Heat and Weight Loss

For some Moms, the heat may be enough appetite suppressant already. After all, we tend to get too lazy to eat and digest all that food (except maybe ice cream). Plus, it's just so hard to keep moving in this intense heat.

One other possible plus of this heat is that we'd be driven to really drink and drink lots of fluids, which is very important when trying to lose weight. We're also more likely to consume fruits, for their water and sugar content, to refresh ourselves. Again, very good for losing weight, and more timely too since there are so many fruits in season during summer.

Del Monte Tomato Sauce Scandal

I am scared to click on any links because I don't want to hurl, especially since we had a tomato-based dish just recently. But from the reactions of those who have seen the photos, it looks like you'd want to take Colonix after. Something about rats hearts?

Euuhhh.

Then again, I once heard of a story wherein my friend's friend bought something in the grocery only to find an itty bitty mouse inside which seems to have fallen head first into the jar, then the jar was filled with the product (I have forgotten what!) and none were the wiser until her own son pointed it out to her when they were shelving their purchases. It was such a hassle complaining about it though (because she had to take it to this and that, file this and that) so she didn't bother anymore after her initial complaints.

I guess she wasn't a blogger because she could have just blogged about it.

But anyway, us Moms should really be careful what we buy... and check asap while still in the grocery. Expiry dates, bottling, canning, molds and rust, these things are something we always have to check out for.

If You Give a Monster a Cookie...

... he will want a glass of milk.

But in Nadya Suleman's case, she will complain that the cookie doesn't taste good and even involve the law if she could.

And I know that given her reputation, people are just raring to beat her further down. But I believe the Angels In Waiting just really want what's best for her kids.

Looking for Homes

It's not like we're going for anything like Wilmington NC real estate but looking for a property we like and can afford is proving to be such a task.

Okay, we may not have really narrowed the area down yet. But generally, it's either the Fort area, Mndaluyong or the South. Now, we're keen on Sucat and not really interested in Paranaque because there's a water problem there. We're still hemming and hawing if we'd consider a condo unit with a park/clubhouse but if it's really up to us, we of course want a real house with our own yard.

We're also considering Sta. Rosa, Laguna too since we really want a more peaceful environment for our kids to grow in.

Sigh.

And don't get me talking about financing just yet!

Great Mornings

I will admit that we still don't have any routines in place. But on most mornings, albeit late, I wake up with a smile on my face.

Yakee will have an hour or so when he'd be restless and switching breasts just before he's fully ready to wake up. I'd say GOOD MORNING to him and ask him if it's time for wakey-wakey... and he'd shake his head when he's still not ready. But if he is ready, he wouldn't nod his head. He'd smile instead while still nursing. So i'd trail my fingers all over his body and tickle him a little, to which he'd smile more.

Then he'd let go of Mommy, sit up, smile his big smile that his eyes become slits and proceed to find another position on the bed again. Usually, he'd be lying on his front but still smiling in my direction the whole time.

Which is why Mommy is really, really privileged. Not everyone gets to stay in bed till their child is OK to wake up, and see that child start the day with a smile.

Twin Sons Times Two

Both Jenna Jameson and Charlie Sheen welcomed twin sons. Jenna gave birth last March 16 while Charlie Sheen's wife Brooke Mueller gave birth Saturday night (March 14).

The names haven't been released yet though.

Hollywood is sure multiplying. Does this mean that around twenty-thirty years from now, their kids will be giving birth to triplets? :)

Love In the Home

I do not know who to credit this with, but I got this from the LATCH ygroups...

======================

Love in the Home

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper- -not a homemaker.
*
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness- -not godliness.
*
Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
*
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
*
Love is present through the trials. Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.
*
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.
*
Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart.
*
Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.
*
As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love.

- Author Unknown

*~*

I really appreciated receiving this in my e-mail. Certainly it made me feel less guilty about our home not looking like a San Diego hotel (as it looks more like a cross between a basement and a disaster zone). And when I look at my child, I know in my heart of hearts that he is privileged to have enjoyed love. Lots of it. And I have vowed to be better in giving it.

Although... I really can't stand crumbs and spills, mainly because I have a mighty issue against ants.

Doing It Wrong

I loved to read growing up. And I am fascinated by children's books now and have even grown fond of reading them aloud to my son.

But I have been doing it wrong. I read to him at night, while he's nursing. Till he falls asleep. My premise was, I wanted him to be familiar with the stories am reading. But I read an interview of a storyteller who said that parents should read to a child before saying "Good Night". The child should remain awake all through the reading, otherwise the child might make the association that reading books is to help someone sleep.

I shall remedy it tonight.

At Least, Concerned

Around two weeks ago, nephew was being exceptionally high-need and cranky. And there was this dinner time when he was just inconsolable. I asked my SIL what she thought triggered the crying, screaming spell and she said that Ice wanted to go after Yakee but cannot, since he couldn't even stand up on his own yet. He was 11 months.

I asked her when their next pedia visit is, and raised my view that delays in some milestones in a child aren't necessarily a cause for concern (since they develop at their own pace) but if nephew was getting super frustrated because of his delays, then there may be something that has to be looked into. After all, the downside is that a child may have some issues to be addressed and may require therapy.

After a little while, with nephew still screaming his head off, SIL prepared to bathe him for bedtime. She saw ants on nephew's diaper area! No wonder he was screaming his head off, his precious jewels and bum were being bitten by ants!!!

I really had to laugh about all my concerned hypotheses. Poor nephew. He was okay after being washed.

*~*

My former boss shared to us how she noticed that there was smething off with her 5th child. Since it was her 5th child, she knew that her son's delays are not 'normal' especially when compared with those of his siblings.

It became all the more transparent to her when she went on maternity leave with their 6th child. Because she now had time to really spend at home, she grew bothered. But her hunt for a Dev Ped proved frustrating for her post-partum self since the earliest she could get in terms of appointment was February (she gave birth in October). She said she cried and cried all the time over her 5th child and even had to pay more attention to him than her newborn.

Luck was kind and a cancellation allowed for an assessment. His son IS delayed in terms of speech, social and emotional development. He's started therapy and the improvements were palpable. This also allowed her, as a mother, to gain new perspectives. She looked at her brood and realized that her 2nd child also had a problem.

Turned out, she was right. Her 2nd has ADHD. She was congratulated because they have managed it as a family so far since the 2nd child was not flunking school or anything. And again, she is thankful for the new perspective. The fact that her kids have special needs are intimidating for them, but she says at least they can be addressed now and she has resigned herself to the changes that will be required of her as a Mom.

I have always admired my former boss for her trooper attitude. And despite the number of kids, she has always been someone who was able to balance both career and family. No wonder God makes sure she and her hubs CAN provide for their brood.

And really, thank God that there are now systems in place for kids with special needs.

Having Problems with PLDT MyDSL?

If you're a stay-at-home Mom (SAHM) like me, you must probably depend on the internet for a big chunk of your social life.

And if you have an online business (say, selling items on multiply, sulit or ebay) or doing paid blogging, writing, transcription or virtual assistant work, you also depend on the internet a lot!

I recently had a problem with our DSL connection but our landline had problems (the handset has greatly suffered from the rough play our son subjects it to) so I couldn't contact PLDT's help line. I had to borrow our neighbor's handset just to reach them. One good thing gleaned from the experience though is that, next time I find myself in a similar situation (landline or internet problems), I could just as easily use my Smart (or Talk N Text) cellphone line and dial 171 for help, toll free!!! Even if I don't have any load, i'd still be able to contact them!

Nice, helpful thing to know, right?

Gift Idea

Wondering what to give your friend for her child's upcoming baptism or birthday party? Why not try the inspired idea of finding out what kind of memory card their digital camera uses and give them extra memory cards?

It's a plus that sd memory cards are becoming cheaper right now, or at least more affordable. And they are really handy to have because couples with babies take a lot of pictures and having extra memory will allow them to take more, or to take them in the highest resolution possible.

Of course, you can also give rechargeable batteries instead. :)

Mindful Parenting

Indigo baby is holding a talk for twenty or so women/parents on Attachment Parenting in this modern times. It's going to be held at the Echostore at Kape Isla, Serendra, Fort Global City on March 21, 2009 (1-4 PM).

Pre-registration is recommended (so you'd also pay less). Click here for more details.

Diet with a Banana

We are always considering weight loss products but are also usually scared what their side effects must be.

Nanay Ines from Arugaan shared with us a banana diet that is sure to flush out toxins and result in weight loss that is a lot like the banana diet that's all the rage in Japan right now.

The diet will run for five days. On the first day, you should eat FIVE bananas for every meal and nothing else. You have the option to choose your poison, so to speak (señorita, lakatan, latundan or boiled saba). For water, you will have to drink young buko juice (the one we call malauhog).

The second day, you need to eat FOUR bananas for every meal and drink the same. And so on. So on the last day, you will only need to eat ONE banana per meal.

She says this is guaranteed to really cleanse the body and result in safe weight loss. And one need not fear that they're being depleted of nutrients because buko juice is filled with electrolytes and bananas are very nutritios food.

And of course, just like with any diet, this shouldn't be abused. Maybe once every quarter is enough?

LATCH Certification Program

LATCH, Inc. is expanding. From 8 co-founders, they have just recently started training 25 other peer counselors, myself included. This is a step forward with them in their breastfeeding advocacy, training educated people to help other educated people in a ripple effect of breastfeeding awareness.

I really appreciated that they defined what they are not (those lobbying for laws, those going after milk companies, etc)... and what they are about (working little by little to infiltrate the big hospitals so nurses and doctors alike can be educated on/supportive of breastfeeding and targeting educated couples to start a generation of better informed parents).

The training program for us isn't finished yet. But we have finished with two days of lectures and practice activities to prepare us in becoming breastfeeding counselors.

*~*

Needless to say, I enjoyed myself immensely. The hardest part was leaving Yakee behind two days in a row (I believe he felt my anxiety over that because he'd wake and fuss just when i'm about to get ready in the morning!). But the Moms I met there were great.

I was also mildly intimidated, because half of them were momtrepreneurs while I was a plain SAHM.

*~*

I also realized that my electric Pigeon breast pump really makes A LOT of noise! There were at least six or seven pumping Moms who attended the training and I didn't even hear a peep from their pumps!

Of course, I think two of them used manual ones but still...

*~*

Meeting Nanay Ines was also intimidating and inspiring. I love the breastfeeding-inspired day care she started (Arugaan) even if I know I won't ever go vegan. I am looking forward to learning more from her.

*~*

I used to be a reproductive health counselor. I used to have counseling skills... and I know I was pretty effective. But I have to learn all those skills all over again.

In a way, I don't mind. I should stop wanting to be good at things and just focus on doing good.

Breastfeeding: Two-way Street

This was shared in our ygroups, published in the Philippine Star site.

=========================

Two-way street
AT 3 A.M.
By James B. Reuter Updated February 28, 2009 12:00 AM

The Armed Forces of the United States of America, after intensive
investigation for two full years, came to the conclusion that babies,
who were nursed at their mother’s breast, never got battle fatigue.

Battle fatigue, during World War I, was known as “shell shock.” It is
insanity, brought about by the pressure of war. It was especially
terrible, because those soldiers who “went off”, years later, in
civilian life, from shell shock, saw the enemy everywhere. They
fought, for survival.

The US Army was so disturbed by the high incidence of “battle fatigue”
in World War II that they said to the medical corps: “Find out the
cause of this, so that we can defend ourselves against it.”

The medical corps went at it. Their first report was: “It is nothing
that we do to these boys! We take two boys from the same town. We feed
them on the same food. We train them in exactly the same way. We put
them in the same battle, under the same pressure, and one breaks, and
the other doesn’t!. . . It is nothing that we do to these boys! It is
something that happened to them before we got them!”

Then they investigated the homes from which they came. And they
discovered that the boys who nursed at their mother’s breast never got
battle fatigue! They were immune. All the boys who came down with
battle fatigue were artificially fed!

When they had this finding, they did not know what to do with it. They
did not release it, for two years. During that time they investigated
what happened when a mother breast fed her baby.

In the middle of their investigations they felt they had it! It was
basic metabolism! The transubstantiation of the food you eat, into
your body and blood. They always thought that basic metabolism was
determined while the baby was in the womb! But they discovered that it
was determined only in the days, and weeks, and months, after
delivery!

So they felt that their investigation was over. It was: mother’s milk!
They checked this. They took the real mother, with a breast pump, and
fed it to her baby in a bottle. . . It did not work! . . .The basic
metabolism of the baby came out very rocky. . . . Better than if it
was purely artificial feeding, but far from normal!

The doctors thought: “What is this? We know it is breast feeding, but
it is not the mother’s milk!”

They got their lead from this: some babies have insomnia. They lie
awake at night, as tense as a drum. You can put these babies to sleep
with injections, but the doctors do not want to do this, because the
baby is a delicate little instrument. If you put too many chemicals
into him, he will die.

In practice, every nurse, in every nursery, knows what to do. She
takes the baby from the bassinet, brings him to his mother, and puts
him on his mother’s breast. When he is pressed against her, when she
is holding him, and talking to him, he relaxes, and he sleeps.

The doctors said: “What is it — about the mother — that does this to
the baby?” They investigated this, for months. Now they have about
five things that they can prove, scientifically.

It is the skin of the Mommy! The skin of the mother is the sweetest
skin in all this world, to her baby. It is his safety blanket. That is
why a baby, nursing at his mother’s breast, puts his hand on her other
breast. The touch of his Mommy makes him feel safe, and secure.

It is the smell of the Mommy! To a baby, the scent of his mother is
the sweetest scent in all the world.

It is her heart beat! The beating of her heart is the music of his
life. He has been living to the music of his mother for nine months,
in her womb. When he is separated from that heart beat, he is
frightened!

It is the sound of her voice! Every woman has a frequency. The baby is
tuned to that frequency. There is no chemical, known to men, that can
relax a baby so completely as the sound of his mother’s voice.

When the baby breast feeds, the milk is the best! It is designed for
the baby by God! He has the touch of his mother, the scent of her, the
sound of her voice, the beating of her heart — everything is right!
his basic metabolism comes out “normal”, which is the doctor’s word
for “perfect.”

When a baby feeds in a bassinet, with a bottle, the food is only food
and it is not as good as it ought to be. He is a delicate little
instrument, and every door that slams frightens him. He does not have
his mother — the touch of her, the scent of her, the sound of her
voice, the beating of her heart. He feeds in panic, in terror. His
basic metabolism comes out very rocky. Twenty years later, when these
two boys go into battle, the one who fed at his mother’s breast comes
out normal. The baby who fed in the bassinet comes out shattered.

When the doctors had this finding, they said: “This we know about war.
. .How much pressure is there, in times of peace? How many boys blow
up, who might not have blown up, if they were given a fair start by
their mothers?”

What the United States Armed Forces discovered was that a baby needs his mother!

But the mother also needs the baby! . . . When her child is born, for
the first time in her life, a mother is loved without calculation! Her
husband, who marries her, chooses her out of all the women in the
world, and this is beautiful, but he measures her beauty! He knows if
she is as pretty as Miss Universe, or prettier, or not as pretty. He
calculates!

Her baby does not calculate! A mother took the wrong baby home from
the hospital. In the hospital, she only saw the baby when he was
brought for breast feeding. And she was so happy with him, here! He
was always hungry. He would consume all her milk. he would snuggle.
And he was a laughing baby. She never heard him cry.

But when she got him home, he would not breast feed! She was hurting!
She felt that she had to nurse, but the baby would not nurse! And he
was weeping and wailing! And when she tried to hold him close, he
would pull away from her! Finally, in the evening, he developed fever.
She thought: “Oh, my God! He is going to die,” She brought him to the
doctor, and the doctor said: “You have the wrong baby!”

When they found her real baby, he was doing the same thing! He would
not breast feed! He was weeping and wailing! He would not snuggle!. .
. When she got him home, he consumed all her milk, and then - not only
did he snuggle — he put both hands into her hair, and hung on to her
for dear life, afraid that he would lose her again!

Mother, your baby is a one woman boy. He is not interested in any
other mother. Only you. . . he loves you, without calculation. Because
you are his, and he is yours. . . . And this is love.

Your baby needs you. . . And you need your baby. . . It is a two way street.

=========================

Can't help but make moms like me feel soooo proud over the investment i'm making :)

Dang Stage Mommyness

Is that even a word?

Anyway... am really always annoyed to check my messages at Babycentral.com.ph and read appeals from moms to vote for their child when I don't even know them. I mean, I get mommies asking friends to support their child in a contest or something, but that is just simply ridiculous!

They do offer to also vote for my child, if I have an entry too... but what is the point of exchange voting? Sorry, but i'd still rather the cutest child wins rather than one with the most hardworking vote beggar of a Mom.

Sheesh!

*~*

Yes, this Mom has her period.