Mothering Corner

Staying in Malaysia has an advantage. We can speak, read and write at least 2 languages. Most of us can do more than 3 as well, or even more if we add in our dialects.

I have always wanted my kids to learn a few more languages, just for fun. Kids absorb languages faster as comparing to adults. But it’s not too late of us to learn anyway. If I have the time, I will pick up Japanese, French and Italian.

It’s easy to learn a foreign language now as there are lots of learning centers around. But the best way is to be in the countries and learn from there. Let’s say, Italian, there are italian language schools in Italy which offer Italian language courses in Italy to foreigners.

But I can’t go there now, not when my kids are still young. So, how am I going to learn italian courses in Italy?

My girl is down with flu, and she is very grumpy. She wants the breasts all the time, and if I detach her when she is sleeping, she will wake up immediately and search for the breast again. Lots of nursing moms agree that when our babies are sick, they really need more tender loving care and nursing than usual. Sometimes, we fall sick as well due to lack of rest.

But when we are sick, we have the antibodies with will be passed on to our sick babies and help them to recover faster. As long as we are fit to nurse them, why not? That’s why nursing moms can still breastfeed their babies even if they themselves are not well.

It’s the natural way of healing, and I’m doing it now. But you still need to bring the sick baby to see a doctor, ok? Don’t try self medication at home.

My girl started some coughing since this morning. The first thing that came into my mind was is she going to be worse tomorrow as we are going to KL and Genting. My mothering instinct got me the right signal, she really got worse already before bedtime. But we will be going anyway, everything has been planned.

Traveling with a sick baby needs more preparation than normal. I got to bring her to her paediatrician and asked him to prescribe some medication first, just as backup. Then she needs extra clothing as the weather in Genting may be colder and unpredictable. She may not be able to eat will, just nursing and some quick snack maybe appropriate.

Luckily we are not going anywhere further with flight, so we are not wasting our tickets if she is really unfit for traveling. However I still prefer to tag along my kids, even if they are sick, unless I cancel the trip and not going at all. I can’t just leave them with someone else, even if they can be trusted. I know that when my kids are sick, they will be more clingy than ever and want mommy or daddy even more.

Anyway, if we cancel the trip, we can also go again once the kids have recovered as it’s really easy to get cheap flights from Holiday Hypermarket which offers holiday bargains, last minute deals, cheap flights and all inclusive holidays. Furthermore, we just have to book online, so it’s very convenient. Next time, if you are flying from UK to Mexico, don’t forget to get cheap flights to Mexico from Holiday Hypermarket. Not only that the tickets are cheaper, you may even get last minute flights too!

When it comes to junk food, I have to be stern and lenient, depending on time and occasions. There are a lot of junk food in my house, not bought by me, some other family members. The older kids bring junks to school for tea break, and MIL will ensure that they will never be out of supply.

But my kids are “seduced” to junk food temptation since young. I can easily stop them from trying when they are younger, but after 1 year old, when they being to show independence, they can open the cabinets, fridge, containers and take the snack that they want. But I have to make sure that snacking comes after proper meals, and cannot replace the meals that they are taking.

However, there is a disadvantage to this. My boy gained some weight lately, as he likes snacking for junks after meals, which means he eats twice per meal. So, it’s about time I be stern on junks again, before I have an overweight boy!

I have always thought that my home is the safest place on earth, but sometimes, it is full of danger for every young children. I have a curious little toddler who never fails to surprise me with all her “action-packed” stunned acts that almost give me a heart attack occasionally.

We have done a few precautions in preventing her from hurting herself. Most importantly, we have to prevent her from falling off from the 2nd floor to the living room.

 

See the rows of hole below the planting area of the second floor? My kids can easily squeeze themselves through it and risk falling off to the living room downstairs. So, MIL blocked them with some fencing net.

Then, I have to make sure that all the unused sockets are covered by with a childproof plugs and the network cables are hidden behind furnitures or stuffs that my toddler cannot remove them easily and get her hands on them.

 But I really need to organize and tidy up those cables in my room because my kids spend the most time here. We will rearrange the room this afternoon.

To prevent her from falling off the staircase, we are a gate install at the upper part of the staircase. But most of the time, we hardly use it even if it’s been there since my boy was born.

 Some mothers are wondering how can I blog so much and take care of my kids at the same time? Besides the room, my kids have a playroom. When I’m doing other chores, or having my meals, my kids will be playing in there. See the door?

It’s transparent, but can be locked from outside. All the sockets are well hidden away disable. There are no dangerous stuffs being placed in there, so I can ensure that my kids are safely playing inside, while I get myself a few minutes to get things done. But I don’t advise this for younger baby as you don’t know what the other older kid will do on her, accident might happen. So, it’s only for a few minutes without supervision, I’m also very kiasi about my kids.

The stupid adware “disappeared” after I did some scanning with Spyware Terminator a few times a day. So, my boy can safely view his blog now. But funnily, all the Google ads are gone as well, and only show some coding on the blogs or sites I read. But I seldom click on them anyway, so it makes no difference.

The only thing is I notice that my PC is very slow after the incident. So, maybe I should upgrade my IBM memory huh? But never mind, I still have a laptop to use.

 Hubby brought my boy to the airport to fetch FIL. It’s only bb and me, so I’m not as busy as other Sundays. It’s bliss as bb woke up at 9am because her brother went out early, and didn’t disturb her. I could catch some cat nap too, and it’s the time in months I got more than 6 hours sleep!

 It’s like I’m having a break now, just like this teak outdoor furniture ad. If I have one of these chairs, it would be fun loafing around in the house on this beautiful Sunday.

 We have 2 living rooms in the house, and one of them is an the other extension where BIL and his family live in. The sofas in the living room are really worn off, but SIL still refuses to change the set. She said that the kids will be jumping up and down on them anyway, why bother to change into a new set?

My other SIL is Singapore also thinks the same. There is only one 3 seater sofa in her living room, no coffee table, or other home furniture anymore. Her 2 boys can run and jump in the living room freely without being confided by the the furnitures.

So, what about other mommies? You house have nice furnitures or not?

When my kids were younger, I prefer to nurse lying down. But nowadays, it’s more convenient nursing sitting up as my girl will just nurse anywhere and anytime. Whenever she sees me sitting at my PC, she will definitely come for a feed, just for comfort. Sometimes, she refuses to let go and I have to type and nurse at the same time.

When I was expecting, I read somewhere that there are chairs meant for nursing. But it’s not really necessary, actually, any chairs similar as those from north carolina furniture will do.

I prefer those without the arm as when baby gets bigger, the arms will be blocking the baby from being cradled comfortably.

And if you nurse sitting up, make sure that you do not hunch. Place a pillow at your back to make yourself comfortable. Carry baby close to your and maintain tummy to tummy contact.

But since my girl is a toddler now, she knows how to help herself. I don’t have to cradle her like the time when she’s a baby. Breastfeeding a toddler is definitely another stage to of mothering moments to me.

I wonder if other mothers like to check out on cookware? Frankly, I don’t really pay attention to them, and I don’t even know what’s the different from one set to the other. Yes, I don’t cook! So it makes no difference to me!

But my mum and MIL like to check out the cookware when we are shopping. They are spend lots of time admiring the set of pots and pans, and then tell me which one is a better brand. LOL! I must be one of the rare who doesn’t care much about kitchen set. Maybe I don’t have my own kitchen and furthermore I don’t cook much. So, this is something I have never bought before.