The Baby Blog

I just read an article in the Chronicle about a teenage boy (17 years old), beat a 22-month old baby girl for playing with his Playstation! The boy was the boyfriend of the baby's momma!

Just to update... GIMB2 is back to his handsome self. His body is cleared from all the red spots that covered his whole body!! He is now back to eating everything, even slippers and paper. Yeah, it sounds like a dog, but I am describing my bunso.(baby; youngest child in Filipino).

CUD is now going through an awkward stage, my guess: caused by his stuffy head and nose. The past two days have been the biggest fight to get him up and out of bed, even from a nap!! He is sleeping earlier, but still wakes up refusing to wash up, get dressed, or just out of bed! He makes his body stiff so you just get weighed down when you try to pick him up... and then he yells at me for making him miserable, how awful is that!!! But once I got him to the babysitter, things were okay! weird... there should be a book of translating your child!!! unfortunately, it would not be the same for every kid... !!!

Now to my personal good news... I just got word that I will be getting additional hours here at the school... in addition to working on scholarships, I will be assisting the Financial Aid/EOPS office with their outreach, which translates to 40 hours a week... YIPPY!!! Okay, I have to admit that I have enjoyed working part-time, with Fridays free. But our finances were hurting. I get a great hourly salary, best that I have ever had (which was quite low) since I started working, so getting the full-time pay will help us out A LOT.... and that itself is still an understatement!! But it may also mean working the extra hours just to pay for additional childcare for GIMB2.

The big party is almost near... GIMB2 is turning 1 and will be washed away of the "original sin" that created him. It is pretty stressful, but fun to plan children's parties. It amazing how much harder it is to find entertaining things for young kids, than adults!!! Speaking of which, I attended my first bridal faire on Sunday with Voodoo and Weekender! I had fun looking at all the displays, watching as Voodoo and Weekender sampled all the cakes... I'm on the matron of honor diet!!! But most of all, it was spending that time catching up with my two girlfriends!! Yeah, we talked about the wedding preparations, but most of all, just talked and hung out!!! You will always hear wives/mothers talk about the date a month thing w/ your hubby to keep those juices flowing, but for me, being with "girls" was enough to put a smile on my face and an extra kick in my step... don't get me wrong, I'm still looking forward for some lovin' from Brahma!!! hehehhee

Well I gotta get back to work...

Luckily I was never prone to allergic reactions.. except seafood when I have mosquito bite (that's another blog). Unfortunately, when you have young babies, like my little ones, every new stage makes them prone to new allergies. And the only way to know is to see if they have a reaction to certain foods, items, etc. Well, this time it was GIMB2... he broke out into "hives" after taking amoxicillan (sp?) for his ear infection. We noticed the spots yesterday morning. By last night they were turning into clusters and blotches all around his back and front side of his upper body, and around his ears, head, and face.

When we woke up this morning the hives broke out ALL OVER his face. His eyes are now swelling and his hands look pretty swollen as well. His back is just red with hives, now. I called the doctor and he has an appointment later this afternoon. I am now just watching for unusual breathing and praying that this reaction doesn't affect his lungs or breathing. It is hard to be a mom in a situation you cannot control or make any better. Your kisses can only go so far, and as independent as he is, I just want to hold him and keep him secure!!! I wanted to cry this morning when I saw him!!

I know the doctor will just tell me to wait and see, give benedryl, blah, blah, blah, but my main concern is still getting rid of his original ear infection, which has caused him to have a low grade fever for the last 3 or 4 days as well. And how do i know that this reaction is only on the surface? I have a cousin who is allergic to peanuts, and when she first found out, she nearly suffocated because her throat became so swollen she could hardly breathe? Oh my goodness, too much to think about... I am driving myself nuts as I think and write about it more...

Gotta go!

I just read a response through MnM's blog about her graciuos decline to be a ninang. Because it looks like this may play out on the internet, versus personal, I had edited my points out. Sorry to our mutual friends. I hope that you do not feel placed in the middle of all this drama. I never want you to feel like you need to take sides.

Apparently there are things in our lives that are very emotional. as much as I want to give up on the situation and back and forth blogs, the issue is still very emotional and personal to me. MnM, if she ever reads this I hope you can understand that. I will agree that we all played a little part in the decline of OUR friendship. Unfortunately, it may never be as tight as it was before, but I personally felt an empty feeling when one of my best friends was not around to share things with. Yeah we go our separate ways into our real worlds, but for some reason, maybe because this was the first issue, we never really sat around and talked about face to face, we have not been able to really understand our problem. We will have to wait and see.

Today at the college we had the honor of hosting a book signing and Q/A session with Dr. Dorothy I. Height, civil rights activist and author of "Open Wide the Freedom Gates". She is now a little over 70 years old, but still had the energy and enthusiasm about the topics of racism AND sexism in this country. Her achievements include organizing within the YWCA, the National Council of Negro Women. Oh I can go on about her resume, but I won't, you'll have to research that yourself.

But I sat there, watching her and just felt inspired to continue working with youth. To continue to do what I can for my community as a Filipino WOMAN. As she talked about how women were not at the podium during the march in washington, where DR. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his infamous "I Had a Dream" speech, I felt empowered. I knew that my work back in college was right. Within my volunteer work as Head Coordinator I worked to ensure that the struggle within my college community still needed to address the issue of sexism. I have since been disappointed with leaders that followed within that organization, some being women themselves, did not seem to address that issue.

Dr. Height also addressed the need for us to know our history, our struggle, in order to move forward. In my opinion there are many youth who have lost sight of that. Then there are many who use it as crutch. The struggle for equality finds its strength from people who fought for the basic rights we now have. It is our struggle as young people to make sure our younger generation, and in my case, my own children, know who they are, where they came from, and why they have what they have, and know there is still more to fight for!!!

Unfortunately, I am no longer in the forefront of community activism. Based on the needs of my family, who is my first priority, I must do what I can to keep the household together. My time and energy is not what it used to be, but the spirit of community is still with me, and I do what I can to support my community. Most of all, I am raising my children to be proud of who they are, to be proud of their culture and history, and to respect all those around them. And they are still in diapers!!

Have you been inspired, lately?!

Well it was my turn!!! Albeit (thank goodness) I wasn't fighting an ear infection, diarhea, or pink eye... just your old fashion cough, sore throat, fever... or I should just say, the commercial for Nighttime NyQuil! Four days I was at home. Unfortunately, staying home did not equal rest. GIMB2 was still here being his infant self, putting everything in his mouth, hitting head on every corner! Not much rest at home... but nevertheless, I was home in my pajamas 24 hours a day!

With my struggle against the flu, we had to put our "diet" aside. And agreed to start again after the long weekend. We didn't even get to celebrate Valentine's Day cuz both Brahma and I were not feeling well enough to enjoy a night out!! How sad is that??!!!

Baby Update.
GIMB2 is turning 1 next month. Oh how time flies! He standing on his own, when he is not thinking about it. He can walk with adult assistance or his little roller toy. He is still quite fast either way, but I think he figures he is still quicker on all fours, so doesn't hesitate to crawl... especially when it comes to looking for food or following his kuya.

His hair is longer than ever. I think the anticipation of his 1 year birthday also leads to the anticipation of cutting his hair!! Oh that monumental moment of a baby's first haircut. I remember taking CUD, and standing there with such pride like I was watching him graduate or something. I guess as a parent you start looking at his whole life in that one instant... First the haircut, then first day of school, first date, first girlfriend, first time driving legally of course.... and the list goes on!!! Does that sound dramatic, maybe, but when you remember every minute of labor, and the sound of his first cry, it's hard to detach yourself!

Okay enough of that. I am also preparing for GIMB2's baptism which will be the same weekend of his birthday. Yes a little late, but I had to wait for the arrival of my mom and brothers from the Philippines.


Number of godparents. Well people might wonder why we chose so many pairs of godparents for our children. For me, I only had 2 pairs. I since then I have not talked to any one of them since then. I don't want that to happen to my children. We chose godparents based on their ability to be there for our sons and our family. There are some I know to depend on for spiritual guidance. There are those who will just be there to support and guide them through their growing up... giving advice, cheering them on during the best and worst of times. To be there when we cannot or when they feel they cannot turn to their own parents... and you know those times will come, no matter how good our parenting skills are.

Brahma and I both grew up as only children. It was extended family and close friends that makes being alone, not so lonely. And to those of you who are godparents, you have been there for us in so many ways, that it was only natural to ask that you also be there for our children!! For that, THANK YOU!

Okay, so Brahma and I are on DAY 1 of our Atkins Diet. Since we started on our new year's resolution in February, do we still fit in this "bandwagon" category? Either way, if you knew us when we younger, before kids, and even before Brahma and foodsource existed... you know why we are doing this.

I will give you a visual to kinda help you realize why I am traumatized by my weight gain. There was a point in my life during college, I could not donate blood cuz I didn't weigh enough. Now, when I clap my hands (in applause) my arms have extra movement! Did you ever see the movie with Cameron Diaz and Cristina Applegate, and they are doing their movie montage and Applegate's character talks about her flabby arms? That's mine!

I know I need to exercise and all that, which I plan to do! but for now, I need to cut out my fast food diet and trim down on what I snack on! Then when the weather clears up maybe run after our little rugrats at a park, The Jungle, Chuck E. Cheese, Habitot, the mall!! So, for this year as we countdown to the voodoo mango wedding, I will also talk about my life as a mom losing weight!