Young Love

My 4-year old just confessed she admitted to a boy (from her shuttle service) that she's crushing on him. (insert violent bubble thought) HUWAAAAAAAAAAAAT??!>?!$#!@$!@#

"Mommy, sabi ni Ian Karl crush nya ako (insert giggle) tapos sabi ko na din crush ko din sya!"

Altogether now: ANO?@!$#!

For about 10 seconds, she left me dumbfounded. (excuse me, where the hell did you learn about infatuation little girl?) But then Ate Inday and I recovered from our daze and I was able to gather the courage to ask her if she knows what exactly that word crush means. She nodded and went to put her palms together in crushing motion. Crush = Durog. Pambihira. (you almost gave me a heart attack. little miss!)

On my way to work, I reflected on the changes that have been happening to my baby girl lately. She really has grown A LOT since she started big school. And she undeniably is picking up a lot from her new environment these days. A year ago, I would've been exaggeratedly freaked by her confession but I'm a little tempered now. And I have somehow resigned to the fact that I can't preserve her innocence forever. Of course that doesn't mean I'm cool with her dating early (really premature for me to even start thinking about it anyway, don't you think). But I would like to believe that this is just a stage in their preschool years that comes with learning/discovering the differences between the opposite sex. 

It also calms me knowing that if I ask her who that boy is, she'd announce in a heartbeat that -- "he's my best friend in school, Mommy." And he's most probably going to stay that way for a long, long time. I WILL MAKE SURE OF THAT. 

Breastfeeding is best for babies :)

 

Even before we got pregnant, I already am bent on breastfeeding our baby if ever we are gifted of one.

 

My sister has been doing it for my nephew till now at 21 months. I had a friend who did it for more than 3 years. Their babies babies rarely got sick...if not never. The stories they shared to me were very inspiring.

 

I was a breastfed baby myself. All 5 of us are. Had my Mom not done it, asthma would have consumed me by now.

 

As one of the ad campaigns in a local tv station would go, every mother wants the best for her baby...the best diaper, the best toiletries, the best milk...what else, but one that is tailor-made for her baby - her own breastmilk.

 

I was going through the last pages of one my favorite pregnancy reference books (Baby love by Marivi Blanco and Ipat Luna) this weekend and I thought of sharing the reasons why a Mom to be should chooose to breasfeed (p.s. these are mostly direct quotes from the book):

 

• Breastmilk is Designer milk. Imagine a personal/chef who determines from day to day what you need to eat to stay healthy and then cooks it up fresh at each meal. As oppose to formulas based on cow’s milk which are based on one unchanging recipe. Eventually, they could lead to nutritional deficiencies in your infant. Just like any food, fresh is always the best.
• Breastmilk is alive. Every third of a teaspoon of human breastmilk contains one million living cells. They function like a microscopic SWAT team sent by Mama to protect and defend her infant.
• Breastmilk is more stable than cow’s milk or formula.
• It is more digestible than cow’s milk. This is because lactalbumin, the type of protein easier for babies to absorb than caseinogen, the protein component in cow’s milk.
• Breastmilk prevents constipation and diarrhea. Additional perk: because of human milk’s easy digestibility, the poop of babies who are exclusively breastfed smells sweeter and is less likely to cause diaper rash.
• It has low sodium consisting of only 30% as much mineral salts compared to cow’s milk.
• It supports a higher calcium level in your baby’s blood.
• It keeps your baby fit, not fat.
• It lowers the incidence of middle ear infections, gastroenteritis, pneumonia, and cancers of the immune system. It also protects your baby from developing asthma, allergies or eczema. It is also found to lower incidence of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
• Breastfeeding encourages mother-baby bonding.
• Breastfeeding may save you future orthodontist bills.
• It discourages babies from being picky eaters.
• Breastfed babies are smarter than formula-fed babies. Numerous studies have found that children who were breastfed as babies are up to 8 IQ points smarter than their formula-fed peers.
• Lastly, it is totally natural and ecologically friendly.

---------------------------------------

 

With that, I just hope I do get to breastfeed Maia. I've heard just as much discouraging stories about how some mothers have exhausted all possible efforts to do it only to have their babies refuse their milk.

 

But with the proper support, I think I can do it. Hehe.