Primo’s Pick : Bath Wash

Update!!!

I never realized being a Mom would need me to make very specific and detailed choices. Before I gave birth, I researched a lot about what to expect during pregnancy and giving birth. I read all the possible complications and it’s symptoms. I religiously check whether any food is good for me or for my baby. I read almost all the readings I can find about our hospital choice. When I am choosing my own OB and Primo’s Pediatrician, I read all the possible blogs and reviews I can find. I am kind of google dependent, to be honest.  😁 Then, aside from the “the giving birth”-related part, I needed to make choices on what products to use on our little boy. I did not realize it’s that confusing. There are a lot of products available in the market now.

“Primo’s Pick” is my little review column. I will share some of the products we’ve tried and my thoughts about it. Note that these reviews are solely based on my own experience and can be different from other mommas.

First up! BATH WASH. What I am looking for? It should be mild but cleans. Fragrance-free or has very mild baby scent. Easy to find. Affordable.

I don’t know if it’s a standard or protocol in the hospital, but almost all the mom I know said, that the hospital where they gave birth use Lactacyd (the blue one) to bath their baby so they kind of use that as well at home at least for the first few weeks. I did too. Until I realized it’s hard to dilute. I am worried that I am using too much on Primo that it will irritate or dry his skin. So, I switch to Cycle Sensitive which is fragrance free. Indeed it’s very mild, but I feel that it’s not really “cleaning”.  I used it only for about 2 months, then we switch to Chicco Foaming Wash. We love this! It has a mild scent which is so bangoo specially on Primo’s hair. It doesn’t dry Primo’s skin and it has the clean feel after the bath. We are still using it. But, I am trying Human Nature Baby Wash now. It’s because I want to switch to natural products. So far so good. I love the smell too! It’s gentle on Primo’s skin, but I think it does the cleaning well specially for an 11 month baby who sweats a lot now. (He’s learning to walk). So now, I am not sure if I’ll stick to Human Nature because I need to try other natural products, but certainly we are saying goodbye to Chicco.

PS : Other products we tried : Aveeno, Nivea Baby, and Belo. Aveeno and Nivea smells good while using it. But scent doesn’t last long. For Belo, for a natural product, I am not sure why this seemed “matapang”. I have a habit of using Primo’s bath soap first on my face to check if it’s painful in the eyes. Belo is painful. So, I decided not to use it. I hope they improved it though and develop a tear-free version.

Products I want to try :

1. Zen Nutrients Baby Shampoo

2. Coco Haven Baby Bath –  tried this already!! At totoo ang chismis!! Ang bango nya!! At tumatagal talaga. I really liked this, except that hindi sya tear-free. 😦 So ginagamit ko lang sya pag ako nagbbath sa kanya. Kapag iba, he uses Cetaphil Baby. 🙂

Thoughts? Please leave your comments below.

Love,

Primo’s Mom

My Breastfeeding Journey

Primo is turning 1 soon! I can’t believe it’s that fast! Few months ago, he was just this little baby, and now he has his own personality (and other ugali na namana kay Daddy nya I believe).

When I gave birth to Primo via CS, he was not immediately roomed in since the doctors noticed that he is breathing rapidly. They decided to put him first in the NICU to monitor his condition. I really don’t know what to feel. I am trying my best to be calm and not to worry to much. I just pray for his health all the time and trust Him that everything will be ok.

The first time I get to see his face was during the unang yakap and first latch in Providence Hospital’s DR, after that, it took 2 days before I get to see him again. My husband, Di, would visit him at NICU and take pictures for me to see. And just like I expected, he looks just like his Daddy.

I actually do not remember why I was never called at NICU to breastfeed him. What I did remember is my OB told me before I gave birth, is to exclusively breastfeed my baby and worst case scenario if in case he needed to be put in the NICU, the doctors will give him sucrose solution or something like that.

While waiting for the doctor’s go signal to breastfeed Primo in the NICU, I try to prepare myself (and my milk). So that when it’s time, I’ll have milk for Primo already. About a month before my scheduled CS, I am already taking malunggay capsules twice a day. And a week before my delivery, I bought lactation cookies and bring it in the hospital. I am thinking this will come handy. I am actually one of those lucky ones who doesn’t really had a hard time getting into the “breastfeeding groove”. I felt I am producing milk on Day 2. This is when I also started to eat normal food again after giving birth. I massaged my breast all day thinking it will trigger the milk production more. And maybe it did. When we were called to breastfeed Primo at NICU, I already have milk for him. And my breast were swollen and painful. Thank God Primo latched properly with the help of the NICU nurse. I remember thinking, wow, so this is what breastfeeding looks like. It’s surreal.My thought was, I needed to produce milk because Primo needs me. He needs to be stronger and he needs to feel better so he can stay with us in our room.I am thankful I produced enough for him. He nursed for a good 30 minutes before finally unlatching. Then, we had to go back to the NICU every 2-3 hours all day and night to nurse him. We decided to extend our stay at the hospital so we can check on him and nurse him. I remember how painful it is walking to the NICU with my stitches fresh from the operation barely 2 days ago. I literally had to hold my tummy up because I feel my intestines and all internal organs would drop. It’s.so.painful. But, I thought. My son needs me. I need to do this. Of course, I can not survive this without my husband helping me and supporting me all the way. I don’t know what to do without him there.

As a new mom, I really try my best to know what to expect on this journey. But really, nothing can ever prepare you for this. There are times I am so confused and other times I feel not myself at all. Sometimes, I would suddenly panic because I do not understand what’s  happening. Waaaaah!! Crazy really.

Primo would nurse for 30 minutes one feeding session, and then completely ignore the breast the next time. It’s like this for 2 days until he was finally roomed in on Day 3, and the nursing sessions became a little smoother. He would automatically latch even though he’s asleep.  My problem is keeping my supply up with barely an hour of sleep in between nursing. This is when the lactation cookies became my life saver! Like Popeye’s spinach. Also, my nanay and in-law are there to the rescue : they would bring in soups with malunggay everyday. This helped me a lot.

Now,  I am still breastfeeding. We are on a little over 11 months, and counting. I think this is the best thing I can give to our son right now. It’s one of the most fulfilling sacrifice a mother can make.To make sure the baby is healthy. To give him the best. I feel more than “feeding session”, our nursing time is our own little time together. Our way to get to know each other better each day. It’s a way I think of assuring him that, he’ll be ok while Mommy is here. I’m not actually sure how long will I breastfeed him, maybe as long as he needs me. ❤

 

 

Primo Luciano

Repost from my facebook post :

Meet our little boy, Primo Luciano. Primo is Di’s Grandfather’s name on his Papa’s side, and Luciano on his Mama’s side. Primo looks just like his Daddy! 🙂 Carbon copy!! or more like Copy-Paste!! (“Carbon copy” is so 90’s!!! Hahaha) Anyway, we needed to schedule an elective CS procedure at 37w3d to avoid complications from the 16cm uterine fibroid (myoma) growing outside the uterus almost blocking the birth canal. This fibroid was just 8cm when it was first seen at my ultrasound at 5 weeks. This is why my tummy looks soo big and extra heavy! (parang twins!) During pregnancy, I also had a mild iron deficiency anemia which made the operation extra “bloody”. I lost 1.5L of blood during the operation kaya hirap makarecover sa incision and stitches! Araaaayy talaga! I think the usual blood loss is around 1L for CS. I had a blood donor on stand by in case blood transfusion is necessary. But we didn’t know that time that there is no blood processing pala sa hospital kaya hindi ako nasalinan ng dugo. Buti nalang my CBC after the operation went back acceptable so they just gave iron sucrose via IV to help. And nope, they did not remove the fibroid kasi it can possibly make me bleed to death considering the size pag tinanggal nila kasabay ng delivery! Hay. Thank you Lord buhay pa ko. ♡ I clearly remember Primo’s first cry, (ang lakas nya umiyak! Ume-echo sa buong DR!), and when they put him beside me for “unang yakap” and to latch. I remember telling him – “Hello Primo, Andito si Mommy.” Nawala lahat ng hilo ko sa anesthesia! Haha ♡ Nakaka-high. ♡ Primo stayed in nicu to monitor his breathing which cleared at Day 3, Thank you Lord! We are just so thankful Primo is ok now, healthy and pogi. Hehehe. Syempre love your own! We love him so much. All 6.8lbs, 51cms of him. ♡