Goodbye breastfeeding/pumping

I’m officially done! It was an eventful 6 1/2 months with you, but overall good!

That’s one thing I can cross off from my daily to do list: finding time to pump!

Now that he’s on formula, I now realize how expensive it is. OUCH for me and Joseph’s wallet! Unfortunately, we don’t qualify for WIC :(

Sitting Up

My baby Travis can sit up for a little bit longer now! Before he can sit up unassisted for about a minute or two and then he’ll take a little tumble. Now he can sit for a few minutes unassisted! I am so proud and so in love with my little mister!

Baby boy can’t get to a sitting position by himself just yet. However, he can pull himself up if you hold his hands (when he’s lying down) and if you pull him up just a teeny bit, about an inch off the ground, he’ll do the rest.

Newborn memories

I would repeat those sleepless nights again just to relieve the moments of Travis being a small little baby <3

Scootin' so far

My baby Travis is getting much better at scooting on his tummy! Before he would only be able to scoot an inch or two forward or go in a circle (haha), but now he’s able to scoot further! My parents had laid out a blanket in the family room earlier for him to play on and he was able to scoot all the way to the edge (from the middle) and all the way to the carpet.

He’s also raising his torso and butt up in the air. It will only be a matter of time till he’s crawling EVERYWHERE!

Not going to lie

Thinking about my baby Travis turning one is making me cry buckets of tears at the moment :(

Before I know it, he's not going to need me and replace me with some ugly ass b*tch! LOL!

Carnival themed birthday party

With Travis’s first birthday is fast approaching (well six months away), Joseph and I have decided to go along with our original idea of giving him a carnival themed birthday party - only because Joseph and I are so un-original and we can’t think of anything else haha.

The location will be at my parents’ house. They have ample space in the backyard (as in it’s so huge, you can probably put a guest house there) so it’ll be a mix of outdoor/indoor party. Since his birthday falls on October, the weather will still be nice and cool. I haven’t really tallied up the number of guests, but I’m thinking there will be about 10-15 children present and the rest adults.

It’s going to be like any other Filipino party - lots and lots of food! For sure there will be lumpia (spring rolls), Korean chicken wings, pancit, leche flan, my mom’s fruit salad, and of course the birthday cake! This is only a small part of the menu, I am sure that there will be more food in addition to what I just listed.

In addition to having lots of food, I’m thinking of renting a bounce house! I know Travis will love that. I’m also thinking of a clown, which I need to do a test run on in case he’s scared of clowns, a pinata, this Filipino game called pabitin, and other carnival game and of course prizes!

For favors I’m going to order some magnets with Travis’s picture on it and maybe some cotton candy. I’m debating whether to get the bagged cotton candy or renting a machine (I just don’t want the kids getting too crazy or too close to the machine). LOL because to be honest, I kind of want a snow cone machine more!

Can you tell that I’m excited!

I want his first birthday to be a big event! It’s a very special day for us because that day will celebrate his first year of life. My baby boy deserves everything his little heart desires that day and Joseph and I will do everything to make sure that his day will be as special and happy as it can be :)

That First Night

One of my favorite moments with Travis was during our very first night in the hospital. I love it because it was just me and him and the fact that I was the first person to have him all to myself. 

My mom and Joseph were insisting that one of them would stay (mainly my mom since she didn't know how to get back to our house from the hospital). Joseph wouldn't have been able to stay since his paternity leave didn't start till the 11th (I delivered on the 7th). He was unsure if he would be able to take the day off the next day since his CO didn't tell him over the phone that he could have the next day off when he had called to tell them that I was delivering (long story short, he went to work the next day and he ended up getting the day off). 

I reassured them that Travis and I will be fine and encouraged them to go home since both have been awake since 0400 and were probably exhausted. Surprisingly, I wasn't as exhausted as I thought I would be. After much deliberation and reassurance, my husband and mom left and I looked forward to my first night all alone with my baby Travis. 

Travis slept well that night. He rarely cried that night except for those moments when I changed his diaper and when I would tickle his feet to wake him up so he can eat. It was amazing just being able to hold him and look at him. I held him in my arms and rocked him even though he wasn't crying or even needed to be rocked. I gave him lots of little kisses and enjoyed that new baby smell. 

Around 2300, the nurse knocks on the door since they just had a shift change so it was another round of vitals and assessments (they did 8 hour shifts in that unit versus 12 hours). The nurse took Travis to the nursery to get weighed. So I waited thinking it'll only be about ten minutes. Well ten minutes passed, then fifteen, and so on. I was starting to have a nervous breakdown because I was thinking "Why didn't she bing my baby back yet? Was there something wrong?" I walked out to the nurse's station and asked about my baby. The nurse informed me that he was probably still waiting to get weighed since the nurses take the babies back there all at the same time. So I figured "Okay, he's probably just waiting still." I went back to my room and after another fifteen minutes, the nurse brought him back to me. He had a nice new blanket and a new diaper since he had peed while he was in there. It turns out that his temperature was a bit on the low end of normal so they had put him under the warmer for a bit. 

It was already about 2340 when he got back into my room. Travis slept and I woke him up again 0130-0200 to feed him and change him. After that, I told myself that I would get some sleep, but I couldn't because I was too busy looking at him and making sure he was alright. I finally fell asleep around 0300 and set my alarm for 0500-0600 so I can wake up to feed him. Well I didn't hear my alarm and I woke up around 0700 because my OB was knocking on the door so she can assess me. I had a mini freak out inside because I thought, "OMG, my baby must be starving! He didn't even wake up or cry to eat or did he and I didn't hear him?" Thankfully, my OB did a quick assessment and I was able to feed Travis. 

And that concludes me and Travis's first night together :) 

My mom told me that everytime I talk to Travis on the phone, his eyes gets big and he starts smiling. Baby Travis even babbles back to me, it's so cute that we're having our own little conversation. Today while I was talking to him, Travis actually kissed the phone (from what my mom said)! That definitely made my day better and put a smile on my face. I love my baby Travis so much! 

On another note, Travis is loving his new skill of rolling over from back to tummy. Everytime we lie him on his back, he will immediately roll over to his tummy! I guess he's enjoying being on tummy time more now because he has control of it. 

Stigma around c-sections

Someone on Tumblr posted an entry about c-sections and the stigma that comes with it. I didn't have a c-section, but I think it’s pathetic that there are moms out there who assume that a mom wasn’t putting her best effort or that she took the “easy” way out just because she had a c-section! Why be so judgmental? Why can’t other moms just be happy that another mom delivered a happy and healthy baby? 

Moms shouldn’t judge other moms (unless that mom was doing something really horrible). Raising a child is not an easy task. We should all support each other!

Rolled over both ways!

Today my baby Travis finally rolled over from his back to tummy! My mom told me all about it! She said that he was lying down on a blanket playing, turned her head for about a minute or so, and he was on his tummy! 

I wish I could have been there to see it myself :( 

Anywho, I am very proud of my baby Travis even though he forgot how to roll back from his tummy to back (he’s not too fond of tummy time)! 

I wish

I wish more hospitals had onsite 24 hour daycare.

As a nurse, you never have a set schedule and you work odd shifts that are not really daycare friendly (especially if you work 12 hour shifts like me). You either work 7AM to 7PM (most daycares close at 6PM) or you work 7PM to 7AM (a time that no daycares are open; this is also the shift that I work majority of the time).

Whoever said that nursing was a flexible job was lying! It is definitely not flexible and not family friendly.

Travis,

I hope you never think that I don't love you. I hope you don't think that I go to work because I don't want to be with you. I work because I want to make sure you are well taken care of and so that I can provide you with everything you want and need. I work because I want you to have a good future. 

Love,

Mommy 

Travis dislikes

So I found one food that Travis dislikes, the Plum Organics Broccoli and Apple mashup/puree. He would not even eat it at all, he kept spitting it out. I can’t blame him though, broccoli and apple doesn’t sound too delicious :) 

On a better note, he is enjoying his stage 2 foods. Earlier he had some peas and brown rice puree/mashup from Earth’s Best and ate the whole jar. Yup, the whole 4oz jar. My mom also made him some more sweet potatoes and added some squash to it, which he loves. 

Earth's Best Diapers

I'm loving these diapers so far! We decided to switch Travis to these diapers since it was chlorine free and environmentally friendly, which is a plus. I get a 140 count through Amazon Mom for $25 with free two day shipping. Gotta love Amazon!

Six month goal

So I made it through my six month goal of breastfeeding/pumping. Would it be horrible if I said that part of me wants to stop? 


I guess it's safe to say that part of me feels selfish for wanting to stop. It's gotten more difficult the past two months because of work. Of course, that's not the whole reason. As I've mentioned before, Travis gets a bottle of formula here and there and to be honest it seems like that he favors the formula more these days.


So, would it be bad if I stop? 

My parents ended up buying him an exersaucer since they didn’t have enough space in the van to take his along. 

Now he has THREE exersaucers. What am I going to do with three! 

I'll miss you!

Dear Travis,

Mommy will miss you! See you soon :)

Love, 

Mommy

(If you don't know what I'm talking about click here).

I am buying this for our trip. It's $54.99 right now on Amazon!

Happy 6 months! (4.7.2011)

Travis,

Has it really been half a year already? I can't believe you're 6 months old! I woke up today and asked myself, "where did time go?" Time seems to have just flown by the past 6 months because it feels like I just took you home from the hospital yesterday. You were so tiny still, I remember your newborn clothes were still baggy on you because you were a tiny little prince! Now you're so big and chunky! 

Six month stats:

• 18lbs and 12oz! Triple your birth weight (well almost) of 6lbs 3oz! You are at the 75th percentile for weight. 
• 26 1/4 inches, putting you at 50th percentile for height (your pediatrician says you're a bit chunky in proportion to your height, but that's okay!).
• Eating more solids. Your favorites are: peas, carrots, sweet potato, bananas, pears, rice cereal, and oatmeal.
• Eating 2 times a day, sometimes 3.
• Still in size 3 diapers.
• Slowly growing out of your 6 month clothing and growing into your 9 month clothing.
• Drinking six ounces of breastmilk approximately 4-5 times a day.
• Enjoying tummy time a bit more when he's in the right mood.
• Able to sit unassisted for a few minutes
• You can pull yourself to a sitting position from a lying down position when I take your hands and pull you up a bit.
• You can scoot (on your tummy) a few inches forward and all the way around!
• You love sleeping on your side.
• You can almost roll over from your back to tummy if you just give it that one last push!

Even though daddy isn't here with us for now, just know that daddy and I love you very very much! You're our world. You have brought so much joy and happiness to me and your dad's life. We are thankful every single moment we spend with you. My baby Travis you are such a blessing and the best gift ever! 

Excited for our trip

So in less than a month, Travis, myself, and my mom will be on the plane en route to Manila! I'm very excited because I haven't been home since 2004! Even better this time around is that I'm bringing my little mister with me. I wish Joseph was here though, it would be much funner if he was with us.

Mixed in with my excitement is some nervousness. This will be my first time traveling with a baby. Well actually, I've traveled on a plane with my sister when she was 10 months, but that doesn't really count because I wasn't really responsible for her! Anyway, I'm nervous about flying a 16 hour flight with an infant. We didn't qualify for the bassinet anymore since Travis would have exceeded the age limit (on Philippine Airlines it's up to six months), so he's going to be sitting on my lap (well mines and my mom's) the whole time. Looking back, I really wish I would have purchased a seat for Travis.

So I've made a packing list of what to bring for Travis on the plane and to Manila. My mom and I sent a box back in February filled with diapers, baby food, and some formula (just in case I can't express enough milk). I'm bringing more diapers and some more baby food en route there. I think we'll be alright since it's two 50lb luggages for me and one 15lb luggage for him and a stroller.

What I'll be bringing on the plane (Travis):

• Adequate amount of diapers and wipes (I'm thinking about 6 diapers in the diaper bag which will double as my purse, plus 10 more in the hand carry, highly doubt that I'll use all 16 up. I'm also bring two extra travel size wipes in the hand carry).
• Diaper rash cream (The 2 oz size of Boudreaux's All Natural Butt Paste, hahaha I love the term butt paste).
• Travel size baby wash & lotion (not that I'll be giving him a bath or anything, but just to give him a quick wipe down especially if he has a massive #2)
• Baby Tylenol
• Baby hair brush
• Extra outfits (Two jogging pants, two short sleeve body suits, two long sleeve body suits, light sweater, a onesie).
• Outfit for our arrival in Manila (It's summer there right now)
• Socks, a cap, and mittens
• 3 extra bibs
• 3 burp cloths
• 2 wash cloths
• 1 thick blanket
• 1 light blanket
• 2 receiving blankets (I haven't used any since he was a newborn, but I always carry these since they can make excellent burp cloths or be used to lay baby down for diaper changes)
• Diaper changing pad
• 2 Playtex bottles and liners
• 3 bowls with lids and 3 spoons
• 3 Similac ready to feed formula, Similac powder packets, and bottles filled with water (I'm bringing these in case I don't express enough milk for him during our plane ride)
• Saline drops
• Thermometer
• The three Lamaze friends: Jacques the Peacock, Freddie the Firefly, & Captain Calamari (I love how they have hooks attached to them so I can hook them onto the diaper bag handles)
• Books (2-3)
• Rattles (good thing they're small so I can bring quite a few)
• Two new toys (to distract him when he's getting tired of the others)
• Jars of his baby food and oatmeal and rice cereal packets
• Small bags (I get them from the $1 store, it's the one for disposing dirty diapers) along with extra zip lock bags to store dirty clothes)
• Vaccination card and insurance card
• Two extra pacifiers

Now for myself:

• Ameda breast pump (very very very important)
• Lansinoh breast milk storage bags
• Medela pump wipes 
• Extra breast pump accessories
• A bag to store cool breast milk such as Munchkin's Cool Wrap Bottle Bag along with the frozen gel packs
• Extra zip lock bags (in case TSA makes me throw away the frozen gel packs - I can get ice from the plane)
• Extra batteries
• Nursing cover
• Blank labels
• Extra shirt
• Light sweater

Do you guys think I forgot anything?

Does anyone know if the flight attendants will let you store expressed breast milk in their refrigerator and will allow me to put the frozen gel packs in their freezer? 

Sale at Aeropostale!

Everything was 50% off at Aeropostale yesterday! I bought me and my sis a hoodie and a shirt. Hoodies were going for $20 and shirts were going for $7.99. Best $60 I spent so far!

I went to Babies R Us today to get some food for Travis to take while he's at mama's (my mom) house. This one has carrots, peas & brown rice, winter squash, and sweet potatoes. Usually we make his food, but he also eats jarred food when we go out!

Judge if you must

I don't even know how to begin this post, so here goes.

I just found out last week (her MD called) that my mom needs to return to San Diego for a follow up doctor's appointment and to get some diagnostic test done (just tests that are routinely done as you get older). Well as you all may know my husband is deployed and my mom is here taking care of Travis while I'm at work.

Her leaving presents the problem of who will be taking care of Travis while I'm at work. Travis doesn't go to daycare and cannot go to daycare since the daycares here in my area (including the one on base) do not match up with the times I go to work. The daycares in our area including CDC (child development center, on base) are only open from 0600-1800. I work mostly night shifts (1845-0715) and when I do work day shifts it's from 0645-1915! Either way, daycare won't be open on the shifts that I mostly work and I'll be getting off way past the time it closes when I work day shifts.

Getting out of work is basically out of the question. The schedule is set and on top of that there are three nurses on vacation right now. Also, Travis and I are going on vacation so I'll already be out of work from the last weekend of April all the way June 29th. Poor planning? Partly. If I would have known way ahead of time that my mom needed a follow up appointment prior to us leaving on vacation, I would have adjusted the time that I requested to start earlier.

So after much deliberation with Joseph, we decided that Travis will be going with my mom to San Diego for the meantime. He will be with her for about two weeks until my leave starts (last week of April). Once my leave starts, I will be going down to San Diego until we go on vacation (May 4). We're leaving from LAX so either way me, Travis, and my mom need to be down in SoCal.

Is this an ideal arrangement? Definitely not! I will miss my son so much. It's upsetting that my son has to go with my mom for a few weeks, but what can I do? Leave my son home all alone? Take him to someone who I barely know? I know he will be in good hands, but him leaving me even if only for two weeks breaks my heart and I feel like a horrible mother that it had to come to this.

I wish Joseph wasn't deployed. If Joseph wasn't deployed, it would definitely have been easier to deal with this.

A solids update

So far, Travis has enjoyed all the fruits and vegetables I've introduced. For vegetables he's had carrots, peas, squash, sweet potato, and green beans. For fruits he's had apples and bananas. I introduced mostly the vegetables first. Tomorrow he will try some pears followed by some peaches and mangoes after the 3 day wait in between each new fruit. 

I actually had to reintroduce the green beans after a few weeks. The first time I made green beans, it did not puree it to the texture he was accustomed too and he refused to eat it. When I reintroduced it again I went ahead and bought the Gerber Organics Green Beans and he loved it! I also made him some sweet potato today. I just poked holes in it, stuck it in the oven for an hour at 400, peeled the skin off and mashed it up!He loved the sweet potato as well. I should have made some more because I couldn't stop eating the sweet potato myself!

Travis's favorites so far are the peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, and bananas. We'll see in the next few weeks how he'll like the pears, peaches, and mangoes!

Found them!

So I found my old blogs. I downloaded them and I'm going to finish importing them tomorrow! I only got half of it imported the past hour.

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.

 - Rajneesh

First birthday plans

Last night, Joseph and I were talking about what we would for for Travis’s 1st birthday. I know, it seems so far off (7 months away), but time flies by so fast that I know it’ll just be right around the corner. When that day comes, I’ll be thinking to myself, “Where did time go?” with a hint of sadness in my thoughts (because who really wants their baby to grow up). 

Anyway I think we’ve decided on a good theme for his first birthday. I think we’ll go with a carnival theme! Of course this could change in the course of a year, but I think for now it’s a good start. I got the idea after browsing through Parents magazine yesterday. I’m thinking a popcorn shaped cake, lots of balloons, lots of bright colors, maybe a clown, and games! 

How dare you take a picture of me mommy! 

My silly Travis

My baby boy made me laugh so hard today. Earlier while he was in his crib he had managed to almost roll all the way over. However, he ended up staying on his side and was holding on to the side rails of the crib as if he was holding on them for dear life. The expression on his face was priceless!

I think I may just be reading too much into these two situations, but here goes. 

Earlier today I ran into (let’s call her A) A at Walmart. A is the wife of my husband’s coworker. Last year (January 2010), we watched their son for them when A’s husband called us from the hospital asking us to watch him since he had taken A to the ER for bleeding (she was pregnant at the time). Sadly, she ended up miscarrying the baby. We said our condolences when they arrived home and went home to give them their privacy.

Fast forward to August 2010. I was roughly 7 months pregnant with Travis. My husband and I met up with her and her husband and another couple for dinner since her husband and another coworker were deploying. So she sees me and I smile and say hi and she doesn’t even say anything to me! Not even a hi or how are you or a congratulations (At that time I have not seen her since the time we watched her son). She just looked as if she’s never seen a pregnant person before. Of course, I didn’t say anything because I figured, “She’s probably still sad about her loss.” So I let it go and went on to enjoy the night.

So today I ran into her at Walmart. We say hi and I ask her how they’re all doing. She says they are doing fine and I ask her when her husband is going to deploy. She responds that he is deploying in a few weeks and I tell her to call me if she ever needed anything (and I say this to her in every deployment her husband goes on). Then I said hi to her son and asked how he was doing and told him how much he has grown. Being a 3 year old boy, he was a bit shy and she remarked, “Well he doesn’t know you.” Okay, my bad, but I just thought it was rude to just stand there and not say hi to him. Anyway, she then took one look at Travis and looked away. So at this point, I was getting mad so I said that I had to go and walked off.

I was so mad! I know this sounds silly, but I was mad that she didn’t even say hi to my son or even ask me how I was doing since she knows that my husband is deployed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking for someone to pity me or to constantly ask me if I’m doing okay, but isn’t that common courtesy amongst military wives? I know that when my dad deployed, my mom always made it a point to make sure that any of the spouses that she knew whose husband were deployed with my dad were doing alright. I always ask A if she’s doing okay or if there’s anything Joseph & I can do for her, or to call us if she needs anything when her husband’s gone. Also, I was mad that she didn’t even say hi to my son. It’s like she just takes a look at him and then glances away like he was nothing. Now I don’t expect every person to dote and say hi to my child, but my husband and her husband are really good friends on top of being coworkers and she can’t even say hi? On top of that, she never thanked us for watching her son (last minute too) so that her husband could be with her at the hospital. Of course, I wasn’t expecting her to say thank you the minute she arrived home with the sad news, but she could have said thank you when we saw her again that August. 

The second situation involves another wife (we’ll call her S) of my husband’s coworker. S and I were pregnant at the same time, but she was due in December while I was due in October. Anyway, I met her once when my husband and I ran into her and her husband at the mall. We said hellos and made small talk and left. Anyway, she had added my husband on Facebook, but didn’t bother to add me. I don’t know why this bugs me to be honest, but I’m just kind of weirded out that she would add Joseph, but not me. I mean Joseph isn’t her coworker, it’s her husbands. I guess I just assumed that she’d want to be friends with me since we have kids the same age? Oh well. I’m not mad at this situation, just a bit weirded out I guess.

Okay well I’m done ranting for now! Thanks for letting me vent guys :) 

Today was a fun day, I had the day off and the sun was out. The three of us (me, my mom, and Travis) have been cooped up at home due to the rain the past two weeks. We went to Babies R Us and to the mall to walk around and shop a bit. We ate a late lunch at Buca di Beppo, Travis was a good boy the whole time during our outing with the exception of when we were at Babies R Us. For some odd reason everytime we go to Babies R Us, Travis throws the biggest fit ever! His cries sound as if he’s afraid of something in that store…? I wonder if it’s the high ceiling with the big lights that are scaring him? 

Hopefully he’ll like the pouch food since I’m planning to take that with us on the plane! 

Anyway after Babies R Us, we went to the mall and did a bit of shopping. I bought a new summer dress and some tanks from Charlotte Russe and a purse along with a necklace and bracelet for my mom at Juicy Couture! Then for dinner my mom treated me to Cheesecake Factory! My mom and I shared the Thai chicken salad and got some cheesecake to go. 

I think I might just start using Blogspot again because it has much better privacy settings than Tumblr! Honestly, I think I only like Tumblr because of the "reblog" button.

For some reason, I can't find my old blogs on here. I don't know if I deleted them or if I just can't remember the username it was under.