Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
On Mr Zhou’s Ghost Stories live radio last Friday, guest speaker Genesis (Top 3 Finalists for Be A Podcaster) talked about her relatives’ pregnancy. This story triggered me to ask my mum about pregnancy taboos when she was young. These pregnancy taboos are mainly old wives’ tales. You can decide whether to believe them or not, it’s your choice! The references are just for entertainment purposes.
Parenthood can be one of the most beautiful things that any of us can experience. It’s an almost spiritual bond filled with love and laughter.
That is, of course, unless you’re trying in vain to get your baby to sleep.
No matter how loved-up and in awe of the miracle of procreation you are, a series of sleepless nights rocking a screaming infant can drive anybody to insanity.
We’ve compiled a few hints and tips to help you to send Junior to Dreamland. It’s worth giving it a try, and seeing which works best for your little one.
Becoming a new parent is one of the most life-changing events in anyone’s life. You now have one more person to care for, and if you don’t start planning for their future right now, you may find yourself having to play catch up in the future. This is why you must have a clear plan as a parent and understand what it truly means to care for a child through their early years to early adulthood. It all starts with a clear vision of what you want for your child and preparing for the various obstacles that might come your way. Here are a few things every new parent should do.
It’s the first week of December and temperatures have dropped below freezing point. The weather has become intensely cold and miserable. For first time parents, it can get quite stressful knowing how to keep their baby warm and dry. Whatever temperature it is, always make sure you keep your baby comfortably warm and not overheated. If you overdress the baby, it will cause overheating and it is thought to be one of the major causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or cot death. If you underdress the baby, they will get too cold and may get hypothermia.
Every culture does little things differently. From the way we eat, to the way we greet each other, our traditions largely dictate our actions. From the moment we’re born, we‘re taught how things are. Babies from different cultures, for instance, are named in a whole host of ways. Here in the UK, most people choose names before babies are born. A naming ceremony will then traditionally consist of a church christening. Yet, as can be seen from sites like https://www.babycentre.co.uk, few other countries follow that lead.
Infertility. It’s something none of us want to imagine or experience. Sadly, approximately 12% of U.S. women will experience fertility problems. When something thought to always be an innate and natural process becomes just out of reach, it can be devastating, frustrating, and unbearable. Wouldn’t it be nice to play a part in bringing hope to these women’s infertility journeys?
As we are all perfectly aware of, babies have absolutely no respect for your time or gratitude for inconveniencing your life in general. They sleep up to 16 hours a day, they expect you to change and clean them, and then, they have the temerity to wake up in the middle of the night demanding warm, delicious milk with barely any notice to bleary-eyed parents. Of course, it has to be said, babies are just about the greatest thing in the world, and give parents validation of their entire existence. So you could say it’s a fair trade-off.
Being a parent is not as easy as ABC and it can seem like a very tough road ahead. Have you prepared for it? Have you got everything ready for your new arrival? When I first became a mum, I had lots of friends share their tips and provide guidance. I was almost overloaded with information. To ease your load, I hope these simple steps make it a lot less overwhelming for you to prepare for your first baby’s arrival.
It has been a while since I travelled with a baby or toddler. Now this coming February half term, I have not just one but two non-identical twin toddlers coming from Singapore to visit us! My sister and her family are taking some time off during the Chinese New Year festivities for their holiday. We are looking very much looking forward to seeing them soon as we last saw them all in 2014 when the toddlers were only 13 months old!
It’s no secret that having children can be an expensive business. No matter what good intentions you start out with about how they won’t be spoiled or have everything they ask for, your household expenses are bound to increase considerably.
And hand-in-hand with having kids goes the need for a bigger or more suitable house to accommodate you all, which of course is likely to be more expensive as well due to the requirements for more bedrooms, a bigger garden and simply the need for more space.
Determining what you can and cannot use baby’s skin and their hair is always worrying for first time parents. To help new parents looking for peace of mind the JOHNSON’S® Baby brand has created FIRST TOUCH™, a brand new fragrance-free range developed for newborns that includes everything new parents need to cleanse and protect their baby’s delicate skin from top to toe.
Newborn skin is very delicate and a study of 540 first-time mums shown that almost two thirds (62%) said their baby experienced dry or sensitive skin, over half (51%) experienced redness or a rash, and almost a quarter (24%) suffered from cradle cap or dandruff. Newborn skin is around a third thinner than adult skin and loses moisture quicker, making them more susceptible to dryness and irritation and in need of extra care to protect their skin’s natural defences.
In many countries like the USA, they celebrate baby shower before the baby is born. As for Chinese custom, this is traditionally celebrated one month after the baby is born. This also coincides with the end of the new mum’s confinement period. During the confinement period, visiting the new mum and baby is not advisable. The full month is the day where both mother and baby are introduced to the extended relatives and friends.
Our fabulous Cotton On’s blogger Zoe Lester very kindly organised us huge goody bags! To carry all the goodies, we’re thankfully to JoJoMaman Bebe who sponsored us each a navy JoJo Buggy Bag valued at £9 RRP. This is definitely a great value practical bag. It can be worn over the shoulder or clipped onto the handles of a buggy. It is very big (H36 x W51 x D11cm) and can fill a lot of useful stuff so is perfect for shopping. I have not used it on a buggy as Ms C is able to walk everywhere now. But I imagine it would be very handy for a picnic too! The large strap is quite long and the design is unisex which can be also carried by men!
Do you have any upcoming events to celebrate? How do you normally choose and send your gift? There are so many ways of sending your love to your loved one. It can be a present, a phone call or even a balloon in a box. Not heard of a balloon in a box? Me too! This is quite an unusual way of sending a gift!
It is always so daunting to cut babies nails! I still remember cutting Mr K’s nails was like a military operation. One person would distract him while the other would cut his nails. I recall our health visitor suggested us to bite them off or just leave it for a bit longer before we peel them off because they’re thin and soft when they are babies. As a first time parent, we didn’t dare to even cut them nor bite them. It was always so hard. We even exchanged tips on how to cut baby nails when we met with our friends with babies. Some of them would just file them off and some would just wait until the baby’s nails were far too long before they used a nail clipper.
