BUYING BABY THINGS, ATTENDING PARENTING SEMINARS AND BABY’s 3D ULTRASOUND (MONTH 7 OF OUR 9-MONTH JOURNEY)

As soon as we found out that we are having a baby boy, I listed some of the things baby need before giving birth.

From the crib, comforter/ pillows, clothes, washing detergent for babies, cloth diapers, disposable diapers, baby diaper bag, bathing tools etc.

For the crib, we bought this Baby Trend crib, it is functional, durable and with cute elephant design perfect for our baby boy. My sister Cindy saw this online. The lowest price was P3,400 with P100 delivery fee from OLX through Ms. Maricel Castro. I think Ronald and I made a good choice buying the crib, since most of the branded cribs in malls are way over our budget.

And then we bought this Winnie the pooh comforter and pillows from Landmark, Makati and we got it on a sale price of P720. And it fits perfectly on our crib.

For the clothes, I bought white tie side sleeveless and short sleeves for newborn from Baclaran, P100 per half dozen and Mittens and Socks P60 per half dozen. Lampin (Bird’s eye) 1 dozen medium size P190.

I haven’t purchased “pang-porma” clothes for baby since most of them are hand me down from my nephew Eboy, Cindy’s son. We just need to wash them before giving birth. But will still check on sale items from malls or tiangges 😁

The Cycles washing detergent I purchased through a Lactation fair in Cardinal Santos Medical Center last August 26, 2017. I bought it for P220 only.

Luckily I had a check-up with my OB Dra. Solema Granados Rivera that day and we were able to attend talks on how to breastfeed and prenatal yoga. And the best part about fairs are the freebies we got and free brunch from Jollibee 😋 #happymommyhappybaby

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For the Feeding bottles, I chose Avent Natural Newborn Starter Set, I waited for SM Megamall’s 3-day sale October 13- 15 because they have 30 percent discount plus additional 10 percent if you have SM Advantage card.

I also bought Pigeon Nipple Puller since I have inverted nipples. It has 10 percent discount plus additional 10 percent discount. Praying that I may be able to breastfeed our baby. 😉

For the cloth diapers I purchased online through Ms. Trisha Ada for P220 with cute colorful design. I bought 3 cloth diapers with microfiber inserts and I added 3 more inserts worth P70 each plus P45 shipping fee. And i ordered plain colors (blue,orange and yellow) from Lazada worth P540 or P180 each.

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For the disposable diapers, I bought Huggies brand in the Baby Section of SM Megamall Department Store. It was on sale, less 40 percent on Newborn diapers. I bought 2 packs, one with 40 pcs and the other is 24 pcs. with wetness indicator.

The diaper bag, I purchased it in Divisoria. I fell in love with the color and Giraffe print. Big enough to store baby things, durable and functional as well. I bought it for only P500, way cheaper compared to its online price of P799. <

For our baby’s bathing tools, the tub will be hand me down from my nephew Eboy. The net was a gift from my mommy Cherry. She purchased it from the baby store in front of ABS-CBN Mother Ignacia Street side worth P300.

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For the cotton pads and cotton balls, Chef Jionne Ocinar-Cuyegkeng, friend and mom of a newborn cutie Stacy Dace, messaged me on Facebook that she would like to give me and my baby a gift from their online shop Babytalk.ph and try on their product.

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For the complete list of their products check out their Instagram page 😊

http://instagram.com/babytalk.ph

Right now, I am scouting for Baby strollers and car seats. My friend Tin Padilla recommended that I check Mom Savers 143 near Broadway Centrum, New Manila Quezon City.

The store showcases brand new and 2nd hand branded items from Japan and US. They have Aprica, Maclaren, Good Baby, Chicco and Combi items.

And the price is super affordable for as low as P3,500.

Although I’m still torn on buying second hand items or brand new. I will just wait for the November sale in Richwell along Timog Avenue.

Aside from the Lactation fair in Cardinal Santos Medical Center, my mom and I attended the Parenting Convention hosted by Smart Parenting Magazine last July 29, 2017.

And I learned about giving birth, newborn care and the importance of breastfeeding. They gave us Belo Baby products, Smart Parenting shirts and eco bags as souvenirs.

And we won Karabella ice cream and fruit magic gift certificates in the raffle. Yehey! 😁

Another seminar, we attended was in ShangriLa Mall hosted by Ogalala last October 7 and 14, 2017. It was informative and covered most of the topics from breastfeeding, importance of car seat, newborn care to playing with the babies.

Participants are encouraged to reserve their slot online due to limited space. Snacks were given after the talk and they have nice freebies for mommies and babies that includes Pigeon bottle, Breast pads, mosquito wipes, etc. Luckily, I won Pigeon baby wipes last October 14 session.

Since I’m a first time mom with 28 weeks baby inside my womb, I am curious to know what our baby would look like and check if he is in perfect condition.

I went back to San Juan Obgyn in N. Domingo, San Juan to have my 3D ultrasound.

The price of the 3D ultrasound without CAS is P3,000 (4 printed 3D pictures plus CD with unlimited photos).

At first the baby was sleeping and the OB Sonologist recommended that I walk and eat, for us to have a better view of the baby.

After several tries, our baby cooperated and shows his face on the ultrasound. It was magical to see how my baby grow inside my womb. Can’t wait to see you baby 👶

On my next post, i will be discussing the packages on Cardinal Santos Medical Center and hopefully, I will able to share photos of my maternity shoot.😍

GENDER REVEAL (MONTH 6 OF OUR 9-MONTH JOURNEY 👶)

Hooray for baby’s 6th month 👶

On this post, I will be sharing our gender reveal party 🎉

August 20, 2017, the date of our reveal, Double celebration with my sister Tin’s birthday.

We were all excited to find out our baby’s gender!👶

Nobody in the family knew what was inside the envelope that the OB Sonologist enclosed during my last ultrasound.

The only person who knows the gender of our baby is my former officemate and friend, Caren “Renz” Basco, who owns Autumn’s Sweet Treats.

We hired her to bake our special gender reveal cake. (Thank you Tita Caryl for sponsoring our baby’s cake 🎂👶.)

All of the elements were personalized from the theme (Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel), design (white fondant cake with cute decors on top) to cake’s flavor (Blue or Pink velvet cake with cream cheese frosting).

Renz also made me the cute cupcakes below to match the cake (Thank you so much Renz you’re soooo sweet 😘)

Since it is a Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel theme gender reveal, I look for pegs on the internet to decorate the condominium unit, my sister rented. Photo of our decorating team below 😊

As a teaser for the reveal, I made a survey on facebook, for my friends and family to vote: 👍 for Baby Baste and ❤️ for Little Kitten.

I also requested our family and relatives, who will join our reveal to wear their color: Blue for Baby Baste and Pink for Little Kitten.

As for our families and friends who are also excited to know the baby’s gender but cannot physically join us — including my husband, Ronald, who is currently in Dubai, working for our family’s future (thank you Daddy), we documented the reveal through FB live 😊

And the most exciting part is finally here, the cutting of the gender reveal cake. What will our baby be??? 👶

It’s blue! We are having a Boy! 👶 Baby Baste for the win!!! 😊

Thank you family and friends for celebrating with us 😍.

And to those reading this blog, I hope you enjoy reading and looking at our pictures as much as we do. ❤️

Month 5 of our 9-month journey 👶

I consider our Fifth month as one of the most exciting months of our Pregnancy journey because this month we may be able to know the gender of our baby 👶.

But before I reveal our baby’s gender, I would like to share the laboratory tests required by our OB Dra. Rivera to make sure that my pregnancy especially our baby is in a healthy and normal condition.

These are: Serum VDRL, HBSAg, Anti HBS, Rubella, Urine Culture and Sensitivity, 50 gms GCT and HIV test.

Since the laboratory tests are not covered by my Medicard, I did some research on where to get the best price for the required tests.

I checked out Mega Clinic in Megamall and they itemized the lab tests needed but it was way over budget.

I also tried calling Cardinal Santos Medical Center to check their price but unfortunately they weren’t that helpful in giving me the exact amount for the tests.

Luckily, I come across Hi-Precision Diagnostics with several branches in Metro Manila and Globalhealth Diagnostic Center in San Juan, Metro Manila.

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h have good reviews on the internet so I called them up. Globalhealth Diagnostics contact number 5765357 and 7224544. Hi-Precision Pioneer Branch 6317564 and 6317306.

And I am glad that they were accommodating to inquiries and have provided me exact amount for the tests I needed over the phone and it was way affordable than what Mega Clinic gave me.

To make my money's worth, I tried to compare the prices presented by both Laboratory clinics.

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hough the total amount of Globalhealth Diagnostics is cheaper than Hi-Precision, there were items that Hi-Precision is cheaper than Globalhealth Diagnostics.

What I did is I encircle the cheaper price for each Laboratory Clinic. And add them up, and it actually worked because I may be able to save more or less P1,000 if I combined both clinics. Proud practical mom here! 😊

Last August 5, 2017, I underwent tests in Hi-Precision Pioneer, Mandaluyong Branch. And I was required to do a 10-12 hours fasting before taking test.

The nurse collected blood from my left arm twice and she instructed me to drink a sweet liquid and wait for an hour for my next blood extraction. While waiting, I was asked to go to a room and have a seminar about HIV (part of the requirement needed to complete the HIV test).

Since they honor Pag-Ibig loyalty card in their clinic, they gave me additional 5% discount for the 5 laboratory tests which gave me a total of P1,880. Cheaper than what I computed! 😊

The results were uploaded through their website and the printed results were given to me on their next working day.

August 10, 2017, I asked my mom to accompany me to Globalhealth Diagnostics to do the two remaining tests. I called up the clinic and advise me that I don’t need to do fasting for the tests. Blood and Urine samples were collected.

And I only paid P700 for the two tests. But the results were given to me after 3-5 working days.

Total amount for Hi-Precision P1,880 plus Globalhealth’s P700 gave me a total of P2,580 Yehey! 😉👍

Now that my laboratory tests were done, the exciting part is the Ultrasound.

I did my Ultrasound at San Juan OB GYN clinic, as recommended by my OB, the price for Trans-Abdominal Congenital Anomaly Scan is P2,500 but it was only 2d with black and white pictures.

Picture taking and videos were not allowed during the Ultrasound process because we were told that their machines were sensitive and might affect the results of the Ultrasound.

The OB Sonologist Dra. Rosa Ninez Velante-Nierva explained that our baby is normal and the body parts were complete.

She also showed me a 4d of our baby on the monitor. I saw our baby’s mouth opens as if it was talking to me and he/she was moving his/her hand.

I got teary eyed upon seeing our baby’s face for the first time. It was so magical and I can’t explain the feeling.

But since I am a practical mom and I did not pay for the 4d, the OB sonologist just saved the picture of our baby in case we decided to do another Ultrasound with them which will cost me P4,000.

Beforehand, I informed the OB that we will be doing a gender reveal party so she did not revealed to us the baby’s gender instead she enclosed it inside the envelope which I will hand to the party organizer.

Now that the laboratory tests and ultrasound have been completed, and the gender of our baby is inside the envelope.

I will hold the excitement for now and wait for my next post that will contain our gender reveal party.😊

Month 3 and 4 of our 9-month journey 👶

Our baby is on his/her Third and Fourth month.

I combined the 2 months since it was my transition from first to second trimester.

On the third month, I experienced afternoon and evening sickness, slow appetite and even lost 6 lbs. of weight since I got pregnant.

I don’t like eating my favorite sour dishes that includes “sinigang” and oily foods (sotanghon and sopas). I just wanted my food bland.

Aside from changes in my eating pattern, I also had a hard time in my bowel movement. One time I saw blood on the toilet bowl.

I was so scared and called up Ms. Noime, Dra. Solema Rivera’s secretary, to check our OB’s schedule for the day.

I was informed by Noime that the doctor will have a clinic that afternoon in Clinica Manila Tiendesitas. I went there around 3 pm with my mom.

Dra. Rivera said that I might be constipated that resulted my hemorrhoids.

The OB gave me medicine worth P50-P60 per piece good for 7 nights, it was a suppository medicine that will be placed inside my anus. It was uneasy and uncomfortable but I have to bear the feeling so that my hemorrhoid will be healed.

Listen to our baby’s heartbeat https://instagram.com/p/BVhUoJ0DVG2/ ❤️❤️❤️<br

fourth month, my birth month, I regained my appetite. I noticed that I am always hungry in fact I eat almost every 2-3 hours. I gained 3 lbs. since my last check-up.<br

y now enjoys eating Filipino style spaghetti particularly Amber’s Spaghetti and Jollibee Chicken Joy (mana kay daddy Onad ang baby namin).<br

have a visible baby bump that’s why I had to adjust my clothing. Good thing my sister Cindy lend me her “Buntis” clothes before they left for Japan.<br

uly 22, I had my check-up with my OB. And our baby’s heartbeat is normal (yehey). The OB gave me a different set of medicines for my second trimester. OBimin Plus Multivitamins+DHA+EPA and Calvin Plus Calcium, Minerals and Vitamin D.<br<br
aboratory tests needed on my next check-up plus the OB required me to undergo Ultrasound with Congenital Anomaly Scan, the bonus with this kind of Ultrasound we may be able to find out our baby's gender (hmmm… will it be little kitten or baby baste? 😊).
advised me to observe our baby’s movements inside my tummy which is common on the second trimester. Can’t wait to feel your first tick or kick baby 👶
&

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Month 2 of our 9-month journey 👶

After days of searching the internet for the most accessible and affordable Hospital near Mandaluyong.

I red a blog about Cardinal Santos Medical Center’s Maternity Package. I got interested with it and even messaged the blogger, Ms. Pehpot, on how to get in touch with her OB, Dra. Solema Granados-Rivera.

Dra. Rivera is a Medicard doctor, and this was one of my considerations in choosing her to be our OB.

May 8, 2017 — I had my check-up with Dra. Solema Granados-Rivera of Capitol Medical Center.

She examined me and pressed my belly and breasts to check their size. And then she asked me to drink multivitamins in addition to my daily folic acid intake. The OB also instructed me to have my ultrasound. The price of TVS inside CSMC may range from P2,000-P2,500 while commercial clinics have P1,500.

The following day, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. I went back to Medicard Centris to check if the Trans Vaginal Ultrasound will be covered by my Medicard. But unfortunately, the maternal health care is not included with the card. I paid P1,066 for my Ultrasound. It was still affordable compared to the hospital and commercial clinics.

Due to curiosity and to finally confirm my pregnancy, I decided to undergo my first Ultrasound that day.

I was asked by the doctor to lie down and put a Giant block under my back. Then she started the procedure using an ultrasound stick with cold gel.

The doctor started moving the instrument inside me. When I looked at the screen, I saw a tiny object inside a sack.  And the doctor confirmed that it was our baby 👶 “Hello Baby, I’m your mommy”

It was so magical especially when I first hear his or her heartbeat ❤️ wow! 😍

After that moment, Ronald and I decided to share the world the good news “Yes! We are pregnant!”

Traditional or Scientific: Hilot for pregnancy? (Month 1 of our 9-month journey 👶)

After almost 2 years of  wedding preparation and 1 year 4 months of being married.
Ronald and I will embark on another journey, and that is Parenthood.

It was a planned pregnancy, since we are both in our late 30s plus the “Long Distance Relationship.”

We tried to consult an OB Gyn and work up my pregnancy last year.

But the work up thing was not as easy as we thought it would be.

The OB Gyn prescribed me Ovamit (Clomid), a fertility drug that helps multiply my eggs.

I took Ovamit for 5 days starting on my day 3 of menstruation. I did it twice.

First, is on June 2016 when Ronald went home for vacation. Second, is when I had my vacation in Dubai last December 2016.

I also did my TVS (Trans Vaginal Ultrasound) last June 2016 to monitor if the drug is effective.

Our OB said my TVS result was normal but Ronald needs to undergo Semen Analysis to check if he has enough sperm cells to be able to produce a baby.

Due to his busy schedule in Dubai, Ronald was not able to do his Semen Analysis.

Both attempts in June and December 2016 were not successful.

Although we were quite disappointed, we are still hopeful and open to suggestions and recommendations since we really wanted to have a baby.

Until one day, I had a casual conversation with Dr. Rocelle Oronea, one of my high school BFFs, she mentioned that a client recommended her to undergo “hilot”. Like us, Rocelle and her husband, Marlon,  are also trying to have a baby.
Rocelle handed me Nanay Awring’s (the manghihilot) number. I was curious with the procedure and told myself that it is worth a try.

I consulted Ronald and my mom that I will undergo “hilot”. They said okay.

I called Nanay Awring last February. And the “manghihilot” suggested that we do the “hilot” on my 7th day of menstruation.

So we did, it was a massage session. And it was very relaxing. She massages my tummy inward with baby oil. And pressed the pelvic area. Same way goes to the back.

At the end of the session, Nanay Awring used her right foot to press my private part. I was really shocked but that did not made me question her since it was only part of the session.

I had my period last March 14, 2017. I decided to do another session with Nanay Awring days after my menstruation.

This time, we tried the traditional way of pregnancy since an OB gyn from Medicard advised me not to depend so much on fertility medicines because it may cause side effects.
On March 20, 2017, Ronald is back!!!

And it was his first time to spend the Holy Week with both families.

Since almost everybody is on vacation, we really had the time of our lives.

Almost every week, we were out of town. A weekend in Bantayan, Cebu, the following week in Ilocos Region, prayed to Padre Pio in his Shrine in Batangas and completed 7 churches in Laguna for Visita Iglesia.

We are really happy that we got to spend time together with both families — Travel and bond with them.

I was supposed to have my period last April 14, 2017 (Good Friday) but it did not happen.

I waited until Easter Sunday to have a pregnancy test, since it was already 3 days delayed.

To our surprise, it has 2 stripes yipee!!! one very visible and one lighter stripe.

Ronald and I were ecstatic and excited that finally we will have a child of our own! A wonderful Easter gift from God.

To confirm the result, I made another test the following day using Medic pregnancy kit, and it was still 2 stripes, yehey!!!

We decided to look for OB and have myself checked.

In Medicard Centris, we met Dr. Amabelle Guzman, resident OB gyn. She was easy to talk to, and was able to explain to us that my pregnancy is high risk since I’m in my late 30s.

Now, I’m 1 month and 6 days pregnant 👶

She prescribed medicines na “pampakapit” and folic acid for the baby.

She even gave us a gift inside a pink box. And wrote dedication on the box! Ang Sweet ni doc 🙂

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y 19, 2017 is my next check-up with Dr. Guzman. And we are scheduled to have our baby's first Ultrasound in 3 weeks 😊

Just like our wedding preparation, I would like to document each and every detail of our pregnancy.

Hope you enjoy this post and please pray for me and my baby that we will have a healthy pregnancy. 😇🙏