Cool Timer

I saw this super cool contraption from one of my good friends while we were both pregnant, she with her first baby, me with my second. I think it’s one of the coolest gadgets any mom could have.

The ITZBEEN is a timer that records your baby’s last diaper change, feeding or nap, and reminds you of your next one. It has a 4th button for anything else you may need a reminder or a timer for.

Its name couldn’t have fit it any better, because it will tell you that “it’s been x hours y minutes since your last ___.” It’s a great thing to have, considering how many other things I have to think about and remember. Too bad I didn’t get to think about this first. This I highly recommend.

4 Months Later

It’s been a good 4 months since my last post on the blog that I vowed to update every week – or at least try to update every week. I did try, but I was obviously unsuccessful. There were a couple entries that were on draft for a while, though, but they never made it to this blog – until today. Besides these entries from the past, here are a few updates on my mommy life and to now 9-month-old boy, Milo:

Baby Signing
We started signing with him at 6 months, and have awaited the day he signs back to us. So far, no such luck yet, except for a couple times when we thought he signed milk – which he actually did. Nothing consistent yet, but we’re getting there slowly. And we’re super excited!

Potty Training
As soon as he started to sit up on his own, my mom told me to sit him on a potty first thing in the morning and make the “sssshhh” sound to help him associate peeing on the potty. I had no idea this was called “elimination communication” but we did it anyway, and so far it’s working. He pees – and POOPS – on the potty! So when he learns to sign, he can start communicating to us his need to answer nature’s calls. At this point, we haven’t changed a single poopy diaper in months.

Crawling, cruising
He learned to crawl, pull up to stand and eventually cruise along our bed and his crib at 7 ½ months. He’s now climbing the stairs, too. His mobility has caused me to already run after him esp. when he gets a head-start to our flat-screen TV, the fireplace and my slippers. I can imagine having to really run after him even without a head-start pretty soon.

Teething and Feeding
He now has 2 lower teeth, 1 upper semi-tooth and another upper tooth emerging. And I’m still nursing him – I plan to nurse until I have milk, despite the occasional biting. Hopefully it stays that way, because his teeth are sharp and I don’t know if I can handle any more than biting every now and then. If he decides to keep biting, we’ll have to wean him and start buying the expensive soy-based formula, because we learned the hard way that he’s allergic to milk protein (see next bullet). That means no cheese, yogurt, butter or any other form of dairy, including eggs, until he’s a year old.

Trip to the ER
Yep, he’s been to the emergency room. We had a post-Thanksgiving dinner with some relatives, and one of his well-meaning aunties fed him a sliver of cheesecake. A few minutes later, his eyes and face were red and swollen. We rushed him to a nearby ER for fear of his throat closing up. He’s never had that kind of reaction before, because he’s never been fed anything other than fruits, vegetables and rice cereal, per his pedia’s instructions. And he’s never gonna be fed anything without them running it by me or his dad. And Benadryl is now his best friend.

2 nights out
Since Milo was born, I’ve only been out two nights – for friends’ weddings, while my husband stayed home to watch our baby. Though I loved the chance to take a break and feel like a woman – not just a mom – again, I realized that 90% of the time, I was either talking about or thinking about my baby.

Grandma and Grandpa Babysit
My in-laws have been visiting and staying with us from another country for almost 3 months as of this writing. Though they’re leaving in less than 2 weeks, it’s not like there will be a lot of changes when it comes to babysitting. They’re not exactly hands-on grandparents, esp. with a baby this young. They’re not comfortable playing with the baby on the floor, so Milo gets held and rocked when he’s with them, which means he gets bored from no mobility and no exercise. And they panic when he cries. I do give them A for thought and effort - that's what counts anyway.

Unfortunately, my initial plan to have at least ONE date night or movie in the theater with my husband has never come to fruition. I wonder how much longer we have to wait for that to happen.

Taking Care of Me - Epilogue

I have a #10! Get a nice haircut.

A simple trim can do wonders to give you a new look, and you don't need to go rushing to get the usual new-mom haircut (that short cut that I can't describe, but I'm sure you're familiar with).

Being a busy mom myself, I now do understand why most moms wear that hairstyle: because we hardly have any time to style our hair everyday, and not fixing it is the easiest way to wear it.

However, there are now so many new cuts that are just as stylish as high-maintenance do's. Ask your hair dresser for a low-maintenance, wash-and-wear look and you'll be surprised at how many options you have to make you look like one hot momma.

As for me, I'm never getting the new-mom haircut. Not that I have anything against it - I just know it scores 0 points in flattering my look. I still need to find that perfect low-maintenance style for me, though. Hopefully I find it pretty soon.

Taking Care of Me

When I was still pregnant, I talked with one of my co-workers who just had a baby about “Me Time.” I do remember telling her that the best way you can take care of a baby is by taking care of yourself first. After all, a happy woman does make a happy baby (and marriage, and family).

I should be taking my own advice now, but I should have known it is so much easier said than done.

I guess as moms and wives, we instinctively attend to everything else and put ourselves last on the list. That’s why it takes more effort to take time and make it a point to take care of ourselves FIRST. But there are simple everyday things we can do to make ourselves feel like we’re attending to our own needs, too.

1. Shower everyday. Making sure you keep your good hygiene habits is a good start. Feeling clean, with nice shampooed hair and fresh underwear does help you to feel good.


2. Brush your teeth (this goes with #1). Don’t laugh – some new moms are too tired to brush and floss, which I think is a big mistake. Don’t neglect your dental health. Besides, would you want your baby to associate you with bad breath and decayed teeth?


3. Clip your nails. You don’t have to be all perfectly manicured, but at least take 5 minutes during the day every week to have nice, trimmed, baby-friendly nails.


4. Pluck your eyebrows. Groomed eyebrows open up your eyes and make you look fresh and wide awake, even if you hardly had any sleep.


5. Wear makeup. Who has time to put on makeup, you ask. You barely have time to comb your hair, much less wear makeup, right? Well, I’m not talking about adding full-on makeup to your daily routine, but feeling pretty with makeup once in a while can boost your energy and self esteem. The next time you go on your errands, like simply grocery shopping, wear the quick no-make-up make-up look which takes only 5 minutes: curled lashes, mascara, some blush and a nice shade of lipstick.


6. Wear clothes that fit. Don’t force yourself to fit into your pre-pregnancy clothes that most probably fit weirdly on you. With your new body, it’s easy to feel un-pretty and un-sexy because none of your old clothes fit anymore. But that is PERFECTLY normal (this I tell myself everyday). Our bodies did take almost a year to stretch, why are we trying to shrink it back in a few months (unless you’re Heidi Klum or Christina Aguilera who need to look good for a living)? Buy nice outfits that fit while you’re in transition to shrinking back to your old size.


7. Get yourself a new pair of jeans. See #6. New shoes and earrings are nice, too. I had to give up wearing my necklaces because my baby rubs his face on my chest a lot, so wearing a necklace is not a good idea. Neither is wearing dangling earrings – he grabs it sometimes. So go get some lovely stud earrings or rings if you’re into accessories.


8. Do ONE thing you like doing at least ONCE a week (if once a day is too much to ask), even if it takes a couple hours. In other words, take a break. Whether it’s by reading a magazine, baking, watching TV, or even sleeping, finding time for something you LIKE to do because you like doing it, not because you have to do it. For me, it’s writing – since I don’t work anymore, and because I was used to doing this 8 hours a day for the last 8 years of my working life. Hence, this blog.


9. Give in to one guilty pleasure. Do you love cookies? Chips? Ice cream? Chocolate? Junk food is fine every once in a while and in moderation. If you like chocolate, try to go dark instead – it’s better for you with all its monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. Then you won’t have to feel guilty!


10. YOUR IDEA HERE. Sorry, I ran out already. But I thought this list needed a #10. So whatever your idea of “me time” is, let’s include it here.

I have to admit, I don’t follow all of these faithfully, but I do try. As I said, it does take effort to not feel guilty about loving myself first. But see, this blog is proof – I’m loving me!

Baby Hygiene List

In our newborn baby care class, we learned about changing baby’s diapers and giving baby a sponge bath, as far as cleaning up baby was concerned. Unfortunately, they never mentioned the other tasks involving baby’s hygiene that really took up my entire morning on a daily basis.

Cleaning the cord
It wasn’t complicated, just scary. We had to clean the surrounding area of the cord with cotton and alcohol or the alcohol wipes they gave us at the hospital three times a day until it fell off.

Bathing baby
I was told that daily bathing might dry up his skin faster, so we bathed him every other day instead. However, bathing baby took more effort and time than my own 10-minute shower, counting in how long it took to set up baby’s bathing area (part of our poor dining table) and prepare everything we will need before the actual sponge bathing.

Clipping and filing baby nails
It’s unbelievable how long they already were the day he was born! Unfortunately, they didn’t clip his nails at the hospital because it was considered “surgery” – which I thought was absurd, until I tried to clip his nails myself. It can actually be considered “surgery” with what it took to finish the procedure – a good pair of eyes, very steady hands and lots of neck endurance!

This little task seemed daunting to a new mom like me, because he had the tiniest little nails I’ve ever seen and I was so afraid I’d hurt his little fingers. But it had to be done, because tiny as they were, his nails were so sharp and he scratched himself to no end (he still does up to now). So I worked up the courage to clip his nails with those rounded scissors one day (with my mom’s support and supervision) and finally got comfortable enough to do it daily.

Digging in between fingers and toes
Who would’ve thought a baby can collect all that dirt in between his clenched fist and toes?! I certainly didn’t, but I guess because he wears mittens and socks, the fibers get stuck in between his fingers and toes, along with dead skin and sweat. No wonder his hands just started smelling like feet – eek! This called for a daily sweeping of the crevices of his hands and feet with a wet cotton swab.

Nose clean up
It never occurred to me that I’d have to decongest my baby every waking morning until the day I heard him snort - a few days after he was born. Apparently, his tiny nasal passages can collect a lot of mucous that are hard for him to sneeze out himself. So I found myself mastering what hubby and I called OBE: Operation Boogie Extraction. Armed with a trusty bulb syringe from the hospital, saline drops and some good daylight (and tissue), I suctioned my baby’s snotty little nose every single morning before I went downstairs for breakfast. How appetizing, huh?

These all eventually changed just as fast as my baby grew. But as I take a few things off my daily baby to-do list, I add a couple more.

Life with a baby is exciting indeed – nothing is ever the same, and you’ll never know what this little individual will bring to your life every single day. Except for one thing – lots of joy, especially when he is all clean and happy, because I am all happy.

As for me being all clean, umm… that’s a whole other story.

First 2 Weeks: What You Really Need

Two months before my due date, I decided to start building our baby registry. I was already in panic mode by then, because in the event we had the baby earlier than planned, we had nothing but a crib with a mattress and a changing table.

Adding stuff to the registry was overwhelming, even if I had a couple checklists pulled from the Internet to guide me. It’s crazy how a little tiny person can need so many things! After about a week of headaches trying to figure out what I thought we needed, I finally completed the registry and after a couple baby showers, we were all set. Or so I thought.

Now, two months after having our baby, I realize that most of what we had were good to have after baby is a few months old, and had it not been for my dear co-worker’s “Basket of Love,” we wouldn’t have had what we needed for baby’s first two weeks.

So I made a checklist of what I consider the absolute necessities:

Baby’s Clothes and Nursery:

• Side-snap shirts. The long-sleeved ones are particularly helpful because the cuffs fold out to serve as baby’s mittens, so it buys you a little more time before cutting those teeny-weeny nails. They’re sold by Gerber as preemie wear, although it can probably fit a 7-lb baby.
• Clothes in NEWBORN size. I’m putting this here, too, in case I’m not the only stupid new mom who didn’t know that size 0-3 months wasn’t the smallest size in baby clothes.
• A dozen burp cloths or cloth diapers (to serve as burp cloths) MINIMUM, unless you want to do laundry everyday.
• About 4-5 receiving blankets. I like the stretchy ones (Gerber thermal) and the big ones for swaddling baby. The regular blankets couldn’t hold up to our swaddling escape artist.
• About 6 pairs of socks to keep baby’s feet warm.
• A hat for baby’s trip to his 4-day checkup, especially if it’s chilly in your area.
• About 6 pairs of mittens. Babies’ little nails are surprisingly very sharp. Mittens do a good job of protecting them from scratching their delicate faces.

Toiletries:

• A couple packs of size 0 or N diapers. We’re lucky, the hospital gave us a few packs. Otherwise, we would’ve had to run to the store before going home from the hospital.
• Soft paper towels cut up into baby-wipes size, or sensitive baby wipes
• Cotton balls for baby’s face and diaper area if you don’t want to use paper towels or baby wipes
• Diaper cream to prevent diaper rash
• Petroleum jelly for baby boys, if baby has been circumcised. This prevents the diaper from sticking to him.
• Cotton swabs to clean between baby’s fingers and toes
• Alcohol for baby’s stump
• Baby wash. However, I switched to Dove Sensitive because my baby developed eczema when he was about 2 weeks old. Apparently, my baby needed more moisturizing.
• A dozen wash cloths. This can also serve as a little towel to wipe baby’s butt dry after a nice wash in running warm water.
• A few hooded towels
• Some small bowls/containers to hold his warm water for sponge baths
• Speaking of baths, until baby’s stump has fallen off (when he is 1-2 weeks old), a sponge bath is all he will really need. So that infant tub you now have? Find a place to keep it until baby is stump-free.

• Baby nail clippers/rounded scissors. I got mine from a set of Safety 1st grooming items. You’re gonna have to attempt to clip his nails sooner than later. Mittens can only do so much.
• Bulb syringe. You’d be surprised how much gunk baby can produce in that tiny nose. Speaking of gunk…
• Baby saline nasal spray to help moisturize nasal passages and clear congestion. This is very helpful when you start hearing baby snorting.

For Mommy:

• A post-partum band or underwear. It helps tuck in the “mommy fluff.” I have yet to get the tummy-control underwear, but the post-partum band is available in most baby stores.

And if you plan to breastfeed:

• An electric pump. I had no idea I would need to use it on day 4 and my husband had to run to the store to get me the Medela Swing before I died of engorgement.
• Breast milk containers
• Nursing bras and breast pads. This comforts and helps protect sore nipples, aside from absorbing leaks.
• A digital clock to time baby’s feedings per breast during the first 2 weeks.

Last but not the least: a little planning and organization, to help you remember where you put all of these. With the mom-nesia you might have after birth, believe me, you'll be needing this.