5 Dont's During Baby Bedtime

For the mommies out there! I’ve compiled a short list of DON’TS for baby bedtime. Baby bedtime can either be a bonding experience, or a battlefield. Here are a few don’ts to keep it from being a battlefield. According to Baby Bedtime Center, establishing a positive bedtime routine is crucial for getting baby getting longer, undisturbed sleep during the night. To promote that, here’s a list of things to avoid:

DO NOT let your baby get used to being rocked, played to sleep or any other habit-forming activities. Once the baby gets used to such, they will expect it to be part of the bedtime routine, and could leave the baby over-excited at bedtime, and forcing the baby to sleep 2-3 hours later than the usual bedtime.

DO NOT disturb the baby’s relaxed bedtime. Prevent watching tv an hour before bedtime, or playing anything loud to ruin the mood. Lowering the baby monitor’s volume helps too.

DO NOT encourage sugary snacks or beverages an hour before bedtime. This might make the baby EVEN more active than you’d like bedtime to be. It also might ruin sleep, if the baby needs to go during the night.

DO NOT let the baby’s bed become the place of punishment. That sort of thing will anchor itself into the baby’s memory --- and may prevent him from enjoying a night’s rest there.

DO NOT rush the bedtime routine. For optimum effect and consistency, go through all the steps you normally take to get baby to sleep EVERY night.

If you’d like some ideas on proper bedtime routines, try checking out Baby Bedtime Center’s Bedtime Routine ideas --- it really has everything in terms of getting baby bedtime right. Good luck mommies! If you have any more DON’TS or maybe some DO’S for getting the perfect baby bedtime, leave it in the comments!

All about New Borns

Random Facts all over the internet for those expecting mothers! :)

Newborn necessities checklist

A master list for moms and dads

Breast or Bottle?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other professional groups concerned with the care of newborns advocate breastfeeding as best for your baby. Specifically, the AAP recommends that babies be breastfed exclusively for about the first 6 months. Following the introduction of solid foods, breastfeeding should continue through the first year of life and beyond, if desired.

Breastfeeding may not be possible or preferable for all women. Deciding to breastfeed or bottle-feed a baby is usually based on the mother's comfort level with breastfeeding as well as her lifestyle, but breastfeeding may not be recommended for some mothers and babies. If you have any questions about whether to breastfeed your child, talk to your pediatrician.

Remember, your baby's nutritional and emotional needs will be met whether you choose to breastfeed or formula-feed.

Feed your baby on demand. Most newborns breast-feed eight to 12 times a day — about every two to three hours. Within two to three months, your baby may be satisfied with six to eight feedings a day. Eventually your baby will fall into a fairly predictable feeding schedule, taking in more milk in less time at each feeding. If you feed your baby formula, you'll need to feed a little less often because formula digests more slowly than breast milk does.

More facts and information -- remember, the section below is a must read!

1. Does your baby sleep well at night > http://bit.ly/bphhi

2. The importance of sleep > http://bit.ly/1X5IGX

3. Growth and Sleep > http://bit.ly/1lmHv7

4. Bedtime Home > http://bit.ly/309DYn

5. Bedtime Routine > http://bit.ly/4fJcjU

6. Sleep toolbox > http://bit.ly/Bo1FR

The Right Way To Bond With Babies

What is bonding?

Bonding is the intense attachment that develops between parents and their baby. It makes parents want to shower their baby with love and affection and to protect and nourish their little one. Bonding gets parents up in the middle of the night to feed their hungry baby and makes them attentive to the baby's wide range of cries.

Bonding is a process, not something that takes place within minutes and not something that has to be limited to happening within a certain time period after birth. For many parents, bonding is a byproduct of everyday care giving. You may not even know it's happening until you observe your baby's first smile and suddenly realize that you're filled with love and joy.

The Ways Babies Bond
1. Touch becomes an early language as babies respond to skin-to-skin contact. It's soothing for both you and your baby while promoting your baby's healthy growth and development. (read more here)
2. Eye-to-eye contact provides meaningful communication at close range.
3. Babies can follow moving objects with their eyes.
4. Your baby tries — early on — to imitate your facial expressions and gestures.
5. Babies prefer human voices and enjoy vocalizing in their first efforts at communication.

Babies often enjoy just listening to your conversations, as well as your descriptions of their activities and environments.

Early bonding activities that both mom and dad can experience together include:
1. participating together in labor and delivery
2. feeding (breast or bottle); sometimes dad forms a special bond with baby when handling a middle-of-the-night feeding and diaper change
3. reading or singing to baby
4. sharing a bath with baby
5. mirroring baby's movements
6. mimicking baby's cooing and other vocalizations — the first efforts at communication
7. using a front baby carrier during routine activities
8. letting baby feel the different textures of dad's face

Source: (read more here)

5 Steps To Help Baby Sleep Well

Mark Twain once said, “I have never taken exercise except sleeping and resting.” While this is true for most of us (heh), it is especially true for sleeping babies. Sleep produces 3x the growth hormones for a baby's tiny body!!!

For new mothers, there is nothing more comforting than watching the baby sleeping. Not just because she doesn't have to put up with the crying --- it also creates relief for the mom, fully knowing that a sleeping baby equates to someone capable enough to provide comfort to a tiny newborn baby --- she's doing something right.

To help you get from fully awake baby to comfortable sleeping baby, here are a couple of tips:

1. Create a Bedtime Routine. Filipino babies clock in among lowest in sleep time compared to other Asian/Caucasian babies. Setting a nightly routine should help the baby realize that it's about time to sleep.

2. A Clean Baby = Baby Sleeping. A warm gentle bath right before sleep should help the sleeping baby from getting itchy at night, causing night time awakening.

3. A Relaxed Baby = Baby Sleeping. After drying the baby after the bath, lay the baby down on a flat surface and start giving downward strokes, from the chest, the arms, the legs. Touch Therapy has been proven to contribute to a baby's healthy growth.

4. A Dry Baby = Baby Sleeping. Put on a comfy diaper or lampin, some nice soft clean clothes on the baby. If the baby is dry during sleep, it may help prolong sleeping time.

5. Sing a lullaby, rock the baby, gentle/quiet time. Bond with the baby! Introduce bedtime stories or lullabies to help put the baby at ease just right before sleeping. Rock the baby gently to maybe help get to sleep. This may vary from parent-to-parent (or baby-to-baby) but overall, this 5th step is for getting the baby to go to sleep.

Follow these steps and notice how much longer you could watch the baby sleeping. Maybe even take pictures (without flash!) to keep for memories.

Drink in Moderation but have fun all you want!

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Dance to a Healthier Lifestyle

Yes. So far, this is the most successful and is one of the first few (if not the first), here in the Philippines!

You are missing out a lot if you still haven't watched it. The energy, the excitement, the surprising factor that held the SM Mall of Asia still for a couple of minutes. A triple-A wow factor for this effortful performance!

Watch the video below:


More info >> Best You Can Bee

7 Tips You Can Apply for a Healthier You!

7 Tips You Can Apply for a Healthier You!
What you don't know can hurt you. BUT, what you know but don't do will hurt you more!


1. Everything should be done in moderation – eating, working, resting, playing, maintaining hobbies, socializing, and so on.


2. You should sleep for at least eight hours every night. A siesta in the afternoon, if possible, is also a good idea and certainly refreshing for your brain.

3. Exercise regularly. Go for a short run every morning. Do Yoga. Exercise your eyes regularly, especially if you spend a lot of time in front of the computer. Dance around! Do what you love!


4. Stop smoking.


5. Alcohol in moderation can actually be good for you. Going back to #1, everything should be done in moderation. This doesn't apply to #4 though.

6. These days, we all suffer from various degrees of stress. Reduce stress! Balancing work and family lives can be difficult, and financial and social difficulties can make life a struggle. Try to recognise when you are suffering from stress. Common symptoms include headaches, irritability, difficulty sleeping and poor concentration

7. Live. Laugh. Love.

Get an oil-free and pimple-free skin just by voting!

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Busy at Work? No More Excuses! Try This!

Stop making excuses! Try doing some of these exercises at the office!





Enjoy!

Another day, another blessing

I'm really happy and transform into my usual upbeat mood when Friday comes. The thought that tomorrow would be a Saturday makes me more energetic. To tell you guys the truth, I love working when everyone else isn't working. Makes me feel... efficient?

Also, this is my 5th day of not exercising! Wohooo! Bad, bad bad!!!

Starting next week, I will exercise again without excuses so that my healthy living lifestyle would go on. It's just been a hell week because of several the several (blessings) projects that started.

Hope some of you could post comments on what you do to motivate yourselves to exercise :)

Taking over this blog. Hi, I am Cheftonio.

Yes. Since Larry has no time to blog because of his very busy schedule, I was tasked to do updates for his blogs.

It's so coincidental because just this year, I started living a very healthy living lifestyle. This will be my journal to an improved life and healthier living.

I encourage everyone to do the same thing.

Anyway, at first, I started my cardio exercise for just 5 minutes and biceps/chest exercise for 30 minutes at 10-12-15 reps (3 sets) using around 10kg weights.

After a week, I increased it to around 15 minutes worth of cardio plus 12-15-18 reps using 15kg weights.

Will upload a photo of my mini gym at home soon. :)

The Fight Of My Life Starts Now!

Courage is the opposite of fear. When we look at other people in their 40s, we wonder how some seem to have aged with grace, while others are looking like their in their 50s. A stress and anxiety-ridden life is exhausting. We need to fight it before it happens.

Today, rather than when it’s too late --- we have to wage a war on the stress and anxiety that hinder us from aging beautifully. When we live in constant fear, we are always a step closer to disease.

Here are a couple of things you could do:

When it’s all too much, stop.

Rather than let the mind become overwhelmed, fight it before it happens. When the mind is feeling like its on overload, it’s time to step back, regroup, rather than power on through for stress and anxiety to step in, leave some room for clear thought. Take a few long, deep breaths – it slows down the heart rate, and relaxes you. Also, let out a sigh --- this is the body’s way of letting itself know that everything’s okay.

Feel good.

When you’re overwhelmed, and you feel horrible, stress and anxiety steps in, which only robs us of precious energy in the body while doing some harm. Fight it before it happens --- engage in some physical activity --- tap your feet under your desk, take a brisk walk, or jog even for a couple of minutes. Physical activity produces endorphins, or feel-good chemicals, which help fight stress and anxiety.

Be realistic.

We don’t need to imagine the worst possible scenario all the time --- this only leads to unwanted stress and anxiety, so we need to fight it before it happens. Rather than predict outcomes that are impossible to see, just let things be. Perform a realistic assessment on whether a situation can do a turn for the better.

Be kind, love yourself.

If a situation doesn’t pan out as you thought it would, let it go. Rather than feel stress and anxiety over things that you can’t change, throw it out and move on. There’s no reason to feel bad about a bad situation, unless you’re holding on to the feeling. Think about it, when you think about negative memories, your physiological state starts feeling bad. Fight it before it happens --- let the bad things go. Forgive your opponents, (real or perceived) and forgive yourself. When you look at the negative side of things, you tend to forget about the good stuff --- you’re a champ in your prime, waging a full-scale war on stress and anxiety, and shouldn’t that be enough to make you love yourself?

40 and up only!

The body is an outstanding machine; though we may act invincible from our teens to our thirties, life starts at 40. Life begins catching up with our bodies, and the extensive damage we may have done to it over the years.

Rather than focus on what CAN’T be changed; let’s move on to habits that may prove beneficial for us in our 50s, 60s, 70s … up to hundred! These are little things you may do or change about yourself in order to brace yourself for the rest of your life. Time to get tough; this is for people who are 40-and-Up only, not for the weak of heart!

Train the Mind

Right now you may be split in a decision over what to have for lunch; but the untrained mind may spend his older years deciding on whether going to the bathroom is necessary … sometimes without knowing it.

The mind can only work to its peak performance when it is used extensively --- watch the Discovery channel, solve a crossword, or do some meditation; by your later years, its going to be useful.

Train the Stomach

Your metabolism will have changed by the time you get to your 40s. It won’t be the same eat-what-you-want-and-not-gain-weight anymore. By eating meals that are varied, and have the right vitamins and minerals, it will ensure you that you’d have less of a problem dealing with what you ate 20 years ago.

A dietary supplement may be in order too --- multivitamins, minerals and fish liver oil are just some of the bigger, important ones.

Train the Heart

Literally and figuratively --- you’d have to be accepting of how old you are in the present --- be grateful. You’re a champ because you’ve made it this far, and that also means that muscle in your chest has made it too!

Consult a trainer to know what kind of exercise is right for you. Mix up your routine from day-to-day, so that the body doesn’t become complacent, and will learn how to be adaptable.

Put all these three combined and you’re pretty much on the way to polishing the great machine that is the body.

40 and up only!

The body is an outstanding machine; though we may act invincible from our teens to our thirties, life starts at 40. Life begins catching up with our bodies, and the extensive damage we may have done to it over the years.

Rather than focus on what CAN’T be changed; let’s move on to habits that may prove beneficial for us in our 50s, 60s, 70s … up to hundred! These are little things you may do or change about yourself in order to brace yourself for the rest of your life. Time to get tough; this is for people who are 40-and-Up only, not for the weak of heart!

Train the Mind

Right now you may be split in a decision over what to have for lunch; but the untrained mind may spend his older years deciding on whether going to the bathroom is necessary … sometimes without knowing it.

The mind can only work to its peak performance when it is used extensively --- watch the Discovery channel, solve a crossword, or do some meditation; by your later years, its going to be useful.

Train the Stomach

Your metabolism will have changed by the time you get to your 40s. It won’t be the same eat-what-you-want-and-not-gain-weight anymore. By eating meals that are varied, and have the right vitamins and minerals, it will ensure you that you’d have less of a problem dealing with what you ate 20 years ago.

A dietary supplement may be in order too --- multivitamins, minerals and fish liver oil are just some of the bigger, important ones.

Train the Heart

Literally and figuratively --- you’d have to be accepting of how old you are in the present --- be grateful. You’re a champ because you’ve made it this far, and that also means that muscle in your chest has made it too!

Consult a trainer to know what kind of exercise is right for you. Mix up your routine from day-to-day, so that the body doesn’t become complacent, and will learn how to be adaptable.

Put all these three combined and you’re pretty much on the way to polishing the great machine that is the body.

How Macular Degeneration Changed My Life

One of our readers has something to say about Macular Degeneration:

For the longest time, I’ve been very afraid of losing my eyesight. That is, well, until I started accepting it.

I have this friend who broke his leg once --- everyone was giving him pity looks, saying things like, “awww, you poor thing, stuck with that horrible crutch.” However, for him, the crutch was his means of getting around. He felt he was lucky to have the crutch, rather than not being able to go anywhere.

He was sincere about that though, which got me into thinking: am I lucky to have macular degeneration? It’s all a matter of perspective.

Of course, I feel that macular degeneration is a horrible, horrible thing that ruins the eye sight, and that there is no redeeming factor about it. Then again, we’ve heard of extraordinary people who go through their lives without their eye sight who are doing amazing things.

We have blind teachers, attorneys and what-have-you. Macular degeneration doesn’t sound like something that would bring these people down. The difference between them and me? They felt lucky. Lucky to be alive, lucky to get to wake up daily and get a chance to make something of their day.

While I was focusing on the negative things about macular degeneration, I was missing out on my caring family who tirelessly take me to take me to the physician to get my eyes checked, I was missing out on my children of whom, without question, would read aloud some fine print that I’m not able to read anymore.

Let’s just say --- I was lucky without knowing it. For now, me and the family are considering a surgical solution. Sometimes, I just wish people knew how lucky they actually are --- macular degeneration or not.

It’s all a matter of perspective, you see, and sometimes you can see, but you don’t have the insight.

Life After Surviving A Heart Attack

Surviving a heart attack is just the big hit before the long life-changing journey. If you’ve suffered a heart attack before, then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

You get into questioning your own morality, you find that family is closer than ever, and serious life changes have to be made. Depending on the seriousness of the kind of heart attack you get, things are all going to be different.

A major heart attack will have you watching your blood pressure a little closer while certain normal activities take a different angle. Surviving a heart attack means a change all ‘round. It’s not asking your friends to ask you to believe in yourself; it’s more of you asking them to believe in themselves, who believe in you. A little too much concern over a heart attack can … believe it or not, be smothering.

Being the one to face the change, you have to realize that it is a shock that you’ve just come from. It helps if family is there to talk about it, but only if you really want to.

If you smoke tobacco or cigarettes, then it’s time to stop, if you haven’t already. The greasy foods have to be held several weeks after one another. Check-ups after surviving a heart attack is going to be the new routine.

Unfortunately, many people have a 50% chance of getting struck with another heart attack within 12 months, should they choose not to change their lifestyle or habits.

Your home life will change too --- having lived through a traumatic physiological / psychological experience, your family has experienced the scare too --- they’ll tend to be more refrained, and rightfully so --- a bad argument can end horribly, when it’s been just weeks from the original heart attack.

You need to reaffirm with your family that you’ve just been through a major ordeal that you won’t want to go through with again. The family, in turn, should be a little more giving to the whims of the patient, while keeping a tight lid on things that are prohibited.

Basically, life after surviving a heart attack is a challenging one, but take it as a warning sign to change your health habits.

Over The Hill Doesn't Mean It's Over

Happy New Year Everyone!!! New Year, New age! But, over the hill doesn't mean it's over!

When you picture the life of an average person, it looks like a small hill; rising at first, then descending into a slope once you get older. Are you over 40? Have you hit your peak? Over the hill doesn’t mean it’s over.

The hill only stops being a hill once you stop seeing yourself falling off the slope. Over the hill doesn’t signify the end --- there’s still the other-half equivalent of the years before you hit your peak.

What can’t you do? What can you do? Obviously, dressing up like you were in high school and trying to pass off as a teenager is out of the question. Here are a number of ways you could pass the time, while trying to finish up the rest of that hill.

Get a Hobby – It’s never too late to be into anything. There are people who are older than 40 who still engage in hobbies like running in marathons, rock climbing, writing, building models and acquiring collectibles. Are you still fit enough to run several kilometers in one go? Do you still have the clear eyesight to keep small model parts from being lost? It’s never too late to get a hobby, not only is it a productive and enjoyable way to pass the time --- it also keeps you young!

Learn – Learning never stops --- everyday is an opportunity to know better than what you knew yesterday. It’s just a matter of having the willingness to learn. What will you use your new knowledge for? It might make things easier for you in the workplace, thus, leaving more time for you, --- or, you may just want to pass along the knowledge to your children.

Live! – It’s always a good time to be alive --- there’s no more hesitation, parts of life are within reach --- and it’s up to you to grab them. Try new things! Visit new places! Eat exotic food! The only question you should concern yourself with is --- are you going to hike down the hill, or reach the ground tumbling? Over the hill doesn’t mean it’s over.

You should fight! Let's stand besides the saying, "Over 40 and Fighting!"