All by myself

Our family is not a fan of yayas or helpers. We are a family of six. I have two sisters and one brother. It was my mother who took care of us alone since my father works abroad. When I entered college like it was 7 years ago, It was the only time we hired a family driver.

When my two nephews came in our lives, it was also my mother who normaly takes care of them. Two years ago we hired a household help since mama turned sickly and she has to bring Adrian (eldest nephew) to school. I am already about six months pregnant at that time.

From the day I gave birth, I did not had any nanny or helper in our tiny condo unit. It was only me and my husband who takes care of our new born, Kiehla. I still have stitches then to nurse while I untiredly breastfeed Kiehla every two hours. Since mama is staying next building, she would visit us in the morning to help me give Kiehla her bath and allow me to do my own thing. (My husband went back to work after few days we brought Kiehla home since he is just new in the company where he works). Also mama would again visit me in the afternoon for few minutes to check on me and the baby. She sends her helper to me to bring breakfast and lunch. But most of the time it was only me and Kiehla in the house. That went on until kiehla turned two months. Mama got sick and so she could not come because kiehla might get sick, too. So from then, I thought of, I need to be really independent now, give Kiehla her bath without any help and do everything on my own. I learned how to manage my time for myself and for the baby. No panicking etc. I am proud to say that Kiehla reaches one year old without any nanny. I took care of her by myself. By the way, I am still breastfeeding my little girl. I learned how to have a bath for five minutes. No me-time. No breaks for me. Most of the time I am awake since I am nursing Kiehla. I could no longer remember the feeling of being asleep for eight straight hours. You don't own your time when you are a mom. No day offs for me and coffee breaks. I work twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. After all of these, my heart melts whenever Kiehla calls me "mommy" and gives me sweet little kisses. I feel fullfilled. Cheers to all mothers!