Potty Training

My first and second children were potty trained at age 4 months old, and they 've been co-operative. Needless to say, the bones of the baby's still delicate which requires you to gently hold them at such young age. Now my third child, Ennis who is now 13 months old–let's just say, I don't have any issues on potty training her too. Lucky for me! Whenever I put her down on her potty she cooperates. I guess it's a matter of a routine she has to get used to.

I usually placed her favorite toy around the potty so she will get one each time she does her 'little business' in the potty. It certainly saves time cleaning up the little messes which is a huge perk! Ennis has started wearing underwear when we were home and pull-ups when we were out.. Early potty training can reduce the use of diapers drastically and help the environment. And getting kids out of diapers helps reduce the rashes too. Overall, potty training requires patience, consistency, determination and time to make things work.

Ennis has this habit of passing motion after her meals. So I will let her sit on the potty and make some "emm emm" sounds.

some of the essential potty-training tools INCLUDE toys, dolls, books, which can be used to help make potty training fun and easy.

For those of you who want help with making potty training a positive experience, check this cool website:Infant Potty Training

Have a good day and a great weekend.

A little bit of everything

This has been an exhausting weekend for me. My youngest precious daughter, Ennis was down with a fever since Friday night and last night particularly, a night of little sleep and musical beds for all three of us. That's only because her phlegm and colds were troubling her. She's been very fussy yesterday morning and had a lot of sneezing and nasal congestion making it hard for her to breathe. I treated my toddler with some paracetamol, nose oral drops and cough mixtures but she seems to HATE those medicines--they're way too sweet for her. Obviously, her appetite was affected, was on the verge of tears most of the time, and was just so miserable.

I was watching her while she was taking a nap this afternoon. Thank goodness, her fever had subsided by the evening. Luckily, she was able to munch a biscuit or two between intervals which showed more positive signs. Being cautious & not taking any chances, eventually I took her to consult our family doctor to make sure it wasn't her ears or anything.

You would think that twelve years of motherhood would have prepared me for this but sadly, no, I was not. My toddler refused to be sponged and woke up most of the time for two nights. I have two other kids and I remember how fragile and helpless I felt each time my kids got sick. Whenever a child fell sick, the mom would get the stress and deprived sleep, it's just the norm. No thanks to the hazy and humid weather here as well.

I'm so glad Ennis's doing so much better now, and that everything went well! Thank goodness for great doctors. It is scary when anyone gets sick especially my toddler who is still small, it makes it much worse. Naturally, when the kid is happy, everybody's happy.

I'm pretty tired and worn, both emotionally and physically from the last couple of days. Somehow deep in my heart I know, these days are what make my bond with my girl so special. I get to be her supermom when times are not easy.

I love weekends!!

How I love weekends! And Fridays. It's always been great to unwind after a long and tiring week.. Why can’t the whole life be like a long weekend.? A great weekend is a simple as doing nothing, or a great weekend is complicated as a couple days packed full of activities.

The weekends that I love most are those which are normally spontaneous, easy, and not heavy on planning. These are happy weekends. Hanging out with friends during Saturdays probably belongs to the past now that I've experienced the thrills of parenting. Thus, even if I decide to do nothing out of the ordinary and just hang out in my pajamas with the kids on a weekend morning can be a valuable relaxation and bonding time. Unplug the TV, have a nutritional breakfast, teach my kids to read the news and laugh can be just an enjoyable thing to do. Everyone needs quality time with loved ones, especially children. They need to know how important they are and how much they are loved.

Other than that, weekends are the time when we can go visiting, normally to my parent’s house and do our biweekly groceries shopping or just go to the market. All in all it was a pretty low key weekend but I had a wonderful time with the kids.

I hope everyone had a good week!

Children died after forgetful fathers left them in cars

This piece of tragic news just makes me so sad. The wrongful death of these toddlers could have been avoided with better attention to the safety of the children. I bet these folks will never forget or forgive themselves. A car can heat up quickly even when it's relatively mild outside. Obviously, the simple act of leaving a child in a hot car can end an innocent life.

My children are the most important things in my life. I feel terrible for those people that forget, but I just can't imagine it. How can they not be aware of a life living and breathing in a car seat behind them? If that ever happened to me, I seriously would kill myself, because I wouldn't be able to live with that. I think this is the first time I've ever said that.

Adults should be considered capable of knowing and remembering basic and important things like these. They should be charged when their children die this way: it's negligence. There's no excuse for that kind of negligence. Any stranger can see a child in the car and find a way to get in that car and drive away with the child.

If you really love your kids and want what's best for them....Bring them in with you or don't bring them at all! I always make it a point to “look before I leave” routine whenever I get out of the car, every time. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR LEAVING A CHILD IN A CAR FOR ANY REASON!

Source: Times Online

Breast Feeding Protest

Breastfeeding seems to be the most natural, beautiful exchange between mother and child I could ever imagine. After all, God created the breasts just for this purpose.

I came across this news article on breast feeding protest that caught my attention. Now, here's my opinion: it depends on the place as well as the person involved. I have no objection to women breast-feeding their babies in a public place, more power to them, not weird at all, but how it's being done is also a factor. The mothers just need to be discreet and not expose their breasts. I breast fed all my three children, my last until she was six months old. There are moments when it can be inconvenient as it is a private intimate thing to do and I don't want it to be done in public unless a last resort.

Sometimes the baby will choke and you have to overcome with that first and not the spray of milk from your exposed breast, I definitely don't want to see that happen .........but don't get me wrong! I am not anti breast feeding! It's a truly beautiful thing symbolizing the perfect bond between mom and child. I'm just pretty shy about exposing myself and I'm not good at nursing in such a way that you couldn't tell what was going on. So it's either in the car or restroom for me and my kiddo. It's just that there is a time and place for everything.

I understand that many people are extremely uncomfortable with women breastfeeding in public as well. Seeing women breast feed their child in public “freaks” out some people.

Maddie Reynolds, with daughter Sophie, was asked to leave for breastfeeding

Mum power: The friends from ante-natal class converge on McDonald's for the feed-in. Maddie Reynolds is fourth from the left

Capturing the Precious moments

It’s not easy being a working mother. Some women are good at it, some don’t have an option, some choose a middle path and some don’t even try it. There is the pressure to be competent and efficient on the job as well as at home as a mother and a wife.

My husband often says, I always spoiled my kids. Perhaps, I often succumb to my kids' demands very easily because I feel bad for not having enough time to spend with my children due to my hectic schedule.

I really would like to budget my time and if possible be able to balance everything. I hope to get the best of both worlds, and have more money to play with (or maybe just pay bills LOL), which is one thing that would come in handy for me, I like to shop. I’m not a workaholic but I love having my own income and not having to depend on my husband’s money. Not only that, the cost of living is mounting high nowadays, and even though my husband has a great job, it doesn’t pay enough to cover all the bills and mortgage. Working, having kids, all of it.. keeps me preoccupied!! Still manageable though! Despite having to juggle my busy lifestyle as a wife and mother, I'm still having a great time.

Thank goodness! I don't work on weekends because that's the only period I get to spend time playing with my kids. Infact, it is easy to get infected with their happy smiles. While there are moments that kids get upset, you find that you can learn a thing or two from them about forgetting their anger just as quickly.

Happy Mother's Day 2008

I am sure that there will be many articles, blogs and opinions honoring moms on Mother's Day this Sunday, 11th May 2008.

My mom is one of those choosy types. My parents are thankfully, have everything they need and will get anything they want. But when birthdays and occasions like Mother's Day roll around, it leaves my siblings and me stranded with very few options. It's not easy to please my mom's taste buds. I still have no idea what to get for my mom on Mother's Day. I think I'm a total flop when it comes to occasions like this.

As we all know, Mother's Day continues to be a highly commercialized day. Of course, it is always nice to honor our own mothers, whether it be through a simple visit, phone call or letter, because those are the best gifts. After all, mom is queen of our hearts, right?

So a word of advice, if you intend to take your mom for lunch or dinner this Sunday, make an advance booking. Otherwise, if you want to beat the crowd, an early dinner or supper might even be a saner option.

Now I am a blessed mommy of three, I'm not too sure whether my kids will give me anything on Mother's Day. As long as they know how to appreciate me, that's all that matters.

What are you buying for your mom this year? Pay your tributes, send your love and regards and make her smile!

M-O-T-H-E-R

"M" is for the million things she gave me,

"O" means only that she's growing old,

"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,

"H" is for her heart of purest gold;

"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,

"R" means right, and right she'll always be,

Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER", a word that means the world to me.
~By Howard Johnson~