Riyan's Blog

This was taken last Christmas day during mama delia's family reunion held at lola Mila's house in Sucat. I almost told my mommy that Christmas day was supposed to be an eat-all-day event and not a talk-all-day affair.

Too bad I couldn't join them when they feasted on rellenong bangus, chop suey, lumpiang shanghai, embutido etc.

Good thing lola Angie told my mommy to take off my mittens so that my hands will not smell bad daw.

Yeah good thing because my hands taste better when my mittens are off. :-)

I now smile often, make my mommy and daddy and my lola laugh because they find me cute, I drink milk almost every hour, I amuse myself with all the things I see around me, and sleep with the music of the Eraserheads in the background.

It's 6 more days before Christmas! I'm excited to celebrate my first Christmas with my mommy and daddy na!

Courtesy of my mommy. :-)

They're from Tita Chat, mommy's friend in college. Thank you Tita Chat! Mommy is excited to open it na, but then she decided to open it on Christmas day na lang.

That's me on top of my mommy's work table. Yesterday, my mommy had to do some work in the office and my daddy insisted on bringing me along. So while mommy was doing her work, daddy and I spent time bonding together. Daddy and Mommy's office was a sight to behold. It was very different from our house and from the hospital (two places that I have visited so far). When mommy was through with her work, we went to the Podium mall nearby! Yes, my first official mall tour happened yesterday. Unfortunately, mommy and daddy didn't know that there was an on-going sale at the mall that time. So, after buying some baby stuff for me, they decided that we leave the mall for fear of me catching some bad virus. So, we proceeded to daddy's sister in U.P. It was my first time to meet some relatives of my daddy. It was nice meeting my tita aura and tito Jojo with my little cousins, ate Jaja and ate AJ. Their older brother kuya Arwin was busy playing video games so I didn't get to meet him. Tita Aura was so delighted to see me and kept on saying that I so look like my daddy. After spending some time there, we finally went home. I was so tired that I slept immediately when we arrived home.

But wait, how come I don't get to drive it on my own? :-)

Please click on the image to open this very nice clip.

What is it with baby "weighing scale" that babies find it so nice to sleep on? This one fits me so well and it has soft matting too! I found out that Jolo enjoys his stay on this "bed" also.

Btw, the scale reads 4 kilos. Oh no! I've drank too much of my mommy's milk two weeks after my first weighing experience (3.2 kilos). But what can I do? I'm a baby! :-)

Are those muscles or what?...:-)

I am now one month old. To celebrate this occasion my lolo arthur bought me a chocolate cake which my lola delia, tito bernard, tita janet and her brother feasted on last Saturday.

And last Saturday was also my second visit to the Pedia. It was my first time to feel an abrupt pain after Dra. Aguirre took a shot of BCG vaccine on my hips. It hurt a bit but I guess I have to get use to it because mommy said there would be more.

Btw, I now weigh 4 kilos (from my previous weight of 3.2 kilos two weeks ago). That's loads of mommy's milk converted into fats in my body. :-)

This is how I reacted after my mom gave me a dose of a baby's multivitamins. It doesn't taste good.

Alright. This is what I do to amuse myself nowadays. It's my form of exercise also. :-)

Alrighty, here's the much awaited picture of me flashing the $100 million smile! My mommy was able to catch this rare moment after taking my breakfast (fresh milk from mommy's breast) :-)

These set of pictures were taken using my daddy's k750i camera phone in "burst" setting, (4 pics in one click).

Here goes... a nice smile ops...gotcha!

I've been sleeping a lot. I want to grow bigger as soon as possible. My lola promise to bring me to Mcdo and Jolibee everyday. :-)

Yes. I want those burgers and fries, but I'm sure my daddy will not allow me to have the soda.

zzzzzz

Infant life can be so tiring. All you have to do is sleep, feed, and poo poo. :-) I wish I could walk already, play with mommy's little mermaid collections, watch daddy's dvds or better yet visit Hong Kong Disneyland with mommy and daddy!

Since Tita Tina asked me and my early visitors have been saying different reactions, I am posting here my mommy and daddy's picture. Compare it with my picture and you'll be the judge. Do I look a lot like my mommy or am I my daddy's "photocopy"?

Mommy was so happy yesterday. The reason?, well, I finally decided to accept her breast milk. At first, the taste was not as yummy as the infant formula that they fed me while I was still at the hospital. But, a moment later, I finally liked it. It makes me sleep soundly and I could feel my mommy's love for me whenever we have our breastfeeding moments together. Just look at my cute pic to see how happy and satisfied I am with mommy's milk.

On my first night with my mommy and daddy at Rm. 538, I really made up for my sleeping moments. I did not let my daddy sleep the whole night. I cried everytime I was hungry. It's a good thing my daddy is very talented. Since mommy was sound asleep (bec. she needs to recuperate), my daddy had no choice but to feed me. So he prepared my milk using his left hand while he carried me in his right hand. Why couldn't he put me down? Because I cry and cry until he couldn't stand it anymore and get me from the crib. :-) But despite this difficulty, all i need to do is put up my cutest smile and daddy's difficulty is wiped away.

Daddy, I know you are taking my picture. Much as I want to smile, but I badly need all the sleep I could get. :-) I'll make it up to you and mommy when we get out of the hospital.

Cool thing the tag was colored pink. I think it's going to be my favorite color na later on. =)

Getting my footmark for my birth certificate. So this is how it feels when I apply for an NBI clearance.

Finally! After waiting for 9 months, my mommy finally heard me cry, and I got my first ever real kiss from her. The day was 19th of October at around 12 noon, my mommy gave birth to me (Arianna Shay) via ceasarian operation at the Medical City Hospital. It feels great to be finally out of my mommy's womb. I'm so happy to move my arms and legs so freely! I can't wait to be with my mommy and daddy later on. I can't wait to have a taste of my mommy's milk. I can't wait to feel my daddy's strong arms when he carries me. I can't wait to do all the stuff infants do!

You want some more pictures of me? Check out the Flickr badge on the side bar. It will take you to my online photo album. But as of now, there are only four pictures uploaded there. But promise, there will be more to come!

From babycenter.com....

Question: Can you really find out a baby's sex with ultrasound? I've heard of mistakes being made...!

Answer: Starting at about 18 to 20 weeks, your practitioner or technician may be able to identify your baby's genitals during an ultrasound; however, your baby has to cooperate! She or he has to be in a position to allow visualization of the male or female parts. Even if the technician gets a good view of the baby's genital area, the image may not be clear and there are still no guarantees. We recommend leaving the tags on all the pink or blue baby gear you buy or receive until you see the real parts.

"….Hmmm..what if I turn out to be an “Aaron Samuel”, would my lola and daddy be happy about it?…Sigh. I hope so! "

It's nice to be a baby sitting comfortably inside mommy hotel. I get to have nice stuff without working and spending a single centavo. Yesterday, in addition to my baby stuff collection, dad bought a nice crib with pictures of puppies around it and a green crib set. I wonder which is more comfortable, mom's uterus or that wide crib? I don't have a choice anyway since I have to check-out next month. Mom also bought these cute baby hangers and 2 diaper mats for me so when I pee, my crib will not get wet.

And oh by the way, i also received a PM bag and bottle gift pack from Mommy's colleagues. Mom told daddy that I'll be a baby fashionista, everything I have should match. =)

Today, Mom was so surprised when I gave her a really strong kick, I was just imagining that I am already using these gifts and that made me jump in excitement. =)

I am 35 weeks old...happy 35th week to me..!

Message to Mom from baby center:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and weighs over 5 pounds and gaining about half a pound per week. In fact, most of her development is complete. From here on, she's mostly concentrating on fattening up. Layers of fat are piling on under her skin. You don't have a lot of room to grow either — your uterus is now about 15 times its normal size.


Your little one is so snug in your womb that you may notice he isn't moving around as much anymore. Also, she has probably turned head-down in preparation for her coming birth..

"I am coming out...I am coming out..I want the world to know, got to let it show..." =)

Yipee! Dad and Mom visited yesterday the PM store near greenhills. Each bought something nice for me. Mom hinted that she would not go home empty-handed so she bought the activity mat and asked dad to buy the musical mobile which she has been asking him to buy ever since she saw it.
Thanks mommy and daddy......so next in the list is my bath tub, my cabinet, and my crib.....wouldn't it be nice if all of them would have the same cutie designs? If I get what I wish for...I will definitely give you both soooooo many precious moments......=)

Yesterday, mommy met up with her two hs buddies, Tita Sonia and Tita Dette. I already heard these voices when i was still a 5-month old fetus. Anyway, i was very behaved in my mommy's tummy while taking in the salisbury steak mommy had for lunch. I listened intensely to what these intelligent women were saying. Tita Dette has a new TV show and I felf her excitement. She was also delighted to share that she's opening a coffee shop this year and she's getting hitched by summer of next year inviting mommy and Tita Sonia to her wedding at Boracay. They discussed a lot of things about life, relationships and "money-making" strategies. I am so happy that mommy has really good friends. I'll make these ladies my role models and I hope someday I'll be successful like them.

I also thank Tita Tine who's in the States, she has pasalubong for me when Tita Dette met up with her in LA. Nice baby gap "oink" shirt and pants....mommy would love to have the exact same cutie clothes so we can wear them at the same time...=)

Later in the afternoon, mommy had those tantrums again...very often nowadays....si daddy kasi eh...so insensitive..oh well....

Last Saturday, Mommy had her 1st baby shower courtesy of her office-badminton friends. It was organized by Tita Swellyn who was superhyper that afternoon despite her very preggy condition. It was held at Tito Donovan's home at Casa Andalucia along Visayas Ave. It was raining hard but Mom’s friends were still present to celebrate my pre-natal existence. =) All of Mommy’s friends love food so the first activity was eating of course! Food was great, there was barbeque which I was not able to taste bec mommy did not want to eat it, Lola Idang’s kare-kare which is mom’s favorite, Ariel’s friends in inihaw form, lumpiang shanghai, pancit bihon and fruit salad. The games began after everyone was full, , I heard people screaming and laughing and I assume everyone was having fun. They guessed mommy’s weight, size of her nose, her breast size and waistline….hahaha! Nobody got mommy’s weight correctly, they all thought mom was less then 150 lbs. =). After the games, mommy opened her gifts and all of them were really, really nice. My mom particularly liked Tita Mildred’s gift, 2 PM plush dolls and one Enfant bottle warmer. Mom played with the toys even before I had the chance, and by the time I am out, those dolls would be dirty and I would not be allowed to play with them so I think daddy has to buy me new ones. Hehehe.

After the games and mommy feeling the hot flushes... she still did not forget to show off my 3D picture to her friends. All they can say was “mata mo yata pero matangos ang ilong”. It was such a nice comment according to mommy whose frustration is her cute red nose…=).

I felt mom’s happiness that day so I am pretty sure she had so much fun. Well..till her next baby shower. I guess 2-3 weeks before my birthdate.

Last night before mommy and I went to sleep, she read a story entitled "Baby Jesus" from the book she purchased a few weeks ago entitled "My First Book of Bible Stories". It's amazing how Mary gave birth to baby Jesus. Before I wanted to have a graco crib but learning about Jesus manger, I will settle for any crib. =)

Hmmm.. today, mommy's not feeling well, she has "sipon". She's been blowing her already swollen nose since this morning. She doesn't want to take any medicine coz it might cause damage to me. Mommy's hoping I don't catch it...kasi it's bad eh..

Yehey! Finally, after two agonizing weeks, my daddy got the result of the 3D ultrasound that was taken two weeks ago. Last Saturday, my mommy was so irate with the staff of the hospital because they haven't finished saving the results into a CD. They advised my mommy that it will be available yesterday. So, this lunch time, my daddy went to the hospital to get the CD which contains AVI file of me inside my mommy's tummy. Too bad, I can't attach the files to this post. You just have to contend with a scanned print out made by my dad. So, what do you think? Am I cute or am i cute? =)

Meet Porky Banky! He's a coin bank where my mom and dad put some loose 5 peso coin everyday. My mommy was trained by my grand daddy to appreciate the value of savings at an early age. That is why as early as now, she wants to instill in me the same value. Likewise, though it's kinda late for my dad already, mommy also influenced him to save. Daddy happily obliged. So, I hope the coin bank gets filled up with five peso coins in time for christmas! By that time, I hope that mommy and daddy would think of getting a partner for porky banky because he's kinda lonely being alone right now. =)

E-newsletter for mommmy says:

"Your baby now weighs about 2 pounds and measures around 13.5 inches from head to toe. You know how your skin looks after you have been in water for 30 minutes, think about your baby's wrinkled skin! Your baby is fortunately protected from exposure to amniotic fluid by vernix. This white, fatty substance coats the body and protects the skin from long exposure to this fluid."

...lotion please..=)

This morning while mom & I was having breakfast, I heard my lola uttering these words "basag salamin ng kotse mo!" and then I felt my mom's heart sank. The "kotse" is what my mom & dad call "PONG". It's obviously a robbery case but my mom did not know yet what stuff were stolen. The first thing she thought of was the TLM dolls which were displayed at the car's rear, and then her belly moved in a different kind of way, not the one I liked but in a sad way, I am familiar with that feeling of sadness, it reminded me of the "1st term" when my mom cried almost everyday but this time it was more subtle (well...this is another story, i'll talk about it when i am ready...). Anyway, it turned out that the bad guy broke Pong's window to get in and steal the car stereo. ....what?!? the car stereo!!!! how am i suppose to listen to chico and delamar now?..aaargghhh...MOM, I don't want to throw a tantrum but I'll give you a hard poke if you don't replace it soon..why don't you ask daddy to replace it..=)

Yipeee! I've got two new presents this weekend from some special people in my mommy's life. First is this cute bathing suit from mommy's friend Tita Lisa. Thank you Tital Lisa! I can't wait to wear the bathing suit during summer outings. I just hope that by that time, mommy would have conquered her fear of water already so that she can join me while my daddy teaches me how to swim. Then, Tito Carlo, my mommy's cousin. gave me this cute little shoes! I wonder how it will look on my feet when my feet are big enough to fit in the shoes. He also gave me a baby book where mommy and daddy can put baby stuffs and other mementos about me. Thank you Tito Carlo! I really can't wait to get out of mommy's tummy and spend happy times with my mommy and daddy!

Mom Shawie received an email from babycenter today. It says:

Your baby weighs about a pound and a half and is around 13 and a half inches long. She has more hair on her head, and if you could see it you'd know what color and texture it is. Your 'do may be fuller, too, thanks to pregnancy hormones. Some women notice more or darker body hair as well. It'll return to normal after you deliver. You're getting bigger by the minute, but that's no reason to stop exercising — just modify your routine as your body changes.
See what your baby looks like now and find out how to modify your exercise routine, why you may be at risk for anemia, and more.

So that's it! It's called hair, it felt so ticklish when these little black strands were trying to pop out of my head. =)

My mom's 28 years older than me. Seems like a long time living for 28 years if I think about it. What does it feel like to celebrate a birthday? Hmmm..Iobserved my mom yesterday, she seems happy celebrating her 28th year. Why did I say that? Well, I always feel my world shaking. At first I wondered what was happening and now that I can hear pretty well, the belly shaking comes with her hearty laugh. I enjoy each time my mom's belly moves that way, because I know she's enjoying her life...what else could she ask for, she has a supportive family (i can't wait to see my lola..), she has a good job...and most of all she has me and my loving daddy...

Next year, when she celebrates her 29th year, I will not just hear her laughter but I'll be able to see her smiling face as well....i am so excited to see her....

By the way, mom, I saw dad's birthday gift..will you let me play with it?

My name is Arianna Shay Zafra. I am still in my mother's womb. My mommy Sharon is about to give birth to me sometime in October. My daddy Arnold is so excited that he can not wait to create this blog for me. Well, he was partly inspired by what Tito Nick, my daddy's former house mate in Pasay, did for his son Jo-lo.My daddy created this blog a few days ago when he was still not sure if I am going to be a boy or a girl. But this morning my mommy had a pelvic ultrasound and the result shows that i am going to be a baby girl. So my daddy immediately change the title of this blog and renamed it Baby Arianna. Yes, my full name is going to be Arianna (meaning: divine) Shay (meaning: gift from God) Siggaoat Zafra. Cutie name no? Oh, By the way, have you already figured out how I look like in that ultrasound photo? :)

That's it for now.