Full-Time Mom Thriving Motherhood

Yup, I say so myself. As a mother of two, I no longer strive for survival, I thrive. The conventional wisdom said what doesn't kill you makes you stronger; it is brutally true. Now I can single-handedly lift up a 35lbs kid while lugging two big bags of groceries. Try me.

Being a mom makes me discover my greatest self, I never knew I could be so patient that I could be Chloe's walking cradle for 2 hours; but at the same time, I also uncover the darkest side of myself, I never knew the unrelenting frustrations of mismanaging expectations could make me totally lose it. Throughout the whole journey of this glorious motherhood, there's a "gray period" that I tend to fall between these two extremes (well, it could also be just hormonal changes, anyway.) It takes me two years to pick myself up again and to figure this whole new ball game (hopefully you buy this explanation as it is the best excuse I can ever come up with on why I disappear in the blogosphere for 2 years :p) and I am ready to share what I've been through...

Before I begin with my story, here's a little introduction in case you don't know me yet and just happen to stumble upon this blog. I call myself a full-time mom (FTM) and I think in fact all moms are full-time moms doesn't matter if you work outside of the house or not. Once you are a mom, there's no resignation. However, to make motherhood even more confusing and challenging, the society labels me a stay-at-home mom (SAHM). Whatever. I am a mom, or should I say I am just a mom but more than that, and I take pride in it. I have a beautiful 5 years old daughter and I recently gave birth to a new baby girl, that upgrades me to a mother of two. In the world of motherhood, your combat effectiveness is determined by the number of children you have. That being said, if you have only one child, you're pretty much on the lowest tier of the pyramid (per say); but the moment you give birth to another baby, congratulations, you successfully evolve and instantly you will be crowned as a "better, stronger and greater" mom. If you have five or more children, your are nuts, oops, sorry, mind my language, I mean you are the Yoda. Now I assume all moms with single child pay me higher respect okay :p

Joke aside, motherhood is one of the toughest assignment of life, I've been told that kids do not come with an instruction manual, but guess what, it does. It does. That's why I'm thrilled to share my journey. While gathering my thoughts to best present them to you in the next post (in written or audio format), here are some of the pictures that best conclude my full-time mommyhood in past two years...


#1 July, 2016. Chloe & I walking over to a retirement home for her first recital.


#2 Sept, 2016. At Carmel, California. I was 4 months pregnant with Chloe's baby sister.


#3 Sept, 2016. We braved the strong waves by Carmel Beach. Btw, this picture doesn't do the waves justice.


#4 Sept 2016. At one of Chloe's favorite "playground" aka MoMA New York.


#5 Dec, 2016. Spending our weekend ritual making art at de Young Museum.


#6 Dec, 2016. Lake Tahoe, California. Pregnancy, icy path, the snowy weather never stop me from rocking my role as Chloe's mom. She wanted to see snow, and we brought her to it albeit my burgeoning belly that time.


#7 Dec, 2016. Napa Valley, California. It was probably one of the most relaxing trips for me although without a drop of alcohol; it was also our last trip together as a family of three.

I know, I once loudly proclaimed that I will not want another baby after Chloe but yet... I'd like you to hear me out although I don't owe anyone an explanation, you guys are important to me. For now, start supporting each other, pass along the positive energy and good vibe, we will all sail through this life together!


A Moscow Mule please, I'll see you again soon! C.H.E.E.R.S~



xoxo,
Beverly

没关系，痛就放声哭吧！

应该是水瓶座，或者是遗传我妈的关系，我从小就是个爱哭鬼。我爱哭的路线不是嚎啕大哭的那种，而是黯然神伤独自掉泪的可怜委屈风。所以，刘小恩希也得到了我的真传，她是一个不折不扣的爱哭鬼，只不过以她目前的修行只能达到嚎啕大哭的程度。

在她的生活中有着许多莫名奇妙的哭点。。。

像几乎每个早上，起床后就放声大哭地喊着：“我要粑粑抱抱下去（到楼下去）！”
然后我和Chean哄着：“不哭啊，我们都听见了，好好说话，不用喊的哦。你好好说一次。”

像有时候自己在玩游戏时急了，又大哭起来：“想要麻麻帮你（我）fix这个！”
然后我“必需”循循善诱地说着：“宝宝不急，这个很难吗？再努力试试看。”

像我在开车时她爱给我带路：“Not this way！要去那边！不是这边！”
然后我不慌不忙地解释着：“等不急想要回家了是不是？ 可是回家是这条路，走那边的话回不到哦～”

在她的生活中也有着许多非常值得哭的点。。。

像有一次，她和朋友开心地追逐嬉戏时不小心被自己的鞋头绊倒，狠狠地跌了一个狗吃屎，额头肿起，她几乎失声地喊着：“麻麻。。。麻麻。。。”
然后我把她抱起，心在淌泪地安抚着，就什么也不说地安抚着。等她哭完了才说：“让麻麻看看哪里受伤了。”

像她最近生病时，发高烧吐了，她被自己的呕吐反应吓坏了，边吐边哭地说：“不要！不要！”
然后我镇定的说：“没事，没事，麻麻在。吐出来了就好了。”

像她因为严重感冒而被逼一周不能上学外出，她午觉睡醒后自己默默地掉泪：“Mama, Chloe wants to play outside.“
然后我只能无奈地对她说：”Chloe is sick, that's why we stay home this week. Does it make you sad? Let's do something fun together, something that will make you happy again.“

但其实在她的生活中，有着更多的是我和Chean都觉得非常值得哭的点，可是她勇敢。。。

像上学至今，都从未哭闹过。每一次和我们拥抱说再见后，就自己忙自己的事。
像跌到擦伤，只要不太严重的，她都不哭也不闹，继续玩乐。
像她最爱的食物被我们吃完了，只要好好解释她都能接受。
像她犯错时我对她说道理，她一般都非常乖巧地坐着听我说。
像被大孩子欺负抢玩具，她多半是被吓到后跑到我身边，或者是自己到其它角落找别的玩具，不争不抢也不闹。

还有很多，很多。。。


那天刚巧和妈妈在谈电话时，宝宝在我身后传来哭声，原来是想要到柜子里拿玩具，手指不小心被柜子夹了一下下。
妈妈说：“哎哟，告诉她不要玩柜子，玩柜子夹到手！”
“她不是玩柜子，她是想要拿玩具。”
“跟她说不可以拿，很危险会夹到手的。”
“没关系，下次她会注意。”
“哎哟，不要哭了！”
“没关系，很痛对不对？很痛可以哭啊，不用忍着，妈妈受伤痛痛的时候也会哭。哭了就好多了。”
“哎哟，叫你叫她不要哭，你就叫她哭。”

不要误会，我妈是超疼爱Chloe的，只是在她那个年代的教育观念里，孩子们都是不应该哭的，哭就是不好，就是不听话。不过对我而言，哭单纯是一种让情绪抒发和缓解的管道，我并没有特别鼓励孩子们哭，但也不觉得爱哭是什么大事。所以想要为那些因为爱哭而常被父母谴责的孩子们打抱不平。

孩子们疼痛了，委屈了，害怕了，伤心了，难过了，现在不放声大哭长大了还有机会这么做吗？
哭一下又有什么关系呢？
只要哭过后学会勇敢就好啦 ：）






共勉之，
Mama Bev

Be A Child

我是陆版《爸爸去哪儿》的铁粉。你们看过了最新一期，也就是第十三期的《爸爸去哪儿》吗？有一幕曹爸被Grace姐姐和Joe气得透不过气，自己黯然离开到屋外冷静一下，那一幕我看得泪流两行。因为当妈妈两年多以来，这样让人窒息的moments，被孩子推向无计可施的死角真的出现过无数次...

大概是三个月前，有一次Chloe闹午觉但却又不睡，不停地哭闹，给什么都不要做什么都不好，一直这样无理取闹。我让着， 哄着，陪着，但四小时下来真的非常心力焦碎，忍耐力就快瓦解，整个被逼到了崩溃边缘。我仍然保持冷静，但不哄她也不抱她，突然在一秒之间，或许是她反反复复哭太久的关系，她竟然把喝过的奶全吐出来。第一次遇到这种状况我都慌了，直接把刘先森call回家，让他照顾和观察女儿。而我，就一个人带着复杂的心情到外面走走。其实我的内心还是蛮受伤的，心像被掏空一样，只听见空气的声音，脑里一直重播之前发生的一切，试图想要找出自己的错误。她是生病了吗？是哪里不舒服吗？应该是累坏了又没办法把情绪讲出来吧？是我哪里处理不当吗？

就这样，想着想着，漫无目的地在一间local的书店坐一个小时，直到思绪慢慢平伏。回家后，大门一开，我的孩子用她一贯天真无邪的笑脸迎接我，那一刻我笑了，庆幸自己保住了好妈妈形象，没因为一时气上心头在孩子面前情绪失控，她见我笑了就说：“Mommy is happy！” 随后我告诉她当她哭得让自己呕吐时我有多伤心，向她解释为什么妈妈需要到外面呼吸新鲜空气，还有以后怎么样可以不让同样的事情再发生。她也似懂非懂地说：“Mommy is upset because Chloe doesn't nap.”

那天之后，接下来的午觉政策就是每天早上准时开车带她出去玩，增加她的运动量，然后到中午时她就自己会想要休息。还有就是从新再调整作息，再sleep training一次，午觉时间让她在自己的房间休息，累了睏了自己睡觉，如果她不想要睡觉也必须让她静静待在床上quiet time。然后我个人觉得很重要的是，我都会告诉她为什么麻麻要她这样做，解释让她知道午休后会更有体力去做自己喜欢的事。

经过了这件事，我更确定打骂是根本不能解决育儿的问题的，那样做只会起短暂的效用，恐吓威胁孩子去达到我们大人想要他们做的事。像午觉这码事，两岁的孩子才不会care！与孩子真正有效的沟通方式是在孩子面前当个孩子，试图从他们的角度出发考虑问题，然后再用大人的智慧带领孩子一起解决问题，因为育儿的路上父母和孩子们永远是一个team的。

很多人（包括亲戚和朋友们）常常对我说，你这样一定把孩子宠坏。其实我不打骂孩子，不是因为我溺爱她，而是因为我尊重她，因为我相信孩子和自己。或许棒棍下真的会出孝儿，但常被打骂的孩子身上都背着一定程度的创伤与打击，年幼时也多半怨恨父母。我才不想要当那样的父母叻，多吃亏。

想想每个刚当妈妈的，十月怀胎时也就只单纯地祈求有一个健康快乐的孩子，所以呢，我常常告诉宝宝：“只要不将自己的快乐建筑在别人的痛苦上，妈妈就会努力让你有足够大的舞台当你想要当的孩子。”


#1


#2


#3


#4


#5

Btw，顺带表扬一下刘先森，他真的是个非常supportive的老公。一起加油！一起成长哦！

共勉之，
Mama Bev

The Big Sky and Fluffy Clouds

"Mama, I want to touch the sky, Chloe wants to hug the cloud."
“妈妈，我要摸摸天空，我要抱抱白云。”

这是我25个月大的女儿最近常常说的一句话，一句在我听起来再普通不过的话，一般我也会顺口搭上：“好蓝的天空，好大的云朵，看起来像什么呀？” 她说：“像绵羊！太多绵羊！”

大前天，刚好在Golden Gate Mothers Group的forum读到一个妈妈的分享，非常有意思的一篇，让我思考了很多关于Parenting的事，想要纪录下来，所以笨挫地翻译了那篇分享文...

那位妈妈说：

“好喜悦，好想要和大家分享我的孩子在这个暑假的成长。这个暑假我们一家四口（包括四岁和两岁半的孩子）到了Lake Tahoe国家公园度过了一个非常有意义且愉快的旅程。我们在国家公园附近租了一间房子，孩子们就这样和大自然一起待了一个星期。假期结束后我和先生又开始忙碌地上班，过着依旧的生活。今天傍晚，我们的保姆很兴奋地告诉我孩子们去了旅行回来后很不一样了，他们懂得如何跟大自然“互动”了！保姆说，以往孩子们到公园或青草地都不会主动玩耍，也不知道要怎么玩，怕脏更怕跌到，可是这次他们懂得去找树杆在泥土上画画，去找果子拼图案等等，就这样用自己的想像力乖乖地在公园玩了一个小时。因为我们夫妻俩都是律师，典型的上班族，所以孩子们从小就在托儿所和室内长大，或许他们觉得玩具应该是有“玩具”的模样，玩耍应该是有“玩耍”的形式，从中抹杀了他们珍贵的创造力。这次的经历让我更加肯定，接触大自然对孩子的成长过程扮演很重要的角色，虽然我们都住在大城市里，但还是必须想办法让孩子们更亲近大自然。”

读过这位妈妈的分享后，深深地觉得现在的孩子们活在一个最好的时代，但恰恰也是最坏的时代。我们能给予孩子们很多物质上的满足，让他们丰衣足食的在温室里长大，让他们在我们设定好的优质环境下游戏，但这同时，我们也很自私地磨削了孩子们的想象力和创造力，这些与生俱来的能力，这些上天给孩子们最珍贵的礼物，往往只有在欠缺条件的环境下才能被充分地发挥出来。所以，我一直深信“The best classroom is roofed only by the sky”这句话，因为大自然永远是最好的老师...


＃1 主动地爬到大石头上～


＃2 不畏惧也不怕脏地大步走着～


＃3 小小探险家，我只是个随从～

当妈妈之前的我是一个非常典型的都市女生，只爱逛街血拼，讨厌户外活动，害怕炎热太阳，不喜欢流汗，更不能忍受蚊虫，但感谢有了这个非常热爱大自然和昆虫的孩子后，让我踏出了生活的框框。


#4 摘花儿送爸妈，送阿姨叔叔～


＃5 装饰一下自己的小鞋子～


＃6 认真-ing~

去年在申请幼儿园的信上，我给校长写着这么一句话：

“我的孩子非常热爱大自然，她有着细腻的观察能力和丰富的想象力。你若给她一片天空，她可以畅游整个宇宙；你若给她一片森林，她可以哼奏风划过树叶的旋律。但你若只给她一个900平方尺的课室，她就只能在一般人们眼中当个标准的孩子。”

勿忘教育的初衷，勿忘育儿本身的意义，更别忘告诉孩子们游戏本身其实不需要“工具”。抽空带孩子们爬爬山，玩玩水，奔沙滩吧～



顺带分享一下我们最近一次带Chloe去Vancouver BC的Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge游山玩水时拍下的短片。虽然不轻松，但Chean和我都非常喜欢带孩子去旅行，都是她成长的足迹呐～



P/s：Btw，我的孩子也只不过是一个孩子，偶尔睡不够吃不好闹脾气时也会嚷嚷要滑手机，也会吵着要看卡通，不过在一般的状态下都可以用贴纸或粘土打发时间，所以说，育儿的路长着呢，呵呵～。



纯属分享，
Mama Bev

10 Things I Wanna Do With My Baby

When I was preggie and had all the time in the world to dream the wildest dreams, I listed more than 892498526287 things that I wanna do with my baby. Oh, how I miss those beautiful daydreaming days. Fast forward two years and here I am reading through my bucket list again while watching my young toddler playing at the backyard (now, like right now, there she's running down the slide. Nah, she's fine, she did it so many times), only to realize some of the ideas are pretty unrealistic and vague while some need to wait till she's at least 16 I guess. Say, skydiving and scuba diving, these two gonna take a very loooooong time to check off the list; therefore I revamp a new list by following the KISS principle--Keep It Simple, Stupid!

So here are the (reassessed) 10 things I wanna do with my baby:

No.1 Visit aquariumsssss.


#1 At Seattle Aquarium, 2013.


#2

Why? Because Chloe loves it, she loves marine animals, she loves them so much that she picks a whale backpack (you know the whole story if you're following me on FB).

I know, I'm sure some of you gonna say it's really sad and inhumane for the marine mammals to live in aquarium since they belong to the wild. Totally agree. But at the same time, I also feel sad for the marine mammals in the wild that eventually ended up swimming inside human stomach before they really get to enjoy their lives, think about shark fin and dolphin meats... I believe the accredited aquariums (as well as the zoos) play an important role in education; it's probably one of the safest places to connecting children with the natural world in this concrete jungle. Anyway, not planing to drill too deep in this topic, and yup, I watched "The Cove" and "Black Fish," so we're not going to support Seaworld, don't worry. Meanwhile, go sign the petition to end the captive breeding programs at SeaWorld Parks h.e.r.e.


No.2 Rescue/Adopt an Animal.


#3 At Marine Mammals Center, Sausalito, CA. It's such a meaningful place to visit, they rescue, treat, and eventually return the marine animals to the wild. I'll blog about it some time.


No.3 Swim with Dolphins.


#4 At Boulder Marriot, Boulder, CO, 2013.


#5 Thus swimming class is mandatory, sorry baby :p


No.4 Plant Something Together and Watch It Grows.


#6 Our 2013 Pumpkin Patch.


#7 Nah, it doesn't need to be pumpkins silly.


No.5 Shopping Together.


#8 At Mitte Pastry Shop.


#9 The real shopping, not the candies or groceries, you know what I mean...


No.6 Play Dress Up.


#10 Something like this, but not quite...


No.7 Bake A Cake for Daddy Chean.


#11 Chloe nomming her birthday cupcake, 2014. I'm feeling hopeful to check this one off the list next year, aha, Summer Cooking Classes, lol.


No.8 Enjoy Afternoon Tea.


#12 Celebrating 2014 Valentine's at Lovejoy's Tea Room.


#13 She's a sweet tooth but don't think she appreciate the idea yet; moreover, she can't drink tea :p


No.9 Go On A Spontaneous Vacation, Just the Two of Us.


#14 On our way home, flying from L.A. to San Francisco.


#15 It'd be heavenly surreal if she's the one taking me for a ride, be it by car or by plane, lol :p


No.10 Sing A Song/Duet.

And it has to be "Country Road" because it makes grandma happy...

#16 #17 My family at Chloe's First Birthday Bash, Malaysia, 2013.


#18 And part of the lyric of this song goes like this...

I hear her voice in the morning hour she calls me, 

the radio reminds me of my home far away. 

And driving down the road 

I get a feeling that I should have been home yesterday, yesterday. 

Country roads, 

take me home to the place I belong. 

West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home, country roads.

Missing everyone in Malaysia. You know what, life is too short, keep it simple, stupid :)



XOXO,
Bev

Na Na Na Na~

Nearly a month ago, we brought Chloe to a fun summer concert in the park for a thoroughly enjoyable evening. It was just a spontaneous evening activity but with lotsa unexpected rewarding and memorable moments. That's also the time she learned to mimic the conductor by raising and swinging her arms, tapped her toes & stomped her feet rhythmically, also surprisingly made the "Na" sound and S.A.N.G a classic Beatles song--Hey Jude (just the last part though :p ).

She then continued to "Na" for the next couple days and I managed to record all these priceless vocal pieces and eventually, compiled them together. The audio clip that I'm about to share consists 3 separate recordings, the first part was recorded when Chloe BB just got out of bed, I was changing her and trying to make her stay in the lying position (moms, you know how hard this is) @.@. Then the second one recorded when I was carrying her up on the stairs (you'll hear me catching my breath and trying to stay alive), god knows why she had such mood to sing that time; fortunately, super Mama Bev managed to single-handedly carry her and pressed the record button on iPhone (again, moms, you know how hard this is). Finally, the last part is the actual Hey Jude piece played by the band during the park concert; I recorded it because Chloe enjoyed it so much.

It's almost impossible to set up a recording session with a young baby, so please pardon my annoyingly high-pitch singing voice, it's just a mom thing to get my baby attention and to engage her in the singing part.


Click H.E.R.E to listen~ Enjoy :D



Love,
Mama Bev

Pipe Cleaners Activity

Happy 4th everyone!!! Hope you enjoy the BBQ this noon and are ready for the fireworks tonight! Right now I've got my hands full with errands & chores but super desperate to update my blog at the same time. Can you imagine that I've been wanting to share about this fun activity since Monday? Jeez, full time mom is not that flexible, in fact the mountain of house works and baby stuff that need to be done are like an never-ending vicious cycle... But I really like my daily task, kekeke...!

** See, gonna stop writing, Chean needs his dinner! Brb... **

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** Resume this post after 48 hours **

So without further ado, here's another inexpensive yet super-easy pipe cleaners activity to entertain your LO, and to add to the One Dollar EduCor. Spotted this cool idea via Pinterest, too.


#1 Stuff you need: multi-colored pipe cleaners, clear container (with a cut-able lid), and a pair of scissor. It only took me 5 mins to get this done, easy peasy lemon squeezy...


#2 Extremely into it! It has become one of her favorite daily activities!

#3 Great activity to encourage and reinforce hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills!

One friendly reminder, be sure to supervise your LO during this activity, don't let them poke themselves with pipe cleaners.



Have fun *\(^_^)/*



Love ya,
Mama Bev

Ziplock Bag Painting

** One Dollar EduCor **


#1 Spotted this creative idea on Pinterest a while ago and I just thought of making it today! Replace the ingredient with homemade glue instead of tempera paint though, to make this project even more budget friendly.


#2 I guess I use it as a learning board instead :p

Had fun making this mess-free painting project although Chloe doesn't seem as engaging as she used to be when I introduce this to her; stuffy nose & teething have turned my little angel into a very fussy baby these two days... But she does play with it a little, trying to press the air bubbles trapped in the bag :D Can't expect much from a sick 12 month-old, can I? :p

All you need is just a large ziplock bag :) Oh, the homemade glue is made from tapioca starch, very warm water and food coloring.

Enjoy~~



Best,
Mama Bev

First Dinner

第一的晚餐

昨天，宝宝坚决地将手往我的饭碗里捞，用心地握住米饭拼命往嘴里塞，然后给了我一个 “麻麻，我长大了！” 的笑容。我不慌不忙地在她的小碗盛了两汤匙的饭，看着她一只小手捉，一只小手塞，吃得很是滋味。我从容地称赞她好用心好努力，但心里早已洒尽喜悦的眼泪...

刚才的那一顿晚饭，我给她弄了三文鱼和小白菜，那是她第一个正式的晚餐。我一小汤匙，一小汤匙的喂着；她一大口，一大口的吃着。不到10分钟就把食物通通装进肚子里。“宝宝长大了，宝宝有很努力每天都长大一点点，好棒哦！” 我漠视我妈的白眼，一直高八度地说着...

原来，看着孩子长大真的是人生一大乐事！亲爱的宝宝，你明天想要吃什么呢？



With love,
Bev

Goodnight

The 8th and also the last book I read her today, right before she went to rest her head in bed. She loves books, especially storybooks. I keep all her books in a blue box and set it aside in a corner, Chloe crawls to the corner several times this afternoon and crawls back to me with hers favorite-pick-at-the-moment. I'm not sure if she enjoys the game (the repetition of the actions itself) or she's simply into the mood of reading, but one sweetest thing for sure--she loves hearing me reading to her, and when I read, she will babble and learn to speak to me.

Oh my little baby, she truly is a treasure from heaven, every little things about her are so delicately precious... Having such a "good" reader makes me feel like I am great mama, although my throat is pretty hoarse now. Aheeeem... It's all worthwhile *honey lemon ice satu!* ;)



Take care,
Bev

Treasure Bowl

聚。宝。盆。

她最近迷上的游戏就是不断搜寻合适和心仪的玩具或物品，然后半强迫式地将它们通通塞进恐龙的肚子里。基本上恐龙的肚子只能承受6颗小球的重量，被恶整后的恐龙没办法将小球弹起，所以照常理推论，这玩具已经完全失去它原来的用意。可是宝宝的创意实在值得被鼓励，也就因为这样，我最后也响应她的计划，加入了这个折磨恐龙的行动。

孩子们的游戏好像都不需要任何规则，不像大人那样，连游戏时也被约束。如果硬要说些什么启发的话，那么，这星期最珍贵的得着，应该就是让我学会了用孩子自己的方式跟她嬉戏，就算错了也没关系，因为这是游戏。



Hugssss,
Bev

A Sense of Helplessness

Sigh.

Brought Chloe to see doc again this noon due to the unsolvable diaper rashes. The rashes come and go for about 3 weeks and has gotten really bad yesterday, her cries & whimpers kill me. Just when I thought the doc could maybe prescribe an effective cream or balm that can instantly relieve her pain, he asked me to take it easy instead. He assured me that there really is nothing alarming; most of the babies in MY get diaper rashes while they're teething due to the hot and humid weather and well, he has seen worse (of course lah doctor, I'm not comparing my baby to the worst case you've ever treated here, just hoping to figure out a way that can make her feel better). So, as helpless as it sounds, I was given a zinc oxide cream which I've already been using all these while (the Burt's Bees & Aveeno diaper rash creams) and was advised to sit back, relax and enjoy the motherhood because she'll soon outgrow it.

Sigh.

Dear resourceful and experienced mamas, what else can I do? I've tried different types of nappy creams & ointments and ever since she moved to MY, I've been bathing her every day without fail (once or twice a day). She's also wearing washable cloth diaper during day time and MamyPoko is the only disposable diaper that I put her on at night. Oh, the laundry detergent that I'm using is called NappiKleen but I really don't think that causes the problem. No wipes or wet tissues are used as she has real sensitive skin, only wet & dry wash cloths.

Any suggestions? I'm such a lame mama... I feel like I've shifted a penguin from the South Pole and forcing it to survive the extreme weather in the tropical country :'(



S.O.S,
Bev

Tiny Little Back

小。背。影。

很多朋友爱宝宝的眼睛；也有很多爱她活泼的小手。我爱的当然是她每一个细胞，但鲜为人知的是，我其实最爱她的小背影。宝宝初生时消化系统很不好，喝下去的母乳不到10分钟就会吐出来。最高纪录是一天spit up 5次。美国的医生给了个超累人的建议：每一次喂奶打嗝后，都必需让她直躺在我的胸口至少30分钟，只有这样她才有办法吸收营养。我也就是这样，照着医生的吩咐，日复一日地重复着这个使命，直到宝宝7个月。

所以相处下来，多半的时间我就只能看到她的背，还有就是最常和我打招呼的小耳朵和那些参差不齐且少得可怜的头发。刚开始时她只会不知所措地用双手托着脸颊在我的胸前依偎着，现在的她已经学会且精通各种熊抱的姿势。我也就是这样，日复一日地看着这个小生命，日渐长大。

今天她很勇敢地自己站了起来，但却又胆怯地一直回头看我。我扶着她的背对她说：“ 别怕，妈妈在这里，要勇敢哦！”  然后她回过头，继续埋头苦练...... 那天宝宝长大了，我想，我应该也会这样望着她的背影目送她一步一步地奔向属于自己的生活吧？希望那时的她遇到困难的时候，也会回头看一看我，然后更勇敢地昂首阔步。



Best，
Mama Bev

286th

自宝宝呱呱堕地以来，人生完全没有睡到自然醒这回事。是的，当妈妈后的第286个早晨也是一如往常的被宝宝叫醒。她拍拍我的脸，叽里咕噜地说着只有她能解读的语言，我熟练地拖着还在梦中溜达的身体到楼下消毒奶瓶、泡奶。吃饱了奶，换好了干净的尿布后，我的疲倦换来的是一个超级灿烂、天真无邪(牙)的笑容。

当然，今天也是一如往常的美好。但愿接下来的每一天也如是。



Loves & Kisses,
Mama Bev

Speaking of Children Books...

#1 Just got back from public library with Chloe Bao Bao. Picked some children books and thought you might want an exclusive sneak peek as some of them aren't the super popular or award-winning children books, but that do not make them any "inferior" than the well-known ones; in fact, they're pretty good.

Here are some snapshots of all books that I borrowed today:


#2


#3


#4 Ok, Sandra Boynton books are famous and awesome.


#5


#6


#7 This one is really good! A fun way to introduce singular & irregular plural nouns to the little one!


#8 You can pass this one, not as good as I thought.


#9


#10 Remember the Wee Gallery for OneDollar EduCor? This one echos the same idea, showcasing 11 high-contract pictures by famous artists.


#11 For Christmas ;)


#12 And this one too~~


#13 Meanwhile, some mamas requested pictures of the Investikit that I blogged early on. As always, your request is granted! Here's what Alphabet Investikit looks like. It comes with an instruction sheet as a guide, books that are relevant to the theme, and some tools for hands-on learning: Chunky puzzle, flash cards, toys, CDs and etc.


#14 Color Investikit.


#15 The color paddles are superb learning tools! The translucent plastic paddles can be layered to create new colors! I'm so gonna get them for BB~~

Woo hoo~~ It seems like BB & I are going to have a fun-packed holiday this year! Until then BS-ers...



Best,
Bev