I've recently lost a great aunt...my cousins lost their dear mom and my mom lost her loving sister. It's a sad time for all of us since we didn't see it coming. The only signs of her being sick was her fatigue, which can be easily mistaken for something unalarming.
She was diagnosed with Acquired Aplastic Anemia a few days after her 62nd birthday. She was confined the hospital for about a week, and just last Saturday morning while my family was in Tagaytay, we got the news that she passed away already.
It just hurts a lot...many of us cannot believe she's gone now. And I know many of us are asking "why?". But we don't know what God's plan is. For her husband and her kids and the rest of the family she herself was not ready to leave behind. We just have to move on and keep memories of her in our hearts.
Many of us were not able to say goodbye and see her alive one last time, so this is my way of getting some closure...
Dear Auntie M.,
Thank you for being a wonderful sister to my mom. I will always be grateful for the way you candidly advised her, looked out for her and listened to her.
I love the candid photo of you taken at my wedding...how you smiled and cheered for us. You looked so happy for us that day, I truly am touched at how you embraced being our Ninang that day.
We will miss your leche flan, the gigantic prawns you bring to christmas dinners, your ready laugh and fondness of the kids.
We will just miss you.
May you be at peace, Auntie M. Don't worry about us... we will get through somehow. You taught us how to be strong.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
My Breast Eczema Ordeal and My brief encounter with Dr. Jack Newman
I almost weaned my 19 month old toddler prematurely. The pain I experienced from breast eczema was so bad, I was biting my lip from trying to bear with the pain everytime my toddler latched on. I came to dread breastfeeding the past month. My baby refuses to drink from a bottle and would cry when I refused to nurse, so I bore the pain for weeks, thinking the sores will eventually go away. I thought I had thrush since almost everyone I know and most of what I've read online pointed my symptoms were that of a bad thrush infection. But after several anti-fungal drug treatments and I wasn't getting any better, I decided it was time to visit Dr. Christina Bernardo at Medical City. She's one of the highly recommended Gynecologists/Pediatrician here in Manila who specializes in breastfeeding and lactation problems.
My symptoms:
1. Sore & cracked nipples that didn't improve even with the use of several good nipple creams.
2. Dry flaky skin around nipple and areola.
3. Sores developing on the sides of nipples due to tearing when baby latches on to sensitive and dry nipples.
4. Occassional bleeding due to the cracks.
5. Incredible (sometimes shooting) pain during breastfeeding due to the sores ("singaw"-like wounds) that is isolated near nipple/areola area.
After my visit to Dr. Bernardo, it was such a relief to know that I only had severe breast eczema and not thrush as I initially thought. Turns out that thrush has symptoms almost similar to breast eczema except that the shooting pain you feel usually radiates from the nipple towards the back of the breast near your armpit. And with thrush, your baby usually has white spots or sores in his mouth as well...something which my S didn't have. She prescribed oral antibiotics to help the sores heal faster and a topical steroid/anti-inflammatory cream to be applied on the affected areas. She asked me to take the antibiotics and use the cream for seven days.
I was so thrilled when I noticed an immediate improvement after the first application of the cream. After seven days, my nipples looked normal again! The eczema made my nipples look so dreadful for so many weeks that I've begun to forget what my normal nipples looked like! And the best thing? My baby and I can finally breastfeed pain-free after so long :)
The downside...eczema doesn't clear up easily. My areola started to get dry and itchy again with signs of the flaky skin returning a day after I stopped using the steroidal cream.
I was dreading the return of the eczema again and was afraid continous use of the steroidal cream would be bad for my baby as well. That was when I stumbled upon Dr. Jack Newman's facebook account and email add. Almost everyone who researched about breastfeeding would know Dr. Newman and his wonderfully informative latch-on videos. From what I've observed, he was generously giving advice to anyone who posted breastfeeding questions on his FB wall. So I tried emailing him the details of my symptoms and concern. What have I got to lose? I was desperate for advice. I was so thrilled when he responded within an hour after I sent him my email! Dr. Jack Newman responded!!! Wow! ;)
He reassured me that it was safe to use the steroidal cream every 2 to 3 days and see what works for me until the eczema clears up. He also suggested that I could use olive oil to help with the dry patches that may appear. So far, the olive oil and occassional use of the cream helps in keeping the eczema at bay.
To contact Dr. Jack Newman, in case your breastfeeding concerns are not addressed by his online sources, you may contact him here at the IBC site.
Dr. Christina Bernardo can be reached through The Bernardo Clinic, or you may contact her assistant Jane thru 09228216012.
My symptoms:
1. Sore & cracked nipples that didn't improve even with the use of several good nipple creams.
2. Dry flaky skin around nipple and areola.
3. Sores developing on the sides of nipples due to tearing when baby latches on to sensitive and dry nipples.
4. Occassional bleeding due to the cracks.
5. Incredible (sometimes shooting) pain during breastfeeding due to the sores ("singaw"-like wounds) that is isolated near nipple/areola area.
After my visit to Dr. Bernardo, it was such a relief to know that I only had severe breast eczema and not thrush as I initially thought. Turns out that thrush has symptoms almost similar to breast eczema except that the shooting pain you feel usually radiates from the nipple towards the back of the breast near your armpit. And with thrush, your baby usually has white spots or sores in his mouth as well...something which my S didn't have. She prescribed oral antibiotics to help the sores heal faster and a topical steroid/anti-inflammatory cream to be applied on the affected areas. She asked me to take the antibiotics and use the cream for seven days.
I was so thrilled when I noticed an immediate improvement after the first application of the cream. After seven days, my nipples looked normal again! The eczema made my nipples look so dreadful for so many weeks that I've begun to forget what my normal nipples looked like! And the best thing? My baby and I can finally breastfeed pain-free after so long :)
The downside...eczema doesn't clear up easily. My areola started to get dry and itchy again with signs of the flaky skin returning a day after I stopped using the steroidal cream.
I was dreading the return of the eczema again and was afraid continous use of the steroidal cream would be bad for my baby as well. That was when I stumbled upon Dr. Jack Newman's facebook account and email add. Almost everyone who researched about breastfeeding would know Dr. Newman and his wonderfully informative latch-on videos. From what I've observed, he was generously giving advice to anyone who posted breastfeeding questions on his FB wall. So I tried emailing him the details of my symptoms and concern. What have I got to lose? I was desperate for advice. I was so thrilled when he responded within an hour after I sent him my email! Dr. Jack Newman responded!!! Wow! ;)
He reassured me that it was safe to use the steroidal cream every 2 to 3 days and see what works for me until the eczema clears up. He also suggested that I could use olive oil to help with the dry patches that may appear. So far, the olive oil and occassional use of the cream helps in keeping the eczema at bay.
To contact Dr. Jack Newman, in case your breastfeeding concerns are not addressed by his online sources, you may contact him here at the IBC site.
Dr. Christina Bernardo can be reached through The Bernardo Clinic, or you may contact her assistant Jane thru 09228216012.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Guest Post & a Prize
Woohoo! Last December I joined a blog giveaway by the Crash Test Mommies and won their first prize. Along with the prize was that I was given an opportunity to write a review of the product I got and was featured as a Guest Post in their site... Please take time to read my review and see what I won!
You can read my guest post at the Crash Test Mommies' site.
You can read my guest post at the Crash Test Mommies' site.
Friday, January 25, 2013
My Lip Miracle in a pot!
Having dry chapped lips has always been a perpetual problem for me. You know those moments when you try on lipsticks in mall counters and suddenly notice your chapped flaky lips in the mirror?Making it embarrassing to try on different lippies since they'd all look awful either way?
This will be a definite mainstay in my pursebag from now on. No more flakes, just soft kissable yummy lips from now on!
By the way, Multiply is having a special 20% discount on all purchases in their Trusted Sellers online shops. Just encode PH-TWENTYOFF in the discount code box upon checkout. Or try encoding PH-CHECKOUT to get Php250 off for at least a Php500 worth of purchase. Promo discount til February 15 only. Let's shop!!! :)
That was until I discovered Ellana Lipscrub while browsing one of my favorite online stores...
Caleb's Closet Ecostore. It's a lipscrub made of sugar, vitamin E, shea and murumuru oils in Grapefruit variant. I tried it on my parched lips as soon as it arrived in my doorstep and was happily surprised how it left my lips soft and smooth. Not a dry flake in sight! The sugar scrubs away the dry flakes gently and the grapefruit sugary taste makes it a pleasant experience.
This will be a definite mainstay in my pursebag from now on. No more flakes, just soft kissable yummy lips from now on!
By the way, Multiply is having a special 20% discount on all purchases in their Trusted Sellers online shops. Just encode PH-TWENTYOFF in the discount code box upon checkout. Or try encoding PH-CHECKOUT to get Php250 off for at least a Php500 worth of purchase. Promo discount til February 15 only. Let's shop!!! :)
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
My Second turns One: Born on the Fourth of July
One year passed by so fast, I am barely ready for it to be over. I still want my baby to hold and cuddle! I want my baby in my arm, to nurse and hug and need me to carry him. But he's one now...and he's already excited to learn how to walk. He would run if he could but settles for walking one or two steps and grudgingly thumps his butt down on the floor with a whine of protest...so eager to grow up and start walking away from me (pout pout) ;p
All I can do now is savor each passing moment with him. I know he won't be a baby for long. My 4 year old is living testament to how fast they grow. He's been sleeping with me every night of this past year, I've nursed him to sleep and through sickness and booboos, rocked him to sleep even if his heaviness made my arms sore just to soothe his sleepy crying. So all I can do now is cherish his babyness for I will surely miss it in the days to come.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Toddler & the not-so-New Baby
I always thought that sibling rivalry meant that older siblings become jealous over his new baby brother or sister by openly showing dislike towards the baby, fighting with the baby or pulling parents away from baby to get attention all to himself again.
But it isn't always like that. What commonly happens is something like in my 3.5 yrs old toddler's case...the first few days when we brought home baby#2 seemed uneventful. My toddler seemed to adore the baby a lot and was proud to now be appointed the all awesome title of "Ahia" or big brother.
After two weeks, the nightmare started. I guess A started to realize that the baby is not only a new playmate (whom he actually had limited access to for now)...but someone who needs constant care and who takes a lot of mommy's time away from him. It doesn't help that A is also having cough/colds that time so we try to keep him away from baby...and since I have to be with baby all the time the first few weeks to establish the breastfeeding process, he had to stay away from me too.
A began to act up more than usual. I mean, he usually has his normal toddler tantrums. But this time it was 10x a lot worse than usual. He would scream and cry about everything. Even something as little like picking out clothes, he'd scream at his yaya (nanny) and would throw stuff at her in frustration. We'd hear him screaming about something almost every hour every day. It was becoming exhausting. At first, I'd just get really angry at him and punish his bad behavior. But after a month or so of this, we realized that his mega tantrums were actually his way of showing his jealousy over the new baby.
He was directing his anger, sadness and frustration at us and not the new baby. (Which I guess is better than having him dislike his baby brother.)
He loves his baby brother very much and loves to constantly shower him with hugs and kisses. He even knows how to be gentle with him. That is why I never thought he was actually feeling resentful of the time we give to his baby brother. We actually took his feelings for granted. An article I read about The New Baby in gentleparents.com was really helpful in opening my eyes to what a toddler feels when a new baby comes into their life. I wish I had been more sensitive to his feelings right from the beginning.
When we started to consciously give A more solo time, he began to change his attention-seeking bad behaviors instantly. He'd still get those super sensitive crying spells issues when he'd cry over little things and would now know how to pout when I am cranky and snap at him for being too "makulit". But he's become better behaved now (that baby is 8 months old) and has come a long way from the way he behaved the first few months. He still loves baby to bits and baby adores his big brother so much. No one can make baby readily laugh like his big brother can. And it's so cute how he looks at his brother with idolizing awe.
It's hard to balance time for both kids specially when I only have one yaya to help with both and breastfeeding baby makes me the primary caregiver to baby 2. But finding more time to give attention to the older toddler is essential to all our well-being. Turns out all he needed was the extra attention to reassure himself that we still love him even though there are times we may be busy with the baby's needs. It takes a lot of patience (which I sometimes lack) and time but what are parent's for anyway?
Now, we're trying to figure out how to make A stop babbling jibberish at times like he's imitating the baby. He growls and grunts sometimes now when he's in a bad mood and wants to be carried too when we go out (coz I always carry the baby with me on a sling). I guess this is what they call "reverting to babyhood" in older siblings. I guess am just glad he hasn't reverted back to pooping in his pants again like I've heard some kids do too.
But it isn't always like that. What commonly happens is something like in my 3.5 yrs old toddler's case...the first few days when we brought home baby#2 seemed uneventful. My toddler seemed to adore the baby a lot and was proud to now be appointed the all awesome title of "Ahia" or big brother.After two weeks, the nightmare started. I guess A started to realize that the baby is not only a new playmate (whom he actually had limited access to for now)...but someone who needs constant care and who takes a lot of mommy's time away from him. It doesn't help that A is also having cough/colds that time so we try to keep him away from baby...and since I have to be with baby all the time the first few weeks to establish the breastfeeding process, he had to stay away from me too.
A began to act up more than usual. I mean, he usually has his normal toddler tantrums. But this time it was 10x a lot worse than usual. He would scream and cry about everything. Even something as little like picking out clothes, he'd scream at his yaya (nanny) and would throw stuff at her in frustration. We'd hear him screaming about something almost every hour every day. It was becoming exhausting. At first, I'd just get really angry at him and punish his bad behavior. But after a month or so of this, we realized that his mega tantrums were actually his way of showing his jealousy over the new baby.
He was directing his anger, sadness and frustration at us and not the new baby. (Which I guess is better than having him dislike his baby brother.)
He loves his baby brother very much and loves to constantly shower him with hugs and kisses. He even knows how to be gentle with him. That is why I never thought he was actually feeling resentful of the time we give to his baby brother. We actually took his feelings for granted. An article I read about The New Baby in gentleparents.com was really helpful in opening my eyes to what a toddler feels when a new baby comes into their life. I wish I had been more sensitive to his feelings right from the beginning.
When we started to consciously give A more solo time, he began to change his attention-seeking bad behaviors instantly. He'd still get those super sensitive crying spells issues when he'd cry over little things and would now know how to pout when I am cranky and snap at him for being too "makulit". But he's become better behaved now (that baby is 8 months old) and has come a long way from the way he behaved the first few months. He still loves baby to bits and baby adores his big brother so much. No one can make baby readily laugh like his big brother can. And it's so cute how he looks at his brother with idolizing awe.
It's hard to balance time for both kids specially when I only have one yaya to help with both and breastfeeding baby makes me the primary caregiver to baby 2. But finding more time to give attention to the older toddler is essential to all our well-being. Turns out all he needed was the extra attention to reassure himself that we still love him even though there are times we may be busy with the baby's needs. It takes a lot of patience (which I sometimes lack) and time but what are parent's for anyway?
Now, we're trying to figure out how to make A stop babbling jibberish at times like he's imitating the baby. He growls and grunts sometimes now when he's in a bad mood and wants to be carried too when we go out (coz I always carry the baby with me on a sling). I guess this is what they call "reverting to babyhood" in older siblings. I guess am just glad he hasn't reverted back to pooping in his pants again like I've heard some kids do too.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Breastfeeding No. 2
The moment I first held my second baby, S, while I was at the hospital recovery room a few minutes after giving birth and felt the warmth of his body as he suckled with gusto...I knew everything will be alright this second time around.
You see, with my eldest son...I was a naive new mom who thought taking care of a baby and breastfeeding would be easy-breezy. Ha! After bringing home A, the sleepless nights coupled with A's problem with nipple confusion (the hospital gave him bottled formula milk and whisked him away after he was born. I wasn't even allowed to touch him despite the fact that I had a very fast and normal delivery) crumbled my determination to breastfeed. Sleep-deprived and depressed, I soon caved in and fed A formula and whatever breastmilk I could find time to express in between the every two hours feeding. I didn't know anything about the challenges of breastfeeding, didn't know there was so much local support groups and online help to be found.
So with baby S, hubby and I decided to change to a breastfeeding-friendly hospital to ensure that right from the start, we get a better chance at being successful in breastfeeding baby #2. We also went to several seminars at the Medela House and read about every available information that could help equip us this time. Having breastfeeding mom-friends helped a lot too.
We didn't expect S to be such a healthy 8.14 pounder since it was a pretty easy one hour labor and normal delivery. But although S was a strong suckler, he started to lose some weight and by 2 weeks, we were afraid he was looking a bit scrawnier than the way he looked on Day 1. He was having a bit of a hard time latching on and for two weeks I had to bare the pain I was experiencing from his improper latch.
We strived hard and eventually, the pain went away, and he was finally gaining weight again. Yes, there were moments of doubts and feelings like "when will this constant feeding ever stop?" phase. But with my experience with A, I knew time will pass and everything will not last for long. They grow up so fast and changes seem to happen in a blink of an eye.
We strived hard and eventually, the pain went away, and he was finally gaining weight again. Yes, there were moments of doubts and feelings like "when will this constant feeding ever stop?" phase. But with my experience with A, I knew time will pass and everything will not last for long. They grow up so fast and changes seem to happen in a blink of an eye.
 |
| S at Day 1 |
 |
| S lost some weight at Month 1, but after continuous faith in breastfeeding.... |
 |
| S began to gain some weight here shown above in Month 2... |
 |
| Month 3 |
 |
| Month 4- Look at those chubby cubby cheeks! Am proud to say it's all from exclusive breastfeeding! Not one drop of formula here :) |
 |
| 7 months |
It was such a joy to know that I have managed to nourish my once scrawny baby into a healthy exclusively breastfed baby for 8 months now and still going strong :) It does get easier as they grow older. We hit some minor roadblocks when he was teething (which will blog about next time) but with patience and persistence, we passed it. Still manage to take one day at a time and hope to breastfeed for as long as baby is willing. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)