Malunggay Wars! TaiChi vs Natalac vs Mega Malunggay

My Beloved Wife Lei is determined to breastfeed our Little Samantha now that she's a stay-at-home mom.

She followed every advice for increasing her milk supply. She eats masabaw food like tinola and nilaga. Almost all of our ulam are filled with malunggay since it is known to boost milk supply.

Unfortunately, sabaw and fresh malunggay leaves are not enough. Lei noticed that she couldn't keep up with Little Samantha's demand. So, she decided to take malunggay capsule despite the fact that she abhors taking any kind of medicine or pill.

Lei tried three malunggay capsule brands, namely, TaiChi Moringa, Natalac, and Mega Malunggay.

TaiChi Moringa

Little Samuel's ninang introduced Moringa to us and thus this is the first brand that Lei tried.

Moringa boosted Lei's milk supply but not enough to meet Samantha's demand. I guess this is because Lei took it only once to twice a day.

I believe that TaiChi Moringa is the cheapest among three malunggay supplements. It is available from Mercury Drug and other drugstores.

Natalac

(Source: Joys of a Wife & Mom)

Natalac was recommended by Lei's Ob/Gyne. Unfortunately, Natalac is 1 peso per capsule more expensive than TaiChi Moringa. Also, Natalac’s capsule has fewer milligrams than TaiChi.

We didn't buy any Natalac capsule again.

Mega Malunggay

(Source: VPharma)

We discovered Mega Malunggay when I stumbled Joy Mastilla’s blog while searching for tips on boosting Lei's breast milk supply.

Mega Malunggay from VPharma is only available through online delivery. Good thing that VPharma has a website where we can order their malunggay capsules.

A box of Mega Malunggay, containing 100 capsules, costs 950 pesos.

Lei noticed that her milk supply increased after drinking Mega Malunggay. I am not sure though if it’s because Mega Malunggay is better or just because she takes 3 capsule a day.

Baby Samantha is two months now and she looks healthy. I believe that she’s also advanced for her age since she’s starting to do things that are normally done during 4 to 6 months of baby’s development stage.

This just proved that breast milk is indeed the best for babies.

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And We Will Call Them Sam-Sam

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Happy Easter everyone! The Lord is risen. Hallelujah!

I usually post on every Easter Sunday my thoughts on the resurrection of our Lord. But not today because today is the day when our lovely princess came out to this world.

It's a double celebration for us.  We celebrate Easter and our daughter's birthday.

Since we already have two children, it is no longer good to call my firstborn son Little Ahab. Thus, I will give you their names.

From now on, our son and daughter will be called Samuel and Samantha -  SAM-SAM.

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A Blessing is Coming

(Source: Quotesgram)

There is another blessing coming our way. This is the greatest blessing that a husband and wife can have. This blessing is another child. Our second child.

My parents and in-laws are all shocked when they heard the news. “Too soon”, they said. They are correct. Our bunso came to us when Little Ahab is around 6 to 7 months. My Beloved Wife Lei was still recovering from her Cesarean operation thus making this pregnancy a little risky both for her and the child.

Our Ob-Gyne told us that the worst thing that could happen to Lei and our unborn child is death. Lei could die or the child could die. I hope and pray that that scenario will not happen. I hope and pray too that Lei and our unborn child will not have any complication or illness.

Despite of these risks, we are still hopeful that Lei will be fine and our Bunso will be fine too, just like her Kuya. We also wish that she will be a baby girl.

I have only one request for you, Dear Reader. Please pause for a while and pray for Lei and our Bunso. Pray for a safe pregnancy and please ask our lord to deliver them from death.

Thank you very much.

Little Ahab’s Very First Stay in the Hospital

The rainy season is suddenly upon us and it brought a company: the vicious cough and cold. The three of us (me, Lei, and Mother-in-Law) home suffered from these two illnesses. Sadly, our little boy was not spared. He got the cold from My Beloved Wife Lei.

Little Ahab’s pediatrician told us to give him Salbutamol, Allerkid and anti-biotic. We did this for a week and everything is going fine until one night when our son didn’t stop crying. The culprit is the phlegm that Little Ahab has difficulty of coughing out.

We are so worried with what’s happening to our son. We managed to calm him after an hour of his crying and coughing.

The pediatrician advised us to confine our son to a hospital for observation. She also said that we had to nebulize him to remove the phlegm.

We brought Little Ahab to a hospital in Cabuyao. We chose to stay in a private room so as to keep our boy away from other patients who may have contagious illness. This is despite the fact that this is a more expensive option. We just want to give the best to our son.

Our stay in the hospital was boring and fine. Boring because there’s not much to do in the hospital. Buti na lang at may Internet or else I’ll die of utter boredom. It was also fine because Little Ahab is a quite active during his hospital stay. He kept on jumping and playing even if he’s tied to a dextrose.

Our baby is very active to the point that his blood squirted to the tube connecting his arm to the dextrose. The nurses had no other choice but to replace the dextrose and reinject the tube.

Injecting the dextrose to a baby is quite difficult. The nurses couldn’t find Little Ahab’s vein. They injected the left arm, then the right arm, and then the left foot to no avail.

Our baby cried so much that Lei almost want to berate the nurses for their failure.

We told the nurses to stop injecting the dextrose since we didn’t want our son to suffer again.

Because of the dextrose incident, Little Ahab’s pedia told us that we could go home but we had to continue the medication. So, I bought our own nebulizer machine so we can continue Little Ahab’s nebulize session.

Little Ahab is OK now. The cough and phlegm are now gone. And we hope that that dextrose episode will not happen again.

Now I know how difficult it is to have a son who is ill. Our son only have mild pneumonia but that is enough to make me ask God to transfer my son’s suffering to me.

Now I know how my Mama and Papa felt when I was ill. Now I appreciate my parents more for their love and care that they give me, especially during the times when I was ill.

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Welcome to the Christian World Little Ahab

Today is the day when our Little Ahab joins the mystical body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Halelujah to our God for he made this day truly blessed.

5 Perfect Places for Father & Son Bonding Moments

Today I celebrate Father’s Day for the first time (it’s the second time actually if we count the time when Little Ahab was in the womb). It felt so good to be greeted by friends and family and, of course, by My Beloved Wife Lei. Little Ahab can only utter “ah”, “gah”, and “waaaaah” but I took that to mean “I love you Dad. Happy Father’s Day”.

I spent this day playing Little Ahab’s favorite games like Peek-a-Boo, Pull Mommy’s Hair, and the classic Pee on Daddy. We both enjoy those games and seeing my son’s smiles and laugh makes me happy. However, I know that my son’s likes and favorites will change when he grow up so I prepared a list of 5 places where Little Ahab and I can have our bonding moments:

1. PAF Aerospace Museum

Aeroplanes! Who doesn’t like airplanes? I bet that Little Ahab will like this place. The warplanes in PAF Aerospace Museum would be the life size version of his aeroplane toys. He can ride on some of the warplanes and helicopters and then we imagine flying over the city.

2. Enchanted Kingdom or Star City or any amusement park

My parents brought me once to (now defunct) Fiesta Carnival in Cubao when I was a kid. I want Little Ahab to experience that. That's why we will try the roller coaster, the Ships Ahoy, and other scary rides that will make Mommy faint. We can go to Star City or Enchanted Kingdom or even the local perya.

3. Museo Pambata

(Source: Museo Pambata website)

Museo Pambata is truly for kids because they are allowed to play and touch the displays here. Of the 8 Theme Rooms, I will bring Little Ahab to “My Body Works” where he can see big displays of internal body organs. This is the place where by little boy can learn and play at the same time.

4. Manila Ocean Park

The colorful fishes, the amazing jellyfishes, the sea lion show, the penguins, and many more are what Little Ahab will see in Manila Ocean Park. The aquarium tunnel will be the highlight of our day here. I really want to see his reaction when he is surrounded by fishes.

5. The Beach

Beach in Bulan, Sorsogon

My Beloved Wife Lei loves the beach so this is place will be for our family bonding. I will let Little Ahab taste the salty sea, and then teach him how to swim. I will ask him to bury me under the sand. Of course, we will build a sand castle. We can visit many beaches: Boracay, Puerto Galera, Camotes Island, Davao, Palawan – any beach will do as long as we’re together.

This list is not only for me but for all of the fathers who want to spend quality time with their toddlers. So, take a day or two off for work and bring your little one to any of the places listed here. Savor the moments while they’re young because they grow very fast.
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Happy Mother’s Day Mommy Ahab

Today we celebrate the special day for a person dearest to us: our mother.

Today, we also celebrate the very first Mother’s Day for My Beloved Wife Leilani Ahab.

(Source: Search Engine Land)

Happy Mother’s Day Lei. I love you. Thank you for being a good mother to our Little Ahab. I know that you will continue to be a good “light” of our little home.

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The Beginning

The Announcement

Two red lines,

Left on the dining table.

A simple message:

“You are now a father.”

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And so that’s how My Beloved Wife directly told me of her pregnancy. My reaction was not like what was usually seen in teledramas but just a smile and a kiss. I am now a father.