This second pregnancy is harder. I just don’t remember being this tired when I was pregnant with Light. So I’m heeding the advice of so many moms before that I didn’t actually follow when I was pregnant with Light. I am taking it easy, taking more rests and sleeping in late. Because I know now that once this baby is out, sleep will just be a thing of the past (again).
It’s a bittersweet moment being pregnant now. We’re happy that it all went according to plan. But it’s also a fun time for the three of us (hubby, me and Light) to travel more, and me being pregnant has limits. You can see Light get excited over something, and she can understand and remember experiences now. It’s really a great time for her to experience something new. But activities and locations can be limited for me. Plus I so wanna travel right now. But I don’t want to stress my body and my unborn child so much.
So I’ve compiled here some short trips and activities that we’ve done with Light. I included old trips with a then infant Light and the more recent ones now that I’m pregnant with our second child, sharing it to other mommies out there. 🙂
Light’s First Road Trip
I’ve blogged about Light’s first out of town trip here. She was four months old at the time. We went to Pico de Loro. I think that if you are planning to take your little ones on a trip, especially when they are still very young, choosing a private place is better. You worry less about the cleanliness and safety of the environment, and in turn, would enjoy the trip more.
Batangas Beach
The second time Light went to the beach she absolutely enjoyed it. She was about one and a half years old then. We stayed at a house in Canyon Woods and went to Kawayan Cove. This is a private resort. As I mentioned before, going to exclusive or private places are so much better when you have a child in tow. You can be sure that the facilities are clean and well taken care of.
I would really recommend going to Kawayan Cove if you know someone who’s a member. Or you can become a member. It’s clean and not crowded, even on holidays or peak seasons. The staff are really nice plus the food is not bad at all.
The Fun Farm at Sta. Elena
This place is a popular place to mommies who want to bring their kids outdoors. It is a big playground perfect for little kids, and even the big kids. They get to be physically active–run around, do the zip line, go on a short boat ride, to name a few.
Light’s cousin celebrated his 2nd birthday there and they both enjoyed the place very much. The entrance fee was very affordable and kids 2 years old and below were still free of charge I think. You can bring food in and have a picnic inside. It was definitely a different but fun way to celebrate your child’s birthday.
Baguio Trip
One of the things that makes Baguio an attractive vacation spot is the weather. Well, for me, the weather and I guess, the tradition we had of going there every year when we were little. I think that was one of the reasons why we (my side of the family) planned to go there for our Christmas vacation last year. Word of advice, though, never go there during peak season. The traffic was crazy and you really wouldn’t get to any of the must-try, must-visit places.
It has been a while since we visited Baguio, and there had been a lot of new restaurants and new must see places since then. Even old activities like strawberry picking and horse back-riding (which we’ve done countless times already when we were little kiddos ourselves) seemed exciting again when you have your own little ones.
Sorry there were no pictures of the food and very little pictures of the restaurants we ate at. We were probably too busy having fun. But the food at CHAYA was good. Yes, we were very hungry when we arrived and had no reservations. Luckily, there was a space outside and the air was cool enough so we didn’t mind.
We stayed at Green Valley Hotel and Resort. It will probably be the last time, though. We’ve been staying there ever since we were little kids. The place is really outdated. We just wanted to let our kids experience it though. It still gave that nostalgic feeling. Plus the view is still really nice.
We had dinner at Forest House. It was jam-packed but they were able to squeeze us in. I guess we really were lucky that way haha. The food was great. We had a relaxing, quiet dinner that night.
Our lunch for the day was probably the highlight of our trip. The secret place Foggy Mountain Cookhouse. We had a hearty, yummy and very delicious meal. This time we had a reservation.
Here’s a list of some restaurants we dined at during our trip to Baguio.
1. CHAYA Japanese Resto (reservations encouraged)
- Address: 72 Legarda Road, Baguio City
- Contact Number: 09164394141
2. Secret Garden
- Address: 34 Paterno St., South Drive Road, Baguio City
- Contact Number: 09159359865
3. Forest House
- Address: 16 Loakan Road, Baguio City
- Contact Number: +63-74-4470459
4. Foggy Mountain Cookhouse (reservations required)
- Address: 172 St. Joseph Street, San Carlos Heights, Purok 24, Baguio City
- Contact Number: 09167674687
Light’s Glamping Experience
This was definitely a first for the family. One that I asked my husband to make time. It was just after the New Year so it meant that it was back to work already. But it was also the time that we were waiting if our second pregnancy “experiment” had been successful. So I really wanted to do as many activities and go to as many trips as possible with Light. I know my life with Light will change (I’ll definitely have less time for her) when we have another child. And I wouldn’t be able to do as much when my tummy expands again. 🙂
Anyway, we had our first glamping experience at Nayomi Sanctuary Resort. I made a separate post about it here. It was a relaxing overnight trip. There were no activities really. It was just swimming, eating and bonding. It was the perfect trip for someone who didn’t want to exert too much effort like me.
Nurture’s Farmacy Day Trip
Our trip to Nurture’s Farmacy was like a school field trip. It was organized by one of the mommies my sister in law met at the park. She’s a homeschooling mom (not sure if that’s the right term hehe) and she wanted to take her kids out of the city at least for a day.
I know most moms would like to bring their kids out to nature, for some fresh air, and just let them explore. I definitely want Light to be exposed to nature more. So I fixed our schedule and joined in.
This time we already knew we were pregnant. My husband was hesitant at first. He couldn’t go and he didn’t want me to be too stressed out with Light. But I assured him that I would take it easy and that I wouldn’t carry Light as much. We already talked with her, too, so she knew that I couldn’t carry her anymore.
The drive to Nurture’s Farmacy was short and pleasant. It was just me and Light, my sister in law and her son. It was a mother-child bonding kind of day. We took our time. We let the kids take their time. We met with the other mommies and started the tour.
I would suggest going to these places (where you’ll be walking under the sun for most of the time) during the Ber months or during early months of the year (from January to first week of March). We went to Nurture’s Farmacy on January so the weather was really nice. There was a nice breeze all through out the day. I didn’t mind going around the farm even under the sun because the air was cool all around.
The tour started off with a short background of the place and the reason why the owners opened their farm to the public. Then our guide showed us, I guess, the main attraction of Nurture Farmacy–the FARM. We went through the different parts of the farm, which they separated based on the benefits they give our body.
After learning about the different health benefits of the plants, the kids had an ample time feeding some animals. Light enjoyed this part very much!
The kids also got to make their own kites, the Pinoy way. I was excited about this part of the tour because I’ve showed Light before how to make a kite and I know that she’ll like it. 🙂
There was also a juicing demo for the mindful moms like us. It was interesting and very delicious to know about the simple ways we can cleanse and detox our body.
We ended the day with a late lunch at the restaurant in Nurture Wellness Spa. They offer fresh and organic food (farm to table kind). It was a day well spent for Light. 🙂
Cintai Corito’s Garden Family Vacation
This will probably be our last family trip. I really wanted to go out of the country, but couldn’t decide where to go and when. Since we couldn’t decide yet, I thought about just doing a short weekend getaway type of vacation for us. I found a promo at Deal Grocer for Cintai Corito’s Garden, which my brother and his family had already done a while back. They enjoyed the place and had fun with their little one (who’s about the same age as Light).
Originally I planned to go there just the three of us. Should I start saying the four of us? 🙂 But invited our neighbor friend who’s son is also the same age as Light. Unfortunately, their son got sick just the day before we’re supposed to go. It would’ve been more fun with them around because it was just the four of us who enjoyed the pool when we got there. I think Light would’ve enjoyed it more if there were other kids around.
We came early for check-in so we had our lunch first. While waiting for our room, I mean villa, to be ready, we explored the grounds a bit. What’s interesting about Cintai Corito’s Garden was the animals that the place houses. Your toddlers will definitely enjoy looking at the different animals.
Finally our room was ready and we got to see the villa. It was really spacious and cozy.
We got ready for swimming and some more exploration.
I’m still deciding if it’s a good thing or a not so good thing getting promos from deal sites such as Deal Grocer. Most offers would allow you to avail of the promo during weekdays or from Sundays to Thursdays only. But like what happened with us in this promo where we went on a Monday, there were few guests staying at the time. I think it was just us and another family (which we never saw really). I think for my hubby and I, we prefered it that way. Not too crowded and you get the whole place to yourself. But I think Light would’ve enjoyed having a couple of kids to play with in the pool or at the playground.
The next day after breakfast we squeezed in some more swim time before checking out.
Nevertheless, it was a relaxing (if not for the super hot hot weather) and special bonding moment for us.