Amber's Daddy Is Here!!! :)

Earlier, Amber was waiting so patiently....

Until her daddy arrived! Yay! :) 

One Week Old Baby Girl!

Yesterday, our little Amber Felise turned one week old! The first week with her just flew by like a breeze. 

My Aunt Is suggested that I take daily photos of our little girl until she turns a week old and then take weekly photos until she turns a month old. I usually take photos of the kids but not regularly, only on days when I feel like picking up my heavy camera. I thought her idea was a good one so I took Amber's daily photos for her first week! 

Day 1. 

Day 2.

 Day 3.

Day 4.

Day 5. 

 Day 6. 

 One Week Old.

She was born chinita looking but her eyes are getting bigger everyday.  Art said you could see the changes in her face from day one to now.  He keeps asking if I took new photos of his little girl and requesting if he could see her on webcam. Looks like someone's smitten! Good thing he's arriving in two days and he can finally hold little Amber in his arms. 

Amber's first name was actually her daddy's choice. I had other names in mind but he didn't quite like them, so I guess we'll save them for Amber's little sister... five years down the road! Lol. Her second name, Felise, is a combination of my mom's name Marifel and my aunt Meliza. :) 

I can't wait to be home in November so my two boys can finally meet their little sister! I cant believe our baby Carlos Chace is now a kuya at 18 months! I'm also so excited to see my boys, it's been four months since I last saw them and by the time Art and I will be in Zamboanga, it will already be five months! 

I'm absolutely in love with our little Amber girl! I could stare at her all day and not get tired. Watching her sleep is so precious! and her fresh baby scent is just so heavenly! Right now, I'm just savoring and enjoying my every moment with Amber because by next month my time and attention will once again be divided. 

Nonetheless, there are lots of things to look forward to. For now,  I'm just very excited about Art's arrival this thursday! 

She's Here!

I woke up Monday morning (October 11) at 9:30 because of contractions that were a bit stronger than my usual Braxton Hicks. Just as any other pregnant woman would do upon waking up, I went straight to the bathroom to pee. I found that I had bloody show and I took this as a sign that my labor was starting. 

I called my doctor to inform her, and the clinic advised me to go ahead to the hospital so they can check me. So I went over to my Aunt's room to inform her that I think I'm having the baby that day. Good thing it was Columbus Day, so all my 3 cousins were home from school. My Aunt took a holiday from work so she could be with me during labor. My Grandma drove all of us as fast as she could to JFK Medical Center and it was around 10:30 am when we arrived. 

By the time I was admitted, I was 4 cm dilated. Since my doctor was just next door delivering another baby, she came over to check on me and told me she was just going to wait in the hospital until I was ready. I think she didn't have all day though, which is why she decided to infuse Pitocin to my IVF to hasten my labor. 

My third delivery story isn't as colorful as my second one, but out of my three deliveries, this for some reason is the most painful of all. I blame it on the Pitocin, so I requested for pain medication to be infused to my Ivf, I chose that over getting an epidural. 

THe medicine made me really groggy but I was able to tell my Aunt to call the doctor when I felt that I was ready to push. I only pushed for a few minutes, and by 2:06 pm, Amber Felise Eustaquio was born. She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 inches long. 

I was still pretty groggy the first time they handed her to me, so I couldn't really remember how she looked like and all. After the effects of the pain medications wore off, they brought her back to the room all clean and fresh. 

She was beautiful. 

I took it all in. The fresh baby smell that I love so much, the beautiful sight before me, the indescribable yet wonderful feeling of bringing new life into the world. 

Giving birth can be very painful, yes. But it is also exhilarating and fulfilling, among many others, all at once. 

All the shots during my labor and delivery was taken by my 15 year old cousin, Lianne. She did a wonderful job at capturing the moments, even Art was impressed. :) 

Only two people were allowed to be with me during my labor. So it was my Auntie Is, who held my hand when I pushed and my cousin Lianne, who took pictures. 

My Grandma and my cousin Lucy went home around lunch time, thinking that my delivery was not yet imminent. They just went back to meet the baby after I delivered. My other cousin Lauren, stayed in the waiting area the whole time. 

The rooms at JFK were nice and spacious. Lots of freebies too! 

They gave us a sweet little token from the hospital. I think it's cute. :) 

We were allowed to go home on Amber's second day. She was quite a sight in pink & red! 

I didn't pick her outfit to match her car seat because I packed for the hospital weeks before we got the car seat.  It was a pleasant surprise though that it did! She looked so cute! :) 

We went home to the Ona Residence and Amber even got a visit from my Auntie Reby and Auntie Ruby who brought her pretty gifts! 

Daddy couldn't be with us for Amber's birth day but he's going to be here in 5 days! We're very excited to see him. :) 

Congratulations Are In Order!

Last month, my college roommate Leanne got engaged! Her fiancé proposed to her at the Golden Gate Bridge during their San Fo vacation at sunset. How romantic is that?!?

She was caught by surprise so her reaction is priceless! I love the tears! I couldn't help but go "Awww" and get teary-eyed myself when she emailed me the pics. :) Not to mention, her almost colorless ring is simply gorgeous!! 

Congratulations Neville & Leanne! I really really really hope I can make it to your wedding next year. In the mean time, I'm glad to be of any help (via ym only) in the planning. I'm sad enough about missing Emma's wedding.

Ah, Emma & Abs! Today (10-10-10) is their wedding day! I'm soooo happy and excited for them! :) I'm a sucker for weddings so missing a very close friend's wedding is beyond agonizing for me. 

These pretty prenup shots were taken by Jayjay Lucas and styled by Feliz Diestro. Fundacion Pacita in Batanes looks so picturesque! I'd love to go there with Art one day soon. :)

I'm supposed to be in Laguna today as her Matron-of-Honor and Kaden was supposed to be their ring bearer, but I had to back out when I found out I was pregnant. Emma took it pretty well, so I've been trying my best to give all the moral support I can give through ym and emailing. Lol. :) She pretty much kept me up to speed with every detail of their wedding and I almost feel like I'm there, too. But I'm not! :( So I'm just going to wait for their AVP and official pictures to be posted.

Congratulations to both my Residencia roommies, Emma & Leanne! :) Here's to a lifetime of happiness! 

Lots of love,

Happy Birthday To My One & Only Brother! :)

Time really does fly! I still remember being 7 when my little brother was born and I stopped being the only child. :) This was taken on his first birthday, he was such a cutiepie baby!

Now he's 20 years old! This picture was taken two years ago. Pretty soon, it'll be his turn to settle down... or NOT! Lol. My mom will cry! 

Anyway, happy birthday twerp! I hope a year older means a year wiser. Wish you nothing but the very best. You know I love you! :)

Xoxo.

All Set, But Still No Baby...

Just when I think I can't get any more pregnant, I STILL AM! I'm almost full-term and I still haven't given birth yet! :'( With my two boys, I was about a week to 10 days early in going into labor, so I'm kind of disappointed that our baby girl still doesn't feel like making her grand entrance.


We're already so prepared for her arrival. Online shopping at BabiesRus is such a huge disappointment! After three attempts at ordering which all ended up being cancelled, I finally called their customer service to complain and found out that they don't accept international credit cards. :(


So my grandma (guided by my Aunt Is) drove me to a nearby ToysRus, and I was able to buy most of the things we needed. Kind of disappointing that they don't carry everything that's being sold online in BabiesRus, but at least I was able to get the more important things.


Like the Tommee Tippee bottles that I wanted. I decided to get a microwavable sterilizer instead of an electronic one for now because I find it more reliable. Carlos' electronic Avent sterilizer gave up after only a few months of usage, so we had to go back to the microwavable one that we used for Kaden. 

I also got these Playtex BPA free drop-ins for travel. Kaden used to drink from Playtex bottles whenever we'd travel, while Carlos used the Avent ones but the refills were much harder to find than Playtex so I decided to go back to Playtex for our baby girl. 

I was also able to get her a grooming set. I didn't find anything in pink or purple, so I got the orange Safety 1st instead.

Baby girl also got her folding bath seat. I tried buying a bathtub but ended up returning it because it doesn't fit in a balikbayan box, so I can't bring it home with me. This Summer Infant Mother's Touch Deluxe Baby Bather folds up flat and conveniently, best of all, it's cheap! 

Swabs for babies, and I love this print on the Huggies wipes case. I was trying to find a pink or purple one but had no luck. I'm still trying to decide if I really need a wipes warmer since I never used one for my other two kids, but then again the weather is colder now than it was when the two boys were born.

I just wanted to be prepared and have the baby bottles on-hand even though I don't intend to use them anytime soon because I'm going to nurse exclusively for the first few months just as I had with my two boys. So I'm stocking up on nursing pads. I used Avent pads with the two boys but for some reason, they are always out of stock these days so I'm trying other brands. I reckon they are all the same anyway. 

I have my little diaper caddie in the bedside table with the bath & body care necessities. I wanted to use all Mustela products for our baby girl but they were out of the Mustela Vitamin Barrier Cream (to prevent diaper rash) so I got Aveeno and Burt's Bees instead. I used Desitin with my two boys and it was pretty effective, but I wanted to try something new for our baby girl. I love the Mustela scent! My friend Candice introduced me to the brand and I can't wait to use it on my baby's skin. 

My Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail is now waiting to be filled with newborn diapers. 

Baby girl's car seat is all set. I'm so happy with this Maxi Cosi mico car seat in happy flower! :) It's so pretty!

See, we're already very prepared! Just playing the waiting game for now...

All that's lacking is our little baby girl. I'm really praying that she doesn't let mommy and the world wait much longer. :)