Top 10 Reasons Why We Love Babywearing

Babywearing is the practice of wearing your baby in a sling or other forms of carrier. So in celebration of the International Babywearing Week 2014, here are our top 10 reasons why we love babywearing.

1. It's healthy. I can't imagine how much back pain I have suffered until now if I have not learned to wear my baby. I started wearing him on his first week. It was difficult for me to carry him while he nurse and rock him at the same time. So I forced myself to learn the ring sling.

More than that, it's healthy for the baby. In its early stages, the sling imitates the womb of the mother where the baby is accustomed to for nine months. It is said that the gestation period of babies are actually nine months inside the womb and nine months after birth. The environment that the carrier provides when the baby is worn helps the baby to be more organized in the new world he is in. It resembles the patterns and rhythms that he felt while he was inside the mother's womb.

 

2. Handsfree. This is one of the benefits that I love most! I can carry my baby and still carry other things or do other things. I can go to the grocery alone with my baby, I can push the cart or carry a basket without worrying that my baby will be distressed or will get anything from the shelves. I can clean the house, work on my computer, cook sometimes, and eat while keeping my baby close. 

3. No bulky strollers. My husband and I are not fans of strollers. They are difficult to carry around and prolonged staying in the stroller can contribute to flat head syndrome to babies. We love going around with our baby in our carriers instead of pushing a stroller around with a baby in our arms (wink*)-- you know how babies are when they are tired seating and want to be carried. With our carrier, we can easily respond to our baby's cues because he is close to us and we can teach him the things he see by pointing at them. 

4. Baby cry less. During the first few months, my baby was not exempted in having reflux and gassy stomach, especially when I ate something that trigger a reaction in his tummy (I am breastfeeding). He would start crying and it was difficult to decipher his cries. Carrying him tummy-to-tummy in our sling allows him to feel my body heat and rhythm, then he would stop crying and doze off to sleep. Until now, when he has discomfort, we would just carry him in a sling and he would fine. 

5. Promotes Bonding. Being close together, makes baby and parents bond easily. Especially with father-son relationship, they are very good at it because my husband learned to carry our baby in a ring sling then later on in a mei tai. They can go outside together, have a walk, or roam around the mall, no problem. Hubby enjoys carrying the baby and baby enjoys being carried, too. They love back carrying!  

6. Successful breastfeeding. I have been breastfeeding my baby since birth until now that he is already a toddler. Babywearing promotes successful breastfeeding; and also breastfeeding on the go! I can feed him while we are malling. I can do my shopping and he can eat! If at home, I can rock him to sleep while feeding, which he likes very much. 

7. Economical and convenient. Our sling is way less expensive that a good quality stroller; and I said above, it is convenient to use. It could fit in the baby's bag and easy to carry.

8. Different carry positions. We can carry our baby tummy-to-tummy, side carry and back carry. He can sleep, look around and enjoy the view, nurse and sleep again!  

9. Can grow with the baby. Our ring sling remains loyal, we first used it 3 days after birth and still using it today (15 months later). Carriers can carry babies from newborn to toddlerhood or as long as they want to be carried. I know some moms who still carry their babies in their carriers until 4 years old. Economical indeed!  

10. Baby loves being carried. Babies are meant to be carried, if not, they should have been born already walking. Even with the Filipino adage, "Huwag sanayin sa karga," we still chose to carry our baby because we love it and he loves it, too!

In celebration of the International Babywearing Week, Nanay At Ako Boutique is sponsoring a giveaway at https://www.facebook.com/IntlBW?sk=app_228910107186452. If you want to receive a free ring sling, make sure you join the raffle.

Breastfeeding my toddler: 14 months and counting

"Breast milk is still best for babies up to two years and beyond." Well, that was the usual public service announcement after a formula milk advertisement until it became, "The use of milk supplements must only be upon the advice of health professionals."

 

On day one, I was already advised by doctors to buy formula milk for my baby but one of them said, "if there is no breast milk." I was determined to breastfeed my baby so even if I couldn't see any milk coming out of my breasts, I held my baby and allowed him to latch. I knew he was getting something because he pees and poops! We bought a small can of formula milk just to satisfy the eyes of the doctors but we never opened it; we actually brought it back to the pharmacy when we were discharged from the hospital.

 

The uninformed decision I allowed to happen on the first day was not buying the formula milk but allowing the nurses to feed my baby glucose water. I didn't know anything about it. I was not informed that it wasn't necessary and could destroy the virgin gut of my baby. It was only 10ml of water with sugar, but even though. I felt guilty of not being informed of its effect; but I was also confident I was doing the right thing because the so-called, "health professionals" advised it.

 

Nutrition

Breastfeeding is healthy for both baby and mommy. The World Health Organization recommends that babies should be exclusively breastfeed for the first six months. "Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. Review of evidence has shown that, on a population basis, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants. Thereafter infants should receive complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond."

 

I know some moms around the neighborhood (and some even some friends) who gave birth almost the same time like me but who did not exclusively breastfeed their babies or have given up so early and mixed feed or formula feed. I have noticed that their babies are more sickly that at least once or twice their babies were hospitalized. I am not saying that my baby did not have a fair share of sickness but he can easily cope and we were never confined to the hospital. The best thing about breastfeeding is the fact that nutritional components of breast milk changes depending on the needs of the child--even antibodies of the mother can be passed through breast milk; and the mother can still breastfeed even if she is sick, and that will transfer more immunity to the baby!

It's healthy for moms, too, as it said to lower the risk of breast cancer and prevents postpartum depression. Also, many mothers that I know are having hard time in losing postpartum weight. Well, one of the benefits of breastfeeding is it helps in losing weight! I can say that in four months postpartum, I took out most of my pre-pregnancy shorts and jeans and they fit me again. No need to change wardrobe!

 

Bonding Time

Breastfeeding has always been the best bonding time I have with my growing baby, even if it becomes more difficult now as he grows older--the bites when he is teething, the pushing and pulling, the wrestling (yes, you read it right). But how I love to hold his hands, brush his hair and cheeks, teach him to count, tell stories, sing hymns, recount his day's activities, kiss him on the forehead, clip his nails, check my phone and emails (yes, even that), and feed him, and doze off to sleep together.

 

Economy

More than being the best food I can give my baby, it is also economical. I cannot imagine how buying weekly or monthly worth of formula milk would hurt our budget. "Wala akong pera, unahin ko muna gatas ng anak ko (I do not have money, I would prioritize buying my baby's milk)," is the usual litany of parents. There are a lot of things they can no longer buy for themselves or their household because their budget are constrained with the high prices of formula milk.

 

I admit that I bought expensive bottles, breast milk storage bags and containers, and breast pumps just to sustain breastfeeding (breast milk feeding) when I need to be away from my baby for work. To sum up, I may have spent around P10,000 in all; but if I compare it to buying formula milk, that amount of money have only lasted for 10 cans good for 5 months! I have been breastfeeding for 14 months now and it looks like we are not weaning anytime soon.

 

Taking Pride

"Breastfeeding is difficult but it is the best; and it is the sacrifice I am willing to take for my baby." That is my standard spiel whenever people ask me why I still continue to breastfeed and feed my baby breast milk even when I am away. I am no longer offended even if some people ask why my baby still feeds on my breast and does not take the bottle (and when they say bottle, they mean formula). I take pride carrying my ice chest with the note, "Breast Milk: Handle with Care" whenever I am on a trip. I would discuss breast milk feeding and pumping in another post.

 

My goal is to breastfeed as long as I can and as long as my baby wants! If it'll be in 2 or Grade 2, it doesn't matter, but nutrition and budget matters!

 

Read more about the virgin gut here: http://www.thealphaparent.com/2011/07/virgin-gut-note-for-parents.html

Read more on exclusive breastfeeding here: http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/exclusive_breastfeeding/en/

 

#motherhood #breastfeeding

Pregnancy Glow

Now that my pregnancy is almost over, I want to share my “glow.” For some, pregnancy, blame it to the hormonal changes, brings a lot of unwanted physical changes other than the growing tummy. I wasn’t spared. I have my own share but many people told me that I am a beautifully pregnant. Other than having a lot of supportive people around me, I got some help from different cosmetics that somehow kept those unwanted physical changes at bay.

Moisturize! Contrary to other pregnant women’s experiences of having lush beautiful hair and skin during pregnancy, mine were dry. Maybe because I faced a lot of stress during the early stage of my pregnancy—doing my master’s thesis, sleepless nights and a lot of travelling.

I have been reading about stretch marks. They say it is unavoidable and no cream can heal them, but if I can’t control their appearance, maybe at least minimize them. Also, the problem of the itchy belly. Most Filipinos thinks that it is because the baby is already growing hair so your belly becomes itchy, but actually, it is because of the skin trying to stretch to accommodate the growing baby! Most people told me to avoid scratching so there will be no stretch marks, but I just couldn’t help it. So to minimize the stretch marks and avoid the itch, I kept my belly moisturized by using ample amount of Body Butter Cream in Mango. I love the scent!

Some pregnant women, are thankful to experience smooth skin, again thanks to the hormones. But as for me, my skin became dry so I used the Body Butter Cream as my lotion, too.

For my face, especially treating dark circles brought by sleepless nights and stress, I used the miracle oil, Sunflower Beauty Oil. This oil does a lot for me (and my husband, too!) I use it under my eyes to prevent eye bags and dark circles, I moisturize my face with it before putting make-up, apply it to my underarm and prevent excessive discoloration brought by pregnancy hormones, sometimes for my itchy belly, too. It keeps pimples away and protects the skin from sunburn.

I used to use Balancing Facial Wash because of my oily face but the skin on my face became a little sensitive during pregnancy so I switched to Nourishing Facial Wash. It is mild and the tomato ingredient keeps my face skin supple.

For my hair, I continued using Strengthening Shampoo in Peppermint and avoided excessive hair fall. I love the peppermint scent because it also cools the scalp. I just love it because it seems like my body temperature is three times as high as normal even though I don’t have fever. I also use Moisturizing Conditioner in Vanilla scent to moisturize my hair and top it with Hair Serum, especially if I go out in the sun!

The Feminine Wash Chamomile Cool is also a good addition to my regimen. I used the Chamomile Fresh for a long time. But because of the body heat, this product keeps my delicate area cool. It is mild and it keep the odor and itch away.

Even before my baby is born, I purchased the Baby Wash for my evening shower. The chamomile is very relaxing and calming and helps me in getting a rest after a stressful day.

Lastly, my favorite is the nightly massage with Calming Massage Oil. As my belly grew and can no longer reach my toes, my husband lends a hand every night before sleeping in massaging my legs and back. Because of that, I did not have a lot of leg cramps and the aroma helps me relax and go to sleep.

 

And to plug it, I am also selling these products! :) Only the good! Visit my online shop and find out more mommy and baby products.

Lifesharer's Cards

Are you tired of fancy ribbons, embossed letters, boring and formal designs of invitation cards? Let us come together and make a simple, unique, creative and fun invitations that reflects your personality. Nothing fancy, just pure creativity!

Welcome to lifesharer’s cards!

I work closely with clients to achieve wonderful designs that suits their themes, occasions, personality and budget. I offer simple and budget-friendly cards made uniquely for you! We can arrange for a personal meet-up (if you are nearby) or online chat so we can discuss the details of your occasion. You will find out that you, too, are creative!

Delivery time: at least two weeks after the approval of the design
Delivery methods: pick-up, meet-up, shipping through xend (free delivery for 150 cards and above)
Price range: PhP20-100 depending on the design and quantity (there is no minimum quantity required, just order what you need)
Payment methods: cash-on-delivery, bank deposit through BPI, GCash (50% down payment upon approval of the design, 50% to be paid in full after completion of the project)

Card sets include main invitation card with front artwork and back or inside print (depending on your preference), envelop, and blank enclosures (when needed for other personal contents).

 

Visit my facebook page for more: www.facebook.com/lifesharerscards

Filipino Funeral Traditions

I recently attended the last night wake of a relative in a barangay in Maddela, Quirino province. My family stayed until the funeral rites the following morning. My uncle's family is somewhat traditional and have observed a lot of customs that they themselves could not explain. But as they say, you will lose nothing in observing traditions.

White headbands (Ilokano: baridbed) - traditionally, the white headbands are worn to suppress headache caused by excessive crying. Now, even though the members of the family don't cry enough, they were the headbands as an identification. They are worn throughout the wake until the funeral.

Black bar pins - they are also worn by the immediate family and close relatives to signify mourning. They are worn until the 40th day of death even after the funeral ceremony.

Food offering (Ilokano: atang) - the family pretend that the person is still alive and separate a portion of whatever is served to the visitors and place it in front of the photo.

Here are some that I have never seen before.

Chicken offering - the chickens (hen and rooster) are beheaded before the coffin is taken out of the house. The reason behind, these chickens will go ahead and crow to announce the arrival of the dead in the life beyond (tapno agtaraok ket mariing ni San Pedro).

Diram-os (washing of face) - after the funeral rites, family members and relatives go through diram-os using the water from boiled guava leaves. This is to ward off the presence of evil spirits that may have got into the individuals while in the cemetery. After that, each got a handful of steamed glutinous rice to eat (that was not explained to me, but I did not perform any of these anyway).

Other customs include:
Not sweeping the floor because another family member might follow the dead.
Not taking a bath on the duration of the wake lest another death may occur in the family. This is followed by golgol (shampooing) after the burial to wash any power of evil spirit.

When my father and grandfather died, even though their remains stayed in our house for days, our family did not observe most of these customs, except for wearing the black bar pin. Many visitors told us what to do and not to do, but because we could not get enough rational explanation, we did not observe these traditions. We swept the floor so dust won't accumulate and we took a bath everyday!

10 Commandments

I have not been productive in my writing outputs since last year. I am trying so hard but I just can't find time sometimes, or when I have plenty of time, I can't find something worth writing. For productivity sake, I started by cleaning my home office, our bedroom and technically the entire house, with the help of the hubby of course.

I found the tidiness inspiring. I opened my computer and started working. Before doing personal stuffs, I needed to attend to my office work first. I also need to catch up with reports and planning. The clean house made a lot of difference. I guess my first rule of productivity, clean and declutter!

I am also reading a book now called Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Somehow, her insights is driving me to accomplish something. She begun her book by stating her 12 Commandments and Secrets of Adulthood, and that encouraged me to write my own commandments. But I consider them more of life lessons, something I learned or results of experiences or allowing me to experience new things. After much taught, I have come up with just 10.

1. Be Earlie
2. Find your place
3. Wonder and wander
4. Respond, not react
5. Listen
6. Keep it simple but not mediocre
7. Show love to difficult people including yourself
8. Take risks
9. Laugh or cry, it's ok
10. Pray

Practicing Radical Hospitality

The Congregational Practice of Radical Hospitality
Congregations that practice Radical Hospitality demonstrate an active desire to invite, welcome, receive, and care for those who are strangers so that they find a spiritual home and discover for themselves the unending richness of life in Christ. Radical describes that which is drastically different from ordinary practices, outside the normal, that which exceeds expectations and goes the second mile.

--Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (www.fivepractices.org)

As the newly elected lay leader in my local church, I have been thinking what it is that I could do to improve the situation of the local church.

I belong to a very small local church with more or less 20 adult members and 10 kids who regularly attend Sunday worship. I have been a member of that church since I was eight, I guess. I attended children's Sunday school classes, then taught, joined outreach programs until I moved to Manila for college. Somehow, I have witnessed the ups and downs of the congregation. I have seen how the congregation struggled with leadership, finances, and properties. The old building where we used to hold our services is already replaced with a new, larger one; only it has not been completed yet.

It has been over a year now when I started regular attendance in my small local church again, having moved and married in Isabela. Now that I hold a key leadership position, I have been wondering how we could grow as individuals and as a congregation in faith and ministry.

My mom, who is the Church Council Chairperson, and I talked about how we should move on. We have been trying to assess the situation of the local church but we cannot sum up everything. Most of our observations are on the negative side--most members are not tithers/givers, they come late on Sunday, they don't want to hold leadership roles, they are not commited to the ministry, they are not exposed to the affairs of the church outside of the local church, they are not willing to attend activities other than Sunday worship, they do not participate in the Bible study, they do not read their devotional materials, etc.

On the other hand, we don't think that our local church is weak--we earnestly pay our connectional obligations, we can pay our pastor's salary and benefits, we produce leaders in the higher levels of the church, we have children's ministry, we have two outreach points.

So what could be lacking? What could be wrong?

To address what we thought are problems, I facilitated a round table discussion, though we were not literally in a round table. My aim was to enable each member to speak and share what they think about the church and its ministries. It is more than a meeting but prayerfully and reflectively considering the life of our local church and how the church is relevant to the lives of individual members and their families. Of course we did away with parliamentary procedures! And for the first time, I saw how eager each member to share their insights. I know it is a long and slow process. But I believe it will be worth whatever it is that we spend on this consultative process. The first step is to have an honest and prayerful conversation.

We started answering sort of self-examination questions like:
What makes you excited in going to church?
What makes you stay in this small local church?
What makes you sad about our local church?
What makes you tired in your spiritual life?
When did you see God work in all these?

In that moment, I knew that I was exercising radical hospitality. This kind of hospitality is not only shown to new members or visitors, but also to members--being sensitive enough to let them in into the decision-making process, know their insights, and encouraging them to be engaged in the life and ministries of the local church. I think that for a long time, I have been very comfortable in sitting in my favorite spot in the church, gave my tithes and offering, and attended regularly Sunday worships but actually did not mind about the relationships that exist in my local church.

Our conversations emphasized the importance of the established relationships inside the local church, where members feel that they are part of the family whenever they go to church on Sunday. Many are excited to come on Sundays because they love to see the kids and to bring their children to Sunday school. Many are inspired because of how the lives of other members are lived. That made me realized that maybe many are not involved in the ministries or seem to not be growing spiritually because they are being left out in our "family" as we have focused so much in planning programs, reporting, earning the building fund, and mandating people to take leadership positions. When in fact, we could have started knowing what they wanted in the first place. Begin with relationship! We need to be more hospitable with our own family members.

After the first meeting, we agreed to meet some more and continue answering self-examination questions until we have all tackled the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregation (as written by Robert Schase), until we have come up with our vision-mission-goals statement, and maybe until such time that each member will fully engage and grow in the life and ministry of the local church. It is like going back to square one. But I like it more that way rather than trying to accomplish written programs with just few people involved.

I know that this will be a difficult, and maybe painful, process but I am challenged to be more hospitable and sensitive to needs of my family members. We will be moving to more sensitive issues like giving, tithing, getting involved in missions, and taking up leadership roles. But my hope is each one will show a radical hospitality.

Moving On

I moved back to my home province, Isabela, over a year ago. I admit it was some sort of a painful process for me. But because I was doing it to be with the love of my life, I have to persevere. I believed I can adopt, and I think I did!

When everything was packed and I was getting ready to leave our apartment in few days, I wrote a note with a checklist of the things that I will be missing:

1. McDo coke float and Wendy's biggie ice tea
2. Tuesdays meeting (and eating) with DRP Core Team
3. Dinners and movies with Eufer
4. Walking, hiking, biking at QC Circle, Ninoy Aquino Wildlife, Luneta, and Lamesa Ecopark
5. Late night Mister Kabab food tripping with Kris and Ken
6. SM, Trinoma, Robinsons (isama na rin ang Puregold at Waltermart)
7. Central Vesper Choir, practices, and dinners
8. UMC Headquarters, people and place
9. Timezone fun times (I still have credits in my powercard.)
10. Bus, fx, and jeepney rides and getting stuck in traffic (also MRT and LRT)

With the feeling of nostalgia, I looked back into this list, and realized that I have indeed moved on, and is moving forward everyday--not without these things, people, and places but recreating them in many other things, people, and places; and savoring the moments whenever I have to experience them again. I am not really out of the metro, I still go there once in while and still get the feel of what my life had been. Along the way of adjustment, I have created a new list to compensate:

1. Homemade fruit shakes and teas, which is lot healthier than McDo's and Wendy's
2. Meeting with annual youth officers--some I host at our house
3. Short and long phone calls with Eufer
4. Early morning or late night walks around the subdivision and to the farm with Jonathan
5. Late night conversation with the "Team A" at school (sometimes with food)
6. Trip to local market, grocery stores, and shopping malls.
7. Zion UMC members, especially the kids
8. Home office (with all the creative mess)
9. Neighborhood visits and playing with the kids
10. Weekly long bus rides--bus companies should be thinking of frequent rider rewards!

Being use to moving made me more adoptable to changes. I think the only difficult thing is finding my place in the community. Aside from my relatives, I am not familiar with any other person or family in our subdivision. If I plan to stay longer here, I think I should make an extra effort in knowing my neighbors. That's the challenge, I guess.

Cauayan City Gawaygaway-yan Festival 2012

It's been years since I last spent Holy Week in Cauayan. This week, I just stayed home but it is a work-full week. It also happens that the city is celebrating the Gawaygaway-yan Festival. So it's festive yet reflective week. Tiangges are all around but the best part of going to the Old Centro is food tripping! I went there twice this week looking for something but did not actually buy a lot except for a pair of slipper. Just walking around the block and looking at excited children already satisfied my eyes.

Gawaygaway-yan Festival is celebrated from March 30 to April 14. This festival showcases vegetable harvests from each barangay. It also commemorates the hardwork and creativity of the people of Cauayan giving tribute to their ancestors, the Gaddangs. The Gaddangs were the first settlers of Cauayan. It is said that they were fond in planting vegetables. Below are the rest of the activities for this festival.

When On A Tight Schedule

We are living on a fast paced world. This is given. But the ways people respond to that pace vary. There are some who easily cope while others linger a bit.

I am raised in a home where everything need to be done the right way at the right time, where things need to be put in their proper places at all times, or if misplaced, "look with your eyes, not with your mouth."

As a child, I followed a schedule posted at the back of our bedroom door. My day is timed from the moment I wake in the morning until the hour when I should go to bed. All activities has a corresponding timestamp: 5:00am - wake up; 5:00-5:15 - prayer and devotion; 5:15-5:30 - fix bed and clean room... 12:00 - arrive from school, lunch; 12:45 - go back to school; and the time goes up to 9:00pm - sleeping time. There was also a checklist on the things I should do on a weekend.

That training, I think, made me to always run after time or have the feeling that time is running so fast that I often lose if I were not able to accomplish anything for a day. It seems that rest and so-called free time are rare commodities. This kind of training was even professionalized when I took my journalism degree. Deadlines are DEADLINES! Because of this, I feel that I am always working on a tight schedule.

Admittedly, there are times that it is difficult to cope with schedules; and the feeling of weariness, tiredness, and helplessness can strike me anytime and make me even more guilty of seemingly not doing anything worthwhile. Sometimes I linger and slow down but again backlogs are piling on my desk and lingering does not cross out a task in my checklist.

Checklist and Calendar/Journal. I have a lot of commitments with different organizations and forgetting an appointment or task is very likely without my ever faithful checklist (but honestly, sometimes I still forget something). But keeping checklist helps a lot. I keep one on paper, on my desktop, and on my phone. Post-its are also helpful especially for keeping ideas. The journal is for longer notes to myself or for reflections and keeping my calendar. On my phone, I use Astrid Tasks. It's very convenient because it syncs schedules/tasks from my email and even display funny comments.

The Best Time. I am not a morning person, I have accepted that long time ago. Though I can do meetings in the morning, I am not in my best energy. My mind seems to switch on after lunch, so I have to make most of that time until before dinner to work on the things on my checklist. Then continue after dinner and I can go up until midnight or a little past that. So instead of trying so hard to work during the morning and waste my energy, I usually use the time reading and doing household chores. Know your best time and work on it.

I am a very mobile person, too. I travel a lot, and most of the times travel disrupt my routine. So to keep up, I have learned the following:

Wander and Wonder. To keep me from being bored, I wander and wonder. I learned to appreciate small things that will brighten my day--a child smiling, funny conversations, etc. I also take pictures to capture the memories especially fleeting moments. Wandering around the block also helps to clear my mind. And to enhance my problem-solving skills, I usually ask "what if" questions to keep my mind occupied. I doodle and read a book, too!

Travel Light (but bring extras). Packing checklist helps and also knowing the right way to fold your clothes. I use vacuum bags a lot. They take away unnecessary air and spaces. I also make an inventory of my clothes and plan ahead what to wear on certain days. I am not an expert in traveling light because I always bring an extra pair or two. I have experiences that I have to stay an extra day so at least I have clean clothes to wear. I have also learned to mix and match. I usually wear jeans that can match different styles of tops. Bring extra because you'll never know about weather changes, too.

Stay Charged. Even if they say that charging your phone or your gadgets even though they still have battery charges is not advisable, it's better to go out of your home with batteries fully charged. You do not know when you need them especially in cases of emergency. So before I leave, I make sure I plug-in.

Communicate Back Home. Stay in touch with your loved ones. Or bring something that reminds you of them, a picture in your wallet may do. When I am away, I make sure to send a note, email or text to my husband everyday. I also chat with friends and family. I always have to deal with separation anxieties but having a daily connection at home helps me to cope.

Keep Friends Everywhere. There are friends who are really friends, who will come to your rescue, stay with you late at night or take a walk with you. I learned to keep those friends whom I can call whenever I am in town. The good thing, they can accompany you to places, too!

Plan Z. As an event planner/organizer, I always keep alternative plans. My friend and I have a mantra: "Be prepared to execute Plan Z" if all else fail. When I am on a tight schedule, these alternative plans work!

Go Home. There's no place like home, indeed. My first place to go when I go home, the bedroom and just feel the ambiance and rest. The best thing when working on a tight schedule is to know that you have a place to go home to and a family waiting for you.