Silent Night

It's a miracle. Tonight, I'm blessed with a silent night. They all managed to sleep earlier than usual and my dear hubby got to catch on some badly needed zzz, thank God.  Thank you to those who prayed for us and our sanity...especially to my best friend Rachelle who spent time with Leji this evening before doing the last of her Christmas shopping :p At least we all get to rest before the grand Christmas weekend.

The other day, my toddler went for potty hourly and had her last batch of Denille's awesome crinkles and milk at 3am.  She told her dad he's more handsome than Santa and managed to convince him to come eat with her downstairs.  They woke up again at 7 to have Milo Balls; I usually mix it with milk and Chia Seeds to make it healthier.  I failed to make her tandem latch with her brother that morning though; I felt drained.  I told her we can try after lunch after I get to drink more fluids; but she wasn't able to take advantage of this as she slept from 11am-2pm.

Now I'm just happy she managed to sleep at 10:30pm.  

On not so silent nights, we use Baby Banz Hearing Protection Ear Muffs for her baby brother.  We saw it on Prince George at the Royal International Air Tattoo last year and tried to get the kids' version for Leji. But she refused to put it on as she hates head gear.  :/ 

I've read they recently developed a model in Australia with bluetooth connectivity so your baby could listen to his fave lullaby anytime anywhere.  But it costs twice as much and you have to wait for delivery.

We're happy with the one we got from the Parenting Emporium--the basic type designed for babies 0-2+ years old which cancels out loud noise.  It says on the box that it's proven safe by pediatricians only for babies 3months and up but I guess newborns can still use it as long as you support their neck or they lie on their backs.  It's cute, colorful, and functional--it's smaller than my palm and could fit in my evening bag. It has soft adjustable ear pads and band; he seems comfortable wearing it.

Anyway, we tested it in several parties--a wedding, a videoke party, and a kiddie birthday.  Leon managed to have uninterrupted sleep in all three! And he looked adorable in our photos :)

I'm happy we can watch the fireworks this year without worrying about my baby's ears.  We're ready for you, 2018!

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Leji's Holiday Party T-shirt

It's the ultimate party week! Despite suffering from mild dehydration the other day (oh it's so tricky to drink 4L of water in traffic while tandem feeding :/) and an engorged left boob (I cut short my toddler's feeding time the other night because she was too rowdy in bed :/), I begged my hubby to brave the traffic and allow me to attend at least some of my friends' events.

We attended my niece Zyra's Jollibee birthday at the Triangle in the Fort--their famous 1000th store.  It was a Hello Kitty Party so I wanted Leji to wear a pink dress.  But Leji had other ideas and insisted on wearing her fave UP shirt and jeans.  

My cousin Ana gave her a fabulous red dress and tried to convince her to change her clothes--but all in vain. Haaay. We tried.  My daughter won't even allow herself to be bribed into it.  She ate the cake & had icing all over but still wouldn't change her outfit.

After napping & attending a vtr, we decided to window shop in Greenbelt as we bide time for my other get together in the same area.  Again, I tried my luck in convincing my dear daughter to change into a more suitable attire.  But instead, she threw into a desperate crying fit which drove my hubby nuts. 

I was utterly annoyed but I reminded myself that she's just two and she wants to see all her beautiful Titas in a comfortable attire.  I gave in to her request and allowed her not to change her shirt for the day.

As soon as we got out of the car, her mood shifted like magic!  She hugged and kissed her favorite Titas Tintin & Glennifer. Ugh, I knew she was mock crying :/

There were a lot of prizes up for grabs but I knew we couldn't stay long (I wasn't able to pump milk for my newborn :/) so I joined the first 2 games! We managed to bring home consolation prizes. haha.  All in the spirit of fun and camaraderie this Christmas.  

Leji examines our prize with Glennifer

Glam Pinoy Henyo- Loren Burgos guesses it right!

Leji adores Ganiel Krishna

Fun times with the reigning Ms Dog Universe, Shamcey

with Shamcey's proud mom, Kuya Eton!

We had so much fun even if I failed to claim my raffle prize (I heard it's a luxurious lounge chair haha) because Leji tearfully insisted on going back to her baby brother.  Can't wait for Mutya's 50th anniversary party next year; hopefully I could convince Leji to wear a dress by then.

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Of Tandem Feeding and Babyshark Hunting

Whew. Tandem feeding without a yaya at home is quite tasking. I usually doze off while I'm at it except when my toddler engages in shallow latch or in a weird position & the pain makes me jump back to wakefulness. I barely have time to do anything else these days but I see this as an emotional investment for them in the future.

Even a trip to the grocery or a brief meeting is such a production number.  In the car, my toddler usually unfastens her seatbelt and demands for breastmilk when she's in distress. It's quite a problem nowadays; we still haven't discovered the ideal tandem feeding position in the car.  Even the pillows aren't of much help when the road is bumpy or when hubby needs to step on the brakes during traffic.  I sometimes just ignore her wailing when I'm too tired and she won't accept cow's milk or cookies or toys as a substitute for comfort. She developed a high-pitched shrill cry recently (which is really effective in agitating hubby but thankfully not her newborn brother) and pray to the saints that this too shall pass and will not traumatize her in the long run.

I tried to catch my milk with Hakaa and Medela Bra cups in an attempt to make her drink it; but my highly opinionated toddler said it looks gross.  I tried mixing it with cow's milk and even flavored milk but she still wouldn't drink it.  I guess she really craves the comfort she gets from direct latching; I don't think she gets much milk from me these days.

I make her stop latching and give her my phone to watch Babyshark videos when her strong sucking triggers too much milkflow in my other boob.  My newborn often coughs whenever this happens.  To make sure he wouldn't aspirate, I distract her first and focus on raising him up in a position that straightens the esophagus so he could breathe/burp.

But the nice thing about tandem feeding is I feel like I have the power to make them nap/fall asleep together.  I just pop a malunggay supplement (Natalac for now) with two glasses of water and voila! I am Supermom! Get ready for the milk waterfall! Lol.

I don't mind washing extra shirts these days as I have to change my shirt each time milk overflows when the timing for tandem feeding isn't right. Most of the time, the baby latches first before the toddler.  Also, he often drools all over & even multiple burpcloths aren't effective in keeping me clean.  I have no choice but throw everything in the laundry basket so as not to aggravate his baby acne.  Thank God He was able to inspire man to invent the automatic washing machine.  Thank you, Lord!!!

Anyway, you've probably read enough ranting.  Haha..the babies would soon rouse; I turned off all the lights to prolong their nap.  It is such a luxury to get to write these days.

Some people asked how we celebrated my birthday last month while I was heavily pregnant.  Hence my late post :)

We went babyshark hunting at Manila Ocean Park!  But I didn't avail of the birthday discount because I can't go on a longer tour with three full paying adults.  We just availed of promo tickets for Manila residents.  They don't offer student/toddler/senior citizen discounts on top of that though.

This was my toddler's second time to explore the park.  Last year, she was fascinated with the jellies display.  This time around, she got to enjoy the creepy crawlies (she loves the Itsy Bitsy Spider haha. LSS)...

the fish...(she even attempted to touch several in the magic aquarium!)

and the penguins!!! (she loves the Badanamu Pengie Dance haha)

She also chased eagles at the sanctuary.  It was quite exhilirating; I didn't know they have this in the park.  All the while we thought it was just a souvenir shop on the side of the entrance.

We'll definitely come back next time with her baby brother :)  But first, we have to catch the Babyshark Mall Tour one of these days.

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An Afternoon at Santa's Workshop

It has been a while since my last post.  I spent the last remaining weeks before giving birth doing  a series of mini field trips with our eldest. I thank God, my husband, our parents and our relatives (some even from abroad!) who made our extended babymoon extra memorable for her.  I printed out colorful photobooks so she'll forever remember this stage in our lives, just in time for her baby brother's arrival.

These days, I spend much of my time entertaining my eldest while recovering from childbirth.  Special thanks to my mother-in-law who holds fun slumber parties with my daughter in her room every now and then just to make her feel a tad more special.  

It's a bit challenging to have alone time with my daughter these days as the new baby feeds on demand.  So this weekend I urged my dear hubby to bring out the newborn stroller and stay for a while in a quiet restaurant nearby with the baby as my toddler and I enjoyed a couple of hours at Santa's Workshop at Ogalala in Shangrila Mall.  

Leji is actually scared of Santa with his heavy belly and bushy white beard. I'm actually grateful Santa just stayed in the lobby outside for photo ops while listening to children whisper their Christmas wishes. My daughter excused herself from the line of hopefuls saying out loud: "Ayoko (kay) Santa. Mas pogi Daddy kay Santa." 

She had more fun at the workshop itself, mingling with older kids at the table.

Twinning with my toddler: Matchy matchy Elle bow bands!

She felt so proud of herself when one of the moms said that the shoes she designed with paint and colored pens were lovely.  She got quite excited and dipped her fingers in different colors then smudged off the hearts on the right shoe :/ "Rainbow paint, Mommy!!!" she squealed with glee.

The brilliant purple and pink turned into murky khaki but my daughter seemed to like the effect of what she did, showing off her work to all the photographers (and even to the waiters after the event!).  At least the artist was able to express herself, right? :p

She got to experiment with different coloring materials, creating various effects on her shoes!

My little artist at work

I didn't mind that she smeared some of the paint on her clothes and the table as everything from Crayola is safe and washable.  They have coloring materials created for every age range.  She colored away without distractions.

She couldn't get enough of coloring so we decided to try mess-free colored pens with special paper at home. I was thinking of getting more for travelling as these pens don't damage/ accidentally mark other surfaces (Eg. tables, floors, bed sheets). We'll come back next time to get more colors and hopefully get to participate in more workshops after the holidays.

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