Last night as I was putting Miguel to sleep, I thought of the many things that changed eversince I became a mom. This time, though, I shifted my thoughts to the mundane instead of going over the same issue concerning work and career.

It actually became a bit entertaining as I realized I have developed new habits and broken some as a consequence of my new situation. Here's my list:

* I read medicine inserts now
and I'm on my way to learning to read MIMS!

* I check food labels and ingredients
I count the calorie content, I check for nuts and chocolate and MSG in the ingredients

* I wear seatbelt even at the backseat
I was used to wearing seatbelt only when I'm driving or when I'm at the front passenger seat

* I wear perfume less often
I don't actually need to as I'm often just at home

* I fix my hair less often
Like twice a day, perhaps? :))

* I trim my brows less often
You could imagine how hairy I must look now, lol :))

* I Google-up everything concerning health
Miguel was MISdiagnosed with Primary Complex at 7 months, who wouldn't go researching about health and sickness?

* I text less people
Perhaps only Nico on a regular basis, and Miguel's pediatrician occasionally

* I shop at baby section instead of at ladies'
I can control the urge to shop for bags and shoes and clothes. I enjoy shopping for Miguel now. Happy to discover there's Mothercare in Shangrila :)

* I wear flats
Heeled shoes were all neatly kept

* I seldom wear accessories
Except for my engagement and wedding rings

So there, I'm sure there are a lot other things that changed to which I'm not paying much attention. I will update my list occasionally.

How about you? Any interesting new habits formed? :)

After months of contemplation and yaya search, I remain uncertain on the issue of returning to work. This has been the question in my mind for months now, whether it is truly ever worth it to delegate the task of “caring for Miguel” to some stranger so I could work fulltime.

At one point in October, I had been ready (or so I thought), so I sent an application to Chevron. I was contacted the next day and was asked to report in November. Obviously I couldn’t. Well I didn’t know they would ask me to work that soon! I had no yaya and nanay was scheduled to spend a month-long stay in Singapore. I requested if I could start in December (while bugging friends and family to help me find a yaya, which I soon realized was no easy feat), though I know it was quite impossible as the post needs to be filled urgently. So I missed the opportunity. After a few moments of regret, I was back to present again–no yaya, no work, no worries.

Next week a prospective yaya is scheduled to arrive finally. So then I will have to confront the issue again. I have the entire 2008 ahead of me. Another year full of possibilities. I will have to decide soon.

Random things, that’s what! I just realized there are quite a few ‘unrelated’ things going on in my head today so I’ve decided to write them down just for fun, and to remind me of those that need to be acted upon. Here goes…

I didn’t know shopping for diapers could be so much fun until last weekend when we went to SM I felt too excited at the sight of stacks of diapers of different brands! I’m a Prokids user (as recommended by sister) but decided I’d like to try another brand as well as it would be good to have a second option when my first choice isn’t available. It wasn’t easy choosing which brand and type to buy and it took me a while to settle for Pampers, and a little while longer to decide on the “baby dry” type. Hay, I suddenly had the longing to understand the market niches of each diaper type, and somehow I was wishing I had time to do a comprehensive price comparison of different brands from different stores, hehe

And oops, I also bought a pack of Mamy Poko (again, as recom by sister), but this one’s for night time use lang as it is quite expensive.

***
I’m feeling a bit anxious about Miguel’s pedia visit this saturday. And this is because I didn’t strictly follow his Doc’s advice on expressing my milk after each feeding to be given to Miguel via cup. E kasi naman, wala akong regular help who could assist in cup feeding so ang hirap. And another thing, Miguel will be given his second shot of 6-in-1 and Rotarix vaccine which means he’s gonna cry hard…and daddy’s gonna cry even harder cause that would cost him another 8k, yikes!

***
On the other hand, I’m also anticipating this saturday’s check-up since Miguel’s turning 6 months next week which means Doc might give a ‘go’ on feeding Miguel solid (or should I say mushy) food. We bought him feeding spoon na din since meron na sya feeding bowl.

***
After much deliberation on how to spend tita ninang lala’s cash gift, we’ve finally decided to get Miguel a playpen (a new bag for mommy’s not one of the options, no!). We initially planned on buying the typical square type but decided in the end to get the ‘pack and play’, in blue and green The colors match Miguel’s toy organizer and the rectangular shape makes it possible to fit in one corner of our small and overly crowded bedroom.

But hey, this playpen is just for play! Miguel is still sleeping with us since he still wakes up every 2 or 3 hours to nurse. So maybe when he’s already able to sleep through the night, I can let him sleep in the pen!

***
I’m thinking party planning. Oh ya, I guess it’s too early to plan for Miguel’s first birthday but just let me check this site. Hmm, what’s a nice party theme? And oh, should I go for cupcakes or a big cake? Of course, we’ll have chocolate fountain and ice cream cart! Wait, that’s not until January of next year, so, ya, it’s too early to plan.

***
Miss ko na McChicken sandwich…pwede na kaya? Let me ask Doc on saturday, hehehe! :)

“One doesn’t recognize in one’s life the really important moments until it’s too late”.- Agatha Christie


I was going through my old stuff the other day and stumbled upon this photo.

This was taken in June 2001 during the Marketing-Finance-Supply Coordination Meeting at Evercrest in Batangas. Seeing this photo, I somehow felt a sense of nostalgia and a sudden longing to bring back the old days.

It is only recently that I realized I actually enjoyed the seven years I spent at Caltex (now Chevron). Seven years is not a very long time, I know, but I am thankful to have handled such a job that allowed me to grow professionally and to develop personal relationships with my colleagues. Surely there were times when I struggled with work–I’ve had my share of disappointments as well. As any normal employee would have experienced– yung time na demotivated ka and if only you could just quit!- but after a while, things would get better and you realize you’re happy and contented again.

It was indeed a happy and fulfilling experience and if ever I’d have the chance to work again (read: if Miguel will take a bottle), I will still choose to work with Chevron (ahem hindi po ito naka-attention sa mga ex-boss, nagsesenti lang! hehehe).

Anyways, as I wanted to preserve fond memories with Chevron, I rushed to look for old photos which I haven’t had the chance to organize. I was too disappointed to find out they were missing! My biggest mistake was that I didn’t bring them with me to Dubai so I guess they were mistaken for clutter and thrown away during spring cleaning! waaaaa

Today, I have taken actions to retrieve what’s left of my Chevron past–that is, bug down ex-officemates to send me copies of those photos. Fortunately, my ex-boss was kind enough to search through his archives and sent me these. Sana meron pa…

I just have to write about it! When we were at Dr. Tiongson’s clinic last Saturday I thought of checking my weight again, and to my amazement the weighing scale registered 48kg-ish (ok let’s say it’s 49kg!). I had to ask Nico to double-check if I’m reading it right, and had to confirm with the secretary that their weighing scale is calibrated (of course it should be, we’re at a Doctor’s clinic afterall!). And yes, I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight!

I put on about 15kg when I was pregnant but didn’t actually bother to go on a diet after giving birth. In fact, I’m not even watching what and how much I eat (except that I avoid allergy-causing food). It’s just one of the many perks of breastfeeding.

that’s how I am feeling today. Miguel has not been feeding well lately and I think he hasn’t gained much weight over the past month. I’ve actually noticed his poor appetite about two months ago. I mentioned this to his pedia on our last visit and was advised to cut down on stimulating activities (no more peek-a-boo and tickle me games for now) as these and all the other skills he’s gradually learning–”talking/socializing”, crawling– seem to be more interesting to him than nursing. I even had a bad case of mastitis once when he did not feed overnight. However, I content myself with the fact that he gained 500g at that time since for exclusiely breastfed babies, weight gain is an indication of good milk intake.


It’s been almost 5 weeks since our last pedia visit and it seems to me he even lost weight, his cheeks aren’t as chubby as before and the fact that he never feeds more than 5mins per session is worrying me too much. What could be causing his loss of appetite? I read that a baby under 12 months isn’t likely to self-wean. I noticed, though, that he’s drooling and biting a lot, could he be teething? I can only hope his disinterest in nursing is temporary. Can’t wait for our next check up on saturday as I will surely raise this issue again to his doctor.

my cutie baby…isn’t he adorable?

***
Our own place–this is yet another thing that saddens me. Even before we came back to the Philippines there is already the issue of how we will manage to live independently, and obviously we haven’t done much to address the issue as we are still staying at my parents’. There are a few things we need to reconcile before we even consider moving out. Based on quick estimates (as I haven’t done serious calculation), we couldn’t afford to rent our own place with only one of us earning, but Miguel won’t feed from a bottle till now and I’m not comfortable leaving him with a yaya plus I know of the many benefits of taking care of him myself so how (or perhaps why) will I work again soon?

Hay, life sometimes is sad…

it's been two months since i left home and joined hubby in dubai--two long, lingering and boring months! (sigh). i know this is not a good first sentence for an interesting write-up (and definitely not a fitting article for a blog with a title like mine) but this is exactly how i'm feeling so bear with me. i have been fighting the urge to blog about my 'boredom' and been convincing myself to just delight in the chance of not having to wake up early and cram through the early morning traffic, things which i had survived for the past 9 or so years of my life back in manila, but two months is just unbearably long!

having been in a busy, work environment eversince i left school, i had gotten used to being up and on the go 5 days a week at the very least. back during my 'busy days', i usually had to wake up at 430am, leave home before 6 to line-up through the edsa traffic so i could make it to office at 8am. my only comfort was to find my favorite spot in the parking area empty-- i loved this spot cause it's near the elevator so i wouldn't have to walk far and it's a bit secluded which allowed me to filch a 20-min sleep on thursdays- my coded day. on a typical day, i usually had to stay in the office until past 7pm, do some errands after leaving the office, and reach home between 10&11pm, which practically left me with less than 5hours of sleep. i fairly remember an officemate commenting "ngayon ka lang uuwi?? pagdating mo sa bahay, magkakape ka lang at papasok ka na ulet!" and another commented "anong timezone ba dun sa inyo?" they never ran out of creative ways of pointing out how far my place is from the office. back then, i always looked forward to weekends when i could sleep through the entire morning without being disturbed by the recurring alarm that i've set on my phone. addendum: during my last year at the company, weekend became such a luxury. friday nights were spent doing price adjustments (which happened almost every week) and saturday mornings were spoiled by the early morning callers who claimed not to have received my late night advise on the move. worse was when i actually had to work on weekends especially when the advise came in late and i already had something planned which had to be put aside. somehow, i came to a point when i wished things were a bit different. i was hoping the pain on my right shoulder which i am most certain i got from years of (improperly) using keyboard and mouse and battling with formulas in the excel spreadsheet, would forever go away. when the decision to finally quit my job and move with nico to dubai was settled, i was relieved. i counted the days to when i was scheduled to take off.

and then it came. and two months after, i was bored to death. i busied myself with household stuff--cooking, laundry, housecleaning and indulged in my regular pastime--books, mags, tv, mall, internet (i actually found a site called bored.com hehe) and quite recently found new interest on reading the daily paper, a habit which i got from nico. on weekends, we would normally go out to explore this new place, always on our own pace. despite all that, my days are normally blank, i always seem to have too much time with not much to do. i still wake up early, around 530am to prepare nico's breakfast and see him off to work, but i'm back to bed even before he's able to get into the building elevator. i make sure not to get out of bed before 10am as much as i can so that almost half of the day's already spent and i only have the rest of the afternoon to laze.

except today! few hours after i dozed off this morning, i was awakened by a call. i was so certain it wasn't nico since he never calls until lunchtime. i answered the phone with that sleepy voice, which i prayed was not noticed by the other party on the line, and struggled to level my thoughts. seconds later, i found myself explaining my job preference to the caller who happened to be a consultant in one of the (many) recruitment agencies i sent my resume to. side kwento: i only have to stay in dubai for a month to realize that this place has been invaded by people from all over the world, most of whom have only one agenda which is to find greater opportunity. the job market here is so saturated that you can count yourself lucky if you're able to get an interview invitation within 2months after sending out applications. that's why i keep wondering why a lot of filipinos are leaving their jobs in the phils to take chance in this overcrowded market (stats says around 30filipinos come to dubai everyday on visit visa!)

back to my story: i was talking to this lady on the phone and she said she has an urgent requirement for an administrative assistant and asked me if i am willing to be considered. admin job is not the first thing on my wishlist but having suffered 2months of boredom, i gladly said yes. at this point, i would grab any decent job opportunity that will come my way just to stay sane (added to the fact that they pay twice my salary in manila, tax-free, yey!). she would forward my resume to the employer and said would call me on saturday if i am shortlisted. the thing about this job though, is that the office is again far from our place, i have yet to find out if they'll be providing transport service, otherwise i may have to decline. anyways, that's second to my concerns. first, i need to secure an interview invitation and then the rest can be dealt with later.

i suddenly have this feeling that my sluggish state is coming to an end...