...binog's 2nd month

happy 2 months baby! thank you for being a very good baby!

his most recognizable milestones are:
-babbles a lot!.. can say "agoo. agoo".. so cute!
-has been sleeping through the night. meaning 5 hours straight! AMAZING.
-smiles a lot too.. a real smile, not the "i'm doing my business smile"

we're still practicing his bottle feeding.. so far so good. the key is to let him calm down a bit before giving the bottle. when he's on full wail-out mode, it's twice as hard.



taba na! nognog parin!

...3 days before christmas!

wasn't able to get ANY shopping done.. so the stress of christmas shopping was mostly passed on to my parents and to pangs.. wala ngang gift si pangs eh =( (what's new! bad wifey!) i'm still coping at home, tsug's school is in a break so he's mostly home, ergo, very hard to entertain. i've been a bit bad, letting him watch mostly nick jr from 9-11am.. it's nice though cause he has learned (both of us, actually) quite a few chinese words from NiHao Kai-Lan haha.. (though i have no idea when i'm going to find the chinese word for Dinosaur useful :p)

Binog is still behaving relatively well.. although we've been having trouble with his bottle feeding this past couple of days.. just 2 days of no bottle, and he already forgets how to suck one! He bottle feeds usually once a day, when tsug takes a nap so i can take a nap as well. (around 2:30-4:30pm) But Sunday and Monday, he wasn't able to use a bottle so come yesterday, he was already super fussy on it. Eh i wasn't able to give Yaya clear instructions that when he refuses to feed, to wake me up (kasi siguro, first time nag-inarte ni binog sa bote, maybe she thought binog just wasn't hungry) So after almost 3 hours of not feeding, when he latched on me, super bilis magdede, nasamid tas biglang nagsuka! as in may projectile waaah wawa. In less than 5 minutes, he soaked his whole face, my blouse PLUS the sofa that i was sitting on. at least i saw that he really gets a LOT of milk, even if it's just 5 minutes of latching. (super suckers talaga ang babies hehe.. no pump can mimic them!) super kawawa! so i just ditched the bottle and let him feed on me.

today, when he was fussing again with the bottle, ni-latch ko muna siya saken. when he was calmed down, saka ko inattempt mag bottle again. he started wailing again but this time, i stood my ground and after a lot of cajoling (and singing and pleading and praying) he latched on the bottle and was able to drink around 2 oz. *sighs* ang hirap!!!

it's sooo weird cause just last week, i was having trouble naman with his latching on me directly! eto naman yung nagbobote sya ng 2 consecutive nights kasi naglakwatsa si mommy hehe. (watched Hp with erlyn tapos i met up with my HS friends naman the next night ata). Kasi when i feel the 'let-down' of milk, bigla syang titigil maglatch na parang naooverwhelm sa pag-gush ng milk.. unlike the bottle of course na steady lang ang flow.. so laging sandali lang maglatch saken, pagnaglet down ako.. tigil na kagad! waah!

anyway, tomorrow we'll see how it goes. basta, strict na ako from now on sa "once a day bottle" rule. ayaw ko na maulit yung keh tsug nun na kambal tuko kami hanggang 22 months sya. (ni-hindi man lang ako makapag pagupit ng maayos nun eh!)

speaking of tomorrow.. dating na si pangs bukas! yey. though very short trip, at least he's here for christmas. weeeeee! we'll be spending it at bulacan sa christmas eve then with my parents on christmas day. it's binog's first christmas! it's gavin's first christmas wherein he can actually remove the christmas wrappers himself! it's his first christmas wherein he can say 'merry christmas!' hehe.

so from me, pangs, tsug and binog.. a merry merry christmas to all of you! just check my wishlist in amazon for your gifts hahaha!

...santa

a facebook friend posted a pic of his gift for their daughter for christmas.. an ipod with an engraving at the back saying "*child's name*, there's no santa :p love, mommy and daddy".

what a killjoy! i have no idea how old the kid is.. it doesn't matter! from the context, i get that it's their big reveal for their kid this christmas. personally, i can't remember when EXACTLY i started to realize that santa wasn't real.. and that's the whole point! i don't need a permanent reminder of when my childhood ended LOL.

poor kid. oh well, at least she gets an ipod. :)

...my 2010 facebook status

saw this from a friend (n@wie mec).. pretty cool, made one for myself.


lapit na mag pasko! i've done ZERO christmas shopping. oh well. i love to last minute shop naman eh.

...things i will miss in singapore

now that we're back in Antipolo, we're feeling a tiny, tiny bit of regret in leaving the comforts of a first world country. here are some things that i will miss..

1. access to breastfeeding rooms/family/parents room, kiddie toilets


breastfeeding rooms are a luxury in malls in Manila.. in singapore, it's the norm. all malls have breastfeeding rooms, sometimes even multiple cubicles in one room so you dont have to queue. they also call them family room or parents room, where there's a diaper changing station and a cubicle for nursing moms. some malls even have kiddie toilets, where they have mini-sized toilets and sinks where your toddler can easily do their businesses in. (like the one above, this was in Compasspoint in Sengkang) I also like cubicles in the ladies room where there is a high chair beside the normal toilet where you can put your baby in while you pee hehe. soooo convenient, so well thought of.

2. the neighborhood bread shop


gavin enjoying his sugar donut on stick

i miss the apple worm already. (baked bread with apple and grapes inside) If i want great bread, i can just walk to the neighborhood bread shop in the hawker centers. unlike here, where you have to go to a mall (Bread talk) to enjoy great bread. sure there's the pandesal, but that's it. i'm not really into spanish bread or those red colored ones. (whyyyy do they always put food coloring in breads here in philippines?) Sometimes there are even multiple breadshops competing in one hawker center, so the choices are unlimited. I think i ate bread every day when we were there. my favorites were the apple bread, and bread with some slivers of almond on top. Gavin's was their sugar donut on stick.

3. Waffle stand

these are usually inside bread shops too. I love their waffles. My yaya, was eating these waffles for one straight week. It's huuuge and it's usually just a dollar each. (add some 10 cents if you want them to spread it with jam or peanut butter) They say they put coconut milk in it, which probably what makes it so yummy.

4. Playgrounds / fitness equipment everywhere




They have these for every block. It's great that you can just go down from your flat and enjoy these with your kids. They also have one for adults, my mother-in-law got a kick out of it, trying the different equipments.

5. neighborhood parks


its great that in the midst of these high rise buildings, they preserve some land and build town parks. they usually have running tracks, or sand pits for the kids and playground equipment too. these are stuff that a third world country girl like me will surely miss.

6. organized transportation system

i wish our bus drivers were paid a monthly salary instead of thru commission. there will surely be no more buses 'parked' in highways, waiting for passengers when that happens. i wish taxis where as accessible here as in singapore, and i wish they also give your exact change and not always expect a tip! i wish may ez link din. (bus/mrt debit card) lol. oh well. wishful thinking.

7. IKEA



why oh why is there STILL no ikea in philippines? prices are super cheap, talo nila presyo ng SM or ng wilcon, lol. please, rich business tycoons, bring ikea to us soon. malaysia has IKEA for gawds sake. (they have formula 1 too, but thats a different story)

8. singapore zoo






i love this zoo. the open concept, (no cages) the Kids World. love it!

9. community swimming pools/splash park


splash park at sembawang shopping center



sengkang swimming complex

where in manila will you pay just 30 bucks to enjoy a well-maintained set of pools. In sengkang and jurong east, they even have huuuuge kiddie play equipments and long slides! In splash park in Sembawang Shopping Center, Splash Park is free!

10. safety/security

where in the world do they have slogans like "LOW CRIME does not mean NO CRIME". when i first read it, i was like.. "wow. i wonder when philippines will have THAT slogan". When my mom visited us in Yishun, we went to the movies at 9pm, and WALKED home at 12 midnight. i will miss walking around in my stroller, with tsugtsug, worry free. (or at least not having to make my back pack a 'front pack', if you know what i mean). the first time i stepped in singapore, i walked thru a mall entrance and literally paused. i was looking for a guard to search my bag. and i was thinking .."oh my gawd... i can just waltz inside a building without anyone checking my bag if i'm carrying a bomb or a deadly weapon? ama-zing". LOL.

11. the cleaners



when i was sent to singapore in training, i thought singaporeans where all disciplined. because there was not a cigarette butt to be found on the roads of the entire CBD. later, when we lived there, i found out all about the cleaning brigade. throw your trash somewhere, believe me, it'll be gone that afternoon. (or you will get FINED for it harhar). hindi pala sila disciplinado, marami lang silang taga-linis. hehe.

12. big yakult


yakult in sg are about 40% bigger and comes with straws!

13. stroller friendly sidewalks/covered walkways


its actually for the people in wheelchairs, but we benefit all the same. everywhere there are ramps and lifts, rarely do i need to carry a stroller past some stairs.

*sigh* this post is beginning to get long. i'd have to think positively about our decision now. right now, i can think of (besides staying close to your family) , Jollibee, driving our own car, living in a landed home, fabulous road trips, tax-free books (yey! beat that amazon), gavin not needing to learn Chinese, as some of the perks in living in philippines. (talagang kasama Jollibee eh lol).

well, worst case is, we'll go back. but not until all of my IKEA balikbayan boxes get here. haha.

please arrive home safely!

...big 3-0

my birthday's coming up!.. the big 3-0... such a weird number.. signs that i'm growing old:

1. my ultimate friends fantasy is the cast of........ Cougar Town! yeah.. i'd rather be friends with Jules, convert my son's old bedroom to my own jam room and drink wine 24/7 in a big as* wine cup called big joe.. i actually prefer them over the gossip girl bunch or the How i met your mother gang.. GAAH am really getting old! Grayson and Laurie over the Le--gendary Barney.. or Serena! (i guess i don't like serena that much anyway) It's just that Cougar Town never fails to make me laugh out loud whenever i watch an episode.. *boing, chiki-boing boing*.. lol. I can just imagine how tsugtsug will become my own 'Travis' where i'll stalk him when he goes off to college. or when he brings home a girl, we welcome the girl through a medley of songs we composed ourselves. lol.

2. the highlight of my social calendar (as if i have any to begin with) is my own son's field trip! how pathetic to be reallyyyy excited about going to the zoo with gavin and his classmates! but that's exactly what i am.. excited! i practically begged my mother that she allow me to be the one to accompany gavin to his field trip and leave baby binoy in her care. i'm gonna be pumping my boobies off for that one so i'll have enough milk frozen, ready for binoy's consumption on that day.

3. when i receive picture frames as gifts... i actually like them!

4. i stammer whenever i'm asked what my age is... 'ahmm... errr.. 28... oh wait, 29?'. i simply can't remember! maybe now that i'm 30 it'll be easier.. 'thirty' kinda just rolls through your tongue hehe.

5. i'm being called 'Ate' by everyone.. or worse, 'Auntie'.

6. (related to post #5).. I can't really say 'po or opo' every single time i talk to salesladies/security guards/strangers/whatever. I'll just sound condescending instead of respectful! like i'll just get a look that says 'bakit mo ako ino-opo opo eh mas matanda ka saken!'. Now i have to assess if i'm older than them or not. that sucks!

7. i can say 'Iba na ang mga kabataan ngayon'.. without so much as a smirk. as in dead pan serious.

8. i can't stand schoolgirls' giggles and loud talking. *shut the F up! just eat your dinner and get out! lol*

9. i tell my parents to sell us their land before they die. so that the tax we would have to pay is lesser. (inheritance tax is a b*tch!)

10. Olsen Racela is the oldest active player in the PBA. When the hell did that happen?! (It's his last season, he's set to retire this year.)

..there's a bunch more i could think of.. how i get weepy eyed sometimes when i look at my parents.. (if I'M getting older, then so are they!).. how i'm SOOO over Smallville (it's time for him to grow up! put on some tights and learn how to friggin fly.. it's been 10 years, demmit!)..how i creep up to the Young Adult section in a bookstore and quickly pay before anyone sees me while holding a book suitable for teens (but i guess that ship has sailed. should've been embarrassed when i was in my twenties lol)

thinking about aging.. i've now realized how happy i am that i've already given birth to 2 boys.. i am now 90% sure that i don't want to be pregnant anymore.. and that i want to be over with breastfeeding by the age of 32. (at the most!)

and i want to go to friggin Japan by then. just let me cross out that one from my wish list please.

...binoy's first two weeks

binoy is sleeping now and tsugtsug is at playschool.. *whew*.. so far so good. tsug has been an exceptionally amazing Kuya to binoy.. he touches him lightly, (pats his head, air kisses him and touches binoy's feet) he insists that i carry him always (actually, it's bad for me cause as soon as i put binoy down and tsug is nearby, he'll throw a fit and scream 'hug! hug! hug baby!'), and isn't showing any signs of jealousy towards the baby. I think raymond's focus on him during the first week was a big help. Watching the Yo Gabba Gabba episode, 'Baby' also helped hehe. Tsug would always sing 'Baby.. Babyyyyy!' when he sees binoy. Tsug doesn't seem to like the name 'Leon', though.. when asked what's his baby brother's name he would just say 'Jacob!'..

Binoy has been sleeping and feeding well.. he still sleeps for 2 hours, though sometimes every hour na rin sya gumising.. be that as it may, i still feel he's a good baby cause I never experienced this much freedom nung keh tsugtsug hehe.. I've been sleeping well, eating on time..i'm even able to sometimes attend to gavin.. his lunch/dinner time and a bit of playtime.. though we've been taking the easy route, cause lately he just likes to stay in front of the computer and play plants vs zombies.. he is sooo addicted. he knows the zen garden, knows how to take care of it himself..he can buy the fertilizer, bug spray,etc on his own.. though with gavin playing.. we always say.."it's not about winning.." cause he can be sooo frustrating to watch.. he'll remove his own plants with the shovel, or use the blover with no balloon zombies around..or wouldn't even select a sunflower.. and the most irritating part is that he KNOWS it's not right. he just doesn't want to listen to me.. 'ayaw!' hehe.

anyway, back to binoy. he's been breastfeeding exclusively (yeeey) and i'm having a lot more milk than i had during tsug's time.. on his 10th day i pumped for the first time at home.. and was able to pump 4oz in 10 minutes! super happy! it was a fluke though hehe.. next time it took me 30 minutes to pump that same amount.. (still good!).. pumping really is all about timing.. as soon as i'm leaking.. and binoy is still sleeping, that's when i pump.. i just pump on one boob then when he wakes up i offer him the other one.. on his 13th day, i introduced the bottle, and he took it really well! no problem there.. when i gave him my breast on his next feeding, he took it as well! such a goooood baby!! so now i try to pump once a day, and give him the bottle for a feeding or two.. i would really strive hard with the pumping this time.. so i can have some 'ME' time.. (showering at leisure.. having my hair cut.. lol.. these things that you take for granted and you can't do when you know your baby is entirely dependent on you for his food)

hmm.. what else?.. his umbilical cord fell off on the 8th day.. also, he's a little bit yellow, cause it's been raining a bit here in the first few mornings since he came home.. but lately he's been able to sunbathe so i'm not yet worried..he was supposed to have had his first checkup last weekend, (coinciding with my own checkup with the OB) but the wait was so long, (and i was already so hungry) i decided to skip it and just wait for his normal pediatrician.. they did weigh him though and he has already gained a whole pound! (he was just 11 days old at that time)

i have more or less figured out a time when binoy's most behaved for a bath.. after i feed him and his sun bath.. he's awake but not fussy.. i've been able to give him 2 baths so far without any tears involved! aweeeesomeee.

taking care of a newborn again.. i thought i was already a PRO cause it's my 2nd one.. but the first few days, i forgot about little things like covering his pututoy during diaper change (he peed on me.. AND on himself).. or not putting him down before he was burped (helloooo spit-ups).. first time he pooped, i forgot that i shouldn't be using wipes but just cotton and water to clean his butt.. overall though, i feel a lot more confident. i still use my personal favorite brand, Mustela for his toiletries.. (no cradle cap yet! no more diaper rash! *crosses fingers* and the ever reliable no-rinse cleansing fluid for his butt) meh "pimples" ulit sya (just like gavin) but at least i'm not shocked anymore by them hehe. i also still use SwaddleMe (swaddling with a velcro).. its just waaay easier.

Also, when he cries, i don't pick him up right away. If i feel the itch to pick him up, I try to do other stuff first. Like get a glass of water, or go to the toilet. then i go back to him.. if he's still crying, that's when i pick him up. 50% of the time, he's back to sleeping. it's been working wonders so far. sometimes i put him to bed with his eyes open and then 10 minutes later, he has fallen asleep on his own! amazing. if all babies are like this, i would probably be a mother again. (but since there's no assurance........ probably not. lol) . syempre si lola minsan umaalma.. especially with my feeding schedule (ayoko na ng feed on demand) but that's expected.. i just remind her and point to tsugtsug (see exhibit A: brat#1)... that convinces her to stay put. haha.

my boys:

...birthing story ni binoy (and a lot of other kwento)

..or binognog.. ang itim kasi ehehe.

i actually had two trips to the prelabor and labor room.. the first time, i was already at 3cm since the 16th of october.. so on my checkup on october 20th, my doctor had me admitted to be induced, thinking i was ready to deliver the baby. to make a long story short, i friggin wasn't. i was there at prelabor room with zero contractions.. then i was in labor room for 5 hours, in oxytocin, but my contractions were still coming about 5-6 (sometimes even 9) minutes apart and when the interns asked me to rate the pain i was in, i honestly told them it was just 1 out of 10. i was there so long, i started to learn medical terms.. station 3 pa lang daw ako, dapat station 0, meaning mababa na ang baby. then, i was still at 3cm, 50.. 50 is the thickness of the cervix.. (number should be at 60 or more).. chikahan na kami ng intern ko who was taking note of my almost non-existent contractions, talking to my baby "baby leeee time to go out naaa"..(lee grayson pa ang name ni binog nun, kaya siguro ayaw lumabas, ayaw yung name!).. her name was bam then there was a 2nd intern named Vega..pati mga residente dun, kilala ko na rin.. then at last my doctor came in and told me to rest first in a hospital room, and that we will continue the next day. at 7am i was wheeled in the labor room again, and then stopped at 11:30 cause i was still having zero contractions. i was then asked to just go home.. and wait for the real thing. and that trip cost me 16k. *sighs*

well.. good news, bad news time. bad news was the money, of course. good news were, we were able to attend gavin's halloween party at school, and we were able to go out on family dates in Laya here in Antipolo and another in Cafe Lidia in Marikina..part na rin ng lakad-lakad ko para 'bumaba' na si binoy.. it worked also because on the 25th, i was already experiencing contractions that were 15 minutes apart, although hindi masakit, just the normal 'pagtitigas'.. i fixed my hospital luggage again, and i was fully expecting my doctor to have myself admitted again after my checkup. and i was right! she said i was still at 3cm, but at 60 (so mas malambot na ang cervix).. she told me not to eat any lunch (but i cheated, i drank fresh grape juice and had some miswa soup) and was at prelabor room at 2pm. my contractions were still 15 minutes apart but at least i WAS having some contractions, unlike the first time around. Also, i was becoming a pro with the procedures.. remove all your clothes, put on hospital gown, wiwi in a cup, then 20 minutes tracing with the fetal and contractions monitor, then enema.. where they just shoot something liquid up your ass then after a few minutes, you'll feel the urge to go poopoo.. then you're wheeled to the labor room, where you're hooked up to an IV with oxytocin..

i was recognized by a LOT of the staff.. i got a lot of jokes ("we meet again, mommy".."totoo na toh, this time!").. i even got the same intern (Vega) who monitored my contractions..and same resident (who was very nice, dr. cabrera).. kakatuwa kasi kilala na ako, so nagwoworry rin sila pag mahina contractions ko.. from 2-530ish pm, parang bumababa daw heart beat ni baby binog, so they removed the oxytocin again.. kinabahan na ako when they did that (not again!?) pero i have a theory.. hindi naman talaga bumaba ang heartbeat ni binog, malikot lang ako (or yung baby) so nawawala sa position yung fetal monitor.. i've read sa 'what to expect' in low-risk pregnancies, dapat meh nurse na lang na nagdodoppler every 15 minutes to monitor the heart kaysa sa fetal monitor kasi nga madaling magalaw yung monitor..hindi daw magawa sa states yun kasi kulang ng manpower pero sa pinas, since meh isang intern naman lagi na nagmomonitor sayo, dapat ganun na lang gawin nila sa pinas eh.. anyway, so at 5:30, knowing that they're scanning again, i stayed very still for 30 minutes, as in no movements.. lo and behold, by 6pm, okey na daw ang heartbeat! (though sabi nila, mababa talaga baseline ko, 120-160 kasi ang normal na heartbeat ng baby, asa 120 lang usually si baby).. at 6:30, dumating na ang OB ko, she ruptured my water bag.. you should've seen the metal thingie she used.. sabi nga ng residente.. 'nanlaki ang mata oh!' .. i think it was a foot long! but it wasn't painful at all, mas masakit pa mag IE yung ibang doctor.. when my bag was ruptured, intern Vega came in and said 'ang haba ano!?' and i asked if they inserted the whole thing, and he said 'mga 1/3 lang'.. (nag pause pa ako nun, inisip ko kung ang 1/3 ba eh mas maiksi sa 1/2 or mas mahaba LOL)

after just 10 minutes of rupturing my water bag and giving me back the oxytocin, i experienced super painful contractions that were topping the contractions 'scale' from the monitor.. sabi ko nga keh doc Vega.. "dyahe naman kung humingi kagad ako ng epidural ano?" .. 10 minutes pa lang eh! pero it was really painful.. kasi nagreregister sa monitor is around 127+, sabi ni doc Vega super taas na nga yun.. meh mga mommies nga daw na 60 pa lang ang number, humihingi na ng epidural.. i wanted to ask na, pero i still felt silly about doing so kasi ang bilis nga.. all day i was looking for the pain tapos ngayong andito na, ayaw ko na? lol. but then another 15 minutes i had contractions every 2 minutes and it would last for a full minute kaya halos wala na akong pahinga sa pain.. nakakatawa kasi naaanticipate ko yung contraction from the monitor.. magsisimula sa 40s tas biglang tataas na ang number kaya sasabihin ko keh Doc 'Eto na naman tayooooooooo.. P#taragis' lol. Si resident Dr. Cabrera pumasok na tapos sinabi 'oh ano, may nagpapakamartyr parin ba dito?' .. tapos they convinced me to ask for the epidural na.. i agreed na kasi masakit na talaga.. good thing i did too, kasi baka ndi pa ako maabutan ng epidural kung nagdelay ako.. in that span of 30 minutes i think my cervix dilated from 3cm to 6cm! tanong ako ng tanong keh doc Vega.. "andyan na ba si anesthesiologist?'.. tapos sya na yung natataranta saken, lagi na syang lumalabas para hanapin tapos nung dumating sinabihan nya ko kagad tapos na pa 'YES!' pa ako.. sabi pa ni Dr. Cabrera 'kailangan talagang sumigaw ano?' lol.

i had epi at 7:45pm (mga 1 hour din akong in extreme pain) tapos after the procedure, ni-IE ako, sabi 7 cm na ako!. the epi took 15 minutes to take effect so at 8:01 IE ako, 9cm na daw! (ang bilis talaga ng pangyayari).. i was still having the chills (as in super chills) from the epi.. ganon kasi talaga yun, magchichill ka tapos you'll know the drug is slowly taking effect.. i was wheeled to the delivery room, sabi ng OB ko, dun na tayo maghintay!.. though there wasn't that much time to wait.. i was prepped (shaved, cleaned) tapos meh isang doc inask ako.. "feeling mo ba para kang napupupu?' .. sabi ko..'hindi po feeling.. nagpupupu talaga ako!!' and i could really feel like 3 drops of pupu leaving my pwet.. good thing about this being my 2nd time.. hindi na ako nahihiya! lol! narinig ko lang sabi 'clean up! clean up!'.. tapos ayun.. sinaksakan ako ng demerol ( i think) nung anes to reduce the chills nga (natapunan nya pa ako kasi nga super yung nginig ko.. nangati pa! akala ko mag aallergic reaction ako, pero nawala rin naman, TG).. isang practice sa pag-ire.. i was still feeling a lot of my contractions, though not painful, sa puson na lang.. parang bad case of menstrual cramps na lang.. tapos the real thing.. 3 ire, isang dagan saken, out na si baby binoy!

i could hear him crying loudly and i was so happy.. iniisip ko talaga 'hay salamat nakaraos din ako'.. then they started stitching me up (from the episiotamy) and i could still feel the needle a bit! as in medyo mahapdi pa!

then posing posing sa picture with binoy.. nag attempt mag latch pero hindi pa sya naglatch that moment.

katuwa din yung mood sa delivery room.. ang festive lol. tsaka sa bilis nga ng pangyayari, talagang aware na aware pa ako sa mga nangyayari.. hindi pa ako high sa drugs.. but my anes said he gave me enough drugs to last me til the next day! lol. true sya. i only started itching nga the 2nd day (that's the side effect of morphine once it leaves your system)

two hours in the recovery room, baby Leon was brought to me.. ang naglatch sya successfully! both boobs hehe. 12 am asa room na ako, si mommy lang andun kasi pangs had to go home and take care of tsugtsug. after sleeping for just an hour and a half, tinawagan na ko kagad ng nursery.. papa breastfeed daw keh Leon na kagad! either that or room him in.. eh ang room in sa pinas, walang bawian eh, ikaw na talaga mag aalaga. (or i would give them formula, which was out of the question) i was feeling dizzy but i just pulled myself together and went to the nursery.. ang galing ni binoy, naglatch sya kagad.. i was able to feed him tapos bigla na lang ako nahilo.. i rang for the nurse tapos dali nyang inabot saken yung small basin (intended for binoy's bath.. sorry baby!) sabay suka ako. nyak. hayz. i looked at the basin and thought 'sayang ang soup. hayz'.

pagbalik sa room, tulog tapos tinawagan na naman ako. every 2 hours i would be wheeled to the nursery.. 2nd time, hindi na ako nahilo hehe. on the 2nd day, tumitigas na boobs ko.. (hallelujah!) meaning, it's becoming engorged na with milk! amazing. kay tsug nga nun, sa bahay ko na naramdaman yun.. after 4 days pa siguro. tapos i was feeling much better, faster! siguro dahil asa system ko pa yung drugs, i didn't feel much pain from the contractions (magcocontract ka parin sa uterus eh, saket din yun) and from my stitch sa va-JJ. i was able to pee right away, though nag poop lang ako sa bahay (with the help of dulcolax.. i cheated hehe). i was out of the hospital on the morning of 28th.

woah ang haba na. anyway, binoy's been heavenly. as in. such a good baby! he's been sleeping for 2 hours after every feeding.. he quiets up when i change his diaper.. parang text book baby, so far. even his umbilical cord is hanging by a single membrane na lang today. (it's his 8th day today as i write this post.. this post was a couple of days in the making) he is a bit yellow, cause its been raining these past few days but there was a bit of sunshine today, so nakapag sunbath sya. i'm so blessed na andito si pangs, whose been taking care of tsug so i can focus on binoy.

speaking of tsug, and bait nya keh baby! he would air kiss him tapos magagalit saken pag binababa ko sa car seat! lol. he would shout 'HUG BABY! HUG BABY!' lol. basta inaalala ko yung sabi ng friend ko, nadapat nakafocus parin kami keh tsug. and he's been really well behaved towards his baby brother.. alam na nga nya yung name eh.. beyond my expectations! tapos pag nag cry sasabihin nya lang saken 'cryyyy baby!' tapos gagayahin nya hehe.

*whew* nobela na naman. bye!


Welcome home baby Leon Jacob Arenas aka binoy

...waiting game

was at the doctor's this afternoon.. she said i'm 3cm already.. i guess it could be anytime now.. am still hoping to last the whole week cause i want to see gavin's halloween thingie at his school (this friday).. today i started making his costume, for fear that i might go in labor anytime and i won't be able to do it..

hmm. its so weird, this waiting game. i didn't do this with tsug cause i wanted his birthday to fall on May 1 so i was induced. now it's so scary.. not knowing when exactly it's gonna happen.. like what if i miss a sign.. what if i do #2 and poop out babynoname? lol.

hayyyyy. nuninuninuni.

...storytelling

i had the chance to participate in gavin's school where i was assigned to be the storyteller for the day. i was a bit nervous because kids are hard to predict.. sometimes they can be really nice or really unruly. But they were all very well behaved, including Gavin! He sat on the mat just like other kids and listened to the story.. I read one of his Yo Gabba books, It's Nice to be Nice! Sometimes he would finish the sentence for me that his teachers will say 'Memorize ni Gavin, uh!' lol. I brought all of gavin's Yo Gabba stuffed toys and would bring them out as the story introduced them.. and every time I would bring a character out, (i would ask 'Do you want to meet Brobee?') all the kids' eyes would grow big and they clapped so happily! it was priceless!

will i do it again? ahmm.. i don't know! haha! i might have just had beginner's luck and next time, i could really suck LOL.

here are some pictures c/o Gavin's school:


it's brobee!

it's foofa!



anyway, speaking of reading.. i always read a book (or 4 if it's his spiderman books because those are just 4 pages each) during his bedtime.. lately, he's been wanting to repeat the words as i recite them.. and amazingly, he can now recognize a lot of the words! he know words by sight like 'city', 'spider-man' (lol.. well that's helpful), 'and', 'he', 'amazing' (because it's the amazing spiderman hehe), or 'new york city' LOL. i guess i should change stories haha. namemorize na nya yung stories. but the recognition of words, are really surprising. from the back of his puzzle book.. he pointed to me and said '5 YEARS AND UP!' . i was stumped! ang galing haha! it's so weird cause tsug doesn't speak straight yet. but i think malapit na.. cause yesterday he was facing his alphabet magnets on the fridge.. and he was trying to build the word 'MOM'.. he placed M.. then looked for O.. and he said 'WALA NG O' hehe! of course i'm so happy. it might seem like a little thing but his use of 'NG' is amazing for me cause usually he's just 'MOMMY, sit down. or NO WAY. or LET'S GO or LABAS! .. halos puro one word utos! he has a new NO WAY word, ..'ay waw'.. meaning AYAW. think he got that from his classmates hehe. i'm trying to speak to him in english because we might go back to singapore and i want his teachers to understand him. so when i say 'not ay way, say I don't like!' he would of course, naturally say 'AY WAW' again. oh well. *hands in the air*

is Wiwi a world-wide known thing? lol. i think that's okay. hehe. that's it. i'm still walking around at 1cm, but i'm not feeling anything yet. my doc wants me to reach 38 weeks so she's telling me to take it easy...

bye for now! hopefully i'll have the best news yet on my next post.

...babynoname's first things

i finally bought babynoname's first things! i just bought a dozen newborn tie-side shirts, 6 mittens, 3 footsies and 3 bonnets. all for just 750bucks hehe. I think that's all he needs for now.. his kuya tsug still has a lot of receiving blankets, towels, comforters, every baby paraphernalia that you can think off. oh, i guess he also needs newborn diapers.. forgot that one, but that'll be easy enough to buy.

felt good to buy so few stuff. lol. it feels that i'm really going to be more on budget this time around. although, i did buy some stuff in amazon (i guess technically, those are babynoname's first things).. a new baby furniture that it'll be a hit or miss. i bought this Cradle swing because i like that it can swing from both left to right AND front to back.

another bulky baby furniture.. i just remember when tsug was newly born, he always slept better when he was in his carseat, my theory being he didn't like the feeling of a big open spaced crib around him. i would swaddle him but he still slept longer when he is surrounded by plush fabrics like he is still in the womb. oh well.. i'll let you know if this works hehe.

you can also use it as a sorta bouncer.


you can only use this for 3 months.. before he learns how to roll over.. but personally, whatever gives me more sleep in those first few months, is worth every penny.


tsug still has a LOT of other baby furniture.. he has another swing that just swings front and back, his jumperoo (both of which i did like.. the jumperoo especially because when we were in singapore, it was so helpful that i can leave him so i can pee or cook a quick meal with him entertained and safe).. he still has a portable playpen, a bassinet crib.. his strollerSSSS (lol) and infant carseat. MY God. ang dami talaga. we really did go insane buying tsug's stuff.. excited eh! lol. you know tsug has 2 high chairs? one's in sg, another is here in antipolo. anyway, i plan on reusing all of tsug's stuff as much as possible.. para naman masulit and to justify ourselves from buying too much junk lol.

speaking of tsug, his teacher asked me to make a simple short story of his 'Adventures in Singapore'.. they will be making a book and i just need to provide pictures and the story line. first i was just thinking of a straight forward story like 'This is the merlion, this is the esplanade, etc etc.' but Pangs had a brilliant idea that i make it a fictional story.

syempre natapos ko na.. here it is:

GAVIN'S ADVENTURES IN SINGAPORE

Hi! My name is Gavin. I'm always in search of a new adventure, but when I went to Singapore to find a hidden treasure, my friends were captured by a monstrous creature called the Merlion. It is now up to me, to find and rescue my friends!


I raced through the streets of Singapore...


I climbed a jagged mountain and searched high and low..


I went down in slippery slopes...


I swam through dangerous waters and turbulent weather...



I trekked in the jungle and encountered exotic animals...



I rode a flying dinosaur and soared through the skies...


I asked colorful and extraordinary creatures, but they were of no help..


“Where in Singapore can my friends be?” I asked myself. I looked up and saw the tallest ferris wheel I have ever seen. I went up the ferris wheel and searched the great view below.


“There! I see the Merlion!” I shouted. “It's time to rescue my friends!”


My friends were very happy to escape the clutches of the monstrous creature called the Merlion. They showed me the treasure they have found and it was a big, yummy cake!


We all filled our tummies with the delicious cake. We were happy and ready for our next adventure!



THE END!