Maternity Leave Extended!

Praise God!!! Thank You Lord!!! All glory to God!!! :)

These are the words that are continuously coming out of my mouth at this very moment. Why?? Because my 78 days maternity leave was extended! Wohhoooo!!! :)

Someone was happy too about the good news! :)

My maternity leave was supposed to be ended today, and I am supposed to be back to work on Monday, but since we still haven't find a nanny to take care of our dear Annika, I have asked a request from our HR to please extend my leave till the end of the month. Praise God they allowed me! :)

I was so happy and I even cried knowing that I was so blessed to be part of Euro Chemicals, Inc., a company whose very considerate to their employees, and most especially, a company who has a very kind and generous bosses. That's why it is really hard for me to give up my work knowing that it would be very hard to find another company like this one. Though I admit that I have came out to the point that I wanted to resign to take care of my baby till her first year. But then, realization came.. I want give all the best to Annika and part of that "best" is to provide everything she needs and everything I wanted for her. And being a working mom would be one of the answers. Percy and I will work for her and provide for her. Someday our baby girl will understand why mommy has to work. But for now, I will enjoy my two weeks extension leave being with her because for sure I'm gonna miss her big time when I got back to work on February.

Thank You so much Lord! You're the best! I love You Lord! :)


Very blessed,

Annika's First Check-up

After so many cancelled attempts (cancelled because of traffic and holidays) of going to the hospital for her monthly check-up, finally we did it! Last Friday was our scheduled check up for our baby girl. Upon arriving at our pedia’s clinic, she was weighed and we were a bit shocked knowing that she’s now 4.5kgs heavy. Annika gained 1.2kgs after losing some pounds when she got hospitalized. That’s why carrying her now feels like workout. Hmmm.. Good job si mommy for providing the best milk (breast milk). Hehe! She’s also now 58cms long (1.9ft, almost 2ft). Wow! Ang haba ng baby namin! :)

Percy and I were both happy that our dear Annika was so behave during her actual check up. We were asked by her pedia, Doctora Masangkay if she already knew how to response when we were conversing with her. Gladly, when Doctora was talking while checking on her, our baby girl was so focused, made an eye to eye and don’t even blink. She even gave her cute smile and her “oohhhh” sound. And according to her pedia, very good si baby and maybe on her next visit makikipagdaldalan na daw si baby!

Thank You Lord for our healthy baby girl!

Very blessed,

Annika's First Real Smile

Our baby girl finally did it! She flashed her first real smile (not just one of those reflex lip curls she's been doing since birth) last Wednesday, January 6, when she was exactly 6 weeks and 2 days old. Yehey! :)

According to www.parents.com, a baby's first real smile usually makes an appearance "somewhere between one and a half to 3 months (or 6 and 12 weeks) of life (our little Annika is on track!). You can tell the difference between a reflex and a real smile by the timing and duration. Generally, reflex smiles tend to be shorter and occur randomly, when the baby is sleeping or tired. Real smiles, on the other hand, occur in response to something, like seeing her mama's face or hearing a sibling's high-pitched voice, and they are consistent... When it's the real deal, you will see the emotion expressed in your baby's eyes."

I had been waiting for Annika's first social smile every day, and when it finally happened, I immediately recognized it. I just finished feeding her and as usual, I was talking to her. She made her cute little sound “ooohhh”, and then she flashed the sweetest toothless grin I have ever seen. I knew it was real because it wasn't brief, and it was sandwiched in between other sounds she was making, as if she was conversing with me. I was soooo happy I couldn't stop talking to her. My heart melts! Nakakawala ng pagod at puyat. :)

Thank You Lord for this milestone of Annika! :) I eagerly await her next one: laughter! :)

Overjoyed,