On the Road to Financial Freedom (a sponsored post)

Regular readers know that sponsored posts are a rarity in this blog.  That is because I choose to write them only if I believe in the product or the message being relayed by the product.  Last year, I agreed to do a sponsored post for Sun Life Financial for their Sun Shorts.   This year, I am doing another one because I believe the message that the company wants to share is of utmost importance.  It also gives me chance to share about a topic which I also love but doesn't fit this blog's theme :D

I work for the government and among the thrusts of my agency is financial literacy and education.  Next year, I will be embarking on a major career change.  In the course of interviews, I was asked whether I would be most interested in policy making or advocacy.  Without hesitation, I answered advocacy.

LATCH Breastfeeding Support Sessions

As a LATCH peer counselor, I have to be honest that I haven't been doing as much one-on-one counseling as I would like.  Counseling takes time and because I am a working mom, I have decided to limit my counseling activities to emails or phones or SMS as I can be with my kids while counseling others.
Becoming a good counselor takes practice and experience though and this is something that I am sorely lacking in.  Hence, one of the projects I wanted was to have actual breastfeeding support counseling sessions.

Did you get carried away? The F.A.B. Babywearing Fair

What a Saturday!  The tropical storm Santi was within the Philippine jurisdiction and we had 2 events happening that day!  The first activity was LATCH's Save the Best for LATCH which I will post about separately.  This was followed by the F.A.B. Babywearing Fair - Get Carried Away!  Friday night, I was really worried about having to cancel especially since we had paid a non-refundable fee to the venue and supplies.

Fortunately, Santi decided to leave the Philippines earlier.  Weather significantly improved and by Saturday afternoon, it was just drizzling.  Since everything was booked and set-up, we decided to push through with the event.

We Love Mustela!

If you follow me on Instagram, you will definitely notice that my favorite brand of skin care products for my kids is Mustela.
I first discovered this brand when my daughter was diagnosed with lichen striatus.  I was using another product recommended by her pedia-derma.  However, the product did not have any list of ingredients. After further investigation, I found that it contained parabens!!  No wonder the company didn't list any ingredients on its label!  Sadly though, other products under this same brand is being marketed as being the best product for newborns.

Mustela Display at one of the bazaars

Thank you Estee Lauder for this Sibling Date

My sister and I are one-year apart and are very close.  In our home in Davao, although we had separate bedrooms, we never slept apart.  Both of us slept in my bedroom until we moved to Manila for college.  We only started using our separate bedrooms now that we each have our respective families.  

Learn this October - breastfeeding and babywearing!

Just like that, the last quarter of the year is here!  Because I had an office seminar for 3 weeks in September, I felt that the month slipped by.  

October is equally busy!  There are several learning events that you can attend this month.  We will be celebrating October 5-13 as International Babywearing Week and the Filipino Association of Babywearers have organized a babywearing fair! 

A low cost lactation clinic in the Philippines?

This merits a special post.  I am writing this post to support Kalusugan ng Mag-ina, Inc. and help them obtain funding from Grand Challenges Canada to establish a low cost lactation clinic in the Philippines.  One of the criteria is vote-garnering using a 2-minute video.

The video voting period is from 12 September 2013 until 15 November 2013.  We need your help!  Here is the write-up of Dr. Lei Alfonso, project proponent:

We need your help to be heard Breastfeeding saves lives. While it is free, our mothers and babies need a supportive environment to receive its full benefit. Our proposed solution - A LACTATION CLINIC that will provide a low-cost, evidence-based, and community-based breastfeeding support for mothers. Increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding impacts newborn and infant survival. 

You can vote by visiting this link:
http://applications.grandchallenges.ca/en/viewVideo/28735E6AA3EC3CB5D1B5B03A

short link - http://bit.ly/votebreastfeeding

Then click "LIKE".

I cannot overemphasize the need for trained counselors who are easily accessible by mothers.  With this project, I hope that dream will become a reality.  I have seen Dr. Lei in action and I know that she has the capacity and capability to make this happen.

Will you help?  Please vote, share the link and spread the word!

Edit:  Please note "LIKE" is not enough.  There must be public interaction so please register and comment.  Thank you!!