Charming man

Out of the 12 covers of Baby mag's issues in 2008, 8 featured girls while the other 4 were graced by boys. Now why is that? It could be that more girls were suitable material for the cover, based on the hundreds and hundreds of photos we had received and from which we made our choices.

It could be that we received more photos of baby girls than of baby boys, thus increasing the chances that a girl would be chosen each month.

A friend theorized that girls have more varied "looks" while boys seem to look almost the same.

It could also be that for some reason, though I've yet to see hard evidence to prove this assertion, anything "endorsed" by a female sells more than when it's a male doing the endorsement. "Endorsement" here is used loosely, okay? We can be referring to anything from magazine covers and TV commercials, to hosting an event and negotiations in a family squabble.

Then it could also be that more girls than boys are being born in recent years -- again, I have no hard data to back this up.

About five months ago, we held the cover pictorial for the current issue (such patience for the parents to wait that long before seeing their son gracing Baby mag's cover!). Here is Miguel Santino Fernandez during the shoot, enjoying the wide open space at Tumble Tots on E. Rodriguez Ave in Quezon City.




That's Ralph Alejandrino behind the camera, shooting away as Santino minded his own business, preoccupied with a little toy. Charming little guy.




Boy, did he love to put everything in his mouth! But when he wasn't tasting a book or a rattle or another item from the basket containing an assortment of playthings, he was sticking out his tongue. It was a new "trick" he learned only the previous day, said his parents, and he got a kick out of doing it. Indeed, a good number of the shots had him sporting the "belat" look (none of these that I'm posting, though).



Mirror, mirror on the wall... he even kissed himself!




Blurred. It was kind of hard to get him to smile. It's ironic, but he's been one of the most contented babies we have photographed for the cover so far. He seemed really at ease with himself, with the people around him, with everything!





Tumble Tots had just undergone some refurbishing a few days before we held the shoot. Here you can see Ralph, Santino, his parents (both in stripes), and yaya.

And presenting, Baby mag's first offering for the new year!



I should add that due to delays caused partly by the extra-long Christmas holiday, deliveries started only Monday of this week. Hence, to avoid experiencing that familiar disappointment of realizing that it's still the previous month's issue on the shelf when you hit the bookstores ("ay, wala pang bago?!" *sigh*), do expect to see the December issue still if you check out the bookstores before Saturday this week (the 10th). If the branch you dashed to happens to have the Santino issue on display already, then by all means grab a dozen copies and distribute to friends who seem perennially engaged in a battle of wills with their toddlers! This is the issue for them!

Also (more not-so-good news here), due to reasons that are beyond Baby mag's control, SM shall still be carrying only the December 2008 issue in its stores till Jan. 20 or even beyond -- depending on the speed at which the designated delivery guys zoom across the metropolis. So, when you head to the baby section of any SM department store, expect the delight of seeing the gleeful baby girl and the baby Jesus still on the magazine rack. They shall be overstaying for an extended helping of Christmas cheer :-)

For more interesting details on this issue, go here


Baby magazine is published by Marathon Publishing Co. and is sold at major National Bookstore outlets, Babyland (Robinsons Galleria, Shaw Blvd. near Cherry Foodarama, Greenhills Shoppesville), Baby & Co. (The Podium and Power Plant Mall), Bufini, Procreation Shangri-la mall, Big & Small Co. Shangri-la Mall. If you're one to merely scan blog entries and simply settle on reading the ending, then let me tell add yet again that the January issue will be late in SM stores this month for reasons beyond our control. However, should you wish to purchase copies pronto, you may call the office at 728-3655 or 3656 and ask for Lourdes.