Surviving the First Year

It's been a while!

My son has turned 1 February 11 this year. He's a year and 3 months last 11th of May. Who would have thought I'd survive the first year?

How do I begin? I've transitioned from the mum who enjoyed all the cute blueness, boy socks, morning strolls and toothless smiles to the the mum who now enjoys being thrown rattles to her face, baby cereal on her hair and screams of a boy who refuses to get out of the tub. It's a different level of "fun".

I'm lucky to have a nanny who's sincerely dedicated to teach my son and determined to make sure he grows up well bred. He loves her! The little man can now speak about 15 words and associates another 10. He feeds himself with a spoon, spills here and there but that's quite a milestone, he puts his pacifier on his mouth by himself, hugs his tiger beanie when told to "show love".

He's walking (like a drunk elf), two weeks ago he scarred his nose and upper lip by falling off a 3-wheel wagon. He gave me the scare of my life. Neighbors thought something was wrong, he was screaming like he was beeing peeled off alive. He's better now. And you know kids, he now acts as if nothing even happened. He still wants to "drive" little cars.

We have a birthday party to go to at Timezone tomorrow. It's this arcade place where kids get to ride mechanical horses, play Guitar Hero, race cars, shoot hoops and fire toy guns. Dad is more excited than son.

Till next time!

First Tooth

Finally, after weeks of anticipation, Miguel's first tooth is out. It looks a bit weird, though. Like a grain of rice on his lower gum. I don't remember the exact date, but it came out around two weeks after his sixth month birthday.

I feel bad not being the first one to spot it. His nanny did. She used an infant toothbrush (the one you put a finger in) to check. Then there, a single white tooth.

Most people say kids his age would have to have fever to get the first tooth out. Not true. No fever. No chills. Just a lot of biting.

We had a checkup a few days ago. I asked for Do's and Don'ts from his Doctor and I was surprised to be told that there aren't any. She said kids don't get their permanent teeth until they're about six, so I can expect them to still fall out anytime between now and six years from now.

I haven't gotten any prescription for special toothpastes or things like that so until I do, i'll take the biting. ;)

Playing Dressup

This is the first time I've had the chance to update my wardrobe since giving birth, six months ago. As I usually do, I Google photos of Hollywood Stars' everyday wear and copy them, less the stress on my part to think of what to put together for an outfit.


I like basic colors. Greys and navies and blacks, whites, and even red. I can't not go purple at least once a week, so I consider the color as one of my basics.

I normally don't go with the trend. Unless it's too nice to pass up on. The flared jeans, for instance. The problem with trends is that the piece of clothing has a limited shelf life. After which, we'll have to store them, sell them or just give it away. It makes sense to invest in pieces of clothing that will last long. Whether we're talking about the durability or the style.

Here are a few of what I've spotted online that might work for young moms (in a country like the Philippines where we only have 2 seasons).

1) Katherine Heigl's gray knit over a white top and faded black jeans. Her shiny silver ballet flats gives the outfit the needed shine and her beautiful red Valentino handbag kicks color into the "greyness" of it all. Loving her shades, too.










* Try Kamiseta, Bayo or Candy (in Robinsons Department Stores).



2) Reese Witherspoon's petite figure is complimented by her dark denims. Reese mixed and match a gray long sleeved shirt with a black short sleeved cardigan.

* Try Kamiseta, Bayo or Candy (in Robinsons Department Stores).

Our Quest for a New Vehicle

They say that in the world of car sales, August is the "Ghost Month". In the chinese calendar, sales are expected to drop and so promos are developed as contingency plan.

So, my husband and I went from one showroom to another with a plan: low down, long term.

We originally planned on getting another SUV. Our first car as a couple was a 1998 Honda CR-V. But a few months before we had the baby, we sold it off and drove a Toyota Rav-4. We recently gave it up and now we're in search for a sedan.

We test drove a few units and honestly, each car felt the same as the other. A few minor differences, but nothing major we were willing to put extra bucks on.

We thought that if we were to consider a Toyota, we'll go for the Corolla Altis 1.6E. Manual transmission, where you'll have more control. Toyota has problems, though, with the production. Units are getting sold fast and so right now, we'll have to wait for a unit to be available. It retails at around P780k excluding LTO registration, Insurance, O.M.A (One month deposit) and Processing Fee. The next to the 1.6E is the 1.6G (available in manual and automatic transmission), which retails at around P833k. But we found a good deal from an old friend who works for the Toyota Branch we were eyeing on getting a unit from.

Next in line would be a Mitsubishi. I had one when I was in college and not once did it ever let me down. It never spent a night or a day in the Casa, not just that it was well maintained, but performance? Superb. Price? Reasonable. The Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 GLX retails at P685k and the higher end, the 1.6 GLS CVT retails at P745k.

Finally, we test drove a Honda Civic. Sporty and fast, the Honda Civic not only fulfills its promise of ultimate driving pleasure, but a price tag that fits. The Honda Civic 1.8 V Manual Transmission retails at P858k and the automatic version is at around P898k.

For us, one of the most important things to consider when buying a vehicle is the rate. Whoever offers the best terms and whichever can accommodate a stroller, a car seat and an active baby, wins. The driving experience comes with it, still. But then if we think about it, they're all wheeled and can take you places, anyway.

We decided on the Corolla Altis 1.6E. We're releasing it first thing in the morning.

Baby Shopping in Manila

Since he was born, I think I've only bought my son less than 3 pieces of clothing. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law do the shopping.

There are good stores to do baby shopping in Manila. There's SM's Baby & Company, Gingersnaps (i love their baby vests), Orange Juice, Big & Small Company, to name a few. One personal favorite is Kids of Bayo, where the baby clothing are perfect for those who are fond of dressing up their kids as their "mini-me". I'm not sure but I think I heard Baby Gap is coming soon. 

Also, almost every mall now has a department for their own line of baby clothing and items. You might want to check those too. Most malls are also authorized retailers of certain brands, such as, Hannah Montana and the like.

If you're planning to do online shopping, there are networking sites that have a collection of business profiles by category that offer brand new to hand me down baby items. 

There's ebay.ph, multiply.com, sulit.com.ph and more. when you do your shopping online, though, you will have to handle the shipping charges besides the price of the item you're buying. 

Babies grow really fast, though, so do your baby shopping wisely. 

Working Mom: Updating Your Wardrobe

When I cleaned my closet a year ago, I had a closet full of all the good "women stuff". From dark denims to slacks of khaki, white and black, argyle sweaters (my favorite), collared shirts of different hues, perfect white tees, and a shoe collection of all kinds, shapes and colors to fit every wardrobe. 

But when I cleaned out my closet the other day, a was appalled to see they were all gone. Where'd they go?! Oh, right. I gave them away without thinking I could actually get back to my pre-pregnancy weight after giving birth. 

So headed to the mall to go shopping. I started with the basics. I'm not about to spend my life's savings on this one. I've set a side an emergency fund and well, this is kind of an emergency, at least to me.

I first went to the shoe section (yup my feet grew an inch bigger after having my baby). I was lucky my working shoes brand had a sale. I buy from one store for all my working shoes. I took a white, a black and a brown pair in 3 somewhat-alike-yet-somewhat-different styles. Now that I have the basic colored shoes, I won't have a problem choosing the when I plan my wardrobe. They're all flats by the way. In my job, I need them to be so. 

I then went straight to by jeans and slacks. I took 1 dark denim in straight cut-slim fit style (always a safe choice), 1 black slacks in semi-bootleg cut, 1 white and a khaki semi-flared cut. Like I said, basics.

I got 3 basic white tees (i wear them inside jackets all the time) and a black one, too. 

Next time, I'll shop for more colors. For now, I plan to perk my outfits up through the right accessories, Now those are something I didn't give away! 

Switching Nannies

I've had my kid's nanny for almost 6 months now. She's separated with three children that she left to her mother in the province. This is why when she told she wanted to try her luck working overseas, I did not find it a surprise. I wouldn't want to stop her in finding better opportunities to give her kids a better life.

I have a new nanny now and she's being trained by the 1st nanny (weeks before her planned departure from our home). My son is adjusting quite well. He's turning 6 months on the 11th of August. Of course I had to make sure the replacement was going to be as dedicated to her job as the first one, if not better. 

Finding a good nanny isn't difficult if you know what to look for --- depending on your family's needs. I'm lucky our household help (dedicated to household chores) was able to refer a friend to us. I used the same steps I took when I hired my first nanny.

As a working mother (my husband works full-time as well and is often not home than I am), my primary concern is the safety of my son at all times. My previous blog entry on hiring a yaya (nanny) helped me a lot.