Frannywanny

My twins turns 9 months today. WOW . I've been a proud Mommy for 9 full months already! If you put things into perspective, 9 months is how long it takes for a baby to form inside a Mother's womb. It still feels like yesterday when I was wheeled into the delivery room and I heard the cries of J and L for the first time. I can still remember how small and fragile they were. How we would carry them so carefully to support their necks. Today, both are talking, crawling, rolling over, attempting to climb, eating solids kind of toddlers already. They're no longer considered newborns but they still do smell like one so I'm totally fine with that. Aside from this, this also means that I've been breastfeeding them for 9 full months already. It was no easy feat so please allow me to beam a little and give myself a small pat at the back for going this far. I'm not going to lie though, I came this far because I got help . Help from close friends who offered to share ...

I still can't believe it. I was having dinner with my family last night when my brother-in-law shared a link with me. Anthony Bourdain is found dead at 61 . I immediately thought it was a fake news as that's pretty rampant nowadays then when I showed the link to Paul, he pointed out that it was from CNN and they can't possibly come out with fake news. Then reality set in. WHY? This was the main question we all had around the table. He was at the top of his TV and food career, travelling the world, eating in all the most sought after places, he was leading the game. HOW? He died by taking his own life..his own precious life. A few days ago, fashion icon Kate Spade  also passed away due to suicide. Mental illness is no joke and it's one that we all can play a role to fight it. Let me tell you something that I have kept a secret for 7 months. L's little hand holding on to me I almost fell into what they call " post-partum depression ". I never though...

I still remember the first time I packed my twins' diaper bag. It was for an hour check-up with their pedia and I think I must have brought the entire house with us. I didn't want to take any chances for the possibility of one getting hungry or another having a poop explosion. I brought as much sets of clothes, wash clothes, receiving blankets, cotton balls and swabs, even a bottle of water, a pack of diapers, breast milk in a cooler pack, bottles, colic ointment, bonnet, mittens, booties, the list just went on and on! I think if only my bag could still accommodate, I would also have brought my nursing pillow. As a result, we were painfully carrying our super heavy bag all the way to the doctor's clinic and back. As my twins grew, the contents of their diaper bag has changed too. Gone are the booties, mittens and bonnets which are now replaced by extra bibs, socks and toys. I noticed also that we've become more efficient in packing that at some point, Yaya D even told...

"To be a Mom." To most women my age, they probably have big ambitions and dreams such as to run their own company, be the CEO in a multi-national corporation, to fly to the moon, to perform at the Carnegie Hall, go to an ivy league school and so on. Growing up, I had my share of dreams too such as to work for the biggest magazine publication company in the country (✓), to travel the world (working on that), to meet the man of my dreams (✓✓✓) and lastly...to be a full-time, hands-on mom. For many years, I've enjoyed a smooth and gradual climb in my career and I'm lucky to have Paul and my family by my side too. However, as the years go by, I can't help but notice that there's one dream left unfulfilled. Clearly, some things were indeed beyond my control and after 7 long (yet happy) years, I am able to put a bold ✓ mark beside the last item in my dream list. This was when my beautiful twins, J and L were born. Motherhood is indeed another ball game. It...

During one of our recent meet-up with friends, some of them gave us sweet encouraging messages on how they're at awe on how we're raising our twins and still look human during the day. Well aside from the fact that they didn't get to see us during the first two months of being twin parents, we're also blessed to have very disciplined kids who can now sleep through the night which allows us to have better sleep or at least some quality evening time. There are still fussy nights but they come rarely and we get over them quickly. Modesty aside though, I never felt like what Paul and I are doing is something out of the ordinary. To us, this is our NORMAL. For us, it's normal to repeatedly change two sets of diapers each time, it's normal to prepare two bottles every time, it's normal to tandem feed, it's normal to deal with two crying babies, it's normal to put two babies to sleep at the same time, the list can go on and on. I guess we're also lu...

Back before I had my twins..even way before I got pregnant, I got to admit that I would scroll over photos of friends sharing their milk and would wonder to myself what the fuss is all about over one's ability to produce milk. It was on my 3rd day post partum when everything just made perfect sense and that was when I finally entered the world of breastfeeding. I got to admit that all throughout my pregnancy, I never really prepared myself for breastfeeding. Paul and I kept an open mind that in case I won't be able to breastfeed my twins, then we are willing to give them formula. I didn't even bothered to join any lactation classes and I barely educated myself about it. In fact, I still remembered that day when I had to ask the NICU nurse to help me express my colostrum as that's one thing that I was determined to give my twins. Luckily, the NICU nurse was super helpful and encouraging. As I tried to express my first amount of liquid gold she told me that I was doing ...

Dearest L and J,  In exactly a week's time, we will finally meet for the first time. That said, I thought of writing you both the first of the many letters that you will be receiving from me. Our journey together started around early March and it has been filled with a lot of excitement with a mix of paranoia as I simply just wanted to do everything right for the two of you. Your Dad is a tougher cookie but I know how paranoid he gets too as he would check on your heartbeats and patiently monitors your kicks every single night.  Often times, I try to imagine what will be the feeling of seeing you both for the first time. Will I cry? Will I laugh? I'm not really sure as I'll partially be drugged with anesthesia too but one thing is for sure -- my heart is  filled with so much gratitude. It's exactly the feeling of finally getting that one thing that you've been wishing, hoping and praying for the longest time.  We have grown to be so close through all these mon...

Today's mood meter reading is screaming : HAPPY! Wanna know why? It's because my twins and I have finally reached our 35th week  mark and believe me, it was quite a challenge to get this far. With that, I believe  I deserve a platter of sushi right after my delivery in two weeks. (Paul, hope you're reading this!) Kidding aside, it has truly been a tough last trimester for me which also explains my frequent absence here on the blog and on social media too. As easy and smooth sailing my first two trimesters were, the 3rd trimester began with two hospital confinements, more medications, random hyperacidity attacks, a bad flu and recently, another hospital scare which could have led to the possibility of the twins arriving earlier than scheduled. Thankfully and I would like to think that we're all past those and I am hoping that I can enjoy the last two weeks of my pregnancy with less stress and with greater anticipation. Truly, this could have been my body's way of r...

Week 30. Today, my babies and I have officially hit the 30th mark and not long from now, I will soon be meeting them in person. I. Can't. Wait.! For now though, I just pray that they'll hang in there as long as they can in order for them to grow even more. As we await the arrival of our twins, we've already started shopping for their basic necessities and it's just so funny to watch sales people asking us how come we're buying everything in twos. I'll never forget the day when Paul began hoarding pink and blue bottles and the sales lady couldn't help but ask me if we're expecting a girl or boy. Haha! I got to admit though that as the BIG day comes nearer, there are nights when I'd feel extra anxious as hundreds of questions would run through my mind. Will I be a good Mommy? How will I take care of twins? Will they keep me up all day and night? Where should I start? I just try not to let all the anxiety consume me or I might go nuts. Admittedly...