church and DoH

I sometimes don’t get the Catholic church.

Take this move by the Department of Health (DoH) of giving away free condoms. The DoH handed out free condoms last V-day (February 14) and continues to do so to those who need it. This is the DoH’s way of reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, which has leveled to not just a health scare but an epidemic.

The church has this claim that to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), the people should follow its teachings and respect the sanctity of our body.

But not everybody is a Catholic? And not every Catholic follows what the church says.

What I’m trying to point out is that the church has its duties of preaching how to live according to the Bible. And in the same way, the DoH has its duties, one of which is stop the spread of AIDS/HIV and STDs. I personally think that these two should work together in serving the people, with the church teaching us to respect our bodies, and the DoH reaching out and educating those who don’t. They have different ideals but have somehow the same goal: to deliver us from harm (sounds biblical eh?). It’s like having a cheap insurance. If the church doesn’t get to you, then the DoH is educating you of the consequences.

scorching hot

It’s that time of the year again, and I hate that it came very early. I personally think that summer should be spent on the beach, frolicking under the sun while sipping a cool sundae, or maybe going on Orlando vacations. If you must know, I find solace and peace when it rains. I like dark cloudy skies and hearing the soft thumper as raindrops crash against the rooftops. And on days like that, I like to enjoy a warm bowl of champorado, followed by a hearty lunch of my favorite tinolang manok.

But summer is fast approaching, and we are not yet ready. As you know, our old apartment had an AC unit built in. But our new apartment doesn’t have one. We’ve been looking at AC units for weeks now but have yet to decide which one to get. Any recommendations? I hear Panasonic and Condura are good?

high-tech crib

Well speaking of cribs, I saw this high-tech crib white googling for inspirations and sleeping pill reviews.

It doesn’t look much right? But wait till you hear more.

This is called an Intellicot, short for intelligent cot I think.

It helps babies develop a regular sleeping pattern with it’s automatic rocking feature, which simulates the “natural rocking motion in a mother’s arm.” Pretty cool!

It also helps keep the babies cool in our humid environment with its natural cooling effect.

It also reduces bending and back strain with its lifting system. Just one touch of a button and the cot raises the baby so you don’t need to bend or strain yourself.

Did I mention that it can also keep an eye on your baby with its built in video monitor.

It also features a night light to create a “soothing environment” and a safety window that has none of the prison style bars we commonly have.

Unfortunately, this unit is still in its test mode. But I’m pretty sure this will be a great help to future parents.

I want one as early as now. I hope they sell it by the time my wife gives birth, though I’m pretty sure this will come with a hefty price tag!

white walls

In addition to the paranoia over the baby’s health (Tom Cruise buying that ultrasound machine doesn’t seem so crazy to me now), we’re currently also concerned on whether we should redecorate our apartment, but nothing drastic of course. We might change our minds later on too. So to be safe and avoid all the hair pulling and hair loss treatments, We’re thinking of just painting the walls white.

You see, we’ve long had issues with the colors of our apartment. The first apartment we had had pink, I repeat PINK, shades. Looking back, I don’t know how we ever put up with it really. Imagine waking up to pink walls? Yikes!

And then this new apartment that we’re renting, though not as nice but definitely much cheaper, has blue and brown going on. And the kitchen cabinets below sport this bloody red shade. Quite colorful.

But lately, we’ve been thinking of something a little bit more toned, maybe more relaxing, like this.

What do you think?

frosted cinnamon rolls

I received an email from Delifrance a few days ago promoting their frosted cinnamon rolls. The email says:

Indulge your loved one with Frosted Cinnamon Rolls that are so temptingly good, beautifully topped with vanilla custard swirl.

But since we rarely go to malls nowadays, it took a while before we were able to taste it. Last night, we happen to pass by a Delifrance branch. And so I didn’t waste time and asked if the frosted cinnamon rolls are still available.

Because it was just me and my wife, we decided to get just four rolls. The bill came to just under Php200 at Php49 a piece (much cheaper that buying an acne pill I’m sure). I was tempted to buy their frosted strawberry muffins too but thought it was way too small (think bite sized). Their chocolate walnut croissant looks temptingly good too. But at Php89, I think I’ll settle for the cinnamon rolls for now.

While waiting, I saw this flyer they have, and it says that a box of six rolls is just Php245, so I changed my order from four to six pieces. And good thing I did because these are delicious! I’m currently munching on one as I write this. Go get one (or six) for yourself too!

paranoia

I think every newbie parent experiences some sort of paranoia when it comes to the baby’s health. The other day, my wife forgot to take her prenatal vitamins, and we felt so guilty and worried. We wouldn’t want Him to think that we’re not taking extra care of the privilege and blessing that He has given us.

Lately, we’ve been seriously thinking of buying a fetal Doppler stethoscope just so we could listen to our baby’s heartbeat and somehow pacify our worries if he/she is doing ok. On other days, our paranoia would hit so bad that we’re wanting an ultrasound device of our own.

Of course our friends here at the office who have kids of their own would laugh at our silliness. I don’t think you can blame us. We’ve waited so long for this moment and we’re preparing to be the best that we can be.

at eleven weeks

I think we’re very lucky. And my wife is doing a great job on her pregnancy. She does not really feel any of the inconveniences that usually accompany most pregnancies.

Just a bit of trivia I learned.

Morning sickness is that queasy feeling in the stomach that usually leads to vomiting. It can last for weeks or months. Did you know that it doesn’t only happen during mornings? I didn’t. Apparently, it can strike at any time of the day.

Ok, back to morning sickness. As I was saying, my wife experiences very little morning sickness. In fact, she has so far only vomited once. In addition, there are no real cravings for food. Her OB said that cravings usually hit their peak at around this time. And though she has taken to liking grilled bangus stuffed with tomatoes, onions, and a bit ginger for two nights now, which was very delicious by the way, I don’t think that really counts.

According to whattoexpect.com,  right about now

Our baby (now about two inches long) has been pretty busy this week, growing hair follicles, fingernails, and ovaries (if she’s a girl). She has distinct human characteristics by now, with hands and feet in front of the body, ears nearly in their final shape, open nasal passages on the tip of her tiny nose, a tongue and palate in the mouth, and visible nipples.

ostracizing readers

I kinda realized that I might ostracize a few more readers, assuming of course that I have a few, writing about our adventures as a married couple with a baby on the way. But that’s exactly why I started writing: to somehow document what happened and what we went through getting to where we are.

And this pretty much serves as a warning that most posts will very much feature our baby, with a few posts about money, glucomanan, technology, etc., thrown in.

So here we go! Cheers!