First Birthday

It's been a while since my last post. Been so busy taking care of my little soon-to-be-toddler. Plus we are now back in Jakarta for whole 2 months and will be back in Singapore only after Chinese new year.

My baby birthday is actually due this coming weekend, but parents being Chinese people, said that her first birthday must be celebrated based on Chinese calendar. So the celebration will be postponed to early next month.

According to Chinese rules, the first birthday MUST pray to ancestors and to God. That is why the celebration must be based on Chinese birth date, and should not follow the international calendar.

I wondered if this tradition still hold true in other Chinese societies.

10 Months Old Baby

My baby just reached 10 months old. She is happily standing and jumping around now while squealing at high pitch sound. Maybe this is what is meant when people say baby make your house warm. Especially with the almost non-stop babbling, it is so funny to watch her.

My baby is one happy bub. She likes to smile, giggle and laugh. What's so unique about her, is that she is shy at the same time. After getting warm up with stranger, and when the stranger say hello to her, she can smile and look away hiding her face, a shy gesture. So so cute. I've never seen any baby that can be shy. Hohoho

She is also very active and alert. Even when my maid walk towards us from behind, and only making the slightest noise, she will turn her head so quickly to check what's happening.

Here's how she looks now.

Smoking Outside House Can Harm Baby's Health

My hubby is a smoker. I've been telling him to quit smoking, or at least do not approach our baby after smoking before he showers. But little of what I've been telling him goes into his mind.

I've read from What to Expect book, that even when parent(s) who do not smoke near the baby can actually harm the baby's health. It can cause damage to lungs for up to 70%.

And today I came across reading this article that supports what I read before. The article mentioned that even when smokers have finished a cigarette outside, they are still breathing out smoke when they enter the house, contaminating the air. Nicotine also attaches to the hair and body, while other particles also attach to the clothes.

So, the combination of exhaled smoke, nicotine and other particles, pollute the otherwise clean air and results in the child breathing in these poisonous substances.

So if you smoke and you think it's safe by not smoking near your baby, think again!

How Much Television Should Children Watch

I've read long before that AAP recommends not to let children under 2 years old watch television. Not even turning television on, despite the fact no one is watching, as this has been shown to reduce the communication level between parent and children.

And for children above 2 years old, the recommended watching time is 2 - 3 hours per day. This is to encourage children to spend more time playing outside and learning new things.

Nevertheless, it was just late last week I've learned about the new guidelines in the US, stating that children 2 years old should not watch television AT ALL! And for children between 2 - 5 years old, only one hour a day is recommended. This is a part of the federal government campaign to reduce obesity in children.

In my opinion, I think it just depends on how we use the television to benefit from it. I personally prefer my kid to watch educational TV programs, so that she can get the best out of her viewing time.

You may want to read this article about whether watching TV cause damage to children's eyes. And research has shown that watching too much television increases risk of asthma.

All in all, television seems to have more cons than pros. So, keep in check the hours your children spend in front of television

Car Seat Tips and Safety

It has been long overdued, and we have now bought car seat for my baby. Back in Indonesia, there are no regulations whatsoever concerning car seat. And all of the people I know do not buy any car seat for their babies. But in Singapore, there's law requiring all children under 8 years old must use child restrain. Although the authorities exercise some flexibility in this area, we decide better to get one rather than paying the same amount of money or even more for fines due to traveling with baby without car seat.

We bought the car seat during Baby Fair at Takashimaya, Singapore. We chose this "The First Year" American brand. The cushions are made in China, but the assembly and everything else was in America. And at S$249, it is actually a great offer! The car seat can be used until the child is 8 years old, which is just perfect.

We were actually deciding between Combi car seat, made in Japan and made of great, very comfortable cushion. But it is priced at $899, which is a whole lot more expensive for great cushion.

And came the time we tried to put my baby on the car seat. As I've suspected before the car seat purchase, she might not like it. Since we took quite some time traveling without car seat, and she definitely do not like the rear view of the car. She cried so loudly until she vomitted. Goshh

So now I took the car seat off the car and put inside the living room. The goal is to get her used to sitting in the car seat while we can put on some entertainment on television as a distraction. And hopefully she'll get used to the car seat and don't mind being strapped inside the car.

One thing to note though, if your baby is still below 1 year old, you still have to put your baby in rear-facing car seats, until they reach 1 year old mark. The same rule applies even if your little pumpkin already weigh over 20 pounds. The reason is to avoid the risk for serious spine injury.

Hope the above helps for parents whose baby hates the idea of car seat (^-^)

Finding Causes of Baby Vomitting

Today my baby girl vomitted again. She vomitted around 1 time each week. I am not very sure what's the caused of her vomitting. She is my first, and I am kinda blurred as to what's happening.

I've asked her pediatrician previously, what could be the caused of vomitting. But this was when my baby girl was still less than 3 months old. By then, it is quite normal for baby to vomit due to very immature digestion system.

I was advised there were 3 reasons of baby vomitting, and these are:
- baby is sick
- baby is too full
- gulping air during milk feeding

But now that my baby is 8,5 months old, am not sure whether the above still apply. For sure, she is not sick, she doesn't gulp air during milk feeding. Too full? Not sure. It is already 2 hours apart from last milk feeding to when I gave her fruit puree just now. I am thinking of any other possible causes of baby vomitting. Anyone?

Sleeping Baby

There is a saying that if baby girl tends to look more like her daddy, and baby boy tends to look more like mommy. And looking at my friends' babies, I am quite convinced by the saying.

As for my baby girl, she doesn't just look like her daddy, she even sleep like her daddy.

But of course, minus the snoring. Although occassionally I could hear her "mini" snore. Even her snore sounds so irresistably cute.