Raychel and the Art of Discipline

A mother's love liberates. -- Maya Angelou

A child misbehaving around their parents is not a new story. This fact is universal. Now that Raychel has hit her 1^st birthday milestone, she is starting to show these unpleasant yet normal misbehaviours. I must teach her to listen and obey our authority. Now, where lies the rub is how?

I begin to investigate from literature from child psychologists, parenting podcasts, medical websites and articles and I'm happy to know there's a vast database of quicks tips and suggestions on the art of child disclipline. Like a sponge, I absorb this content all in. And the most important tip I discovered through my research reflects my parenting method perfectly.

One major aspect in doing so is reminding yourself about the normal growth and developmental stages and keeping them in mind to avoid frustration on everyone’s part. For example, “Toddlers have short memories. You may need to tell a toddler a rule over and over again”. I swear we tell her to not put her hair elastics in her mouth over 20 times a day (even after we put them out of sight or are in a ponytail) yet she still has the need to suck on them. Or to not lift the toilet seat up. It seems like any sentence with the word “no” in it she doesn’t comprehend.

One thing I know that is sometimes a common practice but I will do everything I can to avoid this method is Physical discipline such as spanking, biting, shaking. Grey Bruce Public Health explains that “parents often use physical discipline as a last resort, when they are angry or frustrated. Research shows that physical discipline can lead to unintentional injury, damage to your child’s self-esteem, and increased risk of poor adult outcomes (such as deliquency)”.

If you’re unsure about if physical/old school ways our parents did of disciplining your child - For more, visit the Canadian Pediatric Societywebsite and it has lots of information on the risks of physical discipline

Grey Bruce Public Health said it best, “As parents move into the toddler years, they will find themselves becoming very familiar with positive discipline techniques”.

I hope to gain good techniques and plan to share them with you J

http://www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca/Family/Toddlers/ToddlerDiscipline.htm

Baby's Skin: The Largest & Precious Organ

A baby’s skin is far more sensitive compared to an adult’s. It’s smoother, softer, and new. Baby's skin requires more protection to keep it clean and moisturized.

I first noticed this when Raychel was less than 1 month. I noticed how sensitive to skin creams, soaps and more perceptible to eczema she was compared to other babies I knew in my circle of family and friends.

So I immediately wanted to some advice from my doctor and a natural path associate to see what products/ointments to use on a daily basis and also to help alleviate any discomforts associated to sensitive skin. Of course, alongside a prescription face cream from our family doctor, we use Johnson’s Baby products and I’m happy to know that this product is still a recommended and popular choice.

Their products are clearly timeless because our family for generations has been loyal avid users.

I currently use on Raychel the pink classic lotion and their Bedtime lotion with Lavender. They both smell amazing on her. Sometimes I’ll buy an extra bottle or two just for myself b/c it’s lightweight on the skin and smells refreshing.
If you need to buy a simple unisex baby shower gift, I strongly suggest their gift set below:

JOHNSON'S® BEDTIME® SWEET SLEEP™ Gift Set
 All the essentials for your baby's nightly routine

• This baby gift set includes everything you need to help your baby get a good night's sleep. The products in this set are formulated with NATURALCALM™ essences, a unique blend of patent pending essences that has been tested and proven to have relaxing properties. When used as part of a nightly routine of bath, massage and quiet time, these products help your baby fall asleep easier and sleep through the night better.

JOHNSON'S® BEDTIME SWEET SLEEP SET™ contains:
• JOHNSON'S® BEDTIME® BATH 9 oz
• JOHNSON'S® BEDTIME® LOTION 9 oz
• JOHNSON'S® Baby Shampoo with Natural Lavender 15 oz
• Soft Baby Wash Cloth
• And a special bonus to enhance your baby's nightly routine (usually a book or a soft toy)

Children's birthday parties

Celebrating birthdays is a fun yet expensive occasion. So you can only imagine how much time, money and effort it takes for a child’s party. Ever since I’ve become a mother, I’ve attended more children’s birthday parties with Raychel than I did before I had my own child. It’s almost like a cult – the Mommy cult. As soon as you’re labeled as a parent, you’re immediately attending birthday parties with clowns, balloons, overly sweet tasting cake and children running around uncontrollably. Because I’m thrown into this foreign world, you learn as you go along the children’s party etiquette – the do’s and don’ts for surviving the party.

One thing I’m a huge advocate for is making sure that your child has a nap or had a good night sleep before the day of the party. Last thing you need is a cranky, exhausted child to deal with especially in front of guests. If the party is scheduled during Raychel’s normal naptime, I come prepared with her stroller, bottle of milk and extra blankets so that she’s ready to transition into nap time once we leave or in case the party is a whole day event, need to escape into a quiet area.

Raychel will be 1 years old in a few weeks – my party for her is going to be simple and intimate. It will consist of take-out dinner with family and an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen at home. She loves ice cream so I think that will be a great treat for her since she’s not going to remember anything else that day. This way, I don’t have to worry about my party etiquette and I can save some money too.

I’ve come across lots of websites and magazine articles about children’s birthday party etiquette and I find them very helpful. If I get time, I like reviewing them before we attend or plan a party so that I feel like I’m “somewhat prepared” in this situation.

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/partytips.htm

http://www.kids-birthday-party-guide.com/kids-birthday-party-etiquette.html

http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/kids/82581/etiquette-for-kids-birthday-parties-kids-birthday-party-guide-2010

Raychel and her baby food

"While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about."
~Angela Schwindt

Raychel likes to eat anything, especially homemade baby food. I can't blame her b/c the homemade stuff tastes pretty good and I always end up making larger portions so that I can enjoy it too. For example, one of her favourite meals is avocado and egg yoke. I use 1 whole avocado and 2 egg yokes. Mix it all together until it's very smooth and then serve. However, before I serve it to her, I put half the portion into a bowl for myself and I'll enjoy my meal after she's finished.

She also enjoys my sweet potato and parsnip mash. I cook 1 large whole sweet potato and 2 parsnips into a pot together for 1h15 minutes. Then I mash them together very well until it's smooth like regular mashed potatoes. I eat this myself and I love it too.

For our Thanksgiving dinner, I made her mashed sweet potatoes and regular potatoes with a little bit of turkey. She loved it. I did notice that the mash was rather thick so we added a bit of baby formula to thin it out.

I still serve her baby food from the jars - she loves all the Heinz ones. I'm fortunate that she does b/c I have tons of coupons for their food. Every time the grocery stores has Heinz food and juices on sale, I immediately make my pilgrimage to the store holding my coupons proudly. Silly as it sounds, I'm happy to make the journey there b/c I know that I'm feeding my child with food she likes and at the same time I'm saving money too.

Raychel also likes her cookies - what kid doesn't? She likes brands such as Baby Mum Mum, Arrowroot, and Heinz. Gerber makes these toddler snacks called Lil Crunchies and she goes crazy for them! I will serve her 3-4 and they don't last for very long. My favourite flavour is Veggie Dip but I'm sure Raychel would rather me not still her snacks.

Raychel's developmental milestones

Raychel has been growing up so quickly - it's amazing on how much developmental progress she's made. Like her gross motor skills for example: holding up all 20lbs of herself while she's standing up with support from chairs and sofas. Or her fine motor skills like taking her favourite rattle and shaking it loudly and also feeding herself by picking up her Gerber star shaped puffs and putting them into her mouth. She def likes looking at herself in the mirror and touching her reflection. And so much more, it's hard to remember them all. From all these behaviours, it doesn't seem like she's behind in her growing development. I'm happy for this b-c I know it's a challenge for both parents and child when behaviour development is progressing slowly. I recognize every child is different so it's important not to panic if she can't do all the things that's required/expected of a 10 month old.

One thing she likes to do is drink from my water bottle. I let try it once after I drank my bottled water in front of her and she seemed quite curious about my action. So I let her take a sip and to my surprise she drank it - no mess! It's like she already knew what to do. I know drinking from plastic water bottles aren't good for the environment and other cons to drinking from a bottled water but I was proud that my daughter could do it all on her own. Whenever she wants a drink, I support the bottle for her and she will put her hands around it too like she's actually drinking it on her own.

What a smart kid!

Transitioning into the bigger car seat...

"In bringing up children, spend on them half as much money and twice as much time." ~Author Unknown

Raychel is 20lbs and 27 inches! Our current car seat is a max of 22 lbs and we are waiting until she hits the max weight & height before installing the "big girl seat". I know we could technically do it now b/c she could use the other one since it starts at 5 lbs (guess we're trying to get the most bang for our buck) but it's doesn't go with our current travel set (yay Graco!).

Prior to having Raychel, I didn't know anything about car seat safety. Growing up, I took the bus or subway often and my memory of using a car seat during my early schooldays is blank. I don't recall if there were a lot of restrictions about car seats - or may be my family didn't see it as an issue (not trying to say they're unfit parents, who really knows why)?. So when I was doing my baby registry, we decided on two different sized car seats simply b-c we noticed a pattern that a lot of travel stroller sets didn't have car seats passed 22lbs so we would need another one for when she is bigger.

So where are we now? Preparing ourselves for the next car seat phase.

While I was pregnant, we learned in our pre-natal classes about the importance of having a car seat made in Canada since it's against the law to have any other car seat installed in your car b/c of our safety standards and laws. This fact was good to know b/c I have family in New Jersey and they could have easily bought us a car seat as a shower gift and we would sadly have to decline their thoughtful gesture. The instructor even said that we should have our car seat installed by a pro at either a police station or car seat clinic a few weeks before the due date to help us be prepared for the baby's arrival and departure from the hospital. Ray just told me that he paid $40 to have it installed at a clinic and we needed to book an appointment (no walk-ins at this location).

So where am I going with this blog entry? Well, I don't need to reiterate the importance of car seat safety and ensuring that your car seat is properly installed. I know (and hope) that it's engrained in your mind just like your own seat belt safety. Raychel is my precious cargo and we have been very fortunate to have a good properly installed rear-facing car seat all this time. Switching to a bigger seat b/c she has outgrown the max height and weight requires an acknowledgement that she's growing up (yikes) and that we have to take the same precautions to install the next one as we did before she was born.

Welcome to the Choking Phase

"Babies are curious little people. Cats are curious too. Curiosity killed the cat - but I don't want this fate for babies" - By Rian T Johnson (me)

At my last visit with Dr.Wong, he warned me of Raychel potentially choking on small items that she will find anywhere and put into her mouth. Even before he warned me of this, I already knew she liked to put anything she would find on the living room floor into her mouth. She would crawl so quickly to a camouflaged piece of dirt, plastic, coin or whatever else the vacuum didn't pick up and would sit still for more than a few seconds quietly looking around for me while sucking on the item (because she's trying to figure out how long this will last until I snatch it from her mouth). How do I prevent this from happening? Well, it means we're constantly tidying up which isn't a bad thing, but it means even more supervision while she's playing which at times, can be challenging especially if you need to go to the washroom. I hate to admit that I've developed a habit of leaving the washroom door open widely so I can take a peek every 15-30 secs on her while I'm washing my hands or brushing my teeth.

This morning, I came across an article in my September issue of Today's Parent with advice/tips on how to cope with babies and choking. I was surprised to see that according to Safe Kids Canada, roughly 291 Canadian kids under 14 are hospitalized and 39 die from choking and suffocation-related injuries! Even more shocking, almost 80% of these recorded incidents occurred to children under 5 years old. I really don't want Raychel to be a statistic so I'm going to do my best and take on some of the precautionary actions the article says.

• Supervise eating time
• Hold off on high-risk foods (hot dogs sliced into small "discs" and whole/half grapes and small candy)
• Reiterate these rules to Dad and other caregivers/babysitters
• Put away hazardous items
• Inspect play area
• Revise my choking first aid skills

Raychel's teeth

As promised, enclosed is a picture of her new teeth. Poor thing :)

Please, Thank You and other magic words

I love singing and bouncing with Raychel; if I could bottle these moments of joy into a genie bottle, I would rub it in 5-10-15 years from now and just re-live in that moment. When we play, we sing silly nonsense and other times we sing songs with meanings such as our manners, alphabets, vowels, french songs, and body parts. Also, certain shows like Wiggles or Yo Gabba Gabba I'll sing to her some of their songs too and she gets very excited. I'm amazed how these shows make up these creative silly songs and children just love hearing them and can immediately recognize the tune.

When I really want to get her body moving, I will sing to her "I like to Move It" from Real2Real/Madagascar and she claps and moves her baby hips. Maybe it's the sound of my voice she likes or she can really comprehend what I'm saying b-c she really does "move it".

9 months and loves to dance and smile like her Mommy :)

A book all parents need to have on hand: "Sleep"

"Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was that they escaped teething"
Mark Twain

Since there's no secret ingredient for a successful teething experience, I decided to re-visit some of my baby literature I have on hand and get a "refresher" on some tips. This morning, I opened the paperback, "Sleep. The easiest way to peaceful nights" by Beatrice Hollyer & Lucy Smith (thank you Tania) and landed ironically on Chapter 8, Good Nights, Bad Nights. In this chapter, they discuss a little bit about teething and how it affects baby's sleep. We've been quite fortunate that Raychel is a good sleeper and we got to train her early on to sleep through the night but occasionally, she wakes up in the night and you can tell by her cry and facial expressions that it's from her teeth. I'm happy to say that I'll be bookmarking this chapter and showing it to Ray since we're living through this right now.

One thing this section of the book mentions is a homeopathic remedy called Chamomilla granules that has a soothing effect on their inflamed gums. I have a naturopath doctor so I'm going to contact them this week about this remedy b-c I'm quite curious about it. And of course, find out other homeopathic teething tips too.

BTW: Raychel officially has her first tooth and her 2 top ones are already starting to cut through the gums. Stay tuned for photos!

Teething Baby - Why I love Boiron products!

Teething is never any fun, especially for a baby. Raychel is over 8 months now and her first tooth finally broke through her gum. I can see a little white sliver of the tooth and it's just waiting to grow into a big noticeable tooth. I can see how frustrated and uncomfortable she becomes when she experiences teething pain and I feel like I want to cry alongside her.

Back at the baby show in April, I got free Boiron samples for colds, coughs and teething. The teething product is called Camilia and it assists with painful gums, restlessness and irritability (I wonder if they make an irritability medicine for parents when they need to be there during teething? Oh wait, it's called wine!). I really need to purchase more of this product b-c this is working for her. I will be making a trip to Shopper's Drug Mart today to stock up on this product and of course, collect points too!

If you have children under the age of 6, I would do some research and look into purchasing Boiron products for children medication.

New York Court Defends Rights of Same-Sex Parents

New York Court Defends Rights of Same-Sex Parents

Being a parent: what's your definition?

Who is considered an unfit parent? And who makes these decisions?

I subscribe to different parenting magazines such as Today's Parent and Parents Canada. I have a Communications background so I enjoy reading newspaper articles, online articles and of course, magazine articles. Once I found out I was pregnant, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to research all the Canadian parenting magazines that were available and became an instant fan. I always seem to find great tips and advice in all areas - cooking, toys, breastfeeding, traveling, potty-training, etc. I will even share the recipes they offer with my close new mother friends. And sometimes, I even learn and expand my knowledge and perspective on adulthood. I hate to admit that I'm ignorant to a lot of things but this topic stuck an unknown cord in my brain.

So when I read last week the article called "The kids are all right" by John Hoffman in Today's Parent July 2010 issue, I had never thought about same-sex marriages and their struggles of becoming a parent. It made reference to court cases in certain parts of the US stating that gay and lesbian couples are not fit to be parents.

2 points Hoffman made were quite valid:

1. Today lots of people, primarily heterosexuals, have children outside of marriage.
2. Homosexual parents have been raising children for years in heterosexual marriages.

I recognize that my acquaintances who are anti same-sex marriages may disagree with this idea due to homophobia, religion and prejudice attitudes. They may not want to read this article. It's quite a short, easy read and I recommend it to anyone like me who never put much thought into this topic before.

Let me know your thoughts and if you prefer, share them privately if you don't feel comfortable discussing your argument openly.

:)

Baby websites: The internet is a good parenting tool and friend

I enjoy writing this blog based on my experiences as a Mom. I've read other parenting blogs and I like learning about their experiences and somehow I can relate to them. It's reassuring to know that all mothers go through similar situations.

However, since I'm discussing my experiences based on my daughter, if you're ever unsure about methods/illness/nursing/feeding/medication, please always consult your family doctor since I'm not a physician.

Below is a list of some of my favourite baby websites:

http://www.babycenter.ca/

http://www.babyontheway.ca/toronto/articles_resources/baby_articles.php

https://enjoytheriderewards.com/default.aspx?c=ca&bhcp=1

http://www.pampers.ca/en_CA/home/

http://www.weewelcome.ca/weeapp/index?N=0&Ne=1

http://www.infomommy.com/

Guess the gender - Fun

http://www.babygenderprediction.com/chinese-gender-chart.html

http://www.babygendertool.com/baby-gender-fun.aspx

Food and Nursing

http://similac.ca/en/

http://www.heinzbaby.com/en_ca/

http://www.lllc.ca/

Government sites

http://www.toronto.ca/health/healthybabieshealthychildren/index.htm

http://www.toronto.ca/registry-services/birth.htm

Applying for Day Care- what they don't tell you

"There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies" - Sir Winston Churchill

Raychel is almost 7 months old so I need to register her into a day care for 4 days a week. My future mother-in-law has offered to watch her 1 day a week so with this assistance (so grateful) I can save $60 a week which may seem like nothing but that's a savings of $240 a month which can go towards her food and other important necessities like diapers, wipes, vitamins, etc.

So if this is your 1st child and you're unfamiliar with the process, you may be missing out on some valuable information. First, if you live in Ontario (since I'm unfamiliar with other provinces policies) and you're a single parent, a parent of a child with special needs, or a low-income household, you may be eligible for government subsidy/financial assistance. This is all great but - like everything else in life, there's "exceptions". If you make a certain amount of income like more than $42,000 you may not be eligible even if you're a single parent.

So let's just say for this purpose/hypothetically, I made last year $42,001.00. Do I qualify? After an interview with a case worker, the verdict is no. So by making that 1 extra dollar, I'm considered to be in a "high income" bracket. Regardless of the fact that I'm not married and just recently moved in with her father. Last time I check, that amount of $$ for a University grad with a good job and with 1 child is not what a lot of people would call a high income household. I am a stronger believer that these financial resources are necessary for individuals who show a need for it and even if I don't qualify, I understand because rules are rules. But if child care on average costs minimum $1,200 a month, that's more than some people's rent for a month. You're working simply to pay for your day care.

Secondly, majority of Toronto day cares take children from 18 months onwards. Mat leave is only for 12 months. So this means that for 6 months, you child has nowhere to go if all the infant day cares (which are limited and extremely booked up in our district) have a wait list a mile long. So it's almost like you need to register 9-12 months in advance in order to be at the top of the list. And what happens if by the time you head back to work and there's no vacancies for your 1 year old? Do you call a Nanny? I bet you don't know how much THAT will cost you...

My best advice is this: during your pregnancy (or NOW), do some research on your municipal website if day cares in your area are not privatized. Call, take a tour, check out their websites and make a list of 4-6 places you like. Do price comparisons, find out their hours of operations, their food menu, daily activities, sleeping quarters, and also if they have subsidy. And most important, ask if there's a waitlist and if yes, sign up!

Long flight? Gripe water, Boon and Arrowroot cookies to the rescue!

We recently came back from Hong Kong and Raychel came along too. Toronto to Hong Kong is a long 16 hour flight (this is of course direct, which wasn't the case for us since we connected via Chicago) for any adult, so I spoke to my doctor in advance about the precautions I could take and any advice for taking care of a 6 month old baby. My doctor is quite well-spoken and I enjoy my relationship with him a lot so his advice is very valuable to me. Since Raychel was already an experienced flyer (we travelled to Florida in Feb), it was pretty much the same pointers: bring something for her to suck/swallow to help with ear popping, keep hydrated, gripe water to help alleviate any tummy pains, gas, or hard crying from teething. One thing he said to me really resonated: Babies will cry on the plane and yes you might become the parent that everyone despises on the flight, but in the end, there's not much you can do about it. It will pass and if you can't stand it anymore, take him/her for a walk around the cabin to distract them for a bit.

Gripe water became my best friend on the flight and it did work when the crying became too much. When I could see that clearly she was in pain and frustrated, I gave her the proper recommended amount and a bottle of water/juice to drink afterwards. She even received Arrowroot cookies (3 in total on the whole return trip) just to show her that she behaved well on that long journey and also to show her that we loved her dearly. She was very happy to see me pull out a cookie each time I felt she deserved it.

One other thing that was a huge life saver on this trip was my Boon for feeding her, especially with tight quarters and lack of table space. I would fill the Boon spoon up with the right amount of baby food, squeeze and voila! No mess, no fuss dinner. Ray and I first saw this spoon in the summer of 2009 when a couple was feeding their infant down at Harbourfront and we always told ourselves that we needed to buy it. It can be a little much - $16 might not be worth it to parents but I think it was a wise purchase.

Attending Baby Shows/Fairs

Product Sample Definition: A product sample is a sample of a consumer product that is given to the consumer so that he or she may try a product before committing to a purchase.

Baby Shows/Fairs can be quite exhausting and sometimes information ovcrload, especially if you're attending with a baby who requires your attention 24/7. Nonetheless, I find these fairs fun. I am guilty that the prime reason I go is for the free samples of anything that they give out. However, I would say that 75% of the time I will purchase the item if I feel that the product is ideal for me or my baby. It's important that the show is in a venue that has A/C for hot weather and heat for cold days. Also, there needs to be plenty of space so that you can easily manouver your stroller around. The baby show I attended recently was a great experience and I did learn a lot about all the food I can give her at certain stages of her life. So many innovative devices, strollers, storage containers, etc...I could have easily spent another day there just to take in all the informative seminars they had to offer. And of course, get another round of freebies LOL!

I have a happy child

"Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within hearsay of little children tends toward the formation of character."
-- Hosea Ballou

Raychel is over 5 months old. She laughs, coos, makes bubbles, screams, sticks out her tongue, and of course smiles at you if you call out her name. Ever since she was first born, I would always sing to her b-c that's my form of bonding and teaching. This quote above really depicts her character development and I'm happy to have so far raised a bright, happy and loving child. When people compliment Raychel by saying she's a good and happy baby, I feel very proud and blessed - I'm doing a good job.

The following songs I sing to her which help her growing process:

• The alphabet in both English and French
• BaBa Black Sheep
• Frere Jacques
• Alouette, Gentille Alouette
• Twinkle Little Star
• You are my Sunshine
• Row your Boat
• 1234567 Violet Bicyclette

Interestingly, Raychel enjoys me singing to her even if I make up a song - like impromptu. I made up this song called, "Let's sing our Manner" which incorporates Cantonese and French terms. Also, I made up a Cantonese/English song for her when she drinks her milk b-c I don't know any Cantonese songs or nursery rhymes and I feel that it's important to keep up with her Cantonese. It's actually quite funny b-c I learn a new Cantonese word ever day so all the songs I make up use the words that I've learned and I basically repeat them so that we both won't forget. Ray thinks I'm funny but he is impressed that I'm making an effort and I've clearly improved my skills tenfold.

When life gives you poo...

...get a good quality diaper genie to dump the soiled diaper in.

Or, you can be like Ray and just leave the soiled diaper on top of the diaper genie so that it covers the lid and all its contents spill on the floor when you're changing a diaper in the middle of the night and trying to lift the lid to put in the new diaper (because of course, why would anyone not put the used diaper inside the genie?). It really only takes 3 seconds to wrap the soiled diaper and insert it into the genie; perhaps he's leaving it out to show me that "Hey, I changed the diaper. I'm so helpful. Look; now you put it away". I will never fully understand a man's way of thinking.

Last week Raychel was forced to become self-sufficient because I was occupied with my studies. I did feel guilty about this; but at the same time not. She got a chance to learn more herself and she was learning how to play. I would leave the bottle with "nai nai" (milk in cantonese) beside her and she figured out that if she was hungry, the only way to get her milk is to pick up her own bottle and put it inside her mouth. This only worked of course because since she was 1 month old she has been semi-holding her bottle so she made the connection from bottle to mouth early on.

Yesterday, out of pure curiosity, I gave her a Nuby sippy cup with handles on it and see whether or not she would drink from it. It was only filled with water. Sure enough, she put her two hands on the handle and after 4 or 5 times the spout finally reached her mouth. I was very proud. She was disappointed because it was "soy" (water) instead of "nai nai". Nonetheless, she drank it anyways. Ray came home in time just to catch her drinking from the sippy cup.

I think we need to buy more Nuby sippy cups - cool design, BPA free, easy to use and spillproof. I'll be on the lookout for them on sale.

The beginning: My Inspiration

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." -- Lin Yutang

In Spring 2008, I had lunch with two good friends. Everyone was sharing about the direction they wish to take for their future and what goals they'd like to accomplish within the next five years. When it came to my turn, I was surprised by the response that came of my mouth: I wanted to be a mother. I didn't have my career or traveling on the top of my list- this was it. I love being in the workforce, learning more about society, being involved in my family and friends lives and working towards improving my self both physically and mentally - but what would truly make me feel like I was empowered is by being a mother to someone.

November 14 2009 I felt my first feeling of empowerment. Raychel Lai Ying Johnson-Kam was born at 2:50 PM. It's almost 5 months now and everyday; I feel myself growing and getting stronger with empowerment.

Here's my personal equation: My empowerment=Inspiration+Raychel

*Thank you in advance for taking this journey with me...