Moms for Moms: Our Fabella Hospital Visit

I have heard of Fabella Hospital and have only seen it in pictures, so when Kris of OC Mom in Manila invited me to join the Johnson's Baby team and our mommy friends for a visit to the OB ward, I said yes right away.  

Having heard so much about the conditions at Fabella, we were prepared for the worst. After all, this is the hospital known as the "baby factory", and on the day we visited, there were a total of 744 patients in the hospital and 47 moms who had just delivered a baby. Imagine that.

But you know what, despite the cramped atmosphere, the strength and resilience of spirit was evident in each of the moms faces. It was not depressing at all. The rooms were bright and airy. The moms, although reserved (I mean, who wouldn't be, I've given birth too and I didn't exactly like receiving strangers in my room soon after heehee) most of them had a ready smile and didn't mind us coming up to them to talk about breastfeeding, touch therapy/baby massage and how to give their babies a bath.

Yes, Touch Therapy. Johnson & Johnson sponsors a Touch Therapy room in Fabella hospital, to teach the moms the importance of touching their baby for bonding via baby massage, skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care among others.

While we were inside the Touch Therapy room, neonatologist Dr. Imperial shared with us the practice of kangaroo care for pre-term babies. It was wonderful seeing it put to practice in Fabella, and heartening to see daddies cradling their babies in their own blue "pouches".

After meeting the key doctors in Fabella, we all set out to talk to the mommy patients by twos. My partner for the day, Jenny Reyes of My Mommyology and I went from bed to bed talking to the moms and handing out baby care products from J&J. Some moms were quiet and probably did not want to be disturbed, but there were a few who were genuinely interested in baby massage and bathing tips for their newborns. It was fun learning from each other.

We were there for just an hour, but seeing all the cute babies made me miss Xavi and Berry. As soon as we were done making chika with the moms, I just had to check on my little ones. Ayan tuloy, caught texting on camera haha!

Thanks so much to Johnson's Baby Philippines and Kris for inviting us. It was a great way to spend a morning. And good to know that Fabella while old and shabby is a clean, happy place. They are doing such a great job with Unang Yakap, breastfeeding, and taking care of their patients with the limited resources they have. Although of course, every help from corporations and private citizens would do so much in making Fabella a truly world-class hospital. 

It would be nice to see every Filipino mom give birth to her baby in a most ideal atmosphere conducive to labor, rest and rooming in. Every drop in the proverbial bucket counts. When you can, maybe you and your friends can organize activities or raise funds to purchase equipment and supplies that could help Fabella's patients too.

Photography by Lawrence del Mundo

Basta Mommy, Ibang Mag-alaga

This. This Johnson's Baby TVC just tugs at the heartstrings. 

When we had Berry, my mom kept saying how lucky Berry was that I was the one taking care of her. How most kids back home are practically raised by yayas. Well, it never really occurred to me that I would leave Berry in the care of someone else when we were living in the US. For one, just listening to horror stories about kids being maltreated by their caregivers was just gut wrenching for me - I was not going to risk it. Second, the cost of a nanny in our area? Hello! Isang bag din yan a month ha! Hehehe.

Besides, I was a housewife and then a stay at home mom so there really was no need for a nanny. But really, even if we had all the moolah in the world to hire a top notch nanny with amazing credentials, nah. I'd rather take care of Berry myself. I wanted to be there for all her firsts. To teach her everything I knew. To be able to be there right beside her. To protect her from what could or would hurt her. Sometimes I look back and can't imagine how I could carry her, and her stroller up two flights of stairs whenever we took the subway. Or how I would bundle her up in her winter gear and carry her kangaroo style so we could do my errands together. How I would cook, wash the dishes or do the laundry  at home and she would be strapped on my back. It was tough, but I did it. I enjoyed it.

That is why the same goes for Xavi now. We did not get a nanny for him. I am taking care of him myself, the same way I was full-time hands on with Berry then. Minus all the household chores now, heehee. I want to give him the same focus and attention I gave Berry from when she was a newborn up until she was 1.5 years old and her "Nana" joined us in Singapore to help take care of her.

This is true, "Basta Mommy, Ibang Mag-alaga" - unless her idol is "Mommie Dearest", Joan Crawford. We know our kids from top to toe. We see the smallest little insect bites, we immediately spot a scratch where there was none before. Every birth mark, every mole, is carved into our memory. So if anybody or anything becomes a cause of disappointment or distress for them, we feel their pain, it's almost physical. As Steve Jobs says about kids, “It's your heart running around outside your body." If we could only shield them from the big, uncertain world out there we would. 

Thankfully, and I believe, if we raise our kids secure in the knowledge that we do all we can for them, that they are loved by us and that our home is a safe place, then we have done the best we could. We have equipped them with enough armor to protect them from life's aches and pains. Sigh.

Video courtesy of Johnson's Baby Philippines. Like their Facebook page: Johnson's Baby Philippines.

Disciplining Mistakes and New Beginnings

Now that I am a mom a second time around, there is one thing I know for sure. I am still no expert on parenting. No amount of books can really prepare us for motherhood, that I really wish each kid came with a personalized, step-by-step manual! 

Thankfully, my friend Kris de Guzman aka OC Mom in Manila invited me to join her other mommy friends in attending a series of progressive parenting talks by One Core CEO and life coach Pia Nazareno-Acevedo called "Raising Little Heroes: A Parenting and Self-Enrichment Program" for the New Beginnings Community.

I have only been to the first and only talk so far (the next one is scheduled tomorrow), and I am grateful for having access to these precious life lessons from Coach Pia and my fellow moms via New Beginnings. I have learned so much about the psychology of kids and parenting styles that I am making sure I won't miss any scheduled session. No cutting classes, ever!

If you are wondering what New Beginnings is all about, well its our cool mommy club (heehee), and the good news is you or the moms you know, may join na! The website - (http://www.newbeginnings.com.ph), as well as the New Beginnings Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/newbeginnings.com.ph) is chock-full of information on parenting and motherhood and it would be great if you can join in on the discussions.

As much as it would be fun to have everyone attend our sessions with Coach Pia, we know how busy a mom's schedule is, so Kris & I, with fellow New Beginnings moms Jackie Go and Tiffany Baura, will be sharing our insights and learnings from the talks with you via our blog posts in the New Beginnings website. It'll be almost as good as being there, promise.

I recently wrote about the 10 Worst Disciplining Mistakes that we all have to steer clear of (I am actually guilty of a few, eeeep!) so please read it HERE! And please assure me you are as guilty as I am. Hehehe.

I would love for you to discover and join progressive and progressive moms in the making at the New Beginnings Community on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/newbeginnings.com.ph) and Twitter (@NBMums) too! See you there!