Top 10 Baby Items

As a first time mom living overseas without access to baby stores I’ve created my Top Ten Baby Items List for those who are in my same position. I use these products just about every day and have already gotten my money out of them and Carson is just two months old.

Mylicon drops
Our little man seems to get tummy aches during the early evening. When we give him a few drops right after he eats at night it seems to help disperse the gas. A must for us.

Nursing Cover

A must for nursing mothers. You don’t have to worry about a blanket falling down or exposing yourself while feeding. On this website you can order the same ones you find at Target for half the price. Plus they have more of a selection of designs and patterns. http://www.babycoverz.com

Cloth diaper to use as burp rags.

The cloth diaper is very absorbent. We have basic white ones but you can get ones to match your nursing cover here http://www.babycoverz.com

Infantino baby sling

Another must for us. We went to Beijing last weekend and only used this rather than taking the stroller. The weight of the baby is distributed and doesn’t hurt your back- if worn too long the strap buckle starts to hurt your shoulder though. Marcus and I can both use this without having to adjust the straps. Carson likes this as well, I know some babies don’t. It’s great for privacy for the baby and helps protect against unwanted touching of the baby.

Bouncing Chair

Our friend got Carson a bouncy play seat and he enjoys it. He will sit in it for a long time. It’s nice to let him play in the seat while we are eating dinner, getting ready for the day, etc. Sometimes Carson likes to have “alone time” and not be held all the time and this is great. Here is a secret- Our chair vibrates but we don’t turn it one right away. Let you child sit in the chair and bounce by himself until he gets a little fussy and then turn on the vibrator- it will give you another 5/10 minutes.

Combi Stroller

I love this stroller. It folds up very small and is light weight. Once it’s folded up there is a shoulder strap that you can carry it by. It’s great for those of us that have to take taxi’s everywhere we go and don’t have access to large trunk space. The basket underneath is small but that’s the only downside for us. The height of the stroller is fine for both me and my very tall husband. The stroller seat also reclines all the way back and is perfect for newborns. Carson loves to sleep in his stroller.

Swaddle blankets

Carson loves being wrapped up tight especially when sleeping. We wrap him up tight at night so he knows it’s bedtime.

Sleep positioning wedges


Diaper changing station:

You can put everything you need in this changing station and carry this alone with you. There is a place for diapers, wipes, change of clothes, etc. The changing space is very large.

Pack n play-

We actually don't have one yet- we will get it when we are back in the States but we’ve used our friends while at their house. You don’t need one with all the bells and whistles- a basic one is fine. I like the ones that also have the higher level bed for newborns because it was hard for me to bend all the way over to put Carson down and pick him up, especially right after my C-section.

Learning to Love Again

Don’t know when it happened- slowly overtime so I didn’t notice, but my heart became hard. I became every selfish, overprotective of my time, my personal space, my personal business, my way of doing things, and with my money. I also became hard to the needs of those around me. Bein with my parents in Thailand helped me realize this hardness. I felt like I had become really hard-hearted especially when it came to giving money to others (beggars, etc). Watching my father freely give to all, my dad not knowing their story, whether or not the people really needed it, or my dad simply blessing people for their service with his generosity broke my heart because I was reminded of how I once used to be that way too... and how I missed being a giver and how I missed loving others.

Over the last few months I have begun to love again. One of the ways I’ve deliberately made a change in my life is by carrying around a change purse and having coins ready to give to others in need when I am walking down the street. Even this small act has made a lot of difference in my life. It feels good to love again- to get to know people, see people, and give to those in need. God gave me the spiritual gift of giving and I have not been walking in it, instead walking in sin. Due to my disobedience I wasn’t experiencing true joy and my heart became hard and calloused. I am grateful for Father bringing this to my attention because this was not who I wanted to be. Over the last few months I feel my heart changing- opening up.

My prayer is that I will continue to allow Father to show me how to love others. I want my life, time, money, etc. to bring him glory but I feel like I walk constantly in the flesh- giving into my personal desires. Anyone else feel the same? How are some ways Father has taught you how to love?

Advice for the New Mom

Differences in post partum behaviors between East & West Cultures
The Mandarin-Chinese term Zuoyezi translates into English as "sitting out a month," which refers to the traditional Chinese custom of having new mothers rest for a month at home, often under the care of their mother-in-law, for a month after delivery. During this month here are certain things the new mother can and can’t do

- Eat only certain foods and herbs that are supposed to help with the mother's
recovery. Unfortunately this means suffering through weeks of the same
herbal chicken soup.
- Going outside and exercise are not allowed for up to a month after delivery.
- Don’t wash hair and body. If you do, wait until hair dries up before sleep.
If not, a new mom may suffer headache or neck pain.
- Wear warm clothes, even if you or the baby aren’t hot. Cold=sickness
- Don’t brush teeth and comb hair
- Avoid wind
- Don’t eat fruits and vegetables or cold foods. Eating cold fruits and
vegetables will make your bones hurt.
- Only drink hot water, don’t drink cold liquids. Drinking cold water can cold
can cause arthritis later on in life.
- Don't watch TV or DVDs and don't use computers or the internet because it's
bad for your eyes.
- Do not take photographs of your infant

According to the Chinese standards I’ve done everything wrong during this last month. Especially, the rule against not taking pictures of our son. Oops! The people here have been very gracious with us despite the fact that we have broken every one of their customs. We constantly have to explain to them that Western customs are very different from Eastern customs- but both are ok. Carson and I seem to be doing fine so far.

One more quick story- we are working on letting Carson cry himself to sleep. We had some university students over this afternoon and Carson began to cry once we put him down. This was unheard of to them. They kept asking if he was ok and one student asked, “In America, is this (meaning letting him cry) against the Child Protection Act? Can you go to jail for this?”

What do you think? Should we be punished for our parenting style?

First Photo Shoot

Our friend let us borrow their camera since we lost ours. We had our first photo shoot today with our Little Man. Here's a preveiw. If you want to see more go to www.kodakgallery.com/pedroza