happy events

this weekend was pretty hectic. Cin got married yesterday and Naima turned 7 months the day before. we have photos galore but still haven't uploaded them. cin's wedding was a happy event. food was yummy, the weather was perfect (even if wunderground predicted an 80% chance of thunderstorms) and everyone got to march at the church! N was also well-behaved. she was supposed to be a flower girl but she was sleeping in the car during the bridal march. since she can't walk yet and stan didn't want to be carrying her along the aisle, we opted not to wake her up. she got to show her smiles at the reception. cin's dress was very nice. a mix of lace and some pleated accents. her color motif was blue red and gold. mine was blue and yellow (we really love blue!). the designer, hallie vy, also did my matron of honor dress. cin had wanted my dress to be designed like lindsay lohan's marchesa dress. my only requirement was that it be easy to take off in case N wanted to feed. Hallie fixed the straps and put in hooks so when I had to feed N, i didn't have to take the whole top off. I'm happy with hallie's execution - the hooks weren't obvious and i was able to put it to use because N fed at the hotel and at the reception! next up - this weekend's events: naima's baptism and mia's (stan's sister) wedding. phew!
ALL PHOTOS BY STANLEY ONG

Yay for the Polypropylene Kit!

I've been using a Lansinoh double electric pump since I gave up my hospital-grade pump. A lot of my friends and relatives had been recommending Medela. But I didn't think that I would be able to pump this long. Besides, Medela pumps were so expensive. I do have a Medela - but it's just a Swing (single electric pump). Meanwhile, the hospital-grade pump I used was an Ameda Elite. The hospital where Naima was confined for jaundice, gave me several sets of flanges. So when I was shopping for a personal use pump, I thought of getting an Ameda Purely Yours (PY). After much research, I discovered that the Lansinoh pump was also made by Hollister (makers of Ameda pumps) and was much cheaper than PY! Plus the Lansinoh pump used the same flanges as the PY.

With the BPA brouhaha, I became worried because the flanges I am using are made of polycarbonate plastic. But I didn't want to purchase another pump which was BPA-free (that will be more than 10K!). Happily, Hollister has started producing bpa-free kits ;) Surprisingly though, this kit is not available in Ameda's online store. It is available at other internet resellers. I've ordered one and if it works as well as the original set, then I'll need to order some more to replace my 2 other set of flanges Maybe I should've just brought a Medela pump in the first place. haaay!

Lactation Cookies

Running out of milk for N has always been my biggest fear. So I've been taking various supplements to make sure that I never run out. I've take malunggay supplements and malunggay tea and drank lots of malunggay soup! I've also drank malunggay tea. I'm eating oatmeal and tablea chocolate every morning.

Here's something I tried which is really good. In fact, S likes it too. What makes this recipe special are the following ingredients: oatmeal, flaxseed meal and brewer's yeast which are said to increase milk production. It's actually just your basic chocolate chip oatmeal cookie with a few additions. I got this recipe from the Kellymom forum. Some moms replace the chocolate chips with butterscotch chips or heath bar pieces, etc.

We cut down the sugar because it was really sweet. This recipe makes a huge batch of cookies. And the *weird* ingredients are all available at healthy options! I even found thick-cut oatmeal there.

* 1 cup butter or marg
* 1 cup sugar - cut down to 1/2 cup
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 4 tablespoons water
* 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 cups oats, thick cut if you can get them
* 1 cup or more chocolate chips (i used hershey's semi-sweet)
* 2-4 tablespoons of brewers yeast (i used 3 tablespoons)

Preheat oven at 180 degrees C.
Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes.
Cream (beat well) margarine and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time, mix well.
Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the margarine mix. Beat until blended.
Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and chips. Add to margarine mixture.
Stir in oats then chips. Scoop or drop onto baking sheet, preferably lined with parchment or silpat.
The dough is a little crumbly, so it helps to use a scoop.
Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies. 8 mins if you like chewy and longer if you like crisp.

Hurray for the residents!

We had another annual residents' meeting today. Still there was no quorum but I was happy that there was some progress from last month's meeting. The developer, FL, actually changed the lay-out of the new towers to be built! For the club and residences development, the "blocking tower" was moved to the side furthest from Crystal Bay, so the view won't be that blocked. Also, the shapes of the new towers were now diamond-shaped, changed from the y-shaped towers. This would afford more space and better views for the residents of the existing towers. I was pretty excited about this development. It meant that the developer actually listened to the residents. Kudos to them and hopefully, they won't be changing their plans again without notice to the current residents.

Further, the residents were asked to give their suggestions as to what amenities they wanted for the future towers. Apparently, FL is planning to have shared amenities for the residents of the different towers. They will be passing out feedback forms for residents to fill out. I will be filling out those forms to propose the following:

1. taxi stand or shuttle
During the times when the vitara is on coding or is being used by S, and the driver is not available, I would need to catch a taxi and it is a pain to catch one from here. I either have to walk about 2 blocks or wait at least 30 minutes and pay an additional 50 pesos flag down rate. I hope FL will be providing a shuttle which goes around the park or at least put up a TAXI light on top of the guard houses.

2. chapel
I was hoping that there will be some sort of chapel or place of worship in the community. I hate attending mass at the shrine of jesus. it's just too crowded and the sea breeze doesn't help - the air is really sticky. once more residents move in, maybe the association or FL could have a place of worship where there can be mass on sundays. I guess the function room would also work but at this time, probably not too many catholics live here to merit mass every sunday.

3. function room
I am also looking forward to bigger function rooms. The 2 function rooms we currently have have a maximum capacity of 40 people. Plus, you have to rent them for 6 hours minimum. Also, we can't rent the indoor pool. Since N is still young, I think a lot of kiddie parties are in our future. I was hoping that the new towers will have bigger function rooms that we can rent so we don't have to rent outside. Maybe there can also be preferential rates for residents so the association can also rent out the function rooms to outsiders.

Although there still wasn't any quorum and no new board members were elected, I'm beginning to see that there may be hope for the bay yet.. :)

1st week of solids

As of today, N will have been on solids for more than 1 week.  We started with mashed avocado mixed with EBM, then with ground-up white rice (also diluted with EBM) and mashed potatoes with EBM as well.  For each type of food, we followed the 3-day rule - meaning, we feed her the same food for 3 days before introducing a new food.  Today is her 4th solid food - sayote.  It was just plain sayote and no more EBM and she likes it! :)  She also really liked avocados and potatoes, but hated the rice.  We've also been giving her about an ounce of water during her meal.  She eats mid-morning and still drinks milk the rest of the day.

N really has a personality now.  When her yaya bibi feeds her too slow, she protests and tries to pull yaya bibi's hand.  She also likes playing with her water, which we give in the sippy cup.  When we give her EBM, we feed her in a cup and she now knows how :).  I can't believe that it has been 6 months!  

When I tendered my resignation to my law firm last year, during my exit interview with one of the partners, she told me that she had a difficult pregnancy (bedrest for 6 months) and she couldn't wait to go back to work.  At that time, I also was having a difficult pregnancy and couldn't imagine myself being a housewife as well.  It's been more than 1 year since I worked in a real office and I can't believe I've lasted this long! I still dream of donning on my suits again before going to work but my career will have to wait.  As S puts it, feeding and taking care of N is my most important job right now.  When we're ready to wean and comfortable with leaving her at home, then I can have my career back.

Are you really disabled?!!

We went to SM Mall of Asia last night for some minor grocery shopping and to get N some sleeveless tops to help her cope with the hot weather. We were lucky enough to get a parking space which was relatively near the mall entrance. On our way to the elevators, I noticed a car driving straight into the disabled parking slot and immediately parking there. The driver and passenger alighted (a couple from the office, by the looks of their uniform) and NEITHER OF THEM WAS DISABLED! I think there about 5 allotted disabled parking slots and there was only 1 space left. This made me think whether that couple intentionally knew they were parking at a disabled slot, didn't care, or thought.. "hey, the security guard isn't there to warn us off, so let's park immediately and hurry into the mall!". I wanted to wait for them in the elevator and comment to S, "grabe noh, puno yun disabled slots, madami siguro disabled nasa mall ngayon." Are we really that undisciplined that we will intentionally park in a disabled slot, just because there's no security guard to tell us off, even if there's a huge painting of a wheelchair right on the parking slot?!! In other countries, parking at a disabled slot without a disabled tag hanging on your rearview mirror will result in a fine as high as $500.00! I don't know if our own LTO even issues disabled parking tags or stickers.

Anyway, in the elevator again, on our way home, we encountered a family of about 8 people who were trying to squeeze into the elevator at the 2nd level (S and I took the elevator at the 1st level and the parking level was at the 3rd level). The elevator had started beeping (max weight reached) but this group just didn't want to budge. Eventually, 2 of them left the elevator and we were off to the third floor. And when we got there, this family of 8, nonchalantly walking to their red innova, again parked in a disabled parking slot. I stopped to take a second look - none of them were in wheelchairs, had canes, were limping or in anyway disabled. Granted that one of them was carrying a toddler, but from my last check having a child did not equate to being disabled. What's even worse, a Mercedes Benz pulled up to one of the 2 remaining disabled parking slots and parked there -- and who was in the Mercedes Benz? A driver who was probably just going to wait there to be called to pick up his boss when he gets instructed to do so.

Haaaay... only in the Philippines!

Broken Promises by the Bay

Because DH didn’t want to, I decided to attend the annual meeting of our condominium association. DH had warned me that he attended last year and aside from low quorum, the meeting was magulo because a lot of residents were complaining about the developer (Federal Land - FL) and their broken promises. I thought that since we lived here, I wanted to know what was happening and what better way to know than to attend these meetings.

So I attended and it was definitely chaotic! The president of the association was from FL and several officers from FL attended too. The meeting was supposed to start at 9am but there was no quorum! At 1030am, the president decided to start discussing matters which didn’t require a quorum. There were four major issues that the residents focused on:

1. Sky Cable
A Mr. Kennedy kept complaining why we were being held hostage by Sky Cable. Sky is the only available service provider in the complex (there are already 5 condos standing our of a proposed 11 towers). The Persian guy wanted to have Destiny because of its numerous sports channels. But the administration and board of directors wouldn't let him put up a satellite dish on his balcony or the roof. So during the meeting, he kept bringing up this topic over and over again. Personally, I couldn't care less if there were few sports channels in Sky (i'm not a sports fan). BUT I think that he should've been allowed a satellite dish on his balcony and the buildings shouldn't have been restricted to Sky Cable. As long as Sky Cable has a monopoly on this complex, we can hardly expect their services to improve and to offer residents better channel selections.

2. Car Stickers

FL has been actively marketing sales of the condominium complex and the logo. Our car stickers use this logo. A lot of residents have been concerned about their security in public. Since our logo is very well marketed, even if the stickers consist of only the logo, the public knows where the car owner lives. Thus, a lot of residents don't want to attach the stickers on their windshield. However, this becomes a problem upon entering the compound since the guards will block you and ask you questions if you don't have your sticker attached. It was suggested that the car stickers use a logo different from what FL is using. Since we are obligated to renew our car stickers every year, hopefully next year, we will be using a stickers with a "private logo."

3. Obstructed Views
This is the most controversial topic during the meeting. In fact the FL officers who were there bore the brunt of the residents' ire, particularly residents of Crystal Tower. When Crystal and Boardwalk Towers were being built, one of the marketing come-ons of agents was that there was going to be a sports club that will be built beside Crystal Tower. Well, there will be a sports club that will be built beside Crystal Tower - but that's not it -- it will be a club and residences - a 5-level sports club plus 3 residential towers with 17 floors each!! Crystal Tower residents were outraged because when they bought their units, they had bought it for the view and now, their views were to be blocked by another condominium. And that's not all. Behind Crystal and Boardwalk Towers, FL is planning to build 2 more Y-shaped towers. FL is also planning to build 4 more Y-shaped towers in front of and behind Mactan and Palawan Towers!

The FL people came with very nice powerpoint presentations and huge smiles. But one resident of Crystal was really upset. She had previously been featured in the Philippine Star, where she extolled the fine living she enjoyed in her tower. But now, she was fuming and wanted to issue a retraction! Another lady from Anchor Tower was also upset because when she bought her condo, she had gone into feng shui consulation and her view was included in the feng shui. But with the construction of the club and residences, her view would be ruined and subsequently, her feng shui as well.

4. Unethical Marketing

Residents were also complaining about the unethical marketing practices of FL agents. One of the residents pointed out that FL was using the previously-built towers as examples in selling Mactan and Palawan. Unknown to Mactan and Palawan buyers, whereas the first towers were made of concrete walls, the towers of Mactan and Palawan were made of gypsum board. I guess this is really the situation which calls for "buyer beware" attention.

My beef with the condo?

The association and administration is very strict - which is also a good thing since it maintains the exclusivity of the place.

It is also very difficult to get a taxi. You need to call from outside resulting in an extra 50 pesos charge on top of your fare! And it takes at least 30 minutes. One of the members suggested that there be a "TAXI" light on each of the security guard entrances, such that the guards turn on the light simultaneously when a cab is needed and once the guard is able to flag one down, he also simultaneously turns off the light. I truly hope that this suggestion is implemented to do away with the 30-minute wait and extra 50php taxi-call fee. Plus it is friendlier to the environment since nearby taxis are flagged down instead of radioing for a faraway taxi to come.

Regarding function rooms, the administration charges 4000php for 6 hours for the Crystal Tower Function Room and 5000php for 6 hours for the Mactan Tower Function Room, with each room good only for 40 people. I find this rate really steep, considering that most functions only last for about 4 hours. I think that they should reduce the charge to 4 hours since most of the condominiums I have inquired at charge much less for a bigger capacity.

And finally, there is another proposed increase in association dues from 57 pesos to 63 pesos. I think since we moved here there has been a 10 pesos increase in association dues! Hmmm is this like Meralco and we residents are also being charged with FL's systems loss?! I hope not!

Oh.. and the meeting adjourned at about 1pm – still with no quorum. As one resident puts it, he doesn’t know if the other residents are just apathetic or they’re just fed up with FL and don’t want to waste their time attending this meetings. They’ve decided to hold another meeting on June 28. I will definitely be attending and I hope more residents will attend so we can do something productive.

We're normal! :D

We claimed N's G6PD confirmatory test on June 13, in time for her pedia appointment in the afternoon.  Happily, N's results were within the normal range! :D -- so she's not g6pd deficient. Hooray!  N is now 8.9 kilos (about 19lbs and 8 oz.) and 28 inches long.  She has tripled her birth weight of 6lbs and 5oz. 

We discussed which solids to start her on.  Her pedia suggested 3 levels of solids - 1st line is rice (lugao), potato, sayote, green papaya, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, malunggay, spinach and other green leafy vegetables.  This is followed by monggo, squash, camote, gabi, tofu, taho, steamed fish, beef/pork broth.  Then finally, ripe fruits = banana, papaya, avocado, peaches, etc. and fresh citrus juice.  The progression of her first foods is bland, neutral, sweet. 

As previously blogged, I've researched about solids for the baby and since N is breastfed, she doesn't have to start with bland foods as my breastmilk is sweet (yes it is, i've tasted it. hehe!). 

According to the Mayo Clinic, citrus can cause painful diaper rash and should be held off until baby is at least a year.  

Anyway, we've decided to start N on avocado because it is essentially a complete food, it is avocado season and DH wants to have avocado shake!  I bought an organic avocado from Rustan's last Thursday but it wasn't ripe yet. I also bought some avocados today from the Salcedo market. Following the internet tips, we put the Rustan's avocado in a paper bag to hasten its ripening.  We had wanted to start solids today but I think will be postponing it to tomorrow because the avocado is not yet fully ripe.  Also, it is recommended that N should start solids in the morning and not in the afternoon.  

I can't believe how expensive that Rustan's avocado is! 1 avocado is 95pesos!! Meanwhile, I bought 2 organic avocados from Salcedo market today for 80pesos! No more organic purchases from Rustan's for me.  

Tomorrow will be a big day for us.  It's N's first father's day, first solids day and DH will be ready his camera.  :D

Twins!!

We went for a photoshoot on Monday at the Stork Studio (thestorkstudio.com). When DH saw N's photos, he just had to do this. N is truly her father's daughter.

Starting Solids

Now that N has turned 6 months, we are entering a new realm of feeding - solids. N's amah gave us a mini-blender especially for blending N's foods -- no instant foods allowed. We haven't actually started feeding her solids yet. She has an appointment with her pedia on Friday so we will be getting instructions then. Initial research suggests that her first foods be rice, barley or oat (cereals), apples, bananas, pears, avocados (fruits) and sweet potatoes, acorn/butternut squash and green beans (vegetables).

There certainly is a great deal of information about infant feeding. A lot of websites and even doctors say that solids can be started when the baby is 4 months. However, breastfeeding advocates recommend starting solids at 6 months (or even later!). According to the World Health Organization, solids (complementary feeding) should start at 6 months of age (180 days). The WHO has guiding principles both for the breastfed and non-breastfed babies.

To be prepared for this big event, me and our cook have started reading baby cookbooks. We are reading Fresh Baby's So Easy Baby Food and Annabel Karmel's The Healthy Baby Meal Planner. Hopefully, I can be dedicated enough to prepare fresh pureed foods for N and avoid Cerelac and Gerber altogether.

Half-year!

N is 6 months today! Wow!! We've made it to half-year.. i've reached my first goal and looking forward to the next 6 months!! :D

Is she STTN?

N’s teeth started coming out last May 26. First it was her lower left front tooth, followed by her lower right tooth. As expected, she was very fussy the past few nights. She used to wake up about 2 times to feed then when I carry her, she’ll fall right back asleep - -and she stays asleep until about 630am – 7am. However, when she started teething, she was waking up 3-4 times a night. And she doesn’t go back to sleep easily. She rolls around the bed and when she does fall back asleep, she’s up at 5am! So I really haven’t been getting sleep the past week. Both her two lower front teeth have broken the gums and I’ve been itching to take photographs of them. N won’t let me though. When I open her mouth, she covers her teeth with her tongue.

Yesterday, we took her for her G6PD confirmatory test. Maybe she got tired screaming when they drew her blood so last night she slept through the night! Ia visited us last night so I tried to postpone N’s bedtime but at about 8pm she got really cranky. I put her down and she fell asleep at about 815pm. I went to bed at around 1130pm, expecting her to wake up shortly thereafter. I guess I fell asleep because the next time I woke up, it was past 2am and N was still asleep – lightly snoring in consonance with her dad. I was super engorged and lazy me didn’t want to pump so I pulled N toward me and she nursed in her sleep. I couldn’t sleep thereafter – I was thinking of how N was growing up – teeth coming out, spacing out her nursings – too fast! I eventually dozed off and woke up, again engorged, about 630am with N still sleeping. This time, I decided to pump and filled up 11 out of 12 squares of Fresh Baby’s tray ☺ N woke up and nursed soon after.

I wonder if she’ll STTN tonight? Once she does, it’s definitely a huge huge sign that she IS growing up – becoming more independent. I’ll miss our late night, early dawn cuddling. I’ll miss the times when she just wants to sleep on me and sigh in contentment. I can’t believe that she’ll be 6 months this Friday. Babies really do grow up fast! sigh

N and G6PD

On June 3, we had to go to the National Institutes of Health because N needed to have blood drawn for her G6PD confirmatory test.  Her newborn screen test didn't include this test so she needed to have it done because her pedia said that G6PD deficiency was very common among Filipinos.  Since the screening tests were not suggested until about 4 years ago, according to my pedia, a lot of Filipinos are walking around not knowing that they are G6PD deficient.  I myself didn't know about this deficiency until N's pedia informed me about it.  

According to the G6PD Association, this deficiency is "is a hereditary abnormality in the activity of an erythrocyte (red blood cell) enzyme. This enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD), is essential for assuring a normal life span for red blood cells, and for oxidizing processes. This enzyme deficiency may provoke the sudden destruction of red blood cells and lead to hemolytic anemia with jaundice following the intake of fava beans, certain legumes and various drugs."

That was too scientific for me so I turned to Kid's Health for a more plausible definition: "G6PD is one of many enzymes that help the body process carbohydrates and turn them into energy. G6PD also protects red blood cells from potentially harmful byproducts that can accumulate when a person takes certain medications or when the body is fighting an infection."

So why is this worrisome? Apparently, among the harmful substances for G6PD deficient kids is napthalene - which is found in mothballs and fava beans (white beans).  These are common enough items that people can easily get in contact with.   Our pedia recommended a confirmatory test for N because of her prolonged jaundice.  At 2 weeks, she was still jaundiced which led to her being hospitalized for bililight treatment.  For a detailed enumeration of harmful substances to G6PD deficient persons, check here. 

===

At the National Institutes of Health, there were tons of babies being tested.  Most of them were newborns with a few exceptions like N.  The charge for the test was 750php.  We arrived at around 1030am and were already No. 85.  Some more people came after us.. so it was an easy 75K for half a day's exam - and that's only for the G6PD test.  

I was irritated at people commenting on how fat N was.  There was even one mom who asked me "is she overweight?" what the !#$^@%&?!  How can N be overweight when she directly feeds and I don't stuff a bottle in her mouth?! She's the one who stops feeding when she's full and I don't force myself on her.  I guess it is part of our culture to "paki-alam" other people's babies.  But I think it's not polite to do so..

Anyway, we will get the results on June 11.  N's next pedia appointment is on June 13. Hopefully, she won't be deficient.

Of Parenting Styles

So my friend Stephen commented on my Avent post and asked me about Stan's and my parenting style. He had watched a show on the Lifestyle Channel about parenting styles in raising babies. I did a bit of internet research and i think the show he watched was "Bringing Up the Baby" (tama ba Step?). The series focuses on the parenting styles advocated by 3 experts from different decades. For the 1950's, the expert was Dr. Frederic Truby King, who advocated a strict routine method. For the 1960's, it was Dr. Benjamin Spock, who is for individualized routine parenting. And finally, for the 1970's, it was Jean Liedloff, for the continuum concept. The basics of these styles are as follows: King - Discipline -- Predictability -- Early detachment of baby and mother -- Order -- One size fits all -- Start as you mean to go on; Spock - Acknowledges individuality -- Tailor-made routine -- Relieves parental guilt -- Balance and Liedloff - instinct -- Based on human evolution -- Community.

So what is our style? Naima feeds whenever she wants to.. it may be every hour-hour and a half (when she was a newborn), to 2-3 hours and sometimes 4-5 hours. Usually, when were out of the house, she goes 4-5 hours. But when we're at home she goes 2-3 hours. I don't do any scheduled feeds with her. Naima also sleeps on our bed so it makes nightly feeds easier on me. Her crib is right beside my side of the bed but she uses it only during the day. At night, we put pillows and her toys in the crib :) while she sleeps in between Stan and me or between me and her crib (depending on which side she'll last feed on). She'll be 6 months on June 5 but she still doesn't sleep through the night. She feeds probably 2-3 times still but since we co-sleep, I don't mind feeding her at night.

At this time, her needs take precedence over Stan's and mine. We schedule everything according to her schedule. We haven't gone out on an evening date since she was born - in fact we haven't gone out to see a movie yet! Stan and I talked about it and we're pretty happy with this set-up as of the moment. We figured, she'll soon be a toddler, busy exploring her new world and won't be interested in keeping us company so we'll just enjoy this year when she can't avoid our hugs or push us away when we smother her with kisses.. hehe.

Stan was also pretty much involved in taking care of Naima from day 1. For the 1st 2 weeks, Stan changed all her poopy diapers. Stan also changes her diapers in the middle of the night, while I catch up on my sleep. He has also been pretty good with playing with her, reading books to her. In fact, I'm really jealous 'cause he can make her giggle and chuckle while I can't no matter what I do!

As for bringing her up, Stan and I listen to our moms, to our friends, our doctors, but we do our own research and talk about what we think is best for Naima and follow this decision. We don't necessarily follow what other people tell us. Also, we don't keep Naima with us 24/7 (i dont' think i would survive!). We're lucky to have her yaya, Bibi, who takes really good care of her (especially when I'm at work), reads to her, perseveres in changing her cloth diapers and putting hot compresses when she has booboos, talks to her, makes her laugh and MOST IMPORTANTLY, doesn't watch TV when Naima's around.

So Step, to answer your question, I think our style would be more of Liedloff. This reminds me of a quote by Dr. Jay Gordon which I really like and try to apply in the way we bring up Naima: "What many people try to do is fit the baby in to their lives, rather than wrapping their lives around the baby."

There goes the pasalubong!

American Airlines will start to charge for checked-in luggage in June! Apparently, American Airlines have been charging $25 for a second checked-in bag since last week. But effective June, even just 1 checked-in bag will require a $15 payment. According to the LA Times, these new charges have been blamed on rising fuel costs. Here are the cost of checking in, from the LA Times:

* First checked bag, $15 (takes effect June 15)
* Second checked bag, $25 (took effect May 12)
* Third, fourth and fifth bags, $100 each, increased from $80 (May 12)
* Sixth through ninth bags, $200 each, increased from $105 to $180 (May 12)
* Oversized-baggage fee, $150 each, increased from $100 (immediately)

It's a good thing that this applies only to domestic U.S. travel and not international travel. According to American Airlines' current baggage rules, travellers to Asia can have two checked-in bags weighing 50lbs each -- which is still 20lbs lower than Northwest and PAL's baggage allowances. Despite the increase in oil prices, I hope our local airlines won't be charging us for checked-in bags and will continue to offer low fares (zero fares from cebupac and Php88 fares from PAL!)

Avent on BPA

In response to the growing concern over BPA, Avent posted its own statement addressing the issue. I have some comments on their statement. (pagbigyan nyo na ako.. )

Do Philips AVENT baby bottles contain Bisphenol A (BPA)?

Philips AVENT reusable bottles, such as the AirFlex, are made from polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate plastic is approved for use and lawful for sale in every country where Philips AVENT products are sold, including in North America and Europe.

Hmm.. evading the question.. The question here is whether the bottles contain BPA and not "what are the bottles made of". Avent doesn't answer the question and instead requires the consumer to research what "polycarbonate plastic" is -- it contains BPA.

Has Health Canada banned the sale of polycarbonate plastic?

No. For more information on Health Canada’s assessment you can visit its website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca.

Actually, Health Canada plans to ban the sale of polycarbonate plastic for baby bottles (which is what Avent sells).

What bottles are safe to use with my breast pump?

The Philips AVENT VIA storage systems allows you to express, store and feed from the same convenient containers, which are made from materials that do not contain BPA.

The VIA system is BPA-free but the horns for the Avent breastpump are not. It seems that Medela has a monopoly on BPA-free horns.

Finally, Avent has stated that they will be releasing a new product this summer (U.S. summer) -- which are BPA-free baby bottles. Isn't it just contradictory? They stand by the safety of BPA but will be introducing BPA-free bottles? Avent's stand is:

"We have full confidence in our current bottle, which has been used by millions of healthy babies in over 70 countries worldwide. We always strive to reach new levels of design and engineering excellence to meet the evolving needs of parents and babies. Building on its already diverse portfolio of infant feeding products, Philips AVENT will introduce new materials into its line this summer."

For a complete listing of Avent's materials listing, check this document.

Avent will be producing BPA-free bottles!

Breast Milk Cheese!! - hoax??

Stan shared a blog with me (which he got from Paolo) about breast milk cheese. There is a French company called Petit Singly which uses breast milk in making its cheeses. However, the website is in French and the Google translation is awful - I can't make sense of it. I googled "Petit Singly" and came up with a link to the Museum of Hoaxes. According to the Museum of Hoaxes, Petit Singly is a hoax because the site has ads and it is hosted on a lycos account.
Another website with a better translation shares that "the cheese is produced exactly like it would be for cow’s milk and apparently tastes like it has hints of hazelnut." Also, "the cheese is rich in vitamins and nutrients x x x and have an 'AB' label, which is the official label for organic products." LOL
Well, for those interested, you can order online here and email the company at petitsingly@lycos.fr.

BPA-free Playtex and Rubbermaid Products

Two companies which have products readily available in the Philippines recently released statements and lists of their BPA-free products. These companies are Playtex and Rubbermaid. Playtex's Original Drop-in Nurser is BPA-free and is available in SM's Baby & Co. Meanwhile, Rubbermaid products are also available in leading department stores. The Rubbermaid website is very informative as it includes pictures of BPA-free and "BPA-full" products. Rubbermaid also has a FAQ and listed numerous websites for reliable information about BPA. This is very good news since we now have immediate alternatives to the polycarbonate plastic products we are using.

Spoon-feeding Naima

In preparation for my going back to work, we've started to teach Naima how to drink milk from a spoon. We previously had problems with nipple confusion so I am adamant that she not drink milk from the bottle as much as possible. Considering that some doctors already start babies on solids at 4-months, I thought that we could also start teaching Naima to use a spoon. She won't be starting solids though but will be drinking mommy's expressed milk. We used a small chinese soup spoon. It has a groove so more milk can be scooped up. Plus, it's not made of plastic. However, it is made of porcelain so when Naima starts teething, we have to be really careful that she doesn't bite parts of it off. Here are some photos of her drinking milk:
Today is Day 3 of the spoon test. We have been giving her half an ounce of milk. For the past 2 days, she barely finished half of the half ounce! But today, only a spoonful was left! Hopefully, she'll take to spoon-feeding soon so we can increase the amount of milk to give her. This way, she can skip drinking from the bottle and just take milk from the spoon when I'm not around.

BPA-free Munchkin Bath Toys

Here's the email I got from Munchkin customer service. They listed the materials for each product. I know that the tubtoy organizers are available here. But not sure about the other products. Still waiting for their reply about teethers.

------ Forwarded Message
From: Munchkin Customer Service
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:38:10 -0400
To: xxxxxxxxx
Conversation: Contact Customer Service: Received
Subject: RE: Contact Customer Service: Received

Hello Jennifer-

Twisty fish- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Phthalate-Free Polyvinyl Chloride, Polypropylene, steel shaft, Polyoxymethylene
Caterpillar Spillars-Polypropylene
Tub Toy Organizer-Polyester Fibers, Polyvinyl Chloride, Nylon, Polyester Fabric
Bath letters/numbers-EVA Foam
Sea and Learn Bath Shapes-EVA Foam

We do have a variety of teethers, can you please advise which one(s) you are inquiring about, so that I can give the material listing?

Have a great day!
Thank You-
Munchkin,Inc.
Consumer Relations


From: xxxxxxxx xxxxxx [xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 8:11 PM
To: Munchkin Customer Service
Subject: Contact Customer Service: Received

First Name: xxxxxxx
Last Name: xxxxxx
Email: xxxxx@xxxxxxx.edu
Phone: 703xxxxxx
---- COMMENT BELOW ----
Hello! I'm interested in purchasing several products from Munchkin for my daughter, particularly teethers and bath toys. However, I would like to confirm which teether and bath toy are BPA-free and not made from polycarbonate plastic. The items I'm particularly interested in are: Twisty Fish, Caterpillar spillers, tubtoy organizer and the bath letters/numbers, sea&learn bathshapes. For the teethers, FunIce Teethers and the Twisty Teether lines. Hope to hear from you. Thanks a lot.


------ End of Forwarded Message

Check out Z Recommends!

This website has a report on BPA-free products. It is very well organized and identifies each company and the products with BPA or not. Some of the companies sell their items in the Philippines so it will be worthwhile to check this list before you go shopping!

Mealmates are BPA-free

Here's the email I got from Learning Curve when I inquired about their mealmates. However, they didn't reply regarding Tumblemates. Fortunately, this company has been reviewed by Z and tumblemates is also BPA-free :)

------ Forwarded Message
From: CustomerService
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:01:59 -0500
To:
Subject: Re: Care and Safety Question or Feedback for LearningCurve.com Customer Care

Thank you for your inquiry,

Our Meal Mates are polypropylene which is number 5 on the recycling plastics list and does not contain bpa.

Thank you
Consumer Services


----- Original Message -----
From: xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.edu
To: Learning Curve ; Learning Curve
Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2008 3:51 AM
Subject: Care and Safety Question or Feedback for LearningCurve.com Customer Care

Hello! I'm interested in purchasing the following products for my daughter and would like to know if they are BPA-free: Meal mates 3 stage spoon set (Y1816) Meal mates suction bowl with Lid (Y1810) Tumble mates 3 bowls with snap & stay lids (Y1725) thanks!

Bisphenol-A - the threat is real!

I just received an email update from the softlanding blog. It appears that the danger in using polycarbonate products which contain Bisphenol-A (BPA) is real! Canada has identified BPA as a dangerous substance. This raises much concern especially since a lot of the products available in the Philippines are not BPA-free. The Washington Post has a recent article on how to limit BPA exposure.

But what is BPA? From Wikipedia: "Bisphenol A (abbreviated BPA) is an organic compound x x x which is a difunctional building block to several important polymers and polymer additives." Harmful effects of BPA, identified by the U.S. government's National Toxicology Program's report, is discussed in this article:

"[BPA] appears to mimic the effects of estrogen, interfering with hormone levels and cell signaling systems. Previous studies have shown that people exposed to high levels of BPA have a greater risk of developing uterine fibroids, breast cancer, decreased sperm counts, and prostrate cancer. Babies and children are thought to be at greatest risk from the exposure. In fact, the scientific evidence warrants 'a higher level of concern than those expressed by the expert [scientific] panel for possible effects of bisphenol A on prostate gland, mammary gland and early onset of puberty in exposed fetuses, infants and children.'"

What does this mean for Filipino moms? First, it may mean that you have to toss out those Avent bottles! I have tons of them - inherited from my brother and sister-in-law. Luckily, I have had the luxury of stopping work and Naima directly breastfeeds from me. I've also invested in BornFree bottles in case we would need to bottle feed her. However, I'm hoping that she'll soon learn to drink milk from a spoon so we could skip the bottles.

The Softlanding Blog and SafeMama have come up with guides which list BPA-free products:

Safer Kids Cup and Dish Guide and
Safer Pacifier Guide and Pacifiers and Teethers
Safer Sippy Cup Guide and Bottles and Sippy Cups
Safer Baby Bottle Guide
Safer Bath Toy Guide
Safer Teether Guide
BPA Free Nuby Product Guide
BPA Free Sassy Product Guide

Unfortunately, most of these products are not available locally. You can order them from multiply sellers but they take about a month to arrive. I called Rustan's to inquire about the availability of Sassy products but was informed that they have been pulled out. At my last visit to Rustan's I could only find Munchkin products. SafeMama has identified some Munchkin cups as BPA-free. But information on other Munchkin products are not available. Since we have a bathtub and Naima is almost teething, I emailed Munchkin to check which of their products are BPA-free. I've received their email about bath toys and still waiting to get feedback about the teethers. I've also emailed Zojirushi and learning curve for some products and received replies as well. One of these days, I'm going to Rustan's and list down all the products I want to get for Naima and email the manufacturers to make sure that they are BPA-free!

Working from Home

Before I got pregnant, I used to work in a firm where 10-12 hour days were normal. One of the first things I learned there was to multi-task. Working on an legal opinion, while talking to your boss on the phone who's following up another item and clearing a status report and eating lunch at the same time were normal activities in the office. However, when I got pregnant, the first month was really tough. I threw up about 5 times a day.. when I got to work, before lunch, after lunch, when I got home, after dinner. Every little movement made me dizzy! It's no surprise that I lost 7 pounds during that 1st month! Stan and I talked and decided that I needed to quit my job so I could better take care of myself and Naima (then in my tummy).
Naima is now 5 months old and I haven't gone back to work yet! Initially, I thought that I could go back to work when she was 2 months old - but then I had a lot of problems breastfeeding her (see separate post). Since I was adamant about breastfeeding, I put off going back to a full-time job even if staying at home has been making me crazy.
Through friends and connections, I got connected to an SJD-candidate at Harvard who was completing her dissertation (600++pages) and needed a research assistant! We met once and have been working by email since then. I did major internet legal research and a lot of blue-booking. We are almost done and she's due to give her defense by the end of May so we're just putting the finishing touches. She's asked me to continue working for her since she wants to turn her paper into a book. The pay is pretty good so I can continue on doing this. But I don't know -- even while I was working for her, I still missed going to the office, meeting people. I don't think I'm cut out to be a work-at-home mom.
In any case, Naima's six months is just around the corner and my promise to Stan (to be a stay at home mom) is almost ending. It's time for us to sit down, discuss my plans (and his plans) and work on our priorities. I want to stay home with Naima but I just get soooo bored here. Dilemma, dilemma.. I need enlightenment!