I wake up every morning to the sounds of crying baby reaching out to my chest with eyes closed, and open mouth…Sometimes i just lift him up and look at him and see him move his head from side to side looking for his mama’s milk and i can’t help myself but smile, that is my Eli.  He is now eight months old and he knows his mama very well. Tonight i surprised him. I came home early from work and that little boy was on the floor crawling like a little army trainee  on the ground but still fast enough to reach me, and of course trying to keep up with his big brother Julian. I scoop him up from the floor, while Julian hugs me, and i give them both kisses…There is nothing to descrive that feeling and that moment as what i call my Daily Blessings.

For me it is my children, my family, my inner joy. I believe you have your own moments too.

I still wake up at night and sit by my boys and watch them sleep, and as a mother a lot go through your mind. You want all that is great for them,  and you worry about everything about them. When they are safely sleeping, this is when i am able to even rub their backs and their little feets, their hands and just give them even more little kisses on their cheeks.  When they are peacefully sleeping, it is when i let it sink in that these two little gifts are truly my Daily Blessings.

It is funny watching my own husband sleeping on the couch right now, and yes he reminds me so much of our two boys. I am seeing a lot of resemblance especially in Julian, i guess it is not a surprise they are conencted and will always be part of each other’s lives. I see the bond and love they share every day and i can’t help but recognize and thank God for all this and more, as i know it is truly a blessing. My children. My husband. My family. Good health, and joyful moments.

Take time daily and reflect on your own blessings.

Sleeping Angels…

Enjoy the week. Good night!

Share on Facebook

So Eli is officially 6 months and starting on solids.  Last week he was on rice cereal and oatmeal, and today we just upgraded to more home cooked foods. Yes, he has been wanting  a taste of what we eat for a while now.

What is it about first borns and foods? Most parents in my circle that have more than one child, for some reason the first child turns out to be picky compared to the rest.  I wonder whether it has something to do with moms and dads being nervous on what to feed them when starting out, or just parents going too much by the book  and not exposing them to more foods from the get go.

So whatever the case… I am on  a mission to feed Eli all the veggies and fruits that we eat daily and more

Today i made him potato vegetable soup.  I made enough for all 4 of us, well 3 minus picky Julian.

Ingredients
5 medium size potatoes peeled and cubed
1 whole carrot – diced
1/4  sliced Yellow bell pepper
1/4 sliced Red pepper
1/2 cup  sweet peas
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 sliced cucumber
Salt to taste – i used season all salt.
Water – enough to come same level with the mixture ( I normally use chicken broth)

I did not use any onions or tomatoes in the recipe as this was his first combination veggies, and i also left out the chicken broth as meat is probably going to be next week.

So i pretty much  washed and mixed all the ingredients above and put them on a medium size pot and bought to a boil on medium high. When the potatoes are  coooked  ( they  will soften enough to break with a spoon). I let stand for a good 15 min then i pureed in my blender.

Well, Eli loved it! He cleaned up his little bowl. He had that for lunch and dinner.  I plan on making my own baby food as much as i can. Of course, if you are on the go or busy you may have to buy the commercial jar foods, but if you can make the baby food yourself, i mean it is the best way to go. You can mix as many vegetables, fruits or meats as much as you would like, plus you control what goes in.

If you are confused on what to make for the baby,  see what the family is already eating now and start by makiing one ingredient at a time or do what i did,  and mix it all up.

Have fun!

Share on Facebook

Eli is now 6  months and so could now get the  H1N1 and Flu shots. We did that yesterday on his 6 months well baby Checkup.  He has been running a mild fever ever since, very fussy, can’t sleep and plain irritable.  Those wonderful immunizations! So we went to the Dr’s office well, we came out not so well , at least for the next couple of days. I guess it is all  worth it, given the type of diseases we are trying to prevent… Just mommy, guilty moment there.

As if all those shots and his other group of shots weren’t enough… I put him through another ordeal. I held him down while they drew some blood for food allergy testing. Yeah, i know. It sucks. He cried so much, and the nurse didn’t get his vein on first try, so she had to move around in there till she found a good one…Not nice to watch either, but it is all for the greater good. We are starting solids, so it is good for us to know what he can’t have, given his brother’s history.

The baby’s  large stroller was in his dad’s car, so i had to carry the carseat into the Dr’s office. On our way back to the elevators, i dropped the carseat with the baby in it! It just slipped off my hands, while trying to reach the button on the elevater. Oh Good Lord! I was soo scared, i thought i hurt him. Oh, It is scary to even recall that drop. Thank God it fell base down, and  Graco car seat  saved us here!  There were 2 men in  the elevator and were both assuring me baby was ok, the scare was from the fall and that was why he was crying.  I left the elevator crying too.  So yeah, that was my day.

I had to give Eli Tylenol for the fever from his shots, i gave him a warm bath at 2:30 AM since he could not sleep and he kept on touching his little thighs where the shots were administered, and of course nursing me dry. Then 30 min later after taking his batch,  he finally fell asleep, well and of course Julian comes jumpin in our bed at 6 AM waking his brother up.

The nurse recommended having him lay down and free to kick his legs this would help with the swelling. Tylenol for pain and any fever, and we were warned due to the flu shot we may see a runny nose or cough, but not to be alarmed.  Dr wanted him back in a month for the next set of flu shots…mmmh. Yeah. I am still debating here, but chances are we may go back, we will see.

Oh, our children! You sleep, wake, walk, and constantly worry about them. I pray that they stay healthy and safe.   A letter to my Children

Share on Facebook

I don’t massage my baby as often as i should, but when i do massage him, boy he loves it. I was reading on Doctoroz.com the benefits of massaging a baby and i have made a mental note to massage my baby daily. 

Benefits of massaging baby:

• Helps  mom and dad bond with the baby
•  Massage helps baby deal with stress
•  Improves his immune function and stimulates the brain  for food absorption
• Neurological development
• Helps baby sleep well.

What you need:
A soft towel to lay baby on ,  oil, and you to talk to the baby and massage him.

How to massage baby:

• Rub some oil on your hands and pour some drops on the baby’s thighs and legs. Wrap your hands on the thighs and move your hands down one after another , as if you are ” milking” her legs. Swith both legs and repeat .
• Move to the feet. Take one foot at a time, rotating gently, making little circles on the bottom of the foot then finish off with pulling on the little toes, one after another between your fingers and repeat on all ten toes. Switch feet and repeat.
• Progress to the arms  be sure to keep your hands oily so they can slide smoothly on the baby skin. Gently pull on the baby’s  hands one at a time , repeat the “milking ” motion move all the way from the armpits to the wrist. Pull on gently on the fingers and  gently rotate the wrists from each direction. Rub the palms with your thumb tracing little circles.
• Move on to the chest. I usually put a few drops of oil on the chest and start moving my hands on an outward motion. Repeat several times and then move all the way down to the thighs and legs. Repeat several times, then turn the baby on his tummy.
• Pour a couple of drops on the back,  stroke the baby’s back gently. Use your fingertips and work  on massaging gently on baby’s back  from the neck down to the butt. Trace some tiny circles with your fingers on either side of the spine . Massage the shoulders all the way to the feet.  Repeat several times, and baby should be ready for his diaper back and feeding if need be, and will probably sleep by now

I guess what is good for mom and dad, is surely good for the baby too. Have fun massaging that little one!

Share on Facebook

Ever hear of pregnant mothers putting headphones around their bellies and letting their unborn child listen to their favorite music? Yep. I was that kind of mom. I know experts believe an unborn child can still hear through the amniotic fluid, even music playing on the background on your sterio and you may not necessarily have to put a headphone on your belly, or play music very loud either, but i still put a headphone on my belly while i worked during the day.

Experts do warn though don’t play for too long so you do not overstimulate your baby, they recommend playing about one hour straight then give the baby a break.

Most of us adults do enjoy unwinding down with our favorite songs, especially after a long busy day. You can imagine the relaxation you feel and some days your mind become so relaxed that you fall right to sleep. So, if  music can have that effect on adults, imagine what it can do to children.

I am a firm believer of introducing babies to music from 0- adulthood. Classical, soft R& B, gospel, and of course our African Tunes are a favorite in our home.  Julian is 3 1/2 years old  and is so used to sleeping with his classical music  that when we put him to bed and forget to turn the CD on he would ask for it.

I am not sure whether classical music really make your children smarter, but i believe it does stimulate their brains.  Some experts believe children that play an instrument become very good in math and reasoning skills, so that’s just something else for parents to consider.

So when do you really want to play music for your child? Just about anytime. Turn off the TV sometime during the day and put in a children’s CD for them to sing along, or even play your own favorite music and dance along with your children  and with time, you may hear them sing along and master  the lyrics.

While pregnant the boys listened to a lot of music, this year Beyonce’s Ave Maria was one of my favorites. Eli and I listened to that song at least once a day, then the rest was a mix of just about anything mama wanted.

So play some music today, and let your baby enjoy too.

Share on Facebook

Daycares are not cheap, and for any parents with more than one child  you are talking about paying over $1,000/ month just to have someone watch your kids for around 8-10 hrs/ day. This fee will remain same whether you take your child in or not.  When they get sick 4 out of the 5 days, you still will have to pay that week’s fee.

Then, there is the fact that you have no idea what happens to your child when you leave them at the daycare. You hope and pray that the teacher or caretaker will be loving and caring to your child and not just show that love when you are there.  It is truly difficult when they are just babies, or at the age where they can’t really tell you what happened to them whether it is good or bad.

I know parents always have that inner instinct and you just wonder it means anything or not.  you drop your child off and he or she cries and becomes very clingy, even though this is not entirely an indication of something going wrong, but you still wonder. You go back to pick your child up after work and you find them sitting on a corner by themselves with a sad look on their face, and they spring up and run and jump onto you the minute you walk through the door… Then you keep on wondering, you ask the teachers how your child did for the day and they tell you great…You can’t just ignore that feeling all the time.

So, when you do find a good sitter, someone your children love and are truly happy to see them – Take care of them and reward them sometime.  It doesn’t matter if this person is a teacher,  a friend, or your neighbor’s kid. When you do find a good sitter, it is like ten big chips have been lifted  off your shoulder, it is like peace of mind, and a good day at work , i mean happy you everyday. You do not have to worry  yourself sick about what your child is going through every minute of the day, before you can get to them.

Julian had a not so good sitter at once, it was a teacher in his daycare…I saw all the signs something wasn’t right. I followed my instincts had him switch classes and it was like a whole new child. Come to find out,  all the other teachers new how bad  this teacher  was with kids but of course nothing has ever been done about it. Yeah, i know… Why work with children then!

Funny, when we go to job interviews, the hiring boss asks us so many questions, and will take time to see if one is  a good fit for the company, so many of us parents forget sometime we need to do same thing for our baby sitters. You have to know who you are leaving your child with, get references and have them checked out, if you have any doubt whatsoever, find someone else. They will be caring for your CHILD, you worked so hard, went through so much, to finally hold that child in your arms- I won’t take any chances with just leaving them with just anyone.

So here’s to taking care of our children and their sitters.

Share on Facebook

Eli had his first hair cut this weekend. You know how babies lose their hair all different places in their head as they rub against their beds, or their seats. It was time for him to get a cut.

I am still exclusively breastfeeding him and i plan to continue for at least 2 years. I  look at him now, all innocent, and i hope he remains that way. He is sleeping  right now and so is his brother Julian.

Now all mama hopes for is another  good night sleep.

Good night or good morning to you.

Share on Facebook

Just like older kids or adults need their teeth cared for, so do the baby’s gums. The best way to clean the baby’s gums is using wet wash cloth with water. Just wet the cloth and wrap around your finger and wipe the baby’s gums , tongue and upper walls of the mouth, and voila.. baby’s mouth is clean!

Share on Facebook

Ever heard other parents say, having a baby is not hard, raising a baby  is? Well whoever is saying this  to you is definitely right.  People can give you tons of advice on how to raise your child, but the thing is there is no set fomula. For those who claim they have cared for other people’s children,  trust me, when it is your own child, somehow it is different.  If you are a teenager set to have a child right now,  and  you may have an option to wait a little longer to have a family ?  my advice to you, hold off and think again. The late nights or weekend socials may just put to an end, the moment you have your baby.

So…

• It can be expensive. Diapers, clothes, fomula, baby food, daycare or babysitting  expenses take a big chunk of your wallet  – These are all  baby essentials.
•  You have to  feed and  change   baby diapers all day long.
•  You can’t just come and leave anytime you want, unless you have someone else to watch your baby, and you can’t just leave your baby with just anyone. They have to be responsible adults, a sitter or in a daycare facility. ( That’s not cheap, depending with where you live, a newborn baby can cost upto $250/week on just daycare)
•  You can’t just sleep anytime you want either, if you are lucky, your baby will get on a sleep schedule, and give you some time to catch on your sleep.
•  It is your job to keep them healthy, by getting them  any medical attention when needed, make sure they are up to date with their shots, if you vaccinate.  Insurance is not cheap, and yes you will need insurance to get discounts on hospital charges and prescriptions for your baby.
• If you hate cleaning and doing laundry, think again, as this will be one of your  many daily chores.

I am sure the list can be endless, if you feel you can handle all the above and more, go for it just remember A Baby Changes Everything… but when ready, it is the most wonderful experience. So many great lessons to learn. Every mom or dad has many stories of their own. 

17 Lessons from my children.

Have a great week!

Share on Facebook

We don’t own any of the baby Einstein products,  but am just surprised at how some parents can sit back and get  all upset that their children didn’t learn anything from their DVDs or other products. Come on people!  Yes, we all watch TV in my home. Julian watches TV and  has Leap frog DVDs, in addition to this,  I read  books to him daily and i get on the floor and teach him other things. Why  would anyone  expect the Baby Einstein DVDs  teach their kids what they should be teaching their own kids?

I grew up reading books, we didn’t have TV  back then, and when we finally  did own a TV my father still required my older brother and i to teach our siblings. We had pens and papers, books,  chalk and chalk board for  use.  We watched TV for entertainment,  and  when my dad would see a an educational program,  he would call us to watch it.  We  grew up learning by doing, we had chores to do, we didn’t like  doing them, but we did them anyway.

The point is,  moms and dads out there, don’t just  sit there and point  your fingers to Baby Einstein that this was all a scam, that your children didn’t learn anything from watching them, duh.. when i look at an educational program on TV or an educational DVD , to me this is just a tool to help me as a parent help my child learn some more.

As a mother, i am fully responsible for  my child’s education. I would rather spend the money on books or that Leapfrog DVD rather than 20 cars and trucks for  my child.  So you don’t believe in TV or Computer for kids – I am focusing more on what program is on that TV or what is he learning on that computer. I believe in teaching your child what you know best. Teach them things so you can both figure out what they are good at, and develop those talents from the get go.

If you don’t have time to do it, make time.. If you recall President Obama’s biography, he talked about how his mother would wake up early in the morning to help him with his homework, look at him now… he is the President of the United States of America! So Baby Einstein didn’t make your child into a McGenius, mmmh not all children are alike, but you can start by taking responsibility of teaching them yourself!

Share on Facebook