Tips on Getting Your Toddler Ready For His or Her First Haircut

A toddler’s first visit to the salon doesn’t need to be stressful or traumatic. In fact, it should be fun. In fact it can be considered as one of the child’s milestones. I cut my Bea’s hair until she was a toddler. It was when she started getting curious why I go to a salon to have my haircut that I decided it was time for her to get professional hair care.

Here are some tips to prepare your kids for their first trip to the salon:

Let your child know in advance when you intend to go for a haircut. Have a countdown. Mark your calendar with your child’s crayons. Make sure you pass by the salon a few times before actually going. This will familiarize your child to the place.

Be honest and let your child know what exactly will happen at the salon. Don’t tell him or her that you’ll just be going to the park or to his or her favorite fast food. Your child will surely feel betrayed.

Pick your child’s best time. Make sure your child is in the right mood when you go for a haircut. Make sure he or she is fed and rested. Cranky children are not the most cooperative children.

Make sure there is a friendly face there to accompany your child.

Once done, make sure to praise your child for being a good boy/girl, and let them know know better looking they now are with the new haircut. Don’t forget to reward them also with a new toy or a quick snack. If you promised anything before the haircut (a bribe!) make sure you fulfill that promise!

Now start planning your child's first haircut. Good luck!

Acid Reflux and Bea

last monday we went for bea's scheduled upper GI xray and it was confirmed that she had reflux problems. she was made to lie down and daddy fed her with milk mixed with barium. we can see the milk as it goes down to her tummy. she was made to lie on her back, then on her side. so far so good. she drank the milk with little resistance, probably coz she's had nothing to eat or drink for the last 4 hours, a requirement for this test. then the docs just observed her, after 5 minutes, we saw clearly in the monitor her milk slowly coming back up her esophagus. hay, no wonder she keeps on throwing up. we also had her blood checked as per instructions of her pedia.

the following day we went to the pedia gastro, and she told us that according to her initial check up with bea, her motor skills has no problem. they had to rule this out since this could mean weak muscles of the digestive tract. she also said that bea's development was at par with others. she advised us to stop feeding her through a syringe, and try feeding her in a cup instead, this can help with her reflux since she will be feeding in an upright position. she insisted on us being consistent. she also upped bea's meds: motilium and omepron. plus she asked our pedia to refer us to an occupational therapist who will help re-train bea to eat, suck, chew and swallow again. the therapist will also be able to diagnose if bea has a swallowing problem. the only problem is that no therapist has clinic hours on saturdays, meaning, absent na naman.

the docs were quite honest with us. they said this will be a long process. and i bet quite an expensive one too. oh well, i just hold on one thought: God will provide.

update: we've been trying to feed her in a cup for 2 days now, more milk spillage. less milk drank. still with vomiting. currently running a fever. my boss reminded me no more absences, at least for the next two weeks... problems just keep on pilin' up.

i hold on to one thought: God will provide solutions and answers... in His time.

Reposted from my other blog. Original entry posted on 6/28/07

The Day Our Nanny Went Missing Part 1

One Friday morning, we were busy getting ready for work when we received a text message from our nanny that she will not be coming to work. My husband and I looked at each other blankly. “Now what?” We couldn’t just leave our daughter at home with her grand father; he’ll be too stressed out. Both my husband and I have pending things to do at the office and we just couldn’t go on leave. We had no other choice but to bring Bea with us to the office.

On our way, we were discussing whether who will take Bea to the office. We decided that I would just drop by my office to submit my pending report then we’d head on over to hubby’s office where I will take care of our daughter, while hubby goes about his day.

This is a great idea, theoretically, but an entirely different matter in reality. My daughter’s feeding problem has been the primary source of tension in our family. My patience can only be stretched so much. My daughter and I often have shouting matches about this. Why can’t she just open her mouth and drink her milk? At four years old, milk is still her primary source of nutrition and she is still not taking it willingly.

The moment of truth: Breakfast. I fixed her milk and started to feed her…. To no avail. She kept on protesting, her arms flailing up and down, side to side, preventing the milk from reaching her mouth. And then it happened… miracles of miracles, my Bea simply said “ara (kutsara) na lang Mommy” (let’s just use the spoon Mommy).

I started scooping the milk, and she opened her mouth willingly! OMG! We finished our

glass within 30 minutes. (We used to spend 3 hours to down 1 glass, and sometimes we can’t even finish everything). This day made me believe that prayers can truly move mountains! Everybody has been praying for our Bea to get over her feeding problem, or at least for our feeding sessions to stop being the battle it often is. Thank you Lord!

Though this day started off at the wrong foot, it is slowly becoming one of the best days of my life…

To be continued…

Answered Prayer for My Daughter

it has been a while since we attended the regular prayer meeting of our community, but i remember that when we were still actively attending, we used to pray for the same things, over and over (don't we all)

we prayed for our little bea to get over her feeding difficulties, complete healing from her acid reflux and for us to find a suitable nanny for her for hubby and i are both working.

God is good indeed, and although it took some time (and a lot of frayed nerves!) God sent a great nanny our way! i was i little apprehensive because she was young at 17 years old, but she's ok. in fact she is now bea's best friend. they even have private jokes that only the two of them understand! her youth and energy works to her advantage since bea is now a handful, running here and there, jumping, shouting, laughing... being a typical toddler!

another answered prayer is the fact that bea seems to be getting over her acid reflux! yey! except for yesterday's episode (oops, she was overfed i think), it has been more than a month since her last episode! she is still difficult to feed, won't eat anything else but lugaw with sinigang, still force fed through syringes, but at least her body is now absorbing her food! and the improvement shows:

i am very grateful! so many answered prayers! i hope she keeps this up!

i definitely acknowledge divine intervention, plus a patient and persistent yaya, and a new vitamin we tried: Scott's Emulsion. according to my father, this vitamin has been around for ages, in fact they tried it on my sis and me, but since it was essentially cod liver oil, (eewww!) we didn't like the taste. kudos to glaxosmithkline for reintroducing this supplement in a super tasty orange flavor. bea seems ok with the taste, thankfully!

Another Sleepless Night With My Baby

we finally decided to call it a night... at two a.m., i lied down next to little bea to get some shut eye, but bea kept on tossing and turning, and kicking and slapping, kept of trying to sit up and crawl over to daddy's side. if i stop her, she'd cry. she wants to drink water, daddy gave her some, it appeased her only for a moment, then she vomitted it. she had a hard time going back to sleep. she was also running a low fever... 37.9 so i gave her tempra. she fell asleep after a while, only to wake up again after two hours. argh!

today i wake up at the sound of bea and her daddy fighting. she won't sleep again. she has feeding problems already, please don't tell me she's developed sleeping problems as well.

i hope it's just a phase.

Bea's First Haircut

our little bea had her first haircut last thurday, May 31. we have been wanting to do this for a long time but i was having second thoughts... it's easier to tie her hair back if it's long. but it's getting so long and curly (just like mommy and daddy!)

i was on leave still from work, daddy wanted to have a haircut so i decided to tag along with bea and her yaya. we had only one place to go to, tito ziffred's parlor. he is the official hair expert of the osana's.. =) i was supposed to hold her while in the chair, but i also wanted to take good pictures of the event, i was afraid hubby will not do a good job. hehehe... i just feel it is a milestone for her! so daddy held her while they sat on the chair. little bea was such a good girl during the whole thing. she only held on tightly to daddy while mommy snapped away with my camera phone! the only time she panicked was when the hairdryer was turned on (for only a few seconds) to dry her hair.

Bea's Check Up With The Pediatrician

earlier this afternoon we went to st luke's for bea's monthly checkup. good news, she gained half a kilo. yehey! not bad for a baby who doesnt suck on her bottle for milk and just wont take in anything solid, plus would vomit the little food that goes into her system every now and again. she also had her MMR immunization shots.

we arrived at around 5pm. we had to wait for some while since there were still 4 kids ahead in line. while waiting bea wanted to practice her walking skills. she walked along the corridor then daddy would practice her standing up with out holding on to anything. (she's 1 yr and 3 months and still not walking yet... though the pedia assured us this was nothing to worry about and that she's just setting her own pace.) while inside the doc's office, bea was given a bread stick and we were s happy the she grasped this bread stick eagerly and sucked on it. later , she was already chewing on it. she was eating on her own! another milestone! i'm so proud of my li'l girl today! she's growing up... definitely. urgh! bittersweet!

The Little One Broke Her First Figurine

bea broke her first figurine today. a milestone of some sort i guess. it was a magnetic picture frame with a bunny figurine (thanks tita pinky) smiling at everyone who ventures a look at our pictures. it held memorable pics from bea's baptism. earlier this morning, bea was doing her usual rounds in our sala, touching and knocking over things when she chanced upon the poor bunny. she happily held its head and shook it about. its head and a part of its arm fell off. the innocent little angel then went on to pick the broken piece up and kissed its bunny nose (awwww...)

i guess i better prepare myself. ( i better warn my housemates as well!) with her kalikutan... i'm sure this is the first of many more... haaay.