Quotes for Wives

Someone sent me an email full of marriage quotes but this one stood out for me.

"A successful marriage depends on two things, finding the right person and being the right person."

Thats true isn't it. This is definitely a big challenge to me. It is not easy to "be" the right person. You have to work really really hard at being the right person. I don't think I work hard enough at it. If I did my husband wouldn't still always be complaining about how unsupportive I am of him. :P Looks like I have to work much harder at this in 2008.

Why do I include a quote for wives in a mother's blog? Because I think that "To be a good mother, you need to start by being a good wife." Its interlinked, these two. Being a good wife and mother. Its easier to be a good mother when you're a happy wife. And when you work really hard at being a good wife, you will find that you have a good husband in return.

This will be my last post for this blog for this year. So I would like to leave visitors with this message to ponder on as we move on to the new year.

Happy New Year everyone. May we all have another happy year as a mother and a wife. Cheers!

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New bedtime routine update

We're waking up earlier and earlier now. However the bedtime remains late but the naptimes are sometimes earlier or sometimes skipped altogether to make them go to bed earlier and yet they still go to bed late!

So we're basically doing fine in the waking up routine but going to bed early needs to be worked on further. I've managed to convince them that waking up early is fun. Now its time to convince them that going to bed is fun. Hahaha.

Actually, I've told them that going to bed early will make sure that they have enough energy to wake up the next day to do all the fun things that we are planning to do and they agreed. So whats the fun things we have planned today?

Well, we've got a singing session, a balloon sculturing session, we plan to do some drawing too etc etc. They will also be helping me with the cooking and the laundry. Phew! Its going to be a long day. Hopefully, that will tire them out before me. Hahaha.

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Advice for new parents - Find a good paeditrician for your baby

I received lots of advise before I became a mum but somehow no one told me this.

"Find a good paeditrician for your baby even before your baby is born."

So there I was, my baby born and my gynae whom I had been seeing for 9 months asked me. Do you have a paeditrician of your choice? I said "No." and she asked "So is it ok with you if we put you on one of the hospital's panel of paeditrician?" to which I said "Ok." I was to go back to see the paeditrician again in two week's time (and many more times during baby's first year for immunization jabs and check-ups. That was something I didn't realise until I became a mum and nobody told me so).

At the second week's check-up. My baby had lost a lot of weight (instead of regaining her birth weight as babies are supposed to) due to my problems breastfeeding. (She had lost a shocking 25% of her weight to be precise). I was in a state of stress. Baby was not feeding well. The paeditrician came and told me to "just give baby milk powder" and he treated baby like a slab of meat the way he undressed her and put her on the cold examining table and turned her this way and that. I was horrified and never went back again!

Fortunately, I found a good paeditrician after that. One who taught me how to breastfeed, who was good with children and answered our questions, fears and doubts (of a new parent) patiently.

I can't believe it but in a blink of an eye, we have been seeing this paeditrician for 5 years now. We have to wait a long time to see her each visit but we don't mind because we had been given that much time with her too when our babies were newborn. So, one advise I have for new parents or parents to be is.......

"Find a good paeditrician for your baby." You're going to be seeing this person a lot during the first year of baby's life.

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Waking up early is fun

Thats what I have been telling the kids or rather my daughter whom I am trying to train to get up earlier to attend kindy next year. Here's my strategy. First I discuss with her the fact that she will need to get up early to attend kindergarden next year. Then I tell her that waking up early is fun because it means that we have more time to do fun things. Then I have to follow through..... ie by making her day fun filled. I also tell her that if she wakes up early, she can get to see daddy and say bye bye to him before he leaves for work.

So far, its working out well. The kids don't complain when I wake them up earlier. They are happy to wake up earlier. The only person who is not so happy is me. Hahaha. As I lose my sleep and my personal me time.

When I wake them, I put on nice music videos which they love and that wakes them up with a smile. They watch the videos for a while as I buzz around making up the room and preparing breakfast. Then its time for some crafts or games or lessons (they are always bugging me to give them lessons which they love) so lessons it is and before we know it, its time for lunch, bath and nap. As I've said, I have to follow through, because the moment they think that its not fun to wake up early, then I will have groucy sleepy heads. At the moment they think its fun so I have happy smiley kids. Hopefully, we can keep this up next year.

This post is continued from

Changing the kids bedtime (Part I) and
My kids' naptimes at age 3 and 5 (Part II)

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