minamimusings

In the first few months after Munch was born, I must have burned terabytes searching for, clicking on, and reading post upon article upon post on the world wide web with information on how to better care for your firstborn.  This included looking for shopping lists for baby gear. I don't like spending unnecessarily, and baby stuff costs so much, which is why I tried to do my research before actually going out and buying anything. So this post is about what I have found to be invaluable, which purchases I'd gladly repeat if I were to do it over again, and which ones I wish I could have refunded. This is all based on my experience and all my point of view. Crib vs. Playpen. My siblings and I grew up owning, sleeping and eventually playing in one of those sturdy wooden cribs in the 80s. Naturally, it was top of mind when I got pregnant, and it was a foregone conclusion in the beginning that I would get a crib. I did look at some playpens before making my decision, and the ch...

When breastfeeding, moms are often advised to ingest some form of the leaves of the "malunggay" plant. It's mostly used to make soup, although there are also malunggay capsules. They say that this helps you produce more milk. So, look what we discovered while in Molito one night a couple of weeks ago. Malunggay snack. My sister says it's like Snacku. This one is barbecue flavored. Malunggay drink! The seller said it also has ginger and, I think, a bit of lemon? Kind of wondering why they're not listed in the ingredients though. My malunggay diet. (The white tablet is the odd one out. That's Calcium. :P)

My husband, for the latter part of my pregnancy, renewed his long-standing addiction to the Pokemon games by buying Pokemon Black and spending hours upon hours playing. He would alternate between that and Pokemon Platinum which he had finished previously, and even bought an extra Nintendo DS unit so we could play separate titles. This went on until our baby was born. Because of his little obsession with Pokemon, hubby gave us designations: He identified with Snorlax. It was one of his favorites, plus he had a similarly bulging tummy. Because he was Snorlax, he dubbed our little one "Munchlax", the unevolved, younger form of Snorlax. Funnily enough, this does resemble my baby after he's been fed. One day, I told him about how, when my breasts are full, the milk would end up flowing out in a steady stream, sometimes spraying our baby's face during feeding times when he'd suddenly unlatch to take a breath. That's when hubby started calling me "Squirtle"...

While pregnant, I was already decided that I would breastfeed. I had the encouragement of already-mom friends, my OBGyne and even my dermatologist who were insistent that it would be the best thing. The proof was in my husband who was breastfed until he was two and he rarely gets sick! So, I said, Psshaw. Breastfeeding. How hard could it be? The first few days with our baby were definitely a struggle. He was crying all the time, and I would try to feed him but NOTHING would come out. It worried me, because my mom said she wasn't able to produce breastmilk, so my siblings and I weren't breastfed. I thought, well, maybe it's hereditary and I might not be producing milk, too! I kept saying this to people who would listen: my husband, my mother-in-law, the nurses and the midwives who would come in to the room to help us soothe the baby.   Then there was the pain part. Can I just say? It HURT.  I had no idea a newborn's jaws could have so much chomping power! I h...