(2008/09) Sep 2008

Flos, i hv got the pampers active 2*68 for $45 at cold storage before. So it's around $0.33 per pc..

GuniBabe, where did you get the combi teether? Cos Janelle is also sucking her thumb like nobody's biz..

Storeberry, my monster woke up at 5am and starting singing to her "friends" on her cot mobile... and she started to giggle when we play with her..
 


Sunrays
You also went for the shoot already ar!! I'll check on your FB.. I wanna see Char in those Xmas shots! Great that she was smiling a lot too!
 
Jaymickey: I got the Combi teether at OG's children section. They sell it at Kiddy Palace, Isetan as well.
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Think it's $14 or $15 plus.

lanolin: you're right, no one's job is truly secure these days. on the other hand, if you keep thinking about the BV bag, and if you think you'll regret big time if you dun get it now, then just grab it! Then stop shopping for a while after that! that's what I do after i get a big ticket item ... it's like I've used up my shopping budget for the next 4mths so I have to be good and not shop anymore. Sometimes I really dun mind cos I would rather have a quality item than many other small items.

Flos: I got Pampers Active at Carrefour on 27 June at 2 boxes for $49.95 then, which work out to be $0.31/pc for M and $0.36/pc for L. I think that was the best offer so far, cos the usual promo is the 2 boxes for $59.90. Your boy is wearing XL, so it's best to grab them during promos ... what is he gonna wear after he outgrow the XL? The diaper pants?
 
Millie: I thought I saw one mommy posing against the Dongfangmingzhu in one of the FB albums? Not u? Oooopppppppssss!

Kym: But do note that she might throw up when the nurse is trying to feed her with rotavirus syrup.

jaymickey: I guess pampers is always having sale
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I just chanced upon the offer at Carrefour when I went in to buy Coke. Didn't specially keep a lookout for pampers promos across supermarkets
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storeberry: she kept making milk for my boy even when we didn't request for it. her reason: isaac kept biting his mittens! but when we fed him, he rejected it cos it's clearly teething probs, not hunger pangs. we wasted the milk a few times. This was not the only time she defied our instructions. i told her to change to size 2 cos isaac was choking on size 3. but she only changed half the batch, leaving some size 3 'lurking' in my steriliser. i used one size 3 last wed, and isaac got choked by the fast milkflow and immediately puked the milk all over my sofa and clothes.

also, everytime i instructed her to cut my veggies/meat a certain way, she would cut it HER WAY! E.g. On Sun, we told her to dice the king prawns for our fried rice. On Mon, she took matters into her own hands (read: keh kiang) and diced my prawns again when I'd said 4 times, "remove the prawn shells only cos they are for my pasta".

Another time, she again didn't listen to my instructions to cut my potatoes into halves for my green curry; instead, she diced my potatoes into ultra-mini cubes (as though I was eating Red Ruby!)!

Also, I had told her many a times to drink up the warm water in thermal flask that we took along with us when we go shopping, IF IT WAS MORE THAN 6 HOURS...she just wouldn't listen and kept using the 'stale' water to make milk for isaac even if it was after 12 hours! By then, the water inside the thermal flask was no longer as warm as before.

We concluded she has a very low IQ...perhps I should send her to Glenn Doman classes or paint/flash some cards showing diced potatoes and halved potatoes to her?!

lilboymom: Can CY add, subtract, multiply and divide already? the video link Springz posted shows that the little angmoh boy can do all 4 at the age of 8mths.

Anyway, I also believe all babies are capable of absorbing loads of info, if only the parents would find the time & hv the discipline :)

sunrays: u can sew? I am full of envy...what a creative family!

gunibb: ur memory is excellent...27 June somemore
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I hv some leftover Pampers training pants from my SIL. anyway, my ah boy isn't wearing XL yet. Just that his dad finds the L getting smaller and smaller!! lol

koras:nope it's on lifestyle pages i think. i had a glance only as my DH flashed it to me and asked if i wanna go. in the end, we didn't cos isaac was cranky after his pneumococcal jab.
 
flos
ok, hope im not being boastful here. but he was doing the four operations with the dot cards for quite sometime. only recently he started to tell me he doesnt want to do the dot cards when i bring it out. so ive stopped for a while and only started again recently...

will take a video when i can and when he is willing...cannot force him leh...coz when i tried to force him, he will do it wrongly 100% of the time (how 'lucky' is that!!!) then throw me that 'frustrated look' then tell me 'i dont want i dont want'

then again, it;s only with dot cards ive tried so far, havent introduce the numerals yet.
 
Hi Flo,

Think i go back to Carrefour tomorrow again. I check with the staff, they told me is one box for $43.90! I will go back again to confirm again....

Hi Lanolin,
You know what, I saw a small blue BV bag on sale during the weekend. After discount is still about 2K.. I walk away too... As you mention this is an unstable time, really do not want to splurge.. just use the current bags for a while loh. Anyway when i go out with baby, i can only use waistlet ... Must keep the temptation at bay...
 
angeline,
registration for kids' dash ranges from $15-20, depending on how early you sign up. quite worth it, since getting a running top, gym bag & a medal for that token sum!

lilboymum,
your boi is so smart! i gave up on random dots. too lazy to flash everyday. have never even completed one cycle of dot training. dun think i can resume now, with another infant to look after. i rely on leapfrog math circus dvd now :p

mummies from the west gathering,
can you send me the photos we have taken? the photos downloaded from facebook are not the high-res ones. i want the original photos so that i can "developed" them. my email [email protected]
 
cuitiegal - welcome to the thread. don't worry so much. Its normal what you are going through. I had the same problem. After 2.5 months, baby will stabilise and stop throwing, cause the digestive system is still developing.

Missy - thanks. ok will do that.

Flos & Mrs Yap - mine too is tugging his ear till RED. sigh. the worst part is that he will put salivia on his mittens, rub ears , then the eyes. My mum did remove his ear wax, but ever since, he has been tugging at it. Don't know how to stop him cause his face is red, his ears are also red. if its because of teething, then am less worried. Am thinking next week when we see his PD, we'll ask for some cream. In the meantime, i bought JIN YING HUA and washing his face with it.

Kym & shopping queens - you gals have bought so much toys. Am so tempted, each time i read your posts. I might swing by when i next go up to my mum's place this week, since her place is only 5 mins drive from the sale place.I just want to see if there are any "good buys". Thanks Kym Kym for the advice on the itsy bitsy bouncer. My boy loves it. Am thinking of buying another one to put at my mum's place.

MNG sale - i wanna go. I have started shopping for work stuff and unlike you gals, am tempted by all the high heels although i don't seem to be able to balance myself in them. I bought a Super high heel pair at the C&K sale and hubby is laughing at me.

Dot Cards
Am doing on my own too. Using powerpoint to do, then print and laminate.

Sunrays - Am terrible at sewing. am so envious. Char is so lucky.
 
Storeberry,
Thanks. If you are going there, pls help me to get the 2 flaps, if not help me to ask if there are still any more stocks for the hop n pop.
 
Morning mummies!

All Abt GD

Tks <font color="aa00aa">Alabone</font> for the reminder.. always good to have educators around
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Yup, impt that the child enjoys the learning process. If not it defeats the purpose. I've been drawn into this flashcard thingy only because lil s will stop crying when flashcards are shown to her. She will not move, but looks intently at the cards
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<font color="aa00aa">Flos</font> - you are so right. The prob is not the babies but US!!! I also doubt I have the time to prepare cards and finish the whole series with lil s. But really want to harness the potential rather than let it slip so i'll be teaching my helper and in-laws
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good thing is that my helper has experience in showing flashcards/ reading rhymes (with slight intonation). Now just need to plan a schedule for the GD eng/ ch/ ency cards. Wait till u see this one.. same baby doing square roots!! http://domaninspiredparenting.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2007-08-15T10%3A52%3A00-05%3A00&amp;max-results=2

<font color="aa00aa">Gunibabe</font> and <font color="aa00aa">Flos</font> - here is another website with free downloads on flashcards, GD style. This is for encyclopaedic knowledge. Flos, I think you can seriously consider this. The blog shows that babies can absorb ALL kinds of info. The boy could differentiate different parts of the brain!! Lil CH also can diff gall bladder from pancreas. So just whack la, anything under the sun. The site even has parts of the flower, different species of animals etc Can print the images and then paste onto white stiffer boards. Remember to flash quickly (seconds)..

The blog parents were continually preparing these encyclopaedic cards week by week coz the boy wanted more. She cited a pretty funny incident where she was playing an educational video and the cartoon character was drawing something yellow, which looked like a muffin. The boy pointed to it and said "Monney" and she corrected him say "muffin". But after the cartoon character finished drawing, it was indeed a Monet painting. The 'muffin' turned out to be a haystack, which the boy recognised!

<font color="aa00aa">all mummies especially xinying</font> Here you go: http://www.theclassicalmommy.com/bitscollection.html I'll prob supplement and prepare images for local context. If anyone is game, we can all prepare and send to each other. Me preparing:
- People in S'pore
- Landmarks in S'pore
- Guitar Chords
- Keyboard (C to C)
- Books of the Bible

<font color="aa00aa">lilboymum</font> - WHOA! That is really encouraging. Your efforts are paid off!
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Mind if I ask some questions? For the encyclopaedic series, do we show the pic only? Or show the words as well?

General concerns - Mummies I combed through the blog from 06-08 entries to understand the GD method better. There are some concerns.. <font color="aa00aa">lilboymum</font> can comment please?

- GD Eng series is based on memory of words, 'sight words' style. Parents are to build the word cards series. It skips the process of teaching the alphabet. Would it be confusing if we teach letters and phonics concurrently?

- The boy in the blog has speech difficulties. Is this coz GD is a one-way communication feed where the educator reads to the child and the child need not verbalise it?

- GD maths teaches using dots. (btw mummies, the parents in the blog changed the colour and pattern in the dots and the boy COULD still point out the correct quantity in seconds!!) Problem solving (i.e. add/ subtract/ divide etc) is based on dots as well. The boy could POINT out the correct answer but could not verbalise it!! The parents also had to teach him counting and numerals at a later stage. Can we teach counting words, how to count and numerals concurrently? Would it confuse them?
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tks tks!
 
GD Alert

You know mummies, I'm sorry for going on and on about GD. I had forgotten my initial reservations on this system pre-preggers. Then, I felt strongly that the sight-word reading method does not encourage real reading. Please use this approach <u>at your own discretion</u>, I've just read some articles that are rather alarming:

induced Dyslexia: http://www.donpotter.net/PDF/Miller-Blumenfeld_Dyslexia_Article.pdf

http://quackwatch.com/search/webglimpse.cgi?ID=1&amp;query=doman

Having highlighted this, I still think the encyclopaedic knowledge one is ok
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Detractors only point out that it will be true knowledge if the child reads up and discovers these facts him/her self.. shrugs.. I think ok to feed them la since they can absorb so effortlessly now
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Guess for me, I'll not dive wholesale into the GD Eng/ Maths but use it alongside traditional methods. Oh, and GD Chinese? I'll be full on.. Chinese characters are sight words anyway
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Anyway, this was what my hubby and I discussed and decided on yesterday (now the alarming articles confirm it!)
 
lilboymom: Good job! very impressive CY is!! Will u be doing likewise for CH?

Are both u and your DH scholars or did both of u aced your exams back in your school days? Am wondering if it's due to your genes perhaps? my little bro was able to complete the 4 operations before 24mths, which was a feat back in the 1970's, when we didn't hv GD, Kumon or Shichida to consider. It was just that little cheapo Math Timetable booklet that all schools included in their textbook list, if u could recall if u were in primary sch then
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Of course, my dad was very good in maths during his sch days, and my dad's mom was very good in (biz) math too.

Btw, my bro went on to ace all his major exams till he left his ivy league uni. He is not exposing his kids to any of these methods now. A few of my 'scholar'/cream of the crop* friends who studied in ivy league unis aren't interested in GD/Shichida/Kumon either. They believe it's in their genes
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call them 'snobbish' or what? LOL.

*GEP since P3 Rosyth Pr all the way RI/RGS/RJC to Harvard/MIT/Stanford/Cambridge/Oxford/Yale type. Not a single B grade in the major exams.
 
DIY dot cards
eh my fren bought her dots from pop at thomson plaza. should be available in other populars. the larger ones at bras basah will be a good bet...

alternatively, you can go to the webbies and print them out. im just too lazy

springz
for ency knowledge...what i do is to show pictures only since that is the purpose of encylope knowldge. but i will show the words too in a separate sitting with the word cards only. have not asked cy to match them yet...

GD's style of teaching might be sight words style but the content is defintely not sight words only. as for teaching of letters in the alphabet..hmm...ok this is my personal point of view. teaching alphabet is nice and you know, can let the kids show off in cny and stuff..but if you think about it..what is the point?

if you teach the child the words, they will be able to reproduce the words (though not necee spell it out) anyway. so to me, it doesnt matter if my children knows what the word 'cake' looks like and cannot verbalise it as 'c-a-k-e'..this can come later...

as for phonics, i think it's ok for them to learn coz it encourages them to sound out the words and then read on their own. they may nto understand the meaning of the words they sound out but it is a means to build their confidence as a reader.

maths
the second part of GD programme introduces numerals and other stuff...the dots is only the first part...

o yes reading using GD
actually we are supposed to build on those words that we introduce and do home made books for them. for example, we introduce bananas, mummy, like, eat etc...

we have a book on mummy eating bananas and liking it etc...home made...to contextualise the words they learn...

GD and speaking
haha, a sensitive one coz my boy is slow on speech. well, it dependso n your take on it. i think the boy was slow on speech even without GD. i think GD progra will help a child increase confidence lah...

my boy's development started slowing down with his weight stagnation at aroun 7plus mths..he sat up independently without support at 4mths, and crawled at 6mths...but then no progress in all aspects until 13mths...that's when i decided to start the GD programme with him...
 
flos
eh, if you have seen my boy and talked to him, you wont think we have good genes lo..kakakak..he's a bit slower compared to his peers...but he is not 'developmentally delayed' as warned by our PD lah...:p

yah the genes thingy very LKY lah. no im not scholar type and neither is hb a scholar (but my year...PSC scholarship just need ABB leh)

both hb and me come from very average families...
 
lilboymum - tks dear.. hee will do the encyl pics only then (wo words)! Actually i think boys in general are slower in language compared to girls.. have seen quite a few!
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But they def catch up! My bro-in-law apparently gave his parents a scare (both his parents are Ps) as he did not utter a single word till he was 4! And when he opened his mouth - it was full sentences!!
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Haha reciting alphabet during CNY! Sounds so Singaporean!!! hee.. sorry pardon my ignorance, but don't kids have to learn the alphabet before learning phonics? I mean they must sort of know what the letter 'c' is to make the corresponding Keh sound? puzzled.. yup spelling and writing part i also think comes later...

yup definitely more than the prescribed sight words!!
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Hi hi mummies, i am new to the thread. Gave birth on 4 Sep and baby girl is 14 weeks old.

Yah i was at carrefour yesterday and did not see any promotion for pampers cos my girl use that too. bought a mamy poko to try. anyone uses that? is it good?

want to ask you girls about babies belly button. The skin on my baby's belly button has some patches of black. I thought it was dirt and tried to clean it but then, it can't come off! Is it pigmentation?

Also KymKym

My nurse told me Rotavirus Vac is usually taken at 2 and 4 mths, before baby is 6 mths. I was charged $95 for one dose, which is orally taken by syringe.

As for Pneumoccocal, if you take now, it 3 jabs at 2, 4 and 6 mths. If not can take at around 1 1/2 years and that will be one jab i think.
 
Dear Springz,

Had just read the articles you have posted, spurred me thinking for myself:

Watching the baby in the blog doing square roots amazed me!!

but would you agree with me that every system has its flaws, no doubt the GD system / flashcard system is superb, it seems that the articles are suggesting that it may cause learning difficulities later on in life due to the incessent feeding/conditioning of the brain.

It also got me thinking about the environment the child with the 'disability' is in. I also think every system or course of study must be combined with some sort of actual experience/ encounter for a child to be able to connect them to the active world, and get them thinking for themselves. The environment the child lives in, and encounters, in effect plays a great part in whether the child benefits from each system. Therefore, i would agree with you that we should still use these methods alongside traditional methods of developing other senses- like paying a visit to the garden, digging around in the sand, touching and feeling the wool of the sheep.. things like that

Having said this, I think it is not only important to develop a child's intelligent-mental ability; the child's emotional- social wellbeing is also of utmost importance to how a child learns.

This reminds me again about - I was telling an experience to a couple of our moms here over lunch after our toy spree about 3 mums and their two-year old +/- 1,2 mths girls. (only to illustrate how the environment shape same age little children)

The 1st mom is a SAHM and she is usually very busy with her online BP business and would leave her girl on her own with her toys and dvds she buys. She rarely reads anything with the girl (judging from the meagre number of books i see in her house) It is hard to communicate with this little girl since she rarely understands reason and her mother usually need to threaten/ use the cane.. even just to make her finish her bowl or rice

The 2nd mom is also a SAHM and rarely leaves the house to go out. She is immensely dedicated to her daughter's learning, she actively uses flashcards and books, and will only show dvds to her girl under her direct supervision. She ensures her in-laws speak full and whole sentences, and will not mix chinese with english.

The 3rd mom is a FTWM and has to work long hours. She sends her girl to the Julia Gabriel playschool once or twice each week and will try to read a book or two after work every day, all the other time, the girl is looked after by her MIL who loves the TV and rarely read any books to the girl.

The outcome of the above 3 little girls are different far and wide. The 1st little girl is very mischevious and creates a din each time there are guests in the house. She also does not feed well and takes ages to finish a bowl of rice. Her speech ability consist of a few words like go go, baba, mama, in, out, come.

The 2nd little girl is on most times, very well behaved, although she can be very timid, often hiding behind her mother when there are strangers and she does not like to visit other people. She can speak whole sentences and make conversation with her grandparents like ' How are you today', 'What are you eating?', 'Godma Kymberley, Where is baby Scarlett', 'I am doing something..' etc. Whenever this little girl throws a tantrum, her mother will reason with her and she'll be ok after a while

The 3rd little girl is an active little girl, is very sociable and loves to talk to everyone. She can speak whole words like 'Good', 'Full', 'Don't want!' but she does not manage whole sentences very well. Her mother find its hard sometimes to reason with her girl, but most times, her girl will quieten down after a lot of coaxing.


The above illustration may not make sense, but i am merely just pointing out how the environment a child is in, can far and wide shape a child's personality and thus affect each child's learning ability and whether a system works or not. I would think we must use any system with caution and no matter which system, we must be meticulous to ensure that we pair every lesson with the actual use/experience of the lesson later on in life, agree?
 
<font color="0000ff">Bigtoes
Drool boy sooo cute!!!! love his michelin arms
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Mei &amp; Sunrays
what's this xmas photoshoot u all brot D &amp; C for??? nvr share share good deals.. hehe

lil'CY
wah... ur hardwork paid off huh?
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Looks like I must have the discipline to 'train' Max too

Jaymickey
oops... J woke up at 5am??</font>
 
Sasa, yah she happily singing and playing with all her "friends" until i heard her..

Photoshoot, i missed it to, only knew it last night.. too bad it's the last day yesterday..
 
Rotavirus and Pneumoccocal vac

My baby has already taken 2 vac of rotavirus. For Pneumoccocal vac, next month is her 2nd vac together with 2nd 5-in-1 vac.

Took it at GP. Those who stays at woodlands can go 888 plaza the healthway clinic to take the jab. Dr Gabriel is a very nice and gentle doc. He always change to a small needle for baby.
 
kym kym
interesting story about the 3 moms...the third girl sounds like my boy (and the mum/carer environment sounds like ours too! except it was a babysitter and not MIL)...my son was pretty good with sentences by about 2.5 though and he talks non stop now....

I have no inclination or patience for "hothousing" our kids, but try to let them explore different things... well no garden to dig around in unfortunately!

personally, I think even over-babyproofing the house retricts learning as they don't learn that running around and bumping into things can hurt...of course, must make sure sharp/hot things are kept out of reach.

The article on the sight reading causing dyslexia was very interesting too!
 
kymkym,
i totally agree with you about the 3 stories you mentioned.

Though it may not match totally to the kids i know of in real life but at certain stage it does lor. Like my hubby's niece, she was looked after by my MIL. my MIL watch TV and Teochew operas. Im not saying its my MIL's fault or what but I do realise my hubby's niece is quite slow in learning lor. And always up to mischief cos she has nothing to do at home except watch Barney or give her toys to distract her while feeding. BTW my MIL dun really teach my hubby niece proper chinese.

Upon seeing this, i told myself i would never want my kid to be at home doing nothing. And i also dun encourage watch dvd just to distract the kid during feeding. thats y i bought the high chair to train ryan in future to sit properly on the chair and eat by the table. My MIL now still chase after my hubby's niece during feeding even though she's 4yrs old le.

i got so many ideas to impose for looking after Ryan, tats y i rather let my mom look after. If she did anything wrong, at least i can just tell her like that. Cos she can read chinese, at least she can teach chinese to Ryan.
 
<font color="0077aa">Kymkym: Really interesting 3 stories you have here! Agreed totally that family's involvment &amp; the environment play a strong part on how the child is shape in.

Initally was also against flashcards as I thought the best children learn is through playing but then again seeing how kids absorb thru stories (like Cy mum) I feel that I will do my part &amp; if smallberry likes &amp; enjoy it, I will continue as long as possible...</font>
 
Want to add: The first mummy once asked to borrow some of my cards.. but it ended up, the little girl was running and crying away because she does not want to sit down before her poor mummy could show her any cards at all! haha~

Going for Rotavirus and 5 in 1 booster now~ Thanks mummies for providing me with the vaccines timeframe!

Bigtoes:

Have not gotten your address yet!!
 
After hearing all the horror stories about MIL taking care of little children and the outcomes... seriously considering infant care/ child care... of which i have been looking around for a long time... either too expensive or too crowded.. so i found an in-house baby sitter who is willing to come to my house everyday, and is much cheaper!!!

Any mummies living in tampines or pasir ris area looking for a good infant care or nanny?

I am thinking of employing an in-house babysitter (the contact i got has a diploma in childhood education and she is chinese, very pleasant young lady) to care for my girl ... i am considering for the babysitter to come to my house everyday to look after my girl 8am-7pm (will be flexible) and she'll have to do reading, flashcards and baby chores.. perhaps any mummy would like to share this babysitter with me? Just like infant care.. cept that its 1 to 2 babies (plus.... i got a maid and many toys and books hahahah) mini infant care....
 
I also agree that the environment does play an important part in our child's formative years. I've a gf who hardly speaks with her sons and till now, her 2 boys aged 3 and 5 can't speak full sentences and I have never heard them utter any words. She spends her time playing mahjong all the time, and leaves them to her maid who obviously wouldn't be able to or be bothered to teach them talk.

Apart from learning, I also see a difference in a child who has been exposed to flashcards learning at a young age vs another who hasn't. The former speaks faster, and does appear 'smarter'.

Hence, I also advocate learning at young age, GD, Schicida methods etc.

You ladies have inspired the lazy bum in me to make flashcards!!! Hhaha. I will start with word cards first. Do we need to flash both words and dots (Maths) to our bb now or can we do words first?

My gal has just started taking interest in the songs I sing to her with hand actions. She will stare and at times try to flash her hands in the same manner esp when I sing Twinkle Twinkle Lil Stars. It's amazes me how early she learns! In fact, she also understands words like 'Milk', 'Wait', 'Mommy', 'Daddy', '1 minute' and she is only 2mths old!

Told my Hubs that we have to watch our language now cos we dont want our gal to mouth some uncouth word as her first word! Aka some movie where the bb said 'asshole' as his first word.
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<font color="119911">Flos (flos) – yes, K is drooling more nowadays, and likes to chew on his fists. And on testing his vocals – he is a very noisy baby – not contented to just talk – have to shout occasionally! Its shocking someoneso small can have such powerful vocal chords.
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Mei (meie) and sunrays (sunrays) – hehe, I am sure the photos from the respective shoots are fabulous! Share with us when these are ready!
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Milk_Family (milk_family) – hmm.. the PD said to take the rotavirus at 4th month (that would be way after your PD's recommended 12-14th weeks). I thought rotavirus jab is to prevent diarrhea, and babies would be more susceptible in infantcare or when they are older and start putting shared toys into their mouths? K is going for his jabs only at the end of Dec.

Flashcards – woah..this requires too much commitment! I don’t believe in hothousing, and am just sticking to reading books to him when he seems interested. My sisters' kids are all growing up doing what they like and exploring their surroundings, and are very mature mentally, verbally and physically for their ages – am hoping that K turns out the same (Nature overriding nurture).

TV and babies – there are contradicting theories on exposing babies to the telly. Like how the flickering would spoil their eye development (but then, everyone is on plasma/LCD nowadays, and these don’t flicker)….then again, we have DVDs like Baby Genius/Einstein for babies…so what is the conclusion? I assume a moderate amount of telly is okie? We sometimes carry K on our lap (facing front) and watch telly together.

Formula milk vs. breast milk:
Mommies who are feeding babies FM, do you find that this is more difficult to digest, and hence baby can last longer in between feeds? K is on TBM, and woke up at 2, 4, 6am last night for 100ml feeds each time – hubby was very tired and suggested supplementing with FM at night. I don’t think my EBM is anymore diluted than usual – mainly hindmilk – and am attributing his hunger to the 3rd month growth spurt. Would FM help for the night feed? The weird thing is, he was feeding at longer 3 hour intervals during the day (latch on).

KymKym T (pebblez) – will resend you my address to your hotmail account!</font>
 
Agreed with kym and ava a child needs varied environment to grow well (hee..like plants lo)...

but then also must take note of child's temperament. i know of children who hates GD/shichida method, but reads perfectly well. but then the mummy has to spend time reading to them lah.

springz
interesting article youve got there. too long winded for serious discussion here. but any approach that takes to the extreme isnt too good. that's why exposure exporsure of different sorts the best...

frankly when we start them young, any approach is likely to work. many of these studies were done with very much older inner city kids who may be disadvantaged right at birth...

ive not done anything in mandarin for cy. that's why he's so baba..hahhaha...hb has been blaming me coz when he tries to read to him his mandarin book, cy replies in english. might just use wo hui du for ch...hope being a girl she is more open to languages...
 
Bigtoes - my boy is on FM after 2 weeks from birth... but my boy can't take alot of milk at a time.. so he is only taking 90ml or 100ml each time during the day.. and i have to feed him like every 2hrs to 2.5 hrs.. but there are occasion where he sleeps and didn't wake up for milk until 4 hours late... At nite.. he only drank about 100ml and can last him for 8 hours... like his last feed will be at 7pm, 8pm i will clean him and change to PJ and then he will fall asleep till 5am for his next feed..

but there are some days where he will wake up for feed at 1am, 4am and 7am...

I was thinking issit due to his sleep during the day.. i realise that if he sleep quite well during the day.. he tends to sleep better and longer during the nite...

I always put my boy to sleep after 1hr or 1.5 hrs from the last feed and he will sleep till the next feed session... but then i put him on a sarong and tt's why he tends to sleep longer during the day...

I think maybe k is going through another round of growth spurt bah... or he is not sleep enough during the day? or is he over-stimulated just before bedtime???

Learning - I haven't been doing flashcard and stuff to my boy... only been singing with hand action and he seems to like it... I also bought some books from BP ... intenting to start reading to him once i receive the books... haha
 
whoa! a lot of intellectual conversation going on on htis forum. again, i am amazed at how so many of you manage to write such long posts on the forum and be caring for your little ones. i'm barely making it through with cooking, laundry and baby caring. hahaha. i am so deprived of ME ALONE time.

today i managed to make lunch and cook dinner...but all the time carrying my bb in a sling.

SLING: does anyone know if it will affect my bb's legs if i keep carrying him in the snuggle position? Dunno why he's suddenly so sticky this past week...cannot sleep on his mattress during the day. sigh.

GD &amp; various INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION approaches:

i agree with l'l cy. anything tothe extreme is bad...and actually at the end of the day, we cannot rely on one particular methodology to replicate the kind of intelligence or behaviour we see in other kids. we have to take into account our own kids' personalities and inclinations. the most impt thing for us to rber is perhaps to help them be the best they can be (so ACS! hehe)...and to rber to above all things, love and accept them as they are and teach them to love themselves and others.

I was also quite anti GD and flashcarding...but i realise that my boy will also auto shut-up and look intently at the cards when i use it when he begins to fuss.

Springz: I would Love to contribute to this pool of resources. However, i cannot get started on it yet... soon as i settle how to do the chores while caring for him. hehe. How do you manage doing all these flashcard prep? you caring for S yourself right? i feel like doing different emotion/ facial expressions.read that babies LOVE to look at other baby faces. but that would need a variety of kids...maybe we can collate our babies photos with different emotions. And i can compile it into one on MOODS/EMOTIONS. here are some others i am thinking of working on:
- NATURE
- THINGS AROUND THE HOUSE

l'l CY: how big are the pics you flash? most of the store ones are half of A5 size.can those be seen by babies? also when bb lying on floor, can we flash the cards? what do you mean by cy being 'baba'?

Kym: i live in tampines! but right now not in SG....sigh i wish cld share with you... i also have a lot of books etc. we shd really look at starting a playgroup for our kids when they hit 2 y/o and become more interactive. wld be so fun!

as for your sharing on the scenarios, i totally agree that the child's environs play a great deal in influencing his or her devt. at the end of the day, why do we want to do the flashcards etc with them? if just to help them excel in studies and get good jobs etc...i think we miss the point. life is for living...and there is more than grades and a solid pay packet.


Bigtoes: You know the TV thing...i also wonder if we use the laptop to do flashcards...won't it affect their eyesight too?

momopanda: I LOVE Mamy POko. It's the best one in my opinion. It is really absorbent. It's held through the entire nights of about 8 - 10 hours for my boy and he didn't fuss.

flos: would love to see your caricatures when you are done. your maid is an ongoing source of entertaining tales for us. how are you going to manage her when you return to work? how heavy and long is I now? already wearing XL?

sunrays: you did beading before?!! you can start a little biz designing and making clothes for baby girls...use charl as your model! i am going to FB to see the photos you took of charl!

storeberry: is ur Z doing 5 mnin feeds every 3 hours still? mine does...but sometimes he is stretching to 3+hours between feeds...and only drinks 5 mins. a bit concerned that he is not getting nutrients. fortunately his poo is regular and yellow, not green. are u carrying z a lot during the day still? mine jsut started this must-be-carried stunt on me....aiyo. dunno how.

SIGHT READING &amp; INDUCED DYSLEXIA: i've read that before. shall read it again.
 
Hi mummies, any idea where i can get the flashcards??
Seriously, i know nuts about this method, but after reading all your posts, i'm very excited to try on my boy, at least to occupy his time a bit.
But i don't understand d dot flash cards though, it's just dots rite??
 
Flos,
I dont have a maid. My maid is a combi of my HB and yours truly!
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Sasa,
Then how to collect the cot mobile from u?

GD,
I am already feeling the stress just by reading abt it...hmmmm...I like to think I am a "fun" parent..the type who wouldnt hesitate to let my baconboy explore or to have a stress-free childhood, if he falls, i would tell myself its ok, i dont have to rush to "rescue"...but again, i might just give in...right now, i am contented to just read n sing to him
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Anyone shares the same mentality?
 
Any babies here who will cry badly for each feeding? My girl cries whenever we give her milk. The only time she will drink her milk quietly only the first meal of the day. The rest she will cry like no end until we feed her at the "yao lan". Anyone have same experience? Can suggest ways to overcome?
 
hi kymkym,
your idea of getting an inhouse baby sitter is interesting. unfortunately i staty in the west else i would love to join u.
do u have any further contact?
 
sarahmay
baba=peranakan..sighz dun understand mandarin.

but its better now, after hb devoted himself to speaking to him in mandarin

ava, bacon&amp;eggs, jeraldin
haha, dun forget hor, im sahm. too much time on hand, have to occupy him. and cy doesnt go to school. so even with those cards huh, it'll take like..less than 10 minutes in a day. the rest of the day we read, watch aeroplanes, draw or paint...watch more aeroplanes, playw ith aeroplanes,....go for walks, and then watch more aeroplanes...
 
<font color="0077aa">Sarah: Yes, smallberry is still doing 5mins feed but these two days he has been crying for milk with 2-2.5hrs, also suspecting its growth spurts.. At night its 5hours after last feed then 3hours interval. Oh, the "must be carried" stunt has been on-going, he cannot sit in his bouncer for long &amp; loves to be carried around! This little terror!

Just came back from maid agency, decide to take the transfer maid, her previous employer didn't want her after one week &amp; reason given by agency was that there was communication problem but I believe its more than that. But decide to take the risk since we need a maid now. Will change if she really cannot make it.

Kymkym: Ya lo, your idea is good but I also stay in the west...
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Where did you get the contact from? Its good that she is willing to travel to your place!

l'l CY^^l'l CH (lilboymum): Do you do words &amp; dots cards concurrently? I am thinking how to fit my dots card into my current words schedule... </font>
 

B&amp;E,
Me too! GD/Shicida/flashcards are a very interesting topic. I find that it evokes 2 very extreme emotions --- either u are very onz abt it (not me) or against it. Half-hearted efforts will yield minimal results.

KymKym,
My Joshua is like the 3rd gal. Perhaps not the most impressive / intelligent tod around but is pretty good socially. After spending the last 2 days in the IFC to transition Jonas, I get a lot of good feedback abt how popular Joshua is in school. (gosh, didn't realize he has charmed so many gals -- from 2YO to 12YO to aunties!).

Of cos, I do hope he will manage academically (if he's lucky to inherit Daddy's MENSA quality IQ), but I find the most successful people in life are the ones with high EQ!

flos,
Isaac does look pretty big! Good luck with your new maid. I am very happy with my new Indo maid --- will volunteer to learn things and very good with my kids.
 

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