Happy Second Anniversary! Since I wasn’t able to buy you a card, let this post tell you how happy I am today.
This day, two years ago, we woke up early and got married. This day, last year, we woke up early again (should I say, we did not sleep) to catch an early morning flight to Hong Kong. Today, we woke up a few times during the night and early morning, this time to change diapers and feed the little one.
Time flew so fast.
I am happy because I wake up each day seeing you and Aria. Though the past two months gave us sleepless nights, droopy eyes, and aching bodies, it also gave us loads of patience and sacrifice. We are newbies in this career. And we have to admit, nothing beats the reward Aria gives us – that toothless but charming smile.
I am happy because you have been a good provider. I know how hard it is for you now that I assume the role of a full-time mom. We are just so blessed because God never left our side. Let’s just keep trusting His ways.
I am happy because you love your family and mine. You also never fail to share what you have and know to other people. Soon, our daughter will make music with us, or probably she will be your uke. I know you can’t wait for that to happen.
It has been a good two years so far. We’ve traveled, sang, laughed together. Now we work together to become good parents to our firstborn.
I shall never cease to praise and thank Him for this gift of marriage and family. I love you and Aria very much. You both inspire me to be a better wife and mother.
It has been two months since I became a mother. It all came suddenly, as she came out two weeks ahead of schedule.
I did not want to admit this at first. But yes, I am having postpartum depression.
What I thought was just baby blues at first blew into hours and days of sudden crying, missing the busy life I had before pregnancy, and feeling sad being a captive of the condo unit and of my daughter. I don’t know how to take care of this newborn. Giving her a bath was scary. Breastfeeding my daughter became a 24 hour job. Carrying her tiny body was like carrying a priceless crystal glass you’d never want to break.
My then operatic repertoire was overtaken by endless nursery rhymes, Brahms’ Wiegenlied, and funny silly rhymes I can’t imagine I have composed just to make her calm and sleep. It’s as if I can’t do anything else except attend to her needs. I felt can’t even eat, take a bath, dress up, or pee. I’d just look at the clock and let time pass, only to find out that another day is coming ahead. It even came to a point that I feel my husband is not supporting me at all. Of course, he must work.
If only I could go out and bring my baby along, though it’s a tad too early for the little one. I turned down a lot of work already and it saddens me. I only attended one Mass in two months (thanks to television masses I’ve caught up on other Sundays). I fear that I will not be able to get back to the career I was just trying to build.
Simply put, I don’t know how to become a mother.
But I love Aria. She is a joy to watch. She is like a little girl who seems to want to talk already, very attentive and smart, and she rewards you with a sweet smile. She may cry loud at times and hushing her down seems to be a challenge. But I’m up for it, especially when I’m singing for her. Most of all, she’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen. And we’re blessed that she came out normal and healthy.
There. I’ve let it all out. Now, time to smile and become a mom.
It still hasn’t dawned to me yet. Motherhood, that is. I quickly transformed from busy career woman into household slave. My newest boss, the six-pounder I carried for nine months.
Two days before D-day, clueless that she's not arriving on a September
Let the pain remain, or not
From the time I knew I was pregnant, I’ve been looking forward to a normal delivery. I had a good reason for this: it would hurt my husband’s wallet much less. Physical pain was another story.
But with a low-lying placenta diagnosed on my fifth month ultrasound, I was doomed. Good thing, it went into perfect birthing position on the last trimester and lo, I got what I wished for. I even opted for an anesthesia-less labor, if only to shout out to my husband that he did a great job taking care of me during the past nine months, accompanying me to every single pre-natal visit until labor time.
My, I never thought I had that much tolerance to pain! I almost give in to the very tempting epidural when it was just an hour or two before showtime. My mind is focused on giving the best push so we won’t go CS. And I was very cooperative, listening and following every direction given out by my doctor, while my husband held my hand and cheered all the way.
So she was born. She is the most beautiful thing that happened in our almost two years of marriage. She is the best thing God gave me, our contribution to mankind. And she was born on August 31st.
The miracle of life
Bring on the breast
I never thought breastfeeding could be very exhausting! Much more than birthing itself, breastfeeding gave me only three or four hours of sleep each day, with those hours spread throughout one day. I would just pass the day sitting down and waiting for feeding cues from my baby, sometimes forgetting to eat, drink and pee. I can’t even poo in peace because here she is again after a few minutes, crying shyly for food.
It also made me a captive of our condo unit. I’ve been waking up and sleeping with the sight, sound, and smog of Manila for the past month. I haven’t gone out except for two hospital visits – the week and the month after.
I don’t know when this will end. I can simply end this by giving in to formula feeding. I would, at times, be discouraged to continue breastfeeding, especially when I think of going back to the usual lifestyle I had – work, church, and more work. But I know I should not.
One thing’s for sure, I’ve given my daughter the best gift – my breasts.
As they say, breast is best
The month after
Much have happened, much have been said and done. And much have changed with the way I see things.
First, that motherhood is the best career any woman can have. Just taking care of the household and the children says it all.
Second, without previous experience or diploma to show, you become a mother just like that. The past month was hard, especially the first week. I was forced to learn how to bathe, breastfeed, change diapers and clothes, carry her very fragile body and soothe her when she’s crying, check 24/7 if the baby is doing fine (as almost all she did was sleep in the first weeks), make sure that every nook and cranny of the room is clean.
Finally, you can’t do it alone, even if you’re a superwoman. Of course you can’t make a child, unless Immaculate Conception would still happen after the Blessed Virgin, but you get to share this wonderful experience with the one person you truly love. And while you’re at it, you should have family and friends to assist you being a novice mom.
It’s fun. It’s hard. It’s parenting someone who came from inside of me, flesh and all. She is God’s greatest gift to us, and I am just so happy and humbled to experience all of this. This is just the beginning of a new stage in my life.
Finally, after nine long months, our little angel is born.
Our sweet little angel
While waiting for September to come, my baby surprised us, coming out two weeks earlier than her due date. She’s another addition to the family’s August birthday celebrants – my parents and my mom’s parents.
Our baby sort of “talked” to us yet again. She named herself after Saint Ariadne of Phrygia. How? The story is found on this post. Now, it was her birth date that she chose herself.
Last July, our Shrine Rector, Msgr. Bobby Canlas, gave us a prayer booklet as remembrance for the Shrine of Jesus Anniversary. It is a collection of common and daily prayers, special prayers for special intentions, and novena prayers. One novena prayer is to Saint Raymond Nonnatus, the patron saint of childbirth, midwives, children, and expectant mothers. I prayed the novena every single night as my husband and I say our evening prayers.
I only had my prenatal checkup on August 30th. The doctor said I can go safely on labor anytime since I’m already on full term.
Then came August 31st, three in the morning. My water broke as I was sleeping. My husband and I rushed to the hospital and in a span of nine hours, our little angel came out. It was the feast day of the saint who interceded for us, resulting to a normal and safe delivery.
Our Ariadne was indeed a great blessing. God used me to give life to another human being. For that, I praise Him for allowing me to experience the past nine months of sacrificing my career and a lifetime of motherhood at hand.
Not until I saw the Oven Toaster Brownie Mix at the grocery!
My cousins bake, and for that I envy them. I’ve tasted their cupcakes, cookies and cakes, and I can only dream of making those myself. When my daughter grows up, I want to teach her how to bake. Now that she’s arriving any minute, I should start practicing.
I do not have an oven! I have an oven toaster, though.
So, out of curiosity, I tried.
First steps to that yummy brownie
Tedious as it may seem, it wasn’t. The Brownie Mix has it all. Just soften one-fourth bar of butter then add one egg, a tablespoon of milk (instead of just water), and the mix. Mix everything and place the mixture in a disposable aluminum tray greased with some oil and lined with wax paper. Then cover loosely with aluminum foil. You may have to spend a little for the baking equipment but nevertheless, you can use them next time should you crave for more.
Ready to bake!
So the mixture looked like this. Just by mixing alone, my right arm got a good workout. Then it’s a ten-minute trip to the oven toaster. Turn it to the other side and add another six minutes. Check if the middle is cooked by inserting a toothpick and if it comes out clean, your brownie is done!
Thanks, oven toaster!
Let it cool at room temperature for a while and voila, you’re ready to eat your brownie!
Brownie goodness
Hubby said it was yummy. So I think I fared good in my first baking experience. I ought to try other oven toaster delights like the Banana Cake and Bibingka. So it’s off to the grocery for me!
Catch the Rainmakers in their Reunion Concert entitled “Like a Love Song” on September 3, 2010, 9.00PM at Teatrino, Greenhills.
If you enjoyed their hit “Binibini,” you’ll definitely enjoy their mixed repertoire of old and new love songs, English revivals, and their original compositions.
The group is composed of Joel Macanaya (my uncle), Joseph Lansang, Ramon Villanueva and Jojo Grospe.
See you there! (That is, if baby’s not yet arriving 🙂
As I approached my last month of pregnancy, the Schatzi household is preparing for the arrival of our new tenant.
I told myself, I will not buy anything unless it’s only a month until I give birth. So last weekend, my husband and I finally took the courage to hit the infant section, took advantage of the sale, and bought everything we’ll be needing for our Aria Baby.
We were both overwhelmed with the stuff we saw, because being first-timers, we don’t know if we’re buying the right stuff. I have listed down the more important items, such as clothes, diapers, and toiletries. I set my eyes on that, but hubby decided on buying a playpen and tub also. So we did.
Seeing this every time I wake up makes me more excited and nervous at the same time
Not only that, I already packed my hospital bag (the black one) so I’d be ready just in case D-day comes unexpectedly.
We didn’t buy much as I expected. This is because my family and some of my friends threw two baby showers already last month. Two baby showers mean twice the gifts, thank you. But more than the gifts I received, it is their company and thoughts about parenthood that I appreciated the most.
Just some of the gifts I received during the party. Sweet, indeed!
So we ran a total of… (do I dare mention? NOT!) for Aria’s first things when we welcome her in this world. I know it’s all worth it, especially when we get to hold our precious angel.
Now, we need space for these. That’s why this week, we started arranging/disarranging/rearranging the Schatzihaus. We’ve given away old clothes and items to charity. My husband is discarding unused books (for more of the books, visit his blog). I’ve filed papers and music sheets in neat ring binders. We’re practically dusting every nook and cranny along with my mom and our house help, which we haven’t done for quite a while. I never thought having a new tenant in the house would make us this busy!
Still a work in progress
There’s still a lot to be accomplished. We have barely a month to finish. And the dream of creating a perfect abode for my baby is slowly taking shape.
We have actually made this piece together. Well, he asked me to make this and be guest blogger for his site. I think I wasn’t able to finish this so he added some more, polished it clean, and voila! Our first writing project together!
Please view his blog and see how you can invest in the stock market. We’re trying this now, and I must say, it works. We’ve earned 1/4 of what we invested after two and a half months! You just have to be really patient.
When there’s a really good movie we wanted to watch, the movie team is usually four – me, my hubby, my mom and my sister. But in this case, we only had three tickets. So it was a choice between me and my hubby.
Rocks, papers, scissors. I won. Great thing I did, because we were off to a blocked screening of “The Last Airbender” at Powerplant Mall in Rockwell.
Ahhh... the pleasures of getting free movie tickets
Several companies sponsored the said blocked screening, one of which was the bank where my sister works. The company allotted six tickets for her department, and she was able to get three. So off we went to Rockwell in the midst of heavy rain.
The movie started an hour later than what was printed on the ticket. But it was worth the wait. While people started falling in line, freebies were given – yogurt drinks, shampoo sachets, and sample bottles of mouthwash. You also get to pick a prize in a fishbowl. I won this:
Except for the Men's Shampoo, everything in this pack went to my sister
And while inside the theater, my sister won a kiddie vitamin syrup with watch. She’ll give the watch to my daughter. The vitamin, well, goes to whoever has a toddler in our neighborhood.
Okay, enough of the prizes. On with the movie.
I had no idea what The Last Airbender was about, but my sister seemed to know a lot about it. She had been watching the cartoons where this movie is based on Nickelodeon – Avatar, the Legend of Aang.
I was amazed by the characters’ superpowers. Imagine using your bare hands to manipulate air, fire, water, and earth? The effects were equally outstanding, especially when there’s wartime. What I didn’t like was the very loud audio of the theater. It probably woke up the baby in my tummy.
Did I tell you this is not really a movie review? So I suggest you watch the movie if you want to understand element-bending.
I thought avatars were blue. Wrong movie and storyline.
Loved the freebies, though. Thanks, my lovely sis! Until our next movie night (and I hope I can write a decent movie review next time).
