Misis Blog

Everyone seems to talk about postpartum depression (PPD). There are myriads of reference articles, research, and support groups available for PPD, but prenatal depression seems to be swept under the rug.

Prenatal depression, antenatal depression, or simply depression during pregnancy is a real thing. Often, people discount the feeling as something "normal" and "expected" during pregnancy, what with all the hormones and bodily changes a woman goes through.

But the truth is, being depressed during pregnancy is not normal nor expected, just like how being clinically depressed isn't normal for non-pregnant people.

Here are some useful information on what you need to know regarding prenatal depression and some practical tips on how to cope with depression during pregnancy—coming from someone who also struggled with prenatal depression.

The birth of a baby is a momentous event for any parent. And with every new addition to the family comes the gruelling process of updating your government papers. Some government offices require an NSO copy of your baby's Birth Certificate when processing requests. This is why getting an NSO copy is important.

After giving birth, the first document provided to you is the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) copy of your baby's Birth Certificate. This is available 15 working days after the date of registration, but it takes about 6 months to 1 year for the NSO Birth Certificate to be available.

Here's how to get your baby's NSO Birth Certificate fast in just 1 month through electronic endorsement:

The moment you have kids, your life as a woman drastically changes. Every decision you make is all about your family's welfare: your husband, your children, your home life. For some moms like me, your career takes on the backseat as you put your family's needs first. 

The first thing that comes into mind when a mother stops working from her corporate job is, can we afford to live on just one income?

The short and practical answer is probably no, because life in general nowadays is expensive. Which is why getting an online job is a very likely option for many moms who decide to stay at home.

Last year in mid-2017, I gave birth to our first baby and transitioned from being an office worker to a work-at-home mom. It's the best decision I've ever made, but if truth be told, it wasn't a decision we took lightly. It took us months to finally make the big leap of becoming a full-time work-at-home mom.

To help you gain some perspective on your decision, here are 5 things to consider before deciding to quit your corporate job and become a work-at-home mom:

Weddings are every bit as magical as any fairy tale. Little girls often dream of having their dream wedding, with fairy lights and beautiful gowns and pretty flowers. I know I did.

But every future bride knows (at some point or another) that as much as we want our wedding day to be perfectly magical, the planning phase is almost always like walking through hell and back. Especially on such a tight schedule and a limited budget.

When we got married last year in 2017, we only had 5 months to prepare. With a baby on the way, we didn't have the luxury to have a huge budget for our wedding, nor the time (and mobility) to run errands for the wedding preparations. But that didn't stop us from having our dream wedding.

That's when we stumbled upon Vangail's Perfect Union, an events coordination shop that's based in Cebu City. For less than 200,000php, we had our dream wedding!

Breastfeeding is nature's gift to mothers: It's all-natural and free, and it provides a host of benefits to you and your baby's overall health. However, it's often a concern for new mothers that their milk supply isn't enough. Your milk supply may indeed temporarily diminish if you're not feeding your little one often enough for a variety of reasons. 

Remember that milk supply works the same way as economics: there's a law of supply and demand. With breastfeeding, the more you nurse, the more milk you produce given the proper positioning and latch. Unfortunately for a number of mothers, their milk supply may still be low. Enter galactagogues, the most popular and most convenient being lactation cookies.

Giving birth is probably the scariest thing a woman could ever face in her whole life. The pain of giving birth is insurmountable and something you should be prepared for. Of course, no amount of detailed planning could ever prepare you for the joys and pains of motherhood, but there's nothing wrong if you try.

To help you prepare for birth, here's a checklist of important things to ask your OB before baby arrives. I've also included a free and downloadable printable that you can bring during your prenatal visits :-)

Note: This is focused on a Philippine setting.

Caring for your baby begins even before she is born. This is why it's important to have regular prenatal visits with your OB-GYN. The moment you suspect you're pregnant, it's best to have yourself checked by a doctor. The earlier you could have your prenatal checkup, the better.

If you're an anxious mom like me, it's helpful to know the frequency of prenatal visits and what to expect during each checkup. It's also a good way to know how much you would be paying each prenatal visit (if you don't have a health insurance).

Here's a simple guide on the frequency of prenatal visits for a normal pregnancy, what to tests and procedures are done, and how much you might be spending for each visit.

Important note: This is focused on a Philippine setting.

The Blogger Recognition Award is an award given to bloggers by bloggers who appreciate the hard work, dedication, and effort in creating posts and in regularly updating their blogs. It’s an awesome opportunity for bloggers to recognize one another for our contributions to the blogging community.

When you are nominated, you have the option to accept or ignore. If you choose to accept the award nomination, there are few simple steps that you need to take:

• Write a post to show your award.
• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Give a brief story of how your blog started.
• Give 2 pieces of advice to new bloggers.
• Select 15 other bloggers to nominate.
• Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

I actually started blogging back in 2011 after learning about Google AdSense. Paper and Ink is my experimental blog without a niche in mind. I wrote about a variety of topics from books, movies, travel, to personal reflections on my life events.

A few years down the road, the thought of starting a new blog began brewing in my mind. The moment I got engaged and knew I was expecting, I wanted to create a blog about motherhood. Then early this year, shortly after getting married, I got into Wordpress and started Misis Blog. I used the free plan, so I didn't have my own domain. Being pregnant and all, I got bored and stopped blogging.

Misis Blog was dormant for a few months, until my loving husband gave me the go signal to buy my own domain. He was very supportive and encouraged me to blog again, especially now that I'm a WAHM. I deleted my Wordpress blog and started from scratch here in Blogger (where it's free to map your own domain). Hence, the rebirth of Misis Blog. :-)

1. Find a niche that you're interested in

Learn from my mistake. My first blog didn't really fare well in the blogosphere because Paper and Ink was a hodgepodge of topics. Focus on a topic or group of topics that closely relate to one another—your niche, so to speak—and write about your focus topic consistently. The trick here is choosing a niche that you're genuinely interested in and something that you're knowledgeable of. 

Writing sporadically won't get you anywhere in blogging. To keep your audience engaged, you should post regularly on your blog and on your respective social media sites. Consistency equals commitment to your blog, and this is one mistake I had with my first blog.

Reaping the rewards of blogging takes time: growing your audience, learning SEO, getting on the first page of SERPs, and earning through blogging. Believe me, I'm going through the same pains right now. But just like any good thing, you just need to be patient. Enjoy the journey of blogging. :-)

1. Nanayhood Chronicles
2. Times with Kai
3. Kayla Dene' Blog
4. I Read What I Like
5. Simple Mom Simple Life
6. My Momma Bear Life
7. Smile 4 Mama
8. The Kanga Tribe
9. Thoughts of a Woman Revealed
10. Bibliobakes
11. One Day Today
12. Journeys to Simple
13. Being a Mama Abroad
14. Healthy Dash of Sass
15. Lily and Me