Baby Luna in Seoul: February 2014

Initially, when I started this blog, my goal was to update at least 4 times a month, you know, once a week. It can't be that hard, can it? Yeah, well, it is when the baby starts to become more mobile, easily distracted, and needs nearly constant attention because her mind gets bored. However, I learned this week that random people do read this blog and that it does come up on certain search queries, so I'm a bit more motivated to update here today.

Luna is now nearing 16 months! My, how the time flies! She stomps everywhere and literally runs from point A to point B. Walking is not part of her repertory. What is super cool though is that this week she's learned to walk while holding my hand. It's finally gotten through to her head that I'll let her walk outside if she holds my hand. This little Miss Independent was so defiant for a while, always pulling her hand away from me. sigh.

Another new thing is that Luna had her first hair cut! Waaaahhhhh!!~~ For the past year, I've had nightmares where someone cut Luna's hair without my permission and didn't even save a lock of her hair for keeping. That nightmare along with every other Korean ajummas' unsolicited suggestions that I cut her hair has delayed her hair cut til now. I've decided that I needed to cut her bangs so that I can stop pulling at them to tie them back. Her hair was starting to thin out at the top and I, myself, already have issues with thinning hair; I decided that I didn't need to be even more stressed out with Luna's thinning hair. So yeah, I cut Luna's hair, but just the front. I regretted it as soon I heard the snip of the hair. She no longer looks like a baby, but a little girl! oh no! :(

The picture right after I cut her bangs!

I'm quite glad that winter is almost over (knock on wood) and the weather is warming up a bit. Having experienced the full winter, starting from the transition from fall, there are quite a few things I've learned. You have to understand that I'm from Southern California where it doesn't get colder than 50 degrees unless it's the middle of the night. Understandably, I was very very afraid of the cold, not knowing how to keep myself warm and even more so afraid of how to keep a baby who only communicates with crying and smiling warm. Well, Luna survived the winter with one snowsuit, one thick jacket that was way too big for her, one pair of snow pants, two beanies (one of which she never wore), and one pair of boots. She never liked the snowsuit because it was too thick and she wasn't even that skilled in walking yet, so I'm sure it was very very cumbersome for her. I never let her walk when she was in her giant jacket, because she was swimming in it. I don't know how we survived with such little winter clothing (she has other clothes too btw), but I suppose it's because we do Luna's laundry every two days. For next winter, I've decided that I will probably buy a pair of snow pants for her but that's about it since this winter's jacket will probably still be big on her next year too. The big thing is that we survived. I SURVIVED.

Her giant jacket and the one beanie she tolerates

This past weekend, I visited my very first baby fair. My, my. If you thought registering at a Babies R Us was overwhelming, a baby fair is like a hundred times worse. I think it's even more so crazier for Koreans who don't have superstores like Babies R Us where you have all the baby products from most major companies sitting in one location for you to touch, see, smell, and compare. At least at BRU, you can come back again and again and you don't have a gazillion people gathered in one location pushing, shoving, and hustling along with giant bags, crying babies, and strollers. What's even worse is that you think you're getting a great price on the products you are purchasing and you probably are for the high-end product that you're getting. Really, that $100 bath tub that you're getting for $40 is a great deal. But the fact of the matter is that you can find a $14 bath tub online that will do the job. No, it doesn't have a built in thermometer, a European designed curve designed to keep your baby slipping into the water, nor the ability to fold flat. However, I can always buy a thermometer for $10, there's still a ledge to keep my baby's butt from slipping, and I use the tub to soak the dirty diapers so it would never be folded anyways. haha. I'm just amused by the ridiculousness of companies who totally take advantage of first time parents because well, parents always want the best of everything for their child. The whole situation is just amusing. So, I did my cousin and his wife a favor: I went to the fair with them and explained all the different gadgets and gizmos at the fair, my opinions on them, and the real price value for most items. I was so thankful that my experienced mommy friends did this for me when I was lost and wandering the aisles of BRU and I think that every first time mommy should try to get the rundown of baby products while browsing through the stores with an experienced mommy. It is so much more helpful that way to not spend money on really useless things. Don't get me wrong though, it's always nice to see the new gadgets and gizmos that companies put out and to know what is available out there. I had a fun (still stressful but fun) time at the fair and who doesn't like free samples? Tis the season for baby fairs in Korea. There's another one this weekend at KINTEX in Ilsan and another one at the aT center in Yangjae starting on March 13th.

I made one purchase and one purchase only at the baby fair. I bought prefold diapers. If you don't know what they are, they're like totally old school cloth diapers that people used to use with safety pins and such. I know it seems like a total step backwards in time and innovation but I've decided that the way I use my cloth diapers is just totally not conducive. I use pocket diapers by Chubby Cherry and Cocalo, but only the Cocalo inserts. Now, if I used Chubby Cherries or any other standard pocket diapers like bumgenius or whatnot, like I'm supposed to, I probably wouldn't have any problems. What you're supposed to do is stick the microfiber into the pocket and every time you change a diaper, you would be changing the cover and the insert. But I just lay the insert on top of the cover and change out the insert. This is a problem with my Cocalo inserts because it's with a polyester top made to stay dry with microfiber flaps that get folded underneath the polyester top. Polyester = cold wash = unsanitary = stink problems with the microfiber = ammonia burn on baby's butt. Yeah. I'm getting tired of working too hard washing the diapers. Also, the fact that I have a front loading machine doesn't help. Perhaps when I get back to California to my old school top loading machine, I will have better luck with keeping the polyester inserts clean and fresh, but until then, we're moving on to cotton. Sure, it won't keep the baby dry, but I think my diligence to change the diaper will be much better than an eventual ammonia burn on the butt. I decided to go with prefolds than the sized cotton inserts because I can fold them to be a certain size. That way I don't have to buy different sizes to cater to a smaller butt when there is a smaller butt to diaper later. As to how they work out, I'll let you know when I get them and try them out (they sold out at the fair).

One of the samples that I tried out is the coconut oil. It seems to be the trend now a days since it's organic, edible, and the cure-all for all skin problems. I've been wanting to try it out because Luna has developed some skin problems in the last two months. It's not eczema, but it's a combination of dry skin, food sensitivity, and harsh acidic foods. Like, I know if she has ketchup or honey mustard and it get on her skin even for a moment, certain areas of her face turn red. Same goes for dwenjang, which Koreans swear is the cure-all for any health problems. haha. Anyways, I got a little sample of the coconut oil and Luna is loving it because I let her dig her little fingers into it and we're tried it out all this week. Some lotions and creams also make her turn red in those troublesome spots, but the coconut oil doesn't. It does seem to calm her skin, but as for actually keeping it hydrated and moist, I would say that it isn't so great. After all, it's an oil, not a lotion. Oils are supposed to trap the moisture underneath, not necessarily to hydrate from what I understand. Also, it smells quite yummy, which says something since I hate coconut. I hate coconut shavings, though I have never had fresh coconut meat so I suppose my hate for coconut isn't really fair. Never tried coconut milk either, but coconut water is great! They sent me a coupon code via kakao which expires on Monday. Made Raw Korea code: UY00J-FC8CB-AB8CU It's 500 ml for 35,000 won plus 2,500 won for shipping. According to their site, it normally goes for about 50,000 won.

The other samples I got to try out (but not bring home) were a whole lot of baby snacks and lotions. I didn't really care for much of the other lotions and creams because either the sales person was just too aggressive (know-it-all, almost condescending type) for me, or the product just wasn't to my liking for whether it wasn't thick enough, too perfumy, or too oily. One I did try out on Luna was the Palmer's lotion which is so overpriced here in Korea. It was like two 10 oz bottles for 28,000 won and they are also available at E-mart from what I understand. Anyways, I tried out the olive oil one on my hand and I had to rub it in quite a bit and even still, it was quite oily. But what can I expect? It's oil based! I put it on Luna and of course she turned away before I could really rub it in but the thing to note is that the dry spot on her forehead was actually hydrated the whole day! I just can't seem to fork over so much for something I would buy at Walmart for so cheap back at home. I'm gonna have to think about it for another couple of days before heading over to E-mart.

Now, for some unbelievable cuteness.