This photo was taken 3 years ago, a few weeks before I gave birth to our daughter Natacia. đ€°đ»Â Pregnancy taught me to embrace a healthy diet (or at least try). Nutrition is very important for a soon to be mom. Whatever I ate affected not only my health but also my babyâs development. Every time…
Category: Pregnancy
Newborn Survival Guide from Johnsonâs Baby
Preparing to care for a newborn (especially if you’re a first-time mom) can be overwhelming. With the many challenging pregnancy symptoms you’re experiencing, thinking of every item to place inside the hospital bag can be difficult for you. To make birthing preps easier, I’m sharing this cute guide from Johnson’s Baby to all excited soon-to-be…
Pregnancy+, a must have app for expectant momsđ€°đ»
I can remember my excitement when I got pregnant three years ago. đ€°đ» Being a first time preggy in a tech savvy generation, I googled every day everything I can about pregnancy. âșïž Since it was my first time, I became very curious on how it is to be pregnant. From what will happen to…
What you can do for your childâs brain development during pregnancy
Posting this article written by nutritionist Mary Jude Icasiano for my future reference (in case God grants us Baby # 2 someday) and as guide to my friends and blog readers who are expecting a bundle of joy đ Happy pregnancy, mommies! As an expectant mom, you want the best for your baby. That is…
Tips for traveling when pregnant
I was 3 months pregnant when my family had this Singapore-Malaysia vacation. I was blessed to have a healthy pregnancy two years ago. Iâm thankful that pregnancy didnât hinder me from working as well as doing the things I love. Are you pregnant but must travel? đ Below are some of the things I did…
MooMa Newborn Kit, a must-have for every new momma
Itâs been more than a year since I gave birth, but the blissful feeling I had when I gave birth to our first born is still fresh in my memory. Itâs one of the most breathtaking moments of my life. Â And yes, I canât deny that despite the annoying new parent eyebags I developed, having…
4 things I did to conquer my fears of pregnancy and childbirth (Published in The Asian Parent)
Many women in my generation keep an awful picture of labour and child birth in their mind. Blame that on exaggerated movie scenes, grandmotherâs anecdote, or the stressful child birth video clips presented during Biology class. Thanks to all these, the thought of another human coming out of your own body is now as disturbing as zombie invasion.
Giving birth at Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center
In choosing the birthing hospital for my first birth experience, my husband and I considered four important criteria: up-to-date facility, cleanliness, credibility of healthcare professionals, and reasonable cost of maternity package. While it was very tempting to consider the usual popular and expensive hospitals, my husband and I believed that quality of service couldnât be…
My (First) Labor and Childbirth Story
In the morning of the 4th of December 2016, I woke up early and hurriedly brought my dirty clothes to the washing machine. With belly about to pop and without a household help, I had to finish all the chores really fastâlaundry, cleaning of our unit, washing the dishes, folding and keeping newly washed clothes. …
Preparing the Hospital Bag
The last few weeks before your due date will certainly be nerve-racking.  You’ll be torn between thinking about the sweet arrival of your precious baby and thinking of how awful labor could be. Well, thatâs part of the whole pregnancy story. We, women, couldnât do anything about that, so we just need to focus on…
Free Pre-natal Yoga
Since I enjoyed my first ever pre-natal Yoga experience during Smart Parenting Baby Shower, I decided to do pre-natal yoga on a regular basis. And because hubby and I were saving for the baby, I chose to use online video session over the regular Yoga classes offered by Fitness studios. Sharing with all the beautiful…
The Baby Shower
One of the cute milestones in a pregnant’s diary is a baby shower for her and her baby. Â On my first pregnancy, I was blessed to have two baby showers (one was given by my former colleagues from the PSE and another was organized by my highschool friends). Â I was supposed to have three baby…
Maternity Photo Shoot
In a millennial preggyâs bucket list is a baby bump-centered maternity photo shoot. Well, women in previous generations might frown at the thought of taking a photo of their bulging tummies. With the technology at hand, however, women of today say âwhy not?â to preserving an image of their very pregnant self. I was one millennial…
Dealing with Gestational Diabetes
I flunked my two glucose tests during pregnancy! My Oral Glucose Challenge Test (known in the pregnancy world as OGCT) and Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (aka OGTT), generally taken between 26 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, declared that I have gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). âYou need to be seen by a diabetologist,â said my OB. …
Pregnancy Essentials
Being pregnant is certainly not a walk in the park, but there are several things that will make those pregnancy symptoms easier to bear. I’m happy to share with you the products that helped me survive (and even enjoy) the whole 9 months of my “preginess”. Pre-natal Vitamins Pre-natal vitamins are very important during pregnancy.  These…
Birth and Baby Workshop by Smart Parenting
Since I enjoyed my experience at the Smart Parenting’s Baby Shower event, I attended another event for pregnant women organized by Smart Parenting — the Smart Parenting Birth and Baby Workshop. Like the Baby Shower event, whatâs best about the Birth and Baby workshop was itâs free! All I needed was to be one of…
Pre-natal Tests
Aside from the regular check-ups with your OB, another thing that will demand time and treasure from you while you are pregnant is the long list of pre-natal tests and screenings that your OB will require you to undergo. Here are the tests that was required of me: These pre-natal tests and screenings will surely…
Newborn Product Checklist
There are a lot of newborn product checklists available online, but not everything is suitable for me.  So I carefully selected a newborn stuff list that is tailor-made for mom and newborn in the Philippines. I ended up using Baby Company’s comprehensive check list. Of course, I did not buy everything on the list.  Fortunately, some items…
Smart Parenting Baby Shower 2016
In the Philippines, there are so many restrictions imposed on a pregnant woman not just by her OB, but also by her family, colleagues, friends and yes, even strangers. “Buntis ka, bawal kang lakad nang lakad. Wag ka maglalalabas. Bawal ka nito. Bawal ka nyan.” As if you’re debilitated, people will (sincerely or not) caution…
Finding out I’m pregnant
I have always known in my heart that I am called to be a mother. I just didnât know that motherhood would arrive during the honeymoon stage of our married life. Just almost 7 months after our wedding day, I was blessed to conceive. Â đ Being a newbie in the human reproductive domain, I struggled…