Best Ways to Ease Your Baby's Teething Symptoms.

As a parent, you will do whatever you can to ease your baby's discomfort, such as giving her organic gripe water for stomach discomfort. Once teeth begin to come through, which typically begins around the age of six months, your baby will more than likely exhibit discomfort, which is not fun for her or you. The good news is that teething symptoms do not last forever, and there are things that you can do to help minimize and ease the symptoms so that your baby is more comfortable.

What Are Teething Symptoms?

There is a good chance that your bathroom cabinet is stocked with a wide variety of baby wellness products so that you can quickly attend to symptoms or issues as soon as they arise. To prepare for teething, it is a good idea to be able to recognize the symptoms so you can take prompt action at the first signs. 

The first thing to understand is where and when the first teeth come in. The first teeth to appear are typically the bottom two front teeth, followed by the top two front teeth. This usually occurs between four and seven months, but it varies from one baby to another. Babies typically have a full set of teeth - 20 in total - by the age of 3.

Photo credit: Babycare Journals.

The most common symptoms and signs of emerging teeth include:

• Tender or sore gums
• Excessive drooling, which may result in a rash
• Crankiness and fussiness
• Chewing on a wide variety of objects
• Small increase in temperature
• Pulling their ear
• Rubbing their cheek
• Changes in sleeping or eating habits 

Although it is not fun as a parent to watch your baby in discomfort, know that it will not last for too long.

Easing Baby's Teething Pain

While your baby is dealing with teething discomfort, there are things you can do to ease the symptoms. There are numerous teething crackers available that are hard and give your baby something to chew on. Make sure they are unsweetened, however.

Cold tends to help minimize discomfort and swelling. You can wet a washcloth with cold water or put a pacifier in the fridge for a little bit. There are also teething rings and toys you can place in the fridge. You can also place them in the freezer for a quick cool down, but do not freeze them completely. Make sure to choose ones made with non-toxic ingredients. 

Applying a pressure against the gums helps minimize pain and discomfort, which is why teething toys help. You can also massage the gums with your finger, which your baby may also choose to chew on.

Although there are over the counter teething medication, you should avoid these. Some of them contain benzocaine, which should not be given to children under 2. Plus, they have not been shown to be effective. Instead, try something natural such as Wellements teething oil. It is made with organic ingredients and is free from allergens and preservatives, which helps soothe your baby's gums, and you can feel confident in the quality of the product.

Join | What to Expect Giveaway!

The Rebel Sweetheart teamed up with To Sew With Love and To Cook With Love to bring you this exciting giveaway sponsored by WhatToExpect.comSo, you're not expecting (yet)? You don't have small kids either? But I'm sure you know somebody who is expecting or has small kids! The books we are giving away would make a great baby shower gift and/or mother's day gift!

WhatToExpect is one of the most favorite site of pregnant women. In fact, they have the second largest audience of pregnant women online! They also have an array of best-selling books any expecting mom would love to have! You will also love the fact that at WhatToExpect.com, you will find not just information and news about pregnancy, newborn, infant and toddlers but also an online community where you get to meet other moms and support each other, too!
*Review by To Sew With Love

I received three books from WhatToExpect and I honestly wish I found this treasure when I was pregnant and/or when the kids were small. Each book covered an extensive amount of area and practically has the answer to any question or doubt an expecting mom or a mom could have!

The What to Expect When You're Expecting Pregnancy book is a best seller and it did not come to me as a surprise. This book is like an encyclopedia, a pregnancy bible! It practically has everything you need to know in your pregnancy!This book also includes:

• an expanded chapter on pre-conception
• a detailed weekly fetal development in each of the monthly sections
• loads of information about pregnancy's emotional ups and downs and how to survive it
• a brand new section on achieving a safe, comfortable and pampered pregnancy But that's not all! It also includes practical advise for pregnant women on the job and on the go!

What to Expect The First Year book is America's best-selling guide to baby caring. It covers almost every question a new mother could have regarding care for her baby: colic, teething, weaning, sibling matters, feeding, sippy cups - name it and this book has it! 
It also includes:

• information on your child's monthly growth and development
• feeding and sleeping strategies
• up-to-date medical and practical tips

 Kids grow up so fast! Before you know it, you already have a wonderful toddler! You will be amazed at how much independence they will be showing you! Understanding your toddler in this stage of her growth and development is just as important as the first years. 

With this book, you will get to understand and learn more about:

• feeding picky eaters
• solving sleep issues
• getting your toddler to talk and communicate
• temper tantrums and how to manage it
• understanding their behavior and
• keeping them safe and healthy.

These books could have saved me lots of worrying! These books should be a must-have in any household with small children. 

You can buy these books through WhatToExpect.com's bookstore.

But wait! WhatToExpect.com generously offered to give away 2 sets of books to 2 of our readers!
2 lucky readers will win their own set of What To Expect books. Each set is comprised of What To Expect Pregancy Book, First Year and Second Year books. This also includes free shipping wherever you are in the world! How great is that!
An email address is required to enter. Giveaway will end at 11:59 EST on July 29, 2012. The winner will be chosen randomly through Rafflecopter Random Selector and contacted via email. A reply to the winning email is required within 48 hours before a new winner is chosen. The winner's entries will be verified -- please make sure you follow the instructions and submit the entries correctly. Only one person per household may enter. You do NOT have to be a blogger to enter. Open worldwide, ages 18+. This giveaway is void where prohibited.
For more chances of winning, make sure to come back everday for the daily entries. The more entries you send, the more chances you have in winning!Please be patient and wait for the entry form to full load. If it does not load at once, just re-load the page.
Good luck and have fun!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLAIMER: This giveaway is in NO way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Picket Fences, Pinterest, etc. Information collected is NOT collected by these sites. In signing up for this promotion, participants release and indemnify aforementioned sites from all liability. By entering this contest, you may be choosing to opt in to newsletters and other emails from To Sew With Love, To Cook With Love, The Rebel Sweetheart and/or it’ sponsors, opting out of emails does not jeopardize your chances of winning. To Sew with Love and other participating blogs are not responsible of shipping the giveaway prize. 

Join | Eddie Bauer Fairview Collection Giveaway!

Are you an expectant mother? Do you have an infant or a toddler at home? Perhaps you have a friend or a relative who could use these?

We proudly welcome you to the Eddie Bauer Baby Collection Giveaway Event 

hosted by the Iowa-Mom and Bay Area Mommy!

Thank you to our lovely co-hosts Simply Frugal Living and Learning to Limit!

Eddie Bauer Travel System
Travel in comfort and style with the Eddie Bauer Trailmaker Travel System. This stroller and infant car seat combination will help make all your journeys more enjoyable. The stroller features a handy parent tray with cup holder and a larger storage basket with easy, spring-down access for all the bigger gear you need to take along for the ride once out of the car. The 1-hand fold and stand with self-locking feature makes it easy to either stow in your vehicle or store at home. The included infant car seat transitions easily from stroller to car and then back again so that your little one will remain comfy on all legs of the trip!

Eddie Bauer Classic High Chair
Crafted to complement your home, the Eddie Bauer Classic High Chair features a dishwasher-safe insert tray that helps make cleanup simple. The high chair also has a convenient rear storage compartment that's perfect for bibs, baby food jars, and utensils! You'll love both the classic wood style and the convenience this high chair brings to your home.

Eddie Bauer Playard
Eddie Bauer offers parents a play yard that will take their little adventurer from nap to play and back again. Featuring a canopy with enchanting plush bears and a comforting Baby Module, nap time is sure to be peaceful, no matter what time of day. The Flip Away changer is there when you need it and easy to move out of the way when you don't. Remove the bassinet to reveal a roomy play yard that makes it easy to keep your baby close by, but not underfoot.

Hanguk Saram + Nihon Jin?

In her Facebook page, my Mum stated that her grandchildren are 'foreigners'.

One is Korean (referring to my son),

while the other is Japanese (referring to my niece).

She meant that in jest, of course. :)

Sharing with Pink Friday, Pink Saturday, Insta-Friday. 

What to Expect | The Unexpected Arrival.

Last week, I made a quick trip to the post office to claim this parcel.

This box was heaaaavy!

Turns out this box contains these.

Finally! They're here!

The What to Expect series, which I won from a giveaway way back in February! After almost three months, my prize finally found its way home, haha!

This was actually WTE's third attempt to ship out my prize. The first box didn't make it to the Philippines and was 'returned to sender'. The second box went to parts unknown. It didn't reach my doorstep, and neither did it came back to WTE headquarters. I wasn't expecting for this to come, but guess it's true when they say the third time's a charm. The third shipment finally made it to Philippine shores. Yay!

So exactly what is What to Expect?

What to Expect When You're Expecting is the brainchild of Heidi Murkoff; she originally came up with this guide book to help expectant moms sleep better at night. What started as a simple project has now become a phenomenal bestseller, with 17 million copies in print and read by almost 93% percent of pregnant women. The book has been heralded as the 'pregnancy bible', and is now in its fourth edition.

With the success of this first book, Heidi went on to write What to Expect The First Year and What to Expect the Second Year. The series is now a worldwide success, and is published in over 30 languages.

New babies on my bookshelf!

At this point, the What to Expect the Second Year is the most useful to me, as I have a toddler who needs a bit of work on the tantrums, anger management, and discipline department. In between taking care of the little man, doing the house chores, blogging and my freelance writing gigs, and watching my Kdramas, I try to spare an hour or two for this book. So far, I'm enjoying and learning a lot from every page of it.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 7, Disciplining Your Toddler.

"So be the calm in the storm as much as you can. When your toddler has done something that makes you angry, take a few moments to cool down before you attempt a disciplinary action. Then, respond. Calmly explain the error of your toddler's ways and what you plan to do about it.


A little too late for that - already lost your cool? Don't worry if you can't always slam on the temper brakes. Again, you're only human, which is actually important for your only-human child to know. As long as the tirades are relatively few, far between, and short-lived, and aimed at your child's behavior, not your child, they won't interfere with effective parenting, or even with your overall discipline strategy. 


When you lose it, however, be sure to apologize for it: 'I'm sorry I yelled at you, but I was very angry'. Adding 'I love you' will let you know that sometimes we get angry at people we love, and that's okay."

The little rascal. :)

I'm glad to be the lucky winner of Mommytot's giveaway, and the recipient of these wonderful books. Thank you, Mommytots! And many, many thanks to Mr. Dan Weissbrodt and What to Expect for never giving up on sending the package to me. I truly appreciate all the effort!

Cheers to the crazy, beautiful world of parenting! :)
Shared with Green Monday, Blue Monday, and Wednesday Whites. 

Genius at Work.

"Mommy, mag-drawing tayo," (Mommy, let's draw) Yue said to me this morning as soon as we were done having breakfast. I heaved an exasperated sigh. Not that I don't want to help him, it's just that my ability to draw can be described in two words. I suck.

My skills (or the lack thereof) pale in comparison to my brother (who is a graphics designer and web developer) and my sister (who has the knack for designing dresses, such as her wedding gown). Both of them obviously took after my Mum, who could have pursued a career in Fine Arts had my grandfather allowed her to. And that is why my stick figures and I, suck. Har.

Handing over some paper, a box of crayons, a drawing board, and a drawing board marker, I told Yue, "Ikaw muna mag-drawing, ha. Hugas lang ako ng plates natin." (You go ahead and draw while I clean the dishes first.) Not sensing that this was my escape route, he willingly obliged, settled down in his study table, and began to draw.

A few minutes later he came running to the kitchen. "Mommy, ang galing ko mag-drawing!" (Mommy, I'm good at drawing!), he exclaimed. And then he showed me this.

Yue's artwork, 23 January 2012.

One look at his drawing and I knew this kid is really something else. "Wow! Very good! Ginaya mo yung mga alien!" (You copied the aliens!") I said. Yue corrected me matter-of-factly, "Hindi po ah. Ikaw yan, saka si Daddy, saka ako." (Of course not. That's you, and Daddy, and me.) I was so touched and impressed by my son's genius that tears were threatening to well up in my eyes.

Hello, van Gogh! Proudly showing off his artwork.

"Very good ka talaga anak," (You're very good, my son) I said as I ruffled his hair and scooped him up for a big hug. "Syempre Mommy, ang galing ko magdrawing parang ikaw!" (Of course! I'm good at drawing just like you) he beamed. My three-year-old's unintentional sarcasm then sent me into a fit of laughter.

My son's smarts and congeniality has earned him praises several times before. Most of them even come from strangers, or random people that we meet while we're out in public (ie, at the mall or at the doctor's clinic). A friend even encouraged me to have his IQ tested and measured because he thinks Yue is really a genius. I didn't take it seriously, but this drawing is now giving me the thought. Especially after I found these.

http://gleigh.tripod.com/gftskills.htm

http://www.learningdesign.com/Portfolio/DrawDev/kiddrawing.html

Must speak with Yue's pedia soon. :)