06 Sep 2011 No Comments

Back to Work-Life Balancing Act

It has been 7 weeks and the stress & anxiety of hospital bed rest is now a distant memory. I’m now officially back to the grind.

I took twelve weeks of maternity leave  (5 weeks on hospital bed rest & 7 weeks at home with my boys). Seven weeks fly by fast even without sleep. And just when I’ve started to get the hang of how to be a mom of two under 2, it’s time to return to work and learn how to balance work and life again.

I know that the first few weeks would be a struggle with trying to manage everything. It’s going to be an incessant process of re-negotiating priorities and managing the curveballs that will get thrown my way. I will lose myself once again but I also know that it’s going to get a little easier day-by-day and that one day, when the boys are older, I’m going to miss it all…

by Joy in Life/Work Balance

18 Aug 2011 4 Comments

One Month Later

It’s hard to imagine that it’s been a month already since the Small Fry #2 was born. It’s amazing how time flies with your children. You blink and they are all grown up. I have no idea where the last month of my life has gone. All I know is that even though I’ve been living in baby survival mode, attending to a newborn’s constant needs around the clock, I also have been enjoying this summer with my children. Jordan is doing pretty well with his little brother. He LOVES him and just wants to cover him in kisses.

by Joy in Newborn

02 Aug 2011 6 Comments

The Small Fry #2 is Here!

I’m happy to say that my 5+ week long hospital bed rest has finally come to an end and I’m truly thankful to God for blessing us with another healthy baby boy!

The night before my c-section, I couldn’t sleep from excitement. Michael was thrilled at the idea of getting to hold our little baby the next day, and I was thrilled at the idea of my hospital bed rest ending. I swear, I barely slept. I just kept tossing and turning in bed, looking at the clock. And it was finally time! They let me walk to the operating room and when we got there, they started the spinal block. My legs got heavy quickly and I felt numb almost instantly. Michael was right by my side, holding my hand. I was nervous. I was excited. I was finally going to see my little Jelly B! More

by Joy in Celebrations, Newborn, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

17 Jul 2011 5 Comments

Light at the End of the Bed Rest Tunnel

I have finally reached the 38-week mark! After 5 long weeks on hospital bed rest, unwanted contractions & a seemingly endless needle pokes, reaching this milestone is truly a huge blessing from God. As my bed rest time draws to a close, I realized that the most important things I’ve done for my sanity while on bed rest is letting go and holding on. More

by Joy in Placenta Previa, Pregnancy, Reflections

10 Jul 2011 5 Comments

37 Weeks and Full Term

A month of being stuck in a hospital on bed rest could sometimes feel like eternity – and while being upset seems like the most natural reaction, sometimes, you just have to let it go, accept it for what it is, do the best you can and find all the good within the circumstance. Needless to say, despite of my situation, I feel blessed by this pregnancy, especially having experienced bleeding from placenta previa. More

by Joy in Celebrations, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

09 Jul 2011 8 Comments

9 Days and Counting

It’s been a month since I was admitted to the hospital and put on strict bed rest and I’m honestly getting so tired of it and could not wait to go home.  Two days ago, I was hooked back up to an IV because I’ve been contracting a lot and I’ve also been hooked up to the monitors 24/7 since then. I thought they’d do the c-section because of it but thankfully, the meds slowed the contractions down. My OB thinks that I won’t make it until the 18th – she thinks I’ll go into labor before then & that we’d have to do an emergency c-section because these contractions could make me bleed again. More

by Joy in Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

04 Jul 2011 3 Comments

The Little Things in Life That Make All the Difference

With the sun gloriously shining today, Michael took me out in a wheelchair. We went around the hospital compound, talking about trivial things and just simply enjoying each other’s company and connecting.

I know that being in the hospital for more than three weeks, it could be too easy to get caught up in the trials of life and neglect quality time with family. However, I feel so blessed and thankful to God that I have a committed husband who balance everything between work, errands, bills, and making sure I have everything I need while in the hospital. He stays with me in the hospital every single night from the day I was admitted. I am also very thankful to my parents who takes good care of Jordan and for bringing him here every day so I could spend time with him. More

by Joy in Celebrations, Marriage, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

30 Jun 2011 2 Comments

Another Celebration at the Hospital

Lately, so much of my blog consists of my placenta previa and hospital bed rest especially since my days are filled with nothing but sleeping, eating, and watching movies on Netflix. Normally, I would just blog about how we moved to a different room last night. The biggest and nicest room in the hospital finally got vacant so the nurses moved us right away. More

by Joy in Celebrations, Marriage, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

28 Jun 2011 No Comments

Mom SOS: Sleep Regression (Again?!!) at 20 Months?

Three months ago, my Small Fry had some kind of sleep regression for about a week and went back to his normal sleeping routine so mommy’s happy. However, for the past 2 and a half weeks, his sleeping schedule is out of whack again. I don’t know if it’s because we weaned him from his binky about a week before I was hospitalized or if it’s because his daddy and I aren’t home? He used to be asleep by 8:30 pm but now stays up as late as 10:00 pm and is refusing his nap! More

by Joy in Mommy SOS

25 Jun 2011 No Comments

My Little Smarty Pants

I didn’t get to blog yesterday because two of Michael’s aunts visited me and brought some goodies from a Filipino bakery in Seattle. They spent the whole afternoon with me telling me old family stories which was nice. Shortly after they left, Michael came from work and not too long after that, Jordan came with my parents and spent the evening here. Overall, it was a great day yesterday! More

by Joy in Milestones

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