The Great Expectation

Ha.. tot I will be more diligent and update this second pregnancy blog of mine more often, oh well I guess things are a little different second time round.

'Tired' is the key word! Constantly! I really wonder how other mothers cope with a 3rd or 4th...etc. It's not so much the pregnancy that is tiring, but it's the 'being pregnant and still need to tend to a super active toddler' part that is the more energy consuming. And also wanting to spend more time with the first one before the second one arrives. So here I am at the 7th Month of my pregnancy and only 2 more months to go!

Time flies, really. Week after week... and I am so close to the end of my second pregnancy that I really don't know what to expect this time round. And frankly, I am no where near prepared. Mentally not prepared for the labour and tending to a newborn, the sleepless nights ahead...etc. And since me and my sister in law is giving birth on the same month, ( her fourth girl- I take my hats off her! she's my idol. ) we cant borrow her crib or clothes or all the baby stuff. Nothing is prepared physically yet. No baby bed, haven't taken out the limited newborn clothes I have bought previously, the broken breast pump that needs repair...etc...etc...
I cant even remember the signs to look out for when I am in labour and no time to really sit down and plan what else needs to be done. Oh no... time is running out!

The other thing that is worrying me is how Tristan will react when the new baby is here, and how I am going to cope with it? I am no where near reading the chapter on toddler rival from my "Baby makes four" book that I got months ago. The only preparation I did was getting my husband to take on more roles with Tristan like bathing and cleaning Tristan, making milk for him and more father and son alone time.
And part of me wish to spend more time with him, other part wants to earn some more income before no.2 arrives. Cos I dont think I'll or have the means to go back to work then.

So... here I am at the last 2 months of my pregnancy and I guess I wont be filling up this blog as much as I wish. Here's a summary of events that happened in the last few months.

25/06/08 Tristan weaned...
:(...:)- missed it, but happy to take a break before no.2 arrives.

5/07/08 Baby kicked last week

13/07/08 It's a boy
(Yes we are having another boy. No real expectation of girl/boy, just pray for a normal healthy child. But seeing other little baby girls make me think of trying for another one ... we'll see how I go with 2 first :)

Till the next time. :)

Maze & Flash Cards :)

My mom recorded one of the Channel 8 show on Smart Baby that was aired on few Saturdays ago regarding training toddler right brain with Flash cards and maze. I am amazed at how smart these kids on TV are. A 2 year old could recite all the things he sees on the flash cards and a 6 year old reading Enid Blyton books and her memory of things is just simply....(what's another word for amazing.. hhmm..) oh well.. simply amazing.

I promise myself not to get hooked up with the 'kiasu' world outside and pressurize my kids to excel above their limits and age. And also not to send them to every tuition and classes under the sun. But I am passionate about teaching and educating my child and I believe learning should be fun and enjoyable. And not under tremendous stress to excel and achieve excellence.

Instead of sending him to these highly commercialized right brain training centres.. and mind you it's not cheap at all. I decided to just go to the local stores and find some good yet affordable flash cards with clear pictures and search online for more information. I found a pack of 32 flash cards on vegetable and fruits for just RM7.90 cheap cheap.. and some smaller size flash cards from Giant Hyper mart for only less than RM10. great deal:)

And look what I've found online that's free... :)

http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/education/links/dottodotmaze.html

http://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/Games/Puzzles_and_Mazes/

http://kidsfront.com/maze-printable.html

http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2007/04/learning.html

So far I tried him on the flash cards he enjoys them and is doing pretty well. My printer isn't working so I just started drawing my own maze like how to drive the card back home, and how to bring the rabbit to eat the carrot..etc..Oh ya, I bought a 40 pages draw and wipe book the other day for about S$12, and me and my son absolutely love it... I think I get more excited then him. I will give you more details on this book soon.. it's available online too. I love to see Tristan learn and get interested in things. I think it's our job as parents to encourage them to love learning and while learning have fun and enjoy what they do.

I just like to leave a quote here :"
"Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasure and enable mankind to benefit therefrom." ~Bahá'u'lláh


I started another blog on spiritual education of children under http://brilliantstars.blogspot.com/
http://brilliantstars.blogspot.com/

Here I plan to include many virtues, art and craft materials and great link in education of children.