before and after formula

kirsten has been taking formula to supplement her breastmilk feedings for only about 3 weeks now, and look at her!!!



i am doing everything to hopefully increase my milk supply by:

1. taking fenugreek 3x a day
2. taking malunggay capsules 3x a day
3. drinking healthy options' mother's milk tea 1-2x a day
4. eating green and leafy veggies and soup everyday

i pray that we can go back to exclusively breastfeeding. i don't like the way she's gaining weight, it's a bit too much and too fast don't you think???

kirsten's milestones (1 to 3 months)

i have to write them down lest i forget!



@ 1 month, she can:
look at you intently while you're talking
follows objects with her eyes
absolutely hates taking baths!
sleeps at 2-3 hour intervals
smiles in her sleep, smiles at you!
limbs are still jerky/laging gulat at the slightest sound/movement
loves looking at the white on black book pages!
mozart for babies music seems to calm her down (she has this look when i begin playing it)



@ 2 months, she can:
wobbly hold her head up
sleep in our bed after breastfeeding
hates taking baths!
sleeps a lot longer now! 3-4 hour intervals
smiles/laughs in her sleep! smiles at you!
limb movements are a lot less jerky
she likes music! she turns towards where the music is
she turns when the taggie the elephant rattles



@ 3 months, she can:

hold her hands together
suck her fingers!
finish 5oz of formula in one go!
suck her lampins/burp pads
coo, gurgle, "talk" back when you make eye contact and talk to her!
screams for her bottle/screams when she's not satisfied with her feeding!!!
"talks" to her mobile toys
falls asleep on her own; can sleep through the night with 1-2 breastfeedings only
hold her head up confidently doesn't hate bath time so much. she only cries when i wet her hair/head :)
smiles/laughs/coos in her sleep!
suddenly shouts out of nowhere! maybe out of excitement? :D
loves her ladybug lamaze book! loves the lion music toy from pauline! loves the squeaky sophie the giraffe from jd!
holds her bottle during feeding

our kirsten is growing up sooo fast! :)

holiday cheer

i love tinyprints! :)

happy 333!

k celebrates his 33rd birthday on the same week kirsten celebrates her 3rd month. so why not a joint 333 celebration? :)



we invited both sides of the family and some friends to celebrate with us, and celebrate we did! we ordered lots of seafood!







pancit for long life :)



the celebrants



k's turtle pie cake from the purple oven



kirsten's mango delight cake and tiramisu from secret recipe





kirsten fell asleep despite the really loud karaoke machine (they cannot adjustthe volume , fixed na daw e duh!)



the guests (apologies for some blurred photos, di ko makuha ang tamang setting ng camera)















i love carrying her like so



k's best buds



happy 333 to the 2 greatest loves of my life! :)

mixed feeding

on 16 nov, i called kirsten's pedia to recommend a milk formula brand just in case we run out of expressed milk at home. on my way home that day, i bought a can of Nan Pro 1.



i was praying and hoping that day would not come. i hoped and prayed that my milk supply will increase overnight. but unfortunately, on 21 nov, we ran out. and a had no choice but to prepare a bottle of milk using Nan Pro 1 for kirsten.

sigh.

when i got home, i still caught up with a feeding kirsten with the formula (on the bed, lying flat!!!! i had to really scold her!!!!). she was drinking like a pro, up to the last drop and even cried when i took away the bottle so she can feed directly from me. i had to hold back my tears. i do not want to get overly dramatic, but i really want to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months. i want just absolutely the best things for my daughter - the best doctor, the best environment, the best clothes and toys, the best food (and that is breastmilk). she's developing well per her pedia, not at all chubby but tall (she's long!). ;)



but i am not giving up. i'd like to think that this emergancy stash of milk formula is just that, for emergency purposes only. i continue to pump milk at the office. i have started to take fenugreek, malunggay capsules and powder to hopefully increase my milk supply. i gave a instructions to prepare formula only if there's no longer breastmilk in the fridge. and so far, kirsten drinks 4oz of formula in the late afternoon only. when i get home, she feeds from me. and i pump milk in between, kahit madaling araw.

anything for you sweetie. absolutely anything. :)