Sealtiel's First Week

Our first photo together.

Our baby boy is a week older. It has not been easy since I delivered via C/S and I have only my husband with me to help me with things around the house. It's good that our daughters are spending the Holidays here in Manila with us. They are helping in taking care or Maxime while I gave my full attention to Baby Miggy.

Week One

So far, Sealtiel is not such a fuss baby. He sleeps most of the time and only gets to stir and wiggle his tiny body when he's hungry. I am breastfeeding him and he likes it very much. I think the most tasking part during the first week is the changing patterns of bowel elimination. A baby's body need to eliminate the meconium (first stool) from his system or else this can cause some toxic effects. 

Peaceful sight. Taken in the hospital.

Meconium is fecal material that the baby passes out after birth. It is blackish to dark green in color. On Day 2, we have 8-10 poops (in little amount though) and diaper change is just like a taxi meter. I read from Babycenter.com that this is normal especially if the baby is breastfed. The colostrum  from breast milk has a laxative effect and causes the baby to poop frequently. In Sealtiel's case, it is helping him get rid of the meconium. 

Days 3 and onwards is mostly sleeping time for him. Every morning around 9-10 AM I bathe him with Lactacyd blue making sure that I am not washing his umbilical stump to prevent infection. After his short bath, I breast fed him and he goes to sleep again. I chose EQ diapers (newborn) for his nappies because its affordable.

His umbilical stump fell off on Day 7. Below is the photo showing his stump. I'm glad that no infection transpired when it was still attached to his belly.

Umbilical stump fell off!

My Christmas Gift Came Early

I finally get the chance to write a week after I gave birth to our little boy, whom we consider as our early Christmas gift.

I am supposed to deliver on December 23, 2013, according to my estimated date of confinement (EDC). But as the days progress, I easily get tire and can't move easily. It's already a burden for me to wake up every morning and go to work. All I want is to lie down and rest my very pregnant body. My OB-GYN is not even convinced that I will go into Cesarian Section by December 18 (although I am already 38 weeks). But I pleaded and finally she gave in to my demands. So, I got admitted last December 17 at 1:00 PM.

My actual C/S schedule is December 18 at 9:30 AM. But I did not reach that schedule. After I finished reciting the rosary that night, I suddenly felt a pop inside me and I knew that my BOW (bag of water) is now leaking. I called for the Resident-on-Duty and she did confirmed that I am going into labor. Talk about timing! By 11:30 PM they prepared for STAT C/S and I was rolled into the OR.

Our Baby Boy

The only thing that I remember was hearing the cry of a baby as they are doing their own businesses with me while I was on the operating table. I heard somebody saying "It's a baby boy." Seriously??? Yeah, my mind is still intact and I felt that I cannot hide my excitement if indeed it was a boy (or was I just having a haze consciousness due to the anesthesia). Nonetheless, I have a strong conviction that we have a baby boy this time!

And it's indeed true! AT 2:29 AM, I gave birth to a 7.7 lbs baby boy and 53 cm in length. My husband is very much surprised about the revelation. He even insisted that I planned all of this as a surprise for him. I told him that I did not underwent an ultrasound. Why? Aside from the monetary part (it's Php850), I decided not to have one so that I will not feel frustrated and  pass it on to my baby if ever it's going to be another girl. No offense, but of course, we are aiming for a baby boy this time after having 3 girls already. It would be such a blessing to have a baby boy. So, to spare my unborn child with this feeling, I sad that whatever gender he/she will be, I will accept wholeheartedly.

We named him - Sealtiel Jude Miguel.  Sealtiel is the archangel for Holy Orders, Jude from St. Jude Thaddeus, and Miguel (also known as St. Michael) the archangel. Here are his first photos taken in the nursery of The Family Clinic Hospital. I personally would like to thank Ms. Catherine Cipe, RN who personally attended to his newborn care.

Our Christmas gift.

After settling all of our financial obligations with the hospital and my doctors, we went home on December 20, just in time to celebrate Christmas as a whole family. My two daughters, Mary Gabrielle and Aryanna Mikaela arrived the following day.

My 2014 Power Planner

This is the first page of my 2014 planner. Can you guess what planner is this?

A few days more and 2013 is about to end and... we will start to live another year ahead of us.

If you are like me, who likes to write down everything my mind is able to conceived, then getting a planner is definitely a major part of your must-have list. As early as October, I already surfed the net, visited bookstores and searched for what kind of planner will I be having for 2014.

The "Planner" in Me

I am not an O-C (obsessive-compulsive) type of person that cannot live without his/her planner or organizer. I don't get freaked out or suddenly be out of control when things are not in order. I guess the habit of writing things down and going through those lists everyday composes me and make me feel secure to know that I have some work to do for the day. It's my way of gauging my productivity level. Sometimes, I make my planner as a journal (an art journal in particular; just like what I did to my 2013 planner) where I post some inspirational thoughts, sayings or quotes that affects me, and even some recipes that I am willing to try. I also keep my payslip in my planner, my daily expenses (though not religiously), some savings, records of my online jobs and finances, and other knick-knacks that I can think of. Basically, the planner that I am looking for does not only suits my lifestyle but can adjust to what my life should be.

Last year, I had a Belle De Jour Power Planner. My first actually. My previous planners are all courtesy from companies' Christmas giveaways (of course! I also considered the money aspect in buying a new one). If the planner is very pleasant to my eyes, have more writing space then I settle for it. It was just last year that I bought the BJD Power Planner because I read its reviews and I want to give it a try.

And it did not failed me. So, this coming 2014, I decided for another BJD Power Planner. But this time I opted for the leather type to enhance professionalism and entice more professional work coming my way this 2014.

"Live life to the fullest!" ~My 2014 Power Planner complete with Lifestyle Card and stickers

Freebies

I ordered my planner online and paid via PayPal. If you visit the BDJ site, they are offering you a freebie of Pantene products the moment you purchased your Power Planner. Why not?! I registered online and I received them yesterday. My first freebies from BDJ!

Preparing for the Big Day

My admitting notes for tomorrow's C/S.

This is it!

This is my admitting notes from my OB-GYN. I can no longer tolerate the heaviness of pregnancy. I can barely move because of my present 172 lbs. weight. This is the first time that I will deliver (via C/S again) only with my husband and Maxime beside me. How I wish my parents are present to give me emotional support.

This is my 4th delivery, my 3rd C/S (my eldest, Mary Gabrielle, was born via NSVD), and my 4th to go under surgical blade. How come? Walk by me:

• 1987 - Appendectomy
• 1997 - Explorative laparostomy secondary to adhesions. (I was 7 months pregnant with Gabie then. But I delivered her normally after 2 months)
• 2001 - Aryanna Mikaela, my 2nd daughter was born thru C/S because of unprogressive labor.
• 2011 - Maxime Danielle, was born via C/S at 35 weeks because of breech presentation.

Now, despite all these surgical experiences, plus the fact that I am a nurse, my level of anxiety today is traversing from moderate to panic level. I still have deadlines to meet and I am doing some final drafts to submit tonight to my online courses. This helps in diverting my anxious laden mind. After 12 tonight, it's going to be pre-operative mode.

I am entrusting everything to you, O Lord...Guide me through this ordeal and guide my love ones as well.

Dance with My Father

I know you already heard (and loved) the song Dance with My Father. Almost all brides-to-be include this in their list of possible songs to be played on the day of their wedding. I get teary-eyed myself whenever I hear the song. You know, if you have a very strong emotional bond with your father, this song can melt your heart to pieces. 

Yesterday, as I was trying to search for some files in my laptop, I stumbled into these movie clips that I recorded last May 5, 2013. This was the baptism of Maxime Danielle, our 3rd daughter. She was 5 months old then. The background song that you can hear is not the song that I am talking about, although the singer is my brother ~ Kristofferson J. Conlu. But I get so emotional seeing this clip that I told my dear husband, that they can use this as their "throwback videos" when the time comes for their wedding day. My husband gave me a smirk instead. 

After Two Years...

Here's the Part 2 of their Father-Daughter dance. This was taken last November 10, 2013 in our new place here in Manila. The number they presented here is actually a quick recording their noontime antics. It's all natural and we enjoyed replaying it every now and then. Even Maxime plays it over a hundred times already and gets to laugh at her clumsiness. 

The Fruit of My CEAP Contribution

This morning when I woke up, I opened my cellphone and checked for my Daily Bible Verse. This is what I read:

What's the relevance of this message to me, you may ask. Today I received my CEAP benefits! I thought I am no longer qualified to receive any separation pay since I only begin to contribute for CEAP in 2006 (I think). CEAP stands for Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines. If you are an educator working in a Catholic institution, you are asked to contribute a portion of your salary for your retirement. Since I am an obedient employee, I registered and started to contribute.

But I lost interest in processing since I resigned voluntarily and I am below 10 years of continuous contribution. With the persistence of my mother, I processed the papers for separation and just waited for whatever benefits I will be receiving. I checked and read the contents at their website for any clues on whatever amount I will be receiving. I found nothing. This lead to my hopeless consideration that I may not receive anything at all. Knowing that I will need all the financial help now since I am about to give birth this month via Caesarian section, I just prayed to God that He will provide us with whatever grace He can give us. I never ceased praying and the Bible message really gave me hope.

I filed the papers late October, then forgot all about it. Que sera sera...

But we can really never tell what's in store for us. As we keep on worrying about our daily lives, on what's going to happen the next day, He already laid out the cards of our chances. All we have to do is have FAITH IN HIM. 

So, this afternoon, I received a phone call from my mother informing me that I have check from CEAP. The amount can really help in my CS delivery. While I was worrying on where to get the funds for this expense, HE provided it for us. Truly, God works in wonderful ways.

My planner entry when I received the good news!

Photo credits: 1

Chapter 38

Last November 22, I turned 38 years old. Aptly, I came up to this title of my first post for this new blog that I am about to start. Two years more to go and I'll hit the 40's. So before that thing happens, I want to record everything that goes on with my life in this new blog of mine.

Unlike my other blogs or websites, this blog will be more personal ~ more about me, my children, my family life, my work, my interests, my feelings and my emotions throughout the day or week. No pressures here in making an impression nor thinking of SEO words just to make a presence in the social media. Whatever comes along into my life, I will write about it. Of course, I still maintain my other sites (when other work does not hamper the thoughts).

So, what ever happened the past year? Well, I resigned from my previous work of being a Clinical Instructor (12 years of molding nursing students) and came to Manila to accept the job position of Training Officer/Assistant Chief Nurse at The Family Clinic, Inc., now being managed by Caritas Group of Companies. The transition period is quite dragging and I sometimes miss the academic life and be with students. Being with students, you get to maintain that youthfulness and worry-free attitude and it makes me energetic as well. Now that work is more collegial and serious, sometimes at the end of the day, all I want is to lie down and drift away to lala-land. But as they say, life has to go on. So I did.

Maybe some of you don't know this yet, since I keep mum about my present state (except my family and close friends). At 38 years old, I am pregnant with our 4th child. Yep, this is something that we did not expect to happen. But hey, it does not mean that our bundle of joy is not wanted. In life, there are things that happen unexpectedly. And this is one of those things. I am about to pop anytime this month; he/she shares the same birth month with Max. As of this writing, we are 36 weeks already. Gender has not been determined yet. I'm still waiting for my OB's prescription for ultrasound. As what other parents wish for their unborn child, whatever the gender the baby maybe as long as he/she is healthy and with no other physical problems, that is already a blessing. We are hoping to have a baby boy this time, but God knows what's best for us and I can't wait to see and hold him/her in my arms.

Well, that's all about me for now. I am planning to post every week and keep you all updated. I basically want this to be interactive, so I welcome all your comments. See you this Friday!

Photo credits: 1