Wordless Wednesday: Improvised Crib

 

 

 

 

So comfy in her improvised crib!(Wordless Wednesday )

 

 

Summer Outing at Jed's Island Resort

Birthday celebrator- Auntie Tess

It is summertime again! It is really fun to enjoy the heat of summer with your family. My hubby’s Aunt planned to celebrate her birthday at Jed’s Island resort, and without a second thought, hubby and I decided to join his relatives. I love outings! This is a great chance to have family bonding, an opportunity for my baby for social development and for great get-togethers with the extended family.

With the giant Superman (Celine is wondering why he is so big)

It was my first time to visit Jed’s Island Resort. I was struck with the huge statues of cartoon characters and cartoon heroes found everywhere in the place. This resort is the biggest resort in Bulacan, located along MacArthur Highway, Calumpit, Bulacan, with 11 water pools which can accommodate 4,000 persons. We were fortunate that we were able to rent a cottage near the kiddie pool.

Family bonding

For the boys only..

Me and my hubby

Our get together is a successful one. We really enjoyed the swim party, barbecues, fruits, pastas, family reunions, and the beer session for the boys.

Celine is afraid of the pool, she's screaming on her first dip!

But then, she loves the swimming pool when she tasted the water (^^)

And she keeps her tongue out all the time!

Although my little Celine was a little bit afraid to get in the pool for the first time, she did enjoy it when she tasted the water. Maybe she thought it was a big pale of water. She always let her tongue out to taste the pool water. It gave her the chance to play with her older cousins.

Darling of the crowd with Lola Vic

Smiling little swimmer with her Aunt Cath

My little baby has always been the darling of the crowd. She became the star for that day especially when they find her cute in her pink and green swimsuit. I am thankful she no longer has the stranger anxiety at that time.

It's a tiresome day for my princess...

My Baby Celine Can Read (Volume I)

Since I noticed that my baby prefers books and DVDs rather than stuffed toys and Barbie, I tried to buy online last January 18 this Your Baby Can Read Program which is composed of flash cards, flip flap books and DVDs. After ten days of watching the DVD and reading to her the flash cards, Celine was able to recognize words and commands easily thru this learning kit. It is the her rapid development motivates me to further develop her language skills. I can see it really works. She can even follow the dance steps on the

music portion of the DVD. She makes us proud always. May God continually bless her for us. (^^)

I was not able to post this video which I took last January:

My baby Celine @ 13 months

Weekly Update: 11 Weeks Pregnancy plus Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy



Image from Baby Center



How your baby's growing: (from Baby Center

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.
She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.
Foods To Avoid During Pregnancy

On my 11^th weeks of pregnancy, my appetite is increasing, though I haven’t gained weight much.  People everywhere are preparing a variety of foods to refresh during summer time. There has been food everywhere. As a concerned parent, I am concern on what food should I avoid during pregnancy. During my pregnancy with Celine, I avoided softdrinks, chocolates and junk foods. Some mommies have shared that they are more “maselan” or careful with what they eat on their pregnancy with their first babies, but when it comes to their second babies, they don’t bother anymore. For me, I don’t want to risk, I want to ensure the well being and safety of my second baby just like what I did with my first. Thus, it is vital for me to eat a well balanced diet in order to ensure that my child will grow and develop normally, right from the start.

Since during pregnancy, everything that goes into our mouth will also reach our baby in some point, we should take note of the following foods that may pose a potential risk to our unborn baby

(Source: Women's Health Care Topics)

1. Raw Meat- These may contain bacteria, toxoplasmosis and Salmonella, all of which are harmful to the unborn baby.
2. Deli Meats- These includesfoods available at the deli counter such as hot dogs, beef and chicken preparations.These preparations may be contaminated  with a substance called Listeria, which can  cause miscarriage or stillborn delivery.
3. Imported soft cheeses- imported unpasteurized cheeses including blue cheese, feta, Brie or camembert should be avoided- they may also contain Listeria.
4. Undercooked eggs- Raw eggs or undercooked eggs may contain Salmonella. Signs of Salmonella poisoning includes: fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
5. Fish- While eating fish can be beneficial during your pregnancy, there are certain types of fish that you should avoid. These include shark, swordfish, king mackerel, excess tuna and tile fish, as all of these contain high levels of mercury, which can affect your unborn child's nervous system. Generally it is safe to eat 12 ounces of other fish including salmon and tilapia, which are full of nutritious benefits. Canned tuna should also be avoided due to high levels of mercury contamination.
   
   High levels of mercury can affect your health, and it can actually damage the brain of your developing baby. To keep your baby healthy, you will want to limit the amount of fish you eat. While fish is typically not a pregnancy food to avoid totally, you can reduce your risk by eating your fish consumption during pregnancy.
6. Caffeine: While a small amount of caffeine (1 small cup a day) may provide a much needed lift for pregnant moms, in general caffeine should be avoided during pregnancy. High amounts of caffeine consumption have been linked with birth defects and increased risks of miscarriage.
   
   Remember that caffeine is present in many every day food items including chocolate, tea and soda. To play it safe you should avoid caffeine entirely during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy to reduce the likelihood of miscarriage. Daily caffeine intake of more than four to seven cups of coffee a day appears to double the risk of spontaneous miscarriage.
7. Alcohol: Alcohol is harmful to your baby's development. Alcohol will cross the placenta and affect your baby, so every time you drink when you are pregnant your baby does to.
   
   If you are pregnant and have been drinking alcohol, stop now! There is no determined level of alcohol consumption that is considered safe during pregnancy. Daily consumption of alcohol in early pregnancy might lead to a condition called fetal alcohol syndrome. To give your baby the best start in life, alcohol should be considered a food to avoid in pregnancy.
8. Artificial Sweeteners: : If you're a regular diet soda guzzler, you may want to switch to another type of drink during pregnancy. A new study published in a July 2010 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that drinking artificially sweetened soft drinks during pregnancy may increase your risk of preterm delivery.
   
   It is important during pregnancy to learn which foods are safe to eat and which foods you should avoid during pregnancy. By doing so you will provide the best possible environment for your baby to grow and develop in.
   
   A healthy pregnancy depends on a healthy diet. For the best possible health benefits, talk to your health care provider about a balanced diet rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals from fresh food sources.
   
   With a bit of planning and encouragement, you can learn to plan wonderful, tasty meals that will satisfy your cravings and benefit the health of your unborn child as well.
   
   While you may feel that pregnancy limits your choice of foods, you must keep in mind that this list of foods to avoid in pregnancy will only benefit your baby in the long term. By sticking to this list of foods to avoid in pregnancy, you are ensuring that you have a healthy baby and happy pregnancy!

Remember, you only have 40 weeks of pregnancy. You can eat anything you want after your baby is born – including anything on this list of foods to avoid during pregnancy.

Mommy Moments: Heavenly White

It’s Mommy Moments again. (^^)

The color white reminds me of heaven. And having my little darling angel is so heavenly.

Heaven is a wonderful place. It speaks of innocence and peace. Everytime my baby smiles, it brings me peace. I feel like there’s nothing in this world that could make me anxious about life. Because for me, my little angel is my everything.

I hope you’ll see an angel in my baby’s pictures also (^^).

My little angel @ 6 months

angelic smile

This is my share to  Mommy Moments

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary Bhi-mine

I am insufficient expressing myself in words. I want to thank you for loving me anyway.

Time flies so fast. Many things happened in our two years together as husband and wife- good and bad things. But whether it is good or bad, I am glad that we are still together, our marriage is firm no matter how many trials have passed our way. I thank God for bonding us always together-believing in the true love that he planted in our relationship. I thank God for all the blessings he gave to our family.

Our second year together is a fruitful one. Our family is growing. Firs we have Celine, and now we are expecting for our second angel to come this October. We are fortunate also that finally we have our own “home”. I am looking forward continue building our dreams together as one and raising our family through the guidance of God.

We’ve grown together for these two years, and I’m looking forward to maturing more with you.

Happy Anniversary Bhi-mine.

Weekly Update: 10 Weeks Pregnancy- Goodbye UTI!

After a week of medication, my Urinary Tract Infection was finally cured. My urine was tested again and has the following results:

                                                     Before                                    After

Specific Gravity                             1.040                                     1.010
Reaction (pH)                                10                                          7
RBC                                              2-3                                         1-2
Pus Cells (WBC)                            28-30                                     1-3
Bacteria                                         Few                                         Moderate
Sugar                                             Neg                                         Neg
Albumin                                         Neg                                         Neg

I could not wait to see my OB, so I searched online on how to read the Urinalysis Report and found this:
Normal Range Table (Urinalysis)

Urinalysis
Specific gravity		1.002-1.030
pH		5-7
Protein		negative-trace
Glucose		negative
Ketone		negative
Bilirubin		negative
Blood		negative
Nitrite		negative
Leukocyte		negative
Urobilinogen		0.2-1.0 Ehr U/dL
	Micro
	RBCs	0-2/HPF
	WBCs	0-2/HPF
	RBC casts	0/HPF

I'm glad it's within the normal range values. On the following day, I gave the result to my OB and she confirmed that I no longer have the infection. Thank God.

Image from Baby Center

How your baby's growing: (from Baby Center)

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.
He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.
If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.
In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Mommy Moments: Purpleness

This is my first time to join Mommy Moments. The theme for the week is the royalty color: PURPLE!
Hope you'll love this pretty pics of my little baby Celine.

Celine @ 7 months

the royal baby in purple

my baby in purple shades, skirt nd purple printed shirt

This is my share to Mommy Moments

Preparing Your Child for a New Sibling

One day while playing with baby Celine, I tried to see how she will react if ever I cuddle another baby. This is to prepare her for her coming sibling. I was cuddling the doll and she grabbed it from me, bitten it and threw it away. I see, she’s jealous with the doll, what more if her little sibling has arrived. She will feel that the little baby will get her Mommy and Daddy’s attention from her. I have been with that same situation before with my siblings and I know how hard it is to have sibling rivalry. It bothered me that I searched thru the internet for tips on how to prepare our only baby child for the coming of a sibling.

I merged the tips I had read online and repost them here to remind me how to prepare myself, my hubby, and my first baby for the coming new baby:

1. Go through his own baby pictures with him and tell him how excited you were when he was born. This will be fun for him and remind him how special he is to you. It will also help him to prepare for what a newborn looks like.
2. If your child wants to know why you want another baby, tell him as honestly as you can. But don't claim that you're doing it for your child's sake—so that he'll have someone to play with, for instance. In the first place, your child probably doesn't want what you're offering. He'd rather make friends and arrange playdates. In the second place, it's misleading, because your baby won't be able to do anything even approaching play with your child for many months after the birth. And in the final analysis, it's probably a lie. Though you certainly considered your child's welfare in choosing to have another baby, it probably wasn't the decisive factor. In the end you made your decision for your own reasons.
3. In talking about the coming baby, try to give your child a sense of ownership. From the beginning of your discussions, refer to the new baby as "your brother" or "your sister" or "your brother or sister."
4. Let your child know too that this helplessness will not last forever. It may help to begin telling him stories about things—especially funny things—that he did when he was "just a baby." Try to bring alive his own infancy for him. Pull out the photo albums and show him pictures of his first year. Get out the crib a little early and remind your child that he used to sleep there when he was little, but that now it's for the new baby.
5. Encourage your child to express any feelings he has about the new baby—including anxiety and even outright anger—even before the baby arrives. By giving your child permission to voice the unpleasant feelings he has about the baby, you may help him to "make room" for warmer feelings (excitement, pride, and so on), too.
6. Before the new baby is born, buy a doll (or human-looking toy if you don’t like dolls) for your first child.  Call the doll “little sister” or “little brother” and explain to your child that soon a little sister or little brother will be arriving, and that he can use the doll to practice how he will play with the baby or help take care of the baby once it arrives.  This gets him used to the idea of having a little bro/sis around, and provides an opportunity to start teaching him that he has to be gentle with the little baby.
7. Around the time you (meaning, your wife) are expecting to give birth, get a gift for your first child that is “from the baby.”  This will help your first child to feel more like the baby is her friend.  Lets face it, most children are around the age of 1-4 when their younger sibling is born.  At that age, right or wrong, kids love getting new toys and tend to like the people who give them the toys.  So, a gift from the baby will increase the chances that your first child will take kindly to the baby.  Keep reinforcing the fact that the gift is from the baby.  This gift is also helpful because if it is really something your child enjoys, it gives him something to do while you are looking after the baby.  We got our son a marble run from our newborn daughter, and he still loves playing with it.
8. Get some books about being a big brother or big sister and read them to your first child.  This one is kind of a no-brainer.  It reinforces all the usual ideas about being an older sibling, being proud about it, looking after the baby and being gentle with it, etc etc.
9. Get a T-shirt that says “Big Brother” or “Big Sister” on it (not for you, for your child – if you are interested in T-shirts for you, check here ).  This will help to make your child proud of the fact that he/she is a big brother/sister.  It can also help him/her to get into the role a bit more.  It will also give you a chance to wash your child’s other favorite t-shirt.
10. When your newborn arrives, take time to reinforce your love for your first child.  This can be a challenge, because a newborn is so time consuming, but it is the most important thing you can do.  Do your best to spend some good quality one-on-one time with your first child every day.

I got these tips from the following sites: Baby Center, Family Education and The Dad Jam Blog

9 Weeks Pregnancy & Pregnancy Complications

Image from babycenter.com.ph

At week's end, your fetus measures approximately 0.9 inches / 2.3 centimeters long. In both shape and size, it resembles a peapod and weighs less than a tenth of an ounce / 2 grams. The eyelids are fused and won't open until week 27. The wrists are more developed, ankles have formed, and the fingers and toes are clearly visible. Arms are growing longer and bend at the elbows. By week's end, the inner workings of the ears are complete. Though you can't yet identify the sex of the fetus by ultrasound, its genitals have begun to form. By now the placenta has developed enough to support most of the critical job of producing hormones.(from babycenter.com.ph)

My First Trimester Pregnancy Complications: (Fifth to Ninth Weeks)

1. Subchorionic Hemorrhage

Since my second pregnancy was an ectopic one, I was asked for an ultrasound at my fifth week to identify if my third pregnancy is intrauterine. Thank God it is. But, a superior pole subchorionic hemorrhage was noted measuring 0.57 x 0.48 x 0.37cm or 0.05ml. My OB advised me that there is nothing to worry since I am not experiencing any vaginal bleeding. But to prevent the possibility of bleeding, she advised me the following:

• Sexual abstinence until my twelve weeks pregnancy.
• Avoid carrying heavy objects.
• Avoid traveling to distant places.
• She prescribed Duphaston (2x a day), Baby Aspirin (once a day) and Folic Acid everyday.
1. Urinary Tract Infections

I noticed some light green discharge on my underwear and my urine has a cloudy like appearance. Afraid that it may harm the baby, I search thru the internet and found out that having light green vaginal discharge during pregnancy may be a symptom of a vaginal infection or urinary tract infection. I went to my OB-Gynecologist for check-up and she requested for a Urinalysis to confirm the presence of UTI.

My OB advised me to follow the following to cure my infections:

• Drink 6-8 glasses of water everyday.
• Drink cranberry juice everyday.
• Do not hold urine in.
• Wipe from front to back to avoid the chance of spreading the bacteria in the anal area.
• She prescribed Cefalexin (Antibiotic) to be taken three times a day for seven days.

As compared to my pregnancy with my first baby (Celine), this one is more complicated. And I am feeling more nauseous this time. I pray that God will guide me throughout my pregnancy, and to bear this angel healthy and normal.

Celine, the Explorer!



                                       My Baby Celine loves Dora the Explorer!



Baby Celine loves this latino girl named Dora. Whenever I turn on the DVD, she’s so excited to watch the show and dance with the music of Dora. As a Mom, I do love Dora too. The adventures of Dora let my baby learn many things (counting in Spanish, alphabets, nursery rhymes, colors and good manners) thru playing. It is a fun way of learning for toddlers. It is so rewarding to see my little Celine hum as Dora sings her adventure songs; she even repeats the words that Dora speaks. It is so amazing that when I sing the Dora Song, my baby would point at the TV requesting to me to turn on her favorite cartoon show. I am proud also that people adore my baby for being cute like Dora. I let her wear the Guess shirt and shorts her Aunt Cath gave her, put on her backpack, and capture a perfect ala-Dora pose of her. Many of my friends loved her picture and I hope you love it too!

Money or Basket (Pera o Bayong?)

So cute!

Wondering why my little one was put on a shopping basket (or bayong in Tagalog)?

It was a superstitious belief that when your child is having a younger sibling, he/she should be put on a basket and sell  her/him to the neighborhood so that she will not always have tantrums and to prevent the miscarriage of the coming baby.

In the Philippines, superstitious beliefs became part of the everyday life especially during occasions.

We inherit those beliefs from our parents and grandparents. They follow them although sometimes things are just coincidences. Some of my friends, including me, follow some of these superstitions to make the occasions more exciting. When I was pregnant with Celine I had followed some of the superstitions about pregnancy thinking that it is better to be careful with everything for the sake of my baby. But of course, above all, I believe in God, that whatever will happen, it’s up to Him.

Celine with her grandpa, she's posing when she saw me capturing her picture!

Second blessing..our second angel..



I took this pregnancy test after my two days missed period

We're so thankful to God for giving us another great blessing. May He guide us always and keep my baby safe in my womb.. (^^)
My baby Celine will be a certified "ate" after 8 months.. (^^)

7 weeks ( from babycenter.com.ph)

How My Baby Look Like at 7 weeks?

Now about 1cm long, the size of a grape, your baby has distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes. They look a bit like tiny paddles. Your baby is a jumping bean, moving in fits and starts. His liver is churning out large amounts of red blood cells until the bone marrow forms and takes over this role.

At seven weeks, your baby enters a very busy stage. Between now and 20 weeks, he will grow rapidly. Body parts that formed in the first few weeks of life, such as the heart and brain, will become more specialised and complicated. He now has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. Tooth buds, palate and tongue are forming, while his ears continue to develop and eyelids are starting to cover his eyes. Your baby’s skin is paper thin, and veins are clearly visible.