Haircut Incident

Yesterday, my husband and I decided to give our son another haircut -- his fourth. He cried his eyes and lungs out during his third time even if he had it at a haircut salon catering to babies and children. This time around, we went to the barber's shop in our neighborhood that my husband suggested because it said "kids haircut salon," too on its signage.

We thought that maybe if our son had a haircut at the same place and time his Dad is having one, then the stress and trauma will be less. We guessed wrong. :(

Polo didn't care if his Dad and Mom were both wearing the usual robe. He didn't want to wear one. Period. The friendly barber and I just wrapped a mini towel around Polo's neck.

Polo didn't care if we seated him in a child-friendly-barber's-chair-car that's situated right in front of a tv playing Barney. The car nor Barney, his friend, didn't do the trick.

Polo didn't care if I was seated on the barber's chair and carrying him all through out the haircut. Mommy's charms didn't work but from time to time, the Pizza Hut commercial and thoughts of spaghetti, pizza and chicken was able to temporarily distract him. Some times, singing fill-in-the-blanks Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Row, Row Your Boat did the trick but only momentarily...

Polo didn't even care if his father was seated in the barber's chair beside him, having his dreaded good-boy barber's cut (I say, "dreaded" because the usual barber's cut is not his dad's style. Polo's dad prefers the layered crop style of more modern haircutters). Polo just kept on crying and shouting (good thing, he wasn't physically violent).

The good old barber (who seemed like a scary stranger with a comb, a pair scissors and a razor to Polo), was skilled and patient enough to cut our little boy's thin hair. Once in a while, he tried to charm Polo but to no avail. In Polo's mind, the barber was the enemy. In Polo's one-year and seven-month's mind, all he wanted to do was get out of the shop and ride his Papa's car.

After an hour or so of torture for Polo, we all decided that his hair has been trimmed enough. Between sobs and deep breaths, Polo was comforted by his dad. We paid for the father & son haircut, said "bye" to the barbers and headed to the nearest happy place Polo knew -- Jollibee.

Polo was rewarded with a Jolly Sundae, Jolly Fries and a Jolly Meal Toy. In the happy place, it seems that the shadows of the barber shop incident have slowly melted away. Thanks to Jollibee, our little cub was sane again.

We're still on a quest to find a suitable happy-place hair salon for Polliepoe.

Out in the market, once again

I have already accomplished my Goal # 5. I already downloaded my updated resume from Jobstreet DB and sent it out one manpower consulting firm and to 2 companies in need of product/brand/marketing managers. I'm praying that I'll find a new job before the quarter ends. :)

I have mixed emotions on this one. I'm excited to conquer new territory at the same time that I'm perplexed about the new challenges that will be set before. I am hopeful, however, that my whirlwind 7-year experience in SMART has seasoned me and chiseled me into a heavy-duty marketing person.

On the mommy side, I'm looking forward to weaning Polo from Breastmilk to Formula. February 25 will be the day. I expect that I'll feel some sense of liberation but I'm sure that I would still experience separation anxiety. Hehehe... What can I do? Breastfeeding is an experience that ties the heart of a mom to her child.

Slowly shifting from Breastfeeding to formula-feeding will also give me some room to take on new responsibilities and challenges at work. I'm ready now to stretch myself once more and strive for excellence in work and at home.

... So help me, God. Amen.

Wonderful Babblings

It started with "Aba aba aba aba..." that later on became "Ba ba ba ba" that morphed into "Pa pa pa pa" when he was jolly and playful and "Ma ma ma ma" whenever he was hungry, needy or crying. Now, it seems that he knows who his Papa and Mama are because he looks at us when he calls for us, depending on his needs.

That's our Polliepoe at 8 months! Whenever he calls out to Marvin during playtime, Marvin's heart cannot but dance with glee. I, on the other hand, cannot refuse the gentle but pitiful tug I feel in my heart whenever he cries out for me when he needs comfort or is just plain hungry.

We initially wanted our little boy to call us Daddy and Mommy. But Papa and Mama seems to be Polo's preference. Good choice, Polo! To me, "Papa" and "Mama" brings life and music to my heart. It even surpasses Mozart's classical masterpieces!

There you go, folks, "Papa" and "Mama" are Polo's 1st words. I'm sooo damn happy that it didn't turn out to be just any other word. :)

It's back

My breastmilk supply is gaining momentum. Yay! All it took was diligence. I dunno why I'm so undisciplined when it comes to scheduling my activities. I gotta be more organized.

Anyway, I realized this week that I need to give myself a pat on the back for breastfeeding exclusively for 7 months now (As a reward, I deserve more Magnolia Vanilla and Strawberry Ice Cream!!! Hahaha). How did I come to such realization???

Well, I bumped into some of my mommy friends, who got pregnant and gave birth the same time I did and when we would talk about breastfeeding, aba! ako na lang ang breastfeeding and doing it exclusively (without giving formula)! I found it a bit surprising. Didn't think that I was patient and perservering enough to be the "last one standing." Hehehe...

It's even funny how one of my officemates, who gave birth 2 months ago, uses me as her benchmark and breastfeeding "idol." She even feels pressured to match the amount of milk I pump and produce and thinks to her self that she can't match up.

To her consolation, she doesn't need to produce as much milk as I do because every baby's consumption is unique. Likewise, every breastfeeding Mom's supply depends on her baby's demand. In Filipino, kanya-kanya pacing lang yun.

... So after all my breastfeeding crisis panic mode, I'm doing well after all. Whew!

Thanks to Polo, I am now a Mother

After blogging about Marvin's 1st Father's Day, I decided that I should capture the highlights of my 1st Mother's Day, as well. So here it goes.

Just like our Father's Day Celebration for Marvin, my 1st Mother's day was celebrated in 2 days.

Day1

Marvin promised his officemate, Palom that we'll attend her church wedding that day. We didn't confirm our attendance at their reception because we thought that it would be too late for Polo... So there we were, getting all dressed up with formal attire that saturday morning. Marvin took out his formal barong while I readied my cocktail dress (the only formal wear that still fit me at that time). Polo, on the other hand, didn't have any formal wear so he wore the most dashing onesies he had at that time (thanks to Tita Pia for that!). We almost missed to the church wedding. We arrived during communion. We made it a point to greet Palom and her husband before we left (as proof that we really were there... hehehe).

Since we were all dressed up and had no where to go, we decided to head to my favorite resto in Makati for an intimate family celebration of Mother's Day. Italianni's!!! Love it! Marvin left the task of ordering our food to me. Fickle me finally decided on getting Ziti and their newest Pizza flavor for us. I was delighted because they all turned out to taste sooooo delicioso!

Italianni's!!! I so love this place.

Smoke Salmon Dill ... (something) Pizza. It was a new menu item that time. It's a must try.

Determined to enjoy our mini celebration, we made it a point to take our time and not fret about Polo. True enough, we kept our cool in feeding him. Polo seemed interested to join in our meal so Marvin and I took turns in feeding him milk by the bottle. Since it was a Mother's Day celebration, Marvin took the 1st shift in nursing Polo while I had my fill of our Italian treat.

Marvin on feeding duty, 1st shift

I took the 2nd shift (and then had ate my 2nd serving of pizza and ziti).

Day 2

I woke up early in the morning to express milk for Polo and get ready for a busy day. Even as early as 6am, there were people texting me to send greetings. I used to receive such greetings from friends before. However, the greetings would be addressed to my Mother. This time around, it was different. The text messages were for me and hey, they went straight to my heart. It's like everyone understood the sacrifices, hardships and joys a new mom experiences.

Early in the morning, we headed to Christ the King to attend the Christening of Polo's kumpare, Luis Alleandre. Luis' parents Claire and Vlad decided to make me his Godmother. We weren't able to join Luis' reception but heard mass instead.

Polo with Luis

After that, we met up with my Mommy, Daddy, Jaz at my sister Joanne's house in Cubao. We celebrated Mother's Day with the Tan Clan. We exchanged gifts. I gave Ate and Mommy Mother's Day cards with personalized messages that made me cry even as I wrote them. Hehehe... Marvin and I also promised Mommy a free massage treat at the Spa, which she scheduled the next day. Ate Jo gave me a giraffe stuff toy for Polo and a kikay headband. While, Jaz gave me a cool set of turquiose earrings with a note that kinda said "thank you for being my 2nd mom."

In the afternoon, we all decided to go to Eastwood.

All the Mara ladies... malling in Eastwood

To end the day, we had a dinner feast at Somethin' Fishy. I got a special kiss from my Honey as well.

How sweet!!! One of the best gifts I received for Mother's Day. O yeah, btw, Marvin and Polo gave me a Happy Birthday Card for Mother's Day. Late did Marvin realize that the tune played by the "singing" card was "happy birthday to you..." Just the same, I was touched by their message. :0 Kakaiyak!!!

My Babies are Sick

Polo is sick. He has been coughing since last Monday. Marvin is sick, he's been down with cough since last week. I am the only one in our small nuclear family that is still well and healthy.

This is the second time Polo got sick. The first time was with viral as Doctors would call it. He had colds. He was melancholic and lethargic then but after a few days, he got better and was moving and smiling actively. Now, with his cough, he only has gotten worse after 4 days.

This morning, I decided to leave the house late in order to nurse Polo before going to the office. I left him with my Mom while I took a bath and got ready to go to work. While I was dressing up, my Mom came to me worried about Polo's continuous coughing. It was quite non-stop. So we went to my Mom's room to settle him down. We laid him with his back on a pillow and made him to lie down sidewards. He continued coughing until white mucous came out of his mouth. Shocked, I didn't get to respond immediately. Instead of finally coughing it out, Polo ended swallowing it all up again. Yikes...

He is more active now than when he had colds but whenever Marvin and I hear him cough, we are saddened with helplessness and concern.

I ended going to the office late this morning. Late for my 10am mtg and distracted from work. Yeah, things are different now that I am a Mom, especially now that I am nursing a sick son (and husband...). I now have to juggle work and family. I now have to learn to shift my focus from family to work and back again.

There's a bit of a struggle for me considering that I am a focused worker. Focused worker, meaning, I zero in on my task at hand when working. I can handle multi-tasking but my current job already entails a lot of multitasking that to add other stuff like family matters is quite a stretch for me.

Well, if I envision being an excellent working mom, then I better learn the ropes and start my balancing act, right? Ok, then. Well, back to work, Jopay.

Crying Over Spilled Milk

This morning I reluctantly disposed 2oz of breastmilk. I expressed it early this morning then went back to sleep only to find it being feasted on by ants after two hours. How could I have been sooo complacent???

I was too numb to cry over the loss. It hurts to see my labor of love go down the drain just like that. Oh well, I have to let that go and cling to the Sole Provider of All Good Things and trust that He will make a way and provide. (",)

A Breastfeeding Mom's New Gadget

I feel like I gained earned extra powers. My new breastpump is electric and it's a Medela!

I've been dreaming about owning a breastpump like this even before giving birth to Polo. When I gave birth to Polo, I wasn't really sure if I would be able to breastfeed so I made do with the Pigeon manual breastpump I borrowed from my sister. After using my sister's pump for a few days, my hand started to ache so bad. After a few more weeks, I began breaking some of it's delicate parts. It just wasn't sturdy (or my hand was just to heavy for delicate things).

Then came, the Ameda Egnell one-hand manual breastpump sent from the States by my in-laws. It was ergonomic and easy to use. I searched the net and discovered that the Ameda pump was even hospital grade just like Medela and Avent breastpumps. However, my hand would eventually stiffen after using it for 10-15min which would make me pump more heavier. It just wasn't the ideal breastpump for my busy working mom lifestyle.

Last thursday, I ended up stressed out and exhausted from trying to beat the clock all through the night while expressing milk for Polo. Only to find out that I was 1 bottle or 4oz short for my supply for the day, I was fretting during the day. All that worry caused me chills, a terrible headache, body pain and frequent and unpleasant trips to the comfort room. I ended up weak and nauseated the whole weekend!

I had to properly handle the pressure and stress of making sure Polo has sufficient milk supply for a day but I knew that I needed help. Only a more efficient and reliable breastpump could do the trick.

Thanks to my ever understanding and caring husband, I'm now a happy owner of a Medela mini-electric single breastpump! It's one gadget breastfeeding working moms should have :)

Prayer of Faith

"Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God.Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’and does not doubt in his heartbut believes that what he says will happen,it shall be done for him.Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer,believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours."

Amen. I say to myself and to everyone that I will breastfeed Polo until he is at least 1 year old. I will not doubt in my heart but believe that what I say shall happen and be done by God for me.

Lord, I ask that you continue to provide sufficient breastmilk for Polo. I believe and know that it shall happen as I request. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Indeed, nursing has become a walk of faith for me. A week or so ago, I had back up stock of expressed milk in the freezer that was good enough for an extra day. But now, Polo has increased his consumption. Whatever I pump and save today will be the amount of milk he'll consume the next day. No more back up stock.

Breastfeeding has now become daily bread, literally.

I know that I'll have enough supply if I diligently express milk during the day. Often times, what hinders me from doing this are the numerous meetings I have to attend to during the day. But, I've decided not to worry. God will make a way. He has provided me 24 hrs a day. I just need to find time and make time and so I will.

How Nice...

Guys, look at this. It's something Marvin made to cheer me up today. Ah... bonding moments with Polo...

Special Treatment

That's me with Polo comfortably breastfeeding in the breastfeeding station of SM Bicutan. I'm so grateful that Henry Sy and his people decided to create breastfeeding stations in SM Malls. So far, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia and SM Bicutan are their branches that have one.

The room had a blue love seat, a diaper changer table, a trash can, a sink and a flower vase with artificial flowers for effect. Simple but cozy and quiet. Exactly what a breastfeeding station should be. Oh and yeah, it also had a clinic located beside it. Talk about customer service.

Polo and I had our breastfeeding moment in peace.

Wish all malls and work places had designated breastfeeding stations.

Separation Anxiety?

In a couple of hours, Marvin and I will leave Polo in the care of my Mom. We're attending the wedding of our friends Mariel and Ponch at 2:30pm today. Unfortunately, the invitation is good for only 2 people. Polo's not invited. Well, it is a formal adult affair, anyway.

This will be the first time, I'll leave Polo and entrust someone else to take care of him. Since, I'll go back to work on May 15, today will be a trial. We'll see if the breastmilk I've been expressing and storing for him is enough.

More than keeping my fingers crossed on that one, I'm trusting that like Manna from Heaven, my breastmilk supply will be sufficient for Polo's daily needs. Just as Marvin told me, I should take it one day at a time. No need to fret but simply have faith that Polo will get his daily bread. Amen!

Part of me is anxious about leaving Polo with my Mom. I'm scared that she might finish up all the 63 oz of breastmilk I stored in our freezer just to keep Polo from crying (thinking that he's still hungry every time he cries). My Mom always seems to think that the milk Polo is taking in is not enough. That's why I'm afraid that she might have him gulp down more than the amount of milk I thawed for him today.

I'm also concerned about Polo. He might have separation anxiety as well and cry himself so badly. With that, my Mom might leave him to cry by himself to the point of exhaustion just to get him to quiet down and finally fall asleep.

Yep, I can be a worry-head. *Inhale*Exhale* Ok, I have to constantly remind myself that my Mom is a Pro. Heck, she already raised 3 daughters and successfully takes care of 2 grandchildren. She'll know what to do.

I wonder if I'll know what to do on my first day away from Polo. Yikes!

Taking It Slow

Welcome to my new blog!

Something unfortunate happened to my old one that I no longer have the zeal to continue posting entries there. Well, it must have been something I did when I accessed over the 3G network using my celfone.

Anyway, I've been out of circulation in the blogging world for more than 2 months now and there's a lot of things to say! I don't even know where to begin.

First I was pregnant, had a surprise baby shower, surprised a couple of friends who planned a surprise baby shower for me, suprised my officemates by going straight to the delivery room on the day they planned yet another surprise baby shower for me. Why does everything have to be a surprise, anyway?

that's me at 6 mos

Then on Feb 21, 2007 at around 4:30pm, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Juan Paolo Andre is his name and he shall be called Polo (as requested by his Dad). :)

This is our 1st family picture.

Polo is just 2 weeks old here

Now, I have a lot to say about motherhood, having a baby and going back to work... Tralala... I find it to tiring to relay everything chronologically so I'll just take it slow and write about stuff randomly.