The Mommy Diaries Bazaar

Going to mommy bazaars is my indulgence. It's me time that still gets things done for my family. So even if I was so sleepy and tired, I made my way to the Mommy Diaries bazaar at the Fort this weekend. The Mommy Mundo bazaar at Rockwell seems to have more booths and selection but I did get to buy the stuff I needed and picked some other stuff along the way.

1.  Lactation Muffins from Paola at Mommy Treat - I love Paola's muffins. This is my 3rd order already. I picked up my months supply because my 2 year old also eats them. I prefer for her to eat these little muffins because they have more healthy stuff than the regular muffin. Actually, my brothers and sisters ate my stash when they slept over too!

I particularly like the lemon bites and the carrot walnut but I get all the varieties so that I don't get bored eating the same thing over and over. I usually put a pack in my pumping bag so I have a healthy snack in the office.

You can also order these online through mommytreats.multiply.com but I prefer to have them right away:) 

2.  Sunhats

I've been buying Ava's sunhats from the same booth since the time she was 6 months old. We've gone through 2 hats and she's on her third. I also got one for Emilio. I find them expensive at P650 each but they are the widest brim I can find and the fabric is good. They are also adjustable so overall more wearable. The prints are cute too! Anyway, I justify it on a cost per use and since they wear the hat practically everyday, I figure it's all worth it.

3. Smocked Dress

I picked up a smocked dress for Ava for P400. I still like these super girly outfits for her (specially while she still wears what I pick). This is an impulse purchase. I couldn't help it!

4.  Saya Baby Carrier

I actually have a Baby Bjorn and an  Ergo already. I don't use the Bjorn because I've read too many articles saying how bad it is for the hip development of a baby. I also can't use it for long stretches because it hurts my back.

I got an Ergo from Amazon and I love it. It distributes the weight on my hips very well. We actually used it when we went to Hong Kong and I could go for long stretches with Emilio in it. The problem is it's a little too thick and hot for daily use in Manila. Plus he can't face out so he starts to fret after awhile.

I got a Saya carrier so even yaya can put him in the carrier when they go for walks. It's reasonably priced at P950. I actually made my own wrap carrier when Emilio was an infant but I couldn't use it. Psychologically, I was so scared he'd fall off. My cousin lent me her ring sling but I couldn't position Emilio properly and I wasn't too comfortable with the weight on just one shoulder.

When yaya saw the carrier, she said she'd been using the same kind with her other alagas before. Yay! So no need to teach yaya how to use it. When we put Emilio in it, he didn't want to stay in it for long. Uh-oh. So I guess we still have to help him get used to it.

5.  More Milk Plus

Anything to increase milk supply attracts me. This cost a hefty P1900 but I wanted to try. It tastes really bad and I saw it on Amazon for just $13. *sigh* Guess that happens when you buy on impulse!

'Til the next bazaar!

Helping Baby Through Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)

This April Emilio developed what I thought were bungang araw (prickly heat) on his neck and the folds of his arms. Though I doused heavily in cornstarch, they kept multiplying. When we went to Bohol for a week, they developed into red patches all over him. He was scratching himself even in his sleep! My heart went out to my little boy. I would put hydrocortisone but it only helped for a little while.

Yaya and I were trying to figure out what went wrong. I blamed it on the hot weather, thus we put him in the aircon 24/7. Yaya blamed it on the food I ate, thus I went on an elimination diet (oh how difficult that was being in a resort with a great chef). But the rashes persisted and even grew redder and redder. We stopped giving him solids as he had just started. Oh how Emilio stared longingly at his bowl. We even went as far as bathing him in mineral water.

Back in Manila, we went straight to a doctor. He was diagnosed with atopic dermatities (eczema), commonly known here as asthma of the skin. My mom has it. My brothers, sisters and cousins have it. And my husband has a bad case of allergic rhinitis. Our pediatric dermatologist prescribed steriods and corticosteroids to help calm it down. We were advised to put lotion on him regularly, moving to creams and eventually petroleum jelly should it flare up. My son would be having flares every so often our doctor said. What's important is to manage it well.

But I refuse to just take this sitting down. I wasn't comfortable on relying on steroids too.  We were also advised to limit putting it on him to twice a day. But he was itching before the next dose could be administered!

I researched, researched and researched some more. There must be a way to help my little boy through this. As I write, he sleeps soundly. No itches, no red scaly patches and guess what, no steroids too!

Here's what helped:

1.  Cetaphil cream: slathered all over him 3 times a day. This seems to work better than Aveeno.

2.  Cotton clothing: we basically keep him cool (no need to aircon 24/7) and dress him in natural fibers

3.  Calendula cream: Most of the posts I read suggested California Baby Calendula Cream. Where on earth would I find that in Manila?! But I remember buying a Calendula Diaper Cream from Dr. Cricket Chen's clinic when my first baby was born. I looked for that old tube and slathered it all over Emilio's tummy when he couldn't sleep (he was scratching his tummy). The next day, yaya said his back was still red. I asked her "how 'bout his tummy", she said it's pretty clear. Aha! Never mind that it's diaper cream, I asked yaya to put it all over Emilio. It helped a lot!

4.  Elimination diet: I had to accept, albeit painfully, that chocolates, patis, bagoong and seafoods often triggered rashes in my son. So I gave them up. Cold turkey. Never mind that the chocolate covered espresso beans from Coffee Bean keep calling my name...

5. Probiotics: I kept reading about probiotics and how good they were for infants with eczema. Healthy Options didn't have any. And I didn't want to wait for June when I can ask friends to bring some home from the USA. Turns out, there is on our homeopathic/alternative medicine pedia's clinic! I gave Emilio immediately with my breastmilk.

6. Flaxseed Oil is supposed to be very good too. Unfortunately, Healthy Options ran out of the one for infants. So here I am taking flaxseed oil because Emilio will be able to benefit through my breastmilk.

I'm so happy because my baby's skin isn't itchy anymore. I really hope we can prevent flare-ups in the future. When he's much older, I will definitely detox him to rid him of the toxins accumulated when I was pregnant with him. My research suggests babies born of high-risk pregnancies such as mine often have higher incidence of atopic dermatitis. Perhaps its the barrage of medicines we took to carry them to term.

I hope this helps your baby too!

A Pumping Mom's Worst Nightmare (aka I left my pump on the plane)

I knew I left something on the plane. Something but I couldn’t recall. I took a backward glance at all our seats and saw nothing. If it were just a blanket or a cloth diaper, it’s no big deal.  If I could just rewind time for just a bit … I would’ve looked under my seat. And I would’ve seen that discreet little black pouch.

Full of hope, I asked the concierge to give the airline a call. Afterall, I reasoned to myself, who would want a used breast pump? Surely it would be there waiting for me. But it was gone. Really. Truly.

I was planning to pump another bottleful on the plane to Hong Kong so that Emilio would have something to drink when I went to all my meetings. Having just been to Hong Kong the month before with him, I realized Hong Kong is probably not one of the most breastfeeding countries in the world.  Nursing stations are very few and far between – actually just 1 near Toys R’Us and with the absence of lifts and ramps, a struggle to go to. I was also given a rather dirty shawl when I was trying to discreetly breastfeed him in a corner of the hotel’s café. IFC Mall is better with ramps and elevators more accessible but still also no breastfeeding station anywhere.

Emilio usually drinks direct when I’m around. He has no problem drinking from a bottle too. But one thing he cannot do is to drink with a nursing cover on- he arches his back and swats at the nursing cover. He won’t drink when he feel suffocated… or when the world is moving around him and he can’t see.

Three meetings and I can’t leave him in the hotel room with my sisters. I tried to breastfeed at Peking Garden over lunch. Tried again to breastfeed at the waiting area of the first office we went to. I left him with my sisters for a while right after I fed as it was drizzling outside. I went to my 2^nd meeting and rushed through it as fast as I could. When I got back to my son, he just finished a crying session that lasted, oh the entire time I was gone. He was hungry, tired and couldn’t nurse well.

Last meeting for the day, I took him with me. He was a good little boy, quietly playing in the conference room while I tried to focus on all the updates, trends and figures being thrown my way. I must have looked like a harried mom. Well I was a harried mom… a harried mom wanting to kick herself for leaving the breast pump in the plane. A harried mom who wanted to just sign everything and get out of there.

My sister brought him out for a little bit but no amount of walking up and down the corridors of that beautiful office was keeping him occupied. With as much dignity as I could, I asked everyone in the conference room to please step out as I had to feed my son in silence. He fed very well and fell asleep. I tried not to think about what everyone was thinking. I stared out the window with the million dollar view of the harbor and wondered, who has my pump? Who on earth took my pump and do they feel bad right now?

Fast asleep, I slowly lay him down in his stroller.  Ahh finally, he gets his very late nap for the day. We push him out… I was thinking please just help me get through today. Tomorrow I have no meetings, I can just stay in the hotel.

We were almost there, out into the lobby, when another meeting ended and loud businessmen woke up my little boy with their small talk. I picked him up and prepared to go. Our associate wanted to take picture chronicling our HK visit. During the picture taking, my son made a pretty loud fart. Oops sorry. I put him down in his stroller trying to push the picture taking along. Emilio gave 2 grunts and the whole lobby heard him poo. Now that is a fantastic end to our super stressful day, it made everyone smile. My son will hear this story someday.

We washed him, cleaned him and headed back to the hotel. He had a good feed lying down on the hotel bed and fell asleep right away. He was nursing practically the whole evening… my sister said everytime she peeked at us, he was nursing.

We made it through the next day. We made it through the day after. I was still hoping I’d find my pump. But it was really gone.

Up to this day I sometimes wonder, who got it? Was it thrown away? I keep remembering its smooth egg like shape, the steady thump thumping and the reassuring gush of milk flowing into the bottle. My pump was my buddy, taking me through frantic work days, helping me keep my son healthy despite all the germs in the planes we take monthly.

If I could just rewind time for a bit, I would check under my seat.  Instead of a discreet little black pouch, I will put my breastpump, droplets of milk and all in a clear bag for the world to see. I am a breastfeeding, working, often frazzled mommy. Please hand this back to me.