Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's 9th

One of our Ninang's (godparent) told me to write down the birth story of our son. And when he will reach 18 years old, give him that story. She guaranteed that it will be one of the best gifts he'll ever receive.

I have yet to write down that story. I know I should do it soon, while the details surrounding his birth and the emotions that go with are still fresh in my memory bank. All I need is time. With two kids under my care and a household to manage, I barely have time for myself. Whatever little time I have, I spend it on an activity that does not require thinking (hello Facebook and Plants & Zombies 2! Haha)

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's 8th

Hello, I am back! I have been away from the blogging world for almost 5 months! In those months, I was contemplating on whether to continue blogging or not. It does take a considerable amount of time to pick and edit the pictures to post and of course to write something sensible or at least blog-worthy.

With my multiple roles in life, I found it hard to squeeze in some blogging time. And it didn't help that Cebu experienced two major life-threatening, life-changing calamities during the last quarter of 2013. While I am thankful that all of my family members and friends survived those calamities, there were a few situations that we had to adjust to, especially in my line of work. A portion of our office building collapsed so we were temporarily displaced elsewhere. Plus court hearing and court processes are not yet back to normal as the Palace of Justice was declared not safe for occupation.

Aside from those calamities, what really kept me away were the overwhelming tasks that I had to do as a wife, a mother of one (and another one!), a lawyer, a household manager and budget officer. Haha. After almost a year of living independently from my parents and having our own space, I could say, it is no joke to manage a household! As in! Doing the groceries, budgeting the expenses, paying the bills, taking care of a baby and a husband and being pregnant at that can be very, very tiring. But, and this is a big BUT, tiring as it can be, I am at my happiest.

Our son now is already 14 months old. Looking at his pictures during the monthly birthday celebrations we did for him, I was inspired to go back to blogging, not only for me but for our son in the future. I want to chronicle his growth and development and more importantly, I want him to know, through this blog, how much we love him and how happy we are to have in our lives.

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's 7th

He is now more curious on the things around him.

He reaches. He grabs. He throws.

And he is going to be a kuya soon!

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's 6th

The half-year mark. Happy 6th months baby!

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's 5th

This is a super duper delayed post. Life and morning sickness happened lately.

Mommy Diaries: Babies and Swimming

I saw this video on Facebook a few months back. It's quite amazing! Just how do you teach babies to swim? It's kinda scary, too, with the risks, untoward accidents and all.

Anyway, we noticed that our Joaquim loves the water. He doesn't cry at all when we give him a bath. So, on my birthday, we decided to check-in at a nearby hotel, one with a pool.

We didn't stay long in the pool because other kids kept on splashing the water. We're afraid that pool water might get into Joaquim's eyes.When we went home, Joaquim continued with his swimming. But this time, inside a large inflatable pool and with his cousins.

Apt101: Candle Decors

Moving out from my parent's place was sad and exciting for me. Sad because I will be stepping out from my comfort zone for almost 30 years! It's quite hard to let go of the things you have been used to all your life. Of course, I would definitely miss my parents and brother. I will miss my room, my bed and my closet. But I was excited as well because I would be living independently with my little (pun not intended) family of three. Yes, independently actually means I will be in-charge of the entire household, do the groceries, handle the budget, the bills and the headache that goes with it (haha), and most of all, I will be... {drumroll} cooking our meals! I am still alive, by the way, and so does my husband. That means, my cooking is not that bad.

What gets me really excited about this moving out thing is the fact that I get to decorate and arrange (and re-arrange) our new home. Since we are just renting, as we are still saving for our permanent house, my hands are tied with it comes to home decorating. No permanent fixtures. Stick to movable or transferable stuffs. Or if it has to be semi-permanent, go with stuffs I can let go of once we have our permanent place.

My first decorating task was the center table in our sala. The decorating by the way comes last in my list of priorities, the top being the appliances we needed and the needs of our baby as well. I am thus, constrained to using what I already have. Thank God for the Ikea candles that my best friend gave me.

Pic 1; Pic 2

 
Candles are inexpensive home decors. They come in all sorts of sizes and colors. But of course, extra care must be observed and one must not leave the candle burning for a long time. So here's some of my Ikea candles on display:

It needs some serious candle holders. I am planning to make a DIY on the candle holder, perhaps something like these:

Pic 1; Pic 2

The left is made of blank CD cases glued together. You can place dried leaves or flowers inside or even a picture. The right picture made use of wine glasses turned upside down. To add color, red and silver Christmas balls were placed inside.

Mommy Diaries: Gift of Laughter

To say that I am all over my son is an understatement. Haha.

I used to get annoyed by my peers and colleagues who flood my facebook newsfeed with pictures of their babies. Of course, a portion of that is actually jealousy kicking in. God knows how much I wanted to have a child. When I had a miscarriage on my first pregnancy, things became all the more frustrating. And i became more annoyed. I swore to myself that I won't be like them.

Lo and behold, I ate my words. Big time. Haha. Most, if not all, mommies out there would agree with me-- our child is our happy pill. They can be very addicting. Now, I understand why they can't resist posting almost every single move or milestone of their kids. I try to limit my posts though. There are stuffs that I want to cherish privately. There are those however that are worth sharing. And this is one of them.

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's 4th

On his 4th month, he was given his 2nd dosage of vaccinations, the names of which I could barely pronounce (or even remember). It's a many-in-one type of vaccine. What I do know is that its price is sky-high causing dents on our pockets. I am almost tempted to ask his pedia if all those are necessary. I don't think I had that many vaccinations when I was a baby and I turn out just fine (or so I think. Haha.). But anything for our baby love.

Aside from it's unbelievable price, what I don't like when our Joaquim has his vaccinations is the fever that comes after. During his first dosage (at 2 months), he was crying endlessly and was having a difficult time sleeping. It was difficult for us too seeing our little boy in a state of confused pain and there is nothing we could do about it. This time though, he was feeling better. The crying was still there and the confused state but, he was able to sleep! Have I told you how (continually) amazed I am with this boy's sleeping skills?? If sleeping is a characteristic that can be passed on through genetics, for sure, Joaquim got his from his Dad. Haha. 

I have read that babies tend to change their sleeping patterns and body clock every now and then. Lucky for us, until now, we have not experienced that sort of change as Joaquim has surprisingly maintained a regular sleeping pattern. 

Our baby is getting big already and heavy at that. He now laughs especially when his Dad tickles him. And he has this habit of shouting or shrieking when his Dad and I are eating dinner, as if to catch our attention. Boy, can he shout so loud! So shrilly, so me. Haha.  

   

Mommy Diaries: Baby Cooing

Our baby began cooing when he was about two months old.

He already responds when talked to.

And he smiles a lot now.

#stageparents

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's 3rd!

On Joaquim's 3rd month, we spent it in our apartment.

Finally, we have moved out from my parent's house.

And it was not easy at all-- the transferring of our things,

the cleaning and acquiring of the basic necessities.

But no, I am not complaining. I actually love arranging

(and re-arranging) our stuffs.

I also love doing household shopping and grocery.

Hello Japan Home Center.

Hello Handyman.

Hello Shopwise.

Hello Savemore.

(Haha)

Our baby boy is growing up so fast.

He is quite heavy already.

And he smiles and giggles a lot now. 

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's First Travel

I am all about Joaquim's firsts (stage mom, I know!)

His first out-of-town trip was to his father's hometown in San Isidro, Leyte during the New Year. Less than two months old, our baby crossed the sea, traveled by fast craft and most definitely enjoyed the trip as he was asleep the whole time!

Since we took the earliest trip at 5:30 am, I felt baby might feel extra cold with the December weather plus the vessel's air-conditioning  To keep him warm, he was covered from head to foot. Haha.

Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks???  ;-p

Sinulog 2013

Sinulog is the biggest festival here in Cebu. Biggest in terms of activities, revelry and crowd. While it's merrymaking aspect has earned attention from tourists, local and international, it is primarily a religious celebration in honor of Sr. Sto. Nino.

After completing the 9-day novena and joining the foot procession, I'm all set to party! This year's Sinulog is quite different. For the first time in many years, I was not able to see the parade. Nope, not even a glimpse of it. No celebrity-sighting either. Haha. In fact, my husband and I tried to avoid the crowd (as if it can be avoided! Lol). And that's because we brought Joaquim with us. Quite risky, but he survived! Yeah, it's his first Sinulog experience-- the youngest attendee so far!

I'm guessing he enjoyed it because he was awake most of the time. He didn't mind the crowd and the noise. Hopefully next year, we can let him watch the parade, if the weather permits. 

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's 2nd

01.11.13

The moment a child is born

the mother is also born.

She never existed before.

The woman existed, but

the mother, never.

A mother is absolutely

something new.

- Rajneesh

Mommy Diaries: Baby Shower

This is a super duper belated post, but when I was cleaning my album in my office PC, I saw these pics. I just had to share them.

A friend advised me not to buy stuffs for the baby until after the baby shower. In that way, we would buy only those that we or the baby needs. True enough, we got almost all that we needed and more! After the baby shower came our son's baptism, then Christmas! Imagine the tons of gifts that we opened. 

Happy. Giddy. Parents.

Speaking of gifts, we have yet to buy Joaquim a Christmas gift! Tsk, tsk. 

We held the baby shower at Cafe Sarree located in Escario Central. It's named after the owner/chef, Sarita aka Sarree. I loved everything that she served that night. I will definitely go back. I have yet to taste her lamb adobo-- a best-seller I heard.

Mommy Diaries: Manual vs. Electric

I am talking about breast pumps.

via                                                                                                              via

Any new mommy will have the problem of deciding on what to get, a manual or electric breast pump. I had the luxury of using both. My cousin lent me her manual pump. A few weeks after giving birth, I bought an electric one. So, which one is better? It depends on your needs, comfort and tolerance for pain (physically and financially. Lol.)

MANUAL vs. ELECTRIC

The manual pump is convenient in a sense that you need not look for a socket to plug in the pump. You can do it anywhere, unlike the electric pump where you are constrained to pump in areas where a socket is near. There are some electric pumps that also run in batteries, hence convenience is not much of a problem.

The manual pump is takes a lot of effort compared to an electric pump. Your effort and time is cut down by half or more! My almost one-hour manual pump can be achieved  by the electric pump in less than 15 minutes! For working moms or mommies on-the-go like me, the electric pump scores a higher point on this aspect.

The manual pump is less painful as you can control the frequency of your pumping. It is harder to control the pressure of the pump in an electric one, although there are some brands where you can choose the strength of the pressure. For me, it doesn't matter that much as I have a high tolerance for pain. The higher the strength of the pressure, the faster it can pump my milk.

Depending on the brand, the manual pump is, of course, cheaper than the electric pump. But as I've said, it depends on your needs and comfort. If you can't spare a chunk of your time just pumping or if you need to go back to work, then investing on an electric pump might be a good idea. If, however, you have the luxury of time or you cannot take the pain, going manual is the way to go. Either way, the important thing is, you can express milk for your little one, especially when you are out of the house or when you want to catch some (much needed) sleep.  

P.S. Did you know there is a more manual way of pumping breast milk, like using-your-hands-kind-of-manual? It's free. It's not painful. And it can pump milk. Want to know how? Haha.

Happy 2!

Prenup Shoot (2010)

December 2012

12.20.12

We certainly have gained in pounds.

So does my love for you (char! Lol.)

Happy two years Clove!

And on our 2nd year, we've become 3.

Mommy Diaries: Joaquim's First

12.11.12

On Joaquim's first month, he had his first mall experience.

Pardon the haggard/sleepless nights-look. Haha.

Maternity Shoot

After two months of cyber absence, I'm back! No, I am not pregnant again. But I will surely miss being one.

I've been meaning to share these maternity pictures but I was too preoccupied with my new role in life-- motherhood.

Looking back, my pregnancy made me realize a few things. Save for my 'morning' sickness which happens at night, the 9-month journey was rather blissful.

Here are the top 5 things I liked about being pregnant:

1. I sort of have THE excuse to binge and make every day an eat-all-you-can day. Haha. My OB frowned on this. She said I couldn't afford a six- or more-pounder baby.
2. Speaking of excuse, I had a valid excuse/reason to postpone my court hearings. Yay! 
3. People, even strangers, are EXTRA NICE to me. Really. I will surely treasure the random kindness I've experienced from people I barely knew. 
4. I'm always in the PRIORITY LANE-- CR, taxi lane, elevator, cinema ticket booth, and even in CD-R King! Haha. Yes, ka-level mi sa senior citizens and people with disability. 
5. My husband became sweeter and more considerate. Of course, I had to take advantage of that! Haha. So I bossed him around, letting him pick things up for me and demanding a good back massage.

The BEST thing about my pregnancy is giving birth to our little bundle of joy, our sweet angel and the one who will probably have the powers to tame my kamalditahan (joke! haha)-- JOAQUIM FELBERT.

Photography: Joel Lopez

Styling: Psyche Castillon

MUA: Roger Salazar