December 14th, 2007 | Babies, Health, Parenting, Personal | 1 Comment
Tummy time is important for babies. I confess, I didn’t realise it until I read about the importance of tummy time from a parenting magazine. A baby’s basic skills such as sitting up, crawling, lifting head and turning over is influenced by tummy time. The more time, and the earlier you encourage tummy time for your baby, the faster your baby will learn to master the skills above.
When I first saw my baby Clarisse struggling to roll over unsuccessfully, I helped push her buttocks a bit to help her to roll over. However, my father-in-law told me not to help baby Clarisse and should just let her do it on her own. It took baby Clarisse a few more weeks to successfully roll over on her own effort. I regret listening to his advice now that I realise flipping my baby over on her tummy helps in so many motor skills. I should have just helped baby Clarisse roll over so that she could have spent more tummy time instead.
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December 13th, 2007 | Babies, Health, Household, Parenting, Toys | 1 Comment
With the amount of Made-in-China toys recalled in the pass several months, I am concerned about the safety of toys I buy for my baby. The anxiety is heightened when baby Clarisse receives toy presents from friends and families. Baby Clarisse puts everything she can grab hold of into her mouth in a split second. Naturally, most of the toys in her crib are teethers. So it is important to make sure the toys she plays with is safe from toxicity.
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December 12th, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding, Personal | No comments
When my baby Clarisse was 3 months old, her breastfeeding antics started to annoy me. Baby Clarisse would latch on, suck for a moment, turn around and look the other way. She would repeat this annoying action - nurse for a few seconds, pull away and either smile at me or check out whoever is talking in the room. Or get distracted by the slightest hint of sound or stray of lights from the TV. I warned my husband or whoever is in the room not to talk whenever I nurse baby Clarisse.
It is most frustrating when she fool arounds when my breast milk starts to let-down. My breast milk would drop onto her shirt and face. Her shirt would end up drenched in milk and I’d have to wipe her face afterwards.
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December 7th, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding | 3 Comments
Being able to stay home and breastfeed my baby since the day she was born is one aspect of my life I’m most grateful for. Baby Clarisse has been feeding on demand for the past 6 months. It makes me feel good, as a mother, for being there whenever she needs me and knowing that I’m giving my baby the best that she deserves. The best nutrition and the love and care she feels.
Things got off to a rough start. I confess I gave formula after breastfeeding sessions to make sure my baby is getting enough milk for the first month and a half. I just didn’t feel confident in myself that I’m providing enough breast milk for her.
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December 5th, 2007 | Babies, Diet, Personal | 1 Comment
My baby’s first taste of solid food is nothing more than just plain good ol’ rice. All mashed and pureed at it’s finest. Baby Clarisse got her first experience of solids when I decided to start her off when she was 4 months and 3 weeks old.
My mother whipped up some pureed rice out of the blue one particular afternoon and tried to feed it to baby Clarisse. Surprisingly, baby Clarisse really enjoyed the meal and ate all of it. Albeit it was only a tiny serving of rice puree but I was pleased she did not spit it out. Babies who aren’t ready for solids tend to push them out with their tougue.
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December 3rd, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding, Videos | 2 Comments
The benefits of breastfeeding is so huge and the latest study found that breast milk will impact baby’s IQ. I will never regret breastfeeding my baby. She is 6 months old now and I’m still breastfeeding her. It’s a bit inconvenient at times, but I think it’s worthwhile.
December 2nd, 2007 | Babies, Parenting, Personal | 2 Comments
My husband and I began talking to baby Clarisse the day she was born. Some people say it’s silly to talk to newborns. They wouldn’t understand a single word you’re saying anyway. To us, it didn’t matter whether our baby was able to understand what we’re saying. The important thing is, we give our baby a sense of communication which will help them develop better speech ability faster. Studies also show babies pick up languages as much from second-hand dialogue, that is communication between parents, family and friends indirectly.
Baby Clarisse uttered her first “ah-goo” when she was around 2 1/2 months. My husband and I were so delighted to hear her cute voice. Here are some of the ways how I talk to Clarisse.
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December 1st, 2007 | Babies, Parenting, Personal | No comments
Throughout the past 2 - 3 months, I have consistently subjected my baby Clarisse to a pretty structured daily routine. It is a way to organise and structure for the day. To know what’s coming next every passing hour for both me and the baby.
I never realised how adapted Clarisse is to her daily routine until this evening. We had dinner at a restaurant and the time was roughly an hour past her usual evening bath time. She cried all the way home. The moment we reached home, she stopped crying. When I took her clothes off in the room and put her in the bath robe, she grinned in anticipation for her “play-water” time. Clearly, she is crying for her evening bath-time.
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November 30th, 2007 | Household, Parenting, Videos | No comments
With Christmas time less than a month away, many homeowners are dragging their Christmas tree, lightings and decorative ornaments out from the store room. Busy putting up Christmas trees and decorating them. Little do they know, that the Christmas tree in their living room is a common fire hazard. Look how relatively easy a Christmas tree catches fire …
Take necessary precautions no matter how remote the risks are that your Christmas tree might catch fire. It’s your responsibility as a parent to keep your family safe and sound.
November 29th, 2007 | Babies, Personal, Pregnancy | 3 Comments
Label me superstitious but when it comes to pregnancy, I found myself being extra wary of supertitions and taboos even after baby Clarisse was born. Lots of people say I’m old fashioned, that these old-wives tales are bogus and cause you unnecessary worries. So why bother!
I hate to say this but speaking from personal experience, minor plumbing work was carried out to repair a leaking tap a day before my premature labour symptoms were felt. I had a miscarriage two days later.
There’s never going to be scientific proof for superstitions and taboos, but for the sake of my baby, I would rather adhere by it than be sorry later. Your mileage may vary.
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