Updates

Has it really been over a month already??! I seriously cannot believe I haven't blogged since early June.    What happened? WORK happened.  Try juggling work, pumping milk, losing weight, doing my best being a hands-on mom and workouts! So, updates on what I've been busy with...

On Work
Another school year has started and I cannot be thankful enough I have work.  On some days, I think, I should have insisted on being a stay-at-home mom for at least Liam's first year.  But most days, I'm grateful for being able to be a mom not only to my little boy but to about 200 teenage girls as well.  This year, my load is quite unusual, I've always had 6 sections, 1 club and 1 advisory class but this year... I have 7 classes, that is, the whole batch.  You might think, what's another section? But boy, does it make a HUGE difference.  While my tired and pessimistic self will rant endlessly about the situation, my optimistic self shines through and tell me, another section is another challenge, another role, another chance to make a difference.  So, that's how I shall see things.  My advisory class, III Goodness, is a good class.  So far, so good.  Although I go home everyday with aching feet and strained vocal chords... really, I love what I do so it's all good.


On Losing Weight
I have about 30-40 lbs. left to lose and I haven't really done much progress.  I am enrolled in the gym but so far, (for about 3-4 weeks now) I have only been going 1x a week! :( On dieting, let's not even go there.  Time and again, I find that I feel sorry for myself and wallow in self-pity, realizing how much weight I've put on and how difficult it is to start being active and running again after about 10 months without significant exercise.  I now wear an XL or sometimes even XXL and still have to use maternity pants since I still cannot fit back into my old clothes.  It's a sad, sad predicament but I will use my sadness as fuel to work harder in losing weight.  More than the will to exercise, what I'm actually in need of now is the determination and perseverance to DIET and control what I eat.  I have started recently to eliminate chocolates and to have rice only for 1 meal a day (lunch).  Hopefully, I see results soon.

On Running
I have yet to go back to running - as in running the same way I used to be able to.  I was just texting with CA, my running coach/buddy and he was asking me when I'd be ready to run again.  I thought to myself, if I had really started walking/exercising by Week 6 post partum, I would have lost a bit more and also already gained my endurance, kahit papano.  I'm not on Week 12 post partum and I still haven't lost any pound :( I told CA, by a month from now, we will run and I will run AT LEAST 5kms.! I MUST! That's August 15, BTW.

On Breastfeeding
I have not yet given up, but my milk supply never really caught on.  I used to collect about 4oz. PER DAY and I still do get just as much.  Nothing more :( I've stopped using my electric pump since I went back to work because I realized how much of a hassle it was to lug around all my stuff then getting only a miserable amount of milk.  I now stick to my Pigeon Manual pump and it's been okay to use.  I asked Liam's pediatrician... Given my limited milk supply, until when should I continue pumping? She said, "If you're still up for it, then do it.  If it makes you miserable, then don't."

On Liam
It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling coming home to a cute little boy <3 He's growing so fast - the other day, I came home to a baby in shorts and a collared shirt and I wanted to cry! He looked so big already! :( Time does fly by so fast! At 2 months and 3 weeks, he has been cooing much, screaming his lungs out on active hours, smiling and laughing! It really is love to be around him! Thank God I have a job that allows me to be home at about 5PM when I don't go to the gym or 6:30PM otherwise.

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Life has been sooo busy! I used to take sleep so seriously like I would work fast at night so I could have a longer night's sleep but now, I wake up at 4:30 AM or 5:00 AM everyday - just about the time my son wakes up as well.  Sleep is almost always interrupted now with Liam waking up once or twice for either a feed or some cuddling.  I'm tired but I have no complaints and I wouldn't have things any other way.  Inasmuch as I feel bad about having to be away from Liam during the way when I have work, I told some close friends... I can't not be happy about teaching because that's what makes me a good mom, at the same time, motherhood also makes me a good teacher.  Talk about a win-win situation.

So, that's what's been up lately.  Hopefully I can blog more in the month to come ;)