I Got Robbed!

Yup, you read it right. I got robbed. Luckily, though, they only took my purse, which contains 200 pesos and my government IDs with my maiden name. Ha!

It happened while I was on the jeepney. I was seated beside a man, who is nearest the jeep entrance. Near Market Market!, another man stepped in and of all the empty seats, he chose to sit beside me too! I didn't mind them, though. It was, for me, an ordinary 30-minute ride to Guadalupe, where I was to ride the bus. For them, though, they stepped out of the jeep 200 pesos richer. 

I think they targeted my purse because it was big and thick, and they saw it when I took it out to get money for my fare. Its thickness is because of the government IDs, doctors' calling cards and bookmarks it contains. It's heavy because it also functions as my coin purse. My other "real" wallet is smaller and thinner and is not easily visible because it's hidden deep in my bag. 

I was carrying three bags - one is my main shoulder bag, the second is my laptop bag and the third is my thermal bag for my milk storage bottles. Maybe because I was busy holding on to many things at once, I became an easy target.

So, lesson learned. To avoid another similar incident, here are the things I will do/avoid.

1. Buy a bigger bag to eliminate the need for three separate bags. I'm required to bring my laptop everywhere because I am the appointments secretary of a Cabinet Official so leaving it in the office to lighten my load is out of the question. 

2. Don't put all my IDs in one purse. It's okay that I lost all my IDs today because all of them, except PhilHealth, still bear my maiden name. They're due to be replaced anyway so I'll just file an affidavit of loss and request for new ones. But once I've replaced all of them, losing them again won't be okay anymore.

3. If the jeepney is almost vacant but then someone insists on sitting very close to me, I will hold on to my belongings and make sure to close my bags.

3. Before riding the jeepney, or any other public transport, I will have my fare readily in hand.

4. Stop texting! I was texting my mother about Nathan's progress in school that I didn't notice I was being robbed! (head on the wall)

But even though this incident was a bad start of my day and week, I will not let it ruin my mood. There are still things to be thankful of, such as:

1. The bus conductor didn't ask for my fare. I gave him a 1,000 peso bill because I didn't have coins anymore. He asked if I have a smaller amount and I said no because I lost my purse. He just skipped me and asked for the other passengers' fares. Yipee! Thanks, Manong!

2. They stole my coin purse and not my real wallet. 

3. My ATM cards, which I thought where in the purse, are safely with my husband. At least I don't have to request for new ones, which would have been a long and tedious process. If it were the case, I wouldn't get my salary from my part-time online job on-time.

4. I wasn't hurt nor terrorized but the incident did teach me really valuable lessons for next time. 

5. The 200 pesos could have been of great help to them.

6. Because they also stole my IDs, I am now forced to get new ones. Thus, ending my 2-year laziness of getting new cards with my new name. Hehehe

I have read of a lot of people getting hurt and losing so much when they got robbed. I'm still lucky that I'm okay. 

Take care!

Why We Didn't Celebrate Our Wedding Anniversary

Last Saturday was our 2nd-year anniversary of being legal husband and wife. But contrary to young married couples, we didn't celebrate. There was no cake, no gift and not even a single flower. Why? Because it was not included in the budget. 

Following Theodore's illnesses, we had to cut down on our expenses in order to afford his medical bills. For me, the lack of tangible gifts was acceptable. However, I was expecting something special to happen - maybe a relaxing massage, or an afternoon in the playground (because Theo was well enough to spend an afternoon outside). But none of those were realized. Instead, we spent the morning attending the Parent-Teacher Orientation at Nathan's school and in the afternoon, I was on mommy duties while he slept.

I guess the real reason for the lack of celebration was not the money. I think, we simply stopped becoming lovers. 

We have been burdened with so much lately that we forgot to act like partners. The baby got sick, Kuya got sick, the money is not enough...We had so many responsibilities to think of and neither of us was prepared. I easily got stressed because of my tendency to overthink and over-analyze things. Sometimes, a simple conversation about problems would end with me getting angry at him. Yup, not very nice of me.

Our problem is, I believe, not isolated. Others may be having this problem as well. The lack of intimacy happens especially following the birth of a child. The wife sees the husband as another set of hands to help around the house and take care of the baby. As I have always told my husband regarding the separation of our tasks: "I'm the food and you're the poop."

Now that we have two boys, there's no room for "us" time. At the end of the day, we're both so tired that we just sleep. Talking is done through text or phone call. We may live in the same house but because we're both very busy and we have different work schedules, real conversation no longer happens. 

Maybe when the children are older and no longer sickly, maybe then, we can become lovers again. Until then, we both need to hang on. But on special occasions, I think a simple gesture of love would still be very much acceptable. 

Why Popeye Loves Olive Oyl

I'd like to believe that the cartoon show I used to love as a kid greatly influenced my desire for healthy food. Popeye, the hero in a popular cartoon series, gets his super strength by eating spinach. His heart beats for Olive Oyl (named after the nutrient-rich Olive Oil).

Both spinach and olive oil are considered super foods. Spinach, for example, is rich with nutrients but packs only a few calories. It helps lower the blood glucose level of diabetic patients and it lowers the risk of cancer. In addition, it helps in maintaining a healthy blood pressure while at the same time, improving bone health. With the host of benefits it provides, there's no wonder Popeye gets super fast and super strong every time he eats a can of the "good old green."

On the other hand, cardiologists recommend the intake of at least two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil per day in order to reap its benefits to your general health and well-being. This is because extra virgin olive oil aids in boosting your immunity against viruses, and in fighting potentially-fatal diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, oxidative stress and systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Additional studies are currently underway wherein olive oil is being tested for its ability to prevent stroke, reduce the risk for Type 2 diabetes, and depression.

Is it safe to give olive oil to your baby?

As long as your infant is at least 6 months old, then it is safe to add olive oil to his diet. Per the guidelines set by WHO and UNICEF, babies less than 6 months old should get their nourishment solely from breast milk or formula (although it's best if it's the former than the latter).

Theodore's doctor recommended that we add extra virgin olive oil to his diet to help him gain weight, among others. This is because this very nutrient-rich oil is also a good source of fatty acid, something that Theo really needs.

Although olive oil rarely causes allergic reactions, you must still only introduce a little of it at a time. When introducing it to your baby, add it to the food that he has no negative reactions to. This will help you in properly gauging his reaction to it.

A word of caution: don't overdo on the olive oil. For every 2 oz of food served, add only about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.

Is it safe to add olive oil to infant's milk?

It's rather pointless to add olive oil to your baby's milk because the oil and the milk won't mix. Do you remember that science experiment you've had when you were in school? When you add oil and water, they won't mix because the oil is lighter than water. Hence, if you add it to your baby's milk, the oil will just stick to the side of the bottle.

****LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, PLEASE DISCUSS WITH YOUR CHILD'S PEDIATRICIAN OR NUTRITIONIST BEFORE INTRODUCING ANYTHING TO YOUR LITTLE ONE.****

Kuya Got a Star!

While on the jeep home, I received a text message from my husband, Marc, telling me that Kuya got a star from school. Of course, I was very excited. Who wouldn't? When a student gets a star, it's most likely because he or she did well in school. Maybe a question was answered correctly or a seatwork was done perfectly. Whatever it is, it must have been done right to deserve such an honor. 

I silently cursed at the traffic because I was in a real hurry to get home. I half-ran and half-walked the short distance from where the jeepney dropped me off to our apartment. When I got home, Kuya was beaming and he was showing me his hand, where the star was stamped on. It was a bright red star (as shown in the picture below). 

"Good job, Kuya!" I said. His smile got wider. 

Then, I asked the very important question: "Why did teacher give you a star?" To which he answered "Because EVERYONE gets star!"

My I'm-a-proud-parent-because-my-kid-got-a-star smile faded. I laughed a hearty laugh instead.

Thanks for being fair, Teacher Erica!

Maintaining Lactation At Work

I won't say that I'm a strong advocate of breastfeeding but I know how important it is. I have exclusively breastfed Kuya for a year and three months, and would have been longer if I didn't get mastitis. With Kuya, it was a painless experience because he had a good suck from the start. I was expecting that I wouldn't have any problems when it comes to breastfeeding Theodore but I was wrong. Theo's suck was weak and feeding him was very painful during the first two weeks. I remember I would cry every time he latched and it came to a point wherein I thought I would not breastfeed him anymore. Of course, I survived that phase without switching to formula. How? I used nipple shields. 

Nipple shields are thin, soft silicones that don't interfere with breast stimulation. As I have always explained it to my friends, it's like making your breasts become "feeding bottles" but with unlimited milk supply for baby. However, please know that nipple shields should only be used temporarily; in my case, only after the wounds have healed and baby's latch has improved. Long-term use may end in a decrease of your milk supply. I used nipple shields for about two weeks only. 

Two months after giving birth via C-Section, I went back to work. I was determined to continue breastfeeding so I started bringing a portable breast pump, about 4-5 milk storage bottles (sterilized) and ice packs inside a thermal bag. Every two-three hours, I would take a break from work and express milk. Expressed milk will then be stored in our freezer for me to take home at the end of the day. The milk expressed today will be baby's food tomorrow, unless of course, it's Friday; in which case, expressed milk will be used the following Monday. 

Expressing milk, like breastfeeding, needs a lot of patience and practice. At first, it may be painful but as you get used to it, the pain will slowly diminish. Just make sure to empty your breasts every time and to observe a 2-3-hour interval in-between. Your breasts are like bottomless iced tea - even though you say it's bottomless, it still has to be refilled before you can pour the contents out again. 

The moment I get home from work, I would clean up, eat dinner quick and breastfeed Theo. Theo, like all babies, can feel when Mommy is about to come home. That is why, he would only feed a little via dropper when it's almost 6 o'clock. 

Now, Theo is 6 months old and I've been back at work for 4 months. I still bring my thermal bag and my breastfeeding paraphernalia to the office. I still take a break to express milk every 2-3 hours. It's a routine that Theo and I have established. It's a routine we're comfortable with. By following this routine everyday, I have successfully maintained a healthy milk supply even when I'm away from my baby (and even if he is drinking Nutramigen temporarily).

5-Day's Worth in a Single Post

I decided to write just one post for all the crazy, fun and sweet things that took place this week as an excuse for neglecting this site. Hehehe

...so here you go:

15 June 2014

Without a doubt, Facebook has been so closely knit with our everyday living because it is the main reason why we remember events. I mean, seriously, if someone hasn't posted on FB, would you remember it's Father's Day? Perhaps 60% of you won't. That's the positive side of living in an era where technology is smart enough to remember dates we usually miss. 

But I've been thinking, were all those greetings posted actually read by their intended recipients? I doubt. Not all dads are on FB. I just hope those nice and touching messages of gratitude and respect were not just posted to show to the world that you appreciate your father. Your dad has to know about them too. 

In our family, we celebrate father's day everyday. Kuya Nathan and Baby Theo show Daddy their love with warm hugs and sloppy kisses. So thanks but no thanks, FB, we didn't need your reminder this time!

16 June 2014

It's Kuya's first day of school! 

Kuya has crossed the Rubicon! He has just started his very long journey to realize his dreams through education. Other kids (and parents) would cry on their first day of school because they fear being left alone in a new environment, but not Kuya. When I left him with his teacher, he smiled and even waved me goodbye. As soon as I got home last Monday night, I asked him what he did in school and he replied with a beam, "Eat cookies and drink juice!" (referring to his baon).

Anak, recess lang ang school? Hahaha

17 June 2014

Baby's gooey mess of a food was made richer and "fatter" with extra virgin olive oil. Following the advice of his gorgeous pedia gastro, we started adding a teaspoon of this nutrient-rich oil to his home-made food. Remember that Theo has a special diet because he was diagnosed with severe malnutrition following recurrent infections, SIBO and a malabsorption syndrome. Hence, every spoonful of food he eats must be as complete as possible. 

In addition, Theo stopped drinking from his bottle and he wouldn't take milk from the dropper either. Instead, he drank from a cup. Yes, our 6-month-old is now drinking straight from a cup. Kuya, upon seeing his baby brother, drinking milk from a cup, also stopped drinking his milk from the bottle. Talk about the younger influencing the older! Good job, boys! *proud mommy here*

(I shall upload a picture of both boys drinking milk from cups soon)

19 June 2014

I learned that Kuya is known as "tawa ng tawa" in school. I discovered this on Thursday morning when I took him to school. His classmate, upon seeing him, said, "O ayan na si Tawa ng Tawa" (Here comes the boy who keeps laughing). It would have been an innocent comment made by a child but for me, a parent who over-thinks, I couldn't help but be worried. 

Could it be that Kuya does not fully understand conversations he hears at school because they are in Tagalog; hence, he just smiles and laughs? Kuya speaks and understands only English and Bisaya. His Tagalog is almost zero. 

That simple comment hit me hard and I decided to start talking to Kuya in Tagalog. I don't want him to be known only as the boy who keeps laughing. I want him to be known for more than just that. 

And to cap this week's update, here's a picture of me and the boys saying "Good morning, World!"

'Til the next post!

The Mighty T: Mommy's Little Fighter

This is Theodore. He was born at 36 weeks, which makes him a late preterm baby. Given that, he has feeding problems, gastrointestinal worries and an immature immune system. These health issues made him a fighter and from hereon, we shall call him "Mighty T".

Mighty T fought and beat pneumonia twice; and infectious diarrhea once. He survived NICU, where he stayed for the first 24hours of his life while waiting for his respiratory rate to normalize and the fluids in his lungs to drain out. He was also diagnosed with severe malnutrition secondary to acute gastroenteritis and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) with malabsorption. So Mighty T is said to have "failure to thrive". But like all superheroes, he fought and continues to fight back.

Just this morning, we went on our weekly visit to the pediatric gastroenterologist. When we stepped into her clinic, she had her fingers crossed and said "I hope he gained weight!". Indeed, he did! From 4.75kls last week, he's now at 5.08kls. This excellent news means that our 6-month-old is capable of thriving. It means that he does not have some serious mechanical or metabolic illness that would require surgery or life-long treatment. This means that our baby boy only needs Mommy, Daddy, Lola, Nanny and Kuya to work together to provide him optimal care, the right nourishment and to ensure his timely intake of medicines.

However, Mighty T shows a strong disinterest in solids. Once he tastes the food, he would purse his lips and hide his face. The doctor said it's alright. Maybe he isn't ready to eat yet. She said to just give him food that he tolerates so feeding becomes pleasurable for him. Seeing how small he is, I tend to get very frustrated. I wanted him to eat more so he gains weight fast. If he gains weight, he wouldn't be so fragile and sickly anymore. But of course, he won't understand any of that yet so for now, I'll do what the doctor said. 

To somewhat counter his aversion to solids, we also tried boosting his appetite with Cell Life and Heraclene but they didn't work on him. We tried coaxing him to eat, even playing with him just so he gets interested in the food. We also tried letting him watch cooking shows on TLC - hey, anything's possible! But, yes, none worked. 

So we focused on giving him more nutrients through his milk. I'm breastfeeding so I make sure to eat the right kinds of food at all times. On top of that, the doctor recommended Nutramigen along with Spirulina.

Nutramigen is a hypoallergenic and extensively hydrolyzed infant formula designed for the effective dietary management of common feeding issues. It's pricey and it smells really bad - even Mighty T hates it. I'm all for exclusive breastfeeding but I would do ANYTHING just to help correct baby's health problems.

Spirulina, on the other hand, is composed of cyanobacteria: Arthrospira platensis and Arthrospira maxima. It is a dietary supplement and a whole food. The doctor said just two tablets of Spirulina is already equivalent to a kilo of vegetables. So I sprinkled half a tablet to Might T's processed porridge (we process his food in a blender so that he won't gag when he eats) and fed it to him. He ate about 5 or 6 spoonfuls (the small baby spoon) and he seemed to like the dark green color of his food. I asked his Nanny Joy to taste his food and she said it still takes like porridge. So it's odorless and tasteless - perfect for Theo's choosy palate. 

We seem to be getting somewhere with Spirulina so we'll keep feeding him that. Also, per advice of the doctor, we will continue to use porridge and Spirulina as his base food and from time to time, add mashed vegetable, fish flakes and tofu. For his snacks, we'll try a combination of mashed or pureed fruits with Nutramigen or my milk. Maybe I'll blend them all in before feeding him. With fingers crossed, I hope this feeding plan works!

Writing for Sanity

For the past few months that I have not written, I've almost lost, for lack of a better word, my sanity. Writing keeps me sane. It is my medicine. Without a written recording of my struggles and experiences, I would feel unable to digest everything that has happened in a day.

As a working mother of two very young children, it is understandable to lose my sanity every once in a while. Of course, there are all those things that would fill the mind. The children, their health, the household, the job, money and so on. On top of that, I have a sickly son who needs to be closely looked after. If things would have been simpler, I would have quit my office job a long time ago and focused on my youngest instead. But I wanted a career and I thought I'm a superwoman who can take care of a family and a career at the same time. Wrong. I'm not a superwoman. I'm just a half sane woman trying to piece everything together using cheap glue. 

So in an attempt to collect my thoughts and have a platform where I can review them (forgetfulness has always been an issue with me) before making a decision, I have decided to start writing a blog. Here, I will write about anything that comes to mind but mostly it will be about my three bugoys - my husband, Kuya Nathan and Baby Theo.