Television watching - Is this bad for babies?

I have read from several articles that television watching is not recommended for babies below 2 years of age. There are even studies supporting the negative effects of television watching to children.

We made a house rule that television is a No-No for our baby. If there's a show that we want to watch. What we do is positioned my baby's back facing the tv. It is important that this rule will be agreed by everyone in your home, most specially the yaya. Read maintaining healthy family habit.

Programs that I let my baby watch as of yesterday is an eductaional set of dvd's I bought at a discounted price at SM... A Vocabulary Builder by BabyBumbleBee which contains 5 volumes in 3 DVDs. I only let my baby watch it for 15-30 minutes. The background music is classical and it repeatedly shows common objects with real ones and says aloud the name of objects shown. We do not leave her to watch alone, instead we interact with her while watching.

Baby watching "Baby Can Read"

Below are links to two articles I find very useful.

TV Watching Guidelines for Toddlers
Should Babies and Toddlers Watch Television
A Guide for Watching Television: Tips for your Family

My baby's Milestones from 0-6 months

It wasn't long that she was still in my womb and now she's an active 6 months old baby who loves to explore her toys or anything she can grab into her mouth. I'm a proud and happy mommy. Until now her source of nourishment is only from. The only trouble I got was when she had colds other than that just rashes, insect bites and now a diaper rash (partly my fault because she wears diapers 24/7 will talk more on  this on my next post)...

Will just back track on my baby's development...

My baby started to turn on her tummy on her own when she was just 3.5 months old, by then around 4 months she would love to roll over and over. So, we surround her with pillows to prevent her from falling over. She drools a lot when she turned 5 months and tries to grab at objects at 4 months. Also, her eye sight has improved alot around 4 months I think.

My baby squirms and kicks when she's excited or when she's happy. She makes a funny face when she's so focus on something. Like when she's playing. She loves to make bubbles with her saliva and make funny sounds at 5 months. She only fussy when she's sleepy or hungry (well, we noticed that she was like this when she was 5 months before that she cries usually in the afternoon and we have no idea why).   She reaches out when she wants to be carried. She seems to have a favorite toy.

That's it. If only I can be with her all the time so that I can witness all her firsts. But a working mom can only do much and has to delegate a trusted yaya to look after her baby.

What to wear? For mommies on the budget

Below are just a few tips on shopping for moms on the budget.

For expectant moms:

1. Buy only essentials like maternity shorts and maternity pants. I would recommend that you buy those with elastic band instead of the pouch type. You can still wear these after giving birth since the post pregnancy fat won't fall off right away. Actually, I only had 1 pair of maternity pants, 2 maternity shorts, and 2 maternity "pedals". I love to dresses, so often I wore dresses when at work. Sometimes I paired my tops with leggings. Minsan lang talaga ako mag pants or leggings kase sobrang naiinitan ako that time hehehe
2. Nursing bra or maternity bra? Which is which? I suggest that you buy a nursing bra on your 8th month if you plan to breastfeed. If not, you may use any wireless bra that you have in the closet. What I did was that I bought 3 pcs. cheap nursing bras (around 100-300 each). When I started working after I gave birth, I invested on 2 padded nursing bras and a nursing bandeau.    
3. Buy outfits with stretchable or expandable tummy area. There are many fashionable tops and dresses that you can use even after you are pregnant.  
4. When I was pregnant, I had dark armpits so I often paired my tubed dresses or sleeveless tops with a cardigan or bolero.

For nursing moms:

1. You may use a shawl as an alternative nursing cover. Its easier to use rather than buying an expensive nursing cover. I bought a tent-like nursing cover nahirapan naman ako gamitin na walang assistance.
2. Choose tops wherein you can easily open like buttoned tops, stretchable neckline, tube tops, zip front, etc. There are many available tops that are cheap and at the same time fashionable.
3. A bandeau is a usefull nursing accessory for low neckline tops.
4. Invest on good quality nursing bras. You just need to buy 2-3 pcs. since you'll only be wearing these when your out with your baby. You can use the cheaper nursing bras when your at home.