Wake me up when this is all over

Sorry for the long absence. My dad suffered a stroke and he is still in the hospital. Can't blog about anything because I'm too depressed. 

Hope to be back soon.

Getting there

Been pumping every two hours. I'm glad to announce that my milk supply is up!!!

6 6oz cups. Ready for the day ahead

Ingress and Spirals Buffet

After years of planning, we finally decided to join a bridal fair. Yesterday was our ingress, and because I was so excited I failed to have lunch. So with our stuff and my new breast pump in tow, we headed to PICC Forum to set up our booth.

We didn't spend much for our booth. Some of the items were borrowed (Thanks, Chi!) and some were just from our house. We weren't informed that our booth had walls so we didn't get to bring a backdrop! Good thing my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were also joining and had an extra backdrop.  Thank you, Kuya Francis and Mae!

Our booth. Or half booth rather. B19 (right side)

 After the ingress, Rach and I were starving. I was already getting dizzy because I didn't get to eat lunch. We thought we'd finally try Vikings at MOA, but it was full! We called buffet 101 (has to be buffet grrrr), but they were full as well. Rach couldn't stand the thought of eating at Yakimix because of all the horror stories.

Finally, we succumbed to the call of Spirals. Sige na nga (teehee)... Fortunately our husbands were willing to eat there and more than willing to treat us for dinner (okay maybe not MORE than willing). Wow. Not bad for an after ingress meal.

I kept telling myself I had to blog about this so take pictures, take pictures, take pictures. Only to remember it after I wolfed down half of my of my first plate. Totally can't be a food blogger.

First plate: Lechon Macau, roasted duck, basmati rice (couldn't find plain rice), and smoked salmon topped with caviar

The four of us shared a plate of baked oysters

Cheese room!

 The highlight of my meal was the Uni!!! i just had to ask the chef if they had uni. And they did! And I ate about a cup (and a half) of it. Argh I should've eaten more!!! The spanish mackerel was also good!  NEED to go back.

Second plate: Uni, Spanish mackerel, salmon and tuna sashimi and unagi sushi ZOMG

Peking duck. Didn't like it. Found the wrapper was too thick.

The cheese room had all sorts of charcuterie 

We also shared a plate of foie gras. I had 3 small pieces but yeah there was some major cholesterol in there.

Rach posing with her buttery naan. It was so good. 

Medela House

My sister-in-law and I went to the Medela House to inquire about their pumps. We met Joyce who was very nice and accommodating.

This is the showroom. They have samples of the swing maxi, freestyle and their hospital grade pump.

Joyce gave us a demo on how to use the pumps. She also answered some of our questions regarding breastfeeding.

After my trip to the Medela House, I was sure I wanted to get a new pump. There's no guarantee that my milk supply will increase but so what. I'm determined to try anyway.

We went back to the house two days after to purchase our pumps.

Saw these sunflowers in their driveway. No I want some for the house.

Hello again Joyce.

That's my sister-in-law Princess. She's 5 months pregnant.

My sister-in-law got a freestyle and I got my swing maxi. We were so excited that we kept on opening the boxes and checking out the parts. It was like Christmas. We also received a free 1 hour consultation with Joyce. I'm making a list of all the things I want to ask her. I should've done this a long time ago.

Let's work some magic.

New Breast Pump

I know, I know! Jaime is 7 months already. I shouldn't be getting a new pump. But somehow his weight loss has got me thinking that maybe it's the way I express milk? Rach lent me her old pump (First Years single pump), and it has worked fine. The only thing I didn't like about it was that I takes so long to pump--- 15 minutes for the right and another 15 for the left. Because of this, I didn't like pumping. I'm a stay at home mom anyway so I always feed him directly.

Til his teeth grew. He started biting me. Biting me at home. Biting me in public. Sometimes I'd shout in public because he'd suddenly bite me while feeding. So embarrassing.

I also noticed that he only nursed for less than 10 minutes. Hence, my decreasing supply of breast milk. This bothered me more than the biting. The doctor told me not to offer too much solids because he could lose his taste for my milk. Argh. I should've listened. Now that Jaime isn't gaining any weight, I've been trying to increase my milk supply. I cut off his solids (except for 1 teaspoon of cerelac a day) and nurse him more often. I've also been pumping like crazy, and that is why I can't, just can't, rely on a single pump anymore.

In the past, I kept telling myself that I needed a double pump but never got around to buying one because of the cost. But now that my baby isn't gaining weight, I'm determined to do everything to get him back into shape. 3 caps of Natalac, 3 tables of Domperidone, Mother's Milk Tea, Fenugreek, and now this:

I'll be going to the Medela House later to inquire about their pumps. Let's see.

Sunday with my boys

My husband was watching the NBA game on TV when he asked me to make a bet with him. Just so you guys know, I know nothing about NBA. I love watching the UAAP, but NBA? No thanks. I bet on Miami because I see their name a lot on Facebook. Haha. Nic bet on the Pacers and won.

Loser gets to buy lunch, by the way. :/

We went to Greenbelt to get filter replacements at Dexterton. On the way, we checked out Cotton On Kids. They had so many nice things for Jaime! I wanted to get this this pair of neon pants but, alas, a thousand bucks for pants?! I needed time to think about it.

Neon pants for my little JLC. I think he wants me to buy it.

As the winner of the bet, my husband chose to eat in Kenji Tei. He was craving for Japanese food.

Chirashi for him

Spicy Negi Ramen for me and for him as well

Gyoza for him gain. Man, he was really milking it...

Wakame Ramen for Yaya Chen

Cool interiors by my friends, Nikki and Jason Buensalido.

This man was laughing all by himself while eating. I think he was listening to an audiobook. I do that to when I'm alone! He and I will get along.

It was yet another fun Sunday for the three of us. After lunch, we went home and watched the Green VS Blue game on TV. 

The neon pants were the last thing on my mind before going to sleep. I'm still thinking about them now... 

Hai Chix and Steaks

Been wanting to try Hai Chix and Steaks for a while. I read about it in Oh My Buhay and Desserts Come First. The name actually made me curious, so I read more reviews. They were pretty good so I planned on celebrating my birthday here. Unfortunately it didn't push through as I ended up celebrating somewhere else.

Yesterday after watching the Ateneo-La Salle Filoil (on TV), Nic and I got hungry and decided to eat out. He suggested that we finally try Hai Chix and Steaks.

Located at the Metro Home Depot along Julia Vargas in Pasig. 

The place was pretty small. It can maybe seat 30-40 diners. I saw that they also offer Pinkerton ice cream.

Autographed chopping boards. I only understood Benjie Paras' handwriting. Weird. Haha.

Nic and I shared a solo plate of Hainanese Chicken and 330 grams of ribeye steak. Good thing we shared because at the end of our meal, I was soooo dizzy from the steak. Not that I'm complaining. 

Happy chef

Hainanese Chicken. Comes with chicken rice and the usual sauces

The chicken was good! It was so tender and flavorful. I like it way better than Wee Nam Kee (Philippines). Not bad for 250 bucks! My husband already branded it as the best chicken rice ever. For me though, Tao Yuan serves the best, and both Chef Stevie and THIS come second.

Ribeye Steak. Comes with steak rice and drippings

The steak was also good! I was expecting it would still be priced at 800 bucks like what the reviews said, but this was 1100. But who cares. It was still good and made me so full after. Next time we're trying the porterhouse with some friends.

Dizzy from the oil, we were both looking for dessert so we shared 2 scoops of red velvet ice cream from Pinkerton. It was okay...

Red Velvet ice cream

Trying the Guava Basil sorbet next time.

All in all, we enjoyed our meal in Hai Chix and Steaks. I think we will be coming back and eating here often.