It's Christmas Time Again

It's that time of the year again when shopping malls overflow with people, bazaars are everywhere and roads are packed with cars. Everyone is busy buying gifts and preparing for the festivities that sometimes we lose sight of what Christmas is all about. I too am guilty of that sometimes but God has given me a reminder of what the true essence of Christmas is. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and they are the reminders that.

Christmas is all about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the reason we celebrate December 25. It is His birthday and we should truly celebrate this for without Jesus Christ we are nothing. Thank you Jesus for coming into this world and for dying on the cross for us. Happy Birthday Jesus!

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

Matthew 1:21-23

Happy Birthday Zion!

It was our eldest son's birthday yesterday and I tried not to be sad that he is not with us. He's two years old now and I imagine him to be a little big boy playing with his angel friends in heaven. 

It still hurts that he is not with us but I am at peace knowing that he is with the Lord our father. My life has changed so much because of him. I miss you so much son. I look forward to see you one day in our Father's house. 

Hugs and kisses to my little boy. I love you very much. 

Canon Ixus 80 IS

photo taken from Canon USA

Hubby and I have a new toy. It's the new Canon Ixus 80 IS! We sold our two DSLR cameras since I'm not using the 20d and the other one's value is slowly going down. Anyway, we replaced the 20d with the blue Ixus today. Than you Lord! We chose the Ixus because of it's impressive features, 8mp, image stabilizer, it's compact size, nice design and fun colors to name a few. It's value for money too. 

I went to Hidalgo this afternoon after 3 years of not going there and the place has changed. It gives me the creeps now. Well, that's a different story. Anyway, when we got there I went to Watson's photo supply since they were the only one who had the blue Ixus on stock. I went to Mang Ramon first and he said he could deliver the blue Ixus tomorrow if I'm willing to pay the shipping fee of a whopping! 800 pesos. Heck no! so I ended up at Watsons. 

I'm so excited to try the camera and take photos of anything and everything which would mainly consist of Hubby and Timmy hehehe.....ha I miss shooting. How I wish I could go back into shooting photos but that has to take a back seat to give way to more important things like family. 

French Vanilla Ice Cream

A few months ago hubby and I ordered at amazon a Cuisinart ice cream maker and it arrived via a balikbayan box last week. Oh boy! we were so excited! 

Last night we tried our hand at making our very first homemade ice cream. It took us awhile to decide what flavor to make and we decided to start with the basic french vanilla ice cream. We had all the ingredients on the table, placed the ice cream tub in the freezer earlier that day and had our Ben & Jerry's recipe book on hand. 

It was quite easy to make it with eggs, heavy cream and milk. What was difficult with making ice cream was the long wait. After churning the mixture we placed it in containers and the long wait began. 

This morning I inspected the finished product and wasn't 100% happy with it's appearance. The taste was SUPERB! Yummyness! SUPER! but it looked blah. It was rich and creamy. a bit too sweet for me but it was really good.

After much assessment, we came to the conclusion that it lacked air. Ice cream is suppose to  be 25% air and this had like 5%. 

Since it was too early (in the morning) for ice cream, hubby decided to make  milkshakes with it. SARAP! I like my vanilla milkshake unadulterated while hubby wanted his with decadent dulce de leche. The vanilla milkshake with dulce de leche was good but it was too sweet for my taste. 

And where was timmy in all this? He was sleeping while his parents were making ice cream at 10pm and the next day he was curiously watching while his baba made milkshakes. He was drooling over the vanilla milkshake so we decided to give him some and he LOVED it! 

Now, we will play around with the recipe to get the texture and taste we like. Of course we will make flavors that just oooooze with yummyness...so now the journey begins hehehe

Epicenter

A fairly recent book is the talk of the town today because of it's relevance in our world today. Epicenter by Joel Rosenberg is about how the events that are happening in the Middle East will change our future. 

Unfaltering Faith

It's been a few months now since hubby and I started praying for something really big to happen in our lives. When the news came we talked about it, if we wanted it, consulted a few people and agreed that, yes we both wanted it and prayed that God would bless us with it.

From that time on, we claimed God's promise to bless us with it if He wanted it for us. We got excited and started talking about what we would do when God blesses us with it. I thought that I had faith in God's promise. 

Yesterday, I told my hubby that if we didn't push through with it that we'd do this and that. I realized that my faith had faltered. For a moment there I doubted God and I feel bad that I did. I was reminded that I should be dependent on Him moment by moment and that I should fill my mind with thoughts that are pleasing to Him. 

Bottom line: Depend on the Lord for everything and anything. Always be at the center of His will. 

Exhausted!

I'm EXHAUSTED! The last time I was this tired was last January when I gave birth to Timmy. 

We had a very long night yesterday due to the fact that Timmy just refused to sleep. I put him to sleep at 8:30pm without any effort. I just gave him milk and that's it or so I thought. 

He woke up at 10:30pm crying, refusing to go back to sleep. He was awake until 1:30am. My hubby and I tried everything to lull him to sleep but failed. So now I feel like a zombie and he still refuses to sleep. Goodness! I don't know what to do anymore. All I can think of right now is having some peace and quiet while having a foot spa, massage and rest. 

I miss the days when he was this small or rather this quiet

The Sleepless Generation

It's been almost a week since Timmy's sleeping habits changed. Actually, it's taking a lot to put him to sleep. When he is sleepy he fights and just keeps on playing around the house and nursing him just won't do anymore. When we lull him to sleep he kicks and cries and it requires tremendous amount of patience to put this little boy to sleep. 

Through my conversations with other parents I learned that I am not alone. They seem to have the same problem and I asked what do you do about it. Well, I get a blank face which screams I don't know...I'm also at a lost about it. I came across this interesting article on the so called sleepless generation. The article talks about the challenges of putting a child to sleep and the effects of sleeping late among other things. 

Now, my hubby and I are at a loss on how to deal with the sleeping problem.

  #1 Do we force him to sleep? 

  #2 Do we let him cry it out until he gets tired until he falls asleep? 

  #3 Do we give in to his desire of not sleeping? 

If only kids came with a manual but they don't so I really don't know what to do.  All we can do is pray for wisdom. 

See: Baby Mama

This looks like an interesting movie starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I'm looking forward to watching it. 

PInk & Pearl Now Open!

At last, Pink & Pearl online shop is now open. After much prayers and preparation we are now open for business. 

Pink & Pearl caters to modern moms and their happy babies. Please check out our online shop at pinkandpearl.multiply.com. 

6 Food Mistakes Parents Make

It seems that I'm surrounded by kids that are picky eaters and it's the one thing that I pray that my son will not be. It's a daunting task to feed your child and far more difficult (I can only imagine) to feed a picky eater. I've been reading about how to teach your child to eat and came across this interesting article at the New York Times on the 6 food mistakes parents make. 

Personally, I don't have experience feeding a toddler because my son is only 8 months old but the article makes sense. I'll keep on praying that my son will eat anything and everything we give him. 

Online Baby Journal

I recently came across this social networking site for babies, Kidmondo. Kidmondo is an online baby journal that parents can use to record milestones in their baby's life. One can upload photos, videos, has dental chart and a growth chart to name a few. The best thing about it is that it's secure and can only be viewed by people who you invite. It's pretty much like multiply for kids. 

Recently signed up for my son and so far it looks promising.

screenshots from www.kidmondo.com

Mobile Me

I was blessed by my hubby last Christmas with an iPod touch. I was 

hesitant to get it at first because it was expensive but the moment I 

held I loved it.

I only used the iPod mainly to watch videos and surf...until now. Fast 

forward to today and I'm a happy camper. I've been playing around with 

it and have installed several applications like NetNewsWire, facebook 

and games. I'm now using the mail application to view my emails and my 

recent discovery is mobile blogging.

All this came to be because I don't have much time to use our desktop 

computer because other things must come first like family and the 

business. The only free time I have right now is when I'm feeding the 

baby or putting him to sleep so YEY! I can now be a geek and take care 

of the baby. No time is wasted. Oh! and did I mention I'm blogging 

from my iPod. Cool! Thank you Lord!

Happy & Content

We're a few days away from September and all I can think of is how fast time goes by. Parang kailan lang Timmy was a teeny tiny baby and now he's a big baby boy na. Now Christmas is just around the corner.

I sometimes catch myself humming a Christmas tune thus I'm excited for Christmas because this will be Timmy's first Christmas and Kuya Z's second Christmas in heaven. I still can't believe that I've two wonderful sons. Wow! I can't be any more happy than I already am. Through good and bad I know that I've a wonderful family to hold my hand. Thank you Lord!

Downside

I've been stressing out since Tuesday because it's taking a little bit more to take care of Timmy. I was just starting to get used to his new schedule when BANG! Timmy fell from the bed and got himself a black eye. Hubby and I decided to take him to the doctor because he was showing signs of concern. He was more sleepy, not his usual active self and he vomited. We had him checked and by God's grace he is fine but since he is in pain he is more clingy than usual and we have a hard time putting him to sleep. To ease the pain the resident doctor in the E.R. told us to apply a warm compress over his eye and I'm pretty sure that this resident did not have a child :) I was chasing Timmy all over the bed just to get the warm compress over his eye and if I did it would only touch his eye for 2 seconds. Aside from that he would grab it from me and put it in his mouth.

I'm not very good at handling stress. I tend to react in a not so pleasing manner much to my husband's dismay. Through all this I pray and pray and came across this verse "In your anger do not sin" Ephesians 4:26. This is a struggle for me. I should not let my emotions get hold of me instead I should let the Lord control me. God has blessed me with a son and having one is a test of one's character. You should be a good role model, calm, loving, patient and a million other things but at the end of the day I pray that God will bless me to be the kind of mom that He wants me to be for Timmy.  

It's very hard to be a full time stay at home mom that sometimes I ask myself why am I doing this. It's easier to be employed because you only work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and when you get home you leave it all behind. Being a stay at home mom is a 24/7 job. No weekends. No vacation leaves. No sick leaves. You can't say 'I think it's time to move on and resign'. So why am I doing this? Because I love my son. God has led me to this direction and I know that I am where I am for a reason. Through good and bad all I can say is Thank you Lord. 

7 Months

Happy 7 months to our little bundle of joy!

Love, 

Dad and Mom

What a Ride!

The past two weeks have been a roller coaster ride for me. It was a high and low of emotions and mish mash of events. 

It all started when Timmy got sick with cough that eventually worsened to a viral infection, bronchiolitis. He was crying and coughing all the time and reached the point that he was already vomiting so that he could breathe. Poor baby. Imagine my panic while this was happening. I was alone and sent a panic text to my pediatrician and when she didn't answer immediately I contacted my other doctor friend for help.  Thank God for these people. 

The sleeplessness nights and tiring days lasted for more than a week. Our days would be filled of forcing him to take the medicines and the smart cookie would shut his mouth and would scream his lungs out. Our nights would be about putting him to sleep which would be filled with crying and screaming again. In between that would be feeding him and giving him water which he refused because his throat was sore. In a word, stress!

This is the first time Timmy got sick and I wasn't prepared for it. I guess we are never really prepared for the things that come our way but what matters is what we learn from these experiences. Going through this made me appreciate more the people in my life. I appreciate my husband more because he was there all the time to help. Friends who go the extra mile to help no matter what. Family who are there to lend a hand. I realized the value of relationships. It is a joy and a blessing to have a child and equally joyous to have these people in my life. It was one crazy ride but I would go through it again knowing that I have these people in my life. 

Eating Solids

It's been almost a month now since Timmy started eating solids. He's had potatoes, squash, egg yolk, carrots, dalanghita, orange, bananas and today he had his first taste of Marie biscuits. It's a joy to watch him taste the food we give him.

I talked about trying the baby led weaning method of giving him food and after a few times of doing it we got scared because he might choke. There was a lot of gagging from eating the chunk food. What we do now is a combination of giving him mashed food and chunky food which seems to be working well. 

Cliche as it sounds time does go by fast. Timmy is closing in on the seventh month mark and before you know he's eating ice cream and cake with his Daddy and Mommy.

Baby Swimming

I'm not the athletic type and have never been into sports since the day I was born. Growing up I tried to take a sport but between that and shopping I chose the latter. My husband on the other hand is quite the opposite. He likes swimming, football, ultimate frisbee and whatever sweat-it-out sport there is. We are poles apart. 

Now that we have a son we've decided to encourage him to have a sport. I know it's too soon for that because he's only six months old but you can never start them too early. Anyways, between mommy whose idea of a sport is walking around the mall and daddy who plays anything and everything under the sun I think, no, I know that I want him to take after his dad so last Friday little Timmy had his first dabble with swimming. 

Prior to Friday we've been encouraging him to love the water by making bath time a fun time for him and countless times we've been splashing him with water on the face, occasionally pouring water on his head until it slides down his face, wets his eyes and then tada! he cries. All our efforts (naks!) finally paid off when last Friday he actually enjoyed going into the pool and was playing with the water. The class went on for 30 minutes and was conducted by excellent teachers. It was basically play time for the babies with singing and fun activities. He was floating and had his first lesson on kicking in the water. His teacher said that he was advanced because he was already kicking his legs in the water but in reality sobrang malikot lang siya na kahit wala siya sa tubig e pipitik pa rin talaga yan. Well, towards the end of the class he started crying because he was sleepy and hungry already. That's lesson number one for mommy. Let the baby sleep and eat before the class starts. 

It was a great experience and we're excited to go back next week for another class on baby swimming. Thanks to wonderful teachers at the Bert Lozada Swim School. See you next week!

Baby Led Weaning

We started Timmy on solid foods last Friday and he enjoyed eating his potatoes the first time but the sec0nd and third time was a pain. Last night we tried liquifying the potatoes and he liked it but only if he fed himself with the spoon. I was happy that he was eating but thought to myself that he was eating more of the spoon than the food. It looked like he was enjoying the spoon and not the food. This led me to read more about feeding babies solid foods. 

As I was doing my reading I came upon a topic called baby led weaning. It's a new trend in giving babies solid food. It is pioneered by Gill Rapley a Unicef child care expert and according to her giving babies pureed food can lead to health problems such as picky eaters later in life. With baby led weaning you basically can feed your baby big chunks of food given that your child has satisfied some basic requirements. Keep in mind that you should give food that have handles like broccoli, cauliflower or carrot sticks so that the baby can hold it. Food should be boiled, broiled or roasted and cooled before giving to your baby. Size should be the same as you child's fist. More guidelines here. 

At first I was hesitant because I was afraid that the baby might choke. I mean I would just panic if something bad happened. I prayed about it and consulted my husband and  gave it a go this morning. 

Before starting I prayed that God would just let Timmy eat and enjoy his food and more importantly protection against choking. And so it began....I let Timmy sit in his high chair, showed him that I was eating too and put on his tray a (his) fist sized boiled potatoes. At first he just stared at it. Studying it then he tried to pick it up with his hands but it was too mushy. By the way, I chose potatoes because I boiled a lot for him over the weekend to stock. Anyway, I just let him play with the potatoes, touching it and smelling it and after awhile a he put it into his mouth. He spat it out but I encouraged him to go at it and he did. He ate half a potato and he actually enjoyed it. He was smiling and screaming while eating. At one point over protective me took out a portion that was in his mouth thinking it was too much but then I just have to let him go and enjoy. Babies are much smarter than we think.  I pray he'll continue to enjoy this way of eating and exploring his food. 

Priceless!

We came from the pediatrician yesterday and we were very excited when the doctor told us that Timmy can already eat solid foods. Yey for Timmy! For awhile now we let him sit on his high chair with an empty bowl, his rubber spoon and sippy cup of water during meals. Poor little boy because he would stare at mommy and daddy's food. Finally yesterday he was able to eat something with mommy and daddy.

We gave some mashed potatoes and orange juice. He liked it! I especially liked his asim face when first tasted juice and his questioning look while he was eating the potatoes. These moments are priceless and I thank God that my husband were able to witness this milestone. 

Being a stay at home mom

At some point before getting married I knew that when I would have my own kids I wanted to be a stay at home mom. I was influenced by own mom who took it upon herself to quit her job and take care of all 4 kids. I never had a yaya and enjoyed having my mom there all the time. This is the same thing that I want to give my son. I want to able to care of him and watch him grow up.

Some people would probably think that being with your kid(s) 24/7 is just too much. Some will even say your son might turn out to be a mama's boy. I thought about this, looked at my own experience and other people's too and realized that kids will almost always attach themselves to their primary caregiver be it the mom, dad or a yaya. Being attached is not bad up to a certain extent. It can be positively used.  It can be used to help your child develop confidence and trust in you. Your child is certain that the parents are always there to give him unconditional love. 

I am closer to my mom because she took care of me but growing up I always yearned for independence. I know of some grown men that were not mama's boys even if their primary caregiver was their mom. I believe that as the child grows up the parent needs to learn to let go and know that he is there to guide and protect their child. We cannot hang onto our kids and treat them like babies forever. Cliche as it may sound, we have to teach them to spread their wings and fly. I admit that I have fears that I may hold onto my son too long but I always tell my husband to please bop me on the head if that happens. 

Now on the 24/7 part, I admit that I also need a break. A short trip to the grocery or the mall or even just time to do what I love too is important to me. After all we moms must not forget to love ourselves. We must not forget the things that we are passionate about that makes us the person we are. 

I love being a stay at home mom because I can devote my time to my family. I can better take care of my husband and my son. But mind you it does not come without sacrifices and problems.

 I am so blessed to be where I am and to have a great husband and sons. My reference point in everything is the Lord. I always pray that I will be the wife He wants me to be for my husband and the mother He wants me to be for my son. After all, we are not the masters of our lives but God is. 

BPA Bottles are Safe?

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration baby bottles that have BPA in them are safe and that parents should not be alarmed by the small amount of BPA that these bottles release.

You can read more about here.

Busy Bee

My husband asked me the other day how come I haven't been blogging lately and it occurred to me that well I'm doing a lot of other things plus my thoughts are all over the place.

I'm super excited with this new venture that Nono and I are starting and we're really praying that this is God's will for us. It's a small thing but it seems that God has been paving the way for it to be a reality.  So that is what's keeping me busy these days.  

There are a lot more things that I want to do but have to put them off a few more months maybe even years to give way to my other priorities. In God's time I know He will bless me with what I've been praying for if that is His will. Thank you Lord!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy father's day to my wonderful husband who is just the best! He's always there for our little boys to make them smile, laugh and giggle heartily. He's our rock and love. We love you! 

Teething

My little boy of four and half months are growing teeth already. Imagine my surprise to see two little white pearlies trying peeking out from his gums and I thought babies don't grow teeth until five or six months. I guess this little boy is advance. 

He was crying his eyes out for two days now but he's getting better. He has all his ten fingers inside his mouth and drools a lot. I've been telling him that he has to learn to bear and manage the pain. I know he's too young to understand that but I like talking to him like he's a big boy na. 

To help him with the pain we've been giving him frozen teethers which seems to help. I read that chamomile tea (rubbed on the babies gums) helps with the pain but I'm afraid to give him that so maybe I'll just make a chamomile room spray. 

Weekend rest

I was looking forward to spending the May 1 holiday out of town and we were blessed to have spent it at the Hotel Kimberly in Tagaytay. It's a fairly new hotel at the outskirts of Tagaytay. That was one of the best things about it, its location. Since it wasn't in the commercial strip facing Taal volcano it was quiet and peaceful. It had a nice pool, a kiddie pool, playground and very nice rooms. 

It was one of the rare times that I didn't get allergies from the room and bed. We liked the place so much that we're praying that we can hold Timmy's dedication by the pool. We're definitely going back. 

Eco Moms

There's growing awareness on saving our planet and a growing trend in the U.S are Eco Moms. They have a group meetings in which discussions are about using non toxic products in the house and for your body, how to minimize trash and changing light bulbs to CFL bulbs. 

For these moms saving the earth starts at home. Now I wonder when this trend will arrive here. 

Tips to avoid BPA

All the news about BPA made me think about the other products that might have BPA in them.  So much focus has been on BPA found in baby bottles and toys that it has neglected to tell us more about the other products with BPA. 

Basically, if BPA is found in plastics products and it's leached out when the plastic is heated then we should be more conscious on how often we use plastics and in what way can we change it. Plastic is everywhere in our house. We use it to store food, water and everything else that can fit in it. 

Now for the tips. Here a few ways to avoid BPA.

• Don't use plastic when heating food in the microwave
• Lessen use or consumption of  canned foods. Canned beverages contain lesser amount of BPA while canned soup have a higher amount
• As much as possible avoid buying powdered formula milk in metal can packaging

We already stopped using plastic to heat our food in the microwave and have switched to using glass instead. That means pouring any hot or warm  liquid in a plastic cup is a no no. Sometimes I think I'm obsessing too much on using natural products, staying away from chemical laden products and now swearing off plastics but hey I've got nothing to lose. 

On another note, Rubbermaid has several BPA free products found at their website. Good to know that they have these products available to market. I just hope that other companies would do the same. 

Harmful chemical in baby bottles

There has been news going around about a harmful chemical called Bisphenol A that is found in baby bottles and sippy cups and possibly in the plastic lining of formula cans. 

Bisphenol A is a chemical that mimics the action of the hormone estrogen. This chemical is a carcinogen, can cause the early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes and hyperactivity. The chemical is said to mix in with the milk contents when it is subjected to heat. It is found in most plastic bottles such as Avent, Gerber an Playtex. Gerber and Medela bottles to name a few are free from this scary chemical. 

Now, we're planning to change all of Timmy's bottles because of this. There hasn't been a conclusive study as to whether this chemical really does harm to our babies but we wouldn't want to take that risk. 

For more information on this you can view this or read all about it here . You can also view the complete list of Bisphenol A free bottles here and here.

Not so fully booked

I'm currently on the hunt for a book on body recipes and so I convinced my hubby to spend the saturday afternoon at the Fort so that I can check Fully Booked. I was quite excited to go there but unfortunately I didn't find what I was looking for. I was a bit disappointed. They only had one book on that and they moved the entire section of the home cleaning stuff and it didn't contain much. Oh well! I guess I'll just have to window shop at amazon and pray that someone can bring home some of the books I want.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. This didn't hold much significance to me until now. When I was younger this was just a day in school wherein classes were interrupted with activities therefore it was good. 

Now it's a reminder that we should do our share to take care of our planet earth. It's the only one we've got. 

Upscale Gardening

Found this online seller of garden plants, seeds and flowers. It's a sosyal way of selling garden plants and seeds. The wonders of branding and positioning! It's cute actually and I would probably buy their stuff (if it's locally available) if I didn't know that Manila Seedling existed.

images taken from www.pottingshedcreations.com

Martha's Green Living

Martha Stewart's website has a new addition...all about green living. It's quite interesting and simple reads. Check it here to find more about Martha's green living.

Happy Earth

Discussions on global warming has opened my eyes to how we contribute to this phenomenon. In our own little ways  we can help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released in our atmosphere. So what can we do help save our one and only planet Earth?

• Turn off lights when not in use
• Switch to energy saving bulbs or compact flourescent light bulbs
• Unplug unused appliances
• Plant a tree 
• Use natural household cleaning products instead of cleaning products with hazardous chemicals
• Use natural alternatives to mothballs
• Minimize use of pesticide
• Recycle paper and other plastic products
• Reduce use of disposable cups by bringing with you your own mug
• Carpool with friends
• Use a glass when brushing your teeth
• Use a basin when washing dishes
• Work close to home or better yet work from home 
• Wear vintage clothes. 

These are just a few things we can do. you can view more here.Bottom line is to save water, save energy and save our planet!

Six Degrees

During holy week, hubby and I were watching a special at the National Geographic channel on how six degrees could change the world. It's all about global warming and our environment. The things discussed there really surprised me and what struck me there that with all the hoolabaloo on global warming the temperature has increased to almost (not even) one degree.

Imagine that! With the rising temperature every year wala pa palang one degree change yon so you can just imagine how six degrees would really change the world. In a nutshell if the temperature increased six degrees more the earth would be dried up and we're all goners.

After watching that I understood why there's so much concern about global warming. I was oblivious to what was happening until I became a mom. It's also good to know that people are raising awareness regarding this matter like the Earth Hour in which a significant number of people and retail establishments joined. So now how can we help save our planet n our own little way? Well, that's another blog entry to look forward too.

Baby Gap Home

Once upon a time I used to work for the local distributors of GAP, Old Navy and Banana Republic here in Manila. I loved their office in San Francisco and more so the classic styles of their clothes, shoes and bags. Now there's a new addition to their product line Baby Gap Home.

I was browsing through their product offering and would love to get Timmy these wooden toys. It's something different from all the toys you see locally and there's a certain appeal to it.

Images from www.gap.com

Squeaky Green

Having a baby really changes everything and one change that we would like to have is to free ourselves from chemical laden household cleaners. There are so many disturbing effects that these chemicals have in our system and more so for a newborn. I think the aha moment for me was when I started smelling chlorine bleach in the house and I thought to myself am I really suppose to smell clean in my house? Apparently not.

Found this interesting book online. It talks about detoxifying your home. Can't wait to check Fully Booked if this book is any good.

Image from www.chroniclebooks.com

Growing Baby

Not long ago my hubby and I brought home our son. He was so tiny, quiet and we could carry him effortlessly and now he's growing bigger by the day.

He's had a few milestones the past few days that I'm thinking he's no longer a baby boy but more of a little boy. He can now hold his hands together. He can lift his head high and longer. He's trying to crawl but gets frustrated when he ends up nowhere. I think he's trying to laugh at times and his grip is stronger now.

They say that once you give birth you have to learn to let go of your kid, to let him grow and learn things by himself. I'm trying not to be overprotective but sometimes my maternal instincts kick in strong. Thank God I have my husband to remind me to go easy.

Puppy Gym

Something is keeping our baby busy lately. It's a play gym. We were looking to buy one for him but we were able to borrow one from my sister. Thank you Lord!

Timmy's so cute when he's playing with it. Our boy is so active. Always waving his arms and legs. At least now he has something solid to kick and not just do some air hockey.

Happy days are over

I had my first fight with my almost three month old son last night. What did we fight about? Thumb sucking or better yet fist sucking.

I've always felt against thumb sucking because I saw what it could do to your thumb (aesthetics) and that it pacifies the baby thus he doesn't learn to sleep by himself. Early on hubby and I have been talking about whether we would let Timmy thumbsuck and decided that we would since his only a baby. But then last night while I was putting him to sleep I decided to not let him thumbsuck and boy did he react violently almost like he was throwing a tantrum. Our "fight" lasted quite awhile. I eventually got tired and just let him continue sucking his thumb.

I had to ask my hubby again if we were right in letting him have his thumb because I was surprised by how Timmy reacted. We decided to ask the doctor and she said to not let him thumbsuck because it's his way to pacify himself and she jokingly (half half) told us that we let him do it so that he would keep quiet. Yikes! so true for me! It got me thinking that ya since we let him thumbsuck it was a bit easier for us to keep him quiet. Timmy quiet = more time to do what I want. When you think about it kinda selfish.

Ha! to be a parent you always have to do what is right for your child even if it means that sacrificing your wants. So now, we've (much to my hubby's dismay) decided to be firm against thumbsucking. From now on Timmy will always have mittens on. We won't always be there to grab his hands away from his mouth but at least we're doing our part. Actually his doctor gave us an good idea....pin his mittens (with his hands in it) to his clothes! haha! I wish it were that easy. Looking forward (yak!) to more fights with my son.

Sweet Smell

The family had a very long (and tiring) day. First we went to worship at 10am meaning we had to wake up by 8am so that we could give timmy a bath and prepare ourselves to go out. After worship we headed to my brother's lunch to celebrate my sister in law's birthday. The food was yummy! Loved the pasta with shrimps and mushrooms. I'm not a fan of white sauce (in pasta) but I loved this one. Yummy!

Hubby went to watch a ball game which left me with Timmy. Timmy was behaved. Cried when hungry or when he needed to have his nappy changed. Good boy! My folks drove us home and that's when I felt really tired. Timmy was tired too because whenever we're out he doesn't get his normal snooze time. Realized this when I put him to sleep at 6pm and he only woke up to eat at 730pm. Hubby and I made the mistake of waking him up so that we could go have dinner with the other side of the family. Big mistake because he was a bit cranky and I felt guilty for robbing him of the precious sleep time.

And now Timmy is sleeping and hubby and I are screen sucking. Oh and did I mention I've a headache because of the heat and not eating on time.

What have I learned today?

• You can never eat on time if you a have baby to take care of (given that you don't have a yaya like me). I stopped eating on time since I gave birth and have had a few headaches because of this....more to come
• Never wake up a sleeping baby. I always thought it was crap whenever other parents would say that they never wake up their child. I'd ask myself why? Well, now I know. Aside from the crankiness that comes with waking a sleeping baby I also felt pity for the baby. I never want anyone to wake me up from a nice deep sleep so why would you want to do it to your child?
• Family time is important. No matter how many times you argue or disagree with family members your family relationships are still important. They're there for you when you need them most and it's unconditional love at it's finest. It takes precedence over friends and other obligations. As others would say it family is family.
  

At the end of the day through all the chaos, headaches and stress what makes it all worth? Going home to great husband, a cozy home, countless blessings, family that loves you, having a little angel in heaven and hugging and smelling the sweet smell of my little timmy. Thank you Lord!

Blah

That's how I'm feeling at the moment. Don't know why. It could be that I've got bad sniffles or that I'm bored? Timmy's sleeping (thank you Lord!). Hubby's in church and I'm here at home in front of the computer. I'm done going through mail, surfing the usual sites I go to and now downloading Eli Stone. Oh well! nothing else to do and I'm used to being busy all the time. I guess this is good.

Had my quiet time and prayed for God to take away this feeling. God led me to the book of Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" I'm excited what God will give me in the future to busy myself for Him.

Silence

Lately, I've been doing some me time late at night after I put my baby to sleep and my hubby has also fallen into slumber land and I just realized that I'm enjoying the silence. Nobody but me is awake in the house. All I hear is the gentle buzz of the fan and the keyboard clicking. It's bliss.

After a days worth of the baby's cry, the noisy dogs and neighbors, a honking jeepney that always passes by our house in the afternoon, a barrage of cars and trucks passing by, tv blasting and after taking care of household affairs it's a simple pleasure to be alone and enjoy the silence.

This I can enjoy for at least an hour. An hour to screensuck. An hour to eat. An hour to relax in front of the tv. An hour to do what I want to do and then I head off to bed and then wake up and deal with the hustle and bustle of the day's activities.

Thank you Lord for this precious hour of silence.

All Natural

There is a growing awareness on health and wellness. You can see it in the ads on tv and print. Nestle has a product line that is suppose to help you to be healthy. There is also a growing number of spas and wellness centers. More and more people are paying attention to what they eat and how they can sweat it out all for good health's sake.

And so if you want to live healthier you have several options for the food you eat, creams and lotions you put on your skin and several sweat it out sports to choose from but has it ever occurred to you that the cleaning products we use at our homes contain so much chemicals that are harmful to our bodies?

I was forced to take a hard look at this when I became pregnant. When you're pregnant you are restricted to do a lot of things, limited to what you can eat and should be conscious of what you use on your skin and in the house.

And so began my search for all natural skin care and cleaning products that are available in the market and this has proved to be a challenge. So far I only know of a few sellers of all natural lotion, insect repellant, soaps and shampoo. At least there were a few to choose. What was more difficult was looking for all natural household cleaning products. I saw a few but they were expensive. It cost 3 times more than the chemical cleaners in the grocery.

Why are household cleaning products bad for us?

• Most of these items from bleach to your dishwashing soap are poisonous when ingested.
  
• Bleach can burn your skin and eyes. (Now that's why my clothes get holes when too much zonrox is used on it)

To know more about the harmful effects of these things, please check this.

So now my search continues for all natural cleaning products.

Breastfeeding

When I was still pregnant I made the decision to breastfeed my son. I read about breastfeedingto equip me into doing a great job. I bought things to help me with task and to make things easy for me and my son. I also asked my friends and sister for advice but nothing could've prepared me for the challenging task of breastfeeding.

I started breastfeeding Timmy in the hospital when he was just two days old. The doctor said to start asap to stimulate your body to produce milk. For the first day close to none came out (which is perfectly normal) and as days passed the milk production increased. This was still easy since I did not breastfeed the whole day. Things changed when we brought home Timmy and started breastfeeding full time.

Nobody told me that a newborn (at least this one) eats every hour regardless if it's daytime or nighttime. He poops almost every after feeding and after you feed and change nappies you have to lull him to sleep. On top of this I just gave birth with episiotomy and endured 12 hours of labor. I was a zombie. I was tired and cranky. I almost gave in to giving him formula in exchange for some sleep. This went on for more than a month. You learn things along the way that makes it easier. You get to know your baby and become sensitive and intuitive to his needs. You just keep on learning new things about your baby and yourself.

I'm going on my third month of breastfeeding and I've no regrets. I see Timmy growing bigger everyday. He's smiling a lot now and I love it when he does his happy dance after feeding.

What have I been learning from this experience?

• Breastmilk is really best for babies. God blessed us mothers with the ability to produce milk for our babies and it would be a waste if we did not use it.
  
• Sacrifice. It takes a lot to be a parent. Good health and nutrition for your baby in exchange for sleep and doing what you want.
• To value this time I have with my son. They're only babies once. This is the time they need us the most. Babies will grow up and then you have to let them go and grow. Plus the fact that life is short. You never know when the Lord will take you.
• Selflessness

Breastfeeding is a decision one must make. It is a commitment. It is so easy to quit and take the easy route but are you ready to miss out on things that you cannot take back?

Major production number

I never imagined how difficult it can be to go out with a child. I thought it was easy and simple until I went through it myself. Somebody told me that it was major production number and it really is.

The first time I went out with Timmy was for a simple dinner with daddy. The driver picked us up at the house and he drove us to where we would meet daddy. It took us about an hour to reach our destination and in that one hour I changed his nappy twice. He pooped horrendously, peed on the car seat, puked on his clothes and so had to change his onesie. All this in an hour and throw in some loud crying for background music. By the time we reached the parking lot I wanted to go home. I was tired and overwhelmed with taking care of this cute little baby.

I didn't want to stay in the car while waiting for daddy so I brought Timmy with me in a sling to go around and tried to enjoy. It was ok at first when I saw Timmy wide eyed looking at this new place but when he started crying I panicked, wanted to cry myself and decided to go back to the car. And so we stayed in the car and when it became hot he started crying. To help him a bit I turned on the aircon and fed him. We left the car after feeding for fear of carbon monoxide poisoning. In between these events I told my hubby that this was a bad idea and maybe we should just go home. After much talking I changed my mind and agreed to go on with the original plan to have dinner.

After much prayer I calmed down and went to the resto and continued to wait for my hubby. Timmy fell asleep so it was pretty easy already. I thank God I listened to my husband because we had a good time eating good food and even had energy to go around with Timmy.

It was an overwhelming and tiring experience but was all worth it to spend a nice night out with my hubby and me son.

Cutie cutie

Hubby, Timmy and I attended our first formal event as a family yesterday. We went to a friend's wedding at the Sofitel and we were excited to see Timmy wear his preppy look.

Days before that we were already thinking of what we would make Timmy wear and remembered that I bought a blue sweater vest for him when I was still pregnant with him. And so days before that I was already preparing his clothes.

And so this is how our cutie cutie looked during his first formal event.

Unhealthy me

With all the talk on health and wellness, I've come to the conclusion that I am so unhealthy. I don't exercise, I love to eat junk food and chocolates and I sleep late.

It's been so long since I've done some aerobic activity and the desire to go back is there but it's quite difficult with a baby around. I've gained so much weight when I was pregnant and I want to lose it all. The mind is willing but the body is not...hehehe so all I can pretty much do right now is control my food intake which is soo difficult when I see hubby eating all the junk and sweets he wants and not gain an ounce. Oh well that's life!

It takes conscious effort to be healthy, discipline and prayers. You always have to think before you eat, be organized so that you can squeeze in exercise and support from the people around. It's a decision one has to make and I'm not sure if I'm ready give up my cheetos and chocolates.

Tim's day out

Yesterday we went to Timmy's doctor to have him checked and for a vaccine shot. It was also the day of the rally so the traffic was horrible. It took us two hours to get to our destination. But cute little Timmy was oblivious to the traffic and the hot heads in the car.

Timmy was so behaved when his doctor was giving him the vaccine. He would usually cry at the top of his lungs but yesterday it was just a small cry. Afterwards, we headed to the Fort for dinner with Daddy, Lolo and Lola. Dinner was at Pancake House and their Pan Chicken is yummy! Timmy slept through dinner (because he had his in the car) so it was an easy time for the grown ups.

The highlight of the night was grocery shopping! Don't ask me why but for some reason hubby and I love to go to the grocery. Timmy was awake the entire time we were at the grocery. He kept looking around with his big eyes and hubby and I were talking to him about things.

So how was Timmy's day out? Well, he slept most of the time but mommy had a great time :)

Smile!

Hubby and I were playing with our little one yesterday morning and had this fabulous smile to show mommy and daddy.

Waiting on the side

Since I got pregnant with our first child I had to immediately stop working. My days then were filled with bed rest, eating and family activities. During this time I learned how to bake, sew, design and a few more other things.

I did enjoy it and still do enjoy being a stay at home mom but there are days that I want to go back doing to freelance work and I'm still holding on to my dream of having my own home based business in God's time.
Right now, I'm still waiting. Waiting for that time I can go back to freelance work. Waiting for that business I can start. Waiting on the Lord and simply be thankful that I am where I am.

Sleep like baby

Timmy is now 7 weeks old and he's starting to have a sleep schedule. He usually sleeps for no more than two hours during the day and wakes up at most three times in the wee hours of the morning. This is a great change from the every hour feedings when he was just a few weeks old.

When he was just a few weeks old he preferred to sleep in his stroller but now that he's getting older (and bigger!) I've started to put him in his crib for his naps. So far so good. He doesn't squirm when I put him down. I've been doing some reading on putting babies to sleep and read that babies should be given a schedule and should develop good sleeping habits. Here are a few things that my hubby and I are doing:

• Bed time is at 8pm
• Warm sponge bath
• Massage his itty bitty legs and arms
• Recite Psalm 23
• Pray before going to bed

It's been 4 days since we started it and it is HARD! I was successful the first day but the succeeding days were a challenge. I told myself that it doesn't matter how long it takes just as long as he understands what we're doing. A mom shared that she had to do it like 10 million times before she succeeded and I'm praying for patience. Consistency is the key. Add to that patience, selflessness and prayers. Then again isn't that what motherhood is about.

Blessings

It's been almost two months since I gave birth to my son and I'm just at awe at how much God has blessed me. Sure I'm tired most of the time, there still those sleepless nights but it is nothing compared to the feeling you have when you wake each morning beside my hubby and a smiling baby boy. It is just amazing. 

God is good!