Part 10 - Of Human Bondage Audiobook by W. Somerset Maugham (Chs 105-113)

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Tummy Time

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Tricks You Can Try Getting Baby To Sleep

It is very difficult to manage an infant especially when you are a first-time mother. You don’t understand how to tackle all the daily tasks associated with your baby- you are baffled while bathing him, caring him, feeding him. But the trickiest part is to make your kid sleep. You are all jaded when the time comes to get him sleep. The first and foremost way to make him sleep is to get him adapt himself to good sleeping habits. It is difficult for the infants to adapt themselves to an ambiance that is so different from his mother’s peaceful womb. It takes time to get habituated with this world. When he finally does, he sleeps comfortably and also gives you comfort.

There are different opinions about how to make the baby sleep. However there is no single highly effective tip to do that. But you must try out several ways to see what suits your baby best. You have to make your baby transition between his sleep and his wakefulness. If he finds this himself, he will fall asleep without aids from you. He is creating a timetable of falling asleep. The tips given below can help you to determine the best way possible to make your baby to feel transition. However, the best way out there is to rely on your intuitions.

Fathering down is a wonderful way. Fathering down is referred to the one when dad is around just before he is going to bed. Let dad cradle his child. The child’s head should rest on dad’s neck. While nurturing the baby thus, the father must talk to him in a soothing tone. Since the male voice pitch is deeper than the female’s, dad’s voice would be best for the kid to soothe him to fall asleep.

An option that has come up recently is ‘driving down’. It instructs to put the kid in his car seat and driving round for a short time, till he dozes off. But this method is inconvenient, spending the petrol. But if your baby doesn’t adapt to any other methods, you can try this one. It is observed that this is a very effective tip.

Even if these methods call for success, you are unable or rather are reluctant to drive around each night just to make your baby sleep. But you can go for them as these techniques basically make the baby learn the feel of dozing off. Once the baby gets habituated, you can get out of these drastic methods. You can later on replace driving car with rocking the baby in bassinet. The basic thing is to make the baby apprehend to transition into sleep. So you need to be a bit patient because you can’t expect your child to learn that all of a sudden.

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Pineapples: The Healing Fruit of the Tropics (includes a recipe for Pina-Banana Orange Smoothie)

For a natural and tasty way to improve your health and boost your healing capacity, add fresh pineapple and pineapple juice to your diet. Pineapples are nutritionally packed members of the bromeliad family. This delightful tropical fruit is high in the enzyme bromelain and the antioxidant vitamin C, both of which plays a major role in the body's healing process.

Bromelain, a natural anti-inflammatory with analgesic properties, encourages healing, promotes well-being and has many other health benefits. Bromelain is very effective in treating bruises, sprains and strains by reducing swelling, tenderness and pain. This powerful anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect can also help relieve osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and reduce postoperative swelling. Additionally, bromelain can relieve indigestion. The enzyme contained in fresh pineapple helps break down the amino acid bonds in proteins, which promotes good digestion.

Pineapples also provide an ample supply of vitamin C, a commonly known antioxidant that protects the body from free radical damage and boosts the immune system. Vitamin C helps build and repair bodily tissue and promotes wound healing. The body uses vitamin C to help metabolize fats and cholesterol, absorb iron, and synthesize amino acids and collagen. Collagen is one of the primary building blocks of skin, cartilage and bones. Vitamin C also decreases the severity of colds and infections.

Furthermore, due to its high vitamin C content, pineapples are good for your oral health as well. Recent studies have found that vitamin C can reduce your risk of gingivitis and periodontal disease. Besides increasing the ability of connective tissue to repair itself, vitamin C also increases the body's ability to fight invading bacteria and other toxins that contribute to gum disease. Periodontal disease, which destroys gum tissue and underlying jaw bones, has been linked to heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

So if you are searching for a natural way to enhance your body's healing mechanisms, promote overall good health and tantalize your taste buds, pineapples are the way to go. Choose the fresh fruit because it has the most healing properties. Unfortunately, most of the bromelain in canned pineapple is destroyed due to the heat used in the canning process.

When choosing a fresh pineapple, do not judge ripeness solely based upon color. There are several varieties on the market that range from green to golden yellow. The most important factor in determining ripeness is smell, let your nose help you decide. Ripe pineapples give off a sweet, fresh tropical smell. Avoid pineapples that give off an unpleasant odor or have any soft spots or areas of dark discoloration. Once home, let the pineapple sit on your counter at room temperature until ready to use. This will preserve its sweet and tangy flavor.

To prepare pineapple, you need to peel it, remove the eyes (the thorny protrusions within the puffy squares of the skin) and the fibrous center. One way to do this is to remove the top of the pineapple with a sharp knife. Then cut the pineapple lengthwise into 4 wedges (quarter it) and place each pineapple wedge horizontally on a cutting board. Carefully cut the fruit from the outer skin, and cut out the eyes and fibrous center core.

Another way is to cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple, place the pineapple vertically (upright) on a cutting board and carefully slice off the outer skin. With a sharp paring knife or the end if a vegetable peeler, remove the eyes. Don't cut too deep, just enough to lift out the section that contains the eye. Then, slice the pineapple crosswise and remove the fibrous core individually with a cookie cutter.

Once the fruit is prepared, it can be diced and eaten fresh, added to salads and entrees for an exotic flavor, or made into tasty tropical drinks and smoothies.

To get you started, try Monique N. Gilbert's delicious, nutritious, cholesterol-free smoothie recipe. It's high in bromelain, vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, thiamin (vitamin B-1), riboflavin (vitamin B-2), iron, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and soy isoflavones.

Pina-Banana Orange Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup soymilk
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon canned pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (optional)

Place all of the above ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.

Makes about 2-3/4 cups (2 servings)

Copyright © Monique N. Gilbert - All Rights Reserved

Monique N. Gilbert, B.Sc. is a Health, Nutrition, Weight-Loss & Lifestyle Coach; Certified Personal Trainer/Fitness Counselor; Recipe Developer; Freelance Writer and Author of Virtues of Soy: A Practical Health Guide and Cookbook. She has offered guidance in natural health, nutrition, fitness, weight-loss and stress management since 1989. You can reach Monique at http://www.MoniqueNGilbert.com/

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Suspense: Mister Markham, Antique Dealer / The ABC Murders / Sorry, Wrong Number - East Coast

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Jamie

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Amusing Facts About Babies

* Men are officially the best at changing baby! Research shows that the average time taken by a woman to change baby is 2 minutes and 5 seconds, whereas the average man takes 1 minute and 36 seconds! Expert in male and female behaviour Corinne Sweet says 'Changing baby is essentially a mechanical process, men approach it like a pit stop; they want it over as quickly as possible'. So come on guys lend a hand, you're the experts!!

* Overweight children are up to 5 times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke before the age of 65. So if you're overfeeding your 'little' one, you could be killing him with kindness.

* Eating fish during pregnancy can boost your baby's brain development and give him better communication and language skills. A study of 7000 mothers found that those who ate fish at least once per week had babies who scored higher in verbal skills at 15 months than those whose mothers ate no fish.

* The father's sperm will decide the sex of your baby. The mother's eggs contain only a female or X chromosome, but a man's contains either an X (which makes a girl) or Y chromosome (which makes a boy). Whichever one reaches the egg first and fertilises it will determine the sex.

* Air fresheners may cause diarrhoea and earache in babies say scientists. They found that infants in homes where air fresheners and aerosols were used every day were 32% more likely to suffer from stomach and ear complaints.

* One in five toddlers can open medicine and chemical bottles with child-resistant tops experts are warning. Every year thousands of toddlers are taken to hospital having swallowed substances ranging from perfume, painkillers and household cleaning products. The Child Accident Prevention Trust advises parents to store all medicines high up and well out of reach and sight; never assume that a child cannot open a product with a child-resistant lid; and never leave pills or drugs in a handbag - a favourite place for a toddler to search.

* Will your baby be left or right-handed? It's decided as early as 10 weeks gestation say researchers who found that babies in the womb favour one hand over the other, the same one they'll prefer to use in life.

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