I'm a full-time mummy

Who says being pregnant isn't fun? I get to review more things when I'm pregnant! Anyway, I came across the details on this book  in a press release and tried my luck in requesting for an opportunity to review it even though the title suggests that it's for fathers-to-be. I mean, hey, this book is written by a woman and I want to know whether there are anything being left out or anything that my husband should be aware of this time round! (Not that he's not prepared during our 1st birth but it doesn't hurt to learn more, right?) So here is my review of this educational book from Elaine Atwood Adler entitled: "A Concise Guide to Labor and Delivery for Fathers-to-Be".

Author: Elaine Atwood Adler
Publisher:  CreateSpace (June 27, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1453611647
Hardcover: 104 pages

Description from the product page:

"You’re expecting a baby! Congratulations! This is a very exciting time in your life – one that will be filled with more joy than you could ever imagine! Maybe you’re not the father, but a supportive friend helping the new mother through her pregnancy. Either way, having a baby is not only a monumental task for the mother, but for you as well! The new Mom needs you to be there with her and for her not only during the pregnancy, but especially during labor and delivery.

Many men are reluctant to be present during the birth of a child. Some might feel they’re too squeamish to witness the actual birth. Others are afraid they won’t be able to effectively provide support to their partners. Most of the time, the hesitation these men feel stems from the fact that they are basically clueless when it comes to the miracle of childbirth."

I got interested in this book as I read the list of what you will learn from this book, such as:

# What happens when you get to the hospital?
# What a woman needs most during labor.
# What labor contractions feel like - if you dare!
# What happens during the three stages of labor.
# What you can do to help alleviate her pain.
# What you absolutely must NOT do while your lady is in labor.
# Your role in the delivery or birthing room.
# Suggested items for your "Labor Tool Kit".
# What to do if you believe that some hospital procedures seem not medically necessary.
# What's a spinal block? An epidural? An episiotomy?

As I read through each chapters in the book, I start comparing with how my husband fared when I gave birth to Ben 2 years ago and I realised he did most of the things from the book (thank God!) but there's one thing which was not mentioned in the book when it comes to pain relief methods. Maybe it's not popular or recommended anymore in overseas, but I thank God that my husband realised AND remembered that we could use Enthonox (laughing gas) as a pain relief method. While I was busy trying to remember and focus on my breathing exercises (which was also reminded by my husband!), my husband happened to see the gas mask hanging right above my labor bed and asked our gynae whether I could use it and the moment our gynae said 'SURE! GO AHEAD!' I was hanging onto the mask as if it was my lifeline!

I find the great thing about this book is that the author mentioned about the dangers of pain medication where it mentioned: "pain medications, once administered, cannot be rescinded and you may need another drug or procedure to remedy the ill effects. These in turn, introduce their own risks". (taken from page 42)

I also like the points listed on what makes a great birthing partner where the author mentioned some things that the father-to-be can do (or not do) just to provide support and encouragement for their birth partner.

From this book, I learned something new on the reason why mum-to-be normally get started on an IV drip. Maybe it's just me, but I really don't know why (I thought it's to provide some sort of nutrition or feeding for energy and strength) until I read this book which mentioned that it is done as a preventive measure in the event that medications must be administered later.

What would be great for the book is if it also comes with illustrations or pictures to accompany the points in the book.

 Do get a copy of this book if you want to know more on what to expect and to be more prepared during labor & delivery.

• You can purchase the book (hardcopy version or ebook version) from http://www.fathertobe.org/book/
  
• You can also purchase the A Concise Guide to Labor and Delivery for Fathers-to-Be book from Amazon.
  

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a  softcopy of the book (which looks great as I read it on my iPad) by Jim from the publishing company 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 book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

With all the recent hype about iPad2 hitting the stores lately, I decided to write a post about using iPad as a teaching tool.

I recently purchased the 1st generation iPad (after moments of panic at the last minute when I realised Apple is phasing them out to make way for iPad2) and by the time I placed my order online, there's only 1 type left for the iPad without 3G (I don't need the 3G option) which is the one with the 64GB storage (but then, that would be what I wanted anyway, the max storage hehehe...)

Anyway, it took me quite a while to decide on this purchase as I've been looking to get a gadget where I could read my ebooks (for my book review purposes and also  for my personal reading pleasure) and after ruling out Kindle (not available / supported in Malaysia) and some other ebook readers, I also have to factor in that I could use the iPad as a teaching tool with Ben.

So, I got myself the iPad and started downloading and trying out the appropriate applications and games for my 25 months old boy. I chose those with free version (most of these came with a few samples or activities for you to try on before you decide to buy the whole application) and so far has purchased about 4 applications for Ben. They are:

#1: Elmo Loves ABCs

At USD4.99, this application is by far the most expensive I've paid but I don't regret the purchase as we (yes WE!) really love it! This app teaches you the alphabets from A to Z, you learned to trace each letters (uppercase & lowercase) and after successfully writing out the respective letters, you get to choose 3 different objects that start with that letter and you get to see a short video clip on that object. You can also do coloring activities, enjoy the letter games and listen to 4 versions of the alphabet song including a new silly Elmo song. Love it!

#2: ABCs & Animals

At USD1.99, I am glad I decided to purchase this app. Actually, even the free version is enough as it covers all the A-Z alphabets, just that I thought maybe getting the additional animal version would be great as well, and indeed it is! Whenever I opened up this app for Ben, you could see him furiously tapping the iPad screen as this app allows interactive playing and learning. For example with the letter B for Bird, you can see a flash image of 3 birds and as you tapped on each bird, it flew away by itself while making chirping sounds and you will move on to the next letter. What a fun and creative activity!

#3: Kid Genius: 13 in 1

At USD0.99,this app is a steal! I came across this app after checking out a blogger's website. She commented in one of my recent post and I visited her blog (as my usual courtesy to thank my blog visitors/readers for commenting on my posts) and I saw her posting about iPhone and iPad app and she recommended this app to try on. There are over 600 flash cards in this app, you get to learn Math, ABCs, Counting and Words, and many other objects such as musical instruments, objects in the house, farm, zoo and so on... Great app!

#4: Matching Jobs

According to the app page, "The Matching Jobs app is an educational game that helps little boys and girls learn the names of three different jobs and the vehicles each profession uses." I had only tried this app about twice with Ben before he surprised me on the 3rd time by getting all the 5 jobs (free version) correctly! I decided to spend the USD0.99 to get the full version, which has an additional 11 jobs to be played with. Another no regrets purchase!

Just look at the video clip below taken on Ben's 4th time playing with the app (before I decided to purchase the full version)

So yeah, these few apps are the ones I've puchased since I got the iPad and it's working out pretty good so far. Of course, I do still teach Ben other stuff without relying on the iPad but I feel using iPad as a teaching tool is fun and an interactive method too, provided you get the appropriate and correct age type of applications to work with.

If you have any feedback or recommendations on other apps I could try with Ben, please do share with me! Thanks!

I am so thrilled to be able to review this book! I came across the details on this book and immediately wrote in to request for an opportunity to review it. So here is my review of this inspiring book from Mary Bailey entitled: "JESUS MY SON: Mary's Journal of Jesus' Early Life".

Author: Mary Bailey
Publisher:  AuthorHouse (February 4, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1449064938
Hardcover: 208 pages

Description from the product page:

"Greetings! Welcome to the journal of Mary, Jesus' Mother.

Enjoy this inspirational journal as Jesus' early life unfolds through the eyes of His mother. Mary's story offers a fresh perspective to a very old story. From her view, we are provided possible answers to questions often asked of Jesus' early life. Can you imagine nurturing a baby, experiencing all the firsts of a toddler, teaching a young boy, tolerating a teenager, and enjoying the experiences of a young man, while always anticipating a promised kingdom?

Mary's life was very similiar to a mother's life today.  We care for our children while always striving to provide something better for them. Very little is known of these early years, but Mary must have celebrated milestones just as all mothers today. Jesus had a first tooth, a first word, a first step, a first day of school, siblings, graduations, and other milestones like our children today. The only witness to all these events was Mary. Through Mary's story we learn of Jesus' relationship with his brothers, sisters and cousins, including John the Baptist and Matthew. "

Would you just look at the picture above? It's personally autographed on the book by the author herself prior to her sending it to me. What a nice touch and inspiring message she wrote! Now back to the book...

Have you ever thought of what goes on in Mary's mind when she found out she's carrying God's child? The fears, doubts, worries and challenges she had in overcoming all the obstacles in her life? Personally, I felt the same thing when I found out I am carrying a child. Now double, triple, quadruple those emotions when Mary finds out she is carrying not just any particular child, but God's child?!

I can relate to this book since they are personal thoughts penned down by a mother and how she accepts and overcome all the challenges and blessings in her life. I mean, as a mother myself, I do have my own worries and doubts on how am I going to bring up my child in this challenging world, how can I instill the good and positive attitudes and behaviour in my child's life and how I can train my child up to be a God fearing and God loving child, so on and so forth.

Of course, I definitely cannot compare to how it feels like to be in Mary's shoes (since she is carrying God's child!) but I do believe and trust every human being in this world is a child of God and that we as a parent are being entrusted to care and bring up the child in the best positive ways we could.

I enjoyed reading the "Jesus in Born in Bethlehem and the Sepherds' Visit" chapter as I felt like I'm in the actual place itself! I totally ache for Mary's suffering and her discomfort when she gave birth at the stable full of dirty and smelly animals.

A favorite part in the book which I love is in the "Jesus Runs a Race" chapter, how he gave up winning the race and gained a friend instead. I'd love for my child to be able to do that someday, to not worry or be pressured into winning every race or competitions in life and to instead focus on the positive outcomes of it.

I am also touched by the prayer at the end of each chapters where Mary normally thanked God for the miracles and blessings being bestowed on her and her family and she also prayed for wisdom to go through the difficulties she is facing. 

I am a bit sad when I came to the end of the book, it has been a wonderful journey to be able to have a glimpse on what goes on in Mary's life and Jesus's earlier life in more details.

 I find it REALLY hard to put the book down! I just can't stop reading it as it's too exciting and wonderful to read through from the beginning until the end of the book! OK, granted, I am a big fan of books written in journal or diary as it feels as though I am the one who is going through everything that happens in the book!

Also, I can't help but notice that the author is currently working on the second and third books in this series of three. (FYI: Jesus My Son: Mary's Journal of Jesus' Ministry should be released later this year.) I hope I can have the opportunity to review these books as well (*hint *hint!)

What I can say about this book in summary?

• You can purchase the Jesus My Son: Mary's Journal of Jesus' Early Life book from Amazon, AuthorHouse website, Barnes and Noble and many more.
  
• And if you are searching for a unique Mother’s Day gift, join Mary Bailey and number of partners on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, for the launch of Jesus My Son: Mary's Journal of Jesus' Early Life. Purchase a hardcopy at Amazon.com from seller MRBent and receive a 35% discount. Get immediate access to $100’s worth of valuable free bonus gifts. Register to win some beautiful prizes including a framed print of Mary’s Heart, the painting on the cover of my book, valued at $99.00. What gift could be more special than a journal written by God’s chosen mother about the everyday activities of the son she shared with our Father? Any mother will enjoy listening to Mary’s heart as she pours out her emotions in her journal entries. View all the Bonus gifts you can receive and the prizes you can win just by ordering one book!
  

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by the author 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 book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"