Two nights ago, my son woke up at 2:30 AM, crying and calling "Mama, mama" over and over again. He refused to nurse. He wouldn't pay attention to me when I tried to speak soothingly to him. He kept pointing in the direction of the bathroom door, but when I brought him into the bathroom, he continued to cry. I tried changing his nappy, but it didn't work. I tried distracting him with toys, with singing, with talking; nothing calmed him. He was inconsolable for almost 10 minutes. The only thing that worked was me taking him outside of the room and putting him in a new environment.
It was the first time that that had happened. He has had nightmares before, but never one that was this upsetting. This was also the first time that breastfeeding was not enough to comfort him.
I felt bad for him, and I feel bad, too, that there is no way for me to know what his dream was. He's only 13 months old, so he has less than 10 words in his vocabulary.
I was comforted to find out the following day, however, that nightmares are common among toddlers. I had just bought a copy of Smart Parenting's Guide to the Toddler Years and purely coincidentally, I read it yesterday and stumbled upon the section about toddler nightmares. Toddlers still have difficulty distinguishing between dreams and reality, the book explained, and this is why nightmares can be so upsetting.
The book's advice was to assure the child, validate his fear, and find out the possible source of the nightmare. These weren't applicable to my son, though, since his language skills aren't that developed yet. But bearing in mind the explanation that young children can't distinguish between dreams and reality, I suppose the best thing we can do for our children is to help them feel that the reality they are in is safe and filled with love and comfort, and not with whatever scary things that are upsetting them.
Photo by Mehmet Goren.
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Pinoybaby Store products are now available at Spoiled! Store at Goldland Millenia Suites in Ortigas Center.
The complete address is: Mezzanine floor, Goldland Milleniua Suites, Escriva Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig. The official launch isn't until next year but it's already on soft opening beginning tomorrow. Store hours this weekend are 11 AM to 8 PM, but beginning December 7th, it will be open Mondays to Sundays, 10 AM to 8 PM.
Aside from Pinoybaby Store items you can also browse through hard-to-find nursing and maternity wear, baby clothes, diaper bags, toys, and other products for the new/expectant mom and her baby, all brought to you by Pinay mompreneurs!
If you have any questions about the stocks we'll be carrying at Spoiled! Store, please feel free to send me a message by clicking here. Share
Jowan, one of the Pinoybaby Store customers whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the Expo Mom Bazaar, sent me a really interesting article about the protocol for newborns.
According to the Inquirer article there is a movement to encourage in the Philippines the same protocol for newborn care that is done in many other countries: immediately drying the baby then initiating skin contact with the mother before clamping the umbilical cord, and initiating breastfeeding immediately after delivery. This protocol is already in practice in Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Fabella Memorial Medical Center, and Philippine General Hospital.
According to the article, the new protocol could cut by almost half the number of newborn deaths, now estimated at 40,000 each year. Immediately drying the baby prevents hypothermia; delaying the cord clamping two to three minutes after birth increases the baby’s iron reserves; and placing the baby on the mothers chest or abdomen provides warmth, increases the duration of breastfeeding, and allow “good bacteria” from the mother’s skin to pass onto the newborn.
You can read the full article here. Share
When I visited the US with my son a few months ago, one of the first things I looked for in the shopping centers was this product, the My Little Seat travel high chair.
My Little Seat is a chair harness for babies and young toddlers. Chair harnesses have straps on them, making it possible for your baby to sit in regular chair safely. I'd done some research online and according to the reviews, My Little Seat was one of the most popular among the chair harnesses because of its five-point harness. Other brands of chair harnesses were only three-point harnesses: they didn't have shoulder straps.
The My Little Seat travel high chair turned out to be an extremely useful purchase. My mom's house (where we were staying) didn't have a high chair for my son, and it was such a relief to be able to sit him in a proper chair during feeding time. And when we went out to restaurants, it proved to be even more useful because not every restaurant had a high chair! Having the My Little Seat meant that my son always had somewhere to sit and be fed.
Here in the Philippines, we've continued to put the My Little Seat travel high chair to good use. I've discovered that a lot of restaurants in the Philippines only have one high chair, so when there's another kid in the restaurant, some parents have no choice but to take turns eating while the other parent holds the baby (or worse, chases the toddler around the restaurant). But that is never a problem for us because we always bring the My Little Seat with us, so our son always has a place to sit.
I'm happy to say that the Pinoybaby Store is now the only reseller of the My Little Seat travel high chair in the Philippines. Share
According to the Smart Parenting website, repair kits will also be available in the Philippines for MacLaren strollers, beginning November 23rd.
An excerpt from the Smart Parenting article:What if I have a Maclaren stroller here in the Philippines? Can I also avail of the hinge cover kit?
Yes. Should you opt to get a hinge cover kit, you may contact the Philippine distributor of Maclaren strollers, FBC Global Trading Philippines, by dialing (02) 994-5675, and leave your full name, contact details, and e-mail address. Look for Michelle Traqueña. Calling from outside Manila? You may also e-mail the same details to fbcglobal88@gmail.com.
You will be advised once the hinge cover kits are available. You will then receive a demonstration and briefing on how the hinge cover kits should be installed onto your Maclaren strollers. These will be conducted in FBC Global Trading Philippines branches nationwide.
When are the Maclaren hinge cover kits going to be available here in the Philippines?
FBC Global Trading Philippines is expecting the arrival of the first batch of hinge covers by the week of November 23rd.
What can parents do to avoid any stroller-related accidents and/or injuries to their child?
Just as with any other mechanical piece for children, parents should always practice vigilance so as to avoid any untoward incidents. Remember that devices such as strollers, regardless of the brand, each come with their own safety precautions and instructions, in order to prevent accidents. Share
The Pinoybaby Store will be at the Expo Mom Bazaar next Sunday, November 22, 2009 at the Rockwell Tent in Makati. Doors open at 10am and the bazaar will run until 8pm. Entrance fee is just P25 per person.
To find us, when you enter, we're near the back of the tent on the rightmost aisle (the same booth we had at last summer's Expo Mom).
We'll be showcasing our cloth diapering products, as well as some new products: fairly-traded wooden toys for toddlers, nursery wall stickers, and more. And some of our items will be on sale especially for the Expo Mom Bazaar!
We hope to see you all there!
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