Finally Blogging Again!

Hi Everyone :)

It has been a looooong time since I last posted, which probably shows how busy things have been.  Family and friends have been asking me what it has been like raising Ben and the twins.  The twins will be turning one soon and I must say that despite being overwhelmed and tired, I would not have it any other way.  It is a joy seeing Ben adjust to being a big brother.  There are days when I am proud that he seems to have matured, which makes the frustrating days worth it.  It amazes me to watch the twins grow and show how different they are from each other.  Bree seems to be the more talkative and clingy of the two.  Bea is more mobile, serious and independent.  They even prefer different kinds of toys.  I still do not get as much sleep as I'd like but I'm praying we'll eventually get there.  There are tiring nights and quiet nights.  I find myself praying in the middle of the night, thankful for all the support I have received and hopeful that I have the energy to take care of the kids the following day.

Our house is always a "mess", haha!  We have changing stations at each part of the house.  There is always something to be done.  At the end of each day, I'd ask myself if what I did was enough.  I try to hold to what a "fellow-mom" of twins said during a support group meeting last month.  "All the kids want is for us to be happy.  So when we are happy, they're happy. too!"

I appreciate Bry even more now that we have 3 kids.  He takes the challenge of having more mouths to feed with such optimism and grace.  He does his best to help out with the kids  even if it means losing some sleep at night.  He is very supportive in my breastfeeding journey.  Most of all, he's my souding board whenever I  am challenged as to how to juggle 

the three kids.  We still try to spend some time just the two of us and I'm glad he understands that this is not as easy as it was before. 

We would like to say thank you to family and friends for their words of encouragement and for their love and concern for the kids.  As our family of 5 enters its second year, please continue to pray for us.  On my part I promise to try to blog more so that I can share what I have learned. 

Why learn to how to hand-express breastmilk?

 It is breastfeeding month and I have not posted much about the topic recently.  I've thought about what new thing I've learned about breastfeeding and the first thing that came to mind is hand expressing breastmilk.

I'm not an expert in hand expressing  but I must say that learning how to do it has a lot of advantages.  I still need a lot of practice but I appreciate this skill more now as I breastfeed the twins (compared to my breastfeeding days with Ben three years ago) .

First of all,  my output in hand expressing milk is (usually) more compared to the pump.  This was particularly helpful when the twins were in the NICU and I had to leave expressed milk for them at night.  When I pumped, I barely produced enough for one baby but when I hand expressed, I was able to produce enough for two.  

Hand expressing is convenient and cost effective.  If you know how to hand express properly, you can do it anytime anywhere you're comfortable with.  All you need is a sterile container for your milk.  Sometimes, when I'm in a rush to leave the house, I'll be content with just bringing along a towel and a sterile bottle.  It's a good skill to have especially if you leave your pump behind or if it runs out of power.

Labor of love and of bare hands - still needs a lot of practice though!

Also, even if you have the pump, you'll notice that you can still hand express some milk after your pumping session.  It's more quiet than a pump, too!  When I express milk at night to build my supply for the twins, I usually end up hand expressing milk instead of setting up the pump.  This way there's less chance of waking up the kids and I save more time.

Another advantage of hand expressing is less chance if developing clogged ducts.  Hand expressing milk and massaging go hand in hand.   When you hand express, you can easily feel if you have lumps or which part of the breasts has clogged ducts that need attention.

So are you now convinced that this skill is "handy" as a breastfeeding mom? If yes, try learning it by watching the youtube video in this link :). As an added tip, should you decide to do it, try to find a way to make sure you "catch" the milk letdown from the breast you're not expressing from.  Every drop of that liquid gold counts!

Oh, and you do you know that you get more milk if you relax while hand-expressing? During our LATCH Breastfeeding Seminar last weekend, Velvet Escario-Roxas was able to observe me expressing milk.  She reminded me to take deep breaths because I was doing it too quickly.  Yes, those of you who know me are probably not surprised because it's part of my personality to always be in a hurry.  It just goes to show that breastfeeding, even when expressing milk, should be done with love.  Having to express milk for your baby may not be "fun".  Direct feeding your baby is always way better.  But when you do need that extra motivation to express milk for your child, just remind yourself of its benefits.

PS. It is my personal wish that most hospitals would be able to teach  moms of newborns how to hand-express.  It's quite empowering to see actual milk coming from you especially during the early days when you'd question yourself if your supply is enough.  While this skill is not strictly a "must" in order to successfully breastfeed, it can really be helpful.

What's new with ahia Ben :)

 It's time for an ahia Ben update, don't you agree?:)

Our eldest is still (at times) a baby at heart but there are the little signs that remind me that time is indeed moving forward and this little boy is growing up each day.

As shared by his teachers, I am happy to say that Ben has been learning to develop deeper friendships with his classmates.  This is something that I also noticed this year.  He's asking for playdates and is more sensitive towards his peers.  He'd comfort a classmate when he sees someone crying and would say sorry when he accidently bumps someone or spills something.

In an attempt to encourage him to read and write, we enrolled Ben in reading classes at the Learning Library.  We're fortunate they have a branch nearby at Wilson street in San Juan. The sessions are just 30 minutes long which is adequate for Ben's attention span.  He sits down with an instructor and reads a story after which he will answer some questions to test his comprehension. They also tackle one letter a day, practicing how it sounds and how to write it.

As an ahia, there are days when Ben is still adjusting to his role as a big brother.  We try to give him tasks that would let him help take care of his sisters.  There are moments when he would willingly do them, and instances when he'd require a lot of encourgement.  We're happy with his progress, though, especially since he willingly includes the twins in our evening prayers. It's a real challenge trying to juggle three children.  What Bry and I usually do is greet Ben first before his sisters when they are in the same room.  We also suggest our visitors to do the same thing because we notice that if we give him ample attention, he won't feel jealous towards the girls.  Should you have any  additional tips for us, we're all ears.  I'm sure things will become more challenging as they grow older.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Lets all remind each other to count our blessings :)

Mommy Nats Birthday Giveaway!

It's August! Yehey! It's time for a simple birthday giveaway :)

I love reading.  I used to have a lot of books way back when I still didn't have Ben and the twins.  I like the feel of holding an actual book and turning the pages.  When Bry and I started having kids, I switched to eBooks / Kindle because I can easily get back to what I was reading through my phone or Ipad.  

I still prefer an actual book, though :) and this giveaway is a combination of two things that are close to my heart, prayer and reading.  I am giving away a copy of Father Johnny Go's Quick Questions, Uneasy Answers.  It's a wonderful book with reflections tackling a lot of the things we ask about God and our faith.  What's nice about this book is each point of reflection is just about 3 pages long.  The type of reading is just right for a busy parent.  It was also my reading material when the twins were in the NICU.  


To join, simply provide the following details as a comment on this blog entry or link:

1.) Full name and email add
2.) A prayer intention you wish to share so others may pray with you

See? Very simple!!!
Good luck, entries until the end of the month will be accepted :)

PS.  I am a huge fan of Father Johnny.  His homilies and online recollections are touching, direct to the point and very current.  We have the honor of having him at our wedding and Ben's baptism.  We (Father Go and I) also have the same birthday.  How cool is that? :)

Our Mind Museum Visit

We recently took Ben to the Mind Museum, located at 3rd Ave in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.  I've been curious about the place and admittedly we were a little stressed because it was an impromptu visit.  Nevertheless, we were glad we decided to go through with it.

Bry took a few photos which I'm sharing here.  I apologize for not taking lots of them.  We were busy running after Ben who enjoyed exploring the place.

What I loved about the Mind Museum is that it made most of its space.  It's basically divided into 5 exhibits, namely: Universe, Technology, Earth, Life and Atom.  The items in the exhibits are very interactive.  They stimulate each of your senses (yes, they even have a scents exhibit and there's a snack bar for your taste buds) which is perfect for curious kids.  We will definitely be back especially when Ben goes to big school already.

This month is a good time to visit the Mind Museum because they offer a discount from P600 to P450 for the adult 3-hour pass if you dine in any restaurant in the Bonifacio Global City area.  Take note that the regular tickets are good for  3 hours (9am-12nn, 12nn-3pm, 3-6pm and 6-9pm during Saturdays).  3 hours is more than enough to explore the place but the museum also sells all-day passes for P750.  Also, the museum is closed during Mondays.

Have you guys been to the Mind Museum? How was your experience?

You can find out more about the Mind Museum in their webpage right here  You can also order tickets online and get discounts if you are using your Mastercard.

Twins update at 3 months :)

The twins just turned 3 months. Yes, it has been more fun now that they have more waking hours but with this month comes the growth spurt.  The marathon feedings at night are very challenging but when I feel tired, I try to close my eyes and be thankful that God has entrusted such wonderful girls to me and Bry.  I'll still feel tired but somehow I get by.

The twins still continue to show their difference in personalities.  Bridget likes watching ahia Ben play and doesn't mind it when he's noisy and makes a mess of their room.  Bea prefers to watch the trees from the window and gives a little frown when their room isn't orderly. 

I feel blessed to still be breastfeeding the twins.  I still prefer feeding the girls one after the other than feeding them at the same time.  However, I tandem feed the girls when needed.  I'm only comfortable feeding them via the football hold.  I've been trying to research on other breastfeeding positions for twins.  Here's hoping I get to learn another position by the time they reach four months :)

Focus on the " Finish Line"

The past few days have been challenging for me.  The twins have been keeping me up all night and because I've been stressed, I haven't been pumping my best yeild. There were moments when I'd cry just to release the pressure I was feeling, then pray hoping that things would get better.

I'm blessed to have Ben, and I hold on to my experience with him and tell myself that the twins will grow up and reach his age, too.  Ben is sort of the "finish line" or the "goal". I try to look back at those challenging nights during his newborn days and tell myself, if I survived during those days, then there's a chance I'll make it this time, too. When I am worried about my capability to feed for two, I tell myself that during Ben's days, I had more than enough milk so maybe this time I'll be enough for my two girls.  These nights may be challenging but just as Ben eventually slept through the whole night, so will our lovely daughters.  It's just a matter of time.

So here's sending hugs and mommy/daddy powers to all new parents out there.  Lets all hold on and have faith that things will get better (sleep-wise and feeding-wise) :)