We As Parents

My mother always told me this: "You will never know what it takes to become a mother or a father until you became one. " And indeed, she is right. School did not teach us how to become a parent. There were no courses on Parenting but it did provide lots of advice on how to be a responsible person so that one knows how to handle life's many responsibilities.

When Hubby and I first learned that we were going to have a baby, we knew then that we have a great responsibility towards another life. And so Hubby worked hard and searched for a better job. I on the other hand had to also find ways to make ends meet and to prepare for our child. We also had to save up for the coming baby. We make sure though that we get equal opportunity to care for our baby. Weekends always mean a family day and I am just glad that Hubby has a normal job that does not demand working on weekends.

Samantha may seem closer to me because when both of Hubby and I are around, she would most of the time come to me. I guess this is just normal because we spend the entire day together while Hubby is working. But when I leave the two of them alone, she would be drawn to him like a magnet. At her age, she knows who to approach and when. As new parents, we always want to provide our only child with what she needs and her occasional wants. But we see to it that we do not spoil her. We also discipline when it is needed because a wrong must be made right while it is still early or it will be too late.

It is our fervent prayer as parents that we may be able to nurture our child in the best way we know how and that she may grow to be a God-fearing and good person. And it is our silent promise to be always present for her in whatever stage of her life.

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Finally A Mom!

You must have already read about my pregnancy, labor and my delivery in my previous CC post so I wouldn't dwell on that here. Looks like I haven't been following instructions. Lol!

As expected, because my baby is tiny (at 2275grams birthweight), she had to be incubated and closely monitored. Nothing is wrong with her though, except for the fact that she has low birthweight. She was already out of the incubator after a day and have been gulping her milk like a very hungry horse. She was progressing very well and was back into our ward after 4 days and I was able to nurse and breastfeed her then.

I was supposed to be discharged from the hospital first but when my routine blood tests came out, my OB had to check me again because my WBC levels are way too high. I was on hooked on antibiotics for a few days and had to stop breastfeeding my baby again. You could just imagine how painful a nursing mom's breasts could get not being able to nurse. I had to regularly pump the milk out just to relieve the pain.

And so it was that both my baby and I were discharged on the same day. I think it was March 11 when we were both discharged. It was also the day when my sister arrived in Tokyo to help me out during the first three months. Samantha's godmother Ate Zera accompanied us back home to Yokohama and Hubby fetched my sister at Narita airport. I was surprised to find a "welcome home" banner posted on our wall. I know it was lovingly made by Hubby and I was really touched. I know it must be very hard on him to juggle his way between the hospital and work considering that we were confined in Fuchu, Tokyo and he was working in Yokohama. And after almost three weeks of Hubby being home alone, we were finally home at last. Ah, home sweet home!

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Look Who's Pregnant?!

As usual, I am late again for this week's Couple's Corner. I hope that Marce Liz won't boycott my Tuesday meme for failing to post my CC entries on time or for not posting religiously every week!

Anyway, I am happy that this week's theme is about pregnancy. I guess I never really got the chance to blog about up until now.

Doing the jump shot with Kikit in Odaiba.

I guess I got pregnant on my first night in Japan. (big grin!) If you were physically separated from your spouse for a long period of time, you really won't be wasting your time over chitchats, right? So anyway, that's my guess. I found out that I was really pregnant when I noticed that I was a week delayed. I noticed a few changes too but just ignored them at first, thinking that it was just PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome)... I even went to Odaiba by myself to meet my friend and we even did a jump shot. But of course, I still didn't know by then although my stomach was a bit queasy when we grabbed a bite at the Tokyo train station.

A few weeks after that, I did a test at home and it returned positive. I couldn't explain my initial reaction but it was certainly a warm fuzzy beautiful feeling after I was able to let it all sink in. Everything seemed to turn around 360° for Hubby and me. I was filled with fear and excitement and awe. Imagine a life growing inside of me? I couldn't really believe it at first that I took another test the next day just to be certain that it wasn't just an illusion.

We went to Yokohama to celebrate after my first OB appointment.
Little did we know that it was to become our home after I had Sam.

August 4th, 2007. My first appointment with my OB. That was the day when everything really became REAL. Seeing the image of my baby from the sonogram all the more convinced me that this is the real deal! I no longer thought of the life growing inside of me as an "it" but rather as a "he/she". He/She was so tiny then, at 8.6mm in diameter, as tiny as a pea but is REAL and GROWING. I was about five weeks pregnant then.

Just a few of my baby's sonogram images:
L-R up-down: 5W, 9W+5d, 20W+2d, 36W+2d

From then on, I had my regular check-ups and already registered at the hospital where I wish to give birth to my child. Blogging was still unknown to me so I whiled away my time teaching English at an conversation school (Eikaiwa) on a part time basis. We needed to save for my delivery and it was a nice distraction. When I don't have classes, I just stay at home and play War Craft or watch movies. That explains why I grew so big and the baby inside me didn't... I didn't get enough exercise.

Pimples were all over my face during my pregnancy!

What of the morning sickness? Well, I also had my fair share during my first trimester. I realized that fish isn't for me the one time I made fried fish and then threw up. I felt so sick that Hubby vowed not to cook fish while I am pregnant. Everything else was okay for me as long as the smell is not so strong. My favorites though were adobo and pineapple. And oh, I have got pimples all over my face! Blame it on the raging hormones!

I was supposed to deliver my baby on March 17th but the OB decided that I must deliver him/her earlier than expected. They noticed that my baby was no longer growing inside me and that her head was smaller than the average size. I was 36 weeks pregnant then. They decided to have me confined at the hospital for a week to observe if there will be any significant changes with the baby's growth. Then the OB found out that my amniotic fluid level is very low so that the baby has to come out. And so it was that my contractions were induced. My OB explained the procedure to me in English. They ran a test they called the "Stress Test" to determine if my baby can survive the stress through normal delivery. Then they also had to force my cervix open by inserting a balloon inside me. I have never felt such excruciating pain in my life... I felt like I was beaten by a thousand men. But that was all part of the plan.

And so on the 28th of February, at 37 weeks and 3 days pregnant, I was already crying while praying because I felt that I have been in labor for the longest time when in my baby book, I only had 7 hours and 38 minutes of labor. My tiny little Samantha Ysabelle came out into this world at 1:00 pm. I can't explain what I felt the moment she was totally out: it was as if all the pain and the aches just suddenly vanished and replaced by a very tender and soft emotion. She is indeed a miracle... an angel sent to us by God.

Our first family photo... Just a few hours after my delivery.

Look where we are now?

Just the three of us. Two years, one month, and twenty-five days later...

Of course, I wouldn't be able to make it through without the love, support and care of my Hanhan. He was always there by my side, seeing to it that I am never alone. He would take time off work just to accompany me on my check-ups. He would make dinner if I felt too sick or too tired to do it. He would entertain me when I am feeling low. He would interpret for me because I do not understand Japanese. He was even with me during my delivery, pushing with me when I needed to push, feeling my pain, and witnessing everything when I delivered our little Sam. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he doesn't want me to have another child... at least not just yet.

So, how was your pregnancy? Come share it with us!

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The Best Friend There Is

Hubby and I go a long way back. We have known each other for 11 years now and although our marriage is not a perfect one, I can say that we have become each other's strengths. I can definitely say that my Hubby is my best friend... he knows me inside and out. He has seen me at my best and at my worst and loves me just the same. I hope that he also considers me as his best friend, considering that I give him a hard time most of the time. :D I guess I will just have to interview Hubby then, eh? Hmm...

He knows the smell of my utot (fart) :D, he knows my scent, he knows my profile even if I am part of a sea of people or in a crowd, he knows what my touches mean, he can tell my moods and would let me be or confront me with whatever is bothering me, he goes crazy each time I become my stubborn self, he appreciates me for all the little and big things, he affirms my being a wife and a mother, he shares to me his problems and and his plans, even the sometimes too technical realm of his job because he trusts me enough to share the confidential stuff that his very confidential work entails.

And all these are just part and parcel of why I feel so blessed, so happy and so thankful that I am married to this one amazing man who sometimes asks me the one question that I have so many answers of yet don't have the appropriate words to say: "Why do you love me?" Perhaps I can answer him: Because you are the bestest best friend there is!

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All In A Day's Work

It was my last day at work...

I used to be a corporate slave. My world then before I joined Hubby was home-work-home-work. I tinkered with PET resins, PET preforms and PET bottles. My bestfriends were the gas chromatograph, the burst tester, caliper, universal testing machine, and sodium bicarbonate. Packaging production start was dependent on my test results and analysis so that I had to make the right decisions the first time. It was a tough job, very technical but I immensely enjoyed it.

Me with my colleagues at the Quality Assurance Department.

All of that changed when I moved in with Hubby and we started a new life together. I changed careers and concentrated on being a wife and a mother and Hubby is the main provider. Being a stay at home mom is very different work from what I am used to: very domesticated yet very challenging nonetheless. One has to balance the books and maintain the budget, keep the household running without running out of tissue paper and toothpaste and salt, keeping mealtimes something to look forward to - all this while trying to keep your sanity intact and your relationship "alive and kicking".

Hubby always calls when he is on his way home. He would always ask how we are and I would just summarize it for him and tell him some details when he has finally arrived home safely. I also would ask him how his day went. We would usually talk about our day during dinner or after I have done my chores. Of course, as a married couple, we all have our moments. If something at work was not right, he would share it with me and I would try to encourage him. Sometimes, things here at home stress me out too and because I am not the talking type, he would just let me be until I am ready to share with him. Hubby knows me inside and out, so that he can readily tell if something is bothering me or not. We do talk, after I have cleared my mind or after anger has subsided.

I think the other important things in a marriage, aside from love and respect, are open communication and being sensitive to each other's feelings. If the other one needs some space, it would be best to let them be for a while. Otherwise, words that are best left unspoken are spoken. And no, I do not "add insult to injury" especially when I know that Hubby has had a bad day. I don't want to add up to the burden.

How about you? Do you ever share how your day went work with your spouses? Share them with us!

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Couch Potatoes... That's What We Are

Hubby and I enjoy watching movies together... Watching movies is one of the activities that we look forward to especially on weekends. But because we have a small child with us now, our movie watching activity is restricted at home.

It doesn't matter what genre, as long as the story and the actors are good, we are fine with it. He tries not to watch the Philippine romantic comedies or romantic movies though because he just finds them too corny. But when he catches me watching one of my downloaded Pinoy movies, he can't help but watch with me. Perhaps, the story intrigued him too and because I'm very good at narrating details, he has no choice but to watch so he could relate and understand what's happening. I try to watch Pinoy movies every now and then, especially if it's a new movie, much talked about and JLC (John Lloyd Cruz) is in it. Why? Because he sort of looks like my hubby when I saw him in person at the mall way back in college. Hihi! Besides, his movies are nice... he has matured from the young Rovic in Tabing Ilog and played his roles quite convincingly.

When we watch movies, it is always in our "office" because we don't have a DVD player yet until last weekend. He would usually be the one who gets to watch first, considering that I have a little one to attend to. If the movie is appropriate for a small child, we would let her join us in the room. Otherwise, we would have to distract her with her favorite cartoon in the living room or I send her first to sleep, which leaves Hubby watching the early parts of the movie alone and me asking so many questions once I join him.

We usually watch movies over the weekend or workday evenings when our rented DVD arrive by mail. And now that we have a BD-DVD player, I would find myself watching my favorite children's movies with Samantha and neglecting majority of my online tasks. Which also explains why this entry is awfully LATE!

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Favorite Hang Out Places

Well, you can now officially call me Mrs. T... T for Tardy. I should have been posting my CC entries on a Wednesday but I guess my brain is conditioned to blog on Thursdays so Thursday it is!

When Hubby and I were still going out as a couple, we promised ourselves that we will still go on dates as married couple and not restrict ourselves in the comfort of our home. But I guess if there is only the three of you in a foreign land, you need to change your priorities and even preferences. We still do go out on dates but with a small kid in tow. We can't just leave her alone at home, you know! That would be too irresponsible of us.

The water fountain in Breuningerland, Ludwigsburg.

The place that we frequent is Breuningerland. It is a shopping mall in Ludwigsburg, a 15-minute drive from our place. We have dinner here Thursdays especially if I am too lazy to cook and eat German or Chinese or seafoods, depending on our mood. We love this place because it has free parking, a water fountain that relaxes and never fails to entertain Samantha, and there's also a day care facility where parents can leave their kids while they are shopping. We haven't tried this service yet because I just don't the heart to leave Samantha with other people YET.

A view of the Neues Schloss from the gazebo. Schlossplatz, Stuttgart.


Redecorating the Schlossplatz for the Christmas Market.

Another favorite hangout place is Schlossplatz in downtown Stuttgart. It's got a great view of the Neus Schloss (new castle), a wide ground for Samantha to play around and for the family to have a picknick. There are lots of shops and restaurants and cafes to choose from should we feel like shopping and eating. Every Sunday after church, we would take a walk around the area and eat our favorite crepes with nutella and banana filling. It is a very relaxing place and it also transforms into a beautiful Christmas market during the holiday seasons.

Got a favorite hang out place too? Come share it with us here in Couple's Corner!

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How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You

I am running late yet again for Couple's Corner but as they always say, it's better late than never. LOL! Sorry Marce Liz for my tardiness but I am still present for CC this week!

This week's theme is Sweet Gesture. Hubby is not so much the PDA type of person... but he does know how to show it, in his own little ways. Hehe! Okay, let me edit that... maybe he is a PDA! LOL! When we were still going out as a couple, he would fondly hold my hands and massage my fingers and then kiss them. He would also remember to send me flowers on special occasions especially when he was already in Japan to study. We always kiss when in church, during the Peace-Be-With-You part regardless of whether we are attending the usual Sunday services in German or the special services celebrated with the Filipino community. I always find it sweet when he would just sit beside me and place his hand on the small of my back... well, not really small since I have become so big these days or just simply hold my hand. Hihi! He does that when he sees me just sitting at our table at a social function... a sign that I am getting bored. He would gladly prepare dinner for the family especially if he sees that my hands are really full or if I am sick. Although I fail to press his shirts most of the time, he does not complain. He just makes parinig that an iron is about to attack him and so I would press it there and then, giving him some time to eat his breakfast consisting of yoghurt! He also lets me sleep in late especially if I have been working in the wee hours, which I find very sweet. And even if we are already married, he still carries most of the stuff. He doesn't like to see me "nagbagood"... I would be the one to carry Samantha and he would be towing/carrying everything: bags, stroller, groceries and all.

I on the other hand, am also a sweet person although my sweetness has been somehow marred by exhaustion, stress and a hectic schedule. This week's theme I guess is an eye opener for me... I never really took Hubby seriously when he said that I am no longer the sweet person I used to be. Looking back at my previous paragraph, it all spells HIS SWEET GESTURES.. where's my sweet gestures? Hmm... I need to work on that. Let's see, I do cook his favorite food every now and then, the latest being palabok. I also give him a massage before he sleeps when he asks for one, although I do it after saying all my yada-yada-yada... And I can never really say NO with a lots of things especially if he is concerned.

What I find to be the sweetest gesture is that we never fail to say I LOVE YOU to one another, whether on the phone, when he leaves for work or I leave for my class, or simply just because. Sweet tiny gestures all adds up to that spark in a marriage. So I guess it best for couples to embrace them and practice tiny gestures of love and care. They may be small but they make wonders in a relationship.

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For The Sake of The Family

All of us have to SACRIFICE something just so we could get to where we are now. Nobody is exempted, I think. All of us, in one way or another had to give up something in order to gain something. It doesn't matter if it is great or small as long as the sacrifice is done wholeheartedly and sincerely, meaning one is not pushed to do it. This is especially true when we have a family to take care of... There are lots of things that we need to sacrifice.

As for me, I sacrificed my job and my career in the Philippines just to be with my husband and raise a family with him. I may be out of a job but I have a family that I can call my own. As a parent, I had to give up some little luxuries. I only buy what I need and not what I want because one never knows when emergencies arise. When we were still in Japan, Hubby would sacrifice his weekends to go to driving school to earn his Japanese driver's license. It was hard for him considering that Sam was too small then but his efforts paid off and now we can go wherever we want to go, the budget considered of course. As a newly married couple starting their life together in a foreign country, we had a lot of sacrifices to make. It was hard living in a country where the standard of living is way too high, if you know what I mean. But we count ourselves very blessed because God answered our prayers. He has crowned our efforts with success and blessed us today with a good home, a stable and satisfying job for Hubby, a beautiful (but makulit) daughter, and lots of opportunities for me to earn on the Internet.

I guess it all boils down to this: When you make a sacrifice, why do you do it? Is it for the family, for your loved ones, for personal advancement, or for money? Nothing is wrong when you make sacrifices... for as long as you do not step on somebody else, I am fine with it. :D

How about you? Where did sacrifice take you? Share it with us here on Couple's Corner!

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Bedtime Habits

I missed the last week's edition of Couple's Corner which is Cuddle Time. My apologies to Marce Liz for that... and since I don't t want to miss this week's edition again, here I am.

Co-bedding with our little one. This was taken in Japan...
Samantha was just 3 months old here...

I always love to sleep with hubby cuddling me. But because our little Samantha is co-bedding with us, we can only do so when our little one has already gone to Lalaland ahead of us... and that is on those very rare occasions when she is so tired and sleepy. So instead of me cuddling hubby and vice versa, we would have Samantha to cuddle.

Who goes to bed first? It depends. On Monday and Wednesday evenings, it is hubby who sleeps first because he has German classes the next morning. The rest of the days, I go to bed first with Sam to send her first to sleep. We would say our good night prayers while Sam drinks her milk and then if she hasn't slept yet, we would talk and play and goof around until we are too exhausted and the last thing left to do is sleep... :D

My two loves... Hubby is already sleepy but Sam is still full of energy.

Hubby sleeps on the right side of the bed while I sleep on the left side. Hubby sleeps with his head propped high on his pillows... this makes it easier for him to sleep and to breath especially if his asthma attacks. I on the other hand, cannot sleep without a pillow under my feet. Sam sleeps in the middle and she serves as our contraceptive... if you know what I mean. Hehe!

Hubby and Sam snores a lot... especially when they are tired and when I am awakened by the noise, I would just stare at them while they are sleeping soundly and then slowly sneak out of bed to blog or finish off my online tasks. :D I would snore too, especially when I am too tired and would wake up long after hubby has gone for work and Samantha is touching my cheeks to wake me up.

Hubby sometimes has insomnia attacks and even if he has already drank a warm glass of milk, he still finds it hard to sleep. To help him sleep, I give him a head and foot massage. A massage helps him to relax and lulls him readily to sleep. So if your husband finds it hard to sleep, a good massage will do the trick.

So I guess that's it for our bedtime habits. I wonder what other CC participants' bedtime habits are....

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Honesty Is The Best Policy

Just as transparency is important in a business, so is honesty very important in a marriage. For a marriage to work, it must not only be founded on love and friendship but also in trusting one another. And one can only gain the other's trust if he/she is true and honest.

That's why we see to it that we know what's on our minds and we have an open communication with one another so that there is no reason to doubt one another. While we value each other's individuality and privacy, there must be an open line of communication between us. It allows us to understand one another better and help us support each other.

He knows what I am up to and I also know what he's up to. We know our passwords to our online accounts, I'd tell him if I want to make online purchases (but only after I have already made the purchase.. hihi!), he would tell me if he will be late and where he'll be going and vice versa. We discuss financial matters and since I am doing the budget, I update him with our financial status. Hubby is also honest with how I look or if what I'm wearing suits me just fine or not. I guess even if these are only small things, it helps a lot in building trust.

Hubby knows me too well so that he can readily tell if I am hiding something from him. There's never a secret that I can keep so it goes without saying that I have no secrets. I also know that he has none even if I don't ask. I guess the biggest leap of trust that I did was when I left the Philippines and followed him to Japan, completely putting my life at his care. I was not scared or anything because I know that he will take good care of me and he did! I am so blessed to have a husband so responsible and loving and honest. Thank you Hanhan for everything!

How important is honesty to you? Share it with us here on Couple's Corner!

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Breakfast In Bed?

Nah, i don't think so. Hubby and I are not that kind of couple although it would be nice if sometimes, one would go out of the way to surprise one another. But we always eat together as a family, that is one thing that we make sure of, especially during dinner time.

When we were still in Japan and I still have the energy, we would always have breakfast but not in bed. Hehe! When I had Samantha and we moved here in Germany, I don't prepare breakfast on weekdays anymore, because I am too lazy to get up early, owing to the fact that our little keeps me awake until around after midnight before she would succumb to sleep. Hubby would also usually wake up just with just enough time to prepare for work and our morning prayers. I would just make him eat his blueberry yogurt before he leaves, then wish him a good day at work and give him a kiss and a hug before sending him off to work. I know he misses eating breakfast with me so that on rare occasions, I would go out of my way and prepare him breakfast and see to it that he gets to eat before he leaves.

I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Perhaps it is high time that I go back to our usual routine... It is not only healthy, it definitely jump starts anybody's day!

Got a breakfast in bed story to share? Then join us every Wednesday for Couple's Corner, hosted by Liz of Rodliz's Nest.

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Never My Love

Oh no! I totally forgot that yesterday was Couple's Corner day!!! Big apologies to Mommy Liz! I totally forgot about in all my confusion and craze... It's kind of a long story so I won't delve on it.

Anyway, today's theme for CC asks the question: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? I guess every wife, in one way or another, has asked their spouse about this question. I myself, have asked Hanhan this on countless occasions, especially when I feel insecure about the way I look. Actually, exact question would be: "Will you ever tire of loving me?", to which he would answer back, "Never my love." Sometimes, he would sing me the song "Never my love" just to reassure me. The lyrics contain everything that he wants to say. Feeling ko naman, ang haba ng buhok ko. Hihi!

Anyway, here's the song with lyrics:


Aren't we all lucky to hear our husbands say that? Because I feel so blessed and lucky indeed.

More mushy answers from other wifeys over at Rodliz's Nest.

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V-Day Plans

Valentine's Day is just a few days away. We don't really put a lot of effort celebrating this day since the day we started going out as a couple. A simple greeting and a kiss will always suffice for us. So I don't think this year would be any different.

But in my heart, I wish that Hubby and I could go out on a special date... It's been a year since we went out. Alone. On a date. But if you are living abroad, and with a small child, that's quite impossible. So perhaps we'll just dine out with our little Samantha... after all, she is the fruit of our LOVE. Hehe! Then maybe afterwards, we could just watch a movie or two at home. We'll also be seeing friends on the 14th. Our beloved Nanay Cata is celebrating her birthday and so we will definitely be there.

And yes, February 14th also marked the occasion when I had a second chance at life. It has been 20 years since I had an accident. Luckily, I was left unbroken and alive. So that's another thing to be thankful for. Another reason to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Wondering what other Wifeys are planning for V-Day? Then visit Rodliz's Nest for more V-Day plans!

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