Meryll Soriano On Being Busy With A Baby: ‘I Try My Best Na Maligo…Mga 2 Minutes’

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"Intimate" is how Meryll Soriano describes the way she and her partner Joem Bascon take care of their one-year-old son, Gido. That means they go beyond being hands-on parents.

"Talagang we had to figure it out on our own," the actress and vlogger tells SmartParenting.com.ph in an interview. "We only seek advice from our parents. And pag pupunta do'n, 'yung traditional pa rin na ano...Hahayaan mo na lang."

Meryll is referring to traditional and, most often, outdated Pinoy practices in taking care of a baby, which includes using bigkis. She then shares the advice of her son's pediatrician on the matter: "Kung meron kayong kasamang magulang sa bahay at gustong magbigkis, sabihin ninyo na lang, six days huwag magbigkis. Pag Sundays, magbigkis, para mapagbigyan."

Meryll's mom, who's based abroad, for instance, would've wanted her to follow the age-old childcare practices. "'Yung nanay ko kasi ginupit pa ang pilik-mata ni Eli," she points out, referring to her 14-year-old panganay, whose father is her ex-husband Bernard Palanca. "So dahil nasa Japan siya. Hirap na hirap siyang sabihin sa akin na, 'Gupitin mo din yung pilik-mata ni Gido. 'Tapos magbigkis ka.'"

But the real challenge for the couple is doing things on their own. She says, "We're very lucky na we had to figure it out. Parang new rin sa akin kasi my mom really took care of Eli. Talagang siya 'yung nagpaligo. 'Yung bago ko napaliguan, nanonood pa ako.

"But now," Meryll acknowledges on the way she and Joem raises Gido, "talagang dalawa lang kami. So trial and error kung ano 'yung mga nagwo-work and 'yung hindi."

She's so used to having her partner around that she had to make some adjustments when Joem went on a month-long lock-in taping for his drama series, The Broken Marriage Vow.

For instance, giving herself a decent shower. "Mga two minutes, 'tapos nakatingin ka pang gano'n..." she laughs. That means looking at her son while taking a shower. It happened when Eli was busy with his online class and their household help was doing something else.

"'Yung crib talaga, inusog ko do'n sa tapat ng banyo, 'tapos wala, eh, naka-aircon," she points out. "So sabi ko, 'Ang lamig namang maligo habang naka-aircon.' 'Tapos, 'Gido, anong ginagawa mo? Gido, okay ka lang diyan?' Habang nagkukuskos-kuskos ako no'n."

The Dear Mama Meme confesses, "Diyos ko, napakahirap! But you know, fun experience. Tuwang-tuwa nga ako no'ng nakaligo ako, na nando'n lang siya sa bed, eh. So I think, malapit-lapit na 'yung mga experience na, 'Diyan ka muna, maliligo lang ako.'

"Looking forward din ako. Diyos ko! Ang hirap. Lalo na hindi na ako makapag-oil. Wala akong malagay na mga skincare. Bahala na si Batman. Pero I try my best, I try my best na maligo."

Know what's the most stressful part of parenting for other moms? Read here.