Thirty Two Things that Change when You Have a Baby

Snagged this from http://www.babycenter.com/

What changes when you have a baby? A better question may be: What doesn't change? Here, writer and mom Rebecca Woolf lists her most notable post-baby observations. Then scroll down to read our favorite comments from readers about how their babies changed their lives.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...

1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom

2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous

3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte

4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom

5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne

6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye

7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous

8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda

9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom

10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom

11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom

12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara

13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey

14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom

15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom

16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona

17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara

And here he is, the little guy that changed our world --- in a much, much better way :-)

Lucas' Third Month Birthday

Little Lucas turned three months old last weekend. He's three months old na, bilis ng panahon :-) We had chicken wings and pancit canton for dinner. The celebrant was quietly playing in his playpen while we enjoyed the food. Just as we're preparing his cake, he started crying. He ended up sleeping before we were able to take pics of him with the cake. Not to be deterred by that, we took pics of him... tulog nga lang siya :-)

Mommy with the sleeping celebrant

Cake from Tita Eunice

Happy birthday munchkin :-)

coffee break ver. 1.44

Truth be told, JJ and I actually follow more than three. We love watching reality shows :-)

Chef Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - aliw to watch him na pagalitan yung mga restaurant owners and staff. At yung mga British expressions niya - bollocks! blimey! hehe... Been an ANTM addict since Cycle 2. Kahit parang same story every cycle (may bitch sa house, etc.) - go at watch pa rin ako. Ilang seasons din yung DVD na binili ko since I cannot wait for a week to watch the next episode.

JJ started watching the show Season 2 pa lang. Ako I only started watching it weekly this season. Hmm, mananalo kaya sina Geoff at Tish?

Great Photos

Found out about Carl Warner through a friend's email. His photos are awesome and I thought I'd share them with you guys.

He has this series called "FOODSCAPES" where everything in the photo is made up of ..... FOOD.

Here are some amazing photos from the series.

loaves of bread as mountains!The trees are made from broccolis! The "rows" of farmland are made of corn, asparagus, and zucchini. Potatoes stand in for rocks. A strawberry, a garlic, several bananas, etc. stand in as hot-air balloons.

The castle is made out of cheese, the walls out of rice, the wagon wheels out of mushrooms and the sack of grains are all garlic

For more photos, check out his website: http://www.carlwarner.com/warner.html

Murder in My Mind

Lucas woke up with these red marks on his forehead last Monday. Hay, nakita ko pa yung lamok on his forehead Sunday night and I thought I got to it in time, but no pala :-(

I often tell hubby na dumadami na ang angkan na binabalak kong ubusin. Yan, lamok. Then may time na langgam naman (Lucas was bitten by an ant once before). Ipis rin! Though di pa naman nakakagat si Lucas (huwag naman sana). Pero everytime makakita ako, naku, natatakot ako na they'd get to my son somehow.

We've been applying cortisone cream very lightly on the bites and so far so good. Nababawasan yung redness. Nagtataka lang ako why si Lucas lang ang target. Kami naman ni hubby nasa same room but hindi kami binibiktima. Hmm....

coffee break ver. 1.43

Hands down, it’s having Lucas.

The experience of having an individual grow inside you is just simply amazing. From seeing his first sonogram when he was just nothing but a flashing dot, to seeing him smile and play with his foot on his 3d/4d ultrasound, to knowing that I was 6cm dilated already and finally giving birth to him after 6 hours of not-so-difficult labor --- everything is just unforgettable.

He is only 2 months and 3 weeks old now, but in his own way, he has made our lives richer and happier. It has just begun, and I am looking forward to the challenges and the rewarding experiences that are yet come.

Lastly, I consider having Lucas as a milestone because it introduced me to JJ --- the dad. Oh, yeah, I’ve known JJ – the husband but believe me, seeing how he is with Lucas just makes me love him even more. He’s hands-on with the little guy and can pretty much do everything (except mimic my “hele” and of course, nurse him :-) ). He’d always make sure that he’s there attending the regular check-ups. I remember the first time I met JJ-the dad, it was when we went down to the breastfeeding room in the hospital a day after I gave birth. He was not allowed in the room and was just asked to wait outside. When I saw him again after that, the first thing that he said was “Ang daya. Bakit hindi ako puede. Hindi ko tuloy siya nakita.” I knew then that he wasn’t gonna be a hi-hello daddy to Lucas. And so far, I am sooo right :-)

Here's our little boy --- the best gift we've received :-)

Bawal ang Brownout!

Bawal because of these.

Imagine my panic nung mag-brownout last Saturday! I mean, it's not that easy to save these much breastmilk.

Background: When I got pregnant, it didn't cross my mind that I will be exclusively breastfeeding Lucas. But surprise of all suprises, I've been at it now for almost three months (bottle-fed siya when I am at work). It's not that easy (you really have to find time to express milk when you're at work and of course, you have to "re-pack" it pa when you get home, not to mention the need for additional freezer space in the house) but it is not that difficult din naman once your mind is set on doing it for your baby. Of course, it also helps a lot if your hubby supports you rin (hi jj!).

Our freezer is actually more crowded now, (Blame the BestMilk breastmilk storage bags - hirap i-store since makain sa space because it cannot be stored flat. Since we cannot find yung Gerber brand sa mall that are priced comparably with the online sellers, tiyaga muna until dumating yung order namin), sometimes I am honestly thinking of throwing out the oldest ones just to have some space. But sayang rin naman and I cannot help but think of the days to come when my "production" will not be more than what Lucas consumes when I am out of the house. For sure, lalakas at lalakas siya mag-feed and we have to be prepared.

Apart from the "tipid" factor, my heart glows whenever people say that our Lucas looks so healthy and then may pahabol na "breastfed kasi". Hay, feel na feel ko ang pagiging mommy :-) Of course, happy rin ako because 4 lbs. na lang and I will be back to my pre-pregnancy weight na (yipee!).

So, to all future mommies (and new moms like my friend, Nyem), I hope you choose to breastfeed your babies if you can.

Happy Birthday Pops!

My birthday kicks off a three-bdays-in-11-days thing for my family (not counting the fact that I share the same birthdate with my darling Lola Ima). We celebrated my 28th last weekend (pics to be uploaded later) and yesterday, we celebrated my dad's, uhhuhmmm, 20th :D though his big day is today, November 3. (ka-birthday niya si Ate Vi! hehe...)

My brother (whose 27th birthday is on Nov. 6) flew in from Macau to celebrate with us and it is nice to be with everyone in the family once again. It was another laugh- and chika-filled day with the family :-)

To daddypops, Happy happy birthday! Thanks for being a great daddy to us. Love you! :-)

Lolo Pops with Lucas