Andi, the wooden walker

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Hola amiga!

Honey and I already saw signs of Migo's eagerness to stand up and do small steps so we wasted no time and looked for a walker. We would frequent the malls so to look for a walker that would fit the little man, but to no avail. Branded or brandless walkers, they won't "fit" Migo. Migo has long legs and from what we saw upon fitting the walkers, his legs would fold and he found it hard to straight them up and walk. Aside from that, he found the trinkets and toys placed in front of it interesting so he would just sit still, not walk at all, and just play with the toys placed infront of him. Our search for the right walker lasted for almost two weeks until we settled to the idea of just buying him the traditional walker. So on Christmas day, while driving our way to papu and mamu's place, Elmer saw a nomad selling an andador and we swerved, stopped, and bought the wooden walker.

Andi. I named the humble andador Andi. I know I used one too when I was a baby. In fact from me to our bunso Cris, mom and dad also welcomed the benefits of the andador. The older ones-titos and titas, lolos and lolas, ninongs and ninangs, prefer Andi over the new-kids-on-the-block who looked really fancy with all the toys
in front of it, the nice padding, and the rolling wheels. But then why did we settle for the plain-looking Andi? Here are our reasons:

-Andi looked so plain that Migo just focused on his walking, unlike when placed in a walker where he would just play with the toys placed in front of him.

-Migo would just glide, not walk, in the walker. The wheels made him move, not his feet. With the andador sans the wheels, his legs would do all the works. Literally, he would move himself from one place to another with the small steps his feet could make.

-Thr price. Andi priced at only p250, who would not get it? ;) Seriously, andador for me is durable compared to any branded walker available in the market. And if Migo would turn out to be stronger and nastier than other babies his age, andadors are easier to fix as long as there are nails and hammer around. Beyond repair already? Priced at P250,let's go and buy a new one!

One downside though, was that I had to make a padding so to not hurt his kilikili and chest, and another pad where to put him in. I had to sew these paddings and I slept at around 3am to finish it. It was not easy for me, but I had fun sewing anyways, thinking that my little sweetheart will spend some hours in a day, jumping and walking, in this wooden walker I named Andi.


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Seven month old

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Good morning!!


I already lost count of Migo's developments. Some was not even captured by cam for it happened so fast. I just found myself giving him solid food one Sunday morning and it was already finished when I remembered why I charged the camera battery. Damn!!

This month I discovered that he loves hugging his bolster pillow whil sleeping. He always had deep, peaceful sleep everytime he hugs it. And he loves lying on his right. That is one of the sleeping traits he got from me.

Migo also love the all-fours position. He would happily rock himself front and back when he is in this position.

Upper left tooth peeped already. One time he was laughing so hard that he opened his mouth real wide, there I saw the new member of the teeth family. And he was showing the same signs again: drooling, rubbing anything to soothe his gums, etc. And to add to that, he now learned how to bite. Ouch!!!



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Mosquito bite solutions

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Hello, hello!!


We live in a place with plants everywhere so it is expected that we experience mozzie bites every now and then. Mosquitoes invade the place almost at all times, but 5pm is the worst time of all. I have this feeling that they all, as in all, want to go out and play in our place. It would last for like two hours or so, so I always hide my little Migo from 5pm onwards. But mosquitoes have their way of sneeking in to our humble pad so it's not a safe place to hide either.

I am one momma scared of mosquito bites. Who won't be? Scarring the skin of my little one is not a problem I consider. What I am so scared of is the dengue. That's dengue we are talking about, dahlings, and who want that for their babies? Paranoid as I am, I almost bought all mosquito repellent products I could find.

First thing I bought is Indigo Manila's Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me. I love the scent!! Citronella is the active ingredient of this milky lotion spray, and I would imagine me having a spa whenever I apply this to little Migo. Yep, it smelled like a spa aroma because of the citronella.

Second I tried is the Miason's Room and Linen Spray in Citronella scent. I bought this to intensify Indigo Manila's SFDBM. I would spray this to my baby's linen and crib beddings. Again, the spa aroma filled the air.

Third I bought is Downy Antibac fabric conditioner. I saw in their advertisement that it sort of repels mosquito for an amazingly significant amount. I asked our laundry lady to put this to Migo's clothings. It made his clothes nice smelling too.

Fourth product is Giga's Baby Mosquito Repellent. So far, among all the products I bought, this one is my fave. I walked past it when I was looking for a new moquito repellent product to try but something invited me to buy it. I was really hesitant at first for I found the scent too strong. Surprisingly, upon applying it, the scent transformed into something really mild and fresh smelling. Again, spa aroma filled the air due to the citronella scent. It's economical too for I can use it directly to his skin and skip his beddings and his clothings. I loved it in an instant that I bought again 1 bottle to give to Migo's cousin as a Christmas present.

For several weeks now, due to these products, I am having less and less problems with mozzie bites. They would still bother us all the time, but atleast I am confident my little one is guarded.
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Solid food rules

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Guten Tag!

In my own experience, introducing solids to my little man came easy. I just gave him a soup one day, followed by (mashed) macaroni and he liked it already. Our first experience with solids was really easy. I did not have any hard time introducing it to him maybe becaus he was really ready for it. However, despite the fuss-free solids session, I still strictly follow these rules.

-Give solids on the sixth month.
Why? Infants' intestinal tract is not yet mature until they reach their sixth month and giving them solids early on might be to hard on their part. It does not apply to all babies, though. Some mature early on, some mature a little later. But still, I just wanted to make sure about it so I had to patiently wait for the sixth month.

-Do not get excited on the food.
Giving solids can be really exciting, especially based on my experience where Migo would just get everything I gave him. But, hep hep!! We are avoiding over feeding here. Since the experience is new to the infant, he might not give signs that he is full already because he is enjoying the moment. And mommy might get overly excited too, forgeting that she's feeding an infant with a very tiny tummy.

-Experiment on one type of food first before introducing a new one.
I cooked lugaw for him and the lugaw was served for a week. It was intentional because I wanted him to be familiar with the food and also in case he's not hiyang and had diarrhea, I knew what the culprit was. It will be hard to track the cause of food allergy if all was given at the same time.

-The right eating position
Infants should be in a correct sitting position so to make him swallow the food correctly. Babies can be placed on a high chair or be sitted on your lap when feeding.

-The gear
I make sure that my little one is wearing a large bib when he's eating. A larger size of a bib can accomodate all the mess and prevent it from going to any part of his shirt. I also have a wet face towel on hand so I could wipe his mouth, or his face for that matter, to keep it clean and dungis-free.

-The utensils
I bought a simple infant bowl and not the fancy, colorful ones. I knew my baby would
be distracted with colorful things and I did not want him to be distracted while eating, so a plain looking bowl would be okay. The spoon I bought is kinda small so I can put it easy in his tiny mouth. In due time when he can already open his mouth wide and can accomodate a larger portion, I will buy then a bigger spoon. By the way, I chose a rubberized spoon over a plastic one so not to hurt the gums of my baby.

-No toys, no play
As much as possible, I do not want him playing while eating. As early as now, I want him to develop the habit of not playing or doing other things while eating. Even if this is one of our bonding times, I make sure he knows that eating time is only for eating time. Talkies are limited also. We have all the time to play when he's done with his food anyways.

-The water
I make sure that I let him drink water after each session so to help rinse out whatever is left inside his mouth. This also prevents singaw and cavities (for bigger babies with already lotsa teeth).




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