Hi Everyone!
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How many of you had an emergency situation where you were frantically running around the house looking for answers? Or better yet, you call everyone you know and no one picks up, including a spouse. I have been in those situations many a times. When it comes to me cutting my nails off, getting a minor burn, falling and spraining my ankle, I am pretty cool-collective. However, when it comes to my children, it seems like the end of the world. When my daughter got a 2nd degree burn, I was balling. When she had her fever at 105 and it kept rising, I felt like a bad mother, and thought that brain damage was seconds away from happening. As parents, we definitely feel so much more for our children because they look to us to have the answers and the healing powers.
I never went to med school nor was I super-attentive at my high school CPR class. Looking back on it, I should have been. Most of the time, when something happens, I go on the internet and do a Google Search. For example, “Baby fever 105 degrees.” You get a whole array of information from Doctors’ sites to real life experiences from mothers on message boards. Some useful, some not. But I know when I am panicking, on the verge of a mental breakdown, going on the internet is the last thing on my mind. I actually tried going on the internet, when my daughter had her 2nd degree burn, and guess what, the internet was down in my area! What do you do when that happens? Call 911?
Baby MEDBASICS Combo Pack
Well, you definitely have options depending on the severity of the situation. However, you want to be able to cover all your medical basics at home and when you are out and about. If your child stops breathing and your CPR skills are a little rusty, you want to be able to reference something. So that is why the husband and wife team behind Baby MEDBASICS came up with an emergency pack that can be used at home, or one that travels with you. Created by a doctor-dad and a nurse-mom, they knew what parents dealt with and came up with an action plan for parents and caregivers. Everything from CPR to caring for your choking child.
One of my favorite quotes from their site, “Baby MEDBASICS turns your moments of panic into moments of action.” I looked through the pack and all the instructions were very simple to follow with pictures to reference. Even for the most instruction challenged parent or caregiver, this pack is as simple as simple can get. The great thing about Baby MEDBASICS is that it comes in a Home Pack and a Travel Pack. So you can always have one for your home and one that goes with you. When you drop off your child and the diaper bag to your child’s caregiver, just as diapers and bottles are essential items, the Baby MEDBASICS should be added to the bag. You should have your caregivers attach it onto the handles of the stroller or the diaper bag and always have it on hand. I know that many parents require their caregivers to get CPR certification, but information from an 8 hour class takes time and practice to process. CPR classes are also taken online ( a little scary with no hands on practice), so it’s up to you to decide what is right for you and your baby. Personally, knowledge is power and according to the MEDBASICS site, “Knowledge=Love.” For more information go to the MEDBASICS site here.
(Disclosure: Product was provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the product. This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)
If your baby has a preference in having his or her head to a certain side, it becomes worrisome when we see that one side of the head is getting flat. They call this Flat Head Syndrome. I use to wonder what those helmets were for, especially when there were no bicycles in sight. For all I know, it could be a fashion statement (I live in L.A. “Hollywood”, you see it all). My first child always slept on the right side of her head, when she was a baby. My mother and I did everything in our power to have her look to the left. We placed towels under the pillow, we put toys to the left, and even positioned ourselves to the left, to have her look that way. Well, our hard work paid off! Luckily, we did not need a prescription for a custom made helmet.
My husband is a prime example of the Flat Head Syndrome. He laid flat on his head when he was a baby, so now as an adult, he has a flat head. My mom says that it’s a prime sign that he was a stubborn baby. My mother in law said that she tried everything to get him to sleep on the sides of his head, but nothing worked. He would always revert back to his comfortable middle position. So I guess he was a stubborn baby.
My second baby also likes to sleep on the right side of her head. We tried all our methods that we did with our first daughter. Her head looks fine for now, but I do worry that if we let her continue to sleep on her right side, she will end up with a lobsided head. Her pediatrician gave us recommendations, along with some neck stretching exercises with each feeding.
When we went to the ABC Kids Expo in September, we came across a great invention, the Infant Sleep Mat. It was developed by a Scientist and a Board Certified Pediatrician. The Infant Sleep Mat is the solution to those babies that sleep on one side of their head, otherwise known as Flat Head Syndrome. The mat has a gel insert for the head which lets the baby sleep on his or her desired side without getting any flatness.
Our baby has been using the Infant Sleep Mat for about a month. She loves to sleep on it because it is so comfortable (Made with Memory Foam). It has a slight gradual incline, which is good for reflux, and has two side to side adjustable pillows, to keep the baby in place for safety. The cover is machine washable (unvelcro the top and slip it off). The mat also has great portability, as you could travel with it as well. Because of its compact size, you could place it in a medium size luggage bag without any problem.
If you are a parent that worries that your child’s head will be lobsided, I highly suggest getting this mat. My husband only wishes they had this when he was a baby. At his age (thirties), there isn’t even the option of cosmetically fixing it. At least, I am not aware of any head implant surgery. It may be a procedure of the future. All in all, the Infant Sleep Mat gives me the peace of mind that my baby’s head will grow normally.
Price: $49.95
www.infantmat.com
(Disclosure: Product was provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the product. This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)
Ok. First off, I haven’t been able to post in a couple days because I am having issues uploading pictures. It’s frustrating, but it’s being looked at. So hopefully, I will be able start posting things very soon.
Today is going to be one very busy day, it already has been. The morning started off with waking up my daughter and getting her ready for Picture Day. Of course, we were super late and when we arrived, they already started taking pictures of her class. I wanted to stay and watch, but it became chaotic. All the kids were coming up to me, so that they could pat my baby’s head. She was not happy! After a couple screeches (totally out of character for her), I had to leave.
Today is also my husband’s birthday. The day before, I planned what I would cook for dinner and what sort of cake I would bake. So after I dropped off my daughter at preschool, I headed to Target to buy some birthday candles and a cake pan. After I finished my shopping at Target, I went to Whole Foods. I got all my ingredients for the perfect Vegan Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting that I would bake for my husband. He is not Vegan (actually the complete opposite), but I am allergic to dairy, so I bake Vegan. The recipe is below and I found it on Chow.com.
I just baked it and it came out perfect! Now I have to cook Miyuk guk, which is a traditional Korean Seaweed soup that we cook every birthday. Hopefully from there on, I can take it easy. I still have to do some work at home, pick up my daughter, and have the birthday dinner for my husband.
When I think of rain, I think of Chicago. It’s where I was born and raised. I think about my childhood and the many times I would play in the rain without the fear of getting hit by lightening. I vividly remember sitting at the couch with some soup, blanket, and cold medicine, while watching “Tom & Jerry.” Those were such great memories, flu and cold included. Flash Forward ** years later and it’s raining today. I am sitting at the couch watching my daughter watch “Scooby Doo” and my other daughter sleep peacefully.
It is very rare to see rain in Southern Calfornia. Sometimes I look outside and I am praying for rain to happen. Well, the last 2 days felt like a disaster. First of all, since we don’t see rain, we are not prepared for rain. The sewer systems are not advanced enough to handle large amounts of rain and in different pockets of the city, you will see sewer water throwing up in the middle of the road. On top of that, people do not know how to drive in the rain, so you see so more accidents. It’s not pretty, it’s icky!
Well on Monday, when I went to pick up my daughter at her preschool, all the children were playing indoors because of the rain. However, the second I looked at my daughter’s face, I knew she caught something. She looked pale and sick. I was like “Oh no!” Of course, the immediate reaction was what did she catch, how did she catch it, and who did she catch it from. In the car, she was sneezing and coughing. We stopped by Whole Foods and bought an immunity builder, since she was in the initial stages. I gave her the immunity builder and a fever reducer. I was hoping that something miraculous would happen and she would magically get better. I think any parent would agree that children are a lot of work, but any child that is sick, is a lot more work.
I had her stay home the next 2 days (including today), although she seemed a lot better. Having an infant at home and having her stay home, I was in store for some “Momma Drama.” After 2 days of having her stay home, I feel like I need some therapy, even in the form of retail therapy. I need some of this pent up “patience” released. Every time I nursed the baby, my other daughter latched on and wanted some mommy attention. When I was burping the baby, she wanted me to wipe her butt, get some bananas, read her a book, and anything and everything that she could think of. When she didn’t get her way, she started to cry LOUD, very LOUD, and then the baby started to cry with her. So the last two days, needless to say, have been quite traumatic for me. The rain doesn’t help either!
My daughter is 11 days away from being 3 months. I think as parents we look for our children to meet certain developmental milestones and if they don’t, we freak. Every child is different and they develop at their own pace. My 3 1/2 year old developed so ahead of her milestone markers, that when she started to babble and those babbles didn’t become actual words, I started to panic. I told my concerns to her pediatrician and he was not worried because most kids her age did not even start to babble yet.
When her words did not increase to the suggested amount for her age, I had her evaluated by the regional center. She was able to receive services for minor speech delay. One of her services was an early intervention program. At the program, her speech was more mature and developed than a lot of the children there. Her pediatrician told me not to worry because she was a bilingual child. Her brain was processing two languages versus one, so therefore it was taking a little bit more time. Moreover, over time the brain would start to process this information faster. He was right! Her language was getting better and better when she was 2 1/2, and when she turned 3, it was hard to have her stay quite. Now at 3 1/2, she says words that catches me by surprise . Not only is she bilingual, she is learning Japanese/Swahili/Spanish/Chinese, at her preschool.
Now that I have an infant, I am re-living all those milestone moments. Just last week her smiles became laughters and giggles. It was hilarious. Everytime we looked at her a certain way or spoke to her, she started to giggle and laugh. My husband and I were fascinated by this because she went from being a little baby that was sleeping all the time, to a baby who had all this personality. I believe she started to “coo” when she was almost 2 months old. Experts say that “cooing” is the start of language for babies. Every time the baby “coos,” we “coo” back. This is the foundation for language and speech, as well as communication. Besides her progression in speech, she also holds her head up nicely when she does tummy time.
For a general guide of where my daughter should be at the end of her third month (From the March of Dimes site):
She still has about a good month before she reaches the end of her third month. As a parent, it’s nice to know that she is right on target. The above markers are a general idea of where your baby should be. If your child was born premature, use their original due date, to monitor their developmental milestones. As I said before, all babies grow at different rates, and just as we have strengths and weaknesses, they too have their own strengths and weaknesses.
I’m sure you are. Unless you are naming your child, Donald James III (just a random name I came up with). Naming a child is probably one of the most important decisions we make as parents because it becomes our child’s identity. We hear names like Apple, Honor, Suri, Petal Blossom, and Zuma Nesta Rock. These are all very “out of the norm” names that were given to childrens of celebrities. Some names have been used for decades like mine “Susan” and then there are those questionable names, that make you wonder what the parents were on. Regardless of how we came up with a name, it’s definitely a tough decision.
I remember when I was coming up with names for both my children. It was definitely a name game. I would constantly think about names while I was eating, driving, shopping, and taking a bath. I also started to create names of my own. Some were exotic, others were just plain wacko. If I liked a name, my husband hated it and vice versa. As parents, we were able to come up with some possibilities, and made our final decisions once the babies arrived.
One of my readers brought to my attention, a Names application. An application that was brought to us by Whitepages.com. You can enter your name and see the popularity, the meaning, the origin, as well as other detailed statistics of the name. If you are a parent deciding on a baby’s name, this would be a great tool for you. I just went to the site and put in my name, my husband’s name, and my children’s name. It was nice to know that both my children’s names were on the unique end, my husband was very rare, and I have a very common name (Go figure!). If you would like to try out this application, please go to http://names.whitepages.com.
Note: This review is soley based on my personal experience and opinion and results may vary person to person.
Hmm…don’t know where to start with this one. In our household, we don’t say anything negative, I don’t swear, but my hubby has an occasional slip while he passionately watches his TV program, and we try to be respectful of one another spaces. Since my daughter started school, she started to pick up words that she never used or probably heard of. It started with, “I’m not your friend.” One day she was upset with me because I wouldn’t let her eat her favorite strawberry ice cream for dinner, and she proceeded to say, “Mom, I’m not your friend.” I was in shock because it’s something that we obviously don’t say at home and I knew it was probably something she picked up at school. I sat her down and asked her if she knew what it meant. I also asked if she knew that it was not nice say. She said that one of her friends said that to her and she knew it was not nice. So my daughter ended up apologizing to me and told me that she would not say that to her friends.
A couple months later I noticed that, during circle time, the teacher had the children talk about what words were hurtful. The words were “poo poo”, “knucklehead”, and “stupid.” The phrases included, “I am not your friend” and “What the heck.” After I saw that on the daily report that was given to parents, I felt a relief that the teacher had discussed it with the children. I didn’t like the fact that my daughter was picking up these negative phrases and saying it when she came home.
Just recently, my daughter would mumble certain words, and when I asked what she had said, she would cover her mouth and looked down. I knew she said something bad because of her body language. Since she would not tell me what she said, I would tell her that it was not nice to say things that were hurtful to me. She then would say, “I’m sorry mommy.” A week ago, she was playing make believe with two of her dolls, and she said the S word, the B word, and the F word. Okay, that got me VERY worried. It made me think of what other parents are teaching or not teaching their kids at home. I mean common, it’s crazy that these little kids who are between 3-5 saying these profanities. It’s hardly attractive when adults say it. I get heated when I think about this. I asked my daughter if she knew what it meant. She had no clue of what it meant, but she knew it was bad because when another kid said it in class, the teacher gave him a timeout. She proceeded to tell me the names of the kids that said these words and told me, they said it to her. I don’t swear, but that got me p*****!
I know when sending my daughter to preschool, there are the benefits, as well as the negatives. As a parent, you always have to weigh the positives and the negatives. Every child comes from a different background and a different lifestyle, but it just makes me wonder where these other children are picking up these negative words. I know when I was younger, I too picked up a bad word, and at that time the word was “Stupid.” I said that to my mother and she threatened to put soap in my mouth, as well as making a visit to the principal office, to see where the “bad” word fit into the academic curriculum. Yes, my mother is hardcore. At this point, I am going to have a talk with her teacher. I don’t want it to escalate further where my daughter starts to shout obscenities. This is absurd!
There are so many products on the market that are dedicated to making moms and babies comfortable when breastfeeding. Do all those products meet my expectations? No. I too am on a mission to find everything that will bring me that comfort when nursing my precious baby, anywhere and everywhere. At home, I am the proud owner of multiple pillows and gadgets that make my breastfeeding experience a more enjoyable one. However, I really don’t have anything compact and portable to take with me to the malls or parks. I have no desire to take a Boppy pillow to the malls to advertise, “Look at me. I am breastfeeding (with flashing red lights).”
Going out in public and breastfeeding, can be easy or tricky. It depends on your surroundings. When I am in my car, I lean one shoulder on the window and prop one knee on the steering wheel (car engine is turned off and windows wide open). At the mall, I go to the food court, which is next to the play area, and I get an extra chair to extend my leg out and prop my one shoulder onto the table. When I go to the park, I sit indian style with my one leg angled up and one arm resting on the knee. These are positions that I have come accustomed to, but at the same time, they are not good for my back. Constantly, I feel like I am putting on an acrobatic show, as I contort my body to breastfeed in public spaces.
When I attended the ABC Kids Expo this month, I came across the KeirKai booth, as I was walking by to go to another booth. I had to stop by the booth because all the ladies at the booth were smiling from cheek to cheek and having a blast. At the time, I didn’t know what product they were there for, but I had to stop by because of all the positive energy they were giving off. Once I stopped, I got a chance to look at their product KeirKai, a Portable Infant Feeding Pillow. That’s when I knew that I had come across a product that I had been waiting for.
The pillow was made for mommies like me, who want to nurse in public places and not sacrifice comfort or style. The pillow is portable and compact enough to put it in my diaper bag and I can take it anywhere and everywhere with me. Plus, my husband can use it as well, and experience that same comfort, while bonding with our child. What I love about the pillow:
I started using the pillow on my trips away from home and my baby loves it. Before she would get a little fussy at the breast because her neck felt uncomfortable or head was positioned oddly, but now she no longer has to endure that. Her head falls back comfortably onto the pillow and it feels right for me, when I hold her. I love that it is a Mom-Invented product because out of the inventor’s own struggles and challenges, she came out with a product to help herself and other moms. At this time, you can order the product on their site for $34.99 plus shipping.
(Disclosure: Product was provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the product. This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)
Hmm. I went back and forth on writing a post about this because I have mixed feelings. I myself started modeling and acting when I was in high school, back in Chicago. Of course, it was my choice. I wanted to do it and I was old enough to make my own decisions. I always knew I would be a performer, whether it was on Film, TV, Stage, or in my living room. Growing up in an environment dominated by academics, I always thought I would get a “real” job, like being a lawyer (very similar to performing and being an actor), and then act on the “side” for my own sanity. Well, the day before I was to go off to my undisclosed University to major in Criminal Justice, I had a dream.
The dream, involved making a huge motion picture where I was performing and directing it. I was like a Clint Eastwood. The feeling of being on set and being able to make this film, gave me such a surreal connection, a feeling of destiny, a love at first sight, meeting my soul-mate. I jumped up in bed and it was around 10 pm. I went to bed really early that night, for an early morning the next day. My parents were still awake, so I walked over to them. I can remember this day like it happened yesterday.
I looked out our condo’s, floor to ceiling windows, right next to the Wrigley Building on Michigan Ave., overlooking the Chicago River. It was the best of Chicago’s architecture right before me. Absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. I told my parents that I would not go to the undisclosed University, the next day. I told them that I would be making the wrong decision and I would regret it for the rest of my life. Even if I were to be poor, I had to do what I loved. Both my parents were caught off guard, but my mom was supportive, probably because she always knew that I was meant to be a performer. I mean, she had to have taken me to at least 30 dance recitals, plus all the other stuff that I did. However, my dad was not so upbeat. We went through my thought process step by step. He had his own opinions, but at the end of it, it was my choice and he respected my choice.
The next day, I accepted my entrance into another college that was well-known for Performing Arts, Media, and Film/TV. From there, I learned my craft, both in front and behind the camera. I got my hands into writing and loved the whole process of developing characters and capturing a story within a story. As I was studying, I still had my agent, and was going out on auditions. I got to work with some of my favorite A-list talents on film, and paid my entire college tuition from my earnings, being on national commercials.
After working at a “real” job in the “real” world for a little bit, my husband and I decided to make our move to Los Angeles. If I were going to make a career out of it, I had to be in the middle of it. We literally packed 3 suitcases, moved out of our condo (on the market, not sold), and went cross country on an Amtrak. I literally had an audition for a feature film, the first day I arrived in Los Angeles. That bombed! I wasn’t focused.
Once we got settled in to a very different environment, we got pregnant! Being pregnant and trying to break into Hollywood, was not an ideal situation, to say the least. They see you one way, especially when you are an “unknown.” I had my baby when it became a boom in Hollywood, with all the celebrity mommas giving birth. My hospital alone had about 4 or 5 celebrities giving birth at the same time, I was giving birth.
After settling into motherhood, I slowly started to get back into career mode. By the time my daughter was about 8 months, it was clear, I had passed on my performing arts gene to her. She was a natural on camera, and it almost scared me. If it were my choice, I wouldn’t have her in this career. While being able to perform and bringing joy to people is beautiful, the other side, the dark business side is not pretty. Then I had to look at all the other professions in this world, and they too have an ugly side. I will leave it up to her and support her choices when she gets older. For now, she wants to be a princess when she grows up!
Show business is not for everybody. I have mixed feelings when I see parents who are like “Stage Moms or Dads,” and their children are like puppets and dolls. If your children want to do it and are passionate about it, go for it! However, I don’t think you should get your children into it, so that you could live vicariously through them.
Susan | 
10 29th, 2009| 
