ommy = milk source. that's all this little darling knows. see that open-mouthed expression on his face? that's how he greets me! =) like i'm his favorite food.
oh, i love the way he looks when he's had his fill - his eyes get all sleepy, and he starts looking like he's drunk. breastmilk is such a potent sleep-inducer that i don't even have to rock him to sleep. it knocks him out automatically! =)
i keep trying to give him formula but he rejects it. when he was less than a month old, he had these 3-hour marathon nursing sessions that left me wanting to surrender. so i tried to end each one with a 3-oz supplement. he spits it out and makes a face, as if he was being fed vinegar! this boy has very particular preferences! i'm just thankful that i can provide it for him. of course it would be so much easier if he would drink a bit of formula every now and then. it would mean i could go out for longer periods, for example. but i'm not complaining.
does it affect my diet? definitely. i cannot go on a serious weight-loss diet for one thing. i'm hungry all the time. and i can't cut down on any particular food group because it will affect my milk. but the great thing about it is, if you breastfeed exclusively, you burn about 500 calories a day. so yes, i'm still losing weight even if i'm not controlling my intake. i'm not saying i stuff my face with sweets and pasta everyday. of course not! i eat until i'm full - and i get 3 full meals and 2 snacks every day. plus lots and lots of water. LOTS and LOTS!
my superpower
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Posted by Patricia at 2:43 PM 4 comments
Labels: breastfeeding, diet, weight loss
getting back in shape
# t's been a little over two months and i'm back to my old active self again. i waited until 8 weeks after delivery before i did any exercise, although taking care of a baby is in itself a workout. all those sleepless nights, getting up to change the diaper, breastfeeding, bathing the baby...
sigh. if only people can lose weight as fast as you do right after childbirth! 20 lbs in one week, can you believe it? (although i need to give birth 3 more times to get back to my goal weight. hehehe) since then i've lost 10 more and i'm happy.
it's not without effort though. my old elliptical machine is here, so i use it every day for my cardio workout. i started with 15 minutes during the first agony-filled week. now i'm doing 30 minutes. and i feel great!
nothing can give you so much energy like a good cardio workout. i feel stronger and so NOT post partum. and that's the best benefit of all! =)
Posted by Patricia at 2:30 PM 2 comments
Labels: exercise, weight loss, workout
deja vu at the nicu
Thursday, February 4, 2010
i finally found time to blog!
the whole experience of giving birth to raoul and his first week was like a repeat performance of what happened when i gave birth to vito --- only a little bit easier. we checked in at chong hua hospital the night before the 23rd, and i was prepped and interviewed at the delivery room where i was repeatedly asked if i was having any labor pains. (i wasn't.) after a long wait, i was finally wheeled into our room a few minutes before midnight, my cut-off time for any food or liquids. (of course i drank as much water as i could before the clock struck twelve!)
i woke up early the next morning since my c-section was scheduled at 7am. everything happened so fast after they transferred me to a stretcher and sent me to the operating room. raoul was pulled out of my tummy at exactly 7:46am and he let out a long and really loud cry!
my recovery was faster this time, although i did have to endure severe nausea at the recovery room (a reaction to the epidural and the morphine). i was able to get up the day after and walk about, and my digestive system also started to work at about the same day. for two days i was waiting for news about raoul, but they just said he was under observation. his pedia anticipated the blood type incompatibility issue and had asked for tests to be done right away.
true enough, on the 3rd day (monday) he had developed jaundice and was placed under photo-therapy. i visited him at the nursery to breastfeed but we had some problems latching on at first --- he would just smile at my boobs! after a few tries we finally got the hang of it. i visited him regularly at the NICU so i could breastfeed him.
i was discharged on tuesday, much earlier than i had anticipated. had i known what was coming, i would have requested for another day more. that very afternoon, raoul's pediatrician said he needed a blood transfusion because his hemoglobin count was going down, even though his bilirubin levels weren't going as high as expected. she said it was actually strange because it's usually worse for 2nd babies. (someone up there heard our prayers.)
we didn't have to search hard for volunteers to donate blood, several kind souls offered readily. what was difficult to find was someone who would pass the criteria. most of the volunteers were eliminated for various reasons until finally, my cousin (a pediatrician himself, incidentally) passed. but it took several hours for the entire process to be completed, and raoul's blood transfusion was delayed until the next day.
it was heartbreaking to see him going through the transfusion, but at least it was a simple blood transfusion, not the exchange blood transfusion that vito had to go through. that was a much more dangerous process that involved completely replacing all his blood with the donor blood. plus, raoul also spent less time under the bili-lights (vito spent more than a week under phototherapy, raoul only 2 days). so it wasn't quite the ordeal that we were afraid of.
having gone through worse during vito's time, there were also less tears, less anxiety. we knew raoul would pull through. although it didn't stop us from asking why our sons had to suffer at such a young age. funny enough, we got an answer after we asked the question. i got a call from a mom asking if i was willing to donate the unused bags of blood because her baby needed a transfusion too and they couldn't find any donors nor afford to buy blood. i say it's funny because the very same thing happened during vito's time. that's our role after all.
a big thank you to all those who helped us pray for his recovery. really special thanks to mimi, chelo, dindin, therese, and malou. you know why. =)
i'm happy we finally have raoul home. he's such a sweet boy! he doesn't cry much, only when he's hungry. during the day he feeds every 2-3 hours, although at night, between midnight to 4am, he's hungry every hour, and poops as often too! =) he's a creature of the night, this baby. so most days you'll find me trying to steal a few hours of sleep in between feeds. manuel has been a great help. i don't know how i'll manage when he goes back to singapore on saturday. i don't want to think about it, the thought saddens me so much.
i have to end this now, raoul needs a diaper change. =) until next time!
Posted by Patricia at 3:03 PM 4 comments
Labels: c-section, childbirth experience
last thoughts before the homerun
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
it's amazing how, when you're pregnant, you hear all sorts of unsolicited advice from just about anyone. and i mean anyone --- from the hairdresser to the shakoy vendor!
i find it funny that everyone tries to guess if i'm carrying a boy or a girl and everyone seems to get it wrong! hahahah. they all think i'm carrying a girl, either because of the way i look, or the shape of my tummy. seriously, if i hadn't seen the proof in the sonogram 5 times, i'd probably start believing them. everyone seems to have a strong opinion about how to predict the baby's sex based on really weird criteria. ah well, there's only one sure way to find out anyway, and i'm going to next week. =)
i think if i actually listened to what everyone says to me, i'd have gone crazy a long time ago. rest more. exercise more. eat less. eat more. drink milk. don't drink milk. put your feet up. go walking. it's a good thing i only listen to what my OB says. that's what i pay her for anyway, right?
it would be great to know exactly how my baby's doing inside my belly. but i haven't had an ultrasound since i left singapore. i can feel the movements changing in nature (waves now instead of violent kicks). and i can actually feel the contours of the baby from the outside. do i worry about him being small or large? not really. vito was a really tiny neonate. he was only 6lbs, because he came out at 37 weeks. and i had a hard time making him gain weight because he developed gastro-esophageal reflux after a few months. yet, look at him now! so yes, i know i need not worry. big or small, this baby will be loved and that's that.
preparing oneself mentally for childbirth is so much harder than the other preparations. oh yes, we're about ready with all the baby stuff. i'm not so sure about the rest though. i still have my fears of not having the same energy level i had before (i'm 5 years older, after all), and having to divide my attention between the baby and his big brother so that neither one comes out feeling rejected.
maybe i'll start thinking about that next week. there's still work to be done, projects to finish, emails to answer. pray for me?
Posted by Patricia at 1:05 PM 7 comments
Labels: childbirth, pregnancy, thoughts
starting the new year
Thursday, January 7, 2010
i know i haven't written anything for the past several weeks. i've just been really busy and lazy at the same time. being in my last trimester of pregnancy leaves me with very little energy to do anything else other than fulfill my (more pressing) commitments.
oh, what will i write after a long blog absence?
my bp has gone down to normal about a week after arriving in cebu. and has stayed that way too. my prenatal check-ups are now more frequent, and except for edema in my ankles and feet and incontinence, everything else seems to be going well. the baby is active, although he's probably really snug inside my tummy by now. i've had a urinalysis that indicated i don't have preeclampsia, so that's great.
the supergirls held a fantastic baby shower for me, and i'm still grinning everytime i think about it. it wasn't necessary, but i loved every minute of it and i can't get over the fact that you went to all that trouble! thank you girls!
i'm scheduled to give birth on the 23rd of january. (it was initially planned on the 22nd but my OB will be attending an important conference, so it's been moved.) i can't wait to hold my little boy in my arms at last.
Posted by Patricia at 9:28 AM 5 comments