Usap Tayo x #IyaVillaniaArellano: What Growing From 2 to 7 Family Members Feels Like?
What’s it really like raising five young kids today? For Iya Villania-Arellano and Drew Arellano, it’s a beautiful mix of chaos and love. Join us behind the scenes of our Smart Parenting cover shoot with this vibrant couple as they juggle parenting, teamwork, and laughter—proving once again that they've got this big, happy family thing down to an art. #SmartParenting
What’s it really like raising five young kids today? For Iya Villania-Arellano and Drew Arellano, it’s a beautiful mix of chaos and love. Join us behind the scenes of our Smart Parenting cover shoot with this vibrant couple as they juggle parenting, teamwork, and laughter—proving once again that they've got this big, happy family thing down to an art. #SmartParenting
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi smart parenting fam! This is a brand new episode of Usap Tayo and we are
00:10currently on the set of our first ever photoshoot as a family of seven. I know
00:16right we're not from this generation. Let's go!
00:30I don't know it's really I think every day is just something to enjoy with the kids. I feel like
00:37every day is like I wouldn't say every day is like Mother's Day but in a way then it is because
00:43it's really something that I'm in the thick of surrounded by five kids. But I guess it's just a
00:53beautiful day to not feel like a mother but to honor our mothers. So it's more like for me you
01:01know being thankful and grateful for my mom. Of course it's nice because I have children who
01:07well right now I don't know if they really appreciate me but I know one day they will.
01:13But yeah it's it's always a beautiful day to celebrate.
01:15Okay so Antonio Primo. Antonio because that's Primo's Lolo's name. That's Drew's dad's name.
01:27Antonio. Primo because actually it was a joke. Drew and his younger brother loved Transformers. So
01:37Optimus Prime. He became Antonio Primo. At first I thought it was a joke but then eventually it
01:43started growing on me and then I was like you know what I like the name. Sige Antonio Primo.
01:46Alonzo Leon. The funny thing is we just liked the name because it sounded nice but little did
01:53we know that he would be a Leo and he's Leon. And pagdalit siya para siyang Leon. So that was Leon.
02:03Alana Loren. Alana because I liked it. I liked Alana because it's close to my mom's name Elena.
02:11Alana Elena. So that was like a to honor my mom. So Alana and then Loren just sounded nice so
02:19Alana Loren. Astro Phoenix because it was just amongst the list of names that I had
02:26when I was pregnant with Alana. Kasi nga akala kong lalake so I had more I had Astro's name in that
02:33list. And then I only had one name for a girl which was Alana Loren. So funny nagamit na si Alana Loren.
02:39And so when I had a boy we went with Astro Phoenix. There's no meaning behind it. It's just because
02:46it sounds nice. And then Anya because Anya also means grace. So I wanted to go with Anya but it's
02:59initially I wanted Anya's second name to be Ray because I'm Raylene and my dad's Ray.
03:08But I don't know who it was but someone gave me the idea that if you put Anya and Ray together
03:14it's going to be. So it turned out to be a joke. So I actually prayed about it.
03:25And then I was coming across all these names and then because I've been growing so much in faith
03:30it made me realize that God made an impression in my heart that love would be a beautiful name
03:36because God is love. And all that it's about in the Bible is about loving each other. And our family
03:47is built on a chunk of it. A chunk of love. So I thought love would be a beautiful second name for Anya.
03:53I know that I've always mentioned that but I'm I am terrified of delivery. I'm terrified. I know that
04:04people think you're scared, you're five. But I really am if you only knew I am really so terrified
04:14with delivery because you just don't know what can happen. Like for this for this delivery my my doctor
04:23had to ask me to reserve two bags of blood just in case he didn't contract my uterus because
04:29he didn't contract my uterus because he was five years old. He might say to my uterus
04:33he's tired. He won't contract and then I might end up bleeding profusely and she was telling me
04:40in just a matter of minutes I need to get you into an operating room and take out and have give you
04:46a hysterectomy take out the uterus. So Drew and I looked at each other and we're like
04:50okay that's kind of scary. So and that's just one of the things that can happen, right? So
04:59I am always so so scared. There was that one Sunday that I thought I was in labor. We went there.
05:04They checked me. I was just 1 to 2 cm. So they sent me home and then there was one then there were
05:11like probably two nights that at 2 a.m. I was feeling contractions.
05:18There were two or three nights. Which is why I had to have Astro's sleep somewhere else because
05:23I couldn't monitor my contractions. Eventually one morning I could feel it again. So I said,
05:29I'm a false laborer. What is this? Why am I still feeling here?
05:33It's not the real thing. It's not the real thing. I don't have any blood yet. My water hasn't broken
05:44yet. It's not. He said, sure. Can you please ask the doctor? I said, yes, love. Okay, okay. I'll ask the
05:50doctor. So he said, can I go to golf? I said, yeah, you're safe. Go to golf.
05:55Ako naman, nag-ayos na ako para pumunta sa gym. Kasi ayoko nang isipin yung contractions ko kasi
06:02feeling ko nga, it's a prank. So I got ready, went down, got down, got into the car. I was about to
06:09drive off. And then I messaged my doctor. I said, doc, ganito, ganyan. I'm feeling but wala
06:14kong blood, wala kong water. So I feel like it's not doing anything. Sabi ni basta iya. Monitor your
06:18contractions. If it's every five minutes, please go to the hospital na. And then I monitored. Medyo lumalakas. Medyo
06:25dumidikit na. Hanggang sa there was one contraction na talagang napahinto na ako. Tapos yung
06:30ginagawa. Yung ano, iniikot-ikot ko na yung hips. Sabi, oh, okay. Medyo ano na to, ah. And then
06:36when I noticed na medyo the intervals were getting closer together, I messaged and
06:40addressed. I said, love, I think I'm gonna get ready now to go to the hospital. And then
06:43I told my doctors na rin. Got to the hospital at 10. They checked me and I was surprisingly
06:49at 6 c.m. So I was so happy. Sabi ko, oh, is it safe to say I'm gonna deliver
06:53today? Tapos sabi ni, yes, ma'am. You're gonna deliver today. You're gonna give birth
06:56today. Drew arrived 10.15. So siguro mga 10.13 na sa birthing suite na ako. My doctor
07:01said, okay, iya, um, just walk around because medyo mataas pa yung ulo. So just walk around.
07:07So I was walking around, listening to my, to my gospel music. And then 10.45, my water
07:12broke. In that instant, I, I felt the pain. I ran to the bathroom and then the nurse
07:19came after me, said me, mom, huwag po kayo diyan. Yes. And then so, I had to wait
07:25out. Okay, it's either, I had to think of the two worst scenarios. Manganganak ako sa
07:29toilet or jejebs ako sa, sa kama. So that explains why, kung bakit ako nakalukod sa kama
07:38when I gave birth. Cause I was just kneeling. And then, you know, I could, I could
07:42really feel that those were the, those were the painful contractions. And then eventually,
07:47I just, parang, everything went zen. And I, parang, all the fear that I had leading
07:55up to the days, the days leading up to delivery, all of the anxiety, all of the fear, all of
08:02that was gone. And I was just calm. I was so calm and collected that I feel that even as
08:11the baby was coming out, dahil nga siguro hindi ako sumisigaw, my hospital gown
08:15was down eh. They didn't know where, if the baby was coming out. But I was just
08:19saying, okay, I feel her. Okay, I feel her head. Okay, the baby, okay, she's coming. I guess
08:24they didn't realize that she really was coming. So nagulat na lang sila. Pag angat ko
08:29ng hospital gown ko, nandiyan na nga siya.
08:33It was amazing for me because I've always wanted to know the feeling of catching your
08:45own baby. And so when I did, it was just, oh my goodness, it was the most beautiful thing.
08:52Oh, wow. It's, I would, I would wish for every mom to be able to experience that.
08:59Yung K-Primo, it was the relief after doing something so hard. Like, I didn't know what to
09:12expect with that delivery. And parakong nabinyagan na, ay gulay, ano yun? What the, what on earth
09:20was that? So that was the relief there. And of course, the relief na, okay, I'm okay, I'm alive,
09:28he's okay, he's alive. With Leon, there was a different kind of relief because nga, nag-poop na siya
09:34sa loob. So the relief that na-irik ko siya, I didn't, they didn't have to cut me and that he
09:39was okay and he didn't ingest any of it. With Alana, it was the relief na may babae na ako, hindi
09:46ko na kailangan ulitin. That was the relief. It was different levels of relief. Kay Astro,
09:52it was, yung kay Astro parang kay Primo. Because kay Astro yung walang epidural. So yung kay Astro,
10:00I was, that was the relief na parang yun pala yun na walang drugs. Tapos yung kay Anya, parang with
10:07Anya, it was just, there was so much joy, especially with how everything unfolded. And then of course,
10:16at the end of it, gratitude. I was just so grateful that I had given birth to the fifth,
10:22that I got through that pregnancy, that I got through the delivery, that she came out healthy,
10:27that I survived it. It was, it was all of that. And in just knowing that, that's the end of that chapter.
10:36Bye-bye birthing suite. Forever.
10:38Forever.
10:48Done with, uh, actually, I don't know where we are in the shoot right now.
10:53At this point, hindi ko na alam. Basta alam ko buhay pa naman kaming lahat.
10:57Of course, there are challenges here and there, because you know, one's in the mood,
11:00the other's not, the other one's hungry, the other one's game. But you know what,
11:04that's all part of the fun. Nothing that we're not used to. Siyempre, ito tulog na tulog.
11:10Um, yeah, it's always so nice to be with all of the kids. And for me, it's special because
11:17we are not the type of family that often arranges for pictorials, like for family pictorials. So,
11:23it's just nice because, you know, this is actually for smart parenting and we're all together. So,
11:29it's hitting two birds with one. We get to be part of smart parenting and we get to have material
11:35that we get to keep forever. So, yeah.
11:44You know what has really helped me with postpartum recovery? Having a night nurse. And I know it's a
11:51luxury, but you know what? We live in the Philippines where we're lucky to even have
11:58that option because I have family in Australia, family in the States. I have, you know, followers
12:03from all over the world and how they wish that they even had that option to have a night nurse.
12:08So, you know, we have that option here in the Philippines. So, Padang, make the most out of it.
12:12Honestly, yes, it's extra money, but it's your sanity. It's your health. And I feel that it's part of my
12:22postpartum recovery package. It's not like you're going to get a night nurse for, you know,
12:30for 10 more years. You're just getting a night nurse just for that fourth trimester,
12:34the fourth trimester that they say, right? Which is the hardest part, especially when you're settling
12:39into, you know, being a mom or settling into just having a new, a newborn. Though that, that time is
12:46so crucial because you're still recovering. It's hard to move around. Your body is still adjusting.
12:53Your, your hormones are still all over the place. You lack sleep. And then eventually, what do you call
12:59it? It's like compounded sleep deprivation. So it really adds up. And so to have a nurse that can help
13:06you, um, or a caregiver that can help you during those times, it does wonders to a mama's recovery.
13:18Well, yung big role kaseni drew is that he has to make the big adjustment with the older kids. As a dad,
13:25it's adjusting, helping the kids adjust, um, with bedtime when the new one arrives. And
13:32well, I think he's, he's just been really supportive with letting me get my me time, letting me, uh,
13:39get my workout in, let, letting me get movement in. Um, and he doesn't take it to heart
13:47kapag kilingi pa yung mga bata sa akin. He just knows that, okay, it's a phase right now where they just need
13:53mama more, but palang araw akin ka, boy. Ganun siya. And that, eventually, ganun na nga. So yeah, that's how,
14:00that's how he supports me. Of course, he'll support me with, if I'm craving for something,
14:04if there's something that I want to eat, he'll, he'll cook for me or prepare my food. So that's how
14:09he has helped. And of course, he has helped with just being supportive of the things
14:14that I tell him that I need. So like with the nightdars.
14:18I hope that they will remember how loving I was. I hope they'll remember how fun I was. I hope
14:31they'll remember all of the fun opportunities that I gave them. That's how I would like for them to
14:39remember me.
14:44Siguro, si Leon. Leon says the funniest things. And minsan, mayroong siyang sinabi na,
14:51mama, you're my favorite mama. And I'm like, of course, you might have like,
14:56mayroong ka pa bang mama na pwede maging favorite? Yeah, just little things like that.
15:01Ano pa nga ba? Yung mga biglaang ikikiss ako ni Astro, you know, he might not say it, but
15:08through his actions, I can see how much he loves me, just the way he hugs me. You know,
15:12these actions, you know, say so much more. And even Alana, just when she wants to be with me,
15:19not necessarily the things that they say, but really the things that they do to show me how much they love me.
15:31What excites me the most is being able to travel with them. I can't wait to go on girly trips with
15:36them. Yeah, that's, that's really what excites me the most.
15:45Motherhood has been the most humbling teacher for me. And it's true that it really exposes a lot
15:53about yourself. And it exposes a lot of the things that we need to fix within ourselves. So that for
16:02me is what motherhood has been. And it can get very overwhelming. It can get overstimulating.
16:12It can get challenging. But you know, if you take the time to just be still and talk to God,
16:20there's a lot that he can expose and help you through. I guess the reason why I've grown so much
16:26in faith is because I know how much of God's grace has gotten me this far. And when you know
16:35how little strength you actually have, you'll find the strength that you do have, that God can provide,
16:43that only he can provide. The most beautiful thing that's come out of motherhood is not just,
16:47of course, of course, my children. But for me, it's the faith that it has given me. Because it's
16:54true, I see God's grace in every little face. And I would not have made it this far if it weren't for
17:01that same grace, because man, it is hard. And I wouldn't have been able to do it without the faith
17:10that I have now. So that's it for today's episode. But for more videos like this, do like and subscribe
17:20to Smart Parenting's YouTube channel.
17:32See you next time.
17:34The next time.
17:42Thank you for having fun.
17:43I haven't.
17:44I have a très good idea for everyone.
17:48Look at me.
17:52The next 10 months I've been able to do one of my riches.
17:55I know a lot of truth.