Activities for August Breastfeeding Month

Breastfeeding Awareness Month is happening next week!  As always, it is packed with activities to promote, support and protect breastfeeding and further the breastfeeding advocacy.  Let me start with L.A.T.C.H.'s big event this August -- Breastfeeding Uncovered 2014: Mission Possible.  LATCH has expanded to Cebu and Davao cities and we decided to bring back Dr. Jack Newman to visit 3 major cities in the Philippines.

His first visit last year was well-attended and with the release of his new book, we hope that more healthcare workers, breastfeeding supporters and breastfeeding mothers can hear him speak.   

Do you use #softhands? Consider Positive Discipline

When we became parents, Stan and I naturally gravitated towards the attachment parenting model.  I realize now that it was also because of how I was parented as a child.  During our recent family trip to Tokyo, my dad shared about how an uncle told him how to parent his family - that he as a parent must be feared by his children - rule by the rod, not by hugs and kisses.  But my dad disagreed.  He believed that we should learn to obey him because we love and respect him and not because we feared him.  So my siblings and I were never lacking for warmth and affection from our parents and for this I am truly grateful.

Owl Coffee Now Available in the Philippines

I first encountered Owl Coffee at one of my regular visits to Little Store in Gilmore more than 1 year ago.  I was curious about instant Singaporean coffee.  I've tried the Singaporean style coffee in Ya Kun Kaya and Toast Box but haven't had instant coffee, Singapore style.

I immediately purchased several packs in different varieties - Teh Tarik, Nanyang White Coffee and the Kopi Tiam Roast.  Not bad, not bad at all for instant coffee! I need to have my daily coffee at the office and I was very happy with the wide variety offered by Owl.

so many choices!

Fun and Learning For the Expectant Mom

Ortigas is the happening place for pregnant moms this weekend!  First up is the Belly Blessed Festival which starts today, 12 July 2013 and runs until 8pm on Sunday 14, 2013 at the 2nd and 3rd Level Atrium of The Podium Mall in Pasig City.

Mom's Perfect Day at Ayala Malls

To celebrate Mother's day, the SoMoms were invited to spend the day at Ayala Malls.  We were also treated to a pre-Mother's day shopping at Gingersnaps.  Gingersnaps is one of my favorite brands for kids and I usually end up buying N or E an item from each of their collections.  The task was to buy a Mom and Me outfit for the high tea party on Mother's Day.  

A Mother's Day Raffle from Mothering Earthlings

If you've been wondering about where I get the funky shirts and tops for my kids, I get them from Mothering Earthlings.  Rone has gathered the funkiest and coolest items from Philippine brands and made online shopping fun and easy for busy moms like me.

Check out our fun stuff from Rone's shop!

waiting at the doctor's office in an agoo tee

One Sweet Afternoon

Unlike me, N loves to tinker in the kitchen.  When we received the invitation for a Mom and me cupcake decorating activity by Cupcakes by Sonja, I immediately said yes - knowing how N will definitely enjoy this activity.

We all know how Sonja started the cupcakes craze in 2006 by introducing the gourmet cupcake concept in the Philippines.  I remember visiting the Serendra store and gazing at a variety of cupcake creations.  My favorite back then was the lemon drop cupcake. After more than 5 years, Cupcakes by Sonja has expanded to open more stores - with the first in the new Glorietta 2!  They have also included new flavors in their line-up with my favorites being the choco cream cheese swirl and the banana monkey cream pie!

so many choices!

the cupcake spread

For the afternoon, N and I worked on 4 cupcakes and 2 cookies.  Happily, the Cupcakes by Sonja team helped us [me actually] by preparing kits which made the assembly and decorating fun and easy.

my little lady ready for the afternoon's activity

posing with Mommy Mundo's R and
ManilaMommy's D

I am all thumbs in the kitchen.  Happily, being a good cook was not one of S' requirements when he married me.  When we went on our honeymoon and stayed in timeshare resorts in Bundaberg and Paihia, S cooked our meals during the times when we chose to dine in! Lucky me! Happily, N is quite the opposite and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon's activity.

Aside from matching mom and me hats and aprons, the organizers thoughtfully prepared color guide cheat sheets - perfect for moms like me!

make your desired color of frosting

N was quite the pro - mixing the frosting by herself and spreading them on the cupcakes.  She had already taken baking/cooking classes previously so she knew what to do.  My task was to decorate the cupcakes by sticking the pre-made shaped candies on top.  

our finished cupcakes

I asked and was informed that you can hold small cupcake decorating parties at the Glorietta 2 store.  Cupcakes by Sonja can also bring cupcake decorating kits to your kiddie parties.  N is actually not much of a sweet tooth (yay!) so the cupcakes we made and took home were enjoyed by the adults in the house.

choco cream cheese swirl, decadent choco cupcake
red velvet (N's choice) and banana monkey cream pie

The cupcakes had to be refrigerated but I let them soften in room temperature when I was ready to eat them (I finished all 3 and a half cupcakes!) and they were as good as fresh!  Breastfeeding allows me to indulge my sweet tooth! ;)

SoKids having fun

Despite the heavy workload (decorating 4 cupcakes and 2 cookies is not easy for an amateur like me!), it was a fun bonding afternoon for N and myself.  I'm happy I took time to attend this cupcake decorating activity with her.  As a working mom, I really appreciate activities like these when I'm able to focus on the "fun" side of parenting - without thinking about the need to clean up afterwards :D

the gang!

with Sonja who brought the cupcake craze to Manila

More Cupcakes by Sonja stores are set to open within the year at Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Eastwood City, Greenhills, and TriNoma.  Meanwhile, there is an ongoing Shoot & Share promo which will end on 1 May 2013.  Cupcakes by Sonja will be giving away cupcakes to 5 winners!

You can join by taking photos of your favorite parts of the new Glorietta store and post it on Cupcakes by Sonja’s Facebook page. The top five photos will win a special gift from Cupcakes by Sonja.

 For more information, visit Cupcakes by Sonja online!
FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/CupcakesBySonjaOfficial
TWITTER http://twitter.com/CUPCAKESBYSONJA
INSTAGRAM http://instagram.com/CUPCAKESBYSONJA
PINTEREST http://pinterest.com/cupcakesbysonja
BLOG http://blog.cupcakesbysonja.com/
TUMBLR http://cupcakesbysonja.tumblr.com/

The Modern Cloth Nappy: The Practical Choice for Moms Today

I'm happy to be part of this wonderful community of mothers who are addicted to cloth diapers - Modern Cloth Nappying Pinays.  This group is a local online community aimed to promote the use of reusable cloth diapers in the Philippines.  A little over 1 year old, the group now has more than 2,500 members.  Unlike the cloth diapers used by our parents, the modern cloth nappies are anything but primitive or plain.  There are now a lot of choices and for some moms, this can be overwhelming!

The community aims to share the knowledge culled by the members from use, application, trial and error.  The community has grown and now has a spin-off group called MCNP GB (Group Buys) composed of more than one thousand members which exists solely to organize coop / group buys of various mommy and baby products.

Happy New Year

2012 was a great year and I believe 2013 will be equally great or even better!  Both my family and blog has grown.  I'm excited for the opportunities coming in 2013.  I have enjoyed sharing thoughts,  engaging and learning from my readers.  I hope that we will continue to have fruitful discussions, learn from each others' experiences while promoting the natural parenting lifestyle!

Happy New Year everyone! From the COANM family

Start your own support group: Mommy Meet-up in Cebu

Among my advocacies is to encourage moms to empower themselves and act on their ideas, plans and goals instead of waiting for others to do things for them.  Thus, whenever I do talks about breastfeeding and working, I always tell moms to take the first step, talk to their HR department and ask about lactation rooms or policies.

In the same vein, I am happy to hear about moms starting their own support groups, like Mommy Bright Side in Cagayan de Oro City.  The group was recently formed and already organized a breastmilk drive to support calls for breastmilk donations for the Pablo victims.

Visting Fabella Hospital and KMC

Last month, I was privileged to visit to Fabella Maternity Hospital and to the very popular human milk bank.   OCMominManila Kris invited me together with some of the SoMoms to experience the Touch Therapy advocacy of Johnson's Baby at Fabella Hospital.

Johnsons' Baby sponsored the construction of two Touch Therapy centers where moms and their babies can stay for infant massage.  While the hospital is not airconditioned, the 2 centers are, allowing moms some relief from the heat while they are massaging their babies.

The touch therapy center, Dr. Santiago talks about the touch therapy center,
Dr. Pinky Imperial talking about KMC, the daily birth census at the hospital,
breastmilk collected from new moms and the facade of the human milk bank

Join us for a Mommy Meet-Up in Cebu!

For the holidays, I will be spending it out of Metro Manila and going to Cebu (Stan's hometown) and Davao (my hometown).  We had a successful meet-up in Davao City during the summer with Next9 and Mamaway.  Because there had been some moms who were asking to meet-up in Cebu, I contacted Shirly of Baobao Babies when I finalized my plans for the holidays.  Since I won't be having a yaya during this trip, I asked Shirly to limit the participants to a manageable number.  

The Davao event was focused on babywearing.  This Cebu mommy meet-up will be informal.  It won't be a talk, but more of a discussion, particularly on the topics I discuss or write about in this blog like breastfeeding, babywearing, baby led feeding, natural birthing, etc. etc.  I will also be bringing several of my carriers for moms to try out.  

Interested? See the details in the poster below and contact Shirly for details.  

Meanwhile, stay tuned for another meet-up in Davao!