Thumbelina's Leaf

11th and 12th Day of Christmas

2012-01-23T16:37:00.000+08:00

2 - 3 January 2012

The last two days of this series was spent at home with my family.

I told you before about her fake smile, right? Here it is

Those were scarves that a friend gave to us. One for me and one for Joema. Look who's using Mommy's?

After this short vacation of mine and when I went back to work, Miya started having separation anxieties. The day I went back to work, she didn't want to be put down on her crib and play on her own. This lasted for almost a week that her yaya can't do any other chores. Plus she also makes habol when we leave for work after this Christmas break. Before this, she usually gets distracted when we bring her down to us and she bids us bye-bye. After this break, when she and her yaya goes back to our unit she cries and always looks for us. it's better now although she still cries when we put her down on her own. It's so hard to leave in the morning and we always have to hurry to go home because she cries when it's late than our usual coming home time (which is about 7-ish) and we're not yet home. The difficulties of being a working mom. Haaaay!

9th and 10th Day of Christmas - New Year's Eve and Day

2012-01-23T16:22:00.000+08:00

Joema had work on New Year's Eve so it was a pretty quiet day for us. I did another pasta dish for our dinner, this time with shrimp. This one's yummy!

Pasta for two!

2011 has been my most blessed year to date, because of her.

We must have done something good to be worthy of her

Miya and I slept early. I didn't want her to still be awake during the fireworks and have a hard time getting her to sleep afterwards. Plus I don't know how she'll take all that noise. So we were out before 12 midnight. Only Joema was awake to usher in the new year. He woke me up with a kiss and a "Happy New Year!" and then I went back to sleep haha!

The following day, we didn't really have any plans. Both sets of grandparents were not available so we trooped on to the nearest mall to have lunch. Shangri-la was closed so we went to Greenbelt and had lunch at Big Buddha.

We were there early, we were the only diners when we arrived.

Our New Year's feast

After lunch, we wandered around Greenbelt.

She really loves the water

I love this photo - looked like we're not in Manila.

In the afternoon, Lolo and Lola came to visit their apo. They brought her slippers.

Look at those colorful slippers

They say how you spend New Year's day is how you'll spend the rest of the year so here's wishing the rest of the year will be filled with more family bonding times!

8th day of Christmas – Miya’s 11 month Birthday

2012-01-19T10:31:00.000+08:00

We celebrate Miya’s birthday monthly if you can call it that. Every 30^th of the month, we go out and buy cake and have a small celebration for our first born. I am so grateful to have her in my life. I always feel blessed everytime I see her. She is the living proof that God loves me, I think.

Anyways, on the 30^th of December we celebrated the little girl’s monthly birthday one last time before her 1^st birthday. Here are some photos.

Happy 11th month Birthday, Anak! We love you!

Sometimes, I can't call her a baby anymore because she's so big already - little girl na!

Mommy loves you!

Miya dancing with Daddy! She glees every single time!

6th and 7th Day of Christmas - Migs Christmas Party

2012-01-18T17:07:00.004+08:00

28-29 December 2011

This was a much awaited trip for me. I so wanted to just relax and unwind during the holiday season. I actually thought of brining our yaya with me but I finally decided on not bringing her as this was also a much needed bonding time with my daughter and hubby. Just us three – well, with our friends, too. It was after all our Christmas Party and Welcome-Back-Home to one of our dear friends.

We all met up in Makati in the morning of the 27^th. We arrived in Pansol just in time for lunch. Miya did not want to nap during the entire trip. I’m amazed at how energetic she was still when we arrived there.

Practice walking

Truth be told, I never would have made it overnight without the help of my friends and their yayas in taking care of Miya. Good thing she’s a cutie (ehem ehem0, everyone was just willing to take care of her.

Tita Jiral took care of her when Mommy needed a break

More of our short vacation after the cut.

In the afternoon, we played Cranium. Everyone was competitive.

Finally the little girl went to sleep but only for a little while.

She was up and about again for merienda and picture taking time. Don't you just love these lazy days when all you do is just eat and rest?

In the evening after dinner, it was gift giving time. Our little girl received so many gifts from her ninongs and ninangs. Thanks so much, friends!

And then the parteh began. There were a lot of booze. I won’t post any incriminating photos here hahaha! Suffice it to say, everyone enjoyed the booze, except me and Heili (I’m breastfeeding, she’s preggers).

Slept early with Miya and left them to drink some more. Then woke up the next day, next to these cuties.

Then it was swimming time. Oh how Miya loved the water. The first time we took her swimming, she was too small to even know what she’s doing. This time around, she shrieked with glee, splashed the water and kicked with all her might.

Swimming with Daddy

Swimming with Ninang

Swimming with Mommy

Can you tell that I'm so proud of my daughter? Hahaha I'm so happy that she's a water baby because both Joema and I love the water. I'm now thinking of enrolling her to swimming lessons.

After lunch, it was Cranium time again. And before we knew it, it was time to say bye-bye.

But because we love each other so much, and don’t get tired of each other we still went on to celebrate Joy’s birthday in advance.

No, we're not the celebrants

Happy birthday, Joyjoy!

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4th and 5th Day of Christmas

2012-01-08T12:28:00.001+08:00

Monday, 26 December, was spent at home while the next day we went to my friend Reyna's house for Miya's photoshoot. But before going there I taught her how to smile, so now when we say "Smile" she gives us this silly smile that looks so awkward. I haven't had the chance to take a picture of it but it's so funny. It's like she's trying to fool you with her smile.

Here are photos from the shoot.

Sneaked in a shot with mommy

She was not able to take her usual afternoon nap so we slept when we got home around 4pm. After waking up, she was full of energy again.

Standing on her own while eating spaghetti

the next day we were scheduled to go to Pansol with our friends so I had to pack. But because the little girl was so likot and kulit, we had to put her inside the bag for her to behave.

Hahaha just kidding! But really we put her there to make her behave but we didn't keep here there. And FYI, it didn't work haha.

3rd Day of Christmas - Christmas Day

2012-01-08T10:43:00.001+08:00

On Christmas Day, we went to my side of the family to Antipolo. We first went to my Tita's house because it's our family's tradition to eat breakfast there or they're leftover Noche Buena. Their Noche Buena is always bongga because my Tito is a chef. You know what they're food was - pasta in olive oil with parsley and sausage! So I had to ask my Tito how he cooked it. Aside from getting the good brand of olive oil from him, I found out I need to sautee more garlic than what I used in my own recipe heehee.

Miya received another round of gifts. Thank you!

The cousins with my Tita and the three grandkids.

The cousins with my Tita and the 3 grandkids

Then we went to my parents house and took a nap (so please excuse our bagong-gising-and-pambahay look) before having lunch. But before lunch, it's gift opening time again.

My parents went all out for their granddaughter. They don't have expensive gifts but they gave her quite a few which was so exciting because we got to open a bunch of gifts for Miya. So note for next Christmas - buy more not so expensive gifts for Miya instead of buying just one expensive gift.

Ninong Jay's gifts - dress and bonnet (getting ready for HK!)

She kept on looking at the tags we were joking that she's isnpecting if the gifts were expensive or not, fake or not haha!

Wiht Lolo and Lola

With the doting grandparents

With Ninong Jay

This is one of her tricks - when we ask her to show her tongue she puts her tongue out. Sometimes she does this with us just saying "Show me!" or "Patingin!" without waiting to tell her what we want to see. She also does this when she's eating and we want her to show if she's done chewing her food.

That's her pa-cute smile or as her yaya calls it "beautiful eyes" haha!

Christmas was twice happier, twice merrier because of her!0

2nd Day of Christmas - Christmas Eve

2012-01-08T10:12:00.002+08:00

24 December

On Christmas Eve, we went to Bocaue. Miya was able to spend time with her cousins on Joema's side of the family.

On the way to Bocaue

On the way to Bocaue

With Tita Itchee, Ate Kyla and Ate Sam

With Tita Rachel

Before it got dark we went back home. I wanted us to spend Christmas Eve just us without our extended families. This way we can start our own Christmas traditions. We tried hearing the Christmas Eve mass but we were a bit late (mass was at 8pm, we were late for a few minutes and the people were already outside the church).

We didn't bring a car going to church because we figured there will be lots of people and we planned to go to city hall and go around the tiangge after mass so we rode the tricycle instead. It was Miya's first ride and she was so amazed hehe.

Since it's a bit hard to have a baby standing outside a church, we decided to not finish Mass (I know that's bad, don't imitate us!). We went instead to city hall to take pictures. Miya was mesmerized with all the Christmas lights.

Then we went to the food stalls and bought bibingka and pizza haha not a good combo but still!

When we got home, I cooked our Christmas dinner. I don't want to call it Noche Buena because it's not a feast hehe. I cooked pasta in olive oil with olives, mushroom, capers and feta cheese. Only it was not a success. I think it was because of the olive oil I used, i dind't like th taste of it. Although Joema was happy with the pasta hehe.

Then it was it was gift openign time.

Miya loved all her gifts!

12 Days of Christmas - First Day

2012-01-07T21:55:00.002+08:00

I was able to spend 12 consecutive days with my ~~baby~~ little girl. This all started on 23 December. I brought Miya and yaya to the office hehe. See, my workstation is in a room (I don't want to say that I have a room because I'm sharing it with someone plus I don't really deserve to be in a room, it just so happens that this was the only available station) and my colleague who(m) I share the room with was already on leave. So I figured, I can bring Miya with me and let them stay in the room. Plus with yaya being around she can take care of Miya while I work which is what really happened because Miya was still able to take her morning and afternoon nap.

At my workstation

My colleague C enamored with Miya

In the afternoon around 4pm, I brought her to my old department where they have a tradition of bringing all the kids on the last day before Christmas and everyone gets their aguinaldo. This year I finally have a kid to join in on the festivities.

She's making pa-cute to another colleague

Eating her biscuits

Next year, she'll be running around the office.

Tragedy in our Midst

2011-12-23T10:36:00.005+08:00

I know most of us are neck-deep in preparation for our Christmas celebrations but I would like to share these stories of two of my colleagues who were personally affected by Typhoon Sendong. Not to dampen the merriments but just a reminder to help our fellowmen.

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When T left her hometown, Cagayan de Oro, a week ago, she had no inkling that she was not going to see it in the same state again. On 16 December, Typhoon Sendong (Washi) unleashed flash floods in the dead of the night, devastating the coastal city and causing widespread destruction its people have never seen or imagined.

The raging floods swept away people and property, devastating 20 towns and leaving more than 1,000 dead. The damage was so massive that the Philippine government has declared a national state of calamity.

For the people in the affected areas, the losses were tremendous and the experience, daunting.

T’s husband and family, all based in Cagayan de Oro, were forced to seek higher ground as the waters rose quickly and entered their house, located near Cagayan River. They had seconds to escape in complete darkness. Unfortunately, a 70-year old aunt was unable to get out of the house in time.

"Everything happened very fast, and now things have changed forever," T says. Only two structures now remain standing in their compound which used to be home to five families. Their vehicle was submerged in the floods. Mud covers the few items that they salvaged. T’s family, now based in an evacuation center along with hundreds of homeless families, is slowly picking up the pieces of their lives. They want to start cleaning up, but unfortunately, supplies are limited. Fresh water is not yet available.

Amidst the loss and uncertainty, T tries to find hope. She is scheduled to fly back home before Christmas Eve as she knows that her assistance is needed there. She draws strength from the words and expressions of help and support from colleagues, family, and friends. Starting anew may be difficult, but with others’ help, she – as with the rest of the affected people—can build life anew. "We cannot stop hoping — it is the only thing that sustains us now," she says.

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Article below written by another colleague:

For the past 3 days, as L and I drive to town to buy cleaning materials, food, and water, we witness haunting scenes and hear stories of devastation that we never imagined would happen to our very own community in Iligan.

Two hundred meters from our house, there is a new Honda Civic waiting for its owner—a professor at the Mindanao State University—to return. At around 10 p.m. on Friday, 16 December, the professor tried to save his car from the rising flood waters, before rushing back to his house in Orchid Homes to save his family. But along the way, he was struck by a log and now lies in a hospital fighting for his life. There are many other scenes that speak of this tragedy.

Until this weekend’s floods, Orchid Homes, a housing development built over the past decade, seemed to be an idyllic place to live in. It is located on a peninsula bounded by the sea and the last bend of the usually peaceful Bayug River. About three kilometers upstream is the bridge on the national highway leading to Iligan, built about six meters above normal water level.

Logs and mud
Last Friday, close to midnight, a torrent of muddy water carrying huge logs from Bukidnon’s forests was raging 2 to 3 meters over this bridge. The water cut down all in a path almost a kilometer wide straight to the sea across Bayug Island, drowning riverside homes—including our own—and sweeping straight through Orchid Homes.

“Never in my 65 years here has this river’s waters reached this height”, an old-time neighbor told me after the flash floods. The worst flood in this area was in 1982, he said, but the water level was at least three meters lower than this year’s floods.

There was a very short window of time for people to realize they were in danger and act. At about 10 p.m., Army reservists rushed to Orchid Homes and across to Bayug Island to awaken people and warn them to leave. However, many people did not wake up, apparently not believing they were in danger. By 10:30 p.m., the water was knee deep and continued rising over the next minutes. What surprised people was the speed and strength of the water current. Between 11:30 and midnight, the floods peaked, ripping wooden houses from their foundations and completely submerging many single-storey concrete houses.

To describe it, the scene was very similar to the tsunami in Japan that swept all in its path. However, this flood came in the dead of night. Other than cars and debris from destroyed houses, this flood also carried a deadly cargo of huge logs—over one meter in diameter and up to 10 meters long—which hit people and destroyed property. These logs were cut from the forests far away and are now strewn around our neighborhood.

A safe haven for all

Amidst all this devastation, we can only do our best to pitch in and help out. Thankfully, late last year, we extended our house and decided to add a concrete roof to create a large upstairs terrace. On Friday night, this was the highest point in the barangay.

Over 100 people, from babies to the elderly plus pigs and chickens took shelter on our terrace as the waters swirled through the house below. A neighbor, told me that her daughter was trapped in her bedroom and that her husband forced open the door so they could flee the rising waters and reach our rooftop. It is good to know that our terrace became a safe haven for people during the most critical hours.

Yet one cannot help but feel a strong sense of loss. I heard over 400 are dead and 200 are still missing in Iligan. When added to the 700 or more souls lost in Cagayan de Oro, Typhoon Sendong has led to one of the greatest losses of life in recent Philippine history.

Still, we have to move on. For now, we are focused on helping each other out. Many neighborhood children have cuts, so yesterday, L rounded them up so that they could be given tetanus shots by her brother’s nurse volunteer friends.

The new homeless

In between cleaning up and helping out, we visited the suspension bridge which was the link for Bayug Island residents for over 25 years. A few steel cables lying in the mud attached to huge foundation beams are all that are left. B and S, long-time residents who knew L from childhood, were sitting looking forlorn under two pieces of roofing iron, with just a plastic chair and a small bag of clothes—their house gone. R, a 7-year old neighbor, and his five brothers and sisters ate dinner at our house tonight, also homeless. People are devastated and suffering but realize that life has to go on.

Definitely, support for those left homeless is needed as people come to terms with their losses and rebuild their lives. I know that life will never be the same again for the people in our community, but I do hope that the process of rebuilding and recovery can begin soon with other people’s help.

Again here's a list on how we can all help.

*Articles and photos taken from our office website.

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Christmas Ramble

2011-12-22T17:24:00.001+08:00

It's a few days before Christmas and how have you been coping? Me? I'm not yet done with Christmas shopping. To think I started shopping in October! This week have been hectic, buying gifts, lunch out with friends, buying more gifts. Add to that, the hubby has been busy at work so we're not able to go home early every day for the week. Well, we're still able to come home at a decent time (8pm is already late for us - we're lucky like that) but our little one has been clamoring time with us. The past two days, our yaya has been texting me to call Miya because she's crying and waiting for us to come home. You see I don't really call our house every hour of the day, I usually call home when we're already on our way home. But the past two days, our yaya had to text me to call because we're not yet home at our usual time. Haay! When I text early to ask if Miya's awake, she's always sleeping so it ends up that way - the yaya texting. The other night, we came home I think 9pm. We're lying in bed by past 10 and Miya's trying to fight off sleep just to be able to play with us. It was cute and sad at the same time.

This is our first Christmas with the little girl so we're pretty much excited. We've put up our Christmas tree way before December started.

Look at her naughty smile

She wants to get the trimmings

She really likes the silver flower

We didn't buy any new trimmings for this year. My plan is to just build up on what we've already have and add new trimmings every year as our little family grows (not just in number).

Sent out this photo of Miya to my colleagues since our party theme was hiphop.

From our family to yours, have a Very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

Sendong (Washi)

2011-12-20T20:06:00.002+08:00

Please click on this link for a comprehensive list of how you can help the victims of Sendong. Let us all help.

Photo source

AVA + googoo&gaga

2011-12-20T11:16:00.001+08:00

You would think my first purchase from AVA would be a designer bag or designer shoes...but no, my first purchase was for the little girl.

Chubby little hand excited to open the bag

Colors peeking through the wrapping paper

Sweet googoo&gaga dresses for my baby

The dresses are still big for her but I think in a couple of months, she'll fit into them. The size of these is medium. These will be Miya's 3rd and 4th googoo&gaga purchase. The first one was a onesie and a lap tee but she hasn't worn the tee yet. Bought the onesie for 12-18month size but she was able to wear it by 6months. The lap tee size I got was 2T and it's still big for her. Here she is featured in the googoo&gaga site a few months ago.

Nuat Thai: Ensogo Voucher

2011-12-20T10:50:00.000+08:00

Remember I've been buying those Ensogo vouchers? The first ones I bought were for a massage at Nuat Thai. I've read good reviews for this massage place so I bought a pair for me and Joema. The first vouchers they sold can be used at any Nuat Thai branch so we went to the one in Pearl Drive (didn't know that the one in Mandaluyong was just our neighbor). The voucher was for a P250 body massage so we upgraded to a Swedish massage for me and Thai massage for Joema and just added P200 total. The next set of vouchers I bought were only for the branch in Mandaluyong so we went there two times (Oh yeah, bought many vouchers for these massages). Both branches were simple and neat. No frills massage place. Here are some photos from the Mandaluyong Branch.

Reception area

Door leading to the massage area

Your feet will be washed first before your massage

They use that peppermint scrub to wash your feet

Massage tables are behind those curtains.

Bend It With Beckham

2011-12-20T10:33:00.000+08:00

As a belated Anniversary gift to hubby, I bought us tickets (the cheapest!) to the Azkals-LA Galaxy match. I was one of this first to buy tickets I think. Saw on a news article that they were supposed to sell the tickets November 10, but they released the tickets on the 11th. Oh yes, I ordered online immediately. I monitored twitter and FB for news on what time they are releasing the tickets haha! Then after office, I went to Robinsons Galleria for the Ticketworld outlet to pay for and get the tickets. Later that night, I gave it to Joema. He was surprised alright! Because when I told him days before the ticket prices, he asked me if we'll watch and I told him no because the tickets were expensive. Yay me!

So last December 3, we trooped to Harrison Plaza early (that's were we thought it would be easy to park), around 4:30pm we left the house.

Left our tabaching at home

We were already in HP past 5, so we ate dinner first at Shakey's. By the way, I'm not that familiar with the area, although I used to live somewhere in P. Ocampo, so I had to google where the Rizal Football Stadium is. Was so happy to find out the it was just across SM, which is beside Harrison Plaza. After eating we went straight to Rizal Stadium that was a little after 6pm. We thought we were early because our ticket says 7:30pm. The entrance across SM is for VIP/Grandstand ticket holders only. We had to walk all the way to the other entrance along P. Ocampo. Fortunately, we saw the LA Galaxy bus just as they were arriving. When we got to the bleachers entrance, the line was so long! We had to walk all the way to Starbucks along Taft. I had to sit there because my foot was bothering me by this time. Joema thought of going to the end of the line and good thing he did because the line snaked all the way to and circled McDonald's beside La Salle.

The line in front of Starbucks

See the time? Almost 7pm and the line's still there. And I'm still there waiting for Joema.

I don't know what the organizers were doing and why the line was not moving when we got there. By the time we got inside those gates, everyone was in a frenzy because the match was about to start. Hay! We got tickets for the blue bleachers (told you, it was the cheapest) and the nearest bleachers when you enter the stadium is the white bleachers. We turned left, unfortunately that was going to the green bleachers. We had to turn back and walk all the way to the other end of the stadium where the blue bleachers were.

We were seated near this cheering section

The happy football fan

Can you spot Beckham?

A blurry David kicking at Beckham's corner

That's him! Jersey # 23

After the match Azkals went around the stadium...there's Phil and Anton

I won't even attempt to do a recap of the match. I hope you were able to watch it. My most memorable moment was when David took off his shirt. I was not even bothering to watch the match anymore hahahaha!

We didn't have a hard time going home either. Traffic wasn't that jammed as I expected it to be. Unfortunately, my yaya forgot to pack the breastpump so I had to wait until we got home before I pumped milk for my baby. I was irritated with my yaya for forgetting. Miya was already asleep when we got home but she still woke up when we arrived. But I had to pump breastmilk first before I got to play with her. That's why I needed the breastpump with me sot that I can pump milk while in transit. I want to immediately play with Miya when I get home. The woes of breastfeeding moms!

Date with Ninang Grace

2011-12-08T16:01:00.000+08:00

Finally my daughter was able to see her Ninang Grace again (before this, Grace only saw Miya during her baptism). We met up at Ayala Triangle after Miya's check up with the derma. She has regular check-up due to her atopic dermatitis. I don't know why we only thought of meeting up with Grace now when we almost always go to that park after Miya's derma check-up. Here's a photoblog.

They can pass as mother+daughter because they're both chubby haha

With Mommy and Daddy - Miya can't fix her eyes on the camera, she had so much to look at

We had dinner at MOMO - one of the few places with only a couple of people on a Saturday night

Miya transferred next to Daddy - it was her first time to sit on a high chair in a resto!

Practice walking

Miya Update

2011-12-07T17:59:00.015+08:00

Remember that post I made where I mentioned that I made another blog exclusively for Miya? Well, it turned out I haven't been updating that too. For me, it's such a chore to maintain two blogs. And since most of what's happening with me nowadays are somewhat related to my daughter, it turned out I didn't blog here either. So I've finally decided to just blog whatever I want to blog here and decide later on if I want to transfer it there.

Anyways, Miya's now 10 months old! Can you imagine that? When I look at her newborn pictures now, I find myself surprised at how small she was then. She's so big now! She's so talkative (just baby talk - mum-ma, bababa, athathatha) and bungisngis! She can now clap her hands, wave bye-bye. And just yesterday, she walked in her crib all on her own... no cruising! I'm just sad I wasn't able to witness it. My yaya told us when we got home that Miya even placed her toys in the crib to one side and she tossed her pillows out of the crib then slowly tried walking without help. I can just imagine her. But she's so shy (sometimes), she doesn't want anyone looking when she does it, our yaya says. So last night I tried discretely recording her on video when she was in her crib, she just sat there looking at the cellphone - she knows she's being recorded because the light in my cellphone was lit up. Smart girl!

Here she is pushing her toy. This toy converts from a toy "car" which she can ride to a walker which she can push around while practicing her walking. She still needs a "lampin" around her chest so that yaya can assist her while walking.

Cruising on her push toy

Passports: Check!

2011-12-07T16:38:00.001+08:00

We finally have our passports! I've changed my name to my married name, got Miya her first passport and well, Joema renewed his just so we'll all have to renew our passports on the same date in the future.

We schedule our appointment through the DFA's website. For family appointments you may go to this link. I think I mentioned in a previous blog that we were supposed to go on the 7th but we rescheduled the appointment to the 16th. The new DFA building, in case you had previous passports in the old building, is now near SM Mall of Asia. Here's the map. Our appointment was for 8:30am but since the documents sent to me said we need to be there by 8am, we left the house a little after 7am. We arrived there before 8am. I think there's a parking lot right across DFA but we parked in the lot next to McDonalds. Miya was like a probinsyana. She was looking everywhere while we were crossing the streets. She must be amazed by the buses she saw, the wide road we were crossing, the buildings. We arrived early but there were already a lot of people in DFA that morning. Once you get inside the gate, you need to present your appointment papers to one of the persons in the table just before you enter the building. Since we were there with Miya, we were told to go up directly to the second floor. When we got upstairs, we went through another round of checking the papers and application form, then we were handed a number. We proceeded to the first room on the second floor for the processing of our papers. I guess the window for family appointments was not yet open because we waited for a bit. Just for a bit. I think they were bundling up the applications before opening the window since they were already receiving applications for the elderly. One man there got angry (I believe he came with his child and wife) because he said he was waiting for a long time already. He said he should have just waited downstairs where, we can see from the number monitoring thingy, atleast the numbers were being called and moving. A few minutes later it was our number was blinking in the monitor. For Miya, who's a minor aside from the application form, we submitted her birth certificate (in NSO paper). For me, I submitted photocopy of my old passport and our marriage contract (in NSO paper) since I'm changing my name. For Joema, we only submitted a copy of his old passport. Although of course we brought the old original passports as well. Don't worry every document that you need to bring will be listed once you make the appointment online. The problem with that was it was a bit vague if they need the birth certificate in NSO paper for passport renewals. This stressed me a bit because I didn't have on file Joema's birth certificate in NSO paper. I found this out on Monday before our appointment (which was on a Wednesday). We had to ask my in-laws to bring the one they found in Bocaue. Which actually had me more stressed out later because the one they brought is in the old NSO paper which looked like it was just a copy that was authenticated to be a true copy. Anyways, I was really glad DFA did not need the birth certificate. Their requirement was vague because it said it needed the birth certificate if the birth place in the old passport was not specific. Joema's old passport only says Bulacan so I thought that was not specific enough. But just the same, better to bring everything in case they need it. Also for Miya, since I was with her they also attached a copy of my application to her application. So better have your application forms photocopied as well. I did not do that so I had to pay P5 for the copy (they have a ready copy machine there). After the processing of the papers, we had to pay at the other room. Paid P1,200 for each of us since we were all qualified as express processing because we have a kid. You have no choice in that matter, as long as you lined in the express lane which is automatic for the senior citizens and young children. After that it was picture taking time. I thought we were going to go back to the first room where our papers were processed because there were cameras there but apparently those were for senior citizens only. While us with children will go and mix with the other applicants for the picture taking. Fortunately, it wasn't a long wait since Miya was starting to get squirmy. The problem was the guy manning the station we were assigned to didn't know how to take Miya's pictures. Now, you've seen Miya's pictures here in my blog you can attest that my daughter knows how to look at a camera and smile for a picture. That guy was horrible. Instead of looking at his monitor to which the camera is hooked and see if my daughter's already looking, he was looking at us (me while I get Miya to look at the camera, and Miya looking at the toy I was dangling in front of the camera). We had to do it several times. I wanted to tell him, "let me click the button!" So irritating! My daughter was getting irritated too, she was trying to get out of the chair because it was taking him a long time. Plus they were telling me to get her bangs off her eyebrows. What the eff?! What can I do with baby hair which doesn't want to be bothered?!?!?! Anyways, after all that, we still had a fairly easy time getting our passports. After the picture taking, it was time to pay the courier and then we were out of there. Took us about an hour and a half to finish the whole process. Not bad eh?

Put Your Right Foot In

2011-12-07T10:35:00.000+08:00

Well, hello! Right about time I update this blog. I can think of a bunch of topics to update you with but let me start with a not so good thing. I was brought to the ER last week because my foot has swollen. It really started two weeks ago. I noticed a small bump on my left foot after practicing for two days for our Christmas presentation (our theme is hiphop - go figure!). No, we're not practicing the whole day, just an hour or two each day. And then on Friday, I went to Makati and met up with a friend. We had dinner and did some shopping in Forever 21 (it was my first time in their Makati store, it was HUUUGEE!!!). Later that evening I felt my right foot was starting to swell too. Hmmm..I thought it was just because I was tired or something. The following Monday, we had a massage at Nuat Thai, Mandaluyong (will blog about it) and after the massage I felt that my feet were back to normal. Only to be bothered by it again on Wednesday, my daughter's 10th month birthday celebration. I was really cringing in pain that Wednesday night. It was actually a good thing her grandparents were there who couldn't get enough of her and were always wanting to carry her. By Thursday early morning, I couldn't step with my right foot - it was that swollen. So I've asked Joema to bring me to the hospital. We were there around 5:45am and got out by lunch time. Hay! My foot was x-rayed which resulted in a suspicious fracture. So they had to ask an ortho to take a look at me. I was given Arcoxia in the ER and the Voltaren gel was spread in my swollen foot. I was given treatment for acute gout but my uric acid level was not even that high. I'm just frustrated with the ER doctor because after repeating to her a few times that I'm breastfeeding and asking if the meds she's prescribing is safe, she was still adamant in giving the meds to me. Aside from the other two meds, she also prescribed Colchicine. She said her dictum is that the mother should manage the pain first. I don't care about her dictum, I care about my baby. I did not take any other meds when I got home. I wanted to consult with our pedia first but he was out of town so I contacted his wife, who's my OB. But my OB was not replying back to me so I had to search the internet. I got conflicting answers in the internet so I was starting to get worried. I had to ask two friends to ask their sister and husband, respectively, who are doctors if the meds are safe. Later that evening, my OB called me and said not to take any of it and just drink mefenamic acid or ibuprofen for the pain and folic acid with vitamin B complex (Folanerve) and stick with the right diet to lower my uric acid. She also told me to consult with a vascular surgeon, she referred someone to me who is also her doctor. She mentioned that in her case, they did an ultrasound of her foot or something. Funny when she called me to ask what happened, she said "Cris, kilala kita." Haha maybe she remembered how I was during my labor. I won't complain unless the pain is something I can't bear. Now, I have to set an appointment with her doctor because my right foot swelled again last night. Haay!

At The Office

2011-11-15T15:51:00.000+08:00

The first time I brought Miya to the office, everyone was enamored with her. What can I say, I'm blessed with a charming daughter. Buti na lang mana kay Daddy nya haha!

I can't believe time flew by that quickly. She was just 6 months old in these photos and she's way bigger now.

The Third

2011-11-11T21:07:00.000+08:00

For our 3rd anniversary, Joema and I both took a leave from work.We all slept in, woke up around 9:30am when we (Miya and I) usually wake up 7am even during the weekends.

Nothing beats waking up next to your love ones :)

We got ready to head out for lunch and a little bit of grocery shopping.

We had lunch at a Chinese resto


Baby girl got a little bit restless

We got back home to take an afternoon nap. Ah yes, I love it when we get to rest and take it easy. In the evening, it was quality time with the hubby. I still got kilig getting ready for our dinner date.

Ayala Triangle has their Christmas lights up already

Nothing's more romantic to a breastfeeding momma than Kanin Club - give me all that rice!

Happy 3 years to us! :)

Read and Heard

2011-11-07T15:58:00.000+08:00

Two very sad news I've read and heard today...

Read:

This news article on a little toddler whose mother died. She thought her Mommy was only sleeping. The toddler, Shylah Silbery, comforted herself with her teddy bear "Possum" and ate cheese, leftover lasagna and milk from the fridge.

Source

Heard:

My former supervisor, who's 4 months pregnant, suffered a miscarriage. Well, that's not the "official statement" but according to a former colleague her waterbag broke and was immediately brought to the pre-labor room of the nearest hospital. Yes, everything happened here in the office. So sad! I can't even begin to imagine what she's going through. Will keep her in my prayers.

****************

Motherhood really changes your perception of the world. Nothing's just a story especially those involving mothers and daughters. It seems like all the mothers and daughters are connected to me now that I'm a mother as well.

Tirso Cruz (The Third not Pip)

2011-11-04T14:12:00.001+08:00

Our third wedding anniversary is coming up! We're supposed to celebrate it in Tagaytay and stay at the hotel I got from Ensogo. But unfortunately because of the declared holiday, we won't be able to go. See, we're supposed to go there Nov 7 then check-out nov 8. But since Monday was declared a holiday, we won't be able to book that date (limitation of the voucher). Plus, we were supposed to go to DFA on the morning of 7th for our passport renewals (new one for Miya). So yes, the holiday declaration screwed up our plans! Anyways, let's focus on the good things. Fortunately, I was still able to file for a leave on the 8th. I'm just not sure where we'll go. Okay, it now just occurred to me I can file for OA on Monday and then we can still spend the night somewhere special. Hmm...will have to aks Joema about it.

With that lengthy introduction, I just wanted to share with you some photos of our wedding. These are from the ceremony held at the Archbishop's Palace, Villa San Miguel.

Just before the wedding march

Waiting for me

More photos after the jump...

My wedding march started outside the chapel

He was teasing me because I cried during the wedding march

He can't resist my charm :)

I can't resist him either, pinakasalan ko nga e!

Blessing of the Bible

Intimate moment

First kiss as husband and wife

Mabuhay ang bagong kasal!

Photos post-processing done in Picnik.

P.S. So sorry for the corny title.

Giveaway for Breastfeeding Mommies

2011-11-03T09:43:00.001+08:00

You know I always join online giveaways but I never really win hehe. But but you will never win if you never join so I always always join especially when I love the giveaway. Chronicles of a Nursing Mom is giving away not one but two special gifts from Sunshine Babies: a Babybond and a Milk Band.

Babybond is a nursing cover that covers the mom and not the baby. I want this!!! Miya doesn't like to be covered anymore when we breastfeed in public so it's always my worry not to I get exposed. Sure I always wear nursing tops but this will really help especially when she just yanks her head off to see what's going on in that other side of her world (ie not Mommy's boobies hehe).

As for the Milk Band, I'm really intrigued how this works. Aside from helping the mommy remember which breast she used last (I also need this, I've been very forgetful ever since I gave birth!), it can also keep track how long baby has fed.

Are you a breastfeeding mom and wish to join the giveaway, please hop on over to Jenny's blog for the full details of the giveaway. Although of course, I wish and hope I win hehe.

DIY Halloween Costume

2011-10-24T10:21:00.001+08:00

Our first choice of Halloween costume for Miya is the Ferrari outfit we had bought from SG when our friends went there. Oh yeah she's going to be an F1 driver. Complete with shoes and steering wheel.

But one morning while I was putting Miya's hair up in a ponytail, the hubby said in observation that she looked like a samurai. So I thought why not put her in a kimono for Halloween! When I told a friend about it, she immediately said "Why not Flintstones instead?" I got excited about this. We originally intended to do Wilma with the big pearls and all but in the end she went as Pebbles because she's still a baby. I knew I wanted to make the costume for her so I headed on over to my most recent favorite site, Prudent Baby, for a step-by-step guide on how to sew a simple dress for Miya. I chose the hipster swing dress because it's the easiest one on the site.

By Tuesday, I had all the materials I needed.

For Miya, I've cut the fabric 13"x27". I didn't have a sewing machine so I did everying by hand. Yes, running stitch and whip stitch only. I was not able to sew anything on Tuesday but by Wednesday, I was pretty much done with the dress. The bias tape I've bought was only single bias, no double bias tape was available so I sewed two singles together. This is how it looks like inside - not clean but it doesn't show on the outside so I was pretty happy with myself.

By the end of Wednesday, this is what I've done.

Thursday night I did the diaper cover and the flower accent in the front. Prudent Baby has a pattern for diaper covers but I just used a spare one from Miya's closet. I deconstucted it and used it as a pattern. But in hindsight I should have used the pattern from the site hehe. Prudent Baby used a button as accent in the front of the dress but I don't know how to do that so I figured I'll put a flower instead. I used their DIY fabric flower but I had a hard time so I ended up with just 3 petals heehee.

I had the dress and diaper cover washed by the yaya on Friday so that I can continue adding the snap at the back and cutting the scallops at the bottom. We slept at my parents house on Saturday night so my mom helped me with the snap. I actually used a hook instead of a snap. Do you want to see how it turned out? Click click click..

Here's the flower - I glued the purple button (which is a coin covered with the purple bias tape hehe).

The diaper cover - I did not put any garter in the leg holes anymore.

After putting the flower and cutting the hem, here's how the dress turned out:

For Pebble's hair accessory, I bought a bone from Toy Kingdom - actually it's a headband with two bones attached to it. I had to remove one and then glued it to one of Miya's hair tie.

The final look:

I'm so happy with how it turned out. How about you? What's your kids or your costume this Halloween?

The "Me" Project

2011-10-14T17:12:00.001+08:00

The other I looked in the mirror and got annoyed at how I look. Tired face and lousy/crinkly outfit - blech! So I decided the next day to do whatever it takes to look and feel sharp! So here are my resolutions for a new me:

1. Put on make-up every day - I have all the basic things to put a nice make-up on. Sure my make-up essentials are not from high end brands but I have liquid foundation, mineral face powder, blush-on and lipstick. But sometimes I don't even want to bother putting on face powder and lipstick. And that day after feeling so lousy I tried putting on eye make-up (eye shadow and eye liner). Well, what do you know, it instantly made me look alive. As in! The eye make-up opened up my eyes (literally and figuratively)! Another tip I got from other make up enthusiasts - red lipstick! So next time I'm too lazy to do the works (yes, for me that's already THE WORKS), I'll try putting on just face powder and red lipstick.

2. Take care of my skin - I'm so lazy to put moisturizer on my face and lotion on my body. That's the truth. And I think, this has already caught up with me. My face always looks tired and dry. So from now on, I vow to slather on moisturizer every morning and every night! That goes with my body too.

3. Build my wardrobe - I was inspired by the series of posts from Manila Fashion Observer on building your wardrobe. Please click the link because she has explained it better than I could ever explain it. And you know, it totally makes sense! So for starters, I've started giving away the clothes I have packed away that are too small for me now that I've given birth. I don't want to illusion myself that I can still go back to XS. Although, it's worth noting that I can still fit into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes so I've kept those. Next, I won't buy unnecessary and cheap clothing. I don't want to have piles and piles of clothes but still every morning say to myself "I don't have anythign to wear." I will invest in classic, timeless pieces. The first on my list is a white button down shirt. Do you have any suggestions? As for undergarments, I want to buy those "no VPL" undies MFO is recommending.

Those are the things at the top of my head and will probably include some more if I think of anything else.

How about you, have you done anything recently to improve your self?

Just Another Blog

2011-09-28T09:09:00.000+08:00

I haven't been blogging for a while. Well, I actually am but on a different blog hehe. I've started a blog to document my daughter's milestones. As much as I want to do it here, for security reasons, I don't think I can. Sure, I may only have a few readers but I just don't want my daughter's face plastered all over here, which is the case now. Plus, that other blog is so much more private and personal. One day I hope to have all my posts in that blog published in a book. I remember reading an online site which can convert your blogposts into a book so I want one like that for my daughter. So there, I will still blog about her here but maybe not as often.

How about you? What's the latest thing you've been preoccupied with?

Dreaming Again

2011-09-14T08:51:00.000+08:00

Remember my post on Ensogo? From then on, I've purchased another one for a massage and then just this morning I purchased another voucher for a stay in this Tagaytay hotel - The Theodore Hotel. I want to sleep on this bed.

Source

Wala lang...something to look forward to. Hopefully, Ensogo will offer a voucher for a hotel in Hong Kong. I want to go back there with my family. We have not travelled in quite a while. I miss airports, hotel check-ins, souvenir shops.

Cow's Milk

2011-09-13T07:56:00.002+08:00

Have you seen the photos of this toddler in Cambodia directly suckling milk from a cow?

Source

From the news article I've read, he was breastfed before his parents left the village where they live. He started suckling milk from the cow after he saw a calf doing the same.

Source

On the one hand, it's breaking my heart that the young boy had to do this because his mother isn't around to nurse him. On the other, the photos are heartwarming because the boy did this for him to survive. Isn't it ingenious of him to do this? Survival of the fittest at its finest I think. Look at those eyes..my daughter has the same look while she's breastfeeding.

Barbie and Ken's Wedding

2011-09-07T08:33:00.000+08:00

This is so much fun when I read it. Barbie and Ken are now married with wedding photos to boot!

From the bridal preparations:

Barbie getting her hair done

Putting on her wedding gown

I love the pink shoes

Posing for the camera

And the groom's preps:

Ken's tux and black leather shoes

Putting on his tux

Ken with his groomsmen with Bieber hair haha!

The wedding ceremony:

I wonder if they have other guests

Looking lovingly at each other..aawww

First kiss as husband and wife

Pictorial after the ceremony (these I loooooove!):

First dance:

And reception details:

Drinks! Drinks! Drinks!

Cute their table set-up!

Photo source

Never Say Never

2011-09-06T09:28:00.000+08:00

Have I ever told you that I love Justin Bieber? As in I love him that I turn into a 12 year old fan girl getting kilig when I see him. I wanted to watch Usher's concert last year in MOA because I thought Justin might be his guest. But this did not happen as I was pregnant then and avoiding physical activities. I watched/listened to his Baby music video in our Ipod when I was pregnant with Miya ALL.THE.TIME! When he had his concert in MOA early this year, I wanted to join SM's raffle contest to get tickets but Joema just brushed me off saying who will take care of Miya. I don't know why I didn't watch this movie. Although I did read some good reviews online. I thought the movie did him good because most of the people who did not like him at first was convinced he is a great artist after watching the movie. Joema should actually thank his lucky starts we didn't watch this before because I will surely watch Justin's concert after watching the movie. OMG!!!! I really got kilig watching this movie. And that part when they chose one girl from the audience for their "One Less Lonely Girl" tradition, I could cry with happiness and kilig with those girls!!! Aaaggghhh!!!! I was almost disappointed when they did not show him singing Baby. But of course, save the best for last - he sang it during encore! I was carrying Miya when he started singing the song and would you believe it if I told you that she "sang along" with him???? Baby, baby, baby ohhh..while she blabbered "aaaahhh, aaahhh, aaahhh, ayayaya" hahahaha!!!! Oh, Justin I love you! Please grow up to be a good and gentleman!

Source

Confessions of a Breastfeeding Mom

2011-08-28T08:46:00.001+08:00

August is breastfeeding month so I would like to take this opportunity to post about breastfeeding before the month ends. I'm no breastfeeding guru. But I knew that I wanted to breastfeed my baby and I thought about this when I was still pregnant with Miya. Fortunately, unlike some moms, I had everyone's support - from colleagues, friends and families, even my OB-GYNE. The moment Miya was out into the world she was placed on my tummy and she immediately latched. She didn't have any difficulty suckling on my nipple (she did not spit out my nipples or anything like that). When I was in the recovery room, the nurse brought her to me to again make her try to latch, and again she was able to do it. I'm not sure if I had milk by that time but she perfectly suckled on my nipple. I gave birth to her at 12:40 in the morning and was out of the recovery room around 4am. By 7-ish am, I received a call from the nursery asking me if I can go there to nurse my baby. I think Joema was out then buying our breakfast and I haven't tried standing up yet, so I told them I will try later in the morning coz I haven't stood up yet or tried sitting up on my own. Maybe after an hour, they called again asking me to come. So I tried to stand up with Joema's help and went to the nursery (I was wheeled going there). Joema was not allowed to go inside so I had to go by myself - carefully taking each step at a time (I was still a bit woozy that time I think). I remember I asked the nurse for a fresh gown because I had blood stains on what I was wearing (wasn't able to bring sanitary pads in the hospital and haven't worn any I think by then). So I waited for her to bring me a new one before entering the room where I can breastfeed Miya. I was standing the whole time and feeling a bit sick by then. After she brought me the new gown and I changed into (I dressed in front of the nurse hahaha!), I was led to a room with barcaloungers. And then the nurse left me to get Miya. When she was brought in I remember just putting her in my bosom and she instantly nursed. She didn't nurse for a long time so I thought I had to give her back to the nurse immediately. The nurse actually left us while I breastfed Miya. But the nurse told me to try again and just breastfeed my baby. So after trying again I just played with Miya and looked at her and smelled her. I was kicking myself for not bringing my cellphone to take pictures of her. I didn't want to leave but I thought of Joema waiting outside the nursery. Such a shame that dads are not allowed to go inside.

Breastfeeding at our hospital room

After lunch, Miya was roomed in with us. Visitors started arriving. I nursed her even if there were visitors around, I didn't care. On our first night, she wouldn't stop crying. She breastfed and cried all night. I remembered having to ask Joema to take care of her because I badly needed some shuteye. Even for just two hours. It's unbelievable how much our body can take - I can't even think of how I survived that night without much sleep. Before I left the hospital, my nipples were sore and had blood.

When we brought her home, it was her third day. That first night at home, I had engorgement. My breasts were so full but I don't think she was able to get her milk. We'll be able to put her to sleep but she'll wake up after an hour crying. We were up all night. My mother-in-law, bless her, bought malunggay leaves the next day and boiled them for me to drink.

Breastfeeding at 2 months and 3 weeks

I wrote this during that time.

*********

3 Feb 2011

I've been breastfeeding all of 4 days since I gave birth. Last night was the hardest. Miya just won't latch. It started around 8pm, she was hubgry btut she won't latch with either of my breasts. She cried and cried. My mother who was visiting was able to pacify her. By the time my family left, Miya was at it again. She was able to feed and Joema even burped her. After two hours, she was crying again then it all started. Actually even before that we have problems of her latching on my right breast. But last night she just wouldn't take either of my breasts. She will latch fora few seconds adn then let fo. It won't even last for 10 minutes. We'll be able to stop her crying and put her to sleep but she'll be awak afain after an hour or so. My mother-in-law was able to stop her crying but since Miya was hungry,she'll wake up again all fussy. During all this commotion I tried reading a book, The ABC's of Breastfeeding, which Penny lent me. I found out the other night I had experienced primary engorgement. I should have read this book before giving birth. I was so disappointed with myself. I should've known what to do. So when Miya woke up again and didn't want to latch on either breasts, I asked Joema to prepare ice ona ahand towel and I started cold treatment on both breasts and tried massaging the left one. I feared I didn't have milk anymore because I wasn't able to feed Miya the other day on a regular basis. I only fed her when she asked for it (almot on the verge of crying). AFter massagin the left one, there was breastbmilk so I knew I didn't have to fear lack of milk. I tried on the right one but we used a different position, the football hold. Miraculously, she latched and breastfed for a few minutes. Thank God! Until now she's sleeping. But around 6:30am earlier, I tried feeding her again. She didn't wake up but she was able to latch on both breasts for 15 minutes. So now, I know never to wait for her to cry before I start feeding her. Her hunger signals should be enough for me. And I won't put my interest first like sleeping first before I feed her. I'll try to breastfeed her on a much regular interval (2-3 hours) even if she's asleep or even more often if she asks for it.

*********

Breastfeeding on her 3d month birthday!

Miya is now 6 months and 3 weeks old and we're still breastfeeding. She's as healthy as can be - she's had the usual cough and colds but nothing more than that. She doesn't get fever after vaccinations. She's our tabachingching.

I admit most of my motivators to breastfeed are selfish reasons - so that I'll lose weight quickly (which I did) and to have such an intimate bond with my daughter (which we do). The latter part most especially is really rewarding. Even though she's spending most of the day with her yaya, when I come home she still wants to be carried by Mommy and to be nursed. She can't go to sleep without me beside her because she's used to nursing to sleep. Even when people are around and she's being passed from one lola to another, they still need to give her back to me when she cries for me to nurse her.

Yes, she's breastfeeding under there :)

So, you're pregnant and you're reading this please consider breastfeeding your child.

Back from Break

2011-08-26T17:40:00.000+08:00

I haven't talked about F1 for a long time now, have I? But I'm still up to date with the sport. We still watch every race and I'm super happy that Vettel is leading the driver's championship. I hope he gets to win another race though. I don't want him to win the championship without ever winning again - because it is mathematically possible for him to win the season without having to win another race as long as he finishes to be in the top 5 for the rest of the season. He now has 234 points, 85 points ahead of his teammate who is in a not-so-close second place. The teams took a long break (3 weeks!!!) but their back in Spa this weekend. I'm so excited to finally watch a race again.

Start of Hungarian GP - that's Vettel in front!
Source

Photo Miya

2011-08-19T18:02:00.000+08:00

Happy weekend, everyone!

This Is The Way I Brush My Teeth

2011-08-18T07:56:00.000+08:00

I know I've said that up next will be Miya eating her first solid food but let me share this with you first. Since Miya's been purely breastfed, she doesn't get that white thingy on her tongue. But she started getting that when she started drinking orange juice. So I bought her a toothbrush but the one I got is the one where you put it in your finger and put it inside the baby's mouth. But since sometimes she doesn't like it when I'm poking inside her mouth I decided to buy this toothbrush I saw in ManilaMommy's blog. Confession: I've been reading Neva's blog since before when I started reading Anna's blog but I've been a lurker forever. I remember her blogging about this when her kid was just a few months old (and I didn't have Miya then). So I was bracing myself to read all her previous posts in Multiply when to my delightful surprise she re-posted her post about the toothbrush.

Wacha looking at? Don't disturb me I'm brushing my teeth..er gums and tongue.

Look at Miya, she looks like she was born to use the toothburshhahaha. This was the first time she used it and she already knows how to! Although now there are days when just plays with it and doesn't want to use it properly.

OJ

2011-08-16T18:25:00.000+08:00

We were given by Miya's pedia the go-signal to have her drink orange juice (1 teaspoon freshly squeezed juice: 3 oz of water) even before her 6th month birthday. But I wanted her to be on pure breastmilk until her 6th month so we waited until 30 July. And here she is. She actually was enthusiastic in drinking the juice, but didn't really get to finish the bottle. She can finish the 3oz bottle in two sittings (half in the morning and the remaining half in the afternoon). Nowadays, she wins over her yaya and doesn't want to drink anymore. Her yaya says she tastes it first and then taps away the bottle when she knows it's orange juice. We've tried having her drink water and she can finish 2oz in one drinking. Her yaya also tried feeding her milk first and then alternating it with OJ but since Miya knows the tastes she will push away the bottle of OJ (smart kid naks!). Her yaya tried giving her pure orange extract only a teaspoon and per her report Miya was able to finish it. So I asked yaya to dilute it with a teaspoon of water before letting Miya drink it. I'm paranoid Miya's little stomach might not be that ready for citrus/acid. We buy Mandarin oranges for her which are surprisingly sweet compared to "orange oranges" - the one with the hard to peel skin. Forgive me, I haven't tried Mandarin oranges before this.

Next up: solid food!

Dress Me Up

2011-08-10T11:15:00.001+08:00

Ever since I got back to work I haven’t bought any piece of clothing aside from the post-pregnancy pants I bought from St. Francis Square. I don’t want to spend too much on my clothing especially now that we don’t have budget for this. Miya’s needs first before ours, and if you have a family and baby you know most of your money goes to your home needs and domestic life. So what clothes have I been wearing these past few months? I don’t have my pre-pregnancy body yet so I have not been able to fit into my old clothes. My boobs are bigger and my tummy’s still a little bloated hehehe. I’ve asked my mom to lend me her office clothes but since her blouses are not really my size, I almost always look frumpy and/or lousy. Blech! The fit is just not right – they’re okay in the boobs area, but dropping in the shoulder area and the length of the blouse is usually too long for my short torso. I haven’t found the time (or money) to buy new post-pregnancy clothes. This is for office attire only, I have yet to buy new nursing clothes as well. Good thing our yearly bonus is soon coming up, I will have extra moolah to spend on myself. But instead of buying dresses or blouses from department stores, I’ll try to have them made to really fit my post-pregnancy body. I’m going back to my officemate's mother, who made my bridesmaids' dresses, to have some office attires made. I’ve picked some online and will ask her to use the styles. Here are my picks. I have to consider that I will be expressing milk here at the office so I need to have zipper or buttons in front to open up my bosom area.

Source

I love that the first two dresses immediately give me two different looks each. The last one's just too cute although I'm not sure if I really want to wear that hemline to the office.

Miss Piggy Pooping on Kermit

2011-08-09T11:16:00.000+08:00

She was wearing her clothe diaper when she started pooping and I was carrying her. So instead of getting poop myself, I decided to try to use her potty trainer. This was the second time we tried it but during the first time she was still too small then. This time around, she enjoyed it. I was surprised she can sit on her own - she was leaning on the back support of the potty and holding on the sides. So proud of my little girl. And yes, her poop's getting oh so smelly!

I Almost Won!

2011-08-04T19:42:00.000+08:00

You know I join online contests before. But I've never wanted to win so badly like I've wanted to win in Daphne Osena Paez's giveaway for LASIK surgery! Yes, you read that right! She gave away in her blog a free LASIK surgery from American Eye Center. This was actually the second time she held such a contest, the first one was last year which I also joined. Last year, the winner had to be the nth commenter on her blog. Unfortunately, I did not win that (obviously). For this latest giveaway, the commenters just have to leave a comment saying why you deserve to win the LASIK and from all the entries she will choose 12 and from the 12 she will choose the final winner. She said it doesn't have to be over dramatic or anything, she will choose whatever stories touch her. I really did not think much about my entry nor I super prepared for it, I just said why I really wanted to have a LASIK surgery:

"HI Daphne!

I joined your first LASIK giveaway but unfortunately did not win.

I’m a new mom to a 6-month old baby. I really really want to have a LASIK surgery because of my daughter. I want to wake up and see her beautiful face everyday without having to put on my eyeglasses first. When she was a newborn and slept on her crib, I had to put on my glasses first before I can comfort her in the middle of the night as I am almost blind (my eye grade is 5.50 and 5.25). Thankfully, we now co-sleep and I’m still breastfeeding her so I don’t need to put on my eyeglasses anymore before I can nurse her. Hopefully I’ll be one of the 12 pre-selected candidates for this giveaway and be deemed worthy of this gift. Thanks for sharing this! "

I was really praying my story will catch her attention and be one of the 12 and then eventually win the contest. I actually entered the contest on the last day with only a few hours left. In her post about the contest she was supposed to announce the winner by 12noon of August 2. Unfortunately that did not happen, well she's a busy lady after all. So it was a bit of and disappointment when I saw in my FB feed that a winner was already announced - and it wasn't me. But get this, when I clicked the link announcing the winner, I saw this:

Source

There's my name! There's my name! I felt like a winner too even if I didn't really win. I was so happy my simple story caught her attention. And then when I read her posts, I saw that she actually first announced the 12 pre-selected candidates before announcing the winner. It was actually a bit overwhelming seeing my name there. I was so happy even if I didn't win hehehe. But that was a 1 in 12 shot! I ALMOST WON! Maybe next time, third time's a charm?

Thanks again to Daphne Osena Paez, for sharing this free LASIK surgery to her readers. More blessings to you and your family!

Houzz

2011-08-02T07:56:00.000+08:00

I'm still not done with my nesting phase apparently. I was really scouring the net for other websitees where I can fill this emptiness inside (nyak drama queen!). Anyways, upon bloghopping I found this website Houzz which is AMAZING! It's basically like a photobucket of everything house related. You can view thousands and thousands of photos until your head and eyes hurt.

I love that "People who liked this photo also liked" feature on the right side

The nice thing is you can add a particular photo to your Ideabook. This way you get to keep tab on the things that you like. For example, you found a photo of a living room where you especially love the wall color then you can add that photo and indicate that you love that wall color.

You can also categorize your Ideabook in however way you like it like - condo, beach house or by the colors blue, grey, white. I on the other hand categorize my Ideabook into the different parts of the house - living room, kitchen. In the future, when you're about to build your own home, you can look back in your Ideabook and look into the things you want incorporated in your home. Well, that's how I see the beauty and use of this site. Isn't that nice?

Now, I'm still looking for a good Filipino website about homedecor/style. This is because most of the designs I liked from other sites are really not applicable here in the Philippines. Like I saw this photo of all white kitchen and it was beautiful but I don't think that will work here - hello, alikabok - ina few months, my white walls and cabinets will be really dirty white. So if you know of a blog, leave me a comment will you? I'm already reading the blogs of these Filipina ladies:

101 grams of (eye) candy
40 and beyond by irene
The Home and Happines blog - it's from her I found out about Houzz

And although they tackle home decors and anything about the home, my thirst for Filipino home decors is still not quenched.

Oh I want to add, my favorite home blog Young House Love which I featured before now has a Room Gallery section. You can browse through their featured homes by room or color much like Houzz but in a smaller scale.

Mother and Daughter in Norway

2011-07-29T07:53:00.000+08:00

I was fighting back tears while reading this news article.

Messages offer mother, daughter hope amid carnage

Here are some of the text messages exchanged that brought tears to my eyes. Julie is the daughter, Marianne is the mother.

Julie: I love you, even though I may yell at you sometimes.

Julie: And I am not panicking, even though I'm s--- scared.

Marianne: I know that, my girl. We love you very much too. Do you still hear shooting?

********

Julie: I am still alive.

Marianne: Thank God for that.

********

Praying for the souls of the people who died in this terrible tragedy and for the country of Norway.

Ensogo

2011-07-28T07:44:00.001+08:00

I was a bit curious when I started reading about these sites that are supposedly "selling" vouchers online. I saw deals that are more than 50% off so I thought there msut be a catch. I found a friend who already had experienced buying these vouchers and she vouched (yes, the pun is intended hehehe) that these were legit. So when I saw this, I had to buy those vouchers.

P499 per person per night accommodation in Bora!

It was easy breezy by the way, I only had to click buy, input all the necessary details and I was able to purchase my first vouchers. I paid them via Paypal but you can also pay by credit card, bank deposits or payment directly to Ensogo office. I'm pretty sure the other groupon deal sites are as easy as this one. So I hope I won't break the bank hehehe. I really just want to take opportunity of these great deals for our vacations.

We're still waiting for the airline carriers to have their promos before we use our vouchers. But once there's a seat sale, we're going to Boracay baby!

Thank God for This!

2011-07-27T18:29:00.000+08:00

It's official! I'll be transferring to a new division in our department (psst, it's a promotion too!). This is definitely a blessing for us. Aside from the usual "step towards my career goal (blue plate, baby ahahaha - hello to some officemates who are reading this!)", we can definitely use the extra income now that we have Miya in our lives. This is really all about her. I applied for vacancies after I gave birth, actually I only applied for two. The first one was also within our department but different division and I applied to that one while I was still on maternity leave. It was really very fortunate that there were a number of job openings the moment I was back from maternity leave. So, the saying "When God closes a door, He opens a window" rang true for me in this instance. I wasn't picked on the first vacancy I applied for but I was chosen on the second one which I think is a better one for me - career-wise. But now I also have to think about how I'll improve myself and help myself in the process in tackling this new challenge. I plan, again, to take the CFA exams. I've borrowed some exam materials and I'm hoping I'll get to read them this weekend. I'll get a better feel of the exam scope hopefully by doing this. I plan to take the June 2012 exam and hopefully it will push through. I don't really want to take an MBA course or apply for any other graduate studies. I don't want to be put into a classroom set up again. I'm also excited in taking on this new job. It's a whole new adventure for me again and hopefully I'll cope easily. There's a chance for business trips but I'm not too keen on this to be too soon because I'm still breastfeeding. At the moment, I think this is all promising! And I'm keeping all these positive energy and vibes until after I transfer because I will surely be needing them.

Sick Again

2011-07-27T17:20:00.001+08:00

Miya has cough and colds again, I had to take the day off from work today. This is the second time she's had cough and colds, the first time was the week after she got sick. The first time she had them she didn't have to take any meds, breastmilk was enough. Her cough was gone after a day or two and so was the colds. I'm hoping it's the same again this time. We've also been using a nebulizer to clear her nasal passages. But, as we are blessed with a very happy baby, she still smiles despite not feeling well.

This was this morning. A totally different baby from last night. It's so hard to make her go to sleep. Last night, she was crying, coughing, sniffing and scratching her head (due to her atopic dermatitis) when I was trying to make her go to sleep. That's why she has all those morning glory in her eyerlashes. I was almost close to tears myself last night. If only I can protect her from all of that. And we barely slept. She was waking up almost every two hours and I had to change her position every now and then looking for the right one that will make her sleep longer. Either she sleeps on my chest or in her carrier (her head's elevated), she doesn't want to be put down on our bed. Hopefully, tonight will be better.

Make Me Smile

2011-07-18T11:18:00.002+08:00

How about you? What's making you smile today? Have a wonderful week ahead!

Transformers 3

2011-07-13T16:46:00.002+08:00

Have you watched the movie? Before watching the movie, I knew some people who liked it and some people who didn't. Guess what side I'm in? I didn't like it as in I hated it! It's the second movie I've watched since I gave birth, the first one was Thor. I'm not sure if it was because we watched it in a so-so cinema or because I wasn't seated in a good seat inside the cinema or it was just so blah! For one, the movie was soooooooooooo long! I wish the first few scenes of the movie weren't shown. It took them a long time to establish the fact that Sam didn't have a job (he should have applied to be an SEO Consultant) while the robots were doing some saving of the world. By the time the movie started getting funny, I wasn't laughing anymore because I was already ready to go home. Two, there was not enough robot action in the movie. It was supposed to be about the robots, right? Why is it that for most of the movies I've only watched people and no robots? Three, why did they turn it into a love story? Really? Do they really have to inject the love story between Sam and whats-her-name? Ugh! The Transformers series got worst! From being a good movie in the first one, then the second one was so-so, it was down to this. Thank God that was the last one!

Atopic Dermatitis

2011-07-12T17:43:00.001+08:00

Miya has atopic dermatitis. At first we brushed it off as rashes because her dad likes kissing her (what with his stubles and all). And that's what people usually say when they see her, they immediately assume it's because we like kissing her on her cheeks. This was I think late April or early May. We always had her wear mittens because she keeps on scratching her face. Then it wasn't just her cheeks, she had it on her left shoulder down to her upper arm. Around the third week of May when we went to Shangri-la, two of our friends noticed it and told me to have it checked. I was instantly alarmed. You see, I try not to be paranoid when it comes to my daughter. Try is the operative word. But really, I try not to jump to worst case scenarios when I see something in/on my daughter. As her pedia said, if she's eating and sleeping well then I don't have to worry about anything. Our pedia told us to use a hypo-allergenic soap for her bath time (we were already using Cetaphil at that time but before it we used Lactacyd Baby Bath) and turn to Perla for washing her clothes (we used to use Cycles). He was weary to prescribe medicines because most of the medicines for rashes have steroids. But it came to a point where Miya wasn't sleeping straight during the nights as she used to, she would wake up almost crying and scratching her face. So we brought her to our dermatologist and the derma concluded that it's atopic dermatitis. To treat the rashes, we need to apply hydrocortisone to the affected area. As per the derma, hydrocortisone is the mildest steroids, so I was a bit hesitant to do this at first. But he convinced me that we only need to apply it for 3-5 days. And then afterwards, we'll change to AI cream. He also prescribed Cetaphil Restoraderm body wash and moisturizer for Miya. The Cetaphil he prescribed is specifically for atopic dermatitis. He also gave antihistamine for the itching.

The hydrocortisone worked like a charm. Unfortunately, Miya's rashes flared up again after a few days after I ate sashimi. I was advised by the derma to go on a hypo-allergenic diet. I can't eat chicken, egg, seafoods, bagoong, dried fish, chocolates, nuts, mangoes, citrus fruits, pineapple, tomatoes, wheat products, strawberry and mongo. The first few days after I was given this list I stumbled and ate some allergenic foods and this will automatically result in Miya's rashes flaring up again. So we had to apply hydrocortisone again. The rashes will be gone for a few days but new ones will come out in a week or two. It was starting to get frustrating. Just this morning, I researched on atopic dermatitis and found this. I was sad for my baby. She didn't have a chance against atopic dermatitis. Apparently it's hereditary and with her dad having asthma and I had eczema as a child until adulthood, she was a likely candidate for this skin disorder. I hope and pray she outgrows this.

When I Think of Home

2011-07-12T09:57:00.001+08:00

I think I'm nesting. I'm browsing through Ikea's website now and I'm dreaming of how our future home would look like. We have our home now but I never really got to decorating it. It was always function, function, function for us what with the small space that we have. But looking at Ikea's website made me rethink what we've done with our place. Should have injected some personality in it, made it more pretty. But when I think about beautifying the place, I think of how this home is only a temporary home for us - that we'll be transferring to a bigger place. When - I don't know. Hopefully soon so that Miya will have a big enough space to roam around in, to practice crawling and walking around. Maybe I should change my current mindset and not think of our current home as a temporary one so that I'll have the energy to redecorate it. The other thing is, can I do it? I'm not sure if I'm capable of decoating our own place. Sure, I can appreciate photos of other homes - which are pretty, which aren't my style. But doing it in my own home, can I pull it off? So many things to think about, so many things to do and with a baby always there needing my attention I'm not sure I'll be doing it with our current home. As it is, I'm happy living in it. It's what we call our home. But design-wise, makes me jealous of other people's homes hehehe.

Source

One More Try

2011-07-07T17:21:00.002+08:00

Wee! I finally know how to post a large photo! Many thanks to Deepa for trying to help me. Although adjusting the width of the template did not the solve my problem. I had to update my settings for the new post editor. If you guys are like me and want to upload large photos and can not, click on your Settings tab and under Select Post Editor choose the Updated Editor. Click on the link for the features.

New Template

2011-07-07T08:13:00.002+08:00

Do you like the new template of this blog? I was so jealous of the big photos from Patty Laurel's blog, I immediately changed my template. So here's hoping I can post big photos as well. Let's try shall we?

Daddy's Girl

2011-07-01T17:23:00.004+08:00

Last night after nursing Miya reached out to her dad (who's at the other side of the bed) for a hug, then she immediately fell asleep. It was the first time she did that. She usually sleeps on my side of the bed, she falls asleep while nursing and sleeps on her back. But last night after nursing, kinalabit pa nya si Joema because Joema had his back turned on us. My daughter's satrting to be a daddy's girl. And I love it!

Shangri-La Weekend

2011-06-23T18:25:00.017+08:00

21-22 May 2011

Wow this post is a month late! Anyhoo, let me just start writing about it.

For our summer outing, our department chose EDSA Shangri-La. The past few years, we've been frequenting Sofitel thanks to our company outing. And as usual we invited our friends to join us. Here's a photo blog of our delightful weekend.

Miya watching TV with Daddy

Picture time with Mommy. Mas alam pa ni Miya where to look.

Ninong Mek carrying our little swimmer

Yes, she has diapers! Our little tabachingching!

Baby won't smile coz she's sleepy already. Didn't have enough from her afternoon nap.

So she only stayed in the pool for picture taking hehehe. After I bathed her back in our room, I left her with Joema and I went down again to the pool. I missed the water!

While Mommy was having fun, Daddy took care of our baby. She fell asleep while we were out.

For dinner, more friends came by. We ate at Recipes in Shangri-la Plaza. I love that restaurant. Love the food and the prices are affordable.

Reposting Miya's photo while inside her baby carrier. This is what I was talking about in that post.

Woke up the next day next to my happy baby.

But she went back to sleep during breakfast. Which was okay since we were able to eat properly. We were probably there for almost two hours. Sulit ang buffet haha!

After breakfast, we went back to the pool.

But our little princess still wasn't that happy. She's happier in the bath tub! Sus! Sorry can't post photos of her. She might kill me when she's a bit older hehe.

Wazzup!

Miya was Sick

2011-06-18T10:16:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, I wen on half-day leave because Miya had low-grade fever. To tell you the truth, I was so worried that I wanted to go home immediately. She was restless Thursday night and she woke up rather grumpy so I took her temperature by Friday morning before we left for work. It was at 37 degrees. We told our yaya to take her temperature regularly while we were gone. She texted me around 8:45 to tell me that Miya's temp was at 37.2. I wasn't able to read the message until 11:30. I had a meeting at 9 that morning and I was expressing milk before that so I wasn't able to check my phone for messages. I was actually at the expression room when I was texting my yaya what to do. She texted that Miya's temp went up to 37.3. I was so panicky I didn't even finished expressing milk and went back to my work station to ask my boss if I could take a half-day leave. So I left by lunchtime and was here at home around 1pm. Good thing I went home early because Miya didn't want to drink milk from her bottle by mid-day. I nursed her immediately when I got home. She wasn't feeling grumpy anymore, she was even smiling when I got home so that made me feel less worried. But when we took her temp it was at 37.5 already. I had to read The Baby Book and consult what I need to do. Fortunately, Miya's temp is considered a low-grade fever. Per Miya's pedia, we can give her Calpol if her temp reached 38 which fortunately didn't happen. After her afternoon nap, her temp is down at 37.1. Whew! Maybe it's viral because I later on found out the baby in the next-door unit in front had low-grade fever as well.

Here she is last night, all feeling better.

I love you, baby! Please don't scare mommy like that!

SaYa Carrier

2011-06-15T22:51:00.004+08:00

I was inspired to babywear Miya from the mommy blogs that I’ve read. Plus we didn’t buy a stroller so I was very much eager to buy one. (Although a set of friends gave us a stroller as a gift, and a Tita lent us one more) I was more determined to buy a sling after reading Dr. Sears' The Baby Book because he encouraged babywearing. I actually had the SaYa carrier in my wishlist in all the baby showers thrown for me. Unfortunately, because of time constraint (what with ordering it online and the delivery time) no one gave me the carrier. But that was okay. I was finally able to buy the sling when Miya was a few weeks old bought my SaYa carrier from fabnaima. I got the Versatekk blend size 0 color brown from Mama.Baby.Love. – they accept payments via Paypal (yey!) I actually got the wrong size when I ordered it. Good thing Jenny was very patient with me . I took photos of the carrier and sent it to her, and she said that I did got a small size so she asked me to send it back and she sent me a new one. The next mornign after I got it, I tried it on Miya and she instantly fell asleep in it. At home, she falls asleep almost every time I put her in her carrier. The carrier was a life saver when she became too heavy for my arms and wanted to be rocked to sleep. We didn’t have a stroller so whenever we go out, I wear Miya. I stopped wearing her when it became to hot for her to be there. Never had the chance to take a decent photo of her and me and the carrier until last May when we went out with friends.

Everyone who saw her was amused. She was so cute – just her little head with chubby cheeks. Even our friends wanted one not for their baby but for themselves hehe. She looked so comfy inside it. Her own little cocoon.

Mother's Day

2011-06-06T16:02:00.013+08:00

Sorry I haven’t been blogging for a while (not that anyone missed me haha!). As I’ve mentioned in my previous post I just want to experience every little thing my baby does. So I spend most of my time at home with her. I only get to go online when she’s asleep, and I usually just browse different sites because it takes time to make an entry. I used to edit photos but in keeping with less time in front of the PC, I won’t edit the photos from now on and just post them here. I really just want to document the events/things that has happened in the last month or so. So let me start with Joema’s bday and mother’s day.

8 May 2010

Mother's day this year coincided with the hubby's birthday so it was a double celebration for us. My in-laws came to celebrate with us.

Our spread

We were supposed to buy cake and ice cream but because of the sudden downpour (remember, it rained so hard that day?) we decided to go back and just order food from the nearby Chinese restaurant. Hence, the lumpiang shanghai and crispy fried chicken. The spaghetti was brought by my in-laws who came all the way from Bulacan in that bad weather so thank you. I also asked our yaya to cook soup to keep us warm.

It was also the Turkish GP so we of course watched the race. Here’s Miya watching the race with her Dad.

Happy mother’s day to me!

One really will never know certain emotions until you experience it yourself beforehand. I never knew happiness like this before. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy before, but this kind of happiness that motherhood brings is such a different experience altogether. I salute all the mothers in the world (although this is a month late), belated happy mother’s day to all of us!

Missed the Laughing Baby

2011-05-27T08:18:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, we went home to a laughing baby girl. I was just sad because she only laughed for a few more minutes after we got home. I wanted to get a video of her laughing but our camera's battery died down on us. Our yaya said it was the first time Miya laughed! She would always smile or giggle but I've never seen her laugh like that. I wanted her to laugh again and again yesterday but she started to get in a bad mood when we got home. Well, she wanted me to feed her apparently which made me feel good in a selfish kind of way. But I really hate missing on those things, missing seeing her milestones, and I miss her everyday! When I thought about it last night, I only get to be with her (awake) in less than 5 hours a day. She wakes up before we leave for work but that's only 30mins max. When we get home, we usually eat dinner immediately so we can play with her. After eating, we play with her a bit then I give her a bath (if it's too hot) or spongebath. Then she gets sleepy and takes a powernap for about 30mins. We get to play again only for a short time and then she gets sleepy again and I rock her back to sleep. Before going back to work, I can make her sleep by putting her in her rocking chair. But nowadays she really wants to be nursed to sleep or rocked (carried) to sleep. I think that's sweet too. So last night, because I felt so bad I put Miya to sleep on our bed (she sleeps in her crib), I nursed her side-lying (I usually stand up, pick her up from her crib and nurse her cradle-hold) and we cradled all through the night. Last night, I said a little prayer to God that I won't get impatient with Miya when she wants to be carried and I'm already sleepy, that I will carry her every time she wants to even if she's so heavy already, but please please let me see her every milestone. I prayed that God will allow me to see every single (small or big) milestone of Miya. Lord, please hear my prayers!

Working and Breastfeeding

2011-05-21T06:43:00.012+08:00

Oh yes I am back to work! Thankfully, there were no drama on the home front. Surprisingly I didn't have separation anxiety from Miya. I guess it helped that I was pumping milk for her while at work (I look at her photos and videos while pumping).

On my first day back to work, I woke up around 5:30am took a bath and expressed milk for Miya. After expressing milk, she woke up! She doesn't really wake up that early when I was on maternity leave. I guess she knows in a way. I fed her and put her back to her crib. We "talked" while I got dressed. And this has been going in for the last four days (my first day was on a Tuesday). Miya and her yaya then go downstairs with us - me and the hubby leaving the house while Yaya and Miya go to the poolside to get some sun.

On my first day back to work, I expressed milk only two times. I was a bit stressed to express milk in the expression room at work because the set-up was only for two mommies and there isn't any cubicle for each one. You just have your back at the other mommy while you do your own thing. Plus they introduce themselves to me! At first, I was like I don't need to know your names (yes I'm an introvert like dut!). Another mommy even kept on talking to me while I was pumping milk. I wanted to tell her "Please I need to concentrate while expressing milk." Later on, I get the introduction bit. It was in a way our very own support group. As for my stress, it didn't help that I didn't bring the plug of my breastpump so I was relying on batteries. I felt I was having a hard time getting enough milk. See, my breastpump can be used with batteries or plugged in (electric) but since I had to use a transformer (US bought) I decided not to bring one. The milk I was getting was not as much compared to when I was still at home expressing milk. I even had to ask a friend for a one-on-one tutorial on how to use my hands when expressing milk. But by yesterday, I guess I got used to the set-up in the expression room, I was comfortable using my breastpump at work (I bought a transformer for work). As it turned out, I was using the breastpump differently. See, the breastpump that I have is borrowed. When Joema bought the transformer for it, he left the manual at ACE Hardware. So I had to make do with the box on how to set-up the thing. (I know I should've donwloaded the manual). Anyways, aside from the breastshield there's a plastic nipple protector that I put inside the breastshield while pumping. Yesterday before I started pumping, the nipple protector fell on the floor and I stepped on it. So I had to pump milk without it. Turned out more milk was pumped simply because the milk wasn't strained by that plastic nipple protector haha. Another thing that made me uncomfortable pumping milk at the office is my clothes. At home, (this is TMI!) I don't put on a bra so I just hike up my top and there are my breasts ready for feeding. I don't care anymore if my yaya sees them. If I can breastfeed not wearing a top, the better. So although I was wearing a button-down top at work, it was a bit difficult for me to have my bra on and hike it up while expressing milk. It didn't help too, that on the first day I didn't bring my nursing cover. Day by day I had to make some adjustments like the next day I already brought my nursing cover. I was really freaking out that I won't be able to have enough milk for Miya while I'm away from her. But as I grew more comfortable expressing milk at work, my milk production grew. At first I was expressing 1-2oz per session. Yesterday, I had 3oz per session and I was expressing milk at 3hour intervals. My schedule is 5:45am (at home), 8:30am, 11:30am, 2:30am (all in the office), then 6pm and between 8-9pm here at home.

I had to ask my yaya to write down Miya's feeding schedule while I'm away. Well for the days she wrote down, Miya feeds four times for 3-4oz per feeding. So the first few days that I was only getting 1-2oz, yaya had to get frozen milk that I was able to store before going back to work. You see, I started pumping a month before. For me it worked out better than starting two weeks before going back to work. Because I was able to store a lot of milk and I was able to get comfortable with my breastpump (albeit the wrong usage haha!). I was even able to donate milk after the first few weeks because we had to defrost the ref and Miya wasn't really drinking the milk I expressed. Because while I was still on leave, we started feeding her 1oz a day by bottle. We had a hard time teaching her how to drink from a bottle. The first time we tried, my mom fed her while I was taking a bath because I read that the mommy shouldn't be there so the baby won't be confused. My mother said, Miya didn't have any problems, she drank like a pro. The next time we tried, my mom fed her again while Joema and I were out doing the groceries. When we came back, my mother said we should try feeding Miya while I was there for me to see the problem because that time Miya had a harder time taking the nipple of the bottle. So the yaya tried feeding her while I was there, or I tried feeding the bottle to Miya (a friend said this worked for her and her baby) but to no avail. Miya would just cry and not finish the bottle (only 1oz!). Anyways, I eventually thought of letting yaya take Miya every morning down to the poolside for some sun (before this I was the one who took Miya every morning) at the same time feed her the bottle. It was the perfect plan! Miya finally learned to drink from the bottle and I had time to pump milk. This went on until I had to go back to work. My schedule for pumping milk while I was on leave was 8am (or whatever time Miya was taken downstairs by the pool which depended mainly on her waking time), 11:30am, 4pm, 8pm. So I was pumping and breastfeeding her at the same time which I still do now that I'm back to work. The first day I was gone, when I came home Miya immediately fed directly from me. Babies really know and prefer their mommies. This was what worried me the most when we started bottlefeeding her. I worried she might not like feeding directly from me anymore. But even if she was just fed by that time I came home, Miya wanted to feed directly from me. So sweet!

Miya's First Overnighter

2011-05-11T15:08:00.004+08:00

I'm a little bit apprehensive to have Miya sleep overnight in other houses even if it were my parents'. I was worried she'll get fussy and cry so much and wake up the neighbors in the middle of the night. But fortunately, my worries were uncalled for. Last Friday we slept at my parents' house since Joema was away for a team building activity in Subic. Miya slept on time the night we were there and she woke up for her usual feedings during the night. All in all it wasn't a traumatic experience for me. I'm so proud of her.

Here she is during breakfast the next day.

Miya's 3rd Month Birthday

2011-05-11T14:46:00.008+08:00

30 April fell on a Saturday so it was a lazy day for our birthday girl. We played with her when she woke up. I love playing with her right after she wakes up. She's extra "talkative" during that time.

For lunch, we had food delivered from Max's, the cake was bought the day before.

We watched a documentary on Queen Elizabeth after lunch then had a nap before going to Reyna's place for Shawie's despedida.

I can't believe our little tabachingching is now 3 months old! I love the three months we've spent together. Next week I'll be going back to work and I'll surely miss spending the day with her. Miya, please don't grow up too fast while Mommy's away. I love you!

First Date (and the Aftermath)

2011-05-05T14:51:00.005+08:00

Last night was a milestone for me as a mom. I was able to leave Miya for 4 hours for a dinner and cinema date with the hubby. We usually go out to buy groceries (just me and him, our first date technically after I gave birth was in a small grocery store haha!) but we leave Miya with my parents and not with yaya all alone. It was a dry run of sorts - for me, Miya and our yaya - since I'll be going back to work in two weeks. We had dinner first at Pepper Lunch in Shangri-La Mall. I've missed that place but I think the rice in their servings is not as much as before. When I was pregnant we used to frequent that place because I love their abundant rice. Yum yum!

While eating I kept telling Joema I want to call our yaya but it wouldn't make sense coz I was out of the house for just less than an hour. He told me to just relax and finish eating so I figured, okay I'll wait before the start of the movie because by then it'll be more than an hour already hehe.

After dinner we watched Thor. Well not before I called our yaya. She reported that she already fed Miya and that she also has eaten already. Half-way down the movie, I missed Miya terribly. I can feel the milk ejection reflux while watching the movie. So although the movie was amazing (my favorite scene is when Thor got his hammer back!), I wanted it to finish early for us to go back home already. After the movie, I texted our yaya. She said she fed Miya again and that she's now ready for bed.

When we got home, I was so happy to get back to my baby. She smiled at me when she saw me hehe. But I had to pump milk first because my breasts were so full with milk. So after talking to her for a while, I went back downstairs to ready the breastpump. Our yaya said she just fed her at 8:45pm (that was now a few minutes after 9pm). But Miya was still hungry because she started crying when Joema was holding her already. So I had to go up again to feed her and pump at the same time. I think Miya missed me too! After feeding her, Joema took her from me and I continued pumping milk. After I was done, I had to go back downstairs to clean the bottles and the pump and sterilize them. It took me a while because when I got back to my mag-ama Joema said, "Ang tagal mo, iniintay ka ni Miya." True enough, my daughter who was so sleepy had her eyes half-opened waiting for me (this was already 10pm and she's usually asleep by this time). So I nursed Miya to sleep and it was the happiest feeling in the world - to be back in my baby's arms (or the other way around).

Miya's Holy Week

2011-04-25T14:43:00.016+08:00

How was your Holy Week? Ours was spent at home and visiting relatives.

Holy Monday and Tuesday was spent at home. Then Wednesday, my mother and father visited us. In the afternoon, we went to our Ninang Ening and Ninong Rudy's in Cainta. They gave Miya lots of clothes and Ninang also gave me some nursing tops. On the way back to our condo, we passed by Tiendesitas. Miya was fascinated with all the things she saw.

On Maundy Thursday, Miya and I with my parents and brother visited some relatives in San Fernando, Pampanga. Joema had work so he wasn't able to go with us.

Miya loves seeing new people and "talking to them". Here she is talking to her Lola Zeny and Ate Faye. (Please excuse the same mittens from the day before, she was still in her sleeping clothes when we got to Pampanga. I bathe her there. I don't know why I felt the need to explain that haha.)

Since Lola Zeny is very talkative, granddaughter and lola had a blast.

Ate Faye can't get enough of Miya.

Friday was spent at home again for Miya to rest because she was out and about on Saturday again hehe. We went to San Jose to see my grandparents. Everyone was delighted with her because she smiles at everyone who "talks" to her. Even when she's in a foul mood, when you talk to her she will smile at you. I was so proud of her.

With lolo and his apo sa tuhod.

Miyia giggling at her Tita Nicole (the little girl) and Lola Dolly

Three generations: my lola, my mama and my daughter.

Easter Sunday was again at home with our little family.

First Girls Day Out

2011-04-18T18:15:00.008+08:00

Over the weekend, I went out with the girls. It was my first day of pampering after giving birth and it felt so nice at the end of the day.

We all met up in Magallanes where the boys and other kids hang out. Then we had lunch in Valero near Kuya Ogie's clinic. Lunch was supposed to be at Chocolate Fire but it was closed for lunch on Saturdays. So I suggested Teazann but it was also closed. Good thing the nearby Pancake House was open which was fortunate because we enjoy the food from Pancake House. I had to feed Miya before eating lunch because she got hungry there. Thanks Heyl for bringing Ging to take care of Miya for me.

Then it was derma time. I have been wanting to go back since my last visit was in July or August of last year. My vitiligo's back but the good news is that the pigment was there according to Kuya Ogie. I just have to go back for the usual treatment. Yay! Everyone had facials but Ja tried the laser lipo. Now, all of us want to go back for the procedure hahaha. Kuya Ogie told me to wait after 6 months since I was breastfeeding and I will lose more weight. He even offered to give me the discounted price by then if I decide to do the procedure. Another yay!

After the derma we went to Fix Salon at Greenbelt 5. Miya and I were supposed to go for lunch and derma only but they all convinced me to come with them. I was easy to convince since I badly needed a haircut anyway.

Here's our after pic..don't we all look beautiful and refreshed?

Can't wait for the next girls day out. Now, I need to decide if I'll get that Keratin treatment from the salon...hmmm..

Our Little Catholic

2011-04-14T14:53:00.014+08:00

Miya's Christening was fuss free. I know where I wanted her to get baptized and we had a choice of the restaurant for the reception more or less. So all we had to do was inquire and book the church and the restaurant. The church's only requirement was a copy of the birth certificate which my father took care of from Pasig City Hall who I think totally confused all of us. Side story: The Medical City said that we'll get the birth certificate after a month so my father went to Pasig City Hall around 1st week of March to get it. After paying for P140 he was told to get it on April 1, just a day before the baptism. It turned out they asked him to pay for a copy of the birth certificate from NSO. Hello! Even I know that won't be available within the first 6 months of birth. We were only asking for a copy of the birth certificate with the registered number on it. When my father returned on April 1, what they gave him is the NSO certificate saying that there was no record of Miya's birth. After a lot of confusion, my father just asked for a certified true copy of their record which we presented to the chapel - that was the copy we were asking for in the first place!

Anyways, Miya was baptized at the Archbishop's Palace, Villa San Miguel, same location where we had our wedding but instead of using the bigger chapel, we used the smaller chapel this time.

It was a happy coincidence that the priest who wedded us was the one assigned to baptize Miya. We didn't contact him to do the baptismal rites since the chapel said they will assign the priest to do the ceremonies. So we were pleasantly surprised to see Fr. Caloy when he got there.

Miya was so well-behaved that day. She didn't even cry when the water was poured onto her head for the blessing. She was awake for the entire baptismal rite, she fell asleep before the picture taking at the end.

The reception was held at the nearby Max's Restaurant. We didn't realize that the chapel and the restaurant was right beside each other until after we book both. We took care of the reservations after we're sure we were getting the birth certificate by April 1. So that actually gave us less than a month, which was all we really needed.

For souvenirs, I contacted the friend of Miya's Ninang who supplied the cupcakes on her son's baptism.

I was so tired after the celebration - hirap pala to entertain guests on your party, when we got married we just sat there and waited for everything to happen hehehe. This time around I had to go to every table and talk to everyone if they were having a good time, if the food was okay, etc.

Here are more pics from the baptism.

Miya with her ninongs.

With her lovely ninangs.

With my family.

Our little family.

With Joema's family.

My daughter was exhausted too.

Welcome to the Christian world, Anak! I hope I'll be able to bring you up as a good Catholic. We love you!

Photos from Reyna

2011-04-13T19:55:00.012+08:00

Let me bombard you with more photos of my daughter (forgive me as my world revolves around her since she was born).

These photos were taken by my dear friend Reyna. The first set was taken on 12 Feb, Miya was a day short of being a two-week old baby. Reyna and our other friends came to visit and she wanted to shoot us, so we willingly obliged.

This second set was taken on 12 March. I requested Reyna for another shoot so that we can use one of the photos for the invitation for Miya's baptism.

Miya's First Two Months

2011-04-13T19:16:00.012+08:00

Well, she's a little over two months now but I haven't blogged about her 1st and 2nd month "birthday". For her first month, since February doesn't have 30 days we celebrated on the 28th. We had a simple celebration at home, it was just us three and Miya's yaya.

For her 2nd month, my family came over for pizza, spaghetti and cake.

Some milestones:
* she now plays and interacts with us
* she gets fussy when I read her book Gus Gastos (we think she dislikes Gus or the monster or the fact that it wasn't really a children's book but a freeby from Oishi hahaha)
* she looks at the camera when her picture's taken
* she can hold her head up while burping or when you carry her facing you
* she can be carried with her back against me and looks everywhere around her
* she loves looking at lights and fascinated with the ceiling of the building elevator
* she falls asleep when carried in her sling
* she kicks and scratches you when she's fussy haha
*she very recently learned to thumbsuck (because the mittens are now gone), actually she sucks her whole hand hehe

Recent photos of our darling little angel..

...after drinking her vitamins..

...smiling at her pedia..

..after her bath.

"Fluffy Pillow" between Us

2011-04-01T15:15:00.006+08:00

26 March 2011

Miya sleeps in her crib at night while she gets to take her afternoon naps beside me on our bed. And sometimes when she wakes up too early and I want to sleep an hour more or so, I transfer her from her crib to our bed. Usually during these times, Joema has already left for work.

This was the morning the hubby and I woke up with our baby girl beside us...the first time she slept overnight on our bed.

2011 Formula 1 Season

2011-03-29T07:50:00.002+08:00

Yep, the F1 season is here again! Being a new mom won't stop me from watching the first leg of the season - Australian GP. I was so giddy with the excitement on the morning of the qualifying. The hubby and I watched the qualifying and race with our little one beside us. And of course I was so happy Vettel was in pole position after qualifying and converted the pole into a win. the hubby and I are at it again, dreaming that one day we'll get to see the race live. This time we hope our baby girl will come with us, hopefully when she's older she'll love the race too.

Photo from here.

Summer's Here

2011-03-24T16:30:00.004+08:00

One of the things that got me upset when I was pregnant was my growing body. See, I have a petite frame and I always manage to have a small tummy - I can boast that I don't have bilbil, I can tuck in my blouses and wear two-piece bathing suits showing my abs. When I finally gave birth I thought I can have that back. Fortunately I didn't gain too much when I was pregnant, only 25 pounds, and because of breastfeeding I already lost 20 pounds (yey!). Although, I still don't have my abs back. BUT in the spirit of the summer season and for me to feel sexy again, I'm entering Tisha's anniversary giveaway of Cocomo Swimsuits in her blog Here, Tishie Tishie.

I'm hoping to win the second bikini since that will hide my flabs and it's very slimming print. I'm not sure if I have the guts to wear the third one, but that will definitely hide my flabs as well. So hop on over to her blog and get a chance to win any of these three swimsuits.

Moses Basket

2011-03-24T15:43:00.006+08:00

Remember my post about the baby shower thrown by my friends where they invited Joema to join us? Well, Joema's gift the Moses basket arrived the following week, if I remember correctly. Anyway, Miya has been using it since we came home from the hospital. We place her there when we're downstairs, instead of bringing down the crib everytime we go down. That was really the purpose I intended for it. I wanted a bassinet for downstairs where we can place our baby. We also bring the basket when we go to our families or friends since we don't have a carrier. Although we only place her there once we get to the place and not while in transit in the car.

3-day-old Miya in her basket

1 month old Miya

1 month and 2 weeks

The problem is in a few weeks time (hopefully months), Miya will be outgrowing the basket. I wonder where we'll place her by then. Hopefully she'll be big enough then to be able to sit on her baby chair or maybe we can use the stroller our friends gave her (for when she wants to lie down).

Mommy's First Rejection

2011-03-20T16:08:00.006+08:00

The other night I had my first share of rejection. Was trying to stop Miya's crying but she just won't stop. Checked her diaper but she doesn't need changing. Tried to breastfeed her but she didn't want to be fed. Then my mother-in-law takes her and starts swaying her while standing up and Miya stops. I was crying the moment Miya was back in her crib. Joema was asking me what the matter was. I was upset because I wasn't the one who stopped her from crying. I was upset because I didn't want her to be masanay in swaying just to stop her crying. I was upset with myself because I didn't want help from anyone when it was clear that I did need help. Whenever I feel selfish with my daughter, and I'm sure there will be many more times in the future, I will always think of what Frances of Topaz Mommy wrote - that it takes a village to raise a child and hopefully I will be more generous in sharing Miya with others.

**********

I wrote the text above on Feb 3, exactly 5 days after giving birth and 2 days after returning from the hospital. I lacked sleep so excuse the incohesive sentences. I felt so rejected then - by my only daughter no less. I wanted to comfort her. I want her to know that when she cries she can go to directly to me (or that she'll go only to me). The next day my husband told me that our our daughter is so beautiful then he said, we should share her with everyone so that everyone will know how beautiful she is. He's afraid I wouldn't want to go to his hometown to let his relatives see our daughter.

Well, Miya is now almost two months but I still want to do everything for her. Although, I have somewhat accepted that I needed help but not totally.

When my mother-in-law was still with us, she was the one who brought Miya down by the poolside to get the morning sun. Now that we have our househelp, I let yaya give Miya's vitamins and sometimes let her change the diapers. She also carries Miya once in a while. There are times when she's the one who can pacify Miya from crying and it takes all of my willpower to take my daughter away from her arms. My mom always wants to hold Miya when we're together. She even wants us to stay overnight at their house and sleep beside Miya but I've said no to this. It will just be difficult for all of us especially since Miya wakes up several times during the night for feedings and diaper change.

Some friends have told me to start pumping breastmilk so that our help can feed Miya while I sleep or Joema can feed Miya when we go out. But I still don't want to do this. I still want to breastfeed Miya directly. My maternity leave is for 12 weeks and I will extend this to another 15 days so I don't want to hurry with the pumping of milk.

So yes, I still want Miya all to myself although I really encourage the hubby to share responsibilities with me like burping her and taking her from me when she just wouldn't stop crying. He is the one person I willingly give Miya to.

I know, I know I have to learn to share her with others. But can you blame me if I don't want to share this adorable child?

Miya's First Seven Days

2011-03-17T15:32:00.002+08:00

I've read somewhere to take photos of your child on her first seven days then monthly after that. Although I'm sure a lot of parents, like us, take photos of their child as much as we like or as often as we see them oh-so-cute!

To document Miya's first seven days with us here are her photos.

Jan 30 - Yawning..still sleepy!

Jan 31 - Look at those chinky eyes

Feb 1 - Refreshed after bath..she looks so bango

Feb 2 - Ooooh! hehehe

Feb 3 - Sssshhhh...our baby's sleeping

Feb 4 - Wrapped like a burrito

Feb 5 - Wacha looking at?

This Is It!

2011-03-09T06:54:00.018+08:00

29 January 2011 3:30pm

After pre-labor room, I was wheeled into the lamaze room of Medical City. In the lamaze room, the patient is allowed to have one companion who will be with you the entire labor and delivery of your child. Going to the lamaze room, we passed by the labor room and the delivery room although I didn't see much what was inside since we just passed by them in the hallway. The lamaze room in Medical City has pink walls, the hospital bed with the different monitors beside it, a purple sofa, a small television set and other medical stuff. Joema entered the room at the other side where he has to go through a sterile area and he had to change into scrubs.

5pm

I think another IE was done but the result was still 5cm. Honestly, I don't remember how many IE's were done to me before the actual delivery, I can only guess and try to remember. But I think this was the last one done when I felt the pain while the resident did the exam. I was grateful my friend warned me that IE's can be quite painful, "para kang nire-rape" is how she described it.

By this time I think my parents and brother already arrived in the hospital. Joema went out to meet them and show them the room he got.

6pm

The anesthesiologist, Dr. Mike Reyes, arrived to give me epidural. I still have not felt any labor pains. The midwife who was with me the whole time and was monitoring the contractions was amazed that I'm not feeling any pain because she said the contractions are already strong. As I've said, I know I'm having contractions because the "belt" that was wrapped around my waist to monitor them tightens every time I have contractions, that was my only cue - no pains. So Dr. Mike asked me to lie on my side, the midwife helped me to crouch a little and then the anesthesiologist pricked my back with a needle. He was also quite amazed how calm and cool I was with everything and wished every patient was like me. I was beaming with pride while deep down inside I was cursing Joema for not being there with me while the epidural was administered. I did feel a little pain when I think air passed through the hole they made in my spine. Dr. Mike explained that since I was not feeling the pain of the contractions, our basis if the anesthesia was working will be the IE's. He said I should not be feeling the pain anymore when they do the IE if the epidural is already working. The initial shot they gave, he said, will take effect in 30 minutes and will last for two hours. After that I have the option to either ask them again to administer another shot or they can give me a button wherein I can administer the epidural myself. He said I will not overdose with the second option because it was set up so that it will only administer 4 shots within an hour. So even if I push that "magic button" 10 times only 4 will be administered. So yes I opted for the magic button.

Joema was back in the lamaze room after I've had the epidural although he was still able to meet our anesthesiologist. I was upset with him for not being there. He said my parents brought him dinner and they told him to eat before going back to me because they knew the wait might take long. So I forgave him, no point in getting angry with him anyway.

After 30minutes I think another IE was done. Lo and behold, the epidural works! Epidural-1, IE-0! Yey haha! Although I was still 5cm dilated. Tsk, tsk!

9pm

I've asked for the button now, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to bear the pain. My OB's intern (I think) had to ask the anesthesiologist's resident for the button because they did not leave it with me. Funny coz the button was just there, right beside the apparatus hehehe. Anyway, the intern was a guy. I remember feeling "bwisit" that he takes a peek everytime an IE was done to me. But what can I do?

10pm

I fell asleep and was woken up by a resident asking if I've already peed. They need my urine for testing. So they had to put a catheter to get my urine. It was my first time to use a bedpan.

My OB arrived and did an IE again. She was updated on my status - strong, regular contractions, no pain yet. She said that I was still at 5cm and the baby's head is floating which she said wasn't the case in the clinic earlier in the day. So they had to burst my waterbag (although I realized it much later, I thought I was still peeing hehe). They also gave me some meds through the IV which helped progressed my contractions. After that, I was feeling the labor pains. The pain I felt was just like what I feel when I'm having dysmenorrhea although it didn't spread from my tummy to my lower back as what I've read in some books. I only felt it in my abdomen area. It was still manageable although I think it was also because of the epidural. Since there was another apparatus hooked to me which took my blood pressure every 5 minutes (I knew because I heard the doctor said to set it to 5mins), I just count to three the number of times it took my BP and then push that magic button.

The resident also asked my to lie on my left side (for blood circulation) and the bed was half-raised so that gravity will help the baby go down. When they raised the bed, the button of my epidural was disconnected to the tube because I was lying down on it. I was almost paranoid I destroyed the contraption. But no worries, the doctor just connected the tube again and everything's fine.

11pm

The resident went back and did another IE. She said I was already 7cm dilated. Whew! Everyone was talking about how there are 3 other pregnant women in the labor room but not all of them are in active labor yet. One was even only 1cm dilated and another one was due to be transferred in the lamaze room after we use it.

11:30pm

The resident did another IE and said I was about ready. So she asked me to practice pushing. So I did push when she asked me to do so. I just had to remember what my OB taught me. The resident said I did a good job pushing. And then she gathered everyone else for my delivery. (Or did she do an IE around 11pm and return to me around 11:30pm to practice pushing? I don't quite remember now.)

Anyways, after that everyone was inside the room,my OB and her residents, the pediatrician's residents, the anesthesiologist and his residents, midwives and nurses. They had propped the stirrups and everyone was seeing my woohoo hahaha! But I couldn't care less honestly, I was just excited to push my baby and see her. My OB had me practiced my pushing again. I couldn't hold the handle of my bed on my right because my hand was swollen from the IV needle. But I had to still hold it while pushing. By this time, Joema had his gloves on and our camera was passed on to one of the residents to take the picture.

The pushing was done with every contractions. Three sets of 10-second-pushing for every contraction. On the first and second contractions, I pushed and pushed and pushed. And a female resident was bearing down on my abdomen as well - I forgot the term it was called but my OB said that this was really usually done to help the baby down the pelvic area. Joema later told me that during this time, I didn't have a clue but my OB was already doing an episiotomy and was just keeping me distracted telling me how good my push was but *cut cut* she did haha! Anyways, on the third contraction, Dr. Mike was the one who pushed down on my abdomen and all of a sudden I heard my baby crying.

30 January 2011, 12:40am

Our baby! Miya's first photo outside my tummy.

I was almost in tears when I saw her. My OB placed her on my tummy and my immediate reaction was to hold her. When I was about to hold her, almost everyone was like shouting "no, no, no" but my OB said it was okay to touch the baby because she's not sterile yet. So I was able to hold her.

Joema cutting the cord.

Our first family photo. Funny coz I remember telling Joema and the resident holding our camera that I want a family picture.

Miya getting cleaned up.

She's still crying.

My two greatest loves

How It All Started

2011-03-08T15:10:00.010+08:00

It all started, well sort of started on my birthday, 28th of January. My family were expecting and kind of hoping that I will give birth on my birthday. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before in my blog but the 28th is kind of special with my father's side of the family. Aside from my birthday, it's my great grandmother and my grandmother's birthday. It's also my parent's wedding anniversary. This year the 28th fell on a Friday so I opted to take a leave on that day. But since Joema had work we didn't really celebrate the day by going out, he just bought food and cake instead and took them home. Anyways, the next day the 29th, I was scheduled for my OB visit. When we got to the clinic there were no parking slots available, so Joema dropped me off and then went to my office to park the car. He was planning on just picking me up if my checkup was just for a short time. You see, every Friday night before my Saturday checkup he signs me up in the list outside the doctor's clinic. So if we're number 1 on the list, even if they were already checking on number 7 I will be the next patient the doctor will see. Hence, we were kind of expecting that the checkup won't take that long. When I came in I think another patient just got in so I called Joema to tell him he had lots of time to follow and I really wanted him there (it would have been the first time that he didn't accompany me inside the clinic if his plan pushed through). Which was a good thing because I was already 3cm dilated when my OB did an internal exam. But I'm already getting ahead of myself. When we got in the clinic, my OB did the usual ultrasound. And then she did a 4D ultrasound (which I thought was not possible after the 5th month). Later on she told us she did the ultrasound because the baby was facing her the right way, thus we got a clear picture of her.

After my ultrasound, my OB said she'll do an IE since my tummy's so hard. As mentioned in my previous posts, I've been having contractions since September. The contractions aren't really new to me. So when I feel a tightening in my belly, that was a usual thing. And I really thought the baby was just moving inside me. After the IE, my OB asked "Wala ka talagang nararamdaman? 3cm ka na." It turned out I was already in labor. As I've said, I was already 3cm dilated so she told me (Joema was outside in her clinic and not inside the ultrasound room when she did the IE) that we should eat lunch first and then after two hours we can go to the hospital to get admitted. I'm not sure how I felt then, it must've been a mixture of emotions but I remember feeling a certain calmness take over me. Which was the complete opposite with Joema. When the OB told him what's happening, the idea of me giving birth that day didn't really sink in haha! After being told to have lunch then go to the hospital, he asked "So Doc, ngayon na po sya manganganak?" (or something to that effect), to which our OB replied that it is possible or I can give birth the next day, it all depends on the progress of my labor. So after our OB gave us final instructions (go to the 5th floor where the pre-labor room is, we should park in Rockwell instead of at The Medical City so that we can save on parking fee, take off contact lens) and gave us a slip for the admission in the hospital, we paid the bill and went straight to Megamall.

We bought old showbiz magazines (since we weren't sure how long we'll wait for the delivery and we were advised that we can bring in magazines in the labor room) before going to HK Choi for lunch. By this time, I was texting our family and friends that I'm about to be admitted to the hospital. There was a Baby & Co. sale that time at Megamall and I really wanted to go but Joema didn't want to go anymore. "Nagle-labor ka na nga gusto mo pa magshopping," he said.

Lunch at HK Choi

For posterity's sake, at 37 weeks and 4 days

After lunch, we went to the groceries to buy a few essentials like snacks, bottled water (my OB said I can still drink while I'm in labor). I even saw an officemate at the groceries and told her I was already in labor. I was really excited while Joema was a nervous wreck haha! We had to drop by the office to get the car and wait for a few more minutes because Doc said to go to the hospital 2 hours after having lunch. We didn't have to go back home for our things because they were already packed in our car's trunk.

We got to the pre-labor room around 2:30pm. Joema was asked to leave me there and wait for instructions if he had to go and reserve a room for us. I guess they had to check first if I should be really admitted or be sent back home. But I had the admission slip from my OB which I gave to them. I was asked to change into the hospital robe and then was placed in a bed. The pre-labor room in Medical City is a small room with, I think only, 3 beds inside it separated by curtains. I was strapped into a device that monitored the contractions. That's when I realized the tightening I was feeling was contractions and not the baby moving inside me because they were monitoring each tightening of my tummy. I wasn't really feeling anything, I only know I'm having contractions which I realized only then at the pre-labor room. In the pre-labor room they had to ask me a bunch of questions for their forms, blood was drawn, enema was done. The resident also did another IE (IE's are hell!!!), she advised me that I was dilated 4-5cm already. After she talked to my OB over the phone she told me they can transfer me already. In my birthplan, we asked to be roomed into the lamaze room only during active labor, otherwise I should be transferred to the labor room first. But since they said that 4-5cm is already considered active labor they will transfer me to the lamaze room instead of the labor room. That was fine by me, atleast Joema will be with me all the way. Take note, I wasn't still feeling any pain. I think I was wheeled into the lamaze room before 4pm.

To be continued...

Well, Hello There!

2011-03-05T09:08:00.006+08:00

Gave birth to our little angel on the 30th of January 12:40am.

I hope this will be the start of my blogging again :)

Preggy Me @ 37 Weeks

2011-01-27T07:33:00.002+08:00

Our visits to the OB have been weekly now. During our last visit, I learned with much horror that I gained another 2lbs. (2lbs in 1 week!). Seems like I’m catching up with my wieght gain. Good thing though is that the estimated weight of our baby is now 6lbs. So still not bad atleast my baby gained weight too. Our OB also taught Joema how to wear medical gloves because he will cut the baby’s cord. Didn’t know there’s a right way to do it (it’s because the outside of the gloves is sanitized and you can’t touch it with your hands). She told him that he shouldn’t hesitate to cut the cord since the baby won’t be hurt by doing so. They will wait until the throbbing of the cord stops before cutting it. We were both so excited while our OB was teaching him. It felt so real now hehehe.

Pregnant me at 36 weeks and 4 days.

But I’m still going to work. No signs of labor yet. But if last week I’ve been avoiding walking (per my OB’s instructions), now I can walk all I want. The other day, I went out to the mall during lunch time after almost 4 months!!! We ate at Jollibee and Jollibee never tasted that good ahahaha! I've also stopped taking duvadilan since we're already on term. (40 weeks is full term, while 37th to 39 and 6 days is term if you didn't know).

Baby Shower ala Flower Puff Girls

2011-01-24T19:54:00.021+08:00

I was so touched with the baby shower my Flower Puff Girls have thrown - well, this was a joint baby shower for me and Mads but still. The effort they've put into every detail of the shower was just overwhelming. We knew the date and the venue but everything was kept from us, every single detail was a surprise. When we entered the room, the lights were out and then everybody said "Congratulations!" They were taking our pictures and recording a video of us.

We were all so hungry, we had to eat first. See, I was first one to get food hehe.

Then the games began. For the first game, we were asked to list as many baby items as we know. And then afterwards, when another group has the same item in their list we had to cross out that item from our list. The goal is to list down baby items that the others groups did not think of. The winners got their price but the losers were asked to wear bibs!

For the next game, we had to guess the word that will complete the nursery rhyme correctly. Our group won!

For the last game, we were given letters that we need to sort out and put into words based on the clues given to us. The words were mostly about pregnancy. And because I've read books and attended birthing class, my team won again! Which was a good thing because the losers had to wear diapers hahaha!

After the games, came another surprise! Our husbands came! And there was also a game for us with our dear hubbies. You know that game, when you they ask questions and you have to have both answers correctly. The questions I remembered that were asked were: "What part of your wife darkened?", "Where did you get baby's name?", "What was your wife's waistline before she got pregnant?" (so happy Joema got this right!). It was actually fun, well mostly because Joema and I had the same answers and we won the game hahaha! While we were doing the game, the girls were busy preparing for the next game. They had strings cut to the length which they think fits our tummies. I was hurt they thought I was that big hahaha! Here's L fitting her string around M's tummy.

And then came the gifts! We actually gave them a wishlist so the gifts aren't really a surprise. But it still is so nice to open gifts and find out how much you like it. They gave M a grooming and health kit, while they gave me baby beddings.

The fathers came bearing gifts too! I was teasing Joema why his gift is wrapped in a small box while B (M's husband) had a big wrapped gift!

It turned out Joema bought the one item I wanted the most from my wishlist - a Moses basket from Babinski baby. (I'll post about it another time.) So why the small box? It only contained a printed photo of the basket because the basket has to be ordered online. Actually, the girls were the one who ordered it online, Joema paid. So thanks to them are still in order.

It was a really wonderful baby shower! I am overwhelmed with the love they put into making it possible. Thanks to new amazing friends! I've known them only for a short time but they didn't hold back in showering us with their generosity.

Bugged by the Travel Bug

2011-01-20T20:14:00.001+08:00

Ooohh! I can’t wait to hop on a plane again and travel. Nothing really beats the high I get when we go to the airport and check-in our luggage. Last year, luckily enough I was able to travel before I got pregnant – to Kota Kinabalu with Grace and to Coron with Joema and our friends. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to join my family in our annual out-of-the-country trip, last year to Viet Nam. This early my mother is asking where we’re going for this year. By the time September rolls in my daughter will be big enough to travel although still too young to remember the details of the trip. I don’t think we can possibly go to the beach this coming summer, so our friends are gunning for a November trip to Bora. Oooh, I’m crossing my fingers and praying we’ll have enough funds for a trip to Bora this year and our family trip abroad. I’m not sure how much the new baby will cost us (diapers, check-up with the pedia, shots, etc.) but I know everything will be provided to us. He will provide so I won’t worry that much.

Anyways, I was thinking and since by the time we can travel we already have our daughter there are just so many things to consider. Do we bring her with us? If not, can we leave her with my parents or in-laws? Wil I have the heart to leave her? If we bring her then the place we’ll visit should be baby friendly. No more super-packed itineraries or we’ll just be killing ourselves, what with taking care of the baby and going around town. We need to find baby-friendly hotels to stay-in. Maybe not self catering apartments. But you know what, I just can’t wait to travel again, and this time with our baby girl. My husband’s never the one to just entrust everything to me, we always share responsibilities. So I’m sure we’ll manage to travel on our own with a baby in tow.

Preggy Me @ 36 Weeks

2011-01-19T11:52:00.005+08:00

At 36 weeks, I am now starting to feel the heaviness of the baby inside my tummy. Today, I am feeling so heavy and feel like lumbering my way when walking. I’ve started bringing food to work (for lunch) so that I don’t have to walk down to our cafeteria to buy food. The only time I get up from my work station is if I need to go to the washroom, go to the printer/copy room, go to my boss’s office or go home. Bambini's movements are starting to get unbearable. One day, I thought I was already experiencing labor pains because I felt pain in my lower tummy every time she moves. I get paranoid everytime I feel something painful eventhough most times they're just flickers of pain. Someone asked me how I'm feeling now, if I'm excited or if I'm scanred or if I want to give birth already just to get this over with. Well actually it's all of the above. It differs every day, every hour hehehe.

Last Saturday we had another check-up with our OB (we are now doing weekly check-ups) and imagine that after only two weeks I have gained almost 5 pounds. Ugh! I have now gained a total of 24 pounds. My baby is now 5lbs 8 oz. Our OB is confident I can deliver her normally. We’re praying everything will be okay come D-day so that we don’t have to settle for an emergency C-section. I'm actually getting scared of the labor pains, I'm expecting the worse. When I feel scared, I just have to think about Bambini, that after all the pain we will finally see her.

We’re pretty much ready for the baby to arrive. Although we don’t have a yaya yet. Hopefully, we have found someone by the time I give birth so that we can move back to our place. My hope is that we’ll bring home Bambini to OUR home and not to my parents’ home.

Well that’s about it. Here’s a photo of me during my ultrasound taken by my husband on our last OB visit (@35 weeks and 4 days). See my very pronounced linea nigra?

All our Bags are Packed

2011-01-13T21:16:00.004+08:00

And we're set!

Daddy's bag, Mommy's bag and Bambini's bag.

Used this list on what to bring to the hospital.

Carter's Outlet Store

2011-01-13T18:21:00.000+08:00

As mentioned in my earlier post, we wanted to go to Carter’s to buy clothes for our baby girl. But instead of going there with Joema, I went with Joy who willingly went with me and Kyla. Good thing though, because if Joema was with me I wouldn’t have bought this much clothes for our Bambini.

It was so much fun shopping there. It’s not really a store but a small storage room. Shelves and shelves of baby clothes right in front of you. You must be really patient to go through all the clothes there. Good thing that when we went there, there was a new shipment of clothes for newborns. Joy wanted to buy pajamas for Miguel but there weren’t clothes for toddlers at that time. So I guess it was really lucky that we went there that day. Initially, Joy would sift through the shelves and then ask me if I want this item or that item. I told her to just me pass every thing she thinks are cute enough and I’ll add it to my pile. I just edited when it was time to pay. Kyla was also very patient in holding the baby clothes for us, while her mom and I are rummaging through the stacks of baby clothes.

Everything was cheap. Mittens for P20, 3-pack onesies for just P150, the blankets I think are P120, don’t really know how much the rest are because I just let Manang Vickie add up everything. She even gave me an additional 10% discount. Eveything you see here for less than P3,500.

Beats SM because the night before we only bought a handful and the bill was around P2,500. Well, that’s because we bought these cute and super soft items from Tiny Tummies which are made from organic cotton. I initially bought cheap clothes but when I saw the items from Tiny Tummies, I had to edit what’s inside my basket to be able to buy a couple of Tiny Tummies baby clothes.They are a bit pricey (P500 for a blanket!) but the material is really really soft. You can never deny the difference from the cheaper brands in the department store. But now we know, next time we go shopping for clothes, we’ll go to Carter’s, well the shop is actually called Hello Baby. I think they manufacture the clothes and then export it to the US.

How to get there, if coming from EDSA, turn right to Buendia then right again after the Shell station, you’ll go straight to the Bel-air gate. That’s already Zodiac St. go straight and find number 48 to your left. The storage room is at the back of the house. Just enter the premises and follow the arrow to lead you to the back. You might want to call first to ask what their new arrivals are. Phone number is 896-4802 (although I only got this info from the internet). By the way, payment is cash basis only. I promise you, you wouldn't want to know what Java PDF, you'll just want to buy clothes for your babies when you go there.

Crib for our Bambini

2011-01-13T18:15:00.003+08:00

8 January 2010

Last Saturday, our friends in cohorts with Joema surprised me with a “baby shower”. I put it in quotes because it wasn’t a formal one. They all just trooped to our condo and presented us with their gift – a crib! Imagine my surprise and delight!

Anyways, the plan was Joema and I will bring stuff back to our condo in the morning and then proceed to the Carter’s outlet store in Bel-air Makati afterwards. A few minutes after we arrived, Heili, Tric and Luigi came. Their excuse was they wanted to come with us to Carter’s. I didn’t have any inkling then because truthfully the day before, I was asking Heili if it was worth it to go to Carter’s. Because that day (Friday), Joema and I went to SM to buy a few things for Bambini. My husband even had an excuse for staying in instead of eating out for lunch – he was watching a Lakers game. So I let him be because I know how much he missed our place and our cable haha! And then the de Castros came too! Although Joy’s excuse was they also wanted to go to Carter’s hmmm.. I don’t know about that. But my antenna must’ve been turned off that particular moment because I still didn’t get it. I figured, they wouldn’t throw a baby shower because they didn’t have anythign with them (no wrapped gifts or paperbags). Then Joema and Tric went downstairs, Don’t have any idea why. And then when they came back, they were carrying this huge box. Joy started singing “happy birthday” which made me more confused haha! Luigi helped me open the gift, but we weren’t even half way through, just the bottom of the box peaking out and still shows no sign of what’s inside the box, Luigi said “see, it’s a crib!” ahahaha! Although in the picture below, we've tore off most of the gift wrapper.

We had fun letting Joema set up the crib. My husband had no idea how to. With all the excitement, he didn’t even read the manual first before proceeding with the set-up. Mek, who's a dad of two, was laughing at him watching him do it.

Well, apparently Heili was planning a big surprise baby shower for me that was supposed to happen last 18th December, during our Christmas party. They invited my mother, mother-in-law, my college barkada and friends from work. But since it was the Christmas season, everyone had their calendars already blocked off, and the plan didn’t push through. So that’s why they gave Christmas gifts to our baby girl. And then they replanned it for when Epoy was here but I think some people were still not available so it didn’t push through as well. So they finally planned for it to coincide with my birthday. The plan was to give stuff for the baby much like what my other friends did. That was why Joema didn’t want to buy stuff for the baby yet. I was insisting on buying things for Bambini already because I was already panicking, I think I won’t reach my 40th week before givign brith (I secretly hope I’ll give birth on my birthday). So Joema had to tell them to move the date earlier, that’s why they ended up going to our place last Saturday and apparently their plan changed too because they just pooled their funds and bought us this fantastic gift for our baby!

Group pics..

Here's the crib..all set-up in our bedroom. Thanks, you guys! I'm sure Bambini will love it!

*All photos except the last one were taken by Tric's IPhone 4, the last one taken by my camera phone. My husband completely forgot to bring a camera even if he knew they were coming to bring the gift. Hay! I was bugging him for a while asking him why he forgot. Atleast we still have photos we can show Bambini in the future.

Flower Puff Christmas

2011-01-13T17:47:00.000+08:00

16 December 2010

I only recently got our pictures so this is a bit late.

My friends from the division celebrated the culmination of our Kris Kringle with a Christmas Party. We actually also did this last year but I wasn’t able to blog about it. Our code names last year were bold stars, this year were flowers - we're flower puff girls hehe. So anyways, there were only a bunch of us but we had so much fun! Can you believe the party program only consists of eating, a game and then exchange gift but we were all very happy in the end.

Photo-op before we ate dinner. We were waiting for people to arrive so that we can start.

We had just one game which was charades. Every item was Christmas related. So I can't remember what A was acting out on this one hahaha.

We were all excited to get our gifts so after just a game, we exchanged gifts already. Here I am with my mommy, M. My codename by the way was Bougainvillea haha. No, I didn't choose that. What we did was draw lots on our codenames first. And draw again who are babies are. My baby was Champaca but she didn't come to the party.

Look how happy I was with her gifts, she gave me two items from my wishlist.

While others were duped haha. Here's M being punked by J. M wanted foundation from The Body Shop but when she opened here gift she got Mena hehehe. But of course she got the real think in the end.

We didn't need fatcow hosting to enjoy the party. We just needed good company.

Last Wedding for 2010

2011-01-08T08:49:00.014+08:00

30 December 2010

Before the year ended, Joma and I attended our last wedding for the year. Would you believe we attended a total of 6 weddings this year? That was a record-breaker for us.

It was the wedding of my college barkada...Kae to her fiance Jayson. The ceremony was held at the Santuario de San Pedro Bautista Parish in Quezon City.

With the girls...Sharon, Reyna and Sheryl were secondary sponsors.

With my dashing hubby...he was the designated photographer that day so this was his only photo for the entire event hehe

My friend walking down the aisle. She was teary eyed which got me teary eyed. We're so happy for her!

During the wedding rites

The new Mr. and Mrs. after the ceremony outside the church.

Reception was held at Bella Ibarra. I was asked to lead the opening prayer.

Their reception program was very new to me. The bouquet and garter toss was done immediately after the cake cutting and wine drinking, which is at the start of thr program. Thought it was wise since most single guests didn't expect this and have no way out of it haha.

The very touching father and bride dance.

But it was followed by a happy prosperity dance by the newlyweds.

Congratulations and best wishes, Jayson and Kae!

Migs Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T15:54:00.019+08:00

18 December 2010

We had our annual Christmas party at Tric and Heyl's place. We were the first ones to arrive.

The night started off with a sumptuous dinner.

The Dimaanos and De Castros came and we were finally complete.

After dinner was gift giving time. Everyone had such a blast even the adults who also opened their gifts hehehe.

Bambini received Christmas gifts as well. Our little girl is already loved by so many people.

Then inuman na! I was so inggit hehe

We made salubong EJ's birthday with drinks and rock band.

Tipsy Heyl and tipsy birthday girl

This is how a photo looks when the one who set the timer is already drunk.

Here's to friendship and more Christmases spent together.

Birthing Class

2011-01-03T15:18:00.008+08:00

12 December 2010

On our last day in birthing class, we were taught how to clean the baby when she pees or poops, how to put on diapers (both cloth and disposable ones), how to swaddle, how to give a bath and discussed everything in between.

The dads are supposed to be in charge of changing the nappies since us moms are breastfeeding.

Here 's a class pic taken a week before our last day..so I'm 29 weeks and 5 days pregnant in this photo.

Wacky shot!

Here are the contact details for our birthing class:

Rome Kanapi
Landline: 436-1757
Mobile: 0917-5415114
Email: romeinquiry@gmail.com

Preggy Me @ 33 Weeks

2011-01-03T14:24:00.007+08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Let me start the year by blogging about my pregnancy which really is the highlight of our year. I'm now on my 33rd week, going on 34th by tomorrow. We had our OB check-up last Wednesday before 2010 ended. Good news is I didn't gain that much weight. Whew! 1 pound in 3 weeks yay! Our little girl is now 4lbs 10 oz. Everything seems to be doing great. We just have to week for my EDD. We've discussed our birth plan with our OB and decided on everything already. She has also already given us our kit in Medical City, which we have yet to read. On our next visit she will be teaching me on the breathing exercises and how to push when I finally am ready to give birth. She will also teach Joema how to put on medical gloves since we plan on him cutting the cord of our baby.

Here's the latest sonogram of Bambini. Although the image is not quite clear.

We still have to buy Bambini's things. But we're thinking we can do that in the coming weeks. I have yet to ask my mom's kasambahay to wash Bambini's clothes that were already given to us. When everything's wash we can finally prepare the hospital bags (one for me and one for Bambini). Hopefully our little girl won't come out until everything's prepared.

I'm excited and anxious at the same time. Excited to see her (I can't think of anything else but the baby, you can't even bother me with Custom Logo Design) and worried in case anything bad happens. Oh, we haven't got a yaya yet so we're still looking. We're really not yet actively looking because I've asked my mom to get onto that but it seems there are no leads as of yet. Our final resort is get some relative from the province to temporarily stay with us. We plan to go back to the condo once I give birth. I have yet to finish reading my books on breastfeeding (I've already read one from birthclass, but I have yet to finish the chapter on What to Expect when Expecting, and finish the book Penny has lent me on breastfeeding). I think I have to make a separate blogpost on breastfeeding. I'm hell bent on doing this. There's no plan B regarding breastfeeding.

And so I've grown really big already. I'm a bit happy because anyone who sees me would say "Ang laki ng tiyan mo!" Atleast it's my tummy they notice and they don't say "Ang laki MO!" hehehe.

Here are some recent photos.

@ 30 weeks and 5 days

@ 33 weeks and 5 days