Look what I got from her ear!

Sophia had cough and colds since last week. I've been giving her the appropriate medications; making sure she's well-rested and all. She's still in her usual chatty self even as of this writing so what could possibly go wrong? Why did we have to go to the hospital yesterday?

It was Tuesday evening, right after we prayed, Sophia suddenly kicked and screamed and cried. Her right ear was hurting, she said. I used my flashlight and checked. When I saw a red dot somewhere down the canal of her ear, I heard my own heart pounding. Nakaka-panic! Thank God He gave me wisdom that night to put some oil to soak whatever was there for a few minutes. Then when the pain subsided after she took a teaspoon of paracetamol, there's this gross goo that peered from her ear. I pulled it out with tweezers.

Motherhood in the Time of Amoebiasis

It was in January, a day before my daughter's school's annual field trip, when I rushed her to the hospital. Her tummy ached so crazy, she said that it was as if there were little people sliding through her insides. The toilet were her saving grace and her face looked pallid after 7 sessions at the throne. It alarmed me and I knew it wasn't a simple diarrhea that porridge and banana can cure. After half a day of waiting for fecal and urine samples and a dramatic bloody scene for more laboratory tests, the doctor proclaimed she had Amoebiasis.

I'm sure you have already heard of it but allow me to Google it for you. According to KidsHealth.org, "Amoebiasis is an intestinal illness that's typically transmitted when someone eats or drinks something that's contaminated with a microscopic parasite, which is an amoeba, a single-celled organism. That's how the illness got its name — amoebiasis."

Why the hell would she have that and I didn't? We ate the same food, drank the same water! What went wrong that I did not notice?

Why I Think It's OK Not to be Skinny

I used to weigh 110 pounds 8 years ago; for my height, 5 feet 4 inches, it's normal. When I got pregnant, on my 3rd trimester, during my last weigh in, I saw a whopping 175 pounds in the weighing scale. I was not even the slightest disappointed 'cause I thought it was due to my pregnancy. I sure did feel disappointed when I knew that my baby only weighed 5.94 pounds when I gave birth to her. Tsk, tsk. The rest of the 175 was all me. Whew, numbers and Math, it make me sweat. Haha! If only losing weight is as easy as calculating basic Math problems, I could have gone back to my pre-pregnancy body in a jiffy. It's just that I feel like I just can't do it yet; especially now that I'm passionately cooking for my husband, kid and blog. Ugh, excuses. I have to have plans for my body. La-dee-da.

Oh, I actually have!

Really, I have plans for my body. I have practical and realistic plans for it. I'm not going to lie, I'm still not sure if I can do it but I think, the moment I believe I can't is the moment I quit. So I'd like to believe that I can, even if I know that it's gonna be a tough journey.

My Chic Chick Got Chicken Pox

Yup, you read that right. LB got it at this early. My siblings had it during their gradeschool years. As for me, well, I'm one of those very unfortunate adults who never had. La-dee-dah. So... I'm waiting to have it anytime... or not! Waaaaaah. I'm still hoping I won't have it anymore. Say, like a mutant who could never get sick. What a horror to see fine lines around my late 20s eyes and a scar brought by the pox. What the pox. Anywaaaaay, curious as where she got it? I was dumbfounded at first. I even blamed her pop for bringing some bad virus at home. Felt better (not really, actually) when her teacher, TS, told me that one of her classmates recently had. The boy went to school last Monday, no traces of pox blisters. But according to the the pediatrician we consulted earlier, it's more contagious when the blisters had dried up. Sigh. I wish the parents of the boy knew about that and had not allowed their son to go to school yet. 'Cause you know what? All his 7 classmates got it, as of today! Including my one and only. Oh, poor momma's heart. *cry with me now* 

So this is how she looked like last Tuesday, on the way home. She was slightly feverish with colds; hence, the beanie. It's a Dora kind of day. Yuhh, we're Ghetto like that.

Review: Zest-O Slice

As much as I want to shield my daughter from carbonated drinks that do no good to her health, the inevitable always happens. Of course, when she sees us sips from a glass full of ice and Coke, she'd think she can, too. So yeah, I usually let her. My mothering style is basically democratic. But please don't think I'm raising a brat here, I minimize my softdrinks intake so she won't take at all. 

We love water. Water is THE only thing that really quenches my thirst. But there are times I look for variety --- iced tea, flavored drink, fruit shakes and juices. I have tried a lot already, especially when I see something new in a convenience store near us. My latest discovery, which I am very grateful to have received samples of, was Zest-O Slice. 

It was delivered to our house one humid day. My thrilled girl instantly grabbed one and she chose the pink bottle --- the Grapple. After a long gulp straight from the bottle, I heard a "mmmm, it's deleeeshaus, Nanay!"

Her Lesions and Hospital-Hopping

The day after we moved in to our new house, we went out with R for some huge errand. We bought our first car, a pre-loved gray Vios. Sophia already had mean red rashes all over her face that resulted to absences from school since it obviously showed.

Still smiling, despite of.

I didn't know what it was then, so my only reasons why I didn't want her to go to school was for her not to catch more germs. She was actually makulit, malikot and ever a ball of energy but her face said a different story. Nakakaawa talaga. Everything was normal, she even had a cup of strawberry ice cream before going to the hospital. But her nose was somehow rotten na. :(

Review: Jeunesse Anion Sanitary Pads

Have you remembered my post about having that monthly visitor? Well, as always, I have endured it with a few minor grunts here & there. I just made sure that I drank a lot of water as to make me pee at least every hour, which really helped ease out the bad cramps. Aside from having that mean fiend C during your period, you always have to deal with a bulgy pad and the worst, blood stains. Who didn't get to experience that, especially as a teenager? Oh sister, you're missing out so much about life! Haha! During those heavy days then at night, I tried to wear the smallest size of a diaper to ensure that I won’t have that icky bloody spot at the back of my pajamas. I kind of looked like I was Barney with a protruded behind (because I have enough of it plus the diaper --- awful, awful). Over the years of experience plus some money to buy, I have tried the night pads. Some helped, some didn't.

Thank you, Jeunesse Anion! :)

It's THAT Time of the Month Again!

If you're a male homo sapien reading this and happens to be a bit chauvinist, please do not read after the dotted line. 

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Pretty ladies in dresses, power outfit, heels; sipping wine (or Martini or a Long Island Iced Tea or Tanduay), laughing and chatting. After a loud, somewhat boisterous laughter over a topic only species with estrogen could understand, there was the evil drop of something unfriendly. And the whole chika-thon was ruined. Sounds familiar? Oh yeah, I know this space is too big for me to discuss about my monthly period but hey! This is something that sets us apart from the creatures who claim to be the stronger sex. Ahem, getting pregnant and giving birth is so overrated. 

Self-Theories on Why Ectopic Pregnancy Happened to Me

When something good happens to you, you rejoice and happiness is just everywhere! Have you noticed that? But when it's something bad, you question. You sulk in and wonder why of all people, that one bad thing happened to you. It is so human, isn't it? When I knew I had a miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, I asked why. I contemplated on why it happened to me. I thought I was at my healthiest. I thought nothing could go wrong. Most of the good people around me said God has a purpose on why He let me experience this phase. These good people also told me that He let me had the pain because He knows I can endure it, because He knows I'm strong. And well, some people even said (I don't know if it's with empathy) that the operation was like giving birth through ceasarian section. Yes, it was actually almost the same, except that a Fallopian tube and an appendix were taken out from me and not a baby I could cuddle with after. I agree that there must be something reasonable about all of these. I am a logical person. I don't just sit in with the idea that something occurs out of nothing. So I asked my OB what caused the ectopic pregnancy. She said, in a matter-of-factly statement: "it just happens, Denise". My battle mode self was not on at that moment that I didn't inquire for a more detailed information. 

Photo courtesy of University of Maryland Medical Center

A week after the very cinematic operation I had, I still wonder what caused those lazy egg and sperm cells to form outside my uterus. My mom, a no-nonsense woman, told me that R's sperm cell and my egg cell were too lazy to go inside the uterus and initially decided to relax themselves in the Fallopian tube, thus having what they called a tubal pregnancy. She actually has a point. Being the ever curious cat that I am, I went to my cyber bestfriend, Google. I stumbled upon a million links to my question "what causes ectopic pregnancy?" I scanned all the possible answers and eventually led me to some fruitful but practical explanations. I gathered the causes from different websites, which I deem related to me. First thing that shocked me was from ehealthMD, it says there that "it's important to remember that in most cases of ectopic pregnancy, the cause is unknown. However, several factors can raise your risk for an ectopic pregnancy"; one of the four factors the website mentioned is SMOKING.