mikKOMIKs #1: Mikko & Mackenzie "Together Again"

So I’ve decided to create a series of comics for Little Mao. I’m calling it "mikKOMIKs" and it will be featuring Mikko and his friends. I do enjoy creating stories and what better way to tell it than comics! Hopefully a few years from now when Little Mao knows how to read, he’s gonna love viewing them. 

But first let me introduce Mackenzie. Cathy gave birth to him a month before Mikko was born. We had almost the same due date but poor Mackenzie was born premature due to some complications in Cathy’s pregnancy. Nevertheless, he’s also quite the bouncing baby boy. Photo below was taken after Mikko’s Christening in September 2011.

Starring Mikko and Mackenzie… 9 months later. Mikko is now 10 months old and Mackenzie is 11 months old.

Bromance? Nahhh… hopefully these boys will also have each other’s backs like us (The Barks) and become really good friends like Cathy, PM (the dad), NoodleBoy, and me. 

Til the next comic! Stay tuned…

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My husband and I both used to suffer from colds a lot and that is why we have a stash of vitamin C to prevent sickness. We fear that our little one might be exactly like us so we make sure he drinks his vitamin C regularly, too. Our pediatrician explained to us early on about the importance of giving a daily dose of vitamin C for our baby. But with so many kinds of vitamin C brands to choose from, it was difficult to choose which one would be perfect for our bundle of joy. Then we discovered Tropicee Plus. We just had to try it because it contains the added benefits of a Lysine-Taurine Complex. That’s a major bonus for overall health and wellness!

When we got the drops for our son, the first thing I noticed was the consistency of the vitamins which was not at all thick but almost watery. The previous vitamins he tried were all thick and strong-smelling that we fought a lot just to give him his drops. There were times when he took his vitamins straight from the dropper but most of the time, especially when he started to discover different tastes and new food, he just flat out refused. Tropicee Plus on the other hand smells like oranges so it does not bother our little one. I figured that with the watery consistency of Tropicee Plus, it is also perfect and easy to mix with his milk or any solids.

Our 9-month-old is such a handful and now feeding him is starting to become really challenging. However, my technique to get him to eat his solids or drink his vitamins is fairly simple. I store the vitamins in the refrigerator ensuring that it is kept dry. A lot of kids seem to enjoy the cool taste better. Every day I also have a bonding session with my kid so I distract him with his favorite educational videos such as Brainy Baby, Baby Einstein, or Sesame Street, and then once his attention is focused on a show, he opens his mouth to be fed and takes his vitamins with absolutely no fuss.

To
Revitalize
Or
Prevent
Infection in
Children,
Energize,
Excite,

Perk and

Liven

Up,

Strengthen with TROPICEE PLUS.

 

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The Francos. Our first formal family picture. :)

This one will go down into the (scrap)books. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! -MVF

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Small wonder. Big wonder.

My boy is growing up soooooooo fast. Now he’s even laughing!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxOVPv4j4Lw]

And he is camera-conscious, too! Hmm.. wonder where he got that from. Small wonder. :P

Just look at this little dude!!!

Handsome boy, ain’t he? :)

Little boy is truly making momma proud… ;)

And papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird for sure! Tee hee

Bebé guapo!

 

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To breastfeed or not to breastfeed?

That is the question.



However in my case, I have no reason not to breastfeed. Thank God for the abundance of breastmilk. (Magamit jud diay ang boobs!) I learned that I can lose weight with breastfeeding as the act helps burn 500 - 1,500 calories per day. Not only that, but there is a lot of truth behind the famous line, "BREASTFEEDING IS STILL BEST OF BABIES UP TO 2 YEARS."

There are so many BENEFITS of breastfeeding that I’m afraid I’ll run out of space just by talking about them. Breastfeeding was meant for a purpose and I’m just happy that I’m able to take advantage of it.



But it’s not as easy as it looks. And OMFG, at first, I thought I was going to die. Man, it hurt so bad that I swear nothing has hurt me as much as breastfeeding for the first few times.



Ever get the feeling when your nipples are being pinched as in the movies? Not that I had mine pinched or what… but you get the idea coz my nipples even bled!!! Ack!  X_X  Mikko looked like a vampire sucking out bloody milk from me. Que horror!

But as always, the support of friends and family is awesome so I got lots of tips/tricks and great advice from everyone.



Caren even sent me some nursing pads as well as an Avent Nipple Guard to help me get started. So sweet of her. :)



Additionally, I purchased some nipple creams for soothing.



As of today, I’m pretty much used to breastfeeding that I look forward to Mikko’s incessant crying calling me to feed him! LOL… From experience, it’s really a nice bonding time for mom and baby. I feel like I do want to protect my child and give him all the best that I can.

Even though Mikko Vincenzo aka Sir Poop-A-Lot is starting to become a stinker (yup, he farts and poops a lot but that’s characteristic of a breastfed baby daw…either that or he got the trait from me. Tee hee!), I just adore and love my baby boy. He’s everything to me. And I’m gonna make sure he’s gonna grow up to be just like his dad — you know, a really good great guy just like my Noodle Boy.

And really, you just can’t deny the similarity.

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Mamma Mia!

Okay, so where do I begin?



It’s been 14 days (2 weeks!) since our butterball was born via C-section, at 37 weeks near-term, because of a bad biophysical score since his fetal tone was poor and all because he couldn’t move much in my tummy due to his size. Whew! (That was a pretty long intro!) Thus, at 6:49 p.m. on August 15th, Mikko Vincenzo was brought to life!



And what a big boy was he! I don’t think I could have given birth normally with a kid that big… considering that I’m the girl with "no balakang" whatsoever.

 

 

They say he looked like a 2-month-old boy and not a newborn baby! LOL! Guess you can blame it on the genes… he’s pretty big for a Filipino baby as most are 48-50 cm when born full-term. My lil man on the other hand was already 52 cm at near term, weighing 8 lbs 2 oz! Can you imagine if I had given birth on my due date???

He could barely open his eyes but he was forced to so they could check him out fully.



The lil dude had to be placed on O2 and IV (I know, it was heartbreaking to look at!) because he wasn’t fully mature having almost no creases on the soles of his foot and he was also tachypnic. :(



But praise the Lord, everything went fine and on the 3rd day, he was in my arms.



I’m going to make a separate entry all about breastfeeding because really, are u effing kidding me? How can something so simple hurt like hell???

For now, here are two of my favorite pix of our precious lil one that I was able to capture and hopefully he’ll be happy to see these when he’s all grown up. ;)

  

Next thing I’ll know he’ll be running around and driving me crazy. LOL! But I look forward to all that…

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He's here!

Our very own bundle of joy. Mikko Vincenzo.

FULL SPECS: 
Weight - 8lbs 2oz 
Height - 52 cm (20.47 in)
Date of Birth - 08.15.11 
Time of Birth - 6:49 p.m.
Place of Birth - OSPA-FMC, Ormoc City

near-term (37 wks), complete, brand-new with box, NO HIDDEN DEFECTS!!!
needs recharging every 2 hours :P
DUAL BATT: Breastfeeding and/or formula

SRP: PRICELE$$!!!!!

I will tell you all about it later. Giving birth was a grand adventure you surely don’t want to miss.

Come back to read all about it.

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