……………. for couples who are trying to conceive, just for fun, read the tips below. We never know right? Hubby forwarded me this email. He knows I want a baby girl next. So at least, we have tips to follow.

Hope it is useful for some of you in planning stage. For those of you do not have any plan in the near future, you can keep it for future reference.

Background:
Man’s sperm consists of X & Y spermatozoa, X spermatozoon decides the female whereas Y is the male. Referring to these physiological properties of the spermatozoa, gynecologists set up the theory of ‘Choice of a girl or a boy’.

1st factor: Food

If you want a baby girl:
Husband must eat more alkaline food, wife eats more acidic food.
If you want a baby boy:
Husband eats more acidic food, wife eats more alkaline food.

Alkaline food: vegetables, fruits, egg white, milk, algae, etc.
Acidic food: meat, seafood, etc. Read more… »

4 months shy of his 2nd birthday my grabby little monster still nurses with much gusto. I even joke that he ‘strikes anywhere’ like for example one time when we were watching TV, the boy was beside me… suddenly he was nursing! I was wearing a v-neck knitted shirt that time and yet he easily got though that. Another incident was when we showering together.. well you get the drift.

“Delikado sa chicks toh” my mom keeps on saying. Hahaha

Seriously though, I am slowly weaning him from nursing. But sad to say I am failing miserably! I know it’s partly my fault. When he insists on nursing instead of taking his bottle I oftentimes oblige because he gets into a fit & cry. Also, it is beneficial for me when I’m nursing him for example:

• I don’t need to get up in the middle of the night to get him milk, I just roll over & nurse him.
• Nursing easily puts him to sleep, without it; It may take hours for him to fall asleep. He prefers to be sung! And I suck at that when I nurse him I can get away without singing. nyahahaha
• We save a bit on milk. He consumes 1 900g. can in 1 week and a half. If not; he’ll consume the can in less than a week.
• It’s our little bonding time (as if we don’t get enough!). I feel one with my baby when I nurse.
• It’s like exercising without really doing much (the way I like it.)
• I have an excuse to eat more….what?! I’m eating for two. ahahaha

So with all these benefits why am I in a hurry to wean the boy? That got me thinking; Society dictates that breastfeeding should only be done with babies up to 2 years. But some women breastfeed up until the age of 3 and more. This is called extended breastfeeding or “sustained breastfeeding”. It is believed that all benefits of human milk (nutritional,immunological and emotional) continue as long as the child nurses. This would also be a means for the child to bond with his mother.

So I read on negative impacts of sustained breastfeeding and found none.

I’ve actually found a very informative entry on extended breastfeeding from the site called Skinship and she quoted from Dr. Sears’s Baby Book (p.198): “Life is a series of weanings for a child: weaning from the womb, weaning from the breast, from your bed and from your home to school. The pace at which children go from oneness to separateness should be respected in all of these weaning milestones. /…/ We have studied long-term effects on thousands of children who have had timely weanings and have observed that these children are more independent, gravitate to people more than things, are easier to discipline, experience less anger and radiate trust./…/ In the normal process of oneness and separateness, it is not the mother who weans the baby, but the baby who weans from the mother.”

Having read that, I therefore conclude that it’s my baby’s right to nurse. Given that there are no major disadvantage of extended breastfeeding I will allow my son to self-wean. In his own pace. In his own time.

Have you seen this???

It’s a take-home DNA Test! Oh my what will they think of next?!

This DNA Test Kit is sold at $29.95 each. It includes swab(s), a consent form and an envelope. The swab is used to collect DNA samples from the baby, mommy and baby-daddy. After completing the procedure, you then mail the swab(s) to a lab for an additional $119. After 3-5 business days, you can get the result by mail, email or their online service.

Take-home DNA test was already a hit in California, Washington and Oregon since November 2007. And it was released throughout the US (except NY) just last Tuesday.

Thoughts???

There seem to be a substantial amount of ladies getting pregnant lately. In Hollywood, there’s Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie & 16 year old Jamie Lyn Spears. In the local scene there’s Jennilyn Mercado & Kris Aquino (?) I don’t know if that’s true. And of course, in my blogroll there’s Darlene & Peachy! Congratulations ladies!

It’s not that I want to join the bandwagon but I seem to be touching my tummy a lot these days. I’m missing those months that someone was parking there. There’s was a certain bond that existed between me & my baby. I miss my big, a bit pointy belly. Besides, nowadays I can’t use the phrase, “Can I finish your ice cream, I’m eating for 2 eh!”.

I take offense every time some of my friends discourage me to have another baby this soon. 4 years is the ideal age gap, they say. Well, it’s not as if I can exactly predict when I’m going to have a baby right? That’s up to the big boss upstairs. Even if I take extra precautions to avoid unplanned pregnancy, if I am bound to get pregnant, I will.

Ozzy was an unplanned pregnancy, but a great blessing nonetheless. A life changing blessing actually. Some young couple prolongs having a baby saying they are not ready yet. But when are we ever going to be ready, right? When I was with child, admittedly I was not ready - at all. But I took the challenges one day at a time. Slow & steady. The results? Unexplainable happiness & contentment.

I am not saying that you give birth every year! That’s plain crazy & unhealthy (for babies & moms); all I am saying is if it happens, it happens; if not, then just wait a few more months.

I’m just reminiscing here…