[Zei the MOM] Pretty little things for our sweetheart

This is actually a late post, but because they're too pretty not to share, I still decided to write about it. Last February 14 was Zia's first Valentine's day and of course, we found it fitting to get her something sweet and lovely. This was a sure win when I stumbled upon it from Celestina and Co. at http://www.celestinaandco.multiply.com/. The bows are perfect - colorful, sweet and dainty - just like our darling daughter. All the bows and bands are meticulously made to make it not just chic, but also safe and comfortable for the little one to wear. Definitely something I recommend for mommies with daughters. :)

[Zei the MOM] Zia's 6th month shopping list

We're almost in the 6th month mark, which means a lot of new milestones for Zia. And of course, these milestones have new stuff that go hand-in-hand with it. So here's my happy list of stuff to buy for Zia.

Now that Zia is liking bathtime more and more and she's getting big for her current bathtub I plan to buy her a Flexibath and a set of Boon Odd Ducks for more fun and enjoyment.

I like the Flexibath because of it's pretty colors and it's foldable feature. I can store it properly when it's not in use since it doesn't take up much space and I can still use it long after Zia won't fit in it anymore - maybe as a toy bin or a shoe bin for the little one. Plus, it's made of BPA, PVC and Phthalate free plastic that's safe for babies. Photo taken from http://www.flexibath.co.nz/

This set of Boon Odd Ducks is a refreshing/modern take on the good ol' rubber ducky. Beyond it's cute colors, it's made from BPA, PVC and Phthalate free plastic. This will surely make bathtime lots of fun for Zia and for me (knowing that she's safe from harmful plastic materials). Photo credit goes to http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/ Aren't they so cute? But of course, very functional.

Another 6th month milestone that I'm excited about is solid feeding, so I'm eyeing these stuff to help me make Zia's solid food experience a blast.

Avent mini-blender (www.cherubix.com)

Cute and colorful munchkin soft tip spoons(www.amazon.co.uk)

No need for bowls and plates since we have lots given by Ninongs, Ninangs and Titos and Titas. =) Hope Zia enjoys solid feeding. =)

Ikea stuff to brighten our baby's nursery

My very good friend brought home lots of Ikea loot for our baby girl. I'm pretty sure all these will brighten our baby girl's room. I'm no expert at designing rooms, but I know pretty stuff when I see them. I hope baby Zia will come to love all her stuff as much as I already do. =) The Vitaminer curtain/divider's colors will surely catch our baby's attention. The Fabler canopy will keep our baby safe from mosquitoes, but aside from its functionality, the design also adds a lot of whimsy too! The Ekkore rocking moose will definitely be a fun addition to our baby's room. We assembled it as soon as we got home. Isn't it just so cute? =)

This star and moon wall lamps will definitely be cute accents for our baby's room. Plus they're gonna be cute night lights too!The Blames high chair is perfect for our home since it comes in the neutral black and white colors and I don't mind having it around our dining area. Not much baby stuff outside the baby nursery please. =p

I haven't been to an Ikea store, not even when we were in Singapore, but our house has lots of Ikea stuff and I love them all to bits. Here's wishing that Ikea would set up a store here in the Philippines.

Thanks wow! =p Will give you the grand tour of our baby nursery once everything's in place. Mwah!

Have a great week ahead everyone!

The elusive rocker

We're nearly 33 weeks and for the past few weeks I have been obsessing with this particular rocker from Fisher Price, which I saw in multiply. Apparently, as in most times, I thought the rocker won't be purchased anytime soon since it's being sold online - I was wrong, a week after, I inquired about it and unfortunately, the last stock (in the Philippines, it seems) has been bought. Bummer. Must buy something immediately if I really like it na. I've tried asking online sellers if I could pre-order from the US through them, to no avail. I say I obsessed about this rocker because I even signed up in this US to Philippines forwarding company because I was so close to purchasing through ebay and paying double to cover the shipping as well, but the fear of not getting the shipment along the way made me think twice. So for now, I'm saying goodbye to the rocker I was so determined to have for our baby and I have decided to entertain the thoughts of picturing my alternatives (available locally) in our baby nursery.

Here are the photos of my alternatives. What do you think? Am I just being very picky or what? Haha. I'm kinda leaning towards just getting any of these pretty alternatives from Bright Starts sans the hassle and the international shipping woes.


I never thought I'd be this particular about choosing the right baby rocker. I guess I am. =p

I wonder, why not pink?!

We're almost on our 32nd week and with just 5 to 8 weeks to go, we've started fixing up our baby girl's room. Our first order of business for the nursery was to repaint the walls. I've always been a pink girl, but for some reason I decided not to go with pink for our baby girl's room (to the surprise of many). I didn't even get much pink baby clothes. And now I wonder why... I guess I like pink for myself, but for a baby girl, i think pink has been such a cliche especially now that a whole world of pantones are readily available. So here it is, the debut of our baby's girl's nursery in Aquamarine and Seal Gray. Can't wait to bring in the furniture and decorations. =)

Baby shopping 411 - neophyte report

We just got home from a whole day at the mall for some baby essentials shopping. It was every bit fun and exciting as I expected it to be. :) We're almost in our 8th month and though baby is still in utero, I think I've gotten a knack for baby shopping quite early actually, I started shopping for baby stuff at 4 months along to be exact and I've become very good at it (to my husband's unsaid dismay). Here are some of baby's essential loot all from SM Dept. store. We just got the essentials like a couple of tie-side tops, bottoms, burp cloths, booties, mittens, wash cloths, hooded towels and blankets, etc.

Aside from shopping in the mall for baby stuff, I've also added online shopping to my repertoire. Just in case some moms-to-be happen to read this post, here are the online shops I've bought from:

http://www.brusselsprouts.multiply.com/ http://www.easyfrugalshop.multiply.com/ http://www.thespoiledgirl.multiply.com/ http://www.beberepublic.multiply.com/ http://www.facebook.com/#!/babiescornershop http://www.chillycakebaby.multiply.com/ http://badabadaboo.shopinas.com/ http://www.zebebe.com/ http://www.kidsrepublic.multiply.com/ http://mystylemyclothing.shopinas.com/

With less than 2 months to go, I've decided to stop online shopping and wait for the gifts to come (they say people will always give lots for the new arrival). Haha. I consider myself an expert in baby shopping because I've got so much passion for it (already! uh-oh). And just as I said pre-pregnancy, as long as it makes you happy and you've given it an amount of thought (around 10 minutes of contemplation), and you have the (extra) resources to purchase it... GOOOOOOOO =p And if you feel guilty after your purchase... well, no sense in fussing over it since it's already spilt milk. Bright side is, you'll emerge wiser after, perhaps?! These are just my 2 cents worth. And for those against shopping (impulse or not) per se, no judgment please. To each her own and this is how I stride (pre-baby, baby-on-the-way and surely even when baby's with us already).

Baby's first big ticket item

It's funny how the stroller we bought for baby wasn't even in our early shortlist. Our shortlisted brands were just Aprica, Mamas & Papas and Safety 1st, but the Italian brand Peg Perego emerged as our final pick. We got the Peg Perego Pliko Mini in Neon. It's still black, just like all the strollers in our shortlist, but with colorful stripes. It's really light weight and very compact when folded, but still has a big enough sun shade. It's just an umbrella stroller but it reclines low enough to be used for newborns up to 3-4 years old. Cool, right? So here's baby's 1st big ticket item. Hope Zia would enjoy her future rides in it. Shoutout to baby's amazing grandparents-to-be for the early gift. =) Now I'm onto baby's crib since it looks like we could be setting up the nursery soon. =) Exciting times!

From Forever 21 to Baby Gap: My version of shifting priorities

As you may have already read in my previous posts, my name is ZEI and I'm a SHOPAHOLIC, but thanks to the Mega 3-day sale, I now know that my shopping repertoire could be altered - it all used to be clothes, shoes, bags and other what-have-yous just for me (and occasionally for Richmond), but now, it seems to be all about our (coming) baby. :) Yup, the winds have blown me from Forever 21 to the realm of Baby Gap, which is just a skip and a hop from each other in Megamall. I bought a couple for our little sweet pea and I'm sure she'll absolutely look adorable in her new wardrobe. I think this will be the story of my so called shopaholic life, my priorities are slowly changing, but I don't feel a tad bit sad, in fact it makes me really happy because baby shopping is a whole new field and Im thrilled to take it on. Here are some photos from yesterday's loot. Also bought a couple cute outfits from SM Department store since I couldn't resist their super cheap items after having shopped at Gap. Haha. :)

Baby's Gap outfits (...so far)

Not to be beaten, cute outfits (i love bloomers on babies) from SM Department store

Now what I really need is additional closet space for baby. Haha. Will probably just take that on in the coming months. For now, I'm just so giddy with all my purchases. My name is ZEI and I'm a SHOPAHOLIC. *Curtsy*

Dear daughter, you'll have one heck of a wardrobe and more

What do you expect from a mom-to-be who's a shopaholic? Well, not much holding back, I guess. Or should I say I know instead. For the past few weeks I have been on a pseudo shopping spree, online and on foot, not for me, but for our baby. You see, I've never denied that I'm a shopaholic - thanks to my mother who introduced me to the happiness that is shopping at a very early age. *Hi Mom!* And now, instead of basking in the glory of Forever 21 or Charles & Keith and VNC, I found myself conquering the baby department of various malls. Just sharing photos of our little darling's loot as of week 21 in the utero. :) Hehe. :)

Quirky and unique onesies from http://www.googooandgaga.com/

Pilipinas onesie from my favorite, SM Department Store

Pretty dresses from local wonder, Peppermint (also in SM Dept. store)
Lisa Frank backpack courtesy of dad Richmond from Toys 'R Us

Manhattan Snuggle Toy and Sleep Sheep Sound Machine ordered from http://www.zebebe.com/ along with the Houdini Woombie

Bestselling children's books from Fully Booked

So that's it so far. As of press time though, I kinda promised the husband that these will be the last of my purchases since we're assuming that a lot of people will give us baby stuff as the due date nears and even after the baby is born. But for now, I just want to tell the consumer world that my foray into baby shopping has begun and it's gonna be another great adventure - for me and for my bank account. Haha. =p

And the 1st batch of finalists are...

Rich and I spent Sunday hopping from Megamall and Galleria and with my insistence we scoured the malls' stroller selections. I'm lucky that Rich is as thrilled as I am to look for possible strollers for our baby. So here are some photos of our stroller shortlist... for now:

Aprica Stick

Aprica Laura Guild

Mamas & Papas Urbo (which isn't available here, but we like nonetheless - wishing someone could hand carry it from the US or somewhere it's sold)

And the last we saw was the Safety 1st Advancer...

Which eventually became sort of the winner because it came with a car seat / carrier already that could also be attached to the stroller, making it a parent-facing stroller in a way

So those are the ones we like so far, will check out Duty Free's selection soon. Haha, but the color scheme should still be along the lines of the above photos, mainly black and white. Haha. Even in baby gear, I still believe that neutrals are the way to go. :) Excitement. :)

Our sweet pea is a gifted baby!

At just barely 5 months in the womb, our little sweet pea is fast becoming a gifted baby, albeit literally. :) I was greeted with a happy surprise when I got home from work just yesterday - it was a lovely package from Sarah and my Kuya from Philly with cute baby stuff for our lil sweet pea. Just wanted to share some photos. We're thrilled and I'm sure the baby felt it too. :) Thank you! Package from Aunt Sarah & Uncle F.B.!

Lots of Baby Janes too! Yay!

And another early gift from Tita Ais!

Thank you so much! As early as now you're already making our baby feel so loved. Hearts! Happy Weekend everyone!

Color Scheme I'm loving right now: Aqua Green and Pink

After one visit to our OB, Rich and I ate at Pancake House in The Medical City and we got yogurt for dessert. Little did I know that this encounter with yogurt would inspire a whole lot in me. You see their spoon was a very pretty aqua green and the logo stamped on their tissue was a lovely sort of fuchsia and when I put them together, I immediately told Rich that it was such a cute combination - for a baby girl that is. And now that we know that our sweet hope is indeed a little girl, our little sweet pea, here are just some pics of nursery inspirations with the beautiful color scheme I'm dedicating this blog post too. Photos are courtesy of http://www.littlecrowninteriors.com/ for all of you to enjoy. :)

Now isn't it really adorable? :) Excited much. Sorry. :)

If I had it my way...

Rich and I were at SM yesterday for the sale and I just had one thought in my mind... If I had it my way I'd start buying all the baby stuff I want for our little sweet pea. Hehe. So if I had it my way, I'd start ordering or buying these cute stuff now

Aprica Stroller
High Chair from IKEA

Cute onesies and lap tees by Googoo and ga ga

Now all I need is a little patience. :) Once we've confirmed if we're having a baby girl or a baby boy in a month, nothing would stop me anymore. :) Can't wait!