China Doll

*I started writing this post on August 28, Friday, and I only get to finish it only now as most of my time is dominated by the little one. 

Our little china doll at 1 week. Her clothes are still loose on her. Haha!

Exactly a week ago, our greatest prayer has been answered. We welcomed our little Amina Mariam via a hilarious/stressful drive to the hospital (next entry!) and an eventful normal delivery. Praise be to God, everything was according to God's perfect plan, from the arrival of my parents and my mother-in-law, to the day I gave birth (which fell on a Friday, an auspicious day among Muslims) and the arrival of our healthy bundle of joy.  

At 1 week old, my baby Yam:

1.) IS ALWAYS HUNGRY. She wakes up every hour or two to feed! I know that newborns are supposed to feed every 3-4 hours in order to gain weight, but our little one seems insatiable! But I don't restrict her on that, I feed her whenever and how much she wants to. I am presently mixed feeding her because my breastmilk didn't came out until the fourth day. My milk production has increased but still not enough for her almost endless appetite! Thank God, my Mom's here to cook almost everything she knows that would trigger milk let-down. I pray that I may have enough milk so I can exclusively breastfeed her.  

2.) LOVES TO CUDDLE. A newborn has only three causes of crying (other than pathological discomfort): wants to feed, wet diaper and wants to cuddle. After feeding and a change of diaper, she won't calm down to sleep until she feels human warmth particularly mine. And I happily succumb to her whims by wrapping her around my arms, close to my chest as she yawns and gently gives in to deep sleep. That's what she loves to do at night, she even wants to hear her Ama (hubby) hum Meranao songs to her while he stands to dance her around. We are not complaining YET of sleepless nights and backaches. Haha! 

3.) HAS FLAKING SKIN AND STILL LOOKS PAYAT. At 2.710kg, her birth weight is just few notches above the normal. She's small. Oh well, she has our genes! Hahaha! I wanna cry when I did her first bathe at home and realized how skinny she is! My Mom tries to console me by assuring me that my child is even bigger than I was when I was born and I did thrive! Haha! She's still shedding her old skin so some part of skin on her legs and her hands are still flaky. 

4.) SMILES A LOOOT!!! I know she can't see us clearly yet and she's just testing her facial muscles but how smitten I am by her cute smile after every feed! Her dimple on her right cheek makes me want to cuddle her even more! I'm sorry, I'm just a new mom who's full of adoration for her newborn daughter. Haha!

5.) CALMS DOWN WHEN A MERANAO SONG IS HUMMED TO HER. On her fourth day of life, she was still crying after feeding and a new diaper, I carried her and swayed her around to no avail. My Mom got her and hummed a Meranao song (bayok) then she was quietly lulled to sleep. Effective! Humming a tune is a talent I am yet to master for my little one, let alone a bayok. My husband, Jabar, impressed me when he puts her to sleep by singing bayok to her. Haha!  

6.) IS SQUIRMY! Oh how she loves to punch the air and kick her tiny legs! That's her way of developing her motor coordination skills so I avoid swaddling her now. 

7.) SHE DUPLICATES MY FAVORITE SLEEPING POSITION. One of my most relaxing sleeping position, aside from lying on my stomach, is lying straight on my back with my hands raised straight above my head. "Superwoman" style. And she does exactly that most of the time. Cute! Because everything she does is cute!

8.) SHE LOOKS LIKE MY MOM! That's exactly what I said when I first saw her in the delivery room. Jabar commented on her chinky eyes while I noticed her round, chubby cheeks which she takes from my Mom (also from me!). Pinaglihi ko 'ata sa nanay ko. I remember missing my Mom and her cooking so much during the first trimester of my pregnancy that I always cry whenever I think about her and my father. I pray she does not only inherit my Mom's physical looks but also her generous heart and her charm. In shaa Allah, ameen!


The first week has been a mix of joy and an excruciating pain for me as my body still aches from pregnancy and labor, plus the anxiety of taking care of a newborn. This is more toxic than a 48-hour duty in the hospital! I swear! Walang postduty na nag-aantay e!  But I am thriving, as much as I want my little one to thrive. I count myself lucky for having my parents and my mother-in-law around during the first week of adjusting into motherhood. I know so little about this business I had to ask them constantly about their child-rearing practices. I am a doctor by profession but motherhood is another one that is completely new to me. I can only apply so little. But in shaa Allah, with the help of family and friends whom I get to keep in touch with online, I will get the hang of this. I pray that I may have more patience and physical endurance as Jabar and I do everything on our own here in Bangkok.    

Amina Mariam. In Islamic history, these are the mothers of two of our greatest prophets. Amina, mother of Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w) and Mariam is the mother of Prophet 'Isa (a.s.). Incidentally, Jabar and I's maternal grandmothers are also Amina and Mariam, respectively. 😅 #babynames #AminaMariam #thelittleone 👧🏻

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Photo taken yesterday at the garden floor while I was having contractions. This is a premonition that our life will be changed forever. Alhamdulillah. Welcome to the world, our ray of sunshine. 👨‍👩‍👧👶🏻 Thank you, Ya Allah, for making it easy for me. ✨🙏🏼 #AminaMariam #thelittleone

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Maternity Shoot

Last Sunday, my husband Jabar gave in to one of my wishes---an outdoors maternity shoot. It was very amateur as we had his sister who's temporarily staying with us to get behind the camera while Jab and I did the directing and, of course, acting! It was also very awkward as it is our first time to do something like this (we previously didn't have a prenup or postnup photo shoots). Hahaha! I'm sharing with you the best shots that we were able to muster. 

I searched the internet for some posing ideas as well as the best location here in Bangkok which turned out to be at the King Rama IX Park,  the largest green space in the city. 

That ring I was wearing was from my Mom, her own wedding ring that she handed down to me. It used to be very loose on my finger but now, it fits snugly! 

One thing I realized, we should have done this at around 30-33ish weeks AOG when the baby bump is evident but not too huge and the body swelling has not yet materialized. I'm on my 38th week now so aside from the discomfort arising from the heavy bulging of my entire body, there's a threat that I might just contract anytime. Haha! 

I'm really glad that we were able to pull it off even though 1.) we're not still very familiar with our EOS-M Canon (yan na nga lang hirap na ako ano na lang 'pag yung mga highly professional cams? tamad lang talaga akong aralin ang specs nya. lol!) 2.) it was soooo hot! 3.) worst case that can happen in a photo shoot? Run out of battery and having no extra to use!! It happened! So we had very limited shots plus we were in a hurry as the red warning sign blinks. Kaloka! But it was a fun day and I'm grateful that Jabar was cool about it! 

From coloring to colorless while waiting outside the doctor's clinic. 📖🏥 #harukimurakami #currentread

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Colors of the World

Seeing some friends and celebrities on Instagram (wish I could say "celebrity friends", haha!) get into adult coloring books as a relaxing hobby brought me back to my kindergarten and gradeschool years when my Mom used to scold me for creating a "bad artwork". I suck at every art class I know. I don't follow the "one-direction stroke" policy in coloring, plus, I was bad at drawing. Unfortunately I didn't know that abstract form of arts do exist so I can use it as a valid excuse. Hehe. I see this now as the reason why I appreciate artists and their works since I am incapable of creating such. I have to admit, I wasn't endowed with that gift.  

A week ago, my OB advised me not to walk around too much since the baby's head has already entered my pelvis (we call it engagement in medical parlance), I did a self-imposed bed rest while also waiting for my parents' arrival. I want them to be here beside me when I give birth. So I thought, aside from reading and watching TV, I can also make use of my time by returning to an unfulfilled childhood accomplishment in the coloring department! Time to redeem myself from the judgment of my own mother! Hah!                          

                           

I went to Siam Paragon and to Emporium to look for a coloring book but to no avail. Thank God for Kinokuniya, they have all kinds of coloring books for adult that came with a morale booster! I picked the Creative Coloring Flowers by Valentina Harpers as flowers seem more relaxing than abstract drawings. 

My first work using colored pencils.

While executing the strokes and making sure that I don't go beyond the lines, I had several stuff play inside my head: 

1.) Those tiny details contribute to the beauty of the whole picture. We always say that little things in life matter, I can't agree more. We always aspire for a better life when we have everything that we want and need staring right at us, we just don't take notice and let them slip by. I am at a point in my life when a single message from any of my siblings and a Facetime conference with my parents are priceless. Then I remember all those mundane things we do at home, those tiny squabbles with my brothers, all those things I used to shrug about defined the kind of family I have. While living here in Bangkok, I want to keep vividly in my mind all the moments I wait for my husband to come home, our daily cooking and coffee bonding sessions, the walk in the park or in the mall..every little thing..because these seemingly mundane daily routine contribute to the beauty of the bigger story. 

2.) With persistence and hardwork, you will come a long way. I have been suffering from pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome for more than a month now, but the numbness of my fingers and the pain on my wrist didn't stop me from pushing the strokes! Haha! Effort much, eh?  

3.) I thought, at my age, coloring would be an easy job. Contrary to it's "relaxing" slogan, selecting colors that blend perfectly with each other and those that in synch with nature would come as a pain in my head. No wonder most artists stereotypically look unkempt. Haha! 

4.) Never underestimate the capacity of anything/anyone. Subdued colors may just perfectly blend into the loud ones, sometimes they are even more noticeable. So stay humble and never look down or step on anyone because you think you are better. Bilog ang mundo, you know. 

"Friends are flowers in the garden of life." SUBSTANTIAL friends, that is. 

I am currently on my fifth coloring artwork. It's fun while I am waiting for the little one's arrival, I am not sure if I can squeeze this in between breastfeeding, changing diapers, cooking and tidying the house. Haha! Good luck to me, then. :)