Smilestones

i really admire the tv ad featuring Kris Aquino and her son with James Yap, baby James. this is about getting a motherly smile from witnessing the milestones of your baby. i really can relate to this, especially as i watch my second daughter, ice, learn lots of new things at ten months.

now, she can respond if we tell her to clap hands, say "bye-bye" and when she hears music she moves her hands with the sound as if dancing into the tune. she also is developing her motor skills as she is now very active in moving around crawling. she can now also walk her way as we put her in a walker or hold and guide her ourselves. i can say that ice is a happy baby because she really smiles and laughs back if we try to tease her. she can also follow few syllables that we speak like, papa (her first word), mama, tata (for ate) and several others. i am also very contented to say that she is not hard to feed. she eats well as compared to her ate rain who is a picky-moody eater.

as i am writing all these, i can say to you that i am carrying a very sweet smile. being a mother, is really tough and challenging. but it's the only thing that makes me feel complete and i've never been happy & contented my whole life. my two daughters give me so much joy like never before. and i know i will always have a smile as long as i watch my kids grow and take their milestones. that's why it's called...

smilestones.

Ice on YouTube

ice is beginning to eat solid food

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com

ice has just turned 5 months last sept 9. so we started giving her solid food in addition to milk. we milled the rice so it becomes like a rice powder or something. we cook it into a very soft porridge and mix some mashed vegies, egg, or flaked fish. we feed her solid food twice a day at the moment, in the morning and during lunch. we also occasionally give her soft biscuits for her to munch sometimes to avoid her from thumbsucking instead. i am the one who gives her her breakfast before i go to work. i get amused whenever i feed her. she gets excited whenever she sees the spoon. she swallows the food quickly. but we try to control the food we give her because her stomach still does not digest that well.

maybe, we have done something wrong in training rain to eat that caused her to become a picky-eater. i have not been that keen on her diet before. or maybe that's just the way she is. but either way, i am trying to get facts on children diet to do it right with ice this time.

i have bumped into a nice website www.wholesomebabyfood.com on baby diet and found this.

here's what i learned and intend to give her. for more about this, click here

Four to Six (4-6) Months old Try mixing together the foods that you have already introduced without allergies or reactions. Rice Cereal mixed with Bananas for example.

CEREALS Rice Barley Oat

FRUITS Apples Bananas Pears Avocado

VEGGIES Sweet Potatoes Acorn/Butternut Squash Green Beans

ice is learning to crawl

today, on her fifth month, i saw ice turn around on her own. i was so amazed to see her doing something new. few weeks from now, she's going to learn to crawl. i am anticipating for that moment. i am so proud of her!

twice the joy

my second child "ice".

she was born april 9 of this year. we named her denzelle gabriela. denzelle is a mixture of my name and my husband's(eden & noel). we just added the letter z. i was the only one who made up this name actually, my husband just approved. i also added gabriela since it was the day filipinos yearly celebrate the "araw ng kagitingan". coincidentally, it was the same day of the year 2000 when noel and i began our relationship.

my labor. at twelve midnight of april 7, i had spotting. april 8, we stayed the whole day in my mom's house so she could send us to the hospital whenever i feel signs of pain. at 6pm we went to the hospital, though i have not felt any pain yet. we decided it would be best if we settle to the hospital and wait there. we checked in tagbilaran city maternity and peuriculture center. the opening of the cervix was still 2cm so we still had to stay at the private room. they told us that if gets wider and i can feel continuous pain in the abdomen, then i can proceed to the labor room. my husband and my cousin-in-law (ate bebie) was with me the whole time. and rain, my eldest daughter also stayed for the night with us at the hospital (we can't stand to leave her at home without mommy and daddy). it's good that the hospital staff is not that strict about having kids around. during that night, noel and ate bebie gave me two uncooked native eggs(ew!), "salabat" or ginger tea, and would not allow me to eat heavy meals. they also rubbed "a wonder oil" in my tummy. they said, "to make the delivery easy".

april 9, 5am, the opening of the cervix was already 6cm. this time, the pain is no longer tolerable so we informed the attendants. i was admitted to the labor room. when i entered the labor room, there were two other women who were also having their labor. the other one looked very calm and relaxed( good for her). but the other lady, was obviously having a difficult and painful time out there. but i did not let that get into my nerves. i stayed calm, at least just for a few minutes or so. one nurse attended for me and assisted me through my labor. after few minutes, the pains kept coming into shorter intervals. at 10am, there was already a full dilation of the cervix so i was sent to the delivery room. boy, it was the painfullest moment ever.

at exactly 10:42am my daughter "ice" came out of this world. i felt overjoyed, not just because all the pain just disappeared in an instant, also because i saw an angel, she was crying,yes, but it sounded like music. i was wide awake. i saw her being cleansed and dressed by the nurses. oh, that moment was so heavenly. success.. fulfilment.. how could have been something so good become real, and just right here in front of me. i have been blessed. someone above must really love me this much to have sent me such precious thing. i never thought i'd deserve to be blessed like this.