Under the Weather Thursday

I'm very thankful that our weather has turned from smoldering hot (which caused the brownouts) to fair and rainy. However, a side-effect of the rapidly changing weather is sickness.

I actually started to get sick the other day, Wednesday, but still worked because, well, I didn't want to miss work. Then, yesterday, Honey (Yuri's yaya) had to go to school to get enrolled for the new school year, so I had no choice but to be absent. That was okay because I felt even sicker than I was the other day and I really wanted to rest.

However, as you mothers would know, there isn't really true "rest" for a toddler mom. So I tried to lay on the bed while my toddler ran around the room and only got up when the situation called for it.

Mom in the Disposable Mask

 Yuri entertained himself by playing by himself and with himself

He loved himself, too.

Then I let him watch some Instagram videos. He loves Vito's videos by Frances Sales

We ate a lot, too. We emptied the pantry again. My father often remarked that I'm the only one he knows who has a big appetite in the morning. Well, I have a slightly good appetite for a sick person, too!

 

I was just reminiscing the moments when I watched Disney Junior in the wee hours, and one of my favorite cartoons was Gaspard and Lisa. Then just yesterday, somebody gave us boxes of these chocolates! Thanks!

Don't look at me. It's the boy's doing. He licked the chocolates while I ate the almonds haha.

Of course, the sticker is mine!

When we finally finished the box (errmmm), we opened a tub of peanut butter. Hey, no judging! Yuri ate the most of it!

Then I went back to lazing in bed  and Yuri played hide-and-seek...

...with himself. Kawawa! :-)

While I enjoyed watching movies like Click and The Book of Eli. And the walang kamatayang...

I woke up feeling a lot better today - but the bad news is that my Yuri has fever! Poor Yuri wasn't in the mood to eat anything - not even peanut butter! But the good news is that he's more active now and even ate three pieces of toasted mamon. I hope the fever will be completely gone before the day ends.

How about you? How are you doing? I sure hope you're doing better than we are!

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

Anatomy of a WAHM with a Clingy Toddler

Lately, Yuri has been extra clingy. I mean, he's always been clingy. Ever since he was born, he never was the type of baby you could leave alone even for one minute. He never was the type of baby that could sleep long on his own. But I've accepted that and just thanked God that I'm blessed with a clingy kid.

But lately, he's become even clingier. I don't know what happened, but when something goes wrong with his toys, he runs to my office table, crying and wanting to nurse.

He throws tantrums like all toddlers do but we just ignore it. However, his tantrum-style turned from screaming and thrashing around into "run-to-momma-and-find-boobie."

Small toys wouldn't fit into the back of his toy car? Run to momma and find the boobie.

Big toys wouldn't fit into the back of his toy car? Run to momma and find the boobie.

Books don't fit into the back of his toy car? Run to momma and find the boobie.

Books, small toys, and big toys fit into the back of his toy car but fall off when he moves the car fast? Run to momma and find the boobie.

It's quite exhausting especially when I'm busy working - especially now that we have daily brownouts! - but I just don't have the heart to refuse my toddler who still finds comfort in nursing.

I know it's just a phase but I don't know how long it would last!

So on most days, my messy table looks like this:

But when Yuri decides he needs to nurse to comfort himself about toy-related stress...

An additional item is attached to me.

Am I wrong in tolerating this behavior? If you think I am, what do you think should I do?

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

Overheard from the Daycare Center that was our House

Okay, our house is no daycare center, but it surely looks like one these summer days!

The days are longer during summer, and since the sun's so incredibly powerful these days (ganito ba last year??), we stay inside the house until at least 5pm. There are days when it still feels like high noon at 5:30!
But when the sun finally calms down, that's when a few kids from the neighborhood begin coming over, one by one.

This doesn't include the group of the older kids.

I love it because as a child, I lived farthest from where my friends lived. Ergo, play dates almost never happened in our house. Aside from the location, they were also afraid of my father who used to have a large, booming voice. I swear, I used to know where my father was just by listening to how loud or weak his voice was.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Our current house, because of its location on the main road, became the meeting place of kids. It's also because all lots surrounding our house are empty, and we know kids love empty lots! So in the afternoon, our house becomes like a mini-daycare center with several kids and a handful of yayas. As much as I would like to join the fun, I'm still working during that time!

As for me, I like having many kids in the house not only because the house becomes livelier but also because Yuri gets to practice his socialization skills. Despite being the youngest (all the other kids are about 3 and older), he knows almost each kid by name.

So far, there's not been an issue with sharing, too. Way to go, kids!

Another thing that I like about having many people around are the conversations I get to eavesdrop to unintentionally hear. Here are a few I remember:

Honey, Yuri's yaya to a 6-year old boy, MJ

Honey: MJ, diba kayo yung may prosti?
(My eyes widened when I heard this.)
MJ: Ano yan?
Honey: Prosti gud. Diba may prosti kayo sa bahay nyo?
MJ: Anong prosti?
Honey: Yung benta nyo gud?
MJ: Ah, ice candy

Photo: http://www.dmc.com.ph/ 

Honey: Oo yun. Prosti man tawag dun.

Potty Training Yuri: The Potty

Me: Ihi ka na, Yuri?
Yuri: Ihi, yes.
Me: Sa potty?
Yuri: Ayaw

Potty talk has never been more often heard in this house than in the recent days. Yuri just turned 23 months. For some families, potty-training begins roughly around this time. For some Chinese families, potty-training begins before the child turns 1. Hehe I kid. Seriously, though, I remember a Chinese girl who posted on a Facebook group fretting because her son wasn't potty-trained yet at 13 months. 13 frigging months. Owver, tita! (I actually knew that girl...)

So anyway, back to reality. I had been contemplating on beginning to potty-train Yuri since he was 18 months. Yep, almost 6 months ago. I asked our pedia about this during a clinic visit and I told her how Yuri has been consistently doing his number 2 during mealtimes. Breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Yes, and/or. As in during mealtimes, when we're still seated at the table and Yuri is in his highchair. Almost no fail for more than 5 months now.

Doc commented that Yuri might already have the idea of potty-training. Wala lang sa tamang lugar because he sees the high-chair as his potty chair haha! But it's a start, right?

However, I kept on dawdling. First, Christmas and New Year passed and I already had my hands full. Next, we made the switch to cloth diapers when he was 20 months and we maximized using them. I didn't want the cloth diapers to be unused so soon!

Around last month or a little before that, I noticed that Yuri became more conscious about his "habits." We have been letting him wear briefs since he was not even a year old so he's used to them. However, now, he clearly prefers briefs over diapers (cloth or disposable). In fact, he hates wearing diapers na, but he needs to wear them, so I made a story about ants biting his patintin if he won't wear diapers. Bad mama, I know.

He also says "pupu" before doing the actual pooping and before peeing, so he's aware of the bodily functions. He can also already pee on command, which demonstrates his bladder control. He also wakes up with dry pee-less diapers on most mornings.

The bottomline is that his potty-readiness is now crystal clear. So I accepted the fact that my baby is now a little big boy, gave in, and last Sunday, finally got this:

Tah-dah! Na-disappoint kayo no? Hahaha! I want to say that I'm not a fan of cute and fancy potties. But the truth is... mahal sila! I couldn't stomach the thought of paying thousands just for something that's virtually a temporary toilet bowl.

Plus I didn't want Yuri to mistake the potty for a toy. I want it to serve its purpose. It reminds me of the potty my younger sister used, which was yellow. On the other hand, my older brother used a narra one handcrafted by our Lolo. Sayang you just don't find those anymore. And yes, I know my siblings' potty chairs but not mine.

Moving on, I just wanted the simplest and basic-est potty chair for a reason. And it's only P150. What's not to love?

As much as I would like to say our potty training journey has already successfully begun, well, as per today, the potty chair still has received nary a drop of pee. Yuri tried sitting on it without underwear (as per the photos), but he's still unsure of what to do.

On the other hand, when we're in the banyo (bathing or washing poop), he can comfortably pee on command.

Me: Yuri, ihi na.
Yuri: Ihi, yes.
(Bends knees, looks at his patintin, and we both wait. 1, 2, 3... Whooosh.)

Success!

Not in the potty, though.

But it's okay.

For crying out loud, the potty chair hasn't been here for a full three days. I don't expect Yuri to know what to do with it or be comfortable using it right away. I just want him to get used to the idea of a potty. I'm not in a hurry at all!

So it's a gradual process. To be honest, I still relish going out with Yuri without having to know where the nearest toilet is! Haha!

Always a blur, this boy is!

How about you? When did you potty-train your child/ren? How? I seriously need all the help I can get!

UPDATE!!!

Merely an hour after I published this post, Yuri took his first pee and poop in his potty! I was actually browsing for some potty-training apps when he sat on his potty and did the deeds. Wow!!! I'm praying that this is not a fluke haha!

Take note that this was not just a little poop (or a fart-poop hahaha) or a dribble of pee. It's major toilet work! He really sat on his potty and waited until everything came out from his system. There wasn't any struggle at all! #feelingoverwhelmed

I couldn't even offer any piece of advice because it just happened. Let's see in the next days!

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

I Have An Almost 2-Year Old

Just saying the phrase, "2-year old," amazes me. Oh my gulay, I have an almost 2-year old in my hands! It will only be a matter of weeks before my Yuri officially turns 2. My golly banana!

Time really does fly so fast. I still vividly remember the days when I can hold Yuri in the crook of one arm. And while newborn babies are completely adorable, I don't think I miss that stage because, seriously, I think I only got around 40-50 hours of sleep during Yuri's first three months. No wonder I lost weight so easily! Haha!

This time, though, I have a little boy who's completely different from that colicky newborn (who cried 3 hours a night, every night, for 3 months straight - no kidding). I have a little boy whose personality begins to emerge.

During his early toddler age, I used to think Yuri was only a rough boy. Well, I think all boys are rough. Hehe. Today, however, I can see the other facets of his personality:

1. I can see his being malambing (to me).

Despite his aversion to hugs from other people, he does welcome kisses hehe. However, as of this date, I'm the only one he kisses without prompting. When we're reading books, he would scootch into my arm and say, "Tabi mama." Awww!

2. I can see his being generous.

Okay, so you moms of older toddlers may see this will change in the (near?) future, but allow me to revel in this stage of generosity. When another child or baby comes over, as in he's the one who will go back and forth from his toy shelves to the said visitor just to know what he/she would like to play with.

For example, last Sunday, when Niña was here, he kept offering her toys and books. When she finally found one she liked, she actually snatched it from Yuri's hands. I expected Yuri to get mad but he didn't. He laughed and sat beside Niña as she played with the toy. Being the intervening mom that I am, I offered Yuri another toy, but even without it, I can see he's happy seeing another baby play with his toys. Awww.

EDIT: His Ninang George insisted I include her experience with Yuri. Haha ang dami nating testimonials, baby! During her most recent visit here, Yuri ate crackers for snacks. She jokingly asked Yuri to give her a cracker, and knowing Yuri, I expected Yuri not to give her any. He was holding two in his hand: one had a bite, one was whole... Surprisingly, he gave his Ninang a cracker. Even more surprisingly, he gave her the cracker without the bite! :D

3. I can see his friendliness (and cautiousness).

Nina, George, and my New Snapware Glass Bottle

Before I proceed to writing this post, guess what? I don't have a camera again! It suddenly stopped working yesterday. It's only been a week since we got the camera, so it might be a defective unit. Huhuhu. We already contacted customer service, and I hope it gets replaced as soon as possible. Huhuhu!

It's a good thing, though, that my laptop can read the SD card directly. At least I can still post some photos from my beloved camera. Looking through my last photos, these are the events that transpired during the last few days.

Last Sunday, a downline of my parents visited us, and with them were their 2-year old daughter, Niña, whom Yuri calls "pinya." Haha! Anyway, instant friends!

................................

On Monday, a very good friend of mine, George, visited us in the boondocks on our side of Davao City. She was bearing gifts (Ay, gift lang pala - walang gift kay Yuri! Bad Ninang! :P), as in Christmas gifts. She went home bearing my Christmas gifts for her and Andrei, while she also brought with her our gifts for Teena, which she will send to Manila. We actually planned a get-together last Christmas but it didn't push through, kaya naging March ang gift-giving. Super advanced lang ng gift-giving namin. Haha!

Of course, since George and I both love pizza, and I've been raving about Dexter's Pizza here in my blog, we ordered two: ham-and-cheese for the kiddos and the famous shawarma pizza. Nakalimutan na naman ang diet!

Why I'm Still Breastfeeding My (Almost) 23-month old

It's funny how breastfeeding a toddler in public gets more weird stares than letting a toddler drink Coke in public.

I seriously regret not having a proper camera during this time.

This is Yuri. 23 Months old (almost), weighing a little more than 10 kilos, 86 cm long, very active, a quick learner, word-smart, affectionate, and still an avid nurser.

Breast is best, they say. I'm blessed to have a rather smooth breastfeeding journey with Yuri. Aside from the teeth-gritting pain during the first weeks and, maybe, the stress with pumping whenever I leave Yuri for a while, I never had major breastfeeding troubles. The beauty with breastfeeding is that it quickly becomes second nature, which helps a mom realize that yes, God created these boobs to nourish another (super adorable) human being.

Breastfeeding in public will always be awkward (for me) mostly because of the lifting-of-the-dress involved. Once the baby's latched, though, it becomes easy. Now, it wasn't so hard to breastfeed a newborn baby. More people are becoming aware of its benefits, so nursing a small baby often gets a "thumbs-up" from the public.

Nursing a child almost half as tall as you is different. The inspired looks turn into weird stares. The genuine questions become accusing. Suddenly, the accepting society becomes backward again.

Yuri very rarely nurses in public now, save for times of physical pain, distress, and, well, sometimes when he poops (I don't know!). Since he started walking, maybe he has only nursed in public around 7-8 times. Still, that doesn't save me from some rather funny questions.

Big boy ka na, Yuri, bakit dede ka pa rin? (Yuri is still a baby!)

Medyo payat si Yuri no. Try mo kayang mag-supplement ng formula? (FYI, 10 kilos is not underweight. In fact, it's within the normal range for his weight. It's just that other children are so chubby in comparison.)

Hindi ba sya kulang sa sustansya? (As far as I'm concerned, my milk is more nutritious than what you buy from the grocery. God designed it and personalized it for my son. He might be on the slim side but he's really sturdy.)

Stop mo na kayang magbreastfeed para kumain ng madami si Yuri. (I bet my bottom dollar that non-breastfeeding toddlers are as picky! And FYI, maganang kumain si Yuri. Picky lang and short ang attention span - just like other toddlers!)

On the other hand, I see very young toddlers (a little over a year old) being given Coke by their mothers and nobody questions their decisions. What's wrong with the world, momma?

Yuri will be 23 months old this Wednesday. Yikes! Originally, I planned to breastfeed Yuri only for the first year. However, I learned that WHO recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of 2 years. Wow! So we continued. Actually, that's the easiest thing to do because Yuri was (and is) so in love with breastfeeding.

My next "deadline" was 2 years, but Yuri exhibits no sign whatsoever of weaning. He stills enjoys it very much and is his go-to when he needs to be comforted. And that's okay with ne because I, too, have reasons:

1. It is normal and not as uncommon as we may think.

2 years seems too old an age to be breastfeeding, but in many countries around the world, the norm is 4-5 years old. This means that based on the global population, weaning before 2 is actually weird!

2. Breastfeeding beyond infancy offers immunity both to mother and child.

Yuri Takes Selfies

One morning, about a month ago, I checked the gallery of our tablet, and I saw this:

I literally laughed out loud when I saw the photo. Yuri just took his first selfie! My mom was looking after Yuri (I think I was taking a bath that time?) and sort of gave him the tablet to play with. My mom was fully unaware that the 21-month old Yuri opened the camera function and, well, took a photo of himself! It's quite obvious naman that the Lola wasn't paying attention, diba? Hahaha!

That wasn't the end of it. Somehow, Yuri got really amused with the idea of seeing himself on screen and freezing it into an actual photo. Thinking from a toddller's point of view, that would really be fun. If I didn't know better, I would think he just loves his face! Here are more selfies of Yuri (some of which include me):

 Mapungay na mga mata shot

 Full body "bomba" shot

 Dreamy shot

  "Show me your tongue" shot

 Happy, toothy shot!

 Shy guy says "hi" shot

 Yuri looks like a girl here, don't you think? :P

With Dinda in the background

I barely let Yuri use the tablet (only when I leave him with his Dinda or his Lola), but he's become so proficient in using it. It just proves that kids today are "born" techie! Are your kids like this, too? Do your kids take selfies, too? :-)

PS: Sorry for the quality of the shots. You know how the front-facing cameras of most tablets are! (This is an O+ tablet.)

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

Cloth Diapering Updates

We only got into the cloth-diapering bandwagon recently when Yuri was already 20 months old. Now, I realize that I should have cloth-diapered him a lot earlier! It's one of my mothering regrets actually.

It has been almost 2 months since I first used a cloth diaper, and I still love it. Here are the reasons:

1. Cuteness

Must I begin with something as superficial as cuteness? Yes, I must. You see, one thing I despise about disposables is their limited designs. Also, they tend to look really bad when Yuri has worn them long enough. Sometimes, he wears one, and in less than one hour, laylay na. Why?! On the other hand, this is never the problem with CDs. They still fit well no matter how long you wear them (not too long naman), and there are so many cute designs to choose from!

These inserts take forever to dry! But they do well in keeping Yuri's bum dry.

2. Dryness

At first, I thought I would be changing Yuri from hour to hour. Well, that was not the case. I didn't even have to change him every two hours. In fact, I only have to change him twice a day!

Here's our setup: Bath in the morning, wear CDs at around 8am, change it at 12nn, and change it again at 5pm. I use two inserts (microfiber and bamboo), and I've never experienced leaks.

*This setup might not be applicable to your baby. Yuri is already a 22 month old potty training-ready toddler who does not anymore urinate like an old man. He already has more control of his bladder, so he pees twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon.

3. Ease of Use

One thing that prevented me from buying cloth diapers when Yuri was (a lot) younger was intimidation. I was afraid they would be hard to use. When I got to try one for the first time, I realized it wasn't so hard at all! In fact, what you only need to do is insert the inserts and wear it on the baby like you would with a disposable. Easy peasy!

Another thing that held me back from buying CDs before was the pain of laundering. Now, here's what I need to tell you: I work at home full-time and I wash Yuri's cloth diapers. Why? Because they're actually easy to wash!

After almost 2 months of using CDs, I have delegated the task of washing the unsoiled nappies to the yaya. Meanwhile, since I'm the one washing Yuri's pwet when he goes poopoo (which is, well, 2-3 times a day), I also wash the soiled nappies,too. I do grumble sometimes, though, when it's time for me to work but I still have to wash a diaper, but in reality, it only takes less than 15 minutes to do so. And it's not hard, promise!

A day's worth of diaper laundry

4. Economically-wise