Parenting Archive

My thoughts on parenthood, and what it's like to be a mom in the Philippines.

Stress Free Parenting Tips On Weaning

While Chico was feeding on his bottle and Sati on my breast, I asked Sati if she’s ready to move to bottle.. and a violent AYAW says it all. Chico on the other hand asked her if she wants to drink GATAS (milk) on the bottle. Sati answered, “Ayaw ko ng Gatas!” huh? ayaw daw ng gaats eh panay ang dede.. turns out, my milk is DEDE.. and it’s not Gatas!

That reminds me about weaning.. so for our Tuesday Parenting Tip, let’s talk about weaning.

Scientifically, weaning is the process where the baby stops nursing and also the time where in adult diet is introduced to the baby and all his nutrient sources is no longer the breast.

When is the right time to wean?

Reading would suggest that moms need to continue breastfeeding until the baby is 6 months. Our pediatrician also mentioned that and we should breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. After that, it is our choice if we want to continue or wean the baby and start feeding them with formula. I choose to feed them as long as I can.. but with my first born, pregnancy comes in the way and I had to wean him when he turns one. With my second boy, he was breastfed for 1 year and 8 months. My third son’s case was the same with my first born, pregnancy came in the way. As with my youngest, you know I’m still breastfeeding her until now.. she is 2 years old and 4 months.

My experiences weaning my kids led me to a conclusion that the right time to wean a baby is before they turn a year old. Anything later than that is not advisable. Why? As the kid turns one, they were old enough to understand but young enough not to argue. Just like what happened to my first born.. when I told him he can no longer have mommy’s milk as soon as he turns one, he never asked for it after his birthday party. It was quite sad for me.. I was expecting commotions.. The same thing happened with my third son, when I started weaning him, it took him only a week to get used to it.

The story of my second born was different.. in fact telling I have a hard time weaning him is an understatement. It was riot and the whole household can attest to that. Husband complains of lack of sleep… good thing he had to leave for US for 3 weeks and that’s how I finally won in weaning. What went wrong? He is old enough to know what he wants and knows how to get it through tantrums.

Stress Free Parenting Tips On Weaning

Start early. As I have mentioned, the age is very important as it can make or break the weaning process.
Start gradually. Cold turkey maybe effective to some but to me, gradually reducing the feeding is more effective. If you’re baby use to feed 3 times on day and 2 times at night, start reducing it one feeding at a time.
Increase the break time. If you’re baby love feeding every 3 hours, try increasing it to 3 hours and 30 minutes and so on.
Simultaneously, reduce the time that they spent on your breast.
Do not introduce bottle feeding yet, delay it for a few more weeks or until the baby is almost ready to give up your milk.

When should you delay Weaning? When the baby is sick or is experiencing a milestone such as teething or starting to walk, delay it for a few more weeks.

When a baby is old enough, like with my second born, the most effective way to wean them is to decrease their supply gradually. It takes time, sleep and a lot of effort. And it will take a lot of tears too, just remember that if you are determined to wean the baby, do not give up.

I’ll let you in to my little secret.. with Sati, it’s me that would needs weaning.. yes, I just can’tlet go of this little girl.. it’s a little bit selfish, what can I do? she’s my only girl *wink

Practical Parenting Tips On Raising Active (and Healthy!) Kids

If it was 20 or even 10 years ago, it would be different. Children back then we’re so active, playful and always on the go. During our time, it was not that hard, we have a big plaza where we play from 4 PM to sundown. We have trees, we have the whole road for our patinteros, we have the whole plaza for our hide and seek and we had so much fun! I remember when I was a kid, my aunt and uncles would join in the fun, we would play patintero at night in the middle of the road. I want my kids to experience it, to be like that, full of energy, full of life, active and of course healthy.

This year, I promised that I will be more involve with sports and encourage the kids to be the same (including the husband). It’s quite a challenge, specially that the kids prefer playing on their gadget than playing other things. Challenging because we’re all busy. To really make it work, we have to make time for it and be dedicated about it. This is one of the challenge of living in a techy world right? where everything else is so fast, it’s hard to step back a while and take it slow.

For parents like us who wants their kids to be active but have limited access to parks, sports and fitness center, here’s some Practical Parenting Tips On Raising Active (and Healthy!) Kids:

Posture. Start by correcting your kid’s posture. A slouchy person is a lazy person. Of course you have to lead by example. Always stand straight and do not slouch, specially if you are in front of the computer.

Healthy eating. Sa totoo lang ang hirap! what, with the presence of fast food and kid “friendly” meal. It’s easy to just order online and give in to a burger or fried chicken. In our case, we make sure that the kids eat vegetable and meat with the right proportion. We treat them fast food once in a while (once or twice a month). Drink is also an important part of their diet.

Simple and Fun Exercise. A simple 10-20 minute a day with your kid is enough. It does not only promote active lifestyle but also gives you time to bond with your kid. If you have no time for it, make time for it. If your place is small, play jog on place or jumping jack for 10 minutes. You can also climb the last 2 floors from to your unit if you live in your condo. Make it a routine with your kid. When inside malls, use the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator (haven’t tried it yet with the kids but it’s a brilliant idea).

Our line up of healthy activity this year includes joining at Fun Run (Run United this March will be our first), I registered the kids for 500 m dash and hopefully the next race they can join me on the 3k run. Swimming is also included on our list, I’m looking for affordable and swimming pool here in Pasig where the kids swim twice a month. On top of that, we try as much possible to jog and run at Pasig Rainforest 3-4 times per week.

Fun Morning Routine Ideas Sluggish Kids Will Love

I have no problems with my boys getting up early..when I say, wake up, 2 or 3 minutes they’re up and going. When it comes to my nephew, the story is different. We literally have to drag him out of bed. And if your kid is the same as my nephew, here’s an article from Anne Mercado of Green Eggs & Moms:

Did you wake your children in the morning only to be greeted by half awake zombies?

Kids are adorable in their groggy state but when you’re trying to get everything done during the morning, it can be frustrating.

Need help? Let me show you how to wake those zombies by adding FUN in your daily morning routine.

First things first, this is a must: organize your mornings to make them less stressful. Done with that? Now we can proceed!

7 Fun Morning Routine Ideas Sluggish Kids Will Love

1. Bathroom baton. If your children share one bathroom, have them pass around a baton or large key (you can make your own props) to the next kid in line.

2. Morning wakey. Instead of using your booming voice to jolt ’em kids up, why not smother them in kisses or hum a made-up tune gently in their ear?

3. Early bird, early worm. Tomorrow’s worm that is! Have your children race to get out of bed. The prize? The winner gets to choose tomorrow’s breakfast. (Can you think of other prizes?)

4. Mad dash wake-up race. Continuing on the previous item, you’ll need alarm clocks that will go off simultaneously. Stand outside your children’s rooms and wait. The first one who touches Mommy wins.

The short sprint can kick away drowsiness from your kiddos.

For an added incentive, have the last person to rise do a chore. But don’t do this often since they might see chores as a form of punishment.

Note 1: Change the game mechanics if you have a mix of toddlers and school age kids. Bigger kids are usually faster so it may be unfair for the younger ones.

5. Morning checklist. The idea is from an article by About.com titled Top 10 Morning Madness Tips for Getting Kids up and Ready.

Create a checklist that details morning activities. Instead of using a pen to mark completed items, use laminated check marks, thumbs-up or whatever nifty idea you can think of.

The visuals helps give your children a sense of accomplishment.

6. Wordless Nagging. If your children find the previous item tedious, you can use printable morning routine cards instead. Put is somewhere they can see so you can give your vocal chords a rest.

7. Sticker Rewards. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book but far too important to exclude. Issue a sticker for every completed task. At the end of the week, give a prize for a job well done.

Note 2: No need to do all these everyday since kids will tire of them. Also, not everything on the list will work on your children. Find something they like, then use and build on it.

All moms know that with a bit of creativity and a lot of patience, a morning routine can be pleasant and enjoyable. Whenever fun is involved, there’s a better chance for your kiddos to get through their mornings smoother.

Agree?

Anne Mercado is the quirky author behind Green Eggs & Moms, which offers clever tips and news to keep moms with young kids sane. When she’s not hunched over the computer working, you can find her either counting down to ten to get her kiddo to move faster, or reading a horror book. She also loves vampires and zombies.