J for Jaundice

When my son was born, he was detected with jaundice within 24 hours of birth. In fact, jaundice appearing within 24 hours of birth is consider out of norm. My first daughter have jaundice, so with my second son being diagnosed with jaundice, we just have to deal with it.

Jaundice is common in babies in the first 3 weeks of life. It is a condition where the baby's skin and whites of the eyes look yellowish caused by excess bilirubin (a byproduct of the red blood cells) in the blood. Jaundice occurs when bilirubin builds up faster than a newborn's liver can break it down.

The most common treatment is phototherapy (light therapy). This involved placing the baby naked under special blue lights with only the diapers on and the baby's eyes are covered and protected by an eyes mask; the process helps the body to break down the bilirubin.

Our pediatrician checked him on day 0 and said he needed phototherapy starting midnight. Upon the Blood Biochemistry test for Bilirubin (Neonate), his bilirubin level was 18.6mg/dL (miligrams per dicilitre) on day 1 (am). The test result was after 6 hours of phototherapy starting midnight. If our pediatrician did not order phototherapy starting midnight, his jaundice level may have shoot up to a higher level. Our baby boy was hospitalised for the next few days for phototherapy and he was routinely checked for bilirubin level. His bilirubin was 18.2 at day 1 (pm), 15.5 at day 2, peaked at 19.4 at day 3 (am), 18.8 at day 3 (pm) and remained high until day 7. Our baby is to be remained admitted for phototherapy until his bilirubin level drop below 10.

The common treatment required only a photolamp (on top/above the bassinet) and a bilibed (at the bottom) on the bassinet.

Picture taken from http://ww.thebabyspecialist.com.sg

Bilibed

Just as described above, his jaundice peaked between day 3 to day 5. Due to the spike on day 3, our pediatrician intensified the treatment. From the normal 1 photolamp above the 1 bilibed in the bassinet increased to 3 photolamps above and 1 capsule (equivalent to 3 bilibeds' lights) in the bassinet. Altogether, he had 6 lights on him almost 24hours a day for the next 2 days except for feeding time and slowly reduced the lights depending on his bilirubin test result. Breastmilk was discouraged at this point of time because of medical and practical reason. And as recommended, he was on total formula milk feeding to encourage frequent bowel movement, which help remove the bilirubin through stools. It was heart and nerve wrecking seeing him under itensified treatment of 5 or 6 lights!

My poor baby was pricked at least once a day and twice a day when his bilirubin levels was at peak throughout his stay in hospital for the routine bilirubin test and other test. It was a tough time for us; especially when his bilirubin level peak at 19.4 on day 3 and remained high for the next few days. We were told that bilirubin above 20 is consider an alarming level and there are potential risk of deafness, or brain damages, and in rare cases, an exchange blood transfusion (baby's blood is replaced with fresh blood) may be needed. My heart sank seeing my newborn being placed for treatment. He was the one and only in the nursery who required such intensified treatment and stayed for an extended period of time. On every visit, I touched his little hands and held my tears, cause I needed to be strong for him.

I pray and believe that his bilirubin level will drop the next day, and  he will be discharged the following day. Believing in miracles, believing in total healing. Every day, I look forward to the next day, knowing that today is the day that my baby will be discharged.

7 days in nusery, 6 days of phototherapy, 11 blood tests. Praise the Lord! On day 7, his bilirubin level has dropped to 11 and he has also passed the second hearing screening. Our pediatrician finally gave his consent for our baby to be discharged!

My son was born on 18 October 2012, and discharged on 25 October 2012. A picture of him (still looking yellowish) a day after discharged.

The hardest work on earth is to have faith when you're afraid,

to believe when you want to doubt,

to speak faith and be positive,

when you feel negative.

~Phil Pringle~

The Birth of Our Second Child

Praise the Lord! Our second child, the boy was born on 18 October 2012 at 12:05am.

He was slightly earlier, born at 38 weeks.

We call him "didi", meaning younger brother (of her elder sister, Gracelle).

Shall share about didi's "adventure" soon...

Stickers

My house is "infested"! ...   by stickers

When you have a toddler at home, this may be a common sight you can find at any corner of your house.

There are stickers on the wall, the sofa, the refrigerator, the TV console ... is EVERYWHERE!

I will give my girl a sticker to reward and encourage her as and when is needed. She discovered the joy of stickers! She will happily stick it anywhere she likes. Now that she is 31 months, she will request for the sticker she desired: "Mummy, I want a panda." Be thankful if I have one, otherwise, I have to persuade her to accept with an alternative animal.

Come to think about it, maybe is time to build a sticker chart for her potty training or her "poo poo" calendar? She is currently going through her a difficult time of constipation! (sigh!)

Generally, stickers are inexpensive stationery. Sticker is a fun way has built up her vocabulary. She learn about animals from the sticker that was given to her, isn't it wonderful?

Do you have this common sight at home?

Cooking with Gracelle

家家酒... Masak masak. Put up your hand up high if you know what I am talking about.

Yes, is pretend cooking!

A play kitchen encourages kids to all sort of creative pretend play. I was tempted attracted to buy one of those kitchen set, but many of these kitchens are either overpriced and/or too flimsy. For a 2.5 year old kid who knows nothing about the concept of value of money, she would not understand what is expensive or cheap. Finally, we happened to get it at a reasonable price while it was on sale! This kitchen is perfect for us because of its price, size and functions. The kitchen set is equipped with wash basin, oven, water dispenser cum refrigerator, and the burner makes boiling and sizzling sounds when you turn the knob. It comes with a few utensils and 2 mini cupcakes.

She started to serve us cupcake, which is absolutely adorable. She don't just serve us, but also her stuffed toy friend, Mr. Bear. This has keep her occupied for an extended period while I was doing the real cooking. Really a great pretend play toy with a small price to pay!

On the other note (out of topic) - Assembling the kitchen is not the easiest task for the handy man-daddy. He spent longer time in assembling the kitchen set as compared to assembling his IKEA clothes hanging rack. What a joke?! (LAUGH out LOUD!!!)

A family who cooks and eat together, stays together.

Nap Time for Kid

How come nobody ever told me that one of the most challenging task as a mom is to put the kid for an afternoon nap? I wonder, wonder, wonder... Am I the only one who experiencing it?

This will usually happen on the weekend or public holidays. Because these are the days when she does not goes to the babysitter; hence she got all the time she needed to roam around the house, pour out the toys on the floor and play, read a book, watch cartoons, etc............... (never ending). The last thing on her mind is SLEEP? You want to sleep? I asked, and 95% of the time I will get the same response, "No, No!" 5% of the time, I got lucky because she was tired. 

This is what I do on when is time for her nap.

Attempt #1: Tell her to STOP jumping around, NO talking (shh!!!), lie down and close her eyes. 

Attempt #2:  Threaten her "I see your eyes are open, I am going to get angry and scold you."

Attempt #3: Cover her eyes with her little blanket. Do not allow her to peep or push away the blanket.

...
...
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..

.

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Guess what is the most effective way?

YAY! Did you guess it right? Yes, is attempt #3. It works, 3.5times out of 4 weekend in a month.

What is your most challenging parenting task? Let me know if you brilliant ideas how to put the kid to nap {wink}

My Girl and Her Mooncake

This is the mid of the seventh lunar month 农历七月 in the traditional chinese calendar known as ghost month and I am talking about mid-autumn festival 中秋节?

Mid-autumn festival falls on 3 October, the 15th of the eigth lunar month 农历八月十五. All the famous hotel with their highly anticipated selection of mooncakes are already available for sale. The signature mooncake, the newly introduced mooncake is nice... BUT the prices are going Up, uP, UP!!! Famous hotel mooncakes prices range from S$60 per box and above. To get the best out of this S$60 dollars, you should grab it NOW to enjoy the early bird discount! (is this a "kiasu" mindset? oops!)

Not willing to pay the price? Yet wanted to expose my girl to mooncake without the artificial coloring, excessive trans fat, etc. I decided to give it a try and make my very own snow skin mooncake 冰皮月饼.

I got a packet of Pinpe Premix Powder and Kao Fen (fried glutinous rice flour) from Kwong Cheong Thye. Because it was my virgin snowskin mooncake, I am reluctant to spend on mooncake mould, hence, I took out my Winnie The Pooh cookie cutter to mould the mooncake.

(I was inspired by Ann's mooncake, and hoping it will turn out well like hers.)

The girl was happy with how the snowskin mooncake turn out to be a "bear". YAY!

 A family that eats together stays together. 

My final product. The presentation may not be as fantastic, but I can assure you that the taste is good! I blended pandan leaves to get the natural color and fragrance. The snowskin texture is very smooth and silky. SUCCESS! YAY!!!

Garden by the Bay

Two weeks ago, daddy brought Gracelle and me to Garden by the Bay. The moment Gracelle heard that we were heading out, she was excited! Mummy was also looking forward to embark on the latest attraction in Singapore! (excitement minus the tiring walk with a big belly)

Located at the Marina Bay area, this is a park spanning 101 hectares of reclaimed land. The park consists of Bay South Outdoor Gardens, Cooled Conservatories, and OCBC Skyway. The best thing about Bay South Outdoor Gardens is that the admission is FREE!

We had no intention to visit and pay for the entrance tickets (yet!), as we were only there for a morning leisure walk. Gracelle was delighted just to walk and run around in this green space.

First stop, the dome-shaped pavilion with plenty of bright looking "mushrooms". Amazingly, this pavilion is an echo space! Well, she is more attracted to sit on the "mushroom" instead of making some noise to hear the echo.

On the way, she saw a stone goat and happily ride on it for a photo. To her, a photo is all that matters?

Next up, the Chinese Garden with many stone sculptures. She seems to be very much attracted to stone sculpture? She ran from one to another and requested to take photo with each and every sculpture. (The papa ~sweat~ BIG time... HAHA!)

Towards the end of our visit, Gracelle stopped and took the time to smell the flowers.

Do not underestimate the size of the free access outdoor gardens. It takes a long walk to stroll the whole outdoor garden. Nice place to spend time with family and friends.

We will definitely be back to visit the conservatories, the Skyway and of course to caught a different sight at night of the SuperTrees.

A New Milestones for 2.5 Years Old

Every child is unique. Gracelle hits a NEW milestones!

Last week, she has finally managed to do thumbs up!

Gone are the days, where she will show us her index finger when we say, good!

Last week, she closed her fist and with the help of another hand, tried to extend her thumb upward. And, YES! She did it! She was proud to show me the sign of thumbs up! Now, when I say good, she will show me this hand gesture.

A simple hand gesture but a new milestone and achievement for her.

Do record your children's milestones, as they serve to remind us how far and fast our children has grown.

How to make red glutinous rice wine 红糟酒

Red glutinous rice wine, 红糟酒, has its origin from Fuzhou, China (alternatively pronounced as Foochow or Hock Chew). My dad is a Foochow, my mom is a Fuqing; both of them were born in Sitiawan, Perak, Malaysia. Do you know that foochow heritage has been prominently identified with Sitiwan? And one of the unique tradition is mee suah with red glutinous rice wine.

In preparation for my confinement, I took the interest to learn how to make red glutinous rice wine. This is my greatest late grandmother recipe passed down to my mum, and now to me.

Why bother?

You may be wondering, why bother to make when it is easily available in chinese medical hall? Well, I think one good reason is I want to learn and master the tradition. This is a disappearing knowledge or call it an "art" or tradition in the modern Singapore.

There's only 3 ingredients to red glutinous rice wine: glutinous rice 糯米, red rice yeast 红曲米, wine yeast 酒饼 (aka jiu bing). So it can't be that difficult, right? Wrong! This is like a science. You will not know if is succesful until 30days later; if it turn out to be sour or mouldy - failed. Keep my finger crossed X

Steps:

1. Cook the glutinous rice in a rice cooker with a bit more water than usual. 
2. When the rice is cooked, spread the rice in a large tray and leave it aside until the rice is completely cool. Note: I cooked the rice in the morning, and started the wine making process in the evening.
3. Pound the red rice yeast and wine yeast together till powdery form.
4. Mix the powdery red rice yeast and wine yeast with glutinous rice with a clean spoon.
5. Transfer the mixture into a glass jar, close the lid loosely and keep in a cool, dry place. Note: The fermenting process may produces a lot of gas, do not fill the mixture (#4) to the top of the glass jar or close the lid too tight, or else it may "explode" (overflow).

Question? You can easily get these ingredients from chinese medical hall 药材店. You must be wondering about the exact measurement, how many grams? The older generation often "agak-agak" (meaning approximate). Due to the limitation of my glass jar, I cooked only 3 cups of glutinous rice, used 1 handful of red rice yeast and half wine yeast.

I hope this will enable you to start working towards the traditional red glutinous rice wine. This is a picture of my red glutinous rice wine on the 3rd day. Looking good!

Luring the stork

With reference to the article, Luring the stork: Government announces review marriage and parenthood policies published on Today on 29 June 2012. We welcome and appreciate the incentives from the government.

I voiced my view on the above mentioned article through Voices, read my comments here, and had the privileged being published and shared my view. While, I only touch on the problem on amenities and facilities; another reader, Jo-Anne Lee had pointed out on important issue, lack of support. Read her article on Work-life balance needs recognition. Truly, we are in need of a paradigm shift, a mindset change. Without having the right mindset, there will be no transformation.

It is reported that the Marriage and Parenthood Package has benefited many and that a household with two children and an income of S$8,000 receives the equivalent of about S$142,000 -- through Baby Bonus cash and co-savings, infant care subsidies and other measures -- until both children seven. A "visible" cash on hand, which includes but not limited to the Children Development Co-Savings (CDAC) of S$12,000 and Baby Bonus of S$4,000 can easily be wiped up in two years considering average childcare fees of S$600 per month.

To me, enouraging or boosting low birth rate is not all about incentive and one sided effort from the government, like the comic stripes (taken from cartoonstock.com). What's your view?

Goodbye pacifier

Pacifier - the rubber, plastic or silicone nipple given to an infant or young children to suck upon. It is also known as a soother. It is a soother indeed, because everytime Gracelle suck upon it, she will fall asleep soon. I don't remember when, but the pacifier has became an essential item for her during bed time.

We have been thinking and trying to wean her off the pacifier after her 2 years old birthday. But, everytime we don't give her pacifier (she called it the "chu chu" - the sound she make when she sucker upon it), she will kick a big fuss, cry and cry and cry. We hesitated, tried, and failed. Indeed, weaning off a pacifier is not as easy as it seems.

There comes the day when I found out that her pacifier has a hole! This must be the result of constant bitting!!! I showed her the hole, told her the hole will cut her tough if she suck it, and told her is spoil, please throw it away. I pass it to her and she put it into her mouth and suck it as usual. I guess there is discomfort in doing it, she quickly took it out and put the cap back. After 2 "failed" attempt to suck and sooth her, I think she kind of give up? I asked for it back and told her, is spoil, it will cut your tough, so no "chu chu" for you anymore, ok? Surprisely, she said OK! Thank God, she didn't kick a big fuss and cry, she accepted the fact that there will be no pacifier for her that night :)  So, that was the first night she went to bed without the soother, and manage to fall asleep on her own.

The next morning, she told me to "buy chu chu". Apparently, my answer will be NO, and I told her gentle, no. For the next few nights, I continue to explain to her the pacifier has a hole, spoil and can no longer be use. She said ok and just went to bed without it. It has been a month since we wean off her pacifier. Occasionally, she will still ask me to "buy chu chu", but she no longer need to rely on the pacifier to fall asleep. Quit pacifier, SUCCESS!  

Thank you Yvonne for sharing her success story on weaning off her Janelle from pacifier. I am encouraged, read her success story here.

Bus ride

During the week, G's papa car battery went flat! Ohh ohhh!!! Hence, G has to take a bus to babysitter's place instead of her usual leisure ride in papa's car.

G seems to be quite facinated by the bus. Everytime when we are on the road, I will point out to her and say:" bus, car, truck, etc." Now and then, everytime she sees a bus, she will go, bus bus bus... When I told her, we are going to take a bus, she actually mimic after me, and said take bus. She seems very enthusiastic about a bus ride (as always); this is not the first time she is taking a bus.

Here's a picture of G enjoying her bus ride...

I apologise for the negative demonstration where she was holding a bread in hand and wanted to eat on the bus :(  Thankfully, the bus journey was only 4 stops away and I managed to refrain her from eating.

Gracelle is going to be the elder sister!

Hmm.. I have not been sharing for more than a month! The subject says it all.

Even though I have passed the first trimester, but the yucky pregnancy symptoms still stick around :(  This is my second pregnancy and it is so different from my first. When I was pregnant with Gracelle, there is NO pregnancy symptoms at all! But, with this little one, headache and nausea happen in the morning, almost without fail. Lack of appetite is the second common problem. Half way through our dinner, I will stop eating simply because I could not swallow anymore food. I felt terrible! and was counting down to the first trimester and praying the symptoms will go away...

I am now in my 18+ weeks (almost half way there!) and glad to say that most of the pregnancy symptoms are gone, except some minor nausea in the morning which makes me throw out after the 30 minutes mrt ride.

So, here comes the next most frequently asked question: Is it a boy or a girl? Is a BOY! That completes the chinese word 女 (girl) + 子 (son) = 好 (girl + son = good/complete)  Annnyyyywayyyy.. the most important thing is a healthy baby, be it girl or boy, there are equally precious to us :)

Thank God for the gift of life!

Passion fruit

You may have heard of passion fruit, but have not seen one yet? Or may have smell the fragrance of the fruit, but have not tried one yet? No worries, you can easily get hold of it from the local supermarket.

The Wikipedia stated that passion fruit is native to Paraguay, Brazil, and northen Argentina. My passion fruit is from Malaysia. I have not tasted passion fruit from other countries. Little did I know that I have to wait for it to be really ripe, as in slightly wrinkle, then it will taste sweeter, otherwise, is SOUR! I am not kidding! As mentioned, this is grown in Malaysia, maybe is because of the climate and soil, is that why it is slightly sour? I don't know... Well, till next time when I had a chance to try passion fruit from other countries.

One thing I like about passion fruit is the frangrance ... sweet smelling ~ Most importantly, passion fruit is an excellent source of vitamin A and C. My little girl loves it! She can finish one fruit by herself, scooping it with her small little spoon, and she refuses my help [maybe she is afraid I will steal her fruit?]

This is how my girl consume one of her favorite fruit - passion fruit :)  Yummy!

"Spa" for rainy weekend?

The past weekend was a wet and rainy, rainy but not cooling. The worst part about a rainy weekend is not about the laundry, but not knowing what to do with the 100% energetic toddler.

Don't let the rainy days spoil all the fun, especially on family day during the weekend. When rainy weather keeps you and your lovely toddler from heading outdoor, try this for an indoor fun. It does not require advanced planning or specialised equipment, just a bathtub :) but it requires 100% adult supervision.

Gracelle had a treat to the "spa" session before her bath time. She was excited when I told her about "play water", she will then reply "ta, ta, ta" (the sound of beating the water). Once the bathtub is filled with warm water, I can see her grinning from ear to ear as she slowly make her way into the bath tub. She had a great time trying to take a dip or swim within the limited space, splashing water, and the silly act of attempting to drink water from the bathtub (Ohh Ohh!). I will let the pictures do the talking.

Make sure the bath is not too hot, yet not too cold!

Why more married women are not having kids

Is was interesting to read this article on why more married women are not having kids. The topics surrounding child bearing, birth rate, parenthood tax rebates (PTR) to encourage residents to have more children has been going on for years. While I understand the concerns that career is a major consideration but it should not be a hindrance to family planning.

When one earns lesser, an average monthly pay of $2,350, the lack of financial is a key constraint of not wanting to start a family. When one earns more, an average monthly pay of $6,250, the unwillingness to sacrifice career prospects become the main concern. Did we just confuse ourselves, is it a chicken and egg dilemma? It sounds like the decision to have a baby is base on job rather than on biological clock?

How many "horror" stories have you read or heard about being dismissed, treated unfairly at workplace after being pregnant or after giving birth? Working while planning or raising a family is difficult. I was  the main cast for one of those "horror" story. Thank God, by His grace, I have overcome it with victory!

A career ends at your retirement age. A family is for life. Don't be deceived, no one is irreplaceable, especially at the workforce. Make a decision to start a family. The age and fertility goes hand in hand. The older you are, you  may have more financial earning power, but the less fertile you may be. The less fertile you may be, the higher possibilities to go for an Invitro Fertilisation (IVF), and in turn, more financial spending on IVF.

I made the choice to have kids :) How about you?

Chocolate's influence

What happened to Gracelle? [SHOCKED! when I saw her]

Fear not! Blame it on the Oreo biscuit. Mummy passed her a piece of Oreo biscuit and after half an hour, I was greeted by this dirty face girl. I am not worried about the mess on her face, it fact, I burst into laugther!

What's next?
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..
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She seems to goes hyper after eating chocolate??? She did not nap during the day, jumping around with joy. Then, I suddenly remember there was once she had brownie at a housewarming event, and she seems to have the same "condition"... and, I wonder? and I wonder how, wonder why, wonder what happened?

Since then, I have been trying to notice if chocolate or sugar promote the hyperactivity in her. If you Google, you can find numerous article relating to this topic: "Does sugar make kids hyper?", "Sugar does not make kids hyper." Ohhh... I am confused! God has made her special, she does not like ice-cream (sweet and cold), cakes (sweet?), honey star (sweet?). Maybe is for a purpose?!

Anyone had the same experience?

She knows how to blow her nose

Thank God, Gracelle is on the road to full recovery from her stomach flu.

Guess what? My darling knows how to blow her nose! [Applause!] Give her a tissue paper, and she will blow and wipe her nose :)  I think she is amazing, simply because, when we were young, instead of blowing the mucus out (sorry, if it sounds gross), we suck it back in! YUCKS! She learnt and is familiar with this action as young as 18months old.

Thanks to my babysitter, cause she has contributed greatly to this success! Gracelle is seldom down with flu, but whenever she does, auntie will ask her to "huh.. huh" (meaning blow). How do we teach Gracelle to blow her nose? I suppose she learn by imitating us. I am sure she imitate us, because she also imitate our coughing :(

Now, give her a tissue, she will go "huh.. huh", and throw! (in the dustbin, of course)

Don't give up if your child has not learn this skill. Show her how to do it, and she will imitate for sure!

Viral Gastroenteritis (stomach flu)

Gracelle is down with stomach flu :(

Viral gastroenteritis is inflamation of the stomach and intenstines from a virus. What is the cause of it? The doctor said: 1) could be contaminated food, or 2) virus/bacteria infection. The latter requires antibiotics for treatment. Because of the inflamation, she also have lots of wind/gas in her stomach, and the infection caused her to vomit and have diarrhea.

How to treat stomach flu?
1) Gut rest - (I have never heard of such thing?) meaning strict diet, NO oil! NO vegetable! NO fruits! She is only allow plain porridge, and diluted milk (in fact milk (even dairy product) is not encouraged, but she is still a toddler... so milk powder portion is to be cut by half!)
2) Rehydration - to replace lost fluids, minerals and salts. Doctor has prescribed her with oral electrolyte solution, NO fruit juice. Basically, just make sure she drinks water and stay hydrated.  How to know she is hydrated? Monitor her urine volume and the colour of her urine; concentrated urine appears dark yellow.

IMPORTANT: Prevent dehydration!

During her previous episode of Croup, she was really weak and was unable to engage or interact much. Her activity level will determine how sick she is. Thank God, despite the stomach flu discomfort, she is still quite active.

Get well soon...

Korean Strawberries

Do you know that Singapore is world's largest importer of Korean strawberries? Aside from kimchi and K-pop, next time, when you frequent the supermarket, do pay attention to Korean strawberries.

Recently, I bought a box of Korean strawberries, and to my surprise, is not just juicy and sweet, but you can feel the freshness! I was delighted and bought another 2 more boxes the very next day (hey, don't call me 'kiasu'!)

Gracelle loves strawberries! Okay, her expression may shows otherwise, but her personal "Guinness World Records" was a whopping 6 pieces of strawberries! And she kept asking for it the very next day when she saw me with another 2 boxes.

Tampines 1: Wildlife-Themed Rooftop Playground

Thanks to Fleishman-Hillard, we were invited to Tampiness 1, Singapore's first wet and dry wildlife-themed rooftop playground, and had the privilege to experience it before it is officially opened to the public.

The children were greeted by the very talented balloon artist who goes around creating a variety of beautiful balloon sculptures for the guest. Gracelle got a dog :)

There are educational signboards around to educate the children about animals and where they are from. Other than the polar bear and seal slides, there is also ice bergs. Gracelle enjoys playing at the ice bergs area (swimming away~). See how happy she was!

Other than the slides, here's another wet area for the children.

The water flow is not too strong, but consistent, so is safe for young children as young as 2 years old. Gracelle is just 23 months old, she was initially a bit reserve, but once she stepped out, she really enjoyed herself to the max!

If you are looking for playground, head down to the wildlife-themed rooftop playground located at Tampiness 1. It will be open on 10 March 2012! This is another fun playground for the kids to explore during this March holidays. And best of all, is FREE! After the play, the children can get change at the comfort of the changing room.

Take note, the rooftop access is via escalator on level 5 (beside Amore Living).

Are you ready for another baby?

When you are married, everyone keep asking:"when are you going to start having babies?" After you had your first kid, the next question:"when are you going to have a second one?" Mummies out there, please raise your hand if you had exeprienced the same.

How or what to consider when deciding to have a second child? The decision to have a second (or third, or fourth) isn't always easy. The Chinese belief having a dragon baby (meaning a baby born in the year of dragon) will bring good luck. No offence, I do not believe such myth.

Raising a child is an expensive affair especially with the rising cost of living in Singapore. We need to consider: 1) financial stability, 2) age - a major factor, especially for the mother. If you are below 30, you definitely can have a few years to spare (good for you); if you are over 35, then is a different story. This is a chicken and egg dilemma considering when is the best time to have another one. 3) consensus - both husband and wife needs to consent to the decision as this may be a new wave of changes to the current lifestyle. Tough decision, isn't it?

Let me share a good news to you, which may not be widely publicised. If you are considering having a baby, go to Maybe Baby and take the plunge into parenthood and pledge. Be the 1st 100 couples to successfully conceive after you pledge and you will be rewarded with by Abbott Nutrition products. Good luck!

This is my Tiger baby - roar!

Carbohydrates food

I am back, after neglecting my blog for a while... If you are a FTWM with no helper, be it domestic helper or parents, you will understand my situation.

I wrote about loving bread sometime ago. Recently, I realise my darling really have an affection, I mean a BIG FAN  for carbohydrates food, the bread, biscuit, rice and noodle. By that, I mean plain sliced bread, plain cracker, plain rice and/or noodle. Yes, PLAIN is the key word! Strange? But she just like something simple. She loves to munch on biscuit; it is her favorite snack and healthier option, considering she does not fancy tibits.

Children learn through experience. Their small little brain (is it as small as a bird's brain?) growth is constantly growing and developing, and increase in complexity and maturity. At this stage, she does not understand what the adults understand, so she does not understand why should I have cheese spread on my plain sliced bread or other biscuit variety. I suppose she needs time to explore the variety of food - which translate into more mess, maybe? and cleaning it up.

See how happy and enjoyable she was, self-feeding, chewing, munching her favorites.

Does your kid have a liking for just biscuit and bread only?

I can feed myself

My baby is soon or officially going to be known as a toddler in due time. She will no longer be categorised as infant when booking flights. That also translate to higher cost of overseas holiday (if any). Hey, that's out of the topic! Sorry...

I am proud to say that she can hold her spoon pretty well and am able to feed herself. Of course, when the spoon fails her (or I should say she fails her spoon?), her hands will come in handy and "do the job".

How did her self feeding skill was developed? Actually it wasn't intentional. Because she loves to eat, so, everytime we are having a meal, I will give her a bowl and a spoon. We will scope a small portion and put it in her bowl. Initially, she will drop her food everywhere... the rice, the vegetable, the noodle, the egg... The whole living room is full of food everywhere... I will be lying if I tell you, I am okay with the mess she has created. But, what can I do? She is still learning, so... is alright to tolerate with the mess. It will get better and better!

She can scope and aim pretty well for rice, noodle and yogurt! Nowadays, the mess is only 25-30% of the total food portion.

Here's a picture taken by Auntie Jie Jie Gladys during lunch after the church service.

Annoyance?

During the year end holiday, we brought Gracelle for an overseas holiday. Let's just say, is the parents who wanted to go for holiday instead of Gracelle, she has no choice but to tag along.

Because of the change in weather, it requires her to wear thicker clothing and maybe a hat or gloves to keep her warm. Mummy also searched high and low to buy her jeans, just to make sure her clothings are warm enough.

The first annoyance started even before the trip. On the day of departure, she jumped up and down and screamed, when I tried to put on jeans for her for the very first time. I guess because all this while (since birth) she is wearing cotton material tops and bottoms, hence, she is not used to the not so comfortable material. The second day, when I took out another pair of jeans and asked:"do you want to wear this?", she shooke her head, saying, NO!!!, and ran away from me. Hey, jeans doesnt bite!

The second annoyance overflow to an accessories - the hat. Whenever we are outdoor, I tried to put on a hat for her, so to withstand the strong wind. She refused to wear the hat and kept taking it off. Again, saying NO!!! She simply dislike anything to be on  her head! Even pretty hair clips won't stay for 5 minutes on her head or hair.

Back in our sunny island. One morning, she went to the stack of laundry that is yet to be folded and was looking around. I just wanted to disturbed her and asked:" do you want to wear a hat?" If you are expecting a yes from her, sorry to disappoint you, her answer is still NO. I walked out of the room and the little fellow followed.

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The next minute, I was greeted by this .... ???!!!

Croup

She is fussy. She won't drink. She won't eat. She cough occasionally. Her temperature is rising. This is a scary time for any parent.

The new year, 1 Jan 2012, begins with Gracelle down with Croup - a condition that causes an inflammation of the upper airways. It often leads to a barking cough or hoarseness. Thank God her condition is not that bad, was under observation in KKH on for 2 hours and home sweet home thereafter. Of course, the home treatment continue for the next few days...

This is the first time since birth that Gracelle has been so sick. She has always being in the pink of health with occasional mild running nose. This is also the first time, we, as her parents, experience caring for a sick (grumpy, fussy) or feverish child. Is an experience for her as well as for us. When children are sick or feverish, they need special considerations.

Fever
I monitor her temperature closely. She was given paracetamol for her fever. However, if her temperature does not go down an hour after medication, she needs to be given ibuprofen. There was a day her temperature remains at am alarming 38+ degree!

Cough
Coughing is the body's way of clearing out the lungs. She was given cough medication to clear the phlegm, and it cause her to cough more; the rational is for her to cough out her phlegm. I personally do not give over the counter cough prescription medication to children under 2, don't want to give the wrong medicine or overdose.

Drink, drink, drink
I need to encourage and make sure she got plenty of fluids intake.

Caring for a feverish child is a challenge! During this time, what I needed to know the most was "How can I get my toddler to take medicine". If you have any tricks to get this job done without fuss, please share with me. Basically, I have to force the end of the syringe in a corner of her mouth, aim the medicine inside the cheek, not the throat, where it might cause your child to choke. And make sure a bottle of water is there to wash away the nasty taste of the medicine right after the "forceful act".

Thank God, after 5 days of roller coaster ride battling the fever, she is on the road to recovering. I believe her immune system is boosted up and she will stay strong and healthy! Here's a picture of the little sick girl.