My baby wears my dress!

Working in a travel industry during this peak season oblige you to stay longer than your usual office hours. Well, I'm just lucky that I got free time to blog while waiting for my client. 

Last Christmas, my aunt returned my dresses which I used to wear when I was a little.  One of those was also worn by my niece and now my daughter.  Thank you to my mom and aunt for keeping them.  Last Sunday, I tried one of them to my Peycie and tadaaan.... it fits perfectly!

It's just sad that my niece and I don't have a photo wearing the same dress!  As my mom said last night, "if I only knew" :p

Peycie's essentials

I was thinking on what to post and suddenly realized that I haven't shared with you my LO's essentials.  Babies are sensitive and you're lucky if your LO didn't show any sign of allergies with the first products you used to them.

MILK
Peycie was only breastfed for 2 weeks and her Pedia (who is my SIL) gave her Similac.  Don't get her wrong, my SIL is a pro breastfeeding pedia, it's just that Peycie finds it hard to latch on me and also I can only produce 1 oz per pump despite of all the "sabaw, malunggay" and clams. 

BOTTLES
Way before I gave birth, I was looking for reviews on each brand of baby bottles and Avent has the best reviews.  I chose Natural because it has a breast-shaped teat in which will not lead my baby to confusion.  I only bought the starter set believing that I'll only use it when I get back to work.

 

STERILIZER

When I was still pregnant, I did not opt to buy a sterilizer yet, just like the bottles because I believe that I can/will exclusively breastfeed my baby.  I remember, when we decided to mixfeed, I asked my husband to buy a sterilizer and even called me while in the mall because he didn't know what to buy.  I just told him to purchase Chicco (read good reviews as well) which can fit the Avent bottles.

 



DIAPER
We use 2 diapers on our baby.  Huggies Dry during day and Drypers on night time.  I haven't experienced leaks on these 2 nappies.

 

 

BODY WASH

We arrived home from the hospital with Lactacyd used by the Nursery for our baby.  We used it for the mean time, however Peycie developed rashes and immediately stopped it.  From then until now, we use Cetaphil for her and luckily no more rashes or any sign of allergies.

 

 

SHAMPOO

On her 1st month, we used Cetaphil too as her shampoo but eventually changed it to Mustela on her 2nd month.  Again, this is based on moms' reviews on GT. :D

 

 

BABY WIPES

We tried different wet wipes and Kirkland is the only one which doesn't easily strip.  We only buy this at S&R and I am not sure if it's available in other stores.  By the way, I only use this to clean her poop, but still using cotton and clean water to wipe the area everytime I change her diaper.

 

 

 

 

COLOGNE

My SIL advised me not to put any cologne yet when Peycie was still really small.  I started using it on her baptism.  We are using Enfant not only because I received it from my baby shower but it smells good too!  We only put it on her clothes and not directly to her skin.

 

 

LOTION

It happened one time that my baby's skin got dry.  We only trust Cetaphil to moisturize her skin.

 



 

So far, these brands work well with my baby.  Planning to try different shampoo and soap for her but only when she turns 6 months. ☺

 



Puyatan No More

Okay, most moms experienced the "puyatan" moments with their babies and I was one of them.  If you have read my earlier post under "First Time Mom", you can see that our baby sleeps at around 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. As my husband says, that was the longest 2 months of his life.

Peycie changed her sleeping time after her baptism.  If we only knew then, we had her baptized earlier, LOL.  She now sleeps between 8:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m. (what a relief) and still feed her every 3 hours.  We don't wake her up, we just put the teats in her mouth and it automatically opens.  She usually wakes up at 5:00 a.m., just in time before we prepare ourselves to work.

In case new parents out there still experiencing this, you may try the following as they may help:

-Turn off or dim the lights during night time
     -Practicing this makes your baby differentiate day from night. 

-Swaddle your baby
     -Most of us has an air-conditioned room, but remember, babies just came out from our womb which kept them warm for 9 months.  So, by swaddling them, it makes them sleep better/longer.  Not to mention, they feel safe too!

-Feed them
     -Most parents or grandparents wait for the babies to cry before feeding them.  I once heard a grandmother says "why would you feed her, she even not crying?"  Babies should be fed every 3 hours if they're still on 4oz or every 5 hours if 6oz.  If your baby is sleeping but time to feed, feed her.  This helps her sleep continuously.

-Hele with dancing
     -This is a typical way of putting babies to sleep and it's effective. 

-Use Duyan
     -This may sounds old school, but believe me, this is really helpful especially when I'm tired carrying her or I'm sleepy.  Just don't swing it hard. 
*Tip on duyan:  Tie a string on it so you can still swing the duyan by holding the string while sitting or lying .

It may take some time for your babies to adjust, but don't worry, they will eventually adapt the right sleeping time. ☺

*I am no expert on this, just based on experience. :D

Nappy Changer/Changing Table - A BIG help I must say!

Having a baby requires you to bend your back including your hips while changing the diaper.  Yes, it's kinda painful especially if you're still on postpartum period which is difficult to move.  With my MIL's idea (convinced by one of her friends), she bought a nappy changer in NZ while she was in vacation.

A nappy changer can't be that helpful without the changing table.  Since it's expensive buying it at the mall, we looked online for a sample and have one of the carpenters in our area to replicate it.  It only costs us P3,500 compared to mall price of P5,000 which is made of plastic.  This is how it looks:

 

I suggest to moms-to-be and new moms to have one and you won't regret it.  It's very useful. ☺

Leaving soon...

Being far from your family is one of the saddest things you don't know until when you can endure.  And yes, I'll be leaving for Canada soon and still convincing myself that I can stand far from my husband and baby. 

Just to give you an idea, I applied for an immigrant visa when I was still single. Got my letter of approval from the province I applied to a day before my wedding.  Mind you, after getting married, I delayed everything such as submitting my complete documents to CIC (I forwarded it a week before due though I can submit the documents to them within the week I received the approval).  Even the medical examination, I did the same. 

When I was still single, I was very eager to be there to work hard, earn a lot and buy expensive/branded stuff for myself, but having a family of your own will make your plans change. Now, I want to go to Canada to work hard and petition my husband and baby the soonest.  Moms out there know how hard it is for me, it is only the mothers who can fully understand my situation.  One time, I stared at my daughter and saying to myself, "the next time I'll see you, you're already walking, running, talking and I'll miss these milestones of your life.  Please don't get mad if I'm not with you during these days as I am preparing for your future."

On the other hand, instead of getting emotional, I am looking on the positive side.  I know I'll be away from them for more than a year but after that, when everything turns okay, we will be together again.  Imagining my baby talking in Tagalog in a "slang" way like "lowla, lowlow" with her big cheeks and ponytails. ☺

For the mean time, while I am still here, I cherish every moment with them and invest good memories that I'll bring with me.  ☺

Valentine's Date the cheap way!

Alright, I'm not fan of celebrating the Valentine's day and so my husband.  We usually eat out during ordinary days and preferred to just stay home on Valentine's day. But on the day itself, we went to Bambang to buy a nebulizer for my mom.  Since hubby graduated from Mapua High which was located near the area during the 90s, he knows the best canteen or our so-called "carinderia" around.  Believe it or not, he took me to Chades Tapsilogan for our valentine's lunch date. 

I know my husband, he will not bring me to a place that will embarrass him.  Yes, the tapsilog and the lechon rice are to die for! Seriously, they're the best!  Sadly, I wasn't able to take picture of the food.  I posted the menu on my fb account, just to let my friends know that I am not picky and can eat anywhere, but what surprised me was my friends have been to Chades before! Haha  Here's the print screen:

Compliment received from my husband:  "Sarap mo talagang asawa, swerte ko, kahit saan game ka!"  For only Php260, our tummies were very satisfied!   

 On the other side of the story, he sent bouquet of roses in my office prior the Valentine's day. :)

 

Spread L♥VE not only the 14th of February, express it everyday. ☺

Suppliers Review

I can tell that Peycie 's baptismal was a success!  Not to mention, baby was really cooperative during the baptismal rites and in the reception. ☺  Since I shared with you my suppliers for her baptism, let me do a recap and review.


Church: Our Lady of Fatima Parish
We were the first to reserve the date for baptism and we already expected that our baby will not be christened alone since it's Sunday. Reserving the date was easy, we paid P200 for the baptismal rites, P20 for each pair of godparents and P280 (P20 each) for the candles and missalettes.

On the day of christening, I was saddened that the baptismal rites/ceremony was not solemn.  It was like the priest just pour water on her head and that's it!  As they say "masabi lang na nabinyagan".  Oh well, maybe because there were 14 children to baptize.  Added to that, people were just chitchatting and just waiting for the ceremony to finish and have their photos taken. I was also disappointed because after the rites, the priest disappeared like a bubble. 

Venue: St. Joseph House of Serenity
We had miscommunication with the one in charge here.  They told us that they have 100 chairs that we can use and advise us to inform our caterer so they will only bring 20 pcs as we invited 120 guests.  Early morning of the baptism, Edward visited the site and found out that they don't have tables!  Imagine the rush and hassle!  Their "referral" for the tables saved the day! (Is it part of the business?)  Anyway, apart from that, everything turned out well.  They even gave us discount. ☺

Caterer:  GJ's Catering
This is the least I expect to disappoint me.  They arrived 2 hours late in the venue.  They commit to be in the venue by 6:30 a.m. but they arrived at 8:30a.m.  But then, they were able to decorate the place on time.

With regards to the food, they never fail.  Yes!  Still delicious!  But what made me mad, is there's no Roasted Chicken which is supposed to be included in the Menu!  What else? Oh the cake!  I sent Ms. Medz the design of the cake I want for our baby and unfortunately, it didn't look the way it is supposed to be.  (Not to mention, in our wedding, they say that the 3-tier cake are all edible but only to find out that only the base of the cake is edible.  I didn't even bother to complain, because I was on cloud nine that time).

I contacted Ms. Medz through call and text yet no response.  I found out in her fb that she had her vacation when I was calling.  Ok, given. So now that she's back to work, I sent her a message, informing her about the roasted chicken, still no response. I demand for a refund because the menu is written in the contract, we even still have refund for the chairs and tables (because they used the one provided by St. Joseph).  She sent her apologies through Facebook maybe a week after the baptism and told that it was her mistake.  She gave me options of adding the roasted chicken on our next event or she'll provide food which costs the same if ever we will be having another event.  Since I'm disappointed, I just demand for refund (because we will no longer avail their service) but she didn't reply.

Photographer: King Ignacio
He was really really great! We'll get him again for Peycie's first birthday! Kudos to you King!

Souvenirs:  Cherub Clay Accessories and iPrints
Transaction with them was very smooth. .  Cherub Clay even gave design options and update me all the time.  :)  

 

 Meanwhile, iPrints delivered my orders in 3 days (not including holidays) contrary to their committed production time of 7 working days. ☺

 

 

Here are some of the photos of our Peycie's baptism