transposable element

it’s overwhelming how big the market for babies has become, it’s becoming harder and harder especially for first time parents to distinguish the must-haves from the nice-to-have-but-don’t really-need-it stuff. as second-time parents, though, we’re much more pragmatic this time around in buying baby gear. we knew what the essentials were, and what items were better left on a buy-as-needed basis.

sure, it’s nice to go shopping and fully kit out a nursery — baby cot, dresser, changing table, all the way to the curtains, baby bedding, monitors, plush toys, and a thousand other paraphernalia — but since we ended up co-sleeping with jan, we didn’t even bother this time around. aside from a changing table (which isn’t even a must-have), we didn’t buy anything else. mia sleeps with me, a viable solution i would recommend to nursing moms, despite reports linking co-sleeping to SIDS, a phenomenon the cause of which nobody really seems to know, anyway.

and since i breastfeed, there’s an entire section of baby shops i don’t even bother to go to: that aisle where bottles, bottle brushes, bottle sterilizers, bottle drying racks, etc are.

interesting how simply getting back to the basics of parenting protects you from the temptations of the baby-stuff industry.

mia’s got enough of those frilly girly stuff, maybe i should get her some of these sort, too:

i know there are funny t shirts like these for adults, but somehow they don’t look as funny as they do on babies, do they?

these pics were forwarded to me via email. if they are yours (the pics or the kids), let me know so i can give proper credit!

i went for a post-natal check a few days ago, and everything was pronounced well by the doc. except for an elevated blood pressure. which was pretty weird, because all through out the pregnancy, i never had problems with my bp, and it’s pretty ironic that it starts just when the baby’s already out. i wrote it off to lack of sleep.

the truth is, i can’t say i really lack sleep. so far, mia’s being an angel during nighttime (it’s a different story during daytime, though). but since mid last week, jan’s kindergarten has been closed due to an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease, an illness that seems to have reached epidemic levels in china and singapore. so jan is forced to stay home and the poor guy is simply bored to death. the first day was a riot here at home, but so far, we’re coping well. hubby adjusted his work schedule and jan has continuously surprised me with his creativity and maturity. he would happily watch tv the whole day, sure, but when forced to turn it off, he’d come up with amazingly creative ways to keep himself busy.

but the stress! another week of this to go. let’s see how stress resistant i am. maybe i should start reading up on beta blockers. or looking for best acne treatment options.

how about you? how does your body react to stress?

what every mother wishes for her child.

ok, looks like i spoke too soon. as i suspected, it was still too early to expect mia to stick to some sort of predictable schedule. yesterday, she was awake the whole morning, as we went to register her at the embassy and apply for her passport, and then proceeded to sleep the whole afternoon til evening, with just a few short feed-breaks in between. it wasn’t any surprise that while the rest of the world slumbers, she was then wide awake last night.

ahh, but that is the charm and challenge of newborns — they keep you on your toes. just when you think you had them figured out, something unexpected happens. even, physically, it’s amazing how much babies change from day to day. sometimes, even by the hour. i don’t know how many pictures we’ve taken of mia the last 10 days (good thing i have an external drive,so it’s not using up a lot of computer memory) and one can really see how her features change. more than her physical features, though, i am more curious at what kind of personality she will have. she will most likely look like a feminine version of jan, but would she be as strong-willed, as daring, as precocious?

it’s been a week since mia was born and i can’t tell whether coping with a new member of the family is easier this time around or not. so far, things have been gong pretty smoothly, too smooth and easy-going than i expected for me to believe this status quo will last. in under a week, i’m physically more or less recovered from the delivery (though my ab muscles are still nowhere to be found and my tummy’s all wriggly and wobbly) and i’ve even overcome breastfeeding obstacles (when else will you have rock-hard, move-over-pamela-anderson sized mammary glands?) in less time than it took me with jan. mia’s sleeping a lot, even at nighttime, so i’m not as sleepless as i dreaded i would be (though i am more sleepy than usual these days). so far, she’s been a darling, not fussy at all (knock on wood).

i intentionally asked my folks not to come immediately after i give birth, as i thought we would need the time and space to fall into our new roles and establish a routine that works for the family before we have folks stay with us for a visit. but as things are, i suppose i should tell them it’s time to scout for flight deals!

mia amelie
born 28 april 2008, 11:10 am (GMT+8)
national university hospital, singapore
3200g, 50 cm.
almost 11 hours of labor, 4 pushes.

the last few days, i find myself pausing at every little twitch and tension i feel, gauging whether the time to head to the hospital has finally come. yesterday, i visited a friend who gave birth a couple of days ago and the anticipation became even more accute. last night, i actually thought we wouldn’t make it through the night. but alas, here i am, still at home, still blogging, waiting for the contractions to come.

ah, to wait! during my last OB check up, the doc gave the baby the green light to come anytime. head is engaged, and the clinical laboratory services returned negative results for strep infections, and best of all, the baby’s head has moved from its occiput posterior (OP) position to face down, towards my spine. with my firstborn, jan, i had what is called back labor, with his head pushing against my spine, causing extreme pressure on my back at every contraction. when i found out this second baby was on the same position, i started to think there was something morphologically wrong with my uterus! but it seems there is a chance i’m going to be spared a back labor this time, although no one can tell as changes in position can still occur at the last minute.

oh well, it’s futile worrying about the D-day anyway. que sera, sera. i just wish i don’t have to wait long anymore. it’s getting me all the more antsy.

if there’s one smart move we made before leaving germany, it was to sign up for the mawista health insurance. as i’ve blogged previously, the efficiency of the health care system in germany is something i have been very impressed with. as we were not sure what kind of health insurance we’d be getting here in singapore and how long the paperwork will take to get the family covered, we decided to sign up for a year’s coverage with mawista to bridge the gap. basically, it’s like a year long travel health insurance.

it turned out that the local health insurance we have here does not cover a lot of things. pregnancy and childbirth, for example, isn’t, as it’s not considered to be an illness. so if we didn’t have mawista, we would have had to cough out the S$4000-6000 from our own pockets for the delivery alone. that’s assuming it’s going to be a normal, straightforward delivery. as it is, we’ll have to shell out the cash upfront anyway, but at least we get reimbursed later. now i understand why, during my first consultation with the OB-Gyn, upon seeing on my records that i am a pinoy, the receptionist asked whether i plan to give birth here in singapore. i thought it was a ridiculous question then. after all, where else would i want to give birth? i live here, don’t i? but now, i get it.

our bags are packed. i wish i was going on holiday, lugging golf bags, but no, i’m talking about my hospital bag and jan’s overnight bag, in case he needs to stay with relatives while i’m at the hospital delivering the next member of the family. unlike with anticipating your first child, i realize this delivery and the succeeding couple of weeks will take a little bit more of planning and coordination as this time around, there’s jan to consider as well. he’ll probably miss a day or so from kindergarten, as i’m sure he’d also appreciate being present during the first few days, but i’m hoping his schedule won’t be disrupted more than necessary.

certainly, we’ll have to find and fit a into a new routine that works for us all, and it will take some getting used to. it will take weeks, perhaps months til we find some semblance of normalcy, some sense of alltag or “everyday-ness”, to our lives. it will be challenging, frustrating at times, perhaps. sleepless nights, school stress, job requirements, extra-curricular activities, wet nappies and engorged breasts.

but we are a team. a family. what is there to worry about?