Don’t automatically give her more. Resist the temptation to keep feeding her until she refuses to take any more. Remind yourself that she doesn’t have to be “full” all the time.

There is a difference between having enough to eat and being full. She doesn’t have to be so stuffed she cannot swallow another drop.

Encourage breaks during mealtimes. Your baby should not gulp down the entire contents of the bottle in one go without a break. Make sure she pauses every so often. The same applies to your hungry one-year-old.

Avoid using food as a comforter. Try not to give your baby food or sweets whenever she cries.

The chances are that she is not crying from hunger. If you feed her every time she cries, she’ll soon cry just for the sake of getting more.

Instead of reaching for that extra bottle of milk during the night, give her a drink of water. She might only be thirsty, not hungry.

How you can reduce your dog’s separation anxiety?

If someone can come in to your home as a surrogate mummy or daddy for a short period, the dog will not be psychologically harmed. No one can replace you as your dog’s best friend, but getting someone in to keep it company in your absence will provide a significant amount of relief.

Dogs are emotional and social beings, and spending quality time to know them is one of the most important aspects of our job. Like ripping off a bandage, the best way to say goodbye to your faithful friend is to make it quick. Dogs, like humans, can sense when something is up. If you start acting out of the ordinary, your guilt will smell stronger than hefty spirits of aftershave.

Your dog will be acutely aware when you are planning a trip, there may be no way to hide from your pet when you are packing your suitcase, as they are likely to be by your side or even sitting on top of it!

We advise that you pack a few days in advance and then leave the case behind closed doors. When the day of departure arrives, whip the case straight out of the door, give them a hug and say goodbye quickly. This will be far less stressful for them.

Now that you can rest assured that Rover will survive, you are free to book that flight, wave a fond farewell to your fluffy friend, and take to the skies.

Look for language in her physical movements. Your baby tells you she has a tummy ache by drawing her knees tightly up to her stomach. You can tell she is relaxed when she lies flat on her back, gazing wide-eyed at the musical mobile.

Facial expressions are her way of communicating emotions. Psychologists have identified seven basic facial expressions that adults are capable of generating- unhappiness, joy, surprise, interest, disgust, terror and rage. Your baby too has enough control over her facial muscles to create all of these facial expressions herself.

CRIES

And then there is crying. During this first year, you quickly learn that your baby has different cries to express her different moods and sensations. You will develop an ability to tell one cry from another. It’s amazing how much she can tell you without uttering a word!

Here are some of her typical cries:

“IT’S FEEDING TIME“

This is one of those cries that starts off reasonably quiet, and then gets louder and louder. There are occasional pauses for a few seconds, as she swallows great gulps of air, but the crying is relentless.

“IT’S CHANGING TIME”

She doesn’t like to lie in a dirty nappy, and she wriggles her body about. Her crying is not so sharp because her distress is not so great. She may stop her tears occasionally, but will keep crying until she is changed into a dry one.

“IT’S PLAY TIME”

Your baby can amuse herself to some extent but she needs you to play, tall and interact with her. When bored, she uses crying almost like a shout – it is just to attract your attention.

Three months and over, eye-movements also become part of her body language repertoire. You know exactly what she means when she stares at the biscuit tin, babbles angrily and starts to cry. And when she bangs a toy loudly against the side of her cot, her furrowed expression lets you know she is angry. So make sure that you shop for toys that are durable.

SHE’s NEARLY ONE

By the time she’s one, these are some of the feelings she expresses:

REJECTION

Her hands push the food bowl away. She turns her face away as you raise the spoon to her lips. She’s telling you “I don’t like this and I want something else.”

CURIOSITY

You hear strange noises coming from her cot, and when you get there she’s straining to get hold of something that is just outside her reach.

ILL HEALTH

Lethargic body movements communicate as much as active gestures. If you’re infant is normally very active all the time and full of enthusiasm during her waking hours, then any listlessness should tell you she is feeling unwell.

Your baby’s ability to express her underlying feelings non-verbally creates a strong relationship with you. The more she feels you understand her, the stronger her emotional attachment to you.

Your new baby will also alter your social life. “I hardly go out with my friends anymore, because I have to express my milk every three to four hours daily. Even when I do, I’m often too tired to enjoy the night out. A simple trip to the shops gets tiring when I have to bring along tons of my pumping equipment,” shares Bonny.

And even if you do venture out, your expeditions would most likely be limited to baby-friendly shopping centers with nursing rooms. Karen, 26, a mother of a eight-month-old baby, who even had to change her circle of friends as not everyone fou venues, such as nd “poo” comparisons and diaper brand debates stimulating.

Your life would now literally revolve around your child. Some mothers have found that they even have to cut back on their “me time” for manicures, facials and other little luxuries. “There’s no more sleeping in on weekends, and we no longer take any spontaneous holidays,” according to Karen.

However, it is important to set limits and put aside time for pampering yourself, or even just to get basic sleep and recreation. “The family should offer support, and encourage the new mother to take some personal time off,” advises doctor.

Reality Checking Your Marriage

And Baby does make three, permanently! Be careful riot to become indifferent towards your role as a wife as you pay more attention towards your new duties as a mother. “Asians often have newborns sleeping in the parents’ bed, sometimes even for years! As such, husbands begin to feel neglected,” warns by some doctor, who advises couples to discuss their changing roles and division of responsibilities.

On the other hand, for some mums like Karen, the baby can also create a stronger bond between the wife and husband. “We have more things to talk about, and more decisions to make together. Having a baby increased our sense of inter-dependence and brought us closer together.”

What’s haunting me is the latter part of the love-hate relationship I have with nursing: leaking breasts the size of watermelons; feeling like I belong on a meadow among the cows; constantly smelling of breast milk; horrible cotton pads stuffed into bras that look like something from Grandma’s underwear drawer; and being the only one who can feed the baby in the middle of the night.

With these memories comes shame. After all, shouldn’t I have moved beyond these mixed feelings? I want to give my third child the same start in life that the first two had — breastfed for six months — yet this time I want to really enjoy it.

If you are feeling this way during pregnancy or encountered difficulties feeding previously, it’s best to get help around 35 or 36 weeks, with enough time to plan before baby arrives. As long as we know a mother’s history, we can talk through her concerns and work out a plan.

For my next baby, I suggest one bottle of expressed milk daily once lactation is established (usually at six weeks). Allowing my family to help with feeding will give me a break. The key to having the baby taking swell to both breast and bottle is being consistent.

If you stop for a week, the baby is likely to revert to just the breast and you could miss your window of opportunity. Being a lactation consultant and midwife makes me a natural breastfeeding activist.

What if I choose not to breastfeed?

We want the mother to breastfeed, but if she is unable or doesn’t want to, then we will support her in her choice. Pony’s response is very much in line with the center’s ethos — support to all mothers, regardless of whether or not they breastfeed.

Still a few months from birth, I am already feeling more relaxed about breastfeeding. I know that however wonderful and beneficial nursing my child is, it’s not a barometer of how much I love him or her.

The first shocking realization comes when new mothers realize that they still look six months pregnant after being wheeled out of the delivery room! I remained quite plump for the first two months, and only started to regain my figure in the seventh month.

According to doctor research explains that the amount a mother loses immediately after delivery would depend on the weight of the baby (usually 3 to 3.2kg), placenta (1/7th of the baby’s weight) and amniotic fluid (1 to 1.54); on average, 7kg in all.

“How long she takes to lose all the weight from pregnancy will depend on how much she has gained. So, don’t put on too much weight; 10 to 12kg is just perfect,” says doctor, who recommends total breastfeeding, dieting and exercise after the first six weeks of birth as good ways to regain your svelte pre-birth figure.

Reality Checking Your Emotions

If you are a first-time mum, don’t be surprised if you feel “sad” when bringing your baby home. “Baby blues” is a common syndrome that affects 50 to 70 per cent of postnatal women.

“It usually lasts a few days, in which new mothers experience spells of irritability and gloominess, as well as episodes of crying. More commonly, this afflicts first-time mothers and those who previously had significant premenstrual fluctuations of mood associated with PMS. This is attributed to hormonal changes after delivery,” says doctor.

Some mother even found herself “weepy” during the first month. They worried constantly if their baby was drinking sufficiently or sleeping well, and also felt especially useless when they could not breastfeed their son directly.

Doctor explains that the hormonal changes, coupled with the need to cope with a newborn baby, problems with breastfeeding, and a change in lifestyle, can be very challenging to any new mother, especially if she does not have any support.

“The clash in ideas on how to bring up the baby, the husband going to work, a crying child, and simple issues such as whether to use the supplements that are encouraged by some confinement ladies and grandmothers – all add to the depression,” says doctor, who advises new mothers to read, attend antenatal classes, and seek support from breastfeeding advisers or other mothers from the same generation. However, she cautions that “nothing really prepares you for the real thing”.

Donny, on the other hand, had something else in mind. Despite his apparently happy family life, he divorced his wife at the end of their first year in Australia. He claimed to have found “the love of his life.”

Stephanie, a former office clerk who gave up her career to support her husband’s work, simply couldn’t believe her ears. “I thought we had a great marriage. He had just recently mentioned that we should go to the Maldives for our tenth anniversary. We were best friends,” she says. Stephanie and Donny were together for fifteen years and were married for over nine of those.

Donny left home the same evening after breaking the news, and Stephanie watched her two children, aged ten and seven, crying in despair. For the first few weeks, she denied the situation, thinking that he was just having “a hard time at work” and that he would return.

A month on and forced to deal with the practicalities of family life on her own, Stephanie found herself relying greatly on her new friends.

“When we live abroad without family and relatives close by, good friends become our real family and baby. I couldn’t have coped without their advice and support, even for things like finding a lawyer. My helper has been like a mother. She has been looking after me and my children with so much care.” So far, Stephanie doesn’t know what the future holds financially for her and the children as she and John have not yet agreed on where the family should live.

“It is difficult for me even to Google ‘divorce’ on the web,” she acids. “I didn’t come to Australia to get divorced.” Stephanie is still coming to terms with her new circumstances. She remembers that she had contingency plans for her husband losing his job, their parents dying or someone falling sick. “But never thought that he would ever leave.”

On a positive note, she says that her children are the most important things in her life and that her happiness comes from within.

Experts believe that children on an average get three times more sun exposure than adults and studies have proven that just one or two sun burns in childhood can double the chances of developing a malignant melanoma. Develop sun sense in your child today and enjoy your day in sheer bliss! So, hope your enjoy your day or family outdoor activities under our lovely sun.

To minimize back pains, here are some simple things to do:

1. Cut down on your physical activities, especially those that stress the lower back and pelvis, like climbing stairs, walking long distances and standing for long periods.
2. Sleeping with your face up puts a lot of pressure on your back. Lying on your side with a pillow between your knees would reduce the pressure. If you are used to sleeping on your back, placing a pillow under your knees can cut the pressure by half.
3. Another small pillow under the lower back will also help.
4. Control your diet to avoid excessive weight gain, which will make the strain worse.
5. Strengthen your back muscles through exercise or yoga.

The seven yoga poses below are good for strengthening the lower back, and increasing lung capacity and elasticity for easy delivery. Do them once or twice a week if you are in your third to eighth month of pregnancy. Some Yoga instructor even advice that pregnancy female handles prenatal classes at Yoga. They describe the poses:

1. Breathing.

Sit cross-legged on the floor in a meditative pose. Keep the back straight and rest hands, palms facing up, on the knees. Close your eyes.

Place the right thumb over the right nostril to close it and inhale slowly through the left nostril. Close the left nostril with the ring finger on the right hand and release the thumb that was over the right nostril. Exhale through the right nostril. Then, inhale through the right nostril and close it with the right thumb. Open the left nostril and exhale through the left. This is one set. Do five sets.

The timing of the breathing is important. Maintain a ratio of 1:2. That means, if you are inhaling for five seconds, exhale for 10 seconds.

2. Cat Pose.

Get down on hands and knees, tucking toes in. Spread the knees and feet slightly and stretch out your toes. Exhale while pushing the lower back upwards and tucking the head down. Inhale with the head looking upwards and lower back pushed downwards. Do this five times.

3. Cat Pose Balancing.

In the same hands and knees position, raise your right hand and left leg, keeping them in a straight line with the back and shoulders. Repeat with the left hand and right leg. Do three sets.

4. Bridge Pose

Lie on your back and bend the knees. Place your feet as close as possible to your bottom, feet apart.

Slowly lift the hips and lower back up with the support of your hands – your thumb supporting your back, your fingers over your sides. Hold the pose for seven seconds then slowly return to the starting position. Do three sets.

5. Spinal Leg Raises

Lie on your back with feet together and knees bent. Rest arms, palms facing up, on the floor at shoulder level.

Slowly drop both knees to the right while turning your head to look to the left. Repeat on the opposite side. Do three sets.

6. Single Leg Raises.

Lie on your back with legs together and rest hands by the thighs, palms down. Bend the left leg till the left foot is beside the right knee. Slowly raise the right leg to about 30 degrees and hold for five seconds. Rise further to 60 degrees and hold for five seconds. Increase to 90 degrees and hold for five seconds. Return the leg slowly to starting position. Repeat with the left leg. Do three sets.

7. Tree Pose

While standing, slowly bend one knee and slide the foot of that leg up to rest on the front of the thigh of the other leg.

Maintaining balance, slowly raise both hands up and place the palms together above the head. Keep eyes focused on something in front of you to help in balancing. Hold the position for 15 seconds.

8. Modified Cobra Pose.

Stand with feet together, in front of a chair. Hold the back of the chair for support. Slowly raise your chin up and drop your head backwards. Bend your back backwards and hold for five to seven seconds, then return to the starting position. Do this three times.

But finding the balance between too little, too much, and just the right amount can be difficult. Under-stimulation of your baby eventually causes him to be passive and lethargic — lack of toys, games, attention from parents, songs and other play activities has this effect. He quickly adjusts to the status of inactivity. And when he does receive stimulation, he doesn’t know how to react.

Over-stimulation of your baby, however, can be just as detrimental. The chances are that if you expect too much of your baby, you will continue to expect too much of him when he is older, and he may become afraid of failure. By the time he starts school, he could dread the prospect of not being the best pupil in class. Or you might be so obsessed with his intellectual and linguistic skills that you lose sight of his emotional development.

The Best Approach

Of course you want your growing baby to be bright, lively and alert. Finding a suitable level of stimulation is a challenge for every parent.

The best way to know that you’ve got a healthy balance is to watch your baby. If he is motivated, has a sparkling facial expression and reacts positively to you when you play with him, you can be sure you’ve got his stimulation just right.

Here are some suggestions:

* PLAY WITH YOUR BABY EVERY DAY

No matter how hectic your schedule is, you should have at least five or 10 minutes to play a couple of times. More would be ideal, but this should be the minimum.

* DON’T FORCE YOURSELF TO PLAY WITH YOUR BABY

If you’ve had a long, hard day with your baby and feel too tired to play any more with him, then stop.

* ALLOW HIM FREE PLAY

He needs to have times during the day when he explores, plays and discovers by himself, without your involvement or direction. Make sure he has free-play opportunities every single day.

* WATCH THE WAY HE PLAYS WITH TOYS

If you notice that he tends to play with the same toy every single day and that his play is repetitive and lacking adventure, it’s time to get more involved in order to extend his play skills.

* JOIN IN WITHOUT DOMINATING

When stimulating your baby, remember that there is a difference between playing with him and taking over altogether. Offer new suggestions and activities but let him be the one who plays with the toys, not you.

* KEEP IT FUN

Both you and your baby should enjoy your involvement with each other. If the fun goes out of play — either for you or your baby — there may be either too little or too much stimulation.

Different Worlds

Despite vastly different interests, Chris and I do in fact share plenty of common passions, such as sport, art, traveling and a wicked sense of humor. We get along great and he always jokes about me being the ultimate tree huger, whilst I often tease him about fantasizing over the grotesquely large bosomed, endless ‘chopstick legged’ animated female characters. At times, my husband would jokingly suggest that I dress up like one of his sexy Japanese chic idols, but I promptly dismiss it as idle banter.

We had already been married for almost three years, and although still very much in love, I would be lying if I said that things in the bedroom were as passionate or fiery as on our honeymoon in Paris. Sex was starting to become a rather mundane affair, and we both knew the usual drill: Get home from work, have dinner, have a bath and get into bed…. In short, there was no more excitement. The feeling that we had to have each other right there and then was not really there anymore.

Because your three-month-old will probably drink every drop of milk she gets, and your one-year-old will most likely gulp down one bowl of cereal after the other without the slightest prompting. The tendency to put on weight is partly an inherited characteristic. Some babies put on more weight than others even though they eat approximately the same amount.

In many instances, obesity is simply due to over-feeding. Research also shows that adults who are fat were more likely to have been fat as babies, when compared to adults who are thin. And the habit of over-eating, which starts during babyhood, can be hard to break later on.

Happy and Healthy But Not Fat

The first step, especially in the first year, is to have a rough idea of the typical food intake for someone her age and size.

You will be able to get advice from your local baby clinic. Of course there are wide variations between babies in terms of weight and food intake, but you should have a guideline regarding her recommended intake of mills (and of solids when she has started weaning).

Weigh her regularly. Your doctor will do this anyway. Doctors know the upper and lower limits of weight gain during each stage of development, and will give you the necessary feedback.

Some adults think that a fat, chubby baby is very pretty. But she is no prettier than a slimmer baby and she is certainly no healthier. In fact, doctors can list a whole series of health problems that are associated with obesity. Your baby doesn’t need to be over-fed in order to look attractive.

My husband and I were delighted with the present because we ourselves were avid readers who had more shelf space for books than clothes, pots and pans, and sports equipment combined. I recalled the warm memories of reading when I was little – skipping along beside my mother as she led us to the Bordland Community Library where my sister and I would spend hours sitting cross-legged on the floor, devouring books of all kinds. As I wanted John to start building similar memories, I began reading to him immediately.

Every night, since he was barely two months old, John and I sit together while I read aloud to him. At first, John would just stare quite blankly at the pages, while I chatted away. But as he got more active and aware, he began to participate in our reading “dates”, charming me by chewing on the books and helping me turn the pages. Recently, eight-month-old John has started babbling non-stop and our reading “dates” have taken on another dimension – they have become opportunities for him to pick up new sounds; for example, by hearing words like “banana”, “bicycle”, and “ball”, he is learning the “b” sound.

In addition, John sees an image of the banana hears the sounds “ba”, “na”, “no” and learns to associate those sounds with the image of a banana. Our regular reading “dates” have been educational, not just for John, but for me as well. I have become convinced that reading aloud to a child, even to a very young child like John, is an important and excellent activity that every parent should try.

It’s a common sight at the pool and the beach…to see mothers applying sunscreen to wriggling children who are eager to play. But there is something very wrong with this picture. Sunscreen takes half an hour to get absorbed and start protecting your child’s tender skin. So make sure you apply the cream at home and especially for babies it is best to work in the sunscreen before you put on the clothes. This protects the areas where the clothes ride up from getting burnt too. Many parents apply the sunscreen once and think their child is covered unless they have been in the water. Experts, however, recommend that the sunscreen be applied every two hours and especially after each dip in the pool.

Mandy Parkson invested in SPF swimwear for her one­ year-old. “Anything I can do to guarantee he is safe is fine though this is more expensive….I’m even thinking of buying UV protected sunglasses. My family thinks I am either being too fashion conscious or too paranoid but… “She adds. A lip balm that offers a SPF protection of 15 or higher should be applied for children over six months.

For babies younger than six months the safest protection seems to be loose full clothes, a wide brim hat and protection under an umbrella or a parasol. After babies have crossed the six-month mark they can be safely protected with a sunscreen created for children. Doctors also suggest that if a child is on some medication, parents check with the doctor if that medicine could increase sensitivity to sunrays.

Another factor to study while buying a sunscreen lotion is the SPF written on the side of the bottle. The SPF or Sun Protection Factor is calculated by comparing the amount of time needed to produce sunburn on a protected skin to the amount of time needed to cause sunburn on unprotected skin. For e.g. a person who turns red after 10 minutes in the sun takes 20 minutes to turn red after using a sunscreen with SPF 2 and 150 minutes after applying a cream with SPF 15. Another thing to keep in mind while purchasing a sunscreen is what percentage of protection is ensured with a particular SPF. Some Doctor / Skin Expert recommend a SPF 30 screen for children as it blocks 97 per cent of UV rays but do keep in mind that a minimal SPF of 15 screens 93 per cent of UV rays.

You have chosen a sunscreen with a SPF of 30 and it is probably a mix of physical and chemical types. Now check if the label also carries the words broad spectrum and waterproof. Next, make sure your child is not allergic to the sunscreen you have selected by applying it to a small area and waiting for 24 hours for any reactions.

The Burning Facts

The first step to ensure complete protection for our children is by understanding what those beautiful sunrays bring us. Sunrays contain three types of ultra violet rays. They progress from being harmful to really dangerous for our children’s delicate skins. UVA rays while having the least energy penetrate deepest into the skin. They cause premature aging and wrinkles and while they are least associated with skin cancer, they are can cause it if received in high dosage. UVB rays are the most potent and unprotected exposure to these rays result in sunburns, cataracts and immune system damage. These rays are also said to lie behind the development of melanoma. The third kind of UV rays — UVC have the most energy but as they are blocked by the earth’s atmosphere we do not have to worry about them.

UV rays are strongest during summer and places near the equator face their brunt more than others. Another sun fact to keep in mind is how chemical pollution has affected the intensity of the sunrays that reach us. Experts believe that they are more powerful and dangerous than they were 35 years ago. Gwen, mother of two, was very careful about using sunscreen on those hot sunny days when her daughter developed sunburn on a cloudy day Gwen was horrified. Now wiser she shares with us, “Clouds do not block those UV rays. Sunscreen is a necessity on everyday — that’s the rule at my home.”

With these facts on board our first instinct is to cover up our children and keep them indoor at all times. But control yourself for with sunscreen we are able to ensure that our children get the best of both worlds.