Getting the Kids involved in the Pregnancy

All attention are most often focused on the arrival of the new baby.  If there
is one thing that my husband and I dont want to happen is for our older
child to envy, if not resent her baby brother.  We want to see them grow up
loving and supporting each other.  So we got her involved in the pregnancy
right from the start.  Here are some of the things that you too can do to get
your kids involved:

Take her with you during pre-natal visits.  You can do this in all trimesters of your pregnancy.  Treat every visit like a field trip.  Explain what the doctor
is checking and have her listen to the baby's heartbeat.  We usually schedule
our pre-natal check ups every saturday so my daughter can join us and then
we go out for a chocolate milkshake.

Guessing Game.  You pretty much have 5-6 months to guess the baby's
gender.  You can make it fun by saying that whoever gets it right, will get an
ice cream.  Bring everyone along on the day that you're due to get an
ultrasound.  Don't worry.  This game will work too even if you only have one
child.  You and you husband can join in the guessing game.

Name Game.   Now that you know what the baby's gender is, it's time to
think of baby names.  This is probably my daughter's favorite.  My husband
and I decided that we're going to let her name her baby brother.  Until my
daughter said that she'd like her brother to be called as "Beast" if she is
"Belle" (she likes Beauty and the Beast by the way) because they're partners. 
My daughter thought of crazy names including Zohan...yup...taken from the
movie of the same title.  We knew there is a need for us to supervise but we
definitely had a lot of fun doing that.

Shopping.  When shopping for your new baby, give your older child a
budget and a list of things that you need.  You can maybe assign her to
choose the cutest little bootie or a few bibs.  That will give her a sense of
accomplishment and pride that she "bought" the bootie that the baby is
wearing.  Never mind if the one she chose are not the ones that you really
like.

Snuggle time.  Before going to bed (or anytime during the day), snuggle with
her and let her feel your tummy.  While doing that, you can tell her stories
about how you felt when she was inside your womb -- how you felt the first
time you found out you were pregnant or how you felt the first time you
heard her heartbeat.  Make her feel that she is as special as the baby inside
your womb now.  This is the best time to reassure her that no matter what
everyone will say, a mother and a father's heart is always big enough to
make room for one more.

Mom's Day Out: The Paintball Experience

I've seen videos.  I've seen pictures.  I've heard stories about paintball but I've never played an actual game.  So when our Senior Manager suggested this as a Team

Building activity, I couldn't help but feel excited.  It was a pretty darn good idea to me.  Plus we had a great deal at 200 per person for a 1 day pass to any Global Gutz

Paintball Park with Full Gear and Equipment.

Most of us will be coming from the workplace in Makati.  Getting there only took about 10-15 minutes with moderate traffic.  Global Gutz is located at the Philippine Army Gymnasium compound in Fort Bonifacio, btw.   We got pretty confused when we got there because we didnt see any sign whatsoever on where the field actually

is.  We eventually figured it out after asking a few people.

Getting Ready
Since majority of us never played paintball once in our lives, one of the employees was kind enough to introduce us to the basics.  He showed us how to use the gun or the paintball marker and the different safety precautions.

The ammunition was not what I thought it would be.  I pictured large squishy balls that breaks and will actually drench you when you get hit.  Contrary to that, it was as small and almost as hard as a marble.  This explains why you should NEVER remove your mask when the game is ongoing and you are on the field. 

waiting for our turn in the field

Game On
So we put on our protective vests and masks.  The vest only covered our neck, chest and shoulders which makes our arms and our legs vulnerable.  We put our game face on and head on to the field.  We didn't even notice how long we were playing.  What's important is we defeat our opponent and we do not get hit.

Our team played a total of 4 games.  I ended up playing on 1 out of the 4.  Lack of sleep (yes, we came straight from our Graveyard shifts), exercise, food and the heat was too much for me.  And my legs were pretty shaky after that one game.  It was like as if I did lunges, squats and leg press for what seem like forever.  That's what I get for not getting my butt back to the gym.  Everyone enjoyed so much that we're actually thinking of doing this again.  Maybe this time we'll make sure that I have sandwiches in my bag and I rest the day before the activity.

Preparing your Older Child for the New Baby

Sibling rivalry could start even before the second child is born.  It often continues as the children grows old and they start to compete from toys to clothes to their parents attention.  It can be very frustrating to parents when this happens.  However, this too can be avoided if we prepare our kids on what's to come.

Set expectations. Spend time with your older kid and talk about the changes in the family dynamics should there be another child.  You may want to tell her that there may be times that the family would need to cut down on the movie dates, or the trip to TimeZone.  You can, however, plan for more activities at home.  Tell her that the baby may get more attention simply because the baby can't change clothes or diaper or eat on his or her own.  And in any case that mama can't attend to her needs, tatay will be there for her.  As an Ate or Kuya, tell her what she can do to help the family out.

Tell stories.  You can do this anytime during the day. Tell her stories about how her arrival years ago has changed you and the adjustments you and your husband had to make.  Make the story as hilarious as you can.  One story that my daughter love to hear over and over again was when she was 3 weeks old.  I told her that mama was so tired but she didnt want to sleep yet.  So I talked to her, begging her to sleep but she just stared back at me and say "hoo...hooo."  Of course after telling the story, you may want to drive your point that there may be days that mama will be really really tired and cranky.

Get her involved in the whole pregnancy period.  Make him/her feel that it’s not just all about you and the baby.  It's all about the entire family and it's all about him/her stepping into a new role -- that of an older brother or sister.