Art & Craft :)

It's been a while since I last blogged here, busy with building up my other website/blog/shop at http://www.mummyhugsshop.blogspot.com/ :) I've always liked Art & Craft myself and believe that it can really bring out the imagination, creativity and handy craft skills in a child or even the adult. And you have so much fun doing it! So here's an attempt with my little boy yesterday. I search online and found this great website with activities for toddlers. Toddler Activities We tried the one where you stick a marker pen onto the front of a toy car and roll it around on the paper to make patterns. Tristan is crazy about cars, so he enjoyed rolling his 'Mater Tow Truck' and making patterns on the paper. :) Then we tried this other craft from my memory. It's a type of paper weaving. I was clearing out some old magazines and found some nice colourful pictures, tore it out and kept it for a art n craft activity. This is the picture we used. First we drew horizontal lines on the paper and cut it into equal stripes. I used the width of a small ruler for easy measurement. Second, take a piece of white A4 paper, leaving a border, draw vertical lines -same width as the 'strawberry' strips of paper. Use a pen knife and cut along the lines. ( Don't cut the borders :) Then you can start weaving each strip of 'strawberry' paper up and down through the white paper. Here's Tristan helping mama put in the strips of strawberry paper. Here's how the end product looks like, and Tristan was ready to show it off to his father and grandparents! :)

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.

Visit My New Pregnancy Blog!

My New Pregnancy Blog: Twice Blessed.

http://mummyhugs-twiceblessed.blogspot.com/

Blocked ears and stuffy nose during pregnancy?

I had blocked nose and ears last week, I thought it was just normal flu. But today my ears are blocked again but no runny or blocked nose. Ah... so irritating, thought something wrong with me, I cant hear very well.

I just tried my luck to see if it has anything to do with being pregnant, well surprisingly, it does! Check this out...

"Because more blood is being pumped, the lining of the airways receives more blood and swells somewhat, narrowing the airways. As a result, the nose occasionally feels stuffy, and the eustachian tubes (which connect the middle ear and back of the nose) may become blocked. These effects can slightly change the tone and quality of the woman's voice."

Click here to read further

Blocked Ears and Nose during Pregnancy   http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec22/ch257/ch257d.html

Cranky 2 year old!

Tristan cried non-stop just before he fell asleep at 11pm and seem extra temperamental throughout the day.

We are all so tired from a full day's activity which included a Spastic Charity Fun-Fair from 7:30am-10:30am, rushed back home and got ready to leave for my eldest sister in law's twin girls full moon party, which lasted till about 4pm and we went on to shopping at Orchard Road-Great Singapore Sale until 11pm at night.

Being so drained out of energy plus a cranky 2 year old who requested & threw his temper around to get what he wanted, I lost my temper. Tristan cried and cried till he choke... cough and vomit! He look so poor thing... but I was too tired and angry to feel sympathetic for him. Now that he is asleep finally... I reviewed the days' activities... realised it's too much for the little one. He must be exhausted. Really a child's time-table/schedule should not be too filled with activities, and should include a time where he really takes a proper nap and rest.

Mistake that we made included not bringing a baby sling or baby pram for the shopping trip. Chris and I ended up with tired arms and back, and an interrupted extra non-productive shopping. Running after a 2 year old and calming a tired and cranky child can really take up all your energy.

Here's what I found re:

"How Do I Deal With My Child’s Temper Tantrums?"

http://www.momcentral.com/toddlers/how-do-i-deal-with-my-childs-temper-tantrums.html

 

Oh well... lesson learned. No more long day filled with activities. Plan for naps and rest times. Remember to bring baby sling & pram-since now that I am pregnant and Tristan is getting heavier!

Breastfeeding during pregnancy.

Wow... 2 blogs in a day?... hhmmm...cant sleep- nose is congested ... Decide to research on something which I wanted to do long ago.

Breastfeeding during Pregnancy.

I received a lot of concern from family and friends re: me breastfeeding during pregnancy. Most are worried for my depleting health, priority should go to the baby in my womb, and I should wean Tristan off.

Once again, lucky for me that I have my sister in law as a role model. She continued nursing her first one ( then about 1 and half years ) while pregnant, and continue breastfeeding both till about 3-4 years of age. So being pregnant does not seem to be a good reason to stop breastfeeding.

But I didn't have knowledge to back me up, so I got swayed away... reducing breastfeeding and actually thinking of weaning. Actually I don't mind the weaning part, it's just that I wish the decision to wean is between me and Tristan rather than doing it because of external pressure. I prefer to let him lead the weaning off breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is more than just a source of food and nutrition anymore, it's about the relationship and the bond between me and my son. I still want to continue to this relationship as long as we both want it.

Here are some interesting information that I found that really clear my doubts on whether it is safe to continue breastfeeding, whether is it ok, whether mother's or the health of the baby in the womb will be affected, and what nutrition should the nursing mother be aware of.

Kellymom: Nursing for two http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/index.html.

Nurtrition for Mom http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/04momnutrition.html