Mothering Corner

I was cleaning up my jewelry box just now and found that I kept a pearl necklace, which was given to me by my MIL. She bought 4 of the same designs and all her daughters-in-law have one. It was given to me before I got married, but I have long forgotten about it. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of Akoya pearls and I don’t even know how to match the necklace with my jeans!  However, it was her way of greeting us into the family, so it should be kept well as our family treasure.

It’s not easy to be close to our own mothers sometimes, and let alone the mother of our spouse. So, there’s a lot of give and take between us and we just have to learn to love them as our own mother too. If it’s not because of my MIL, I think my days as a SAHM won’t be that easy. At least I don’t have to worry about getting food ready on the table everyday now, not until we move over to Bangkok! LOL! So, I keep telling myself, if there’s a conflict, step up and see from her point of view. Thank god that I’m blessed with an understanding MIL, so we hardly have issue at home.

So, we are moving away soon and I hope that my kids will miss her too.

 If I’m given the choice to choose again, I would still prefer to be a stay at home mother. It’s really not that bad and I can always be there for my kids. Besides that, we can make money from our blogs if you join networks like Bloggerwave. The money might not be a lot, but still, it will mean something to us one day.

Like most mothers, sometimes I wish that my little girl will grow up fine and turn into a beautiful young woman. I don’t mind if she likes to be a model or attending any beauty contest, provided that I’m well informed about it and she will have my full support. Of course, I will hope that she will continue her studies as much as possible before deciding on joining all these contests. It’s just that I don’t think beauty will last forever and it’s best to be brainy too.

So, anyone here who’s interested to be a model? Just check out http://www.lookoftheyear.com for more information. But please get your parent’s approval if you are too young to make any decision ok?

Someone I know is fighting for a wedding despite the fact that she has a pair of twins with her partner out of wedlock. The only problem is, this man is already married, so how can he have another wedding again?

I know that most women fancy to have the perfect wedding, and I was one of those women too. I would plan almost everything from choosing the venue, flower decoration, the music, food tasting and others. I even got some ballerinas to perform for the guests and performing as flower girls. The only thing I didn’t do well was the flower decoration as I couldn’t afford to have only fresh flowers and I didn’t know where to get wholesale calla lilies and white roses at that time. Thus, I mixed the flowers with some plastic flowers too.

However, if I’m a mother of 2, I don’t think a wedding is necessary anymore, especially if the father of the kids has another family of his own with other kids as well. It’s complicated huh?

My SIL has only gave birth to her baby about 4 months ago and she has lost a lot of weight but is yet to go back to pregnancy shape. Like most women, she’s facing a lot of pressure in getting back in shape. I tried to convince her that she’s not fat at all and I went through that weight loss struggle just like her too, but with a balance diet, some exercise, sleep deprived from taking care of the baby and breastfeeding, most women managed to get back in shape. Not everyone can loss weight just after confinement and we just have to be perseverance and positive about ourselves.

On top of that, I went to Yanhee International Hospital and plastic surgery is pretty common here. Some women spent a lot of money in getting back in shape. My SIL is still reluctant to do so, but I think she looks great now. Maybe it’s just the flabbiness, and she just needs to tone up her body.

Frankly, part of the reasons why I don’t want to have another baby is I hate to go through the stress of losing weight. I know that I did it twice successfully, but I can’t ignore the fact that I’m not getting any younger and my metabolism is slower. LOL!

I suddenly realized that it’s been so long since my last breast self examination, so I better get it done after my period ends. That’s how I remind myself as our breasts tend to be swollen during menstruation, so it’s best do it the examination on other days as long as you remember to do so. If you are interested to read more about breast self examination, check out the link. The diagrams will give you a better idea too, and I got the diagram from a breast cancer awareness campaign many years ago.

My mother was a breast cancer patient, but she survived. It’s been about 10 years since her mastectomy, and she’s doing well now. There was a period of time when she was fighting for her health with medications, radiation and chemotherapy, but we are all glad that she’s fully recovered now. That’s why breast self examination is so important to me as I have a higher risk as there’s a family history of breast cancer.

If you are not sure about how a lump feels like, just talk to the doctor or nurses. I found that those breast cancer campaign booths are great as they have a sample breast lump for you to feel. But don’t panic if you find anything hard, it’s best to let your doctor examine again before making any conclusion.

Both my kids can walk by themselves but sometimes, they prefer to be carried by hubby and me. If hubby is not too tired, he will carry both of them in his arms so that I can walk freely and do some shopping. That’s why I’m buying more high heels now as I don’t have to walk in them with a toddler in my arms.

Nonetheless, if you are not comfortable walking in heels, don’t forget to get some Foot Pain Relief products to provide extra comfort to your feet. It’s not easy walking in high heels with a baby in your arms, so worrying about how hurt your feet are would be the last thing in your mind.

But if you prefer to walk comfortable, go for flats. Ballerina flats are fashionable for most mommies!

When I was planning for my first child, I took note of my menstrual cycle well because I wanted to track my ovulation. It took me 2 cycle to conceive my baby and I was so happy about it. I know all the while when I’m ovulating as the discharge is heavier. However, if you are interested to know more about ovulation, check out the facts listed by Yahoo! Health.

The American Pregnancy Association offers the following information about ovulation:

• Once an egg has been released from the ovary, it can live for 12 hours to 24 hours.
• Women are born with millions of immature eggs. Typically, only one egg that has matured is released each month.
• Ovulation can be affected by factors such as stress, anxiety, illness, or an interruption of usual lifestyle and routine.
• Ovulation may cause feelings of aching, tenderness or soreness in and around the ovaries.
• Each egg that is unfertilized is absorbed by the uterine lining.

Funnily, they didn’t list out the difference in discharge. So, do you know that you are ovulating?

My SIL has just given birth 2 months ago, but she slimmed down very fast by keeping herself busy with a baby and juggling her work at the office. She is nursing her baby exclusively but if she’s away from the office, her baby will be fed with formula milk by the office staffs. She brings her baby to work because there’s no one to take care of her, and she can’t leave her own business.

Like I said previously, it’s much easier to lose weight if you are breastfeeding. Some of the breastfeeding mothers I know lost their baby fat six months after the labor and they can still eat normally. But if you are not a breastfeeding mother, you can try lots of methods in losing weight like exercising, taking diet pills like Acomplia, doing on diet and etc. No matter which method you choose, please make sure that it’s safe and consult your doctor before you take any pills. It’s best to lost weight the safer way, but I know how frustrating it can be if you can’t see the pounds losing before your eyes with all the diet plans you tried!

Seriously, I am controlling my diet now. I can’t be eating the same since I weaned off my gal. I missed my breastfeeding days when I could eat anything I want.

As usual, I received a bouquet of roses from hubby on Valentine’s Day. I have asked him to stop sending me flowers, but I guess he’s clueless of what to give me so he picked the flowers again. Flowers are so expensive on that day, and he better get them from wholesale roses since he has some friends in Cameron Highlands!

But then again, did you receive flowers on the day you gave birth to your baby? My doctor asked hubby to get me a bouquet of flowers on the days we had our babies at the hospital, but he didn’t do so. I wonder which daddy did this because it would be nice to get some flowers after the labor.