Jollibee Talk & Blush Doll — Got One!

Jollibee's Talk & Blush Doll
Jollibee’s Talk & Blush Doll

It’s funny how Jollibee becomes a big part of a parent’s life as soon as their child reaches 2.

Since Gabby now adores Jollibee, I just got her a Talk & Blush Doll. It costs me P420, a Happy Meal, and later on, three AA batteries.

A cousin gave us one of Jollibee’s older plush toys. This new one looked exactly like the older version, except that this could speak in English and could say more phrases. Definitely Gabby Approved. And if Gabby approves, Mommie approves.

Oh and yes, it’s Talk & Blush — not Talk & Plush. The doll talks, but it definitely doesn’t blush. Thankfully no one really cares about the names of these toys. I have no idea why I even do.

Here’s a photo of the toddler with Jollibee

Gabby & Jollibee
Gabby & Jollibee

Breastfeeding for all the world to see

I used to wonder why tribal women don’t wear any clothes on top. For me, it was scandalous.

Only when I started breastfeeding did it occur to me that our culture have over sexualized the boobs that we have forgotten that its primary function is to feed.

I wish public breastfeeding is easy. I wish all babies won’t mind breastfeeding with a cover on their heads. I wish people will stop staring.

I wish I would stop being conscious.

But its my job to feed. And so I shall.

The Little Gym ocular inspection

My little girl is going to baby school!

We paid a visit to The Little Gym, and found out that they have a class for her age group called “Bugs.”

Can you tell how excited I am? I’m honestly running out of activities for our 8 month old. Plus I’m an insecure mom who always worry that the baby is getting bored.

First impressions:

Huge! One half of the place has floor mats, balance beams, parallel & uneven bars. The other half is dedicated to a room outfitted like a classroom, supposedly for their preschool classes.

White people! When we arrived, the Birds class were in session, and almost all the students were foreigners!

We’re taking a trial class in the next couple of weeks, but we’re already pretty sure we’re enrolling for the full course. The teacher we met was an absolute darling, and Gabby loved the new place (meaning, she banged her hands on every little object).

I’m soooo happy that The Little Gym is not in a mall. No offense to Gymboree lovers, but there’s just something about malls & babies that stresses me out.

And it gets better: The Little Gym is actually just a block away from where we live. Mommy can push the little munchkin in her stroller! Hah!

Some additional info

  • Bugs class is for 6 months to 10 months of age
  • Classes are once a week for the Bugs class (either the Friday or Sunday class)
  • Classes start on September 13, 2015, and ends December 2015.
  • Tuition fee is P15,080, plus an annual membership fee of P1,960.
  • We can take a trial class for P600, which is deducted from the tuition fee should we decide to enroll.
  • Unlike Gymboree, The Little Gym is not open for play time. It is strictly open for their classes.

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Breastfeeding 101 in St. Luke’s Global City

seminarIn line with Breasfeeding Month, St. Luke’s Global City is having a seminar on breastfeeding. Entitled Breastfeeding 101, it is going to be held on August 8, 2015, 1:00 to 4:00 pm, at the Henry Sy, Sr. Auditorium, 5th Floor, St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City.

I wished I attended a seminar like this. I gave birth 2 months earlier than my due date, and was only able to attend one breastfeeding class. It wasn’t a good one either. I attended the one hosted by the House of Medela, where I braved the traffic and the long walk due to the lack of parking.

To make it worse, there was a “surprise” speaker (meaning, it wasn’t part of the publicized agenda) by StemCord Philippines. The speaker gave a talk for over an hour on why we should go into stem cell banking. Cramped space + mono block chairs + pregnant + bad sound system + long sales talk … you get the drill.

If I had to do it all over again, I would attend something like this — a talk strictly on breastfeeding, and not a commercialized one with a bunch of topics, sponsors, etc.

If only :)

How I increased my milk supply

“I’m breastfeeding. Period.”

I must’ve really sounded resolute — or maybe my doctors got tired of my incessant calls to their clinics — but after a couple of months, they finally agreed to stop my medications so I could breastfeed my baby.

Ironically, my lactation consultants weren’t optimistic. I didn’t breastfeed for the first few months, and my attempts at pumping were futile. They said I practically had to “re-lactate” myself. I literally produced five teeny weeny tiny drops of milk after thirty minutes of pumping.

But I wasn’t the type to give up. And I’m glad I didn’t. I’m still not at the 750 to 1,000 ml recommended pump volume per day, but I’m almost there (650ml). And that’s a big feat for someone who had to “re-lactate.”

You know the usual disclaimer, that every woman is different, and what worked for me may not work for you, blah blah blah. But here’s what I did to increase my milk supply:

  1. A supportive husband. My husband was (and still is) the biggest reason why I was able to increase my milk supply. He made anything and everything possible. And more. When I was this close to shifting to formula, he was there to talk sense to me. He drove for me far and wide to pick up donated breastmilk. He would assist me tirelessly whenever I need to latch the baby. He would research on breastfeeding, give me tips, and encourage me every single day.
  2. A thick skin. I didn’t take offense whenever the baby would cry hysterically. I know it was because she couldn’t get enough milk from me. I would take a few deep breaths and tell her “Hey, we need to do this together.”
  3. Domperidone. I also took Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle, but I think it was the Domperidone which really helped me. I really wish I took this sooner. After 2 to 3 weeks of taking the medication, it gave me a noticeable jumpstart on my milk supply. Not miraculous, but very noticeable.
  4. Kelly Mom and Jack Newman. I devoured their articles like a dutiful disciple. These two websites were better than all the lactation consultants that I met combined.
  5. Perseverance. I didn’t give up. There were two incidents which drastically reduced my milk supply: 1) When I got sick, and 2) when the baby had a nursing strike. Each incident only lasted 3 to 5 days, but it was enough to reduce my milk supply by 75%. Yes, that much. It took a couple of weeks each time before I was able to reach my previous level.
  6. Pump pump pump. I make sure I have 2 pumping sessions in the morning, and another 3 sessions while I’m at work. I was told the ideal pumping session should last 15 minutes. Not for me though — most of my pumping sessions are between 20 to 30 mins. My letdown is just too slow to come in.
  7. Compression. While pumping, I press the breastshields against my breasts every few seconds.
  8. Breastfeed. I breastfeed as soon as I get home from work. Bottles are not allowed from 7pm to 6am. Ideally, I would also breastfeed in the morning, but I could never predict what time the baby would wake up or want to feed.
  9. Co-sleeping. The baby sleeps with us. If she wakes up in the middle of the night (usually twice), I change her diaper, offer her “the boobie,” and immediately go back to sleep while she feeds.
  10. Power pump. Although the general rule is to pump every 3 hours, there would be days when I would pump every 1 to 2 hours. This produced very good results in just 2 to 3 days.

Other things I took, but I’m not sure about their effectiveness:

  1. Fenugreek & Blessed Thistle
  2. Malunggay capsules
  3. Oatmeal

What I should’ve done but didn’t do:

  1. Take malunggay while I was still pregnant. I’m not sure if this would be effective, but it seemed to have worked wonders for one mom.
  2. Chose my breastfeeding group carefully. I would join various Facebook groups on breastfeeding, but they would all be filled with moms boasting about their milk supply, how wonderful their breastfeeding journey is, how their baby latched on instantly, etc.

The unboxing of the Medela Pump

COVER

Before anything  else

Let me mention that I’m not allowed to breastfeed. Barely 24 hours after I’ve given birth, the doctors immediately began my Lupus treatments. .

I still plan on pumping though. Even if I can’t feed the baby my milk. Hopefully I could pressure my doctors to stop all my treatments, at least until my baby is out of the NICU.

Ergo, I am presenting to you my official unboxing of the Medela Pump In Style Advanced, which in my opinion is the best double electric breastpump in the world.

The unboxing

I bought the Medela Pump In Style Advanced from Amazon.com because this model is not available in the Medela House here in the Philippines. There are some who claim that this model has been discontinued, but none of my research backed up this claim. I’m guessing our local Medela House simply sources their supplies from Medela Europe, and not Medela US.

By the way, if you buy a breastpump (or any electronics for that matter) in the US, always make sure that you get an AC adaptor or a transformer so that it would work in the Philippines. For my breastpump, the one I got is the NeneSupply Replacement 9V AC Adapter for 9V Medela Pump-in-Style Breast Pump — which is also conveniently available from Amazon.com.

Here are the photos, for your viewing pleasure:

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Amazon’s Baby Registry sucks. Use Amazon Wish List instead.

Just to be clear: I don’t force my friends to buy me gifts. My ideal baby shower gifts are pre-loved stuff, mainly due to the amount of garbage people usually accumulate as soon as their kids outgrow their things.

However, my family, relatives, and friends have been bugging me what else I need … so …

Now that I got that out of the way …

babyregistry

The baby registry of Amazon.com sucks BIG TIME. Please, avoid it if you can. At least until they’ve fixed it:

  • My items get deleted as soon as the item is not anymore available for sale in Amazon. This is a BIG DEAL BREAKER. I would always see “Item not available” almost every week, and I would have no idea what the hell Amazon.com has deleted.
  • I cannot create custom items. I can only add items which are available for purchase in Amazon.com. This is not the same with Wish Lists. In Wish Lists, I could at least enter items which are not available in Amazon.com so that my friends could at least find alternative sources.

I’ve already deleted by Baby Registry from Amazon and ported it over to Wish Lists. Peace of mind. Finally.

Prinsesa ng mga Kabuntisan

Something weird happened when I became pregnant. I started hating a lot of pregnant women. As in a lot.

Well, not all. But the ones who are so hung up on their pregnancy & symptoms that they need to share & complain about every single damn thing to the entire universe.

I was weird. I was crazy. I started calling them Prinsesa ng mga Kabuntisan (Pregnant Princess).

I mean:

  • Going on and on about their pregnancy cravings in Facebook when they are barely even 3 weeks pregnant. Girl, matakaw ka lang talaga. Ginagamit mo lang ang pagkabuntis mo para lumamon.
  • Complaining about being tired and sleepy all the time. Wag mong gamin ang pagkabuntis mo para maawa sa yo lahat ng tao.
  • Complaining about headaches and fatigue. Utang na loob. Lahat tayo dinadaan yan. Lupus, gusto mo?
  • Taking a month leave from work because, oh, they experienced morning sickness twice in their first month? Seryoso ka?
  • Hashtags for every tweet or FB post about their pregnancy. May social media manager ka, ‘te?
  • Gender Reveal Activities. Asking friends to participate in guessing the gender of their baby, giving prizes, organizing their big gender reveal party. Girl, walang may paki-alam sa gender ng baby mo. Basta tao yan, masaya kami para sa yo.

Of course, later on I realized I was sounding like a bitter and crazy woman, always grumbling about all the pregnant princesses that I even remotely encounter.

I was probably a tad jealous, too, because I felt as if I don’t have the right to celebrate nor complain, with all these other health complications, responsibilities at work, etc.

Right now, I’m already in my third trimester — when all the discomforts of pregnancy are at its highest level. Yes, expect me to complain as loudly as I can. Because I gave everyone six months of silence. It’s my frickin turn.

I will be spoiled. I will refuse to drive. I will demand food.

Royal baby lang po ang peg.

First look at the Zip Top Organizing Utility Tote by Thirty One Gifts

I’ve always been curious about Thirty One Gifts’ Zip Top Organizing Utility Tote. A lot of moms seem to be using it as their diaper bag of choice. I now understand why!

Buy it here:
Thirty One Zip Top Organizing Utility Tote Black Parisian Pop