My Baby Snake

Celebrating MBS's first Christmas at Edsa Shangri-la hotel :) I was more than excited to buy a female Santa Claus costume for MBS to celebrate the season to be jolly :) I saw the perfect attire being sold at Cutie Tots online shop. My little Ms. Santa Claus My two Christmas gifts :)  What do you want for Christmas? :) A merry Christmas from MBS and family :)

Today is a bittersweet day for the breastfeeding mother in me.  Today, MBS officially starts with formula milk. I still have a few bags of breast milk left in the freezer, but the advice of many is to test the formula milk first to see if MBS gets any allergies.  I tasted the milk a bit; I couldn't resist. And, surprisingly, it does taste like breast milk. hehe :)  Let's see how the feeding goes! :)

The thought of having to buy formula milk saddens me.  MBS is 7 months now, and my milk supply is decreasing. I have, at most, a week's supply of frozen breast milk in my chest freezer right now.  I know that I should buy formula milk already, but the thought really saddens me. I feel like something really personal and meaningful to me is being taken away.  I've been feeling stressed out lately due to my minimal milk supply. And I know that stress is one main factor that causes that decrease. But the worry kicks in when I know that my milk supply isn't enough for MBS anymore.  I'm not giving up though. I just have to give in to the fact that I need to mix feed MBS with formula milk and breast milk.  MBS's pediatrician recommended Enfalac A+. I need to go formula milk shopping soon. :( ...at least it was a good 7 months of pure breastfeeding - that's something that I can still be proud of. 

Daddy, this show looks interesting. Daddy, I don't think like this show. Daddy, what is that?! Daddy, what will happen next? Daddy, I'm scared. Daddy, let's stick with this show. 

Lately, I've been hearing and reading a lot of good feed back about the cronuts (croissant-doughnuts) of a stall in Rockwell called Bronuts .  Since it's only available in Rockwell during weekends, I just had to try it when I went there last Sunday. The Bronuts stall is part of the mall's Baker's Dozen fair at the ground floor, and is located directly in front of McDonald's. We got to the Bronuts stall a few minutes past six. Lo and behold, only one flavor was left. The other flavors were sold out. And the line was still long!  This made me even more curious. I lined up and got six pieces of the remaining flavor - Belgian Chocolate with Salted Caramel - which was incidentally their best seller. The cashier mentioned that they always made more batches for their Belgian Chocolate. One box holds six pieces of cronuts, and was cheaper by around Php 10/piece.  A single piece costs Php 110. A box of 6 is Php 600. For me, the Belgian Chocolate with Salted Carame...

A few weeks ago, I had to travel to Canada without MBS.  With the long haul flight and being outside my own comfort zone, I realized I was going to have a hard time with pumping and breast milk handling. Thoughts of where I was going to pump, how I was going to pump (in public areas) worried me.  So, I'd have to say that I was immensely happy when I saw the Infant Feeding Station at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2. The station is located at the left end of the waiting area after you pass the carry-on luggage X-ray and metal detector.  The sign of the station was a bit hard (for me) to see because firstly, I have blurry vision and secondly, the sign was way smaller than the MASSAGE sign beside it.  But the station was truly a welcome sight, esp. since it's air-conditioned inside. I got a chance to beat the warm temperature in the waiting area for a while. :) Hopefully someday, all airports will soon be equipped with their o...

After a day's work, I came home to this:  I feel loved :) It brought a big smile to my face. :) However, a piece of advice to all future suitors of MBS: I don't think MBS likes roses. @_@ >_< Nope, MBS is not a fan of roses. hahaha :)

Browsing FB, I saw this article posted - the A to Zs of helping baby sleep . I read it and felt that it was a big help, so I'm sharing it with you all. :)  According to the article, the ideal time to sleep for babies under 1 year old is 6:30-7:00pm. Yikes! MBS usually stays up until past 9:00pm. Uh-oh.  However, the letter that caught my eye was letter E:  (from http://www.parenting.com/gallery/baby-sleep-solutions?pnid=113632) E Is for Empty the Crib Keep the sleep surface free of everything but the cutest thing in the room, your baby. Blankets, bumpers and stuffed animals can be hazardous, increasing the odds of suffocation or choking. A fitted sheet is all he needs on his mattress. If you're worried about warmth, try a sleep sack instead of a loose blanket. With that being said, I'm going to plug that I'm selling Halo sleep sacks.  I bought the Halo sleep sack MBS is using before she was born. I saw it being sold in the Babypalooza baz...

Yes, she can! :) MBS needs a bit of guidance here and there, but she can hold the bottle by herself for a couple of minutes already.  I'm one proud mommy! :) MBS can hold the bottle by herself :) The red dots on her face were caused by her fall from our bed :(

Congratulations to the newlyweds! My sister is now officially a Mrs. :) Welcome to the club, dear sister :D My sister was the happiest person on earth on her wedding day. She was all smiles, and she looked absolutely divine. :) Same can be said for my now brother-in-law. He looked dapper in his suit, and gave the biggest of smiles. The both of them were really hands-on in planning their wedding, and it paid off. The wedding was elegant and everything went according to plan. Thankfully, even the weather cooperated that day. It had been raining for the whole week, but the sun blessed us with its presence during their wedding day. :)  I love weddings, esp. when the couple are people who are close to my heart. :) I'm so happy for D&E. I wish the both of them a blessed life and pray that they have lots and lots of children together. :)  Congratulations once again to D&E! The photo SDE AVP by Chestknots Studios and video SDE AVP by Treehouse Story were both...

It's amazing how MBS automatically knows that she has to hold the swing handles when swinging (without anyone teaching her to do so). :) I guess it comes with knowing how to grab on to things.  Just had to capture this moment. MBS is getting bigger by the day. :)  The hand-me-down swing from MBS's cousin makes MBS feel...  HAPPY :) But after a few more camera clicks... MBS shows us how to ride a swing. Like a boss. :)

MBS fell down... from our bed, our a-little-over-the-knee high bed :( I feel like the worst mom ever... :(   I usually transfer MBS from her crib to our bed after her morning feeding. Today, though, I fell asleep again. I woke up to the *thud* she made when she fell down. She cried, which is a good thing (I think).  After I carried her, she was back to her jolly self - so I think that's a good sign. :)  Praying that everything will be okay with MBS.  Waiting for the manghihilot  to come and make my worries go away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The manghihilot  was able to massage her, and says that MBS will be okay. Praying for MBS to heal well. :(  I found out today that MBS can do THREE turns already. The last time I saw her turn, she did just one. It saddens me when I'm not the first to find out what MBS can do.  So, I'm guessing t...

My grandparents organized a dice game to celebrate the Mooncake Festival this year. I love playing dice games, and it was even more exciting with MBS in tow. :) We had the dice game together with a birthday celebration dinner of a cousin of mine. Both events were held at Luk Foo, E. Rodriguez.  This was the second time this year MBS played the game. The first time being with another set of relatives from MH's side. I wasn't able to get pictures of that since they had a different kind of setup for the game.  MBS played well in this game, getting the bigger prizes among the three of us. :) She even got the first prize but MH got the higher point for the first prize. Still, the prize was with our family. hehe :)  Till the next dice game! :) MH captured this. Our celebrity, MBS. Happy MBS :) Love that she's a sociable baby :) Blow the dice! :)

It was MH's birthday a few days ago. So, I tried to cook up a different kind of misua for him. I've been looking at ramen and char siu recipes for the past few days, but everything looked so complicated. And I'm not one for complicated stuff.  In the end, I gathered a few tips from each and every recipe and just went with my gut. (>_<)  I bought pork pigue cut from SM Hypermart (since that was what the butcher recommended when I said I was planning to make char siu/asado), then massaged the pork cuts in sugar and left it in the refrigerator for around 2-3 hours.  The marinade I made consisted of Five spice powder, Oyster sauce, Chinese soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, water, a bit of sugar, and a tad of Sesame oil. I don't have measurements since I really just added and tasted along the way. :) I then got the pork with sugar, submerged it in the marinade, and left it in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning I put the pork in the pre-heated o...

Looking forward to the Baby & Family Expo Philippines 2013 ! :)  Event details as follows: VENUE: SMX Convention Center Manila Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Philippines DATE: December 6 - 8, 2013 OPENING HOURS: 10:00am - 8:00pm EXHIBITORS: Over 220 VISITOR'S PROFILE: Parents, Families, Relatives, Family Friends ADMISSION: 20.00 Php (Walk-In Visitors) FREE (Kids & Senior Citizens) FREE (Online Registration) Will try to let MBS part of their Bibong Baby photo contest :D  Good thing I chanced upon this ad now. One more week to go! :)  Image taken from the Baby & Family Expo Philippines 2013 website. 

We (the family) threw a bridal shower for my engaged sister yesterday. We got two function rooms from Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg at Ortigas via Deal Grocer and made good use of them.  One function room held chairs for our foot spa/manicure/pedicure session while the other function room was where the buffet was.  I was impressed with the whole set up and the service the hotel's staff gave us. The food was pretty good as well!  Included in the package were: 1. A buffet setup with 4 appetizers, 1 choice of soup, 6 main dishes, and 3 dessert choices: Appetizers: Deviled eggs with caviar, Seafood cocktail, Potato salad with smoked turkey, and Assorted greens salad bar with choice of dressing Soup: Potato leek soup with smoked ham Hot Items: Filled chicken breast with smoked ham, Parrot fish with lemon sauce, Beef fricadelles with lemon sauce, Chive fried rice, Buttered Vegetables, and Penne Al Freddo Dessert: Tropical Fruit Platter, Black and White Brownies, ...

I was supposed to buy just this: But ended up buying these: Because of this cutie: You get this freebie when you purchase Php 3,000 worth of items from SM Baby Company. It's so cute when it's lit up! :) You can also collect all four :)  One of the reasons why I love shopping at SM is (other than being less expensive) because of the cute freebies they give away. When I was buying stuff before giving birth to MBS, I think I got all kinds of blankets and storage bins SM Baby Company had to offer. :)  Also noticed that the selling price of diapers at SM Baby Company are cheaper than SM Hypermarket. :)  Oh, and I got this coupon when you pay with your BDO Credit Card (also with a Php 3,000 purchase). - I think this applies to the whole SM Department Store, not just Baby Company. :) Looking forward to the next freebie items from SM Baby Company. :)