April 15th, 2008 | Children, Parenting | 1 Comment
The consensus among experts confirm that one of the reasons for violence in society is agression towards children in their early years. More so when children are physically abused. Luckily, most parents are not towards such extremism but many do not realise that harmless spanking is a silent catalyst that teaches children the use of aggression and violence to solve problems in life.
A child’s irrational temper and tantrum, especially when it’s accompanied by loud crying and wailing, drive parents up the wall. I should know better because I’ve been guilty of spanking her twice before. I remember I first smacked her, although so very softly, at around 7 months. It was way past bedtime that night but baby Clarisse was in a really cranky mood and refuses to sleep. Frustration came over me. My gentle-approach mom came into the bedroom, gave me a piece of her mind and cared for baby Clarrisse while I took some time off. Some really needed time off I’d say. The second incident was more or less the same.
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April 11th, 2008 | Personal | 1 Comment
” So you’ve chosen to stay home and take care of your baby. Do you have any regrets leaving your career? How are coping financially now that your husband is the sole bread winner? ”
When I found out I was pregnant in 2006, I handed in my resignation letter in less than 2 months. I did so without the slightest hesitation and when I told my husband about my intention he simply said “Go, ahead”. I expected the both of us to go into some kind of discussion first. Financially, we’re getting along fine but we knew things are going to get tight without my income stream and having a baby means increased family expenses no doubt. But I was surprised he supported my decision to resign. Come what may he said, just do what you think is best for yourself and the baby.
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April 11th, 2008 | Babies, Children, Health, Parenting | No comments
Travelling with a baby tagging along is always a challenge. More so when it’s the first trip for you and your baby.
With a little careful planning, even air travel can be organised into a manageable logistical mess. The word is manageable at the very best because frankly, you’d never know what to expect.
Before embarking on your overseas trip, have your baby checked for vaccinations that might be needed in the country you’re visiting, particularly third world and developing countries. A visit to the doctor a few weeks beforehand is advised as some vaccinations require separate doses over several weeks.
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April 9th, 2008 | Personal | No comments
Talk about being in the right place at the right time!
Baby Clarisse and I were in the room yesterday afternoon. She’s in the crib and we were waiting for Papa to finish showering. All of a sudden, the crib side rails collapsed and gave way when my baby Clarisse was leaning on it!
She would’ve fell flat on her face from a height of two feet onto the floor. God knows how bad she could’ve hurt herself. Miraculously, I was right in front of her at that very second to catch her and prevent her from falling. I mean, she literally fell into my arms.
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April 7th, 2008 | Health, Pregnancy | No comments
“Sleep on your left side” is one of the many advices I took with me on my the day I left my OB’s clinic after finding out I was pregnant. Getting into the habit of sleeping on the left side of your body while you’re pregnant is one common advice but why?
By sleeping on your left side, you’re allowing the highest amount of blood flow to your baby. At the same time, you’re helping your kidney to function more efficiently which in turn helps to reduce swelling. One of the more important organs at the right side of your body is the liver which regulates many important functions while you’re pregnant. Sleeping on your left would alleviate putting unnecessary pressure on your liver.
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April 5th, 2008 | Personal | No comments
Some relatives from my in-laws side came back on Friday for Ching Ming. They stayed until Sunday, that is today and will be leaving for home in the afternoon.
When families and relatives get together, you can be sure there’s plenty of food on the table. Not at home but at restaurants and coffee shops all around town. My in-laws would treat them to meals and the favor is returned. These couple of days, we had breakfast, lunch and dinner all over town. When there’s good food around, I just can’t say no. Luckily, relatives don’t get together much these days, or else I’ll be at the plus size clothing section forever. I guess I’ll have to lay off heavy meals for some time to loose those pounds I had just put on.
April 3rd, 2008 | Breast Feeding, Diet, Health, Pregnancy | 3 Comments
Pregnant women demand adequate amount of the right vitamins and minerals before, during and after pregnancy. Consuming enough vitamins and following a nutritional diet is also very important to enable your body to keep up with the demands of breastfeeding. Below are some common types of vitamins likely to be prescribed to you by your doctor.
FOLIC ACID
Also referred to as folate, folic acid is one of the very first and widely prescribed supplement to pregnant woman. It is also given to women who intend to conceive and should be taken one month before conception until the end of first trimester of pregnancy. In fact, I was adviced to start taking folic acid when I wanted to start conceiving. A whole six months before I managed to conceive baby Clarisse.
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April 2nd, 2008 | Personal | 3 Comments
My nephew suffers from eczema since he was more than a year old. His condition got worse when he was around 2 years old and my sister put him on a very restricted diet avoiding food that triggers an allergy reaction. The diet cuts him out from food made from wheat flour and eggs, I recall. Those two ingredients alone are found in so many staple food it’s a very tough diet to follow.
As months go by, he hardly gained any weight and my sister decided to put a stop to his diet. She let him eat everything as he needed all the nutrition he can possibly get.
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April 1st, 2008 | Computing | No comments
WordPress 2.5 has been out for days. It looks to be a major milestone upgrade. My husband is the one who takes care of all thing technical. Both hardware and software. And literally everything that went into setting up this blog.
At the top of my WordPress admin panel, there’s always a reminder “A new version of WordPress is available! Please update now.” So I asked when he’s going to update mine to version 2.5 coz mine is several versions behind. He told me wait a bit as with any new major release, there’s bound to be minor update releases soon to iron out bugs and security issues. I guess I’ll wait for WordPress 2.5.1 or 2.5.2.
I can’t wait to try out the new version of WordPress and I hope it lives up to all the hype. I would love to try the ‘one-click’ plugin updating feature and built-in gallery function.
April 1st, 2008 | Personal | No comments
My in-laws’ Indonesian maid told us of her intention to fly back to Jakarta for a 3-week holiday today. As soon as I heard that, my first thought was if only she had said it earlier. Why? Because 3 weeks ago, the annual Matta Fair was on and that the best time to get the cheapest tours, cheap flights, cheap holiday packages and such in Malaysia. Having missed that opportunity, our next best thing is to AirAsia I guess. We managed to get her a round trip tickets for about RM200+, I don’t know if that’s the best deal around because we didn’t really spend time and effort to look for the lowest airfares in town. Anyway, it’s done. She got her tickets and will be leaving for home in August.
