The Bottle Battle

I've been reading up on BPA free baby bottles for a few months now but I'm still very confused about which ones to get for our baby girl. My two boys used Avent and since they are both still drinking from the bottle, I want our new baby to use a different brand to avoid confusion. Not to mention, the occasional leakiness of the Avent BPA free bottles really does bother me! 

I have narrowed down my choices to two brands: Tommee Tippee and Born Free. Since I plan to breastfeed just like I did with my two boys, it's important that the nipples will provide a smooth transition from breast to bottle once I decide to stop nursing. 

Tommee Tippee 

• BPA & Phthalate free.
• Mimics natural feel flex & movement of breastfeeding.
• Natural shaped nipple for easy latch-on and less nipple confusion, allowing for easy transition between breast bottle
• Anti-colic, anti-gas easi-vent helps prevent air ingestion, which can lead to gas, colic and fussiness
• Easy to hold bottle for maximum comfort

Born Free

• Made from Bisphenol-A free plastic
• Revolutionary venting system helps reduce colic symptoms and middle ear infections
• a new, innovative air vent that helps eliminate colic symptoms.
• Soft stage-one nipple prevents hard suckling

Both bottles  come very highly recommended by mothers and numerous reviews, which is why I'm very confused! My only issue with born free bottles is that it comes with more parts than the usual baby bottles because of it's air vent system, which means more parts to wash and assemble for mommy.

I think I may be leaning towards Tommee Tippee because it came up with such a cutesy bottle design for baby girls. :)

Appointment With A New Obstetrician

Earlier, I had my first appointment with an ob-gyn here. ---> This was supposed to be posted a week ago

So last week, I finally met my new OB who will hopefully be able to get to the hospital in time for my delivery come October. Her name is Dr. So Mui Wong and she is very nice, although my favorite OB will always be Dr. May Gonzales in Zamboanga. :)

Lookie what was inside my welcome pack. 

So after we did some research, my aunts and I decided that I should deliver in JFK Medical Center since its the closest hospital to Carteret. Its also a good thing that Dr. Wong is affiliated with JFK. 

My succeeding appointments are all lined up. 

So how was the check up? Well, first I had to make sure again that its really a girl in there because I've been having constant dreams that my baby will come out a boy. I also found out that I'm slightly anemic and I already gained >32 lbs. I have virtually no exercise so I think I will seriously need a change in my lifestyle. I've been so lazy lately that the only time I get up from bed is when I have to shower, pee and eat. Ugh. 

I so miss my boys and the workout they give me by running after taking care of them. I really can't wait until October!

I ℒℴѵℯ Chuck! ♥

I've been a huge fan and follower of the series Chuck from the very beginning. I absolutely love Zachary Levi's character Chuck Bartowski, who's just so adorable and sweet! I love how the show is fun, light and entertaining. I can't wait for its fourth season this coming fall. :)

Anyway, I know this video is a little old since it was released in early May but I still can't help but be amazed until now that Zachary Levi can sing! I think love him now more than ever! 

Sharing An Inspiring Blog

I think I came across this blog sometime in January but I wasn't actively blogging at that time. I just want to share it now because I've found it so inspiring. :)

I admire the author/blogger's outlook in life and how she is embracing everything that has been coming her way. I love looking at her pictures, especially the ones of her daughters and I like how she pays attention to the little details. 

Read about the birth story of her daughter Nella Cordella which both touched and inspired me. I think I cried buckets over that one. 

7.12.10

Yesterday, my cousins and I ordered two large pizzas and an ice cream cake because it was Art's and my wedding anniversary day. Sigh. We didn't get to spend our first two anniversaries together, and I'm not very hopeful about next year either. Hopefully, by our 4th anniversary we would all finally be together as a family. 

I actually envy my married friends who get to have dinner dates or movie dates with their husbands/wives on a regular basis, because for us that's a rarity! I also wish that even just on some weekends we could take the kids to the park to play just like any other normal family.  I don't want to whine here. I just wish that for this year's holiday we can all be together as a family. So this year, that's my one and only Christmas wish--no out of the country assignments for the holiday! 

I miss my baby boys--Kaden and Carlos Chace. I can't wait until October so Art can join me here and so we can finally meet the latest addition to our not-so-little family. :)

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary To Us!

When we came home from Six Flags and the outlets last Thursday, we were surprised to see what greeted us in the doorstep. 

How sweet! :) Art ordered flowers online and had them delivered. The flowers came with its own vase, flower food and instructions. 

I love receiving flowers, but I don't know a thing about handling them. So this is my first time to cut stems and all that jazz.

The flowers started to bloom on its second day, but according to my mom I should have cut the stems diagonally for longer life. I didn't know that! But of course now I do. 

The next day, lookie what the mailman brought us. Shari's Berries! :)

Very sinful. Amazing how they taste as good as they look. Thanks sweetie! :)

So two years ago, I made one of the best decisions I will ever make in my lifetime and married the one person I cannot imagine living without. Everyday since then, I always go to sleep thanking God for giving me my husband. 

They said no marriage is perfect, which is why sometimes it scares me when I feel like everything is perfect is our lives. Of course "perfect" is subjective, and for me there's really nothing more I could ask for.  Once I even asked one of my friends if she thinks there's something in exchange for all the happiness I'm feeling now.

For now, I'm just so thankful that we're so blessed and I love our growing family so much. I mean, yes we have to deal with the distance. That actually is the biggest challenge we have in our marriage, we struggle every single day we are apart but we do everything we can to make it work. I constantly worry about Art's safety since he travels a lot and the places he gets assigned to are making me nothing short of paranoid. But there isn't a day that goes by that we don't chat or talk--thank goodness for cellphones, internet and webcam! :) 

We are trying our very best though to fix that matter because the kids are growing up fast and it's just so hard for them to always see their daddy leave. There's nothing definite yet for now but I'm crossing my fingers and praying that if it is in His will then God will grant us our desires, in His time. 

In our two years of being married an issue would come up every now and then, but its nothing that directly involves any one of us. Like I said, relationshipwise, there is really nothing more I could ask for.  Art is really everything I wanted and so much more! So if we just focus on each other and ignore the occasional nuisance, we should be just fine. I mean, what's life without a contrabida, anyway right. ;)

I love looking back at our wedding day. I wish I could be a young bride more than once, but of course be married to one and the same person!

Our wedding day was indeed one of the happiest days of my life. Now that we're married, I find myself having one happy day after another, and having visions of a lot more happy days ahead for us! :) 

I love you, sweetie! Happy 2nd Anniversary to us!

I blogged about my first batch of baby girl shopping here and the second one here, so now here is the third batch. 

I

I noticed that these days when we go to malls or outlet stores, the first thing I look for is Carters, then The Children's Place, then Oshkosh B'Gosh, then Gap, then Old Navy, then Gymboree. Nakakaaddict to buy baby girl stuff. All the cutesy, frilly, pink clothes are real eye candies!

I realized that the baby won't need so much clothes since we're mostly going to stay home anyway, so I should be careful not to go overboard with the buying. I then sorted the clothes and put them in different bags depending on the sizes --from newborn to 0 to 3, then 3 to 6 and then 6 to 9 months. After that I made a list of the necessities that I lack to make sure that we'll have everything we need. Aside from sleeping clothes, I need to get more bibs, burp cloths, and receiving blankets. 

So there. Right now I'm still researching which BPA free baby bottle we should get, because I don't plan to buy Avent this time around. My two boys are still drinking from the bottle (which reminds me that we should wean Kaden from it soon!), and I just don't want to confuse the baby girl's bottles with her kuyas'. 

A Day In Hurricane Harbor

Last week's weather was scorching hot! So last Thursday, we headed over to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor to go swimming. 

The place really made me miss my two boys because I'm sure they would have enjoyed themselves so much if they were here. 

Since this is my last, ehem, pregnancy. I thought I should have a little remembrance of pregnant me in a bikini. I even applied tanning oil so I could get a tan! I so miss going to the beach eh. :( I wonder when I can go on a beach vacation?

We had fun that day. 

When we got home that night I immediately checked if I got a tan line. LOL. I got a very very light one, you will have to look closer to see it but it's there. 

It made me happy though! I think the last time I had a tan line was four years ago. Imagine that!

Baby Girl Shopping

What can I say? it's just much more fun to shop for a baby girl than it is for baby boys. I was able to buy a few more cute little outfits for our lil' sweet pea, and I tried my very best not to stick to just pinks and purples this time. I shared the first batch of baby clothes I bought here, and now this is the next batch! :) 

Its not much yet but I'm slowly building up our little girl's wardrobe! I found that I haven't bought much for myself since I arrived because I've been prioritizing our baby girl's closet over mine. I haven't even gotten much for our little boys either. I've just been so obsessed with the girly wardrobe that I'm almost forgetting the newborn baby will need more than just clothes!! Oh my. I know I gotta start focusing on the other necessities now, even if I have until October to get them ready. Better safe than sorry right. :) 

4th of July In Atlantic City

Thanks to my Auntie Is and family for taking me with them!

We did some outlet shopping. :)

My cousins did some swimming. I was planning to go swimming too... until I saw how crowded the pool was. 

Walked around the hotel a bit, but it was crowded there too. 

We watched the 30-minute fireworks display from the room. I have no pictures of it because I haven't quite figured out how to take the photos without the light bouncing off from the glass window.

And the pregnant lady camwhores a little bit. 

It was a fun 4th of July for us. :)

I Found A Baby Bag!

I wasn't really searching for a baby bag just yet, but yesterday I found one by pure luck accident! :)

It was a very difficult choice amongst these three:

I really like the first one because the color was neutral and it can be unisex. Meaning, Art won't have any problem carrying it around himself. The second one appealed to me because it didn't look much like a diaper bag, rather it looks like a large women's tote! However, after having two boys, I really have this newfound obsession for pinks and purples. So I picked the one the screamed baby girl! 

I got this Coach Daisy Floral Diaper Bag which measures approximately 15 x 11.5 x 5. I like that it has a coated fabric so it won't stain very easily and it has a lot of compartments for all the baby stuff I need to bring. 

It's got two large interior zippered pockets, five interior multi-function slip pockets, a full length front pocket with magnetic snap closure, two front zippered pockets, and two slip pockets on each side. The detachable 44" canvas shoulder strap should come in handy when I want to use it as a body bag, or hang it in the stroller. It also comes with a Nylon changing pad. 

When I was pregnant with my first baby, I wanted a diaper bag that didn't look like one. So I got one from Old Navy, it was black and it didn't come with shoulder straps. Now I know how important shoulder straps are for baby bags because mommies always have their hands full. 

When our baby gets older and she won't need a diaper bag anymore, the bag can still be used as an overnight bag or a hand-carry bag. :)

Happy 4th of July!

In a few hours we're driving up to Atlantic City to spend 4th of July there. We're sleeping over at Borgota, and I'm pretty excited to go to the outlet stores close by. Not that I'm buying anything in particular, I just want to check out the sale items! 

Gonna watch the fireworks display from there! I miss my baby boys so much. :( I'm sure they would  have been amazed at the fireworks.  

Weddings I've Missed! :(

Because things never really go as planned, I missed out on the weddings of two of my closest friends. It makes me so sad because both weddings were so beautiful, and both brides were absolutely glowing with happiness and love! 

Aaron & Angela

 March13, 2010

Gown: Frederick Peralta

Photos: Lito Sy

Ryan & Lingling

June 30, 2010

Gown: Donald Green Lim
Photos: Joe-Art Production

Not to forget their prenup photos. Actually, this is one thing I love about the wedding preps! 

Aaron & Gela's, by Mango Red and Lito Sy

Ryan & Ling's, by Joe Art. 

Such lovely pictures and gorgeous couples! Right now I'm getting sad again because I'm going to miss another close friend's wedding this coming October 10. I was supposed to be the matron-of-honor in Abner & Ema's Laguna wedding, but I'm due that month! Good thing, Ema has been very supportive about my pregnancy and she didn't give me a hard time about it at all. To make up for it, I'm trying to help her the best I can (which isn't much, really) through chatting and file sharing.

I love weddings! I love experiencing the kilig and touching moments of the day, looking at the groom's face when he sees his bride walk down the aisle, among many others! These among many others are the reasons why I hate being absent from weddings of people I love. I hope next year I won't be missing too much since I have lots of friends lined up to get married next year. 

Chanel Private Sale!

One of the perks of Jenny's job is getting invitations to private sales and discounts to some [designer] shops in Dubai. This year chanel held their private sale at a very timely date! Two days before Mother's Day! *ehem!* 

So we were up early, but still we were not one of the firsts when we arrived. We tried to put a few bags on reserve but it got "lost" during the sale. Too bad. Since Jenny is the one connected, she was the only one who was able to get in. (I was devastated) The kids and I, along with Ate Michi (Jen's SIL) waited outside and hurriedly answered every phone call Jen made asking us  if we wanted a particular thing or not. 

The loot. 

Check out the Chanel flats! Aren't they pretty? Ate Michi got this one because when I talked to Jen, I thought she meant chanel slippers instead of flats! So I said, pass and I almost fell off my chair when I saw it. After the private sale we went to a Chanel shop and saw the exact same style for 4x the price but in another color! Next private sale I'm definitely going to get one of these.

I hope the next private sale will fall on a date close to an occasion. :)