i'm back!

been gone for a long time, almost a year. within that time i had another baby! i guess i spent the time adjusting to the fact that i was about to have another child. didn't think i'd have another one since i already had 4 and the youngest just turned 4 when i found out i was pregnant. i didn't have anything, no more preggy clothes, baby clothes, strollers, etc. i was so certain i wasn't going to give birth again that i gave almost everything away!

the pregnancy was the hardest. nausea was really awful, mainly because i was a lot older than in my previous pregnancy. the contractions came earlier too. as early as 32 weeks i was having regular mild contractions. so it was no surprise when i gave birth at exactly 36 weeks. despite the early contractions i was stubbornly in denial, i was going to give birth as scheduled. so on the 36th week, my husband took me to the hospital thinking that they would just give me a shot and send me home. we were both caught by surprise when he was asked to go down to admissions to get me a room.

our poor baby's pictures at birth had to be taken with a cel phone :( but we were more concerned about whether she would be premature or not. all along i thought that if you the baby was born before 37 weeks the baby would be premature. but we were told that the baby is assessed at birth and by weight our baby was borderline full term :)

my other kids were so happy to have another baby at home. even the youngest one would make sure she's around when i give the baby a bath so she can help out. in fact she was the most helpful. to be honest i was dreading the going home part of having a baby because that's when life changes, reality sets in. but because the older kids are a lot older, they helped me in easing back into a daily routine.

with this baby i was determined to purely breastfeed. well, i was a bit successful. after about 3 months the baby stopped gaining the right amount of weight so i was asked by the doctor to start giving formula. i hope the few months of breastfeeding was enough to protect her from illness.

during those months of breastfeeding i realized that our country is not "breastfeeding friendly". i had to take my baby everywhere since i was her only source of nourishment. most restrooms in public places are not fit for breastfeeding. if only the ladies room would have at least a chair where a mother can sit and feed.

my baby is now 6 months old and she's very responsive which amuses my older kids. can't imagine how life would be without her.