Musical Dreams and Experiments - Make it happen!

I've always been fond of music.. Fascinated by it since I was a kid that I am better memorizing lyrics of the songs rather than memorizing some of our lessons in school. I enrolled in a classical piano class when I was about 5 years old until I was 12. I did not realize then that I was already reading notes and playing great music of Chopin, Beethoven, Bach and Mozart.

In elementary days, we had rondalla class that I tried to take banduria lessons instead of the regular music class that is much related to piano. Imagine the tough time that I had adjusting strumming a "mini guitar" as I call it. After one year and having a C+ grade in rondalla, I shifted to regular music class the following year and excelled in this subject.

When I reached high school, I stopped taking piano lessons given the "busy schedule" taking away my free Saturdays supposedly alloted for piano to various extra curricular activities such as spending a lot of time with friends and exploring other sports and activities such as dancing and Tae Kwon Do.

I suddenly realized that there's a big world outside classical piano music. Though I take no offense on it, I envied other friends who were able to play music being played in the radio. I often wonder how they got to learn those music coz it wasn't taught way back in piano school!

I started to self-study musical notes of Disney Music and minimized playing Menuets. My personal Disney favorites are Little Mermaid's Part of Your World and Beauty and the Beast's Theme Song. It was only the Little Mermaid's song that I got to memorize by heart. Then I remembered trying to perfect playing the keys of Dying Young's Theme Song as well as Depeche Mode's Somebody.

Finally I got a chance to meet a classmate in high school who was willing to show me types of music played by the radio. I cannot get how chords were done though but he was so patient on how EXACTLY various types of music were played on piano keys that up to this day I could never thank him enough for teaching me those music stuff! I still master how to play U2's With or Without You and Introduction of Lisa Loeb's Stay among others. It was only then that I realize that I could experiment with music on the piano! I knew I would get scolded by my piano teacher if only she could see what I did!

I was also introduced to the great world of guitar with various sleepovers and field trips being attended in high school. Guitar was such a convenient instrument that can be easily brought in out of town trips and easily played in a whim.. I always admire people who are able to play the guitar so well and it has been my dream since high school to learn how to play the guitar.

Few weeks ago, I had a chance to enroll in 24 sessions of guitar lessons in Yamaha. Twelve years after graduating from high school, I am proud to have finally fulfilled this musical dream of mine! It is quite funny to note that my teacher is younger than me but I admire her patience in teaching me the basics.. I am doing my best and really hoping that I will learn a lot from these lessons.. After my initial lesson, I learned how to strum the guitar properly and was introduced to some few chords. I am pretty much excited in purchasing my own classical guitar and very much excited for my next guitar lessons!

Though it took me quite a while, I am very happy that I was able to make it happen!

Reward Treat!

I am proud to say that I've spent part of my bonus money! =) Sale season is up and when I checked out items in Zara, I saw classic dresses and pants that I cannot resist! I haven't shopped like crazy in a year. I am always for the best deals and thinks twice before buying something since I have a household to run and 2 kids to feed and take care of. Upon seeing how the dresses and pants fit perfectly. I did not think twice and honestly did not feel guilty on my purchase.

I was with a friend while shopping at Zara and she too were able to take some great buys! She was very happy but a little guilty of her purchase given the amount she has spent but I was telling her that she shouldn't be. The money came from our own hard work. It wasn't stolen or given instantly out of a whim. And we ladies deserve to treat ourselves once in a while.

Buying something tangible out of a certain amount of money given as a reward was a practice taught by my late grandfather. I remember receiving a huge amount of money then when I was a kid as a godparent's treat for making it in the honor's class. Lolo (grandpa) said that it would be nice to buy something that you really like and make it as a remembrance for the money gift given to you. I can still enumerate stuff I've bought then when given "reward monies" . These would range from simple stuff to complicated ones. My Zara dresses and pants are the recent ones in my list.

Childhood Memories

Wish I was a child back again.. with no deadlines to beat.. no work to rush.. All was mostly about play and friends. Didn't feel the pressure back then.. I'm now in my late twenties dreading the time that my age is not reflected in the calendar anymore. As I grow older, I try to reminisce what I did during my childhood days that I surely am missing right now.

- I miss my Mary Poppins daily viewing schedule. There was a time that I was addicted to Mary Poppins. This was my morning show before. As I wake up in the morning, I go to my parents room, turn on the TV and betamax and catch my daily dose of Mary Poppins. I even dreamt of flying with a nanny and climbing chimneys! Imagine how I felt when I finally saw the area in UK where they shot Chim Chimney part!

- Experimenting with my disney book of experiments. The favorite experiment I can remember was letting a softdrink glass bottle cool in the freezer and after a few hours I would take it out, cover its opening as big as a centavo coin that fits it's bottle mouth and drip a few drops of water and see the magic!

- Playing with my friendly neighbors! I miss them so much that I don't even see them in the village anymore only in social networking sites such as friendster and facebook. There were many summers spent together that sometimes I wish everyone is ok wherever they may be.

- I miss doing our "shout" for gathering.. We developed a sound cue that would mean "get out" to various playmates. This was even adopted by our friends from other streets. Even our parents decoded our sound and sometimes prohibits us to go out when they start to hear someone shout "ahak!"

- Speaking of friendly neighbors, I miss flying our personalized kite around the villages. We even tried flying our kite on top of our neighbor's roof to the horror of our nannies!

- Riding the bike around the village and other nearby villages

- Running around like hell and playing games like there's no tomorrow.

- Creating our own "treehouse" and "camp area" that was taken down by a heavy rain. We never repeated building it again as one of my playmates got admitted to the hospital for dengue fever.

- Walking all day exploring our villages and saw the great sights nearby such as the wide meadow near the cemetery, the nearby river with great tree roots hanging nearby used as a makeshift swing.

- Playing hide and seek

- Forming our own street cult where kids from other streets perceive us to be cool and wanted to hang out with us more often

- Joining Flores de Mayo during May months and doing something good at least for a short span of time.

- Playing whatever fun games that we can think of that involves running around and playing tag.

And the list goes on but I got to stop for now as I suddenly came back to reality that things needs to be done tonight and by tomorrow.. I gotta need to rest to be able to meet rush deadlines.

My Own Frank Story

I hope not to experience this kind of typhoon again! It was my first time to experience such a great storm. I was in Europe at the time a stronger typhoon struck our dear country about 2 years ago. I only hear of stories of great typhoons before. Now I have my own typhoon Frank story to share.

It was about 1 am in the morning that I felt the winds were quite strong thus I've decided to close the windows in our bedroom. About an hour later, I felt that it was starting to rain as hard as ever and suddenly thought of closing all the windows in our unit as the rain might come inside. About 3 am my husband woke up and observed how the rain and wind got stronger as ever. He started to observe the storm and got his internet and checked whatever information is available about the weather.

It happens that the storm reverted from its course and signal #3 struck in our area instead. The wind got stronger than ever.. It was starting to sing a fast song - similar to a rock song! My husband felt that our glass windows are starting to shake (perhaps starting to sway with the music) thus he urged us to transfer to the hallway. All our bedrooms have heavy glass windows thus to avoid accidents we obeyed.

We took our baby sleeping like an angel from her bedroom and laid her to her crib situated in the sala. We started praying that the storm would stop. God did not answer our prayer then but instead had the wind and rain stronger than ever! I checked the little bedroom and noticed that wind starts to come inside and tried to tear apart the air con cover. I am starting to feel sleepy despite the strong wind thus to do a makeshift bed, I transferred my daughter's alphabet rubber mats from the room to the sala and laid down on it and slept immediately like an angel. Next thing I knew, I woke up and saw raindrops falling out of the window and the storm was a thing of the past.

I hoped same goes for others as well but unfortunately, the storm left them broken windows in their unit, lost lives of their loved ones and even lost homes for others.

Unusual weekend

Today was an unusual Saturday for me. Instead of staying in the house for a much needed rest, I woke up early and attended a parenting seminar for children with autism spectrum disorder despite storm signal #1 in the metro. My son was recently diagnosed with PDD-NOS thus I am doing my best to educate myself by googling, attending parenting seminars and reading books on developmental delays.

It is quite a bumpy ride.. Knowing your son is a little delayed than usual. it is also a challenge. Sometimes it will cause you to reflect as to why this happened to you. The answer I've found already - similar to answers of queries bothering me before as to why it should happen to me.

I believe, nothing will be given to you unless you cannot handle it. Nothing is being given if God knows you don't know how to handle it. Some people improved their lives after experiencing something painful out of it. My experience is not an exception. I am always in a search of knowledge on the causes of the spectrum disorders, how to resolve this and lead as many children as we can to mainstreaming with lots of prayers, hope and determination.

Life's Lessons from Avenue Q

We watched last weekend one of the shows for Avenue Q's farewell run. It was an anniversary gift by my husband. I enjoyed it a lot and can't thank my husband enough for giving me the opportunity to catch the show!

I loved it so much that I want to reiterate stuff I've realized in Avenue Q... here goes my list:

1. It sucks to be you! It sucks to be me!
2. I've come to think about my purpose in life. Each of us has his purpose
3. I realized that most people go to internet for porn!! I haven't tried it though.. but I've heard of anecdotes for those who did!
4. There's a thin line between lovers and friends.
5. There's a thin line between what you want and what you get
6. Judging one person based on how he looks is common everywhere and is a widely accepted fact.
7. Dreams - they can come true.. you or someone would just have to work hard for it to come true.
8. Jealousy is everywhere.
9. Homos need to find acceptance in themselves first before others.
10. Invest! Save up! Use your parents moolah if you don't have savings of your own for a good purpose!
11. Have fun, relax, enjoy, fall in love, let go!

Do you check the label?

Did you know that some milk contains added sugar? Too much sugar is a no-no to kids. The earlier your kids are exposed to excess sugar, the greater their predisposition to obesity later in life.

Added sugar comes in a lot of terms:
Added Sugar = sucrose (aka table sugar), corn syrup and maltodextrin

Check out labels in your kid's milk especially on the ingredient list. By law, it is required that ingredients should be listed in descending order. Thus those that appears first on the list are the ones with the highest content. Some milk products perceived to be good for kids have added sugar either first or second in the list! This means your kids are taking in excess sugar than expected! You can taste it in their milk too!! The sweeter the milk is, the more it is has added sugar! Some are even of the expensive types. It hurts to see some moms buying milks for their kids loaded with excess sugar even with the hopes of the milk giving improved mental development to their child. Sad to say there are some kids taking in more sugar than necessary milk nutrients.

Next time you go out for grocery to buy your kids' milk, don't forget to check the label! Check out especially those who've recently changed their label design! You might be surprised that there are even less expensive milk in the market with less sugar and still offer better nutrition for your kids than the expensive brand counterparts.

Gymboree Experience

Last year, I signed up my firstborn for a free trial class and play in Gymboree. =) He seemed to enjoy it then thus I did not hesitate enrolling him in a class. I got the 1x week package for 12 sessions. I took my eldest to Gymboree class as a bonding moment with him despite having most of my time devoted to my second child (since it was during my maternity leave then).

I loved Gymboree's various class programs - how it enabled parent and child to bond as well as helped the child to learn. Gymboree classes are grouped according to children's age levels. Some of their programs offered are the Gymboree Play Class, Music, Art, Learning Lab, Fitness Fun, Mommy and Baby Fitness as well as Yoga class.

Through play and exploring his Gymboree surroundings, my son was able to learn a few things - how to climb up, how to pack away and interact with others a bit. It was unfortunate that we had to freeze some of his class since a few weeks into the class, he was admitted to the hospital for Kawasaki disease. Given his immune system is not much strong, we limited his exposure to other kids first and few months after with 2D echo showing normal results, we enrolled him back in and fast tracked his enrollment class. With the special arrangement on fast tracking his gymboree sessions, he was able to enjoy music class, art and tried their pre-school readiness program. He is now in the province enrolled in a progressive toddler class. We would surely miss the parachute time in Gymboree. Good thing what he learned from Gymboree geared him up through school and through life.

Late bloomer

I used to think that I am a late bloomer in some ways and here are a few that I could think of.. I don't know if I'm the "latest" of them all. Growing up, I think I had my boobs and my period later than most of my girl classmates. I had my first boyfriend when I was already working. Even with the surge of internet communication, I think I am late bloomer in this arena as well. I never fancy spending time with the internet years ago. It was just recently during my maternity leave that I started appreciating the power of modern technology. I saved up some money - instead of frequenting malls during the weekend, I spent my time surfing and amazed by the many discoveries found in the Net. I came across blogging regularly just about last month and I am still making my way around it. Even in social networking I would consider myself as a neophyte. I used to have a myspace account but now I only maintain friendster, multiply and facebook with facebook and multiply as my most frequented social network page. Most of my URL sites even are works of a beginner. A beginner who likes to have fun and would have no qualms whatever she wants to write about. =)

Fuel High

I have not been a regular driver for the past 3 months. My husband recently transferred to a new job wherein he is not yet entitled to some regular employee benefits (such as car loan) thus we share a car for now. He is our designated driver during weekdays - drops me off in the office few minutes away from our place, goes along his sales route and travels an average of 100 km a day, then picks me up at work at the end of the day.

Being in a sales position, he is entitled to some gas allowance that would last for a month. We were shocked to see that fuel prices these days have ballooned to a high of 30% compared to last year's prices!! We were coming up with our own little ways on how to save on fuel.. Mostly those that are doable on our part.

Tried to come up with a few fuel saving tips and here's our list:

1. Carpool as much as possible. I miss my officemate who was also my neighbor. Nowadays, I ask my husband to drive me off to work rather than take a cab on my own.
2. Minimize unnecessary outings or mall getaways. We lessened our trip to the mall these days. It's been quite expensive for us if we go out once a month as there's fuel prices to consider as well as dining expenses and miscellaneous shopping expenses!
3. Check engine and have car for maintenance regularly.
4. Maximize fuel efficiency by taking car at a manageable high speed when driving along the highways
5. If possible, minimize aircon use
6. Check the tires. The more appropriate one's car tires gauge are, the better and fuel efficient it is.
7. Avoid using the brakes too much. Apart from brake pads burning, this would consume a lot of fuel as well.
8. If necessary, do not engage in full tank fuel load. This will make your car heavier (imagine excess/additional 45 liters to carry in your car!)
9. Walk if necessary especially for short distance trips.
10. Park nearest the parking entrance, farthest to your office door/destination door. Apart from promoting wellness, you might as well save some gas.

Can't think much of anything that could be added in the list so I got to bail out now and this time recharge my energy for tomorrow and get myself to sleep.

Borrowed Article - Nice Read worth sharing for working parents

I almost forgot about this article.. I apologize for not giving credits to anyone as I already don't know where I got it from and most importantly who wrote this.. Such a great article I got from my inbox that I need to save this and share with others.. I don't know when will I encounter having someone read my site but if ever it happens.. here goes..


Do you ever wonder, "Will my children suffer because they have a working mother? Will they be deprived?" The answer: That depends on what you believe and what you do.

Many happy, successful people have been raised by working moms. It is not the circumstance of life, but how we perceive those circumstances and what we do that has the greatest impact. Each person decides whether challenges will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones to joy and success in life. Understanding this does not negate the struggles and concerns of working moms, but it can offer hope and a basis for dealing with the struggles in ways that benefit rather than harm children.

Let's begin with your beliefs. It is a myth that children who have a working mom are automatically more deprived than children who have a stay-at-home mom. Many stay-at-home moms are just as busy as you are. However, children usually adopt the attitudes of their parents--or learn to manipulate in areas of weakness. If you are feeling guilty and fearful that your children will be deprived, chances are they will feel deprived. They may develop a victim mentality, or they may play on your guilt for special privileges. On the other hand, if you have an optimistic, courageous attitude, your children will be influenced and will learn from you.

Give up the belief that you have to make it up to your child for being a working mother. Present your circumstances with a positive attitude: "This is how it is, and we are going to benefit from how it is".

The greatest gift you can give your children is to have a hopeful outlook on life no matter what your circumstances--and all circumstances, no matter how difficult, offer opportunities to learn and grow. Focus on how you can make the best of your present opportunities as a working mom to help your children feel special. Following are seven possibilities:


* Take time for hugs. No matter how busy you are, there is always time for a three-second hug. That is a substantial hug t! hat can lift spirits and change attitudes--yours and your child's. Sometimes a hug can be the most effective method to stop misbehavior. Try it the next time you are feeling exhausted or your child is whining, and see for yourself. Give hugs in the morning, right after work, several during the evening, a longer one just before bed. You will both feel very special.

* Hold weekly family meetings . Twenty to thirty minutes a week is a small investment of time with huge payoffs. Children feel very special when they are listened to, taken seriously and have their thoughts and ideas validated. That is the immediate payoff. The near future payoff is that you can solve many daily hassles during a family meeting. Your k! ids can help you create morning and bedtime routines and come up with creative ways for handling chores. It is amazing how much more willing children are to follow rules and plans they have helped create. The long range pay off is that children learn important life skills such and communication skills and problem-solving skills. Think of the benefits to their future jobs and relationships. It takes much less time to hold weekly family meetings where children learn to cooperate and solve problems than the time it takes to nag, lecture, and scold. During busy times parents often find relief or create a diversion from a problem by simply inviting the child to put the problem on the family meeting agenda. Everyone learns to trust that a respectful solution will be found soon.

* Ask for help. Children need to feel needed. It is much different when you ask for help in an inviting manner instead of lecturing and scolding. "I would appreciate anything you can do to tidy up the family room before dinner," usually invites much more cooperation than, "How many times have I told you not to leave all your s tuff all over the family room!" Children feel special when they are helping. They don't feel special when they are being scolded and put down.

* Spend regularly scheduled, special time. This does not take very much time and can be comforting to parents and children when it is part of the schedule. Very young children need special time daily for ten to fifteen minutes. This doesn't mean you never spend more time than that. It does mean that you have scheduled special time for you and your child to count on and look forward to. One mother scheduled time with her daughter for reading books or playing games from 5:30 to 5:45. Her daughter loved helping her mother start dinne! r first while looking forward to their special time. If the phone rang during the special time, Mom would say, "I'm sorry I can't talk right now, its Tamara's special time". Tamara would beam. After the age of six, 30 to 60 minutes a week works well. You may be able to talk teenagers into a date night for just the two of you once a month. The a! mount of time is not as important as the attitude created by scheduled "special" time. Children feel special when they know that time with them is as important to you as all your other appointments and tasks.. During other times when you are just too busy or too tired, children will not feel discounted (and you don't feel guilty) when you can say, "I'm too busy or too tired now, but I'm looking forward to our sp! ecial time."

* Share sad and happy times as part of the bedtime routine. When tucking your child into bed at night, take a few minutes to let her share the saddest thing that happened to her that day. Just listen respectfully without trying to solve the problem. Then share your saddest time of the day. Follow this by taking turns sharing your happiest event of the day. You may be surprised at the things you hear when your children have a few minutes of your undivided attention to evaluate their day and hear about yours.

* Take a few seconds to write a note for your child's lunch bag, pillow, or mirror. One very busy Mom decided to put a note in her daughter's lunch bag every day for a year. She took time on airplanes or while waiting for an appointment to write several notes or silly rhymes in advance, such as "Roses are red, Violets are blue, every day, I think about you". When she traveled, she gave the child care person notes to tuck into the lunch bag for each day she was gone. Her daughter's friends gathered around her at lunch in ! eager anticipation to hear the note of the day. Her daughter felt very special.

* When you're short of time, but drive a car, then ask one of your children to ride along -- just so you can spend as much time as possible together. You might make a big deal of this by creating a chart during a family meeting so you can check whose turn it is. During these rides be a closet listener don't ask questions). You may be surprised at how much your children may open up and start talking when there is no "inquisition" that makes them feel like clamming up.

Simply let them know how glad you are to have a few minutes to be with them, and share special moments from your own life or day. Kids feel special when you share yourself.

Helping your child feel special is a matter of planning and habit, not a lack of time. The fringe benefit of making it a habit to help your child feel special is that you will feel like a special mom or dad.

Bye warts, by impulse

My last derma trip was about last year prior to returning to work after my maternity leave. This afternoon was my recent trip. I just had my warts removed for the first time this afternoon. I did not go to my regular derma as this was just a spur of the moment decision. I passed by a derma clinic below our building after my foot spa trip to the salon. There were a lot of patients waiting in his clinic which I took as a good sign. I waited for my turn and filled up necessary forms.

I was asked to lie down, an antibiotic cream was applied to my face and Mr Derma let it stayed for about an hour. I think i dozed off and woke up when I felt some buzz sensation on my face.. off he went zapping/cauterizing (as they term it) my warts away. There are a few black spots left in my face reminiscent of the procedure but I felt relieved and happy afterwards.

It was an impulsive decision from my end to have my warts removed today but had no regrets in doing so. =)

Breastfeeding 101

I regretted the fact that my firstborn did not encounter exclusive breastfeeding. Given my limited knowledge on the importance of breastfeeding then, I had him mixed feed (with infant formula and breastmilk) since birth. We should not underestimate the fact that breasfeeding is best for babies up to 2 years. I was quite fortunate to exclusively breastfed my second child for about 4 months. I had her in mixed feeding until she was about 7 months and I can see the difference from my 2 kids. My firstborn used to get sick often while he was still a baby while my second child is healthier compared to my first.

I would like to share to first time moms a short course on breastfeeding. Breasfeeding 101 will include various topics not limited to benefits of breastfeeding, basics of breastfeeding, positions, common problems and solutions and other breastfeeding tips. I got hold of this course copy in one of the mommy seminars that I've attended to.

BENEFITS OF BREASTFEEDING FOR BABIES AND MOTHERS:
1. Breastmilk contains colostrum which is easily digested and is full of antibodies that prevent diseases
2. They say breastfed babies are more likely to be intelligent
3. Delays return of menstrual period which might help space pregnancies
4. Creates a strong bond between mom and child
5. Economical (saves us from purchasing expensive breastmilk substitutes) and readily available

BREASTFEEDING BASICS:
1. Start nursing soon after birth if possible when baby is most awake and sucking instinct is strong.
2. Position baby's chest to your chest. Make sure that baby's mouth is wide open.
3. Once baby is properly positioned, relax and let the feel happen naturally.
4. Make sure baby has your areola and not just the nipple.
5. Your baby is sucking properly if there is a rhythmic motion visible in his cheek.
6. If possible, request for rooming in so that you can demand feed the baby. (Though there is another philosophy on scheduled feeding. whichever works best for you is ok)
7. Breastfeed on demand every 2-3 hours
8. If you received anesthesia during delivery, your baby might be recovering from effects of the anesthetic. Expect him to be drowsy and sluggish at the 1st and 2nd day.
9. It's ok if your baby will only suck a few times or even none at all. There is no danger that the baby will starve since babies born without complications have little need for nourishment during the first few days of life.
10. Don't be ever tempted to give a feeding bottle with breastmilk substitute. Breastfeed exclusively as much as you can.
11. Be wary of the signs that your baby is hungry. Crying is the ultimate sign of all but take note as well on subtle feeding cues such as mouthing, rooting and licking.
12. Don't try to feed a screaming baby. Soothe him first prior to nursing.
13. Learning how to breastfeed properly takes time. Don't give up and give yourself and your baby time to learn how to breastfeed.

BREASTFEEDING POSITIONS
1. Cradle Hold - hold your baby with his head on your forearm while his body is facing yours
2. Cross Cradle Hold - hold your baby along the opposite arm from the breast you are using. SUpport baby's head with the palm of your hand at the base of his head. Good for premature babies or those with problems latching on
3. Clutch Hold - for moms with large breasts or inverted nipples, hold babies at your side lying on his back. Baby's head should be at the level of your nipple. SUpport his head with the palm of your hand at the base of his head
4. Side Lying Position - perfect position at night but requires a lot of practice. This allows moms to rest or sleep while baby nurses. Ideal for moms who had caesarean births. Lie on the side with baby facing you. Pull baby close and guide his mouth to your nipples.

BREASTFEEDING PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
1. Inverted Nipples - compressing the areola between 2 fingers and expressing a small amount of milk will help relieve inverted nipples
2. Sore/Cracked Nipples - usual problem encountered by breastfeeding moms (including myself). This resolves once milk supply increases. AIr drying nipples after nursing may help. Do not be afraid breasfeeding when nipples are sore and cracked. Wash nipples with water only and leave a drop of milk on the nipples. No need to clean the nipples after each latch
3. Engorgement- caused by accumulation of mlk that makes breast big and hard. Feed baby often and express milk manually
4. Mastitis - inflammation of the breast caused by bacteria. One may experience fever if she has this. Offer unaffected breast while affected breast is emptied. Consult your doctor when you feel you have mastitis

BREASTFEEDING NUTRITION
1. Eat lots of protein rich foods,fresh fruits, whole grain breads and green leafy vegetables such as malunggay.
2. Hydrate yourself and increase fluid intake. Drink at least 8 glasses a day. It is also good to have soups as part of your daily meal and juices if possible. It is best to have a drinking water nearby while breastfeeding as sometimes in the middle of feeding your child you will feel thirsty.
3. Drink a glass or two of water before breastfeeding your baby.
4. Increase calcium requirement to 5 servings per day. Salmon and sardines are good sources of calcium. Take calcium supplements if possible.
5. Avoid drinking coffee, tea, colas or other caffeinated drinks
6. Don't drink alcohol.
7. Always consult your doctor before taking any medications
8. Check if your baby will encounter any allergic reactions to what you've eaten. Eliminate the food culprits if possible. Common food eliminated in a lactating mothers diet if their babies are sensitive are the following: chocolates, nuts and sometimes fresh milk.

OTHER BREASTFEEDING TIPS
1. If you are sick or concerned with other ilness, best to consult your doctor or lactation consultant for further advice if it is still safe for you to breastfeed.
2. Breastmilk is composed of about 88% water. Supplementing with water while breastfeeding is not necessary. Exclusive breastfeeding is encouraged for at least 6 months.
3. Working moms can still breastfeed their baby even if they are tired from work but it is best to breastfeed when one relaxed. The brain releases oxytocin,a hormone that makes us relaxed when one breastfeeds the baby.
4. Most moms worry if their baby is getting enough milk. Although we cannot see or measure the amount of milk our baby is getting, we might as well trust our instincts if they are getting enough milk.
5. Stools of breastfed babies are yellowish similar in consistency and odor with yogurt.
6. For a healthy baby, he should be gaining weight. Take note that babies' weight gain differ accordingly.
7. When one is in public, it is highly encouraged to still breastfeed your baby. There are breasfeeding rooms available in most malls. You may also opt to use a baby sling, a nursing cover or a shawl to cover your breast and your baby. Some would opt to wear nursing clothes.
8. If your trip is short, breastfeed before leaving and right after your return home.

Working Mom Experience

Such a political world! That's why they made a course out of it I suppose! There's magic in it and mostly everyone experience and learn from it in their own little way. I'm not supposed to but sometimes I get stressed on how work loads me up.. It's kind of a dementor thing zapping out every inch of happiness from you. But I chose not to be affected by it. I've used my EQ bank to ward off dementor moments. I decided to become Harry Potter and fight off every dementor and a Voldemort counterpart that one could ever imagine.

Almost 3 years have passed and I've been on a crossroad on whether to continue threading this path or decide to let go, break free and thread the path I would have loved to choose. But I just realized the path that I'm threading into is a road less travelled. A rare opportunity for life travelers like me. I don't know if anybody will like to be in my shoes for now but I have no regrets on the whole thing.

Choose your battles as they say. Big enough that matter, small enough that you can win. I would like to congratulate myself for having come this far. I've witnessed various political scenarios happening in my other side of life. i never thought these types ever existed in the world I'm into. I hope these would stop.. If ever this will continue, I am still not certain if I want to be part of it anymore. I'm truly content with living my personal life as happy as one could imagine and I never thought other side of life will become quite shitty as this. Sometimes I wonder how others could get to meditate and sleep well at night without realizing what they have done.

I hope someone will put an end on this. It was quite a great learning experience though. Something that strengthened me as a person. It tested in a way how I will stood by my moral grounds. I do hope others will have time to reflect on things they've done and realize the best thing that could possibly be done to correct the situation. Its never too late as many people say.

But when I reflect on the other blessings that I've experienced in life, it makes me forget things that I've experienced. I've come this far, the journey is not yet to an end. I believe this is just the beginning. I need to count on my little blessings, increase my EQ bank, move on and patiently awaits what lies ahead.

My Wellness Story

Late this March, I chose Wellness. I took part and enrolled in our company's Wellness Program for Employees. I'm quite thankful that our company puts highest importance on being a trusted and leading Nutrition Health and Wellness Company. We are quite lucky to have almost an entire floor in our building dedicated to a wellness center (aka gym). In addition, there are group classes being offered everyday for various health activities.

Upon program enrollment, we had nutrition counselling and initial measurements were done by certified/human kenetics graduates on the following: Height, Weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist:hip ratio and had initial physical assessments such as VO2 Max, Baseline Circumferences( arm, chest, waist, hip and thigh) Skinfolds (Chest, Triceps, SUbscapular, Thigh, Supraillac, Abdominal, Med Calf and had the sum of skinfold), isometric strength (push up, abdominal curl up, hamstring, quadriceps, hamstring:quadricep ratio) and flexibility.

I am very happy that I achieved my weight achievement for the past 2 months. I try to attend the group classes but never tried going to the wellness center yet. I hope to find time and be able to go to our gym someday. Currently, Im enjoying attending various cardio exercises at least once a week. I am trying to increase my group classes attendance to 2x a week and gradually increase it until I could attend it everyday!=)

Every month, we have nutrition counselling to track as well how well we've progressed and check if we met our month's target. I am hoping that by the end of the Wellness Program by December, I will achieve my desired weight with a flatter tummy! =)

Welcome to my blogging world

I am not a good writer.. I just write what I feel and anything that I wishes to write.. =) It's my stress reliever. A therapy, my emotional outlet, my online diary, my advocacy.. I wanted to give blogging a shot but I don't know if I will succeed.. I'm not in a hurry though.. I will just write any topic on what I feel writing about wishing and hoping that someday, someone will read a few of my postings and learn something from them..=)

Working Mom Reflection

I believe every mother is a working mom. Motherhood is a career in itself they say. Mothers work hard to take good care of their children, protect them and do the best things possible for their kids. Some moms opt to work at home. Others chose to find a job and build a career around it to be able to provide well for their kids. 

I'm the type of mom who has a career on her own but career at work takes second priority to working hard to be a better mom for my kids. If only I could, I would give up my job but I believe I won't become a better mom if I do so. For financial reasons and for personal reasons, I opted to have a career in one of the best company in the world along with taking care of my children. I hired a yaya (nanny) to be our co-partner (together with my husband) with the objective in mind of raising healthy, well-rounded children. After two attempts, we are grateful to have efficient yayas in our midst to take good care of our kids while we are at work.

Some might call me non-traditional in terms of bringing up kids and there might be some choices I made as a mother particularly in childcare that might be spurned by others. I still firmly believe that these choices are the best ones taking mostly into consideration the welfare of my children. 

Personal Tips on Feeding your Child

A lot of first time moms will have this normal dilemma of what to feed their child once they start weaning from breastmilk or milk supplements. Some are even struggling when it comes to feeding their child. I used to dread feeding my firstborn and often pass this to his yaya (nanny). Now, I enjoy feeding my second child and wish I had taken the same route with my firstborn. 

I tried to recall what I learned from my  experience, what I've read on some books and pedia advice retained in my mind on feeding a child.. Here are those that are worth sharing. I cannot guarantee if same will be effective with your baby as what could work with my 2 kids would work otherwise for your child. Hope this helps mothers out there especially those struggling how to feed their child.

1. Breastmilk is best for babies upto 2 years and beyond. Most moms would have exclusive breastfeeding of upto 6 months then start on complementary foods thereafter. Some moms would start weaning their child to baby food as early as 4 months onwards. Check what you think is the best schedule for your baby. If your baby is having rashes or has acute dermatitis, it is best to postpone infant weaning to about 6 months onwards and start slowly on trying out different food types for your baby.

2. Baby foods that are good to start at those that are finely mashed or diced such as potatoes, apple, banana, mango, strawberry, carrots, squash, chayote, papaya and camote. Some would have rice porridge or what we locally term as "lugaw". Others would boil water used for washing rice or what we locally call as "am". For hassle free and convenient options, there are a lot of stage 1 infant cereal available with Cerelac as the trusted infant cereal brands by most moms. As infant grows older, you can adjust his cereal to the next stage. You may also opt to mix and match finely mashed or diced fruits and vegetable above to your babies delight.  My pedia's advise was to start offering ground or flaked meat to my second child as she turned 9 months old.

3. Rule of thumb when trying food for the first time is to have these offered to the baby for around 3 days straight to check if he doesn't encounter any allergy with the food offered. For infant cereal product, a teaspoon of Cerelac stage 1 coupled with few drops of water is best. Make the first baby food as watery as possible and gradually adjust consistency as soon as you feel your baby is ready for it.

4. For babies with sensitive skin or has acute dermatitis or encounters allergy rashes, it is best to postpone introducing other poultry based products and food known to alleviate allergic reactions such as nuts, chicken, fish/seafood and eggs. My pedia advised me to delay in giving these  to my son who had acute dermatitis until he turned 1 year old.  We offered these when he turned 1 and he encountered some rashes when he took these items thus we further delayed introducing these products and recently offered him these items now that he is 2 1/2 years old. Fortunately, he doesn't have any allergic reactions to these anymore. Good news: fish and chicken are now his favorite food to eat during meal times. 

5. There are times when your baby will reject some of the food being offered. Do not despair. Try and try until you succeed as they say. My second baby used to reject every new food being offered to her. We never gave up on reintroducing the food initially offered to her the following day, the week after even months after. Today, she now eats almost every food being offered to her.

6. Meal times for your kids are social times as well. If possible, take your meal together with your child. Bond with him as best as you can during meal. Do not be impatient as most mealtimes really takes longer than expected. For my first born, meal time takes an average of 30 minutes. For my second child, it is a few minutes less. We used to let our firstborn take his meal ahead of us. There are some struggling involved when we put him in his high chair and in letting him eat his food. This sometimes drains us when it is already our time to eat. Most of the time, we even let his nanny feed our child even if we are around. For our second child, we changed this and have her with us whenever we take our meals. We already kept the high chair since she would rather sit on our lap during mealtime. Sometimes she sits on her own on the regular vacant chair. We just let her be and make sure that she does not fall from the chair.

7. Start introducing other dairy products as early as your kid can tolerate it. When my kids turned one, they loved Chamyto - a lactobacilli drink as well as Yogurt. My firstborn's favorite snack drink are those of Nestle's Yoghurt drink in various flavors - strawberry, mango and even orange if im not mistaken. He loves NIDO Yoghurt and Nesvita yoghurt as well for more than a year of taking it already. We never fail to include in his baon when he goes to toddler class a bottle of Chamyto/Yoghurt drink or a cup of Nido/Nesvita Yoghurt together with his small pack of breakfast cereals. We occasionally treat them for a few spoons of ice cream when they turned 1 year.

8. Minimize (if not unavoidable) giving them junk foods such as chips which are very high in sodium since their kidneys cannot tolerate these types still. Offer them healthier alternatives instead  such as breakfast cereals or cookies.

9. There will come a time that you child would start wanting to eat on her own. Early signs would be wanting to hold his own spoon or fork. Drinking from a grown-ups glass instead of his sippy cup. Do not discourage this behavior. I used to regret scolding my firstborn on doing this stuff and until now he still eats with maximum supervision at 2 years of age. For my second child, even if it quite messy to do so, we encourage her to explore her utensils, try to feed by  herself using her own spoon and exploring various ways to try food - with her hands, with the spoon, with the straw etc. We got used to cleaning the mess afterwards and when we dine outside - we only go to child-friendly restaurants and make sure to give a generous tip to the attending food staff who tolerated our kid's mess.

10. Do not force-feed your child. If he doesn't want to partake his meal then let it be. Some disciplinarian parents would object on this tip but a child will eat when he feels hungry. If he would rather play than eat, then let him be. There will come a time that he will look for food or let you know that he is already hungry. Do not worry when he eats only one type of food for a given time. Each child is unique in his own little ways - there are some who are quite hard to feed, there are those who would just eat whatever is being served to them. You don't need an expensive milk or shift to another milk to give to a hard to feed child. You might not realize that you are just spending more or giving your child additional excess sugar depending on the type of milk you plan to shift him to. Just let him be - offer food that he wants and offer healthier alternatives such as increasing his milk intake. As long as his weight for his height is still within the norms for his age then there is no cause to worry.  I used to see in the TV ads with Pediasure and Lactum being promoted for hard to feed kids. Upon consulting with my pedia and checking out that Pediasure contains similar nutrients with my child's current milk - NIDO 1+ and its just the caloric content per serve which differs - i chose the less expensive option - to retain to NIDO 1+. The solution advised to me by my pedia was to increase my son's intake of NIDO 1+ to get the same caloric value of Pediasure's serving. With regards to Lactum, upon tasting the product during one of the samplings it offered in the supermarket, I noticed that the product is too sweet and too much sugar is a no-no for my kids. The earlier my child is predisposed to excess sugar, the greater his chances of having health related problems such as obesity. When I checked the label, true enough, sugar is the second ingredient highest in the product. From what I learned during nutrition seminar, Ingredient list in the labels are arranged in which those appearing first in the list are those of highest quantity. Sugar is listed second in lactum's pack while only listed third in  NIDO. Thus I was further convinced that I did a smart choice in giving my child NIDO. They still continue drinking NIDO until this day.

Hope this tips helped some moms in a way. These are based on personal experiences and we might find similarities or differences in feeding our child.