Bottlefeeding the Baby Part II

I have already started pumping milk once a day two months after I gave birth. This is in preparation for me going back to work. Below are some useful information on milk storage. More details here.
1. It can last up to four hours at room temperature.
2. It can last up to 24 hours on the refrigerator.
3. It can last up to 3 months in the freezer.
4. It can last up to 6 months in a deep freezer.

I had more than a week's supply of stored milk already. But I still pump every four hours in the office.

More than one person will bottle feed the baby when I am at work. So we had to find the easiest way to bottle feed the baby. This has been our bestfriend, Playtex Nurser and Drop-ins. Euen latches easiest on the latex nipple. It is designed to mimic breastfeeding and reduce colic. Plus it is easy to clean and no need for sterilization.
This will just be thirty days. I hope Euen won't have a hard time adjusting.

The Pacifier

We don't have problems with Euen riding the car, in her car seat. As long as the car's MOVING. It's even a lullaby to her and she feels being rocked the faster we go.

But, when the car stops moving, she doesn't like it and she starts to get fussy. Imagine when it's TRAFFIC.

I try different tricks to stop her from crying. Singing a song, putting a toy in front of her, making the toy talk to her. But it doesn't work. I know I couldn't explain to her that she's can't get out of the car seat when we're in the car. I get helpless seeing her cry.

Then came my saviour. The pacifier! She didn't latch right away, it fell a couple of times but this got her to stop crying. After a few times, she learned how to latch and I was very happy. Good job baby.

Another Car Seat

We visited the newly opened branch of HMR near our place. It is one of the biggest surplus shops in the Philippines. We always love to go to these places, when we're lukcy we find something we need for a fair price.

This one day is indeed a lucky day for Denden. He found this: Britax Baby-Safe Plus SHR II car seat. Well, it is not actually a need, because we already have a car seat. But he got fond of it because it fits Euen's stroller. He justified that aside from being the car seat and stroller seat, it can also be used as a rocker.

At first I didn't want him to get it since it can only be used up to fifteen months. But for the very low price, I couldn't stop him anymore.

Alright, I admit, it was more convenient now and there's more space in the trunk. So, the stroller seat was packed again. The other car seat was placed on the other car.

And the baby seemed snugly-happy.

Baby Company Baby Fair

SM held it's Baby Company Grand Baby Fair last weekend. At first I didn't want to go because I do not have a list of things to buy at this point, (plus the traffic and difficulty parking in Megamall.) But we decided to drop by early Sunday morning with MamaCherub since we're going to Marikina anyway.

Just bought a tummy binder, dropins and some consumable baby supplies stocks: baby laundry detergent, baby soap, paper stem cotton buds. All items are indeed on sale. The least is 20% off. And there were a lot of freebies! We got two swag bags with lots of free stuff.

My favorite of all, is this four-small-shelved-wooden-white-drawer, with animal drawings. Priced 1.3K, that is 70% off. Sooooo cute.

Putting up the Nursery: Part 4

Denden and I are both engineers, thus, we aren't good in art. Everything has to be plain and simple: measured, or symmetric. We then assigned the task of decorating the stickers for the nursery and the blue bathroom to the soon-to-be-titas, Shashing and MamaCherub.

Well, they did the alphabet in one line. Their explanation, it's supposed to be a train. They also arranged the numbers in a pyramid and because they didn't want to confuse Euen in the order.

When Denden looked at the room, he asked, "Talaga bang hindi sunod- sunod yung ABC?" He sang the alphabet: A B C D E J G F I M K H L N O P... Look closely in the picture. We all had a nice laugh while Shashing explained that they didn't notice their mistake. We pictured Euen singing the alphabet song that way and laughed even more because it will all be blamed to the tita's.

Yes, we arranged it in the correct order afterwards.

More for the Baby

We sorted all the preloved baby clothes for Euen and separated them into categories: newborn up to six months, six months to one year, twelve to eighteen months, and two years above. We sorted and packed for each category and stored clothes for those greater than six months.

After sorting, all those left for Euen to use from newborn up to six months are these: 12 pajamas, 12 body suits, 6 dresses, 12 shirts with sleeves, 9 sleeveless tops, 13 onesies, 3 skirts, 5 undies, 30 bibs, 41 socks, 7 booties, 12 mittens and 12 hats. Yey! Yes, they are now washed, ironed and arranged in Euen's closet. To think that we only bought a handful.

In other news, we searched on how to use the baby wrap. The makers of the wrap, Parents of Invention, had discontinued making their products already but we found their website and an instructional video on how to use the Ultimate Baby Wrap. It can be used from birth up to three, has five possible positions. Said to be safe and simple since it has no buckles or straps. It is also comfortable since it is made of cotton/spandex.

Denden tried two positions with our brown bear. Practicing.

Hand Me Downs

As I'm nearing towards the end of my pregnancy and as we await for the day that Euen finally arrives, we received a lot more of hand-me-down-baby-sutff, from relatives and relatives' friends (a.k.a. sisters' friends). The first picture is a very cute and colorful zero to three month, strawberry and stripped set from Baby Katka and Tita Aves, Shashings' bestfriend. Of course, the cute elephant bib is probably because Shashing likes elephants.

I have read somewhere that you shouldn't buy too much baby clothes, since babies would just outgrow them.

Since my bestfriend already gave me a whole wardrobe up to twenty four months (thanks to Ate Annika and Kuya Alfons), I was able to stop myself from shopping and just bought these few items: 2 sleeveless onesies, 2 sleeved onesies, 2 newborn pajamas and 2 pairs of mittens. Euen received advanced Christmas gifts also, she had a few pairs of socks. Thanks to the Santos family, our neighbor who's very thoughtful, and to Tita Michelle, my cousin.

Then came hand-me-down clothes from newborn up to three months from Tita Aa and Kuya Caleb. Yes, the colors are blue and brown but they are still soooo cute, especially the onesies and body suits. More socks, mittens and hats as well.

A couple of months ago, Tita Ina, Denden's cousin from the US, left me a message at Facebook congratulating us and asking for Euen's gender. She was hoping it was a girl so that she can send us all the baby stuff of her daughter, Justine. Baby stuff not only meant clothes but a lot more of baby things that we didn't have to buy.
1. Boppy Pillow for nursing.
2. A diaper bag. Good to have an extra.
3. Select a Show Soother, a soother with various sound choices with a projector.
4. A pile of bibs, from the smallest, cutest bibs up to toddler bibs.
5. More than 50 pairs of colorful socks. For newborn up to two years.
6. More baby accessories, hats, mittens, headbands.
7. A whole clothesline, from newborn to toddler: dresses, shirts, jeans, skirts, shorts, leggings.
8. Toys: teethers and Freddie the Firefly
9. Four pairs of the tiniest and cutest shoes you'll ever see.
10. Baby Wrap
11. Baby Monitor
12. And my most favorite of all, a portable playard, Pack 'n Play!

With all the clothes, I don't think we'll need to buy clothes for Euen until she's two years old. With all the baby stuff and baby gadgets we received, we are so blessed to have relatives and friends who'd graciously share their preloved baby stuff.

From the bottom of our hearts and my tummy, Denden, Euen and I are very grateful.

Excited for Euen

Happy New Year! Here's my first blog entry for 2012, my surprise baby shower party.

My sisters and my bestfriend planned for my "surprise" baby shower a few days after Christmas. It was actually a surprise, except for some clues that left me wondering a bit. But I am very thankful for the gesture. While Shashing kept me busy that forced them to get a foot spa while I get a pedicure, MamaCherub made the colorful banner.

Euen received her first cake. A baby shower cake made of diapers and lots and lots of baby stuff. A labor of love, by my bestest best friend and Euen's soon be Ninang Mama Bing. There were a lot of surprises when we "sliced" the cake piece by piece. More baby essentials that she put inside. A work of art filled with love.

Friends and family came. Everyone had their chance at the Pinoy Henyo-Baby Shower mode. Fun. Fun. Fun. It's still a few more weeks before baby Euen finally comes out, but she can definitely feel the love of the people around her.

Thanks everyone!

Putting up the Nursery: Part 3

Here's our criteria for the crib: 1. It has to be white. 2. It has to be convertible to toddler bed. 3. It should have a drop side for convenience when getting baby in and out of the crib. We decided on Mothercare's Takeley Cot. A cot meant that it is smaller than the standrard American-sized cribs that we usually have. But we opted for this since there is limited space in our room. Removing the side/s could convert it to a toddler bed, but we're thinking it will just be up to 4-5 years. For the cheaper price, we figured it was okay to change beds after five years. We had a small dilemma since the cot was continental size, mattresses were harder to find. Good thing there's Ikea with continental sized mattresses, a sister in Singapore and Kuya Shosh who shipped and handled the mattress with care. Ikea's Vyssa Vackert, a mattress with durable pocket springs in a protective foam box. The quilt was recently bought and specially selected by Denden for two reasons: the butterflies and it's pink.

Recent addition to baby Euen's nursery: From Ate Annika and Kuya Alfons, a newborn to toddler portable baby rocker, hand-me-down clothes, from newborn to eighteen months (a whole wardrobe), Medela Manual Breast Pump and feeding bottles. I want to breastfeed, all, if not most of the time and I am hoping not to be able use the breast pump and the feeding bottles too much. But it's good to have the bestest bestfriend who saved it all up for us, we won't have to buy these.

Lastly, we put drawers on the wardrobe cabinet for the baby clothes to be more organized. and we decorated with some stickers.

It is getting crowded in Euen's room, literally bouncing and kicking, I can feel she's pretty excited too.

Shipment from US

I'm on my 28th week now and I am giving a warm hello to the third and last trimester!
I got a treat, our orders from the US arrived in the Philippines the other day: the car seat, stroller and bassinet! And to celebrate, Denden picked it up from the warehouse himself. After all, it wasn't far from our house.

The boxes were indeed big, especially the car seat. After careful inspection, it was as he expected it to be. Details can be found here in my previous entry. One excited daddy wants to install it in the car last night, I just forced him not too.

The stroller and free bassinet were both lovely. It looked bigger compared to the pictures. And it looked very sturdy and durable. There is a huge space underneath for all the stuff you'd like to bring. Yey for me who likes to bring EVERYTHING. I was happy with the reversibility, it wasn't hard changing from rear to front facing. And I also liked the fact the we could change the stroller seat to the bassinet. It wasn't hard doing that either. The bassinet will be attached to the stroller for the first few months as intended.

Thanks to our Ninang Rose who took care of the shipment from US. Also, for the "other stuff" inside the box. Thanks to Marose for the baby things she sent: toys, clothes and a pair of baby shoes for Euen.

Last night, it seemed that it wasn't only me and Denden who's excited. Little baby Euen kept on moving and kicking inside my tummy while we were assembling. Just a little while now, my baby. It won't be long and you'll be here.

Putting up the Nursery: Part 2

Almost every night, we see to it that we go to Euen's room. We would just look at it, think of what else would we need, arrange baby stuff and clean it even if it hasn't been touched by anyone but us. Excited much?

Last weekend, we decided put a two-layer wall shelf to put the storage containers bought from Ikea and other baby stuff that would need easy access. So we devoted some time with the installation of the shelves. I had to call my very own handyman with his do-it-himself skills. With a little help from me. We choose white shelves to go with the theme. For the Kusiner wall pockets, we just decided to use S-hooks underneath the grilles. Denden said there's too much drilled holes already.

Thank you Denden.

Here are the finished products.

Putting up the Nursery: Part 1

We have been looking and looking everywhere but we couldn't find the right furniture to store baby Euen clothes. Since we're eyeing on a white-colored baby cot, we wanted to match it with a white-colored chest drawer. We've looked everywhere but we couldn't find one. Could it be that the furniture makers didn't want to make white ones because it easily gets dirty?

We were looking into having it custom made but we actually found this one on sale last weekend. The Lock & Lock InPlus Kid's Storage Box.
It passed my requirement with it's white frame, and we just picked nice colors for the drawers. We choose biggest, one with six drawer boxes with covers. We picked smaller boxes because we wouldn't want it too deep.

One might think that it's too small and will not be enough with all the baby clothes and stuff. Yes it is, but this is just the storage for the clothes that are often used and needs immediate access. There is a built-in closet in the room adjacent to Euen's room, to put the extra towels, beddings, diapers and all the other clothes. When she gets bigger, the InPlus Storage box could be a storage for her toys.

One excited soon-to-be dad couldn't wait either. He had it assembled right away.

Ikea Baby Things

I made a list of what I wanted to buy at Ikea for baby. And I gave it to my sister. I didn't expect that she'd buy it all, all the more, bring it all home during their last trip.

-A few bath towels and a sleeping bag.

-Highchair, Antilop with the tray and the cushion.

-Ceiling lamp for baby's room.

-Spoling foldable changing table that turned out to be free. Thanks to Shashing and Kuya Shosh.

It was a short list but it was bulky. Baby Euen's very lucky and very much loved.

Here's how it looks like when unfolded. We opted for this because it's easy to stow away when not in use. We needed the space for the nursery. I liked the many storage pockets underneath.

In the photo are some of the small storage / decors bought during our last trip to Singapore also.

I am very excited as we've started to arrange baby's room already. I CAN'T WAIT!

Selecting a Child Safety Seat

We decided that our baby will be riding in a child safety seat while travelling starting from the time that she will be brought home from the hospital. There is no law in the Philippines requiring babies/toddlers to be secured in a car seat but research has proven that it is truly the safer way.

There are traditionally 4 common types of car seats.
1. Infant Car seats. Rear facing and fits new born babies, 6 months to 1 year old depending on the weight and height of the baby. Weight limit: 4 to 22-35 lbs.

2. Convertible Car Seats. Both rear facing and forward facing options. Once the toddler is big enough, the seat can be installed forward facing. Weight limit: rear facing 5 to 30-45 lbs and forward facing 20-80 lbs.

3. Combination Car Seats. Forward facing only and can be used also as high back booster seats. Weight limit: 20-90 lbs in harness mode and 30-120 lbs when used as high back booster.

4. Booster Car Seats. Forward facing only and doesn’t have a harness of it’s own. It is normally used to help position the vehicle seat belt correctly on the lap and shoulder of the toddler.

Rear facing seats are still the safest and safety advocates are suggesting that children be rear facing for as long as possible. This is because during a crash the force is distributed towards the whole seatback of the car seat instead of just the harness. It also protects the delicate neck and spine of a child that is still developing. Here's an informative video here.

Since there are convertible car seats that can accommodate a newborn as well, we decided to skip the infant car seat and get a convertible car seat. Almost all of the car seats in the local market has a weight limit of 40 lbs and most have short shells. Our baby might outgrow the seat by height instead of weight, not to mention that the good brands are priced in the five digit range.

We again went to the online shopping route and we got an Evenflo Triumph 65 LX convertible car seat for USD118.99 from Albeebaby. It can accommodate 5-40 lbs rear facing and 20-65 lbs forward facing. It has a non-rethread harness height adjustment and a knob adjuster for harness tightness. It is one of the more compact installing convertible car seat that would install well in our compact car based on research from the car-seat.org website.

Mission accomlished for Denden.
Now, we just have to wait for the shipping.

Choosing the Baby Stroller

I only requested for one thing for the baby stroller, I wanted it to be reversible, meaning I could have the option of the baby facing me when I'm pushing, unlike what we typically see. That's my only specification. I let hubby do the research. I was hesitant into buying a stroller outside of the country but I just let him decide. After weeks and weeks of going to various baby shops, asking for a demo on the strollers, and after nights and nights of searching the web, joining forums and reading reviews, he finally found the right one.

Thus, below is his first official contribution to my blog.

We never knew that choosing a stroller could be so daunting and confusing. There is never a one perfect stroller that fits all your wants and needs. Here is a shortlist of our requirements combined:
1. It should be reversible, baby should have the option to face parent or the world.
2. It should be usable from birth.
3. It should be sturdy, even if you hang a diaper bag on the handle bars, it won't topple backwards.
4. It should have a reputable brand, for the tried and tested quality.
5. It should have an easy and compact fold, to fit in the car's trunk considering there are other items on the trunk.
6. Over and above all of these, it should be reasonably priced.

We scouted local stores for strollers that would meet our needs but found that there are only a few models that would suit our requirements. These are the Inglesina Zippy Free at Mothercare, the Bugaboo Bee at Hobbes and Landes, the Quinny Buzz and Quinny Zapp Extra at Baby Company. But these strollers are too pricey and so we then decided to explore further and found out that there are lots of choices for reversible strollers in the US and they are actually cheaper.

What worries us is that the stroller can't be inspected before being shipped to the Philippines. But our Ninang Rose who resides in LA was generous enough to let us have the items shipped to her house so the items can be checked before shipping.

We are initially eyeing on the Pliko Switch at Amazon or the Uppababy Vista in Maya color since it was on sale at PishPoshBaby. But, it's a good thing that we held off purchasing because a better deal just happen to came along! It was the Britax B Ready Free Ride promo. The B Ready is more versatile compared to the Pliko Switch, at the same price. And, it has the same functionality with the Uppababy Vista but the B Ready is cheaper.



Simply put, buy a Britax B Ready stroller and get a free infant car seat or second seat or bassinet. We opted for a free bassinet since we plan on getting a convertible car seat that could be used from newborn to toddler and we don't need the second seat (at this time).

The Britax B Ready is a single stroller. The seat can be reversed and the stroller can be converted to a double stroller with the addition of a second seat. The B-Ready's balance is extremely good that several reviews mentions that a second child can climb in the second seat without the stroller toppling over.

All in all there are 14 possible configurations. The basket is spacious and it has a high seating position for the baby. Safety harness is easy to adjust. It can be pushed with one hand since the handle is one piece; plus the handle height is adjustable so that a tall or short person can push comfortably. It has all-wheel suspension and the Britax's brake system is one touch. It is a full size stroller so the fold isn't too compact compared to the umbrella stroller. When folded, it is wider but it is shorter. And the wheels can be detached if there is really a need for space.

We got ours from Wayfair. They have the stroller on sale on top of the free ride promo. So for USD379.99 (roughly Php16.6K), we got the stroller that best suits most of our requirements, with a free bassinet.

Good job Denden!

Seeing Baby Move

22 Weeks Pregnant

I'm on my 22nd week and that is more than half way though the pregnancy.
The past weeks, I have been feeling some movement on my tummy but I wasn't sure yet if that's the baby or something else. Described on my pregnancy bible, fetal movement can be any of the following: flutters, butterfly wings flapping, gas bubbles, growling stomach, twitches, light tapping, like a little fish swimming. I've had all those and I've been calling hubby, putting his hand on my tummy but he hasn't really felt it yet.

Last night, all set up in bed, I felt a strong movement on my tummy. What I did, I called hubby, rolled up my shirt and told him to look at the part of my tummy where I felt the movement. We stared a few seconds, recognizing my normal breathing movement and there it was! A sharp bulge on a small part of my tummy! It was like a very sharp kick from a little foot, or a very strong push from a small hand. We were both in shock, in awe, and my heart jumped with joy. Pure happYness.

Then I remembered, today marks ten years since we last saw Mommy Rose. And somehow, it made me even happier with the thought that it was her making baby move last night. To make me feel them both.