Livin high and takin it easy

Almost a month ago, I decided to finally get a one-year subscription to the Smart Parenting Magazine – because I wanted easy access to a magazine I thought might be of some help to me AND because Summit Media was having a promo of giving away a FREE copy of The Smart Mom’s Guide To The Toddler Years priced at P295 for every new subscription. Aside from the fact that I thought “free” was a good offer, it’s really very hard to get one’s hand on a copy of this book.

This afternoon, my free copy of the book arrived (sans the magazine. This month’s issue is not released yet?)
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I can’t believe Lia is now 16 months. Time really flies. Actually, I just want to rattle off things she can now do as a 16-month old. Today, after all is the 7th of this month.

I previously made 2 blog posts on her milestones, which is what I use to track her developments. So far, I made one for her 7th month (which was last November) and another for her 13th month (which was last May).

I am not going to post anymore the Baby Milestones Chart for 13-18 months because Lia can do all of the things listed there. More

I finally subscribed to a Smart Parenting magazine and now my friends can make fun of me. Hahaha. I have been trying to avoid subscribing since I remember that once, one of my friends joked, “Wow, you’re such a housewife! I bet you have a subscription to Good Housekeeping!” For the record, I do not have a subscription to Good Housekeeping nor have I had any subscription to any magazine for that matter until now. Now my friend can say, “Wow, you’re such a mommy! I bet you have a subscription to Smart Parenting!” and I would just turn red in the face and be able to say or do nothing except flash a big wide toothy smile. Guilty as charged.

What finally pushed me to subscribe?

One, I had really wanted this book!

The Smart Mom’s Guide to the Toddler Years

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WARNING: This post is for and for mommies only. If you’re not a mom, stay away from this post.

I don’t really talk much about my daughter in my blog. Or if I do, I try to keep it to a minimum; but this post is all about mommyhood and if you’re not a mom, you will not be able to relate. If you are going to be a mom, reading might give you some insights. As for all the others, you have been warned.

Today I am one very proud momma. Today, it seemed like I have toilet-trained Lia.

A month or so ago, I saw the following signs (This is a list I took from this site):

Your child can pull his or her pants down and then up again.

Lia has actually been able to put clothes on and off herself for a long time now. When she is sleeping for the night or her naps, I have to check on her every so often to see if she still has her clothes on. You have to understand that my daughter sleeps on her own and by herself. We just put her in her crib every time she needs to sleep and she falls asleep on her own. We never have to carry or rock her to sleep. It’s always been that way after I stopped breastfeeding her at eight months (not by choice but due to my own health), it took forever to put her to sleep when I rocked her to sleep and she was too heavy for me to carry so I just ended giving her a bottle and she fell asleep on her own. After that, she could not fall asleep as long as someone was inside the room. We always had to close the door as a signal that it was sleeping time and not playtime and that she had to go to sleep. So now, every time she is asleep, no one is allowed to go inside the room until she wakes up and calls out.

Lia is now able to put clothes on that she even sometimes puts my own blouses on her. (Did you see that photo of her wearing my blouse on my birthday? She put that on herself.)
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I saw this on Twitter, tweeted by Flow Magazine, which I follow… and well, it was funny.

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Spring, 1996

Clare: So I was simply not thinking about a lot of important stuff because I was completely drunk with the notion of a baby: a baby that looked sort of like Henry, black hair and those intense eyes and maybe very pale like me and smelled like milk and talcum powder and skin, a sort of dumpling baby, gurgling and laughing at everyday stuff, a monkey baby, a small cooing sort of baby. I would dream about babies. In my dreams I would climb a tree and find a very small shoe in a nest; I would suddenly discover that the cat/book/sandwich I thought I was holding was really a baby; I would be swimming in the lake and More

[This is a repost of a blog entry made in April 2009.
Click here to view the original.]

Before I got pregnant, I was 84 lbs. That was not an all-time record low, because back in college I hit 80. A time when I dreaded walking around U.P.’s academic oval because I was literally being blown away at times, a time when I was suspected of having either leukemia or thalassemia and made frequent trips to various specialists and a career in medicine was permanently erased from my future.

When I was admitted to the hospital after my water bag broke, I was 112 lbs – an all-time record high. More

After almost four months of being househelp-less, I do think it is time to get one, again. In my entire married life as well as my entire mommy life, I have had a maid slash yaya for only five months.

I keep saying that it was so much easier to take care of the baby when she was younger, meaning, the only things she knew was to eat, sleep, pee and poop. Now she can do this:

I like mixing my things with my mama's. They make for great floor decor.

and this:

I love ripe mango. I love it on my clothes and all over the floor. It is great for practicing swimming on the floor.

and a gazillion other things.

I do not want to keep tidying and arranging and re-arranging things over and over again, two to three times every single day. Lia is now a proficient walker, which I should be thankful for since really, I can no longer carry her in my arms like I did just last month. She is waaaay too heavy now. But Lia being the efficient walker she is, always wants to go out the front door as well as the gate. She wants to run after dogs and cats. She wants to open cabinets and take out clothes and linen. She wants to open the kitchen cabinets under the sink and take out all the cleaning materials as well as the tools out of its box. She wants to play soccer with the dog. She wants to ride her bicycle. She wants to climb up the stairs, up the chairs, up and into her crib, and up into tables. She wants to get her hands on everything and empty baskets, boxes and bookshelves.

A few days ago, as I was buying myself a new computer chair, I was tempted to hoard Lock&Lock plastic containers into which I’d keep every single thing little thing in this house in – just so she would not be able to get her hands on them.

I need househelp now – if only to tidy up the house.

Reposting this for all my friends who are expecting or who are thinking of, hoping to be, expecting. I hope you find this useful or insightful in any way. Cheers everyone!

***

Walanghiya, anong petsa na?! Yan ang paulit-ulit na linya ko sa bawat araw na lang na dumaan.

Eksayted na eksayted na talaga ako sa paglabas ng behbeh. Eh ambigat kasi eh. Iniisip ko nga, siguro akala ng iba nagdadrama lang ako kasi mukha namang maliit ang tiyan ko para sa six months, eh ambigat talaga eh. Kung ganito kabigat to, pano na lang ako next month at next next month? Walanghiya, anong petsa na ba?

Okey lang naman kapag sumisipa, sumisirko, nanununtok, naninipa, namimitik, sumasayaw, tumatambling yung behbeh eh, wag lang mababa. Masakit pala talaga ang hitting below the belt? Nuninuninu.

Sabi ng libro, “pregnancy is not designed to torture you…”

Kapag di makakain, nagsusuka at nahihilo buong araw, “pregnancy is not designed to torture you..”

Kapag masakit na ang pagsipa, pagsuntok, pagsirko, pagsayaw, pagpitik at pagtambling ng behbeh, “pregnancy is not designed to torture you..”

Kapag masakit na dahil matagal na nakatayo o naglalakad, “pregnancy is not designed to torture you..”

Kapag di na makalakad at makagalaw dahil mabigat, “pregnancy is not designed to torture you..”

Kapag hinihingal sa 10-minute walk,  “pregnancy is not designed to torture you..”

Kapag di makatulog dahil nangangawit ang paa, “pregnancy is not designed to torture you..”

Kapag di makahiga ng flat ang likod sa kama, kelangan daw naka-side kundi sasakit ang likod, “pregnancy is not designed to torture you..”

Ryan: Wifey, ang ganda-ganda mo na.. Hayluvet!
Angku: Yesh, ang taba-taba ko…
Ryan: Oo, pangarap ko talaga yan eh. Yung patabain ka.
Angku: Sabi ni Ryan, “Gagawin ko ang lahat para tumaba ka lang. Bubuntisin kitaaaa!”
Ryan: Dati nauubos na ang pera ko kakapakain sayo, di ka naman tumataba.
Angku: Sabi ko na nga ba, desperado ka.

**

Angku showing ultrasound pictures to friends and relatives:

Angku: Kita mo ba?
Friends/relatives: (binbali-baliktad ang ultrasound pictures) Uh…., asan?
Angku: Psych test yan. Pag kita mo, ibig sabihin, above average ang IQ at EQ mo. (straight face)

**

Ryan and Angku naglalakad sa labas. Angku suot ang black blouse na binili nya last, last year pa.

Angku: Ang cool ng damit na to ano? Pang-buntis. Siguro alam ko talaga na magbubuntis ako very soon kaya puro preggy blouses na nabili ko.
Ryan: Deep inside, gusto mo talaga mabuntis.
Angku: Right.
Ryan: Pangarap mo yan eh. I just know it!
Angku: Right… Ka-level ng “Deep inside, gusto mo talagang maging housewife.”

**

Ryan and Angku in doctor’s office for monthly check-up.

OB: O, dapat bumibili ka na ng mga damit.
Angku: Pwede po bang hindi?
OB: Eh ano isusuot mo?
Ryan: Lagi lang po siyang hubad.
Angku: Hehehe (sabay big, toothy smile)
O.B.: Aba, eh magdamit ka naman. Pano na lang pag lalabas ka?
Angku: Pwede po bang wag lumabas?
Ryan: Nagiging primal na po siya.
O.B.: (buntong-hininga) Haay naku, kayo talagang dalawa. Never a dull moment.

**

Ryan and Angku in mall.

Ryan: Bigyan kita ng 2,000 bumili ka lang ng damit.
Angku: No, thank you. Shopping mode off.
Ryan: Eh kelan ka bibili ng damit?
Angku: I hate shopping. I hate the mall.

**

Angku: Hubby, asan na yung mga luma mong damit?
Ryan: Bakit?
Angku: Isusuot ko.
Ryan: Wag yan. Wag yang Guess na polo shirt ko. Marami nang butas yan eh.
Angku: Oh wow! It’s just my type! (Sabay suot ng Guess polo shirt na may limang libong maliliit na butas)

Anhirap naman magbuntis. Kelangan bumili ng damit. Pwede bang bumili ng isa lang tapos gawing official preggy uniform? Yung yun at yun lang isusuot kapag lalabas ng bahay?

Bawal daw matagal na nakaupo. Bawal din daw matagal na nakatayo. Yesss! Walang sinabi tungkol sa matagal na paghiga. Hehehe. More dvds please?

Dahil O.C. ako, kinokontrol ko ang aking weight gain. I-endeavor ko rin ang pag-kontrol ng weight loss after.

Ryan: Bakit tapos ka na kumain? (tampo-drama mode on)
Angku: Bakit ganyan itsura mo?
Ryan: Gusto ko tumaba ka.
Angku: Gagu, sabi 4 lbs/month lang. Hindi 10 lbs every freakin month. 106 lbs na ako kahapon sa ating scale na madaya ng 4 lbs. May 4 na araw pa til check-up slash weigh-in. Gusto mo batukan na naman ako ng OB?
Ryan: (straight face)

Aba, lumalaki ata ang mga braso ko, iwork-out na yan! Aba, wala daw akong hips. Walang hips my a, magpalaki ng hips! Wala namang masama kung i-endeavor kong takasan ang CS di ba? Kelan daw ba ang due date ko. Pwede sa April 5? Bakit naman sa April 5? I like the number 5, it’s lucky. (Eh yung 5 anak kaya, lucky pa rin?)

Ryan: Wifey, gumaganda ka ata.
Angku: Baka bumabait lang ako.

**

Angku nagbabasa ng Guide for Expectant Fathers na libro.

Angku: Ganito na pala kalaki ang fist ni behbeh kapag 24 weeks. Kaya pala nakikita na natin kapag bumubukol.
Ryan: Why you reading my book? That’s my book! (tampo-drama mode on)
Angku: Ambilis naman nito. Fist pa lang tinitingnan ko, pag-turn ko ng page, labor na agad!
Ryan: Eh pang-lalaki yan eh. Sa mga lalaki, lahat mabilis.
Angku: (stares at Ryan)

Gusto ko pabilisin ang panahon. Anong petsa na ba? Eksayted na eksayted na ako.

Quote from preggy guide book from O.B.’s office:

“You may feel shortness of breath when pregnant because of your increased need for oxygen. During the late pregnancy, the pressure of your growing baby on your diaphragm may make it harder for you to breath [but] you should.”

Pregnancy is not designed to torture you… pregnancy is not designed to torture you.. repeat n times till fade…

…

..

.

.

.

Written January 7, 2009

This was originally posted here.

And as a post-script:

I just want to share how much I am a fan of Cathy Thorne‘s cartoons. I have it on my links list, and you may also click on the individual images to view the source site. Or you may click on the following link too: Everyday People Cartoons (Cartoons about women, and the people who love and annoy them.)

A week after giving birth to my first child, a 6 lbs 1 oz baby girl through almost twelve hours of labor and by normal delivery, I am finding that the hardships of being a new mother is not limited to taking care of the baby but also encompasses dealing with family members.

In the week past I have come to think that most family members insist on seeing the baby for reasons other than welcoming the new little human being into this world. They come on personal selfish reasons.

There is the “I wanted a baby girl too but just couldn’t have one” kind. There is the “I just want to know from whom it takes after” kind. There is also the “I want to see what see as many faults as possible in the baby because it will make me feel better about myself” kind.

Why does it matter from whom the baby takes after? Or isn’t there anything else worth talking about? Doesn’t the mother also need some respect and consideration?
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