I'm a full-time mummy

Here is another fun and educational app which was released few months ago that I get to review with my 3 year old Benjamin:

* Title: ABC Day
* Price: $1.99
* Category: Education
* Released: Jun 01, 2012
* Version: 1.0.0
* Size: 18.2 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: CV. Hompimplay
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Description from the product page:

"A- Award winning app that effectively teaches young children to read and write.
B- Bubble-popping, alphabet-singing fun.
C- Cute animal friends introduce kids to the joy of learning.

An outstanding tool for education, ABCDay encourages kids to read, write, play, and sing their way through the alphabet. Straight forward navigation permits easy gameplay, and lively animations captivate children as they plunge into a vibrant undersea world. ABCDay is packed with four delightful sections, each with its own unique music and activities.

(1) Reading Time!
P is for Penguin. Identify letters of the alphabet by reading along to the names of loveable animals living in the aquatic wonderland.

(2) Writing Time!
Catch stars. With the assistance of a friendly turtle, trace a sequence of stars to practice drawing letters.

(3) Play Time!
Tickle a seashell until it releases new friends. Each animal that appears has a letter missing from its name. Test memory and spelling by bursting the bubble with the correct letter inside.

(4) Sing Along!
Sing aloud to the alphabet song. Pop letter-filled bubbles or simply watch them float as the song plays."

What's good?

* It is engaging and interactive and I love the beautiful illustrations!

* I was totally amazed when I saw my 3 year old boy tracing along the alphabet (uppercase & lowercase) in the  "Writing Time!" game by helping the turtle to follow (I said catch) the stars. Currently, I have not gone through the alphabets with my boy as I'm trying to build up his skills and practise in tracing activities. But based on this, I am very excited to see the potential of learning to write while still having fun!

* I also used the opportunity in the "Reading Time!" to teach my boy alphabets in a fun way, seeing the animals animated cutely and the bubbles popping!

* My boy is not at the reading level yet so we can't feedback on the "Play Time!" game at the moment but I will definitely revisit this app when the time comes (I always do that for all my products and apps!).

You can purchase the "ABC Day" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code by the sponsor to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

This post is just a personal rant, so feel free to skip if you are not interested at all. I just needed to vent out my personal feelings and thoughts as it has been bugging me these few days and I think only by writing it out and putting it off my chest that I'll be able to find some closures of some sort to this.

A little bit info about me before I started my storytelling: I'm very passionate with matters related to natural birth, breastfeeding (exclusive, during pregnancy, beyond 2 years, tandem), hand expressing breastmilk, co-sleeping and anything related to baby care (as long as I have experience or read about it).

I shared my thoughts and experience with friends, ex-colleagues, relatives, strangers on the cyber world, mums-to-be, new mums, mums, dads etc whenever they asked me. Be it via personal emails through my blog, or via my Facebook page or via my blog posts, I shared without hesitations.

About 3 months back, I joined this group on Facebook, a group that is passionate about breastfeeding matters. Initially I was just commenting and sharing my feedbacks and experience. Then as and when I stumbled upon any articles on the web about breastfeeding topics, I also shared them (from my Facebook page) on this group. I also did that when I blogged about breastfeeding, tandem nursing or parenting topics on my blog here.

All in the name of sharing experience - this is all I wanted to do.

Sometimes I get my inspirations to blog when I read the questions posed by these mummies in the group. It got me motivated to write a post about the 5 Ds to Remember If You Plan to Breastfeed Your Baby which I shared it when I published the post.

Few days back, there are quite a number of new mums posted in the group about needing to supplement with formula milk and I decided to share the link to this blog post again on the group asking the new mums in the group to have faith in their body, to hang in there and not give in to supplementing with formula milk.

Some mums commented and asked questions and I happily shared my feedback on the same thread until one mum commented she can't view the link and can't help but wonder whether I am trying to sell things in the group as she keeps seeing the links being posted in the group (when I had only posted the same link twice in the group).

I was shocked at reading that.

To be frank, I was hurt.

Never in a million years I thought of selling anything in the group other than the ideas that breastfeeding is the best for our child and it takes a strong will and determination to go through the journey successfully.

And yet, because someone is not able to view the link (and did not bother to try again), they assumed I am selling stuff.

Long story short, I explained that I am not selling anything and the link is some tips I shared about breastfeeding. No more response from the person after that but yes, I do think I deserve an apology. Oh well...

But then, that got me thinking, maybe I've been a nuisance for sharing all these articles and info. Maybe I'm a smart aleck and people out there don't like it. Am I being over sensitive? Maybe, but I think it's time to stop being such a busybody to share and help when people just don't seem to understand my intentions and don't even appreciate it.

So, I have decided to take a step back, slowly cut down my interactions in the group and letting go of my passion to share info in that group. Oh, I also have some personal reasons why I think it is better for me to step away from this group. Personally I think the group is getting a bit too dramatic lately, to the extent that there are some cat-fights in some threads (I learned the term cat-fights via some private messages with the founder of the group as I sent her a message telling her briefly about my rant)

Nowadays the most I do is just click 'Like' when I see my friends sharing their experience and testimony in the group, other than that, I have refrained myself from being a smart aleck. Maybe one day, I'll click the 'Leave group' option. I think it is very possible.

Although the group's founder told me "don't let one (or a few) insignificant people put you off wanting to help other people" and "as long as you are sincerely helping, it will pay off, and these negative people will somehow not be significant anymore", I think for the moment I am better off staying away from the heat and drama and silently nursed my bruise ego hahaha...

Yes, I'll still share info and articles on my Facebook page so if you don't like what you see on my page, feel free to click 'Unlike'.

But seriously, I have more important things to focus on now. Some other updates, I've also started my 11 months old girl on cloth diapers (not everyday though as I only have 4 inserts to use on her), also bought a baby sling to babywear my girl (will blog about it later if I can) and still clearing up tons of pending product and book reviews (16 on hand now!). And I'm also wishy-washy in a potential little project of mine... can't quite firm up whether I should go full steam ahead or not... hmmmm... (no, not baby #3 yet hahaha..)

So I don't think I should waste my precious time and brain cells on something that is not rewarding. There you go... Rants done. Sorry for taking up your precious time in reading this silly rant of mine.

Thank you for your support if you are still following my blog and FB page so far!

Summer can be a tricky time for pregnant women - it's lovely to be able to enjoy the great outdoors when the sun is shining, but being too warm when you are carrying the extra weight of your bump around can seriously impede your comfort levels.

If your ankles are fast turning into cankles and you think you are letting your fashion credentials slip, there are plenty of ways you can make sure you look and feel good this summer, here are five top tips:


Wear natural fabrics
Not only are clothes made from natural fabrics such as organic cotton easier to wash and care for - they are also very comfortable. Lightweight, breathable fabrics such as cotton and linen will help you weather the heat in style.


Think tailored not tent-like
Although maternity fashion has dramatically improved in recent years, many retailers' offerings still leave a lot to be desired and unfortunately there are still far too many shapeless tent-like pieces being passed off as maternity fashion. Though it's great to have enough room to breathe, some subtle tailoring can help you feel chic right through your pregnancy - and doesn't need to equal discomfort. Look out for trousers with waistbands that can be let out with buttons and poppers instead of elasticated waists and don't be shy of wearing dresses that are fitted on top.


Buy with mix and match in mind
When you are busy and comfort is your top priority it's easy to let practicalities like whether things match fall by the wayside. Make things easier for yourself by buying items that can be mixed and matched easily so that you don't need to spend time fussing in the morning.

Look for support
Too often the key question during maternity months becomes whether you will fit into an item, but you need to look beyond size and even aesthetics and consider whether the item will be up to the job over the coming months. As you grow you might well find that you need bras and dresses with wider straps to offer you more support.


Prioritise comfortable footwear
Avoiding cankles altogether can be an impossible feat, but you can give your ankles (and feet) the best chance possible by prioritising comfort and support when buying footwear. The likes of Beyonce and Victoria Beckham may like to wear towering heels right up until they pop, but your tootsies will be far more thankful of something padded and firmly rooted on the floor.