Ahiya Aidan meets Syoti Josh for the first time...

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Rache recalls the first encounter of Aidan with syoti, Josh:

" The first time Aidan saw his brother, ang tanong sa akin, "Ma, sino
yan?" (i know, nakakatawa no?) then i told him, si syoti...naku,
ngumiti na at natuwa! hi syoti, ang sabi! Aidan kept on touching
syoti...marunong siya kasi dahan dahan nya hinimas si syoti.  Game na
game makipagpicture with his syoti.  Now that we're home, everytime he
hears Joshua cries, he would run and shout that Syoti is crying...and
sometimes would ask, why is syoti crying...he likes to touch
syoti...at halik halikan! Kaya kitang kita namin na mahal niya si
syoti.  So far, di naman sya masyado nagpapakita ng selos.  Today,
when he saw syoti nagmeme, he asked for it...it is one sign na siguro,
nagseselos...hopefully, di naman sya gaanong magselos kasi we still
spend time with him since tulog lang naman si syoti ng tulog. "

(Note: In Chinese, the oldest kuya is called Ahiya and
the younger brother is called Syoti and younger sister is called Siobe)

The Birth of Baby Joshua Xavier

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Finally, Rache gave birth to Baby Joshua Xavier yesterday, November 14, 2007 @ 7.25pm in Makati Medical Center. I'm proud of Rache because she gave birth in a Lamaze way! After 3 push, Baby Josh came out naturally without the swollen look associated with prolonged active labor.

Rache called me at 4pm yesterday and I was in a middle of a couple of meetings. It was totally unexpected because earlier that day, Rache did not mention any contractions. It only started at 3pm and we did not have time to go to Asian Hospital anymore because of the rush hours. I texted Rache that I needed one hour to wrap things up in the office and we agreed to meet in the 4th Floor Delivery Room in Makati Med @ 5pm.

I personally don't like to give birth in Makati Med but we had no choice. Delivering in Makati Med was like using a desktop PC computer with floppy drives -- it is functional and it get things done, but you would not rave about it and you have to be patient with its flaws. In contrast, delivering in Genesis of Asian Hospital was like using a Macintosh with Intel core duo and Leopard OS installed. We gave birth to Aidan in Asian Hospital almost 3 years ago and Makati Med does not come close to that overall birthing experience.

Related Post: Giving Birth @ Asian Hospital -- The Birth of Baby Aidan Dominic (January 19, 2005)

Baby Aidan born on January 19, 2005 @ Asian Hospital.

Why we love giving birth in Asian Hospital versus Makati Med?
We terribly missed the Genesis birthing rooms in Asian Hospital. The rooms were setup like hotel rooms where it can be converted into a delivery room when needed and all the necessary pedia equipment were available. The huggery was conveniently located nearby. I was allowed to be with Rache in the delivery rooms and with Baby Aidan in the huggery without any hassle. After delivery, we were sent to our rooms immediately and Rache even got a sponge bath. When we checked out, we had a candlelight dinner for two with food courtesy of Makati Skyline. Parking and local phone calls were FREE! We got the best treatment as possible despite their limited staff. This was 3 years ago.

Baby Josh born on November 14, 2007 @ Makati Medical Center.

In Makati Med, I had to argue with the staff to let me inside the 4th floor delivery room and I was not lucky to enter the nursery in the 5th floor. We had to move from a delivery room to the operating room, then to a staging recovery room before going to our hospital room. We were told that they would take care of finding an available room for us but I had to follow up myself in the admitting office to get a room. After getting a room, we were waiting for the staff to transfer us to our rooms but if you don't follow up and remind them, you will be waiting forever. All outgoing calls are charged at P2.00 for the first 3 minutes and P0.50 every minute thereafter. The overnight parking costs P200/ night.

The staff are definitely competent in both hospitals but I think Makati Med has 3x more staff than Asian Hospital. Makati Med was near our office so I was able to wrap up some things in the office conveniently versus if we were in Alabang. Good thing, Makati Med is near Azure Cafe and Cafe-a-gogo so I don't have to complain about availability of good food.

Check out this photo essay of the Birth of Baby Josh....

The Birth of Baby Joshua Xavier Uy Diaz (a photo essay)

Dra. Lilibeth Genuino and resident Dra. Maricar Sy helping Rache cope up with the contractions at 8cm. At this point, the doctors were worried because the baby's heartbeat was beating fast (>160-170 beats per minute) and Rache's platelets count were only 100,000 versus the normal 150,000.

I was helping Rache to remind her to breathe in and breathe out as Rache long nails were buried in my hands. As she was contracting, I was also screaming in pain but I cannot imagine how it compares with the pain she experienced.

Rache continuously requested for an epidural anaesthesia but after 3 push it was not needed anymore. Baby Josh was born on November 14, 2007 @ 7.25pm! Momsy was currently attending mass at that time and prayed for Rache safe and fast delivery.

We decided to store Baby Josh umbilical stem cells and we were able to collect 100ml that we sent to Stem Cord Stem Cells Bank.

Dra. Vienne Saulog, Aidan's pedia, was already there to take care of Baby Josh who scored 9.9 in the Apgar score.

Baby Josh weighs 7 lbs and 12 ozs and measures 52 cm/ 20.472 inches.


Baby Josh's first visitors were my brother Rommel and my parents, Momsy and Popsy. Thanks to my brother Rommel for giving me a digital SLR camera (which we forgot to bring) in time for Baby Josh delivery.


Large Private Room @ Makati Medical which costs P2,400 per night. It has a refrigerator and bigger by 3 sq meters versus the Small Private Rooms.

We decided to have Baby Josh circumscized similar to Aidan - binatang Baby!

Finally, we love our OB, Dra. Lilibeth Genuino! Thank you so much for helping us with the successful Lamaze delivery!!

Baby 4 is coming to town :)

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My wife is about to give birth maybe tonight or tomorrow. I'm signing off for now and you may follow developments via Twitter. We are happy that we will see Baby 4 soon and at the same time, a bit sad because we won't be able to attend my big brother's wedding in Caleruega/ Balai Taal. Also, Aidan is the ring bearer so we will miss seeing him walk in Caleruega. For those wondering what is the name of Baby 4, check out Rache's post on Baby 4.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!!

Aidan's Culinary Adventures

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"Eating Your Heart Out" by Mrs. OAP.

Center Photo:  Eating Manang's Lechon
Top Left, Clockwise: 1). Secret Recipe @ Fort Boni, 2). Mother's Day @ Palm Court Wagyu Beef  3). Rodic's Tapsilog  4). Swiss Deli Delight  5). Chelsea Market Cafe 6). 2 Year Old Eating Corn 7). Yummy Iced Brazo  8). Al Dente  9). La Marea Desserts, Cebu 10). Omakase Desserts  11). Corazon's Halo Halo in Pampanga, 12). Highlands China Palace Dimsum

To kick off my blogging momentum, I want to share with you this beautiful collage of Aidan's Culinary adventures by Mrs. OAP. So far, he is not getting fat because he is so active these days. He likes to eat everything and he is not picky on food except for those he would call "ang-hang" or "asim" type of food.  Everytime I go home, I would usually bring him a pasalubong and he always call me in the office just to say "buy cha cha".

Enjoy! I have more stories to tell about our Iloilo, Donsol and Corregidor trips.

The Farm @ San Benito, Temptation Island and Baby 4

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Aidan's Ka Puso :)

It was the first time we got interviewed together as a couple in GMA 7 last Saturday. We got interviewed for the article I wrote last year,
The Farm @ San Benito --- Did it really create an impact on the way I live? Apparently, The Farm will be featured in Mel & Joey on April 1, Sunday and they wanted to get testimonials and stories about couples who experienced the Farm. In April or May 2004, Rache and I went there to experience the 5-day detoxification package which opened our eyes on the impact of eating dead food specially animal meat to your body. We were convinced that living a vegetarian life is the way to go and this carnivorous lifestyle will catch up on us in our senior years.

Also, one of our motivation for spending so much for this 5-days detox package is to conceive a baby. Yes, the Farm has a reputation of helping couples conceive a baby by detoxifying the body from toxins and creating a stress free environment. We actually read in a Woman's Today australian magazine that an australian actor (Ian) and actress (Rachelle) came to The Farm for their baby honeymoon. So, somehow we are thankful to the Farm because after 9 months, Aidan was born on January 19, 2005.

Aidan fooling around with the microphone. We are not sure if he will be a performer or a politician someday.

On other matters, Thanks to Socky for the nice Friday night blog despedida dip party for Poch. The pot roast, the different home made dips, and coffee alamid were perfect! We will miss you Poch and we do hope we meet Rama before you leave for Canada. Congratulations to Wysgal for getting into Wharton! Woohoo!! galing mo :) We are looking forward to your Whartonite blog posts...

I can't believe it that we watched the 1980's Joey Gosengfiao's masterpiece Temptation Island to end the despedida night. It was hilarious and I remember watching a CCP Play based on the Temptation Island movie. What made it hilarious was that the director intended it to be a serious movie of life during that time in manila. Also, what was amazing for me was to see snapshots of manila during the early 1980's and the standard of sexy women during that time which we would consider now as fat.

Finally, Baby 4 is on the way! Yes! We just knew this week and I was still in denial until now :) Aidan was code-named Baby 3 :) Aidan is now a Kuya or Ahiya!! We are grounded for the moment probably until Rache's second trimester. We are excited and hoping that it is a siobe...

Aidanacio.us

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Aidanacious
1. Aidan's life in Photos -- anything and everything about Aidan.
2. A photoblog of Aidan's first times, fun moments and blessings in life.
3. A blogger hosted blog (http://aidanacio.us)
4. An ongoing online biography of the life of Baby Aidan.
5. More Cute Photos of Aidan

We've been maintaining two blogs ever since 2005. Aidanacious is not as popular as Our Awesome Planet, but we continue to passionately update it because it serves as an online biography of Aidan's life. My wife updates it these days and it is getting funnier each day. I just want to share it with you in case, you just want to see cute photos of Aidan.

Got Milk? 1st Life Insurance Photo Contest Winner :)

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I was pleasantly surprised to see that my winning photo entry in First Life Photo Contest, Aidan's Got Milk photo, was used as the front cover of the First Life Policy Holder Newsletter. I just thought that I share this with my blog readers who are also a First Life policy holder. Mommy was proud, of course, and this encourages me to join more photo contest in the future :) and maybe, turn pro someday.

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loving aidanacio.us

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11/15/05 14:02, originally uploaded by antondiaz.

Recently I neglected to update Aidan's blog for two months. I got a lot of complaints not only from my wife but from regular readers of that blog. Finally, I was able to update it and I can't believe that for 10 straight months I was able to keep up with the volume of pictures at that photo blog. There are a few days in those months that I don't have any pictures but safely about 90% are covered. Check it out at http://aidanacio.us/! Hopefully I can update it until he grows up to update it himself :)

Elements of a Successful Birthday Party Celebration!

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This is the phase of my life where I have to seriously think about Children's Parties and events for my Baby Aidan. I attended Aidan's cousin, Carlos 2nd Birthday and it was fun :) Reflecting on the event, I realized a few insights of what makes a baby birthday party successful:

1. Lots of kids!  The party is fun specially for families with kids just playing, eating, and interacting with other kids. So the first on my list is really to invite as much kids as possible.

2. Games/ Entertainment for the Kids. Some of the common items on this would be: toys, cars, bubbles, balloons, balls, swimming, and pabitin.

3. Blowing of the Birthday Cake. Photos of singing happy birthday and blowing of the cake is the highlight of the party. This is a priceless moment...

4. Lolo and Lola. Attendance of Family members are very important. But I would say that the lolos and lolas are the happiest in these affairs having to lived to see their grandsons/grandaughters' birthday celebration.

5. Goodies delights.  Loot Bags, and freebies are a must in any children's party.

We will be celebrating Aidan's 1st Birthday in January so I'm starting to plan for it as early as now.

Moira Isabelle's Baptismal Celebration

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  Our ECE Barkada 
  Originally uploaded by antondiaz.

It was a nice Sunday afternoon baptismal celebration in Super Bowl Jupiter. The reception for Moira Isabelle's baptism is very relaxed and homy. Finally, we were able to spend quality chit chat time with Xerxez,Joh-an & Sam, and Alrin,Lot & Moira which we did not have the time to do during Aidan's baptism. Also, the only lawyer in our ECE batch, Rogel Gatchalian was also there and we were able to congratulate him being part of the 31% who passed the Bar Exam among 5000+ examinees.

Welcome to the Christian Family, Moira Isabelle! We do hope that you grow with faith and fear of the Lord. God Bless you!

Aidan's Baptismal Joyous Celebration!

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Finally, I'm able to blog about the awesome baptism of Aidan last Sunday. Thank you to all our family and friends who attended Aidan's baptismal celebration either in Don Bosco or in Zhongnanhai. My wife and I were thrilled that at last, we were able to baptized Aidan into the Catholic faith and don't need to worry anymore. We were also thrilled that we were able to pull-off an awesome baptismal party in Zhongnanhai. Of course, my blog entry will not be complete without a personal review of the baptismal event and the lunch celebration in zhongnanhai. Special thanks to my brother Rommel for documenting the entire baptismal celebration!
>> More Pics: Aidan's Baptismal Celebration Photos (by Rommel Diaz)


Baptism @ Don Bosco Makati

Recommended

Reasonable baptism registration.  The costs of having a baptism in Don Bosco is P250 for the first pair of principal sponsors and P50/addl sponsor. So we have a total of 10 sponsors which costs us P650 all in all. They would already provide the candle needed during the ceremony. By the way, you only need to register 2 weeks in advance during office hours of the parish office.

Organized baptism rites.  I was always impressed with how organized the sacraments are administered in Don Bosco Makati  (confessions conducted every mass, wedding  ceremonies have  a coordinator designated by the church). First, they would require the parents and the sponsor to attend a baptism seminar one hour before the baptism. Secondly, there are people who would assist through out the baptismal rites and give ques to the parents on what to do, where to sit, when to stand. Third, photos and video taking is well organized despite the number of babies baptized all at the same time (about 8 I think). Lastly, you can feel the solemnity of the baptism even if a deacon is the one who administers the baptism.

Baptism tips.

1. You need to identify two (2) principal sponsor who would be present in the baptism ceremony. Ideally, no proxy is allowed.
2. Baptism in Don Bosco is held at 11am. The seminar starts at 10am but they would require you to be there 9.30am. Ideally, you should attend the 8.30am sunday mass in Don Bosco. BTW, there is a 12.15pm mass after the baptism, so you must be quick in taking group pictures after the ceremony.
3. In Don Bosco, you get your baptismal certificate right after the ceremony! So make sure the names of the ninong & ninangs are correct and all other information.
4. All you need to bring during the baptism would be his baptismal dress, camera/video camera and a hand fan. They normally turn off the aircon during the actual baptismal rite.

What I regret about having baptism in Don Bosco?
My only regret  is that they don't allow special baptism where you request for a certain priest you want to baptize you son. In Aidan's baptism, it was a deacon who baptized him and we were not able to invite him to the reception.

Baptismal Celebration @ Zhongnanhai Chinese Bistro, Greenbelt 2

Recommended It was an awesome lunch celebration @ Zhongnanhai and we were very happy! Here are the reasons why:

Excellent Chinese Food!  Almost of all my chinese friends, my wife's chinese family and even our expat who comes from China, Kitty, loved the food! The food was buffet and we never ran out of food and chef Andy make sure that we have enough for the guests. I'm glad that we had time to do a food tasting a week before because on the actual day, we were not able to properly eat because we are entertaining our guests. Based on the feedback, our family and friends liked soo much the steamed polangchai, one way peking duck, steamed garoupa, spinach soup, rice balls/buchi dessert, haagen daaz chocolate baptismal cake and the german wild lover tea! We achieved our objective to make the food very memorable! Thank you Joy and the ZNH Staff!

Excellent Party Ambiance.  ZNH took care of decorating the place using blue and silver balloons. They even made an arc of balloons in the entrance which is very impressive. They made the tabletop menu with the picture of Aidan which is also consistent with the thank you cards with the same picture of Aidan and a free steamed polanchai/onion pancake/poached pear. They also have twisted balloons as centerpieces in the master table and buffet table which the kids enjoyed. The face painters were a hit with the kids. The only thing that we added was the photo frame gallery of Aidan in the entrance and the guest book which is a scrap book with Aidan's picture on every page. I really loved the setup and thank you to all our guests who appreciated it.

What I regret about having the reception in Zhongnanhai?
My only regret is that the place was small that some of our guest do not have tables and some are sharing a very small table for 2 but I could see 4 people using it. Also, I must admit that it was expensive (P600+/head). We were expecting a guest of only 100 people and we ended up having 120+ family and friends (according to ZNH it was 130+). Despite the fact that not all friends and family attended the affair. Given these learnings, Rache and I already are starting to plan an awesome Aidan's first bday and we agree on the following principles:
           1). Invite close family and friends (approx. 150)
           2). Memorable food, excellent theme, and unique party.
           3). Plan ahead, evalutate options, and negotiate costs.

Juan Gabriel's First Birthday Party!

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For the complete pictures, click on ---> Juan Gabriel's 1st Bday Party

Last Sunday, we attended Juan Gabriel's 1st Bday @ Serye in Quezon City Circle.  It was a fun Sunday afternoon with Rache's barkada. We can't wait for Aidan to grow up and enjoy these children's party. Check out the fun pictures, including Aidan's first baby love @ first sight. Enjoy!

Todd & Mina - Thanks for the wonderful Sunday Party!

The launch of Aidanacio.us!

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aidanacious, originally uploaded by antondiaz.

We would like to share with you the launch of http://aidanacio.us/  with the mission of taking one great photograph of Aidan a day until his wedding day.  This is to share with our family & friends the joy of Aidan and my love for photography. Thanks for you support and I do hope you enjoy the site!

P.S. Please post a comment on the guest map so that we would know the people visiting the Aidanacious.

THANK YOU for visiting me! -- Baby Aidan

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Family & Friends who visited., originally uploaded by antondiaz.

Thank you to all the family & friends who visited Baby Aidan over the past 5 days. It really feels great to see all of you who extended an extra effort either to visit in the hospital or at home. We appreciate all the welcoming text messages, food, flowers and gifts for Baby Aidan -- maraming salamat. You've touch our lives and Baby Aidan with your caring and support during this momentous occasion. We hope we can reciprocate someday or pay it forward. Thank you. Here is the complete link of the pictures over the first 5 days. Enjoy!
            Episode 1: The Birth of Baby Aidan
            Episode 2: The 2nd day of life
            Episode 3: Aidan's Home Coming

Sincerely, Anton, Rache and Aidan

Happy Birthday Baby Aidan Dominic!!

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@ 7.54am on January 19, Baby Aidan Dominic was born in Asian Hospital!  After 6 hours of having an induced labor in the triage of the Genesis center of Asian Hospital, we finally have a successful normal birth.

There were alot of challenges along the way:
First, at 12.30am my wife noticed that she was having mucous secretion and we suspected that the bag of water ruptured already. We immediately proceeded to the Asian Hospital and got confirmation that the bag is leaking and we have 24 hours to give birth or else it would be risky. She was already at 3cm but irregular contractions. As per doctor's advise, we decided to have an induced labor to mitigate the risks.
Second, yes, we tried Lamaze but decided to go epidural when she was 6cm (after 3 hours) and she cannot bear the pain any longer. Also, it was early in the morning and I personally feel drained because I did not get any sleep yet. Our deepest respect for those mothers who are able to have successful Lamaze birth.
Finally, she had difficulty pushing the baby so the nurses needed to assist by pressing on her tummy (pundal move). At one point, the baby had difficulty getting out and the baby's heart beat dropped to 70 bpm (normal is 120) and there was tension in the room. The OB needed to step up under pressure and do the pundal block herself. I started to pray and in a few minutes, I can see Baby Aidan coming out.

Thank God for ensuring safe delivery for Baby Aidan. Thank you for all the prayers and support over Rache's pregnancy. Happy Birthday Baby Aidan!

The bag of water broke!

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  It's a boy (Oct. 9, 2004) - 6 mos old 
  Originally uploaded by antondiaz.

We are soo excited. As I am writing this, we think that her bag of water broke and we will be seeing Baby Aidan soon. There was some mucuous substance, reddish liquid which we think is a sign that Baby3 is coming. Her expected due date is January 20 and according to Baby Center only 5% of pregnant women give birth on that expected due date. All our bags are packed, and there is still time to get a quick shower. We hope and pray that there is no complication and Good luck to mommy rache and baby Aidan. See you soon Baby Aidan! We are off to Asian Hospital...