She loves Oats!

Oat cereal... Aeisha loves this! She will stomp her feet on her high chair to demand for it. HA HA. Today I gave her 1 Tbsp with 2 Tbsp of water at breakfast, lunch & dinner. She tricked me by not finishing her milk. Just leaving 2oz. Enough to mix cereal into it. HA HA. So I gave her the oats & she quickly finished it. So I can say that she is OK with oatmeal. Next week, I am going to try the Barley Cereal. Then after the Step 1 milk is finished, I will switch on the homemade potato puree. As my friend recommended, I just have to put the pureed potato in an ice cube tray then freeze it. Take out what I need in order not to keep on using the blender every time I will serve Aeisha her pureed potato.

New Costco... opening day blues?

Costco open its doors to the Markham residents yesterday, March 30. It is situated at Kirkham Road and Markham Road. I was excited upon seeing the ads late last year. And I can't wait for its grand opening!

On its opening day, it was kind of a big disappointed for me and Os. The place was jam packed when we went. Considering it was already 8pm! Finding a parking was a pain. It took ages for us to find a spot. So Os dropped me and Aeisha first and we went in. Good thing the line to go in wasn't that long. The line at the Registration was LONG. Days before they open, Costco had a big signage about pre-registration of their membership. And yet, people ignore it until the opening day. There were Costco employees at the entrance checking the customer's membership cards. If found none, they were not allowed to get in. They have to apply for the card on a separate area.

OK, once we were inside, we found the area to be very massive. There were lots of items. But not much were on sale. Although there were items that were on sale only at this branch. But still it wasn't much. We just bought the usual... eggs & milk. I bought a finger puppet & board book for Aeisha and a lullaby CD.

Will I go back to this branch? For convenience sake, YES. But if I were to choose, I'd still choose the Woodbine branch. It's much easier to navigate and people are well-mannered there. The place might be pint-sized as compared to this newly opened branch, but as they say, it's more cozy. And going there on a weeknight or Sunday morning before lunch is better. So I guess the population there will definitely be lessened because of Costco Markham as most of the residents here had to drive all the way to Woodbine just to get their grocery needs. So less people means roomier. :)

A Quick Siggy

This is another quick siggy for Aeisha. I used scrapbook materials from Shabby Princess. Their site has got great kits to download for free. www.shabbyprincess.com. The picture I have of Aeisha is when she already 6 months old. The dress she wore was given to her by my good friend Shirley. Dresses back home are so nice! The roman numeral number found on the lower right portion of the siggy is ... take a guess. Come on?!?! A quick guess?? Give up!? You can do it. So? Ok ok.. I'll tell you. It's her birthday. 9-22-2006. :) As the caption says, "Spring has spring... and I'm ready." Yes, we are ready. I have lined up all her cute dresses. When the weather is nice out there, I will have them lined up again for laundry! Then it's ready to use! :D

Proud Aunt

I'm so proud of my nephews. They excelled in school this semester. Andrew got a medal for being excellent in Math & Science. One of the few in his class to receive this award. Adriel got awards at Kinderhall, too, and so is Curly (Aetom.. haha). I can't wait for Aedan to receive such awards as well. Hope this will be an inspiration to him while he grows up. I wonder what Ashley has. All I know is that she is a member of St. Jude's Dance Club. She loves to dance! Keep it up my dear nephews and niece!

Siggy Amateur

I had some spare moments today and I've decided to create Aeisha's siggy myself. Just for fun and this is what I did. I used some scrapbook paper materials that I downloaded on the net. The used Scriptina font for her name. A clipart for Easter on the lower portion of the siggy. Os helped me edit the clipart. Pictures were taken just recently and Aeisha turned 6 months. It's fun to try on the spring clothes on her. She doens't complain! hehe

Ship Internationally

Sometimes I just wish that we were residing in the US! There are so many good deals online where they only ship in the US and not internationally. And Canada is considered as "International". My sis agreed since she's really into scrapbooking stuffs and all the free shipping that she can find online are only available for the US. Much as she wanted to send it to me, the shipping rates are costly and sometimes unreasonable already! Oh well.

Another Siggy

Here's another siggy for Aeisha.

A Star for Aveeno

Once again, Aveeno product topped it all. For almost 7 years that I've been living here in Canada, nothing beats out dry skin during the winter season. So I was constantly in pursuit of a good hand cream. I’ve tested over a good 3-4 products and some offered temporary relief from dry and itchy skin. Until I tested Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream. It contains active naturals like natural colloidal oatmeal which lasts through hand washing and moisturized for 24 hours. This non-greasy cream leaves hand soft and smooth even after washing. Some products that I tried were Neutrogena Hand cream which was the first one I used. It was ok at first but when the tube is close to empty, the smell becomes stinky like the product already expired. Then come a new variety of the same brand. It’s fast absorbent and leaves hand smooth. But after the first washing of the hands, the cream is all gone. And I think it is water based too. Getting more frustrating especially during winter where my cuticles are acting up, I sought relief in Olay Quench Therapy Hand Cream. It is Olay’s fastest relief hand cream for extremely dry & itchy skin. It worked! Only that after washing my hands once or twice, the cream is gone. And the smell is so overpowering that you can smell a stench of it a distance away. Then came Aveeno! *whew* What a relief! So far, I’ve tested the previous products, Aveeno stands out! By the way, Aveeno is a product of Johnsons and Johnsons.

First Solids

Rice cereal is recommended to be the very first solid food for babies because it is the least likely to provoke an allergy. I received sample packets from Heinz and Nestle-Baby, some coupons from Beechnut and Gerber. A friend recommended Heinz Rice Cereal to me. So I bought a box and served Aeisha. It’s been the 3rd day and she loves it that she will growl after every bite. That's her way to show that she wants more. HAHA. I mixed 1 tablespoon of the dry cereal with 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water. I made sure that it’s thoroughly mixed. I have no problems about the consistency because the cereal dissolved quickly. Next week, I will increase the frequency of the rice cereal to twice a day. Perhaps lunch and dinner. The week after, I am going to increase to 3 tablespoons of the dry cereal. :)

It was recommended to wait for 2-3 weeks after the rice cereal before introducing the veggies and fruits. Between new foods, it was advised to wait for 3-5 days before doing so. I fed the cereal to her during dinner, lunch, then on an afternoon snack. I also fed her before or after her milk intake. Hmm.. she got the same reaction. She LOVES it. Then I'm moving on to Nestle. Then Beechnut. Then Milupa. Hehehe… Gerber doesn’t have rice cereal. If there’s any, I haven’t found one. They only have the jarred foods.

Right now, since we couldn’t find a good high chair for Aeisha, she is relaxed like a queen on her seat. I know it is not recommendable to do so. So hopefully we can get her a high chair already. The one branch that we went to didn’t have stock in store. They are selling the floor model. So we walked out. HAHA. We’re going to try our luck on the other branch. Else… hay! I have to research for another high chair. I was luring for the Fisher Price one but when we tried Aeisha on it, I had difficulty sliding the tray out with one hand. When I tried the Graco Mealtime one, swoop! It was fast and secure. So we decided on this one only to find out that it was the last one. Bummer!

What to Bring

This is Part 2 of my reminder blog...

The welcome of a baby is a very momentous event. So we want to be certain that we are primed with all baby-necessities. Being a first time mom myself, I had it all planned and yet, I missed out lotsa items. I guess my resources didn't give me all the details that I need to know. OR were my questions too broad and vague? Anyways, here goes.

Based from my experience, I would remind myself to bring the following for the baby:

1. Diapers: Provided the hospital supplies you these, you need to bring at least 1 bag of diapers. I used Pamper’s Swaddlers #1 because I wasn’t aware of a size for newborns. Besides, they grow very quickly that the maximum weight for the newborn size is 10lbs. In a span of 2 weeks, babies will go beyond 10lbs. Unless the baby is born very small, newborn size is not recommended. I’d say 1 bag because of a last minute decision to proceed with C-section, I didn’t bring enough diapers that I had to ask my mom to buy me one pack.

2. Wipes: You use this to clean the baby’s bottom for pee and poo. I’d still recommend cotton balls soaked in water for the poo. I used Huggies Wipes which was OK although I didn’t like the scent. I’d use Pampers’ Sensitive wipes.

3. Diaper rash cream: Just in case there is an early sign of a diaper rash.

4. Vaseline: The hospital provided this for us but better to be ready in case you ran out of it.

5. Facial tissue: You’d want to use this to scoop the petroleum jelly from its container and into the baby’s bottom. We didn’t have this since the petroleum jelly that was provided came in a tube form. So the nurse taught us to just squeeze the petroleum jelly out from the tube into the diaper and apply it directly using the diaper as an ‘applicator’. You also use to dry the baby’s bottom when cleaning up the poo.

6. Receiving blankets: I’d say bring 10. Why, because it will serve as a swaddling blanket for baby. They tend to love it when it’s warm and they are snuggled inside. It can also be used as a burp cloth.

7. Thicker Blanket: To place this on the ‘bed’ of the baby. The mattress is too paper thin.

8. Sleepers: Make sure that it’s long sleeves and closed with snaps, not zipper. We have to be careful of the umbilical cord area. I’d say at least 8.

9. Socks: at least 5.

10. Infant cap: Babies had to be warm from the head to toe and no better way to warm them than an infant cap. I’d say 3 is enough. I didn’t think about this so baby was cold that we had to cover her with the receiving blanket and I ran out of it. Recycle recycle recycle.

11. Face cloth: When feeding baby, to wipe milk residue.

12. Change pad: This will come in handy when you want to change baby in a larger area.

13. Car seat blanket: Whether it’s summer or fall, the car seat needs to be covered.

14. Car seat canopy & head rest: This is a boo-boo for us. We weren’t prepared for this. The canopy was sitting inside the box! So it’s a must to have this when checking out baby.

15. Bundle me: When it’s winter, this is very convenient as baby wants to feel warm.

16. Car seat cover: A thicker blanket to cover the car seat. For protection from unwanted particles from the hospital.

First Ever Siggy

This is our first ever Siggy by Salena. You get to send your pictures and wordings and she will take care of it in a day or two. Two at the most. There are 3-4 other artists who give their creative time and put these pictures at work. Their website can be found in http://vipsignatures.proboards84.com/index.cgi.

No Coffee

I am not a coffee drinker. I just happened to drink a medium Tim Horton's .. just for fun. They have the Roll up the Rim promo again. As usual, I didn't win. Os wasn't lucky enough either. And what a nightmare it has made to me! I was reading "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham, his latest nonfiction. Oh boy! I read and read and read until 330am. Then I slept. At 530am, I was awake. Went on a potty break then went back to bed. But I couldn't sleep!!! I was awake until 730pm when I hit the sofa and slept soundly for 1 solid hour. Now, DST (daylight saving time) started, and it's supposed to be 12:48am now, almost 1am and I'm still awake. My sleeping pattern has been side swept by a medium sized Tim Horton's coffee.. double-double. He he he. So, from now on, I won't drink coffee anymore!

A Milestone

Aeisha has entered into the stage of teething. It started very obviously last night. She was so uncomfortable and didn't want to eat. She had diarrhea on Monday-Tuesday. She was so so drooling uncontrollably. I have to have at least 5 washcloths daily. By Wednesday, she was a bit OK. Her feedings were so inconsistent last night, from 6oz per feedings every 4 hours to 1-2oz per feeding every ??? hours. I lost track! My sister doc suggested to use a medicine dropper just so she will be fed. So that's what I did, and she had fun taking her milk by the dropper. HAHA. We peeked into her mouth and saw two little bumps and whitish color on her lower gums. So I guess this is it! I do hope she will have a positive experience out of this. I know that she will have another round of 'this' by the 7-8th month when her upper teeth will erupt. Oh boy!

New Trick

Aeisha knows how to kick the blankets that I so lovingly put over her at night fearing that she might be cold. Now, I have to at least get up in the middle of the night just to check on her. In the mornings before Os goes to work, he makes sure that she is still snuggled. New tricks everyday. He he.

Now, Mommy has a new trick. Once I sense that she is fussy, I start to read her the Noah's Ark board book I got for her. She will then feel lightheaded, her eyes will start to look sleepy. I keep on reading to her but now narrating on what I will do next like "Now, Mommy will put Baby to her crib. Baby will take her nap." and so on. This is the 2nd time now. HA HA.

More tricks to come...