This baby knows how to work the camera... :)

Kail is now 6 months (turning 7 on Friday). Since he started eating solids, I feel like the best gourmet cook in the world because he devours everything I'd prepared for him (from scratch). Carrots is his favorite, and I'm surprised that he likes zucchinis as well. He loves gnawing at his teething biscuits and he prefers to hold a spoon when he gets fed. Baby pa, independent na.... like mommy like son, hehehe!

Funny how he won't take off a hat - no matter how uncomfortable he feels. My friends quipped "manang-mana sa mommy - sa ngalan ng porma, titiisin ang lahat!" To which I'd reply "ano'ng magagawa ko kung marunong pumorma ang anak ko 'no!"

Kail, I hope you'd keep that sense of style even when you're grown.

Kail's Christening photos are up and running. Thanks to A for these great shots! Will keep the website updated with his milestones as well.

Will update more soon. This momma's been busy with work (on weekdays) and children's parties (on weekends). My little Kail has been getting lots of party invitations! Such a sociable little guy!

Look Who's Looking

Here is Kail at four months. He had his well baby check-up on the 12th of May and boy has he grown! He is now 16.1 1/2 lbs., 26 3/4 inches in length. I can start him on solids by next week. He still has skin eczema (and I'm getting worried since his baptism is this coming Saturday). He's still on mittens because he tends to scratch his face. He's a very smart kid (coming from a stage mom) because he knows how to remove his mittens when he really wants to suck his fingers. He can hold his bottle with very little help, and what's funny is that he knows that a bottle equates to feeding. He gets excited whenever he sees it!

I have altogether stopped nursing him because my milk has dried up. I’m under a lot of stress lately – from work and at home. Taking care of an infant is not an easy task, and working 12 hour days is just as exhausting, not to mention being away from Kail for 14 hours when I go to work. I have done the best I could. I just feel so disappointed at myself for not producing enough milk to exclusively breastfeed him. But then again, stress could be a major factor there.

For the first two months of Kail’s life, he was very colicky. We’d be up all night. I would nurse him as much as he wants to, then give him formula. We would sit on a rocking chair as I lull him to sleep, while I’d also be pumping at the same time! I think the sound of the breastpump would soothe him to sleep, and when he does, I’d start crying. I have never felt so alone!

Now that I’ve stopped breastfeeding, I am now feeling nostalgic and sad at the same time. I don’t like to think I’m getting depressed, but it sure looks like it. Before I gave birth, I have envisioned myself exclusively breastfeeding for at least a year. I attended classes, read everything I can, bought myself a reliable but expensive breastpump and accessories. But nature had other plans. What I failed to do, though, is immerse myself in a breastfeeding support group like La Leche League. I found out that they have one in Napa with regular meetings every 2nd Tuesday of the month. Oh well, at least I know now. Until the next baby (hehehe!).

Here's hoping that everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Before I go, I'd like to share this to all of you (especially to the moms out there). I found this message on my Inbox. Here goes...

Mother's Day is a thank you to every woman who has ever hugged a baby, kissed a boo-boo, taught a lesson, listened closely, cared deeply....

.... and passed on her love and wisdom to someone in the world who needed her....

The Long Overdue Post



The photo/s above is the same one we used for Kail’s baptism invitation. It’s prodly Philippine made by fellow-n@wie, Melisse. I’ve been getting lots of kudos on this!

I have been back to work for three weeks now and I have yet to get used to the idea of leaving my son very early in the morning on days that I don’t telecommute, and won’t get to see him again until nighttime. Crazy is an understatement, when used to describe how my days are like. As A puts it, I’m not just a mom, but a career woman, a breadwinner, a milk machine (at least I’d like to think so), a housekeeper. How I juggle with these roles is beyond me. I just know that I take it one day at a time, and hope that the next day will be better. I’m dead tired by the time I hit the sack but thankful nonetheless, for God’s greatest gift – my little Kail! He has given me a new purpose in life.

What else have I been up to these days? Well, preparing for Kail’s baptism is no easy feat. I have dilly-dallied on reserving the venue so I ended up at a buffet place in Vallejo (the dancing plan is out). I am giving/sending out the invitations a couple of weeks before the said event, I have yet to order a cake, and as I write, I still have gazillions of things on my mind. I am also in the process of closing a deal, which I’ll be able to hopefully blog about one of these days.

As far as Kail is concerned, he just turned 4 months yesterday. As usual, we have invited his godparents/neighbors to celebrate. He can now roll on his stomach, sleep on his side, coos and smiles a lot (I am beginning to think he is going to be a very talkative kid), shrieks when extremely happy (especially when he sees mommy, hehehe!), sucks on his fingers, can soothe himself to sleep, loves tummy time, has strong kicks. I’m glad that even when he has skin eczema on his face and body, he’s still a happy camper. He would sometimes get irritated if you keep his hands from scratching (after all, eczema can be very itchy), but he always has a ready smile for everyone. As of Apr. 21, he weighs 15.3 lbs. His next well baby visit will be on Friday next week which, he will be getting 5 vaccines (I have to brace myself for this).

Well, that’s it for now. I don’t update often but I try to bloghop whenever I can, and leave a few tidbits on my favorite blogs here and there. If I don’t get the chance to blog again soon, I’d like to greet all the moms out there a Happy Mother’s Day on May 14. I still have a list of greeting cards to send to all the important moms in my life – my mom, my grandma, my aunt, and my MIL. The cards might get to them late but I still want them to know I appreciate them more after I became a mom myself. Whenever I feel the urge to complain, I try to remind myself that my grandma raised 2 kids all on her own and at that time, there were no disposable diapers yet, so I ought to count myself lucky. Also, my mom has taken on the responsibility of being a mom and dad to us when my dad left for the US. That, in itself, is not an easy feat (especially raising a stubborn girl like me, hehehe!). I love you all very much!

This Too, Shall Pass

This has been my mantra when Kail was born - amidst sleepless nights, crying spells, adjustments on becoming a new mom, bouts with post partum depression. Sure enough, when Kail turned three months, life became so much better. He could sleep through the night, waking up only for feedings, the crying diminished (or is it because I can somehow guess why he's fussing?). I'd talk to him and he would coo back, with a matching toothless grin or a shriek. Though I love this time, I realize that my baby is growing up fast!

Just when the fun begins, I needed to go back to work. I spent the night before my first day back just gazing at him, hugging and kissing him. I know I'd miss him terribly, after spending those wonderful but exhausting 3 1/2 months with him. April 17 came and I cried when the alarm clock went off. I was sobbing when I left home. I would find myself daydreaming at work, and a tear would fall from time to time. When it was time for me to go home, my car almost flew. Seeing my son again was pure bliss. He was crying when I came home. As soon as I held him in my arms, he stopped and beamed at me. When I fed him, he wouldn't let go of my breast even when I knew he wasn't getting any more milk there. He wanted to be held all the time. I guess he must've missed me too!

Our time together may have been cut short by my need to report back to work. The quantity of time spent may become less but I intend to make up with quality. My heart would always ache when I leave and I would always wish I could be a stay at home mom. For now, I have to take it one day at a time and know that my time at work will pass. Knowing that my son also looks forward to my coming home is a sweet thought that keeps me going.

Growing up Bilingual

On our first year as bf/gf, we saw an english-speaking kid at a mall. Unconsiously, hubz said he'll have an english-speaking kid one day.

Fast forward several years, we now have a baby, but instead of talking to him in english, our conversation is in Tagalog. In my mind, he might be an american by birth, but he is still filipino by blood. English is a language he'll learn when he goes to school while the only way he'll learn Tagalog is if I teach him. Hubz is a little worried that because I talk to him in Tagalog, he'll have trouble learning English.

I want my son to have the priviledge of growing up bilingual. My goal is to make him understand Tagalog even when he can't speak it. At least when I bring him home, our families won't have trouble speaking to him.

My Love Affair with Cameras

What is it about cameras that makes me drool? It's the possibility of freezing time, of taking memories to last a lifetime, of reminding what we once were.

I cannot remember when my love affair with cameras started. All I know is that at 12 years old, my dad brought home an SLR which was off limits to us because it was very, very expensive. After a couple of rolls, I never saw it again. I later found out that it was sold to pay for our tuition fees. I wasn't even given the chance to hold it! I vowed then that I'll have my own SLR camera to play with.

Fast forward several years, my dad gave me my very first camera, and a Minolta manual SLR at that! My toy and I were able to take lots and lots of photos. I brought it to Las Vegas, Arizona (the Grand Canyon), Universal Studios in Disneyland, New York, Washington DC, Maryland. I had a ball! It taught me a lot about exposure and lighting (manual nga kasi eh).

After my Minolta SLR (I still have it though), I ventured into automatic/manual SLRs - Pentax (which I didn't like so I sold it), then my Nikon F80 (which I still have too).