Toy Review: Leap Frog Scout and Violet

When they say a baby cannot play with toys yet, I think they only mean babies that are 0 months of age.  Kayla can play with her toys, she tries to grab them and eat them.  I just watched her rollover in her attempt to chew on a toy beside her.  Violet is her best friend, she is calmed down by Violet's music and voice.  Since the buttons are on the 4 paws and are soft and easily pressed, Kayla can somehow turn on Violet by punching and kicking her.  Kayla wakes up in her crib and stays quiet that no one knows she already up because she's just there staring at Violet and the stickers on her wall.  She was 2 months old when she started playing with Violet and we have changed batteries 3x since then.

What she learned:  Nothing much but the toy shows promise since it sings a lot of songs and you can even specify your baby's name so the toy will say it and incorporate it in the songs.
Durability:  Its still working fine but it hasn't really seen much action outside of the crib.
Fun:  For a newborn, its hours and hours of fun. I give it 5 stars.
Age: 2months to 2yo

This would make a really good gift for your babies or godchildren.  There's a green version named Scout for all the little boys out there.
*tip:  buy lots of rechargeable batteries, you're going to need it for all the toys the kids are going to have.

Tips On Putting Baby To Bed

Sleep... As kids we hated it.  In our teens we loved sleeping in, as older and freer adults we think we don't need it. As parents we crave for it and as we grow older the more worries we have, the lesser hours of sleep we get.  If it's one thing I lost that I still dream of getting back its my sleep.  8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  Because I am still breast feeding, I only get a maximum of 8hours until I am awakened by the pain that a full tank causes.  So no matter how much I want to stay in bed and go back to sleep I am forced to get up and unleash the milk.  As new parents all we want is for our babies to sleep through the night, sleeping through the night means 5-6hours of sleep.  To be able to make that happen as early in their life as possible I have a few tips you can try.  These aren't secrets I have unearthed from the secret sleep cave, these are just common sense things that we forget due to our own lack of sleep.

Of course make sure that baby is well fed, clean and comfy...

#1 Don't let them nap too long and too deep in the afternoons.  When napping open the blinds or curtains, let the light in.  If they nap too long or too close to bedtime, its only natural that they will stay up later and wont sleep as long during the night.  During the night, turn off all the lights.

#2  Start a routine and keep to it.  Some moms like to massage baby before sleeping, others read them books or you can even play them soft music.  Both M1 and M2 have the same routine, they get bathed again in the afternoon or just wiped clean, drink milk and then lights are off and they are put to bed.  Any calm soothing activity is okay, but don't do 4-5 activities you don't want to over stimulate during the night.

#3  Start as you mean to go on.  This not only applies to sleep routines but to everything else as well.  With M1 she got used to being carried, rocked and sung to when being put to sleep.  Until now at 2yrs old she still likes that.  With M2 she got used to being rocked in her rocker and fell asleep on her own, now she's used to being put in the crib and literally falls asleep on her own just sucking on her fingers.  I've seen a dad bop up and down to calm his little baby during his sister's wedding.  We do whatever it takes to make them stop crying but remember, start as you mean to go on. If your knees can't take the bopping, don't start it.  :)

#4  Consult their schedule so you know what's going to happen next, take cues from them too.  They thrive when they follow routines so stick to that and you'll know generally what time they'll be tired but not exhausted when putting them to bed.  http://mommabearstales.blogspot.com/2011/02/record-everything.html

#5  Don't look at your baby in the eye when putting her to sleep.  It just encourages her to play with you.  Look at her belly or away from her so you don't strike a conversation anymore.  With toddlers, if they talk to you just answer with 2 words or less and tell them to close their eyes and you do the same too.  Some moms falls asleep before the kids do and theres nothing wrong with that. :)

#6  Don't wait for them to tell you they're tired, they won't.  Set a time and stick to that.  As toddlers they will fight you on sleep.  They will want to play til they can't anymore, they can't tell time yet so instead of saying "its 8pm its time for bed", give them a warning 30mins ahead of time.  Say "its time to go to sleep soon"  and by the time its really time to sleep they'll have had enough time to deal with it and let you put them to sleep.  Get the time they usually wake up and count how many hours they need to sleep at their age and then you'll know what time they have to be put to bed.  Maxine wakes up at 6am, she needs 10-11 hours of sleep so she goes to bed at 7 and falls asleep an hour or less after that.

#7  Give them sleep inducing snacks like a glass of warm milk or whole wheat bread with peanut butter.

#8 Lastly, there is no right or wrong thing to do... Do what works for you and if they don't stop crying, don't worry, they will!  They will cry until they are so tired they will fall asleep on their own.  I witnessed this happen when M2 was in the hospital and the doctor kept trying to put her IV in.  Doctor tried for an hour so M2 cried for an hour.  She eventually fell asleep even as they were still poking and prodding her.  So the last thing you can do is do nothing.  But I don't think any new mom can do that and before you even think about doing it, read up on the dos and don'ts of the cry it out method. :)

Toy Review: Play Doh Fundamentals CUT!

The last set we got her was a Play Doh Fundamental set.  It teaches a child to use scissors, the pair of scissors is plastic and cuts clay.  There are also 3 other cutters in the box but the main star of the show was the scissors.  She's been nagging me to let her use real scissors and I refused until I saw this.  I used these as training scissors for her.  A few days after she mastered using these scissors I let her use a small pair of real ones as she sat on my desk.  She cut for almost an hour the first few times.  Also, two 2oz cans are included in the box

What she learned:  She safely learned how to use a pair of scissors.

Durability:  The scissors and the chopping snail always breaks apart but is can be easily snapped back together by an adult.

Fun/Entertainment Value:  Spent 20-30mins each time we played with it.  Loved playing with it but soon got tired of the novelty of using a pair of scissors when she got to use the real thing.  But she still plays with the other cutting materials included.

Age: 1.6yrs old to 100.

Toy Review: Leap Frog Sit to Stand Learning Walker

There are walkers of different shapes and sizes in the market.  When we say walker we think of the donut like thing with 4 wheels where you put the kid inside and he walks on his own all the while being surrounded by toys.  Well, they say those walkers aren't good for the kids so the new and "improved" kind is like the one in the picture.  I  wish I got the old style of walker for Maxiebear, this one was just too hard to master.  By the time your child can really use this as an aid to walk, he already knows how to walk on his own.  Maxiebear tried to use a Winnie The Pooh version of the learning walker and hit her head on the floor.  She fell backwards as she put her weight onto the handles and the toy slid away from her.  I was so shocked that I couldn't move.  After that I put the toy away.  I still wanted her to learn to walk so I went to the store and tested out the walkers they had.

The Playskool version is just as dangerous as the Winnie the Pooh one.  When I tried it out at the store, I almost fell!  I was actually on my knees trying it out!  There's something about the distance of the sets of wheels and where the weight goes as you try and depend on it to walk (thats just me trying to think of a reason why some walkers work while others are just too accident prone).  I also tried the Fisher Price and Chicco one.  Both passed the test but were too pricey for my budget.  I ended up getting the Leap Frog one, it has enough activities on it to entertain and was balanced enough for walking.  You can also take out the activity part of the toy so the baby can play with it even before she can walk.  Maxine loved the telephone on it, the piano keys and the page that you can turn.

Just be careful when using any thing with plastic wheels on tiles, they slide fast.  What some people do is they put tape on the wheels to keep it from moving too smoothly so the toy wont "run away" from the baby using it.  You just wrap the tape generously on all 4 wheels.

What she learned:  It helped her learn how to walk a little.
Durability: ***** (5 Stars) It still works.
Fun/ Entertainment Value: 5-8mins on standstill.  Indefinite when being pushed.  At the age when they need this toy, anything that can help them move from 1 point to another is going to be used a lot.
Age:  3mos to 1yr depending on when the child starts to walk.  You can use the activity pad separately at 3 mos or ever earlier.  Kaylabear uses it now as entertainment while she's sitting on my lap.

Toy Review: B. Times Square Activity Cube

There are so many toys to choose from in the stores nowadays.  Leapfrog, Fisher Price, Baby Einstein are just a few of the well known brands here in manila.  Its a hard job making sure a toy we get is going to be worth it.  There's no way of knowing that our baby will like the toy in the 1st place, play with it a lot and really get to learn things as the packaging promises.  I tried to make a list of toys that I know Maxine and Kayla like but it was too hard and such a wide range.  So, instead of that I decided to just write a review of the toys.

  This was a gift from Ninang Nat from the states.  There are different versions of it here in Manila, some smaller and simpler.  There are also more complex and larger versions of this in the states.The cube has 6 sides, 2 sides are shape sorters for numbers and the other for letters.  1 side is a telephone and it has shapes you can press.  The other side is a clock and when you line up the hands to read 12o' clock the door opens.  The top part lights up and has music while she moves the shapes in the light up maze.
   She enjoyed putting in the letters and numbers in their designated holes.  She was very curious about the door in the bottom.  But she gets bored easily with the maze even with the music and lights.

What she learned:  Nothing specific.
Durability:  *****
Fun: ***** Spends 15-20 mins sitting down playing with it.
Age: 1yo-1.6yo
Purchase at www.amazon.com for $19.99

Battling with the Summer Heat

I have rashes all over my back and chest and prickly heat on my tushie. Mommy called up dr.yap and asked what to put on it. Bad yaya said it must be measles because they all magically appeared after her dayoff. Its not true, ive had them for days now but she never told mommy. Now that mommy bathes me she put on lotion and cream on both areas and 1 day later i am all clear of spots! But its still so hot so Gwakong got me a mini pool and i play in it almost everyday :)