theo at two months

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

our dear theo turned two months last december 4th and even before that day i was already itching to tell the whole world about him and his cheerful ways. it's because little theo loves to smile and giggle! he seems to be always happy inside that he can't help but show it thru his face. that's why it's always a treat for me and jude to spend time with him as he's always generous to give those smiles. he'd instantly flash it as soon as he heard my voice or saw my face. :)

it's also one of the first things people noticed about him.i was once asked about my pregnancy with him as there's a belief that having an easy and less stressful pregnancy produces a happy baby. but i can say now that it's really not true as i dealt with stress, in all its forms, almost everyday. some of you may know that i juggled work and family for the first five months without any nanny or househelp to assist me with the chores and/or taking care of iñigo; and that our house in cabuyao was ransacked during my 7th month--stressful! and what's more stressful for me to bear were the people who don't get tired of giving me kunsimisyon. i wish they could understand better. hihi. :P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

those smiles and grins, i love... :)

development and milestones:

he was already weighing 5 kilos (11 lbs.) based on his last wellness check-up and he was only 1 1/2 months then. i wonder if he's already 6 kilos as he's heavier now. i will have this confirmed this coming saturday as he's going to visit again a pediatrician, who's going to be dr. arneil suratos already. dr. suratos is iñigo's doctor.

see those cheeks? mommy loves to pinch... err, kiss them. :)

aside from being a happy baby, theo is also less (if compared to his kuya) or not clingy at all. i just have to nurse him for 10-15 minutes, put him on his rocker afterwards and then it's either he'll just play or sleep on his own. this is something iñigo, during his baby days, rarely did. theo will only cry if he's hungry or wet. he rarely fusses and if he does, it's so easy to guess what bothers him and pacifies him.

the happy baby

by the way, the OC mom in me is still making sure that he's also getting a good dose of stimulation that's why aside from playing mozart's music from time to time i also let him see some black-and-white images in one of the pages of our lamaze manual. OC talaga! hahaha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

he actually likes looking at them

i just wish his hair will grow fast. his hairline is always the butt of the joke in our family. this, along with his chinky eyes, makes him look like the "apo" of ruben rustia, the late veteran actor. hehehe.

and yes, it's confirmed, theo can already sleep thru the night and that's usually sleep 5-6 hours straight. yey, mommy's puyat and lutang days is over! :D

iñigo 'd schoolboy

yes, you read it right... iñigo is now going to school! but let me clarify first that we're not yet ditching our plan of homeschooling him, for his preschool years at least. it's just that iñigo was bugging us to send him to a regular preschool that we can no longer say no. add to that is his need for another environment where he can mingle and interact with other kids.

so we scouted for a school near our current house, a job which was not easy for us as either the tuition of these schools is too high and/or the schedule of their classes won't fit in with our lifestyle nowadays. we're not morning persons. :D then a colleague of jude referred to us to family partners learning center which is located at the other end of our street. we inquired and iñigo attended its trial class. the tuition is quite steep but since we observed that iñigo liked the school as well as the teacher, and everything that happened that day, i.e. school routine, we decided to give it a shot and enrolled iñigo. his classes start at 8:30 am and ends at 11:30 am. but since we're not morning persons, he joins his class at 9 am. hahaha!

trial class, warming-up stage; he refused first to join with his classmates in the circle time nor take a seat

 

he now pulled a chair and observed intently but still won't get near them... shy pa 'sya :)

 

he now approved to sit with his classmates but was still quite shy. :)

 

ayan na... he's now playing with the other kids. shy no more. hehe.

 

theo attended the trial class, too. our whole family was there to cheer for kuya iñigo. :D

the school uses the progressive method of teaching which is another reason why i enrolled him there. the kids accomplishments and abilites are not measured in grades. as told to me, the teacher will just give the parents during one-on-one consultations a report on what their kids can already accomplish by that time as well as their strengths and weaknesses. more importantly, i like the school because i think it won't interfere way with our learning principles since it doesn't dwell that much on academics. they allot a lot of time for free play. he belongs to the vertical class which is for kids three to five years of age (there's another class for toddlers). but there are also moments that they are sub-grouped during activities; younger kids do one activity while the older kids do another. but what's good about this is iñigo can mingle with his peers and with a little bit older kids as well.

so how's iñigo doing in school?

as his teacher celes said, he's adjusting quite smoothly. his teacher and i we're both surprised that it only took him a day to adjust and that was his first school day (after the trial class). there was even no crying moment which i feared before especially if we had to leave him inside the classroom. it's actually the mommy who is still suffering from separation anxiety as i still lurk outside their room for the entire duration of their class. hehe.

and quite surprisingly, iñigo is well-behaved in school! :D. he follows instructions and rules and doesn't show any signs of resistance. uhm...can we just stay in school all the time? hahaha. am also quite proud that iñigo is usually the first one to finish their worksheets. he's really that interested in schooling.

***

i never thought that jude is a stage-daddy in the making. he's really concerned on what his eldest son would wear on his first day in school. and when i told him that i'll go with iñigo he refused and dressed up as he also wanted to witness the little boy's first school day experience. never mind if we had to bring theo with us. the same thing happened during the united nations day. he and theo (who he carried using a sling) followed us in school to see kuya iñigo participating in the program. :D

more pictures of iñigo in school here, including those taken during their united nations day program.

 

how's the kuya doing?

after our photo-ops with the newest member of the family, my ob brought theo outside the delivery room as she knew that iñigo, along with his tita beth, was there in the reception area patiently waiting for the arrival of his baby brother. since i knew that i could already be wheeled into the recovery room i asked the nurses if i could be brought first to my two boys. i had mixed emotions upon seeing them together for the first time. iñigo, as soon as he saw a little body wrapped in blue blanket in my doctors' hands, exclaimed, "i'm a big brother now!" (these words are the same as the title of the book we're reading to him ever since.) all the people around him were laughing except for me who was laughing and crying at the same time... hormones!

iñigo posing with his baby brother and daddy

iñigo loooooooves his baby brother. we never had a problem with him if it's about jealousy or sibling rivalry. he's even concerned especially when theo is crying and he'd be the first to go to his side and console him, "don't cry, theo... don't cry..." he'd also remind me to get theo when he sees that am not budging, "mom, theo is crying.. he's kawawa!" or if he thinks his little brother is already hungry, "give milk to theo, mom?" :)

the only concern we have is he can be too doting to theo to the point that he's already hurting the latter like he'd hug him tight or he'd squeeze or pat his head (horrors!). well, what else can we expect from a 3-year old but roughness.

theo is sometimes annoyed with his kuya iñigo's presence, hehe.

iñigo is always there too to help us in taking care of our baby. come nappy change time, he'd run to my side as it's his self-appointed duty to put on the straps of the diaper (and  there'll be an outburst of rage if i forgot to involve him). we'd also see him sometimes entertaining theo with his dance or song number. and what's more delightful for us as their parents is when we hear him saying, "theo is so cute! (with a twang)" as if his little brother is the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

he's letting his baby brother play with his thomas the tank toy

we're really glad that iñigo is easily adjusting to his new role as kuya. though we're also making an effort to not make him feel neglected now that there's a new baby inside the house, i still think that he's just happy over the fact that he already has a sibling.

i am not sure what right i did but there's one thing for sure... jude and i are proud and happy parents. :)

more pictures of our little boys in this album.

 

 

 

theo at one month

theo turned one month last 4 november 20, 2009 and we celebrated it with a cake (siempre, contis! haha.) and a pancit bijon cooked by his lola yolly who went the house that day along with kuya ninoy, the eldest among their cousins on my side.

i can't believe it's already been a month since i gave birth to him--time really flies! =)

 "can i have a taste of my cake, mommy?"

the royal family. =D

and look how he has grown now...

he's already tabachingching!

some updates and his milestones at one month:

- he can already sleep thru the night since week four! i usually sleep at two or three am (it's jude's time to arrive from work) and by this time i'd get him already from his crib to co-sleep with me. he'd usually make one feeding before both of us fall asleep and before i know it it's already nine in the morning! he would have one to two feedings though in between but since i don't need to go up from the bed for his milk, going back to zzz-land is instant after i give his milk source to him. =) mommy's puyat days is almost over!

- one of his favorite sleeping positions is this...

"this is fluffier than our bed..." =P

- thank God his jaundice wasn't that worse as his kuya iñigo's when the latter was still a newborn. fyi, both our boys had jaundice after i gave birth to them as as result of our blood type's incompatibility. i have O+ while the boys' are A+, which they got from jude.

no more yellowosh skin. theo is not as fair-skinned though as his kuya.

- he is already making sounds, other than his cries, which jude and i find cute. i sometimes hear him making grunts and coos. =)

- it's now becoming more definite as to whom he got his looks and unfortunately, he got nothing from me. his face is more from jude's side, maternal or torres (jude's middle name) actually. he got his eyes from his lola nor which are chinky, while the nose is definitely from jude and some of his sibs. hehe.

uhm... i just hope again that he'll take after my height. hahaha.

"do we look like twins?"

 

our lamaze childbirth experience

i was about to post theo's photos as he turned one month last november 4th but i realized i haven't yet made a post about the terrible but wonderful lamaze childbirth experience jude and i went thru. so i crammed to come up with this kwento...

 

19 september 2009 – i met my obstetrician, dr. menefrida reyes, for my prenatal check-up that saturday afternoon and we found out that my cervix is already 1 cm dilated. i already had a hunch about this even before our meeting as while i was en route to her clinic  i already experienced mild to moderate contractions. she told me that i can give birth within a few days if the contractions become more frequent so a lot of walking is needed to induce it if i wanted to give birth that week. i was already on my 37^th week so there’s no problem with me giving birth that time. excitement brewed up for me and jude and we readied our nest as soon as we got home that night. but days passed and nothing happened, my contractions remained the same. i told myself that baby theo might probably want to come out on my birthday, which is on the 24^th. :D

  

26 september 2009 – my birthday passed and ondoy was wreaking havoc in metro manila on this day. but inspite of this i urged jude that we go again to st. lukes for my prenatal check-up just to know the progress of my dilation. the drive was uneventful and surprisingly we were able to get there from makati in 40 minutes. since dr. reyes’ clinic is closed that day she instructed me to head to the dr as she left instructions for the resident ob to examine me. jude and i were both disappointed to know that my cervix was only 2 cm. dilated and effacement is only half-way thru! our things were already packed and stuffed at the back of our car as i psyched myself that afternoon that we already have baby theo with us when we go back to our house after 3 days.

since almost all of the roads that day were flooded, my OB did not allow us to go home that night as there’s still a chance, even how slim it was, that i might give birth anytime soon and there’s the risk for me to deliver the baby inside the car. we heeded her advice so i, together with jude and iñigo, was confined for one night (we’re thankful in the end for this as we found out that there was a brownout in our condo that night) but i promised myself that we won’t go home yet the following morning so i did all the natural inductions i could think of, with the help of my supportive husband. *grins*

but morning came and am still stuck at 2 cm!!! i was immediately discharged that morning but instead of going home, we headed to mall of asia to briskwalk, hoping that it would help speed up my dilation.

3 october 2009 – exactly two weeks after my OB found out that my dilation has already started. we went again to her clinic that afternoon to check the progress of my dilation and effacement and to my dismay, i was still 2 cm. dilated! it’s actually between 2-3 cm so it improved a bit. i already know what she’ll answer but still i asked her if there’s any chance i could give birth that night and she said that there is as long as my contractions will become more often and regular... so again, it’s a 50/50… tell me that i’m crazy but i started to pray for that kind of contractions. :D i was already afraid that i’d reach the 40^th-week mark and i might end up with induction and that would ruin our lamaze plans!

i couldn’t imagine myself being induced again as it’s what i am blaming for the long, difficult and very painful labor i went thru during iñigo’s time. and it’s most likely that i’ll ask again for an epidural during the course of my labor if that happens again.

my OB gave me the option to be admitted or not but i told her that we’d go to a nearby mall first so i have more space to walk around. we went to gateway mall and i did the walking while jude and iñigo were having their dinner in the foodcourt. i was having more contractions and some of these were intense but still tolerable. i told myself, “’eto na siguro.... more walking pa and it will become regular na.” i went to the restroom to pee and saw a tinge of blood in my underwear. i became more excited. i joined the boys and had my dinner. then i told jude afterwards that we will go back to st. luke’s as i observed an improvement in my contractions. but again, when the resident OB examined me it was still at 2-3 cm! i didn’t know what else to do to speed up my dilation! “magjumping-jack kaya ako 100 times?” i asked jude. hahaha. frustrated, we went back home that night.

4 october 2009; 5:30 a.m.  – i was awakened by the sudden gush of fluid from my cervix. finally, my water bag already ruptured! jude heard this from me and immediately got up from the bed to prepare our things. my ate who stayed with us that night also heard me from where she was sleeping but i should have been quiet about it as she was more tense and before i knew it, she was already shooing us away. she didn’t even let us have our breakfasts first, or have a shower, or even change to nicer clothes. we left the house in 5 minutes.

6:30 – traffic was light since it’s a sunday morning. we even managed to have a quick breakfast in mcdonalds along e. rodriguez before we went to the hospital. i knew i have to eat as there’s a difficult job awaiting for me that afternoon.

i was ushered to the IE room upon reaching the delivery room complex of st. luke’s. dilation improved a bit and it’s now between 3-4 cm. though my contractions were not yet that regular and intense i knew that i was already in the active labor phase. since my water bag already ruptured, the resident ob had no choice but have me admitted and transferred to one of the labor rooms. i was strapped to the fetal stress monitor to check baby theo’s heartbeat and i was relieved to know that he’s doing well. the hooks were removed after 30 minutes and i was free to walk around the DR complex--the beauty of lamaze!

9:00 – the time i observed my contractions were becoming regular, now with 3-5 minutes interval. the pains were still mild and tolerable. i can easily brush it off  just by doing pelvic rocks. it would be a different story if i was tied down again to my bed and had nothing else to do to manage the pains. thumb’s up really for lamaze!

i couldn’t also complain much this time as there’s a 14-year old in another room sleeping over her contractions at 6 cm… jahe naman. hehe.

11:00 – my cervix was examined again and by this time the dilation progressed to 4-5 cm. the pains were becoming more intense, but still tolerable as i was able to remain in standing position and sway my hips. by 11:30 am and while we’re having lunch (i only had soup though as i was afraid to vomit), my ate arrived with iñigo who was insisting to go with me inside the labor room. i asked jude to bring them outside the building and to where they can have their lunch since i can still manage the contractions without his help.

1:00 p.m. – my contractions were more intense, longer and frequent this time, with only 2-3 minutes interval. now i wish i didn’t pray for it! hahaha. i was already crying in pain. jude, who was all there for me since we arrived in the hospital tried to give me a massage but instead of comforting me, every touch of his irritated me so i just told him to stop. the pelvic rocks and the breathing techniques also no longer helped. i alternately lied down and stood up during contractions with the clock inside the labor room as my focal point. i also tried to squat, sit on jude’s lap with my legs wide apart, any position that i felt was effective in mitigating the pains because my contractions this time were really hurting! in fact, i was already crying to jude and was telling him that i’m giving up our lamaze plan. i was already begging for an epidural anesthesia. he was open to this option but he asked me that we consult first dr. reyes. but while waiting, he continued to be my rah-rah boy and encouraged me to continue with our game plan, that is, lamaze delivery for baby theo.

1:30 p.m. – dr. reyes finally arrived and IE-ed me. it was relieving to know that i was already 7 cm. dilated and the effacement was already complete—the reason why my contractions were hurting so bad already. i took it as a good news and i felt like we’re already near the end of the tunnel and i can already see some rays of light. we talked about my request for epidural but my she reminded me that it would take a while like 15-20 minutes for the anesthesiologist to arrive and prepare for the procedure, then i have to wait for another 20-30 minutes for the drug to take effect. she further motivated me towards lamaze by saying that i could have given birth within that timeframe so giving me an epidural would only be useless.

i was already in the transition phase, which i was dreading of, and i felt a very strong contraction. she asked me to do the “all-fours” to shake off the pain in my and hips and buttocks, which i did. i told her that i was having a rectal pressure and there’s an urge for me to push but instead of telling me to do the “hee” blows to counter it she told me to do a mild push if i think it would help me bear the pain. again, i followed her and was thankful in the end that i did.

then another IE was done to me and by this time dilation progressed to 8 cm--i can’t believe it’s that fast! i regained my confidence to deliver without any anesthesia because of this and especially when i heard dr. reyes telling the nurses to prepare the delivery room as i can already be transferred there in less than 15 minutes. i learned later on from a medical intern that it’s one way for dr. reyes to motivate her patients to continue with their lamaze plans--i really love her! :D

2:00 p.m. – it’s around this time that i was wheeled in to the DR. i was surprised to see more than 15 hospital staff crowding inside the delivery room and dr. reyes might have read my mind as she told me that it’s seldom they see a woman giving birth via lamaze that’s why they were all there. gulp! to think that i almost gave up… hehe.

i think i had two more contractions inside the delivery room before dr. reyes did her last IE on me and finally, my cervix is fully dilated. she now told me to try pushing every time there’s a contraction. i made 4 pushes until theo’s head finally crowned. i was already tired! jude who’s there beside me to wipe off my sweat (i was really perspiring as i asked the staff to turn off the aircon as i felt chilly when i entered the DR) and give me my ice chips was able to see the crowning and is now telling me to hang on, that baby theo is coming out already, and that he’s more than proud of me for giving birth to his son via lamaze, etc.. he just didn’t know that my energy was already running out.

 

another contraction and again i made a strong push. i could only hear dr. reyes’ voice saying, “ayan na marie… nakikita ko na ulo… push ka lang.” but i could only tell myself while i was writhing in pain, “ulo pa rin lang??? pagod na ‘ko!” it was really a painful experience as like there’s something inside of me which feels so heavy and wanting to get out but it couldn’t. fundal pressure could have helped me push baby theo out but since i mentioned in my birthplan not to do it, dr. reyes told me to just rely on my pushing.

2:32 p.m. – after two more pushes, our second son, theo lorenzo t. bustamante, is finally out! we were surprised when he was weighed as he’s weighing 7 lbs. and 7 oz., same as the weight of his kuya iñigo. he‘s also heavy, which explains why, with my small frame, i had a difficult time pushing him out. my target for his weight is only less than 6.5 lbs. but i feasted on big mac almost every night during the last 2 months so it’s also no surprise that he’s big. hehe.

 

dr. reyes (right) and the competent slmc staff.

post-delivery:

we went back to my OB and theo’s pedia two weeks after i gave birth and i was so happy to find out that i was already back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 110 lbs.—no sweat!  but what made me more happy is when i learned that instead of shedding off pounds, which is normal for newborns, theo gained more weight.  thanks to breastfeeding for making all these possible!

dairy farm / breastfeeding: call this easy?

the article below reminded me of the hardships i went thru to keep up in my commitment to breastfeed iñigo. well, it paid off as i was able to give him my milk for two and a half years but i really never thought i'd go that far during our first and most difficult month.

thank God it's a breeze this time with theo and i am proud to say that i have lots of milk! woohoo! i just don't pump often as am afraid mine will get engorged, which might bring me troubles later on. but it is evident with my already-tabachingching theo that he has an abundant supply of milk.

so this is what they call a "dairy farm", eh?

i am just happy. :D

theo already gained two pounds three weeks after he was delivered :)

Call This Easy?

Breast is best, mothers-to-be are told at antenatal classes. But are they
warned about how painful and difficult breastfeeding can be?

by Lucy Atkins



When I was pregnant for the first time a ''breastfeeding counsellor'' came
to our antenatal class to tell us that ''breast is best''. Given that a
friend had just told me breastfeeding was more agonising than giving birth,
I felt compelled to ask: ''Will it hurt?'' ''Of course not,'' laughed the
counsellor. ''It's what your boobs are designed for.'' She admitted there
might be a little ''discomfort'' if the baby did not ''latch on''. But, she
added, ''Many women even find it erotic.''

According to the UK's Department of Health statistics, most new mothers do
not agree. Despite concerted efforts at promotion, only one in five mothers
are still breastfeeding at all after six months. The''breastfeeding only''
rates are even worse – only 35 percent of babies are still breastfed from
weekone, 21 percent from week six, and at five months, it's only three
percent.

According to Robert Finch of the Department of Health's Infant Feeding
Initiative, ''Of those who give up in the first week, only one percent do so
because they have breastfed for as long as they wanted.''

Although over eight in ten mothers said they were aware of the health
benefits of breastfeeding, three-quarters of all mothers
had given their baby milk other than breast milk by the age of six weeks,
this proportion rising to 92 percent by six months. So why do we stop? Most
of us probably know that breastfeeding is good for babies: studies have
shown that a breastfed baby is likely to be brighter, healthier and less
prone to allergies than a formula-fed one.

Women are less likely to get breast, ovarian and cervical cancers if they
breastfeed and can (we are told) lose the pregnancy flab quicker that way.
And if the thought of a stomach like Madonna's won't persuade us all to whip
out our boobs, the message that breastfeeding is convenient and ''easy''
(nothing to sterilise, buy or remember) surely should.

But it is not that simple. ''There are,'' says Finch, ''wide and varied
reasons why women stop breastfeeding.'' One that will ring a bell for many
new mothers is that breastfeeding is not always as easy as it looks.

''It may be natural,'' says Finch, ''but it's not instinctive.'' This seems
to go against the antenatal message. Listen to any group of new mothers, and
some will be saying how breastfeeding was not the idyll they had expected.
We are, it seems, simply not prepared – psychologically as much as
physically – for the difficulties that can arise when we try to do the
''natural'' thing.

This was certainly my experience. I was told by midwives that on day three
postpartum my boobs would swell to the size of watermelons and start gushing
real milk instead of the gloopy colostrum that feeds the baby in its first
few days. They showed me various positions. They gave me a breast pump. I
waited with a growing sense of hysteria and inadequacy for the engorgement
to happen. It never did. This did not mean that I could not breastfeed. It
just caused unnecessary angst.

Most of us learn something of the physiology of breastfeeding before we give
birth. It goes roughly like this: when the baby is born, a hormone,
prolactin, tells the cells in the breasts to start making milk; the baby's
sucking then sends messages to the pituitary gland in the brain, which
triggers the release of another hormone, oxytocin, which in turn makes the
muscular walls of the milk-producing cells contract; this ejects the milk
down the duct and out through the nipple. It is what they call ''supply and
demand''.

But it does not always work so smoothly. My friend Rachel gave birth to
twins. Like me, she was reassured that her milk would ''come in'' (they said
on day five). It didn't. ''I was distraught,'' she says. ''I spent several
days in hospital with hungry and upset babies.'' When her milk supply still
hadn't come in a few days later (like mine, it took a fortnight to become
properly established), she had to start ''supplementary feeding'': that is,
to breastfeed, then give her twins formula. ''I was absolutely devastated,''
she says. ''I felt like a bad mother. I felt like I was feeding them junk. I
cried for a week.''

This may sound extreme, but according to Eleanor Jackson, a breastfeeding
counsellor, it is incredibly common: ''So many women feel like failures when
breastfeeding goes wrong, and so often it's just a matter of confidence.
Breastfeeding,'' she stresses, ''is a learned art.''

Government statistics bear this out. The chief reason we give up (48 percent
of us) in those early months is ''insufficient milk supply''. We either
believe or are told that our breasts are failing to produce enough milk. In
reality, says Jackson, it is extremely rare for women to be physiologically
unable to breastfeed (reasons for this may include breast reduction surgery
that has damaged the glands or a retained placenta in the first week or so
after birth).

The problem is that breasts do not always look or feel like they are
producing milk, and breastfed babies can guzzle frequently and voraciously.
This can be alarming if you were expecting to gush milk and have a baby that
takes efficient four-hourly feeds. Breastfed babies do not always gain
weight in the same way as bottlefed babies, either. According to Jackson,
''There is a huge ‘normal' weight range for breastfed babies.'' The health
visitor's growth chart, then, can be worrying reading for a breastfeeding
mother. When – as happened to me – a health visitor informs you that your
baby has not gained enough weight and that you should ''top up'' with a
bottle after each feed, it is easy to panic. My health visitor did not
discuss my diet, my rest or how often I was feeding my three-month-old baby.
Nor did she suggest places I could go for support. Instead, I was sent to
the chemist, feeling I had failed when, with support, I could have taken
measures to increase my milk supply.

OK, so there are worse things in life than feeding your baby from a bottle.
But if you are expecting your body to do it all automatically then setbacks
can be profoundly undermining. ''I asked the midwife in my antenatal group
whether I'd have enough milk for two,'' says Rachel. ''She told me,
‘Nature's a marvellous thing – of course you will.''' It was after the
problems set in that a health visitor admitted to Rachel that: ''In all her
time she'd only met one person with twins who'd been able to breastfeed
exclusively. And she had two nannies.''

Of course, childbirth educators and health professionals do not want to put
us off. But surely it would help if we were told beforehand that our breasts
might not do what is expected of them; that it is common for boobs to ache,
or block up, or get engorged, or nipples to crack; that our babies may not
gain weight exactly as the chart says; and that in the first six weeks they
may feed up to 12 times in 24 hours. To present us instead with a picture of
erotic mother-infant bliss is, surely, setting us up for a fall?

Wherever our expectations come from, it is clear that the support is not
always there afterwards. Another friend of mine, Tracy, experienced severe,
burning pain each time she fed her newborn. She was told by midwives, health
visitors, breastfeeding counsellors and her GP that nothing was wrong.
''You're just the kind of person who wants things to be perfect,'' said one
breastfeeding counsellor. Two months later, Tracy was diagnosed with thrush
in her nipples. It cleared up with some cream, and she had no problems from
then on.

So yes, of course we need to be encouraged; and yes, we need to be told how
valuable breastfeeding is. But we also need to know – in advance – how
''normal'' problems are. Antenatal realism might not solve the whole
breastfeeding issue – it is too complicated for that. But it might help
countless women feel better about themselves, whether they choose to
continue or not. And that cannot be a bad thing, can it?

four years married and still... paddling?/bo sanchez's fight the relationship drift

i want to share this inspiring article written by one of my favorite authors, bo sanchez, about relationships and on how to take good care of them. it struck a chord on me especially during these days when we have our hands full with work (for jude), housechores (for me), and rearing babies (for both of us) that there’s no time left for ourselves and for each other. admittedly, there were moments when we were only drifting and had never thought to paddle. probably because we thought we’re already doing well as a couple... or because we put the kids on top of our priority list and anything that doesn’t involve them can come later. and it's only when you read articles like this that you are reminded of what else should be on top of our priorities.

 

here's the link: http://bosanchez.ph/fight-the-relationship-drift/

 

last 8^th of october, jude and i celebrated our 4^th wedding anniversary. since i just gave birth and theo was only four-day old then, we were only homebound and just ordered foods and cake for dinner.

 

 

contis' mango bravo cake was what jude brought home for us that night...

promise, adik na ako sa kanya!!!

 

 

it was a simple and yet warm celebration, good enough to cap off the four years that went by and to welcome another year in our married life, with full anticipation for more joys and probably woes… and fights, which i hope aren’t big enough for us to consider annulment. harharhar.

 

for those who’ve been reading our humble blog since i became active in multiply, the titles for my entries about the last two wedding anniversaries we had were always ending in “… marital bliss”. we’re still happily married until now but i won’t deny the fact that, as all married couples do, we also fight or should i say, have misunderstandings. and during those moments that we’re in a tussle, life was not blissful at all! but we take these fights like a bitter medicine which we need to take once in a while as prior and even during these moments, the maladies that have stricken our marriage surfaced and were diagnosed. because if not for these, we won’t be paddling now to the direction where we want to bring our marriage and that is a lifetime with each other.

 

okay... cheesy! :D

 

theo lorenzo t. bustamante is finally out!

finally, i gave birth to our second son, theo lorenzo tardecilla bustamante, last 4 october 2009 at 2:32 pm in st. lukes medical center. it was a successful lamaze delivery though a one tough job for me as he's weighing 3.56 kgs. (7 lbs and 7 oz.), same as his kuya inigo's. they really share a lot of things in common as they even look alike!

the first one is theo while on the right is iñigo.

 

 

for sale: house and lot in cabuyao, laguna

we're now selling our house and lot in cabuyao, laguna as we're permanently moving our residence to metro manila. the price of the property is php 1.5 million.

it's located within cabuyao central subdivison, an exclusive subdivision in cabuyao which is just 5 minutes away from cabuyao exit along south luzon expressway. it's also a 10-15 minutes away from the major industrial parks in the calabarzon area like light and industrial science park (lisp 1) (cabuyao) and lisp 2 (calamba), and camelray industrial park; and the newest developments in the area like eton city and nuvali. the lot area is 147 sq. m. while the floor area of the house is approximately 70 sq. m.

please email me privately if you or anyone you one know is interested. thanks a bunch!

family dates: gary v. concert, "up" movie, and dora show

it was three saturdays ago when the whole family went to smex to watch the concert of mr. pure energy gary valenciano. the event was sponsored by pilipinas shell and jude was lucky enough to be given four free tickets.

 

 

our initial plan was the concert would only be a date between me and jude but the daddy made a last-minute decision to bring along the little boy. i had apprehensions with this decision as i imagined the concert venue filled with unruly crowd and iñigo getting bored since there’s nothing to be seen in the concert but song and dance numbers. but everything was only in my imagination as the concert was so organized and iñigo was so entertained by the show.

 

 

iñigo danced along to one of gary v.'s songs

 

the concert even turned out a very special treat for us as aside from the free concert foods and freebies also abound in the concert. we even brought home a souvenir cd of gary v. and packed meals from italiannis and tgi friday’s! =P

 

 

the happy and BUSOG family =D

 

sidekwento: iñigo asked me before the start of the show on when jollibee will appear on the stage. duh! it’s because he heard me wrong when i told him that we’re going to watch gary v… sounds like jollibee. nyahaha!

 

one of my souvenir shots of gary v.

 

***

we’re taking every opportunity now for family dates as we’re sure that we will be homebound again in the coming months so when the movie “up” opened two weeks ago we were one of the first moviegoers to see it. guess who requested… err, nangulit for us to see this movie? yup, it’s the little boy. and guess who plead that we leave the movie house when oversized canines appeared in the screen? hehe. but of course we didn’t leave… i just told iñigo to put his arms around me and close his eyes when he doesn’t like what he sees in the movie. the tricks worked. the movie is so good and funny to be left unfinished. the daddy and the mommy had a good time watching it.

 

***

i thought we will not be able to watch it but then, we did! and the mommy was as happy as iñigo when i received a text message from the concierge of glorietta mall that we won two stubs for the dora show's the big piñata. i made sure we were there (atrium of glorietta 5) early last saturday so we can have seats in the front rows.

the dora fan of course was delighted to see her with boots, the map and sniper on stage. too bad we can't stay longer for the free picture-taking as i got a call from our neighbor in cabuyao that our house there was ransacked and we have to be there immediately. =(

 

 

the lamaze classes and other preps

it's my terrible birthing experience with iñigo, which pushed me to enroll in a lamaze/childbirth class for this pregnancy. as much as possible, i want myself and baby TL to be free from any drugs during the delivery as i blame the epidural anesthesia i had for the low apgar score of iñigo after he came out from me. well... i'm thinking iñigo must also be too groggy from the drugs as i was that time. i'm also leading my family now into a chemical and drug-free lifestyle as much as we can so it's a good idea to start it from birth, right?

 

aside from my desire for natural birth, i also want to avoid the other mistakes that have had happened in my first and one of the biggest mistakes i made by the way was letting iñigo grow big (he’s almost an eight-pounder) while he’s still inside my tummy. with my slim frame, it was a miracle that i was able to deliver him via normal procedure.

 

so for six saturday mornings, jude and i diligently attended the lamaze classes under ms. rome kanapi in santuario de san jose parish center in south forbes, makati, while iñigo was left home with my cousin.

 

the fee is quite pricey as we shelled out php 4,000 for the entire program but that’s nothing with all the practical information and tips we learned from the classes such as prenatal exercises, breathing techniques, preparation of childbirth plan and other details regarding childbirth, which i find very empowering not only for the mothers-to-be but more for the fathers-to-be as it could help them in coming up with an informed decision concerning their partners in any unlikely event... and not just depend on what the doctors will say, you know...

 

but more than the knowledge acquired, what i appreciate more about lamaze is it really  encouraged the guys to get involved in the childbirth experience of their partners—from the   labor stage up to post-partum. the men were made aware of what we feel  and fear.

 

 

 

jude trying out one of the floor exercises taught to us by ms. kanapi

 

 

***

aside from preparing ourselves for the delivery day, we have also readied now baby tl’s things such as his crib, clothing, feeding bottles, diapers, etc. i started to shop for his new clothes (as there are also hand-me-downs from his kuya iñigo… can’t help me not to recycle as most still look new) on the day i found out his gender. talk about being excited and shopaholic, haha.

 

 baby TL's nook in our flat

 

one of the first stores we raided is the export overruns store of baby clothings in #48 zodiac st. bel-air, makati city. it's where i bought some of the onesies, frogsuits, and towels. i was happy with my loots especially with one of the frogsuits as i thought i bought it cheap but got disappointed later on when i shopped in landmark and the same towels were selling at a lesser price, hmpf!

 

 

***

aside from all those i mentioned, we are also preparing the big brother-to-be we have in the house, i.e. kuya iñigo, for the the coming of baby TL as i know it would require a major adjustment for him since he’s used in having all our attention. we have already talked about his younger sibling as soon as the pregnancy kit turned positive and encouraged him to kiss, caress, and talk to my tummy as much as possible.

 

 

 

i'm also grateful for this book, which i bought from booksale (or diplomat?) and i have been reading this to him since last year, just one of his books collection...

 

 

i’ve already shared here that iñigo sometimes pretends he’s still a baby--even tried to climb the crib as he insisted that it’s for him--but with the help of the book, we’re able to point out the cribs are for babies only like our baby TL and that he’s the big brother in the book. =)

 

 

iñigo practicing how to carry a baby brother. we brought him with us in the last session of lamaze class... pasado na ba? =D

 

a glimpse of our 2nd baby boy

i asked jude two weeks ago if he's willing to have a 3d ultrasound of baby TL (initials for the name we already have for our second child) since it would cost him 3k and i was happy to hear his "yes!" as he reasoned out that we also had this during iñigo's time.

so last saturday all of us trooped to in my womb ultrasound center and i asked for a biophysical profiling of baby TL in 3d. i was afraid to know that he is underweight for his gestational age but to my surprise his weight is perfectly normal! =) all other parameters were also covered in the profiling and were glad that everything about this pregnancy is going smoothly--thank you, God!

we had to go back though as baby was quite shy and was hiding his face under my placenta, which made it difficult for the sonologist to capture images of him. luckily, he was already cooperating when we went back yesterday and to our heart's delight, baby TL even flashed a smile for us. =D

here are the images we brought home...

it's in the fourth image where the camera or scanner (or whatever gadget you call that) caught baby TL's smile...

compare baby TL's first pix with his kuya iñigo's who's obviously overfed while he's still inside my womb... just look at his cheek...

the 3d image of iñigo was care of makati medical center, btw.

thanks God for babies and thanks God for this new technology. =)

bidding farewell to the woman we all love

we just had to post this...

jude found his way to pasay road (cor. south super highway) to bid farewell to the former president corazon c. aquino. if not for the bad weather, iñigo and i should have joined him to pay respect to the woman who was an instrument of democracy to our country, people power and post-people power eras.

while waiting for the funeral procession...

 

at last...

 

the shuttle bus which carry the aquino family

i can say that i am a people power baby. i wasn't there when both the military and civilians camped along edsa and the marcos regime ended on february of 2006, but i was there, tagged along by my parents, on its first three anniversaries. i was only a small child that time and clueless of what was happening but still, i kept on chanting "cory! cory!" it's only in high school and most especially in college (thanks to my history professor who's obviouosly a cory-ista) that i began to appreciate the efforts made by ninoy and cory.

i wish someday iñigo and his baby brother will also come to know about the aquinos and what they fought for... and most especially the virtues they lead in life.

usapang buntis

i am already in my last leg of pregnancy, 32 weeks to be exact, but still my tummy looks smaller than it should. while i had the ideal weight gain of 25 lbs for iñigo i only gained a total of 7 lbs for this pregnancy when my weight was checked during my last prenatal check-up and that was only two and half weeks ago. i know i need a lot of catching up to do in terms of gaining weight since i only have five to seven more weeks to go till the d-day. jude also knows this very well that’s why he couldn’t complain when i ask even in the middle of the night for a take-out food.

 

i'm the one in blue shirt and black leggings. see how "slim" i am compared to the other moms who attended the childbirth/lamaze class to think that i am just few weeks behind...

***

thank goodness my glucose or blood sugar level is back to normal. i haven’t shared it here yet but i was diagnosed to have a gestational diabetes on my fourth month by my previous obstretician as i failed in my ogtt test (the test wherein i a pregnant woman has to take that yucky syrup and wait for an hour to two inside a clinic or laboratory until a sample of her blood is extracted); and it’s probably because of the strict diet that her referred endocrinologist imposed on me that’s why i didn’t gain weight for the entire second trimester!. aside from the low-fat and no-sugar diet, i also made sure it’s high-fiber as i learned from one of my readings that fiber helps a lot in regulating the insulin in our body. staples now in my weekly grocery are wheat bread, brown or red rice, and lots of veggies and fruits.

i switched to another obstretician in my fifth month and the gestational diabetes was ruled out as my other lab tests measuring also my glucose level showed very good results. i wonder if the briskwalking, i.e. walking almost everyday from our condo building to the mall, which is as far as sm makati, with a toddler in tow, helped. hahaha.

but seriously, i briskwalked and did the prenatal exercises taught to us in our lamaze class. see… am also a good girl. =)

***

i heard or read it many times but it’s now that i proved it: the best pregnancy is the first pregnancy as you only have yourself and the baby inside you to take care of for nine months.

i think having a very active preschooler inside the house is also one of the reasons why i am not gaining weight. i brought iñigo with me once in my prenatal check-up as jude had to be in the office and my ob who probably can’t believe that i stoop, squat, kneel, or whatever movement is required to keep up with the kiddo’s incessant demands or overflowing energy, said to iñigo before we left her clinic, “kaya pala hinde tumataba mommy mo e dahil sa ‘yo eh...” i just have to answer, “mismo, doc.”

***

don’t you love to be pregnant these days when maternity clothes are more fab than ever and some of the ordinary clothes were also cut for preggies to fit in, and finding them in the mall would only take you a minute? well… i do! i am happy that those striped jumpers or blouses with embroidered pictures of teddy bears which expectant moms were donning in the 80’s and 90’s are already obsolete, and i am happier that empire-cut blouses or dresses are in trend right now and because of this am not forced to buy my clothes exclusively from maternity departments or shops, except for some of my pants. actually, all of the blouses i am wearing until now were just bought from women’s boutiques and it seems i will still fit into these tops until i popped out. =)

***

  

it’s only now, and well, even in my first pregnancy, that i realized that most filipinos no longer give high regard to expectant women. sad isn’t it? i had some unfortunate incidents which proved that most filipinos now no longer care if you have that bump and need extra care or attention. one of my most unforgettable experiences was when i was still pregnant then with iñigo and i had to take the bus plying the lawton-alabang route as i was still working that time. it’s either i ended up in tears or cursing the bus driver or the conductor (or both of them!!!) as the bus would already move even if the pregnant me is just about to alight from the bus. i don’t know why i still had to remind them of the obvious that, “mama… buntis po ako!!!”

i am grateful now that i don’t need to travel everyday but still i get to experience a few disappointing moments outside my home like when i still have to queue on a long line for the entrance or a cab… never mind if i am carrying a grocery bag or has a three-year-old son with me.

but the worst treatment I have seen done to a pregnant mom, thanks god it’s not me, was when no one (even the men) offered their seats inside the bus and they pretended to be either asleep or busy chatting with their seatmates. *heavy sigh*

***

is this what they call the second-child syndrome? there were some things i did for iñigo that i no longer, or still delaying to do for this pregnancy like praying the novena to st. raymund, video-recording his movements as seen thru my tummy, and listening to classical music. but i promise to start especially with the latter this week….

but as least, am sure that this time i will have a picture of me in my ripest... =)