Planning Baby's First Birthday

Would you believe we've reserved the venue for Baby's birthday 5 months ago? 5 months! (Which is already quite conservative considering the advice one mommy friend once told me - to book the venue as soon as the baby turns 1 month old!) Thanks to her, I've panicked a little and booked "early". Otherwise I'm sure we'd be knocking on Jollibee's or Shakey's doors.

We only have 2 venues in mind. One here in our clubhouse, which is more preferable because of its convenience and price. But what do you know, it was already taken! The next-best choice is in my in-laws' clubhouse, which cost P15,000 just for the venue - a highway robbery indeed. It was hard to convince myself to give in but I finally did, because the date was perfect (Baby's birthday falls on a Sunday, there's no need to advance or delay the celebration.) The location was good too; everybody knows where it is.

For the caterers, we booked La Comida, which has proven to provide good food and service everytime my in-laws call them for parties at home. They have a wide selection of set menus, even for merienda. I like that they also offer extras like bibingka, putobungbong, chocolate fountains, the works.

We also booked a photobooth, which I think hit 3 "birds" at the same time - unlimited fun for cam whores (who isn't?), photography / documentation (it comes with a cd of all the shots), and souvenirs for the guests (I ordered the one with magnets so they could stick them up on their fridge or whiteboards rather than piling them up with the rest of their files and forgeting about it after a week.) So that's another P14,000 down the drain.

For prizes and giveaways, I would love a trip to Divisoria or 168. I have yet to schedule this, but I'm already excited to shop! The invitations are DIY - I asked Husband to use his Photoshop skills and print them at 4R for P6.00 each, while I manually glued the names on the ready-made baronial envelopes.

For the other things that you think I've missed, like the balloons, cake, host, face painter, food carts, kiddie sets, and tarpaulins, we let Mr. Sun Kiddie Partycom, Inc. take care of those. I'm glad they can do the set-up for the place, and pull together mini carts like fishballs, ice cream, taho, and even branded ones like Candy Corner, Figaro, and Potato Corner for the client's convenience. So the stress, time, and energy may be poured onto something else.

Aside from sending the invitations and deciding what to wear for Baby and me, I think we're all set! And we still have one month to go... One of the perks of being an OCD mom :)

Tooth Fairy

Baby is a late bloomer indeed. The average age for the first tooth to emerge is at 6 months, so I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting. I was even anxious that Baby's first tooth might pop while I was in Singapore for a few days (@ 8 months). Of course I wouldn't want to miss that special milestone. And her poor gums have been itching and aching and swelling for the longest time. Last week was kind of different. Even her sleep was disrupted for 4 straight nights (and so was ours!) She would wake every hour, crying inconsolably and uncontrollably.

And then I saw the tiny white thing on her lower front gums. This signals yet another sign that she's growing more and more each day. Until such time when she's totally independent of me. Although I would like to see her develop normally (or preferably even more advanced compared to other kids), it somehow depresses me to imagine the day when she will not need any of me anymore. It would be too selfish for me to wish that she remains to be my baby forever, so I'm just praying that we would be able to raise her as a good Christian.


Anyway, I bought this tiny tube of Hyland's Teething Gel from Healthy Options (not cheap, almost P600 for 1/3oz.) I was just convinced to buy it because it's 100% natural. No minimum or maximum number of application. Yes it didn't have any side effects. Honestly it didn't have any effect at all, if you ask me. I would still feel much pity for Baby because she continues to cry even after applying this to her gums. The good news is, we're pretty sure it's safe for baby's sensitive gums. The bad news is, it's a total waste of cash.



Thankfully, my mother-in-law gave us another teething gel, Bonjela brand, from their family trip to the US several months ago. I'm not sure if it's available in Manila, but I've never seen it here. I have no idea of the price either, but this is what I would highly recommend. Baby starts feeling better (i.e. stops crying) a few minutes after application. The downside is that you will have to wait for at least 3 hours before you can apply again. So the trick is to apply the gel right before you put the baby to bed. It will provide the necessary relief for her to have her sweet dreams.

The intensity and duration of the pain differs for each baby. I'm glad I only had 4 sleepless nights in my case.