What makes a great mom??

I have been taking a little break from this blog, since I haven't been able to come up with any new topics to blog about. Life with a baby is busy, everyday is different but yet somewhat the same. Baby Tyler and I have been busy with play dates, running errands, swimming and chilling at home, so there is really nothing "exciting" to blog about. But when the new issue of Today's Parents arrived at my door, I knew there is something I can write about.

This month's issue focused on moms (obviously, since Mother's day is coming up), and the cover story is "What makes a great mom?". That's a really good question, I ask myself this question all the time. I would like to say that being a good mom is providing a loving environment for our little ones to grow up in, but nowadays it seems like it is much more complicated than that. Our generation of "hipster" parents are all about material things, it seems like if you don't have the latest toys and gear, you are depriving your baby! I guess being a great mom is very subjective, so after reading the whole magazine, I still don't know what really makes a great mom. However, I realize the type of mom I DON'T want to be...an over competitive mom. One of the articles in the magazine talks about why moms are so competitive, the competitiveness is often a result of being insecure; mothers are always under the microscope, judging and being judged on everything. I have never been a very competitive person, I tend to go with the flow,but I can totally see why it is so easy to fall into the trap of being a competitive mom.

For example, I am very fortunate to be able to spend my maternity leave with a lot of other mommies, and Tyler gets to meet and "play" with other babies. With having so many other babies around the same age, it is hard not to compare them to each other. I know that each baby develops differently, but it is hard not to be worry/wonder why my 6 months old was not rolling over, while my friend's 4 month's old baby is already sitting up. And I know this type of comparison will eventually turn into competitiveness, which can only become worse as our kids grow up, which is precisely what I fear. Growing up, my parents were really easy on my sister and I, they never really pushed us to play piano, tutoring, etc, as long as we did our best, it was okay for them. I really hope I can be like that with baby T, I don't want to be the typical chinese mom who shuffle my son from piano lesson, soccer practice, kumon and other extracurricular activities, all I want for him is to enjoy his childhood. So from now on, instead of obsessing about Tyler's every development milestone, sleep habits, etc, I am going to try to go with the flow, and enjoy my little one and promise to shower him with love, cuddles and tons of kisses!!

And to my friends, if I become one of those competitive and obsessive moms in the future, please give me a gentle reminder! =)

A walk in the park

We have been looking forward to this Easter long weekend for a while, hubby is around to help out with the baby for 4 days and we have been blessed with such great weather. I spent the whole Friday afternoon indoor at church, so I was dying to get out and enjoy the outdoors on Saturday. After going through all our usual outdoor options like unionville main street, shopping downtown, etc, we decided to venture off to High Park instead.

After a long quiet drive (napping baby in the back seat), we arrived at High Park on Bloor and Parkside Rd, we strolled downhill to the mini petting zoo. Although the zoo area was small, there were a lot of interesting animals.

Tyler wasn't really impressed with the animals, so we quickly moved along to other parts of the park. We were pretty surprised at how big and beautiful this park is. There were walking trails, restaurants and benches everywhere, and it was

Tyler loved spending time close to the water and looking at the big willow trees.

We sometimes struggle to find fun things to do with the baby, so I am really glad we decided to check out this downtown park. We are looking forward to coming back in the summer, maybe for a picnic by the water or for a swim in the outdoor pool area!

Happy Easter!

My favorite part of Easter used to be eating chocolate eggs and filet o' fish, but my favorite part now is dressing up my little boy as a bunny!! LOL! I am a big sucker for dress ups.

Happy Easter everyone!! I'm off to eating more chocolate....yummmm....

Nap trainig and heartache...

I always laugh when I hear the phase - "sleeping like a baby", because there is nothing simple or easy about baby sleeping. We learned this right from the day we bought our son home, he was like any other newborn, waking a lot at night and sleeping at different times during the day. That is all normal, but Tyler just won't sleep on his own during the day! For the first few months, the only way we can get Tyler to sleep during the day is to either put him in his car seat and drive around or to hold him for all his naps, which means I could never rest while he sleeps during the day (I envied my friends who were able to nap while their babies nap!) I was willing to do anything to get this little guy to nap because he was such a great sleeper at night. He was sleeping through the night at around 2 months and by 3 months, he was able to fall asleep on his own at night and keep a consistent bedtime. Since he turned 6 months, he started to establish more of a nap time schedule during the day, ie. he is tired around the same time everyday, so I thought he is ready for some nap time training. After all, I can't hold him for all his naps forever, he is getting way too heavy and it's hard to get anything done around the house!

I read "Happy Baby, Healthy Sleep Habits" by Marc Weissbluth carefully as recommended by other moms, equipped with my new knowledge, I felt like I was ready for this new challenge! The book suggests that for every 2 hrs the baby is awake, they should be put down for a nap, so that is exactly what I did. I carefully watch for the clock, the moment Tyler shows any sleepy signs (he would rubs his eyes and yarn), I would start his nap time routine, which included diaper change, swaddle, closing the curtain in his room and nursing. The first two days went great, he was able to nap in his crib (more than an hr for each nap) with minimal crying. It was truly amazing, until then, he has never napped for more than 30min on his own! I was able to have some down time while he napped and was recharged and ready to play with him when he woke up. He was also a much happier baby, no more evening fussiness and baby melt downs! So I thought this was it, boy, was I wrong! Following the initial success, it has been hit and miss, some days he would take a good nap, and some days he would sleep for 30 min and starts crying uncontrollably! As the book suggests, if he wakes up early from his nap and cries, I am suppose to let him cry, so he can learn to put himself back to sleep. He would keep crying while I sits downstairs staring at the monitor, praying that he would go back to sleep, sometimes he does, and he wakes up happy and smiling, but sometimes he would continue to cry until I go pick him up. I can't help but feel like the worst mom in the world as I watch him crying in the monitor, I try to fight every urge to go pick him up, I felt like my heart is literally breaking as I hear him try to cry himself back to sleep. I know he is capable in getting back to sleep, but I just don't understand why he won't, even when he is obviously still tired. I start questioning if this is the right approach, how can it be so hard to "teach" your baby to nap? I felt frustrated, heartbroken and once again defeated!

It has been 2 weeks now, his naps are still hit and miss, I just wish someone can tell me if I am doing this right. But I guess we will just have to keep trying, because I know he is a happier baby when he is well rested. But I really hope this will end soon, I don't know how much more crying I can take! =(

(Tyler - if you ever read this, please know that mommy loves you, it breaks my heart to let you cry it out, but I am just trying to help you learn good sleep habits and be a well rested/happy boy!)

Splashing water..

The weather is starting to warm up, and we knew it is time for us to come out of hibernation! Besides our usual baby class, playdates, stroll around the block and mall trips, we decided to take the little one for his first swim. Hubby and I took Tyler to Angus Glen community center, although it was a little tricky changing Tyler into his swimming trunks while getting changed ourselves, it was a really good experience. Tyler loves the water (we knew that already since he LOVES bath time!), we spent around 30 min in the water, taking turn holding him, and also sitting him in a floatie and dragging him around. We will definitely be bringing him back for more swimming when the weather warms up.

Happy 6 months birthday Tyler!

Can this be true, it's been 6 months since the arrival of our sweet baby boy? To think, just a few months ago, this little man was a total stranger to us, now, we know enough to have developed a dossier.

Name: Tyler
Known aliases: Moo Moo, Tyler bear, poo poo, tofu, bee bee
Likes: Snuggling, bath time, being swaddled tight, the bathroom fan, his white noise bear, blackberry, books, tv, any funny noises made by daddy, his hands
Dislikes: Getting in the car seat when over tired, naps, wiping his face during meal time
Favorite Foods (so far): Milk (a.k.a boob and/or bottle), Sweet Potatoes, bananas and cereal
Favorite Games: Playing with mommy's fingers, peek-a-boo, playing with his washcloth
Favorite Songs: Roly Poly, Zoom Zoom Zoom, ABCs, Bad Romance by Lady GaGa, "Sorry, I love you" by Leon Lai (LOL, don't ask!)

All the festivities planned for today:

Drinking daddy's two-four

Some daddy and son bonding time


Eating his first birthday cake (my hubby looks more eager than tyler)









And of course, what kind of birthday is it without getting into his birthday suit


Our little man has developed such a personality in the short 6 months , he is a happy little guy and brings a lot of joy to our whole family. We can't wait until he talks and walks around, but for now, we are going to continue to snuggle, kiss and hug our little baby before he can run away from us!! =)

Happy 6 months Birthday Tyler!!

Crafts, crafts and more crafts!

My dear friend Carmen is not only sweet but super talented, she made a super cute wood growth chart for baby Tyler!!! Look at this!! It looks amazing...the only problem is, I don't know what pictures to put into the frames! Thanks Carmen!!

As a fellow "crafter" myself, I'm always looking for new craft projects, and luckily there are tons of inspirations online. Since the weather has been so nice, I have put my knitting on hold and decided to venture to other things. My girlfriend Adrienne and I love to attempt what we called "over-ambitious" craft projects, this time, our goal is to make a crib mobile for our boys! Tyler's room doesn't really have a theme, his crib bedding is fill with elephants, so I thought I would try (the keyword here is TRY!) to make a elephant themed mobile.

Here it is! It's still 'work it progress'...but it's looking promising, hopefully baby Tyler will like it! Stay tune