Tag: parenting

a toddler holding a milk bottle

5 Reasons Why Your Baby Avoids Eating Solid Food

Posted on by Ms. Elle

Every mother wants her baby to follow a healthy food diet. The initial days are manageable with milk and other liquid foods. However, as the baby grows, the mother need to prepare him/her for eating solid foods and developing a stronger digestive system. Also, it is important to start consuming solids so that the infant can be given more nutrients, which breastmilk or liquid foods usually do not possess. Some toddlers may quickly begin following a solid food diet, while others require efforts to develop this habit. If your baby is avoiding consuming solid food, then this could be due to one of the following reasons.

• He or She is already full

Due to a small stomach, a baby needs food in every 1.5-2 hours. Thus, mothers keep feeding the baby with breastmilk or bottle feed to keep the nutritional intake stable. It becomes habitual for moms, so it becomes hard for the baby to consume solid food as he/she has already consumed plenty of liquid food. Many parents follow the method where they bottle or breastfeed the baby first and then offer them solid food. However, the baby is unable to eat at that time due to a full stomach.

• The toddler is tired

You may not realize this, but when you bring your toddler to the table for food, he/she may not be filling utterly active at that time. It might be time for his/her nap, and feeding the baby with food at that moment may result in his/her disinterest in the food. Thus, ensure that you feed solid foods to the baby when he/she is active and does not need to sleep.

• Preference of food texture

Infants may not necessarily like the solid food you are feeding them. Try to experiment with different kinds of foods and make a note of the ones that he/she enjoys eating without any problems of texture or taste. You may often need to use various methods to feed them, for instance, by mixing two foods to suit their liking.

• Maybe the baby is being distracted

Babies often avoid eating food when their focus is upon some other object present in the surrounding. It may become a troubling situation for you as the baby grows. Thus, make sure that the baby is just focused on the food he/she is about to it without any possible distractions in the area.

• Feeling discomfort

You need to check the way your baby is sitting, dressing, etc., as an uncomfortable baby is going to feel fussy about performing any activity, even eating food. Hence, make sure that the baby is wearing loose clothes, sitting correctly, is not feeling sick, and does not require anything other than food. If you still do not understand the problem, try consulting a pediatrician. You can learn about How Much Does A Pediatrician Earn Per Hour by visiting this page.
Babies are innocent and do not understand the environment around them at such a young age. Thus, it is necessary that you guide them with love and affection to eat solid food and follow a healthy diet.

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Garden In The City

Posted on by Ms. Elle
Garden In The City
Garden In The City

City living is comfortable and preferred by most but there is something in the country which, if given the chance, I would definitely have in the city, gardening.  There seem to be no place for it anymore.  Scarce and pricey lots and spaces have made it impossible.  Owning a big place in the city has become a privilege.  So the idea of gardening is just seem infeasible.

But then again there is nothing impossible to creative and resourceful minds. Coupled with a desire to have some organic food on the table, I made my own garden in the city.  Re-using large plastic water bottles and containers (that could not be recycled because of Phthalates), wooden cabinet, and even my kids’ baby bath tub, I planted some veggies like malabar nightshade, bitter melon, cilantro, ginger, garlic, tomato, and bell pepper.  Since then, my family has enjoyed some great, tasty, hot soup from my garden’s produce. This is my first attempt, so things are a bit topsy-turvy.  However I plan to organize things and maximize the our teeny-weeny veranda into a mini jungle as my kids would say.  My garden may not look like what it is in the country.  But for me this is a garden, a garden in the city. No matter what situation we are in we could always turn it around to our advantage.

Aside from this, there are other few things we can do/learned from gardening.

  1.  It’s a good way to teach children about plants- parts, needs, and how to take care.
  2. Watering plants is a household chore that even a 4 year old will enjoy.
  3. Planting is a tangible and great way to instill in children the love for nature.
  4. It shows children the value of eating healthy, organic vegetables.

 

Are you into gardening? How big is your garden, the real one or a garden in the city like mine?

 

I’ll Return Back Your LOVE

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Relationship Changes When You’re Becoming a Parent

Posted on by Ms. Elle

There is no doubt that parenthood changes relationships; many couples reject the idea of having a baby because they are afraid their relationship will be affected. Less time spent together, having to take care of someone who is completely dependent on you, and the need to cover for extra expenses make any mom or dad-to-be feel worried.

But let me tell you something: your relationship will change anyway.

Everything transforms as time goes by, and so do relationships, no matter if you have children or not. And there’s a different way to look at the problem – yes, becoming a parent will change the relation you have with your partner, but it does not necessarily need to be a bad change, if you know how to cope with it.

Are you ready for the challenge of becoming a parent? Here’s what to expect and how to get over the most common pitfalls:

Unresolved issues in your relationship reappear

A new baby puts an extra strain on your relationship, and issues you have been sweeping under the rug suddenly reappear, exactly when you don’t need conflicts and have less time and energy to manage them. It’s important to discuss and deal with these problems before the baby arrives – pregnancy is the moment to balance and strengthen your relationships and get prepared for difficult times.

The quality of communication changes

Many couples experience decreased marital satisfaction during the transition to parenthood because the quantity and quality of their communication both decrease. It becomes more difficult to talk spontaneously as topics like childcare become more important and prevail over others.

The only cure is to make an effort and find the time needed to reconnect every day, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Think of an activity you could give up so you communicate with your partner – instead of spending time on social networks or obsessing over minor housekeeping stuff, choose to spend some valuable time with your partner.

The baby becomes the center of your world

A common mistake that many new parents make is investing all their energy in the new baby. The most important topics become doctor appointments, getting the baby’s room ready, and even looking for preschools. After the baby’s arrival, new issues arise and they continue to become more important than your relationship.

There are some things that new parents need to understand though: your baby doesn’t need you 24/7, you cannot make things perfect, and, above all, having a healthy relationship with your child depends on the relationship you already have with your spouse. Your marriage or relationship should stay at the base of your new family, so remember to invest time in it as well!

You have higher expectations from your partner

As a new parent, you become more demanding with yourself because you want to offer the best to your child, and you start having higher standards for your partner as well. Many fathers feel that whatever they do to help with kids or housekeeping, it’s never enough. Give up the consuming determination to get everything right and understand that good is better than perfect, which doesn’t even exist, after all.

Giving your baby everything he or she requires to be happy and healthy is simpler than you think; and what the new member of the family needs, above all, is two parents who love each other and have a strong relationship.

By the Couple Clinic, a company of Winnipeg couples counsellors (www.winnipegcouplesclinic.ca).

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Globalization in the internet – how it influences your kids?

Posted on by Ms. Elle

Untitled

 

Nowadays where almost everybody has an access to the Internet and is able to seek there any information that is needed, people are very often exposed to hundreds of threats that are lurking in the Web. The part of society that is especially exposed to such kinds of dangers, are the kids. It happens because of the fact that they have contact with the computers connected to the internet in every place that they are present, like home, school or library. Adults should take into consideration what they can do to protect the youth. It is obvious, that information, especially the bad ones, are spreading very fast around the world, and we have to be aware that also information with not necessarily good messages are traveling between children every day, very often without control of any adults. It shouldn’t be a problem when children are sharing information among themselves, but it can be far more dangerous when they are connecting with adult strangers through the Web. And such strangers are usually very bad people with even worse intentions.

Bad consequences.

This kind of situation we can find in every country within different levels of society. For young people, computer should be a tool that will help them with education in easy way and just to entertain them. In our times it looks completely different. Of course kids use the computers and internet to entertain but very often it is connected with violence and unethical content. Next problem is that children are more and more engaged in social media activities. Those kinds of relationships can became extremely dangerous to them, because sometimes people on the other side of the screen are not the people that they pretend to be. This creates situation in which kids are exposed to threats like kidnapping and pedophilia. The other result of involvement in social media relationships is the fact that youth is less sociable. Young citizens prefer to communicate with friends through the Net rather than spending time with them in the real life. Because of that kids started to have serious problems with normal verbal communication with other people which can cause some serious mental issues.

What adults can do?

First of all, the situation that was described above is not related only to the children. Adults very often also decide to focus on virtual life, mostly because of the lack of the free time. Pressure in work and desire to make a career force them to maximize the time spent at work and to limit their free time to the minimum. That’s why is so important to give kids an example of how we should organize our daily life. Adults are role models to the youngest so they should use it to raise them in a proper way. There is another very easy way to prevent any dangers coming from the Web. On the software market there are some applications that can easily restrain any threats considering using the computer and the Internet. The parental controls are usually easy to use and can perform diversified operations. It can meet expectations of parents as well as CEOs and heads of public institutions.

 

 

 

If you want to extend your knowledge about parental control visit: www.pcwebcontrol.com – PCWebControl is tested and proven parental monitoring software. It is widely used in hundreds  of households, public institutions and private companies.

 

 

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Our Family’s Precious Weekend 3

 

Summer Photoshoot

Posted on by Ms. Elle

 

Summer collage

Our little girl likes to pose for the camera anytime anywhere.  This is her recent pictures.  My husband was just cleaning his camera and stuff when she said, “Papa take my picture”.

As a mom I love it.  It’s something that I wanted to do when I was young, but never had the chance. Now, she’s fulfilling it for me.  She’s a natural.  She is photogenic.  Something that I am fruitlessly trying to be until now, lol.

qqeustWhat do you think?

 

 

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HELP!!!: Chuay Duay!!!

Posted on by Ms. Elle

Was there a time when your kid was like this?

vandal 2  vandal1  vandal4  vandal7  vandal6

Yesterday, I was so busy doing my Saturday chores in the kitchen. I was so immersed in it that I totally forgot about my 2 little ones playing in the receiving area of the house.  When I came I saw Summer deeply engaged in writing and drawing…. “ON THE WALL!!!!!”. I was outraged. My mind was racing as to what to be angry about first, the act of vandalism or the fact that we would have to spend an unknown amount of  money just to have the walls repainted. I was about to open my mouth and getting ready for an all out rant but then when I saw how she was so into it I suddenly had the odd feeling and thought against it.  She was in deep concentration, much like a painter engrossed in their painting and entranced by the moment.

I did not want to interrupt her at that time with the fear that she might lose her “gusto” to draw.  I was holding my self, teeth gritting and just thought that I would just find another time to tell her about drawing on her sketch pad and not on the wall.

I remembered asking Summer once to “draw a face” one of our study times, she refused saying she doesn’t know how to draw one.  I did not force the issue.  So, when I saw these, I was surprised, amazed, happy, but worried by the fact that she finally drew… “ON THE WALL!!!”.

So, I took some pictures instead.

After which she told me who those drawings are. They are us.  I’m also glad that she drew faces with ears. My Psychology teacher in college told us, if you draw a face with ears, it means that you are a good listener.  Something that I am not, although I’m trying to be. LOL!

Then softly but with a stern face I reminded her that it would be nicer to draw on the paper or on her drawing pad than on the wall.  I did not put so much issue on the vandalism part because it might only make her do it more.

 

When you have something like this at home, how do you handle it?

 

Feel free to leave your comments or creative responses below! Cheers!

 

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Khun Meh Yu Nai Khrub?: Mama Where Are You?

Posted on by Ms. Elle

 

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As I’ve mentioned in my previous post Expat babies Travel 101 and Don’t Mess With Immigration Officers, that for Thailand-born babies to travel out of the country they need to have a passport.  Summer and Derick are no exceptions.  Summer already has gotten her Philippine passport last 2010.  Derick, on the other hand does not have yet.  Due to time and financial constraint, we were unable to procure him a passport early on. Consequently, he was unable to come with us to the Philippines last November.  My husband had to stay as well to look after him. All my boys were left to fend on their own.

So what happened?

Derick had to stay with his Thai nanny during the day while Papa goes to work.  During weekends, Papa needs to work extra to eke out the finances, Derick stayed with very helpful and generous Filipino couple Mai Mai and Martin.  Thanks a bunch to you guys.  So, this was the set up for 25 longs days.

When I finally came home, I was so sad because Derick did not recognize me right away.  It took 10 seconds of trying to make him remember me because he just looked at me for a second and looked away the next. I have to call his name again in the usual intonation and pitch I use, and did the gesture I usually do everytime I pick him up from his nanny. Oh gosh, that moment broke my heart.  I had a lump in my throat.

He eventually recognized me. I saw happiness and relief in his face. This probably explains why for the next few days, he just wanted to be held by me.  He cried everytime I’m out of sight.

 

Here’s a video of Derick with Martin in one of those weekends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Ld2xFmbrs&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Were you ever been away from your child? How did you feel about it?

 

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Shout out!

Posted on by Ms. Elle

Shout out to 2 good people who helped me out in my time of need. Char! hehehe… THANK YOU SO MUCH! ARIGATOU GOSAIMASU! MUCHOS GRACIAS! KHAUP KHUN MAK Krhup! to Mai Mai and to her lovidoo Martin! for baby-sitting my soon to be one year old baboy este… baby boy Derick. With out them my extra classes would have been in shambles!!! LOL!

 

Barely holding!!!

9 more days to go before Mitch and my badly missed daughter Summer comes back here in Thailand

I feel like crying…

I feel super exhausted from waking up  too early, going to work (ma LATE pa gyud grrrrr), going to my extra classes then going home to a smiling baby… err…  this is my son Derick. He will turn one this Dec. 22

 

What?

was I saying something? uhm…

Really?

What about?

LOL!

Sleeping time!

pugay kamay ni… manghugas ug sterilize pa man diay ko ug botelya ni Derick… haaaaayst!

 

Lack of sleep? Seriously?

Posted on by Ms. Elle

I have always prided myself as a late-night person. I can stay up very late wee into midnight, sleep for 5 to 6 hours and still be fully functional in the morning. “at least that is what i think LOL!” I have been a gamer ever since i was in high school up to now that i am already in my mid 30’s… “DOTA any one?” and as  gamers we are known to stay up very late… ^_^

But lately, my son and i have been left to fend for ourselves…  just kidding…. My wife and my daughter went home to the Philippines for a very important matter.

My son Derick who is 11 months old is left in my care. It has been 9 days since they left and i have managed to adjust to the current situation. I even thought to my self “hmmm i ain’t that bad even when left alone with a baby in my care” Hurrah for me… hurrah!!!!

Every thing is going well… except for one…..

These past few days i have been experiencing sleepiness in my classroom. I even fell asleep while i was having my speaking test. That has never happened to me before no matter how boring listening to 45 students talk one by one. One student even asked me. “Khruu Kha, huang non uh.. Tum mi?”  Teacher.. Why are you sleepy? I just shook my head and smiled coz i don’t know either.

Yesterday i really tried to analyze  what is going on.  i am positively sure that the household chores are not the reason for this. I do household chores even when my wife is here it’s just that i am doing her chores now and left my own chores undone ^_^… LOL! And also my sleeping pattern is still the same. Derick is already fast asleep by 8 pm. then i start doing some of the chores that i cannot do with Derick awake. like Wash and sterilize milk bottles, do a little laundry, clean the house so on and so forth. then sleep at around 11 pm or 12… same as usual. Then what caused this sleepiness during the day?

I was really baffled about this lack of sleep issue since this has never happened to me before.  Then the light bulb lit cartoonishly in my head realizing that… waking up 3 to 4 times to give Derick his milk during the night has caused this sleepiness. It is the only change in my sleeping habit ever since my wife went home. And indeed it is true. Last night as i was giving Derick his milk i realized that waking up to give his milk is really energy draining. The amount of energy spent to respond to his cry is just immense “Well for a sleeping person that is” No time for yawning or lingering… it’s just immediate action to get the milk bottle, or worst make the formula as fast as i can because i do not want Derick to fully awaken.. and when all the commotion dies down i try to go back to sleep… which will take for quite some time.

Now as i am typing this… i have yawned a million times , my eyes begging me for some shutdown time. LOL!
Then again i thought… Mommy’s are really awesome!!! My wife has done this with our daughter Summer and now with Derick and despite all these sleep disturbances she manages to do a lot of things in the morning and then in the evening when we get home…
Mommies are just awesome!
Lack of sleep. Now i fully understand what my wife means when she says ” Derick or Summer has taken so much of my sleeping time.
And if you ask me.. Seriously?!… I’d say yeah… Seriously .

If you have any similar situation feel free to type it in.. leave your comments, reactions etc etc… will be glad to hear from you folks… Cheers!

🙂 Ryan D.

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Go Green for our kid’s sake!

Posted on by Ms. Elle

WILL THERE COME A TIME WHEN WE DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT? Where everything is in a stable and healthy condition…..

I’ve read from an article many years back that environment researches are well-funded by rich businessmen who owns big industrial companies.  At first I thought, wow, it’s really very noble of these people.  But on second thought, it’s quite ironic.  And then later, I asked myself, why in the world would they fund a research that could someday recommend for the closure of their not-so-friendly-industry.  To my surprise, the reason is not noble at all.  These people live by the saying, “…know the law in order to find a way around it.  If the research output will not put their businesses in jeopardy, well and good.  If it does, then they will know how to twist and bend the information such that it will work for them. After reading that article (maybe in Reader’s Digest, I just could not be certain), I felt desperation creep through me.

Sometimes in my most somber, contemplative mood, I find myself groping for ideas on how to effectively solve environmental problems (superwoman effect).  At other times I find myself stuck at the abyss of hopelessness. Deep in my heart I fear for my kids.  Will they get to enjoy a fresh morning walk?  Will they get the chance to see morning fog (the real one and not industrial smog)?  Will they be able to sit on a tree branch singing, playing, or to just simply chill out?

I don’t know if it’s just me or other parents feel the same way as I am about this.  Summer is asthmatic.  It irritates me so much to see smoke belchers.  Whenever we go to the beach, I am dispirited by the sight of rubbish floating in the water.  It makes me think how can a highly intellectual homo sapiens be this stupid. Oh well, there is a big difference between intelligence and wisdom after all.  Don’t you think so?

What do you think of environmental issues? Do you feel it is too big for you to deal with, and you’d rather leave to the “authorities”?