Reliving Fond Memories
June 27, 2007
“One doesn’t recognize in one’s life the really important moments until it’s too late”.- Agatha Christie
I was going through my old stuff the other day and stumbled upon this photo.
This was taken in June 2001 during the Marketing-Finance-Supply Coordination Meeting at Evercrest in Batangas. Seeing this photo, I somehow felt a sense of nostalgia and a sudden longing to bring back the old days.
It is only recently that I realized I actually enjoyed the seven years I spent at Caltex (now Chevron). Seven years is not a very long time, I know, but I am thankful to have handled such a job that allowed me to grow professionally and to develop personal relationships with my colleagues. Surely there were times when I struggled with work–I’ve had my share of disappointments as well. As any normal employee would have experienced– yung time na demotivated ka and if only you could just quit!- but after a while, things would get better and you realize you’re happy and contented again.
It was indeed a happy and fulfilling experience and if ever I’d have the chance to work again (read: if Miguel will take a bottle), I will still choose to work with Chevron (ahem hindi po ito naka-attention sa mga ex-boss, nagsesenti lang! hehehe).
Anyways, as I wanted to preserve fond memories with Chevron, I rushed to look for old photos which I haven’t had the chance to organize. I was too disappointed to find out they were missing! 
My biggest mistake was that I didn’t bring them with me to Dubai so I guess they were mistaken for clutter and thrown away during spring cleaning! waaaaa
Today, I have taken actions to retrieve what’s left of my Chevron past–that is, bug down ex-officemates to send me copies of those photos. Fortunately, my ex-boss was kind enough to search through his archives and sent me these. Sana meron pa…
And so I’m back…
June 18, 2007
I just have to write about it! When we were at Dr. Tiongson’s clinic last Saturday I thought of checking my weight again, and to my amazement the weighing scale registered 48kg-ish (ok let’s say it’s 49kg!). I had to ask Nico to double-check if I’m reading it right, and had to confirm with the secretary that their weighing scale is calibrated (of course it should be, we’re at a Doctor’s clinic afterall!). And yes, I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight! 
I put on about 15kg when I was pregnant but didn’t actually bother to go on a diet after giving birth. In fact, I’m not even watching what and how much I eat (except that I avoid allergy-causing food). It’s just one of the many perks of breastfeeding. 
Hooray, he’s ok!
June 17, 2007
Ok, so there was really no reason to worry much about Miguel. We went to his pedia yesterday as scheduled and I was able to rant about my frustration that Miguel’s not feeding well. The challenging part of breastfeeding is that you really can’t measure the amount of milk the baby is taking. So, about three weeks ago I started monitoring his feeding so I would be ready when Dr. Tiongson asks.
Anyways, I felt a bit happy upon learning he did not actually lose weight, and in fact even gained 300g over the past month. I know it isn’t much compared to his previous weight gain but I was assured by Dr. Tiongson that Miguel’s weight is just appropriate for his age.
After I’ve related Miguel’s latest stats–on frequency of feeding, number of diapers in a day and frequency of poop–I was advised to nurse frequently and to express the remaining milk after each feeding and give it to him in a cup so we could have a closer estimate of his milk intake.
After the feeding issue was addressed, I went on to tell her I noticed scattered white spots on Miguel’s skin and was told it’s skin asthma I was assured though that there’s nothing to worry and I just need to apply moisturiser. Miguel was then prepared to get his shot of Prevenar #2. He cried for just a few minutes after the vaccine was administered–he’s a brave little boy! 
We stayed a few more minutes at Dr. Tiongson’s office while she’s recounting her “bilins” concerning Miguel’s feeding, vitamin doses, bathing, sleeping and playing.
When asked about his latest antics, I then proudly told her that my Miguel is now able to roll over from both sides–that is, from his back to his tummy and vice versa. He started constantly doing it on June 13 when he rolled over to his tummy and tried tilting his head backwards and was able to successfully went back to his original position. I cheered him on and he did it over and over again. He looks really funny when he’s doing this latest ‘trick’ as he looks like the trained sea lion (if you’ve seen one at Ocean Adventure:D) rolling really fast from end to end hehehe Now we really can’t leave him on the bed even for just a few seconds!
We had lunch at Tender Bob’s in Shangri-la afterwards while Miguel was taking a nap. We then lounged at Starbucks while waiting for him to wake up and it wasn’t very long before I had to put my newest BF gear to test (**wink**). Yep, I nursed him at Starbucks hehehe . And I nursed him inside Rustan’s–twice! (oh how I love my BF blouse)
Our last stop was at National Bookstore where I was able to grab a pocketbook for myself and a book of nursery rhymes for Miguel. We got home before 5 and I bathed Miguel at around 6 and he slept so soundly afterwards.
Ah, life is still good.
All geared up!
June 14, 2007
Nico’s back from his 5-day Singapore trip. We were supposed to join him but I wasn’t able to process Miguel’s passport in time–to date, we still haven’t received it from the agency. Anyways, I wasn’t too eager to go when he first brought up the idea of us joining him in Singapore as I could only imagine the trouble of traveling with a 4-month old! But when my sister (who is based there) mentioned that the Great Singapore Sale is now on, I wished I had applied for Miguel’s passport sooner.
As soon as I knew there could be great bargains in Singapore, I immediately googled up ‘nursing wear’ and was lucky to find stylish collection at MothersenVogue. This got me really excited and I was able to choose 2 tops which I emailed to Nico so he wouldn’t forget. I would have liked to choose more but they are a bit pricey (yep, even on discount!) so I content myself with just 2. For the past months, I have been alternately using the 2 tops I bought at Big&Small Company whenever I need to go out with Miguel. In fact, these tops became my official uniform as I wear them almost everywhere–to church, mall, doctor/pedia visit, and even when we went to the beach last weekend! I’ve been checking out Big&Small but they have a very limited collection and most of the designs don’t match my taste. Thus, I was more than happy for this opportunity even if it means I will trust Nico to do the shopping for me .
Today he came home with a big smile and proudly handed me a medium-sized shopping bag, and to my great delight, there were 4 nursing tops inside (**an even bigger smile here**)! I remember saying ‘thank you’ in between asking why he bought four tops, two of which are not on sale, when I specifically told him not to splurge. Apparently, the sales staff was able to persuade him to buy the two regular items by offering 10% discount and by appealing to his conscience that breastfeeding is such a noble commitment of a mother and that the least a husband could do is to support her in every way possible (hehehe, clever girl!).
Of course after my skimpiness waned, I tried everything on and was just too happy that they all fit me well. I especially like the fabric and the functional design So now I am all geared up to go nursing in public! Hahaha!
here’s one of my newest BF gear )
Depressed
June 12, 2007
that’s how I am feeling today. Miguel has not been feeding well lately and I think he hasn’t gained much weight over the past month. I’ve actually noticed his poor appetite about two months ago. I mentioned this to his pedia on our last visit and was advised to cut down on stimulating activities (no more peek-a-boo and tickle me games for now) as these and all the other skills he’s gradually learning–”talking/socializing”, crawling– seem to be more interesting to him than nursing. I even had a bad case of mastitis once when he did not feed overnight. However, I content myself with the fact that he gained 500g at that time since for exclusiely breastfed babies, weight gain is an indication of good milk intake.
It’s been almost 5 weeks since our last pedia visit and it seems to me he even lost weight, his cheeks aren’t as chubby as before and the fact that he never feeds more than 5mins per session is worrying me too much. What could be causing his loss of appetite? I read that a baby under 12 months isn’t likely to self-wean. I noticed, though, that he’s drooling and biting a lot, could he be teething? I can only hope his disinterest in nursing is temporary. Can’t wait for our next check up on saturday as I will surely raise this issue again to his doctor.
my cutie baby…isn’t he adorable?
***
Our own place–this is yet another thing that saddens me. Even before we came back to the Philippines there is already the issue of how we will manage to live independently, and obviously we haven’t done much to address the issue as we are still staying at my parents’. There are a few things we need to reconcile before we even consider moving out. Based on quick estimates (as I haven’t done serious calculation), we couldn’t afford to rent our own place with only one of us earning, but Miguel won’t feed from a bottle till now and I’m not comfortable leaving him with a yaya plus I know of the many benefits of taking care of him myself so how (or perhaps why) will I work again soon?
Hay, life sometimes is sad…
Isaiah Miguel’s Christening
June 3, 2007
I’d say Miguel’s Christening was a huge success. We initially reserved lunch for 130 guests and ended up having more than 150! We were overjoyed by the presence of families and friends who took time out of their busy schedule to celebrate with us as we ushered Miguel into Christianity.
My little Miguel started his crying spell at the church which I assumed was prompted by the very hot weather and the presence of unfamiliar faces Lunch reception went well except that it was set up in a different hall where there was poor lighting and no windows Despite this little glitch, we were happy to have had the opportunity to share with everyone our joy at having the newest addition to our family.
Photos of the event and other photos of Miguel at 4 months here.
Bosoms Up!
June 3, 2007
Hats off to all of us breastfeeding moms…I chanced upon two interesting articles on the subject which I thought are worth sharing. Read on…
