Happy 2012! =)

2011 is about to end. I think it's safe to say that it has been a roller coaster year for me. To sum it up here's what happened for the past 364 days.

-I got pregnant
-Been broken hearted again.
-became stronger and tougher
-i cursed the dad of my kid to death... (lolz)
-been betrayed.
-my sister got married and we have a new member of the family- my bro-in-aw Paolo
-enjoyed the journey of pregnancy
-enjoyed sonogram so much.
-I gave birth to my handsome prince
-still learning and coping parenting thingy.
-celebrated my 1st birthday/christmas as a mom.

Whew! I do hope that this coming year will be better for all of us. I am praying for more love, good health and prosperity. let's get it on! Happy New Year everyone!

Things I learned from 2011

-People come and go, and life goes on.
-The other person always tries to be right, even when they know they’re wrong.
-Things happen sometimes, and you don’t always know why, but there’s always a reason.
-Procrastination will always come back to bite you in the ass.
-Honesty is the best policy.
-There’s never enough time for everything.
-Crying is okay.
-Sometimes you’re left alone to face a problem, and that’s okay. The people who are there after the problem are the people you know you can trust.
-People choose to grow up, choose to hate, and choose to act. But they never choose to love…it just happens.
-If you can love yourself and make God as your foundation for everything the, you have everything you/you'll need.
-Taking your own advice is hard. But if you can’t take it, how can others?
-Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
-Forgive, forget, and move on.
-Being a mom is the best experience every woman could have.
-Learn from your mistake and make sure not to do those stupid things again.

You go to hell!

Just another day... 2 days to go and ny na, before the year ends, I should leave/forget all my nightmares behind and magmove on na with my precious prince- Xian. No matter how hard I try, no matter how solemn I prayed to ease the pain.. Whenever maalala ko kung paano nya balewalain ang anak ko, haaay talaga naman kumukulo dugo ko. Hoy BOY! kung talagang may b***g ka talaga.. patunayan mo- BE A MAN! Stop being a liar! Face your troubles! Isama mo yun sa NY resolution mo. Have conscience naman! Lech ka, may araw ka rin! MAY ARAW KA RIN. HINTAYIN MO KARMA MO!

Merry Christmas!

This the season to be chubby...lalalafang..lalalafang.. ;) Today's Xian's first Christmas! tough he's too young to really appreciate the essence of it- I am so excited to dress him up for the feast! I originally planned to dressed him up ala Santa but the costume I found in Ebay were made out of fleece and he's allergic to that fabric. So here he is: My handsome baby!

Busy sleeping during his 1st noche buena

First Christmas Bath

Mamasko po...

With mommy and tita..

His moo outfit.....


Happy Birthday JC! Merry Christmas to all! <3

Cutest Child Contest

I love kids eversince and one of my hobby (which is unusual) is collecting baby pics. Nah ah, I never dreamt of becoming a pediatrician but seeing a kids' smile is more than enough to make my day. Now, that I am a mom- it is safe to say that my son's captured moments are so precious, seeing them makes me feel uplift, amazed and happy. Being a fan of parenting sites, magazines or any baby related stuff, I saw a contest via FB for the search for "Cutest Child Contest" hosted by MomCenter Philippines wherein moms may send their kid's picture and the org. will choose who's the cutest based on the the following criteria: 60%- originality and concept of the pic, 40%- number of likes and shares. Then, ohlalahlah! I saw Xian's pic the night after my cousin's wedding that's why here I am now, starting to collate votes through a vigorous campaign, as in todo pangungulit.. =) I just hope my son will win the contest... Hmm.. out of 6 entries that I sent to the MC moderator, they chose the one where my son looks so astig with matching thumbs-up and celtics sando. I'm so proud of you baby! Mommy will do her best for you to win the most number of likes..(i am a self-confessed stagemom..) ^^

Xian's 3rd month

Happy 3 months baby! Mommy loves you so much!!!!!!!!!!

My Xian Castiel

To my dear son,

You are sleeping on my lap as I am typing this letter... You bring me so much joy anak and I'll never get tired telling you this: I love you.. you are my life-- the fulcrum of my life! I'll do my best to be a good mom/dad/friend to you. 10 minutes ago, I created a gmail account for you, I will be sending you letters, pictures, videos- anything else about you! Soon, when you know how to read, I am sure that you are going to enjoy reading your "journal" written by your loving mommy. I promise to give you my pregnancy journal as well so that you'll understand each of every bit of what's going on w/ us (me, you, daddy, grannies etc.) when u were still on my belly. Do you know that I am staring at you right now while i'm typing this? I can't help but say na ang cute, cute, cute mo! Ang haba...and bibo p.. I'm so proud of you baby. Again, mommy loves you!

Hugs and kisses,
Mommy

Rollover!

Another milestone: He knows how to Rollover! I was actually surprised because he's only 2 months and 24 days when we first caught him doing this on his own..=) However, cause we were so excited and delighted during his first, we weren't able to take a pic. So now, on his another attempt, finally....

What a strong bebe! Other babies can actually do this as early as 4 months (as written in some books) but Xian managed to lie down on his stomach even before he reached his 3rd month... Hmmm..I'm so proud of my son!

My 25th

Glory be to God... Today, I am officially- on my mid-20's!!! Today's celebration is far different from my previous birthday celebration for this is my first birthday as a mom. No more birthday blues for me on this year...yey! I must say, that Xian is the greatest gift I've received. Seeing him smiling at me every waking time is soooo priceless! So, I have to thank my son for making me feel happy 24/7. Anyway, we just had a simple lunch at home while mom and tita cooked some of my favorite foods (buttered shrimp, roasted chicken, bbq kawali, sinigang). I was even amazed at my tita's carbohetti, which stands for carbonara-spaghetti! Yeap that's right it's a mix carbo-spag sauce in fettuccine and it's 10++. Sobrang sarap! We had it for meryenda then ordered some pizza and of course, a birthday cake.

Birthady cake!

My son and the best gift I received from God

So, ayun... I reaaly had a fun, fun birthday. Looking forward for a happier me in the years to come... ciao! =)

the man of the house and his 2nd birthday!

Wohoo! my eldest son is now 2 years old! Tita Rica is generous enough to throw a simple birthday party to our furry bebe- CALIX! My dear Calix is too talented and the most lovable chihuahua ever! He never fails to make us all happy so he deserve all the love and attention that he is getting from us. Sharing some pics! Love you Calix!

Calix and his balloons..

-And the foods - yum!

His guest- Bugsy

2 months!

Today is my son's 2nd month = Happiness!

Xian got hospitalized Part 2

And yes! we're about to go home. Thank God my son is ok now. My son's hospitalization made me realized few things. Now, we have to be more conscious. Well, the reason why he had amoebiasis is that he accidentally drunk a water from his bath tub while his grandma and tita was trying to wash off the soap on his neck. He's been using Wilkins eversince so now, we decided to used at least sterilized mixed with purified water for his bath. Hmmm... thank God there's a wifi here to kill boredom. Here are some of his pic.

Kuddos to my brave boy! I hope and pray that this won't happen again. Again, praise the Almighty God for granting Xian the gift of wellness. Amen.

Xian got hospitalized =(

This is, I should say the worst part of being a mom- seeing your kid in pain. I want to blame myself for this, I guess this won't happen if I am more cautious and OC with my Xian's stuff. Just yesterday, my mom and sister brought him to the clinic cause they noticed that Xian is pooping almost every hour which is of course, not good for a baby like him. His pedia gave his some anti-dehydration med like erceflora and hydrite. Early this morning we noticed some blood on his stool so we rushed him to the hospital to see what's wrong w/ my baby. Then, based on the lab. result, it is amoebiasis- a life-threatening bacteria that caused diarrhea. =( He was admitted in the hospital around 1pm. I was darn crying when the doctor is trying to give him an IV. My lil angel was crying too loud that I can't dare to stay inside the ER cause I know it hella hurts. Thank God he's now getting better. He's even watching TV at the moment, but it is really noticeable that his rashes (diaper rashes) irritates him for he needed to poop from time to time to wash off the bacteria on his intestines. Dra. Bruel gave him Dermablend Zinc Oxide to cure it- and thumbs up to this product, it works well in my baby. She even said that we can go home tom...Praise be to God!

Xian's 6th week and 1st immunization

He's now 1 1/2 month and have a scheduled immunization (6-1). First, I'm somewhat hesitant to give him this for some reason: (1) My son has an allergy and I am afraid that some medication might trigger it. If we are going to have this done one vaccine after the other chances are, we can determine which vaccine he's allergic to. (2) Local health center is offering the same immunization for free but baby needs to suffer from countless painful jabs! (ouch!) So I ended up giving him 6-1 vaccine because I hate to see my Xian cry.

Based on my research 6-1 vaccines includes:

Hepa B- This is his 2nd dose, the 1st 1 was given at the hospital the day he was born.
Dtap/Dtwp- Stand for diphtheria, tetanus. whooping cough
OPV/IPV- Oral polio vaccine
HIB- Haemophilus Influenza type B.

The vaccine cost 4,000 and will be administered by his pedia for 3 consecutive months. Well, I know it's kinda expensive but it's nothing compared to my little man's life-long protection. as saying goes, prevention is always better that cure. I also opted to give him his first dose for rotavirus, this is to prevent diarrhea. It is given orally in 2 doses and must be administred at least 4 weeks apart. Oral rotarix cost 3,500.

Sharing some pics of me and my lil man after his vaccine. Kuddos to my brave baby!

Xian's 5th week- loving his hairstyles!

My son was born with too much hair. So, here's what we did to see what hairstyle that suits him best. Blame my sister, Rica for this. She loves making fun of Xian's hair. LOL

New home sweet home...

Yes! now's the day. Xian and I will stay in my tita's crib for 2 days while my mom and sis will be a busy lipat-bahay experts..hehe! I'm a bit emotional now coz I grew up here in Mandaluyong i will definitely miss the nearby malls...Cavite is like my 2nd hometown and for sure, we will not regret moving there. So, ayun..In an hour or two hello Cavite na kami ni Xian....we're both excited to see our new home sweet home...=)

1 month!

It's been a month! I'm so glad to see how my newborn turned into a siopao..lolz! We just celebrated the day by of course a simple thanksgiving. I'm kinda feel ill today (binat daw, according to mom) so I didn't have a chance to prepare for the feast and just ordered spaghetti, chicken, fries, burger. fries and choco sundae in my fav. fastfood (yey! jobee spaghetti..yum!) and of course, a simple dedication cake from Goldilocks since it's just me, mom, my sister and ate Josie (our helper) who enjoyed that mouth watering meryenda.

Busy sleeping......Look at his cheeks and arms! I want to pinch 'em tenderly!!!lolz.. Mommy loves you Xian!

There goes his 1st birth-month cake. Simple yet with much love from mommy and family. I even tried to do DIY for this (with the stroller/booties decor). Thanks to Goldilocks who's now selling different DIY decor for their dedication cake. =)

Loosing weight... missing my old body...

I love pregnancy, and all of the changes, but I do look forward to being healthy and back in shape again. Before I got pregnant i measured 35"- 24 1/2"- 35" and weighed 101 lbs. and now a month after I gave birth to Xian, It's kinda frustrating to know that i hit 36"- 27"- 37" and weighed 116 lbs.. I am seeing some "love marks" too around my belly. Good thing that sunflower oil is a big help in minimizing my marks. I love Xian and all, but whew! I love my flat tummy and I worked hard to have that. How I wish I am allowed to do an intense exercise to get my old figure back.. Well, I have to blame my CS operation for that! If only I am NSD mom, probably, I'll be back with hoola and retry pole dancing by next week or two. I am excited to wear my old fitted dresses with my high heels on... Geese! could this be a postpartum depression?!? I hope not.

The pic above is the proof on how my body turned into....urrgh! never mind. Out of disappointment, eto.. nagmake-face pa... (sigh..) The linea negra is still there, plus my CS scar lying diagonally on my bikini line looks so disgusting ... I wanna get my old body back..=(

Xian's big day!

I am so overwhelmed with the love and support that has bestowed upon us by God, our great creator, family and friends who attended my son's big day. The baptism rite started at exactly 11am followed by a simple yet fun-filled reception held at Jade Palace. Here are some of the hundreds of pics taken during the event:

A huge thanks to my sister, the master of ceremony who made sure that everyone's lively and happy during the program (Love you bunso!). Ate tin, the DIY Queen for the invitation, tarp and balloon arch. Faye, May, Jam for the song numbers. Kath and Rose, the usherettes. Aj, Khoi and Amboy for being the "all around men" lolz and of course to my mom who made me (and I bet most of my guest) cry on her message of love for me and Xian. So that's about it. I thank God nakaraos din! wohoo!! And to my son?!? I want you to know that because YOU live, I can face tomorrow. I love you more and more my Xian Castiel. Welcome to the Christian World! =)

Xian's 3rd week!

3 weeks of blissful life as a mom... Baby can now lift his head whenever possible. He seems to love staring at me (Aw! my sweet baby..) For some reason he's having a unique temperament, I mean he's getting more sensitive with the noise, he has a favorite feeding bottle, can appreciate the color red, he loves taking a bath, he loves music and many more. I also noticed that he can now say a little "ooh" during our "bonding time" I guess Xian can already recognized the voice of his loving mom...Ahh, glory of being a mom! hmmm... I love you my Xian Castiel!

Baby Xian Picture of the Week (ANGRY BIRD edition..lolz)

Baptism Preparation Update

1 week to go! yeeeee! I never thought that preparing an event like this could be this stressful. So far, here are the updates for my lil man's big day:

The baptism rites will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Church- Shaw Blvd. on October 08. 2011 around 11am. Xian is going to have 6 pairs of godparents. It pains me to say that selecting my son's godparents was never easy since most of my closest friends from hs, college, work and even some of my cousins wants to be my kumare/pare.. (lolz)

Reception Details:

Finally, it's Jade Palace who got the deal... yeee! As I mentioned on my previous post, I grew up loving their foods! =) We are expecting 60-70 pax next week so we reserved Topaz Function Room for the event. My mom and my sister selected the following menu:

-Bird's nest Soup with Shredded chicken
-Sweet and Sour Pork with pineapple
-Peking duck served in 2 ways
-Lumpiang Shanghai
-Brocolli Flowers with crab meat sauce
-Sizzling beef sp
-Crispy Pata
-Spareribs with oyster sauce
-Pansit Canton
-Yang Chow Fried Rice
-Locgit

Earlier, I went to Iko's Bakeshop main office for Xian's baptism cake. I personally choose them because their cakes and cupcakes were A++++ esp. the choco moist base and the marshmallow icing!! It's very mouth-watering at a very cheaper price! I designed a 3-layer fondant cake (light blue/with red musical notes) since my son is having a musical inspired feast for his big day. I'm so excited to finally see this one! =)

For the party flavors, such as souvenir, game prices, balloons etc., we are planning to do a DIY project....and the reason why?!? a simple balloon decor such as certerpieces are way too expensive. Imagine this, 300/table for the centerpiece and 2,700 for the cake arch and other balloons cost 30.00/stick plus they are charging us extra for not hitting the advance purchase/the minimum day deal time policy. Thank God I have a sister and a cousin who's so creative and made a promise to help me out on this... =)

For the invites?!? Well, thanks to FB...haha! but then of course it's another DIY project of my ate since we have no time to have this done by a pro and we don't have enough time to distribute them. =( The layout of my son's tarp and thank you card was also created by my ate. Hmmm... everything is musical-inspired. I soooo love it! xoxo

Dealing with swollen ankle and feet

This are the things i've done so far to reduce swelling:

-Drink a lot of water.
-Putting my feet up whenever possible.
-Minimize sodium intake.
-Cold compress on affected area

and guess what?!? they don't work on me! At 15 days postpartum, my feet and ankles are still comparable to Princess Fiona's....waaahh! I think I wanna cry... =( and I only have 1 week before my son's baptism so i need to work out on this as soon as i can.. Good thing, I have my Xian who never fails to make me feel thrilled, happy and complete... (Love you baby!) Right now, I am posting our picture of the week... I know i haven't lose even a pound since I gave birth but I am so delighted to see myself carrying my lil man..=)

Xian's 2nd week

He's now on his 2nd week! Ang bilis!!! I love you baby...

Baptism Reception 101

My parents insisted that Xian needs to be baptized since were moving in Cavite by next month. Initially, I had plans of celebrating his baptism on my 25th birthday (Dec. 10). Being a good and obedient daughter I am (ngekz!) I finally said yes even though I'm still suffering from the pain of my CS wounds plus I have an awful Princess Fiona-like swollen ankle/feet and arms (due to edema). My original plan was he'll be baptised in Shrine of Jesus MOA followed by a festive lunch at either Conggo Grill/The Creamery/Max's since most of my visitors will be coming from Cavite-Manila area and that's supposedly on 10th of December. Now, I have to change each and every detail of my son's baptism- from date, church, reception venue...everything! I've been scouting places since the other day and I only have 12 days to finalize everything. So far, here are the restaurants that we're considering for my son's big day:

1. Max's Shangri-La --> Our all time favorite restaurant (urrhhg! sinigang! lolz).. =) We thought it would be so accessible since the mall is just along Edsa-Shaw Blvd. Budget-wise, their baptism packages is a good deal. but then, I have to set this option aside because they said that the function room is already booked on Oct. 08.

2. Aberdeen Court- Makati Ave --> Good food, good ambiance. The sales officer who answered my queries regarding their baptismal package was so accommodating. They offer good packages too! However, there's a lot of charges that we need to pay extra for the corkages in case we close the deal with them. (like 1k for each photographer/videographer- professional/not). Hmmm... contemplating me!

3. The Prestige Tower --> Highly recommended by most of my colleagues. You can get the venue free of charge provided that you have to book a minimum of 15k worth of food with their accredited caterer. I would love to have my son's baptism reception here but then, the caterer need at least 1 month day lead time... and we only have again, 12 days left before Xian's baptism.

4. Dad's Megamall/Ortigas- Oh yeah, Megamall..and Xian's baptism will fall on a Saturday. In short, we'll be having a hard time to look for a parking slot esp. around that time. Well, with Dad's?!? I think it's safe to say that their buffet is one of the best here in Manila..They do offer good baptismal packages too.

5. Jade Palace Restaurant- I grew up remembering how good their peking duck, el nido soup, sweet and sour pork and their pansit canton was. The last time we ate there was way back 2008, and I must say that the foods are still as good and delicious as before. I'm not sure if they offer baptismal package but I am sure that my guest will enjoy their foods..simply, delicioso!!! yum!

6. Shakey's Shaw --> Well again, budget-wise I was told that Shakey's could offer me great deal for my son's party. I am actually expecting around 50-70 guests, so my friend suggested to order 7-8 monster meal consisting of pizza, pasta,chicken, blah blah and I can avail the function room FOC. Hmm..personally, I'm not a pizza lover..hmmm.. Well, let's see.

7. Tramway Shaw --> Hmm.. Tried and tested. Good food, lots of choices at a very reasonable price! =) I just had my baby shower there last July and my friends really enjoyed the buffet and the ambiance! They even suggested to have Xian's Christening there. Hmmm... bahala na.. =)

But one thing is for sure for now--the baptism rite will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Church (Shaw Blvd.) that's exactly the same church where I was baptized 23 years ago. =)

Week 1: as a mom

I soooo love my new routine.... Being a mom to my Xian is more exciting and fulfilling than what I thought. At day 7, I am still struggling to produce breastmilk.. (Yes! I need to...for baby!) but then it seems that I need a little more patience... malunngay capsules, clam shell soups, nilaga, hilot or even the expensive breast pump is a no help... they don't seem to work on me. =( Below is my Xian's picture of the week! What a cutie!

bagong paligo! bango!

He got a beatiful pair of eyes! love yah baby!

And a tabachingching cheeks! (sarap kagatin!)

Meme mode.... zzzzz...

Mommy na ako!

6 days after giving birth, my heart is still filled with happiness and love for my young man. I must say that he is so adorable! Indeed the cutest baby I've ever seen/held. I just can't stop admiring his innocent being- still can't believe that I'm his ever lucky mom. Still struggling with the routine though, buy hey! I am enoying every bit of it! from staring at him while he's asleep up to changing his soiled diaper (lol).

I undergone C-section (low transverse/bikini) so it took me about 3 days before i could stand/walk on my own. Below, is our first picture together outside the operating room.. The first time we bond after 39 long weeks. Haggard! (with catheter and all!) I admit! But these are my favorite pictures so far.

Needless to say, he got his physical features from his dad. Also, everyone noticed that he's big baby! and surely, he'll have a big heart... obedient, kind, honest and responsible man.....

A huge thank you to my kikay OB who took care of me and my baby and for patiently answering my endless pregnancy-related questions.