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Camille Prats, Chariz Solomon, Chynna Ortaleza, Aicelle Santos, Jackie Lou Blanco, Karenina Haniel, Max Collins, LJ Reyes, Luane Dy, and Sheena Halili open up about the joys and pains of raising kids in the time of a pandemic.

In its effort to celebrate motherhood and the beauty of being a strong woman, GMA Artist Center recently held its first virtual social event called “Flores de Mommies: Mom's Day Away.”

Hosted by Patricia Tumulak, “Flores de Mommies” brought together Kapuso celebrity moms Aicelle Santos Camille Prats, Chariz Solomon, Chynna Ortaleza, Jackie Lou Blanco, Karenina Haniel, Maricris Garcia, Max Collins, LJ Reyes, Luane Dy, and Sheena Halili for an afternoon of fun games, Zumba, and a lot of sharing about the pains and joys of being a mom in the time of a pandemic.

Actresses Yasmien Kurdi and Aiai Delas Alas were supposed to be part of the event, but due to prior commitments, both personal and professional, they couldn't be at the fun event.

Through a recorded video, Yasmien said that she was busy with the lock-in taping for Las Hermanas. Aiai Delas, who was staying at home, wished everyone to stay safe and healthy, also through a recorded video.

'Mom Shares, Mom Cares'

The best part of the program was the “Mom Shares, Mom Cares” segment where the celebrity mommies were given the chance to speak about certain motherhood issues for 30 seconds.

The first one to speak about her “Breastfeeding journey” was actress and model Luane Dy.

“My breastfeeding journey? Hindi siya naging struggle for me kasi si Cristiano was a pro,” said Luane of Jose Cristiano, her son with husband Carlo Gonzalez.

"Humingi yung mga babies n'yo ng tips dito, kasi hindi lang siya sobrang takaw, magaling siya mag-latch una pa lang.

"Ang pinaka naging struggle ko na lang ay yung oversupply. Grabe yung milk supply ko e, intense! Alam mo yung hindi na kayang i-pump lahat ng electric pump, tapos hindi rin niya nauubos?

"Nakakaawa din kasi pag nagne-nurse kami, breastfeeding, nalulunod siya. Para siyang sprinkler yung kinakain niya. Nakakatakot din, pero so far, okey naman. Hindi ko na-experience yung mga struggles ng mga breastfeeding moms na nakakatakot.”

Luane added that she considers herself one of the lucky few.

"Hindi siya sisiw, pero hindi siya ganon kahirap. Kasi sabi nila, 90 percent of new moms ay nagsa-struggle talaga sa breastfeeding. 'Yung 10 percent na hindi masyado, kasama ako don!"

If Luane found her breastfeeding experience easy, Max Collins said that hers has been "difficult."

The pretty actress narrated, "I had milk, pero sobrang takaw ni Sky, kaya lang I was not able to produce enough milk for him. Kaya malaking tulong talaga na may mga mommies na katulad ni Luane diyan. So they would help me and give me some extra milk para Sky.

"It was hard for me because I would pump and pump and still wouldn't get that much milk. I did have that you can consider 'sapat' but I really just wanted to make sure he was super healthy in the beginning, so I needed that extra milk.

"Hindi siya naging madali for me. It was hard, and masakit. That really showed me how much I love my son because I was going through all that for him and it strengthened our bond.

"It was a labor of love talaga."

Giving birth amid the pandemic

Giving birth amid a raging pandemic was extra challenging for mommies Aicelle Santos and Sheena Halili.

Aside from that movement and hospital beds were limited, going to the hospital meant running the risk of getting yourself and your baby exposed to the COVID-19 virus and other potentially life-threatening diseases.

Aicelle admitted to feeling anxious and scared for her and her baby's life.

"Siyempre worried ka, praning ka na mahawa ka, 'di ba? And baka mahawa rin ang baby mo lalo paglabas ng nursery, 'di ba? Pero sabagay nung pinanganak siya, wala na yung nursery. Diretso na siya agad sa tabi mo, which is better para less exposure,” recalled the international musical theater actress who gave birth to a baby girl named Zandrine on December 5, 2020.

"Pero yung aking pag-visit sa doctor habang buntis, maingat na maingat. Nung time na yun, kasagsagan talaga e. Wala pa tayong mga vaccines, even the swab [test] wala pa tayo noon. Kaya praning talaga, OA sa proteksyon sa akin.

But instead of letting fear take over her life, she just lifted everything up to God.

"Takot na takot, pero at the end of the day, hindi lang naman kaming pregnant ang takot 'di ba, lahat tayo, buong mundo takot? You just pray and tiwala ka lang that the Lord will protect us.

"Kaya nung nailabas si baby nang walang kumplikasyon at nakauwi kami nang maayos, nakakaiyak, sobrang sarap sa puso."

Sheena Halili, who gave birth to Martina Candice Manzanero on December 12, 2020, shared that the pandemic taught her the importance of planning way ahead.

"Kinailangan ko mag-labor mag-isa. Hindi puwedeng kasama mo si Mommy, or yung husband mo.

"Siyempre before going to labor, nagpa-swab pa kami ni Husband [Jeron] and mas maganda na mas prepared ka ngayon kasi yung mga gamit mo dadalhin sa hospital dapat mas konti.

"Ngayon mas kailangan mo na talaga mas maging wais, kailangan mong paghandaan, from food, paano kayo pupunta sa hospital, saang hospital ka manganganak. Ngayong pandemic kailangan mo magkaroon talaga ng birth plan."

Feeding kids

When it comes to feeding kids, Chariz Solomon said that she's the reasonable and practical type, who lets her three boys enjoy a mix of nutritious meals and junk foods.

"Kami naman nina Apollo and Ali and Andreas, hindi ko naman sinasabing naging smooth yung weaning journey, yung pag-introduce sa kanila sa solid food.

"Pero natuwa ako how it turned out. Siyempre may ups and downs, may mga hiccups [along the way]. Natutuwa ako dahil alam nila yung importance ng pagkain ng gulay at pagkain ng nutritious foods.

"It's not that hindi ko sila pinapayagan na kumain ng chips, ng French fries, ng fast food na pagkain. Pinapayagan ko sila actually pero may limit. Recently, na-introduce ko na rin sila sa softdrinks, sa soda. Gusto ko lang alam nila kung anong meron sa mundo. Konting softdrinks naman is okay.

"Sa rate ng pagkain nila, talagang matutuwa ka as a mom. So, magaan ang pakiramdam ko na napapakain ko sila ng laing, ampalaya, yung mga ganon. Kahit anong ulam, hindi ako nahihirapan magdecide.

"Malaking bagay na nagawa namin together na kumain ng nutritious food. Hindi na sila mahirap pakainin."

Chynna Ortaleza, a mom of two kids named Salem and Stellar, shared that her little ones have different food preferences.

"With me naman, sobrang polar opposites yung choices ng paboritong pagkain ng pareho kong anak. Stellar likes a lot of broccoli, ampalaya, but eats them with donuts! Sobrang explorative niya pagdating sa mga kinakain niya.

"Si Salem naman is at that age where he just likes to taste everything, so it's good."

Chynna agreed with what Chariz said. Mothers should not be too strict about their kids' diet.

"Parang si Chariz, naniniwala ako na hindi tayo dapat maging masyadong strict pagdating sa mga anak natin, pagdating sa pagkain. Though, of course, everytime they eat something that's nutritious, I always say, 'Oh, that's good food, that's vegetable. It gives you vitamins.' Na-absorb naman ata ng panganay ko, kasi enjoy siya mag-gulay.

"Yung anak ko namang pangalawa, happy kami ni Kean, kasi sobrang hindi siya picky eater. Ang sikreto ata d'yan, e nag-baby-led weaning kami."

For the uninitiated, "baby-led weaning" is the method of letting your kids (probably when they reach 9 months or until they're strong enough to sit independently in a high chair) take charge of feeding themselves with finger foods, instead of forcing them to eat what they don't like. Studies show that this method has lasting positive effects on the child's food preferences and eating habits.

While this method was a little bit messy, it was all worth it, according to Chynna. "So ako yung nag-sasakripisyo, kasi ako yung naglilinis ng buong dining area dahil mukhang warzone pagkatapos, pero maganda naman yung reward kasi yung mga bata hindi naging masyadong picky pagdating sa pagkain."

Actress and director Karenina Haniel, who already has an 11-year-old daughter, said that she's thankful that she didn't introduce "sweets" to her child until she reached the age of 6.

"Siguro kasi later na lang namin na-introduce sa kanya yung mga matatamis, mga candy. Mga kids naman pag nasa early stage nakatikim sila ng mga matatamis, mga softdrinks ganyan, don kasi nila nalalasahan na 'Ah, masarap pala ito, so yung mga vegetables wala na siya lasa for me,' ganyan.

"I would forego the sweets, yung may mga MSG. Pero kasi si Cloud, late na siya na-introduce do'n sa mga sweets. Siguro nung nagkaedad na siya, mga six years old ganyan, do'n lang siya nakatikim ng chocolates. So balanced na, kumakain na siya ng gulay, kumakain din siya ng mga hindi masyadong healthy na pagkain."

Favorite bonding moments

The pandemic has definitely forced everyone to stay indoors. On the bright side, it allowed Camille Prats and LJ Reyes to have more bonding time with their kids.

Camille, a mother of three, shared that she and her husband VJ have been making sure that their kids would enjoy and learn at the same time.

"Ang naging favorite talaga namin gawin is to just play. Puro kami laro, laro, never-ending play. Tapos siyempre nag-iisip kaming mag-asawa kung anu-ano pa yung puwede pa namin ipalaro sa mga anak 'cause we're running out of ideas on what they can do, bilang lahat na ata nagawa nila.

"Yung pinaka-bonding moment namin is to really play with them. yung hindi lang sila yung naglalaro, nakikipaglaro din talaga kami with them, like focused active play. Ang laki nung naging benefit niya sa amin, pati na sa anak namin kasi parang nagawa naming way to teach them, so parang somehow itong dalawang toddlers ko, parang somehow yung paglalaro namin, yun na rin naging paraan ko na i-homeschool sila."

Camille revealed that she had a hard time deciding whether or not she would enroll her youngest, Nala, in an online learning program.

"Si Nala, yung age niya talagang nursery na. Nag-struggle din talaga ako na parang, 'Hay, i-e-enroll ko ba ito? Mag-o-online class ba kami? Kaya ba niya? Worth it ba mag-online class bilang alam naman natin na 'pag bagets maikli lang yung kanilang attention span, especially 'pag gadgets. So nagdecide kami to homeschool them. So far, enjoyable naman.

"Nong una natakot ako nang slight sa concept of homeschooling but nung ni-let go ko na yung frustrations ko at in-embrace ko na siya and talagang everything is just through play, it became enjoyable for me and for her."

LJ Reyes, who has a pre-teen and a toddler, could not agree more.

"Nakaka-discover ka ng, 'Uy ang dami pala naming gawin.' Nagiging creative ka na rin, kasi may mga point in time na, 'Hala ubos na, bored na siya dito, tapos na siya dito, na-enjoy na niya yung ganitong activity, kailangan ko na mag-isip ng bagong activity.'

She's also thankful that she now has the time to sit down and have meaningful conversations with her growing son, Aki.

"Na-enjoy ko na nagkaroon kami ni Aki to have devotional time together na kaming dalawa lang. Di pa puwede isali si Summer kasi maliit pa siya.

"Nagkakaroon kami ng usap na I get to know more about him. Kasi siyempre sa age niya, meron na siyang friends na nakakausap. Hindi na kami madalas mag-usap kahit nasa bahay.

"Itong pandemic talaga na ito, nagkaroon kami ng conversations na hindi pilit, nagkaroon kami ng conversations na malalalim. Nakikita ko, naririnig ko kung paano siya mag-isip, yung thoughts niya. Tapos nagiging close din siya with Paolo."

Learning from the pro

Seasoned actress Jackie Lou Blanco had the chance to share with the young mommies her learnings and realizations as a mom and a lola. Jackie is now 57 years old and can proudly say that she's “been there, done that.”

One of the things that Jackie has noticed about young moms today is that they tend to impose upon themselves unrealistic standards of being a good mom.

"I think minsan meron rin tayong expectations pero actually 'pag inisip mo, 'Oo nga 'no, it's really not that difficult.' Just enjoy it."

It doesn't mean that those who struggle have been doing it all wrong, she clarified. "Yeah, it's a learning process for all of us, moms. Your world really changes, 360.”

Jackie said that she could also relate to the challenges that new moms face today.

Addressing Aicelle, Max, and Luane, who admitted to dealing with “mommy guilt,” or that feeling of falling short of expectations, Jackie said, "It's a first time for you, remember that. You're not gonna get it right all the time."