Haris, Adam, Novi & Amanda

Yang namanya emak2, paling jagoan deh nerapin ilmu ekonomi; Dengan resources seminimal mungkin, menghasilkan produksi yang semaksimal mungkin (baca: belanja dengan keluar duit minimal tapi dapet barang maksimal hehe..)

Lha trus apa hubungannya sama potong rambut? Begini lho, di sini kalo potong rambut di salon bayarnya enggak sesuai sama pelayanannya (menurut aku lho ya..). Potong rambut thok tanpa keramas, tanpa tonic, tanpa hairspray dan tanpa2 lainnnya, 20 euro (kalo dikurs sama rupiah yang sekarang lagi terpuruk itu, dikalikan aja ama 13ribu jadi 260ribuan). Itu juga yang motong orang yang baru lulus kursus potong rambut. Kalo dipotong ama yang udah pengalaman, 25 euro. Itupun di salon pinggir jalan yang entah ngetop entah tidak. Kalo mau potong rambut di tempat yang (katanya) ngetop, dan sama hairstylist yang (katanya) oke punya, musti merogoh kocek minimal 50 euro. Duuh..

Nah, kebetulan di rumah ada 2 cowok ganteng (my hubby and my son) yang musti pangkas rambut tiap 2-3 bulan sekali. Apalagi kalo musim dingin, sepertinya rambut cepet sekali panjang. Lalu sekitar 3 bulan yang lalu, dengan pedenya aku bilang ke my hubby kalo rambutnya Adam biar aku aja yang potong. Padahal sih seumur-umur belum pernah motongin rambut orang :-). Eh, ternyata hasilnya lumayan lho. Meskipun enggak pake model2an, yang penting rambut jadi pendek dan rapi. Setelah lihat hasil potongan rambut Adam, baru deh my hubby percaya sama kemampuan aku memangkas rambut dan dia mau dijadiin customer berikutnya.. hehe.. Dan hasilnya, rapi jali juga tuh.  Dan hasilnya bisa dilihat difoto yang aku pasang disini.

Motongin rambut toddler seusia Adam yang enggak betah duduk lama-lama juga musti pake trik. Caranya: my hubby dan Adam main balon sabun supaya Adam bisa betah duduk di kursi, sambil aku potongin rambutnya.

Dan seminggu yang lalu, dua orang customer setiaku itu aku potongin rambut lagi. Hasil potongan rambut my hubby sih lumayan. Tapiii, hasil potongan rambut Adam tidak sebagus hasil 3 bulan yang lalu. Kiri dan kanan enggak rata. Maksudnya mau diratain, eh malah tambah parah. Jelek deh hasilnya. Aduuh, maaf ya Dam. Maklum deh, ibumu kan tukang pangkas rambut amatiran..  Pas aku ceritain ke nyokapku, eh beliau protes berat. Katanya: "Cucuku ganteng2 kok rambutnya jadi jelek. Nanti kalo mau dibawa ke Jakarta harus dibawa ke tukang cukur beneran dulu ya, biar rapi dan enak dilihat". Hehe.. yang protes malah neneknya, Adamnya sih anteng2 aja tuh punya rambut enggak rata. Jadinya sekarang tiap keluar rumah, Adam aku pakein topi biar tambah cool, dan sekalian topinya nyembunyiin rambut yang enggak rata itu ;-).

Lalu kalau my hubby dan Adam dipangkasin rambut sama aku. Siapa dong yang motong rambut aku? Yaaaa, terpaksa aku musti ke salon deh. Habis di rumah enggak ada yang cukup pede buat motongin rambutku. Tiap kali aku potong rambut, aku tunjukin kartu mahasiswa biar dapet student price.. haha dasar emak2..

Beginilah nasib tinggal di negeri bercuaca ajaib. Mau musim semi, musim panas, musim gugur, apalagi musim dingin; langit hampir setiap hari mendung kelabu, angin kenceng dan hujan. Kalo matahari bersinar terang dan angin sepoi2, itu exception banget deh.

Saking jarangnya matahari nongol, anak balita di sini musti dikasih minum vitamin D setiap hari. Anakku Adam, musti minum 10 tetes vitamin D tiap hari, begitu saran dokternya di sini.

Nah kalo jarang ada matahari, yang repot itu urusan jemur menjemur pakaian. Sebelum njemur di balkon, aku musti lihat ramalan cuaca dulu di weathernews.nl. Daripada bete udah capek2 jemur, eh basah lagi kena hujan. Apalagi kalo hujannya pake angin, bisa basah kuyup lagi deh jemurannya. Mau cuci dan jemur kalo ada matahari? Walah, matahari belum tentu nongol seminggu sekali, cucian bisa numpuk kayak gunung. Apalagi punya toddler yang sehari bisa ganti baju 4-5 kali. Akhirnya dengan terpaksa, ruang belajar kadang ditumpangi ama jemuran lipat. Lumayan lah, cucian bisa diangin2 disitu.

Apalagi efeknya kalo hampir tiap hari langit mendung kelabu, angin kenceng dan hujan? Ya, si buncil Adam enggak bisa main2 di luar setiap hari deh :(. Karena sepanjang hari main di dalam rumah, jadi yang ngajak main musti luar biasa kreatif. Kalo enggak, Adam bisa protes karena bosen. Untung aja baru2 ini my hubby taruh kasur lebar di deket jendela depan. Jadi Adam kalo bosen main, bisa disuruh duduk didepan jendela sambil lihat2 lalu lintas di depan rumah. Adam paling seneng kalo lihat bis, ambulans atau mobil polisi lewat :-).

Dapet undangan barbeque? Pasti yang ngundang pake disclaimer deh: "BBQnya kalo udara bagus ya. Kalo udara jelek, BBQnya enggak jadi lho..". Soalnya yang ngundang takut mengecewakan tamu kalo ternyata udara jelek, enggak seru kan BBQ sambil kehujanan?

Seberapa parah sih cuaca di sini?. Yang paling ringan sih paling langit mendung, lalu hujan gerimis atau hujan es turun di musim panas. Yang paling jelek itu kalo pas musim dingin, suhunya freezing sampe minus sekian, langit gelap kelabu, hujan deras kayak ditumpahin dari langit, lalu angin super kencang dari berbagai arah sehingga enggak bisa pake payung karena payungnya rusak ditiup angin (itu bukan badai lho). Di sini angin kenceng dianggap normal deh (makanya banyak kincir angin).

Terus apa dong positifnya dari cuaca di sini? Dinginnya itu lho, jarang keringetan (kecuali kalo habis genjot sepeda..). Jadi mandi bisa sekali sehari aja (hehe, emang dasar males mandi ajah..). Terus, aku jadi bersyukur kalo matahari muncul. Waktu di Jakarta, ada matahari itu jadi hal yang biasa. Enggak pernah disyukuri. Nah, sekarang jadi lain. Seneng deh kalo lihat sinar matahari mulai muncul. Moodnya jadi ikutan bagus.. :-).

This blog post is about a marvelous motherhood story which I received from BabyCenter mailing list yesterday. The content of the story is not new for me. But yesterday when I read it, I felt like a new fresh blood flowing inside my body. The story makes me even more grateful for my decision to become a mother and to breastfeed my child(ren) until they are 2 years old.

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How Your Child Can Make You Healthier, by Melanie Haiken

Once we decide to have a baby, most of us never look back. Sure, we peer into the mirror in the morning and grab the concealer. And yes, once in a while we yearn to show off a bikini-worthy belly. But we aren’t asking whether we’d be better off without our children: The wear and tear on our bodies, and the more limited time we have to devote to our own health and fitness, seem like small prices to pay for the joy of raising a child. But what if becoming a mom was actually good for your health — not just physically, but psychologically, too? Well, that would be the icing on the cake, wouldn’t it?

We started digging through the data, and it turns out that motherhood can make you healthier. (Some of these health bonuses occur only if you gave birth to your child, while others apply equally to adoptive moms.) Here are the benefits we uncovered:

Health Benefit 1: Reduced risk of cancer
One of the greatest health benefits of having a baby is a well-documented reduction in the risk of several types of cancer. Breast cancer is the one you hear about most, and for good reason: Giving birth relatively early in life is one of the best ways you can protect yourself. The magic window is between the ages of 18 and 25, says Irma Russo, chief of molecular endocrinology at the Breast Cancer Research Lab at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. But if you weren’t so fast out of the starting gate, don’t despair. Being pregnant after 25 offers some protection, but it decreases as you get older.

Why does pregnancy reduce your risk for breast cancer? It’s a combination of two factors. The first is that pregnancy changes breast cells, causing them to become fully mature and less susceptible to cancer-causing changes. An earlier pregnancy means a smaller window of time in which your breast cells are immature and vulnerable.

The second factor is hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), a hormone that circulates through your body during pregnancy (it’s what home pregnancy tests measure). This hormone is so protective that researchers have experimented with using it as an anti-cancer agent. In a 2005 experiment conducted in Russo’s lab, hCG was found to inhibit breast cancer in rats that had never given birth. (It’s not clear yet whether hCG can have the same benefits in humans.)

One caveat: Research has shown that excess pounds put you at greater risk for breast cancer, so shedding that post-pregnancy weight is important. And if you’re pregnant now, try to keep your weight gain under control: A 2004 study tied pregnancy weight gain to breast cancer later in life. According to Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, professor of oncology at Georgetown University, some women who gained more than 33 pounds during pregnancy had a significantly higher risk of breast cancer than mothers who kept their weight gain between 25 and 32 pounds. Surprisingly, the risk was independent of how much they weighed later in life. "Women who gained more were at increased risk for breast cancer, even though the cancer was not diagnosed until 30 years later," says Hilakivi-Clarke.

There’s another aspect of motherhood that can cut your cancer risk: breastfeeding. Research shows that nursing your child prevents certain precancerous types of cells from forming in your breast tissue. You have to keep it up for a reasonable time, though — at least several months, experts say. And if you’re one of those brave moms who continues breastfeeding into toddlerhood, congratulations: A 1997 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that women who had breastfed for at least 20 months had a 50 percent lower risk of breast cancer than mothers who didn’t breastfeed as long. Also, it appears that the beneficial effects of breastfeeding last throughout your life: Another study in the same journal found that women who breastfed for as little as two weeks had a reduced risk of breast cancer up to 50 years later. Chalk it up to the fact that breastfeeding postpones ovulation and fertility, and the accompanying high levels of estrogen and progesterone that can fuel tumor growth.

A last piece of good news regarding motherhood and cancer: Women who bear children cut their risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer, according to The National Cancer Institute.

Health Benefit 2: Relief from "female disorders"
It’s still somewhat of a mystery how pregnancy and childbirth shake things up when it comes to "female disorders" like endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and polycystic ovaries. But gynecologists and endocrinologists have long known that for many women, having a baby is the beginning of the road to recovery. Take endometriosis, for example. If you’re one of the women who lives with the monthly misery of heavy bleeding and cramping caused by extra endometrial tissue, you may find things looking up after having a child. "Some women find their symptoms lessen dramatically after having a baby, and for a few they go away altogether," says Harry Reich, a New York-based surgeon and expert in treating endometriosis.

Motherhood may help prevent uterine fibroids, tumors that grow from muscle tissue in the uterus. (Fibroids are almost always benign, but can lead to a host of uncomfortable symptoms, as well as difficulty conceiving.) Women who’ve given birth appear to be at lower risk for uterine fibroids, according to the National Institutes of Health. And while pregnancy hormones can cause existing fibroids to grow, they usually shrink back to their pre-pregnancy size — or smaller — after birth.

Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, also becomes less severe for many women after they give birth. Since one in ten women has PCOS, and it’s a major cause of infertility, this is good news. Many women with PCOS who had trouble conceiving their first baby get pregnant the second time around with much less fuss, experts say.

Health Benefit 3: Motivation to make healthy choices
There’s nothing like motherhood to make you rethink unhealthy habits. It may start during pregnancy, when suddenly it’s not just your body you’re hurting anymore. And once your baby’s born, there’s a tiny, utterly dependent, person counting on you to stay healthy enough to raise him. According to a BabyCenter poll of more than 4,000 moms, more than half say they’ve dropped unhealthy habits — or improved on them — and started paying more attention to their health since having a child. Of those mothers:

• 81 percent say they eat more healthily or are trying to improve their diets

• 64 percent are exercising more, or intend to

• 65 percent say they’re keeping a closer watch on their mental health, or are trying to

• 55 percent say they’re more likely to see their doctor more often or make an appointment if something seems wrong

• 65 percent say they drive more carefully

• 58 percent are more likely to wear their seat belts

Also, the majority of moms polled who engaged in risky behaviors like smoking, drinking excessively, or indulging in dangerous hobbies say they’ve quit. Holly MacBain, a former smoker, is one example: "I could deal with giving myself cancer or lung disease, but if I were consciously doing something to put my baby at risk, I couldn’t live with it," says the Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, mom. After cutting down gradually, MacBain finally managed to quit smoking during her pregnancy. Now, she’s finding that quitting has benefits beyond even protecting her son’s health and her own: "I don’t look ridiculous trying to buy cigarettes and saying they’re for someone else to avoid being judged. And I no longer have to take the long way around when driving somewhere in order to get in that full cigarette. I don’t have to worry about being found out."

Then there’s the goal of losing post-baby weight, which for many moms inspires a newfound dedication to fitness and healthy eating. Whether they walk, jog, or attend aerobics classes tailored especially to new moms, many women find that once they add exercise to their lives, it becomes something they can’t imagine doing without. Antonia Kenney of Watertown, Massachusetts, gained 54 pounds during her first pregnancy, bringing her weight close to 200 pounds. She lost 20 pounds soon after her daughter, Jenna, was born and — thanks to diligent exercise — lost another 20 pounds by the time Jenna was 3 months old. She’s well on her way to regaining her ideal weight of 130 pounds thanks to a local fitness class that she likens to post-baby "boot camp." (It features a babysitter on site so new moms can bring their babies to class.) "After the first class, I almost crawled home — I could barely walk," Kenney says. "I was in really bad shape and so out of breath. Now I’m going twice a week and it’s getting better and better."

Finally, the desire to live longer (and see their babies grow up and have their own babies) motivates many moms to make healthier lifestyle choices. Sue Brunsden of Chesterfield Township, Michigan, started focusing on her health when she lost her father to colon cancer, which runs in her family. A vegetarian, Brunsden makes sure the whole family eats plenty of fruits and vegetables, and restricts sweets. "It’s nice to see my children eating broccoli and eggplant and enjoying it," she says. With three children under the age of 6, she still finds time to work out regularly at the YMCA with her husband. And they recently bought a tandem bike so they can go on family bike rides, one parent riding with 5-year-old Nicholas while the other pulls 2-year-old Elizabeth and baby Alexis in a trailer. "You can try to protect your child by strapping him into a car seat and putting on sunscreen, but none of those things will protect him from the biggest killer of all, which is heart disease," Brunsden says. "The only way to protect yourself and your kids is by teaching them to eat healthy and live healthy."

Health Benefit 4: A head start on happiness
Does having children make you happier in the long run? It’s the $20,000 question, and one that researchers haven’t completely answered yet. The problem is that many other factors, from marital status to money issues, influence whether we’re happy or not. And most research into depression and other mental health issues wasn’t designed to contrast mothers with non-mothers.

All in all, though, women with children fare at least as well as — and often better than — their childless counterparts when researchers compare positive measures such as personal satisfaction and negative ones such as loneliness and isolation. "The research seems to show that women who have children, and good relationships with their children, are at the top of the scale later in life," says Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Florida at Gainesville, who studies loneliness and depression in people over 50. Interestingly enough, Koropeckyj-Cox says, the other group that rates high on the contentment scale is women who are childless by choice. Those who fared worse were women who wanted children but didn’t have them, and weren’t able to adjust to their situation, and mothers with poor relationships with their loved ones.

Rating the happiness of moms versus non-moms also gets a bit murky because of the prevalence of postpartum depression. As many as 70 percent of new moms suffer a brief period of "baby blues," and for up to 15 percent it flowers into a bout of full-blown depression. While this type of depression tends to be relatively short-lived, it confuses things statistically. In many studies, researchers actually concluded that depression is more common among mothers than non-mothers, listing postpartum depression as a primary factor.

Still, in the few surveys that directly compare the happiness of parents and non-parents, parents tend to come out ahead. For example, when Canadian psychologist Ethel Roskies surveyed 1,100 women in a 1992 study presented to the American Psychological Association and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, she found that women with children rated the highest on a number of psychological measures, from self-esteem to personal and professional satisfaction. Single childless women fared the worst on the measures, while married women without children were in the middle. More recently, a survey of 1,933 adults published in the Journal of Marriage and Family found that parents were more "socially integrated" — meaning surrounded by friends, family, and community — than non-parents, and that married mothers in particular had lower rates of depression than their childless counterparts. Add to this the numerous studies showing that women with children are much less likely to commit suicide, and you can see how it all adds up.

There’s no doubt that adding a child — or children — to your life can compound your stress. But when you balance that against the satisfaction and fulfillment of becoming a mother, it’s clear which way the scales tip. And you wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?

The BabyCenter Seven: Top ways moms can protect their health

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