the corner and it will be a shame to waste this precious time God has given me.

I'm thankful that I am still able to breastfeed. There are times when I wish to wean Yanna from the breast just so life will be easier for me. But then again, this is a precious gift that I have. I have the means to nurture my child and this must be the most important gift I can give her. Plus, no additional expenses for formula milk. By breastfeeding, I have saved money and possibly saved her from illnesses.

I'm thankful for our humble bed. Hubby and I have been thinking about getting a king-size bed since Yanna is co-sleeping with us. The first few months of co-sleeping were hard. Hubby and I can hardly move, scared we might roll over the baby! Then we just got used to it. Now I say I'm thankful for our bed because we get to sleep real close to each other. We get to hug each other while sleeping!

I'm thankful for all the trials that come our way. They make our marriage stronger and I'm sure that time will come when we will look back and say "kaya pala.."

I'm thankful for Yanna's clinginess. I am one tired mommy! Yanna is very clingy to the point that she cries even when I just need to go to the bathroom to pee! She doesn't want me leaving her sight. Most of the time, she only wants me to carry her. I sometimes envy her yaya who is able to eat better than me because I end up taking care of Yanna. During her 1st birthday party, she cried 90% of the time! This makes me very tired but hubby always reminds me to treasure this stage. There will come a time when she will prefer to be with her friends or boyfriend rather than be with me. Just thinking about it makes me sad!

I'm sure everyone has gone through roller coaster emotions too. Life may be tough at times but the pain will all be worth it soon.

How about you? What are you thankful for?

Mommy May

What Breastfeeding Taught Me

When Yanna was born, I decided to exclusively breastfeed only for the first 6 months to give her ample nutrition that she needs. The first 2 weeks were difficult. Yanna's latching was poor and so I had cracked nipples and it was VERY painful feeding her. I remember myself crying and practically begging my hubby to permit me to stop breastfeeding. He got mad and told me to endure it for the sake of the baby. My exact thoughts that very moment: "OMG he loves the baby more than me! Siya kaya ang mag breastfeed!!!" As usual, the obedient wife that I am, I endured the pain. I was crying helplessly whenever Yanna feeds. I felt pity for me. I thought breastfeeding is supposed to be a very lovely moment between mom and baby but why is it so difficult???

Then I realized, this is what Motherhood is! Being able to sacrifice for the sake of your precious little one. Gone are the self glorifying days from Day 1 of Motherhood. As soon as I learned that lesson, it lessened the pain until we were able to breastfeed smoothly. Now I am very glad that hubby insisted on it because at 5 months, Yanna was hospitalized for pneumonia. I remember how stressed I was when hubby called me at work to let me know of the diagnosis. I immediately left the office to take care of her. I was puzzled thinking that I have been exclusively breastfeeding her but why did she get pneumonia? Doctor said that it's not 100% illness-free with breastfeeding but a breastfed child's illness will only take a shorter time. This was true since Yanna was only hospitalized for 2.5 days and she was still very energetic during her hospital stay. It could've been worse if she was not breastfed.

So I continued giving her breastmilk beyond 6 months. At work, my breastpump is my best friend. Pumping milk is such a task especially if you're always busy at work! I had to squeeze it in my busy schedule. I'm glad that my boss and officemates then were supportive of it. A support group like that is very key for a working mom to continue milk pumping.

I'm glad to say that I have been breastfeeding her for 13 months now. I consider that as my achievement as a mom because I know how difficult it is! I'm just really lucky to have a very supportive husband, family and friends who kept me inspired to continue on. So what lessons have I learned from our breastfeeding journey? I learned patience, selflessness, time management and I learned to love this demanding, biting, clingy and chubby little sucker :)

For breastfeeding tips, you may read: http://www.askdrsears.com/?q=topics/breastfeeding.

Mommy May