Food Pyramid

An overwhelming variety of both natural and highly processed foods is available at the market. To guide people in picking healthy food items, the US Department of Agriculture has designed the food pyramid. It is a labeled illustration, shaped like a pyramid, which demonstrates groups of essential food types and the quantity in which a normal individual requires each of these foods.

At the base of the food pyramid are such food items that serve as ready sources of energy. These are rich in starch, low in fat, and include cereals, pasta, bread, and different types of grains. By the specifications of the food pyramid, a normal adult individual needs 6 to 11 servings of these items daily. Whole grains are the best and healthiest food of this group. In a single serving of these foods you can include a slice of bread, a cup of cereal flakes, one flat tortilla, and one ounce of rice or pasta.

As the geometry of the food pyramid shows, vegetables and fruits are required in less quantity than carbohydrates. Normally, a grown person would need 3 to 5 servings of vegetables and 2 to 4 servings of fruits daily. The high fiber content of vegetables and fruits make them ideal food items as fiber keeps the bowel movements in order. In addition, they are both rich in vitamins (required for immunity and general health) and minerals, which ensure the proper functioning of various body organs. Among vegetables, go for more dark green vegetables and try to pick fresh fruits instead of fruit juices.

Next upper chamber in the food pyramid is occupied by proteins and dairy products. You need 2 to 3 servings daily of each of these foods. Protein comes from lean meat, eggs, fish, beans, and nuts. It is advisable to remove the visible fat on the meat so as to make it a low fat item. Be moderate in using nuts, since they also hold fats. Among the dairy products, milk is the complete diet with most of the required vitamins and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Cheese and yogurt are also recommended dairy foods. Try to abstain from high intake of ice cream and cheese that is high in fat.

Lastly, at the top of the food pyramid lie fats, including oils, and sweets. The recommended quantity of these items is limited to sparing use. Butter, cream, oils, candies, margarines etc., are all foods that are not easy to digest and hence should be used in minimal amounts. However, it is an important part of our diet, just as all the other parts of the food pyramid are important as well.

Read more.....

What are Aerobics?

Aerobics, which literally means “with oxygen,” are exercise that can be done to lose weight and regain health. There are main types of aerobic exercises, and if you do these exercises daily, you will find that you really will be more healthy. Aerobics are generally done at moderate levels of intensity for a longer time and can target any part of your body you wish to slim. There are many advantages of aerobics, which is why this form of exercise is both important and popular among health-conscious people.
Exercise can be broken down into two categories: aerobic and anaerobic. These differ in the ways in which your muscles contract during the exercise and how energy is generated within the muscles. Examples of anaerobic exercises include weight training or strength training, and with aerobic exercises, even the most well-built bodybuilder will not be able to run, swim, etc for long periods of time.

During aerobic exercise, your body breaks down glycogen to use for energy. If there is not enough glycogen in the body, you start using fat reserves instead, which is why you lose weight. Oxygen plays a key role in this process. With aerobic exercise, you don’t use bursts of energy. Rather, you spread out moderate levels of energy over a long period of time to trigger the use of fat in energy production. In general, things like running long distances, aerobics dances, and swimming for long periods of time are considered aerobics exercises, while anything with short bursts of motion, like sprinting, are not.
Benefits of aerobics exercises are great, which is why most doctors recommend them to patients, even if you enjoy a normal weight. Some of these benefits include strengthening the repertory muscles, enlarging the heart to pump more efficiently, increasing the flow of blood (and oxygen) in the body, and increasing endurance. Aerobics decrease the risk of death due to cardiovascular problems and of osteoporosis in both men and women.

Want to learn how aerobics can change your life? There are a number of great exercise programs you can do, which include both solo activities and classes with groups. To learn more (and always before starting a new exercising program, talk to your doctor or other health care professional to learn what types of aerobic exercises will work best for your body. Aerobics are the key to living a healthier and physically productive life, so don’t wait another day before starting a new healthy program that includes aerobics.

Read more.....

Maintaing Quality time with your kids

Are you a mother who is also a career-oriented woman? If you are, you may have number of different issues tugging at your heart. In today’s society, many mothers are fearful of putting their family first, especially in certain circumstances, in fear of losing their jobs. With that in mind, there are many mothers who are fearful that their children will grow up resenting them due to the amount of time they spent focused on work.
While being a mother and a career-oriented woman, all at the same time, may seem like an impossible task, it is a task that you can more than perform. What you need to remember, although difficult as it may be, is that you should be a mom first. However, that doesn’t mean that you should just toss your workload to the side and not care. There are a number of different ways that you can go about being a good parent, while still brining home an income. One of those ways involves spending quality time with your child or children when you are not working.
One of the best ways for you to go about spending quality time with your child or children is by creating a schedule for yourself. This schedule can be used to outline any important events that you and your child or children have planned. Although your schedule does not need to be followed right down to the letter, it is important to have one. Mothers who create schedules for themselves are more likely to follow through with their plans.

Speaking of your plans, you may be wondering what you should do to spend quality time with your child or children. Of course, it is important to keep your child’s age in mind. A child who is three years old will prefer different activities than one who is nine or ten years old. With that in mind, there are a number of different activities that many children, including those of all ages, love. A few of those activities are outlined below for your convenience.
One activity that you may want to think about doing with your child or children is taking them to the zoo. Regardless of where you live, you should have a zoo within a reasonable driving distance to your home. Zoo trips are fun and exciting, as they often last all day. What is nice about zoo trips is that they are fun and educational all at the same time. This means that your quality time can benefit your child or children in more ways than one.
Another activity that you may want to think about doing is taking your child or children to the movies. Whether your child is three years old or fifteen years old, there should be a movie playing that would likely interest them. Going to the movies is nice, as many children view it as a treat. For more affordable movie tickets, you may want to think about going to see a movie with your family during the daytime.
Additional activities that many children enjoy are those of park visits, museum visits, and sporting events. In all honestly, it really doesn’t matter what you do. To your child or children, how matter what their age, they will likely just appreciate the fact that you took some time away from work to have fun with them, no matter what the activity.

Read more.....

Three Reasons why you should lose weight

Are you a woman who is struggling with your weight? If you are, you are definitely not alone. Today, many women are faced with many issues, including weight. If you are unhappy with your current weight, you may be interested in changing it, but, for many, that is often easier said than done.
When it comes to losing weight, many women are able to come up with an unlimited number of excuses as to why they can’t lose weight or excuses as to why this important issue should be pushed off to the side for now.

Many women are lacking the motivation needed to lose weight. If you are one of those women, you will want to continue reading on. Below, three reasons as to why you should lose weight are outlined and these reasons may serve as the motivation that you have been looking for.

1. Appearance

Although many women are satisfied with the way that they look, many are not. If you are currently unhappy with the way that you look and feel, you will want to consider losing weight. Weight loss, even a small one, can significantly improve the way that you see yourself, as well as the way that others see you. If you hate looking at yourself in the mirror every morning, it may be time to think about losing weight.

2. Health

For many women, being overweight or obese isn’t just about carrying around a few extra pounds. Obesity has been linked to a number of health complications, including high blood pressure, diabetes, as well as the early onset of death. If you do not take steps to lose weight now, especially if you are seriously overweight, your health may have other plans for you. It is important to mention that those plans may not necessarily be good ones.

3. Wellbeing

In addition to benefiting your health and your physical appearance, weight loss can also make you feel good about yourself. Many women notice an instant improvement in their self-confidence and self-esteem when they lose weight. This means that even if you are suffering from other issues, aside from weight related issues, weight loss may be able to assist you with overcoming those issues or at least the stress that is associated with them.

The three above mentioned reasons are just a few of the many reasons why you may want to think about losing weight, if you have weight to lose. Should you decide that losing weight is in your best interest, you may want to think about making an appointment with a healthcare professional. These types of appointments are important, as well as insightful. Your healthcare professional may be able to instruct you on safe ways that you can go about losing weight and they may also be able to help you set reasonable weight loss goals for yourself.

Although it is advised that you speak with a healthcare professional about your intent to lose weight, you don’t have to just rely on their expertise or their input. A large number of women, just like you, lose weight by joining locally operated weight loss programs, as well as online weight loss programs. What is nice about weight loss programs, both those operated locally and online, is that you often walk away with professional advice, as well as support from others just like you.

Read more.....

The importance of creating budget for yourself

Are you a debt-ridden woman? Even if debt may not be an issue for you now, there is a good chance that it will become one in the future. Whether you are in debt now or if you are looking to prevent yourself from falling victim to it, you may want to examine budgets. Creating a budget for yourself is a simple process, but it is one that can help to keep you out of debt or even get you out of debt.

Before examining how you can go about creating a budget for yourself, it is important to understand the importance of budgets. As previously stated, budgets are a tool that can be used to make sure that debt isn’t any longer an issue for you. By creating yourself a budget you are able to track your spending, as well as ensure that all needed expenses, like your car instance or your mortgage, get paid. This also gives you the opportunity to examine how much extra money you have each month, money that you could put towards repaying your debt or put in a savings account, if you aren’t in debt right now.

When it comes to creating a budget for yourself, you should be able to find a number of budget templates online for you to use. While these free resources are nice, you may only want to use them as starting points. You can get great ideas from them, but you may want to create your own budget. This is important because not all individuals lead the same lives or have the same expenses to take care of. For instance, a budget template for those in New York City may not necessarily call for car payments or auto insurance, but if you had a vehicle, you will need these sections displayed on your budget.

It is also advised that you take the time to create a budget for each month of the year. As previously stated, a budget allows you to account for your spend in advance. If you have a birthday party in July that you need to attend, you may need to account for buying a gift. However, this is something that will likely not occur each month. Creating individual budgets for each month of the year may seem like a complicated process, but it doesn’t have to be. It may take a few extra minutes, but those few minutes are more than worth it.

To get you started with saving your money, to help relieve the stress and other issues often associated with debt, you will want to start by outlining all expenses that you must pay for on a monthly basis. These expenses are ones in which you cannot go without paying, like rent, mortgage, renters insurance, homeowners insurance, auto insurance, auto loan payments, groceries, and your utility bills. These are the expenses that must be paid, no matter what.

Once you have a detailed list of important expenses, like those that you are unable to go with out, you can focus on the next level of importance. These are items such as internet access or cable television. If you are just looking to save money, possibly to put into a savings account, you should be able to continue paying these expenses without any problems. On the other hand, if you are looking to dig yourself out of all of the unpaid debt that you have accumulated, it may be a good idea to go without internet access or cable television, if at all possible, even if it is just for a short period of time.

You can also use your budget to determine how much extra money you will have each month. You can do this if you regularly work the same hours or if your pay is salary based. Once you have totaled up all of the aforementioned expenses, you can subtract that from the amount of the money that you bring home from work each week. Any extra is money that you may want to consider putting towards your debt or saving, just in c

Read more.....

Becoming Ageless with Botox

Looking young and fresh is truly important, especially for women. However, age cannot tell a lie. As you turn to 30, wrinkle will start to appear in your face and for some women it could be a nightmare. Nowadays there are a lot of methods on how to change your appearance and stay and looking young. Face lifts is one of them, but Botox is one of the latest technology in the Cosmetic Surgery industry.

What is actually a Botox? Botox is a very diluted version of the botulinum toxin. While the pure form is known as dangerous and can caused food poisoning, Botox has been carefully administered therefore, it is generally safe.

So how does this Botox work? We all know that Some of the wrinkles are caused by pressure from the muscles in your face.The Injections of Botox will paralyze the muscles and release the tension, reducing or even removing the wrinkles there.

These are some of the reasons why people prefer to use Botox:
1. Botox is Inexpensive. Normally it only cost $500 / treatment. Compare to Face lift which could cost thousands dollars
2. The effects are fairly rapid, most of the time it will take 3-5 days
3. The procedure is very quick, It takes around 10 – 30 minutes and after that you can simply go home. Face lift patient will have to wait longer with much more recovery time
4. The pain is minimal
5. Botox almost never requires anesthesia


However, beyond of those benefits there are also some shortcomings and drawback about Botox such as:
1. Not all wrinkle can be removed by Botox. Those caused by smoking habit or sun exposure, for instance are not the ones.
2. Botox works by paralyzing muscles. You may not be able to peep or glare after the treatment. In worse but rare case, It could caused your eye lid to sag or a slight tendency to drool..
3. Botox’s effect is temporary, It tend to wear off after a few months, meaning if you like the effects, you'll have to get another treatment. However, if you don't like what Botox does for you, then this limited period of effectiveness is a good thing.
4. To get the full benefit of Botox, there are some requirements that you should fulfill such as: You have to be in a good condition of physical and Psychological health, not using any drugs or alcohol.

Last but not least, take a lot of consideration before you decide to receive Botox, Seek as many as you wish all the information from your doctor, follow all the instruction and be honest about your health (allergy history, etc) and personal being.

Read more.....

Weight lost strategy between men and women

Have you ever noticed that men and women have different behavior when they want to lose their weight? This article contrast about this distinction. It said that women have the tendency to minimize the calories intake (input), while men prefer to do exercise more intense to reduce the excessive calories they had (output). Moreover, women are very organized and love to make “Food Journal”, count calories, eat less portion, eat more veggies and fruits, etc. Men, on the other hand don’t like to be bother with complicated strategy therefore only limit to the best tactic with better result in their perspective.

Beyond those differences, however, there are also some similarities that men and women have as their effort to lose their weight. According to this article, most of the time none of these strategies found to be effective. These are:

1. Skipping Meals – Means that they cut back their overall food consumption. However, this strategy often resulted with hunger which made the dieter became overeats. If the skipped meals is breakfast it also worse.

2. Completely eliminated certain food, such as chocolate, chips, ice cream – in the long term this strategy also often failed because the dieter will crave for this particular food
3. Becoming a vegetarian – Even though it could be healthy, but if you include candy, sweet, cookies and all snacks which consider as vegetarian
4. A very high protein diet – Besides it could be dangerous for body, this also cannot work in a long term

Another resemblance between both genders is that they decrease the fat and sugar ingestion as their effort to lose weight. According to the article this is the best strategy that can be applied because a research found that snacks itself account extra calories that Americans consumed.

In conclusion, this article believed that when it comes to losing weight both men and women should have different approaches. As women loves to have well structure plan and don’t mind to cut back their portion, It is suggested that they just downsized their food by sharing it with husband or friends. On the other hand, Men simply couldn’t resist large portion. This could be tricky because the bigger portion served the more people will eat. Therefore, adding up some healthy non fat or low calories to bulk their meal are recommended.

Read more.....

New Motherhood Challenges - What Noone Tells You - And How to Cope

During their pregnancies, many women imagine what motherhood will be like. We envision peaceful scenes such as rocking our babies in a recliner while they effortlessly breastfeed. We imagine the things we'll do while baby sleeps the hours away. While washing and folding baby clothes and getting the baby's things ready, we daydream about our little one and how we'll care for him.

Often, we're quite unprepared for the experience of new motherhood. While having children is a blessing, the postpartum period is one of adjustment. Our expectations are often quite different from the reality. Many women experience some or many of the following challenges:

* Fussy babies - Having a colicky or fussy, "high need" infant can shatter a new mom's confidence and cause major stress. When her baby cries for hours at a time, it can put strain on her relationship with the baby's father and undermine her emotional well being. Often there is little that can be done for a fussy baby other than holding him and waiting for him to outgrow it. A baby sling can certainly be helpful. Research shows that babies cry less when they are "worn" close to the mothers body.

* Mood swings - The baby blues is a very common experience for new moms in our society, and there are many theories as to why so many moms experience this phenomenon. Contributing factors may be: the stress of such a massive life change, sleep deprivation, the physical demands of childbirth, lack of proper support, and hormonal adjustments. Certainly it is wise for a new mom to lower her expectations of herself. Getting out of the house for some socializing, exercise, and sunlight can be a huge help. Good nutrition and avoiding sugar and caffeine are also smart moves.

* Relationship difficulties - Some new moms become resentful of their partners. While a mom's life changes drastically after the birth of a new baby, a dad's life doesn't change so much. His apparent freedom can be the cause of negative feelings. Good communication skills are important here. Moms can tell their partners what they need, and affirm his place and importance in the family. Letting him care for the baby on his own to learn his own style is a good idea.

* Bonding issues - When moms read about the bonding that is so essential for baby's development, they're sometimes stressed or worried if they don't feel an instant connection with their new infants. Bonding is different for each mother/baby dyad. Some moms experience an instant feeling of deep love for their newborn infants the moment baby is put into their arms. For others, the feeling develops over time. There is no right or wrong way to bond. One thing that helps a mother develop a deep attachment to her baby is to wear him close to her body in a baby sling. The sling helps baby adjust to postpartum life gradually, leading to less crying. A happier baby means a happier mom. It's also easier for mom to get things done around the house, increasing her sense of accomplishment.

* Breastfeeding challenges - Breastfeeding can be a wonderful experience, and for some mothers it comes easily. Others experience difficulties. Painful breastfeeding can increase the risk of postpartum depression, but successful breastfeeding decreases the risk. A mom who is experiencing pain should get help immediately. Often all that is needed is a slight adjustment in positioning or latch to stop the pain.

New moms need support and information to have a happier postpartum adjustment. Talking with other mothers can be extremely helpful. Thankfully there are many mother's groups that a new mom can reach out to in order to get the community she needs.

Read more.....

Have fun and get paid with blog advertising

Do you have a blog? Ever think to monetize your blog? Whether you use your blog for an Online Journal or you specifically want to earn extra money from it, Bloggers nowadays have more opportunities to make money over the internet. There are numerous sites that you can choose, each one have their own rules and regulations if you wish to join.

Recently i read about this site from my cousin's blog. It is a Blog Advertising site that bridge the need between advertiser to do publicity and publisher (blog owner) whose regularly need content to be posted to his blog. I checked the link and found out some interesting facts about this site, such as: the registration is free and easy. As soon as i registered to become a member, the company did a review over my blog. Luckily, in less than 24 hours this blog has been approved. It means now i’m is qualified enough to do some review about websites, products, companies or services and Yes, I'll get paid to do it.

I believe that there are a lot of Paid Review sites offering similar things. However, in my opinion, this site offers more benefits compare to others. Providing there are many company that want to be reviewed by bloggers, therefore you can choose on which topic that meet your interest. After you reserve the opportunity, they will give you some time to come back and post your review. The payment will be made through your paypal account and the amount of $ will be vary, depending on the topic. You can get extra $25 if your post is the best post on the pay period. Each review opportunity has its own requirement such as minimum 200 words, Google Page Rank, Alexa score, etc.

I believe that most blogger have the ability to write about many things. Even as simple as writing your own thoughts or your perspective toward things is considered as a unique content. Do not feel hesitate if you are not good enough in writing. Just have fun and do the review with your own style.

So, what are you waiting for? Just visit this site today and register now at PayingPost

Read more.....

Belle 1st time go to school

When i mentioned school, it was not really a school class where there were a bunch of children sitting down writing and reading books. It was actually the next level of a Gymnbabe at Tumble Tots. I did take Belle once to a trial class of TT Gymnbabe when she was 8 months old in Jkt. But she was so worry because she's the only baby and there were 3 teachers (that she should called 'auntie') crowd around her. So she cried that time and i didn't think she had a great time.

Well, this time is different as Belle is already a big baby now

I've heard that there is Tumble Tots in Batam but i never know where it is. Then one day when my hubby and me were parking our car in a mall, we saw a big car with huge of cartoon sticker and TT sign on it. So we leave a message on the wiper, ask them to call us regarding the location.

So this morning, after we took daddy to office, me and Belle went to this new school. This actually the very first time that i have to travel by car only with her. She has to sit on her car seat of course. She behave quite nice, accept when saying goodbye to daddy she cried a little bit and ask for 'tutut' (=turun=go down) then i called away her attention by singing some songs, pointing out to car, truck (she's so crazy about trucks... i don't know why, she always scream whenever she saw truck in any size ).

Finally, we get to our destination place. She stopped being fussy and smile when i took her down. Unfortenately, the receptionist said that the class for 'walking to 2 years old' will start at 9.30 and that was only 8.45 AM. So i asked for a tour but it only took less than 5 minutes. I took Belle to a little park nearby to play, but it was too hot being outside. I took her to a canteen (It's so small and all the seats were occupied, actually there were only 4 seats). Just next to the tumble tots, still inside the area, there is a swimming pool. And Belle jump in delight to see the water. She pull my hand so hard and she tried so hard to drag me into the pool. It was quite difficult to persuade her that neither me or her didn't wear any swimsuit so we couldn't swim. Finally we spent the rest of the waiting time sitting down and drink soya, she just learn how to sip the drink from straw (anything that could distract her attention) and it kept her busy.

When finally the teacher called us to come inside the class Belle was already settled and well contained.

There were 4 children including Belle when we entered the class and Belle was the only girl . One boy, nearly 2 years old, i guess was so good and seems familiar with all the children physical equipment. Another boy was just laying down and keep sucking his bottle of milk. (Belle, with her new interest to inform anything, come to this boy and point him, saying out loud "MINUM!" she informed me that the boy is drinking then she tried to find her own water bottle). The other boy just stayed in the class for less than 5 minutes because he kept crying (dunno why). Then, after the class began there were some more (another 3 boys again) came and join.

Belle of course still new with all the toys: the stairs, the stepping, the tunnel, and the small trampoline. But i can see that she was soooo excited with all the things, the colorful paintings of tumble tots, and of course the children: her new fellas. She kept following the good boy (Tama) when he practice his physical skill. And Belle kept inform me from time to time on what the boy was doing. (of course, some understandable and some with her own words . However, when the teacher call and ask to gathered together to do some movement with music, Belle also very happy and she did the dancing with her own style. (Eventhough the teacher sing "touch your head... nose... knee... etc) anyway, she's new and still learning. She paid attention to her teachers but at the same time she also had so much fun. And to me that's the most important thing .

Read more.....

It will change your life!

The time is nearly finish for my friend. We were sitting down having lunch when she mentioned casually that she and her husband were thinking to "Start a family" What she meant was that her biological clock is tickling, and she's been force to consider the possibility to become a mother.

"We're having a survey," she said partly joking. "In your opinion, should i have a baby?"
"It will change your life," i said carefully, keeping my tone as normal as i can.
"I know," she said. "There won't be any relaxing on weekend, there won't be a spontaneous holiday..."
But that was not what i meant at all. I looked at her, considering what will i say to her.

I wanted her to know what she may never learn in any lecture about giving birth a baby.

I wanted to tell her the physical wound caused by labor will be heal, but being a mother will make her have a bad emotional wound so that she will have a sensitive heart forever.

I thought to remind her that she will never read the newspaper again without asking "What if that happen to my child?" That every air crash, every fire will haunt her. That when she look at picture of hunger child, she will start wondering is there anything worse rather than to see her child dying.

I stared at her fingernail that has been well taken care of, her stylish dress, and i thought that no matter how sophisticated she is, being a mom will change her to the primitive extend just like a bear protecting its baby.
An urgent call "Momma...!" will caused her drop the pancake or the most divine and expensive crystal at once.

I felt that i have to remind her, no matter how many years she spent to built her career, she will slip professionally into a role of a mother. Perhaps she have someone to take care her baby, but one day when she has to attend an important business meeting, she will remember the sweet smell of her baby. She has to exploit every of her discipline strength to avoid herself running back home, just to check whether her baby is alright or not.

I wanted my best friend to realize that daily decisions won't be as routine as usual anymore. That when her 5 years old boy prefer to go to men's toilet instead of women's at McDonald, it will become a huge dilemma. There, in the middle of clinking and tinkling sound of tray and children' scream, a matter of being independent and gender distinction have to be consider against the possibility that a pedophilia maybe hiding inside the toilet. No matter how assertive she is at the office, she will live in uncertainty world as a mother.

Looking back at my dear beautiful friend, i wanted to make sure to her that in the end she will be free from pregnancy's burden, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, that now is so important, will become less valuable to her as soon as she has a child. That she will be ready to give up her life one day for the sake of saving her generation, on the other hand start to hope to live longer - not to fulfill her own dreams, but to witness her child to fulfill his/her dreams. I wanted to tell her that the cesarean mark and other shining scratched will become badges of honor.

The relationship between my friend and her husband will be change, but not in a way that she may think. I hope she understand that she will love more and more a man that able to bath and change diaper of their baby, or never hesitate to play happily with their son/daughter. I thought that she has to know that she will fall in love again with her husband for unromantic reasons that now she may feel.

I hoped my friend can feel the boundary that she will feel together with women all along history whose incessantly try to stop the war and prejudice, also prevent the people to drink and drive. I wish that she will understand how come i can think rationally about matters, but sometimes become frantic when discussing nuclear war threat toward my children' future.

I wanted to describe her the joy of watching my children learn to play baseball. I wanted her to feel the crisp laugh of a baby touching a soft dog's hair for the first time. I wanted her to feel the true happiness.

My friend's gaze revive me for the tears stemmed up in my eyes. "You will never regret it!" finally i said to her. Then i reach across the table, clutch my friend's hand, and ask her to pray to her, to me, and to all women that slip from her way to this holy convocation.

*adopted from: "Chicken soup for the Woman's Soul"

Read more.....

Handling Cold, Cough, Fever & Flu

It's not the first time that Belle having a cold & fever. In fact, this probably the 6th time in her life. Nevertheless it still made me sad to see her suffer, hear her cry, waking up several times from sleep at night perhaps feeling uncomfortable of her itchy throat.

But I tried to remain calm and do whatever i can to ease her pain. I've did some research from books, internet and join a parenting mailing list. Most of the info said that cold/flu are common for children and no medication are needed as long as we are sure that the child is having a flu, not other type of flu (such as Hongkong Flu, Singaporean Flu a.k.a HFM, or the latest one swine flu) then home treatment would be sufficient. There are some reasons also why we shouldn't give any antibiotic nor any medicine, especially to babies. In simple explanation, because Flu/cold caused by virus not bacteria, while antibiotic only kill bacteria and excessive use of antibiotic can also kill useful bacteria in our body.

I experienced it myself. Last time Belle got flu, because we were so panic so we brought her to doctor. I told the doctor that i don't want him to give my baby (that time she was only 6 mths old) antibiotic. So he gave her 3 kinds of medicine: 1. Vitamin to keep up her stamina; 2. To cure her cough; 3. For allergy or runny nose. So we went home with those pills and guess what happen that night...?? Belle behaved 'abnormal', she couldn't sleep (not because of the cough or pain because she looks sleepy and drowsy), she keep pulling her ear, shaking her head and became hyperactive though her eyes remain shut. Of course i was panic, i tried to find out about the prescription through www.medicastore.com and the result was quite shocking. One of the medicine (i better not mention the name) could caused heart and kidney attact, imagine if this could harm an adult body, moreover to babies. I stop all the medicine right away and from that time i start to be more careful to give anything to my baby. I became more aware, active in mailing list and re-read all the articles + books about common problems in pediatric.

Below are a summary of all the information i gathered about Cold, Flu and Fever:

COLDS AND FLU

Viral infection is known as the main caused. Normally it will occur for as long as 5 days (between 3-14 days), depends on the person's stamina and depends whether the child live with other children (older ones at school age). If so, he/she will be more potential to get caught of flu.

There is no specific medicine to improve one's stamina. The child's stamina against the flu virus will be improve itself in accordance with time.

Some Tips and Trick in doing Home Treatment:


- Encourage your child to drink a lot of water, little bit at a time but often
- To avoid the mucus getting thicker and block the child breath, give the child solution of sterilized salt as nose drop. This won't caused any side effect.
- warm water vaporizer also can help if child start having difficulty breathing
- If child cannot sleep at night because the nose has been blocked, give nose drop to ommit the swelling inside the nose (Breathy)
- Maintain a Humid environment and avoid dry one like room with air conditioning. If possible, put one bucket fill with boiled water after the child fall asleep.
- You can give Paracetamol – if the baby/child look very uncomfortable or having high fever (>38.5)
- On the other hand, we often mixed up between allergy and flu. The case for allery, child will also have runny nose but without any fever.

There are so many myths in handling cold and flu in babies or toddler. There are also some methods that cannot be implemented anymore due to new findings/research on the dangerous, one of them that i could remember is not to compress your fever baby with cold/ice water. Some people even put alcohol. Don't ever use this treatment anymore as this could harm your baby. WHY? Because the body temperature will drop too quickly.

Some parents also afraid to bath their children when having cold and fever. In fact, it is recommended to give your baby a bath, but make sure the water is luke warm to warm. (Again, never bath with cold water, shivering could worsen the fever, not help to reduce it) Also you can add some oil such as eucalyptus when the bath nearly finish. the aroma steam could help to release the block nose.

Last but not least, keep in mind that having a cold and fever doesn't mean that your child is having a weak immune system. Actually, a healthy child can easily become infected with one of at least 200 different viruses that cause the common cold. Moreover, never overreact when your baby having a fever. A Fever is normally a sign that your (or your child) body is fighting the infection. In other word, it mean that his/his immune system is working well.

Preventive:
- wash hand regularly (before eating, during playing, at all times)
- Avoid any contact with any child/adult having flu
- Keep all area in the house clean (bath room, kitchen, play area, etc)

When do we have to visit doctor?
- Persistent cough, fever > 72 hours
- If child having asphyxia, starting to choke, nail and lips look pale and blue
- Child becoming unsettle, cry a lot or sleep a lot (very hard to wake up)

Read more.....

Belle 1st Walk

Belle 1st step were actually happened sometime before she turned 1. But those were only 2 steps before she stop and crawl again. Later when she felt like walking, she would grab anyone finger and get the person to walk together with her (in her direction)

I have to admit that i've been desperately waiting for her to walk smoothly for ages, my mom and sis used to say that Belle will walk early, perhaps they did predict it because she was able to stand by herself (by holding the edge of her cot to support her body) since she was only 8.5 months old. Then she began little sidewalk (holding my knee, sofa chair or the wall) when she was about 9 months old. Therefore, we never expect that it would be this 'late' for her to start walking.

However, all of us also notice that Belle's ability to talk is way ahead compare to child on her age. Referring to a book (and other internet survey) about child's development, 1 year old baby normally can say up to 10 words. Before she was even 11 months old, Belle have quite a lot words in her vocabulary and she could say them clearly. Many times i've heard that for some children they will talk first then walk or vice versa. I think Belle is the one who can talk first before she's able to walk.

Yesterday, one of our friend came to visit with her 2 children (age 9 and 6). They love to play with Belle, especially the little sister. Belle was always curios with older children and she tried so hard to copy them. So, while they were playing themselves, Belle get the little girl to hold her hand and follow them everywhere. Then slowly, she began to release the fingers and walk by herself until (i suspect that) she didn't realise that she walk and walk and walk from here to there. My friend teased me that perhaps Belle was only have a 'show time' so we better wait until they go back home. So, a little bit worry i waited. But, she just kept walking and walking (not even once she fell down). Then i felt so relief and inform Belle's daddy and the family in Jakarta about this good news

Read more.....

What is your parenting style?

I think our parenting style is a combination with "Do whatever you want" and a little bit of "A No means a No" (trying hard to achieve the last mentioned strictly but still difficult as when we saw Belle's puppy eyes begging then our heart melt)
So.. what is your parenting style??

Your parenting style is likely to impact the way your child grows up. Being responsive to your children, and at the same time, setting clear rules and limits, is crucial for you as a parent. Based on this, four main styles of parenting have been identified:

* "Just do it or else" – Some parents adopt a highly authoritarian, dictatorial style. They expect children to obey orders without questioning. Rules are well defined in such households and breaking them usually invites punishment. Such a system is typical of societies where little change is expected and deviance from normal behavior can be costly such as a rural or agrarian society.

* "A no means a no" – Some parents are firm, assertive, and authoritative without being authoritarian. They set clear rules, and are firm about discipline without using harsh punishment. Children in such homes are expected to be socially responsible.

* "Do anything you want" – Parents with this style believe in the permissive or indulgent approach. They do not demand responsible behavior and avoid confrontation with their children. Several parents in the 50s and 60s adopted this style.

*"I don't care what you do" – Few parents remain uninvolved in their children's lives, which in few cases, borders on neglect.

Typically, most parents are variations or combinations of the above four styles.


There is no “right” or “wrong” parenting style though we all have prejudices on what we think works best based on our own experience and values. Research, however, has shown the effects of various parenting styles on children:

* Children that have grown up in authoritarian settings, tend to show average performance in school but lack spontaneity, effective social skills, and self-confidence.

* Children who are brought up by authoritative parents, grow up to become more responsible. They easily adjust to situations that demand cooperation.

* Children with permissive parents tend to be more creative but some research indicates they may develop behavioral problems as they grow up because they do not accept responsibility.

* Children with uninvolved parents perform poorly at school

*source:www.greatdad.com

Read more.....

3rd trip to S'pore and 1st hair cut

Day 1: 25th April 2009
This is the 3rd trip for Belle going to S'pore. The 1st one, she was still 5 mths old fully breastfeed and able to roll over from back to chest. 2nd one Belle was almost 7 mths old and just start solid food, she can roll back and forth but of course main activities remain on bed. And now, she's a 1 year old young lady... always busy with things, she seems have an endless curiosity toward things. Therefore, handling her at this stage is quite a tiring (though fun as well) task to do :p

We depart from Sekupang seaport, planning to take 7.50AM ferry. From 5.30AM Belle already woke up, jumping on her cot and call out her dad and momma. When we ignore her (still sleepy coz the night before we had bible study until 11pm at our place then began packing up for this trip), she began to call 'mbak' (the maid) and pointing at the door. So i took her out for a short walk, breakfast and early bath then re-check our travelling equipment once again. 6.30 we're heading to Sekupang, my hubby drove the car and going to leave the car overnight at the seaport.

After everything settle with immigration things, we waited on the lounge. Lucky, that morning they provide free breakfast (tea, coffee and bread + cake). Belle could finish 1 whole custard cake (i removed the custard). On the way to ferry, inside her stoler, Belle never stop talking as if saying and talking somethings, of course some words are understandable (mana... mana... mau... itu) but most of them are simply baby language :p Also inside the ferry she became so excited when i show her the sea, some boats and fish (though we couldn't see any).

Arriving at Harbor front ferry terminal, we're lucky again coz there were hardly any queue. Consider this is not the time for Indonesian to spend their money shopping at s'pore (we can't expect this to happen on special occasion such as a long weekend). As usual, most of the officers around immigration section were so friendly with baby. Everytime we reach the immigration section, at least there will be 2 people, will come and greet her with funny face, imitate whatever gesture she made, make fun of her and it made her so delightful. This time a very young man wave to her from the clearance point, made Belle so happy and started to call him "maas...mas..." (nickname for older adult man but still young, similar as 'bro').

Then we catch a taxi to go to our hotel at Bencoolen. Belle was very excited and keep talking, pointing out the car,buildings, the trees, plants, everything and named them with her own words :). When we reach the hotel, unpack our stuff, hubby went out by himself to search for car spare part. Me and Belle waited at the hotel for my mom to pick us up. The main agenda of this trip was to meet my mom and both of my sisters. My eldest sister and her vocal group (that used to be my singing group too when i was still in Jakarta) will going to sing in 2 local church this sunday (tmrw).

Not long after my hubby gone, my mom and Cassie (my cousin) came and pick us up. The rest of the group were waiting in the cab, including my 2nd sister. My eldest sister, Maria, Ditha n' Andi were still at the airport because Maria has just lost her luggage. Then we headed for the apartment where they going to stay at Claymore, Orchard. Belle was became more excited of the place as she can move freely from here to there by crawling and walking (but has to have someone to hold her hand as she didn't have self confidence yet to walk by herself). Then after my eldest sister with the rest of the group arrived, play with Belle for a while, they went out for lunch. Only left me, my mom, Belle n' my 2nd sister (But then she also went out to meet her friends) We stay there until about 4PM. Belle had her lunch and nap (with mommy n' opung) then me, my mom and tante Endah (the owner of the place) went out to have dinner and buy Belle's shoes as the ones she's wearing were off. I also ask my hubby to meet us somewhere at Orchard. Bought the shoes at Isetan, had dinner at Din Tai Fung Wisma Atria (where we met my hubby), It was superb and tante Endah ordered so many food. I really love the dumpling (kuo tie?) and the chinese fried rice. Belle eat a lot, order her a bowl of boiled chicken and she almost finished all of them :)

We took MRT to go back to Bencoolen (our hotel) but i think we get off too soon, instead of stop at Bugis, we got off at City Hall so we had to walk a looong way. Belle was ok at first, at the MRT she kept calling some of the guys that smile or wave at her "Maaass...." hehehe... and when we were walking, inside her stoller she point at everything, especially when she saw kids inside the pram, she began really excited and call "dedek or kakak" (little/big sister/brother). But after some time she began to be bored, turn her head toward us and said "mommaaa... dad.... bobok" (wanted to go to sleep). Finally, we arrived at the hotel. I took a bath together with Belle, put her pajamas on and put her to sleep.

Day 2: 26th April 2009


As usual, Belle woke up at 6.15AM (Indonesian time) and call "mommaaa..." so me and hubby have to get up too and withouth having a bath 1st, we had breakfast at the restaurant. She refuse to eat her baby biscuit and demand for my cereal and white bread (untoasted). After finish our meal, we went out for morning walk. I was amazed that we were actually so close to Bugis Junction, only about 10 minutes walking! Of course not any shop has open yet, so we just walk around. Belle found out that a fountain were so hilarious, we let her play with water for a while. She became very happy and wet :) and didn't want to leave :p . Arriving back at the hotel, gave Belle a bath, nurse her and put her to morning nap. At around 10.30AM, 2nd sister came coz my mom ask her to help me taking care of Belle :p Since she were sleeping we decided to go to Bugis Jnctn but then my mom and tante Endah came and took us to lunch (my hubby stayed at the hotel with Belle). We had Nasi Ayam (Hainan chicken rice) at Bon Tong Kee (i hope i type the name right :) ), the area name Novena. It was the most delicious chicken rice i've ever had! We took away 2 portion for my hubby n' Belle then went back to the hotel. It was already past 1PM. My mom said it's ok if we couldn't go to the 2PM church because we want to catch the ferry and the weather not really friendly.

So then after we fed Belle, checked out from the hotel, said goodbye, we went straight away to Harbour Front Ferry Terminal. Unfortunately when we get there It was too late to catch the 2.10Pm Ferry so then we have to choose the 5.40PM ferry. Too bad that we missed the chance to meet my brother n' sisters of VOP (voice of praise) at the church, while we actually have the time. But anyway it'll be too hassle to go back to the city. Therefore we decided just to walk around VIVO (the mall connected with the ferry terminal) and find a place to cut Belle's hair.

My hubby said that once he passed a children barber shop, but we looked 'round and 'round every level we still couldn't find it. Even when we search on the Direction guide, we have to make guess as it didn't state which one is barber shop in the kid's category. Luckily, when i went into a children apparel shop, i asked the cashier about this, she didn't know but a man that were shopping with his kid, heard me and told me that we should go to Toy's R Us. The kid's salon is right inside that big store (no wonder we didn't find it ).

It called Junior League Children' Style Salon, I just a small corner near to the Toys R Us entrance, there were 4 seats provided and each chair comes fitted with its own TV screen, playing popular cartoons like Barney, Dora The Explorer and other children' show. Kids are also pampered with candy, balloons, toys and stickers. Of course i didn't allow Belle to have candy, so the nice hairdresser lady gave her so many toys to keep her occupied. At first she seem to be confuse, she just sit still didn't know what happen, but then she started to throw all the toys and me and the lady picked them up and gave them back to her. Then she began to pull ear, scratch her hair that were being cut. Only when the lady gave her a red balloon she grin and play with it. She began to be fussy again when auntie hairdresser started to use a shaver, perhaps she scared of the sound. So she yelled at auntie and said "Aaah" while gliding her hand backward. Finally the lady said "OK... OK... no more!" And voila...Belle is now fresh with her new hair with cute fringe .

Read more.....

Achieving a peaceful Indonesian election campaign 2009

Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009

Kampanye adalah sebuah tindakan yang bertujuan mendapatkan pencapaian dukungan, usaha kampanye bisa dilakukan oleh peorangan atau sekelompok orang yang terorganisir untuk mengais simpati, atau bisa juga di gunakan untuk menolak suatu hal.

Dalam ranah politik, kampanye biasanya di identikkan dengan hura-hura dan pengerahan massa. Penjabaran visi dan misi hanya menjadi yang nomor ke sekian bagi partai-partai politik. Ekses negatif yang muncul dari bentuk kampanye seperti yang terdapat di Indonesia ini biasanya adalah kerusuhan atau chaos yang biasanya berawal dari gesekan antar grass root pendukung partai politik.

Kampanye umumnya dilakukan dengan slogan, pembicaraan, barang cetakan, penyiaran barang rekaman berbentuk gambar atau suara, simbol-simbol, pada sistim politik otoriter kampanye sering bisa dilakukan kedalam bentuk tindakan intimidasi, propaganda atau dakwah.Bentuk kampanye di Indonesia ini tergolong sebagai bentuk kampanye secara konversional yang hanya lebih mengarah pada Indoktrinasi atau Pencitraan individu atau golongan. Model kampanye konvensional selain rawan gesekan juga terkadang menimbulkan swinging voter di masyarakat.

Untuk meminimalisasi gesekan antar grass root, ada baik nya untuk mengadakan semacam Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009 yang nanti nya bisa meminimalisasi chaos-chaos yang mungkin terjadi dalam pemilu nanti.Untuk lebih detil mengenai Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009, akan saya jabarkan di postingan berikut nya.

Dan semoga Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009 bisa terwujud di negeri kita tercinta indonesia ini dan semoga masyarakat lebih bisa memilih pemimpin-pemimpin yang berpihak kepada rakyat.

*source: http://kampanyedamaipemiluindonesia2009.bemyfriends.com/kampanye-damai-pemilu-indonesia-2009.html*

Read more.....

Give yourself a time-out and enjoy our humorous and sentimental tribute to motherhood...


Great Minds Think of Mom
After a long, exhausting day, a friend of mine headed home. On the road, he passed an elderly woman who was standing by a car with a flat tire. His conscience got the better of him; if that were his mother, he thought, he would want someone to help her. With a tired sigh, he turned around and drove back.

Just as he reached the stranded woman, a truck pulled up and a burly farmer got out. "Kinda reminds you of your mom, too?" the man asked as the two of them pitched in together to change the tire.
-- Contributed by Katherine L. Houge

Your Biggest Fan
While waiting in a bookstore for a guest author to sign her latest book, I leafed through some of the Civil War novels she had written. The woman in line behind me commented, "Those are the best books I've ever read. I couldn't put them down."

Before I could reply, the author looked over and said, "Oh, cut it out, Mom!"
-- Contributed by Marilyn Kopp

Head of the Household
My husband, Jeff, and I incurred several problems while assembling our new computer system, so we called the help desk. The man on the phone started to talk to Jeff in computer jargon, which confused us even more.

"Sir," my husband politely said, "please explain what I should do as if I were a four-year-old."

"Okay," the computer technician replied. "Son, could you please put your mommy on the phone?"
-- Contributed by Lena Worth

Read more.....

A Thank expression on Belle's 1st B'day

“Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17)
We've been blessed with a daughter to love."

Today, last year on Easter Sunday Afternoon, our bundle of joy has finally arrived. As soon as she was born, the surgical team said out loud “Congratulation, you have a baby girl!!” I couldn’t help not to cry, all the feelings came inside me “Relief, proud, happy…” Then after they check and clean her, her daddy holds her then gave her to me. Both of us agree that She was the most beautiful creature in the world!



We named her CHRISTABELLE PRISCILLA ROULI. Christabelle means: Beautiful follower of Christ or Beautiful Christian. Priscilla is taken from the bible, means: Lady of honour. Rouli is a Bataknese name, means: Here comes the pretty one. We pray that our princess will be a beautiful Christian that full of honour and bring love, joyful and happiness for God, family and people surround her.

Read more.....

All First

These are some of the special First Moments of Christabelle:

• First Smile: 5th May 2008; Belle was 7 weeks old
• First Laugh: 7th August 2008; Belle was 4.5 months old
• Firt recognised Mummy: 17th April 2008; Belle was 3 weeks old
• First recognised Daddy: 5th June 2008; Belle was 2 months old
• First held head up: 23rd April 2008; Belle was exactly 1 month old
• First rolled over from back to chest: 15th July 2008; Belle was 3.5 months old
  
• First rolled over from chest to back: 17th August 2008; Belle was 4.5 months old
• First sat up by herself: 22nd November 2008; Belle was 8 months old
• First crawled backward: 17th October 2008; Belle was 6.5 months old
• First crawled forward: 14th January 2009; Belle was 9.5 months old
• First stood up: 13th December 2008; Belle was 8.5 months old
• First steps: 3rd April 2009; Belle was 12.5 months old
• First walked: 12th May 2009; Belle was 13.5 months old
• First ran:
• Some of first words: Guguk (=woof, sound of a dog), mbak (call our maid/nanny), dad, nini (grandma), momma
  

Autism VS MMR

"Should i give this kind of vaccination to my baby on schedule, later or never?" this question has been haunted me eversince our last visit to the pediatrician, after we settle back again in Batam, after Jakarta long holiday. The doctor said that Belle,10 months old at that time didn't need to take immunization for campak (measles), supposed to be taken when she was 9 mths old. His reason was because this kind of shot (campak) only prevent from a disease (perhaps different kind of measles, local measles?) that most likely infect children with poor intact of nutrition. Having consider that Belle is well maintained (Thanks God) and has had adequate nutrition, he said that this campak vaccin is not really necessary, as we skipped it anyway. Therefore, he suggested straight away to give Belle MMR next month when she reach 12 mths old.

MMR has became a big issue these last decade when someone suspect that this kind of immunization can caused autism to a child. I heard about this quite a long time ago but never take too serious concern until now, when we have to decide whether to give the vaccine or wait til later. I did the goggling and seek for advice, opinion from friends and some health mailing list i joined. And the result for this re-researching was i becoming more confuse. Out of 10 people that i asked for opinion, 9 of them said that they wait until their child big enough (2 or 3 years old) and already walk and talk fluently. Honestly i didn't feel that I'm 100% agree with their advice.

MMR schedule for babies between age 15-18 mths old, in Indonesia. Even in Australia and other countries It schedule earlier: for 12 mths old babies. So, I think it will be very risky if i have to wait that long and also the possibility that my baby can be contagious with either Measles, Mumps or Rubella will be greater. I also found out that autism, actually can be detected as early as when the baby is 10 mths old, even 6 mths old. The reasons why parents nowadays becoming (too) worry are because autism has been known or similar as speech delay ability in children. Whilst, autism the symptoms actually more vary and different than that.

I did the goggling again and found this useful info about some symptoms or guideline whether your baby has autism or not:

By 2 to 3 months, your baby is not making eye contact.
* By 3 months, not smiling at you and recognize the sound of your voice.
* By 6 months, no laughing or giggling
* By 9 months, no babbling.
* By 1 year, not recognizing when you call his name
* By 1 year, showing disregard for vocalizations, but has a keen awareness of environmental sounds.
* By 1 year, no back-and-forth communications with you.
* By 16 months, no words.
* By 18 months, not pointing to things that interest him.
* By 24 months, no two-word meaningful phrases.

Read more.....

In memoriam: Ancillo Dominic

Today i just read a very sad yet inspiring story of a mom, telling about her unborn baby that has been verdict by doctor as Anencephaly. This is a very rare case neural tube defect that occurs when the cephalic / head end of the neural tube fails to close, usually between the 23rd and 26th day of pregnancy*) and normally both parents and doctor simply decide to get rid of the fetus, because soon or later the annecephalic babies cannot survive. If its not stillborn, then the baby will usually die moments after birth.

However, what made me surprise and impress... the doctor whose found out about this case through USG (on week 17th) encourage the parents, especially mom, to keep the baby. He refuse to do abortion and let the baby alive until 'it's time for him (it's a boy) to go' He believe that God has His own time. And also doctor said that if the parents willing to keep the baby (means continue the pregnancy) the baby will thank them later and wait for them in heaven. Both mom and dad to be cry but finally they decide to keep the baby. I know it was never be an easy decision for them to made, as i remember when i was still pregnant... every month we go to doctor for check up or USG, both of us feel anxious but worry. We need to make sure that the baby OK, normal and complete but on the other hand we also afraid... what if the baby not OK? what if something bad happen? I don't think (If put in the same situation with Yenny back then) I have the courage to make that brave decision.They named the baby "Ancillo Dominic" and the mom (Yenny) continue to love this infant as much as before, give him nutricion, talk to him and still hope and pray for miracle to happen. When they hear about a preach that can bring death to alive, they almost come to the man but then they didn't go, as the husband said "Only Jesus can bring death to alive, So to Him we must bring ourself closer." The pregnancy went well, the baby seems very happy inside (He gain weight and other than his cephalic abnormality, everything were completely perfect). Ancillo was born naturally on his mom's 41st of pregnancy in a very long process of labor. He was born in upside down position and just when doctor pull his out, baby already gone. :(

To read the complete story, click this link below:

http://ekklesiachurch.wordpress.com/kesaksian/in-memoriam-ancillo-dominic/

Read more.....

Wonderful weekend with my baby girl

Today i accompany Belle to sunday school after quite a long time i didn't do it and just hear some 'report' from her nanny about her behaviour at class. I took Belle to sunday school for the first time when she was only 3.5 months old. She just sit on my lap and mostly sleep half way of the sunday school (It start at 8AM, exactly the time for her morning nap at that time), but gradually she began to more and more interactive and since 5 month old she didn't sleep in the class anymore :p (The class is categorize for children under 3 years old)

And here i am, i felt glad with all her progress. She is now can sing a long, dance and tried to jump2 and get so excited when the teacher teach the class singing a happy song.

Surprisingly, she always pay full attention to whatever the sunday school teachers (there are more than 3 of them) said or command the children to do. Only several times she get a bit bored or distracted when her other little friends eat something (of course she wants to eat too) or drink milk from bottle (she also wants to drink, eventhough i only give her water) or when she see other mommy's bag just lay on the floor near her, she tried to grab it (She love bags!! :p). But overall, she behave really good. I am really proud of her.

On this opportunity, i also talk to one of the teacher, ask permission to celebrate Belle's birthday next month. I can't wait for that day to come :)

Read more.....

Conceiving a baby boy by having a 'Boy Diet'

Conceive baby boy by changing your diet before you conceive, and maintaining a certain kind of diet during your pregnancy!

Sounds like one of those outlandish old wives' tales? Not quite!

Scientists now seem to agree that there is a possible link between what you eat and which gender you'll conceive.

Pregnant women on high calorie diet are more likely to have a baby boy! Also, eating food rich in nutrients such as potassium and calcium, and vitamins C, D and B12 seems to upper your chance of conceiving a baby boy!

Where those conclusions came from? Actually, it's from a new research done at the universities of Exeter and Oxford. The scientists examined the diets of a large number of first-time mothers and found that those who ate a higher number of calories were more likely to conceive with a boy!

Among women with the highest calorie intake before pregnancy - 56 percent had boys.

Women who had boys also ate an additional 300 mg of potassium daily!

Don't you have an urge now to go and eat a banana?:)

It has been speculated for the last 30 years in the scientistic world that the diet of a mother could predict the gender of a baby. There has been enough evidence that diet in mammals can affect the sex of their offspring. Namely, a lot of mammals when well fed produce more boys, while in starvation situation there are more girls than boys being born.

Seems like there are more nutrients needed to conceive a boy rather than a girl& In any case: now you have one more reason not to skip breakfast!:) Especially when you hear this next piece of statistics: Eat at least one bowl of breakfast cereal daily and you will have a 87 percent more chance that you'll conceive a baby boy!

So, treat yourself with an additional serving of steak with potatoes and have a piece of cake:)

But don't overdo it! Never forget that proper nutrition is essentially important for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Whatever gender that baby will be!



For more information, visit this link (a blog for the mothers-to-be who would like to have a baby boy!)

Read more.....

Sleep...my baby sleep... (II)

Last night and a few nights before, Belle kept waking up at around 2AM. Normally she just woke up once (or maximum twice) at night and demand for breastfeed, we're now trying to change this habit by giving her water only but i do it gradually. But last night she was look very alert when she called me from her cot (which laid beside our bed), standing and bouncing up and smiling while holding her monkey doll. The funny thing was, she grab the monkey tail and push it down as if almost to drop it then she began to call me, when i open my eyes lazily and look at her, then she start to drop the monkey and then laughing away. I know for sure if get the monkey and give back to her, it will be a never ending game that will lasts till morning :p So i just ignore her and demand her to sleep.

After 5 minutes she began to scream and cry, i check and find out that her nappy has to be change. Changing nappy in the middle of the night was one thing that really made her frustated, coz she already expect that i'm going to play with her. But as soon as i put her on our bed and open her PJ's and nappy, she protested and scream really loud.

Then after everything done, she look at her dad and began to grin, crawl to grab daddy's hair and pat his hand. But daddy lay still, not even open his eyes. only touch Belle's cheek and doze off back to sleep. I look at the clock, it was still 2.30AM in the morning, so i talk to her and look directly to her eyes,"Listen young lady, it's still midnight and everyone still sleeping. You go back to sleep or play by yourself okay?" Surprisingly, she didn't protest when i put her back to her cot, she didn't stand up nor sit down. I lay myself down and listen. At first, Belle still babbling and babbling (when i peek, she was surrounded by all her 'friends' Bunny, monkey, kangaroo, little bug all have a little morning chit chat ith her :p) Not long, she began to whimper a little then suddenly the bedroom became silent. She was fell asleep on her chest, her left hand still grabbing bunny's long ear.

Read more.....

Travelling with Baby Belle

Thursday, 10th January was the 6th time Belle travel by airplane.
1st time was the trip from Sydney to Jakarta on 23rd April '08. She was exactly 1 month old at that time. On that 8 hours trip, she didn't sleep much. Only twice on the basinet provided by Qantas airline in front of our seats (I was accompanied by my brother Joshua). Most of the time she just sit on my lap or her uncle lap, look at the movie on the big screen, I breastfed her twice on that trip. She also didn't cry much (which is quite surprising for baby in her age).

2nd trip was on 19th February '08. She was not even 2 months old yet. We went back to our City, Batam from Jakarta. As usual, during take off and landing i gave her bottle of formula milk and plug her ear with ball of cotton. The purpose is to protect her ear, because baby's ear are very sensitive at this age. Also by sucking the jaw movement will make her ear covered. I also been told before by Qantas steward that It's good if the baby cry rather than sleep during take off.

3nd trip, 19th November '08. Baby Belle was almost 8 months old. We bring along our maid (nanny) and just before we're about to boarding, She fell asleep. On the airplane, i tried to wake her up to give her milk and cover her ear but she slept really well, she didn't want to do anything. So i just cover her ear. Thanks God everything went well.

4nd and 5th trip were on the way and coming back Jakarta - Jogja - Jakarta. There were 4 of us (me, hubby and mom in law). She was a big baby and very active, Staying still was such a difficult task for her. In the airplane, both of the trip i have to breastfeed her during take off, 1st again to protect her ear, 2nd to make her calm as she keep trying to grab everything, including a lady's hair who was sit in front of us :p

6nd trip, on the way back home to Batam. We kept her occupied with new toys. I manage to re-decorate some of her old toys by wrap them up with bright paper wrap. The trick works alright, Belle can sit happily on my lap, occasionally make a fun chat with a man who was sitting side across our seats.

Overall, We're so delightful to have Belle as one of our companion. She completes every journeys and by having her between us has made our every single trips much more fun and adventurous.

Read more.....