Francesca Dominique's Christening..

The original plan was to wait for the grandfather (my  Dad)  before we have Chingching baptized but since I wanted to have everything done before I get back to work, we decided to make the christening 2 weeks in advance,  since my little girl turned one month.


Leih and I decided on the list of godfathers & godmothers even before our baby was born. We made sure we chose the closest friends & family, people whom Chingching could look up to as second parents.

our little angel fast asleep...

Planning this event had been a tough challenge especially since my child is solely dependent on my  milk supply... Organizing the ceremony itself was a breeze. I had all the documents prepared a few weeks after we left the hospital. Arranging the  details of  the celebration that followed next was a different story however..
 

Since I rarely had the chance to go out and scout for suppliers,  I did everything online. Being an events planner has honed me to execute events even in the middle of pressure.. Who would ever think that I started my planning while we were in the hospital when Chingching got admitted for phototherapy, three weeks after she was born. I secured a deal with the venue after we confirmed the schedule with the church and the balloon designer, then, dropped the downpayment as soon as we got home from the hospital two days after.

My  theme for the party was something close to my heart.. I chose Hello Kitty, something that my little one would have wanted if she were old enough to choose... It was inspired by the sleeping Hello Kitty she has on her crib...

The main entrance to the Grand Comedor..

the venue from inside...

 Given the theme, ideas started pouring in. I coordinated with my good friend Bernadette  and explained to her what set-up I had in mind. I had my full trust in her, knowing her to be very artistic with balloons and designing. My mind was set, she was making Chingching's Hello Kitty Balloons. This is probably one of the best things I decided early on with the planning. I got what I wanted, and I loved it.. Hence, the pictures...

Of course, the cake had to be special.. In between feedings & Leihson's day off, I scouted for cake designs with my good friend, Aann Dela Cruz (of the Wedding Village) but found nothing that tickled my fancy. The cake was one of the highlights of the event and I couldn't just pick any other cake... It had to be "the one"....

 I then called up Ms. Charina Sunio of Sugar Artist and decided to give her the hand in designing what she thought would turn out perfectly suitable for our Hello Kitty theme... Yesterday, Leih picked up our beautiful Hello Kitty cake at Mall Of Asia, the design was amazingly beautiful, ~ Hello Kitty lying down on her princess bed... Something I would never have thought of, Ms. Charina is indeed a great Sugar Artist...

The cupcakes were another story... Chingching's godmother, Aaan Dela Cruz, who also happens to be my coordinating partner, offered to shoulder the cupcakes as her gift to my little one, and guess where she ordered it from, FROSTINGS.... I couldn't be any happier... Aann, despite her limping foot, went all the way to Mall of Asia to place the order and got us a 5-tier cake tower for the double dutch & chocolate cupcakes whose designs I was able to choose freely... Just looking at this picture is enough to  make me salivate, literally... They were all gone by the end of the reception, selling like hotcakes...

Of course, there had to be give-aways.. Being a n@wie myself, I had my own list of suppliers for these kinds of things.. Upon browsing the net, I chanced upon these very cute giveaways from a fellow n@wie sister, Rhea.. I placed the order for 100 pieces of booties and flip-flops and chose to do the stuffing and packing myself.
                                                          We picked them up on the very day Ching had to go back to Makati Med for her monthly check up. The stuffing of chocolates though proved a little tedious as I had to squeeze in doing this in between nursing my fussy baby.

Thankfully, I finished all 100. I personally did the table set up this morning, surrounding the Hello Kitty Bed Cake with all these creatively-done paper booties... It turned out absolutely lovely... Same goes for the intricate pastillas wrappers which bore Chingching's name on it, specially done by my grandmother, Nanay Luz. She wrapped original pastillas de leche candies with it and it was an instant hit.


             For the pictures, a good friend recommended Mr. Roy Salud to do the honor of capturing Chingching's special day... When I checked his albums, both Leih and I liked his shots instantly, not to mention, this guy was very easy to talk to, young yet very skilled and has a keen eye for details.. And yes, it was Roy Salud who became the official photographer of our little one, him and his beautiful girlfriend Amber... (wink) He will also be the one to do Chingching's portraits on Thursday, another thing to look forward to this week.


Everything was all set for Francesca's big day. Luckily, I was able to chance upon the smallest dress at TwiLo after almost giving up hope of finding one that would suit my girl's very petite frame and it fit her nicely. She had to change into something more comfortable at the reception so I altered the straps of her Hello Kitty dress.

All throughout the ceremony, my little girl was asleep. She would wake up from time to time but Francesca behaved very well today. Almost all the godmothers and god fathers were present, save for some who were indisposed due to unavoidable circumstances, but just as much, everything went on perfectly.

I will be posting pictures as soon as the official photos are out, courtesy of Roy Salud.

Happy 1st Month Sweetheart!!!

It's Chingching's first month today...

Mommy is excited. today is the second time we'll be taking her out of the house. First itinerary was the hospital (Makati Medical Center) where we'll be visiting her beautiful pedia, Dra. Pamela Caedo, for her monthly check up and second immunization.

So far, the results yielded good news. We were able to get her newborn screening results and they all turned out negative. (Thank God). And the doctor confirmed that she has gained more than a kilo since she last saw Chingching. Everything went great with the check up, she got her second shot of Hepa-B vaccine. (Oh, and did I mention she wailed for a minute or two after that painful injection)

Afterwards, we met my N@Wie sister Rhea's husband at the lobby where we fetched the 2 boxes of souvenirs I ordered for Sunday. I felt excited to see the beautifully crafted give-aways. Only, I need to buy more candies, I think.

We went to Mall of Asia afterwards, hoping to find a nice dress that would fit her very small frame. I was almost losing hope when we chanced upon this very small dress from Twilo, the only one left, good Lord. Thankfully, we got the last piece. We then had our quick lunch & off we went to get my little girl two boxes of assorted delicious Frostings cupcakes and a mini fruit cheesecake from Bizu since it's her first month b'day... And just before we headed to the parking lot, I was able to grab for myself a Belle de Jour Planner, something I was supposed to get early January. =)

Chingching's Frostings Cupcakes.. Happy 1st Month Baby~~

Today had been a busy one for us, but indeed A-okay. =)

Papa Aba's Surprise..

Despite the uber-stressful days we previously had, we were surprised upon arriving home when these boxes greeted us at the front door. They were from my Dad, for his one and only grandchild. Daddy bought Chingching a beautiful Graco Swinging Cradle, a Graco car-seat, a Medel Nebulizer and an Avent Sterilizer, among other things. The two boxes were all for the little fellow. Daddy obviously got over-excited. (",)

I so love the Graco Swinging Cradle. Whoever invented it has a "tired & weary mother" in mind. Truly god-sent.. I tried putting my princess on the swing just as she was starting to get fussy and in no time, she stopped crying and eventually fell asleep afterwards. It was like magic, as my friend puts it. Months ago, I planned on ordering a princess swinging cradle from Fisher Price, but then, shipping proved to be such a feat. I even had a friend who looked for the same unit at a Mothercare shop abroad but to no luck.. I'm just glad I said yes to Daddy when he offered to bring the swing home.




For all the things that arrived today, we're pretty much covered.

The Panic-stricken Mom..

It was 5:00 in the afternoon when I last breastfed my baby. I felt thankful that she was asleep in no time ~ ~ meaning it would give me at least two hours at the most to do other things and chores that I couldn't do when she's awake... I was even able to have my dinner on time, something that seems a luxury to me these days... But just as I lost track of time, I noticed that it was nearing 5 hours that she was asleep.. Supposedly, newborn babies feed every two hours, they need to be awakened so they could latch.

This got me worried. I then woke her up and fed her, but only after what seemed to be a few minutes, she was again fast asleep in my arms... Mother's instinct drove me to call her pediatrician who ordered me to go the the nearest E.R. to have her sugar checked, as it could be unusually low. It was one of my concerns that she wasn't getting enough milk from me, and it could possibly cause her sugar to go down.

I got frantic after the call... My mom sensed that I was panicking. I grabbed my bag, her diaper bag and my boppy pillow, took some blankets & my trusted jacket, and had Leih drive us to Makati Medical Center in the middle of the night. While on the road, Leih would comfort me, telling me that everything's fine and that the baby could have just slept soundly.

It was a different feeling when we got to the ER. after an hour. The doctors took her blood sample & checked her. I would feel crushed whenever I'd hear my baby's sobs after they've poked her. After a few hours, they confirmed that the baby had to be admitted due to high bilirubin count and that she needed phototherapy. Before morning broke, we had her admitted into one of the large private rooms at the 8th floor.



Leih and I were both so drained of energy from lack of sleep and food, not being able to have a decent meal on time since the baby had been fussy all night & all day long.. It was also difficult to put her on the bassinet with the lights on as she would cry relentlessly. I ended up carrying her and we both stayed under the light until she was asleep.

We stayed at Makati Medical Center for 48 hours more and upon confirmation that her bilirubin has decreased, we were discharged by the doctor. I was more than happy we were finally going home..

I don't think I would ever want to see a hospital again after that. I hope my baby gets better each day. Never did I imagine how stressful it is for a mother when her babies get sick. Now I know better...