Toys for Boys

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Last Friday, Hubby bought this for the boys.


But if you ask me, I think it is just an excuse to buy it for himself :)

I love the sleek new look and pristine white casing. Even the various controllers and gadgets come in matching whites. The set came with bundled with Wii Sports - bowling, tennis, boxing and golf. It has been a great tool for family bonding thus far. It is actually quite amusing, watching how the kids anticipate the moves and respond accordingly.

Over the weekend, we browsed the shops for Wii games and we are drooling over the following :


We discovered that prices for the games vary quite significantly from shop to shop, even for the same game titles. Overall, it may be more cost effective to purchase them oveseas if we are buying more titles.

As with all computer and interactive games, Wii can be addictive. So we laid down rules regarding time and duration of play and play etiquette that must be adhered to. At the same time, it also presented us with opportunities to teach the kids about sharing and taking turns and reinforcing while playing the games. There are also platforms to talk about winning and losing and the more constructive way to react to that.

The Lows

Sunday, May 4, 2008

I have been a little depressed lately and have been neglecting to blog. Inundated with the various issues, I just did not have the mood to come in here to write. However, today I felt that precisely that, perhaps I should, all the more, journal it all down to flush it out of my system. Sigh.....

It was 20 months ago when Little Buddy first displayed a dislike for milk. I thought then that perhaps it was just an infant thing to be difficult and would probably be just a passing phrase. However, it proved to be a prolonged passing phrase. Each milk feed turned into a huge struggle as he just would not take the teat, practically yelling and crying through each session. Then started a quest to unearth the reasons for his rejection.

Instead of direct latch-on, I tried expressing out my milk and feeding via a bottle, trying all the available types of bottle teats, varying feeding positions, etc. Till finally I gave up and spoon-fed him. It was a little better as it shortened each milk feed to a mere 20 minutes, compared to a 2-hour marathon which would still leave me with an unfinished bottle of milk.

Little Buddy was not gaining weight too well, so I decided to start him early on cereal at 5 months. He took to it rather well and I was relieved. But I was not to know that it was only a temporal respite. He reverted to rejecting his meals and I was again at a loss at what to do.

Since then, I have cooked all the different types of food - vegetables, meat, soup and fruits, in every possible way that a young child of that age can possibly try. Yes, I have even tried starving him, hoping that he would eat when hungry. Most people would give me an incredulous look and be at a loss for words when I share how I tried everything that had been suggested but have yet to see any improvement in Little Buddy's feeding habits. I have brought him to different paedatricians, sought opinions of other mothers, searched for information on the web but I still could not find anything that helped. The paeds told me there is nothing physically wrong with Little Buddy, it is just a passing phase. Other mothers tell me to vary the food and preparation methods and that it is a just a passing phase.

I have been told 'it is just a passing phase' so many times that sometimes I really want to strangle the next person who says that. Oops! Yes, that is how terrible I feel right now. I mean this passing phase is already a 22-month phase! And I am exhausted having already struggled 22 months x 30 days x 5 solid/milk feeds per day = 3,300 times! Honestly, the whole issue is really getting into me and making me worried and depressed, wondering how long more this is going to last. I now dread every feeding session.

I have been praying and praying and praying daily, asking for a breakthrough. Please God, please let the day come when Little Buddy begins to enjoy his meals.....