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[midelafusion]

Infancy is the earliest stage of a child's life. This stage lasts from birth, to 18 to 24 months after conception. To know more about infancy and its milestones, we have interviewed a caregiver and have observed her infant during the interview.

Meet "Anan" and "Timtim"

Anan is 43 years old, and a mother to 16-month-old Timtim. The 16-month-old infant is Anan's third, and youngest child. We asked her questions about Timtim's Physical, Cognitive, and Socioemotional milestones, as well as Anan's challenges and satisfaction that she experienced as Timtim's caregiver.

Physical Milestones

We asked Anan about Timtim's physical milestones during his first year. Anan said that Timtim had less crawling experience and was able to walk in his eleventh month.

Second, we asked how a baby's movement and physical skills develop from birth. According to his mother, the baby is fast at learning physical skills, such that he was able to walk when he was 11 months old.

Lastly, we asked about the signs that show if a baby might be uncomfortable or unwell, and how Anan helps with these. The mother stated that one sign that her baby feels uncomfortable is non-stop crying. One reason she considers is constipation, and she treats it with laxative syrup. Also, whenever she is not around, the baby cries and will only be relieved through her presence.

Cognitive Milestones

In this section, we asked Anan about the key mental milestones Timtim had, such as recognizing people. Anan had told us that Timtim is fast-witted. He can already play with a smartphone and knows how to choose the YouTube videos he prefers.

Second, we asked how playing and exploring affect the baby's thinking skills. The caregiver stated that the 16-month-old infant likes shooting things inside his toy box. Also, he likes hiding stuff. These habits are what the baby enjoys. Furthermore, Timtim likes to mimic what the people around him do. For instance, if he sees someone in the family opening something, he can easily mimic how the person opens it.

Lastly, we asked if hearing and talking to babies help with their mental development. Anan stated that at his age, he still can not talk in a full sentence, just a murmur. Thus, Timtim expresses his emotions with facial expressions and gestures such as making a fist and showing an aggressive face.

Socioemotional Milestones

In this section, we asked what are the social and emotional milestones for Timtim. Anan stated that he likes kissing and hugging his family, most especially his mother and older brother. Her mother describes Timtim as a sweet and clingy child.

Second, we asked about the baby's reaction to face and voice changes during infancy. According to Anan, the baby’s ability to recognize faces and voices is much more active than before. He can actively recognize who to go with and who to avoid. In addition, she describes him as a papa’s boy.

Lastly, we asked how Anan, as the caregiver, tells if the baby feels securely attached, and how she can support this. She stated that the baby would not let go of his mother or father and would cry if they put him down. And they would deal with it by distracting him and letting him play with toys or outside with the supervision of his grandma.

Challenges and Satisfaction Experienced by the Caregiver

In this section, we asked about the difficulties Anan faced as a caregiver with Timtim. She stated that constipation and teething are most likely the common issues Anan faced with Timtim.

Second, we asked how the caregiver manages her stress and stays well while taking care of the baby. Anan stated that she would shrug off the thought of stress and sleep to ease her headache.

Lastly, we asked about the happy moments she experienced with her baby. Anan stated that seeing her baby in a healthy state makes her happy and that alone is enough for her to consider as a happy moment.

Observation

We have acquired answers concerning the infant and observed Timtim after the interview. Based on our observation, Timtim is a calm child. Most children when a stranger would come up to them would cry. Timtim, however, did not cry and just went on to do whatever he was doing. Furthermore, at only 16 months, he was walking very well without any guidance from someone. We also noticed that he could climb their family-owned tricycle at ease.

When his father went to work, we noticed that Timtim cried. However, it was only short-lived because his mother breastfed him, thus distracting him from the fact that his father was away. After that, Timtim went back to playing.

[midelafusion]

Conception is a stage wherein a sperm cell fuses with an ovum, or egg cell, in the fallopian tube. This process is called fertilization. In other words, conception is the action of conceiving a child. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the fertility rate of women in the Philippines, which ranged between the ages of 15 and 49 years, was 1.9 children per woman. That is based on the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) preliminary results in 2022. We have interviewed one woman who is currently in the conception stage, and below, we will be documenting her responses to the questions we have prepared.

Kang is 25 years old and is one month pregnant with her second child. We asked her questions with regard to her physical, cognitive, and socioemotional adjustments, challenges faced during her pregnancy, and the pleasure she is experiencing during pregnancy. Each category consisted of three questions.

Meet "Kang"

Physical Adjustments

We asked Kang what are the common physical symptoms she felt during her pregnancy, and according to her, the common physical symptoms during the first trimester of her pregnancy included vomiting, nausea, intense sense of smell, aversion towards strong smells such as chili oil, and smokes.

Second, we asked her if the growing belly affects her daily activities and comfort. According to her, it affects her in a way that she is having a hard time picking up things from below her knees, she is also having a hard time breathing sometimes and has discomfort in sleeping due to her limited sleeping position.

In line with her response, we asked about the things that help her ease the discomforts she feels during her pregnancy. Kang said that a thick pillow helps her feel comfortable due to the elevated position which can help her ease and avoid back pain.

Cognitive Adjustments

We asked Kang how pregnancy hormones affect her memory and concentration. So far, according to her, there are still no changes, and her memory and concentration are just the same as before.

Second, we asked what mental challenges she might have faced and what she would do to deal with them. Kang responded by saying she gets easily irritated and has a lack of patience during her pregnancy, and she deals with it by calming herself down. She did not specify further the ways she can calm herself down.

Lastly, we asked Kang about how being tired during pregnancy affects her thinking, and the ways she does to help with this. She stated that whenever she is tired, it causes her to have a headache and she just deals with it by sleeping.

Socioemotional Adjustments

In this section, we asked Kang what are the emotional changes she noticed during her pregnancy. She stated that she felt a lack of patience and that she would have mood swings.

Second, we asked Kang if her relationship with her partner and family changed during pregnancy. According to her, her partner and family had become more caring towards her during her pregnancy.

Lastly, we asked how the support from her friends and family helped with her emotional changes during pregnancy. She stated that the support from her friends and family helps her deal with the intense cravings she has and the lack of patience. Furthermore, she likes spending time with her friends and family because of the joy they bring to her, thus keeping her entertained.

Challenges

In this section, we asked Kang questions with regard to the challenges she faced during her pregnancy:

Since Kang is working as a vendor, we asked her what the problems she faced while balancing both work and pregnancy and what are the things she do to manage them. She stated that her work life makes her pregnancy more bearable because it keeps her momentum in being productive despite her being pregnant.

Second, we asked her if financial worries affected her in her pregnancy. Kang stated that money does not worry her that much because she makes her own money.

Lastly, we asked Kang what are the issues she faced from not sleeping well during pregnancy and how can these issues be solved. She said that whenever she couldn't sleep, she would use her phone since it helps her to sleep. In addition, her husband would sometimes message her to sleep.

Pleasure Experienced During Pregnancy

In the last section, we asked Kang the things that bring joy to her as a pregnant woman. Her happiness during pregnancy, according to her, stems from her supportive husband and family. Her cravings are well provided and she is well-loved.

Second, we asked her about how feeling the baby move made her feel. Since she is still in her first month of pregnancy, there is no notable movement yet. However, she could feel a slight flick in her stomach which, according to her, might be coming from the baby's heartbeat.

Lastly, we asked her about the happy moments that are related to her pregnancy, such as milestones and celebrations. She stated that being pregnant alone makes her happy, and it would be a bonus happiness if what she is conceiving is a baby boy.

Based on the answers she has given us and upon observing during the interview, Kang has an optimistic view of pregnancy. One of the factors of her optimistic mindset was probably due to the support she has with her family, friends, and partner. Furthermore, her responses to our questions also relate to her first pregnancy and not just solely from her current pregnancy.