12/12/10

more toddler updates

What's good about her being a one year plus toddler now is that it's no longer hard for us to know when she would like some milk herself because she would say "Malk" (sometimes "Balk" LOL). Even though she still mispronounces it, we would really know because she would point at her milk to emphasize her point. The educational video showcasing the letters of the alphabet is also a big help. When the letter "M" comes and it says and shows picture of "Milk", she would also realize she wants "Malk" as well. :-)

Also, we live in a place near the airport, airplanes are a common sight and sound on top. We taught her to say "airplane" everytime we see or hear one passing but she managed to consistenly identify it as "er-ten" everytime an airplane passes by.

And then today, when I took the boneless bangus out of the refrigerator for marinating, she pointed at it and blurted "fish!" although we can barely here the "H" in the "fish". Way to go, baby!

Another word she knows how to pronounce and identify is "dog", although sometimes she would also call a goat a "dog". Hmmm, it looks like I need to handle a few corrections along the way. :-)

By the way, I took advantage of her being a toddler copycat - I took a video of her when she would point and identify her "eyes" and then played it again so she wouldn't forget it. She also knows what an "ice" looks like. So now I'm wondering if it will cause her confusion why there are two words that sound the same but mean differently. :-)

12/10/10

mommy moments 4: the little christmas tree

mommy moments


Do you have a Christmas tree at home?

A few weeks ago, hubby and I were debating whether or not we should get a new Christmas tree in the house. We definitely want a tall one for a Christmas tree but.....

We've been thinking hard about it and decided that it's practical not to buy not only because we would be able to save on that supposed expense but because we feel that it would be safer for our little one year plus toddler to be without it in the house. You see, our little toddler wants her hands full with almost anything she finds new in the house. I have envisioned already what she would do with a tall Christmas tree and with Christmas lights and decorations around it.

Anyway, I also realized that we do have an old little Christmas tree. I bought it from Avon a few years ago. I never thought it could stand tall, I mean short and proud, up until now. :-)

So, here comes our little Christmas tree!



True enough, my little girl is really not satisfied watching at it from a distance. :-)

12/8/10

my clever little toddler

You know I was once told that when babies would already learn how to walk by themselves, you won't feel the pressures of being a mom or a parent anymore or that you'll be able to relax a whole lot better than you did when they were still just a few months old because they no longer have to be carried all the time. However, sometimes I would feel like they're safer in my arms and I would feel more sense of peace within myself when I know they won't get a scratch on any part of the body or a bump in the head for enjoying the newfound freedom to run or move. It's been like two or three weeks now as well since my clever little toddler have discovered a way to reach for anything she has a secret crush on even when it's far beyond her reach. What she would do is grab and pull a chair right to the place of her interest and use it as her ladder so she would climb up to get what she has been eyeing on. No matter how much we try stopping her from doing so and then putting her back down everytime she would succeed in standing on top of the chair's seat and enjoying the view, she's too stubbornly patient to try it again.

Uh oh, watch the tv!

12/3/10

mommy moments #3: memories from last christmas

mommy moments


I'm joining Mommy Moments again because I've got something to share - photographs and memories from last Christmas. :-) You'll have to excuse me for the pictures, though, because my camera hasn't been taking good pictures anymore. One thing that's good about it is that if you and I think I don't look great in all of my pictures, it's probably because my camera needs repair or replacement. Paging, Santa Claus! :-)

The pictures I'm going to share below were taken at a relative's place. Grandmother spent her Christmas there with them because my aunt (who was supposed to be her lone company in the house) took an almost emergency flight to Vietnam for some real important reason. It was a good thing that grandma chose to stay there because it's not too far from where we live - so we thought of swinging there to join them in the celebration of Christmas.


Grandma was so happy to see us that day. My little girl was only nine months old in this picture. She rendered a piano recital for her great grandmother.


Okay, I was just bluffing about the piano recital. Obviously, she just sat there. Okay, fine, we made her sit there. :-)

11/24/10

could it be baby measles?

I don't know with you guys but parenting for me is not like a walk in the park. I'm always the frantic mom everytime I would notice something unusual with my child. But then I guess that's how other moms or parents would react, too.

I mentioned she got out of her teething discomfort and fever some two weeks ago. I thought that was our only health concern for the month. In fact, we brought her along to church with us on Sunday afternoon. However, Monday morning when she was about to take her bath, we noticed some red rashes on her stomach, and then there were some on her back and behind her ear which we suspected to be "baby measles" but then again we can't be sure. She was complete with vaccination, by the way.

I was frantic and wanted to see the doctor right away but my little toddler was acting normal - active, walking and running around the house, jumping in the mattress, just like her normal self. No fever, no itching, nothing except those eruptions/rashes on the skin (parts of her stomach, back and behind her ear).


Time to call mother-in-law. We were advised to just observe first how it goes with her at least for a day. So, we just let her take lots of fluids. I thank God for her strong immune system because the rashes started to fade away hours after and when it was already morning, those rashes on the skin are all clear and gone.

Could it be baby measles or roseola? My analysis was that she got the virus when we went to church. Someone's child might have been carrying the virus, too. It was raining when we were about to go home. We forgot to bring an umbrella so we had to wait (along with the other churchgoers who also came unprepared) for the rain to stop. There were sneezing and coughing here and there. Hmmm, anyway, it's all clear already. Thank you, Lord!

11/20/10

teething discomfort and then fever

She bites!
About a week ago, my daughter was not again in her best mood due to her teething discomfort. Yes, it's her molars again! I don't know how many molars more she'd have to endure - I might have to do a research about this pretty soon.

I think it was her worst teething discomfort  because she's had fever for two days that sent us a panicky feeling because her temperature has reached a 39.8ÂșC!  I can even feel the extra heat on her palms as well as the soles of her feet. We let her drink medicine for fever (every 4 hours) that was appropriate for her age.

I realized that when babies are sick, they would usually want their moms to hold and cuddle them. This was the case with my daughter - she wants me with her almost all the time, clamoring for attention.

It was really hard to see my baby getting uncomfortable and sick. I can't describe what I was feeling when I found out her fever went as high as 39.8. I was crying and I really didn't want to wait until the second day to see if she feels better. I just want to rush her to the doctor but husband said, we'll wait till the second day because we also believe that her teething was the cause of her fever. And we were right about it.

You know it was really hard for us to let her drink medicine for fever. Even though it has fruity flavor, we still had to force her to drink the medicine. Well, we really had a problem in letting her drink fluids because she would usually refuse take to take any except when she's given ice cubes! Occasionally, she would drink milk but we couldn't count on it because she would usually throw up when she's offered milk.

We knew it's important that she has fluid intake especially that she was eating less solid food. Glad we realized her fondness for ice cubes.  Thankfully, her fever went away even before we decided to see her pediatrician. Wiping her body with damp cloth has also helped in lowering down her temperature.

10/28/10

9 proven solutions that help parents avoid the undetectable problems that keep toddlers unsafe

Did you know the way to distinguish the "Musts" from the "Shoulds" for your infant safety equipment?

Have you ever made your list? Here are the actual baby-proofing items that should be at the must-have tippy top.

I know that we don't all have hundreds of dollars to be able to throw down the all-critical childproofing budget gap. To help the protection of the serious yet financially fainthearted, I've classified them into the "musts", that means that you should not care where you get them, but good parenting requires them.

For those who have more than 1 kid (or are often distracted), consider the more distractions you have at your residence, the more distractable you are, the more important your baby-proofing is.

Below (in order of importance) 9 baby proofing items you "must" have to keep the baby safe:

1. A Good Gate: Even if you live in a ranch-style home or an apartment with no stairways, there will be rooms or areas you will not want your baby wandering into, so an excellent gate is definitely a must-have babyproofing purchase.

2. A Blind Winder: The number of babies strangled every year due to dangling blind and also shade cords is devastating. In fact, the Customer Product Safety Commission lists cords as one of the "hidden hazards" parent's don't think of. There are numerous affordable window blind winders out there, however if you have to manually re-wind the cord immediately after every use, you won't use it.

3. Anti-Tip Anchors: If you have a climber (or possible climber) on your hands, furniture straps are a must. Whether it's a dresser or a shelf, attach these heavy pieces of furniture to the wall with anti-tip connectors to stop the furniture from tipping over.

4. Fireplace Safety: Hard stone around the fireplace hearth can be very unsafe with little ones all-around. Its sharp edges and rough stone corners can cut, and seriously hurt a tripping child. You have to choose one of the numerous good hearth bumper pads available in the marketplace.

5. Corner Edge Bumpers: You can protect the corners of the end-tables and coffee tables with corner and side guards. One-size-fits all because you reduce the foam to fit your particular table exactly.

6. Outlet Covers: For used outlets with cords, you may buy a cover that could prevent your baby from unplugging the cord and playing with the electric outlet. They are best for high-traffic areas where you will be inserting and un-plugging items often.

7. Childproof Latches for Cabinets and Drawers: Drawer latches are also an essential-have for childproofing your home. They may prevent your growing infant from hitting intact drawers with sharp or small items stored on the inside. Ideal for the kitchen, bathroom, or home office. Choose childproof latches that won't allow your little one to have even a hand inside.

8. Railing Net: Stair and railing nets are also a must if your railing spindles are usually further than 2.5 to 3 in . apart.

9. Bathtub Safety Items: Bath-time is always exciting for a growing baby. Keep it safe by using a few of these little accessories.

 - A bathtub thermometer to gauge water temperature.
 - A bathtub safety rail to help your own little one get in and out of the tub safely.
 - A faucet cover that will protect her little head from nasty bumps.

These are the most significant baby safety gear items out there. Consider them as an crucial investment you will make in the years of growth and exploration still ahead of you.

Bonnie M. Ryan is currently writing for the designer baby bags for mums website, her personal hobby blog focused on rules to help moms and dads to get details to become more eco-conscious and make their own eco-friendly baby diaper bags. 

10/9/10

mommy moments #2: "hair" is that moment

mommy moments

Hello mommies! Sorry for missing out last week's Mommy Moments because I just can't catch my little girl jumping on camera or video. :-)

Anyway, Our Life As Parents is joining this week. I hope I can still catch up. The topic is about hairstyles.

This is how my little toddler sports her hair right now.


No, she's not going to school. She's just a year and a half. Happy Mommy Moments!

9/23/10

mommy moments #1: snack time!

mommy moments


Our Life As Parents is joining the Mommy Moments! Hopefully, I will be able to spare my Fridays to share my mommy moment with the rest of the mothers. It will be fun to check what others have to share about any topic that would be common to all moms.

The topic for the week is "snack time". So, I'm sharing two photos here of my one year old toddler where she helps herself with her favorite pancit while the other photo shows her taking in her favorite wafer. I don't know why but I love looking at these photos. Mothers really do love their own. :-)



Check out what other moms have to share about their kids' favorite snacks. Come join us at the Mommy Moments.

8/26/10

reading with the toddler

We have been reading to Dipdip one particular book about Jesus and the angels. Her attention span seems to have increased as she gets older. She loves to listen and sit with any of us so we could read to her the contents as we leaf through the pages of the book. This was a used book that we bought on sale at a  department store.




Lately though she would also like to have the book to herself so that she could just leaf through the pages herself. It was when she tried tearing the front page (glad it was just the foreword page) that we decided to keep it for the time being until she is responsible enough to handle it with care.

8/10/10

showcasing my daughter's talent

It's been a while since my last update. I didn't realize I've concentrated with my walk through life blog more than being here. My apologies for I have been busy. I hope to update this more in the future. For now, let me just brag about my daughter's talent.

This is just a short video of my toddler dancing through the music of a nursery rhyme. She likes music a lot. Everytime she hears music, she would dance to it, no matter how slow or fast the beat is. To explain what's that thing on the side of her face, she was actually taking her breakfast when she started to dance. :-)



We are really enjoying our life as parents a lot!

7/14/10

toddler behavior and updates

Here is a picture of my toddler wearing a pair of oversized slippers. This was her first cousin's old slippers and she wants to wear them. Would you believe that she already knows how to use them just the way they were supposed to be worn?

Oh, I didn't realize I actually cut her head on this picture but I'd like to emphasize on my toddler's slippers. She's got company there.

I'd like to write updates as well about my toddler's behavior. We are all about patience right now because everytime she wants something done or given to her, she would really want it her way. She doesn't like the word "NO". When she hears it from me, she would cry wells of tears and then she would kiss my hand, as if to cajole me or something. My heart would easily melt and I would then be close to giving in but my husband reminded me that I should not easily give in to all her wishes nor be tolerant of any unpleasant behavior. Don't you think it's too early to discipline her in any way?

7/13/10

toddler's safety concerns

Today, I looked into one of my little girl's old photos when she was about four months old. I compared it with how she looked recently and noticed that there's really a BIG difference.

look at the stuffed cheeks...

The photo above was edited (courtesy of introvertedwriter ) to make it look like an ID because it was used for her health insurance ID, back when I was still working in an office setting.

Back then, it was so easy to watch and look after her safety but today it looks like we're going to have to deal with our toddler's safety concerns when she's on her playpen crib. She doesn't want to be held prisoner inside the converted crib anymore. It's not all the time that we're putting her there though - only when we still have to take our breakfast or to babyproof the area in the house where she will run and walk (although there's really not a lot of space here to run around, LOL).

Look at how desperate she is to go down... :-)

she's playing the crying toddler here ...

No, it's not for her early toddler ballet lessons, she just simply wants to climb out!

here's another attempt...

One of these days, the playpen crib has to retire...

6/8/10

toddler language milestone

They say it's really hard to understand your toddler when he or she is still in the pre-talker stage because they are still trying to develop their communication skills. Well, in our case, even though our 14-month old daughter still cannot properly communicate to us verbally, she has developed some form of communication other than the use of words (I believe this is how pre-talkers communicate - mostly through sign language). As much as we can, we try to make sure that we still get all her messages across.

Sometimes, it's very easy to understand what she is trying to tell us. However, there are also situations where we have to keep guessing a few times before we would be able to understand her.

For example, when she wants to go outside, she would let out a cry and try to point her finger outside. This should be easy.

In this picture, she's just pointing at an object...

If she wants to show me something, she would grab my hand and would lead me towards the direction of the object or the place, wherever it is.

There are times when she would just cry and we thought that she wanted to drink milk only to find out that she's just sleepy. Good thing that we've already learned that we can always store her unfinished milk formula in the refrigerator and will still be good to drink when she's already awake.

Right now though, whenever she cries, we would watch her reaction when we ask her "Milk? You want milk?". If she reacts with a smile or a laughter, the answer means "Yes" especially if she would look in the direction where her milk and feeding bottles are located. However, if her reaction seems to show some indifference, as if she didn't hear us, then it means we need to guess some more. What a language milestone, indeed!

Anyhow, I find this stage of my toddler much much much more enjoyable. I feel like she's learning fast. Whenever we want a kiss from her, she would usually happily oblige because she knows we would praise her afterwards with some cheering and clapping.

And she's been the little noisemaker in the house. Whenever we have calls from my in-laws, she also wants to have something to do with the telephone.

 Credits to introvertedwriter for this beautiful piece of work on the photo!

Right now, I guess she's still trying to hone her narrative skills but somehow I know she'll turn out to be a glib talker someday. She talks as if she's speaking the right words, although for the record she knows how to say "Mama", "Papa", "Baby", "Ate", "Hala!" ["Hala!" by the way is an expression I frequently say when something or a situation frightens me without a warning. I guess I should be more watchful about the words I am saying :-)]

6/1/10

too early for what?

It's too early for her to go to school but my one year and two months' old toddler looks like she's excited to go to school. LOL.

small girl going to school?

What's up with the pink bag? Well, it's called a back-to-school gift from the makers of Enfagrow, her milk formula. You buy the milk, you get that bag. They also included some school supplies inside (paper, pencil, notebook, crayons, etc.). Now, I'm beginning to imagine her going to school. I wish she would really do well in school and land on a scholarship!

Oh, you're not going to school. You're going to the neighbor's house!

Oh, she really makes my heart melt with joy...

She really loves the outdoors. She knows when it's already time to go outside. If we don't let her enjoy the outdoors, then we had better prepare for her toddler tantrums. :-)

5/25/10

18 seconds of happiness captured!

Babies are such a nice way to start people. - Don Herrold


Look at how fast my one year old little girl could run now! This is only an 18-sec video. Here, she forgets about her teething discomfort because she's running freely.



She is indeed a true joy and inspiration! Somehow, I felt little scared seeing her run swiftly like that but I am still full of joy. To us, it seems like she causes us to have amnesia from all of life's worries and problems. :-) Thank You God for this very precious gift!

5/23/10

the discomfort of one year molars

Last week, our little girl had been acting fussy again. Yes, it's because she is teething again. I know I said in my previous post that we have already graduated from parent sleep deprivation but last week was kind of unusual because she has been feeling some discomfort from these so called one year molars. She wasn't that cranky when she's had her teeth coming from the front row but now with some molars which are about to erupt, it's really hard to put her to sleep. And oh, she's back to this habit of waking up in the middle of the night, too. It's like she was having a change of body clock again.

Generally, it was her most uncomfortable time of the week. I believe this is how it's going to be for the rest of the month.


Today, I saw some small red patches around her cheeks and some parts of her legs but I forgot to take some pictures, though. As first time parents, we were frantic about it even though she didn't have any fever. We immediately phoned the expert, my mother-in-law! She said that the small patches are still part of her teething and we need not worry. I guess she's right because these red patches would appear and disappear every now and then. I just hope my daughter will get over this uncomfortable stage of teething soon!

5/9/10

celebrating my greatest right as a woman

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."
- Lin Yutang 


I know I have a lot to learn about being a mother. I can't even say I'm really good at  it. I only do things the best way I know how and with God's guidance. I am thankful to God for giving me the chance to become a mother. At first, it was only just a dream. Now, I wake up appreciating each day realizing that God gave me such an amazing gift, my daughter. She is truly God's gift and blessing to us! 



5/2/10

five minutes more?

The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more. - Wilson Mizener
Before we had our daughter, hubby and I are avid members of the "five minutes more sleeping club. I can still recall the times we've been tardy from going to work because we wanted to sleep like the average person described in the bolded quote above. LOL. It's amazing how things started to change when we already had a baby. During the first three months of our baby, it was really hard for us because we had to stay up during unholy hours because the baby is usually awake during that time. If there's one important thing I have learned from  this whole parenting thing, it would be to sleep when the baby is sleeping. Nap when the baby is also napping. Because when baby is awake, we need to be awake as well so we can give our best care and attention. It's hard to attend to the baby when you are sleepy, right? I had to salute hubby though because he's usually the one who has to stay awake at night for the baby more than I would because doctor wants me to rest during night time so that I could already say goodbye to postpartum hypertension. In fact, he got teased at work by his officemates because he would unintentionally fall off to sleep.

Well, anyway, the sleep deprivation didn't really last very long. However, when she started teething, there are also times that she'd be awake in the middle of the night - although it's not very often that she turns fussy during bedtime.

And then at 10 months+ when she already learned how to stand and walk, she would seem too excited about it that she would wake up at midnight and stand up on her own and then play like it was a normal waking up time of the day. You know how it feels when you're sleepy but you can't afford to sleep because the baby is awake? Well, I am also glad that it didn't last very long though. In a week's time, we never experienced that again.

I'm glad we have finally graduated from that sleep deprivation moments! Now that our daughter is a year old plus, her sleep pattern is already that of an adult - although she takes more naps in the afternoon. No longer would we wake up in the middle of the night because she sleeps so soundly in bed already. As a matter of fact, we already have a new member of the "five minutes more" sleeping club.  :-)

4/24/10

on parenting style

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6

I am beginning to wonder what kind of parents would we become as the years go by. Right now, it is still too early to tell whether or not hubby and I will have the same parenting style as our daughter grows up.

I've read from psychology.about.com about the four styles of parenting - authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved.

How about discussing each one of them?

  •  Authoritarian style - Children are expected to follow rules by virtue of the authority as parents; a style where children are only expected to totally obey their parents. Period. No questions asked. Bang!
  •  Authoritative style - This style is somewhat like a modified or better version of the authoritarian style where parents would make it clear to their children that they have rules within the family to follow but making sure that the children would understand the rationale behind those rules. Authoritative parents welcome questions and are always ready to answer when they are asked.
  •  Permissive style - I would probably think of it as the 'submissive' style wherein parents would usually give in to the wishes of their children because they think that their children can learn by making their own decisions and taking the consequences of their own decisions.
  •  Uninvolved parenting - More or less, this is the manner of parenting that does not go beyond providing for their children's fundamental necessities; or worse, none of these needs are even provided.
They say, parenting style varies from one culture to another, or from parent to parent, depending on the type of discipline that your children would need. As for me, I took the quiz and I am more less leaning towards being more on the "authoritative" and little bit of being "permissive". But, we'll see. Definitely, I would never adopt the "uninvolved" style because I believe that there should be involvement in parenting.

How about you? Which parenting style do you think you can adopt or are already adopting to your children? In my opinion, the parenting style of both parents should never contradict each other so that children do not go to the other partner for permission and create conflict.

4/20/10

parental worries

If there's anything that worries parents about their children - it is always primarily on the aspect of health. Thankfully, our daughter hasn't had any major health concerns ever since although she's been sniffling lately due to a common cold. This started last Sunday when we decided to bring her to church with us. It was still hot at four p.m. when we left the house and commuted our way to church.

I'm tempted to buy her over-the-counter medicine for the common cold but husband said we will just let her drink lots of water and double her dosage of vitamin C. He didn't want our daughter to be always taking medicines.

Right now, there's another tooth coming. So, sometimes she goes fussy but most of the time she's still the cheerful baby Pauline.

I wonder 'when is the right time to let her take medicine?'

4/11/10

on keeping fit and healthy

There comes a time when a woman needs to stop thinking about her looks and focus her energies on raising her children.  This time comes at the moment of conception.  A child needs a role model, not a supermodel.  ~Astrid Alauda, on the "hot mom" trend





The quote above is like a "consuelo" to me. A consuelo is like something that helps make me feel better about myself. While it is true that we do need to prioritize raising our child(ren) more than looking great, I realize that we also need to take care of ourselves not only because we want our husbands not to look at other pretty girls out there but because it is also something that we owe to ourselves.

I was looking at the singer Vina Morales on television. I believe I gave birth months earlier than she did but look at her now, I think she looked sexier now that she's a mom. It didn't look like she had surgery or something because I know surgeries aren't advisable for women who just gave birth. I wonder how most moms can get back in shape while I'm struggling to make my fat belly and flabby arms to be a little less obvious. Hahaha but in this photo, I was brave enough to show my arms.

Personally, I wasn't dreaming to be in my most perfect shape but I am really hoping that I can actually feel good about myself by getting back in shape. My husband isn't complaining but he keeps joking to me about my belly so that I'd be inspired to lose it by eating less and exercising more.

I believe that to feel good about myself by keeping fit and healthy can help me become a better mom or parent. Husband always reminds me that if we both want to spend more years with my Dip-dip, we had better think about our health. What better way to start being healthy by trying to lose our weight.

I know I am not going to lose weight by blogging about it but it can serve as a helpful reminder of what I have planned to do.

4/6/10

appreciating fatherhood

Any man can be a father.  It takes someone special to be a dad.  ~Author Unknown

The quote above says 'dad'. He chose to have us called 'Papa' and 'Mama" rather than be called "Mom" and "Dad" because he didn't want others to think that we are rich. As for me, I wouldn't have mind us being called "mom" and "dad" by our daughter later on because I believe we don't have to be materially rich to be identified as mom and dad. They only mean one thing - we are parents! Anyway, I didn't want him to be called "Papa" while I would be called  "Mom" by Diane Pauline. They just won't sound perfectly good together. And so, to cut the story short, we are Mama and Papa to Pauline!


Anyway, I couldn't wait for Father's Day to say how thankful I am for hubby for being such a caring husband and a wonderful father to our daughter. When I looked at the pictures of him holding our baby taken a year ago, the memory of my childbirth experience suddenly returns to me.


He said he was scared to know that it's been more than nine hours since I've been in the labor room and he was just outside the room waiting for updates. We didn't expect that I'd be on emergency C-section but after my blood pressure rose during labor, the doctor had decided it was the next best thing to do. He was scared for both me and the baby. And he was also scared because we didn't have enough money on hand at that time for C-section. You can only imagine the tension and his worries. I didn't feel any of that because I was in labor pain. 

Today, I thank God for all the things that we have both endured together.  I thank God for my hubby for always being here as a good husband and father.

4/2/10

when does parenting start?

Here's our opinion on the question. Parenting officially starts from the time of conception. When the woman knows she is pregnant, she makes sure that she looks after herself even more because she has a baby growing inside her. Come to think of it, parenting should start right before conception. Parenting is such a big responsibility that you need to make sure you are ready for it - mentally, physically, emotionally and financially.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Am I mentally prepared for parenthood? Am I already equipped with knowledge about parenting?
Although parenting is said to be a work in progress and that no amount of books can ever really assure you to become an expert parent, it really helps to have at least some knowledge about what it really takes to become a parent.

Am I physically prepared for it?
Couples need to keep themselves in the best of health. Although it is usually the woman or the expectant mother who has to go through labor, she also needs support from her partner especially after she delivers their baby into the world.

Am I emotionally prepared for it? Am I up for the challenge of being a parent?
Emotional stability is important, especially for the woman who has to go through the whole pregnancy. On the other hand, the husband or the partner also has to be emotionally ready to become a responsible father himself. There are some husbands who might feel less loved and cared for because they think that their babies would compete against the attention and the affection that they used to get from their wives.

Am I financially prepared for it?
Couples need to know that you can not just say you are ready for parenthood without looking at the financial aspect of it. Love, as a feeling alone, is not just enough. As parents, you need to translate that love into actions. Parents do not need to become the richest parents in the world in order to become responsible parents but they need to make sure that they can be able and have the capability to provide, whatever it takes, for their children's needs.

4/1/10

our life as parents - the birth

This blog is all about our life as parents... 

In this blog, I hope to write about my thoughts about parenting and our life with hubby as parents that is also closely related to our being a couple.

This is not to say that yours truly is an expert at parenting. This is created not only for the readers to know what it's like to become parents. It is also for people to interact and exchange views with us so we can learn from each other. I said "us" because the husband will also share his parenting thoughts to me and I am going to have to write it down.

We are dedicating this blog to our daughter and to all the parents out there.