I Heart Tushy Wushy

This is item no.1 in my baby registry. The tushy wushy.

I admit, I was searching for hip maternity clothes when I found an even hipper baby clothing/diaper. I hate it that we constantly dispose of plastic bottles, that we constantly use plastics, and that we keep on eating takeouts in styrofoam. I am sure that I would hate the amount of disposable diapers (which take up so much plastic that takes years to decompose) that we will be consuming and throwing away on a daily basis.

I have no illusions that I can use cloth diapers all the way but I like that I can at least reduce my consumption with re-usable diapers.

Besides, I like the colors. If I leave my baby to just wear the red tushy, she would look like a reverse Winnie the Pooh.

Found these @ www.next9.org

The Non-Registry

I have been looking at baby stuff in Rustan’s for the past months already, I know I can get myself registered there for gifts. I couldn’t in good conscience ask my friends to buy stuff for me there.

The reasons are:

• I have been planning to ask for hand-me downs especially when it comes to clothes
• I was hoping to make some of the stuff myself (i.e. crib mobiles, blankets, play pen) especially when I go on leave from work.
• The stuff are overpriced.
• I am not sure until now about everything that I need.

But, there have been stuff here and there that I think I do like. Hence, this section in my blog. This is my wishlist. Check in from time to time whether I have found what I do like.

The Plan

2 years ago, my grandmother gave me with an unusual birthday gift. She gave me a pension plan that I have to pay for 10 years which I can claim after 20 years.

At that time, I was pissed at the gift because it meant more bills, even if it was a savings plan. More importantly, I was not going to retire by 43, so i did not know what to use the money for. It is too small for an actual retirement. With inflation for the next twenty years, I was thinking that the money would probably go to Manolo Blahnik stilletos or a Chanel tote.

That was depressing. I was already losing money in the present, I might lose more money in the future.

When the baby came, I finally found a use for that money. I am thinking that even with inflation, that money can still fund my daughter’s college education 17 years from now (main assumption is she will go to UP or on scholarship abroad, in that case the money will be her start up fund).

Instead of grudgingly paying it off as another bill, Pong (my partner) and i will happily line up tomorrow, save up for the baby’s future. We might have to tighten up our allowances this month, but we suffered through worse for far less significant reasons.

This time we have a plan. The price is significant for us. It will cost us some comforts for the month. But it is worth it.

Boo-boos

I found out I was pregnant last March.

I spent the following weeks browsing at websites, books, and magazines about baby stuff and pregnancy. By April, I stopped reading them altogether. I still take advice from other mothers, there are some real gems of advice from moms around, but in general I decided I will do this on my own.

Why did I reach that conclusion?

I hate to sound too anti-capitalist but the whole baby/ pregnancy literature out there seems propelled by market forces. A lot of times it is hard to see what is necessary from capricious. If I were to follow baby magazines or websites, I am expecting to plunk down 50k PhP just to clothe, shelter, and feed my baby for the first few months.

The literature on pregnancy is even worse. In general, all those advice from ‘experts’ will render a pregnant woman immobile because everything is potentially dangerous for the baby. Again, the medical industry and maybe pharmaceutical industries keep on pushing products on me and my partner that I absolutely must take or I risk harming my baby forever.

I have a confession to make. 3 months ago, I had a threatened abortion from the heavy workload I was doing while on field assignment. I was prescribed 2 weeks of complete bed rest, supplements, and medication to keep the baby to hang in there. I took the 1 week of rest and the supplements, I passed up on the medication.

Is this an ugly mommy confession to make? Will my daughter (yep, we checked already) tell me that I do not love her enough that was why I was unwilling to spend extra money to further ensure her safety?

I hope not. All I knew was, during that time, I knew my body more than anyone did. I was tired, it was rigorous work. I rested and the bleeding stopped. So I figured that as long as I rest, the baby will heal on its own. I was right.

I think that set the tone on how I have carried myself so far in preparing for motherhood. Check with my body (I have always been attuned to it anyway). Keep myself happy.

And there is a second ugly confession, I counted on my baby as well. I know that they are supposed to be protected, but I figured it is a human being as well even when it is still in my womb. So I asked him (I wanted a boy then), ‘life will always be hard kid, sometimes it is not enough to be there. you have to want to be there. so please i need you to hang tight.’

She did. Two weeks ago, we saw her happily playing around my tummy with the ultrasound. She turned out great. Normal even if I have been throwing up non-stop, even if I have lost weight, even if I had to take medication for my thyroid and acidity, even if I had to suffer with second hand smoke while I was on field, and all the other boo-boos. She is fine.

I couldn’t be prouder.