Justin's 10th Checkup

Justin had his 10th checkup today. He did not have any vaccine because Dra. Teldy Chua said that she normally don't give vaccine before baby's 1st birthday to avoid any rushes, fever, etc. Everything is normal. Justin's height is 78cm while his weight is 10kg.

Justin's 11th Month

Today we celebrate Justin's 11th month. It was actually a double celebration because he just got well from his sickness. We had his cake from kocco. It was a strawberry choco cake. 1 more month to go and Justin will be celebrating his 1st birthday.

Justin's 9th Checkup

Justin had his 9th checkup today. He now weights 10kg and his head measures 76cm.

Justin learns to crawl

We went to SM North edsa today. We went there with Justin so that he can have a stroll. He loved it very much. We also went to the grocery and Justin had his first push cart ride.

We got home almost 11pm already. Justin doesn't want to sleep and his spirits are so high that he doesn't want to sleep yet. He keeps on playing and chasing the ball. We noticed that he crawls to chase the ball. It was actually his first time to crawl since he skipped it and learn how to stand. He crawls so funny and luckily I was able to capture it on video.

Clapping with sound

Justin can now clap his hands with sounds. Justin has been clapping this hands for several months already. But today I noticed that he can clap his hands with a sound already. This is something new to him again and we're happy to learn about it.

Justin learns where's his tongue

Justin today learns where his tongue is. When you ask him where is his tongue, he will put out his tongue. This is another new milestone for him.

Justin knows how to kick

Justin today learns how to kick the ball. While seated on the rubber matt, we rolled the ball to Justin and he keeps on kicking the ball. This is another great milestone for him.

Rubber mat

We installed the rubber mat for Justin today. So that he could play on the floor in our room and he could practice walking. Justin loved it so much.

Justin fell off the bed

Justin almost fell of the bed earlier. I'm sitting beside him on our bed when Sophia entered our room. I turned to my back and look at Sofia without knowing that Justin jumped off the bed. From a far, Michelle saw Justin and she immediately run and she was able to hold on to his shirt. When I turned back to Justin I hold his legs and assists his neck.

Justin did not cry. He was not shocked or got scared. Luckily nothing bad happened to him. If ever something bad happen to him, there's no one to blame but me.

God is really great. He did not allow anything bad happen to Justin. Thank you Lord.

The first Family day

It's our first family day today! As in my own family. Not relatives, no yaya. We went to church early morning with Justin for our yaya is on day off today. On our way home from church Justin fell asleep in the car. It's almost 12 noon when Justin woke up. After giving him his lunch we went to eastwood mall.

Michelle and I had lunch at Old Vine. The food was good and as we eat, Justin just sit down playing with his book and a piece of tissue paper.

After having our lunch we went to Toy town to buy a gift for our next week's party. We are surprised to see that Justin already know how to choose a toy. He keeps on going back to the winnie the pooh rattle. He really won't let of that particular toy. But I did not buy it for him because it's for a 0 month old baby.

It's already 3 o'clock so we went to gymboree for our reunion. Justin was so happy to walk on the mat. He keeps on crawling and walking. We are able to confirm that Justin can really walk and balance. He did walk several times and he seems very happy playing at gymboree. We are able to meet our old classmates from our lamaze class too. It's nice to see that all babies are together. We had a free 1 hour class but Justin seems to got tired and he fell asleep while drinking his milk. He woke up in the middle portion of the class already.

Justin is afraid of the bubbles but he is cooperative to the teacher. There was a part wherein teacher tells everyone to clap their hands, Justin listened to the teacher and claps his hands. Justin also show off his skills as he showed other mommies what he can do, like clap his hands, bless mommy, show his mouth, etc..

It was a rainy day and we went home late already. As soon as we left the place, Justin fell asleep in the car. I think he is really exhausted with the things he did the whole day. It was such a wonderful day and we really enjoy. It's nice to see Justin's skills especially when he walks.

Learning where Justin's mouth is

Justin also learned today where his mouth is. He learned 2 things today, his head and his mouth. When you ask him where is mouth is, he will pout his lips and make a funny face. Everyone who sees him keeps laughing.

Where's your head Justin?

Justin today learned where his head is. If you ask him where's your head? he will touch the side of his head.

Justin learns how to love love

Justin learns to love love today. When you say "love love daddy" he will hug daddy and kiss. It's such a nice feeling.

Justin know where his hands is

Justin learned about his hands today. When you ask him "where's your hands?" he will shake his 2 hands. We just teach it to him today and he was able to remember it immediately.

Snapping of fingers

We are watching mickey mouse clubhouse this afternoon. And there was a song wherein Mickey will sing " Clap clap, finger snap, time to check the mouseka map". Justin followed the actions, and he learn how to snap his fingers today. It was very fun since he can really pick up things so fast.

Justin's 9th Checkup

Justin had his 9th checkup today. We were surprised when we arrived in the clinic because we are the first in line. Normally we are 2nd or 3rd only. Then we found out that Coen and Bea transferred to a different day for the 3 of us are always early for checkup.

Justin gained 2cm in his height today. He now measures 75cm. and weights 9.6 kilos. Justin gained a lot this month. Dra. said that we just need to maintain what we are doing.

Today is also the last day of his Pneumacocal vaccine. We are finally free from expensive vaccines.

Wash hands Justin

Justin loves to wash his hands. As early as now we are teaching him how to wash his hands everyday before he go to sleep so that he will have this habit when he grows up. Justin loves to wash his hands and he will look for the towel after washing his hands.

Justin learns to put phone on his ears

Justin tonight learned how to put the telephone on his ears. Before we went to sleep, like what we always do, we played with him on our bed. We gave him our wireless phone and he played with it. Justin loves the phone so much because it makes different ringing tone when he press some buttons. Then we teach him how to say "hello" while putting it on his ears. To our surprise he learn it instantly. He is really a fast learner and wise. And we are really blessed to have a baby Justin.

Justin learns where's his Feet

We taught Justin how to point his to his feet this evening and surprisingly he learned it immediately. We are so happy to see that he learned something new today. He really learn things so fast.

Say HI

Justin today learned to say the word "Hi" as he waves his hand.

Justin learn's to point his Ears

Justin today learned where his ear is. We are really surprised that he have a good memory and he can learn fast. We tried letting him point to his ears, then surprisingly he was able to point to it. So happy to know that Justin is indead very gifted.

Justin's 8th Checkup

Justin had his 8th checkup today. He now weights 8.8 kilos and measures 72 cm long. He did not gain much weight this checkup. 0.2 kilos is small but according to Dra. Teldy Chua is okay. He was advised to eat foods with high cholesterol. Like margarine, egg, bread, etc.. Though we think that margarine is not healthy for him so we won't give it to him.

According to Dra. Teldy Chua, Justin is advanced in motor skills. He can start to walk at an early age.

Justin had his measles vaccination today. He could have fever and rushes in the next 10 days and it normal. We have to observe him carefully.

Justin's first tooth

Today when we got home from work, we saw Justin's first tooth. It was on his lower middle tooth. We are so happy to see it. We even try to touch it to see if it is for real. It was a bit sharp. Here is the picture of his tooth.

Justin's 8th Month

Justin turned 8 months old today. Usually we celebrate his monthly in our house with a cake. But today it was different. We celebrated with my in-laws. Since it is a Sunday, we went to their house and celebrate it with a new Oreo cake from red ribbon. Unfortunately I left my camera at home so I end up lending one from his brother.

Bukol

When we got home tonight Justin have a bukol (a small red mark on his forehead). This is the first time that he had it. According to his yaya, he was playing inside his playpen then Justin hit the bar in the playpen. Though it's not very big. We just put ice and put physiogel. Hope that this won't happen again.

Mcdo

Just last night I teach Justin how to make a Mcdo sign by putting his to hands on top of his head forming a letter M. This morning when try to let him do the Mcdo sign again, surprisingly he was able to do it.

Justin learns to clap

One thing we noticed when we got home from our Japan trip was Justin already knew how to clap his hands. We are so happy to this development on him. I know it is not ordinary for a 7 months old baby to clap his hands but Justin was able to do it. Keep it up Justin. Mommy and Daddy is so proud of you.

Justin's 7th check-up

Today is Justin's 7th check-up. We arrived early in the clinic and we are lucky enough to be the first patient. Just weights 8.6 kilos already and his height increased by 3.5cm. He is now 71.5cm tall.

Dra. Teldy Chua was surprised to know that Justin already knows how to stand on his own. Knows how to say "Mama" and "Papa" which I heard yesterday for the first time. During his vaccine, Justin did not cry.

Justin learns how to wave bye bye

Just few minutes ago, while we are playing with Justin, we noticed that he finally learns how to wave bye bye. At first we though that it's just a coincidence, then we let him repeat it several times. He really did know how to bye bye. I was lucky enough to capture it on video.

First banana

We gave Justin his first banana today. But he seems not to like it. :( He really don't enjoy eating fruits so much. I hope he will learn it someday.

Justin have colds

Justin have colds. It is very hard for us to see him with colds. You would see it drip from his nose somethings. I hope he will get well fast. We cannot give him any medicine for he is still a baby. Water therapy is the only thing we can do for now.

broccoli and pears

Today we tried giving Justin Pears for his breakfast and lugaw with Broccoli for lunch. I'm kinda worried because he did not like the apple yesterday. But gladly, he liked it this time and he was able to finish it all fast.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

We tried giving Justin apple today. When he first tried it, his face became different. He doesn't want the taste of apple. I wonder why Justin doesn't want apple. When Michelle is pregnant, she ate lots of apples. Even if Justin don't like it, we still forced him to finish everything. (sorry Justin mahal ang apple eh.) Hehe

Justin caught on video

Justin was able to sit on his own today. I was able to catch it on video. While he was on our bed, we saw him try to do something different. I hurriedly get my video camera and start shooting. Luckily I was able to catch it on video. Justin is really a big boy now, as he can sit on his own already. Initially I expect him to learn for about a week from yesterday. But I was wrong, it only took him less than 24 hours to learn how to sit.

Setting a new milestone

Justin's thick mattress was delivered this afternoon. Upon installing it to his playpen, we immediately place him inside the playpen. He is so happy and keeps on turning around. I noticed that he seems to have a new trick in crawling. I saw him bend his knees and trying to get up. Justin seems to start learning how to seat on his own. He can actually sit already for a long time, but he haven't learned how to sit on his own. We do hope that in the next coming days we'll see him sit on his own.

First word

Justin's first word is "mama". At first we thought that it's just a coincidence but it's not for he keeps on saying it repeatedly. Michelle is very happy to hear Justin say his first word. While I still wait when will he say daddy or papa.

Close open close open

5am today Justin is already awake. The had a tummy time and he keeps on giving us his cute smile. As we play with him, we let him do a close open. We knew that he already know how to do that but this time, as he do it, he stares at his hands and he do the close open fast. We believe that he already familiarized it.

We should start teaching him more things. Our next lesson is to teach him how to bless. Watch out for it.

Sit down, sit down

We saw another first from Justin today. When we put him inside his playpen, we are surprised that he can sit already. He can stay seated for at least 30 seconds to 1 minute while playing his new toy star stacker. Justin is turning 6 months tomorrow and this is another good development from him.

Finally a playpen

Justin is so "malikot" now. When he is sleeping he would always want to put his head on the headboard. He keeps on turning and he can't stay in one position. When you carry him, he will climb up from your stomach to your shoulders. Though this is a good development for Justin because we know that is is very active and his body is developing.

Since today is a holiday, we decided to buy him a playpen. Because he keeps on turning around from one side of his crib to the other end. We are afraid that he might bump his head. At SM North department store's baby company we saw 2 playpen that we like, the other one is rectangular in shape but the sides are not foldable. The price is 5,400. While the other one that we saw was square shaped and the sides can be folded. Price is 2,600 We decided to get the square one because its more convenient to use. We tried it on Justin when we got home, and he seems to be happy inside the playpen.

Justin eats potato

When I got home from work today, I saw Justin eating potato with congee. He is almost done when I got home. But he have few left over which in the end was for me to eat. This is his first time to eat potato and we will try other type of food after 3 days.

Justin's first solid food

When we got home from church today, we gave Justin his first solid food, Cerelac. He seems to love it very much. Though we made too much he can't finish it. In the end, I help him ate the Cerelac. This is the start of another milestone for Justin. We do hope that he will have a good appetite always.

Justin's 6th checkup

Justin is now 5 months and a half old. And we had his 6th checkup. His weight today is exactly 8 kilos (17.6 lbs). He also measures 68cm in height. Justin had his second shot of IPV vaccine. He did not cry today when he had his vaccine.

Dra. Teldy Chua allowed Justin to start taking solid food. We are advice to give him cereals and lugaw first. For the first week, we are to feed Justin once only. Then after a week we can feed him 2x a day.

We went to landmark today to buy a cerelac for Justin.

Justin can hold his water thumbler

Justin was able to hold his water thumbler all by himself. We are so happy to see that he knows how to do it alone already. As early as 5 months and a half old, im sure not all baby can do this. We have captured this special moment of justin in video.

Justin eats teething cookie

I bought teething cookies for Justin today. Because it seems that his teeth are about to come out. Dra. Teldy Chua gave us a go signal to give him teething cookie. Justin seems to enjoy it very much. I have a video of Justin eating the cookies.

Finish taking my medicine

Im finish taking my medicine. Now Im not sure if im completely ok. I would need to go back to see Dr. Ernesto Domingo on April. And I have to have a test for my sgpt. I hope everything will be ok. Personally I believe that I did well for not eating sweet, eating at fast food and canned goods. Though 1 thing I miss was exercise. But I do walk home during Monday and Thursday. I do hope that's enough. Lets just wait for my next checkup.

Justin drinks from a straw

We bought a straw made by pigeon where we can put it inside the bottle. Justin tried it and he was able to drink from the straw.

Sleeping habit of Justin

Justin is starting to have a new sleeping routine. Before, we need to let him lay down on the bed, sing to him and let him drink milk before he can sleep. But now it's a different story. He has a new sleeping pattern. Michelle will carry him then we will play the children's hymn cd and close the lights. With this, Justin won't cry anymore and he knows that it's time for him to sleep. It's been 4 days already since we tried this. And it is very effective. We are able to let him sleep with out any problem.

Justin also starts to move a lot when sleeping. He even kneel while sleeping. His position is very funny.

First soup

firstJustin is almost 6 months old. Today Michelle let him try to drink soup. Justin liked the soup so much. He asked for more soup when she stopped giving soup to him. We do hope that he will have appetite to eat when it's time for him to eat solid food.

Up here!

Justin has a new milestone. He now knows how to respond to "up here". When I say "up here" he will raise his hand. He really learns things very fast. And we are so happy with his progress.

Starting to learn close open

Justin is starting to learn close open. At 5 months and 5 days old, Justin seems to start closing and opening his hands as we say close open. He haven't got it fully yet but we believe he already understands how to do it. I was able to capture a video of that moment.

Justin sleeping with us

We started letting Justin sleep with us again last March 3, 2009. We gave him milk while he lay down on our bed. Michelle also sings nursery rhymes to him. It's been 4 days straight already that we are able to let Justin sleep with us. We do hope that he will get used to with this routine for a long time.

Justin roll

Justin is getting used to rolling over. He can roll fast and lay on his tummy for a long time. Earlier tonight while Justin is on our bed. We saw him roll over from one end of the bed to the other end. He rolled about 3 to 4 times to reach the other end. We are so happy to see this because it is another milestone for Justin. He is really developing very fast.

Justin's afraid of unkown people

We went home to Michelle's house today to visit her parents. Justin go with us. But to our surprise, Justin seems to start getting afraid of people don't know or he not normally see. He keeps on crying and he doesn't want other people to carry him. But after few hours, they were able to carry Justin without any problem.

This situation alarmed us. For we don't want Justin to be afraid of his grand parents. What we'll try to do is, will have Justin go to their house at least once a week for him to get used to it.

Justin's 5th checkup

Justin had his checkup today. We arrived their a little early today but we are still 3rd in line. Hi classmate Coen Hopper is always early and Bea. When we let Justin lay down on the weighing scale, he cried very hard. He usually love to lay down on the weighing scale. But after a while, we agreed to sat on the weighing scale. He weighs 7.6 kilo or 16.7lbs. His increase today is a bit small but its OK since he is still within the normal margin. His head increased by 3cm from 40cm to 43cm. His height increase from 65cm to 66.5cm. Over all Justin is growing very well.

Today he had another vaccine which is the 3 in 1. (DTAP). He is very brave because when Dra. Teldy Chua inserted the injection he cried for few seconds then when the needle was pulled out, he immediately stopped. I think Justin is really brave unlike his mom. The vaccine cost 3,200.

Am I bad?

Last night Justin doesn't want to sleep again. He was crying very loud for 1 hour in our room. Michelle said that Justin doesn't want to sleep because we haven't sleep with him for several days already. She thinks that Justin wants yaya again. I'm sadden with this because she blames me for it. I got sick last week. Who wants to get sick. Is it my choice to get sick? I just can't understand why I'm always the one blamed on things. Am I really a bad person? bad husband? bad father?

I know that these are the things each couple will go thru in their journey. Relationship could sometimes be rough, but in the end I know all these things will be resolved. (I hope soon!)

What the future holds for me

I'm sick. Yes I'm seriously sick. After my blood test last Feb 14, 2009. We found out that my sgpt is too high. The normal rate is 43, while mine is 129. At first they speculate that I have hepatitis or it could also be a fatty liver. I consulted Dr. Ernesto Domingo and he had me have a test for hepatitis B and C. Thank God the result was negative. He diagnosed me having a fatty liver.

From now on, I cannot eat sweets because it could result me in having a diabetes. I cannot drink soft drinks, eat chocolates, ice cream, leche flan, cake, etc. I should also moderate my pork and beef intake.

I'm not really sad with his findings. For I understand that this is for my own good. I just have to learning eating vegetables. On the other side, I'm thinking that why these things are happening to me. Am I bad? Did I do anything wrong to deserve all these things? They say God has a purpose for everything, but I don't know what's the purpose of this. I know my life will definitely change and I'm really to accept all the changes and challenges.

a-line

Last night Justin don't want to sleep yet. We brought him to our room and play with him. Michelle keeps talking to him and make him clap his hands. Justin was so happy he giggles with sound. Then when we try to a-line with him, we are shocked to see him raised his finger to a-line with us. Justin seems to be so bright. And we're both happy to see his developments and milestones day by day.

Justin eats his foot

When I got home earlier from work, I saw Justin in our room with my parents and Michelle. Justin was eating his left foot. This the first time that we saw him eating his foot. Before, I already saw him trying to reach his foot but he ends up eating his finger. This is definitely another milestone for him and we're so happy to see it. Now i hope I can see him roll over.

Justin's development

Justin have been sleeping with us for the past weeks. So far there seem to have a lot of improvement. Michelle can now let Justin sleep without a yaya. Somehow we are happy that this happened. Justin doesn't woke up anymore during midnight. We just have to give him milk every 3 to 4 hours which gives us like 1 to 2 feedings at midnight.

This morning before we go to work, he is playing with his gym set. Watching his development make me think that he is really a gifted child and im sure he will talk and walk at an early age.

Justin have really grown a lot and we are very happy that he is healthy. Tomorrow will be his forth month (same with daddy's birthday).

I want to make justin famous

As a hobbyist photographer I dreamed of my photos be published in magazine. I was able to achieve that last year when i-mag photography (a photography magazine) published my photo when my photo was chosen in a contest.

Recently, I joined an online baby contest for Justin. I would like Justin's photo to be published in magazine. This time in baby magazine www.babycentral.com.ph . I joined the March contest which have a theme of Sleeping baby.

There are lots of mommies who joined the contest and I think I'm the only Dad who joined is registered in their site. Winning is easy, you need to have the most number votes, comments and views. Though I think it's kinda unfair for some because I see some participants who I believe created multiple accounts to comment and vote on their own entry. I hope that admin will really filter the multiple accounts user based on their IP addresses. Anyway, I hope Justin will win as the baby of the month even if some are cheating.

To anyone who would like to vote my baby you can go to this link. http://babycentral.com.ph/photogallery.php?photo_id=1019

Chinese new years eve

Today is Justin's first chinese new years eve. He was given angpao by everyone. Justin seems to like angpao! hahaha Happy year of the ox Justin.

Justin's 4th checkup

Justin had his 4Th checkup today. We arrived at the clinic early today at around 1:40 pm. We are already 3rd in line. Luckily the first in line is not present so we became the second patient. Just Weights 7 kilos (15.4lbs) and he measures 65cm. An increase of 1 kilo and 4 cm is a very good growth according to Dra. Teldy Chua.
We've been very worried the past weeks because Justin doesn't want to drink milk when he is awake. But when Dra. Teldy Chua checked him, everything is normal. We also consulted regarding hi "bukol" but according to Dra. Teldy Chua, it's just a bone so nothing to worried about.
Today Justin have his Pneumoccocal vaccine (IPD). The vaccine cost 5,000. It was really expensive but for Justin's safety we cannot miss that vaccine. Dra. Teldy Chua was very kind because she gave us a little discount (4,700). Justin was sleeping when we had the vaccine. He cried for few seconds then go back to sleep.
Over all I'm so happy with Justin's progress. I hope he continues to be healthy and a good boy.

Justin doesn't want to sleep

For 3 nights straight Justin doesn't want to sleep and he keeps on crying. Even if Michelle is carrying him to sleep he doesn't want to stop. It starts to become a habit already. I do hope that Justin will change this behavior. Though when he is asleep already, he will sleep straight until 7 to 8:00 am.
Justin will sleep in our room starting today. For we want him to be closer to us not with his yaya.

Justin can now push

We are feeding Justin with milk but he doesn't want to drink. Instead, he pushed the bottle using his hands. I was amaze when I saw it happening because Justin already knew how to use his hands.

Over feed

Last night Justin was overfeed by yaya. As a result he throw up all the milk he drank. I saw it as it happens. Seeing Justin throw up, it gave me a pain in my heart for I feel that it is painful for him. Though he did not cry, you can see in his face that he was shocked.
This incident was yaya's fault because she let Justin drink 6oz of milk at 7:45 and 4oz of milk at 9:40. 10 oz in the span of 2 hours? that was really too much and she did not let him burp.
I already talked to yaya and told her not to give too much milk and make sure that she should burp Justin.

Bukol

Last night while I was talking and playing with Justin, I noticed that he has a "Bukol" on his head. Though I'm not sure if it is really a "Bukol" for I did not know any incident were he bumped his head. I immediately ask yaya but she said Justin's head was never bumped.

I'm worried because I don't want Justin to have any marks in his head. Also if ever yaya accidentally bumped him I want her to tell the truth. I love Justin so much that I don't want anything bad happen to him. Though I think there nothing wrong with Justin, and it might not really be a "bukol". At least I have told yaya and she should be careful next time.

Sleepy Justin did not ask for milk

Early this morning when yaya bring Justin to our room, she said that Justin did not ask for milk from 1am until 6am. It was already 5 hours but he seems not hungry. It surprise us because Justin normally ask for milk in a regular intervals. Michelle called Dra. Teldy Chua regarding this matter and we are advised to let Justin drink milk within 3 to 4 hours interval even if he did not ask for it.
Justin also had a long sleep today. After talking a bath in the morning he sleep for long hours again. Maybe it's because of the cold weather.

First 6oz of milk in 1 feeding

Justin reached another milestone today. For the first time after 3 months he was able to finish 6 oz of milk in one feeding. After finishing the first 3 oz, his mouth still keeps on sucking something even there's nothing in his mouth. Yaya tried to make another 3 oz of milk. Surprisingly Justin finished it. I just told yaya that she should burp him well.

That's a good sign that Justin is growing up very well. We're so happy to know that there is improvement in his feeding. For he has been stuck in 3 oz for 2 months now. We will try again in the coming days if Justin will be consistent in finishing 6 oz of milk.

Gwama's Birthday

Today is Justin's gwama's birthday. Early today we bring Justin to their house. When we arrived there, Justin's gwama and gwakong is not yet home. We stayed there for a while and took some pictures of Justin and his cousin Rhyan. Here are the photos I took before I leave their house:


Justin stayed there the whole day and he shared one crib with Rhyan. Everyone seems to love and miss Justin. They said that he has really grown a lot and he does not look like a 3 months old baby anymore.

Later tonight we had dinner in their house before we went home. I'm sure gwama did enjoy the day with Justin.

Justin's first book reading

We got home a bit late today from work because Michelle transferred to quezon city already. He our time was 6pm and it was so traffic. When we got home, Justin was awake. We took him to our room and Michelle tried to let him read the baby book we bought for him. To our surprise, he seems to enjoy looking at the pictures in his baby book. He giggle, smile and even make different sounds while looking at the book. He can now appreciate books. Justin is 1 day away before he turned 3 months old. With this new milestone we are very happy because we knew that Justin has developed a lot from his birth. And this could be the start of something else.

Justin's first video watching

I saw Justin watching wowowie this afternoon with yaya. It seems that he is focusing on what he's watching. I decided to let Justin start watching Baby Einstein. I played Baby Mozart. He seems to be very amazed. While watching he keeps on smiling and giggling. He even tried to say something which we cannot understand.

It's really nice to see Justin growing and to see his every milestone.

Justin's have fever?

Justin seems to have a fever today. We checked it with an ear thermometer and he has 37.8. This is the first time that Justin got sick. I believe this was due to his vaccine yesterday. According to his pediatrician, if it is 37.8 or higher, we should give him medicine. We gave Justin calpol immediately.

This afternoon Justin's fever went down already. Thank God! It was so fast. Justin just took Calpol 2x.

Justin's 3rd checkup

Justin had his 3rd checkup today. We arrived in the clinic at 1:45pm by then we are already 4Th on the list. The clinic was supposed to start at 2:00pm but the doctor arrived at 3:00pm. Justin's classmate is also there today. He had another vaccine, it was a 5 in 1 vaccine which cost 3,200. Justin did not cry too much today. After the needle has been pulled out from his tights, he immediately stopped crying. Vaccines are really expensive. Dra. Teldy Chua told us that the IPV vaccine next month will cost 5,000 per shot. And Justin would need 3 shots of that. Better start saving up for the vaccine.

1st year wedding anniversary

They say sweetness stops when when you get married. For I as much as I can, I like to celebrate our anniversary yearly. And continue to give gifts to Michelle. This year we celebrated our first anniversary at Chili's tomas morato. I fetch Michelle from work and had dinner. After dinner we went to City Lifestyle to have a korean foot spa. We got home at around 10:30 already. By the time we got home Justin is already sleeping.

It was a simple yet a fun and memorable day for us. Because somehow we are able to spend some time together. ( just the two of us) Before we go to sleep I gave Michelle an anniversary present which is a nokia 6120c cellphone.

Happiness is for others and not for myself

Sacrifice sacrifice sacrifice! I believe this should be something that I must learn to get used to. Sometimes situation may be unfair for no matter how kind we are to others, I doesn't mean that you'll get the same treatment in return. I guess that's really the role of a husband, sacrifice everything for your wife. Seeing her happy definitely makes me happy but sometimes I also look for the support that I was expecting to get from her. I guess I really need to start accepting these as a facts and start serving others while sacrificing myself.

I'm writing this not because I have regrets or angry. I'm writing this because I want to express what I'm feeling. I love my wife very much especially our baby. Maybe this is just one thing about changes in a married life. And this is something I have to sink in to my mind. "Happiness is for others and not for myself".

Justins first visit to Gwama

We visited Michelle's family yesterday with Justin. They haven't seen Justin for a long time and everyone misses him already. First impression from them when they saw Justin was "ang laki na nya", "ang taba nya sobra". Michelle's mom carried Justin almost the whole day because she missed Justin so much.

Our yaya was on day off that day and she got home at around 5:30pm already. When she got home she was having a headache. That night we just let her sleep and rest. Justin slept in our room on our bed. He was crying the whole night and we had a hard time sleeping. Stopped after I changed his diaper and Michelle let him sleep on his tummy.

I know it's really hard to take care of a baby. But it was very challenging and fun.

Justin's second check-up

Justin had his second check-up today. I was so excited for this day. Because I want to know Justin's weight and height. I noticed that Justin growed a lot for his cheeks are bigger.

We arrived at the clinic at around 2:30pm. The first thing we did is to weigh Justin. To our surprise Justin had a dramatic increase. From 3 kilos he now weighs 5.2 kilos. If we translate it to pounds it was from 6.6 lbs to a whooping 11.44 lbs. I was expecting Justin to increase 2 lbs only. But to our surprise he gained 5 lbs. We're so happy with his improvements. On the other hand, Justin's height increase from 49cm to 58cm. That was a 10cm increase.

Justin also had his 2nd vaccine today which was the Hepatitis B vaccine.

Justin really growed a lot in 1 month time. He becomes more adorable each day.

Popsmear and Family Planning

Michelle had her last scheduled check-up with Dra. Lety Chua today. She been very good and helpful to us for the past 10 months. While she browse through Michelle's records she told her that "Nun nag simula tayo hanggang sa manganak ka puro ka nalang takot. Kaya na chalenge talaga ako syo". At least now everybody is happy with the result. I know somehow Michelle became a stronger person.

Michelle had her first popsmear. The result will be available next week. We hope everything will be fine. Before we leave Dra.'s clinic, she gave us a quick course in family planning. She said that we are still young, it's better that we have another child after 2 years. According to Dra. Lety Chua 7 days before and after the first day of Michelle's period is safe. She suggested that we use Rhythm method, abstinence or use condom.

Justin's first pajama

It's the first time that Justin wore pajama's. He always sleep with his diaper and he's wrapped in a lampin. We have lots of old cloths and pajamas but it seems to be so big. Today we tried to let him wear the pooh shirt which was given to us during Michelle's baby shower. To our surprise, it fits well. We never imagined that it will fit Justine. Though the pajama pants is too big and we have to make it high waisted up to above Justin's stomach. Our baby is really growing very fast. And I'm so happy about it.

Second night with Justin

Last night I had a chance to sleep with Justin again. That night was different from the first one. When Justin was brought to our room, he doesn't want to sleep. No matter what you do or cuddle him, he keeps on crying. At around 12pm Michelle carried him and he was able to sleep for a while. During that time I was able to nap for a while too. But when she put him on the bed Justin started to crying again. I prepared milk and place Justin on my chest to burp. While doing that, he was able to sleep on my chest and he just stayed there for hours. At 5:30am yaya is already awake and he took Justin to his room. At that time Michelle and I was able to sleep for an hours. It was really a tyring and sleepy experience but for me, no regret at all. It's ok for me to feel sleepy the whole day as long as I was able to take care of my baby.

That morning yaya said that he just take care of Justin tonight. She pity us because we are not able to sleep last night.

Two nights of sleepless night was a tough experience. But im looking forward to take care of Justin at night. Maybe when he grows a little bit bigger so that won't be that hard to take care of him.

First sleep with Justin

I really hate it when I have colds and cough. Last week when Justin is about to go home, I have colds. Because of this, I cannot have Justin sleep with us for he might get infected. Finally after one week, I'm all ok now.

Justin slept with us last night for the first time. I really wanted to experience talking care of Justin at night. Prepare milk when he's hungry, cuddle him when he's crying and changing diapers. I was able to experience all these last night. All I can say is Im so sleepy today. Talking care of Justin is not so hard. Except that he keeps on making some noise when he sleeps. Which made me not been able to sleep well. Im worried that something bad had happen that's why he's making some noises. Talking care of a new born baby is not a joke. But for me experiencing all these happen gave me a lot of experiences. I wanted to repeat this experience tonight.

Photo shoot with Justin

We are able to take lots of photos of Justin today. Since he almost slept the whole day yesterday, we took picture of him with his 1 month old cake today. We also have our first family picture with Justin with his cake. Was able to take some pictures of Justin with his grandpa and grandma, Kathy and Sedy.

Justin's first nail cut

Today yaya rose cut Justin's finger nail. I was so mad because she did not even inform me. I was not able to take a video and photo of his first nail cut. But instead I only got a photo of his hands after cutting his nails. Though we are able to keep his first finger nails.

Justin's first month

Justin turned 1 month old today. We planned to buy a cake this evening and have some photo shoot with him. Unfortunately, when we got home, Justin is already sleeping. He was deeply asleep and no matter how you touch him, he doesn't want to wake up. It was a sad day for me, for I cannot take a picture of him today with his 1 month old cake. I waited until midnight but he is still asleep.

Will just be talking picture of Justin with the cake tomorrow.

Justin's home sweet home

I went to Michelle house early today to fetch Justin and Michelle. They are about to go home today. Everyone in our house is very excited to see Justin. We left at 10:00am and went straight to my Uncle's house before going home, for they want to see Justin. When we got home, my 2 year old niece Sophia is so excited with Justin. She keeps on saying "baby, baby, baby".

I'm sure today would be the start of something new in our lives. New routines, new responsibilities, new challenges and new exciting things to watch out for.

New yaya

Today our new yaya has arrived. Her name is Rose. She was supposed to be Justin's first yaya but she backed out for some reason. Anyway, she now back and I hope she'll stay long.

First impressions by Michelle: Rose knows how to take care of Justin. She seems to know what she is doing compared to our first yaya. According to rose, she also knows how to "hilot" baby if ever they catch cold or cough. Justin was able to sleep tightly and Rose also teach Justin how to hug a bolster while sleeping.

More milk

Michelle was able to get 6oz of milk today. She felt that her breast is becoming heavier and tighter. Justin still doesn't like to breastfeed directly. Michelle just pump the milk from her breast all the time.

2 days left and Justin will be going home. I'm so happy and excited. I would be able to be with my baby all the time. I'm sure everyone in our house is excited with Justin also. This afternoon when I got home my mom help me fix the crib of Justin. We put bedsheets and bumpers.

Breast milk

Michelle seems to have more milk now. Her milk is dripping and her shirt is all wet. She tried eating the prolacta, the malungay capsules which were given to us when we had our lamaze classes. It seems to be very effective which is good. Definetely we will be buying more.

Justin's first bath

Justin turned 2 weeks old today. He also took his first bath. Michelle's mom was the one who took a bath of the baby. It's good that Justin did not cry while talking a bath. He seems to like water. Here are some of the shots taken by Michelle.

Im learning to carry and feed justin

Today I spent the whole day at Michelle's house. I tried to learn how to carry and feed Justin. At first Justin keeps on crying. I can't seem to find a good position on how to carry him. When ever I carry Justin he will cry. But when Michelle get Justin, he will stop crying. After some tries, somehow I was able to carry Justin without crying. But I know I still need more practice to be able to master the skill.

Bellybutton finally fall off

Justin's Bellybutton finally fall of today. It was small, hard and black. I did not expect that a bellybutton will look like that. I was able to see his bellybutton while it is still connected with Michelle. We will be keeping it and place it in the baby book.

Justin's first check-up

Michelle had to go back to her Ob-gyn today for a checkup. Dra. Lety Chua checked her wound. It's good that everything is ok. Michelle's weight went down from 160 lbs to 145 lbs. We will be having a checkup again next month and Michelle will have a pop smear.

Today is the first checkup of Justin also with Dra. Teldy Chua. We arrived at her clinic at 12:00pm and waited for her til 2:30 before she arrived. The long wait was ok for her clinic really starts at 2:00pm. Her secretary is also very friendly and talkative. The clinic was very nice and clean. When you look out of the windows you'll see wack-wack golf course.
Justin gained a lot from 1 week. His weight was 6lbs before but now he is 6.6lbs. His height was 48cm and now it was 49.5cm. While his head circumference increased from 33cm to 35cm. Today was also Justin's first vaccine. It was a BCG vaccine on his left buttock. Justin was also required to have sunlight exposure though his color is already ok.

Michelle's first breast milk

Michelle was able to produce her first breast milk today. She was able to extract colostrum from her 2 breast. Justin doesn't want to suck her breast that is why she just used a breast pump for extracting the milk before giving it to Justin. They say colostrum is very important to babies because it has lots of anti-bodies. Hopefully Justin will grow up strong.

Justin Maven Lee was born

Justin Maven Lee was born today October 7, 2008 at exactly 7:29pm. In Lunar calendar it was September 9, 2008. He was born under the zodiac sign of Libra and year of the rat. Justin was born 6.06lbs (2740 grams) and 48cm height. Head circumference is 31.5cm while the chest circumference is 30cm. His blood type is AB. Michelle was in her 38 week and 5 days gestation. The delivery was OFE.

It all started at midnight of October 6, 2008. It was 2am when Michelle woke up and pee. When she get back to bed, she told me that she is having contractions. After almost an hour of having contraction, I timed and listed it down. It was every 3 minutes contraction. Since it is a Monday our car is color coding, I don't have any car to use. While our Ob-gyn's clinic is still in the afternoon.

At 7:00am while having breakfast, Michelle went to the CR to pee. During that time, she saw blood and she cried. She was so scared on what's going to happen. Knowing that she was about to give birth, she took a bath and we rushed to the hospital.

When we arrived in the hospital we went straight to the delivery room. It was already 8:30 that time. While inside the delivery room, Michelle was able to talk to our Ob-gyn Dra. Letty Chua. She was advised to stay in the hospital because she thinks Michelle will definitely panic if every she felt anything. Michelle was discharged from the delivery room at 12:00pm after we got a room (room 210).

The whole day Michelle was in labor. We are not able to sleep the whole night. For contractions are very strong. Whenever she have contraction, she will feel back pain. I would massage her back. It was really a sleepless night. I sat on a chair beside Michelle the whole night. When resident doctors visited Michelle, she was asked if she could still tolerate the pain. She would always say yes. Michelle rated the pain 5/10. She really insists that she wanted to have a Lamaze delivery.

The following morning when Dra. Letty Chua visited Michelle, she asked if she can still tolerate the pain. Michelle answered she don't know. Dra. Letty Chua insisted that she went in to the DR already. It was 9:00am and her cervix is already 4cm.

I stayed with her in the labor room the whole time. At 12:00pm Michelle finally gave up and decided to have epidural. For she cannot tolerate the pain anymore. I told her that if ever the epidural will be painful, it is just a one time pain compared to hours of pain from her contractions. At 1:00pm Dra Lety Chua visited her and pop her water bag. Used oxcitocin to help her cervix to dilate faster. At this time Michelle doesn't feel any pain anymore for she already had anesthesia.

After having my lunch, I went back at 3pm. Michelle is just at 6cm. And until 6:00pm she was still at 6cm. We saw resident doctors running around and texting but we don't know whats happening. I was looking at the heart rate of baby from the monitor and I saw that it went to as low as 50 bps. Though doctors and nurses did not tell us anything. When Dra. Lety Chua arrived, she told us that there was a problem with the heartbeat of baby. When she put oxcitocin, the baby's heartbeat will drop. That is why they removed it immediately. Michelle is still stuck at 6cm which should not be the case. She set our expectation that Michelle might have an emergency CS if putting back the oxcitocin will still drop baby's heartbeat. When it was put back, Dra Lety Chua stimulated the baby by touching Michelle's tummy. The baby responded nicely and the heartbeat went up constantly. She told Michelle to push - she became 7cm that time. Instructed her to push again and instantly it because 8cm then 9cm. At that time Michelle was rushed to the delivery room.

Almost 20 minutes in the labor room, no progress was made because Michelle cannot push very well. I was called to go in the labor room. As soon as I entered the delivery room, Dra Lety Chua told me to look at the baby. I saw our baby's head. He was really about to come out. I was advised to talk to Michelle to push. I whispered to Michelle "Konti nalang, nakita ko na si baby may buhok sya". Helped Michelle push while talking to her. At one point Dra. Lety Chua said that she will have to use forceps because baby really cannot come out. After few more pushes Justin was delivered safely with the help of forceps. Justin was facing up that is why he was hard to deliver.

When Justin came out, I cannot explain my feelings. It was more than happiness. Finally Im father. When I saw Justin, he did not cry until he was being checked and cleaned by the pediatrician. I recorded his first cry and shoot a lot of pictures as if there's no more tomorrow. I was also allowed to go in the nursery to see and take picture of our baby.

When I leaved the delivery room, my family and Michelle's family is outside excitedly waiting to hear the news and see the baby.

After all these things that had happened, I know deep inside how hard it is to be a mother. With all the pain a mother would go through in giving birth, now I understand why as children we should respect and love our mother. Michelle had gone through all these pain and I was very happy that she was able to go thru everything smoothly. Our baby is safe and she is safe as well. Im sure next time she won't be trying Lamaze delivery anymore.

With everything we've gone through, God was always with us. He never failed us. Im sure He will continue to be with us and guide as on how to become a good parent. Our Ob-gyn always say "Giving birth is something that will end, but taking care of a child is a never ending responsibility and it is tougher compared to giving birth." I know together we will experience, love and succeed in talking care of Justin.

BabyPlus: Day 124 A long walk at Megamall

After church today, we decided to have a long walk at Megamall so that Michelle could delivery our baby soon. We started walking at 10:00am. Went to 5th floor of Megamal and walk from building A to building B then from building B to building A again. By 11:30am we are in 3th floor already and decided to have an early lunch to avoid people traffic. We had our lunch at Red Ribbon. After lunch, we walked again and when we reach basement level of Megamall, Michelle's tummy suddenly hurts and she said she cannot walk anymore. We decided to go home. At 1:00pm we're already home. Michelle slept the whole afternoon for she was so tired.

Michelle continued to play babyplus today. Just before we went to sleep, at around 11pm Michelle felt strong contractions but eventually it disappeared and we went to sleep.

BabyPlus: Day 123 / Checkup Day

Today is our check-up. Michelle did not gain weight again. Our Ob-gyne said that we need to walk a lot. Michelle is already 38weeks in her pregnancy. We have few more weeks to walk. Baby is still in position and he won't turn anymore.

After our check-up we had a walk at Trinoma. We walked for two hours before going home. After lunch we went to manila and walk again hoping that our baby will come out soon.

Tomorrow we will be going to Megamall and have a long walk.

BabyPlus: Day 122 / Still won't comeout

Michelle turned 38 weeks today. Our baby still won't come out. Everyone is waiting. I was expecting Michelle to give birth late September because she have been having pre term labor signs. Unfortunately I'm wrong. Until now she still won't give birth. We have been walking in our basketball court every night hoping that baby will come out. Tomorrow will be our checkup. Lets see if our doctor will the doctor say.

BabyPlus: Day 121 / Lesson 16

Today is the first day of babyplus lesson 16. I glad that our baby was able to listen to all the lessons of babyplus.

Everyone is waiting for Justin to come out. Everyone excited, I hope he comes out soon.

BabyPlus: Day 120 / A long walk

It's a holiday today. (end of ramadan) Michelle woke up at almost 10am already. The weather is cold because of a typhoon. This afternoon had a walk at Glorietta Rustans. We had a very long walk hoping that our baby will come out (soon). hehe After that we went to Makro some groceries. We walked the whole afternoon and when we got home we're both tired. We sleep early at around 9:30pm.

Today is the last day of babyplus lesson 15. Even if Justin is not yet out, at least he was able to listen to lesson 16. I guess Michelle will give birth this Saturday. (wishful thinking).

BabyPlus: Day 119 / False alarm

Michelle felt so much pain tonight just before we're about to sleep. I thought she was about to give birth to our baby. It was a contraction every 5 minutes but it disappeared after 30 minutes. She was able to sleep after that. It was just a false alarm.