Today’s Motherhood

Your baby has been into different environments from the womb to the hospital until he comes to the place you call home. Transitions are sometimes difficult to adapt to especially for the newborn so you need to prepare everything necessary for the baby to comfortably fit in with the new surroundings. As parents, it is your responsibility to check on all aspects of the home for the safety and ease of the baby. The following are ten things you are advised to do for the arrival of the newborn:

1. Travel safely with the baby. Make sure you have provided a car seat especially made for him or her. Practice tucking the device inside the car long before the travel time so that you can check on some installation flaws if there are any.
2. Set up the nursery at home. Complete necessities two weeks or more before the arrival. Keep baby furniture like the dresser or the crib in place. Decorate the room with colors and stuffs which are safe. Here are 28 Must Buy Things for Your Newborn Baby.
3. It would be very hard for parents to buy in the store when the baby is already home so you need to shop ahead of the arrival. Baby wipes, diapers and bottles of baby oil and baby powder should be stored and be ready to use. If you are not breastfeeding, you can keep some extra feeding bottles and formula milk for emergency use.
4. In the nursery don’t just keep food and other baby stuffs but also things necessary in the caring for the baby like feeding blankets, clothing and wash cloths.
5. The mother may not have enough time to prepare food for the entire family because of the new baby so there should also be a supply of food which is easy to prepare. Frozen or microwavable meals are advisable.



6. Prepare a list of people you need for the care of the baby, especially their contact information. This will help you refrain from scrambling around in instances when you need the doctor or the pediatrician.
7. Parents should talk to the baby’s siblings and introduce the changes along with the arrival. Let them know what to expect in a home with an infant and show them how they should act as older brothers or sisters.
8. Decide whether you should opt for breastfeeding or bottle-feeding so you will know what to prepare. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the two especially if you plan to work after giving birth.
9. Seek for help from friends, family members or neighbors who are available to run errands for you. You need a support system and you don’t have to take all the responsibilities at home. A little help can mean a lot of rest and bonding time for you and your baby.
10. Plan your finances. In your desire to provide only the best for the baby, you might lose track of your real budget and get into unfavorable predicaments in the end.

The arrival of the new baby is something to prepare for. It is best that you provide the things you need for the newborn while pregnant so you won’t end up rushing during the arrival.

If you are expecting a baby, we wish you a smooth delivery.  Do forward this to any moms-to-be that you know, thank you.

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Promoting privacy is providing your child his own room where he can spend quiet moments alone to study, relax, sleep and ponder. As you let you child stay in his own room, you are paving the way for him to find his being and make sense out of himself as an individual.

Once you have provided your child his own room, all you need to do is to ask him to keep it clean and organize. You can initiate some actions; however, you can also require him to do some tasks which you don’t have to remind him off all the time. Remember to instill in your child the fact that his own room is a great reflection of himself and of the kind of person that he is.

• Teach your child the significance of being tidy. Initially, you can place a trash bin where he can place his dirt and be able to empty it regularly. The trashes don’t have to be scattered on the room once you have provided the bin.
• Clean out old clothes. Find one Saturday when your child and you can do the sorting of old clothes from his closet. Not only will this relieve you of eyesores but you can also make use of these clothes as aids to others who are victims of calamities and have lost their own shelter and clothing.
• Do not allow food in the bedroom. Instill in the minds of your children that foods should only be eaten in the dining area. Leftovers would not only contribute a stinky smell inside the bedroom. They are also enough triggers for ants, roaches and other insects to lurk inside.
• Provide a hamper for dirty clothes. Floors should be free from used clothes that hampers should always accommodate them.
• Organize the room with filing cabinets and toy storage lockers. Tell your children to put things back into their proper places every after use.
• Save art works and used papers. Your child may have brought home used magazines and even school projects which he can use as reference for future school assignments. Have them filed up and make sure they don’t easy get scattered as you tuck them inside a filing cabinet.
• Buy CD racks and place them in together with other entertainment tools, make sure they are piled according to their frequency of use so that your child wont have to scavenge all the time and ruin the pile just because his favorite CD is not easily located.

Remind your children that their rooms should not only be a place for sleeping but also a haven for comfort as they find relaxation and peace. Organization and cleanliness of their rooms could promote good study habits and conducive learning environment.

How do you encourage your child to clean their own room? We like to hear from you. Simply leave us a comment below.

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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, there’s no better time to give your guy the ultimate gift of love – you. And like a well-wrapped gift, presentation is of paramount importance. We’re not talking ribbons and bows, but rippling muscles and pert buns. Where to get the trimmings (pun intended)? Powermoves Pilates in the Park, at Bishan and Dempsey, has all the moves to give you the body confidence you need to be a star in the boudoir.

Founder and Managing Director of PowerMoves, former ballerina Claudel Kuek, shares some simple exercises to help you get set for seduction…

For awesome abs, practise the Plank
Lie face down with legs extended, forearms resting on the floor shoulder-width apart, hands in fists. Pull your navel up into your spine, tuck your toes under and lift your hips off the floor so that your body forms a straight line from head to heels. Actively maintain a firm centre, with navel to spine, and your buttocks and legs squeezed tightly together behind you. Your neck maintains perfect alignment with the rest of the body. Breathe normally as you hold for 30 seconds at a time. Lower to rest in between sets.

For bite-worthy buns, perform the Single Leg Lift
Kneeling on hands and knees, hands are shoulder-width apart, knees aligned under hips. Keep head relaxed, neck in line with the spine. Extend one leg behind, toes pointed touching the floor lightly, without letting the hip or shoulder dip as you hold your leg out. As you exhale, scoop in your abs, tighten your right buttock and lift extended right leg up to hip height. Lift and lower in a slow, controlled movement. Rotate your toes so that they point outwards and hold in your lifted position for 3 counts before lowering on the inhale. Repeat 12 reps on each side.

For thrilling thighs, execute the Shoulder Bridge
Lie on your back in neutral spine, with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Your arms are extended along your sides. Inhale as you press down through your feet to lengthen your spine and press your hips up. You will come to a bridge position on your shoulders with your knees, hips and shoulders in one line. Your abs and hamstrings should be well-engaged. Pause at the top of the bridge to lift one leg off the mat. Straighten this lifted leg as you point it to the ceiling. Exhale as you lower the straight leg to the floor pointing towards the wall opposite of you. Inhale to kick the straight leg upward while flexing your foot. Bend the knee and place the foot on the floor (starting position) before switching legs and repeating the sequence with the other leg.

For total satisfaction, take charge of your body and your man PowerMoves’ Managing Director, Claudel Kuek, believes that strengthening the body naturally leads to a strengthening of the mind.

She reasons that once you gain control of your body, you feel empowered to take charge of other areas of your life, including your love life.

Said Claudel, “Every woman deserves to enjoy the body confidence that comes from feeling sexy, lithe and toned. You never have to avoid certain intimate positions for fear of wobbly bits spoiling the mood. And you can be totally spontaneous and wild, emboldened by knowing you look great from every angle.”

To quote PowerMoves’ new slogan, ‘Love the body you’re in’… and chances are, so will your lover.

The question is, once you’ve toned your bod and honed your body confidence for an erotically-charged workout in the bedroom, is your man up to it? Well, the good news is, PowerMoves offers couples classes at both its Bishan and Dempsey studios.

Pilates couples classes at PowerMoves… Sounds like the perfect Valentine’s Day gift idea!

PowerMoves Pilates in the Park is located @Dempsey 6ix and 7even, 6 Dempsey Road, Singapore 249683; and @Aramsa ~ the Garden Spa, Bishan Park 2, Singapore 569931.

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Too often interactions between parent and child resemble a tug of war of energy, will, and words. Too often we forget that we are adults and that we are raising a child and not a “mini adult” who “should know better”.

For many of us sarcasm, blaming, lectures, warnings, even name-calling and threats (“If you do not brush your teeth daddy’s going to spank you”) are too often part of our parenting repertoire.

However, parenting at such a level is unhealthy in many ways. The parent exerts too much negative energy, affect and attention and ultimately feels like the bad parent who lost control. The child in turn feels angry, most often unheard and in the worst case scenario unloved. Such negative interactions hamper the child’s trust in her parent and can lead to her feeling unsafe to express her emotions. To consider the child’s perspective think about how the following phrases feel to you:

“Stop fidgeting. Sit down now and tie your shoes properly. I said STOP squirming around…. We’re late to pick up Aunty Jenny. If you do not sit quietly right this second you can forget about going to Tommy’s birthday party!”

If your boss or spouse talked to you in this manner would you be motivated to cooperate? How would such communication make you feel about yourself?

The truth is that you would feel offended and lousy. Understanding the child’s perspective by putting yourself into her shoes would therefore be a major advantage to your parenting. A child should learn that “bad choices” do lead to consequences but not severe punishment. Punishment has been researched for decades in fields of social sciences. Research has discovered that punishment may work in the short term but your child will resent you for it in the long-run.

Instead of getting your child to feel sorry about her bad choice of action, punishment invokes fear and feelings of retaliation. Therefore, in a warm and caring relationship, punishment should not exist. An effective parent, parents at “child-level” and utilizes alternatives to punishment. Instead of shouting, threatening or punishing remain calm and follow this process:

1. Point out a way to be helpful to your child: “It would be helpful if you could sit down and tie your shoe laces so that we can pick up Auntie Jenny from the airport.”
2. Express your expectations if the child misbehaves: “Susy, I don’t want Jenny Hilda to have to wait at the airport for us all by herself. I expect you to put your shoes on within the next two minutes.”
3. Give a choice: “Susy, no fidgeting please. Here are your choices. You can tie your shoelaces or you can stay home with your nanny while I go pick up Auntie Jenny.
4. Introduce the consequence if your child chose to continue misbehaving: “I see you decided to stay with your nanny while I go pick up Auntie Jenny.”
5. Stick to the action without getting angry or feeling guilty about it. Your child had a choice and chose. This process leads to a consequence (not going with mom to the airport) and is not a punishment (i.e. no spanking, shouting, blaming i.e. “What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you behave?”)

You will realize that remaining calm yet determined is the hardest part. Too often parents feel that their child is provoking them on purpose. But again, they are children. It is a sign that they feel safe with you to test limits. Parenting is like learning to ride a bike. The more you practice the more successful you will be at riding the “parenting bike”.

Vanessa von Auer is the Clinic Director/Psychologist of Von Auer Psychology Centre VAPC. She has spent her career helping parents learn effective parenting strategies, has helped children process their emotional difficulties in healthy ways and has helped families grower closer in their dynamics with one another. For more information, visit www.vapc.sg

Find this article on positive parenting useful or you have something to share with us after reading this post? Do feel free to write in to us!

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Discovery Edu Cove specialises in Creative writing and complex problem solving as well as developing “the maths genius” in children from the age of 5. Extremely small group with only 6 in a group. Only centre in the area to use in-house material.

Our main focus is using the learning style analysis to understand how the child learns. We believe in the essence of the VAK learning style. VAK (Visual, Audio and Kinesthetic). We were invited to write an article on this topic in the popular magazine, which will be publish in Jan 2012. It features the different teaching methods our trainers use to conduct their lessons to cater to different learning styles.

Our material focuses on the MOE Syllabus and over the years, the trainers were given numerous testimonials by parents and students.

We also conduct free study group to all our students that need help in their school homework or areas that they are weak in.

Students are welcome to visit our library to read books on Science or any story books.

We also have an interactive site that students can log in to ask our trainers questions that they are unsure of at home. Our trainers are able to assist these students via live chat. All trainers will be equipped with an iPhone or iPad which they can log on 24 hours a day. Rest assured that the needs of your child is met at any point in time.

We are also planning to have an eco area in the next couple of weeks Do look out for it.

Parents are welcomed to give us a call for us to conduct a free learning style analysis to your child. No obligations.

Website: www.discoveryeducove.com
Email: discoveryeducove@gmail.com
Contact: 6650 0646
Address: Blk 801 Tampines Ave 4 #01-275 (2nd floor) Singapore 520801

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Valentine’s Day is approaching!

However, celebrating Valentine’s Day among married couples can be quite challenging. One of the biggest problems for this special day will be your kids. Where can they go or do so that you can spend time alone with your spouse?

Try leaving your kids at the care of someone familiar, like your extended family so that you don’t have to worry about them all evening. Making Valentine’s Day special is important for each of you to really enjoy the day, to rekindle the special feeling or just showing a significant other how much they mean to you. Do something different, set aside a block of time and make it mean something to each of you!

Make it a special day to remember even though you are married!

Here are our Top 10 Recommendations to Spark up this Valentine’s Day.

1. Say ‘I Love You’

It is amazing that saying these magic words can help you keep the flame of romance burning in your life. However, at some point of in our life, we have forgotten to say it to our special one. Take this special day and start expressing your love for you spouse once again. One of the easiest, fastest and sweet way to send Valentine Day greetings to your partner is to send a SMS. While on one hand, sending the Valentine day text message through a mobile will inevitably sends a smile across your partner’s face, on the other it costs almost nothing. As such, it gives both you and your partner a reason to feel happy.

2. Make a Scrapbook

Lovely memories are one that will touch the deep of the heart. Consider creating a recollection scrapbook using photographs that depicts the lovely time that you’ve spend together. Remember to include lovely messages and captions to bring a smile on your partner’s face.

If you are IT-savvy, you can want to consider creating a personalize multimedia photo scrapbook that depicts a story with the love of your life. At Scrapblog, there are different background, icons, and stickers for you to choose to beautify each page. When you are done, you can save these creative pages down (export as JPEG and Download it to your computer) and send it for printing at photo-printing shop. Bind these photos up, wrap it and you are ready to give it to your partner.

3. Create a Video
Another splendid D.I.Y. idea is to make a short video expressing your love for your partner. You can easily make a video and upload it online in sites like YouTube for free and then send a link via email to him/her to check out your valentine video! Alternatively, you can save this video, burn it into a disk and have a private viewing of it with your partner, who’ll surely love the idea.

You can use windows movie maker in your video-making.

4. Prepare a Dessert

What else can be sweeter than specially preparing your spouse’s favourite dessert or pastry on Valentine’s Day? Even if it doesn’t turn out to be perfect or your cooking skills don’t prove amazing, your spouse will be pleasantly surprised and touched by your lovely thought.

Check out All Recipes for mouth-watering recipes!

5. Hand Bouquet
Flowers are a classic and perfect gift. Pamper your partner with a bouquet of her favourite flower. Check out Angel Florist who provide delivery service. To up the creativity factor, consider something that is handmade or one-of-a-kind. How about a special candy or chocolate bouquet to melt your partner’s heart? Check out Candyworkz! Be sure to order early!

6. Special Dinner

Why not show your love and dedication by whipping up a special meal for your special one, in the comfort of your own home? In fact, it will be really fun to prepare a lovely dinner together. Check out Southern Food for  tons of great ideas – There are a great list of Recipes to help you plan a romantic dinner.

If you do not like the hassle of whipping up a meal, you may want to consider reserving a table for two and have a special candle-light dinner at a secluded corner of a nice restaurant with good food, ambience, music and service.

Check out our review on the Top 10 Most Romantic Restaurants in Singapore for some great ideas!

Remember to make reservation in advance!

7. Go out into the sea

Very few people have the opportunity to go on a ride in a Yacht. Why not rent a yacht for a day, bring your spouse out to the sea and enjoy the breeze and scenery? Catch the sunset and have a great  and romantic dinner overlooking the sea. Sounds like a dream? Definitely not! You can find such facilities at Raffles Marina or SAF Yacht Club.

8. Take a stroll along the beach
Hold your partner’s hand and take a stroll along the beach bare-footed. Enjoy the sight of the sun setting and the sound of the waves crashing into the shore. It melts the heart to be in the comfort of each other.

9. Go for a short getaway

Haven’t had the opportunity to go for a holiday? Why not take this opportunity and go for a honeymoon again during this long weekend? Leave your kids at the care of your extended family and travel out to neighbouring country or even further if you can, and spend quality time together with your spouse.

10. Love Letter

Believe it or not, the world may have progressed and changed but nothing is more beautiful than true feelings. It costs practically nothing to put your feelings down for the love of your life on paper. You can write out your appreciation for your spouse and a dozen other reasons on why you love him/her. Don’t worry if you are not too good with your words, your spouse will definitely appreciate your gesture. Your effort will culminate into a moment which both of you’ll treasure forever. One of the creative ways is to write your love message at the back of a jigsaw puzzle. Break up the puzzle, pack it in a box and gift it to your spouse. Let him/her fit the pieces together and read what you have written.

Since Valentine’s Day falls on the 1st day of Chinese New Year for this year, most shops will be closed. Be sure to call and check out the places that you will be heading in advance to avoid disappointment!

Last tip for the day - Never stop dating each other! Dedicate time each week/month for doing fun things with your spouse.

Love is in the Air~ Have a Great Date!

If you have any interesting ideas to spark up this Valentine’s Day, please write in and share with us!

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The quality of the air we breathe is usually overlooked as a factor in promoting and maintaining good health. Yet, as an alternative to drug treatments, negative ionization has a great many supporters both in the scientific community and among the general public.

The benefits of breathing in small negatively-charged ions of oxygen in invigorating environments such as the seashore, waterfall areas and after a thunderstorm include the ability to eliminate airborne infections, improving moods, accelerating healing, increasing respiration, boosting the immune system and improving sleep. Ancient textbooks on yoga suggest that a student wishing to perfect his body and mind through breathing exercises should practise near a waterfall, in a cave or in a cave under a waterfall. The yoga masters may not have known about negative ions, but they were familiar with their beneficial effects.

However, such small negative ions are easily destroyed by pollution and dust, which explains the low negative ion count in urban environment. Even in our homes, air conditioning strips the air of negative ions. Synthetic carpets, drapes and upholstery carry a high positive charge and neutralise negative ions.

An overload of positive ions is known to have an unpleasant effect on many people, producing headaches and anxiety, depression and breathing difficulties. Positive ions are known to make asthma victims worse. Pollutants like aerosol sprays, chemical fumes and tobacco smoke contribute to negative ion depletion and are interestingly identified as asthma triggers. The fact that people are finding it difficult to breathe in hot, humid days may have less to do with the amount of oxygen in the air, than with the massive negative ion depletion.

As negative ions help breathing and improve oxygen absorption, negative ionisation is effectively used as a drug free alternative to treating asthma and respiratory allergies.

The Elanra therapeutic ioniser is the only ioniser that is able to replicate nature’s small negative ions that are biologically active to gently and effectively restore a natural balance to the human system. In the case of asthma, exposure to these bioactive oxygen ions can bring almost immediate relief from symptoms. The Elanra Ioniser also protects against infections like flu and colds which are common asthma triggers. Its bioactive oxygen ions eliminate air-borne microbes and stimulate the body’s production of Immunoglobulin A, to boost immunity.

Mr Plummer wrote: We have been astounded as to the effectiveness of this item as it appears to have eliminated our son’s asthma altogether. Pauline Hoehne reported: I had asthma, sinus and insomnia. I had been feeling sick for a long time…I am feeling quite well now…I can’t remember the last time I took my asthma medication, but it must be at least 6 months ago.

Although these results might seem miraculous, it’s really a straightforward matter of helping the body to use oxygen more efficiently. Nature intended us to breathe in small negative ions of oxygen, but the technology-rich environment we’ve created has altered the ion balance of the air. With Elanra we can restore this vital component of health.

For enquiries, contact O2ions at 96313710, or visit www.o2ions.com

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