hi Nov mummies
I've been following this thread since I was pregnant at the same time as all of you & baby was supposed to be due in Nov 08. Though eventually I gave birth in Oct at 36 weeks, I still find myself coming back to this Nov thread instead of Oct. ;P Anyway just wanna say that it's been great reading all of yr experiences since our babies' arrival. Whenever I become paranoid about baby matters, eg mucus causing breathing problems, feeding/burping/poo/crying issues, baby needing constant attention, baby toys etc, I always find manage to find some answers in this thread.
Since I've been taking in all the good advices so far, thought I could just share my own experiences as well.
***Baby Self-entertainment***
Over the last few months, I've found some means to entertain him (so that I have time to find my own entertainment eg surf the net & read the Nov postings, online shopping sprees etc *grin*).
1) PlayMat
- I bought a Tiny Love playmat for him and it works wonders. I regret not getting it earlier. There's a mirror that he's fascinated with, hanging plush toys/rattles, kick & play pad w melodies etc to keep him entertained for about 20-40mins - good enough for me to take a shower, have lunch etc. He's at this stage where he's using his hands to explore & grab things, learning cause & effect so the playmat helps to keep his attention intact. He does tummy time on this too!
- I place the Tiny Love playmat on the Parklon bumper playmat in my living room (which has since become both baby/me/hubby's new play area). Putting him on the floor is the safest place since he flipped from back to his tummy few weeks ago. He takes short afternoon naps on it as well when he's tired out (like now..).
2) Baby DVDs
- When I saw how captivated he was by images on TV at 3mths old, I bought 'Yr Baby Can Read' DVDs etc to keep him entertained for abt 15-20mins /day (in moderation as too much TV is no good, 20 mins is his max attention span on TV anyways). I put him on my lap facing the TV directly in an upright position & he will watch, coo and smile at the images (I can see his expressions thru the mirror I place on TV console..heh heh) Eventually I will put him on Bumbo seat when his back and neck is strong enough.
RE: U-Like blender
Bought this at Isetan @ $69.90. Can be used to make baby food, make fruit juice w/without fibre for u or ur hubby using a separate container. Comes with 1 big & 1 small glass container - easy to wash up cos it's compact. We have a Philips Blender too but it's simply too heavy, consumes space and cumbersome to wash. I highly recommend U-Like Blender.
My key problems & solutions so far, just to share:
1) Milk rash - California Calendula Cream
2) Feeding tantrums - baby feed from bottle left 1oz & refuse to take somemore cos he wants to latch on. I will let him latch on, then switch back to bottle teat when he's not lookin'..heheh..Or simply let him rest for 20 mins (within 1 hr feed) then he'll finish the rest.
3) Too much wind from bottle feeding - I changed to Dr Brown BPA free bottles.
4) All that buzz abt SLS and carcinogens in baby shampoo & lotion - I changed to organic pdts - California and GAIA.
I'm still in a learning phase in the motherhood journey, hope to continue to share and learn with all of u too...Of course what works for me may or may not work for u but it's worth a try.
