From the start, it was a juggle. One that Dr. Joan Clarence Morallo has consistently been good at, for the past 10 years.

Dr. Joan was reviewing for the medical board exam when she learned that she was pregnant with her first child. While other to-be-moms would have music played for the fetus to hear, Dr. Joan read out loud her medical reviewers and books to the baby in her tummy. During breaks, she would also read some parenting books.

Two weeks before the exam, Dr. Joan gave birth via Caesarean section!

“I guess that was my lucky charm because I passed the exam, even though recovering from CS was more difficult,” says the founder and head of Clarence Anti-Aging, Slimming and Dermatology Centre.

On her second and third pregnancies, she also read to her babies, but this time it was derma books and novels.

Dr. Joan says that the most difficult part of motherhood was after giving birth, although she immediately fell in love with her three boys when they came out.

“The most tiring and challenging part was the breastfeeding, because they were all purely breastfed up to 11 months. Tiring because during the neonatal age, they feed almost every 30 minutes to an hour, hence I was awake during most of the night and day. But everything pays off after seeing that they are really healthy,” beams Dr. Morallo, who is now being recognized as a celebrity doctor and has been guesting in radio and television programs.

Her favorite part of motherhood, was when her children learned to say “Mama.” Dr. Joan confesses that she had a teary-eyed episode even with her third child.

The three boys say they all look like their dad, but Dr. Joan disagrees.

“Well, since all of them are boys, they say they all look like their dad. But of course I disagree! I say they look like me, only that they have shorter hair. But seriously, Andre and JM have my eyes, then the shape of Antonio’s face and lips are mine, too,” says Dr. Joan.

Ten-year-old Andre is the most serious and polite. Dr. Joan describes him as “the responsible one, he looks after his brothers and even when JM accidentally hurts him, he does not hurt him back.”

Six-year-old JM is the most talkative and charming, “to the point that he can entertain anybody, and I literally mean anybody.” JM always wants to have a good time with his brothers, especially in the car.

Three-year-old Antonio, being the “bunso,” is the most “malambing” and clingy. Dr. Joan says he is very spoiled, receiving his own gadget very early and “now he can manipulate any kind of cellphone may it be android or IOS.”

“Andre got the seriousness of his dad, while JM got being talkative and Anton got his sweetness from me!” exclaims Dr. Joan.

Dr. Joan admits she is the strict disciplinarian parent. She tells her children what needs to be done and what is the norm. The couple does not believe in spanking the kids, but she says the boys know if their parents are mad with just one look. Dr. Joan’s husband Mike is also strict but more lenient, as he easily gets soft-hearted when the boys start crying.

Mike and Dr. Joan teach their kids to love each other as much as they love them, to always think before saying or doing anything, and to think positive.

“We tell them that everything happens for a reason, and God is always there for everything,” she adds.

Of course, as a mother Dr. Joan also has fears: to see her children get hurt physically or emotionally by others.

Dr. Joan dreams of her children growing up with God in the center of their hearts, so that they will know what is right from wrong which will lead them to better and successful paths.