Elizabeth Stone, on Motherhood, couldn’t have said it any better, “Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
That’s the exact quote that rang inside my head as #GoGinhawa Moms, Jackie Go, Jolina and Suzi Andrada were interviewing Dra. Sally Gatchalian during the Calpol event held at Shangri-la Hotel last Tuesday. Jolina, several times, emphasized her sentiments on being the proverbial worrisome mom. It’s really innate in us to nurture our children as best as we could. Why, my son is now 10, several pounds heavier and almost as tall as me, who’s feet is half an inch longer than his father’s, and I still get sepanx (separation anxiety) a lot of times whenever we’re apart! I totally kid you not. But unlike when I was new at parenting when panic attacks are the common norm, I’ve learned to face dreads as legitimate concerns that need resolution. While teleporting is not an option, I check in with my son or whoever I leave him with while I’m gone. But what totally would give me peace is when I release every bit of concern (no matter how ridiculously trivial it may seem) over to the Lord, knowing that He loves my son more than I am ever able to. I specifically pray for angels to surround him wherever he is. It’s amazing how the Lord provides inexplicable peace in circumstances where we have not control over. 🙂
Admittedly, my faith has led my parenting style, for the most part. This said, my motherhood still gets tested to its limits whenever my son is “under the weather.” I think most mothers, if not all, would really rather get sick than see their children suffer. It’s just the way our mother hearts are designed. Truth be told, even scientists agree on this.
An article by Adrienne Lafrance of The Atlantic said this about what happens to a woman’s brain when she becomes a mother explains: “After centuries of observing behavioral changes in new mothers, scientists are only recently beginning to definitively link the way a woman acts with what’s happening in her prefrontal cortex, midbrain, parietal lobes, and elsewhere. Gray matter becomes more concentrated. Activity increases in regions that control empathy, anxiety, and social interaction. On the most basic level, these changes, prompted by a flood of hormones during pregnancy and in the postpartum period, help attract a new mother to her baby. In other words, those maternal feelings of overwhelming love, fierce protectiveness, and constant worry begin with reactions in the brain.”
Truth be told, it’s really more than just plain paranoia. Something seriously happens in a woman’s brain when life transitions her to becoming a mother. 🙂
#GoGinhawa Moms Suzi Andrada, Jolina Escueta and Jackie Go
These #GoGinhawa Moms represent us moms. They voiced us common mommy issues, especially pertaining to our children’s health at the lauch of Calpol Go Ginhawa Mom Movement. These celebrity moms share their own challenges when their children get sick. There were myths that were debunked. I do agree with the doctor that giving paracetamol to the child helps relieve the symptoms of the fever not actually cure the disease. fever is actually a friend, when we come to think of it. It is our body’s natural weapon against diseases. Therefore, fever is not an enemy. It plays an important role in stimulating the body’s natural defenses in treating fever. I’ve personally been administering Calpol to my son to manage his fever whenever he has one. I’ve also learned that 37.5°C is considered normal. It is when temperature hits 38°C that temperature is considered fever. Mental note.
As for sponge bathing, being one of the myths that was debunked that I was distraught over, I’m still not believing it to be a myth. Blame it on my decade long of doing it and seeing that it’s actually helping. Now that I think of it, I believe there are differences in beliefs between medical approach and those who lean towards the natural. So far, we’ve seen sponge baths work, it may not have a sustaining effect but it does help lower the temperature down. So being a mom, I would also trust my own experience and instinct on this. 🙂
That said, I do trust Paracetamol Calpol®, a product of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, as it effectively provides fever relief for children. Aligned with GSK’s mission to enable people to do more, feel better and live longer, Paracetamol (Calpol®)’s mission is to provide children with ginhawa na maasahan from pain and fever incidences. By doing so, Calpol commited to be every mom’s partner throughout this wonderful journey of motherhood.
How can you be a #GoGinhawa mom like Jolina, Jackie, and Suzi? Simply Like Calpol® on Facebook – http://facebook.com/CalpolPH and send them a private message with your full name with contact details and e-mail address as well as your child’s name and age. You can also invite your mommy friends to be part of the community and be the first to get the best ginhawa tips and promos, and even exchange tips and advice on childcare and motherhood.
