Of Sweat and Nephews

It's the typhoon season. Winds are howling and rains flood the streets, yet baby Lois is sweating, even when the fan is directly aimed at her. Definitely from Daddy Poh's genes. He, his mom and ate sweat like athletes in training. Good side: she won't get fat because her body will burn energy more quickly than the average Jane and she will be able to tolerate cooler places, i.e. air-conditioned rooms, Baguio, US. (I remember my tolerance for coldness improved when I was pregnant with her. I'd wear sleeveless or maternity clothes in light fabric sans coat or jacket even when the December breeze was blowing) but I'm a bit worried that when she gets into teen hood, she might have a hard time keeping herself hygienic, or just simply fresh and clean. Must pray hard about this, for her to remain sweating healthily and smelling sweetly, and must start programming her to value personal hygiene for good health and stewardship of her body.

Climbing EQ/IQ
It must be her age. She's now more developed and matured to get our jokes and antics. The list of certified Lois jesters, originally just Ate Chelle and Yays Ellen, now include almost everyone. Her squeals and cackles come by the bundles now.

And Lois has learned to comfort herself with her own lips, no need for pacifiers. She hasn't graduated from sucking her fingers, but she has learned to suck her upper lip until she makes it sound. Oh she's so smart! Tipid.

She is showing her mom-I-want-you side as well — a big change to when she was still a newborn and couldn't care less who takes care of her. Now, she cries when I leave the room especially when it's just the two of us, smiles when she hears my voice, laughs when I cuddle, hug and kiss her, looks for me in a crowd and calms down when I pick her up. She's learned to sleep longer too, even through the night.

Even her relationship with daddy has matured. He's able to put her to sleep without milk, even lying on his tummy, and rock her back to slumber just by swaying her. A prelude to their life-long bond, could even be stronger or more fun than what she'll have with me. Yes, Lois will always be Poh's baby girl.

Bulacan Trip
But it will not be just Daddy Poh who's head over heels missing her. This weekend, Poh and I decided to celebrate my 28th birthday in my family's place in Bulacan. And it's quite obvious that Lois has a big following there, from Lola Inang, the oldest, to baby ren ren, the youngest. It was fun to see Lois loved and appreciated by my family, and for the first time, I felt proud of Lois' social skills as she smiled, giggled and squealed to all our relatives. Not a bit sign of stranger anxiety. She enjoyed the loving arms of any of my relatives who held her, which gave me the chance to catch up on my mom, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and now, with my apo (and Lois’ nephew) ren ren.

She even behaved better than me, reacting sweetly to everybody unlike her mom who was not as tolerant of my relatives. I admit that there were times when I felt like shouting back or reasoning out to defend my self even to those relatives older than me. But Lois was there, positively socializing with everyone. How could I set such negative example?