Sorry, Marie Kondo, I can't

I posted before Kid #2 arrived about the room switcheroo that we were doing (Kid #1 being evicted from our room). I haven't posted any photos. And I will not. I should have posted right after Kid #1 moved to his room so that everything is fresh. And clean. And orderly. But now, it is all a mess. Even our room is.

Kid #1 really took over his room. And I can see a few years from now that is going to be worse. At 8 years old, his clothes and toys are everywhere. Blotches of lotion on the counter, swirls of lotion on the mirror. Tsk. Every weekend, I tell myself that I will fix and clean up his room. But ....

Our room is another story. I need to purge. We need to purge. I will try this spring. Problem is, I don't know what to do, where to put them. Debating whether to send them back to Philippines? Donate them? Give them to somebody else?

Everybody seems to be joyfully decluttering their homes, their lives, or so they say. I don't think I can do that. I am realistic enough that, that is just not for me. Although it is really appealing and joyful to see a clean and organized drawer, a spotless counter top, letting go of things that do not spark joy. I just can't, just not for me.

screen cap from Marie Kondo, official website

While I haven't really read the book, I've read some online reviews and analysis and noted that some of her styles were already used by other 'organizing' techniques. And I have used some of it too. Like instead of stacking up the clothes vertically, they should be folded and stack horizontally, in a way that you can see everything at one glance.

Well, it's like a diet. There are a thousand ways to  lose weight. I guess there's just no one way of tidying up, of decluttering and organizing your life. For now, KonMari is the fad, the juice cleanse of the month. But I didn't say I will not try to declutter, I will. I will find time. One area at a time (Marie Kondo says it should be by Category). Whatever works. And I will start with this:

the days go slow but the years go fast

Don't want to make a big fuss out of it but this year is kind of big because I'm hitting the big 4-0. Yeah, my waist line (Hope not!). Mid life. Where has all the years gone by? I can still remember when I was about to turn 18 and planning for my debut party. Oh well...

So to celebrate me being 4 decades old, I plan to take control of my health, specifically, my weight. I have been into this 4-week program since January 11 and now on my last week. Of course, it is hard. First week is the hardest. But I have seen improvements and so far I am liking it. Still not sure if I would continue until I've reached my target weight but we'll see. I am just so happy being able to wear non-maternity clothes a year after giving birth.

You can read a whole bunch of information and tips and what have you about dieting, exercising and losing weight. But here's what works for me:

1. I like that I am doing it with a buddy (or buddies). I have 2 co-workers who were also trying to lose some weight (they did it a week ahead of me, they're done now!). Sharing this journey with them makes me feel accountable and made me really push for it. Also, it makes it easier when there's 3 of us who are not eating desserts and not snacking come mid-afternoon slack!

2. I have my fitness pal app in my phone. I know some people find it so cumbersome to log your food intake but it really made me careful in choosing what I eat. It made me re-think of that 3rd slice of pizza!

3. Meal Prep works. It takes time, really. I mean planning for your meal for the whole week and then preparing your whole week's meal, there goes my weekend. I guess this is where most people fail. It is just so easy to grab what is available (which often than not, is not a healthy choice) than to choose and prepare what really is good and healthy.

Honestly, I don't think I would continue the Meal prep after this final week of the program. What icks me is that I have to prepare food for myself that is different from what the rest of the people in my household are eating. So I am planning to do healthy family menu that all of us can eat. And since I am more aware now of what is healthy and yummy, I will try to incorporate those healthy snacks and dishes into our daily menu. Try. I will try, okay? The problem with this kind of set up is all the cooking will be left on to me!

I will try to be back on yoga too. That is the only form of activity that I did prior to having Kid #2. And after giving birth, I only did one session of hot yoga. I will try to do it again on a weekly basis and maybe, hopefully, do it more than once a week. My diet buddy and car pool buddy is asking me to join her in the gym, to just run or do something. I don't know. I am not really an exercise kind of person. I'll just do yoga and see if I wanted to do more.

baby stuff

I have posted before I gave birth some of the baby stuff that we were planning on investing on: crib and mattress, milk, bath and skin care. Just wanted to finish what I have started (for once?) so here's the rest of it.

Milk/Feeding
We gave the baby whatever kind of milk that were given to us. Yeah. We're cheap. He was breastfed primarily so any other milk sufficed (Nestle Good Start, Enfa and Similac). But we mostly gave him Enfa after all of the freebies were gone and after he has stopped liking Mommy's milk. Now that he's a toddler, we are giving him homo.

For feeding bottles, we used Avent. Did not try any other ones. Avent were also the brand that we used with Kid #1. We used Dapple and Greenworks for the baby bottle dish soap. We also received Babies R Us sterilizer from the Baby Shower and that's what we are using until now. For Kid #1, we used Chicco.

Skin Care
I bought a lot of baby skin care before having the little one. Usually got the sample size if the brand has one. I bought Dr. Bronner's, Mustela, Wedela, Badger and Earth Mama Angel Baby. I've tried all of them. What stuck? I like Dr. Bronner's in washing his baby bums, specially when going out? It smells nice and it rinses easily well. But for total bathing and washing, I like Mustela the best. And that's what we are using still until now. For shampoo, he uses J&J. For moisturizer, we also stick with Mustela.

For diaper rash, I tried Badger and even Lanolin. But still went back to Desitin. Desitin worked with Kid #1 and still what worked with Kid #2.

Clothing/Bedding/Garment 
At first, I only used organic textiles for him. Bought them from Under the Nile, Sckoon, Aden & Anais, Perlimpinpin, Little Bamboo. We got gifts that came elsewhere and we used them also. Now, mostly all of his clothes are from major commercial retailers. But I must say that those initial investments I've bought were all great. They were really, really soft. Even the nurses from the hospital made a comment that, those were the softest swaddling cloth they have ever touched.

Stroller/Car Seat
We got the Graco Click Connect Stroller and Car seat combo. I forgot the actual Model/Type. We are still using both. The car seat is up to 35 lbs. Although Kid #2's legs and feet are now dangling outside the car seat, since he's still within the weight limit, we are still using it. We will get a new car seat once winter is over. We brought the stroller with us when we went back to the Philippines but it is not public commuter friendly, so we bought a slimmer stroller from Chicco and brought it back here, we will not buy umbrella stoller anymore once Kid #2 is too big for his baby stroller.

Diaper
I bought Naty diapers online to try on. It was okay. But  they were expensive. I believe they are also available on our local grocery store. But since J was the one doing the grocery while I was at the house with the baby, and he will not look for it at the store and he will not buy it since, it costs more, we used Pampers swaddlers. That's the best compromise that we can afford.

Toys
I tried to limit our purchase of toys. We have enough clutter at home and I don't want bins and bins and bins of toys overtaking our house. The toys that I bought were Sophie, 2 wooden toy cars and a teething dinosaur from Etsy, wooden Catterpillar from Begin Again, wooden Grasping beads and wooden Fish rattle from Haba, Uncle Goose's wooden alphabet blocks, Janod Animal Alphabet Cards, and Share Sorter and Stacking Cups from Green Toys. I highly recommend these toys because they are safe for babies and kids. I purchased some mainstream toys too, a soft book from Skip Hop and a few soft toys and stroller toys. We have received a couple of battery operated toys too, mostly from Fisher Price.

So far, he enjoyed Sophie, the Grasping beads, wooden blocks, alphabet cards, shape sorted and stacking cups. He still enjoys them except for Sophie. But he likes Sophie Books.

There.

3 months

Almost. Almost 3 months since I got back at work. So far, so good. I missed work. Yeah. I have had my time of being a stay at home wife and mom and I also enjoyed those days. But I like working too (read: $$$).

Anyway, I guess I got the vibes again. Navigated my way back. Remembered long forgotten passwords and scripts and rules (why is that again? what's this for? ooohhhhhh...).

In these months that I was back, I got sick. The baby got sick (for the first time!). Struggle. But not that much, really. Good thing J is at home. And so are Lolo and Lola. Times living with in-laws is something to be grateful for.

Oh, the places he will go!

Yes, after the post about Birth Announcement/Birthing Story comes the 1^st Birthday post. I know I am just kidding myself when I wrote that I shall be trying to write while I was on maternity leave.

Anyway, I am back now at work. Bunso is one year old. What a year that was!

The first days were terrifying because of the G6PD deficiency complications. Bunso displayed an early onset of G6PD Deficiency symptoms. So bad that we have to leave him at the Hospital’s NICU. His bilirubin was at alarming level, his pee was tea colored, he was losing weight more than is expected. That is just too much for his tiny body. And too much also for Mommy. I am just glad that I did not have post partum depression and that Bunso is okay after about 9 days.

Since it was winter, Bunso and I just stayed home. We hibernate. We went out occasionally but that is just if it is needed. 

We only had walks about April or May? He was baptized in May in preparation for our back-to-the-Philippines trip (separate post for that trip).

By the time that the weather is ideal for strolling, we were also ready flying back home to the Philippines. 

We were not really planning for anything extravagant for his 1^st birthday celebration. I have learned my lesson that babies really don’t need that kind of party at that age. Plus it is costly. We had that fantastic Philippines trip so we were just planning to lay it low this time. 

 When we got back here, I re-started the party planning -- contacted and booked suppliers -- I did it mostly online, while trying to re-connect to the city. 

We have agreed that it should not be too fancy, yes, but I of course wanted something special for him too.

On the actual day of his birthday, we did a cake smash pictorial and simple party at home. 

While the actual birthday celebration was just a simple get together with relatives and friends. If I can have it my way, I would have wanted it at our home but I know that’s going to involve too much stress and planning for me and our house is not going to accommodate all the guests comfortably. We settled for a buffet restaurant.

A few balloons, a special cake, birthday banner, customized candies, and a theme-related souvenir. That’s it.

Here’s to more happy and healthy years and more places to go! We love you, Bunso!

Javier

Javier Alissandro

November 3, 4:18 am

6 lbs and 14 oz 

They say each pregnancy is completely different from another and I completely agree. I must say that it is also true with giving birth. My first one was uneventful and painless but kind of complicated because I needed blood transfusion. This time, I was also aiming for an uneventful labor and push day. Although I was a bit worried because I didn't know what pain management technique is going to be used during THE day. 

Thank goodness it was also uneventful but far from painless. 

I was awaken by a throbbing pain on my hips at around 2:30 am. I thought that was just because of my  awkward sleeping position. Since Ii was already awake, I decided to take a pee... Oppps there's a bloody show. And then I suddenly realized that the pain is still there. I calmly woke J up and told him, I think this is the time. We both got ready hurriedly but calmly. I can feel the pain and it was really hard to walk but was still tolerable. I was timing it and it is already within 15 to 20 seconds intervals. 

It is a Monday so my Kid #1 had to go to school. We informed my FIL (father in law) that we are going to the hospital and to please look after our son. When we are about 5 minutes away from the house, J decided to have my FIL go with us so he can take the car back to our house since we will be staying in the hospital and parking fee is way too expensive.  So we drive back home to pick up FIL. It is now 10 to 15 seconds interval. 

When we reached the hospital area J asked me if it is all right to go around the hospital area once so that my FIL would know where to park and where to drive back home. Okaaayyyy. I'm in labor here? I agreed because I don't want to argue anymore. I'm busy concentrating to hold it off until we are at the hospital room. 

We did the roundabout and finally we were at admission. A few questions answered, presented our med cards, printed the hosp tags and then we were instructed to go to the 3rd floor for triage. On foot. Yup. No wheel chair or whatever. At the triage, a a few more questions and room was given to us and a hospital gown for me to change into. I am just lucky and thankful that I just have to stay at one room -- from labor to delivery to recovery until the baby and I are ready to check out. 

Once I was settled in our room (J is with me all through out),  I was given internal exam and there... The dilation is already  9 cm and ready to push anytime. There were only nurses and the doctor was not yet with us so I am still holding myself not to push. They took my vitals, etc. and was telling them how my first delivery was. Come to think of it, don't they have a copy of my history? I have already told my Obgyn about that. Since I had a previous blood transfusion, they were trying to find a good vein to have it ready for blood transfusion, just in case. I was poked several times by 3 nurses until they found a good one. By this time i was already in pain and was already asking for the doctor because i know I am way too ready to push. There was no time for epidural or whatever. 

Needless to say it was a short labor. It was painful but bearable. The doctor asked if i want the baby on my chest once he's out and I said yes. He asked J if he wanted to cut the cord, of course J declined. Haha! 

So here's my bunso's birthing story, Needless to say, it was all worth it. 

Hiatus

I know. I have been gone again. Well, as you may have guessed, I have popped! The baby couldn't have timed it a little better. I have filed for Mat Leave effective Nov 3. And he decided he wanted to see the world on that day, 10 days earlier than our due date. But at least he let us do our trick or treating.

So how am i doing, you might ask. The past 2 months have been blissful -- not. Heheh i am not one to sugar coat it, but my first born is already 7 years old, i have already forgotten how it feels like to have a newborn, the struggles of the 4th trimester. So yeah, sleepless nights, spits, crying (baby and mom?) and all, I'm getting familiar with them again. Am i complaining? Yeah. But.... But, looking at my wee one erases all of those mentioned above. If you're a mom, you know it's true.  I may have begrudgingly wake up in the middle of the night for feeding and nappy change but will be cooing happily with him afterwards. The crazy world of having a baby.

Bye for now but i will try to do a post every once in a while. I will also do a separate post to properly announce the wee one. 

Oh, by the way, Happy New Year! I hope you had a great time celebrating the season. May we all be safe, healthy, happy and loved this 2015. Kanpai!