July 11, 2013

Hi guys! Sorry I've been MIA for a couple of weeks now. I'm still suffering from post-viral effects of the longest running cold I've had all my life. I've seriously been sick since middle of May!!! Now I have dry coughs that actually keep me up most of the night, NOT fun.

Anyhuw, time for another baby update, the 10 months one:

Baby stats: I have no idea how much she weighs, I would say around 22lbs. We did switch to size 4 Pampers a month ago and she's in 12-18 months or 18months plus clothing.



Health: Sofia also suffered with on and off cold this past month. Poor thing even has the post viral cough but not quite as bad as mine.



Eat/Weaning: Sofia has an amazing appetite. Her most preferred food is still meat but she eats everything we eat. I'm also still weaning her off the boob and right now she's only breastfed in the morning and has three bottles of formula for the rest of the day (at noon, 4 pm and 6:30 pm).



Sleep: still good, she sleeps through from 7 pm to around 6:30 am. When the cold was at its worth, I did hear her cough through the night but not enough to wake her up (just woke me up, waaaa). She also has two daily naps.



Teeth: still only the bottom two. No sign of any others.



Milestones: Let me see...
- more words: mama, dada, hi (all in context), also baba, nana, duh, poo
- cruising between furniture
- imitating everything we do and trying to say what we say.
- plays music on her walker and starts to sway (dance) from side to side. Gets psyched if I tag along :D
- waving hello to everyone and their moms, she even waves to dogs, pigeons,...



How I'm doing:

- I'm back to work in 2 weeks, eeeek! I'm excited but also sad. Made all daycare arrangements this past weekend and everything is ready to go. I will be doing two weeks of part-time before switching back to full-time work.
- Exercise is still on full force. I'm at my goal weight of 148lbs and have achieved a 6 pack (it's faint but it's there). I'm in the best shape of my life and happy that my efforts have paid off.
- I've been off sleep meds for nearly 2 months now. I still decently most of the time now but the cold/dry cough has put a bit of damper on that. I admit I'm tired about 50% of the time.

There you have it. Hope you guys enjoyed this post. I'm faaaar behind in my makeup/hair/nail posts but will try to squeeze a few in this coming week, Hope you all have a great weekend!

May 31, 2013

Time for another one of these yet again! My baby's already starting to resemble a toddler when it comes to her temper lol!  But she does still look like a baby <3 nbsp="" p="">
Stats: wears 12-18 months clothing exclusively.



Health: Poor baby has a cold again :( She's also been teething all last month and finally got her bottom two teeth.



Eat: Sofia is now breastfed 3 times a day and has a bottle of formula before bed. She has three meals with us and eats exactly what we eat. I've finished purreing about 3 weeks ago as she was resisting being fed. She's much happier feeding herself and it's a lot less work for me. I'm definitely a fan of baby led weaning :D



Sleep - sleeps through the night but is going to be a bit later now (7:30 pm instead of 6:30 pm). She wakes up around 7 am and has two naps (1 to 1.5 hour each).



Milestones: Oh boy, quite a few this month again:

- standing supported against her activity table or furniture
- two bottom teeth finally (though not sure this is a milestone)
- said mama in context first time on Mother's Day and "dada" in context a few days later. My husband is away on business this week so we talk on Facetime. As soon as Sofia sees her dad's face she yells "dada" and claps her hand with a big grin on her face
- waves hello and goodbye.
- shares her food with us with prompted. And when we thank her she claps for herself, lol!



How I'm doing:

- ughhhh, sleep is still a challenge and I can't even blame my sleeping 12h straight a night baby. I'm much better than last month but not quite back to normal. Right now I'm no longer on sleep meds which is great and I'm allowing my body to re-adjust to deeper sleep.
- I lost another dress size down to size 6 now, yeyyyy! Still exercising consistently - zumba, weight training, ball exercise, core workout.
- Had a meeting with my boss about my imminent return to work (in 2 months). He will be changing my responsibilities and I think overall I will be pretty happy.
- Feeling still sad about leaving my baby at daycare though. I've been taking her to the gym with me and letting the daycare there watch her while I work out and she seems fine with them. I think it's mostly the moms who suffer. Any back to work tips are appreciated :)



On another note, I have a few posts on the queue: 

- Makeup trend: orange lips done three different ways
- My favourite beauty products of all time
- Favourite summer lip combination


.....have a good weekend guys!

May 13, 2013

This year I celebrated my first year as a mother. I don't know what  great deed I have done to deserve such beautiful girl as my daughter. She has changed my life for better forever and makes me smile every single minute.

We had a quiet mother's day at home and my hubby made it special by cooking a yummy brunch for me, my folks and youngest sister. I woke up in the morning to this:



The white roses were especially ordered by my mother in law who lives in the Caribbean. The card was "from" Sofia and had her hand print as her signature. My hubby's gift was a sterling silver pendant with mine, Sofia and his own birthstones (amethyst, topaz and green peridot). So thoughtful and beautiful at the same time.


me and my beautiful mom

For brunch we had leak and bacon quiche, salt fish and bake (caribbean touch) plus fruit salad and fresh scones from our favourite bakery. I much preferred this to going somewhere for brunch:



Sofia had some of our scone, pureed mangos, cheerios and bits of the quiche:



After we ate and enjoyed my mom's home made cake for dessert, we took some photos by our blossoming crab apple tree. The tree really only stays this beautiful for about a week, but it's worth it existing on our front lawn!!

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day. How did you celebrate this special day?

April 29, 2013

My bebe is 8 months old now and it's so amazing to see how much she has changed. Though she's still technically a baby, her personality is really starting to show. She's always shy at first but then start giggling and babbling to strangers.

Here's what my baby is up to these days:

Stat: Hovering around the 20lbs mark, no idea how tall she is though. She's still in some 9-12 months clothing but most of her outfits are now 12month plus.



Health: no more colds thank God. She had a diaper rash two weeks ago but it went away in two days time. Seems that she's finally getting a tooth!!!! Her bottom gums are very hard and I "think" I can see a white spot under them.



Eat - Sofia is still breastfed during the day every 3 hours or so. She is also still enjoying her purees but we have started giving her some finger food and hoping to switch fully to baby led weaning. She's starting to really fight being fed anyway so the time is right. She has had pancakes, pasta, avocado bits, crackers,...even some herbed Persian stew which she adored much to my mom's delight :D



Sleep - sleep through most nights from 7 pm to 7 am. Some nights she shuffles around 4-5 am but usually I don't have to get out of bed and she settles herself. She takes two naps a day from 1-1.5 hour each.



Milestones: quite a few this month

- crawls very fast now. Seems to enjoy getting to things she shouldn't get to (cables, statues, shoes....)
- can stand unassisted for a few seconds
- goes from crawling to sitting position and vice versa quickly
- claps her hands on demand. She uses this motion to express her happiness
- started finger food. Wants to feed herself and screams if we try to feed her
- stil LOVES music, moves her arms up and down when she hears a song or when I sing to her



How I'm doing:

- unfortunately still struggling with post partum insomnia. I'm going to see my doctor this week to switch to a lower dose medication.
- Besides that health is great! Still working out 4-5 times a week one of which is my Zumba class. I'm loving Zumba, not sure why I never took classes before. It's so me!!
- still breastfeeding full time but planing on slowly weaning her starting 9 months as I'm due back at work in August. Any tips on this moms?
- feeling nostalgic about having to go back to work in 3 months time. It has to be done but I will miss hanging out with my baby everyday.

March 28, 2013

Another month had gone us by! I gotta say 7 months so far is my fave babyhood age. She's so interactive and cute at this age...I mean she's always cute but now it's a whole other level.

Baby Stat: Sofia is 20lbs now and I know she's quite bit taller than last month; I just haven't measured her. She's mostly in 9-12 or 12month clothing. I had to put away quite bit more stuff that's small for her. Makes me sad a bit :(



Heath: Poor baby had another cold two weeks ago which seems to have subsided now. She's still teething badly but no teeth in sight yet!



Eat: Sofia is eating a lot more food now. We introduced yogurt yesterday and she's loving it mixed with oatmeal cereal for breakfast. She also took on her sippy cup quite well and likes her water cool. I puree most of her veggie and fruits but use store bought baby meat. She likes pretty much anything we give her but avocados, bananas, yogurt, chicken and peas are her faves. I haven't done finger food yet as I'm worried she'll choke coz she has no teeth!



Sleep: She's been sleeping through for the most part since she turned 6 months (usually 6:45 pm to 6:30 am). We went through a week of middle of the night pooping but thankfully are out of that phase now. She takes 2 naps per day which are 1-1.5 hour each.



Milestones:

- crawling backward and army crawling
- she gets on all four position and then drops back to the floor
- she understands simple commands like "no", "kiss", "eat" and responds to her name being called.
- drinking water from a sippy cup
- separation anxiety has passed now. She's content to play in her jumparoo or on the floor with her cubes.



How I'm doing:

- still exercising quite a bit and just started Zumba to add some variety to my routine.
- sleep is getting better. I'm mostly off my sleep meds and my anxiety has subsided
- I'm breastfeeding full time still but she's spaced out her feeds. It's now easier for me to leave her with someone and get a few hours on my own.

Hope you guys enjoyed this update :)

March 6, 2013

Hi guys! Sorry for the two week absence but we just got back from a trip to Georgetown, Guyana to visit the inlaws. They had not yet met Sofia so this was long overdue. She turned 6 months old while we were there and so this is my first opportunity to update as we just got back on Sunday.

Baby Stats: Sofia is 6 months and 10 days old. She weighs 19lbs and her height is 69 cm. She's still in 75 to 90 percentile for her age and sex. She definitely got taller while we were away and I see it in how her pants fit.



Eat: Sofia is now on Stage 1 solids. She typically has 2 meals per day but I'm starting to increase it to 3 as she seems to want to eat more. She loves pears and papayas as well as her brown rice cereal mixed with banana. She actually says "nom nom" as she eats them looool! She is not a fan of avocados or sweet potatoes though. I need to find a veggie she likes. I think I'll give her green peas next.



Health: nothing major she's healthy and bubbly. She did get some mosquito bites while we were away but they're slightly fading now. My heart breaks everytime I see the bite marks :(



Sleep: her sleep got very messed up while we were away but she's getting better slowly. Last two nights she actually slept through till 6 am (from 6:30 pm) without waking up. I'm hoping that is a permanent change. Her naps are more all over the map though. Some days she takes long ones some days she's a cat napper.



Milestones:

- Rolls from front to back now as well as back to front. She does it very quickly too.
- Experiencing some separation anxiety. She does not like it when I'm not in her line of vision.
- Sits on her own now for a few minutes.
- Puts her toes in her mouth from lying position; this is of course her new favourite thing.
- Recognizes people quickly. The ones she knows get a smile right away others have to wait a few minutes before they see her grin.
- Started sleeping through the night.
- She hits her toys together, maybe soon she can clap?
- She loves loves loves to play; it's fairly easy to get her to giggle.




How I'm doing:

- Still exercising very regularly. Working more on the abs now and thinking of getting Tracy Anderson's DVD.
- Sleep is hit and miss for me. I'm trying to quit my sleep meds which is not easy but I'm getting there.
- I'm getting better at socializing with friends and leaving bebe with the hubs. She takes the bottle easily and loves her daddy almost as much as me ;)

Hope you guys have a great Wednesday :)

February 4, 2013

Sofia is 5 months old already! This past month she has learned to do so much I almost feel like she's a different baby, lol! She also went from being a carbon copy of my husband to looking a little bit like both of us :D

January 28, 2013

Happy Monday guys! I'm sitting here on the couch with a big mug of coffee (another night of 3-4 hour sleep), watching a blanket of snow falling on our beautiful City of Ottawa and trying to focus enough to make this blog post.

I'm a big fan of cat eyeliner and often prefer softer shades to make this look more daytime appropriate. So I wanted to use a deep navy to line my eyes except my go to Bobbi Brown Cobalt Ink is drying up so I had to combine with a pencil liner. Does anyone know how to revive dried up gel liner? I paired the eyes with bright warm pink lips. Very spring in the dead of winter :D

Here's a pic:



And this is what I used:



For face: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation (BR20) as my foundation and used MAC Ladyblush creamblend blush on the apple of my cheeks. I finished with a dusting of Ben Nye Translucent Powder.

For eyes: Used UDPP as base and then applied a layer of MUFE #5 (coral) Aqua cream pot on the lid. Applied MUFE #15 e/s above crease and MUFE #112 e/s in the crease. Added MAC Blanc Type e/s as highlight and MAC Creme de Miel e/s (LE- pale gold) as tearduct brightener. I lined my eyes with Lise Watier Marin e/l dipped in Bobbi Brown Cobalt ink gel liner. I finished with two coats of L'Oreal Voluminous Dramatic Lashes mascara.

For lips: applied MAC Impassioned l/s first and then MAC Marquise d' l/s (LE - shimmering light peach) lightly over it to tone down the brightness.


More Pics:

Have a happy Monday everyone!

January 8, 2012

Hi guys! I have another baby update for you. Once again time seems to be flying by quicker than I'd like it too. Some days I really want her to grow up so I can sleep other days I just want her to stay exactly this age and cuddle her forever :)



1. Baby stats: Sofia is 4 months and 2 weeks old. She weighs 16.5 lbs as of yesterday. She's still in the 75-90% percentile.



2. Eat: my munchkin is still fully breastfed. I pump once a day or so and hubby gives her a bottle at night. She's gaining weight great and I'm not in a hurry to start solids.



3. Health: Sofia caught another cold during the holidays but luckily got over faster this time. She's also teething badly but I can't see a tooth yet. Doesn't help when she won't let me look in there.



4. Sleep: aaaah man! Sleep is all over the place. For one we's still wearing the Woombie at night. Some nights she sleeps 8 hours or so before waking up and some nights she's up every 3 hours! Like there's no pattern whatsoever. Bed time is at 7 am and she's typically up for the day at 9 am. She can sel sooth fine and doesn't need a pacifier or rocking to sleep. Anyone got any sleep tips for us?



5. Milestones: 
- We now have her giggling all the time. Especially when I kiss her belly.
- We can now sit for a few seconds unassisted
- We now nap in the crib. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. No need for pacifier or anything
- We are much more interactive with toys, love the Baby Einstein jumparoo!
- We are close to rolling from back to belly. We get to the side and then stop, hahaha! We have been rolling from belly to back since week 5.

6. How I'm doing: 
- Sleep is better despite Sofia's inconsistency. I take Melatonin and hubby helps out a lot.
- I'm back to regular workout. On top of my weekly bootcamp, I'm redoing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and do Step and Zumba classes at my gym.
- We are also much more social now. Sofia loves the mall, hanging out with mommy's friends and the gym :)

Hope you enjoyed this update...will do another one in a month