To Be a Parent Like Him

The Backgrounder

A son asked his father, "Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?" The father who, despite having a heart condition, says "Yes". They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father is always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, "Dad, let's join the Ironman together." To which, his father said 'Yes'.

For those who didn't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. The Father and son went on to complete the race together.


Oh, to be a parent like him. To have the courage to keep a child's faith that everything is possible, and his dreams will not be denied. To teach by example, to give hope to others as well, to continue being the invincible hero in your child's eyes even after he's grown up. To give your child something to look forward to, a purpose, a reason for living.

To be a parent like him.

A Baby Registry for Moms-in-Need

Celebrity Mom Nicole Richie is starting a Baby Registry for Moms-in-Need through the foundation she started (Richie-Madden Children's Foundation).

Quite a turnaround for someone who was drunk driving once on the wrong side of the highway!

Hopefully, local celebrity moms will take after her and use their influence in helping out others in need (instead of out-gifting within their circle). Actually, even a registry for hand-me-downs could go a long way... since rich and middle-class babies seldom really wear their stuff out (as they grow way too fast).

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I have been passing my son's clothes and shoes to my SIL and my MIL's churchmate. Every three months or so, I go through his wardrobe and grit my teeth as I divide everything that no longer fits him, and everything he doesn't use anymore, into two piles to give away.

However, I keep forgetting that we do intend to have another baby (or two) so I really should save some.

And no, I haven't given away his stroller and rocker yet, eventhough he never liked using them. I'm still hoping that he'd be convinced that they're actually nice to sit in.

Thoughts on Homebirths

TIME recently examined the ongoing debate surrounding home births.

I actually take no sides on this issue. I applaud people who are for the most natural of environments possible when they deliver their babies but I don't hold them in higher regard than those who prefer hospitals. I actually raised the possibility of giving birth in a lying-in clinic but given my strong allergy history and worrywart of a husband, that was dropped. Plus, it turned out my pregnancy will be a difficult one.

But would I consider a home birth? Nope. I considered, even fantasized, giving birth while kneeling (because it seems common in England and it makes sense that gravity might facilitate the baby's coming out) but I never considered a home birth. I don't have that much faith in circumstance. I know that if ever something happens during or after a home birth, be it a minor complication like an infection or a major one like death, I would also be blaming the home birth.

Plus, i've realized that even lying-in clinics won't do for me. I simply don't want to invite the accidents and hassles that could happen on my way to a fully-staffed and equipped hospital.

So yeah, I could probably do deliveries cheaper but i'd still rather pay extra for hospital care. And I don't mean it always has to be the top hospital in the country... but it has to be in a hospital I trust (and can sue, if ever?) :)

Diaper Issues

I'm bad (more like lazy, actually) for not using cloth diapers with my son. To think I have dozens of them (the Gerber and Chino Pino ones were even really expensive). But between dealing with a C-section recovery and a demanding son, I really preferred the convenience disposable ones offered.

I made sure to wash my baby's bum 95% of the time when I change his nappies though, so I never had to worry about rashes.

We were charged/issued with Drypers at the hospital and hubs loved it. We were hiyang with it. And back then, when our son poops 8-10 times a day, it seemed pointless to use Huggies Dry because we didn't need it's level of absorbency and dryness just yet. Plus, it was at least P2 more expensive per diaper.

We didn't like Prokids... mainly because we had issues with its tape (we keep pulling it off without trying). And I was turned off by the smell of Pampers (it smelled like sanitary napkins).

I wanted to experiment with other cheaper brands because I, of course, wanted to save money. My husband was against it. Anyway, I ended up trying Wee Wee Care and SM Bonus (ended up giving most of them away because I got scared of hubs finding out, hehe, esply since my son had UTI problems due to a phimotic peen). I actually wanted to use Happy too (love the colors) but again, I didn't want hubs upset.

Anyway, Happy and SM Bonus might have worked... but they're covered in plastic so they must be hotter for babies indeed.

And ever since my son started being mobile, he also started scratching his Drypers so that it would look ragged even if he's just freshly-changed.

Anyway, I still use Drypers sometimes... but mostly use EQ Dry during the day, at five-hour intervals (except when he poops or we're somewhere cold that gets him urinating more). At night, I use Huggies Dry.

Why use two different brands? Well, I actually have issues with my son's butt marinating in pee (no matter how dry the diaper stays) but I have more issues with having to risk waking him for a dipaer change, and having to wake up in the middle of the night to do it. So I use the more expensive, more absorbent, drier brand during the night.

I could, of course, use Huggies Dry during the day as well... and just lengthen the intervals of the diaper changes. But since my son is playing and mobile all day, even the best brands end up in clumps.

And I buy diapers in bulk... people at home even kid me that I panic-buy the stuff. Right now, we have some five packs here at home (2 Huggies Dry, 1 Huggies variant from the US, 1 Huggies Pull-ups and EQ Dry). But see, it is actually cheaper to buy them in bulk. And wouldn't it be a drag to hightail to a drugstore in the middle of the night because you're out?

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Here are three Huggies diapers (first two from left are Huggies Dry, the one at right is the US variant). I am loving the design of the one in the middle... not sure if Huggies has officially changed its design or not. The one at left came from a pack we bought at factory price from someone who works from Kimberley Clark (at P7 ea), the one in the middle is a freshly-bought pack while the one at right was sent by my Mom.

Hands down, Huggies diapers from abroad are nicer to use, they don't look as if they're filled to bursting after a wee-wee or two (like the local ones) and are slightly bigger.

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I know... I must have time in my hands to be discussing diapers this lengthily!

How Cute is Zoe

Seeing her picture for the first time ever, I cannot help but cringe at the thought that she could have suffered worse had the heparin overdose she and twin brother Thomas went through not been corrected in time.

Others have died because of the same medical mix-up.

I really hope something will come of her Daddy's lawsuits so that babies won't be harmed in the same way ever again.

Knox and Vivienne: A First Glimpse

Celebrity bloggers everywhere made sure to let their readers know to be online yesterday (Sunday, 7:00 PM DST) for a first glimpse of Knox and Vivienne, Brad and Angelina's twins. It's even crazy how they make it out as the coming of the messiah or something.

But to really appreciate the twins, you'd have to buy copies of the People's issue, of course.

Anyway, it's not that am particularly envious, but it really must be something if newborns could fetch millions (between $10-15 M) for practically no work at all. I mean, at three weeks, what else can they do apart from nap anyway?

My Son Will Grow Up to "Tales of Beedle the Bard"

... because JK Rowling's favorite charity will publish it in December!

Sigh. I am confused as to whom this will be the perfect gift... to Mommy addicted or to my son, who will grow up being read Beetle Bard's tales.

Oh and I am thinking this would be a clever way for JK to transition into another series... it might not be as smashing a hit as the Harry POtter series but still, she could be giving us a new kind of Faerie Tales :)