Her Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! We love you, to infinity and beyond...

Baby Wordsworth

He's probably saying 100 words by now and Mum's too slow to keep track.

At 1 year 10 months, he's able to put two or more words together, like "Can I de-day (nurse) Mommy?", "Get car", "Buzz Lightyear", "Choo choo Train" and "Careful, Mommy, Careful, Daddy".  He's also developed the habit of taking my hand (or his Dad's) whenever he thinks we don't get what he wants to say and he'd show the thing to us, like the DVD player for example, or his toy box, or the closet (where I keep the rest of his toys).

Tonight, he sees the burger patties that I just cooked for dinner, along with the red sauce pasta. We are just setting the table and getting ready to eat when he points to the food and says, "Eat, eat". We call his Dad right away as I detect an urgency to his request to eat. Kids these days, haha!

When I got pregnant, I bought this book called, "What Babies Say Before they Can Talk" by Paul C. Holinger MD. Basically, the book helps parents in discerning what babies feel through nine easily identifiable signals --- interest, enjoyment, surprise, distress, anger, fear, shame, disgust, and dissmell. I mean, who wouldn't want to start communicating with their babies the soonest possible time? I believe this book switched on the button in me that comprehends baby language. Well look, this Mum isn't just a milk maker but a baby whisperer at that! 

How to Have a Great Summer Vacation with your Toddler

1. Take the time off work (ask your husband to do the same) and schedule your vacation when you don't have a yaya or when she's taking her vacation to her own province in tralala. You'll never ever going to feel you need one and you get the privacy you have waited for so long. Be ready to do your own cleaning up and cooking though.

2. Book your flight tickets ahead and make use of those mileage! For accommodations, the deal sites not only offer discounts but also make it easier to look for quality resorts.

3. Choose a location where the beach is near and accessible (approximately 10 to 15 mins from the airport). That way, you save a lot of travel time and literally be in the beach as soon as your plane lands.

4. Don't hesitate spending a little on newly-opened resorts (ideally, two to three years of operation). This way you get the best facilities and service! We stayed at Crimson Resort and Spa. The entire place was vast, rooms were spacious, very nice ambiance and accommodating staff who spoke like they can qualify to be in the call center industry.

5. Pack just right. You have every excuse to pack a little more since you have a toddler (think floaters, beach toys, and other paraphernalia) but please be considerate of your husband too, who will be carrying your luggage.

6. Breastfeed. Although its not the first time our baby took a plane ride, I was more cautious and worried that he'll get fussy with all the wait in the airport, not to mention the noise in the plane and all that. When my son was about to get upset, he'll just turn to me and ask for "dedey". You avoid getting stared at in the plane with a noisy child because yours will be sleeping peacefully the entire flight.

7. Bring hotdogs*, bread, and an apple for lunch. Our flight was at 12:45 pm and we arrived at the airport two hours early to check-in our baggage. We would have been so hungry and cranky if we didn't eat at the airport despite having a full breakfast at home. Good thing, I was still able to pack us some lunch which we ate during the two hours of wait after check-in. A can of soda at the airport costs 50 pesos. We didn't bother checking how much the other food there costs.

8. Have your iphone or any android gadget ready to take pictures and upload to instagram right away. You'll never know when that Kodak moment may come and when you get started with the pic collage app and start making digital scrapbook real time. It's also always nice to have your family and close friends know where you are at the moment and how much you're having fun.

9. Call your mom. No matter how far you are or how much fun you are having, you never stop needing your mom. I told my Mom how his apo's favorite word at the moment is "sim" for "swim" and how much he giggled when he first heard the crashing of the waves.

10. Relax and seize the moment. It was the best vacation with my family so far. Stress-fee, absolutely relaxing, very nice place and food. We couldn't ask for more. Oh, wait, could we ask for this vacation not to end?

Here are some pictures of our trip. Captions by my husband (based on our favorite, Dr. Seuss)

*havent had hotdogs in a loong, loong time. Oh, and our pact to "no canned goods" has just been broken this week (separate story to follow). 

Here's to our last infant-without-seat booking.

"It's opener there in the wide open air."

He found the sound of waves crashing terrifically funny.

I tried, but I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Don't worry, I can't swim too.

We belong to the kiddie pool.

Remember this when you grow up a little and go crazy over those gaming consoles.

Beach breastfeeding

A nice view, a lounge chair and a box of Champion raisins.

Obligatory jump shot. This is why I am not a photographer, mum.

"You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights."

"Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left."

What are you up to now, Daddy?

Post-foot spa glow

One Week in April

The past week marked the start of my month-long stay-at-home set-up. Since my son's yaya asked as early as last year that she would like to go home to her province some time in April, I was able to give my boss a heads-up about my plan to work from home while our helper is away. It's also perfect timing that my husband celebrates his birthday on the same month. So far, after two days of doing the dishes and cleaning up all by ourselves, we've realized this may work, and we'll make it work.

But an unfortunate thing happened, Inigo had a three-day fever followed by rashes and diarrhea on the fourth day. For days, I was doing my office work in our bedroom while carrying him in my arms, as he didn't want to be put down nor carried by his dad. We were only able to rest from our worries when we found out it's roseola infantum that hit our child, and grateful it was just a mild illness that's very common among children his age. Earlier today, we visited his pediatric doctor, whom we haven't seen since August last year. You see, my son's pedia has been there since he was born. She also made my son well when he was hospitalized for one week and we are very grateful to her for that. Despite having slightly different views in terms of immunizations though, my husband and I have decided we will continue to have her as I's doctor. And since I. is turning two soon, we thought to schedule his MMR shot a month before his birthday. Dra also told us that it was indeed Roseola that infected our son and that she thinks I. is already well as she barely noticed the rashes. No one's stopping us to proceed with our trip to the beach next weekend, as a matter of fact.

So that's how our week went. I thought it crazy to write about it at first but now I'm thankful I did. A month from now, I will be asking myself where all the days went. I don't have to think much about how I spent my days working from home. And that gives me some relief.

New Words at 21 Months

I listed over forty words in I.'s vocabulary about three months ago:

1. Go (for when you ask him his name)
2. Mama
3. Dada or Dadee
4. Ate (for yaya)
5. Blue
6. Gree (for green)
7. Banana
8. Go (mango, same as his name)
9. Ice and eyes (he knows the difference)
10. Ays (for nice)
11. Sic (for Music)
12. Fish
13. Shoes
14. Key
15. Car or car car
16. Fly (the same for when referring to the verb and butterfly)
17. Uh oh!
18. Ham
19. Ays (for rice)
20. Coco (for water)
21. De-day (referring to my breasts or milk)
22. Ayts (for light)
23. Bellpepper (yes, all three syllables!)
24. Pepper
25. Rap (Sarap or yummy)
26. Sa pa (Isa pa or one more)
27. Book (Just "kuh" most of the time)
28. Kee (Mickey)
29. Pooh (for Winnie)
30. Dy (for Woody)
31. Cul (Circle)
32. Ball
33. Ba (for balloon)
34. Ffff (for flower)
35. Mmmm (for Moon or moo for the sound of cow)
36. Tarr (for Star)
37. Clock
38. Dark
39. Ta (for Santa, followed by Ho ho ho)
40. Ay (for Hi)
41. Lo (Hello)
42. Baa (for Ava, our neighbor)
43. Kiss
44. Less (for Bless)
45. Tep (for Step)
46. An (for Sun, how could I forget, he says this every morning)

Now 21 months, he can also say:

47. Pol (for apple)
48. Red
49. Libee (for Jollibee)
50. Juice
51. Opo
52. Nyow (No!)
53. Thank you
54. Yes
55. Cow
56. Cat
57. Dog
58. Otey (Okey)

He can also do a very charming "good boy" pose like this:

Cloth Diapering in our Home

"I want to use cloth diapers on my baby", I said while I was pregnant with I. and most of the people I told this plan to just laughed at me. I was five years old when my younger sister was born. I vividly recall how my mom has used lampin on her. In fact, I have stored somewhere in my memory bank broken details of that day when my sister was born. I found the whole cloth-diapering process really pleasant then, as if so much love and care are involved in every fold, twist, and pin of the lampin.

And then it was my turn to be a mother. When I. was born, we were more than aware of the many options we have in catching those pees and poos. Unfortunately for our generation, cloth diapers have become exorbitantly priced. Luckily though, aside from the stash that we were able to afford, we have been gifted with not one but six custom-made and adjustable cloth diapers, shortly after I. was born. I was more than happy, although I wasn't sure if husband felt the same way. As I was recovering from my CS operation and our housemaid then was completely unreliable (thankfully, she left after a few months and was replaced with a fairly competent one), my husband had his share of washing the soiled nappies. He related, it was fun during the first few days, but became really taxing when he had to return from his paternity leave. After about two weeks of cloth diapering, we had to stop. Inigo was hospitalized for five days due to infection from an unknown cause and so we poured all our energy into his recovery. In the midst of all the worries, we had to forgo cloth diapers and use disposables instead. It was much easier then, and it saved us a lot of sanity. Thankfully, his fever went down and we were sent home after sleepless nights and a tearful experience in the NICU under the bilirubin lights.

Since then, we have become mixed diaper users. On mornings before his bath and weekends when we are not out of the house, we use cloth. His physical development has not been that abrupt and we are still able to use almost all of the cloth diapers we originally owned, save for a few that were given on his first birthday. Even after many uses, the custom-made diapers remained really sturdy. The snaps were still well-secured and the garters around did not loosen. The colors and designs were not as bright but did not fade much, after 21 months of usage. He has not shown any signs of preference between cloth and disposables and has been very cooperative when it's time for a nappy change. It's true what they say about cloth diapers, they're much better to use especially now that we should all do our part in reducing non-biodegradable wastes. I cringe every time I put a used diaper in the trash and imagine the tons of garbage that it will be joining. But it is also my choice to use these disposables, especially since this is my nanny's preference (she's also unstoppable with wipes and I don't want to get started on this!). This mixed-diaper set-up is what works for us at the moment, and it's what makes us all happy right now.



I. in his custom-made cloth diapers



I. in his Charlie Banana cloth diaper

"Thank You"

That's my son's best phrase of the moment! My husband and I clapped our hands (and ears) the first time we heard those words coming out of his mouth. I couldn't believe how quickly he picks up from what we teach and read him. After two weeks, we would still smile from ear to ear whenever he utters, "Thank you", which is more like "Tek you" right now. And he knows how to use the phrase, too! Yesterday, we were out eating with my Mom and sister, Mae's family, including my nephew, Joaquin, when Inigo said, "Thank you" to his Tita Mae, after being given a glass of Dalandan juice. A few times, after nursing him, he would say "Tek you" really quick and get back to playing which makes me laugh hard. After taking a shower (which we do together) he'd bid all his rubber duckies goodbye and say "tek you". The other night, we dropped by at my parents house, where my sister and her family lives, on the way home from a shower party in El Pueblo Ortigas. Inigo got two toy balls as favors from the party and he gave one of the balls to Joaquin. He just doesn't know how to be gracious, he shares too!

I'm both happy and proud to be seeing these good manners coming out naturally from our son. I really hope he saw these traits from his parents. But somehow, I can't help but think that he got his good disposition from my husband, who's been very patient in reading, playing, teaching and hanging out with him all throughout the day, while I'm at work. I've read a little about attachment parenting when Inigo was very young, and ever since, my husband and I would do whatever we can to be as close as possible to our son, and do as many things with him including household chores and co-sleeping. We rarely bring a stroller when going out because we want to be as accessible to him as possible so he won't easily get scared of the outside environment and we can talk to him about what's in the surroundings. I would use a baby sling when I get tired of carrying, but I'd rarely need it because my husband and I love to take turns carrying Inigo. Besides, he doesn't mind walking on his own now, especially at spacious malls and parks.

By the way, April is my husband's birthday month and I'm treating him really special this month. As a start, I am not going to work on the last week of the month until the next month! Yehey to that! Well, it's quite timely since The Yaya is also taking a long vacation to her province.

I have so many plans lined up for the whole month, which includes a nice vacation at the beach, potty training Inigo, and (fingers-crossed) weaning him from breastfeeding. But most of all, I'm doing it for the love of my husband so he can finally get those six to eight hours of sleep, even for just a month! Tek you, tek you, tek you!




We just arrived, and as expected, Inigo would be a little shy here and in the photos that follow



Warming up at the party



Still warming up

He was all smiles when we left the party and couldn't stop running after the other kids. Too bad, there were no photos of him smiling.