Revise the "Don't Talk to Strangers" Rule

I especially like one of the articles in the Readers' Digest (Asia) for this month.

Anyway, this article (Seven Words to Inspire) says that we should reflect on what we tell our kids because they could be doing more harm than good... or that there are better ways of saying things.

Take for example, teaching them not to talk to strangers. Teachers, uncles, clasmates, cousins. All these aren't strangers. But all these can bully your child. They can all abuse your child as well.

So instead, we must teach our kids not to talk, and not to trust people who make them feel uncomfortable... even the authority figures in their lives. Of course, we also must make sure that we're visible and accessible to them so they know they can run to somebody in case someone did make them feel uncomfortable and taken advantage of.

Child Sexual Abuse in Texas

Children fed "silly pills" at what used to be a daycare center were also forced to put on sex shows for adults.

Can anything make your skin crawl worse than news like this?

And this cannot help but take me back to a CSI: Miami episode where a father was the one exploiting his own daughter in porn sites. And he said something like, "they're not abnormal. There will come a day that the world will realize that theirs is just a different kind of love...or fascination... that it isn't wrong... and there are many fathers/men like him..."

Talk about scared of the possibility.

And I couldn't help but think that we've already come a long way in accepting homosexuality, once also considered taboo... so could it really be possible? Incest and sexual preference for kids? Normal? Acceptable?

And in case people start jumping down my throat to point out that there's no point of comparison really other than homosexuality wasn't acceptable as well for a long time, in most societies, then may I just say that that is just it. We have broken down walls on a lot of things. We tolerate a hoard of many other things now. We sometimes call it 'wider perspective'. We call it liberation. We call it enlightenment. We call it progress.

Who's to stop us from going to other places... like a different frame of mind, a different belief system, a different value framework?

And how do we protect our kids in the meantime, when we, the adults, are also still testing and challenging our boundaries... if we still havent collectively set our definition of what is promiscuous and what is not?

*~*

Meanwhile, sexual misconduct is plaguing US schools. Chances are, it's a critical problem that needs to be addressed in the Philippine school system too.

Pregnancy Depression and Baby Sleep

Depression and Anxiety during Pregnancy may predict sleep problems for babies, says the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.

I think I have to wait for more details of the study, and see if they considered pregnancy-related stressors (like a difficult pregnancy) causing the mother's anxiety, and family stressors (separation, another baby, a miscarriage, etc) that may also affect the baby's sleeping habits.

Chances are, they probably did, because it would be one of the first things mothers would point out to them (or psychologists would note).

Meanwhile, I guess I have to consider myself properly warned that my son could have problems with his sleep because I definitely was an anxious Mom. I had a difficult pregnancy, one that chained me to the bed for around three months. That is bound to make anyone feel depressed. And the confinements were very stressful times as well.

Harlow or Honor?

I have been meaning to blog about this for the longest time...

I absolutely love Nicole Richie for coming up with Harlow Winter Kate's name. And then here comes Jessica Alba naming her daughter Honor Marie! I mean, how star quality can a name get?

A runner-up for me would be Christina Aguillera's son named Max Liron. There are just something about these names that really fit perfectly.

And yes, I cannot wait for Brangelina's twins... especially since I didn't really like the name Shiloh.

What I Love Most About Being a Mom...

~ I am the prime authority on someone, and will remain so for many years. Although hubs is as involved as he possibly can, nothing can beat the privilege and responsibility of having carried my son, delivered him, breastfed him and cared for him. I knew him first, so I know him best.

~ That every month of May from here onwards, I am remembered by people to be part of an elite class deserving of flowers and baubles.

~ Being worshipped! Imagine being the most beautiful, smelling the most wonderful, offering the most security for someone!

~ Realizing how hard it really must have been for my own mother/parents, and having that final understanding/closure of/with the past.

~ The knowledge that I can do so many things and use, as reason, that I only did what I thought was best for my child... and no one will really be able to contest that.

~ The smiles, the cries, the babbles that are just for me. Am sure parents everywhere have noticed that their babies have different smiles, and they tend to anticipate softness and gentleness from their Moms so their smiles for Mommy are also of the softer kind.

~ Knowing I am my kid's first mentor.

~ Knowing I am my child's first and longest love.

~ Rising above the challenges.

~ Realizing my childhood dream.

~ Seeing proof everyday that there is a God or Higher Power.


I am not tagging anybody anymore because I actually owe tags and am finding it impossible to bloghop properly. But do read Mai's answers because they're really inspiring. I thank her for tagging me :)

Serendipity and a Failed Abortion

A baby survives his own abortion and was born with only minimal problems.

Maybe it's because there is no abortion here that I cannot really contemplate choosing to go that road in cases where I could pass a medical problem to a child that may result in his death. But I know that my greatest fear is to lose a child. And so, yes, maybe I wouldn't risk ever having one if I knew i'd only lose him.

But the Cramptons were on the Pill.

So their son Finley not only went against the odds of being conceived while on the Pill, he also beat the odds of surviving an abortion. Talk about a will to live, not just survive. Talk about the miracle of life. Talk about meant to be. He's all that and more.

If this doesn't humble anyone who hears of it, I don't know what can.

To Finley, may you lead a more interesting life than the one you had in your Mom's womb. I will be praying for you and your sibling's kidney. Who knows, you may even grow up to someday come up with a medical breakthrough where kidneys and genetics are concerned.

Get White, Mom

Let's face it.

Filipinas want to look white. Most do. It's a 'grass is greener at the other side of the fence thing', we crave to look white as Caucasians work for tans.

Which is why Glutathione is selling like hotcakes, not really because of its medical benefits (being an antioxidant) but because of its medical side effect (more flawless, whiter skin).

And what do you know, glutathione has been found to boost fertility and aid in a healthier pregnancy.

But does this mean pregnant and breastfeeding Pinays can take gluatathione supplements while gestating and lactating? It seems not. I suspect mainly because pregnant and lactating women (aside from children) are the last people studies would use as subjects.

I am actually concerned about how trendy the taking of glutathione supplements have become, with whispers of how celebrities take loads of it to facilitate more camera-friendly appearance. I'm just concerned about its negative side effects though, or at least, long-term effects. It can't be all good. And taking lots of it is tampering with your body's natural ability to produce it, or get it.

I'm sure our livers need all the help it can get, given our diets and lifestyles. But taking all these supplements is not a push in the right direction, it's a shove.

Baby Grew in Mom's Ovary

Australian Mom gives birth to shock doctors because her full-term baby actually grew in her ovary, a rare case of ectopic pregnancy that did not cause complications.

Usually, a mother's health/life is threatened by an ectopic pregnancy especially if it is not detected early enough to be terminated. But in Meera Thangarajah's case, she was able to carry Durga up to thirty eight weeks without problem and it was only during the C-section operation that the medical miracle was discovered.

This should give trying to conceive (TTC) couples or those who suffered the loss of a child something more to pin their hopes on, to keep their faith burning... that a life intended to be lived by a Higher Power will beat the odds. Heaven knows there are all too many reasons why a life is sometimes denied or taken away... I like to believe that there is a perfect time for the gift of life... sometimes even different ways of being blessed by it too.

Miracles do happen. They just can't all happen to just one person... and all at the same time.

Jenny from the Block Didn't

Pamela Anderson Lee. Nicole Richie. Heidi Klum. Maggie Gyllenhaal. Gwen Stefani. Angelina Jolie. Keri Russell. Jennifer Garner. Naomi Watts. Julia Roberts. Tori Spelling. Salma Hayek. And many more celebrities breastfed their babies, giving them the best nutrition while also benefitting themselves by reducing their risks for certain cancers as well as facilitating the shedding of all pregnancy weight gained.

But not Jennifer Lopez. And the most she said in an interview went something like "I guess there are women who do and women who don't, I don't, my mother didn't..." :)

True. There are women who don't. And I have to be honest that I feel so bad for these women who decide willfully that they wouldn't. It's not really that I expect everyone to be excited about breastfeeding because it is a commitment that you make every day... and though women are naturally equipped to do it, breastfeeding success doesn't come naturally.

But I just really expect women who know better to do better. So learned women who are aware of its benefits but still opt not to breastfeed will always be a mystery to me. Essentially, it is passing the part of you that has already survived onto your offspring, isn't that a really beautiful and useful gift? Surely, that's more important than prams that cost more than a car, especially when you think of it in terms of THE BIG PICTURE?

So really, hurrah to Maggie Gyllenhaal and I really wish more celebs will do the same. I actually thought Angelina Jolie would be the first to make this statement.