Do-It-Yourself: How Hardcore I Am

D's birthday is a month and a half away...yes, time is fast and it flies like the man of steel and the question that all mothers ask, 'What kind of party should we throw for our little one?'

If you ask any mother, they would love to splurge and go all out...who doesn't? Our babies only turn one ONCE and even though they're not going to remember it and all (that's the point of photos and videos, hello!) but we, as parents, do. We remember every single detail and the happenings and we will always tell them in detail when they're all grown up.

My parents didn't have a lot when they started their family...in fact, they barely had the essentials! So, it was very natural for them to DIY the first birthday parties of Paul, me and Jam. They have all the pictures to prove it and some videos as well. What made it so special was that everyone appreciated it and it was unique...no one could follow what they did! Hence, the inspiration came to mind!

I was hellbent (hahaha!) to prepare for D's first birthday party myself, maybe because I felt that most of the decorations were very generic and I thought to myself, 'I think I can learn how to do it.' I'd like to believe that I'm creative enough that I can whip up something and besides, L has the artistic hands and can always carve something out of nothing (that beats any basketball-hungry husband, anytime!). Right after D's baptism last November, I was already busy looking for possible themes for his birthday. We already had a rough estimate of the budget since we knew that we would be contacting the same suppliers, but I wanted it to be lesser so I knew that DIY was the road I was going to take.

After the holidays and having settled down after New Year, I was busy looking through different ideas and possible decors...for me, I wanted a theme that would reflect the same passion that L and I share and something that D would be able to look back and say, "That was a good theme Mum...excellent choice." It took me about a couple of weeks before I was able to confidently say that his birthday theme was going to be Disney Pixar's movie Up.

Here was the fun part: gathering all ideas and information for his birthday party. From the decor, to the lootbags and giveaways, and even the shoot for the invite! All of that was playing in my head and I needed to make sure that it was organized in my laptop, thank God for Pinterest since I was able to follow boards and mix different ideas. Also, it was great that the website of Disney had TONS of printable designs and templates. My parents were very supportive as well since they knew that it would slash the budget in half, yes, half!

Last month, I was able to convince my Dad to help me in financing the fee for a DIY Balloon Decor Workshop here in the city. I figured, I wanted to make a statement and be as creative as I could be...might as well do our own decor and trimmings! Being OC, I didn't want it to look so DIY and amateur, I wanted it to look good on photos and look as if it could be featured on Martha Stewart's website! Hahaha, being domesticated has never been this fun but trust me...you'd want it to be picture perfect!

People ask me, how DIY is the party? The only professionals that I hired were the caterer for the dinner buffet, the candy bar buffet that my high school friend did for D's baptismal, the character host and magician tandem and the photographer & videographer. Everything else is on me, well...me and my team (family!), that is.

Was it at all difficult? Of course it is! Which decor? What kind of giveaway? Which lootbag? What design? Tons of questions and quite difficult to answer since I wanted to put everything! But reality (in the form of my husband, L) came into picture and told me to calm down. Haha, thank God because imagine how the party would look like! He definitely made things easier in terms of pinpointing which ones we can handle in making ourselves and the time frame. In the end, most of the ideas that I wanted were put in place...he just ironed all my ideas out so that I won't look so frazzled.

I guess it pays off to be OC and really organized because while L was at work, I was busy already making the giveaways and doing mock-ups of the centerpieces and lootbags (yes, we're making the lootbags!). He never really saw this side of me given that we only met in college, but it was also nice that he saw a different side of me...where I was really into it and I was crazy about it, I even dream about it (no kidding!).

Most of D's playmates are also turning 1 this year...I love sharing ideas to other moms especially those who want to DIY their babies' parties as well.

My Dad always told me that parties (whether it's wedding, birthday or any other reception) is a communal celebration...have people who care about the celebrant and celebrate happiness together. I can't wait for D's party! A celebration of his life and a celebration of our parenthood as well!

Biting The Nipples That Feed Him

Been almost a month since my previous post but I've been very busy with the preparations for D's first birthday and I got back to online teaching this week, needless to say...it's been quite hectic.

Amidst all the "chaos" that's been happening, D is pretty much growing in front of our eyes. My parents were away for just a few days and got extended for another 24 hours due to the airport mishap (they were rerouted to Manila then GenSan and took a 3-hour bus trip back to Davao). They noticed D's sudden growth and mentioned it to me, the moms at our weekly playgroup also noticed and well...as much as I want to deny it, my little boy's growing up!

And with growing up comes those little tiny instances that really try my pain tolerance, yes...breastfeeding mothers can definitely relate to this...biting! He doesn't do it on purpose, at least I don't think so, and it doesn't happen often but when it does...WOW! I'd rather go through labor than deal with those nipple bites! Whew!

Did it seem bad? Yes, I felt like I was going to lose my nipple when I felt it. I was imagining this bloody image in my head where in the actual nipple is between his four incisors and he's smiling at me with that snarl that he always gives when he's feeding off me (too bloody?!). Then I look down and it's just red, sore and bleeding a little...I looked at D and there he was, smiling and giggling. I know he didn't do it on purpose but that was just one of those VERY RARE moments that I wish I could stop breastfeeding. I didn't stop...trust me, I wasn't going to stop just because there was a tiny wound.

The best cure was to let D latch and let his saliva heal it, true enough...it was all right. Took about a couple of week for the soreness to completely go away but I was still able to pump and express milk for him. That didn't discourage me from breastfeeding...but it did make me flinch every once in awhile whenever D would latch. Somehow, those little teeth are definitely not stopping at biting everything it can get in contact with. How do I stop him though? Well...pinching his nose definitely stops it, the "suffocation" trick doesn't really work on his as he was push me away and it's more painful. So pinching works for us...

I know that this will be just be a phase, and I'm in no way deciding to stop breastfeeding. But yet, babies do bite the nipples that feed them...mommies, trust me...they still love you no matter what and they're not doing it on purpose.