The Easy and Calm Sleep

I have been having hit and miss solutions with Little Man's sleeping schedule, and so I engaged myself into some trial and error procedures to arrive on ways on how to make him sleep faster and easier.  The experiment meant changing old activities and patterns prior his bedtime so the first week was admittedly not easy.  It was hard to change patterns especially since Migo was already faithful to the old one, which by the way I miss so much (yep, I miss the old pattern because that old one had a touch of cuteness on it).  But later on, it became smooth and fine until we found ourselves having no problems at all. 

Did I mention that the last bedtime pattern we had was cute?  Let me tell you why. One of the last things he would do before he hits the bed is to dance to this Toy Story 2 song.  Even if I find the dance so adorable, this too was ejected from the new list of activities before bedtime since dancing is not a good choice to end my toddler's day.  And yes, I miss watching him do his thing.



Now, these are my new successful ways on how to calmly put my Little Man to sleep:

Play Hard

Migo is certified galawgaw. He keeps moving, dancing, playing, and all that. He always moves around and really plays hard. He pretty much has a lot of activities during the day and that works on my advantage since moving a lot is his form of exercise that keeps his mind and body healthy. Also, it makes him sleep better at night. I just make sure that he stops playing or being active before dinner time so to relax his body. That is also the reason why dancing to that Toy Story song before sleeping is not qualified to be on our new bedtime activities.

Shortened Naps
My Little Man needs to recharge himself so a nap for one hour (three hours the most) is necessary to keep him going.  He should not take a nap longer than that because that means struggle to sleep later in the evening. Also, I do not allow him to take naps late in the afternoon for obvious reasons.

Dinner
His dinner is at around 6pm because I do not want him to sleep on a stuffed tummy. He will ask for milk in the middle of the night anyways so I feel it's okay to give him early dinner. And besides, it makes sense that since I am establishing an early bedtime here, dinner must also be served earlier.


Shower Time
The one who takes care of my son gives him a warm bath, or swimming as Migo would call it, at around 7pm and they do that the same time everyday. This also serves as a sign that his playtime is up.

Night Routine
Our activities several minutes after dinner time all lead to the bedroom. Brushing his teeth, washing his bum, a new diaper and set of bedtime wear all tell that he is going to bed any minute from then.

No TV
TV is not allowed at night time since whatever he watches stimulates his  mind and makes it harder for him to go to sleep.  I am also not allowing him to watch scary and violent scenes for it cause nightmares and sleep interruptions.

The Bed
I make sure that his bed is conducive to sleeping. Even us adults do not want to sleep on a cluttered bed, right? His sleeping buddy, Mickey Mouse, must be there already waiting for him. I also make it a point to have his covers changed every so often.

Dark Room
He loves to sleep in a dark room and with the electric fan running so that is granted to him.  No problem with me since I also cannot sleep on a bright room.

The Goodnight Prayer
And the very last thing that we do is say our good night prayer.  We both pray "Angel of God", and he ends it up with "Goodnight Jesus, goodnight Sto. Nino, goodnight Mama Mary...I love you!"  Then he says his I love yous to us, closes his eyes and goes to sleep.



I hope this new list of activities before bedtime helps mommies out there who are having some difficulties putting their sweethearts to sleep early.  Good luck, and hope it goes well!

Rain and Crayons

What's up with the weather today?  I woke up at 9am today, a bit late if you ask me, and I thought it was just like 5 or 6 so I believed I still had a long snooze to go.  Heck, the gray sky fooled me! Due to the gray sky, I thought madaling araw pa lang!! It did not occur to me at once that the sky would be gray the entire day due to the rain.  The sun was having some moods because it just did not want to show her rays. Gloomy days meant Little Man's confinement to the four corners of our tiny pad... how sad could that be?  Poor Little man, no running in the garden for him today.

So to not give him a boring day despite the rain, I thought of an activity that we both could enjoy together-- indoors.  I thought of watching educational videos from YouTube, but refused at once since I am afraid he would demand for more videos and we might end up watching until the afternoon, in which I am trying to avoid.  No-TV policy also means no watching of videos from the laptop, so bye YouTube.  I grabbed a book instead and we did some story telling.  He got excited with it, but the fun ended after four to five stories.  So the last thing I had in mind was crayons. I am a huge fan of everything colorful and so crayons would be something the two of us would happily share together for an activity.  And I was right!! Little Man loved his crayons and we both had fun scribbling, drawing, and making fun of our weird creations!  The crayon activity was a nice way to fight a boring, gloomy, and wet day!








 The best partner with crayons are the papers that we do not have use for anymore, aka scratch papers.  I have tons of it in the bodega,  thus it became useful again.

For awhile, my Little Man did not want to share his crayons.  He held it so tightly that I had no choice but to just watch him do his thing.  I begged and begged until his heart softened.

My Little Man doing his thing.  His face read: Please, do not disturb!

Here's the story behind this picture:

Little Man: Mommy, write write Mickey please? (translation: mommy, please draw Mickey.)

Me: *I drew Mickey* Here's your Mickey!!

Little Man: Mickey 'to mommy?

Me: Yes, that's Mickey!

Little Man: *checked my drawing again* ANG PANGIT!!

And so now I believe that a child really does not tell a lie :)

Children Learn As They Live

My big man was cleaning the bodega one hot Sunday afternoon, a chore he loves doing because it is his way of relaxation.  Funny because it's the total opposite for me.  Just the thought of facing all the junk and mess in that bodega makes me want to throw up, stresses me out, and tempts me to invite a mild migraine attack so to have an excuse for not facing it.  Good thing the bodega chore enjoys him a lot, and so I am saved.  Every now and then, he would hand me a piece of whatever junk.  That gesture was his silent way of asking me which of the stuff he was giving me has to go.  I gave my nod to the souvenirs and tokens received from parties, old toys beyond repair, magazines, newspapers, etcetera.  They once served their purpose and now they have to say goodbye for they contribute a lot (but no thanks!) to our already cluttered place. Then he gave me this piece of paper that had a beautiful message written there so I told him no, not this one.  Not this piece of paper.  As I read the message, I told myself I should blog this and share this to everyone--parents, grandparents, even  teenagers.  Because the message said a lot on how big our role is to children.  That being with them, even for just a minute or for their entire growing years,  we contribute a lot to their well-being.

CHILDREN LEARN AS THEY LIVE

A child that lives in ridicule

learns to be timid

A child that lives with criticism

learns to condemn

A child that lives with distrust

learns to be deceitful

A child that lives with antagonism

learns to be hostile

A child that lives with affection

learns to love

A child that lives with encouragement

learns confidence

A child tht lives with encouragement

learns confidence

A child that lives with truth

learns justice

A child that lives with sharing

learns to be considerate

A  child that lives with knowledge

learns wisdom

A child that lives with patience

learns to be tolerant

A child that lives with happiness

will find love and beauty.



My Birthday - Good food. Good times. Good fun.

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January 23, 2011 -- Happy birthday to me!!  Yesterday, I celebrated the anniversary of my 25th birthday.  Of course I am not giving away my age, for they say that  most of the time, I do not look like it.  Thanks to my own Belo and Calayan in the form of positive attitude, happy disposition in life, love of comedy film, and music.  And the biggest factor of all--my big man and my little man, who when I watch play and make a fool of themselves together, give me that instant face lift.   These are the reasons, I suppose, that make me not look my age most of the time.  That's most of the time, I am stressing that out, for there are times I look older than my real age.  I am thinking the culprit would be sleepless nights due to deadlines,or due to paperworks brought home, or due to my little man's unpredictable sleeping behavior, or due to dvd marathon.  Lack of sleep that brought stress, that brought sagging of the face, wrinkles, fine lines and out-of-this-world tantrums.  Sleepless nights can really bring out the monster in me, physically and attitude-wise.  Other than that, not patting myself on the back, a lot really say I do not look like my age.  I really hope so.

Prior my natal day, my cousins planned of a dinner date for all of us.  We went to Yakimix in Tomas Morato.  Original plan was in Trinoma branch but due to the long queue, majority decided to shift to Morato.  Elmer and I were the first ones to arrive, and by then we found out that we did not have a reservation!  Yakimix, now gaining a large population of followers, is full especially on weekends.  Reservation is a must, really.  We were like 18 hungry ones, so we had a hard time arranging ourselves in one table.  After a long 1 hour of waiting, we finally had a taste of their all-you-can-eat dishes.  Japanese food reign on the buffet, yet there were some Filipino food (I saw a crispy pata) and surprisingly, Italian (there was a pizza there, I swear!)  Sushi person that I am, my tummy feasted with different kinds of sushi they have there.  I enjoyed their salmon and tuna sashimi so much.  Valued at more or less 650.00 per head (depends on your add-ons), with a lot of food on the buffet, this rate is not bad at all.  Later that night, we transfered to Starbucks and there we welcomed my birthday.  I felt so old, who wouldn't?  I am the eldest of all the cousins, and there they were with me.  But I also feel so young, for despite the age differences, we still have times like this bonding with each other over some plateful of yummy dishes.

Yakimix in Tomas Morato

I enjoyed a lot of sushi in different colors and shapes (and calories!)

They also have a shabu-shabu

A gathering that will soon be on a regular basis (crossing fingers!)

I usually celebrate my birthday in two days. The birthday itself, the 23rd, with my Rockville/Bonifacio family, and the day after with my Fairview/Kimpo family.  My Rockville treat would always be at home.  My dad dreads going out for whatever reason so you will find me dialing numbers of food delivery service so I can still treat my family in the comforts of our home.  Not losing hope each year, I still announced my plan of treating them out on my birthday.  I expected my dad's usual contra-reaction.  Surprisingly, dad just kept mum about it and everybody was kinda surprised of this big leap (big leap na talaga 'to!).  So on my birthday, I treated them for lunch at Romulo Cafe.

I am not at all new to Romulo's and in fact I also blogged my first Romulo experience here.  We ordered the bestsellers:  kare kare and flying tilapia.  This time, we added another best seller on our table--the pancit puti. Everybody raved about the food we had at Romulo Cafe.

I do not know why despite my knowledge of Romulo Cafe's
swirls of black and white interior, I still wore this blouse.  I only noticed
 it when my sis pointed it out.  What a booboo!

Later around 6;20pm, we went to the restaurant where I put my reservation for dinner with my Fairview family.  Yes, this time, I celebrated it with them on the day of my birthday itself.  The restaurant, whenever I pass there, stirred my curiosity for aside from the great interiors that can be viewed from outside, the place is always full not to mention the peeps lined up outside patiently waiting for their names to be called.  So because the place really looked interesting, I decided to bring my Fairview fam there.  The restaurant's name is Lugang Cafe.  Quite an odd name for a restaurant, I thought.  Later I found out that this restaurant is the famous Bellagio in Shanghai that is known for their delicious Taiwanese dishes.  Now in Manila, they changed Bellagio into Lugang, one of Taiwan's best places.

Lugang Cafe's interior is awesome!  The walls are of different designs.  Our side of the wall have bricks with mirror-like posts in front that when viewed from several meters away looked like a weaving pattern.  The wall in front of (but a bit far from)  us have a different pattern  in which I cannot describe blow by blow for I had no chance to scrutinize but it looked like a weaved pattern of some solid material in immaculate white.  Our couch has black and white swirls  that goes very well with the wall behind it, while some couches in the middle are made of cream leather material.  For some reason, the chairs remind me of Gucci and Chanel patterns.  Lugang Cafe's door is a massive one and is really beautiful, that kuya Edmund, the one that has an eye for what's pretty when it comes to furniture and interior, noticed it at once.

Elmer, my big man, enjoyed the couch of black and white swirls that goes
very well with the weave-like wall behind it.

We ordered  Lugang bestsellers:  3 cup chicken, beef with crullers,  spicy dory (fish), and golden rice.

Spicy Dory is a personal fave.  The dory fish is so tender, and the spicy-ness
is a bit powerful yet not that kind that will make you quit munching anytime.
In fact, I had this without rice, so to appreciate the taste more.  I love it!

No meal is complete without the rice. 

Small chicken parts cooked in 1 cup sesame oil, 1 cup rice wine, and 1 cup
soy sauce, hence the name:  3 Cup Chicken.  I love how the marinade of three
different sauces blend well together coming up with a yummy dish.
p290 good for three.

Beef with chinese crullers is my personal favorite. It has thinly sliced beef,
that was so tender with crunchy bicho bicho, all embraced by the tasty
sauce.  This one is a steal for P280.00 good for three.

My lovely SIL's gave me cakes from Conti's.  I was really craving for a Mango Bravo and they turned into mind readers that day for they gave me just what I craved for.  We finished Mango Bravo so fast!  My little man loved it too!!

____________

Yakimix -  2nd floor, Forum Building, 270 Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Reservation is a must - (02)3857500

Romulo Cafe - 32 Scout Tuazon corner Dr. Lazcano, Tomas Morato, Quezon City

Though they allow walk-in's, it is still wise to reserve- (02)3327275

Lugang Cafe - 115 Connecticut St., North Greenhills, San Juan

Reservation up to 6:30 only and they allow 15mins allowance.  

7:00 pm onwards are for walkin's - (02)7757599

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Sun, splash and sand with little man

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Boracay!  Yes, my little man experienced Boracay already, and I am so proud of him.  Barely two years old, he already experienced the sun, the splash and the white sand of Boracay.

Prior to this, I was worried on Migo's reaction to his first airplane ride.  I prepared my "resbak" just in case he gets cranky inside the plane.  I uploaded the Ipod Touch kuya Eric gave Elmer and I last Christmas (a huge thank you, kuya Eric!) with videos that would make him settle--Mickey Mouse singing the Clubhouse theme, trailers of Despicable Me (his favorite film this time), Eensy weensy spider nursery rhyme video, and Spongebob Squarepants  video.  I also loaded my bag with his favorite bread, some candies, and I also prepared milk.  These things would perfectly pacify my Migo.  Though it was his first time, he did not misbehave and that was quite unexpected.  He was not malikot, he did not cry, and he was good all throughout the ride.  As a matter of fact, he even fell asleep halfway through the ride.

Boat transfer goimg Boracay was a different story.  It was sooooo hard for Elmer and I especially with three traveling bags in tow, plus a little man attached on my hip.  I had no choice but to allow the manongs to carry Migo to the boat.  Me carrying him from the shore to the boat was impossible, so I really had no choice but to resort to the manongs.

Elmer's cousin, pretty Annie, arranged everything from transfers to accomodations.  Must be a not-so-easy task to arrange and be responsible for almost 60 pax, but since it's Annie's forte, she did it with ease.  Everything she arranged went perfect. We stayed in Paradise Garden found in Boracay's station 3.  The place was decent enough and big for all of us Kimpos who were there. The staff was polite and friendly, always greeting us and giving us their beautiful smiles.  Just eight minutes going to the beach, this place is cool enough to stay in.

The three of us went out for a walk past twelve noon and the first thing we searched for-- food.  When we were in Boracay last 2005, we were hooked with this humble resto that served cheap yet really delicious food.  I am talking about Smoke. We desperately searched for it (we already forgot where it was located), and luckily after almost an hour of looking, we found it.  The diners there were mostly tourists, and if I remember it right, there were only two tables occupied by Pinoys. I ordered spicy chicken, my usual favorite.  The food, after all these years, YUM!!

After the food trip, we went to the water for it was already time for my little man to have fun with Boracay sands and waters.  He enjoyed it so much!  He enjoyed Boracay for two days!  What a lucky little fellow!

 

 

Bye Fever!!

..............................

Thursday evening.  As of this writing, my little man's condition went from better to best.  That's good news, for that means he can go to Boracay tomorrow, enjoy the ati-atihan in Kalibo, and attend the grand reunion of the Kimpos.  Nice!

I am not a big fan of meds, and as much as possible I refrain from giving meds immediately.  Good thing  my pedias are the same.  It's always observe first before anything else.  But since we have to bring down his temperature fast due to the upcoming trip, I allowed myself to turn back from my belief and succumed to meds, as what I have mentioned in my earlier post.  And I am just glad that he is very well now.

Having a fever is not always a bad thing.  Usually caused by bacterial or viral infection, fever is considered a symptom not an illness.  It is the body's way of fighting the infection.  However, being a parent, we just do not sit down and do nothing about it.  Here are the different ways of dealing with fever as advised by pediatricians:

-Give the patient plenty of fluids.  Fluids here include water, juices (not so sweet, without sugar), milk, chicken broth and other soups.  Never give coffee, tea, or soda because these drinks are diuretic and can easily cause dehydration.

-Solid foods might not be so inviting for now, but do not be alarmed.  As long as he is drinking plenty of fluids, he is fine.  His appetite for solids will eventually go back as soon as he feels well.

-Constantly check his body temperature.  An interval of 45minutes to an hour is ideal.  His temperature may reach 38 to 40 and may be low in the morning and gets high in the afternoon to night time.

-Give your baby a lukewarm bath.  We used to hear from our lolas that taking a bath when one has a fever is not the thing to do for the patient's condition may worsen after the bath, but it's proven that this old school belief is not true.  On the contrary, taking a long lukewarm bath is adviced for it helps let the heat out from the body.  Just make sure that the water is lukewarm, not cold.  Cold water will make the baby shiver and can again raise his body temperature.

-Dress less.  Again, there's this belief that wrapping the body with heavy clothes, plus covered with blanket from head to toe, will bring down the fever.  On the contrary, this causes the temperature to rise even more.  It is important for the heat to escape out from the body, and the best way to do that is not to cover-up but to dress lightly.

-Wet wash cloth to be placed in the forehead also works.  The damp cloth absorbs the heat of the body.  This is very ideal if the baby is just lying down, but if the baby is active and playful despite the fever just like my little man, Kool Fever may be used.  It works like that of the damp wash cloth, but this one has an adhesive that helps it secure on its place.  

-If the baby is not his usual self and there are changes in his actions and movements, or changes in the color of the skin, eyes and lips, or just for peace of mind, it's still best to go to your trusted pediatrician.  Medicines may be given to normalize the baby's temperature, or other tests may be conducted to find out the real cause of the fever.




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Feverish little man

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I am beginning to wonder if fate would not allow us to go this much awaited trip.  On Friday, I will be facing another adventure with my little man and my big man.  We will be going to Boracay!! And not only that, the main reason of our trip is the Kimpo grand reunion that happens every three years (it used to be every four years, I heard) that happens in Kalibo, Aklan just in time for the ati-atihan festival.  That means airplane ride, baby!! And that would be my little man's first airplane ride!  I am so excited, yet so anxious.  I am not so sure of what my little man's reaction to the ride would be.  This early, I have butterflies in my stomach already.  But what the heck, my little man has a fever for two days already.  Talk about spoiling the trip!  Hey, we already have tickets, so please fever, go away!!

As a mom, I cannot stand not to be with him on times like this.  One advantage of working for the family business and with parents as bosses is that I can easily go home without much explanation needed.  Their apo has a fever and they are the ones pushing me to go home, so it's really that easy.  When I learned thru the caregiver's text that Migo has a temperature of 38.5, I hurriedly went to the drugstore that's just infront of my office and bought the things I will be needing to get rid of the fever--paracetamol drops, Calpol in particular, and Kool Fever.  These two never fails to vanish the fever in a snap.  However, this time, my little man's fever keeps on bugging us.  His temperature is between 38.5 and 39.5 despite paracetamol and Kool Fever.  Now this is really making me frustrated.  It's Wednesday already and I hope it goes away tomorrow so we can make it to Friday's trip.  I am crossing my fingers!!

Package of Johnson's Baby Bedtime Soap

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Last September, Nuffnang gave me the opportunity to host a survey here in my humble blog that concerns mostly of baby's bedtime routine, activities and beliefs. It was actually a survey from Johnson's Baby Bedtime line. My survey needed one hundred respondents, and as a sign of gratitude, we are to receive tokens from Johnson's and Nuffnang. I got mine last week, yehey!!

 

Happy November 16, honey!!

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November 16 has always been so special to me and my husband simply because---it's our anniversary!!  Today, we are celebrating our seventeenth year of being committed to each other, and our fifth year as a wedded couple.  This year, as my pasabog, I made a special video composed of our wedding photos which had stories to tell behind it.   It took me just three days to finish this thing.  I did it last month, October 13 to be exact and finished on October 16--a month before the big day.  I wanted to surprise him by posting it on my FB account on the day of our anniversary, and of course, tagging him.  But for whatever reason, on the night of October 16 and exactly one month before the big day, he opened the laptop I was using (the laptop that he never touched for months and I almost own) and found my secret.  Needless to say, he found my hardwork, watched it up to the credits, went to bed (I was already sleeping by that time), shook me a little (to wake me up), and gave the most nakakainis smile.  My eyes were half-open and it almost popped out when I saw the beaming laptop.  All he said was:  Thank you, hon.  I love you, too.

Our (small) family's write up

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The Kimpo clan will be having again a reunion this January of 2011 and as a part of that grand get-together, souvenir programs will be distributed.  Hubby paid for a whole page ad and I was given the task to write a little something about the three of us, plus the layout.  Here's a sneak peek of what our page will look like:

 

Thanks for the visit!

Feel free to read my other 

posts.  Please look for

MY BABBLES on the 

right side of this page.

Have a blessed day!

Lotsa love,

 ..............................

The Mother Love Connection Effect

Isn't amazing how mothers can be awaken from a deep slumber by the slightest move her child makes, while  the horrible loud sound of the drilling machine just few meters away from her room cannot even move her?  How, by just a simple lullaby, she can put her child to sleep. How, by just holding her little treasure's tiny hand, the child is convinced that the dentist in a white coat is a friend.  How, by just kissing her tot's slightly wounded knee, she manages to take away the pain. That's how unbelievable mother-child connection can be.  But this does not zero-in to "physical" connection, for there are also ways on how we can connect to our children even if we are not physically by their side.

My latest read talks about connecting to our children in any way, and the benefits it brings. It says:

When you are feeling stressed, a simple phone call from a loved one

can be as good as a hug.  In a new US sudy, a group of girls aged

from seven to 12 years had to make a speech and solve math problems

in front of a panel of strangers, which sent their levels of cortisol - a 

hormone associated with stress- soaring.  Immediately afterwards, a

third were comforted by Mum in person, a third received a phone call 

from Mum, while the remaining girls watched an "emotion-neutral" video.

The children who interacted with their mothers, whether in person or over

the phone, had almost the same hormonal response.  Namely, their levels

 of oxytocin (often called the "love hormone") rose significantly, and

their raised cortisol levels dipped back to normal.

Article source:  Reader's Digest Asia October 2010 issue
Image source:  Google Images

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Wearing My Hubby's Shirt Is Bad For Me

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Last night, I chose to wear my husband's shirt as my sleepwear.  He's about to hand it down to someone and I stopped him because when I felt it, it's so thin already due to years of use and that's exactly what I wanted for a "dress down" night (my husband does not like the idea of me wearing lousy sleepwear).  He was already asleep when I stepped out of the shower, which is a good thing, so he won't be able to see me wearing the lousy, old shirt.

When I woke up this morning, he had the sweetest words for me-- okay naman pala yung t-shirt sa yo e, hindi malaki tingnan.  Which for me translates to:  hindi naman pala gano kalaki tingnan yung t-shirt sa 'yo kasi malaki ka rin naman.  Okay, yung malaki means mataba. 

I gave him the face, and he knew he said something wrong.  Maybe it was really nothing for him.  He meant no harm.  Maybe since it's still early in the morning, his still snoring mind was not able to process the fact that girls (ladies) do not like to be noticed of their figure, unless it is something that spells s-e-x-y.   But if it is something that spells f-a-t,  oh no, here comes WW3!

So, wearing his shirt is not a good idea at all even if it is the most comfy shirt I have ever worn.  And because of that honest comment, I am having a hard time concentrating on my work today.  ;(

Thanks for the visit!

Feel free to read my other 

posts.  Please look for

MY BABBLES on the 

right side of this page.

Have a blessed day!

Lotsa love,

..............................

Things Inside My Mommy Bag

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Forgive me, but I cannot help but do a follow-up post, because I also cannot help but notice some mommies or ate's carry such a putok na putok mommy bag.  Before I proceed, when I say ate, I refer to baby caregivers.  I am having a hard time calling my baby's caregiver yaya and I am much more comfortable with ate, so let it be please.

My little man is already 17 months old.  He started going out with us when he was still two to three months old.  During those fragile times, I also would bring tons of baby needs with me.  I stuff it all to my poor mommy bag, which I must say did a great job of accommodating them all.  I brought with me five feeding bottles with water, milk container, tons of bibs, mittens and booties, cap, extra clothing, baby blanket to keep him warm inside the mall, changing mat, three to four diapers, wet and dry tissue, and an alcohol.  Did I forget anything? These things, even if tiny, can cause terrible back pain once they decide to group themselves in the mommy bag.  And often times, I end up not using majority of what I brought.  So I learned my lesson and did what I had to do:  bring only the stuff that the baby needs.  How did I do it? I memorized by heart his poop and feeding sched, plus I considered the number of hours we will be out of the house.  I also calculated how many clothes he will be needing in the given amount of time outside our home.  Given that equation, I learned the exact number of things he will be needing and so, I was able to trim them down.

Now that he is already a bit bigger and is very active, my mommy bag is getting lighter and lighter.  Since he is already given solids, feeding bottle is reduced to two. We also go out after he pooped so there's no need to bring tons of diapers anymore.  I also do not bring him that much extra clothing, but since he terribly enjoys walking and sometimes gets really sweaty despite in an airconditioned mall, there are some extras always ready in the car.  Bibs are now transformed into face towels with fine fabric and that should always be present, along with wet and dry tissue, and alcohol.  Booties, mittens, caps, and blankets are obviously not needed anymore.  Even our stoller is not needed anymore, thank God!

I hope other mommies like me were also able to trim down the baby stuff they carry along so they can fully enjoy the baby and the shopping without the hassle of a fat mommy bag and a back pain.

Thanks for the visit!

Feel free to read my other 

posts.  Please look for

MY BABBLES on the 

right side of this page.

Have a blessed day!

Lotsa love,

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And They Should Be Called Mommy Bags

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When I was still pregnant, I was so excited shopping for different baby thingies as well as new-mom stuff for myself.  One of the many mommy stuff that really drove me wild was diaper bag.  Diaper bag, to my darlings who do not have any idea what that is, is a bag specially designed for all the baby stuff a mom might be needing in case she and the baby go mobile.  Diaper bags have around six to ten pockets or compartments that are all ready for stuffing feeding bottles, milk containers, diapers, changing mat, wet wipes, dry tissues, alcohol, baby bibs, face towels, and a lot more.  Nope, I am not talking about the baby cabinet, but it comes close to that when it comes to functionality.  Only, this one takes a form of a bag.

I actually have two diaper bags.  As mentioned, I loved looking at diaper bags in all the stores that had them, it may be an actual store or an online store.  But truth of the matter is, even if I fancied over their dainty designs, I did not buy a piece for I was certain that I would be receiving one as a gift.  I was correct, and twice correct at that.  I received both as a baptismal gift courtesy of my little man's ninong Anchi and our neighbor Lola D.  I was really excited to use them and they became my badge as a mommy.  I proudly carried it with me, along with my baby in the stroller.

And who would not be proud to display diaper bags?  Aside from the fact that it loudly announces to everybody that I am a proud mommy the reason why I have one tucked in my elbow, diaper bags these days are not that--for the lack of proper word-- baduy as it once used to be.  I remember my mom telling me "ay, andyan pa pala sa bodega yung diaper bag na ginamit nyo noon at sigurado ako pwede mo pa gamitin yun kasi matibay yun at buhay pa, kailangan lang ng laba".  Goodness, when I was able to find the diaper bag that my mom advertised for free, heck,  no way I am going to use that!  Yep, it's matibay for sure, because it still is so much kickin' up to this day and just ten days of non-stop laundry will make it look brand new.  But THE PRINT!!  Oh yeah, the prints!! Animal prints, with alphabet and numbers and all that colorful stuff that dominate the entire bag.  Colors from neutral to pastels to loud ones.  Thanks mom, that was a good one, but no thanks.

Let me stress this out--- diaper bags are for MOMS, not for babies.   Fortunately, mommies of our generation need not to suffer from diaper bags from dinosaur era that had zero fashionlife.  These days, pregnant moms, new moms, and wanting to be moms can drool with dainty, fashionable, and really pretty diaper bags, that often times because of its hip and updated look, do not even look like diaper bags at all!  I should now, I once drooled over these bags, too!

Note:  Photos not my own.  They are courtesy of Google Images.  Thank you.

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Lotsa love,

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