Baby Next

My girlfriend and I got the chance to chat online this morning. She's the one I mentioned who will have a baby next year. This will be her third baby. Her eldest is 7 years old and second is 5 years old. The third baby on the way is really unexpected. She thought that her 5yo was the last. She and her husband had difficulty conceiving (again). Thank God for this coming blessing. She then asked when will we our next. My son is already 5yo and pwedeng-pwede nga naman na masundan. She's right actually and I know for the fact that it is lonely to be an only child. 

To have another child requires thorough planning. Both I and Dear Hubby should be prepared physically, spiritually, emotionally and financially. The first-hand experience with our eldest was really a big discovery. A 24-hour duty with so many "aha!" and "naku!". Tiring but very worth it. Amazing.

Below list is what Dear Hubby and I learned when we first had our eldest. These will serve as our reminder and guide this time. Truly, nakakapanibago kung magkakaroon ulet after 5 years. Who knows, Father God might send the stork again to us this 2015 with our "next".

1. Be healthy - Of course, the primary preparation of all is to be healthy. Before and after our wedding, I resorted to eating vegetables, soup, drinking milk and less rice. No salty food, no carbonated drinks, no artificial juices and not too much on sweets. Ferrous sulfate + folic acid is a must. Iron supports fetal growth and maternal health. I am now taking our company physician's kamote-remedy by heart for my current anemia. Dear Hubby before was not into vegetables but he "forced" himself to eat afterwards. A healthy man produces healthy sperms, make sense?
2. Get enough sleep - It seems that now I need to seriously work on my sleeping schedule. 
3. Regular visit to the OB-Gyn. - I treated my OB/Gyn as my confidante. She made me feel comfortable whenever I had queries or worries. My OB/Gyn with my eldest already went abroad after her husband died 3 years ago so I better need to find another trustable one. Hayst, Doctora bumalik ka na lang po ulit please....
4. Don't be an impulsive buyer. - Just because we were so excited, we bought many baru-baroan ( baby clothes), breast pump, feeding bottles and toys. Kinalakihan lang kagad ang baru-baroan after 2 weeks and the toys ay pinagsawaan kagad. I should had listened to Inang.  My breast was not comfortable with the pump. I should had researched first on proper breastfeeding. I ended up giving it away to a neighbor whose daughter also gave birth. As for the feeding bottles, all were not the same. You need to check if they're BPA free and kinds of silicone nipples.  Toys, my weakness that time. I have mentioned before that I spent thousands buying toys online. Well, this time it will be a big saving 'coz our eldest will just hand down all his baby toys and baby clothes to his future ading. And besides, our family and friends are generous and love to give clothes as gifts. So no need to buy so many extras. 
5. Breastfeed- It has always been my goal to breastfeed. No matter what even if my breasts are as "big" as macaroons. But thank God, I was able to breastfed my eldest for 1 year and 2 months. Hindi lahat ng nanay nagagawa yun- by choice or by circumstance. Since my "bestfriends" were not comfortable with breast pumps, I manually pumped mine with my bear hands. I really can't believed it at first but mas malakas pa talaga labas ng milk. I got to full two 4oz bottles or 10 oz in one sitting. Minsan, si panganay pa umaayaw sa sobrang dami. I also created a pumping schedule from the time I woke up, working at the office and until bedtime. Breastfeeding was beneficially healthy for both my son and I. It is also very economical. We got to save thousands on powdered milk and on sanitary napkins. It was after a month of my son's first birthday when I had my monthly period again. My son also seldom got sick ( just common colds), never had diarrhea. We seldom sterilize bottles. We just need to sterilize those bottles for breastmilk storage.   Breastfeeding taught me to be more positive and determined. Many said that I can't do it 'coz mine were smaller and also I was working. Minsan naiyak pa ko noong sinabihan akong pinapagod ko lang raw sarili ko. But hey,I did it. 
6. Be attentive- I just call this time being attentive ( can't really think of the right word lol!). During the day at home, my son never used diapers. He only used katsa (muslin cloth). We got them from the friendly neighborhood bakery. Inang ( mother-in-law) and Dear Hubby were so good in timing  on when our son will pee. No panicking or whatever. They knew how to check his puson and they can tell based on the amount of milk drunk. On the exact day after our son's first birthday, he was no longer wearing katsa or diaper (if namamasyal). Dear Hubby taught him to call our attention if he wants to pee or poop. Another big saving :P
7. Set budget for visits to pedia,for the shots and vitamins. Well, can't disregard this on the budget list. Yet, living healthy is still the best prevention. 
8. Eat natural. Our son never ate Cerelac or Gerber. His food were freshly made. He ate mashed potato, sayote, ground brown rice, carrots and his all-time favorite camote. Our son grew up not a picky eater. However now there's a catch, he doesn't like to eat beef or pork meat, he only eats fish and chicken plus vegetables. Well, tipid narin kami nito ;P
9.  Quality time- There came a time when our son was 2yo that he didn't like to be with me. He always wanted to be with his grandparents or with Dear Hubby because of the very demanding schedule of my previous job. I used to work even on Sundays. Quality time is still the best expression of love.
10. Read- I always read to our son when he was still inside my womb and when he was still a baby. Now at 5, he has this penchant for reading.
11. Invest for the future.  With all our son's monetary gifts, we always put them on his savings account. It was only last year that we learned about mutual fund. We have moved his savings fund to MF. Hopefully, fund will go in time ready for his college education. An additional to the family also means resetting the family's emergency fund.
12. Always pray- Nurturing a child is never an easy job. Being worthy and responsible parents as well.  We must give endlessly 101% of  our  dedication , understanding, patience and love. Howbeit,we cannot do that without the guidance of our dear Father God.