Host: Hello again everyone. You all know by now that the most awaited baby in blogniverse arrived last Sunday. Some of you may wonder why we were not able to update you with Sati’s arrival last Monday.. of course, most of our episodes are not live.. hihi..

As we continue with our topic this week, CARING FOR NEWBORN, our next guest is another blogger from Marce Club. I give to you, ladies and gentlemen, the woman, the teacher, Pinay from Thailand, Gene of Her And History

So tell us Gene, how does it feel being with us today?

Gene: Hello everyone, when Pehpot asked me to be a guest blogger, I was honored, but a bit nervous. I was unsure what to say about being first-time mom even though words seem to flow out. I just hope that you’ll find some lessons out from my experiences.

Host: I am pretty sure a lot of moms will learn something from you today. Since it was your first baby, how did you prepared yourself? Did you go around asking for advices or just head on to the nearest bookstore and buy lot of books about childcare?

Gene: I got pregnant 3 months after I got married and I’m prepared in every aspect of my life to welcome a new member of the family. I’m not worried or afraid giving birth in a foreign land and being away from my family. Being the eldest of 14 and a believer of God make me independent, reliable and strong-willed woman. I’m pretty sure that I could take care of a newborn baby that God will entrust to me.

I also thank God, “Babywise” came to our way. It’s an exciting infant management plan that successfully and naturally trains children to sleep through the night before the age of eight weeks. I discovered in here the positive prescription for curing sleepless nights and fussy babies. In our case, Hyzyd learned to sleep contentedly and continually before he reaches 12 weeks. We also applied swaddling to him. Modern medical studies indicate that swaddling assists babies to sleep, and to remain asleep; and that it lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (cot death).

Host: I can see how brave you are, specially that you gave birth in a foreign land. I am really curious, who helped you along the way? Did your parents came all the way from the Philippines?

Gene: I’m blessed that my mother, father and youngest sister were able to come on the first week of October amidst my parents hectic schedules in the preschool ministry and speaking engagements. They’re our helpmates on the first 2 weeks of sleepless nights!

Host: That was really touching and I heard that recovery from childbirth would be easier if it is your mom is taking care of you. But is there any time where you feel uncomfortable or inadequate being a mom?

Gene: I couldn’t believe that giving birth is as easy as that! It’s painful…yeah…but I’m still expecting for the most excruciating pain to come but it didn’t so Epidural is out of the way. It’s just like having an LBM and what I just wanted to do is to poo! LOL! I’m still pushing when the nurses asked me to stop coz the baby is out already…he..he.. It’s my first time yet I’m not afraid nor worried coz I know God is with me, my family is praying for me and I had done the necessary preparation –mentally, physically, financially, emotionally and spiritually.

One thing that sometimes makes me feel like a failure is I’m unable to breastfeed. During my pregnancy I was so excited about the idea of breastfeeding but when the baby is out, I’ve tried exhaustively and unsuccessfully. Maybe nature just didn’t work for me. My baby has hard time latching on my nipple because it’s inverted, he didn’t get enough milk so he’s fussy, frustrated and unhappy. My family agreed to formula feed him.

Host: That was really hard and though I never experienced being a mom, I can see how frustrating it has been to you. What are your advice to new moms or moms to be who may experience the same difficulty with breastfeeding?

Gene: If you fail also in this area (breastfeeding), please don’t feel bad. We tried the best we can. I’m so sick and tired of the way society and “medical professionals” make women feel like failures and less of a mother when we make the decision, for whatever reason, to formula feed. It should be our decision and really nobody else’s business. You DO NOT love your child any less by not breastfeeding and if you’re anything like me, you will bond more with your baby when feeding him/her with a bottle because you will be able to enjoy each other’s company without the worry and anxiety.

Lastly, do what feels right to you. If you want your baby to sleep in his cot, go for it. If you want him to sleep in your bed, then let him be. If you decide to feed a bottle rather than breast, it’s your call. Being a Mom is a huge responsibility, and like anything else, we have to make the experiences our own. Just remember that our babies will just be babies once and this is the time we have to bond, and create a lasting healthy relationship. It can’t be avoided that we will receive all kinds of advices but the fact still remains that this is OUR baby, and we need to do what we feel is best, and if something happens out of a wrong choice..we’ll have it figured out before the next one comes.

Host: Now, if in case I decide to have a baby, I know that you will be more than willing to help me out. Thank you so much and Gene and I do enjoy our conversation and really learned a lot from it. I knew our readers feel the same too.

Aside from Her and History, Gene also authors the following blogs, so if you want to know more about her and her stuffs, go on and check it out:

See you again next week and hopefully by then we already have our banner for our show: