My baby boy's "kikoy"-kit

Mga gerls, boys, mothers, bekkis, friends, whathaveyous: Sorry for the lack of post. I have said to my friend Ro, that the reason I'm not blogging is because I don't do sad very well. 

Why ako sad mga mare? Nasa starvation/deprivation mode ako right now. Lahat nalang bawal. :P

Ang goal sa akin ng aking very "severe" doctor ay goal weight na 105 lbs.  Yes, true. It can be done daw. So long as I follow this very strict diet torture regimen for about 2 -3 months. Weh. But yes, I believe kaya friends in 3 months time nalang tayo mag reunion okay? I shall be a new "me" then. Hehe.

So of course, my come back post has to be about my current and forever obsession: my son, Elijah. I would like to share the products he uses, to maintain that uber cute-ness of his. Haha. Read on and maybe you can share yours too! I would love to hear them.

R: Avon hypoallergenic baby wash (top to toe)
(He uses this on days when he will go out. Love the scent. Very clean.)

L: Avon hypoallergenic baby lotion
(This one naman he uses everyday. Ever since he was a baby.
That's why na associate ko na ung smell na to with Eli.
It has a very mild, clean, baby scent.
I really recommend these two.)

Sansflou toothpaste (safe to swallow), strawberry flavor
Pink Pigeon 12+months tootbrush
(I know it's pink hehe. Na color blind ang mommy while buying. :D)
Drapolene cream
(I put this sa kanyang butt after bathing. No rashes! Promise.)

Classic: J&J baby bath.
(This is what he uses for body everyday.)
J&J Extra Conditioning
(Elijah has super curly thick hair. This shampoo works like wonders.)

Cetaphil: for Eli's fez
J&J Bed time lotion
(Every night we put this on him and
that signals him na he's about to sleep na.)
J&J Safety swabs
(Also good is the Anion safety swabs)

Zwitsal Power
(Just for his butt. hehe)
Zwitsal Cologne
(I only put this when I remember.
Otherwise, just the lotion and baby smell OK na OK na)

Shoofly.
(From Indigo baby. To keep mosquitos away. Effective!)
Mother's Healing Balm
(From Ory Spa. Uy, galing din ng product na to.
All around boo boo balm.)

We use either Nursy or Giggles wipes.
Either one that is available almost same quality
and they are the cheapest in the market.

Thankfully, my son is also very low maintenance like me. Waley masyadong gastos. I hope it continues until he's much more older.

That's it mga mothers. I will be more active now in this blog. Promise yan.

Happy happy happy weekend! =)

Now

Mr Grumpy pants woke up and we have him stay in his playpen while we were preparing breakfast.

I called him and he gave me his killer smile.

After that smile, everything about this simple little life became brighter.

That little man turned 9 months yesterday. Nine effin' months! Where did all the time go? He's very talkative and assertive now. (That's me in him.)

(Side story: I never tell the baker what the design of the cake should be. I just tell them it's for a baby boy make me a cake. Lo and behold, the cake had a pink Barney as a centerpiece when I picked it up from the  bakeshop Two things made me hurl: a. I hate that mushy emo-dinosaur b. Barney was colored pink! Eli was very dismayed by his cake that's why he wasn't smiling the whole time. We threw the freaking pink dinosaur.)

Eli with his loyal fans...

Eli's number 1 fans: Mom and Dad

(Notice Barney said bye-bye here already. I replaced Barney with a centerpiece from one of his earlier cakes. That's the O-C [obsessive complusive] side of me.)

Eli and ate Conching

Eli with Lola Mommy and Lolo Daddy

with Tita Ninang (obsessed fan number 1) and Tito Keith

Motherhood changes you. But so does a lot of stuff in your life. Please always try to see beauty that each changes bring. :)

As said August is a lot busier, a lot happier month. So many activities, therefore more blog entries. I will not be with my boys this weekend because I have a camp to go to for our office teambuilding. Then, there's a marathon next week (it's for a good cause) and we're having a family out of town trip (Eli's first) a week after that. All these things makes me giddy happy.

And plus it's Friday. That word alone makes me want to jump for joy.

=)

Papa's Boy

I noticed Eli only says mama when he wants milk or he's frustrated (i.e. bored, sleepy and when he's bored because he's sleepy). Tonight I want him to say "mama" while we were horsing around and he's extra jolly.

I was saying "mama" for the 131^st time (yes I counted it!), when he suddenly blurted out "papa". I thought it was just a fluke. But then he kept repeating the word "papa" to his heart's content. No coaxing or bribing could change his mind.

Oh well, I guess I have to accept this role early on. Mama the kill-joy (i.e. boring but dependable one). Papa the cool one who's killer smile and laugh I inherited.

K fine! Boys have a natural tendency to band together talaga.

The reason I am not blogging

For the benefit of my two loyal readers (my husband and sister), I have not been blogging because I have been sad and busy lately. I was not busy being sad nor was I sad because I was busy. On separate occasions I was either busy or sad.

Did you get?

Did you?

I hope so.

Sad. My husband has been under the weather for quite some time now. After a series of on and off fever, me fighting with various Medical City staff, dozens of negative medical tests, not two, not three, but four internists we still don't know why he's been.. sick lately. Now, no more fever but he has the worst coughs and cold which has now spread into the entire household (our baby, me and Conching), which kind of complicates things even more. I know things shall be better post-July. August is one of my favorite months because it’s hubby's birthday month. Get better my big baby okay?

(I have not been drinking coke for more than three weeks now. I am sacrificing coke so my husband gets better. The connection? Who knows? But a sacrifice is a sacrifice. I hope the universe gets my logic.)

Busy. Work. Play. Social activities. Harry Potter. The end of an era. Eli's 1st birthday preparation. Which I am promising will be free of any 1st birthday clichés. A tough feat to accomplish but I am promising our first born son a party so cool he'll want to do it again when he's 21 haha. I have to blog about so many things I hope I can eventually catch up.

I will be back with a vengeance mind you. I just thought of saying: "I missed you blog world and I hope you missed me as much as I missed you.”.

That’s it. OkiThanxBai!

XOXO.
Mother Love

30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 10

A photo of you taken over ten years ago

Almost everyone says Elijah looks like JP.

I say, part of him looks like me too.

That's me at approx. 4 or 5 months.

What do you guys think? :)

Check out my other entries for the 30-Day Blog Challenge here.

30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 7

The meaning behind your blog name


Note: I was supposed to post this last night but my laptop died on me. So I slept nalang. Hehe.


Today is my seventh entry in the 30 day blog challenge. Today is also Elijah's 7th month birthday.

Seven.

Seven always reminds me of Jaworksi. And 7-11 stores. And being lucky. Anyhoo. Back to my topic. Kekekeke.

The blog name "The Things I Love" is pretty much self explanatory. I have said that I always have opinion on everything. Not just so-so opionions. I always have strong opinions on anything. (Kahit ano pa yan: taho, movie, philosophical concepts, people I know, people I don't know, etc... Tagalog translation: epal. Haha!) I am an extrimist. I am a fan of polarities. No such thing as neutral or in-between for me. Either I love you or... I love to hate you. Hence, the name.

I think that applies to me as well. People always either hate my guts or love me for what I am. I am the most transparent person I know. I squeal with delight when I love you and I am happy for you. I make faces if I don't like you. And this is not because I want to be mean. I just don't have the power to hide my emotions. I am just so out there. I make huge gestures. I talk loudly. This is the reason why some people see me and there's an instant dislike. I don't blame them. And I don't really care. I have an awesome family. I have very close friends whom I treasure and because of them I am really contented na. I have no intentions of running naman for President so carry lang. :)

Now to another story. Eli's 7th. It is both funny and amazing how your little traits and quirks can creep their way into your child. At 7 months, I am beginning to see some of my and JP's characteristics kay Eli. Oh my! Kakaaliw. Haha. Trouble. :)

Some picture of our handa today. I am a sucker for celebrations talaga. I am corny and sentimental like that.

Safari Cake by Sweet Home Bakeshop

Tinamad na ko mag effort so I asked my mom to cook sotanghon with canton. Yummy.

Beef kare-kare

Aanhin pa ang kare-kare kung walang Barrio Fiesta bagoong?

Birthday boy with daddy and mommy

Family picture (supposed to be wacky shot)

Picture with wowo and wowa (Eli is more interested sa glasses ni wowo)

Natanggal na nya ang glasses ni wowo

Picture with cake

Picture with dad

Justin Bieber watch out for your next competition! :)

I love! Happy 7!!! :D

Guilty!

And because this is a blog (that I firmly promised myself), which will encapsulate my thoughts, let me share to you that I have been feeling lots of guilt lately.

Guilt from me gaining weight by the minute (make that by the seconds). My dear husband bought me Sketchers Shape Ups in the hopes that I exercise one of these days. My husband has not lost hope yet, then so must I. To remove this guilt, I must loose 30 lbs. before my baby's 1st birthday. (I hope may nabibiling willpower sa ACE hardware so I can buy truckloads.)

Guilt from missing 2 Sunday Masses already. I will confess and make a promise never to miss Sunday masses again.

Guilt that I have been neglecting my friends because I am a new mom and between the work and the baby I have no energy anymore. So goodluck finding time diba? However, I must decide to save a little bit of my time for me and my girls to have a little bit of normalcy naman in my life therefore, I must then schedule that long overdue girl night (or day) out by June. (Calling Michy and Josexy. Jowee if only you are here.)

Guilt from leaving my baby at home and continuing to work. See, my baby has not gained weight for the last month. After knowing this, I cried while waiting for our turn during our last pedia visit. How uncool am I? It has been a hard two months for my baby and me. The teething, weaning, introduction of solids; but the biggest factor is I am now away from him 9-10 hours during weekdays.

Motherhood is a balancing act. It has tested my sanity, management skills, willpower and persistence for the last six months. In a way I feel like am living in two worlds (work and home). The way I know how to reconcile the two worlds is for me to get it together (none of my six sigma classes prepared me for this!).

If only I can get rid of the guilt soon and start thinking like a normal person. Anyway, back to Elijah. Since he has not been gaining weight, I have been carbo loading him like an underage Chinese gymnast about to join the Olympics. He still hates the bottle. And he hates it with pure loathing. He swats, throws, and kicks it. But he likes eating solids. He eats six times a day now.

So far his favorites are: squash, avocadoes and brown rice.

See how I prepare his food. Today's menu: apples + pears.

What lovely colors no?

1) With clean hands peel and dice the fruits.

2) Put them inside the osterizer (Yay! I bought na my own osterizer hehe).

3) The finished product.

4) I put them inside colorful little containers.

5) I set aside, the other two so I can freeze and serve it the next day.

That's it pancit. Repeat steps for other veggies and fruits. So far these are the food he's already eaten: sayote, potatoes, egg, wheat, banana, rice, mangoes.

Hope he gains weight na. That’s all I’m praying now.

He is so precious, I tell you!

On my decision to breastfeed...

Let me say this first: Breastfeeding is a decision. Choosing not to breastfeed does not make you any less of a good mom nor does it mean you love your baby less. We all love our kids like the universe. Immeasurable. Infinite. Breastfed or formula fed, they will all be well-rounded healthy individuals for as long as they grow up knowing and feeling that they are loved. Period.

As I type this, I know I want to answer why did I decide to breastfeed? Aside from the textbook answers on better EQ, IQ, all the Q's combined, still I do ask myself why did I decide to become a milking momma?

I mean breastfeeding is HARD! It is very very very painful (at the beginning). I remember trembling with pain in the middle of the night just because it was that painful. (Note: not all experiences are the same. Believe me though when I say, I am not exaggerating).

Breastfeeding is DYAHE. I had to expose my breasts to so many boys aside from my husband. My dad, my DIL (dad-in-law), my BIL (brother in law), my sister's boyfriend, the male medreps waiting at my pedia's office, my husband's cousin's husband, male friends, male strangers, mineral water delivery boy etc... (okay well you get the idea)

Breastfeeding is sort of magastos too. Breastpump. Storage bags and bottles. Nursing tops and bras. Nipple creams. Other nursing accessories like covers, bags. (still cheaper than buying formula though I must admit)

My baby now refuses to feed through the bottle. He's become too loyal to my boobs that he simply refuses to feed easily through the bottle. I bought so many types of bottles and nipples already that my house is starting to look like a nursery. During feeding session, major major warla sila ni yaya. (Note to self: Must donate unused bottles to CRIBS.)

I look like a Christmas tree whenever I go to work. I could be bringing 4 bags daily: my actual bag, breastpump bag, fridge to go bag, and laptop bag.

Still everyday I decide. As much as I tell myself I am breastfeeding for Elijah, I know in my hearts of hearts I am breastfeeding more for me. Because I am not yet ready to let go our quiet moments when he's feeding and I am dreaming of the world he will eventually witness when he gets older. Because I know not of any other way of tuning out the world out even just for a moment. During those times, it’s just Elijah and me. And not a day passes that I do not thank God that I made this decision.

Some breastfeeding photos of me.

Credits to Mr. Stanley Ong of Stork Studio for the pictures. :)

Our Little Bookworm

It’s 4am in the morning and maybe I have better things to do. Instead I realized that I am looking at my dear baby’s picture for the nth time. Come to think of it, is there something else better to do than this?

I blink and my baby seems longer. I blink and he can now suddenly hold his head steady. Then he’ll start eating solids. Then he’ll start walking. Then school. Then new friends at bigger school. These thoughts swell my brain but goes straight into my heart saying: I better not blink.

Every baby is precious. Ours in my unbiased (hehheh) opinion is extra precious and adorable.

He laughs generously like his mom.

He looks with kind understanding likes his dad.

And he is a bookworm like his parents!

What more could a mommy ask for?

Rolling Over Just in Time for Our 3rd Month

I am a very competitive mom I must admit. I think all first time moms are. I obsess about one detail and research how other babies are. I was thinking will my baby roll over in time? While in my office shuttle on my way home I called my baby's yaya.

Yaya: Love, si Eli gumugulong na!

Me: Ha?

Yaya: Gumugulong gulong na sya. Tatlong beses na.

Me: Ay ganun! (happy then half sad because I failed to be the witness of this 'first')

30 minutes later I got home. Baby is on our bed. He saw me. I believe that he recognized me because the moment he saw me he rolled over. To me this is the true "first roll over". The earlier ones were just his practice roll overs. He saved the best one till I got home.

I know I would say this over and over in his lifetime, so let me declare now. Elijah, you make daddy and mommy proud over and over again. Thank you for making us happy witnesses of your awesome growth. Love you.