Why I Love Being a Mom and a Blogger

“This is an official entry to Dainty Mom’s Bloggy Goodies Contest, in celebration of the Dainty Mom blog’s 2nd anniversary.”


Hearing your baby's heartbeat for the first time, feeling their warmth in your arms, teeny weeny hands holding your finger, toothless grins, sloppy kisses, gentle coos and endless giggles, days when you stay in bed doing nothing together -- who wouldnt love all of these?

Who wouldn't fall in love with these angelic smiles?

Motherhood came when I least expect it.  And I never thought I'd love it as much as I do now.  I must admit that there are certainly days when I feel overwhelmed by the demands and the responsibility.  


At times I feel frustrated that I couldnt get a time alone for myself.
I feel tired that I have to deal with two kids and having to work at the same time.
I don't like going home to a house full of cluttered toys and books.
I get cranky if I dont get enough sleep during the day because of a toddler squeezing himself in my arms, wanting to nurse and a daughter telling you how her day went. 


But at the end of the day, you look at their faces and they give you their sloppy kisses and you know its enough.  I always joke at work that really, I am just a part-time manager.  I am a full time housekeeper and a mom; And proud of it. 

creating happy memories together

Sometimes when you become a mom, you become attached to that identity.  But without your children, what are you really? Who are you?  These are the questions that I keep asking myself.  For years I've struggled with that because I grew up in an environment where people around me expect a lot and in turn, I do everything to live up to their expectation.  I became a pleaser.  I craved for approvals.  I care too much about what other people think. I am scared of how people will perceive me.  I do what they want me to do because I want them to like me.  I ended up restricting and doubting myself.  It's sad because I lost me and my self esteem along the way.
 
It was only when I started Blogging that I felt liberated.  I am able to write about how I feel about things and experiences that I go through.  Here I write because I want to and not because I've been told that this is what I should do.  Little by little I am starting to discover who I am and what I am through writing and blogging.   


Ask me again why I love being a Mom and a Blogger.  The answer is as simple as two little letters -- M-E.  It's me.  You may think that I am being selfish but I see this as a journey --- a never ending discovery of who I am and what I am capable of

The day We Won the Ameda Elite

My husband always say "What Tyna wants, Tyna gets."  Not being a brat but I know when I set my eyes on something, I move heaven and earth to make sure I get it.  It can be negative at times but most of the time, it works to my advantage. 


Right when I found out what the prize in Babymama's and Chronicles of a Nursing mom's online contest, I knew I want to be a part of it.  No, I want to win it.  


My passion for breastfeeding started when I breastfed my son.  I had such a challenging yet very rewarding experience that I hope moms would get to experience.  What I learned is that any woman can be successful with breastfeeding if armed with the right support.  And I am not just talking about support from your family and friends. You should have the same amount of support from the medical professionals and from your employers. I guess you can say I am one of the lucky ones.


We have a private, well-lighted and well ventilated room where I can express my milk at work while some of the people I know had to use the comfort rooms or conference rooms


We have a refrigerator that is exclusive for breastmilk storage while a friend I know had to bring several ice packs and a cooler to work. 


I have a Senior Manager who understands my needs and lets me skip a few meetings because I need to use the nursing room.  (Thanks Lyndon!)


And for this I want to give back.  I am winning the Ameda Elite. 

Like Brigade at work

My email to our HR department took 5 minutes to compose and I was delighted when our HR AVP found this as exciting as I do.  In the next couple of days a lot of emails were thrown back and forth, everyone suggesting which photo to submit and if the write up was enough.  I was overwhelmed with the kind of support I received from the company that I have been working with for the past 7 years.  And when the entry was finally submitted, the communications team posted notifications of the entry on the pantry PCs. 


The last day of the contest was when I witnessed everyone working together to get the votes.  I had my team on their laptops, me giving the update and everyone checking who's online and convincing everyone to vote for our entry.  I am not a big fan of Facebook contests where they identify the winner by the number of "likes".  Why do I want to do this again? 


Because I believe in breastfeeding
Because I believe that you can go back to work and still provide breastmilk to your baby
Because I want to reach out to other mothers who are breastfeeding or pregnant moms who have plans of breastfeeding their babies. 
And my selfish reason -- Oh yeah. I will get to use a double electric pump and not spend money!!


It all paid off....


WE WON!!!