Sometimes, my husband can be quite...blunt.
For example, one of the nasty side effects of my pregnancy is that I have a terrible case of "backne*". I have never had any backne pre-pregnancy, but now they have happily formed little communities and constellations spanning my entire upper back (you'd think that they would at least be considerate enough to grow around my lower back area so as to be more discreet on the occasion that I wear low -back outfits, right???)
I suppose I have to be thankful overall, though, as I never experienced the even nastier side effect of vomiting, nausea or other similar symptoms of pregnancy.
*Backne- My coined word, short for "back acne"
I expressed my gratitude over the fact that my backne was not growing on my face. I then asked,
I: "Hun, if my backne were growing on my face, would you still love me?"
He: "Well, I would perhaps take more time getting to know you better..."
I: "...And if this occurred before we got married, would you still marry me?"
He: "I would find it more difficult to look at your face, and instead focus on your other body parts (looks at my chest)"
He then helpfully added, " if your backne would converge in a much smaller area such as your face, your face would then be a big boil..." (winces)
In times like these, I really feel 100% sure that I married the right man...
Showing posts with label One-liners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label One-liners. Show all posts
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Skin darkening, word taboos, and folic acid
In my previous post entitled A Woman's Body, I mentioned how a woman's body was practically biologically predispositioned for pregnancy, no surprise there. What I forgot to mention, was why.
Apparently, this thin brown line going down right smack in the middle of my tummy, also called linea nigra, serves a purpose...to guide the baby to my breasts so that he can breastfeed. The same goes for the darkening of the areolas... it is said that babies' eyesight is between 20/200- 20/400 at birth, so this serves as a natural way to guide them to where they should feed.
What I don't completely understand, however, is how the darkening of the armpits (our nickname for them is the "brad pit" so as not to sound so gross...well, you know how it is...armpits go right there in the bucket of words you giggle at together with words such as fart, poo, and all the other by-products that come out of the pits both under the arms and down there)
So, what exactly is the purpose for the darkening of the armpits? Is the baby supposed to be led toward them as well (as they are led to the areolas for breastfeeding), but this time, perhaps so that they can get accustomed and therefore, immune to their possibly sweaty mom's pheromones (assuming that the strongest source of this comes from the brad pits)? Such that, should they get lost in the crowd, they need only use their sense of smell to track their mom's scent down?
My husband offers one clear possible explanation (again, in a one-liner answer) for the darkening of the brad pits: " Perhaps you just didn't clean them properly enough".
Thankfully, I can save my reputation by a simple Google search (he didn't think this was necessary as in his mind there was no other plausible explanation for the darkening other than lack of scrubbing, though he did accept the explanations for the darkening of the other parts readily and without question...)
A quick online search has pinpointed the cause to be the all encompassing "hormonal changes" answer to what seemingly is the cause for almost everything pregnancy-related. Some experts (we don't have any idea who these are it wasn't mentioned) believe that discolorations are linked to folic acid deficiency, so make sure you're getting enough through your diet and/or through your prenatal supplements. I am currently taking Elevit, which provides 800 mcg of folic acid:
According to an article online at babycenter.com, "Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects (NTDs)—serious birth defects of the spinal cord (such as spina bifida) and the brain (such as anencephaly). . Taking folic acid reduces this risk by 70-90%. Some research suggests that folic acid may help lower your baby's risk of other defects as well, such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and certain types of heart defects.
Apparently, this thin brown line going down right smack in the middle of my tummy, also called linea nigra, serves a purpose...to guide the baby to my breasts so that he can breastfeed. The same goes for the darkening of the areolas... it is said that babies' eyesight is between 20/200- 20/400 at birth, so this serves as a natural way to guide them to where they should feed.
What I don't completely understand, however, is how the darkening of the armpits (our nickname for them is the "brad pit" so as not to sound so gross...well, you know how it is...armpits go right there in the bucket of words you giggle at together with words such as fart, poo, and all the other by-products that come out of the pits both under the arms and down there)
So, what exactly is the purpose for the darkening of the armpits? Is the baby supposed to be led toward them as well (as they are led to the areolas for breastfeeding), but this time, perhaps so that they can get accustomed and therefore, immune to their possibly sweaty mom's pheromones (assuming that the strongest source of this comes from the brad pits)? Such that, should they get lost in the crowd, they need only use their sense of smell to track their mom's scent down?
My husband offers one clear possible explanation (again, in a one-liner answer) for the darkening of the brad pits: " Perhaps you just didn't clean them properly enough".
Thankfully, I can save my reputation by a simple Google search (he didn't think this was necessary as in his mind there was no other plausible explanation for the darkening other than lack of scrubbing, though he did accept the explanations for the darkening of the other parts readily and without question...)
A quick online search has pinpointed the cause to be the all encompassing "hormonal changes" answer to what seemingly is the cause for almost everything pregnancy-related. Some experts (we don't have any idea who these are it wasn't mentioned) believe that discolorations are linked to folic acid deficiency, so make sure you're getting enough through your diet and/or through your prenatal supplements. I am currently taking Elevit, which provides 800 mcg of folic acid:
According to an article online at babycenter.com, "Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects (NTDs)—serious birth defects of the spinal cord (such as spina bifida) and the brain (such as anencephaly). . Taking folic acid reduces this risk by 70-90%. Some research suggests that folic acid may help lower your baby's risk of other defects as well, such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and certain types of heart defects.
Your body needs folic acid to make normal red blood cells and prevent a type of anemia. Folic acid is also essential for the production, repair, and functioning of DNA, our genetic map and a basic building block of cells. So getting enough folic acid is particularly important for the rapid cell growth of the placenta and your developing baby. "
The recommended dose of folic acid is 600 mcg daily once pregnant. Other natural occurring sources of folic acid is illustrated below:
Just thinking about how the initial discussion of skin darkening has led me to shed some light on folic acid's importance... I suppose when "dark turns to light", it is always a good thing. Have an enlightened week, everyone! :)
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Shopping for this and that, and one-liners
My husband has always been supportive of me... my hobbies, interests, crazy impulses, even, and appreciative of my being a woman. But lately, I'm starting to get the feeling that my husband is not a fan of one of my major womanly skills... shopping.
Recently my mom and I went on a shopping spree (and I mean careless, free-wheeling, driven by cuteness spree) with my cousin and aunt at a nearby shopping mall. Here are but a quarter of our total loot that day:
3 packs of 5 onesies, 5 more jumpsuits, 3 sets of onesies matched with booties and beanie hats, and so on all the way until 8 months old, and a few more baby stuff here and there later, my luggage is bursting out of its seams with more than 20 kilos. I don't doubt for a moment that the frozen fish and meat longganisa contributed to the weight, but we have to know and hold on to the non-negotiable essentials.
In fact, I felt like the whole universe is conspiring to give me what I want (something I learned from reading The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo). My friends, cousins, and relatives were all in the same conspiracy, giving me endless gifts and support of all kinds.
Having shopped for all these cute stuff made me really excited and as bad as this may sound, gave me some solid validation that we are indeed having a baby! (I know, kind of delayed reaction since I am on my 3rd trimester already) It feels SO REAL now! In fact, the more I bought, the more I got excited. And I could tell my mom was feeling the same way, too. So I told my husband, how shopping for baby O's clothes make me feel, and that logically, the more I shopped, the more real he would be to me. After a lengthy explanation of my thoughts , and emotions focusing on the sheer excitement of it all that lasted about 5 minutes over Skype, his reply was short, simple, and to the point, "That's good, hun, but let's not get carried away." And that was that.
My husband is a champion with one-liners. Here's another one: when I mentioned to him that my feet were really swollen, and reminded me of Big Foot, he replied, "I hope it's not hairy". And, again, that was that.
Recently my mom and I went on a shopping spree (and I mean careless, free-wheeling, driven by cuteness spree) with my cousin and aunt at a nearby shopping mall. Here are but a quarter of our total loot that day:
3 packs of 5 onesies, 5 more jumpsuits, 3 sets of onesies matched with booties and beanie hats, and so on all the way until 8 months old, and a few more baby stuff here and there later, my luggage is bursting out of its seams with more than 20 kilos. I don't doubt for a moment that the frozen fish and meat longganisa contributed to the weight, but we have to know and hold on to the non-negotiable essentials.
In fact, I felt like the whole universe is conspiring to give me what I want (something I learned from reading The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo). My friends, cousins, and relatives were all in the same conspiracy, giving me endless gifts and support of all kinds.
Having shopped for all these cute stuff made me really excited and as bad as this may sound, gave me some solid validation that we are indeed having a baby! (I know, kind of delayed reaction since I am on my 3rd trimester already) It feels SO REAL now! In fact, the more I bought, the more I got excited. And I could tell my mom was feeling the same way, too. So I told my husband, how shopping for baby O's clothes make me feel, and that logically, the more I shopped, the more real he would be to me. After a lengthy explanation of my thoughts , and emotions focusing on the sheer excitement of it all that lasted about 5 minutes over Skype, his reply was short, simple, and to the point, "That's good, hun, but let's not get carried away." And that was that.
My husband is a champion with one-liners. Here's another one: when I mentioned to him that my feet were really swollen, and reminded me of Big Foot, he replied, "I hope it's not hairy". And, again, that was that.
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