Wearing my pink shirt the other day and trying out shorts at the mall, I realized that I have lost my waist yet again. I am now officially a rectangle again... probably pushing 150 lbs. again.
I felt the weight gain starting when Yamee started eating solids. And well, I have been having a chocolate feast, with all the cookies and ice cream I have been eating. No one to blame but me, I know.
And yes, it's high time to get the workout zumba working for me. I should be ashamed to be missing the Mommy Milkshake Marathon come August (but well, since I get cramps just standing for a longer period of time, I am really unfit to do any running).
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Breastfeeding Month is also Mom's Month
August is breastfeeding month and it's such a perfect opportunity for more Mom gifts, I think, ones that show support to breastfeeding and appreciation of all that it requires from a woman.
Clueless husbands can just click here for ideas, or just give their wives free rein in shops like Indigo Baby, Mama.Baby.Love or Eden :) Spa certificates will also be welcome for moms with aching backs, plus, it will relax them enough to give of themselves more freely.
I can't wait for my boys to be old enough to come up with their own gifts. I'd appreciate handprinted shirts, little ones, since you've already marked my heart for life... as yours.
Clueless husbands can just click here for ideas, or just give their wives free rein in shops like Indigo Baby, Mama.Baby.Love or Eden :) Spa certificates will also be welcome for moms with aching backs, plus, it will relax them enough to give of themselves more freely.
I can't wait for my boys to be old enough to come up with their own gifts. I'd appreciate handprinted shirts, little ones, since you've already marked my heart for life... as yours.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Best Beginnings in Breastfeeding at TMC
It was my first time last Saturday to handle a topic for the Best Beginnings in Breastfeeding Workshop that LATCH conducts for The Medical City every other month. Suffice it to say, hubs was my worst critic, haha, but I appreciate the support, really.
I opened the talk with my favorite quote these days:
"We make time for what we choose to have in our life." (Lucy Torres Gomez)
me doing the Benefits game with the chocolates wrong
demonstrating how to switch from cradle to cross-cradle position which would be useful when, say, one is eating
my all-time breastfeeding supporters (hubs even offered to answer questions from the dads in my breakout group, hehe
Swannie (N@wie), Ethel, Buding and me (trying out the SaYa gift from Buding)
always with a girlfriend!
I realized that I really know so much about breatfeeding already... at least, the basics. But I could use more practice in my delivery. I believe i'd convince more people to breastfeed if I can be as charming as Buding when I talk about breastfeeding. Haha. Just like what the doctor said that time, hearing Buding talk makes her want to breastfeed there and then (and she's not even a Mom yet).
I opened the talk with my favorite quote these days:
"We make time for what we choose to have in our life." (Lucy Torres Gomez)
me doing the Benefits game with the chocolates wrong
demonstrating how to switch from cradle to cross-cradle position which would be useful when, say, one is eating
my all-time breastfeeding supporters (hubs even offered to answer questions from the dads in my breakout group, hehe
Swannie (N@wie), Ethel, Buding and me (trying out the SaYa gift from Buding)
always with a girlfriend!
I realized that I really know so much about breatfeeding already... at least, the basics. But I could use more practice in my delivery. I believe i'd convince more people to breastfeed if I can be as charming as Buding when I talk about breastfeeding. Haha. Just like what the doctor said that time, hearing Buding talk makes her want to breastfeed there and then (and she's not even a Mom yet).
PMS, Here I Come Again
I had hoped that i'd have a longer lactation amenorrhea this time around. I really don't miss getting my period and would be perfectly content not getting it again, unless it suggests some medical problems for me. But I have started feeling that the day when i'd get it back is coming. One sign is the overall rage and bad mood, another is the aching back and hips for no real reason.
Sigh.
I guess it really means Yamee is requiring less milk now, which means, if I don't watch it, I may have to resort to diet pills for women because i'd just really gain all the weight back. And we're talking some 40 lbs here. Yikes.
*~*
Meanwhile, it stresses me to no end that Yakee is a sickly child these days. We're skipping school again today because he's running a fever again.
Sigh.
I guess it really means Yamee is requiring less milk now, which means, if I don't watch it, I may have to resort to diet pills for women because i'd just really gain all the weight back. And we're talking some 40 lbs here. Yikes.
*~*
Meanwhile, it stresses me to no end that Yakee is a sickly child these days. We're skipping school again today because he's running a fever again.
Friday, July 8, 2011
In Love with an Allergologist
Once upon a time, Yakee's eyes were always watery and he always seemed to have a shiner around his eyes. Someone referred me to an allergologist at Chinese Gen. She took one look at Yakee and declared my son had asthma, and started giving us all these Cetaphil and Physiogel products to use (charged to us) and told us Yakee would need a skin test. And she uses the latest something that doesn't hurt which costs P25k.
Suffice it to say, we never went back to her. She did not even touch my son!
But for the past three weeks, we have been plagued by allergies. Well, two months, if you count Dr. Mantaring's discovery of exercise-induced asthma in Yakee and my angioedema episode over fried chicken (thank heavens it was a very sluggish allergy attack and it responded to two Benadryl caps because I didn't have any milk for Yamee then!).
At least, Yamee's rhinitis-like episodes are no more... he just gets blistery wounds when bitten by a bug.
But Yakee... haay. The hives annoy me like crazy! So I called our HMO (Intellicare) to ask if the PF of the allergologist at Healthway Robinsons Manila is covered, as well as the tests. We can reimburse up to P1k only for skin tests. Anyway, I decided to try this allergologist and thought that if she still wasn't ok, then we'd go to Dr. Alava at Manila Doctors (who was our main pedia's referral).
But oh, I fell in love with Dr. Arlene Sandejas! She made the trip to an allergologist just the way I want it to be. She asked questions and answered my questions. She was the first to offer a conservative approach to MY allergies and then gave me a list of house dust control measures after ascertaining that we live a generally allergy-free lifestyle (no pets, carpet, no smoking).
Being an allergic person and having written that article above, I like to think I am pretty knowledgeable about allergies. I mean, I know the basics. But Dr. Sandejas made me realize that I must also dust our books and not let them anywhere near the bed. She told me why allergic people sneeze in the morning (because the dust mites eat our dead skin cells at night, so we wake up irritated by them) and how baths usually resolve the issue. She told me about how long after a room is cleaned should kids stay away (3 hours, so dust has really settled! 1 hour for adults), that fabric conditioners are irritants and better avoided, and many other things. I learned more talaga!
Yes, she did tell me I must have my skin test repeated (as my last was 6 years ago, and I lost the list already, and it was done by Dr. Agbayani who has expired already!) but she assured me that she can give me time to save up for it, and that it can be done in batches so I can allot money for it. It's P6k for the 85-full panel test. And no, it's not administered generally to kids below 6 years old. And since I average a trip or two to the ER due to allergy episodes, I know the skin test can be an important tool to manage my allergies.
MABUSISI is the word I have been using to describe her. Thorough. Exhaustive. Without being unnecessary.
Now, for Yakee, she has prescribed Cetaphil lotion for the dryness, instructed me how to properly bath my son (less than 20 minutes, lukewarm water, no scrubbing to dry, just gentle pats, then lotion) and asked me to keep a food diary for him. We're not eliminating anything yet from our diets, just observing. And she also ordered a repeat CBC and urinalysis for Yakee (to which Yakee was so totally against, I cried a little asking him to give more blood) and also a stool exam (haven't yet done this!). She also asked to see Yakee's old X-ray, just to rule out whatever could be triggering my son's hives (infection? food? insect bites?).
And she offered me her cell number should I have questions. I didn't even have to ask (and I actually seldom do, although I know that's a standard for some people, because I also respect how some doctors do not like free consults over the phone, at two in the morning).
And she tells you what you should do, writes it down, and discusses it again with you so you really know what to do. Love it talaga!
So far, Yakee and I are fine and on meds. We're going back to her on the 19th and see where it leads us.
*~*
She is a doctor and a human being, I cannot guarantee she will be as thorough with each patient... she could get tired, after all. Plus, it may help that I came armed with a printed timeline of what happened to my son and when, as well as knowledge of our allergy histories and my son's health history. But I really feel good about her. It's seldom that I find a consultation... rewarding... enlightening. I think the euphoria is stemming from that inner sense of having found a perfect fit.
*~*
She does not accept health cards at Manila Doctors. And I don't have her clinic sked there so better call the hospital.
Healthway Medical Clinic-Robinson's Manila
Ground Floor, Padre Faura
Robinson's Place
Ermita, Manila
Tel. no. 528-4547
Schedule: Tuesday 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Saturday 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Ramos Medical Clinic
5696 Pagulayan Street cor. Ilaya Street
Poblacion Makati City
Tel.no. 890-1696
Schedule: Wednesday/Friday/Saturday 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
*~*
I Googled her name and believe she is also a pediatrician, she was also referred to as a pedia-allergo at Healthway. Blessing talaga for moms like me :)
Suffice it to say, we never went back to her. She did not even touch my son!
But for the past three weeks, we have been plagued by allergies. Well, two months, if you count Dr. Mantaring's discovery of exercise-induced asthma in Yakee and my angioedema episode over fried chicken (thank heavens it was a very sluggish allergy attack and it responded to two Benadryl caps because I didn't have any milk for Yamee then!).
At least, Yamee's rhinitis-like episodes are no more... he just gets blistery wounds when bitten by a bug.
But Yakee... haay. The hives annoy me like crazy! So I called our HMO (Intellicare) to ask if the PF of the allergologist at Healthway Robinsons Manila is covered, as well as the tests. We can reimburse up to P1k only for skin tests. Anyway, I decided to try this allergologist and thought that if she still wasn't ok, then we'd go to Dr. Alava at Manila Doctors (who was our main pedia's referral).
But oh, I fell in love with Dr. Arlene Sandejas! She made the trip to an allergologist just the way I want it to be. She asked questions and answered my questions. She was the first to offer a conservative approach to MY allergies and then gave me a list of house dust control measures after ascertaining that we live a generally allergy-free lifestyle (no pets, carpet, no smoking).
Being an allergic person and having written that article above, I like to think I am pretty knowledgeable about allergies. I mean, I know the basics. But Dr. Sandejas made me realize that I must also dust our books and not let them anywhere near the bed. She told me why allergic people sneeze in the morning (because the dust mites eat our dead skin cells at night, so we wake up irritated by them) and how baths usually resolve the issue. She told me about how long after a room is cleaned should kids stay away (3 hours, so dust has really settled! 1 hour for adults), that fabric conditioners are irritants and better avoided, and many other things. I learned more talaga!
Yes, she did tell me I must have my skin test repeated (as my last was 6 years ago, and I lost the list already, and it was done by Dr. Agbayani who has expired already!) but she assured me that she can give me time to save up for it, and that it can be done in batches so I can allot money for it. It's P6k for the 85-full panel test. And no, it's not administered generally to kids below 6 years old. And since I average a trip or two to the ER due to allergy episodes, I know the skin test can be an important tool to manage my allergies.
MABUSISI is the word I have been using to describe her. Thorough. Exhaustive. Without being unnecessary.
Now, for Yakee, she has prescribed Cetaphil lotion for the dryness, instructed me how to properly bath my son (less than 20 minutes, lukewarm water, no scrubbing to dry, just gentle pats, then lotion) and asked me to keep a food diary for him. We're not eliminating anything yet from our diets, just observing. And she also ordered a repeat CBC and urinalysis for Yakee (to which Yakee was so totally against, I cried a little asking him to give more blood) and also a stool exam (haven't yet done this!). She also asked to see Yakee's old X-ray, just to rule out whatever could be triggering my son's hives (infection? food? insect bites?).
And she offered me her cell number should I have questions. I didn't even have to ask (and I actually seldom do, although I know that's a standard for some people, because I also respect how some doctors do not like free consults over the phone, at two in the morning).
And she tells you what you should do, writes it down, and discusses it again with you so you really know what to do. Love it talaga!
So far, Yakee and I are fine and on meds. We're going back to her on the 19th and see where it leads us.
*~*
She is a doctor and a human being, I cannot guarantee she will be as thorough with each patient... she could get tired, after all. Plus, it may help that I came armed with a printed timeline of what happened to my son and when, as well as knowledge of our allergy histories and my son's health history. But I really feel good about her. It's seldom that I find a consultation... rewarding... enlightening. I think the euphoria is stemming from that inner sense of having found a perfect fit.
*~*
She does not accept health cards at Manila Doctors. And I don't have her clinic sked there so better call the hospital.
Healthway Medical Clinic-Robinson's Manila
Ground Floor, Padre Faura
Robinson's Place
Ermita, Manila
Tel. no. 528-4547
Schedule: Tuesday 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Saturday 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Ramos Medical Clinic
5696 Pagulayan Street cor. Ilaya Street
Poblacion Makati City
Tel.no. 890-1696
Schedule: Wednesday/Friday/Saturday 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
*~*
I Googled her name and believe she is also a pediatrician, she was also referred to as a pedia-allergo at Healthway. Blessing talaga for moms like me :)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Milk Mama Diaries - Blog Carnival for July
July is Nutrition Month! For this year, the National Nutrition Council - Department of Health has decided that the theme will be "Isulong ang Breastfeeding - Tama, Sapat at EKsklusibo!" (TSEk). The most nutritious thing for Nutrition Month, yes?
So, it is only appropriate to do our part and also take this up as our topic for July since we all know that breastfeeding benefits both moms and babies. Since breastfeeding has been receiving a lot of bad press lately (from torture to bad advice to wrong help from professionals), we really need to promote and spread the word about breastfeeding and its benefits.
For this month, please share your experiences on how you were able to promote breastfeeding or how you think breastfeeding should be promoted in this country to increase breastfeeding rates and encourage more moms to breastfeed.
Read my May Carnival post to get an idea on how a blog carnival post looks like. To join the carnival, please fill up this FORM. Please include this short blurb on the top of your post:
"Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (July). For this month, we join the National Nutrition Council - Department of Health in celebrating Nutrition Month with the theme "Isulong ang Breastfeeding - Tama, Sapat at EKsklusibo!" Participants will share their experiences in promoting breastfeeding or their tips on how breastfeeding should be promoted. Please scroll down to the end of this post and check out the other carnival participants."
If you don't have a blog but would like to join, please email me or Jenny so we can arrange to have you hosted as a guest blogger. Submissions are due by 19 July 2011 and the carnival will go live on 22 July 2011.
*~*
Aside: Isn't it absolutely wonderful that the government is really advocating breastfeeding now?
*~*
I will be handling the BENEFITS part of the Best Beginnings in Breastfeeding workshop at the Medical City this Saturday, 9:00 - 12:00. Please come if you're pregnant and want to breastfeed. This is for free and everyone's welcome. bring your main support person.
So, it is only appropriate to do our part and also take this up as our topic for July since we all know that breastfeeding benefits both moms and babies. Since breastfeeding has been receiving a lot of bad press lately (from torture to bad advice to wrong help from professionals), we really need to promote and spread the word about breastfeeding and its benefits.
For this month, please share your experiences on how you were able to promote breastfeeding or how you think breastfeeding should be promoted in this country to increase breastfeeding rates and encourage more moms to breastfeed.
Read my May Carnival post to get an idea on how a blog carnival post looks like. To join the carnival, please fill up this FORM. Please include this short blurb on the top of your post:
"Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (July). For this month, we join the National Nutrition Council - Department of Health in celebrating Nutrition Month with the theme "Isulong ang Breastfeeding - Tama, Sapat at EKsklusibo!" Participants will share their experiences in promoting breastfeeding or their tips on how breastfeeding should be promoted. Please scroll down to the end of this post and check out the other carnival participants."
If you don't have a blog but would like to join, please email me or Jenny so we can arrange to have you hosted as a guest blogger. Submissions are due by 19 July 2011 and the carnival will go live on 22 July 2011.
*~*
Aside: Isn't it absolutely wonderful that the government is really advocating breastfeeding now?
*~*
I will be handling the BENEFITS part of the Best Beginnings in Breastfeeding workshop at the Medical City this Saturday, 9:00 - 12:00. Please come if you're pregnant and want to breastfeed. This is for free and everyone's welcome. bring your main support person.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Money and Credit Savvy from RD
I have been a loyal subscriber to Readers Digest Asia for years now. One of the features that I like there is the one where money, savings and credit advice is dispensed by a certain Gabriel Yap.
It's from him that I learned how to take advantage of debt optimization offered by credit companies. I also learned that investing in the Chinese Yuan, Singapore and Australian dollar could be worthier investments over a regular dollar account. I still don't quite get all the advice on equities and mutual funds but it's still great to be learning something new monthly about money and investments.
This is particularly crucial now since hubby and I have two kids to provide for. I dare not even contemplate just how costly it would be to send them to college someday (but maybe with K-12, they don't need to go? haha) especially in these times when there are so many options for self-realization for them.
All the advice was especially relevant when we ran into debt last month, because our disposable cash is currently tied up with an investment and we suddenly decided to enrol our child somewhere. Talk about not having any disposable income. It was jarring to feel that limited in your purchasing power, even if only for a time. It was a wake-up call that got hubby and me to revisit our income sources and spending habits. And now, it's time to make some of the changes.
Good thing though that I have developed the habit of not bringing my credit card with me all the time. Sure, it has been a source of stress realizing I didn't have enough cash on me too and returning all the lovely things I already have in my basket (this has happened twice already!) but it's still better than developing a habit of reaching for the plastic whenever I find something nice.
Hopefully, we get to raise money-savvy kiddos as well.
It's from him that I learned how to take advantage of debt optimization offered by credit companies. I also learned that investing in the Chinese Yuan, Singapore and Australian dollar could be worthier investments over a regular dollar account. I still don't quite get all the advice on equities and mutual funds but it's still great to be learning something new monthly about money and investments.
This is particularly crucial now since hubby and I have two kids to provide for. I dare not even contemplate just how costly it would be to send them to college someday (but maybe with K-12, they don't need to go? haha) especially in these times when there are so many options for self-realization for them.
All the advice was especially relevant when we ran into debt last month, because our disposable cash is currently tied up with an investment and we suddenly decided to enrol our child somewhere. Talk about not having any disposable income. It was jarring to feel that limited in your purchasing power, even if only for a time. It was a wake-up call that got hubby and me to revisit our income sources and spending habits. And now, it's time to make some of the changes.
Good thing though that I have developed the habit of not bringing my credit card with me all the time. Sure, it has been a source of stress realizing I didn't have enough cash on me too and returning all the lovely things I already have in my basket (this has happened twice already!) but it's still better than developing a habit of reaching for the plastic whenever I find something nice.
Hopefully, we get to raise money-savvy kiddos as well.
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