Update

Although I've not been updating this blog, never had I stop my mission to get myself conceive. My dream of being a mommy still stand tall. Thus, I've been doing things without updating them here. Call me superstitious, but I'll not risk not being able to achieve my mission. You'll not be hearing anything from me until I'm in my trimester. (No I'm not hinting I've tested positive by now)

Getting Pregnant: 2nd date with Doc(S)

I met a traditional practitioner while attending the 'vacation' course the other day. I actually grabbed him to sit beside me (well, it was fated) during dinner. And popped questions in between mouthful of delicious food. I told him bout the blood clog found in my uterus, which caused me spotting on the 7th day on my period cycle after it stopped. He commented that my womb was weak. So I took the step to book an appointment with him straight away, then only I seek Hubs opinion :p

With that, we went to check Hubs sperm count first(RM80). We went back to the same Hospital that we went last time. The result showed that his sperm count was normal but the mobility was low. Was it because he did not release it for too long, it became tadpole already? Or was it because he was sick that time? We didn't get an answer for that.....for Doc questioned him not releasing it too long *blush* As for me, the blood clog was not as big and visible as last time. He proceed to prescribed me a fertility medicine (RM77.50) to increase my chances of getting pregnant but I was doubtful to consume it, not at this moment...we have better plan.

So off we went to BM to see this new Dr. G. He shared a few cases of infertility that he successfully treated, and we were very impressed. He did the usual gesture, the 'bong mek' (finger to palm pulse reading). He then examined my eyes and palm. He said I was too stressed, easily stress to be exact. He also examined Hubs. What he said was actually making sense to us. In order to get a healthy baby, we have to get our body healthy first. He prescribed us a week medicine (RM166) to get our body up to tiptop condition. But then our body was not in good state. Hubs has been sick for more than a week, and if that is not bad enough, he infected me too. We shall see how after we continue to consume the chinese med, instead of the western med now.

Danger of Vitamin A & E during pregnancy

A small excerpt I took while reading up info on http://www.pregnancy-info.net/ I thought it is good to share with others what Vitamin A & E are all a bout when in pregnancy.

"Vitamin E and Pregnancy
A new research study points out some possibly harmful effects of Vitamin E, stating that high intake of Vitamin E (over 1,500 IU) promotes oxidative damage, which damages cells and speeds their aging process. This could lead to heart disase and cancer. Critics of the recent study say the study is "making something out of nothing for the sake of headlines". Researchers behind the study say that you usually get enough Vitamin E in your diet and taking Vitamin E capsules may be more than you need.

Vitamin A and Pregnancy
Another vitamin that pregnant women shouldn’t overdue it on is vitamin A. In certain forms, this vitamin has been linked to an increased risk in birth defects. There are two forms of vitamin A – betacarotene and retinol. Retinol vitamin A, the type that is found in certain foods like liver, is thought to be dangerous during pregnancy and therefore should be limited to no more than 3,300micrograms per day. Vitamin A in betacarotene form is thought to be safe but discuss the issue with your health care provider to be sure. And if you are taking fish-oil supplements, pay attention to what part of the fish the supplement is produced from.
Any fish supplement that is made from a fish’s liver, like cod liver oil, contains vitamin A in retinol form and therefore should be limited. Supplements that are not derived from fish livers are less likely to have vitamin A in retinol form, but you may want to look for supplements that are specially made for pregnant women to be on the safe side. "

Freebies

You know how one said that getting the little one to listen to music helps their growth and makes him/her more alert. Well some angel just provided this url for us to download for FREE. And I'm going to be an angel too, spreading this to all of you. Here you go:

http://www.munchkin.com/information_station/downloads.html

Right brain, left brain

I found http://brillbaby.com website and read up a little. It stated that, "up to the age of three and a half – small children perceive the world largely through the dominant right hemisphere of their brain (the left hemisphere becomes increasingly dominant thereafter)."

I truly enjoy the website as it has so much information in how to train the child even before he/she was born. As soon as I found some interesting article relating to toddler learning or prenatal learning, I immediately send IM to my sisters (one with a child aged 7 months, another one preggy for 2 months). Now they are hooked too.

What Are Right Brain Teaching Strategies? from hslda.org

I am amazed at how many studies have been done to find out the strength of each side of brain.

Do you know that we mainly stored all learning materials in our right brain, for it functions as a long-term memory storage? Basically what ever that we learned will automatically put into left brain, short-term memory storage. Then it was transferred into right brain, without we even know about this. However, as hslda.org puts it, when the left brain methods of repetition (either orally or in writing) is not transferring to the right brain long-term memory storage unit, then we need to look at ways to make this transfer more efficient.

Excerpt from hslda.org
"Right brain teaching strategies involve using “visual Velcro” to easily memorize material. For example, if learning math facts through oral repetition, games, or writing them isn’t working, then by making little stories (not rhymes because these are auditory) with emotion, and adding picture and color to the math fact, the child finds that it is easy to recall. This is using an easy, inexpensive learning strategy that totally transforms how a child remembers something as important as math facts. This type of teaching applies to all areas of curriculum. "

One of the resources this website provide leads me to find diannecraft.org. This website do sells flashcard. I heard that flash cards make kids learning much effective and fun. I already plan to get one when my lil one comes around.

Right Brain Kids at Home - 7 Secrets to Teach Your Kids Life Skills Start From Right Brain Training

I started to get to know about this left brain right brain children's training when I met this lovely girl while in Singapore attending a company dinner. She told me the center that she worked in, they started to train the kids from age 0 to 10 years max. It's harder to train children of more than 10 years old. The reason is their right brain might be asleep already if they did not receive any training before that. I'm starting to do a lil research on this kind of training, just as a preparation when I have one soon.

A search thru yahoo search engine, I found an interesting article by this lady, Jas Ng. She had written numerous article on child development. The article that I've read was "7 Secrets to Teach Your Kids Life Skills Start from Right Brain". Below are the important points I've gotten from this website.

Secret #1 Observation skills by visiting local art museums and watching art performance at art theater.

Secret #2 Creativity skills by playing games and toys with siblings or friends.

Secret #3 Social and communication skills with friends and siblings.

Secret #4 Self management skills.

Secret #5 Problem solving skills.

Secret #6 Learn to be patient.Let your child learn to be patient by using 'please wait..' or 'please queue...' methods.

Secret #7 Practice, practice, practice!Practice make perfect!

I reading up more articles on this kids development. I'll share more when I've time.