Friday, September 21, 2012

Basta Mommy, Ibang Mag-alaga



This. This Johnson's Baby TVC just tugs at the heartstrings. 

When we had Berry, my mom kept saying how lucky Berry was that I was the one taking care of her. How most kids back home are practically raised by yayas. Well, it never really occurred to me that I would leave Berry in the care of someone else when we were living in the US. For one, just listening to horror stories about kids being maltreated by their caregivers was just gut wrenching for me - I was not going to risk it. Second, the cost of a nanny in our area? Hello! Isang bag din yan a month ha! Hehehe.

Besides, I was a housewife and then a stay at home mom so there really was no need for a nanny. But really, even if we had all the moolah in the world to hire a top notch nanny with amazing credentials, nah. I'd rather take care of Berry myself. I wanted to be there for all her firsts. To teach her everything I knew. To be able to be there right beside her. To protect her from what could or would hurt her. Sometimes I look back and can't imagine how I could carry her, and her stroller up two flights of stairs whenever we took the subway. Or how I would bundle her up in her winter gear and carry her kangaroo style so we could do my errands together. How I would cook, wash the dishes or do the laundry  at home and she would be strapped on my back. It was tough, but I did it. I enjoyed it.

That is why the same goes for Xavi now. We did not get a nanny for him. I am taking care of him myself, the same way I was full-time hands on with Berry then. Minus all the household chores now, heehee. I want to give him the same focus and attention I gave Berry from when she was a newborn up until she was 1.5 years old and her "Nana" joined us in Singapore to help take care of her.

This is true, "Basta Mommy, Ibang Mag-alaga" - unless her idol is "Mommie Dearest", Joan Crawford. We know our kids from top to toe. We see the smallest little insect bites, we immediately spot a scratch where there was none before. Every birth mark, every mole, is carved into our memory. So if anybody or anything becomes a cause of disappointment or distress for them, we feel their pain, it's almost physical. As Steve Jobs says about kids, “It's your heart running around outside your body." If we could only shield them from the big, uncertain world out there we would. 

Thankfully, and I believe, if we raise our kids secure in the knowledge that we do all we can for them, that they are loved by us and that our home is a safe place, then we have done the best we could. We have equipped them with enough armor to protect them from life's aches and pains. Sigh.

Video courtesy of Johnson's Baby Philippines. Like their Facebook page: Johnson's Baby Philippines.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Mommy Mitzie here. Your article made me cry! I stayed at home when our youngest (2nd) was born and the pay off is great. Now that my 2 boys are in big schools (kuya is in 3rd year High), and mommy has to help daddy earn, I always look back to the time when I was just like you - content and happy to be with the kids 24/7. Sure, money was a little tight then but the happiness was simply overflowing.

Katherine said...

Cheers to us Tin! hehehe I didn't get a yaya for Sophia too pareho kay Sabine, but it's really tough kakapagod sobra!

cd_mfo said...

Hi Mommy Mitzie! Yes, devoting quality time with our kids, especially during their formative years is an investment that will definitely pay off I believe =)

I can imagine Kathy! But Sabine has yaya na now?

Katherine said...

Hi Tin! Yup, finally got a reliable yaya for Sabine :) Hope to meet Xavi soon!

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