surviving the 4th trimester

time flies so fast...baby raclif is now 3 months old! from an odd-looking unresponsive newborn who did nothing but sleep, cry, eat and soil his diapers, our baby has transformed into an increasingly active and alert full-fledged cuddly infant who now takes interest in his toys and his hands and entertains us with his dimpled smile, adorable live gurgles, squeals and coos.

for first-time parents like us, the fourth trimester was a tough time...a baptism of fire. it kinda made the whole 9 months of pregnancy and the few hours of labor and delivery seem like a walk in the park. it is the getting-to-know-your-baby-and-adjusting-to-your-new-life stage, a roller coaster of emotions, physically draining, definitely not the scenario i fantasized about when i was still pregnant.

as soon as we brought the baby home, we were faced with a long "to-do" list that I had no time to indulge in rest and recover from c-section. looking back, it was a blur of countless diaper change, expressing milk at least 4 times a day, feedings every 2 hours, washing and folding tiny socks, bibs, caps, blankets and clothes, rocking baby to sleep while singing him lullabies, carrying him around the house ALL THE TIME when he's awake, going to the doctor for his routine well-baby checkups, documenting his 'firsts', taking him for a stroll at the mall or at the park, carrying a big diaper bag and photographing his every move so we can have his photos printed and sent to lolo and lola.

As if those are not enough, baby raclif is very obliging. He always gives us something to worry about: diaper rash, cradle cap, baby acne, eyes not working in unison, blocked tear ducts, stuffy nose...and these are all common and normal! Add to these the usual household chores and i always end up with busy days and sleepless nights, painful joints (baby gets heavier each day), skipped meals and sometimes forgetting to wash my face or comb my hair or the few times i got lucky i managed to take a quick less-than-5-minutes shower. hahaha! I mentioned this to my friends who are also mommies and all they could say to me was a resounding "welcome to the club!"

at 3 months, baby raclif is very healthy and sociable. he likes being around people and only cries when he needs something. finally we have successfully decoded his cries - i can now tell exactly what he needs. and he's an easy baby: you give him what he needs and he'll stop crying.

we survived the 4th trimester but i know that the worst is yet to come (inaykupo!) Ok...so let me now congratulate myself for a moment and breath some fresh air before i plunge into more challenging days ahead.

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