Vaccination my tush!

Jay was out of town for work last Tuesday, so I brought Yaya Arlyn (She's actually one of the helpers in Aba's house, but Layla likes her, so she's like a part-time yaya whenever I need help or when Layla's in Aba's house.) to help me and we took Layla to Doktora for her second vaccination, the 6-in-1 kind.


We were joking about how the shot might hurt, telling Layla that it was going to be just like an ant bite. lies. Lies! I remember when she needed a blood test. Oooh, the stupid nurse took so long collecting the blood from her foot, she was crying and crying and looking at me with a "why are you letting him do this to meeeeee?!?!" kind of look.


Layla got the shot and she cried alright, but only a minute or two and that was it. Amazing! She was so calm afterwards, obviously exhausted, but she was also really affectionate. Aw, my little girl rocked. I was so proud of her.

As a reward, we drove home and I nursed her and she was happy again. She's so easy to please, harhar. Now she's a super baby...her body can fight off 6 more deadly diseases! And one day she's going to kill me for posting a photo of her crying.

And so it begins...allergies!

Layla was supposed to have a photo shoot for a friend's new photography studio but she got constipation from these iron supplements (I despise them! They gave her such a hard time. I never thought that hearing a baby poop or at least fart would bring us so much joy! I think the mother, if breastfeeding, should be the one taking the iron supplements to pass on to her baby.), plus she got the rashes. Poor kid.

At four weeks, Layla was diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis or skin asthma. I thought that they were just the usual baby rashes from the heat, but I noticed that the rashes were spreading to her chest and back; and I couldn't stand watching her scratch her face (she was hurting herself, so now she has mittens on for most of the day). She was in agony. Plus she kept hitting her face. Later on I realized that she was actually hitting and scratching her nose because it was probably itchy. First thing that came to my mind: allergy. But I couldn't pin point what it was in my diet that was giving her one (because she's breastfed, so the allergen was coming from my milk).

So I took Layla to Dra. Paulino, her new pedia, and not only did she have skin asthma but also an allergic reaction to cow's milk (indicated by the rashes on her ears).

Ugh, my nightmare. I drink cow's milk everyday! And I eat cereal every single morning!

I had to buy soy milk as a substitute for the cow's milk, and I was put on a very strict diet...my God, I felt like I was pregnant again, except this time they added dairy and wheat to my DO NOT EAT list.

Layla's skin asthma may last for only a few months and clearing up her skin and nasal passages everyday takes a lot of time. Her rashes also spread to her scalp and they hardened up, so combing her hair was like combing sand paper; but I fix that up everyday, too, with petroleum jelly (According to Dra, baby oil will make her feel hotter, so petroleum jelly's better). That's all I do everyday, plus some work when she's asleep. I must admit, though, that cleaning your baby's ears and nostrils and every fold on her body can be pretty fun and fulfilling. Layla gets a little fussy sometimes, but most of the time she thinks we're just playing. Hehe.


Now her skin's all cleared up and her scalp just has a few flakes. Yippee! So Layla's a happy, healthy baby again and we can't get over how pretty she looks. But I still can't get a nice picture of her smiling! Come on, baby, smile!

The Peace Baby!

Everyone's had a peace bottle or a peace joint, something you pass around for everyone to share. In this case, Layla's been the Peace Baby, giving a lot to ooh and aah about as people take turns in carrying her in their arms. She's met so many important people in her first month that even before being baptized, she has become a baby social butterfly.









She's already been to her first party in the Ortega house in Santol where she finally met her eldest sister Paige. Paige was on a field trip and was flying back to Cebu the next day, so we took a chance and brought Layla to Quezon City to meet her and the rest of the Ortegas.



The one person she misses, though, is her Poppy. He's been out of town for work since Monday and I think she's been looking for him. She sleeps late when Jay comes home late from a gig, but when he left, she was up from 6pmto 2am the next day! Wild. I had no rest, and neither did she. I think it was new for her to be burped on my shoulder without Jay by her side kissing her and rubbing his nose on hers.



Don't worry, dearest. Poppy will be home this afternoon. You'll see. :)