Maddie Moments: Maddie's Chinese Name

I have a Singaporean then-officemate who is very fond of Maddie. She liked it when I told her that she is Maddie's "fairy Godmother" and true to that name, she would always give Maddie presents just because.

Friends, meet Maddie's Aunty Adeline :-)

Of all the things she gave our little girl, my favorite is her Chinese name. Yes, Maddie has a Chinese name! Here it is...

Since Madison is a Western name, Adeline instead picked a Chinese name that resembles Jayanne and has a nice meaning, too! According to her, Jia means "additional happiness" while Ying means "luster of a gem". And that's exactly what Maddie is to us! Jhay and I were happy then but when Maddie came, it was a different level of happiness altogether! Spending each day with her is just bliss. Seeing her smile, playing with her, watching her grow and calling her ours... Oh, what an honor to have been entrusted by the Lord with a lustrous gem!

One day, Maddie will learn the Chinese language, or at least how to write her name! :D

Thank you, Aunty Adeline! What a wonderful, unique gift this is!

Maddie and Adeline, 1 year later :)

Maddie Moments: Our Breastfeeding Journey

One thing that I am very grateful for is that I grew up witnessing the wonder of Mother's Milk. My mom breastfed all 6 of us (I for 2+ years -- thanks, Mom!), so I was 101% decided that I will breastfeed Maddie for as long as she's here. I would even joke then na sayang naman my big boobs if I won't put it to good use. Haha.

Yes, I breastfeed anywhere! I'm all for normalizing breastfeeding =)

Thanks to my supportive Momma and to the equally supportive hubby for this photo.

It wasn't a walk in the park, that's true. For us, it was a struggle. There were even moments that just had me in tears especially in the first few weeks but I held on for dear life because the benefits of breastfeeding easily outweigh the challenges. Breastmilk has all the nutrients a baby needs in the first 6 months. After all, it's not called "Liquid Gold" for nothing. And I was able to prove that when time came that I had really bad cough and colds and Maddie didn't get the virus. That's because studies say that when a mother is sick, her breasts produce antibodies that shield the baby from contracting the illness. Nice, no? God's work is amazing like that =)

Dear Jesus, please bless Mommy with more and more milk for me to drink. Amen. :)

And to top it all, the bond between a mother and a child formed when breastfeeding is truly incomparable. Believe me, it was a one-of-a-kind feeling being able to nourish a little human being!

So if you are a new Mommy or a mom-to-be, take it from me... Breast is best!

And if you are not yet convinced, let me share with you a post from the Breastfeeding advocacy group I joined in Facebook, Breastfeeding Pinays. It's written by one of its admins, Ms. Bonnie Factor, and I didn't bother translating because it has more impact as it is. It's quite long but it's worth really worth reading. 

For Pregnant Members and Moms with Newborns

May milk ka na pagka panganak mo pa lang.
The body starts producing milk as soon as the placenta has been removed.
Day 1 ni baby may colostrum ka na.
Sobrang konti nyan na hindi mo makita na meron.
Kailangan mong ipa-latch baby mo every 2-3 hours 24/7 round the clock para dumating ang mature milk.
Huwag mag panic kung umiiyak ang baby. Hindi sya gutom at for sure may nadedede sya sa iyo.
Umiiyak sya dahil 9 months syang nasa loob ng tyan mo at naninibago sya sa labas.

Biggest misconception na walang milk. 
Meron pero kailangang mag-latch ang baby mo.
Huwag na huwag bibigyan ang baby ng formula matutulog sya kasi apat ang tyan ng baka.
Dalawang pang digest, dalawang pang absorb
Samantalang ang sa human baby ay isa lamang at napakaliit pa kaya natutulog ang baby kapag naka formula kasi hirap na hirap silang i-digest ang mataas na protein contents ng formula.
Dinadaan na lang ng energy nila sa pagtulog ang pag digest ng formula.
Mataas ang protein ng cows milk kasi kailangan ng baka na tumayo na at makatakbo in 27 days while brain development ang target ng breastmilk.

Kung magbigay ka ng formula at natulog ang baby mo, sinabi mo sa katawan mo na walang baby na dumedede kaya hindi sya magp-produce ng gatas.
Yan ang dahilan kung bakit hindi mo dapat bigyan ng formula ang baby mo sa hospital dahil lalong hindi dadating ang mature milk mo at hindi kailangan kasi may gatas ka hindi mo lang nakikita pero meron, madede yun ng baby mo kung ipapa latch mo sya.
Make sure you have an EBF advocate pedia.
Ang tunay na EBF advocate pedia, hindi magr-recommend ng formula kahit ano pa ang mangyari.
Dahil lahat ng breastfeeding challenges magagawan ng solution without formula.
Dapat masunod ng hospital ang unang yakap protocol and rooming-in of your baby ASAP after birth. kung hindi, ito ay labag sa milk code at puwedeng i-report ang hospital sa DOH.
Para makasigurado, gumawa ng birth plan at i-discuss ito sa OB at kukunin niyong pedia bago pa man manganak.
Ilagay sa birth plan ang kagustuhan mong mag exclusive breastfeeding, pabantayan sa asawa or kasama mo sa ospital ang iyong sanggol para makasigurado na walang formula ang ibibigay bago ito ipasuso sa iyo at i-room-in.
Magpunta sa informative posters, FAQ at Admin notes photo albums ng BFP andun lahat ang kailangan malaman.

Napaka importante na sabihan mo ang pamilya mo na mage-exclusive breastfeeding ka, kadalasan ang mga well meaning family members ang mga dahilan kung bakit nagf-fail ang mom sa exclusive breastfeeding.
Kunyari sasabihan ang Nanay na mag formula na dahil iyak ng iyak ang baby at dahil wala naman daw nakukuha na isang napaka laking maling akala.
O kaya naman ay kailangang magpahinga kaya kailangang mag formula.
O kaya e pumapayat na daw ang baby kawawa daw kaya mag formula na.
O kaya e kulang daw ang gatas dahil hindi tumutulo.
O kaya e kulang daw ang gatas dahil hindi basang-basa ang damit ng gatas.
Ihanda mo ang sarili mo sa mga ganitong reaksyon.
Kunin ang suporta ng iyong asawa at pamilya.
Be firm with what you want.
Mag attend ng breastfeeding seminar at isama ang asawa, nanay at byenan sa seminar para maintindihan nila ang halaga ng breastmilk at ang hindi magandang epekto ng formula sa inyong anak.
Have the number of a breastfeeding counselor kapag pinanghihinaan ka ng loob.
Huwag munang magpa bisita o limitahan ang oras ng mga bisita dahil magpapadede ka every 2-3 hours.
Sa oras na pinanghihinaan ka ng loob, ang simpleng hindi pagdadala ng bote at formula ay makakapagligtas sa iyong sanggol sa formula.

Ang emergency back-up na kailangan mo ay ang makapagtukoy ng breastfeeding counselor na makakatulong sa iyo at hindi ang pagdadala o pagbili ng formula.
Kumbinsihin ang asawa na kunin ang lahat ng mga gawaing walang kinalaman sa breastfeeding katulad ng pagpapalit ng diaper at pagpapa ligo ng bago nyong anak, kasama na din ang mga gawaing bahay para matutukan mo ang breastfeeding ng iyong newborn 24/7.
Pagdating naman sa rooming-in ng iyong bagong panganak na sanggol.
kung walang challenge si baby dapat naka room-in na agad sya kay mommy.
walang doktor or hospital or sinuman ang puwedeng magpigil ng rooming-in ng bagong kapanganak na sanggol.
Ang lugar ng bagong panganak na sanggol ay kasama ang nanay nya.
maraming mga sitwasyon ang sinasabi na kailangan daw obserbahan muna bago i-room-in.
Kung hindi naman naka-incubator ang newborn, pwede syang obserbahan katabi ang nanay nya.
Kung jaundice naman daw, lalong pwede syang obserbahan sa tabi ng nanay nya.
Kung may series of tests daw, bilang magulang, tanungin natin kung ano ang mga series of tests na gagawin sa ating newborn.
Ang series of tests na gagawin daw, pwede pa ding i-room-in at kunin na lang ang newborn kapag gagawin na ang series of tests o d kaya sa harapan ng magulang gawin ang series of tests.
Kung nakitang naka swero ang iyong bagong kapanganak na sanggol, magtanong agad kung bakit.
Karapatan at tungkulin ng bawat nanay ang malaman ang lahat ng inpormasyon tungkol sa kanyang bagong panganak na sanggol at magtanong ng kelan, ano, bakit, paano ang mga proseso na gagawin kung meron man - lalo na at hindi pa daw nir-room-in.

If you are interested to know more about Breastfeeding, please search Breastfeeding Pinays in Facebook. Information is key! :)


A proud BF advocate,


*Credits to BFP for all the informative photos.

Maddie Moments: Her First Month

Being the crybaby that Maddie is, the succeeding days were still full of crying and in effect, sleepless nights but by the time she turned a month old, we were pretty much getting the hang of it. The key is indulging her in about half an hour of swaying while humming "My Nipa Hut" (yes, there is an English version of Bahay Kubo!) and then ever so carefully laying her down and quickly latching her on. 

Her 1st Month Portrait

We had a bit of a struggle since matakaw sya sa milk so she has the tendency to feed even when she's already full. The ending is Maddie throwing up and Mommy panicking >_< It's really good that I had Mamita around because she would always know what to do. I was starting to get a little paranoid about it so I did a little research and learned that it's normal since the baby's digestive system is still developing. She also outgrew that phase after a couple of months :)

Maddie loving the company of Mamita and Aunt Haley.

Maddie can see us and the things around her already so her eyes would follow moving objects around the room. She started to make small responses to the sounds that she hears, too.

At 1 month, Maddie also loves to be carried all the time. People would always tell me, "wag sanayin sa karga, ikaw din mahihirapan" but I really didn't mind because I thought I won't get to carry her in my arms forever so enjoy it while it lasts. Especially now that she's already big and she's living far from us, i really really miss those days.

That, my friends, is how a tired yet happy first-time mom looks like :)

The eyebags, omg! Hahaha.

Now back to her first month birthday... To celebrate, we had a small feast at home. We invited some of her SG Ninongs and Ninangs over to join the fun.

I went a little overboard with the food. Check out in the next photos how many guests we had. Sorry, excited lang! :)

Maddie's Ninong Mike, Ninong Wendyll and Ninang Sara. These 3 were my officemates and housemates the past years.

And now, with our current housemates.

Three cheers for Maddie's first milestone!

Happy 1st Month Birthday, little one! :)