Baby Oudam's Crib

Playing Fruit Ninja

Just for fun

You can easily create photos like these at Funnywow.com

From Just For Fun, posted by Oudam Em on 10/07/2011 (30 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

Mother and child

How to teach a baby to read

• Babies’ cognitive abilities are greatest during early phase of development (1)
• Babies are capable of learning to read as early as 4 months old (2)
• Reading builds self-confidence and self-esteem (1)
• Set aside about 40 minutes each day to teach reading, should be free of distractions (1)
• Keep teaching process simple and enjoyable (1)
• Educational materials include: alphabets on flash card, alphabet blocks, patterns, iPod & iPad apps
• Large fonts are most effective (1)

Videos:

Sources:

1. How To Teach Your Baby To Read
2. Brillkids Little Reader – Teaching Baby To Read

Baby Oudam Pictures, 2-3 months

From Baby Oudam 2-3 Mths, posted by Oudam Em on 9/22/2011 (17 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

What can babies see?

• Cannot focus for the first 6-8 weeks, so objects remain blurry (1)
• Pay more attention to faces by 2 months (1)
• Recognize mother’s face by 5 months (1)
• Visual acuity is nearly as good as normal adult by 8 months (1)
• Infants as young as 2 weeks have color vision
• Eyes not well coordinated for first 2 months and often appear crossed; eyes should be well coordinated by 3 months (1)
• Would be able to read the big “E” on eye exam chart by 1 month (1)
• Babies find high-contrast black and white patterns most visible (1)
• Newborns can see objects about 8-15 inches away sharply (2)
• Newborns prefer faces and round shapes with light and dark borders (2)
• If baby still looks “cross-eyed”, this could be a sign of a visual or eye muscle problem (2)

Sources:

1. What can my baby see?
2. How Well Can Newborn Babies See?

Traces of blood in baby’s stool

• In many cases, no known causes and often resolves on its own (2)
• Should be checked out by doctor
• Possible causes: anal fissure (slight anal or rectal tearing from baby straining during elimination), constipation, allergy to formula, infection, nursing mother’s diet (1)
• Look at color for clue (2):
  Blood originating in the colon or rectum tends to be red and may only streak the outside of the stool. If the blood originates further up the GI tract, then the blood is generally darker in color (dark brown/maroon, black) and mixed throughout the stool instead of just on the outside.

Sources:

1. Newborns’traces of blood in stool?
2. What causes blood in baby’s stool?

Flying with young infants

• How young is too young to fly?
  - No absolute answer; should be determined by the reason to fly (1)
  - Expat women giving birth generally counseled to wait 2-4 weeks to fly (1)
• What’s allowed on airplanes (TSA)
• Strollers: Most airlines prefer strollers be checked in (1)
• Background noise on plane is white noise that can help babies sleep (2)
• On-flight bassinets can accommodate babies up to 2 years old (2)

Sources:

1. Flying with Kids
2. Taking your baby on the long-haul flight to Australia — more survival plans!
3. Surviving a flight with your baby or toddler

Oudam Vichea’s first few minutes

This was a truly magical moment for me…meeting our newborn son for the very first time. Baby Oudam was delivered at 8:40 AM on 6/25/11 by Caesarean section at Royal Rattanak Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He was born 2 weeks earlier than expected and weighed just 5 lb 6 oz at birth.

Another highly memorable moment, albeit in a bitter-sweet way, occurred just 14 hours after his birth as I watched my son being wheeled into an ambulance as he was being transported to another hospital (Calmette) to be treated for respiratory problems. His mother, barely able to move, stayed behind at Royal Rattanak. I vividly remember sitting in the back of the ambulance staring at my little boy through the portable glass incubator in which he was receiving heat and oxygen. So many thoughts were racing through my mind. Fortunately, he recovered nicely and was released from Calmette Hospital three days later to be reunited with his mother.

Now at 9 weeks old, he has since doubled his birth weight and, as far as we know, is healthy in every way. I’ve always pondered on how to teach my son to overcome adversities and challenges in life but didn’t expect him to take on one so early.

A very sad loss

I’m saddened to report the loss of our beloved cat Mean.  After a 4-year battle with cancer, including a series of tumor-removal surgeries, he finally succumbed to the disease on August 12, 2011.

Actually, Mean was much more than a pet to me. He’d make the trip halfway around the world with us when we decided to move to Cambodia from Houston, Texas. As a full-fledged member of the family, he played a major role in our travel plans and other life decisions.

Before the birth of my son Oudam Vichea, Mean had taught me more about innocence and unconditional love than any human being ever had. That’s quite a feat for a four-legged creature.  At the time of his death, Mean was 22 years old, or 110 in cat years, so he had a thing or two to teach about longevity as well.

I think pets and babies, by virtue of their sheer innocence and guilelessness, have a lot to teach us grownups.  They can’t talk– we just have to listen.