Friday, May 20, 2011

Parenting Premmies has moved!

Don't forget to follow us and our journey over at Parenting Premmies

I look forward to seeing everyone over there too =)

Saturday, May 7, 2011

I've Moved!

I have now set myself up at my new home on Mummy Industries. I would love to see everyone over there too!

Thanks for all the support xx

Thursday, May 5, 2011

I'm Moving Blog!!!

I am moving the blog over to Mummy Industries! Once everything has been set-up properly I will let everyone know =)

This blog will stay open for a while, however I will not be posting content, updating pages etc here any more.It will take a week or so to get it up and running, so please bare with me while I work things through!

Thanks for all the support! I look forward to seeing you over there too.

Thank you to Bec from Bad Mummy for providing me with this awesome opportunity!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Grieving and Coping After Premature Birth

GRIEVING AND COPING AFTER THE PREMATURE BIRTH OF YOUR BABY

For many preemie parents, it is shocking to them how deeply distressed they are by the early birth of their baby or babies. Feelings of sadness, regret, anger, powerlessness, guilt and anxiety can feel overwhelmingly intense. As a result, many parents worry that there is something wrong with them-- particularly if thir child survives, and particularly if their child's health and development is fairly good. When you have so much to be thankful for, why do you feel so bad? Ironically, the better a child does, the more the parents may worry about their inability to cope with the "prematurity thing". 

To read more please head to Preemie-l

Monday, May 2, 2011

Strategies to Help Develop Imitation Skills ~ Speech Therapy

* Sitting in front of a mirror can often make copying more fun
* Make sure your baby is watching you. He/she will not be able to imitate unless he/she sees what you are doing
* Start by practising easier skills first. For example, when teaching imitation of sounds, it is easier to start with noises than sounds.
* Your baby will find it easier to imitate a sounds or action that he/she has already done. Watch your baby. When he/she makes a sound or does an action, copy it and then wait to see what he/she does.
* Initially follow your baby’s lead, if he/she is playing with a toy and bangs it on the table, wait. Then take the toy and bang it on the table. Give the toy back to your baby and wait to see what he/she will do. If your child makes a “b” sound copy him/her and then wait. Provide encouragement for him/her to do the sound again.
* Use cues to help him/her understand that you want him/her to copy you. Encourage your baby to imitate the sound or action by saying “you do it”. After you have done the action, stop and look at your baby expectantly. Remember to praise your baby when he/she tries to imitate a sound/action.
* Once your baby becomes good at playing an imitation game with an action or sound he/she has performed, try becoming the leader. Do an action/sound in front of your baby (eg, clap your hands) and then wait for your baby to copy you.
* Make the activities fun and rewarding. Your baby will find it easier to copy things that he/she enjoys doing.

Imitation of actions

Actions with Object
Pat a doll
Feed a doll
Put blocks in a bucket
Rings on a pole
Roll a ball Throw a ball
Knock over blocks
Stir with a spoon
Bang 2 blocks together
Build a tower
Push a car
Wash face
Hit a drum

Imitations of Actions
Clap hands
Wave Goodbye
Raise hands (hands up)
Rub hands together
Bang the table (open hand)
Pat head
Bang fist on table
Raise hand (give me high five)
Tap legs
Cover face with hands
Tap tummy
March

Imitations of oral actions
Open mouth
Stick out tongue
Put lips together
Blow
Smile
Pucker Lips
Move tongue side to side
Move tongue up and down
Place tongue to bottom teeth
Kiss
Smile
Frown

Imitation of Sounds

Start teaching your child to imitate sounds by copying the sounds that your child makes. If he/she says “bababa”, copy him or her and wait. Try introducing new easy sounds such as ‘ar’ ‘ee’ ‘oo’ ‘pa’ and ‘ba’.

First noises
Brrroom (pushing car)
Ah choo (pretend sneeze)
Tongue clicks (clock)
Raspberry
Moo (cow)
Whee (having a whizzy)
Ah (mouth open)

Then sounds
P-blowing out candle
M-pat tummy (yum)
B-bouncing ball
S-snake sound
T-ticking clock
D-drum

Later words
Bye bye (waving)
Mine (holding toy to chest)
Go (pushing a car)
All gone (hide toy)
Night night (pretend to sleep)
Me (pointing to self)
Boo (peek-a-boo)

A Word About Songs

Singing songs is a great way to learn about imitation. Sing songs that include actions or simple sounds that your child can imitate. Great songs may include:

Open Shut them
5 Fat Sausages
This Little Piggy
There Were 3 in a Bed
If You’re happy and You Know it
Old McDonald
5 little ducks
5 little monkeys
Put Your Finger on Your Nose
Little Peter Rabbit.

Avado Organics ~ Product Review

I am a huge fan of Avado Organics. The following is my personal review for which I am not paid for.

My absolute favourite product is their lip balms, my lips were so soft and felt so nice when I was using it. I need to get some more!!! The lip balm lasted about 2-3 months with daily use (2-3 times a day).

I also use their shampoo and conditioner. My hair feels so nice and soft after using them.

Another favourite product of mine is their nipple care balm, I used it everyday when breastfeeding Tristan and I not once got cracked or sore nipples. I love it!   

You can find Avado organics in selected Coles stores, Priceline stores, pharmacies and health food stores.

Also, if you head over and 'like' Avado Organics on Facebook and interact with them (likes, comments, reviews, etc) you go in to the draw to win a $15 voucher! Drawn every week!

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