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{Villa Vacay Vibes😘} #awayonholiday #LaVieEstBelle #secretplaces #absolutelynofilterneeded #seektheuniq #PerksofPinas #LaVieAuxPhilippines #tropicalliving
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In February this year, during a routine checkup, we were told our baby no longer had a heartbeat. I was 17 weeks pregnant. While it very much came as a shock considering it was already a late miscarriage (as it was already during the 2nd trimester), I never questioned why it had to happen. Just as I never questioned the blessing of being able to easily conceive for both my pregnancies and why we were given the blessing of our first child who's very much strong and healthy. Nature made the determination that this time, the baby was not compatible with Life. My husband and I took small comfort that it ended this way and we were spared from the agony of being in a position where we would have been given the choice to terminate the pregnancy. Most of all, we treat it as a real blessing that the baby did not have to suffer an uncertain future. It's only now that I look back that I've realized how very Iucky and indeed blessed I was with my first pregnancy with Séraphina. It was easy. I was going to school in a foreign country, my husband could leave me alone in the house for up to two weeks without any incident, and I was even taking my final exams right before I gave birth at 39 weeks. My only issues were gestational diabetes and the conséquent labor induction---which still all led me, then at 35 years old, to give birth to my daughter by normal delivery.But this time with my 2nd, a difficult but no less important lesson learned: not all pregnancies end with a living child. Throughout that difficult time of coping with the loss, what pulled me through were certainly the love of family and the support of friends, even the kindness of colleagues and the compassion of strangers. Most of all, it was the stories of my fellow women who have chosen to share their own suffering with me as I got through my pain that gave comfort and a sense of belonging. Stories of friends who I hadn't known also had miscarriages of their own, the agony of friends who are dealing with infertility issues, the suffering of complicated pregnancies, mothers of children with special needs, mothers who are dealing with illnesses, and even the struggles of working women.(continued in comments)
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I can't believe it's already been two years since you came into our lives. Until you were actually born, your papa and I chose not to know if we were having a boy or a girl. So along with the shock and joy of dealing with a newborn, we had to make sure to comply with French laws requiring us to name you within three days from birth. And we couldn't have picked a more apt name for you than Séraphina, after the highest-ranking fiery seraphim angels. In just these two years you've certainly filled our days with your vivid energy and spitfire personality (No one can fail to hear you when you cry. No one). When you were still in my belly, I always sang You Are My Sunshine to you. Gratefully, blessedly, you have indeed become the fervent sunshine that never fails to brighten our days and have given me innumerable reasons to smile and to hope despite the darkest of days. Today, you turn 2. We have slowly come to accept you're no longer a baby (along with your current obsession with Elsa and Anna)! And all that fiery Séraphina personality is now our reality (hello, terrible twos?!) . You can now (sometimes) pee in the potty and count to 10 (both in English and in French!) and read the alphabet and tell your colors apart. But tomorrow, Mother's Day, you still won't be able to greet me. So as you turn two today, let me instead take this moment to be extra grateful for the wonderful gift of life that is you, our dearest Séraphina. And to wish you the most precious blessings a mother can ever ardently wish for her child: a long, beautiful life filled with grace, love, and happiness. Every Mother's Day is more special now because that beautiful day you were born on that unforgettable morning in May, I've been given my life's most precious gift. It's because of you that I've become a mother. Je t'aime ma chérie . #GratefulHeart2019 #SéraphinaAliceEstelle #MotherhoodJourney #MotherhoodAlive #motherdaughter #daughters
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Mood x Welcome to my dream dining space x is it really summer without flamingos #LaVieAuxPhilippines #Cebu #GratefulHeart2019 #tropicalliving #SunsetGoddessSummer #passionpassport
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{What it takes to take photos with toddler these days. Swipe right} #LaVieEstBelle #havetoddlerwilltravel #MotherhoodAlive #realmomlife #SéraphinaAliceEstelle #ToddlerRealness
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{Belle Bougainvilliers} #MerciInstagramhusband #ihaveathingforflowers #LaVieEstBelle #GratefulHeart2019 #aguagirls #tropicalliving #SunsetGoddessSummer
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{Pangasinan Paradise🌴} #WowBolinao #LaVieAuxPhilippines #tropicalliving
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{Now if only all Fridays end like this. // Grateful to have spent a holiday in this magical place by invitation from our hosts who are our wedding godparents. (He's French. She's Filipina, naturellement !) A lot of you have been asking if this fabulous beach house in Pangasinan is available via airbnb. Unfortunately it's not open to the public, but their equally fab resort in Bolinao, @sundownersvacationvillas, is! Will be surely flooding my IG stories and page soon with photos of our weekend at the house and the resort so begging for your indulgence. Bon week-end ! 😘😘😘 . . #tropicalliving #LaVieEstBelle #LaVieAuxPhilippines #WowBolinao #SunsetGoddessTravels #beachhouse #PerksofPinas #ihaveathingforsunsets
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{Started summer early at the end of March. Road trip. Long weekend. Beach. 💛💛💛} #latepost #LaVieAuxPhilippines #lifeinthetropics #vignette #beach
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{Beach house dreaming🌴🌴🌴} #GratefulHeart2019 #LaVieAuxPhilippines #lifeinthetropics #SunsetGoddessTravels #LaVieEstBelle #wowBolinao