At Five Years Old

My son just turned 5 years old last month as I likewise turned 43. Our mother-son relationship will always be marked with our growing old together - literally - as we celebrate our birthdays on the same day. For the second time around, Dad wasn't around on our special day but thankfully, Trey and I managed given our big family support. It's still not something that I'm used to but well, we cope.

In fairness to my husband, he spent the entire day with us a day before our birthday. We went to Ephrathah Farms in Badiangan, Iloilo with the Jaruda and Espinosa families. It was a lazy day of just walking around the farm, swimming, chatting, and eating together. The others also did some ziplining. But at nighttime, we had to bring him to the airport to catch his flight back to Manila.

On our natal day, we had a simple celebration with his friends at Maya Playgarden and another simple family dinner at Kamalig Restaurant at the newly-opened Robinsons Jaro.

As I stare at him now asleep by my side, I couldn't help but think how time flies fast. He's a more manageable companion now whenever we would travel together. He complies with our agreed "rules" around 90% of the time. :) He's sweet and thoughtful. He creates stories and even characters! He remembers. Everything. (So, it's quite a boon and bane depending on the situation). He's kind. On occasion, though, he's just as wild as the mushrooms growing everywhere! But given all his signs of growing, he still wants to cuddle with Mom, likes to be carried around (my poor back!), and wraps presents for me...all the time! (That's all the things available in the vicinity, with all the tape wrapped over it with Mommy's help, of course!:))

One time, he told Daddy that although he has so many "girls" now (it's a private joke between him and Dad), he wants to be like Daddy when he grows up with only one girl just like Mommy - that girl he really found pretty at Tipsy Pig in Capitol Commons in Ortigas. Sigh. Noooooooo! I'm not ready. Sigh. I just take comfort in the idea that he really doesn't  know what he is talking about. :)

Oh, well. We have another year to enjoy his 5-ness. To more years and birthdays to come!

My Greatest Teacher

My greatest teacher: Trey.

Last night, I was not in my element and little things bothered me a lot. Then Trey started messing up the room by throwing things around. My voice got louder and I couldn't control myself. Wewin was on speakerphone the entire time and he asked me to step out of the room for awhile to relax, which I did. When I came back already calm and collected, Trey said, "Sorry, Mom." I said sorry, too, for speaking in a loud voice. Then, we hugged each other. While I was hugging him, he looked me in the eye and said, "Mom, I'm sorry because I don't know the rules of the big people. I'm still small. Indi pa ko kabalo, Mom. Nalipat lang ko."

Bells Will Be Ringing!

I have longed for this time for Trey. I can't wait!

Outdoors!

Meet Gianna, Trey's "best friend" from Maya Playgarden. They're almost the same age having been born on the same month and year. They first met in one of the parent-child programs of Maya and now they're buddies in the kindergarten! And, oh, how they love to play in muddy puddles!

I am so thankful that Trey and Gianna, on their own, discovered the joys of playing outdoors without prodding from any of us at Maya. I guess it's the environment that paved the way. It's readily available so it's there for their taking at anytime!

When was the last time you played around in puddles?

I am a Breastfeeding Ilongga!

Trey is a breastfed baby. Albeit for only 10 months, I am still glad he got "liquid gold."

 

As a working/schooling mother during my breastfeeding journey, it didn't stop me from breastfeeding him whenever, wherever. At night, I would pump milk to store in the ref for his consumption while I was away. At work or at school for my post-graduate studies, I pumped milk at lactation stations, inside the car, inside offices, and even inside bathrooms. I would talk to managers if I can store my pumped milk inside their ref and just get it when it's time to go home. Wewin regularly bought me avocados because it made me produce more milk. We would do anything just to get me "pumping." And when I'm in the comforts of our home, Trey would go on latching for hours.

 

It was not easy and how I wished I could have done more. He wasn't even exclusively breastfed and how I wished he was. I didn't have a support group then but how lucky and blessed all of you are because Breastfeeding Ilonggas are here to help you now!

What's your breastfeeding story? Share! Join us at Hakab 2015, August 1, 10AM-12NN, Robinson's Place Iloilo in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week.

- Jorvy, Breastfeeding Ilongga
‪#‎HakabNa2015‬ ‪#‎BFIjoinsHakabNa2015‬

(Photo Credit: Stanley Ong Photography)

- Repost from FB

Trey's Playschool!

Ginikanan

Ginikanan is Hiligaynon for parent. Having been the first-born child to parents who have lovingly nurtured me until I was 38, I never thought it would be so hard. Of course, this realization came when I became a parent myself on the day I turned 38.

It has been two years and six months. My son is now a toddler and as expected, he's almost always all over the place!  At this particular stage of his life, his goal is to move around, to jump up and down, to run and run, to climb stairs and everything else in between, to throw objects and see how you react, to cry when he sees you getting dressed up and ready to leave. But this is also the time that he could talk coherently, sing with gusto, dance like Daddy, draw on paper and not on walls, play with sand and water, and he helps out in the garden and carries the pail and watering can like a pro! Now that he's a regular part of the Maya Playgarden Parent-Child Program, he has since learned how to socialize with other children his age group and has done activities with the other children and their parents/caregivers. He talks about sharing and borrowing but I'm not sure if he really gets it yet. But he is just adorable just the same!

Time flies so fast indeed.

Tonight, Easter Sunday 2014, I was playing with him at bedtime, singing our circle songs and just laughing together at some silly story, and I looked at him and I almost cried. How he has grown! I still remember the time I used to carry him in my arms and breastfeeding him. Now, he eats on his own and loves rice, fish, and soup so much! I also remembered the time when he couldn't hold his head up yet. Now, he's an acrobat! Wasn't it just yesterday when his Dad was so worried he couldn't walk and talk yet? Hah! He can run fast like the wind and oh how he talks, sings the Hiligaynon lullaby "Dandansoy" while strumming his guitar, and  reports everything from how he got his bump to how he got scared when a relative suddenly picked him up without warning and how his Manang Nana, his 5-yr-old first cousin, would always tell him to "go out" whenever the former would have tantrums. 

My child is growing! I took his face between my hands and kissed him and said, "I love you, Baby!" He looked at me funny but said the customary reply, "Love, Mommy 'Day" (contraction for the Hiligaynon female nickname Inday), which I know he doesn't comprehend yet. And we proceeded with our regular nightly ritual with his current favorite "read," "Alice Through The Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll with illustrations by Sir John Tenniel. He knows all the characters' names and imitates their actions as illustrated. His fascination with the book is pinpointing where an identical illustration can be found elsewhere in the book. 

He never ceases to amaze me. I love discovering him every day. No rush.