2013 School Year Ends

My LittleMan V graduates from Kindergarten.

Yesterday, he bid farewell to his school friends and teachers. It was our first graduation ceremony and along with other parents we have each witnessed how our children grew from the teary eyed KG1 babies to confident KG2 students.

This September he will move up to big school as a Year 1 student in a new school.

A big THANK YOU to all his teachers, classmates, nanny, and school bus driver for making his kindergarten life a fun one.

V leads the boys as they sing “Glowing Inside” to say Thank You to Mom & Dad

Breastfeeding in Public

You are sitting in a cafe enjoying a cup of coffee when suddenly you overheard someone asking a mother to breastfeed her child somewhere else because that person thinks its inappropriate and disgusting.

What would you do?

Sian from our UAE breastfeeding group posted the following videos conducted by abcnews.com on how customers in a cafe reacted to the situation.

Breastfeeding an infant in public.

Breastfeeding a toddler in public.

I am very happy that UAE is a breastfeeding friendly country. I have breastfed Vierte when he was a toddler and now Chloe who is 11 months, in public with and without a cover and I haven’t had a bad experience.

Some malls and establishments here have dedicated baby rooms where a mom can breastfeed her baby.

On the Breastfeeding Q&A UAE Facebook group, the most common question asked for new expat families is whether they can breastfeed in public.

Here’s an excerpt from Sian’s article on breastfeeding in public.

The great news is that both Islam and UAE society are in favor of breastfeeding (the Qur’an in fact teaches that babies have the right to breastfeed for two years), and it is common for mums and babies to breastfeed in public places wherever you are in the country. The Ministry of Health has publicly affirmed the right of a mother to feed her child wherever she is without being hassled, and the Department of Islamic Affairs confirms that this is perfectly acceptable, as long as the mother remains appropriately covered and follows normal dress etiquette if men are present -

See more at: http://brightbabyhood.com/breastfeeding-public/?wpmp_switcher=desktop#sthash.XIVqozNi.dpuf

Link to the complete article here

Just like any hungry adult, when a baby is hungry that baby needs to feed.

To be able to breastfeed a baby is a blessing. God blessed each mom that gift and power to nurture her child.

Next time you see a mother breastfeeding her child be thankful that you get to witness such blessing.

Don’t ask her to move to the toilet to feed her child unless you’re willing to enjoy your meal in the stall next to them!

Dubai Breastfeeding Group Meet-Up

Calling all Expectant Mums & Breastfeeding Families

BreastFeeding Q&A UAE Group will hold the next meet-up this June 15 (11:00 am – 1:30pm)

at Latifa Hospital (formerly known Al Wasl Hospital).

A great opportunity for parents to discuss advantages & difficulties on breastfeeding, weaning and to just have fun  with other families

More details on the event here.

Chloe Isabelle – 11 months

Entering her 11 month a tooth has popped out, and this week just before we say goodbye to May a new one is coming out.

She’s no longer happy just sitting in one place, you will find her strolling around the house. We didn’t buy her a walker and she still managed to find a way to walk with the help of chairs and tables.

She’s still very much happy drinking from my breast milk station and I don’t have any plans to stop. At 11 months she’s still a happy EBF babe.

Hello pearly whites! A month before we celebrate her birthday we welcome 2 pearly whites.

Social House

After passing by the restaurant several times in each of our Dubai Mall visit we have finally dined at Social House.

For appetizer we had the restaurant’s best seller-Dragon Roll (dhs 55)

Social House – Dragon Roll

I was craving for some noodle dish and ordered Chicken Ramen (dhs 58)

Daddy C ordered Seabass Fettuccine (dhs 59)

Kuya V and LittleMiss didn’t get to try the kids menu since both were sleeping.

Daddy C and I enjoyed a quiet dinner while the kiddo’s are eating and we surely did enjoy every bite.

Total bill: dhs 198 (includes 1 bottled water)

Fun Flight: Mess Free Food

In exactly one month we are off to our summer vacation, ohh the thought of spending time with our family back home is relaxing. Before that I have to pack for a family of four; clothes, some toys, pasalubongs, and of course food.

I am looking for a mess free food I can pack for the kids (5 yo V and 11 mos LittleMiss). V is not happy with airline food and almost always end up eating cookies I’ve packed for him. LittleMiss on the other hand have me as her milk supply but she still needs to eat something else. This time though I want to pack something healthy for them.

Here are some mess free food both V and LittleMiss enjoy eating

Little Nibbles of HiPP Organic

Food Puffs

Aside from this dry food, I want to bring some baby food for LittleMiss but then will the airline allow me to bring one? On one of our grocery trip to Spinneys I noticed this baby food packaged in a tetra squeeze pack, now that is mess free!

Organic Bubs Squeeze Food

I bought Organic Bubs – Pumpkin Corn flavor. I was hesitant to buy one because I’ve only fed LittleMiss home cooked meals and I don’t like the taste of “instant| baby food. Anyway, I was in search for some mess free food might as well try. Squeezed the food in a teaspoon and surprisingly baby girl liked it!

What is your go-to mess free food when travelling?

Moving Up

This year my first born V will move up to big school (Year 1) and will step into a new milestone in his life. He is not only saying bye to his kindergarten life but will also say bye-bye to his school and classmates.

We initially didn’t plan to move him to a different school since we know that he is happy and has bonded with a set of friends. Daddy C and I wanted to gauge how he would handle taking an entrance exam and also see if he would pass or not.

When I got the call that V was qualified to take the entrance exam it felt like I was the one who needs to prepare for it. I told V that we are going to the new school and a teacher will ask him to answer some worksheets just like what we did at home.  Then I saw the topics covered on the entrance exam half of the topic was still not discussed on V’s school and when I started to review him he just refuse to answer the sheets because “teacher didn’t teach us that yet Mama.” I settled at the thought that if he makes it well then good and if not it’s just not meant to be.

Four of us were up and drove to the school, V was calm and I was nervous asking him if he was ready, made sure that he ate a good breakfast. He got annoyed and reassured me “Mama I will just answer the worksheet and be my best. It will be fun”

We saw some of his friends that day which made him happy. After the exam I kept bugging him what was the worksheet about I just got a plain reply of “just like in my school mama.”

He passed the exam. He passed the interview. He will move to a new school for year 1.

Him passing the exam felt like I also pass as a Mom.

*photo from google image search

Eclair at Plaisir du Chocolat

I finally found my perfect Eclair at Plaisir du Chocolat!

Soft almost melt in your mouth pastry and generous chocolate filling.

Total Cost: 30.00 Dhs (Cappuccino 18, Eclair 18)

Plaisir du Chocolat

1st floor, Mercato Mall

Thank you MomSouq

Surprise surprise!

I won a Samsung Tablet from MomSouq.com and Ashraf Electronics.

Daddy C is now a proud owner of the tablet it’s my anniversary gift for him (if I didn’t win he’ll get an equally cool gift from us – hugs and kisses).

www.momsouq.com is an online bazaar and community for parents in the UAE to share pre-loved baby products, get parenting tips & advice, promote their business or blog and score bargain deals on baby items.

Preparing for our flight

We are counting 43 days till our annual vacation back home, I am excited and a little stress out thinking about it.

This is the first time I’m travelling with 2 kids- Kuya V 5 years old and LittleMiss C 11 months. I’m reading on tips on how to keep them busy and make our flight fun. I do want to avoid the stares of fellow passengers when the LittleMiss starts to cry; those look of “What kind of Mom are you?”  and “Can you not do something to make your baby happy?”

Kuya V was 1 yr and 3 months when we travelled from PH to DXB, but he was a happy baby who only wants to sleep, cuddle and breast feed, well he did cry 10 minutes before landing.

I’m not worried much on how to entertain V, he’s happy with his Ipad games and movies. LittleMiss C on the other hand doesn’t like to stay in one place, the longest time she stayed happy inside the playpen was 30 minutes.  I am assuming she will get bored constricted to just sitting with us and not be able to move around.

I still have month to prepare for our trip.

So far here are some of the things I have in mind to keep our plane ride stress free:

1)      Games – to keep them busy, this includes card games and ipad applications.

2)      Food – V is not happy with airplane food, he once called the attention of the FA and told her that the chocolate and food she gave was not good. I have to pack healthy snack for both Kuya V and LittleMiss.

3)      Blanket – not really a blanket but a piece to keep them comfortable and “familiar” when it’s sleeping time

4)      Clean Kit – wet ones, nose spray to decongest nose, eucalyptus salve, and extra clothes.

I might do a series of making “airplane fun” posts when LittleMiss give me some blog time.

Can you share your tips on keeping kids happy on a long flight?