Happy half-birthday, Tisoy!

Congratulations! You are 6 months old now. It seems like only yesterday that you were this tiny newborn. Now you are growing fast and discovering the world.

I'm 6 months old!

Good that we have started baby-proofing the apartment, and it was high-time. Last night, on the eve of your half-birthday, you pulled yourself into standing without our help for the first time. And I feel that sooner than we know it, we'll be running after you.

Look Mama, I pulled myself up.
And I can stand with only one hand!

The baby-friendly airport

On both our flights we had long layovers at Incheon International Airport in Korea. The airport regularly gets voted as one of the best airports for layovers in the world and I can confirm that. On top of that it is incredibly baby- and kid-friendly with several fully-equipped nurseries, playgrounds and breastfeeding cabins. Tisoy had a great time at Incheon Airport.

Entrance to the nursery

Big, comfy changing table

Baby scales, water and baby food heater - all for free!

Having fun at the playground

I wouldn't mind another layover there, and neither would Tisoy.

A month in Germany

It's been a while since I last updated this blog, mostly because we were visiting Germany and were busy during that time.

I think Tisoy enjoyed Germany, once he got used to being wrapped up all the time. It was quite a change for him from moving freely in a onesie or diapers only to all of a sudden wearing tights, pants, and a pullover, topped by a thick overall and hat for leaving the house.

The first exciting new activity was riding in a stroller. While here in the Philippines, it is impossible to take a baby outside on a stroller ride (no sidewalks, too hot, pollution, and insane drivers), in Germany it's a “must do” for every baby to be taken on daily stroller rides in order to get fresh air.

My first ever stroller ride

Next, he experienced going to the pool for the first time. He enjoys his baths, so we took him to the local pool which has a nice baby area. While at his first pool visit he couldn't care less about the water and was only interested in his turtle, at his second visit, he couldn't get enough of swimming and splashing around in the water.

Splish, splash, I'm taking a bath

He traveled to Heidelberg and around Munich – brrrr, it is cold in Germany.

 

Enjoying the Christmas market in Heidelberg

               

Visiting the Marienplatz in Munich

Then he experienced his first Christmas in Germany and was showered with gifts from Oma and Opa, and his new friends.

A box full of toys!

And last but not least, he tried solid food for the first time in his life.

If I have to eat this, I'm going to do it on my own.

Working mom + breastfeeding mom = mom under pressure

The day Tisoy turned 12 weeks old I had to go back to work. I love my work, I enjoy what I have been doing for the past 5 years and now I enjoy thinking about other things than the color and texture of baby poop. At the same time, I miss being with my baby. Until that day we have never been separated for more than 2 hours, now it's 9 hours a day, 4 days of the week. Luckily I have enough leave days left to take Fridays off. 

I'm exclusively breastfeeding him, and that's where the pressure comes in. I thought I was under pressure meeting a certain deadline for a project? That's nothing compared to trying to keep Tisoy well fed. I wake up at 5:30 am. Sometimes Tisoy wakes me up earlier, which is good cause then I know I have enough time to feed him twice before heading off to work at 7:30. If he's not yet awake, the pressure starts already. Will he eat enough in the next two hours so that his Lola won't have to start feeding him the expressed milk only minutes after I leave and risk running out towards the end of the day?

At work the pressure continues: I have to express a certain amount of milk to get Tisoy through the day the next day. If I don't express enough, I'll risk running out of milk for Tisoy the next day. I don't have enough milk to build up stocks unfortunately. In addition, the stocks I built up when I was still at home, were all spoilt because our freezer doesn't freeze properly. So, it's an on-demand business. 

Leaving work, the pressure goes on: I hope traffic will be reasonable so that I won't get home too late to find the boy crying for food. After some playtime with Tisoy, dinner, preparing the pump for the night and other chores, I pass out at 9:00pm, to wake up at midnight and 3:00am to pump more milk for the next day. If I'm lucky, Tisoy wakes up to be fed around the same time. If I'm unlucky, he wakes up in between, and I get little sleep that night.

I could make my life easier and just formula-feed him. But somehow I don't trust highly processed powered cow's milk with additives and ingredients that I don't even fully understand. Besides, Tisoy is still incompatible to cow milk protein.

The good news is that this will only continue for a few weeks. In mid-December I'll already start my leave. Shortly after, Tisoy will probably start eating his first solids, and become less dependent on my milk supply. 

My current contract ends at the end of the year. Then a new type of pressure starts: Finding a reasonably paying baby-compatible job, preferably in Cebu.

Six days alone with Tisoy

To be honest, I was not completely alone, my partner's dad was here in the early morning and at night, and he even prepared meals for me, so I got lucky and didn't have to heat the canned soups and stews I had bought in anticipation of not having any time to cook a fresh meal.

I enjoyed playtimes with TIsoy and discovered new skills in him. He is saying his first repeated sound, which is "ö" - he definitely is German :) He coos and laughs a lot when I play with him. He is trying to crawl but not getting anywhere and figured out how to move sideways when lying on his back.

Playtime

Still it was a challenge. The first day, everything went smoothly. Tisoy had a morning and afternoon nap of 2 hours each, and I took advantage of those 4 hours to get things done around the house and I even started a sewing project. I was in good spirits that those 6 days would be a breeze.

On days 2-6 Tisoy was not so cooperative though. He wanted to be carried all the time. He was happy and content in my arms but when I put him down, no matter how deeply asleep he was, within 20 minutes at most (more often after 10 minutes) he was crying to be picked up again. So doing anything other than carrying him around the house was a challenge, including taking a bath, feeding the cats or running a quick errand. 

On day 3 I ran out of load for my cellphone. All I had to do was go to the nearest shop and buy load, a matter of 10 minutes normally. That trip turned into a 2-hour endeavor. First, Tisoy was so cranky to begin with that I couldn't even think of going out, then he finally slept and I wanted to take advantage to clean the bathroom and postponed my trip, then he was cranky again and started screaming when I put him in the carrier. After two hours finally, I went to the shop, bought load and got back to the house. 

It took me 3 days to finish my sewing project that I had started on day 1, and it was only a small project that normally would have taken 2-3 hours.

On day 5 I baked a cake to surprise my partner when he got home. It took all day. 

The cake that took all day to bake to welcome Daddy back home

When I did another "quick" run to the shop to buy internet load on day 4 (quick means, another 2-hour attempt of getting out of the house), the salesgirl asked me why I don't have a yaya. Good question, that I'm asking myself now as well: Why don't I have a yaya? Why am I making my life harder than necessary? I want to get one next time I'm alone with Tisoy for more than one day.

Another aspect of why I'm so exhausted after these six days is the additional lack of sleep. Tisoy is exclusively breastfed, and he feeds every 3 hours for 1-1 1/2 hours including burping, diaper change, and entertainment program (which he sometimes wants in the middle of the night). I pump in the mornings and when daddy is home, he feeds him the expressed milk in a bottle at 11pm while I go to sleep early. This gives me around 5 hours of straight sleep before Tisoy wakes me for his 2am meal. Now I don't get that break and have no chance to catch up on sleep during the day.

I'm happy my partner is back. First thing I did was I slept half the afternoon. My partner failed in trying to wake me up as I had asked him to since we still wanted to go grocery shopping. I was totally passed out. And I am usually a light sleeper. 

My respect and admiration goes out to all those single moms who have to go through this every day without the prospect of having their partner come home after a few days. You are amazing!

On a different note: Happy birthday, Tisoy, you are two months old today!

Happy 2 months birthday, Tisoy!

6 weeks old and growing, growing growing

This week Tisoy is 6 weeks old and he has officially outgrown his first onesie. It was the first one he ever wore and only 6 weeks ago its was waaaaaay too big for him. He was still wearing it last week.

Which meant, we could go shopping again for the next sizes. Actually, I didn't go anywhere but indulged in online-shopping (and thankfully my partner went to pick up the stuff). This is the result of our shopping spree:

And all that for only Php300 - I love online shopping in the Philippines!

Happy 1st month birthday, Tisoy!

It seems like yesterday that I held him in my arms for the first time. Yet it has been one month already - time flies.

I'm 1 month old - and balding

Tisoy is healthy and growing, it's a joy to see a little bit of development in him every day, and I'm excited for the months to come.

Currently his favorite activity (next to sucking) is being carried around by mom or dad.

Tisoy loves his carriers

Tisoy's First Major Trip

It is time to leave Manila and go home to Cebu. This was Tisoy's first big journey and we were excited to find out how it would go. 

Packed and ready to go home

We decided to take the boat to Cebu for several reasons: One, we had so much luggage we would pay a fortune on excess. Two, we wanted to spare Tisoy from the ear pressure experience (at least for now) and three, I had never taken the boat from Manila to Cebu and wanted it to experience myself. 

We had booked a stateroom at the 2Go Ferry and it turned out, it was the best decision we could have made. The room was big and comfortable (at least as big as, if not bigger than, the condo unit we had stayed at in Manila), we had our own bathroom, and even the food was included. Even though a stateroom is the most expensive accommodation on a boat, it was good value (and still a lot cheaper than taking the plane.)

our spacious room

I even have my personal breastfeeding lounge

A lovely towel arrangement

So we spent 24 relatively uneventful hours on the boat. We enjoyed the movies in our cabin (well, not all movies shown were that enjoyable and I still don't understand how one can show horror movies in the afternoons in public places where lots of small children are around. The evening movie was Forrest Gump though which I hadn't seen in ages and we really enjoyed.

We took Tisoy for a walk along the deck and we listened to the on-board videoke competition, which Tisoy slept through completely. The noisier it is, the deeper is his sleep, so it seems. And we went to the restaurant to eat our meals. The meals were delicious, our only complaint was that it was so cold in the restaurant that one of us had to wait outside with Tisoy while the other was eating. 

A stroll on deck

Tisoy slept soundly not through the night but better than usual, maybe the shaking of the waves put him to sleep.

The only action was caused by some diaper leakages and only 8 hours into our journey we had already gone through all 5 onesies we had prepared for this trip. (Lesson learned: Huggies is not the best match for us.)

We arrived in Cebu, and connected with the arrival is my only major complaint about the trip. In Manila the port is organized, easily accessible by Taxi and safe. 

Arriving in Cebu, we were left to ourselves (luckily there was at least a porter service so that we didn't have to carry all our luggage). We had to walk quite a far distance out of the Terminal and onto the access road, then compete for a taxi with the hundreds of other passengers while huge cargo trucks drove by right in front of our noses. It's anything but safe. In my opinion, the least one can expect from a major passenger port terminal is a taxi line in a safe area without the passengers risking of being run over by a truck.

In the end we arrived home safely.

Tisoy's First Fotoshoot

We took Tisoy to a baby photographer to have some nice newborn pictures taken.

The result: lots of pictures in 5 cute poses
The collateral damage:
- Photographer's props pooped onto
- Daddy's shirt peed and spit on
- Mommy's dress: pooped (conveniently the dress was white) and spit on
- and Daddy's bare hand pooped on.

And all that within 30 minutes. After he had emptied himself, he calmed down and we could begin the the actual shoot which he slept through peacefully.

Here is one of the results, as published on the photostudio's Facebook page.




Thanks to Edilbert of Baby Love Studio for the patience, calmness and the beautiful pictures. For anyone looking for a newborn photographer, I can highly recommend him.
Baby Love Studio
Baby Love Studio on Facebook

My birth experience: From unmedicated natural waterbirth to emergency c-section

I had a birth plan. I wanted a natural birth with as little intervention as possible. I was even aiming for a waterbirth. I wanted no IVs, intermittent fetal monitoring, no induction or enhancement, natural pain relief such as walking and changing positions, pushing when I feel the urge and my partner to be there to support me throughout the whole process. I prepared for weeks, I practiced breathing techniques, I visualized my perfect calm birth, watched hundreds of videos of natural births, I even tried hypnobirthing techniques and meditations. I discussed my birth plan with my OB and she was very much ok with it. I was so ready for my perfect calm, unmedicated natural birth and looking forward to welcoming Tisoy into this world.

Then I had my fetal anti-stress test, and it turned out the boy was stressed. Within minutes I was in the high risk labor room, hooked up to oxygen, a continuous fetal monitor, an IV and was not allowed to move, eat or drink. The complete opposite of what I had expected. To make things worse, the possibility of a c-section arose and my partner was still in Cebu. 

Hooked up to all these tubes I actually went into labor and to be honest I was devastated finding myself in that situation. Now I want to give big, big credit to my OB. She tried everything to make my birth possible as I had imagined it. She started to just observe and as much as possible kept the option of my desired waterbirth open: if Tisoy's heart rate remains stable, she would still be willing to go with it. For several hours I was still hopeful that I could have the natural birth I wanted.

However, it turned out that Tisoy did not even take the light contractions of early labor well. How much worse would he get if I start to have strong contractions in active labor? The risk to his health or even to his life was too high in the end, and he needed to get out via c-section as soon as possible. Again, I want to give big, big credit to my OB. Instead of getting Tisoy out immediately, she let us wait until my partner was here (meanwhile he was able to get on the next flight to Manila and was on his way). 

Soon after my partner arrived we discussed the situation and I was prepared for the surgery. My partner was allowed into the OP and even allowed to take pictures during the procedure. 

To be honest, I hated the c-section. While on the operating table, I told the team I cannot understand how anyone would choose to go through this instead of having a vaginal birth. 

In hindsight though, the c-section was the safest way for Tisoy to be born. It turned out he had a cord coil, and he may have been severely damaged or may not even have survived a vaginal birth. I now have a healthy and thriving little boy.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to Dra. Karen Ty-Torredes, my OB, Dra. Jocelyn Bondoc, Tisoy's pediatrician, and the whole team at St. Luke's Medical Center Global City for choosing what was best for Tisoy while at the same time trying to respect and follow my wishes and decisions as much as possible. Even though my birth was the complete opposite of what I had wanted for me and my baby, I felt I was part of the decision making process and together we came to the best solution for Tisoy. 

The rest of the hospital stay was also a very positive experience. Admittedly, I did not really enjoy it (who enjoys recovering from surgery?) but I felt well taken care of by the doctors, nurses, lactation nurse (she was a huge help in getting me started on breastfeeding), and all the other staff. Last but not least, even though for the first day I was only allowed liquids, and then a light, soft diet, the food was delicious (salmon and asparagus, anyone?). Even the broth of my first meal was yummy! 

St. Luke's was definitely the best choice for me to give birth at. I would go there again if I have another baby. 

[And for those who stumble upon this post on their research of prices at St. Luke's (I know I was very grateful of bloggers' posts when I was doing my research), the whole hospital stay, delivery, including doctors' fees, meds, and everything else, cost just below P170,000. Which surprised me because my research had shown that the cost for a c-section would be between P200-250k).]