our baby / my pregnancy wishlists

Please click the pink links below.. ^_^
Our "Babies R Us" Wish List
Our Amazon Baby Registry
[ please enter "Melissa Solito" or "Norbert Elbanbuena" to access the Amazon list, thanks! ]

Sleeper Keeper Total Body Comfort Pregnancy Pillow

Smart idea, sensational results: Take the concept of a pillow, stretch it to an elongated curve, contour it to provide the right kind of support where it is needed, and make it flexible so the user can shape it as necessary. Voila! This pillow does the work of 5 and is great for back and stomach support during pregnancy.

Gabriel Feeding Pad Break-Away

The Gabriel Feeding Pad Break-Away is a 3-in-1 product for nursing, burping or bottle-feeding! The Nursing Veil has finger loopholes to hold veil in place while minimizing infant distractions in public feeding situations, and end flaps that lift for mom-to-baby eye contact. The pad flips over to burp baby on soft fabric or to allow baby to rest comfortably on lap or shoulder. The bottle-feeding feature holds a 2-9 oz. bottle of milk and frees one hand while feeding baby upright.

Week 18 update (Oct 18 - 25, 2009)

How far along? 18 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: So far, around 5-6 kilos.. Will know for sure next week in my monthly OB checkup.

Maternity clothes? Still wearing mom's clothes, mostly her dresses and jumpers =)

Stretch marks? Nothing yet! Starting to use Mark & Spencer's White Peach and Almond lotion on my belly. My sis-in-law said to use olive oil but it's just so icky for me! And body butter, another highly recommended anti-stretch mark agent, is too expensive -_-

Sleep: is sooo good! =)

Best moment this week: FEELING OUR BABY KICK FOR THE FIRST TIME! Been feeling flutters for the past weeks and finally, last Oct 23, our sweet baby kicked me real hard! It thoroughly surprised me and made me & hubby quite delirious with excitement ^_^

Movement: See above! =) On a sidenote, Labsie felt the baby kick on Oct 24. We poked my abdomen til our baby kicked back with hubby's hand on my belly. His face when he felt the kick was priceless! ♥ ♥ ♥

Food cravings: Jollibee!! Anything fastfood with loads of trans fat and msg :p

Gender: I think I want a girl so I can give her pretty pink stuff! But I also want a boy coz that's what my parents and hubby want.. TORN!

Labor Signs: None! Though I felt my uterus contracting at times..

Belly Button in or out? Still in but is shallow!

What I miss: A "non-active" abdomen! While it was wonderful to feel our baby kick, it feels very weird to feel a kick from INSIDE me. Alien feeling!!

What I am looking forward to: Our monthly OB checkup next week! Wanna know badly our baby's sex so we can buy color-coordinated baby stuff already..

Weekly Wisdom: Share pregnancy moments with your hubby! It's bonding time for both of you and he can get to "bond" with baby too. Don't leave him out in your greatest journey as a woman!

Milestones: Feeling our baby kick! Simply awesome! =)

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reminiscing the first trimester

Our first trimester posts are below the ultrasound photo (our first look of our sweet baby!). We're currently four and a half months pregnant and so far, me + hubby + baby are doing great ^_^ Just click the links (in pink) to read our weekly update. Enjoy!

Weeks 1 - 6: The First 6 Weeks (coming soon! still looking for the post I made, I'm so forgetful these days!)
Week 7: August 2 - 9, 2009
Week 8: August 9 - 16, 2009
Week 9: August 16 - 23, 2009
Week 10: August 23 - 30, 2009
Week 11: August 03 - Sept 6, 2009
Week 12: September 6 - 13, 2009

Science Stuff: First Trimester Recap
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Week 17 update (Oct 11 - 18, 2009)

How far along? 17 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: 5-6 kilos! I'm hoping I lost some water weight and bloat this past week from all the walking I did in HK and Macau.

Maternity clothes? Still wearing my mom's clothes!

Stretch marks? None so far.. Should start applying lotion or whatever my sis-in-law will recommend to prevent stretch marks.

Sleep: My sleep hours have been drastically reduced! From around 10 hours, I've been just getting 6-8 hours since we're maximizing our time sightseeing in HK and Macau. I literally had no naps for 1 week! -_-

Best moment this week: Being able to climb up to the Tian Tan Buddha upper platform, a total of 268 steps in thin air as we're in HK's second highest peak! =) Actually this whole week is the BEST so far in my entire pregnancy! Spending time with hubby and my family, eating Chinese, Macanese and Portuguese cuisine, going to tourist and cultural spots -- simply the best week ever!

Movement: Still no kick, just lots of fluttering =)

Food cravings: Irish fries!! HK takoyaki, Metropole dimsum & pastries.. Dang, I couldn't get enough of the food! Oh, the BIZU spread from my niece's baptismal reception -- oh-so good! =) On a sidenote, my photo above was taken during my niece's baptism earlier today (Oct 18) in Don Bosco Parish (Makati).

Gender: Still no preference..

Labor Signs: None.. Though I had a scare on Day 3 when my uterus contracted on and off the whole day. Took my emergency meds and all was fine after..

Belly Button in or out? In!

What I miss: The weather in HK and Macau! I never sweated the entire time I was there, despite all the brisk walking. The humidity was just amazing for my pregnant skin! ;-)

What I am looking forward to: Hubby's birthday next, next week! More food!!

Weekly Wisdom: Have a babymoon! It's sooo much fun being pampered while traveling coz you're pregnant, hehe!

Milestones: Our baby just had his/her first out of the country trip and survived! ;-) And I survived too! Plus my feet and back! LOL

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The Name Game

Stole this meme from Mommy Words, hehe! Hope she won't mind! =) I actually already wrote a post how we chose our baby's name back during my first trimester. You can read all about it once you get to the last question below ;-)

About the Name Game: Names are important. Your kids' names were chosen for a particular reason and they mean a lot to you so this would be a great story to share! Copy the image above to use on your blog then go ahead and answer the questions and then pass this Name Game and the simple instructions on to other parents who you think might want to share their story!

1. Do you have any cultural or religious naming traditions?

- No traditions.. My parents just want our baby to have a short first name coz hubby's last name is quite long (10 letters long).

2. Did you or your partner come to the marriage with pre-selected names?

- Yes, we already selected one boy (Tristan) and one girl (Tatiana Dhyana) name. Hubby added another boy name and changed 'Dhyana' to another girl name.

3. Did you consider the sound of the first and middle and last names together? Did this make any sad eliminations?

- Yes, we considered it. No sad eliminations though =)

4. Do you have veto powers?

- YES! Hehe! I vetoed the other girl names hubby proposed and really insisted on 'Tatiana'.

5. Did the baby naming cause arguments?

- No full-blown arguments though it kinda got heated for awhile when I fought for 'Tatiana', hehe!

6. Do you think it is easier to name boys or girls?

- Uhmm, it was both hard for us.

7. Did you eliminate names because of people from your past or present who you don't like or because a certain image comes to mind.

- No. The names from where we selected the final name choice were all good =)

8. Did you / would you survey your children to get their thoughts on the name?

- If we'll have a second child, probably yes. Kids often have awesome imaginations so they might just come up with a very unique name for their sibling!

9. Did you tell people the name or possible names before the baby was born or were they in the vault??

- Our blog readers know but our immediate family doesn't, LOL!

10. Did you use baby name books?

- Nope.. I searched for the meanings of our selected names in the internet though. Have to be sure the names don't have negative connotations, hehe!

11. Drumroll Please! What did you name your kid(s) and why?
- Check our first baby naming post HERE! ;-p
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Week 16 update (Oct 4 - 11, 2009)

Blogging live from Macau! Uhmm, NOT! LOL! I answered these questions in Macau though =)

Yep, we are on Day 1 of our second honeymoon / babymoon (Oct 10) today, and we're tired already! Hehe! We arrived in Macau around 10pm tonight, went through immigration without any hassle, checked in Metropole Hotel and went casino hopping. So far, the best lobby we've seen was that of Wynn's =) Anyway, unto my pregnancy update!

How far along? 16 weeks! Yes, 4 months already! ^_^

Total weight gain/loss: I gained another 1 kilo since my last OB checkup 18 days ago. We went for checkup 12 days early coz we wanted to make sure our sweet baby is alright before we travel and we are both A-OK to fly in a plane and spend 7 days sightseeing =) Which brings us to my total weight gain: 5-6 kilos in 4 months!!

Maternity clothes? None yet.. I'm using my mom's bigger clothes though. I'm, I think, 2 sizes bigger than my non-pregnant size.

Stretch marks? None so far!

Sleep: Sleeping quite well! Absolutely no more morning naps, an occasional afternoon nap here and there..

Best moment this week: Our OB checkup! We saw our sweet baby again! =) Also, hubby's parents treated us to a Chinese-Filipino resto for our first wedding anniversary dinner last Oct 8. YUM! I also loved the moment when my bestfriend visited my at home and brought sinful ice cream, potato chips and chocolate cookies. Dang, she spoiled me!! Hehe!

Movement: Lots of flutters down there!! No solid kick though.. And hubby is quite excited about it, always asking me if baby is moving =)

Food cravings: Chinese food! Last Oct 4 we ate in Ahfat then Oct 8, we ate in Yellowfin Resto. Then today, more Chinese (plus Macanese!) food! Our baby's gonna be a Chinese cuisine addict as his/her taste buds is forming now -- and the first taste s/he savors? Chinese food!

Gender: I have no preference this week.. I feel it's gonna be a girl though as I'm looking better and better :p Ultrasound showed thickened stuff down in baby's genital area and my OB said it could be the scrotum, or just a thickened labia. It will be seen for sure next month..

Labor Signs: None so far!
Belly Button in or out? Still in!

What I miss: Feet that are not sore! Just 1 day of sightseeing, make that 4 hours, and my feet are already killing me =( Got 6 more days of walking.. Hope I survive!

What I am looking forward to: Hongkong next week! Ocean Park (again) and Disneyland, here we come! =)

Weekly Wisdom: If you're pregnant and traveling, make sure tobring your health records, usual pain meds, emergency meds (especially those that stop uterine contractions), preggy vitamins and milk. And use flats and light clothing!

Milestones: We're 4 months pregnant already! Woohoo! Plus we celebrated our first wedding anniversary and our babymoon is our first out of the country trip. Many milestones this week! =)

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lullabies for our sweet baby =)

Ever since I've been feeling flutters down in my pelvic area I started talking to our sweet baby. Now, are the flutters our sweet baby's movement or just gas? According to TheBump.com, at 15 weeks, baby's four limbs now have functional joints, and is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb. So maybe the flutters are really baby's movements! =) Anyway, I also told hubby to talk to him/her. And though I'm no good in singing, I also started to sing lullabies to soothe our sweet baby =) Here are the lyrics of common lullabies:

Incey wincey spider

The incey wincey spider
Climbed up the spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the incey wincey spider
Climbed up again


Rock-a-bye baby

Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all


One, two, three

One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right.


Twinkle, twinkle, little star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
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Week 15 update (Sept 27 - Oct 04, 2009)

Last week, I have been very busy making a travel itinerary for my parents' 5 days / 4 nights trip to Taipei (capital of Taiwan). This week, I'm drowning in Macau and Hong Kong travel ideas and what-nots. Our second honeymoon / babymoon is next week and I have yet to finalize hotel arrangements and our travel itinerary! Five more days, just five more days.. *inhale exhale*

How far along? 15 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: Around 5 kilos..

Maternity clothes? Just my mom's clothes (a size bigger)..

Stretch marks? None yet!

Sleep: Getting enough sleep during the night! Barely napping in the morning =)

Best moment this week: Meetup with my doctor friends last October 2! And we had dinner buffet in Siggi's as well! *burp* Our sweet baby "met" some of his/her godfathers and godmothers in the said meetup =)

Movement: Lots of flutterings in my pelvic area! Gas or baby??

Food cravings: Spaghetti! Anything with rich, tomato-based sauce like afritada and caldereta!

Gender: We want BOY!!

Labor Signs: None..

Belly Button in or out? Still in and getting shallower by the minute :p

What I miss: My lithe body, non-bloated + non-pimply face, and flat abdomen! Huhu! I want my pre-pregnancy bladder too.. I've been peeing every 2-3 hours! -_-

What I am looking forward to: Our babymoon in Macau/HK! Five days to go! Woohoo!

Weekly Wisdom: Don't buy maternity clothes until the fifth or sixth month. Use your flowing dresses, your mom or sister's clothes (if they're bigger), or use extenders: use your now-short blouses + now-tight pants, don't zip and put Bella Band over it. Voila! No money spent! =)

Milestones: Baby movement flutters! Plus I finally felt comfortable showing my face and body to the public at large =) Never mind I still feel bloated and unattractive.. Where is that pregnancy glow everybody's talking about?? I want it now!.
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let's talk about weight gain! :p

I've been lamenting my huge weight gain (4-5 kilos!! that's 8.8-11 pounds!) in the first trimester but there's good news to be had! It seems that I'm underweight (97-99 lbs) for my height of 5 feet and hence I need to gain more pounds to have a healthy pregnancy. I'm targeting 30 pounds of weight gain and that leaves me around 20 pounds to gain in the next 6 months. Let's just hope I can do it! =) Anyway here's the table of pregnancy weight gain plan that I followed:

Rate your prepregnancy weight (pounds)
height	underweight	normal	overweight	obese
5'	<>	102-132	133-147	> 148
5'2"	<>	107-141	142-157	> 158
5'4"	<>	116-152	153-170	> 171
5'6"	<>	123-161	162-180	> 181
5'10"	<>	138-181	182-202	> 203
Your gain plan (pounds)
if you were..	underweight	normal	overweight	obese
you should gain a total of..	28-40	25-35	15-25	11-20

Where do the pregnancy pounds go?
maternal stores of fat, protein, and other nutrients	7 lbs
increased body fluid	4 lbs
increased blood	3-4 lbs
breast growth	1-2 lbs
enlarged uterus	2 lbs
amniotic fluid	2 lbs
placenta	1.5 lbs
baby	6-8 lbs
total	26.5-30.5 lbs
source: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists