I Need to Look Non-Matronic

Truth be told, I really cannot afford to pay someone who's undergone several personal trainer certification programs to help me shape up in time for my stint as primary sponsor in a wedding this June. And it is May already tomorrow! I am still saggy and flabby everywhere even though I have lost a lot of weight.

Sigh.

I am also having acne problems again in a major way but believe I shouldn't really put creams and stuff until Yamee is older and not as dependent anymore on my breast milk. Sigh, again.

I need to look my age, if not younger, at that wedding! I don't want to look worn and frumpy. Good luck to me.

Bye, Bye Easy Baby

I was right not to enjoy the 'easy baby' phase of Yamee so much. Because now, he has been an antsy baby who keeps us up all night. Talk about my under eye dark circles being back. Sigh.

Hubs says sometimes I actually don't wake up anymore as our wee one fusses and cries at around 3 or 5 am. Woe to him though, since he still has to go to work. Just this morning, Yamee woke me up every 30 minutes or so by kicking his father. Hehe.

Yamee also insists in being carried a lot, and seems to be affected so much by the heat (which is one reason why we don't like carrying him, but he demands it!). So, I have turned to twice-a-day baths.

The only one who can really make him laugh now is his Kuya. And much as we love him, we're really crossing our fingers that he doesn't grow up to be a moody child.

Milk Mama Diaries Blog Carnival for the Month for Mothers

The first Milk Mama Diaries Carnival last March was a huge success!

As Jenny previously explained, the Carnival will be held every other month, generally, so the next Carnival will be live on Mother's Day - May 8, 2011. Topic for May will be "Breastfeeding Mother's Top Ten" - think of any list of 10 you'd like to talk about. It could be the 10 gifts to a new mom, 10 benefits of breastfeeding, 10 myths of breastfeeding, 10 things you shouldn't say to a nursing mom, 10 places you've nursed in public, 10 problems with breastfeeding, 10 steps to successful breastfeeding, 10 tips to new moms, 10 problems you faced, 10 breastfeeding must-have's, 10 pumping tips, 10 breastfeeding anecdotes... we can go on and on - but I hope you get the picture!

Read my March Carnival post to get an idea on how a blog carnival post looks like.

To join the carnival, please fill up this FORM and include the topic you will write about. We will try to avoid repetition of topics or top 10 lists so the earlier you fill up the form, the earlier you ensure that you will be able to write about your topic. In case your preferred topic has been chosen by another participant, we will email you immediately to request you to change your topic. Otherwise, we will contact both participants so even if they will write about the same top 10, they can choose different items on the list.

Please include this short blurb on the top of your post:

"Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (May). This carnival is dedicated to all moms, celebrating Mother's Day today. Participants will share various topics covering A Breastfeeding Mother's Top Ten List. Please scroll down to the end of this post and check out the other carnival participants."

If you don't have a blog but would like to join, please email me (delisyus at gmail dot com) or Jenny (fabnaima at gmail dot com) so we can arrange to have you hosted as a guest blogger. Submissions are due by 4 May 2011 and the carnival will go live on 8 May 2011. I will email you before carnival day for instructions on posting.

Before and After Being a Mom

I made sure to look for pics where I'm wearing a similar top. And yes, generally, I look good in red with deep necklines. But more than 30 lbs. (and six years) separate these two pictures so I am, naturally, more endowed in the AFTER pic.

Some days, I feel I looked better before. No fats, no cellulite, no flab. So yeah, generally, the difference is just the amount of flesh in my frame. And because of the weight gain (which I really can't blame on motherhood... chocolates, cupcakes, cookies, rice, seafood, etc pa!), I now have to invest in a more expensive wardrobe to look good. Before, I could just buy off the rack and a P300-top is already expensive for me. Now, I don't look good anymore in any top for that amount. Unless maybe, we're talking about bras...

Before, I am DELISYUS because I was sexy. Now, I am delicious to whoever I am breastfeeding.

But look at my smile! :)

All I wanted was to be a Mom growing up. And despite the tears and battle scars, I am thankful I am one. And I really felt all kinds of sexy with my first pregnancy, in awe of just how much my body can change shape while affirming the female privilege of being able to grow someone inside.

And then, there's breastfeeding... which, eventhough it made me feel like a milking cow (which it shouldn't since lactation is not just specific to cows), was something so rewarding that it allowed me to reinvent myself. And reach out to other bewbs. I mean, mothers.

And there are my sons... who will always see me as the most beautiful woman in the world (until they get married, and even then, I won't be unseated, just qualified).

So, hello... definitely I am more beautiful now. Inside and Out. I may not have aged as healthily and gracefully as I wanted but the more important thing remains: I have more love in my life. :)


*~*

Official entry to the Facebook contest by Babymama.

Parent-Child Summer Class Started Yesterday

... and Yakee spent the first half of it whining and annoying me with baby talk, because he got overwhelmed by all the other kids who arrived before we did.

He also spent the first half of it running around. And calling the teacher "huy" (which really grates on my nerves because I don't know where he picked that habit up).

But he enjoyed the butterfly and flower I made... and went home to give the flower to Ninang. And he enjoyed the sandbox time a hell lot (which is what he was itching for). And he was in good terms with all the other kids, and another Jap boy befriended him. So, he was happy.

And I trust he will learn in time to be more gently present. Scrap that. We will both learn in time to be gently present.

My Fault

It was my brilliant idea to let Yakee watch The Incredibles. Now, both he and I have to pay for my bad judgment by banning all shows. See, Yakee's failing to draw the line between pretense and reality and has been daydreaming about being a superhero slaying villains that he's hitting people left and right... even strangers at the mall.

It's a little hard though since my brother lets his son watch TV all day and we go there for meals. Good thing my son can entice his cousin to just play bubbles or color here at home.

Sigh.

No more brilliant ideas, Mommy Mec.

Heat Is On

Summer heat has finally come... last week, it was still generally cool. But now, you can absolutely feel the heat devouring you after stepping out of an air-conditioned room.

And because the heat is on, air-conditioners are working overtime. I'm guessing some would need to use a dehumidifier too for extended A/C use.

I am already thinking of really bathing my boys twice a day. Yakee used to do that till he started having colds all the time so I stopped bathing him at night. Yamee, on the other hand, seemed sensitive to colds and rhinitis so I have only done it once.

But the heat is on. We can all do with more baths!