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

                                                                  

                                                               
                                                             

                                                               
                                                            
                                                                
                                                       
                                                          

 

Planning for Peycie's baptism

I am not OC in other things, but when it comes to preparing an event, I want everything organized.  Here are some of the details of our little angel's christening:

Date: January 25, 2015

Church
Our Lady of Fatima Parish - Meralco Village, Lias, Marilao Bulacan
This is where my husband baptized.  We opted to have our little one christened here because the priest who blessed me that I'll conceive soon is the parish priest of this church.  It's just sad that he only does baptism during ordinary day :'(

Venue
St. Joseph House of Serenity - Malhacan, Meycauayan, Bulacan
We decided to have the reception done here since it is near the church and the facility is huge and pleasant.

Caterer
GJ's Catering
They were our caterer in our wedding and I can say that the taste of their food was impressive.  So why not avail their service the second time around? ☺

Photographer
King Ignacio
King is my husband's friend who lives nearby our house.  He did some shots during our wedding in Dec 2013 and I can tell that he was great!
 
Souvenirs
Cherub Clay Accessories
Looking for a souvenir is kinda difficult. I need to scout different blogs, however I didn't see any.  Eager I am to find something cute, I ended up having a polymer clay fridge magnet as giveaways for guests.

iPrints
Since I wanted a personalized souvenir for the sponsors, I got the cute notepads for Ninongs and Ninangs from them.  Cute, personalized and affordable!

Dress
I got her baptismal dress from Landmark while the reception dress is from Periwinkle. :)

Baby Shower Studio Experience

I've been a photo addict since the day I knew about camera. *LOL*  Kidding aside, husband and I decided to have our baby's photo shoot at Baby Shower Studio in Timog for her baptism.  Way back when I was still pregnant, I kept on viewing their work and I can say, it is superb! Sharing some of our baby's shots:

 

 

Baby's skin was dry and forgot to put lotion on her.  Those white thingy on her eyebrows are her dry skin but can't still get over her cuteness, though!


The studio's staff/photographers were accommodating and really great in capturing different baby's expressions.  Thumbs up for their service.  We will definitely go back and have our baby's pictures taken when she turns 6 months. ☺

First Time Mom

I'm sooo addicted to my Baby Peycie and didn't have a chance to blog.  Being a first time mom is not easy.  I thank my mom and mother-in-law in assisting me and teaching me on how to take care of a newborn child.  :)  I enjoy being a hands-on mom, to the point that I don't wanna go back to work!  I personally give her a bath, feed her (I failed in breastfeeding, I breastfed her only for 2 weeks and after that she doesn't want to latch anymore *sad*, I tried to pump however I can only produce less than 2 oz, which did not satisfy her every feed). 

The day comes that I have to get back to work.  This is really a big adjustment.  Peycie started to change her sleeping time on her way to 2nd month.  "Seriously anak, kung kailan na papasok si mommy?"  She usually sleep between 4:00a.m. to 6:00a.m.  and we need to leave the house by 6:30a.m. 

Our daily routine (when I got back to work)

7:00 a.m. - Leave the house
8:30a.m. to 5:30 p.m. - Office
8:00 p.m. - Arrive home
10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. - Hubby will take care of Peycie, while I will sleep for my 1:00 a.m. shift. *LOL*
1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. - Hele and crying time for baby.
4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. - Her sleeping time
6:00 a.m. - Wash and sterilize her bottles, fix ourselves for work

Recently, my dad-in-law wakes up at 3:30 a.m. and if Peycie is still up, he will voluntarily get her from me so I can still sleep.  I can't thank him enough for sacrificing his sleep!

I admit, I miss our lifestyle back then when we were only two, but I couldn't be more happier seeing and having our cute little baby with us!  Yes, it is kinda tiring and exhausting but these are worth it! ☺