Heavy heart

My heart is heavy and I cry with sadness. My dear friend Kathleen “Dayday” Joseph passed away today from cancer. I am so lucky to have known her. Her heart was always full of love and kindness. Her smile brightened our world.

I met her on our first day of high school. I can’t even remember how we became friends. I would go to her house, sometimes, after school to hang out. One day, I heard Dayday’s mom say to her “I love you dear” and Day responded “I love you too Mom”. I was stunned because I really thought they only did that in movies. I love you’s were never spoken at my house. But at Dayday’s house, you felt the love they had for each other.

I visited Manila in Oct 2006 and Feb 2008. I saw Dayday both times. We had lunch a few times in 2006 and she was pregnant with her second son, Pio. In 2008, I went over to their condo and spent the afternoon with her and her boys. We went to a green market nearby and bought fruits and vegetables. A few months later, she was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. She had beaten it once before and we were all hopeful that she’d do it again. Fuck cancer.

Rest now, my dear Dayday. Your friendship was such a gift. Thank you and I love you!

Sunny spring day

It was so beautiful outside; the sun was shining and it wasn’t very cold at all.  So I laid out a big sheet onto the grass in front of our townhouse and enjoyed the sunshine with Sophia.

She's wearing a hand-me-down Lululemon jacket (thanks, Joshie and mommy Yvette!). The hat is a hand-me-down, too.  Thanks to my girlfriends for helping dress my baby in such cute outfits.  :)

SAHM

The use of acronyms in baby forums is quite common, so much so there are websites that explain what these acronyms mean. DH = dear husband, DD = dear daughter, BF = breastfeeding, BM = breast milk, and so on. The other day, I saw SAHM in a baby forum and couldn’t figure it out so I googled it. SAHM = stay at home mom!

It dawned on me that I am currently a SAHM (ha, I’m using the acronym!). I have not thought of myself as such because I am on my year-long maternity leave and the Canadian government is paying me to stay home. But my days revolve around caring for my baby, at home. So I guess that makes me a SAHM.

The first six months of Sophia’s life, there wasn’t much predictability to our days. We loosely followed a 3-hour cycle for feeding and sleeping but we didn’t get out of bed or go to sleep at a specific times. The length of her naps would vary quite a bit, too. I’d wait for Sophia to start whining or crying to tell me when she’s hungry or sleepy and I responded accordingly. I would also get out of the house often and take Sophia along. She napped in the baby carrier, car seat or stroller and I fed her whenever she got hungry, wherever we were.

When she turned six months, we trained Sophia to fall asleep on her own and established a routine for her. Nowadays, this is how our routine usually goes:
- wake up at around 7am
- around 8am, feed her cereal and fruit, then it’s playtime
- around 9:15am, time for morning nap (usually an hour long)
- playtime or a quick trip to the supermarket down the street then around 11:45am, lunch is served
- more playtime then around 1:30pm, time for afternoon nap (around 1.5 to 2 hours)
- go outside for a walk or play inside when rainy, then between 5:15 and 6:00 (depending on what time she woke up from her nap), dinner time
- between 6:15 and 7:00pm, start bathtime and bedtime routine
- between 7:15 and 8:00pm, bedtime and lights out

When we were starting to establish this routine during the sleep and nap training, it was me who had a hard time accepting it because it tied me down to the house too much. Sadly, I stopped going to the baby story time at the library down the street and the mommy/baby group sessions at our local community centre because they conflicted with Sophia’s nap times. But I’ve come to accept that for now, fitting our excursions around her nap times and following the routine are best for Sophia. The length of her naps are finally getting consistent. I realize too that I only have a few more months before I go back to work and I should just enjoy the time I am at home with her. My days of being a SAHM will be over too soon. Unless we win the lottery....

Here are photos of Sophia enjoying meal time and playtime: