Guidelines in Naming a New Baby

The name of a person is analogous to a brand for a product. It is something that will be forever part of who that person is. To would be parents, naming their new baby is perhaps one of the things that eat up time and yes, even their thinking. Different folks have different ways of naming a baby. There is a ethnic group here in the Philippines that names their newborns with the first sound that the mother hears right after giving birth. Hence, the names Aw-Aw (a dog's bark) or Tilaok (a rooster crowing). Then there are also families who have their own naming traditions. I know one family that honors the patriarch by naming all firstborn sons with his name. Can you imagine attending your family reunion and hearing your name being called only to realize it's not only you answering the call.

We are now on the process of naming our little princess as we only have roughly three more months before we get to see her. We have trimmed down our choices to three names. Well even before we got pregnant, we I already have a few names chosen if we will have a baby girl in the family. For me, how to name a new baby should be the couple's decision, not just the Mom or the Dad. But yes, there should be guidelines, at least, on how to choose a baby's name. Here are what we follow when we name our firstborn, the same guides we are using to choose a name for our little princess.

• Uniqueness.  I was actually the one who wants to give my babies unique names.  Unique, in the sense that I do not want them to turn their heads whenever their name is being called only to find out that it's not really them being called.  My name is a very common one and I do not want my children to suffer the same fate.  An unfamiliar name will definitely make your child stand out from the crowd.  But just a warning though, you may wanna balance uniqueness with melodious sound and not too hard to spell out names.
• A name should have a meaning.  This is the part that Hubby is very picky about.  He wants a name that has nice meanings.  He said that a child lives up to his name.  The reason why our firstborn was named "Jian Cyrus" was because Hubby read in a baby name book that Jian is a variation of the name Jiang which means throne.  And Cyrus is from the famous Persian king. You see, even names had evolved, hence you may also want to look at how your choice of name has been derived on other languages.
• Give a twist to old names or perhaps a name from your family tree.  I have always adored my Mom and my grandmother.  I remember a conversation with my Mom where I told her if I will have a daughter, I will name her with my grandmothers' name or a variation of it.  But Hubby does not favor the name of my grandmother because he said it sounds too sad (blame it on Adele and her songs).  So we're looking into giving it a twist.  Hubby agreed adding another letter before it and playing with the spelling a  bit.  

At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you and your partner will agree on the name of the baby. 

Motherhood is a Happy Journey

When I got pregnant the first time, I was only 25 years old and was married for only six months. It was unexpected since I had been having irregular menses eversince I began having them. But God was really full of surprises, he sent us our firstborn the time that the family needs a bundle of joy because we found out that our Mom was suffering from a rare type of Cancer.

What's nice about my first encounter with mommyhood is that I have my Mom to guide me. She never fails to give me insights on how to deal with the roller-coaster ride of emotions a first-timer mom could ever imagine. Although she was not there to accompany me during my delivery, she ensures I am in good hands by helping me choose the hospital to deliver my firstborn.

Seven years after my firstborn, I experienced what could be the one of the worst experiences a mother could have, a miscarriage. I missed my Mom during those times because had she been alive, she could have comforted me more than anyone else because she herself knows the way I was feeling those time having experienced miscarriage for her supposed to be third child.

Now, that I am on my third pregnancy, I still miss her. I know she will be very happy for us especially since we are having a princess. She knows how much we wanted to have another child. Sadly though, she is not near me anymore. I miss all the foods she sends my way specially those that I craved for. But, eventhoug, she is no longer here with us, I am thankful because I have people around me who ensures I get to have a happy pregnancy. There's my husband whose such a dedicated father and he never misses all my OB-Gyn appointments. And since, my firstborn is already grown up, he takes care of me when his father is not around. It also helps a lot that I have lots of friends and relatives who never fails to lighten my mood or just sends a smile either via SMS or a call.

Happiness is really a choice that we have to choice for ourselves. And we have to do it everyday, preggy or not. At the end of the day, we are the ones who dictates the mood of our life. Afterall, we are the first ones that is affected by whatever choice we make.

Pregnancy and PUPPP

It has been more than two months since the last time that I shared something here. Forgive me, but I have been preoccupied with all the pregnancy related things that I have been experiencing. I had been suffering from pregnancy related rashes aptly called PUPPP (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy).It was a monster of a rash. I could not sleep as the itchiness seems to attack during nighttime. To make it worst, summertime in the Philippines is equivalent to hot, humid weather which aggravates my case. Its a good thing that I found something that could at least give me some relief. I have asked my doctor if there is something that we can do about this but he said he can only give me something to at least lessen the itchiness, but nothing to make it stop or make the rash go away. I was so frustrated that I tried getting help from the net. I know that it is not a great idea as there are lots of unqualified information roaming on the internet. But I told myself that as long as it is something that would not have any chemicals with it, I will be willing to give it a go. And so I checked and checked each and every sites that talks about PUPPP. After days of research, I was able to find out that most westerners are relieved when they take an oatmeal bath. Now, there goes another problem, drugstores here does not sell oatmeal baths and we don't have a bath tub. So what I did was to grind about three cupfuls of oatmeal and put them in an old clean socks and then inflate a kiddie pool and soak myself in. It was a great relief just soaking there. I did this for about 5 times in a span of two weeks and the rashes seems to subside. It was also then that I was able to see a lotion made of oatmeal that is also paraben free. I immediately bought it and since then used it all over my body taking extra effort on massaging those that have the pesky rashes. I am still not rash-free. My doctor actually said that the rashes wil only go away after I have given birth. I will be on my 24th week tomorrow and I can say that at least now I can sleep through the night and smile on those maternity pictures that I love taking a lot.

Me and my firstborn soaking on his pool with our own oatmeal bath concoction

Craving for Mangoes

Have you ever felt the urge to take a bite on a food that's nowhere in sight? Well, I do.  Just recently, I have this crazy cravings for ripe mangoes.  Blame it on the pregnancy.  It's good that the fruit I crave much is  readily available. Philippine mangoes are in abundance from the month of  December but it reaches it's peak season during the summertime.  It was so nice that my husband is very supportive that he extend all effort to get me the food I want to eat.

So what is it about pregnancy and food cravings?  I read that the reason why pregnant women crave for a certain food is because they are in need of the nutrient contained in that specific food item.  Some even says that food aversions have something to do with the gender of the child in your tummy.  If it's the citrusy type then it's going to be a girl (yehey!) and if it's the spicy type, it will be a boy.   But what about those who craves for really crazy foods? (Trust me, I know some of them!)  Old wives' tale says that it is actually just a way of pregnant moms to get the assurance that they can still get what they want even if they are no longer the pretty, sexy lady that their husband's adore.

The funny thing about my craving is that I actually don't want to eat these mangoes and all I want is just sniff on them for as long as I can.  I just love their smell and I believe it eases out the nausea I am experiencing during nighttime.


Wanna see what's with the letter C? Please head on to ABC Wednesday to see some other entries.

 

Blessings

The  year of the dragon is about to bid us goodbye a few days from now.  Being the dragon baby that I am, yes I was born on 1976, I hoped for the best when the dragon year entered.  True to its promise, it was indeed a year full of blessings for us.  Hubby's small business picked up its pace.  Projects kept coming in and there were very few problems in the operations of the business. Though I bid my job goodbye, I was given opportunities outside the office.  I had the privilege of assisting a friend in starting up a business venture.  I was able to help out in developing a website for that same business.There are offers to work from home that are still coming in up until now.  I declined most of them because I enjoyed being a full time mom again after almost six years.  I've seen how my kid enjoyed every day that I spent with him and I've come to realized what I had missed back when I was still working.   Apart from reviving my housewife status, I was also able to relieve my childhood memories thru a reunion for a cause with my elementary batchmates.  It was nice to give back and share some of the blessings that were being poured onto us.  The smiles from the kids were more than enough to wave off the tiredness that we felt for the preparation of the gifts and the foods.   More so, knowing that a lot of kids felt blessed that day is another reason to smile about.

One thing that 2012 has taught us is that we have to count our blessings instead of lingering on our problems.  Problems just come and go, and it is actually a reason for us to still smile.  Why? because it is only the living that is sorrounded with problems hence they are an indication that we are still alive.

2013 have come in and the Chinese year of the snake is about to start by the 10th of February but I am not lonely at all.  I am bidding the Dragon with a happy heart and welcoming the Snake is a very positive outlook.  Who wouldn't if you were given this kind of a blessing?

Yes, there's bun in the oven and we are praying that there will be no problem this time.  We have been trying to conceive for almost four years now so you can see the reason for that big smile.

I am sure that more people have a lot of B inspired writings, kindly click on the badge below to see some of them. 

I Love Being a Mom Because...

A few days back, GMA News TV was re-airing most of its motherhood related documentaries.  One of which was a feature on how a mother gives birth.  As we were watching,memories rushed in.  I remember how it was for me during those days.  It was almost ten years ago but everything is still fresh in my memory.  I could still talk about all the details as if they just happened yesterday.  I was awaken from my trip to memory lane when my son suddenly said, " Mahirap pala maging manganak,Mama, eh bakit gusto mo pa magkaanak pa ulit?...saka ganyan ka din ba nung nanganak ka sa akin?"  I answered his questions with a smile.  But as usual the kid was not contented with that.  So I said, " Ang pagiging nanay ang pinakamasarap na parte ng buhay ko."  In my mind, I began to enumerate why I love being a Mom, and these are what I was able to come up with.

Jian and me, eight years ago

I love Being a Mom Because:

• I was able to give back to my mother for all the hardship of bringing me to this world.  And for me, it is a privilege given only to women because fathers won't know how it their moms feel while they were still in their womb.
• Motherhood brought out the best in me.  Prior to giving birth, I don't think I can love someone unconditionally.
• I learn a lot as my kid grows because motherhood does not come with a user manual.
• My kid is a gift from God (and all kids are).  I was a diagnosed with PCOS as early as I was in college and I never imagined being pregnant after six months of marriage.
• Together with my Hubby, I was able to be one with God by being a co-creator of another life.
• Just seeing the kid happy and healthy is more than enough happiness the mother's heart in me can ever contain.

no, that's not his cake, it's her cousin's cake

Yes, indeed, motherhood is never an easy task.  We don't get paid with cash but with smiles(and hugs and kisses).  We are not allowed to take our day-offs nor resign, because it will mean that we will miss out on more happy time with the kids.  And yes, if I will be given another chance on motherhood, I will gladly obliged.

Now fellow moms, why do you love being a mom? Comment away, I'd love to read your reasons.

Pre Pregnancy Tips

As I have mentioned here, we are working on having another baby. This means frequent trips to the OB-Gyne. It is good that I have a cousin-in-law who is a professional on this field. I actually find it hard to open up things about sexuality on a person I know nothing about. On my last visit to her, she shared me some tips on how to improve the likelihood of being pregnant again. Since I have been diagnosed with PCOS, I was prescribed medicines to address the hormonal imbalance that is causing my menstrual dysfunction. I’d like to share some of her tips here.

1. Prior to being pregnant, a hopeful mom should ensure that she eats a healthy diet. It should have a good amount of protein and less in carbohydrates, especially for someone with PCOS because it is also said as a pre-Diabetic condition. I was told to ensure lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. And being the non-milk drinker that I am, I was sworn to drink at least a glass each day or take in calcium supplements.
2. I am also advised to monitor my body weight. I was shown how to compute my body mass index (BMI). She said that judging from my BMI, I am still in good shape.
3. We were also told to time our intercourse. She said most couple made the mistake of doing the deed everyday because they think it would give them the most awaited double lines. The truth is, doing it every other day throughout the month is better and ensuring that there is a contact on the week of the women’s fertility increase the chance of pregnancy.

There are still a lot of tips that we were told but I guess the above mentioned are the most important ones. To date, I am now three days delayed. I took a pregnancy test yesterday but it was a big fat negative. We are not losing hope though. If it’s not gonna be this month, there are still more months to come. God will surely deliver our baby in His time.

Dates with the Doctor

Okay, so I know I haven't written anything for the last few weeks. The mother in me just got really busy and could not juggle in any additional things. Well, who would ever be if you have a kid that has fever and a husband that complains about his lower back being painful that how it usually was. So, yes, I am having a lot of dates with the doctors recently. And with the rate things are going we'll be seeing more of the doctor for more tests.

These explains my hiatus for the past few weeks. I really do hope though that I could make up for lost time. I guess, I just have to work on adjusting my blogging time again.

oh, but something also excites me regarding those dates with the doctors. I had my yearly Pap smear and Trans vaginal ultrasound and according to the result of the sonogram, I no longer had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. It appears based on the result that both ovaries are not fully functioning as they should be. So what does this mean? Well, if things will fall in to place then I could be lucky enough to be pregnant in the next couple of months. Yehey!

Pregnancy Videos, Anyone?

I have always been a wonderer as too how babies are conceived. When I was young, I have been fascinated as to how a small fertilized egg can grow up to become a baby and eventually a full grown human. When I get pregnant with my little boy, I make it a point to always ask questions as to how he grows inside my womb everytime I have my regular Obstetrician check ups. It's a good thing that nowadays, preggy moms can access Pregnancy Week by Week, which is a very educational site for mommies and daddies alike. Gone are the days when you need to have an ultrasound to see how your baby is inside. The site features videos of the different stages of pregnancies as well as the weekly development of the fetus inside the womb. Another feature is that they have listed the changes to expect accompanying your bulging tummy. There is also a part of the site that allows those trying-to-conceive couples to learn the dos and don'ts of conception.

I really wish I could get pregnant soon. After all, it has been more than three years that we have been wanting to have a baby.

Do you still remember those pregnancy blues you have had before?