What it’s like to be a young mother?

I always thought of what it’s like to be a mother? Like, is it really that difficult? To the extent that you have to make sacrifices. Oh, and not to mention, things I have been always hearing from my mom. And then I had my little sister. I was the eldest child in the family so I am expected to help my parents in taking care of my little sister. I was really hands-on with her. I learned basic things in taking care of an infant. Say for example, her cues when she was hungry, or when she’s sleepy and all those. I was with all through out her growing up years. Basically, I had an idea of what it’s like to be a mother because I thought it’s simple as what I did with taking care of my little sister. And then the time came where I had to work and earn to support my studies and to help in the finances of my family. I thought a little sacrifice of my sleep and time could go a long way. But, really, there are things you wouldn’t understand until you are in the same position.

So, I guess were all set, and let me share with you my journey as a mother!

I believe it all started when I saw a straight line and another faint line on that pregnancy test! I cannot explain what I felt during that moment when I saw the results. Though there were signs already. Like, I’ve been missing my periods, I am gaining unusual weight, I was always dizzy, I get tired easily and I just wanted to sleep all day. Then those lines just answered all the questions I had in my mind. But, of course, since it was all unexpected, there was a part in me that was saying that I hope that faint line doesn’t really mean that I am pregnant. I was already thinking of my parents’ reaction that moment, I was in tears while holding the pregnancy test kit. And then I stood up, hurriedly went back to Yomi’s room, and showed him the result. He was extremely happy that he was smiling all day. I do love him so much that somehow, I almost forgot the things I am worried about when I saw how happy he was. He gave me reassurance that he will not leave me, that I will not face everything alone, because we are going to do it all together! I did not tell him the things I was so worried and scared of. I just don’t want to lose that smile he has that day.

Then after a few months, I tried to live normal specially I haven’t told my father yet about the news. That time, my mom was in the UK because she had to work for to help in our finances and also she was fixing our dual citizenship too. Everyday was really a struggle for me. I had to wear loose clothes so that my father wouldn’t notice my tiny baby bump that time. Though there were times when my little brother would see my tummy when I was dressing up then he would make fun of it and would say “baby tummy?!” Like he was asking if there was a baby in my tummy. It freaked me out because that could give my father an idea! But I think he did not hear those things, or at least I thought. To add with my struggles, I had to not think of myself only anymore, I had to be careful with what I am eating, and I had to take my vitamins, and not to mention, I really don’t know how I can take those without my father seeing it. Then of course, I had those usual pregnant cravings. There were times that I was really on the verge of crying because if I am at home with my father, I had to be careful in asking those snacks I am craving because of course he would notice it.

Then the time came when my father confronted me and asked me what my problem was. I was clueless and was hoping that he was not referring about my pregnancy, but he knew already. He asked me who the father was and so I told him everything. Then he asked Yomi to come over to our house that time to talk about his plans. After they talked, my father did not speak with me the whole day. I knew my pregnancy hurt him. He was more concerned of what will my mother feel when she hears the news. Weeks passed, and I guess he already accepted it and he was already asking what fruits I was craving. Food that I want and would let me rest when he felt I was really tired. He told me I had to tell my mom the soonest, and that’s what I did. I called my mom on Facebook messenger, and told her everything. I was expecting harsh words from her, and that she would shout at me, I even thought that after I told her, she wouldn’t want to speak with me for a while. But none of those happened. On a very calm voice, she told me how I am coping up with things. I can hear her voice cracking and I knew she was crying while she was talking with me. She just said, she felt about it and before I even say the words, she already knew it.

Then everything went a little normal compared to the past few months after everyone in my family knew about my pregnancy. My baby bump was starting to show that time, and I can already feel my baby moving inside me. Let’s move forward to the moment when I gave birth.

I can remember that I was in so much pain that no words can suffice to describe it when I was in labor, and true to what every mothers were saying, you would forget those pain and discomforts once you saw your baby. I can still remember the feeling when I first saw her. I was still unable to sit for it was really still painful, but I couldn’t really explain that magical feeling. All I knew was that she needed me, and that I had to attend to her needs already. I can’t explain where I got the strength that time. And then I was able to finally sit, and carry her in my arms for the very first time. She was so tiny, she was beautiful, I can’t help it. Tears fell, but I am sure that it was tears of so much joy and all I can think of that time was the love I already have for her.

Being a mother at my age was really not easy. As you know, I am just 20 years old when I had her, and I just finished my degree that time. As what I have researched, I am included in what they call “Young Adult” stage. It is where an individual normally yearns so much in life. In my case, I wanted to achieve things specially in my career, I wanted to have adventures like what my friends had. To make it short, and to tell everyone honestly, I was longing for more than what I have. I was envy with my friends for they could do anything, anywhere and every time. I had to be away with my family too. I was a bit depressed at some point my life. I was always thinking the things I could have if I did not get pregnant at an early age. I would cry often when I started missing my family, and when I think of things I no longer have because of being a mother. I was so harsh that I blame myself everyday. But it came to an end when I got tired of crying and blaming things to myself.

I have so much to experience yet with this journey of motherhood, but one thing I am certain of, is that I do not regret the repercussions of my actions before. I do not regret having my Anastasia, and I do not mind sacrificing almost everything for her, all I have in my mind right now is to give her a future she deserves. If it means of me giving up things I really want and need, I would not have second thoughts of doing it. I actually learned so much with the start of this journey. I also get to know myself more and was actually amazed of the things I thought I couldn’t do but of course, I was able to.

To all young mothers who are reading this post, I hope you draw some strength from this and I hope I somehow inspired you. It is not yet the end of the world for us. We have so much time for all our goals and ain’t it fun to achieve things together with our little munchkins?

Shoot me a message if you feel alone, or if you want to talk about these things. I’ll be very glad to listen and help you.

Til my next blog post!!!

Begin again…

After several times of being on hiatus, I finally came up with a more organized theme that I really want for this blog. I felt the need to take a break from blogging. I even had my break in editing my vlogs. I have so much struggle in looking for an inspiration and organizing all the ideas that I would love to put on my blog. However, I just cannot decide in those few months that I was on hiatus, on whether what to share. As you can see, my blog posts were all about my motherhood experiences. But I felt that I need to share more than that. So instead of focusing this blog with my experiences as a mother, I have finally decided to share things I have learned before, may it be about love, or what not, anything about life actually. There! I can assure everyone that I can now write more often and that I can finally begin again.

 

The next blog posts will be categorized under “What it’s like…” with hashtags: #personal #life #keoramos

 

I cannot wait to be back on track again! If you happen to read this blog, I really thank you for still reading my posts despite of everything, and if you happened to read this post of mine for the first time, I will be more than happy to somehow inspire and share with you things that actually made my life better.

 

And finally, my lovely readers, just shoot me a message on things that you would like me to write a blog post about, or if you have any feedback, comment or what not, feel free to leave one!

 

Until my next blog, earthlings! 🙂

 

Welcome 2017!!!

Before anything else, I would like to greet everyone a Happy New Year! I hope we were all able to start and welcome 2017 with our loving family and dear friends.

This blog post is more about my holiday experience. Exactly two days before Christmas, I was admitted to the hospital for I was experiencing so much pain on my lower back, specifically on my tail bone. I got on and off fever, and I just can’t take anymore the pain that day. Yomi and I thought that it was just a normal boil, but then I was diagnosed of having a Pilonidal Cyst.

Yep, that is also the first time we heard of such case. And so I looked up on it on the internet, and here is what I found out:

Link: All About Pilonidal Cyst

“There’s a type of cyst you can get at the bottom of your tailbone, or coccyx. It’s called a pilonidal cyst, and it can become infected and filled with pus. Once infected, the technical term is “pilonidal abscess,” and it can be painful.

It looks like a large pimple at the bottom of your tailbone. It is more common in men than in women. It usually happens more often in younger people.

People who sit a lot, such as truck drivers, have a higher chance of getting one.”

To know more about my condition, like the causes, possible prevention and cure, click the link above for more information.

But true to it’s definition, it is really painful. My surgeon said that my pilonidal cyst was congenital and that unknowingly, I let it grow inside me. And now that it was infected, my surgeon had a hard time in removing the cyst, but of course, he was able to!

Just to share the whole process, I have to be admitted in the hospital for 5 days. That includes the surgery and minor healing process. The surgery took 3 hours, and I did not feet anything because I was given an anesthesia on my spine. (Like epidural, for mother who gave birth). Then as I woke up after the surgery, I felt nauseous. The nurse said it was normal because the anesthesia is already wearing off. After that, I freaked out a little when I saw a tube connected inside me. The nurse told me that it is for drainage purposes. It was really difficult on the first day after the surgery. I can barely sleep because of the pain, though they were giving me pain relievers, but sometimes it does not work that fast. And not to mention, I had to sleep with only one position, I had to lay my back flat to the bed. I did try to change position, like sleeping sideward but it is just painful to move. It took me two days before I can finally stand and sit. But not too long.

And that is how I spend my Christmas and our 2nd year anniversary. It may be a bit despairing way of celebrating the Christmas, but of course, I still consider myself blessed for at least somehow, the operation was successful, and not to mention, I did not spend so much with my whole stay in the hospital because it was mostly covered by my health card.

By December 27, I was already advised that I can go home. I was told that I needed a full bed rest. And that’s what I did. I just saved my energy so at least I can celebrate New Year with my family.

Below are some pictures of how we celebrated NEW YEAR 2017!!!

 

 

Anastasia’s First Birthday

So this explains why I have not been so active for the past few months. I was really busy planning and organizing my little one’s first birthday! It was not as easy as I thought. Considering how keen I am with every details, and how I always want to beat deadlines. And in this post, I will be sharing some of the few things I have learned along my supposed to be DIY party for Anastasia.

Trust me, if you are a first time mom, and really doesn’t have any experience with planning and organizing events or even simple parties, this is going to make you crazy! But of course, with the right people around you, and your “NEVER GIVE UP” mindset, you can achieve the party that you have always wanted for your little munchkin.

WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER?

• Venue

= Where can your guests from North and South of your location can meet halfway?

= If you are planning to have your little one’s Christening and first birthday on just the same day, then you would have to consider the location of the church too. As much as possible, the church and your venue for your LO’s birthday should be near with one another. So you can have everyone from the Christening be able to attend the party too!

This is the Our Lady of the Annunciation Parish & Shrine of the Incarnation church where Anastasia was baptized. It is located along Mindanao Avenue.

And her party place! This is located along Congressional Avenue, just a few blocks from the church.

• Time

= Of course, you have to know the availability of your guests. In my case, my little munchkin’s first birthday happened to be on a weekday (Thursday). I have to consider my guests availability, so I decided to have the event on weekend.

I also suggest that you can create an event on Facebook on your prospect date and time, and you can see there people who can and cannot come on that day. So you can gauge if you need to change the day or what have you.

• Food

= I originally planned of having a DIY party where it can be a buffet style for the food, but due to some circumstances, I was not able to do my original plan. So what I did is to look for a restaurant that offers buffet style for parties. With the help of my loving friends and also with my research, I was able to have my party in Shakey’s that offers buffet style for the food. So I do not have to stress myself so much in thinking different packages of food for adults and kids.

• Souvenirs

= Now, since I had Anastasia’s Christening on the same day as her birthday, I had to have souvenirs for her godparents. I do not want the usual souvenirs that are usually given, like the little angels or small feeding bottles with her picture on it. Though I have nothing against those souvenirs but I just really wanted to give something that can be of everyday use. And so I ended up with mason jars filled with popcorns! Very classy. And since for the party package I had with Shakey’s, the loot bags they have for the kids are only limited, I also decided to add more, specially for the boys because the loot bags Shakey’s can provide is depending on the theme you’ll be getting, which on my case was Barbie (not my theme though, but I have to choose). Those things I have added for the souvenirs and loot bags were all just from Divisoria! Believe me, you can buy quality souvenirs there and a lot of things to add for the loot bags without you spending so much!

• Miscellaneous

= I also had a large tarpaulin for Anastasia, filled with her photos as she grows up. I just chose  a layout from Google, and good thing, I have my best friend Alyssa who helped me with the design of the tarpaulin.

= Anastasia’s dress were all ordered from Amazon by my parents. We had two dresses for her, one for her Christening and another for her birthday party. If you feel like doing the same about ordering online, I suggest you give an allowance with your LO’s size so at least, it is easier to repair if needed. Or you can just shop around with your munchkin so you can be very certain with how the dress would fit. I also suggest you have it done a month before your munchkin’s first birthday because I do not know why but babies grow so fast these days! One day they’re size 8, next thing you know, they’re size 10 already!

• Cake

= For the cake, what I did first is come up with my sample design. It is where the price of the cake will be based. Next was I shopped around Facebook, and Instagram for people who can do customized cakes. Be prepared for your sample design and additional requests so they can gauge the cost of the cake. Oh and please, be very sure before you make some reservations. It’s a bit off if you’ll be cancelling orders or if you really have to cancel the order, have it done at least a week before the event.

Few more reminders, mommies!

If you are wondering how much did we spend for our Anastasia’s party, it was roughly around Php 60,000-70,000. Not bad for 170 pax!

I also suggest you have your reservation on the venues you would like to have, a month before the party. So you can secure your slot. Usually for some restaurants or venues, they will just be asking a down payment just to reserve the slot for you!

And always have a Plan B, C and D! At least you have something as a back up if all else fails.

You can shoot me a message for more details of Anastasia’s birthday. Or if you have questions about anything, feel free to send a message!

Anastasia @ 7(months)!

I may have been working full time on a night shift, but that does not hinder me from seeing how Anastasia grows. I have witnessed her developments and her little milestones that make us even more proud of her. I must admit, I like it more now that she’s basically trying to go on her own. She is now able to hold her bottle and drink her milk. Play with the stuffed toys she has, she even often initiates playtime. You would know that she’s in the mood to play when she doesn’t stop screaming and would laugh after. She would even welcome us from work with a very huge smile and you would even see how ecstatic she is to us come home. Oh how I love Anastasia! Sometimes, the exhaustion I get from work, the stress I deal with everyday, and a whole lot more are already making sense. What I really mean by that is I now have a purpose, an inspiration and a very strong drive to continue and work harder. Sometimes, you would just really be surprise to the things that you could do just for the ones you really love! Like how I am with Anastasia, and with our family. Below are her pictures during her seventh month! Ooh and not to mention, she’s turning 8 months in a few days. Yey for my little munchkin!

 

 

6 months and counting with Baby A.

Imagine that! She’s turning seven months a week from now. I am just so happy to see her grow into someone I want her to be. She’s such a happy kid. She would often laugh and play by herself. She doesn’t cry for nothing. She’ll just cry whenever she is hungry or tired and wants to sleep. She is starting to talk right now, she knows how to interact and play with us. She would often shout at the top of her lungs when she wants to talk  with us. Anastasia has always been my stress reliever, the only drive that keeps me going to whatever I have to face. I don’t have much to say for her developments, I’ll just post the photos below and you’ll see ow grown up she is.

Life with Anastasia.

And so after being on hiatus, I finally have enough time to continue blogging. I just got back to working, not to mention, on a very graveyard shift. LOL! Oh and with longer hours! I must admit that it was really exhausting. But as soon I got the hang of it, and also a big thanks to Yomi who helped me cope up with the changes. A lot of adjustments were done just for us to work. Insert all words synonymous with “TIRED” here. Those are the things we often feel, but because Yomi and I got no choice, we continue to strive harder for our little angel.

But after all the stress, that’s where our Anastasia comes in.She takes away all our discomforts in life. Amazing how she is able to do that by just simply smiling. Speaking of my cutie Anastasia…

Anastasia’s second and third month!

Time flies so fast and she is almost on her fourth month. Anastasia is growing even more beautiful everyday. She is starting to have her own habits. She is now able to sleep by herself and oftentimes we need not to carry her every now and then. She started to turn on the first week of her third month. She was struggling at first, and we cannot help but try to push her a little for her to be successful. But then, little by little she is now able to turn without any help nor assistance. She is able to lift her head and would often smile. She now likes to talk, her coocoo’s, all day all night. She is now taking 4oz of milk and sometimes would ask for more! She sleeps the longest during nightime and would be awake all day. In just two months, she’s able to achieve a lot of things! I couldn’t be more proud of my little Tasia.

Below our her photos during her second and third month: