Sebastian's First International Flight

Yep, you read it right! Our almost two-month-old was aboard the plane with us to the Philippines for the first time. We were seen off by our CPC Filipino Community Group from church and family and friends at the SF International Airport.

His first flight wasn't so difficult for us. We're actually proud of our firstborn because he didn't cry as much, and just kept on sucking away on his pacifier or my pinkie during takeoff and landing. And even if he does cry, it was easy to soothe him. What was challenging in this flight is how we managed to carry all our stuff (we had a lot of stuff we tugged along). Still, we managed and we endured our 14-hour nonstop flight to Manila.




We arrived at 3:45am and got out of the airport by 5:45am (told ya we had a lot of stuff, be it carry-on or checked-in luggage). We left 04/18 and arrived 04/20, losing a day in between. As soon as we got out of the plane, I immediately felt hot and humid, and I guess Seb did too, for he was fussing and crying while I was carrying him until I got the carseat from the carousel and placed him in there. My body heat probably added to his warmth and he didn't like it a bit. Dad and my sister Karen picked us up in two separate cars, and once Sebastian and I got in the car, the coolness of the aircon transformed him into one happy baby again, and happily chatted and laughed with me all the way home.

Soon as we settled down and had breakfast after our flight, we went straight to church. We originally planned this long vacation to be a nice surprise for everyone we know, but somehow the information leaked and the surprise factor didn't work out as we planned. Too bad, we wanted to see people's reaction suddenly seeing us here. Even though it's hot and humid, it's nice to be home once again.

Visiting More Cousins

We went to San Leandro tonight to have dinner with my sister Sharlyne (thanks for the advance birthday treat!) and then visit more cousins: Ivana & Sarah, and Gian & Gabie...

Getting Another Passport and Family Portrait Session

I have been procrastinating about this, but finally, we went to downtown San Francisco this morning to file a Report of Birth for Sebastian and get a green passport for him as well. Yay for dual citizenship!

Today has been pretty hectic again. After the trip to the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, we went to Bondi's workplace in Mountain View. After that, we went shopping at Hillsdale Shopping Center, then rushed to the Meyer's for a family portrait session. It was really nice of them to offer to do this (pix to post soon). Even if I didn't have time to fix myself up due to the running around and doing errands the whole day, John got really great shots of us three. His wife Melanie is in Beauty School and helped make my hair a little wavy, instead of the flat, oily, lifeless strings I have right now. You can check out his work at http://www.meyerphotography.com/

We then had dinner with the Lumanlan's at Tribu Grill in San Bruno.

One thing today, I noticed the start of thumbsucking! I was carrying Sebastian over my shoulder and he found his thumb and started sucking away. Bondi was the first one to notice it and gently pulled his hand away from his face. I also noticed him starting to have real tears when he cries. It's not really flowing tears, but his eyes get a little watery now.

Here are web-sized photos from the shoot:

Sebastian's 2nd Month Check-up (Plus First Set of Immunization)

Sebastian had his 2nd month well-baby check-up today with his Pediatrician, Dr. Easter. Everything looks good, and he gained 4 pounds from his birthweight and added 2 inches in length! He is now 11 lbs 9.1 oz heavy and 22.5 inches long. The rashes he has for almost 2 weeks now, which most of us thought was baby acne, was actually the cradle cap, the doctor said, but instead of it being manifested in the scalp, it was on his face and cheeks. I noticed it getting worse whenever I eat seafood so I stopped eating for a few days now, and it's beginning to clear up. In fact, it's almost gone as I type.

He had his first set of vaccines as well, and we gave him Tylenol drops prior to the shots (3 injections for 5 diferent vaccines: DTap / Hep-B / IPV; HiB; Pneumococcal) to counter any fever or reactions. He was fussy and crying after that, but mostly because he's hungry. His cries are different today, though. It was a little weak and not the usual angry, loud cry that I am used to. His temperature didn't get high but I think he feels a little pain. He sleeps most of the time since having the shots and cries a lot when he's awake.

Some pictures:

At the waiting area...

Gained 4 lbs 0.5 oz

Comforting the little one...

Talking to daddy...

Waiting for his shots...

All done...

On another note, it was "bring your son to work" day. Well, not really. But Bondi brought Sebastian and I to his workplace so they can see the precious little one. Then, as he worked, Sebastian and I went to Walmart to pass time.

We went to visit Sebastian's cousin Rachel, who's exactly 7 months older than he is, after Bondi was done working. They live near his office so it was perfect timing.

It was a long day for Sebastian, though he's mostly sleeping due to the shots. Hopefully, he gets the rest that he needs to re-energize so that tomorrow would be a good day for him.

PS: Sebastian woke up as I'm finishing this entry, and he seems to be over the ordeal he went through this morning. Back to normal, smiling and cooing at around midnight...

Dinner with Nursing Classmates

From left to right: (Armi, Maria, Doris, Chen, Sebastian)

Just came home from dinner with some Pinoy classmates from Gurnick - Armi, Maria and Doris. They wanted to see Sebastian and I also had to return some nursing review materials to Maria. I was thinking of not going anymore because there's so much stuff to be done, plus, it's so hard to go out with a baby. It takes time to get ready and you have to also prepare his diaper bag and such. It's like a major outing every time you go out. In the end, after much prodding, I gave in and Bondi, Sebastian and I headed to Elephant Bar in Serramonte (Daly City).

Doris is getting married this June in Alabang and Armi is one of her bridesmaids. Maria is also going home to Iloilo this June (she goes to Philippines twice a year anyways!) and staying in Manila for a couple of days before they fly back to SF. Hmmm.... Maybe we'll get to see each other there, who knows?

I forgot how nice it is to just sit back, relax and have good old dinner with friends. They all came to see us fresh from work (thus, the scrubs). Thanks for the dinner treat, Maria!

2008-04-06: Sebastian and mommy having a "talk"

What we do during our spare time... He misses his "popsky" & "momsky" who recently went home to the Philippines...

4th week

Sorry for the late post. Will try to make up for my backlog in the next coming days... So far, Sebastian is on his 7th week, and I don't think I can keep up with weekly pictures anymore, so from this point on, it's gonna be a monthly thing... :)