Thinking of a unique bonding moment with your children? Try vegetable gardening. Many parents would attest to the numerous benefits consequential to this activity. Now let me share with you our family’s vegetable gardening experiences. 

Even before we got married, my husband and I have dreamed of establishing our own organic vegetable farm. Being both advocates of environment protection and healthy lifestyle and young professionals who wanted to make money for a decent living, we started tilling a small piece of land only to realize that business doesn’t mix with advocacy. We gave up the business part but the advocacy portion lingered in our hearts.

Wherever our family resides, vegetables are grown in the backyard whenever feasible. This is quite difficult especially for working parents, but we always try to give it time and effort because the harvest is more than the vegetables as you can see later in this article.

To guarantee harvest with less effort and minimal input (no pesticide and no synthetic fertilizer), we choose local varieties and low-maintenance vegetables like sweet potato, okra or lady finger, native pechay, native tomatoes, spring onion, radish, eggplant and string beans. We were also successful with an open pollinated variety of sweet corn. We tried cucumber and a cold-loving bean variety...we harvested some but lost many due to insect infestation and poor growth. Still worth the try...we had no regrets because this is how we learn and validate theories.

When our kids were smaller, they only observed us as we work in garden. But the best part of this journey was when they were old enough (4 years old in their case) to join us and also when the garden space got bigger. We usually spend time working together in the garden during weekend mornings, when everybody is available. It is in the process that they learned many things and we parents got to know them better.

For direct seeded crops, like sweet corn, they were asked to put 3 seeds per hole and to cover it thinly afterwards. Looking at the few holes available, they asked why 3 only and not 10 so they can have more corn later…well, good thinking kids! Lessons regarding competition and how plants obtain their nutrients from the soil were given to answer their query. The life cycle of plants, the importance of sunlight and water were also taught while they wait for the seeds to emerge as seedlings.

Asking them to water the plants that have emerged or wet the soil where they placed the seeds was never a big issue. At a very young age, they became aware of the needs of plants and how to provide for those needs. They became more gentle and caring as they realize that even plants have needs, too. Besides, this is a chance to play with water…hmmm, what a nice excuse for them to wet their feet, legs...and oh no their shorts as well! Pretty clever eh!

In the beginning of our every gardening session they are too active and overjoyed because they feel like playing, exercising and getting them dirty (that’s how we put it), yet accomplishing something. Towards the end, they get so sweaty and feel so tired. This is the time they reflect and appreciate the farmers’ hard work to make sure the rest of the people can have food on their tables. I feel so proud having heard that from my own children. 

Patience is observed…of course planting is not like magic that you get to harvest in one flick. They visit the garden from time to time waiting for the fruits of their labor. They observe the insects visiting to pollinate or to get a little share filling their tiny tummies with the veggies or to feed on other insects feeding on the veggies. This is also an opportunity to introduce trophic relations and other ecological concepts. You might think that it is too early for these concepts, but they are actually very receptive.

Harvest time is fun time!!! My children get to pull their veggies from the soil, or remove them from the stalk. They can’t hide the thrill…the proud feeling that they contributed a little something for the plant to grow from seed to an edible vegetable. For us parents, we relish on the peace of mind that what we are going to partake is safe even if eaten raw. This gardening activity also helped encourage healthy food preference in our children. They are always excited to eat vegetables, especially their own harvest.

Why did I say we got to know our children better with this experience? It became clearer that our daughter is more of a conformist or a parent-pleaser and a hardworking fellow. She has consistently been very cooperative and strictly follows our every instruction on how to do things in the garden. Our son on the other hand, spends some time observing us first and how we do things before he decides to work with us. Apparently, he was figuring in his mind how to make the tasks easier for everybody. It was the innovator in him refusing to do things the hard way. At the age of 4, working in a small garden, he was thinking of having machines to plant the seeds and to water the plants so we people don’t get too tired. Was this plain laziness or an amazing gift that my son have? I sure hope it’s the latter =)

This stage of your parenting journey would require you to prepare two bags: one for you and the other one for your baby. These bags should be prepared on the seventh month of your pregnancy. In case of unexpected delivery, at least the bags are ready. Whenever you feel that it’s time to go to the hospital, then you can just lift your bags without any hassle. Like the checklist of baby things I posted in the previous blog, I am sharing here the checklist of items you should consider bringing to the hospital with you. These are the items that my hospital bags contained.

Mom’s Bag

• Adult Diapers (2)
• Maternity Sanitary Pads (4)
• Regular Sanitary Pads (8)
• Pajamas/Night Gown with front opening for easy breastfeeding (2)
• Panties (4)
• Nursing Bra (1)
• Set of Clothes for going home (1)
• Something to tie your hair with, if you have a long hair
• Bath towel and face towel
• Toiletries
• Candies, crackers and bottled drinking water
• Extra pillow

Putting on adult diaper immediately after birth is preferable because bleeding is more profuse. The first one is usually provided by the hospital. Bleeding should lessen the following day so you can switch to using maternity sanitary pads instead. Maternity pad absorbs more fluids, but it is very thick and wide. When bleeding is less heavy and you are up and about to do frequent pad change, then switch to your regular sanitary pad. The crackers, candies and bottled drinking water are particularly useful when you arrive at the hospital while still on early labor but advised not to go back home. Candies and water will work well for dry mouth. But once you’re done with enema procedure, you cannot take anything anymore. Labor is expected to progress after this procedure because of stimulated uterine contractions.

Baby’s Bag

• Baby Vests (4)
• Mittens (2)
• Booties (2)
• Bonnets (2)
• Wash cloth/bibs (4)
• Receiving blankets (2)
• Waterproof sheet (1)
• Cloth diapers (12)
• Diaper clips (2)
• Disposable diapers (6)
• Petroleum jelly (1)
• Cotton balls (1)
• Bath towel (1)
• Baby liquid soap (1)
• Ethyl Alcohol, 70% (1)

If you intend to breastfeed your baby, don’t bring feeding bottles and formula milk for fear of your baby getting hungry if breast milk doesn’t come at once. Mother-baby friendly hospitals do not allow these items as well. Having feeding bottles and formula milk available won’t do you any good in terms of inducing milk let down. More info on breastfeeding will be provided in a later blog.

Congratulations! You just found out you are pregnant. To new parents, welcome aboard…your journey starts now!!! You are having a baby and you are bound to encounter enormous challenges in your physical, physiological and psychological states. Despite these challenges, your pregnancy should be blissful. So here are simple tips to make the challenges a little less difficult. These are based on research findings and my own experiences.

1. Be Prepared. Being pregnant, especially for first-time moms, can be so frightening. What you can do is to prepare yourself by getting as much information as you can. Knowing what to expect makes the angst more manageable. Read, talk to other moms, consult professionals, etc.

2. Deal with Morning Sickness Like a Pro. Not all mothers experience morning sickness and not all pregnancies are the same. But if you are ‘lucky’ to have this concern, the following may be useful. If none of these works, or when vomiting becomes excessive (like more than 6 times a day), consult your doctor. You could be suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum.

a. Find out what triggers your morning sickness and avoid it.

b. Try chewing a gum, eating lollipop or candy or putting a small piece of ice on your tongue to see which strategy works best for you in controlling nausea.

c. Eat small frequent meals and avoid getting hungry.

d. Have some crackers or toast before getting up from bed if sickness usually happens in the morning.

e. Drink lots of fluid to rehydrate yourself.

3. Understand Cravings and Aversions. Don’t be surprised if you have strong likes and dislikes for certain food. It could be hormonal in nature. As long as you stay rational, avoid the food that spoil your mood and eat the food you like but do everything in moderation. These are the days when you should be in your best of health and not get sick to avoid medical interventions that may affect your developing baby. Remember to continue eating a variety of nutritious food.

4. Continue to be Active. For uncomplicated pregnancies, you can continue your active lifestyle. Remember that you are pregnant and not sick, but please do not overexert. Do the things that make you happy but avoid strenuous activities that will endanger the life of your baby, like rock climbing and bungee jumping.

5. Be Positive. A pregnant woman is also called expectant. A positive pregnant woman expects good things to happen. In fact something wonderful is already happening to you and your family even while you are still pregnant. So in the face of hardships, tell this to yourself - “This too shall pass.” And it will.

For the next stage, proceed to Parenting Tips for a Blissful Pregnancy: 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

It was the school’s foundation day celebration before the semestral break. It was a chance for all students to present what they have been practicing for weeks. My son was part of the group that did the invocation through mime. Few days back, he repeatedly reminded me to be quiet and not to take pictures, for the flash will ruin the effects of their presentation. All lights were off except for the UV lights directed on them as their hands in white gloves form images and words, dramatizing the song “Find Us Faithful”. They were all in black with black mask so it was impossible to identify, locate or single out any one of them. I kept quiet as requested by my son…”it’s a prayer mom” and…. it was indeed very solemn.

When the scene was white birds flying, I felt so proud and whispered to my sister-in-law, “One of those is Leon”. When the word FAITH was formed, again I whispered, “He’s part of the letter I”. I took no pictures and kept quiet, except for the few whispers to my sister-in-law. But I guess the pounding of my heart was louder than the words I uttered. I was so proud of my son for I know he played his part very well and did his very best.

My daughter’s turn was towards the end of the program for their group did the dance evolution…the summary of all the presentations for the night. This time, I am allowed to take video and that was what I intended to do…but messed up. How?

I was making lots of remarks to my husband about how stunning and confident our daughter look on stage and about her cool yet elegant moves. I even responded to a friend behind me... teasingly asking from whom our daughter got her talent...and then, claiming that she got it all from me, of course! All those talks while I was recording the video…oops! It was already a good two minutes of video recording when I realized that aside from my eyes and hand, my mouth was at work as well.

My daughter loves to dance and she is good at it. She’s been to ballet, to jazz and modern dances but the recent performance was her first time to do hip-hop… more boyish moves for a change. Her every performance, no matter how big or small, gets me thrilled and I can’t help but admire her. She is indeed an improved version of me…an upgrade!

When we finally got home, I immediately uploaded the video and as expected, my remarks were clearly recorded. I cannot even directly post it to my Facebook account for I know my friends would tease me no end. Anyway, some minor editing will do, video segments will be lost but lessons were learned. I felt so sorry to mess up, please forgive me...I am just a proud Mama.

In the posted video, I was not able to delete all of the segments with my voice because I don’t want you to miss the nice moves in those portions. Consequently, you can still hear some of my remarks and cannot-be-contained happiness. My apologies.