Barbie Princess Syndrome

My dear littleathena,

I used to against Barbie Princess to interfere in my life,
I was anyway not so fond of Barbie when I was a child. I was more into books and papermakers, and dance, and i don't remember anything else -- as if part of my childhood being kept hidden somewhere for the reason that i would never seek.
Anyway, my being against Barbie is mainly for its gender stereotyping in female personification. And how racist one could be to number one the caucasian type and neglect the afroamerican not to mention the asian. However, there are the things that were just unavoidable, such as the way I consciously inject the girly thing in you and create a mindset of a good girl which behaves as princess.. I admitted, I am guilty as charged.
But then I see things, sometimes the things that are labelled by others as bad is not really as bad as it seen. Or what other said good, is not always good for you. You, evantually have to decide for yourself.
Despite of the fact that Barbie Princess is such a pretty toys -- that even a child could not resist, Barbie Pincess movies happen to share good stories through song and lyrics.
I found it quite inspiring. surpisingly. They talked about dreams, about love, about sharing, and friendship. They really dig insight of being a girl. the girl power.
The most amazing thing happen when we start playing the CD in the car.. for the last 3 days my littleathena put us to silent. then the next day, she sang. she sang in English which she never really learn before. (she was being taught in Indonesian cause it is the proper stimulation to make her talks at that time)
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G !

To any of you who'd like to know more about these Barbie inspiring songs, here are some of my littledarling's favorite :

BARBIE - Island Princess
Title : Always More

Everybody is born to care
It's something we were meant to share
Not to keep to ourselves all alone

If we make room for someone new
Doesn't mean that there's less for you
Only means that our circle has grown

Love knows, Love grows
Bigger than before
In your heart there's always more

It's magic the more you give it away
The more love comes back to you everyday
You are my Tike and I am your Ro
Always forever wherever we go...

So Love knows,
Love Grows,
Bigger than before...

In your heart, there's always more
Always more...

BARBIE - The Three Musketeers
Title: I'm Making My Way
Take a look around, Take a walk downtown
Wondering if what you have been telling me is true
That I've been living large
Should accept that it's too hard
Forget about your dreams girl,
No, you wait a minute
'Cause I've opened my eyes.

I'm making my way you see,
Throwing out the disbelief
I'm jumping in , Giving it everything
There's nothing left to prove
To anybody else but me
So go right ahead and call me crazy
'Cuz I'm making my way
You bet I am
Making my way...

Does it freak you out ?
I am fierce and proud
Doint it with style baby who's the fool now?
I've finally sifted through
The useless attitudes
Ain't nobody pushing me around, no
I know who I am...

This life is a maze sometimes, but at least this life is mine...

Well that's a bit.. will continue later on..

Fly high my dear Athena

Fly up high my baby...
Fly away to the sky my baby...
Up up to the sky without fear...
Yes fly away & smile so wide...
spread your wings,
raise your hands,
your dream is a sweet beginning...
of tomorrow's can tell,

I raise you high,
for you to be wise enough,
to groom wings to other who need,
lend yours for people in desperate,

share your love, share your laugh,
for that simplest thing meant so much to others..
my love will stay in your heart.

Shop shop shop

Manda's biggest sins when I was a first jobber were SHOES... lotta shoes.....
and Jackets..... love jackets !

Known as impulsive buyer, I believe in the gratification of unsuspected shopping pleasure.
There were certain months when I targeted to get a job done and treat myself with a white pump shoes... or red shoes... or even polka dot one (of which I just realized that I never wore the polka dot one....). Bought 3-4 for every day of purchase. Obsessed with 1 but end up purchasing 3. And there were certain moments when I planned to buy a shirt, but end up buying 2 with the same type & motive but different color!!
And not mentioning purchasing Jacket to every business trip.

Then my size get larger, my body size & my shoes size.

Then I got married and thought, hey I will manage my life better -- spent on the necessary ones and by the way -- it's not very easy to get what I want with my current size.
Then I got pregnant...
and start over to buy baby things. I said to myself, Hey it's very normal, it's my first child!
And when the baby girl was born...
the shopping for ultimate pleasure devil is back! hahahah
I know I have a bad habit of purchasing things spontaneously, so yes I limited my self exposure to Mothercare. Yeuuuppp!
I said to my self, try to limited yourself to go to a shopping points that can lure your eyes. Yes, I manage that.
But thanks to technology and internet.. I can browse lotsa stuffs here, and thought that I can survive, hahahaha...
I start buying things for Athena.
I love buying things for her! toys, shoes, dress, books, stuffs..
So, Yes, I still a shoes-a-holic, but in little thena's size ^_^
This sin is fortunately forgiven by everyone, hehehe
Eyang can say nothing.... and Panda can only smiles....
and the best is that Thena smiles !

But Thena darling, when you're older, you should be wiser than me... yes you should.... hehehe

Thought for Tomorrow

Little Athena,
One day you'll learn,
that not every bad people is bad,
and not every nice people is really nice.
above all, no one can ever admit of loving you as much as I do.
I've experience accompanied by you for 41 weeks,
Shared my breath, my heart, and my blood,
I cherish every moment breastfeeding you, even that I know I couldn't give you enough.
I cherish the nights when you snuggle to me and snap-snap your pretty full lips.
I blessed all the moments I can have with you, just watching you sleep...
I blessed all the moments of lullabying you, cradling you in my arms,
I treasure my heartbeat when I see you smile,
I treasure your babbling anything for a while,
when you learn something new, I discovered more reason to love you more..
I want you to be with you when you learn about the world,
all the things that sets your tears, all the things that made you think.
If I were to be selfish, I would say, I love you the most.
I will protect you when you can't protect yourself.
Been there. Choosing you over anyone else in this world.
Make enemies to people who hurt you intentionally and unintentionally.
Just to be sure, that's you're safe....
When you're growing older, I will be there to watch you're back..
I love you, more than I love myself.

Tree Philosophy

Plant your child a strong root -- hence she will be strong enough to stand on her feet.
Spread your child as many branches -- hence she will reach her friends & family.
Grow your child as high to the sky -- hence she'll have high dreams that gives her courage.

That way, your child will grow as high up the sky; befriend with many people; but never forget where to come home.

One thing Athena...
There' a lot to learn in this world, and so many ways to learn them.
I learnt this one not from a family or relative.. but from a wise friend's parents.
And still remember it. It will be the way how I nurture you.
It called a Tree Philosophy.

As a child, one day you'll grow bigger. you'll have you're own way, own life, own dreams.. Perhaps next month you could even choose your own toys, shoes you like and don't like...
And I could only see you there, and said "I think... " instead of "You should"
Perhaps I will have that mother-syndrome. The one that thought that she can always read her baby's mind and knows what best for her.
Perhaps I will one day. And I hope you will forgive me.
Remind me that I should hang on to that tree philosophy.
I shall taught you how to stand on your feet. And how to survive.
I will be there in every moment of your growing days.
I wanna share you about dreams, and how it helps you see your future.
about dreams that keeps you sane and grateful.
about you being you.
Whwnver you're dreaming high, don't forget to hold on and get your feet on the ground.
Manda loves you. A lot.

Teething Baby Thena

Baby Thena is teething, definitely.

She's been teething to Manda's nipples lately. And it hurts so bad.
When she was a newborn, I could trick her with nipple shield, but now that she know the difference between the real nipple and the fake ones, hehehe -- sorry darling...
Thena start having her first tooth like 2 weeks before she reach 6 months. She had another tooth within the next month. And now, she's going to be eight month yet, completing the upper two incisors or front teeth exist already. And it's dreadful to be bitten to bleeding.. afraid if I had none nipple, It'll even worst...
I know Thena never meant to hurt Mamanda, and perhaps she's just having itch on her teeth. Or perhaps, she was so upset of her horrible teething experience. perhaps it was as hurt as what Manda felt. And Thena just couldn't tell but to show it. Being bitten doesn't stop me from breastfeeding though... I'm still doing it every night, cause I know that thing give comfort to Thena in every situation. It gives her the ultimate love.

Eyang said that whenever Thena bite, pinch her nose so that she lose the bite (she needs to breathe hence she open her mouth). But the thing was, we did a lot of nose-pinching as games, and she love it so bad! she even gave her nose to be pinched voluntarily.
So when this biting thing happens, Manda pinch her nose, and she laugh.
She thought it was a joke.
Manda told her that Thena hurt Mamanda.... and Thena just smiled... asking for more breastmilk.

It happens again and again. and even it makes her laugh. Yes, not only showing off some incisors, but also have sound. A laughing & giggling sound.

And Panda said, try on the nipple shield. At first Manda refuse, cause it would not give Thena the real feeling of breastfeeding -- afraid that she mixed the nipple shield with bottle milk.
But due to such pain, I tried it on.
At first Thena's feeling a bit awkward. She examined it as if t were something bugging her head. Then she tried to suck it, but it was horrible. It doesn't taste like Manda's skin. And since I have such a short nipple, she need more effort to suck the breastmilk out.
(It reminds me of her newborn time, I couldn't possibly figure how she can manage breastfeeding at that time, as it takes more effort. She's amazing.)
And that's it.
Thena seemed frightened.
Seemed that the nipple shield was something awful that holding Manda's breastmilk away from her. And she start to cry. cry and cry eversince..
And I decided to put that thing away.
Manda felt that Thena was afraid if she never be able to feel being breastfed by Manda, she was so afraid that everytime her lips open and loose Manda's breastmilk, she cried.
She was frightened. And since that moment till now, Thena always longing to Mamanda's holding her and breastfeeding her, and she never want to let go.

And I've been whispering to her ears, that I would never let her go. Manda will always stay for Athena. Manda will give Athena the breastmilk as long as she like.

On the other hand...
I have a big question mark in my head: "Is there any way that I could stop my baby from biting during breastfeeding?"

And here's what I found in google..

Step One

Treat the teething pain. Whether you use homeopathic teething tablets, natural teething gels, or pharmaceutical teething pain relievers, find something that will help ease your baby's discomfort. For severe teething pain, children's acetaminophen may help.

Step Two

Take away things that shouldn't be ingested. Some toys have paint that may come off in your baby's mouth if she chews hard on them; other objects may break into pieces and become choking hazards. Put these objects away until your baby's teething episode has subsided.

Step Three

Be consistent and firm without frightening your baby. If she bites you or someone else, say "Don't bite!" or "No biting!" firmly, and put her down gently for a minute if you are holding her. She should realize fairly quickly that biting is not OK.

Step Four

Provide alternatives. Teething rings, teething toys or bagels you can freeze or refrigerate, and dampened, frozen washcloths are all appropriate objects for your baby to bite or chew on.

Step Five

Keep these alternatives close at hand so that you can do a quick switch. When you put your baby down, hand her a teething toy immediately ' this will send the message that some things are OK to chew on, while others most definitely aren't.


And it comes with warnings....

Tips & Warnings

• Cool drinks can help ease teething pain ' a little bit of ice water in a sippy cup may be a good quick fix.
• If you are nursing, your baby may want to breast-feed more often for comfort while she is teething. Try to ease her discomfort before you nurse; this will lessen the possibility that you will get bitten.
• Try to restrain the natural impulse to yelp or shout when your baby bites you. She is not doing it because she wants to hurt you, but because it seems to lessen her own discomfort. She will catch on fast once you let her know what to do.
• Avoid giving your baby ice cubes to suck or chew on ' they can pose a choking hazard.
• Try to be consistent about the biting issue, even before your baby begins teething ' it can seem cute when small babies gnaw on your fingers, but it will hurt when the teeth start to come in.

Baby Brain Gym

Athena's considering manda's though about baby brain gym...

Okay,
it's not merely a gym to make your baby more clever or supergenious, but it's more on how to train your baby to optimize the function of brain synchronization (left & right) by exercising on body coordination.
Many studies suggest that humans may use less than 10% of their brains' potential power. And yet they've made aeroplanes and fly to the moon. Can you imagine what happen if we could optimize its function, for at least few more percentage.. pheeeww.. it would be awesome!
Manda doesn't wish Athena to be supergenious baby, but she try to work on this baby brain gym thingto Athena so that Thena could synchronize both right & left brain for her activities.. all activities.. anytime..anywhere..
It would be great if thena could learn from Brian May. He's the lead guitarist for Queen (YES that Famous Rock Band called Queen! which else?!) and also hold a doctoral degree in astrophysics (Yes It was definitely something extraordinary complicated subject -- Manda herself could only spell it by reading, and yet could figure out how can one manage to get a doctoral degree on that thing :-P). Well, he's surely one great sample!

"So, Thena, what do you think oh this Brian May ?"
"Thena don't like his hair"
"I meant about his achievement, the aspiration..."
"hmm.... lemme think awhile more... I do like music indeed... I like stars also.. especially starsigns :-).. .. I think I can work it out mamanda..."
"Good! shall we start the gym now"
"mmm... but I like dancing more..."
"???!!"

-- Gosh, thank God you're a baby now that I can trick you doing this baby brain gym thing.
no offense darling, you can do the dance thingy when you went to school --

Further info on Baby Brain Gym >> http://bayikita.wordpress.com/