the breastfeeding drama

According to the data released by Philippine Statistics Authority on Breastfeeding, Immunization, and Child Mortality last year, 92% of Filipino children between 6 months to 2 years old had been breastfed at some time.  It also states that 34% of poor children were exclusively breastfed while for non-poor, it's only 24%.  The latter data made a lot of sense since exclusive breastfeeding is very economical and if you do not have enough dispensable income to buy formula and you care enough for your child's health, you would really go to that direction.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was excited to breastfeed her and was wondering why some mothers would rather formula-feed than exclusively breastfeed when it's obviously the best way to go.  Breastfeeding has numerous benefits for the mom and baby:

1. It makes your baby healthy because breast milk has the exact amount of nutrients he/she needs and it strengthens their immune system by transferring your antibodies to them.  It's also easier for the baby to digest which prevents them from getting constipated.

2. Breastfeeding creates a special bond between you and your baby since you hold him/her closely more frequently than when bottle feeding.

3. It saves you from buying that expensive formula as well as bottled water, feeding bottle and other bottle feeding paraphernalia like brush, sterilizer, cleanser,etc.

4.  It helps mommy get back into shape because you burn calories when breastfeeding.  It also aids in the contraction of your uterus so that it goes back to it's normal size faster.

5.  A recent study now also shows a link between breastfeeding and lower risk of postpartum depression.

Yes, the list of breastfeeding pros is definitely much longer than the cons (if there actually is any).  But these materials, meant to encourage new moms to breastfeed, doesn't say how difficult it can be as well.

My plans to breastfeed my first child went down the drain when I couldn't produce enough breast milk for her.  It didn't help that I gave birth thru CS and she was instantly put in the nursery while I was recovering from the operation where she was given formula.  When we requested for her to be roomed in, she would cry when I try to breastfeed her and nothing seems to come out so we'd ask for formula.  It became worse when, after one night of rooming-in, we had to return her to the nursery where she stayed for a week more after I was discharged due to blood infection.  I tried to pump milk at home and was only able to produce about one or two ounce per day.  But since we want the best for our child, my husband would dutifully transport this from our place in Quezon City to the UST Hospital everyday until she was discharged as well.  My milk supply didn't improve, though, even when Hailey was already at home with us so I just stopped trying and consoled myself with the fact that, at least, she was able to take the colostrum I produced during the first week.

Since my first try at breastfeeding was a failure, I was determined to succeed with my second child.  Thankfully, St. Luke's Medical Center is actively promoting breastfeeding.  I gave birth to Tamara through a repeat CS but, unlike with my first daughter, she was immediately put on my chest after they cleaned her up to encourage her to latch on.  I also woke up in the recovery room with my daughter just a few feet away from me and they helped me breastfeed her once I was checked by the doctors.  St. Luke's also had a lactation consultant who teaches new moms the benefits of breastfeeding, the correct position and storing breast milk.  But I wasn't prepared for how painful and difficult it was going to be.  Two weeks into it and I was crying during night feedings because of sore nipple, fatigue and the fact that I'm up while everyone's sleeping.  I must say, though, that I was still pretty successful with Tamara since I was able to exclusively breastfeed her for two months and then mixed feeding for about two more months after I went back to work.

I had to stop expressing milk and breastfeeding around her fifth month because it was already taking a toll on me.  I came back in the middle of marketing plan preparations and I have a pre-schooler to attend to in the morning before leaving home and help with her studies when I get back at night.  I was so stressed that I began to have dandruff and developed what I thought were skin allergies.  It turned out I had seborrheic dermatitis which, according to my dermatologists, was probably due to inadequate sleep and stress.  So before it could get any worse, I stopped mixed feeding and gave in to formula.

With our third child, I know I wouldn't be able to breastfeed her as long as the recommended length of exclusive breastfeeding which is 6 months.  In a month's time, I'll be going back to work and catching up on the reports that were left undone for the 3 months I was gone.  I don't want to push myself any longer and trigger my dermatitis again.  By then, I feel like I've already done my best and to be able to give all three of my children the attention they need without going insane, I would have to go the more expensive way - bottle feeding.  I know that breast milk is best for baby.  But she's not the only baby in our lives and breastfeeding wouldn't do us any good if I'm too worn out to function properly.  As mothers, we can only give so much of ourselves.

a year later

Okay, so it's almost a year after my last post.  That's after I said I went back to blogging to record my journey as a working mom and my kids' growing up years.  It's just that so much has happened I didn't have time to think or digest some of them much less write about them.  Just to review...

the rest of December: Tamara's christening went well with only minor glitches (that's really unavoidable), went to Mindoro for Christmas and a chance for the kids to bond with their cousins there

January: Had a kick off party in the office and got tangled with the preps


February: Went to the 7107 IMF and a week later got the biggest surprise: I'm pregnant with our third child

March: Went to Boracay for Tamara's first birthday and also celebrated Hailey's graduation from ECE (early childhood education - nursery to prep)

the rest of the year passed too quickly and it's suddenly...

October: Gave birth to our third, and last, princess (yes, had a TL with the CS)

Meet our third princess: Kela Soleil

so now I have the time to post something because (1) I'm on maternity leave and (2) Kela's still in the stage where she sleeps 75% of the time, breastfeeds 20% of the time and have bath or diaper changes for the rest of her waking moments.

With the "free" time I have, while Kela and Tamara are sleeping and Hailey's in school, I even got to update their baby books.  Hailey's was 90% updated and just needed pictures and journal entries for some milestones particularly her first vacation, first plane ride, first time to visit the zoo, etc.  So it's now complete.  I feel so bad for Tamara because hers was almost empty except for the pregnancy, baby shower, birth and going home stories.  And with so much on my plate last year and this year, I completely forgot to jot down the dates of her milestones like first laugh, first time to sit, stand or walk on her own.  I do have a lot of pictures in file so I'm trying to get an idea, if not an exact date, of when she reached these milestones.  I'd feel worse when Kela's turned out more completely and accurately filled out. :-(

photos, mementos, stickers, colored papers and pens for the baby books

I also started digital scrapbooking again and my first project is Tamara's first year photobook.  (Yep, to make up for neglecting her baby book :-) I'm even going to place an order for Hailey's second year photobook which I've uploaded to the supplier's site years ago but haven't purchased.  The original files are in my corrupted Dell laptop which I'm not sure if still recoverable.  So before the online copy's deleted, will have it printed already.

fourth layout for Tamara's first year photobook

Half of my maternity leave is already gone and the holidays are fast approaching.  Soon I'll be back to work, we'll be moving houses and, before I know it, Kela's already crawling and the baby books and photobooks are once again shelved.  With a full time job, a grade schooler I have to tutor, a very active toddler and a demanding baby, it's hard to get lost in the action and find time for myself.  But for 2015, my New Year's resolution will be to find that time for myself (which I can use to blog or do my photo book projects or even just read) as well as some couple time with my husband.  And it's the one resolution I'm resolved to keep.

baptism planner

It's crunch  time for us.  Just five (5) more days before our baby Tamara's christening.  We started planning early but it feels like three months still isn't enough.  ;-)

As suggested by most party planners I've downloaded, it is best to start the planning for a not-so-big party at least two months prior. I started looking for the church and reception venue as early as June.  After searching the net for every possible venue and getting an idea of the average cost per person, we set the total budget for the baptism, selected and advised the godparents and made the reservations by early October.  We only needed to make a reservation fee at the reception venue so we can finalize the guest list after.

Once we have the guest list, the invitation is up.  My husband is an artist to the design is no problem.  What bugged us most was how to distribute it if we decided to have a printed invite.  **sigh**  We also started searching for possible party favors and tokens for the godparents.  For Hailey's christening in 2007, we gave out DIY rosaries.  It turned out great but since I'm in a Christian company and a lot of our guests are Christians, we decided to give out something else.

We've already decided on the menu even before we made reservations so that's already one thing crossed off our to do list.  Next is sending out the invite which we did electronically through Event Kingdom.  (Will go into details of that in another post.)  The baptismal ceremony will only take about half an hour while the reception will last for at least three (3) hours so we decided to go for a budget baptismal gown and spend on the after party outfit instead.  

A trip to Divisoria was put to waste when we weren't able to buy the canvas bags that we went there for. Thankfully we were able to buy ribbons and rosettes for the baptismal candles that I'd be designing.  With a whole weekend put to waste and another party favor idea down the drain, we went behind the schedule.  So now, with only 5 days to go, we are still working on the party favors and baptismal candles.

The only thing we were able to cross of our to do list this week is the reconfirmation with guests.  And it's not even 100% done yet.  Although it's not really my party and the star of the day is my daughter, I still hope to get my beauty rest before then.  Don't want any pics of me looking harassed. ;-)

For any one else who'd like to do the party organizing in an organized way, I'm sharing with you the baptismal planner I made especially for this event.  Click on the photo to download.

the birthday cake

This is a two-month overdue post.  But as they say, but late than never....

Anyways, for Hailey's 6th birthday last October, we had a change of plans at the last minute.  We scrapped the cupcake idea together with the DIY birthday plans so the toppers and invites I designed went to waste. And since we made reservations with Jollibee a week before the party, we did not meet the lead time for the Red Ribbon theme cake they offer with the party package.  Barbie cakes from Red Ribbon costs at least P2,000 and half of it is made of styrofoam.  So I decided I couldn't let Hailey's birthday pass without me doing anything craftsy.  Her birthday cake became by project.

Red Ribbon has this dedication cake for really low prices.  I decided to get the medium sized mocha one  and decorate it as school ground.  Keeping in line with the Barbie theme, I downloaded a picture of Barbie in Princess Charm School. 

Downloaded printable for the cake design

To emphasize the "school" setting, I made the signage and colored the DPS school logo pink.  I've also been seeing a lot of pennant banners for birthday and decided to download one as well.   I later realized that with the time I had, I was way over my head to think I'd be able to pull that off.  So I just threw in the other things I found at home like the plastic doll chair and TADA! Hailey's birthday cake:

Made miniature books and newspaper to put on the plastic
doll chair together with the pink crown.

From blue to pink - DPS school logo.

Printed out signage and taped them
on barbecue sticks.

The final product: Hailey's 6th Birthday Cake

Hailey loved the cake especially after I let her put the colored sprinkles on.  She enjoyed decorating the cake with me and even woke up early that day.  I wonder when we can do this again?  Christmas party? ;-)

Hailey at 6

We were planning to host a simple party at school for Hailey's 6th birthday last October 8.  We were supposed to just order spaghetti from Jollibee and prepare chicken lollipops and hotdogs on stick at home.  But a kindhearted granny decided to make it more special by partially sponsoring a Jollibee kiddie party for her.  So exactly 7 days before her birthday, I started preparing for a Jollibee party.

Jollibee has a website dedicated for kiddie parties.  So I only had to go to the website and follow the steps in booking for a party.

1. Find a Store
This is where you select the Jollibee store where you would like to hold your party and choose the desired date and time.  Our first consideration was for Hailey to be able to enjoy her birthday with her classmates, the party needed to be in school.  Thankfully, there are branches of Jollibee that do outside parties for a minimal additional charge.  There are three (3) Jollibee branches near our place - (1) Mindanao Avenue, Pag-asa, (2) Cherry Foodarama along Congressional Ave and (3) Sta. Quiteria.  The first two are not accredited to handle outside parties so we were directed to the Sta. Quiteria branch.  I immediately called them up to inquire.  The same rates and packages online which are for in store parties are applicable - except that fries and sundaes are not allowed because of quality may deteriorate.  There is also an additional P500 to the party fee to cover the transportation cost.  Reasonable enough for me.

2. Plan your Party
Next step is to choose the theme (My Bestfriend Jollibee, Jollitown, Batman and Hello Kitty).  The Barbie theme was still available then so we got that one.  The party fee already includes 20 game prizes, 10 boxes of crayons, 1 message board, 30 balloons and a 30-minute Jollibee mascot appearance.  You can also choose to add other amenities like invitations, tray liners, lootbags, party hats and name tags.  We just added invitations to keep to the theme and also because they're relatively cheap at P1.50 per piece.  I was a bit disappointed with the game prizes, though, because looking at the photo, I was expecting it to be 20sets of game prizes.  It would have been okay if it was like tumblers and toys.  But included in the 20 are Jollibee cards.  I was like, "huh? that's it?".
For the food, they have four (4) packages for 30 persons to choose from.  Or you can create your own meal for a minimum of P4,000 food purchase.  Since most of the packages includes fries and sundaes, we created our package which includes chicken and spaghetti meal for 30 persons, 20 Del monte juice in tetra packs, 10 coke in cans.  It still doesn't meet the minimum food purchase so we just added 5 peach mango pies and a bucket of chicken joy which we took home.  Jollibee also provides Red Ribbon theme cakes for only P900.  However, you have to place your order at least one week ahead and it was a bit late for us so we just bought one outside.  Once this is all done, it's time to...

3. Pay for your Party
For bookings made online, you can pay using your credit card.  What we had arranged was an outside party so we went to the store the settle the charges.  They required full payment of the party fee plus 50% of the minimum food purchase required.  The rest we settled after the party.

Party decors brought by the team.

 

Hailey with Jollibee

The kids were so thrilled to see Jollibee!

The birthday princess

The party turned out to be a breeze.  It was so much simpler than my plan to bring home-cooked chicken lollipops and store-brought cupcakes.  I was also planning to bring balloons and make my own cupcake topper to match the theme of the party.  But with Jollibee party package, not only do I not have to wake up early to prepare the food, I didn't have to brink anything else but my baby.  Well, except for the cake since we didn't meet the lead time required.  The crew also brough decorations and sound system.  They set up the place before the actual party began.  And there was a party host!  The kids enjoyed the party and my daughter was so happy.

calling romeo.

Calling Romeo by Alexandra Potter

Okay, so I was looking at the table of contents of my ebook reader looking for some title that would catch my attention.  Nothing jumped out at me so I chose the first one in the list that I haven't read yet - Calling Romeo.

The title sounds like your usual romance novel and I thought it will be just one of those that I would enjoy reading and then forget about in a month or so.  I was surprised to find out it was anything but ordinary. It's actually the first time I read something where I'm already halfway through the book and still not sure who the girl's gonna end up with.

The story started with Juliet getting stood up by her live in partner, Will, on their Valentine's date then getting drenched by a hot stranger driving and even hotter car. Yada, yada, yada.... In the first few chapters, I was sure she will end up with that stranger.  I was actually getting bored and was thinking of choosing another book.  It's the usual formula right?  And I was thinking, same ol', same ol'.  But as I read further, the plot thickens and I was relating more to Juliet than any other character I've read about.  So I kept reading; getting interested how the story will go.

Juliet is unlike any other romance novel character I've read.  She's the most real I've encountered so far.  That's probably why I relate to her more.  Their story starts more than a year after they've moved in together.  So it's what comes after the and they lived happily ever after bit.  That's what makes the characters more real and relate-able.  Because it's true what Alexandra Potter says, at the end of every rom-com movie, the characters fall in love and get together and for some of us, we do wonder "what happens next?"  And this book shows that.

Calling Romeo shows what happens after the curtains are drawn in every fairy tale.  When Cinderella and Prince Charming have moved in together and gotten to know each other a little too well.  It's the reality every couple face at one point in their relationship.  It's when those kilig moments of your first few months together are getting few and one or both may be feeling neglected, disappointed with their partner, disillusioned, even.  It's when reality bites you in the ass and reminds you that life is not a fairy tale and happily ever after is not what it's all hyped to be.  Because in real relationships, there are happy days, bad days, fights, tears, you name it.  Relationship requires hard work for it to last.  It's not all movie dates and weekend getaways.  It's that day to day effort to see that person you're living with as the person you fell in love with despite his absence because of work or that mess he made in the bathroom.  After the afterglow of getting together has passed, it will be up to the two of you to find and make those kilig moments.

In the middle of the story, you will get torn between cheering for Juliet for going after her own happiness or getting mad at her for cheating on her boyfriend.  Growing up in a patriarchal society like ours where cheating is condoned if committed by a man but looked down gravely if committed by a woman, it's easy to be close minded about Juliet's decision to get into an affair.  Her boyfriend was being an ass so I say go for the other dude.  But then again, life throws things at us and we choose how we deal with it.  And no matter what, we should always choose the right thing.

The most endearing part of the story for me was, of course, the ending.  I was getting antsy to finish the book to know how they'd get back together and although it wasn't all that dramatic, I think it was perfect.  You can feel Juliet and Will's awkwardness at being together in the same place after months and in a wedding no less.  I love Juliet's answer when Will asked her if they could ever go back to what they were.  She said, "I don't wanna go back".  Because there really is no point in going back to that place that lead them to where they were.  And for any relationship to work, the past should be left where it is - past, and it's the future we should be looking forward to.  It's hard to forgive, true.  But as Violet said in the book, "You've only got one life, lad, and it goes faster than you can imagine.  If you love someone, whatever's happened, you can always work it out..."

forward thursday.

For months my facebook feeds had been flooded with old pictures for #throwback thursday.  And for months I've been planning to post something in connection to that.  However, all my digital pics of almost 10 years are in my now dust-collecting pink dell. my old laptop has been out of service for several months already.  I tried everything I could to restore it to life but was not very successful.   I would have easily let go of it since I already have a new one but all my pics and digital scrapbooking files are there.  (yes, I was stupid enough not to have a back up file even when my pink dell started malfunctioning before it finally gave up.)  **sigh**  It's one of those "if only" situations.  Still, I haven't totally lost all hope.  I haven't tried third party service for data recovery.  Soon I'll do that.

Throwback thursday is one of the most fun trends in social media.  Especially for me who's very sentimental - as preserved 15-year old candy wrappers from my husband would prove.  Sometimes I would look at the albums I have posted in facebook and realize that so much time has already passed.  We have come from this:

July 2007: 6 months pregnant with Hailey

and six years later, to this:

June 2013: me, 5-year old Hailey and 2-month old Tamara

August 2013: Warren, Hailey and Tamara

And after looking at Hailey's Linggo ng Wika pictures taken yesterday, I saw how grown up she's become.  From my little fashionista awkwardly posing against our green living room wall:

to a budding stylista who prefers skirts and dresses over shorts and pants because it's the girly choice:

Even our wall has undergone several color changes already.  How time flies...  Time that you can never get back but you can always look back to.  So now I have decided to revive my passion in writing.  This is where I will try to jot down my thoughts and everyday experiences as a mom, a wife, and as a superwoman in a corporate attire.  Warren says I'm good at writing.  But then again, he's my husband so he's biased.