the little insomniac

Baby Xami woke up in the middle of the night and now it's 1:09AM and he won't go back to sleep.  He keeps making this cute noise with his lips smack together and producing some kind of a bilabial fricative.  I am keeping myself awake by looking at House MD extras, while Xami finds it in his system to fall back to sleep. I think this is one of my unlucky nights, now he has rolled over onto his stomach and is momentarily occupied with the sheet, now he's lying on his right side and nibbling on his mittens.  Oh Xami, dearest!

And it's been a while since I've written anything here... well, obviously, I've been too lazy to do anything else but look after my little giant!  It is incredibly and enjoyably exhausting. I have been exhausted many times before but more like the I-am-mentally-fatigue kind of way, not the achy-muscles-due-to-carrying-around-a-heavy-baby and-headaches-due-to-interrupted night sleep kind of way.  A very welcome change, I must say.

Xami is coughing like an old man, it is so funny! :-)

Your Dedication Day

Yup! We dedicated you to the Lord last Saturday, Nov. 26th, 2011.  Your granddad, grandmamang, Tita Amore, Tita Maemae, Kuya Aschy, and Ate AD were all here. I should post a picture so I don't have to enumerate everyone who made it.  Well, you have a lot of Ninangs and Ninongs but only a few were able to come. The only one who lives quite farther away that came was your Ninang Jean.  Oh well, basta, you looked so adorable in your little barong, a gift from Ninang Cecile.  You got so tired during the long ceremony that when it was already time for pictorial, you dozed off.  The songs I chose were sang beautifully by your ninangs Malu and Sharon and Cristy and our Kumpare Norman and his friend Junior Banig.

Your lola and lolo and the rest left last Sunday night.  Tita Amore stayed though. 

Today, you are exactly four months and you did something amazing.  I lay you down on your back with your head on the groove of your special pillow and I went back working on my computer as I was trying to finish the brochure that we are going to use for our booth in Manila. After a few minutes, I heard you making strange noises, and something keeps banging at the side of your crib.  I put away my computer and sat up and lo and behold, your feet are on the pillows and you are hitting your head on the footpart of your crib.  Goodness, you turned 180 degrees!  I scolded you and you looked up at me with your toothless grin.... so adorable!

to manila and back

The past week has been fun and tiring at the same time.  We left for Manila on Sunday morning.  Scarlett behaved really good, we didn't have any major mishaps along the way.  We drove via SCTEX where we ate lunch at Kenny Rogers.  I missed KR food a lot. :)

We finally got to SIL GH after a few wrong turns but your dad managed to find our way.  That afternoon, we rode  a taxi to SM North to meet your tita mai and tito dave and ate AD.  We had dinner at The President but you went fussy and weepy the moment you woke up.  The food was great!  It should be, as it was so expensive!  Hehe!  So my focus turned from the food to trying to get you to settle but you won't have any of it.  I tried to nurse you but you scratched at me instead so I asked papa to go get you a pacifier.  He found a grocery many floors down and we washed your pacifier with tea, stuck it on your mouth and you went all quiet.  But after a few minutes, you started to fuss again so I know you must have been so tired.  When we got home to the GH you cried like something hurts and you only stopped when I laid you down, applied some lotion on your tummy and massaged it. We slept in one single bed and papa slept in another opposite us.

In the morning, we went to the dining hall for breakfast.  You met Donna & Ron Schumacher for the first time.  Tita Marilou came to sit with you.  You also met Ninang Lani, Sue & Ian McQuay and others.  Mama had her meeting but she had to come feed you every one and a half hour.  The meeting went on and on but we finished at 5PM.  Your cousins and Titas and Titos came and we ordered pizza, lots of it, and we ate at the poolside. 

The next day, I bathe you on a faucet, that was hard. :)  Then we got into a taxi to the Greenhills shopping center.  We were supposed to buy you a suit for your dedication but you are so heavy, it was a challenge getting around kaya umuwi na lang tayo.  Kinaumagahan, umuwi na tayo pero si Papa, nag-experiment pa kase kaya nagkandaligawligaw tayo sa Blumentritt bago pa tyao nakalabas sa NLEX.  Dumating tayo sa bahay ng mga 1pm after 7 hours of travel. :)  Over-all you are such a good baby sa travelling, di ka masyadong maarte at  fussy.

Tita Sharon is Back

Finally, your tita Sharon is back from a month-long sick leave of some kind.  Now I was able to play scrabble, do some verses in Deuteronomy, and get some me-time.  :)  A while ago, you got angry because you were nursing and the milk must have ran out so you scream like an angry little tyke.  I told you to look at me and not stop screaming.  I put you on the other breast but you make faces as if the milk coming from it is rotten, so you screamed again.  You are becoming quite  demanding crybaby.  But you are adorable so no matter. :)

a loud shout

Hi Xami,  you shouted really loud today.  I lay you down in your crib and you were wriggling and squirming and boxing the air and making all kinds of noises, then you shouted, looked at me and smiled your sweetest smile.  I actually have flu, my head., muscles, joints, eyes are all aching and your dad is in Manila, and lola Lina, and tita Miriam also have the flu, so it's only the two of us.  You are a good baby though, you slept most of the day and did not give me any tantrums.  I also read to you a little bit today and showed you pictures.  You looked at them as if you understand what they are... maybe you do, in your own baby way.  You are so cute reacting happily on every colorful page that i turn in front of you.

Tomorrow, I'm going to cut your nails really short because last week, you started to suck on your mittens.  I'm going to not put your mittens anymore.. ang laki mo na kase.

all for the love of Xami

What a trip we had in Baguio.  We left at half past nine on Thursday morning,  October 13th with your dad driving our Scarlett.  We had an uneventful ride. We stopped at the Blvd resto in Kayapa Central to have lunch and change your nappies.  We arrived in Baguio at 3PM and went directly to La Trinidad because it was already too late to see the neurologist, besides we are very tired.  We were met by ninong Wilfred at the McDonalds in Km5 and then he took the wheel and drove Scarlett to their house in Ambiong. We spent the night at their house and you cried a little too much for a little bit too long that night. :)  But we put vicks on your soles and dad massage your feet and you laughed like nothing had been the matter with you.  They love you there, like a real grandson.  They take turns checking on you.  Even Jaaziel went into the room to see you.  Every time ninang Carol cuddles or holds you, you coo and 'talk' or sleep like the  baby that you are.

We left at around 8AM to go to Baguio but while we were approaching  Km 4, Scarlett kept dying on us that she even reversed on someone else's truck.  Dad managed to coax it to arrive at a safe place where we could pull over and check what was wrong.  A mechanic in a shop nearby made a few adjustments and so we were able to start again.  To make the story short, that did not keep Scarlett from coughing and dying for countless more times but it brought us to BMC at last. I actually laid you on their ER bed but when I asked if Doctor Bolislis is around, we were told she was not. They said she is in BGH so we went there but then I found out that this particular doctor your was no neurologist but a pediatrician.  The next room was an office of a neuro pedia but she wasn't around so we then left and went to Notre Dame de Chartres Hospital where we finally saw Dr. Manolo Fernandez.  We waited for a bit and you were a bit fussy.  When it was our time to get checked, you started howling like something was hurting you.  The doctor took you and you stopped crying.  He checked you up and said, you seemed to be okay but the EEG does show that something is wrong. He laid you face down on his palm and lift you up and you were able to hold your head so he said, "Ang yabang mo ah!"  He changed your medicine to phenobarbital, much milder than the Valproic Acid Dra. Bunuan prescribed and then told me to come again after a month and he'll repeat the EEG. If the EEG reveals that your seizures have abated, we won't have to subject you to any treatment anymore.  Let us pray, my dear son, that this would be the case, as it is so difficult feeding you a medicine that I know could poison you.

When we went out to the receptionist to pay, you started crying again, like really cry so loud I did not know what to do.  You cried for a whole five minutes or so and the doctor came out and took you back.  He must have noticed I was already so flustered and tired and when he gave you back to me, at least you were starting to relax already. I sent a text message to your dad who went to buy a tension wire for Scarlett somewhere downtown.  I went to find us a deserted hallway on the first floor so that you could nurse.  We were in the feeding position when a good-looking older woman stopped by and peered at you and told me that I was doing you good breastfeeding you.  She said she breastfed her children until they were five and four.  She has has the look of a doctor, must be a pediatrician or something.

We left after your dad came back.  We arrived back home at 6:35PM.  It only took us less than 4 hours to get home, an hour shorter than our going.

You are prescribed with a controlled drugs.  Dr Manolo Fernandez prescribed 100 tablets but this morning, they only gave us 30 tablets at the mercury drug.  They're afraid a drug user is abusing the med. lol.

On Anticonvulsant

I started you on Valproic Acid today because your spasms have been very strong, and came in clusters that are too frequent.  I hope this medicine will not harm you or anything. Your dad left for Manila this morning and so tonight, it's just you and me again.  You are asleep now, after I gave you your medicine and vitamin.  Please Lord, let this medicine do its work but keep away its bad side effects. Please keep my Xami...