Don't I wish

I love my personal times in the bathroom. Who doesn't? But since I have kids, I find that having some times in the bathroom is a challenge. I need to be quick about what I need to do in that small room. No time wasted.

I were lucky that I used to stay with my sil and bil when I have Jan and Jay. Babies can be demanding and curious creatures. My sil or bil will help to watch them for few minutes while I did my thing.

But now I am alone with 3 young kids, I do not have privilege to enjoy a few minutes of personal times. And Jamie is another baby who love to have his mummy around and in his sight all the times. 

Most of the times, I get the big sister and brother to entertain him while I am in the bathroom but sometimes, he will be banging or crying at the bathroom door while I am in there. If I bring him in, I would get a messy play with him that usually end up with both of us in the shower.

Saw this photo few days ago with a cute baby in the toilet. Now, don't I wish for one useful seat like this for Jamie?? Then I can watch him and he watches me! ^^

But then again, at almost 15 months old, I am sure he will out of this demanding stage soon. Now he hardly want to sit quiet in his chair for a minute! Sometimes I wish he would grow fast but some days I just wish he would stay like this. ^^

Baby Food

My Jamie has grown to become an active and strong baby.  Going to be 9 months old in about 2 weeks time. He just cannot sit still, and keep crawling here and there.

He will zoom around the house in his baby walker, and also try to stand by himself all the times.  So feeding him well is a top priority!

Not every day he eats the same kind porridge. Some day add minced meat, sweet potatoes and other day some carrot slices and broccoli with lean meat. Sometimes I cook frog's leg porridge for him too.

The Chinese believes that eating frog legs will make babies develop strong legs.  Don't know it is a myth or what but since I have some frozen frog legs in the freezer, I will make some frog legs porridge for him at home.

Basically my porridge is simple.  Just take the meaty part of the frog's leg, add a clove of garlic and few slices of ginger (both are said to get rid of wind) with vegetables such as broccoli, baby kai lan or carrot and cook with rice in a pot of water for about 40 minutes or so.  I add a pinch of salt to the porridge. I seldom puree my porridge as Jamie does not like to eat soft food. So for this porridge, I will smash the frog's leg so he can take it together with the vegetable bits.

And he loves his food.

Skin care for the little one

When a blogger friend, Claire wrote about the wonders of this product on her daughter last month, without hesitation I asked her more about it. She recommended me to try this product for my 7 months old baby, who is suffering from ezcema and dry skin.  He has been having ezcema since a baby and on and off, he has red patches on his face (mostly on his cheeks), itchy rashes on his body and dry and flaky skin on both legs and hands.

I tried many products on baby Jamie, mostly organic and ph-balance products from the supermarket shelves, pharmacies and MLM companies but none really works well.  On cooler weather, Jamie's skin will look better, but lately the weather has been soaring, so his skin condition getting slightly visible with more patches and redness.  It is frustrating and I do not know what to do to help him. Sometimes he will scratch his face and neck, mostly because of itchiness.  Pitiful looking at him frustratedly scratching his face and neck.

Thanks to Marine Elements, my baby's skin is getting better! Briefly on Marine Elements, they consist of a range of non-steroidal, paraben-free skin care products with active ingredient, patented technology in the form of ZonaseX to help improve the appearance of dry, itchy, irritating and inflamed skin conditions, such as eczema and dermatitis. What makes Marine Elements different from all the others is its natural proteins and enzymes derived from the pure and clean marine sources in Norway.

Zonase X is the latest innovation, scientifically proven to help improve skin conditions, including regenerating fresh skin cells and strengthening the skin’s natural barrier, therefore reducing the recurrence of eczema and dry skin conditions. Zonase X works in 3 ways to improve the appearance of the skin:

1. It breaks down the connective tissues between the dead skin cells on the outer layer of the skin.  The dead cells then are naturally detached.
2. It allows other active ingredients to transport moisture and nutrition to the deeper layers of skin creating a moisturizing effect.
3. It elevates healthy cells to the surface of the skin, creating a rejuvenating effect.

Marine Elements products are hypoallergenic and suitable for people of all ages, including babies, children and people with sensitive skins.

  

 First, wash his body using Marine Elements' Body Wash

Secondly, apply body lotion all over his body and face

What I like about the body wash is that I do not need to use much, just one or two pumps of the body wash is enough for my baby.  And the body lotion is none sticky and easily absorbed into my baby's delicate skin! 

Before - red skin on his face

Before - dry and flaky skin on both legs

Before - visible redness on his hand

After 2 days, I see some improvements in his skin. 

After - smoother appearance with no more visible red patches. 

Skin on legs are also getting better although still have some flaky dry skin, but no more redness and irritation 

And so is hand. 

After 1 week, the result is even more visible.

 

Beautiful and smoother just like a baby!  *wink*

Visible result on his leg

Better on both hands

Am going to continue to use Marine Elements for Jamie and hopefully his skin condition will get better soon.  Glad that I tried this product on him and am grateful that it is able to deal with Jamie's skin condition. 

If anyone would like to try this product, it is going to be available in pharmacies soon!  Meantime, it is now available in www.plincco.com or you can visit www.marineelements.com for more information.  

Picture perfect baby moments

(This article is taken from Parenthood Feb 2005 edition.)

Babies change and grow so much especially their first year. To catch all these wonderful moments, here is what it takes for parents to know a little know how and experiences.

1. Use natural light

Picture taken without flashes and indoor lamps will keep baby skin from looking mottled when you take indoor photo with colour film.  Look for natural light from window.  Even on overcast days, enough light will get inside if it is reasonably bright outside.  Here are few hints:

• turn off camera's automatic flash
• watch where shadows fall.  surround the baby in a warm glow
• act quickly as natural light changes consistently as day passes

2. Go for black and white

Baby skin seems perfect.  So why does it look blotchy when colour photos are developed?  The problem is the harsh light of a flash,.  A good solution would be using a black-and-white film.  It evens out skin tone and gives portrait a timeless feel.

3. Schedule photo sessions wisely

A happy subject makes better pictures.  Consider the times of day when baby is likely to be well rested and just fed.

4. Get close

Baby have such expressive faces and capturing those wide-mouthed smiles and saucer eyes is your main mission.  Zoom in or move up close so only face is in focus.

5. Seize the day

Keep a loaded camera handy when go out for walk or run an errand. Taken photos of your child enjoying everyday things are photo you will treasure in years to come.

Last week edition

How was your weekend? I am finally adjusting to the waking up early for school days, taking care of baby and busy with my 2 older kids' school and activities. Sometimes I wonder how I survive all those gruelling weeks. lol.

Last week I also put a big hole in my credit card. One shot. Booked ourselves few air tickets and hotel reservation online. 

Jamie likes to be carried like this and sit up straight

Baby Jamie is turning 4 months on Saturday. He is at the cutest and active stage right now.  He is all smiling and babbling baby with high pitched screams and cooing all the times. Not to mention his leg strength, able to kick the blankets away and twisting his body here and there. Yesterday saw him turning to one side but not brave or strong enough to turn 180 degree. 90 degree is good enough for now. Soon! Very soon that 180 degree trick.

Nap less during the day but slowly sleeping longer at night. Some nights he can wake up once at night for feeding but some nights I have fed him thrice. Pretty tiring as I have to wake up around 530am to get ready breakfast and snack boxes for other kids.

We are now getting a cleaning maid to clean the house twice a month. RM80 from 8 something to 5pm. At least I do not have to stress myself out on housechore. Really find cleaning maid helpful in that aspect.

We had some frightful evenings last week with maddening and utterly noisy rain that causing floods here and there. Hope for a better weather this week.

So how do you start off your Monday morning? As for me, I cooked my simple but yummy fried rice today since there is leftover rice.  

What's in my agenda today? Nothing much but maybe I can start packing our luggage. Going back to Kapit for cny next weekend. Have washed the new clothes so I better pack them away. Then I would not forget anything when times come. Some more travelling with a baby. Need to ready almost everything for baby. And I have to write in to school telling the teacher that my girl is going back and absent from school earlier. So far no notice on when the school is going to close for the celebration so my guess is there is none.

Miss 'em

Every day it rained in Kuching. At least this morning we saw the sun but that only lasted for few hours before the rain took over. Sigh!

I had few bowls of laksa and kolok mee this few days. This morning we tried a new place called Three Sisters cafe in Jln Keretapi since we were going to church. Joseph kolok mee not more in that cafe. I loved its bacon-filled kolok mee but the cafe lady owner took over the kolok mee business. Not bad but slightly salty for me. And so is the laksa. The laksa gravy was very thick though.

Sarawak kolok mee (above) & Sarawak laksa (below)

Porridge that come with condinement such as braised peanuts, century egg, and salted cabbage (below)

For lunch we had porridge in Jln Stutong. We had zhu cha porridge and grouper fish porridge. Great for cold day.

My Miscellaneous Picture #7: All on Jamie

Naughty or not the face? Making all the funny faces and sound when he is awake. He stole our hearts the moment he was born. Even the sister is doting on him and the brother starting to talk and play with him, showing him his favourite bear. *wink*

He is one hairy baby. Little fine hair all over his face and body. And do you see he also has sideburns? lol!

My September boy

Hi guys!!  A little update before I disappear from the blogging world for the next few weeks.

Introducing my Baby No 3, Little Virgo Boy! Another Virgo boy.  And this little Virgo brought luck to us. Hubby won 2 numbers in Magnum on Wednesday. One is the birthdate and another is my car plate number. Our lucky baby. *wink*

Now I have 2 Virgo boys and plus me, 3 Virgos in the house.  *wink* Born on 11 September 2013 at 4.24pm, weighing 3.2kg. He looks exactly like the brother. I went for epidural (half body) this time. And daddy went into operation for first time to witness his baby been delivered. He was daring to go this time. And video the process too. Proud of you,hubby. 

Discharged this afternoon and now we are resting at home.

My 2 elder kids are staying with my SIL for a month while I am in my confinement, so I do not have to worry so much about their welfare.  Meantime, I am going to spend some bonding time with my new baby boy.  Oh boy, all the baby blues are coming back to me now. 

Load of washing



I am still recovering from my cough and flu but much better now after a good rest on Monday.  If I were not bored at home, I knew my girl was bored!  Until I caught her looking through my recipe book yesterday afternoon.

 

 

This was actually my first recipe book!  Bought it when I dated my hubby back in 2002.  You know, want to win the heart of a man is through the stomach so been a "kiasu", I learnt some recipes from this book because my hubby is a great egg lover! 

 

It is kind of funny looking at my girl glancing through the book.  She was supposed to study for her exams but instead she was so relaxed and just taking her time doing revision.  Sigh!  Probably I worry too much.  

 

We have been blessed with hot sun since Monday and I could not stop myself from taking out baby clothing for washing.  Better get them done now than later.  Never knew I still keep so many baby clothing till I dig them out from the boxes yesterday.  I did give away some to few people but still, I have a lot.  Maybe I just could not part with some of them.  *wink*  Already cleaned some of the clothes and today will be some more baby clothings.

 



Those are the cleaned one. 

 I also dig out a set of baby bedding, i.e. pillow, bolster and blanket.  Just nice for a baby boy!  *wink*  But need to clean them up first. 

And dig out many other stuff like this piece.  I used it for my girl but did not used it on Baby Jay.  It is like those older time when the women wear them on their body. These pieces are tailored by hubby's aunty for our first born.  Wrap around the body to protect baby from cold and wind.  Do you have these pieces for your babies??



A quickie and my baby

Fixed myself a quick breakfast today since I am due for my pre-natal check up in the morning.  Used my newly bought Chefel flip pan this morning to fix my breakfast.  Fried my sausages and egg in the flip pan.  No oil added and so simple to prepare with my flip pan.  *wink*

 

 

Baby is doing fine.  I am now going into the 17th week.  Went for the Tetanus injection and scanning besides the urine test.  My blood test that I did previously turned out good and doctor is satisfied with the report.  Baby was moving so much in the worm that doctor was having hard time measuring the baby.  I can see the head, arms and limbs moving around. 

 

 

 



I am gaining 1 kg, weighing 51.5kg.  Still need to gain some weight in the next few months.  Still not much appetite to eat a wholesome meal but obediently taking my 3 meals a day.  Once a while I will munch on some breads or went for supper at night. 

I still wear most of my pre-pregnancy clothes so not many people knows that I am pregnant but few people that seldom saw me noticed that I have a baby bump.  Soon I will have to start wearing my pregnancy clothes.   

Sleeps become slightly difficult for me at nights now.  Do you have such sleep problem or is my case slightly early???  I don't know but I would keep tossing around on my side till I feel comfortable and able to doze off.  Not much problem during my 1st 2 pregnancies till later stage but again, each pregnancy is different I guess.  So I would enjoy this pregnancy as much as possible.  *wink*

Congrats, Jen!

One of my girl friends, Jen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on 14 November. Today marks Baby Gwen's full moon and Jen's release from confinement. Congratulations, my dear friend. Welcome to the mummy world and all the best in motherhood.



Gwenhwyfar (pronounced Gwen-ni-vier) Estella R.



G is for her gentleness,
her tiny hand's soft touch,

I is for her innocence
that warms your heart so much,

R is for her radiance,
her cute and precious face,

L is for the love
that makes your world
a sweeter place.

Nasty at night

As I was complaining about lack of sleep in my previous post, I realise that my Baby Jay is almost 10 months old now. In 2 weeks time he would have his JE jab. He has 6 teeth growing out; 4 on top while 2 big white teeth on his lower gum. What ever he can grab he will put into his mouth. So everytime we reached home, we had to make sure the living room table is clear and everything is out of his reach. Otherwise he will just speeding in his baby walker and grabbing everything in sight!

Now that he is growing, he seldom have longer sleeping time at night. Usually by the time I reach home after closing shop, he will sleep on my bed before I transfer him to his cot. Once a while hubby will bring him to the shop and wait for me till closing.

I noticed that Baby Jay tends to wake up frequently at night. Most of the time he is not hungry. Just cry for no reason. Or probably he just want to have a cuddle from mummy. I guess baby at such age more attach to his parent. However my Baby Jay is not afraid of strangers. He does not mind anyone to carry him! Gosh!

Baby Jay will wake me up at least twice or thrice a night. Some more he does not drink his milk that frequent at night now. Just tend to suck on the bottle nipple. Shit! There goes the milk! Wasted if hubby does not want to drink it. (Yes, he does drink the unfinished or untouched milk sometimes)

Once a while Baby Jay would not goes back to sleep but wail till I have no choice but to put him in between hubby and myself. There! After a while, he will doze off to sleep. Sigh! Threesome is a crowd in our bed, and now I am wondering when my 4 years old girl back from hometown, how we are going to share the bed together? Or maybe we would need to pull another bed for all of us?

Deal with teething

I am down with cough and flu.....again!

I was knocked out yesterday, slept almost the whole day and found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. It did not help much with Baby Jay being a 8 months old baby just have his first 2 teeth coming out from his bottom gum.

Baby Jay has fever twice; once last week and once early this week. After few intake of panadol, he is getting well. However noticed that he loves to put everything into his mouth. Teething is not a small issue for young babies, it tends to give babies discomfort and grumpiness. And what can parents do to make their babies comfortable? Here are some tips I read and hope it could help other parents with teething babies. It helps mine; not totally but minimise the discomfort my baby has.

1. Boil and then freese a facecloth/napkin. These are easy for babies to handle and easy for mums to store. Let babies suck the facecloth/napkin.

2. I don't know about other babies, my Baby Jay loves hard stuff. He does not fancy the soft teether, so I gave him a silver spoon. Like the facecloth, I place a silver spoon into the freezer for a while before giving to Baby Jay. It soothes the gum. Just don't leave your baby alone with the spoon.

3. Is your baby not eating the way she used to? Teething may be the reason. Baby Jay started to drink less milk since he has his teething, however he takes small meals of white porridge. Sometimes he hardly eat or drink for a day, but the following day his appetite cames back. Try giving your baby a gum massage before mealtimes, nursing or the bottle. Missing a couple of meals is not a disaster, but if she continues to say no for a day or so, you must contact your doctor.

4. Gripewater is known for relieving colic as well as effective for teething. Although it may not eliminate the teething pains, it can help out with tummy upset that often accompanies it.

Crawling needs

The other day, hubby's cousin gave Baby Jay a present. She was shopping at Little Lamb, and stumble on an interesting stuff. Baby knee caps for crawling babies. It may take few more months before Baby Jay knows how to crawl.



Aren't they cute?? I couldn't wait to get Baby Jay to wear them.

Through the ordeal

2 weeks into my confinement, and baby boy Jay is also 2 weeks old now. Today is my 15th day. Every day I am counting to the day I am out of my confinement. Both mum and baby boy are doing fine. I eat and sleep well although the first week was a pain-and-suffering period. Pain on the C-Section area, develop pain on my teeth and gum, no bath and itchy here and there. Luckily I got through that stage and now am very much pain-free and got more energy and strength to look after my baby. There still no bath for me, but I only wipe myself using damp clothes. I starting to take chicken this week, cooked with kacang ma herbs. I also can eat some vegetables and fishes now. For the past 2 weeks I took pork cooked with a lot of gingers and wine.



Let's me bring you through my delivery from the day I walked into the hospital ward on 25 August afternoon. My FIL was more excited than me and hubby and he nagged us to go to Normah Medical Specialist Centre earlier that day; excuses because need to register, etc. So instead of us checking in at 2.30pm, we checked in around 1.30pm. And I have to wait in my ward till 4.00pm that day as the doctor scheduled to arrive and operate on me around 4.30pm. Probably it is my second time, so I don't feel any nerves or panic. Luckily the attendants are very friendly and talked to me at the waiting hall and operation room, so they sort of calming down my nerves. But oh boy, I still can feel the cold air when I was wheeled to the operation room. Why it has to be soooooo cold!! And I wearing nothing but the thin dress. Bbbbbrrr! Cold!

The next thing I remember was I was warded back to my ward and pain on the C-section area. I was given painkiller so don't really feel that painful, but that night I kept awaken by the night nurses who came to check on me, change my urine bag, check the drip, and measuring my blood pressure. I think I lost count of the times they came into my ward. And hubby? He was sleeping in the next bed. We took the double bed since no single room, so hubby got to enjoy sleeping on a hospital bed! Lol! We stayed there for 2 nights. I wouldn't want to stay in the hospital that long, although the doctor said that they don't usually discharged patients if the patients have not yet empty her bowel. Er, if I don't do "big business", then I can't leave? But in the end, we left on Thursday morning.

We were fortunate that we choose to operate on 25 August as later hubby told me that doctor found that baby umbilical cord start to wrap around baby's neck and I have mild contraction that morning. So, it is a blessing!!

I have my first bowel movement on Friday morning, so it was not an issue then. *wink* As for baby boy, he slept almost the whole Thursday and Friday and did not wake up much during the night. Even if he woke up, he did not cry much, just making some funny noise (like how you start the car engine). But now he is 2 weeks old, and grow stronger and bigger, he started to cry out loud now when no one pay attention to him. Lol! He drank very little on first week and into second week, about 1 - 1.5oz. Just few days ago, he already can finish his 2oz milk. Soon, we may have to change him milk bottle to 4oz. He wakes up about 1 - 2 times per night for the time being. A very sleepy baby, I said.

Baby boy did not have any jaundice but he developed rashes on his body and face. My SIL took him to see doctor last Thursday and doctor said he has a very sensitive skin, like his daddy!! So we have to use new shampoo, from Ellg Extra Gentle soap and antifungal cream for his allergic skin. Luckily they work and his skin is improving.

Once a while I get too used to call my little gal, that I called my baby boy "her"! Ooopppss! Too used to it. Hahaha! Now that he is 2 weeks old, he is getting more alert and start to make more sound. Alright, if you want to see more pictures of my baby boy, I post them on other blog.

Introducing my prince

I am taking a break from my confinement now. *wink* I am into my 2nd week of my confinement and oh boy, how I miss all those technologies and gadgets, i.e. tv, computer, internet etc. A little update on my baby boy who was born last Tuesday afternoon. Yes, he was born a day after my birthday; chosen after consulting the fortune teller. As for the time and weight, we did not choose them. Lol!



Date: 25 August 2009
Time: 4.44pm
Weight: 3.338kg
Height: 50cm

The photo was taken on the 2nd day in the hospital. I haven't got time to sort out the photographs yet, but will do so later. Alright, better off for the time being, before my confinement lady sees me playing in front of the pc. lol!

Ready to go?

For many months I kept receiving good wishes, advices, encouragements and comments from friends on my pregnancy. Thank you very much. You all have been wonderful in making my pregnancy a much better endured journey. I know that you are looking forward to seeing my baby as much as I do. I hardly can wait to welcome him to the world.

I am now at week 38 and has been gaining more weight than ever. I am like a big balloon now. Other than occasional discomfort on my lower abdomen, I don't have any health issue. However lately I develop some joint pains on my fingers and pain on my soles when I walk around. You may not believe it, but I don't have a single stretch mark or develop any itches on my tummy. A pregnant friend couldn't believe it until I shown my tummy to her last week. Hahaha! She just couldn't believe it till she saw that I don't have stretch mark. I don't have one when I was pregnant with my first child. But my skin on the tummy is darker than the rest of my body of course, and green veins are more visible there.

My bag is packed for the trip to the hospital; but unlike previous visit, this time round, I wouldn’t be bringing many things. I remember in the last trip, my bag was so full with many stuff that in the end I did not even use any of those stuff. You know, baby clothes, baby stuff, those maternity pads, baby diapers and baby milk powder (no one told me that private hospital does give out milk cans and I brought back 2 small cans of milk powder home). What to do, I were a first-time mother and an anxious, eager and excited one too! Lol! You can say this time round, I am smarter and only bring what is necessary.

Just few weeks ago, I was sorting out baby stuff from boxes and containers. I brought out my little gal’s cloth diapers and some baby stuff from hampers given by well wishers. Wow! The diapers still looks new and white. So I have washed all those cloth diapers and they are ready to be used. I still have few feeding bottles and nipples that never used, so those are taken out as well. What ever that can be used, I taken it out just in case.

We did not buy any baby clothing as we still can used little gal’s baby clothing. Luckily we bought mostly white baby clothing last time, so it is unisex and can be worn on baby boy as well. *wink* Baby stuff are very expensive nowadays and you know, baby grows up fast. Hardly can buy and keep so many.

Well, that is! More or less I think I have everything! (I hope, gulp) Somehow, I feel like I miss something but I don't know what it is. I guess as I go along the confinement, I will know what it is. At least if I miss out anything, I can get help from hubby or SIL to do for me. On other part, I have get my baby sitter to assist me in picking up little gal from her school when it re-opens for new semester next month. At least I am sure she is well taken of during my confinement.

Hmm, I wonder who the baby will look like? Like me or hubby? Whatever it is, all I hope is that he is going to be a healthy, loving and happy baby.

Throw away those pacifiers

AS promised, I will share some tips from Michelle Kennedy’s books. First sharing would be on pacifier. I believe most babies cannot do without those sucking rubbers. Pacifier is really a wonderful thing. Most experts agreed that pacifiers are a great tool to satisfy an infant’s need to suck. They are comforting at bedtime and can quiet a baby during a car ride or trip to the shops.


But what happens when the infant turns into a toddler and sucking on pacifier is becoming a habit?? When is enough, enough?

I remember my little gal loved to suck on pacifier even when she is not feeding or hungry. Initially I planned not to give her pacifier as I understand that pacifier-sucking babies do not have a nice set of baby teeth. True or not?? Luckily my little gal’s teeth turned out nice, no big gap in between the front teeth. Lol! Okay, she was a crying baby and to stop her, my confinement lady gave her pacifier. So, every time she cried, the lady would pop the pacifier into her mouth to calm her down. That was how little gal grew fond of her pacifier.

She needed her pacifier during bedtime, and once she dozed off, I will have to pull it out from her mouth. It has becoming a habit, and I found it irritating when she threw it after satisfying her needs to suck. So one night I took the opportunity after she threw her pacifier away. I told her that I couldn’t find her pacifier so she has to do without it from that night onward. She did not cry for it but it took her quite a while to fall asleep. It took her many nights to finally realize that her pacifier was no longer there. She was around 1 year old that time.

Instead, she opted for finger sucking and comfort in her toy. It was hard to stop her from sucking her fingers as the fingers are there and cannot be thrown away. But she did stop sucking her fingers now. Solution? Little gal used to love putting on nail vanish. When ever she saw her aunt put on nail vanish, she will request her to coat her fingers and toes nails. So I told her that should she suck her fingers, her nail varnish would not last and nails would not be pretty. A girl is always a girl, being beautiful is part of a girl’s nature! *wink* So, she tries not to suck on them and it really works!!

Alright, back to the pacifier sucking, following are some easy tips I gathered from Michelle Kennedy’s Letting Go series. Try them out if you have one pacifier-sucking child that you want to wean him or her off…..

Don’t introduce one (3 months – 1 year old)
Don’t introduce her to pacifier in first place if you concern your infant will become addicted. Offer your fingers instead. Periodically, let your infant suck on your finger (make sure it is clean in first place) even during nap-nursing time if he doesn’t want to be fed.

Pull the plug become it becomes a habit (1 – 4 years old)
Pacifiers are for the comfort of babies, not the convenience of parents. To insert the plug and leave the baby in her seat every time he cries is unhealthy reliance on an artificial comforter. Parent should always be at the other end of a comforting tool. The breast or finger has the built-in advantage of making sure you don’t fall into the habit of just plugging up the source of the cries as a mechanical gesture. If you find yourself automatically reaching for the pacifier instead of your baby when your little one cries, pull the plug become it becomes a habit!

Make it hard to find (2 – 4 years old)
When she started to look for it, engage your child in a fun activity that she will forgets about her rubber friend. Then arrange for the pacifier to be permanently “lost”, substitute with other tools of comfort, such as cuddly toys

Night time habit (2 – 4 years old)
Once he is deep in dreamland, ease it out of his mouth. If her need something to help him back to sleep when he wakes in the middle of the night, give him cuddly teddy bear or favourite blanket. In time, the stuffed animal should replace the pacifier as your child’s bedtime companion.

Let it wear out (2 – 4 years old)
Some children tend to keep their pacifier even when it started to disintegrate until there was nothing left. They love to hold on to it and reluctant to throw the worn-out one. So, explain slowly to your child that it is dangerous and we have to throw them away. You can ask your child to personally do it himself. Throw the pacifier together.

Limit the sucking times (2 – 4 years old)
This is a good tip for overcoming most habits, and a great way to limit or reduce pacifier use. Tell your child that she can only have her pacifier at certain times of the day. Determine which times of the day she needs it most – bedtime, naptime, in the car- and restrict her to those times. Restricting the times when your child can use the pacifier will help her to realize that she doesn’t need it any longer, without turning you into the bad guy!

Baby Handbook

We got this helpful baby handbook back in 2006. This useful handbook is written by Dr Tan Poh Tin who is my little gal's pediatrician. As new parents, we are not 100% know what is wrong with our little gal when she developed fever, crying non stop or developed rashes on her body. Thanks to Dr Tan, she introduced us to her handbook which from time to time, I still refer to it for tips.



This book covers from birth, umbilical cord & care, jaundice to feeding older children and feeding medicines and types of vaccines. It basically explains everything on baby from birth in laymen terms and empower you to take care of your baby's health from Day 1.



A great handbook!! I don't remember how much it costs as it was bought 3 years ago. You can buy it from Dr Tan's clinic at Green Heights.

Not possible to be free from BPA

AS mentioned in my last post, I went to a baby talk with a friend yesterday afternoon. We learnt something from the sharing with the speakers and other parents. One of the topics that really caught my attention is BPA and milk bottles. I am aware of the existence of BPA in plastics and frequently reminded myself of trying to reduce the usage of plastics in my life.

When little gal was born, as a parent, I would think of the best for her. Good plastic bottles, best milk powders, safer and quality-controlled toys and nutritional food. When she was a newborn, I remember I have to use 4 feeding bottles of 5oz and 1 drinking water bottle for her. At least I have sufficient bottles to use during night feeding instead of finding myself I don’t have enough bottles and need to wash them in middle of the night! *wink* Like what other parents told me, it is best to change your baby milk bottles every 3 – 4 months. So I follow what was told.

And that is applicable to the brushes that used to clean her bottles. Dispose them after 3 – 4 months or when some brittles or sponges loose or taken off. And I used Pureen Liquid Cleansers to clean my bottles and often sterile my bottles and nipples. Why need to take all those precautions?? Because baby’s body is still weak and not immune to any infection. BPA effects brains and prostate glands of fetuses, infants and children and other developmental and reproductive problems.

Back to the talk, here are some interesting points that I would like to share here. WARNING! This may be a long post, but it is worth a reading, I assure you. :)

We are exposed to BPA everyday irregardless how careful we are. A small dosage of BPA (Bisphenol A that is used in hardened plastics) is safe for human body. The current exposure limit is set at 50 micrograms of BPA per day per kilogram of body weight. Recent study concluded that normal adults are exposed to between 0.0235 and 0.2472 micrograms per kilogram per day, so overall we are safe from BPA effects. Overdose of BPA will lead to breast, prostate and reproductive system problems and some cancers.

We can find BPA in almost every plastic products, i.e. canned food, mineral water bottles, plastic bags, tinned foil in the containers (our Milo, baby milk powders) to compact discs. We may not be ablve to avoid all those products, but we sure can minimize the exposure of BPA by reducing the usage. Like for example, instead of plastic bags provided in the supermarkets, you can bring your own shopping bag or recycled bag to pack your groceries. And do recycle mineral water bottle; dispose after use. Use glass bottle to fill your water.

Scientists are aware of the hazardous effects of BPA on fetuses, infants and children, so it is responsibilities of pregnant mothers from the very first pregnancy stage to take precautionary measures when it comes to BPA products. So as a pregnant mother, we must try to avoid too much exposure to BPA as what ever mother consume will directly go to the unborn baby. Not only that. Once the baby is delivered, he will expose to more BPA chemical such as in bottles, sippy cups, hard plastic water bottles and tin foil used in the milk powder containers too.

Some tips that may be useful in substituting the plastic products or reduce the BPA effects in the plastic products:

1. Instead of buying your milk powder in containers, you can buy the refill packages or those packed in boxes. Use glass container to store the milk powder.

2. Use BPA-free bottles or glass bottles. BPA bottles may be durable and hard unlike BPA-free bottles, but the thought of BPA releasing to the bottle with every washing and sterile, it is not worth it to harm your children’s health. I found a good site on BPA-free bottles here, so there are some alternatives to the BPA bottles. Glass bottles are the best, but glass bottles are heavier. And also the thought of bumps on baby’s head if the bottles hit him would not appeal to you. Not to mention if you have a naughty child who loves to throw bottle after every feeding, with glass bottles, you may find yourself with shattered glasses on the floor and may hurt your child and your other family members. Like BPA bottles, you still need to change BPA-free bottles oftenly as we don’t know what other chemical used in producing them.

3. Avoid purchasing plastic containers imprinted with the recycling number '7,' many of which contain BPA. Do not heat food in recycling number ‘7' containers

4. Baby food – avoid purchasing food packed in cans. Buy those packed in glasses. Or better, make your own baby food and store in containers in the fridges.

5. Get brushes with softer brittles and sponges as harsh abrasion during washing will releases BPA to the bottle. Change the brushes regularly. Used those special liquid cleansers to clean the milk bottles, not any other washing detergent.

6. Sterile the feeding bottles once every week for new born baby or less than 1 year old. For more than 1 year old, probably do it once every two weeks where as for older toddlers, once a month.

7. Do not boil your feeding bottles directly in the pot as we could not control the temperature and heat.

8. Avoid processed food in cans. Eat healthy by cooking fresh ingredients, meats, fruits and vegetables.