Down the Rabbit Hole

Because I don't get to go out so much, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have more time to read books. Yes, the baby's arrival has not stopped me from being a (digital) bookworm; most of my recently purchased books are in Kindle format. I've turned into a couch potato as well, but that's a different story altogether. Last year was all about conducting literature reviews;  web scraping  through thousands of abstracts to reading scientific publications about Indian cuisine. In contrast, the better part of 2020 has officially become the year of parenting books.  Bringing Up Bébé The Danish Way of Parenting Elevating Child Care: A Guide to Respectful Parenting Your Self-Confident Baby: How to Encourage Your Child's Natural Abilities from the Very Start The Discontented Little Baby Book The Wonder Weeks: A Stress-Free Guide to Your Baby's Behaviour Raising Your Child: The Complete Illustrated Guide Baby Sign Language Made Easy The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary...

My son celebrated his birthday a few weeks ago. He has outgrown so many things that I was shocked to see just how much stuff we have accumulated (and now packing up to be passed on to Biboy and Barbara). Unlike during my previous clearing sessions, this latest one was the least emotional. Did I finally accept that my baby has grown into a toddler? Perhaps. But it is more likely that I just need to find more space for the things he is currently using. Anyway, while packing the things that he doesn't use anymore, I realised that many of the things I had bought were super useful. We only stopped using these things because they're no longer needed, but they certainly have been very reliable... and some items are still in regular rotation so I kept them in the kitchen but stored in those plastic cubes. These are the must-buys, based on my experience. Note that each mother-child dyad has its own unique journey. This one's ours so the things I found necessary may be regarded as no...

Before my son was born, I dreamt that he and his cousin, Gabriel, were looking at a book of artwork and discussing the Mona Lisa. The line of discussion was what I have learned in Humanities 2, a course on art appreciation taught by Prof. Paul Zafaralla during my time. One of the two babies talked about the contrasts in colours all over the painting, Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile, and Mona Lisa's angle from the painter. The other baby talked about interpretations of these elements, the symbolism of the hand position, and an overall evaluation of the painting. I was amazed at how knowledgeable the two babies were in my dream. Then I woke up.  Months after my son was born, I was looking at Crate&Kids and found a book by Sabrina Hahn entitled "ABCs of Art". I eventually bought it and found out, while leafing through the book, that the Mona Lisa is featured in it. I didn't think much about this until my son started flipping the book to the page containing the photo...

Val has been wanting to go outdoors after more than a year of being restricted indoors (thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ever-changing regulations on community quarantine in the Philippines). I decided to take him (and the rest of the family) on a road trip to the Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley. There was neither cell signal nor WiFi access in the woods so it was a good opportunity to really stay off the grid and relax. I first visited the Muir Woods in 2015 with Ate Maddie. Back then, we could visit the park without getting reservations but finding parking was a challenge. Some people had parked on the side of the road already! This time, however, I had to buy our tickets and pay for parking before we went there. Perhaps, the ticket reservation requirement is enforced to limit the number of visitors as parking space and shuttle service are limited (and also, COVID-19).  As per usual, I took baby-wearing duties while Val pushed the stroller (with our personal b...

During my son's 12-month well-baby check-up, his pediatrician asked me if I have started offering milk and water in straw cups. I have been doing so for about six months now; so I showed the doctor the straw cup.  "Exactly!", he gleefully said. "And I recommend that all liquid intake should be with a straw cup now. Say goodbye to the milk bottles." That struck me because I realised that I was once again closing a chapter of my motherhood journey and saying goodbye to my infant; I was starting the next stage and saying hello to my toddler .  I was initially worried that my son won't accept the milk-in-straw-cup situation. However, he didn't mind at all; he drank milk from the straw cup as if we have been doing it since he was a preemie. Seeing how adaptable he is to the situation made me comfortable in storing most of his bottles (until the second baby, if we are blessed with another one) and only keeping what I'd be using as spill-proof travel bottle...

COVID-19 , the pandemic, has been raging on in different parts of the world. At this time, India is in the spotlight because its healthcare system has been bulldozed by the number of cases in its second wave of COVID-19 cases. For the past weeks, the subcontinent has been recording more than 400,000 cases per day. Hospitals lack beds and oxygen gas tanks. People die in ambulances and in car parks. Medicine students are pulled out of their licensure exams to man the hospitals and support the overworked medical doctors fighting deep in the trenches of this pandemic. Cremation areas and cemeteries are also overwhelmed by the number of pyres and burials. As horrible as the numbers are, and as heartbreaking as the tragic images portray, COVID-19 remains a news item and a pandemic happening far away from home until people close to us start biting the dust. I remember reading Nico Quejano's posts on Twitter about an uncle being sick and eventually dying of complications. I remember frien...