Weaning

It all started because of the subject of weaning.What's weaning?For all non-breastfeeding moms out there:

"The weaning process begins the first time your baby takes food from a source other than your breast - whether it's formula from a bottle or mashed banana from a spoon. Weaning is the gradual replacement of breastfeeding with other foods and ways of nurturing"

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/weaning_intro.html

So with that...Yasmin is weaning slowly from breastmilk as she is now taking solids aka food.But I was curious about her getting excited about seeing a bottle milk.She's practically jumping for joy when she sees one.Although it is not an indicator that Yasmin is no longer interested in breast milk(for me), there are some who thinks that Yasmin does so because she's not getting enough from me.Gosh.....not again.....

I've discovered that Yasmin has nipple confusion.No....it's not some disease. It's simply that she gets confused with the sucking technique of bottle and breast.Hmmm.....and you thought breastfeeding is that simple.....

"What is Nipple Confusion? It is a problem that arises when a breastfed baby is given an artificial (rubber or silicon) nipple and must try to learn to nurse both from his mother's breast and the bottle nipple. While seemingly similar, these two feeding methods require completely different mouth and tongue motions and swallowing skills."

"This is not to say that either feeding method is 'wrong' ... only that they are very different, and that a baby must learn whichever method he is to use. Expecting a tiny baby to learn both methods and to be able to switch back and forth between the two can be extremely frustrating to both baby and mom."

http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_confusion.html

So....no more bottle feeds for her if possible(if I'm away)....if I intend to wean her right.....I have to wean her off....till she is able to feed on solids....(no problem with that).....and taking other beverages from a CUP.

"A baby who self-weans is usually well over a year old, is getting most of his nutrition from solids, is drinking well from a cup, and cuts down on nursing gradually. If children are truly allowed to self-wean in their own time, most will do so somewhere between the 2nd and 4th year. Obviously, some will wean before this time and some will wean after this time, too. "

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/how_weaning_happens.html

With that....I bought her a water bottle.A cup with a straw!



She loves her Elmo waterbottle!
Can't stop drinking...



She drinks from it lying down even...

Hah...a perfect alternative to bottles.....the experiment goes on....my baby gal is growing.....next:food appreciation.....goodluck to me...

Father's Day

The changing face of fatherhood....



Barely 1mth old Yasmin in papa's hands...



Papa with 3mths old Yasmin...



Yasmin @ 8mths old with papa...



15mths old Yasmin & papa

Note:Yasmin has grown up so much but papa's hairstyle hasn't changed much.Hahaha....

To my dearest hubby: Happy father's Day...



From me and Yasmin....

Thoughts

More thoughts on breastfeeding:

Thought (1)

Allah subhannahu wa ta'ala says in His Qur'an:

"The mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole years..." (2:233)

and

"The bearing of the (child) to his weaning is thirty months." (46:15)

In addition, Anas relates this hadith from al Tabarani:

Sallama, the nurse to the Prophet's (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam) son Ibrahim said, 'O Messenger of God, you have brought tidings of all good things to men, but not to women.' He said, 'Did your women friends put you up to asking me this question?' 'Yes, they did,' she replied, and he said,' Does it not please any one of you that if she is pregnant by her husband and he is satisfied with that, she receives the reward of one who fasts and prays for the sake of Allah? And when her labor pains come, no one in the heavens or the earth knows what is concealed in her womb to delight her? And when she delivers, not a mouthful of milk flows from her, and not a suck does she give, but that she receives, for every mouthful and every suck the reward of one good deed. And if she is kept awake at night by her child, she receives the reward of one who frees seventy slaves for the sake of Allah.'"

Thought (2):

"But I want my baby to become independent.

And breastfeeding makes the toddler dependent? Don't believe it. The child who breastfeeds until he weans himself (usually from 2 to 4 years), is generally more independent, and, perhaps, more importantly, more secure in his independence. He has received comfort and security from the breast, until he is ready to make the step himself to stop. And when he makes that step himself, he knows he has achieved something, he knows he has moved ahead. It is a milestone in his life.

Often we push children to become "independent" too quickly. To sleep alone too soon, to wean from the breast too soon, to do without their parents too soon, to do everything too soon. Don't push and the child will become independent soon enough. What's the rush? Soon they will be leaving home. You want them to leave home at 14? If a need is met, it goes away. If a need is unmet (such as the need to breastfeed and be close to mom), it remains a need well into the childhood/teenaged time.

Of course, breastfeeding can, in some situations, be used to foster an overdependent relationship. But so can food and toilet training. The problem is not the breastfeeding. This is another issue.

Thought (3)

Clearly, Allah subhannahu wa ta'ala has designed breast milk for our babies. The fact that the superior benefits of breast milk and breastfeeding are constantly being discovered should be sign enough for the Muslima. If artificial baby milk was really "just as good" as breast milk, then all or most of the benefits of breast milk would be present in formula. If artificial baby milk was just as beneficial to the mother-child relationship, then the above ayat and hadith (among others) would not be so clearly pro-breastfeeding.
The existence of the milk mother (the one who suckles a child more than five times becomes as another mother to him) in Islamic law testifies to the fact that Muhammad (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam), who himself had a milk mother named Halima, realized how extensive and important the bonding between a nursing woman and a baby is. And we know from the hadith in Bukhari that the mother is the most deserving of her offspring's attention, because of the care that she gave him when he was a child. "

Hmmm.....give that a thought!

Swimming

Yes...we finally manage to bring Yasmin out for a swim!

We had planned to bring her out to a beach actually.But since the beach is way too far for us,we decided to bring her out to the pool.

So,today,we went off to get her disposable diapers and a pinky swimsuit which had 3 strawberries on them.Sweet... although Yasmin plucked 2 of them before the swim...hahaha..

Venue:Woodlands Swimming Complex

I think I was more excited than Yasmin when we reach there.I got her changed quickly in the car before we went in.

Fortunately, it wasn't so crowded.And like us,there were families with small kids enjoying the pool.

Once in the water,I could see Yasmin curiously playing with the water.But it didn't relly take long before she knows she was there for a good time.Gosh.How I wish I was there to play with her.

She was so engrossed in her play that she refused to be let out of the water!So...my verdict for today:She's a water babe!



Getting acquainted with the water.
"Looks pretty easy"



Having a splashing time already!
"More fun than our bathroom."



"Hands off.Me big gal."



"Where's mama?"
Taking your photo lah.



"I wanna go back in"

Breastfeeding

I'm a supporter of breastfeeding.And I thought putting up these websites will make others understand why I am so "hardcore" about breastfeeding.There is really no rights or wrongs in either breastfeeding or giving formula to a child.I'm just hoping mothers are informed of their choices.And others could respect their decisions.

http://www.drjen4kids.com/soap%20box/lipil-rant.htm
http://www.birthlink.com/formulaset.html
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/17feed_baby_working_moms.html
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/28toxins_in_breastmilk.html
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/bf_and_guilt_01-00.html

There are really loads of information over the nets/books/literature.Read and learn.

I was reading this through and wondering if hubby could win this "survivor series".

New Survivor Show
Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor" show?

6 men will be dropped on an island with 1 van and 4 kids each, for 6 weeks.

Each kid plays two sports and either takes music or dance classes.

There is no access to fast food.

Each man must take care of his 4 kids, keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, etc.

The men only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

There is only one TV between them and there is no remote.

The men must shave their legs and wear makeup daily, which they must apply themselves either while driving or while making four lunches. They must attend weekly PTA meetings; clean up after their sick children at 3:00 a.m; make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla and one marker; and get a 4 year old to eat a serving of peas.

The kids vote them off based on performance.

The winner gets to go back to his job!

Taken from:http://www.kellymom.com/writings/parenting/new-survivor.html

More about Yasmin soon....

Rants of mama

We went over my mum's place yesterday.I could sense that she misses Yasmin.Well,I miss her too.

I wish going over means less anxiety for me.I am anxious.Why? Because I'm wondering what comments would I have to work with later.My breastfeeding "habits" that's making her starve? Am I not making her enough food?How come there is rashes on her body?The lists could be endless.

I have good explanations for them all.But believe me,my scientific explanations would never be good enough.THEIR explanations is ultimately most acceptable.I give up."Afterall,we brought you all up"....yaddah...yaddah...yaddah...

No matter what.I love you mami and ayah.But I'm my "own" parent now.

What's so difficult about breastfeeding?Before Yasmin was born, I've always seen breastfeeding as something natural.It's Allah gift to mankind.HE created breasts for women so that they could nurture their young.Before there was formula, what do they give?

But it has been a journey till now for me to breastfeed Yasmin.I've got plenty of comments like,"Your milk is not enough","Your milk is not good enough".Well, unfortunately...if I were not equipped with good information,I would have probably stop breastfeeding her.

This site gives good information:www.kellymom.com

Read.Then pass your judgements.

Not enough food?Seriously, I can't be forcing food down her throat.Dad was making a fuss again.Sigh.Said that I was crazy to just feed her that much of food.I know Yasmin is a "snacker" kind of child.She eats.But bit by bit.When she wants to eat, she eats a lot.And I really don't stop her.I think that it's a good sign.Why?Coz....you should be eating when you are hungry.Isn't that a correct cue?

Rashes....for God's sake.Must I be blame for everything?The weather's been hot.Must I be changing the weather too?How about those chemicals in baby's products.Yes...do you know that you should not put talc on baby's diapers.Putting talc especially over baby girls diapers could increase the possibility of having ovarian cancer.That doesn't simply apply to babies mind you.Especially women.

Ok...enough of my ramblings.

Dear Yasmin....I'm just trying to be as best a parent that I could be.

PC problems again

I don't know why my entries are not coming out again.

Anyway,we went out to Admiralty market today.While we were having breakfast, I noticed how easily Yasmin was sitting on the adult chair.Gosh...she was getting older.

At the moment,she loves to mumble.We just have to guess what she's trying to say.But being with her 24/7,I think I'm pretty good at it.

Just wondering whether if she's those with the "gift of the gab".

More photos..

I love my chocolates.(This one taken at my brother's place)



My oh-so-sweet and innocent look.



My peasant-bohemian look.Fashionable babe!



Watching the telly with papa.

7 jun

I know that I should be updating as often as I could.But with a "monster" aka Nur Yasmin always at my back,it could be pretty difficult.Somehow,she's turned all whiny and throwing tantrums almost throughout the day.

Thank God that I still very much patience to go around.Running thin though.Hmmm....why whiny and all?Coz...she's teething again.And this time 3 molars are coming out of those tiny mouth.No wonder she's all cranky.

The only way we could both de-stress was to go out for a walk.Prescription:once a day.Unless it rains.Then she'll be mumbling something like "jan.."short for "hujan" in malay.And of course with a damn cute expression to go along.

A new habit I've observed is that she is now picky with her food.She picks her likes and shoves the plate away when she doesn't want it.The high chair sure comes in handy for me now.Coz...she can't escape.But of course,Yasmin always have her own way of saying no.

I borrowed a book by Burton L.White yesterday from the library titled,"The New First Three Years of Life."It wrote,"This period inevitably will be very trying for parents from time to time.Babies at this age are compelled to oppose the will of their primary caretakers."Haha...sounds to me like a teenager.Haha...tiny teenager starting to rebel.

I got Yasmin some books too.But the fun for her wasn't the books of course.It was because she could run around the library.Pretty nice murals there too.Pictures of animals.Just her thing.