Survival Guide for A Newbie Mom

Before I begin, let me put out a disclaimer that I am in no way, shape or form an expert on motherhood. Everything I will be mentioning in this blog post is based from my own experience being a first time mom at age 33.

When I was on my last trimester of my pregnancy, I made an effort to read books and even online about labor and delivery and of course taking care of a newborn. Though I have a nephew and niece, I didn't get to be around with them and observe how my sister took care of them since I was working abroad. So when I finally gave birth to my son, I had to learn everything from scratch based on what I've read, help from my sister and mom and of course my motherly instincts.

So how did I survive the first two months? Well, let me give you the low down...

1. DO NOT PANIC

Yes, that is the worst thing that you can do when you have a newborn baby crying uncontrollably  in front of you. Before you pick your him up, take a deep breath and relax. First, check if your baby is feeling uncomfortable. Hold his hands and feet and see if it's hot or cold, add or remove one layer of clothing accordingly. Next check if there's a poop explosion. If it's all clear, then watch out for signs of hunger ie. sucking motion. What I like to do is put my forefinger knuckle around on his cheeks near his lips and see if he will try to catch it. If he does, then yes, it's feeding time! If all else fails, then your baby might just be longing for mommy's cuddle so pick him up and comfort your little one. Try to burp him while you're at it. 

2. KEEP THINGS WITHIN REACH

It will make your life much easier if you keep all necessary things like diaper, wet wipes, alcohol and the like within reach especially at night time. If you are formula feeding, keeping your bottles, distilled water and formula by your bedside will also make your night time feedings less stressful. However, breastfeeding your baby will be a LOT easier (and not to mention healthier) coz you just need to take one boobie out and you're good to go :) I also find that co-sleeping with my baby made it more manageable at night but be cautious though that you don't squish your baby. Putting pillows around him helped.

3. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB

With the technology nowadays, information is just one swipe away. Google will be your best friend especially if you are the paranoid kind like me. Every single thing that is out of the norm that I notice on my baby makes me overly concerned. So before I bother my pedia with my paranoia, I would normally google and search for answers first but from reliable sources of course. My most visited sites are Baby Center and Kellymom. There are also lots of applications that you can download on your phone to help you keep track of your nursing schedule and diaper changes. I used Baby Nursing app on my baby's first few weeks. Another useful app if Lactamed where you can check if a certain medication is safe for nursing mothers. The possibilities are endless in the internet world, all you have to do is search for it :)

4. FIND A SUPPORT GROUP

It's nice to be surrounded with people who are going through or have gone through the same as you. You can share tips and tricks on how to take care of your little bundle of joy. You can also find virtual mommy friends online by joining Facebook groups for moms like Breastfeeding Pinays where I  personally learned a lot. Thanks to my friend Chie (Hi Chie if you're reading this!) for introducing the group to me. I also joined another group of mommies on FB who also gave birth on the first quarter of this year so we have a lot in common to talk about and share experiences with. It is such a relief to know when people are also going through the same things like you. 

5. LASTLY, FIND TIME FOR YOURSELF

If you want to come out of this alive and sane, then you have to spend some quality "me" time. A  two-hour mall time for me is enough just to rejuvenate, getting a hair cut or a mani and pedi would be a bonus. I have to be honest though, I miss my baby when I'm out and about so I'm sure you'd feel the same. But having your "me" time doesn't mean you have to leave the comforts of your own home. Like for me, blogging is one way to de-stress and let my creative juices come out again. I do this when my little one is asleep. Just take advantage of this time and do things that you haven't done in a long time.

So there you go... I hope these tips will help you survive the first few months of your new found career as mommies! If you want to share your own tips, don't hesitate to leave 'em below :)

Thanks ladies!

Ciao!

Applying For Baby's Philippine Passport

Having a husband working abroad while I take care of our newborn son is difficult. All I can wish for is for us to be together. Initially, our plan is for my hubby to come over and visit us once a month but looking at it financially, it seemed impractical. So we decided that it would be more reasonable for my baby and I to just fly over to Singapore to visit him and stay there for a month or two. 

But before we can do that, our almost 2-month old baby Zeb must have his passport first so last March 18, we went to the DFA office in Aseana Business Park along Macapagal boulevard to apply. By right, an applicant must book an appointment first on their website {or call 737-1000} before heading down to their office but luckily there are exemptions -- senior citizens, infants and minors below 1 year old, person with disability and OFWs. Yay!

As I walked in, the guard instructed me to proceed to the 2nd floor of gate 5 which is where the priority lane is. There I was given an application form and a queue number {tip: download the form online and fill it out at home to save time}. As soon as my number was called, the lady behind the counter asked me to produce the original copies of the required documents one by one and then asked for the photocopied versions. For my Zeb's application, I was asked to show my passport, his birth certificate in security paper {or SECPA as they call it, which you can request from the local civil registrar of the municipality where your baby was born} and our marriage contract. After that, I was instructed to proceed to the cashier and pay Php1,200. Regular processing fee is Php950 but those who used the priority lane is subjected to pay a higher amount {don't ask me why}. 

After settling the fee, we proceeded to the picture taking booth dedicated for infants. The staff laid out a blue blanket on the table and asked me to put Zeb down. Luckily, he was cooperative that day and it only took us one shot to get this photo {good job baby!}.

On  my way out, I stopped by the LBC booth to have it delivered to our house instead of picking it up. I paid Php120 for the delivery charge and I was told that it will be delivered after 7 working days which happens to be today, March 28! I've been waiting for it since this morning so when I heard the door bell ring this afternoon, I knew that was it! We are so excited to be with daddy :)

Anyway, the whole process only took me around 30 minutes. It could have been faster had I filled out the form beforehand because carrying a baby and filling out a form at the same time ain't easy. I do hope that this pleasant experience can be applied to everyone, not just to those in priority lane. But overall, I can still see some glare of hope in our system.

Thanks for reading guys. Hope this helps!

Ciao!

Welcoming our Zeb Gavin

Hello there ladies!

Sorry for my short hiatus. For those who have been following this blog, I am no longer living in Singapore but my husband still is. I came home here in the Philippines last December and officially became a stay-at-home wife.

After I stopped working, I found myself spending my time reading up on labor and delivery as I was very anxious or should I say S-C-A-R-E-D about the pain of giving birth. This is probably one of my greatest fear in life. I like to believe that I have a high threshold for pain but there's something about delivering a small human being via the small hole and the thought of it tearing/ripping scares the hell out of me. It makes my knees weak.

Anyhoo, I'm here to share with you guys my birthing story. It actually turned out to be a good experience as there was minimal pain in my labor and delivery.  Thanks to my baby :) 

So, here goes...

February 3

9AM

I woke up and felt that my undies was wet. I went to the bathroom to make sure that I just didn't accidentally peed on myself. I was wearing white undies that day so it was  fairly easy to see if there is a yellowish stain and there wasn't. I actually had to (sorry TMI) smell it just to make sure but it didn't really smell anything like pee so in my mind I know that it could have been from my water bag. At first I was still in denial. I didn't want to believe that I could be giving birth on that day because my husband is not yet here. He was actually scheduled to come home on the 6th of Feb. I couldn't imagine going through my labor and delivery without him by my side so I had to stay calm and collected. I then took a bath and dressed up. After a few minutes of thinking what to do, I decided to text my OB (my cousin Dra. Leonor Manio-Leonardo) and tell her about the wet undies. She instructed me to go directly to the Genesis Center of Asian Hospital for admission because my water bag have ruptured. As soon as I read the word ADMISSION, reality hit me in the face. This is it! I am giving birth... OH-EM-GEE! I was still hesitant at first because I was not feeling any pain or contractions but my OB told me that baby is exposed to the environment and I need to be induced.

I called my husband right away and broke the news and needless to say, I cried my eyes out! He calmed me down and said that he will be booking a flight that same day. He got the 4PM flight and was expected to reach Manila around 8-ish. I was really hoping that baby can wait for daddy before he decide to come out.

12:30PM

We reached Asian Hospital and as instructed, we went straight to the Genesis Center.  They did an IE and cervix was still closed. After that, a speculum was inserted down there to check my water bag and we found out it was not ruptured yet. What I experience may have been a leak. I was then strapped to a fetal monitor to check my contractions and they saw that I was having strong ones every 5 minutes however I wasn't feeling any pain at all. Since I haven't eaten anything since the night before, I asked permission from my OB if I can have my lunch first and she gave me the go signal.

2PM

I went back to the labor room and had me strapped again to the fetal monitor. This time the contractions were milder. Maybe because I kept asking baby to wait for his daddy before making his big entrance. 

4:30PM

I was put on oxytocin via an IV to induce labor and for contractions to start. I kept looking at the graph coming out of fetal monitor and there were contractions but it wasn't consistent and I still was not feeling any pain. 

8:30PM

Daddy made it to the hospital! Yay! I had a sigh of relief after seeing my husband walk through the door! Finally, I don't have to go through it alone anymore. 

11PM

They did an IE a couple of times more and my cervix was still closed so my OB ordered to stop my IV first and have it resumed the next day. At this point, I was already very exhausted. Lying on the bed almost the whole day strapped to a monitor was not the most comfortable feeling.

February 4

5AM

The nurse came in and resumed my oxytocin. After an hour, I started to feel the contractions but the pain was still bearable. Nothing that I couldn't handle. To be honest though, I was already petrified because I thought my labor will start anytime soon and the pain will get stronger and stronger but it didn't.

6:40AM

IE was done and I was finally 1 cm dilated! Finally we saw some "progress". We were already feeling the excitement but at the back of my mind I was also preparing myself for the pain. Hours passed and I didn't progress. I was stuck at 1 cm.

1:30PM

Doctor's order came that I can no longer eat or drink, not even water. I already knew that this in preparation for a C-section in case baby really decides not to come out the natural way. I felt torn. I have always wanted to experience that magical natural child birth that everybody's talking about but on the other hand, I felt that I will be able to handle the pain of a C-section more. Maybe because of my experience with my laparoscopic surgery a year ago. 

6PM

My OB arrived at the hospital and from then on things went by fast. After 10 minutes, I found myself inside the operating room and the spinal anesthesia is being administered. After a minute or two, it has taken effect and half of my body was already numb. This is it! We will finally meet our precious little baby! I felt sleepy but I tried to fight it off. I wanted to be awake when my baby comes out and burst out his first cry.

At 6:48PM, our precious little one, Zeb Gavin Lim said hello to the world!

Our Zeb Gavin with my OB Dra. Leonor Manio-Leonardo

Turns out, my baby's cord was around his neck and maybe that's one reason why he was not descending down my pelvis. We just thanked God that he came out safe and healthy at 3.5kg! The doctors and nurses kept telling me that he's a big baby and that I may not be able to deliver him via normal delivery.

Anyway, luckily daddy was allowed inside so he was able to take photos. I will forever treasure this moment. It has totally turned our lives around - we are now PARENTS. I know it's a tough job but it is a blessing to be one.

Our first family photo :)

As for baby, he got an infection and he needed to stay in the nursery instead of having him inside our room since he needs to be on IV every 12 hours.  I was ready to go home the next day but was not allowed yet by my OB. We also cannot bear the thought of leaving baby behind since I wanted to breastfeed so we decided to wait until baby was allowed to be discharged. By Saturday, Feb 8, we went home as a happy family!

So there you have it ladies. My not-so-painful birthing story :) I'm really thankful for my baby for making my whole pregnancy up to delivery a very pleasant experience. He didn't cause me any unbearable pain. I hope it stays that way until he grows up... lol! 

I am now 2 weeks post partum and my stitches have healed. I'm no longer taking pain medications since last week but I am still wearing my binder to put everything back into place hehe :) Not gonna lie, having undergone CS was tough especially the day after. It was so difficult to walk around especially when I needed to be wheeled out of my room to go to the nursery to feed my baby but miraculously, the pain disappears whenever I have my baby in my arms. I felt I was superwoman!

Now at home, I feel like we have already adjusted to catering baby's needs since the only thing they know how to do  for now is to sleep, eat and poop! We have worked our way around it and we are getting better/longer sleep at night. This baby is really such a breeze to take care of. Thank you, Lord for this miracle!

18 - 26 Weeks Pregnancy Update

Hello ladies!

I know it's been a while since  I last updated this blog, I'm sorry but I did not abandon this I promise! I will be back in the swing of things soon as I'm gonna be a stay-at-home mom (or soon-to-be-mom) so I will have more time in my hands... well at least while my little bun is still in the oven.

Anyhoo, let me share with you my latest two videos that I uploaded on my youtube channel. Hope you enjoy watching :)

Baby dust to all!

Ciao bellas!

My Pregnancy Journey at 6 weeks

Hi all!

So... I'm 6 weeks and 4 days pregnant as of this writing. Yay!!! I had my first "official" OB check-up last Tuesday, June 25, and finally saw and heard our little baby's heartbeat! That was such  an emotional experience. As cliche as it sounds, knowing that there's a living thing growing inside of me is just absolutely amazing. It's a miracle.

So let me explain first why I said first "official" check-up. Last 18th of June, I had to leave work and visit my OB on my 5th week because I had some brownish discharge when I went to the bathroom during my lunch hour. I didn't know what to do so I called in and they asked me to drop by that day if possible. At first I didn't want to panic and even told the nurse that I will just come the next day when I'm not working but after sending the photo to my hubby (yes, I took photo of the tissue I used to wipe. TMI I know, lol!), my husband right away called me and asked to go to my OB that instant. Hearing the the panic and concern from my hubby's voice, I started crying non-stop (and it was in public while I was eating my lunch). As soon as I got back to work, I talked to my manager and asked if I can take medical leave and sure enough she let me go.

I took the taxi and arrived at Raffles Hospital in less than 15 minutes and immediately registered to see my OB. Once I was in, she did an ultrasound to see if there's any bleeding inside but luckily there was none. She said some women experience it and it is quite normal. It could be an old blood from the implantation and there's nothing to worry about. My baby looked fine and that gave me a sigh of relief. She prescribed me a medicine Duphaston to be taken twice a day for one week to stop the bleeding and it did. Thank God.

So anyway, since I was so elated and inspired from our last visit to my OB, I decided to make a video on our journey. I am planning to do a regular update on my youtube channel (search: babynibeans) and let you know how I'm doing and show my growing belly as well. I hope you can join me in this journey and subscribe <3

Thank you all for reading (and watching)!

Talk to you soon! Baby dust to all!

TTC No More

Hello ladies!

If you still haven't guessed from the title well yes, WE'RE PREGNANT! I don''t even know where to begin because if you remember my last post, I mentioned there that I don't have any high hopes for that cycle since we only got to BD twice last month. Well lo and and behold, great things really do come when you least expect it. 

So what triggered me to take the pregnancy test? Well first of all, I'm 5 days late today. Although that really doesn't say much because there was a time when I was a week late but still turned out to be negative. However last night, my DH noticed that my "girls" are getting bigger. I actually don't see it myself but I can feel it though. My breasts have been tender for the past few days on the week that AF is supposed to come and that is one sign that I've never had before. I normally experience soreness a week before my expected period not during the week. Aside from those two symptoms, I have been feeling "wet" down there recently {sorry TMI} for the past week to the point where I would run to the toilet with a napkin in my pocket thinking that AF finally came.

Aside from those mentioned, I didn't have any more symptoms that was really obvious. I wish I could have listened more to my body. I used to be paranoid about it before and write down every single "symptom" I used to feel but then I kept getting negative HPTs so I stopped it. It was one thing that stressed me out, I think. Lol!

So how did I break the news to my dear hubby? Well let me tell you, I have been orchestrating a very elaborate way of surprising my hubby with the good news in my mind but today, it proved that I am not capable of pulling off a surprise like this. I took my HPT at around 9 in the morning while he was bathing {our toilet and bath are separated} and as soon as I saw the two lines, I started to cry my eyes out! It was so surreal, I couldn't believe my eyes so I hurriedly went to the bathroom and asked  my hubby to hurry up with my voice cracking up from my hysterical cry. I knew he panicked and went out immediately. As soon as I saw him, I showed him the test and I started to cry even more. He gave me a hug and hushed me to stop crying. He said I might stress the baby and as soon as he said that, I slowly stopped crying. Later on he told me that he thought I was crying because AF came, so in a way, it was still a surprise for him. Hehe.

Since I wanted to be super sure, I headed out to Watsons and bought me the Clearblue digital pregnancy test. Sometimes the regular HPT can still trick your eyes so I wanted the digital that says if I'm really pregnant or not {although I know a blood test would be most accurate way}. So here are my results... I've been staring at them for the whole day now with the fear that it might change, lol!

Anyhoo, a little background of how our month went by:

• May 10 - AF showed up!
• May 20 and 22 - Baby Danced. Kept my legs up, like I always do, for at least 15 minutes then laid still.
• May 23 - Positive OPK

What's funny is that on the 22nd we actually went for a staycation at Costa Sands Sentosa and checked-in in the same room where we were on our wedding night! How awesome is that right? After a year and 8 months, we came back to the same place and turns out, we "conceived" our first baby there. Being happy, stress-free and care-free that day may have helped in a way in my ovulation.

Needless to say, I am still floating on cloud 9 as I write this entry. I cannot contain my excitement and happiness. On the other hand though, I cannot help but worry. I know that the first trimester is the most crucial part of the whole pregnancy and I am hoping and praying that everything turns out good. 

To those who extended their prayers, well-wishes and congratulations, thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts! I hope and pray that those who are also on the TTC journey will soon be blessed like we have been.

On that note, I think it is right to say that I am no longer a hopeful mommy-to-be instead a happy mommy-to-be! Baby dust to all!

Hebrews 10:36
Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised.

Psalm 37:5,7
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act

TTC Cycle 3 and New OB-GYN

Hello ladies!

I'm sorry if this post is quite late but I really intended to update you guys AFTER my appointment with my new OB which was scheduled today.

So needless to say, our TTC attempt last month was a failure yet again. I got my AF on the 10th of May just before boarding the plane from Hong Kong back to Singapore when we had a quick family holiday. What a spoiler right?! Tears fell but got over it after five minutes. I think I'm getting used to this. 

However on the next day, I was on my computer the entire day researching for a new OB Gyn. I wasn't too satisfied with how things went last month with my TOO. I felt like I just flushed our money down the drain. I'm not saying that just because I didn't get pregnant. Overall, I'm just not satisfied anymore with my OB Gyn and her service. I have mentioned again and again about the "waiting time" I did whenever I visit her. I sometimes wait for 2 to 3 hours for my name to be called and when they do, I stay inside her clinic for 15 minutes... 20 minutes max. I just felt like she's always rushing and not really explaining everything. 

Anyway, I still did make an appointment with her JUST IN CASE and then went on to finding other OB Gyn. I first took into consideration the distance of the hospital from our place because it would take me an hour or so to go to NUH from my place and I wasn't really happy about that especially if I get an early morning appointment. The nearest hospital around our area is the Parkway East Hospital and found Dr. Roland Chieng's name in one of the forums I visited. Although I am hesitant of having a male OB Gyn, I still booked an appointment for back up. My search continued and I stumbled upon another OB Gyn's name Dr. Sheila Loh of Raffles Hospital. I googled her and read a number of good feedback about her so I decided to book an appointment as well and today, I finally met her.

My appointment was at 4PM and we reached the hospital at around 3:45PM. Since it was my first visit, I had to fill out forms. They also checked my height, weight and BP for my profile. Though it was an hour's wait, we felt like it was worth it. She's very friendly and has an approachable personality. We gathered more information from her as she explained more in details about my previous test results from NUH (I was instructed to bring them so I don't need to undergo the same tests). 

Dr. Sheila did an ultrasound scan on me just to see how my uterus and ovaries are now at this stage. I'm on cycle day 22 and she said by this time there should be evidence of my ovulation. She checked my right ovary and the appearance is normal, no cysts and it has 13 follicles. My left ovary also has a normal appearance, no cysts and has 10 follicles. She said that it is a good sign that even after going through surgery, I still have good egg reserve so that made me happy! Unfortunately though, she didn't see any sign that I already ovulated but that doesn't mean that I didn't. 

She then went through my hubby's lab test result. All the parameters were good except for two. First is the Vitality or the percentage of live sperms. The limit set by the World Health Organization is 58% and he got 56% which is really not that bad. Another parameter is the Morphology or the form of the sperm. The standard is 4% and he got 3%. Dr. Sheila said if the form of the sperm is below the standard, then it may have a hard time fertilizing my egg. These can be addressed by taking Vitamin C & E which was actually prescribed to him by my previous OB Gyn, Dr. Anu, though she didn't explain it to us as clearly as Dr. Sheila did. Unfortunately though, my husband is not that consistent in taking his vitamins (bad!) so from now on I will be reminding him every single day. Dr. Sheila also asked my hubby if he cycles because that can also have an effect if you do more than an hour and unfortunately again, my husband does! On weekends he enjoys riding his bike as his exercise so now I told him to cut it down. I even jokingly said that I will take a photo of his bike and post it online and sell it... haha! 

So to finalize my check-up, Dr. Sheila prescribed me Clomid. This is actually a drug to help induce ovulation and release at least 2 eggs to be fertlized thus getting a higher chance of getting pregnant. This will be taken on cycle day 2 to 6 if I do get my period this June {which I'm hoping I won't}. She gave me 10 tablets to cover 2 months and if it is still unsuccessful, then we may need to resort to artificial insemination. 

So yeah, that's my story this month. To be honest I don't have high hopes this time because we only BD'd twice. Don't judge.. lol! DH and I actually decided that we will just do it only when we feel like doing so and this month was actually busy month after our family holiday. We only got the chance twice but hopefully, the timing was right. All I can do now is pray. 

Oh by the way, something different I did this month was to take Blackmores Conceive Well Gold. I have been wanting to try this for months but I just find it too expensive at $46 for one box (28 days use). But when I saw it on sale for $55 for two boxes I immediately caved in! I showed this to Dr. Sheila and asked if it's ok to take and she said yes. This just primarily contain multivitamins and it's actually good for preparing your body for conception.

Here's the breakdown of fees:

Consultation..................................$130.00
Clomid..........................................$25.20
Practice Cost.................................$12.50 (I actually don't know what is this for?!)
Ultrasound.....................................$110.00

Total Charge after GST..............$297.10

So let me end this quite lengthy post with these inspirational Bible verses..

Hebrews 10:36
Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised.

Psalm 37:5,7

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.