Happy New Year 2009

This is my very first new year being a mom. Last year hubby and I went out to celebrate but this year he will continue to go out with his clients while I am going to stay at home to accompany a sleeping Hayley :-(. In the previous years, I will normally be busy performing at various New Year eve shows :-). Christmas eve and New Year eve are the best days for a dancer. Some can earn up to RM1k in just 1 night. As dancing is my passion (I don't dance for a living), I am just glad that I was able to earn an extra income doing what I love. Those were the fun and wild old days...

Now, at this very moment, I am at home updating my blog, hubby is preparing to go out, Hayley is sound asleep and my dancing buddies are all out there shaking their booties and earning a thousand buck :-). I guess I will hit the sack soon and will not be waiting for the clock to strike 12.

If you ask me today if I miss dancing, my answer would be a BIG YES. If you ask me if I regretted being a mom, my answer would be a BIG NO :-).

Anyway, papa Hayley and me would like to wish everyone here a HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2009 brings you good health (most important), good luck, plenty of wealth and happiness...

My first swim

Cadence ceh ceh is behind me

Mummy bought me a new swim wear from Triumph at RM59.90. The smallest size they have is 'S' which mummy said it meant for those 1 year old and above. As I am only 10 months old and I have a smaller built, mummy will have to sew the swim wear for me.

Mummy and aunty Alice (mummy's sister aka Caitlin's mom) brought me to the club on Christmas day and I experienced swimming for the very first time. I was scared at first, sitting at one spot and didn't dare to move about. But after about 10 mins of warming up, I enjoyed it very much. Mummy put me in a float and I kicked my legs while holding tight to the float. I was having a lot of fun. As the weather was rather gloomy, mummy only allowed me to play in the water for about 15 mins. I sneezed a couple of times and mummy being the paranoid person she is, quickly bundled me up and changed me.

I would love to go swimming more often in the future.

10 months old, another milestone

My baby is finally 10 months old (well officially she was 10 months old 13 days ago.. hehe). In another 2 months she ain't going to be a baby anymore and I am sure I am going to miss calling her a baby.

Now that she's 10 months, she has achieved quite a lot.. hmmm... let's see.

She can now:
- clap her hands
- wave bye bye or hello (same type of waving)
- put her hands together and do the 'gong xi gong xi' gesture (I thought her that cause CNY is just around the corner) haha
- cruise around steadily although she can't walk or stand up unassisted yet
- climb up 2 steps on the stairs (not sure why she's stopping at 2, maybe fear, maybe she's not ready, we don't know)
- constantly making the 'oorrr, chiak, mum mum or ehhh... ' sounds. Oorrr is her all time favourite
- pointing at some of the things we mention such as birds (she even tried to make the bird sound and sometimes her pronounciation is very clear), fan, dogs, TV, toys, books etc
- she understands some basic words such as 'mum mum (food), nen nen (milk), let's go, gai gai (go out)' etc. When we say let's go, she will crawl very fast towards us knowing that we're going out :-)
- kick her legs when we ask her to (thanks to the Your Baby Can Read CD)
- raise her 'arms up' when we ask her to (thanks to the Your Baby Can Read CD)
- pay attention when watching her favourite shows or CDs (she can mimick the sounds of an elephant from the Baby Einstein CD)

She is now getting naughtier by the day. Putting her to nap is becoming a challenge. We have to force her to nap although she is already showing the 'I am tired' signs. She will never nap or sleep on her own. When we go out, she will never nap unless when we're in the car (where she has nothing to do or nothing to see). She always enjoy crawling here and there and poking her fingers into everything and anything. She also likes to pick things up from the floor and putting them into her mouth :-(.

When I brought her to my sister's, she refused to nap as I predicted. I guess she enjoyed all the new surroundings, toys and her little companion (Caitlin who is 3 weeks younger than her). Sometimes it makes me wonder if she's actually choosing where she would like to nap/sleep. What if we take her for a holiday? Will she end up not sleeping or napping because the place is not familiar to her? Should I introduce her to 'sarong' to make it easier?

Hair loss

I've lost quite a lot of hair from the time Hayley was about 3 months old till 9 months old. That is 6 months of hair loss! I was so fed up of sweeping the floor (I have white tiles, imagine that) and cleaning up clogged drain after I've washed my hair. I can even see bald spots when I look at myself in the mirror (what a horror). Thank God it has all come to an end.

When Hayley was about 3 months old, my mom warned me that the moment she learns to smile at me, I am going to lose my hair. And as most babies would be able to smile when they are 3 months old, this is just a mere coincidence :-).

So why are we losing our hair? Read below:

"Here's what's going on. Normally, about 85 to 95 percent of the hair on your head is growing and the other 5 to 15 percent is in a resting stage. After the resting period, this hair falls out — often while you're brushing or shampooing it — and is replaced by new growth. An average woman sheds about 100 hairs a day. During pregnancy, increased levels of estrogen prolong the growing stage. There are fewer hairs in the resting stage and fewer falling out each day, so you have thicker, more luxuriant tresses. After you give birth, your estrogen levels take a tumble and a lot more hair follicles enter the resting stage. Soon you'll have more hair coming out in the shower or on the brush. This unusual shedding will taper off and your hair will be back to its pre-pregnancy thickness about six to 12 months after you give birth. By the way, not all women notice dramatic changes in their hair during pregnancy or the postpartum period. Among those who do, it tends to be more obvious among women with longer hair."

Imagine how much we sacrificed just to have a baby - our body, our health, our lives and now our hair :-). We definitely deserve more love from our baby :-)

Long weekend

We initially wanted to start CNY shopping this weekend since it will be a long weekend but we've changed our mind since our little girl is still not well yet. We don't want to risk bringing her out when she's weak and vulnerable to germs. And then we thought of my mom :-).

We'll ask her to come over on Monday (cheeky grin) to babysit while papa and I go shopping ... yay! It has been a long time since we both went out on a date just the 2 of us. Its about time.

Hopefully mum would be available to help. Let's keep our fingers and toes crossed!

Just in case you're all wondering why don't I ask my mum to babysit Hayley since she's around, well, my mum still works and she mentioned to me from day 1 that she will not babysit. It will tie her down and she will lose all her freedom. My mum enjoy working 5.5 days a week and spend 0.5 day playing mahjong and the remaining 1 day just 'lepakking' at her home doing nothing. Well, that's my mum!

Pediatrician, are they reliable?

This incident with Hayley and the throat infection and rashes made me think twice about trusting a 'so called' child specialist. I'm going to tell you the story and you judge for yourself if you think they are reliable. Well, it wouldn't be fair for me to criticise all the pediatricians out there but at least this one deserves to be questioned. She is a Dr Wong from Klinik Pakar Kanak-Kanak Wong.

mid Sat: fever develops. Temperatur ranges from 37.6 - 39.1. Highest was 39.1 on Sunday night.
Monday evening: brought her to the clinic and first dose of Zithromax given.

Tuesday: Behaviour extremely grouchy and cranky. 2nd dose given at night. Spotted some mild rashes (that appears like red dots) around her neck and behind her ears.

Wednesday: I called the doctor in the morning to inform her that Hayley developed some mild rashes around the neck (it was still mild then), she told me to monitor the situation and let her know if the rashes spread. Come evening, the rashes spread to her face, back and vaginal area. She told me to stop giving her the antibiotic and continue to monitor the situation. She said the rashes would peak for 3 days and then they will subside. She also adds that the diarrhea would go away immediately after we stopped the antibiotic. We decided to stop giving her the last dose. Behaviour still grouchy and cranky.

Thursday: The rashes got even worst. Now her front and her legs have them too. It is as if the rashes are travelling downwards. She even had 4 bowel movements and the discharge was watery hence her buttocks were very very sore. Her face and eyes were slightly swollen too. I called the doctor at night and asked her if this was normal and if I can change her formula to Lactose Free formula until her diarrhea gets better. Guess what she said? She said this is not an allergy! This is a type of stomach flu and I should bring Hayley in for her to check on so she can prescribe some medication for the diarrhea. This caught me off guard and I didn't know how to react. I asked her if I can monitor Hayley for the night and see if she gets better with the LF formula. I asked her if this is ok and most importantly safe for Hayley. She then said yes I can monitor tonight and bring her in tomorrow morning. Her behaviour improved slightly.

It wasn't that obvious in both the photos but those patches are actually rashes

Friday: The rashes subsided and the diarrhea GONE! Her face returned to normal too. Behaviour was much better too.

What if I listened to the doctor and brought her to the clinic and gave her those unnecessary medicine? My poor girl would be traumatised yet again!

My mom was an ex nurse and I told her Hayley's symptoms. She told me they were definitely symptoms of allergy. If it was a type of stomach flu, why didn't the symptoms appear when she had those fever? Why did the symptoms only appear when the fever was gone? What was the logic behind the diagnosis - stomach flu causes rashes??

Honestly, I think I need to get another child specialist but I would like to stick to the same doctor who knows her history (if I can). We've been visiting this doctor since day 1. The papa isn't happy with her as well and I guess we need to start looking for a better one. Her next vaccination will be in February (1 years old) and I hope we'll be able to find a better one by then. If not, I definitely would not hesitate to tell her off this time if she gets impatient with her clients again!

One after another..

I found out today that Hayley is allergic to Zithromax (the antibiotic that the doc prescribed for her throat infection). This is the 1st antibiotic prescribed to her and she developed severe rashes throughout her body especially her face, neck, head, back and her vaginal area. Luckily she isn't scratching yet else I honestly don't know what to do. My husband and I are not allergic to any medication (at least not that I know of) and I am not sure why my little one is. Maybe its just plain bad luck.

I called the doctor this morning when I spotted some red spots around her neck. The doctor asked me to check her again later in evening and she said if she is allergic to this med, the rashes would spread and I should stop the antibiotic. I should be giving her the 3rd and last dose today but we have decided not to (approved by the doctor of course).

When I picked her up from the babysitter in the evening, I was shocked to see her forehead, neck, behind her ears, under her eyes and back were all red and spotty. She also had mild diarrhoea (her stools are watery, frequent but in small quantity). She is also very grouchy and easily agitated so we are sure that something is wrong and she is feeling very uncomfortable. It is so unlike her as she used to be very happy and playful - my poor baby. The doctor said the rashes would peak up to 3 days and then it will slowly disappear. I have to continue monitoring her to see if the fever would return (hopefully not) and if the rashes would subside (hopefully so).

Sigh... I don't see my sister's kids having such problem and I often wonder why my little baby has to suffer.. was it my fault? I don't know. And as she suffers, we suffered too... double sigh.

I just hope that everything would go away soon... praying hard, praying very hard!

The culprit - THROAT INFECTION

We went to the clinic last night and the doctor confirmed that her throat is infected. The infection causes fever. As Hayley is at a stage where everything is food to her, we are not the least surprised. Doctor said we just have to try and keep her toys and hands clean as much as we can to avoid this from happening again. Poor girl had to be on antibiotics for 3 days (or 5 days if fever still persists) for once a day and Ibuprofen which will treat her fever and sore throat. No wonder she woke up in the night crying, I guess her throat must have been dry and it hurts.

We gave her the antibiotic for the first time last night. Boy, that was like mission impossible. I don't understand why she hates 'sweet' medicine. I envy those moms whose babies will ask for medicine. Envy Envy.. She cries and cries and twist and turn. I dread each time when I have to give her the med.

I also want to mention about the experience we endured at the so called 'Child Specialist Clinic' last night. The doctor checked on her and what appears to be something she is familiar with scared the hell out of her. I used to check her temp using the ear thermometer and she is always fine but of course I got to tell her that I am going to check her ears (I dont know if she understands :-)) but the doctor simply just took out her tool and insert it into her ears and asked me to grab her hands while another nurse grabbed her head. Imagine what my little girl would be thinking? She immediately started crying and wrestling to break free. I was caught off guard as well and was so tempted to tell the doctor off. Being a doctor who deals with kids, she needs to learn the tricks and have a little more patience. But I guess she has a lot of patients waiting outside and can't afford to be patient. Sigh...

After the ear check, she went on and pressed her tummy, checked her eyes, her hands and feet and finally she checked her throat (all these while she continues to cry). As she uses the wooden thingy (sorry I dont know what it's actually called) to press on her tongue she must have gone too deep that my little girl vomitted. She vomitted for like 5 mins non stop and she was crying and howling and coughing and vomitting all at the same time. She was so scared that the moment the papa came to the rescue, she immediately clung on to him and continued to vomit onto his shirt. I have never seen her this scared before. I controlled my temper else I would have given the doctor a piece of my mind!

After the whole drama, she told me we had to take her out for a while and let her calm down. Give her a little bit of water to wash her mouth and then let her check the throat again to confirm. WTF! Anyway, for the baby's sake, we took her out again, played with her for a while and sent her in to be tortured again. As expected she cried the moment she sees the doctor's face. The doctor did it quickly this time and carefully and confirmed her throat is red. We left after paying them for torturing our baby.

When we got home, we also wanted to check her temperature and the moment we insert the ear thermometer into her, she cried. This is the first time she cried when we take her temp.

All the experiences a baby has to go through will leave a deep mark within them and I always believe that we have to make the first experience pleasant so it won't frighten them. I wish all the people out there who deals with babies ie caretaker, paeditrician, baby sitters, teachers etc would at least be professional enough to know what they're doing or at least to know this simple rule. SIGH....

Fever yet again... SIGH

Hayley had fever over the weekend. It started on Saturday with mild fever ranging from 37.5 - 37.8 but it got higher at night. As high as 38.4! I gave her some medication and she seems to get better after the medication but the fever would return after 4 to 5 hours.

On Sunday night (ie last night), her fever went up to 39.1! Shocking. This is the first time her fever went up that high. I am not sure if I should freak out and rush her to the doctor but she seems to be playing and eating like normal so I continued to give her the medicine every 5 hours and monitor her temp regularly (the ear thermometer is soooo good). She had fever about a month ago as well but it was mild and it went away in 2 days with only 2 dosage of the fever medicine. This time it seems to take a little longer.

The only difference I noticed about her this time is that she will stick to me like glue all the time and cry when she can't see me. She will be playing with the papa but the moment I sit near her, she will crawl towards me and sit next to me and continue to play. She also woke up more frequently in the night, crying and asked to be carried. I also tried to put wet towels on her forehead and reducing the room temperature but it doesn't seem to help. BTW, she dislike me putting cold towels on her forehead. She will pull the towel away or wriggle her head to break free. I also tried to use the Baby Cool Fever but she dislike it as well. Do you know of any other methods that works on a baby that you could share with me?

I was told this is normal as its parts and parcels of a baby growing up - scientifically: they are putting all sorts of things in their mouth and getting all sorts of germs which sometimes causes fever OR superstitiously: they are growing up and the bones are stretching which causes fever.

Does this happen to other babies out there too? Is this really normal? Or is there something wrong with Hayley and I should get her checked out?

I am just so tired and worried.

Rebuilding my Friendship (Part 2)

Last Friday I didn't get to date anyone cause I had to go back to work. I've been so busy with work (going to be busy until Feb) that I hardly have time or the mood to do anything at night. However, I did take the effort to meet up with some of my dancing friends who were performing in Sunway on Saturday afternoon. Papa, Hayley and me went over for lunch and we were hoping to also catch the show. We were late (had trouble finding a parking spot) so we missed it :-(. But I managed to catch up with them over dinner that day. It was nice seeing them performed although I didn't get to dance along. I really miss dancing very much.

I really dislike bringing Hayley out for more than several hours and that is why I hardly bring her to shopping malls. I do bring her to hypermarkets but very rare to the malls. I just hate the idea of her missing her naps. Sometimes I hope she would nap in the stroller but it just wouldn't happen. She is such an inquisitive baby and she likes looking at people, lights, anything or everything that passes by. She yawned and rubbed her eyes but she won't go to sleep. We even chose a quiet corner in the mall and walked in circles hoping that she would go to sleep. We failed miserably :-) and we gave up in the end. We envy those parents with a sleeping baby or toddler in the stroller.

We had steamboat for dinner that night and so she tagged along. As she didn't get her nap, she was rather grouchy. She refuses to sit quietly in the baby chair and often asked to be carried and entertained. We gave her bicuits but all of them fell on to the floor. Papa and me hardly ate anything that night. We were so tired of looking after her and entertaining her that we didn't have the mood to eat. Plus, the table were rather cramped with so many of us (all my dancing friends) and the weather was extremely hot. But it was still nice to be able to chat to my dancing friends and get an update of what's happening in the industry that I've left behind almost 18 months ago.

We left around 8pm and as expected, Hayley slept in the car. As we lived nearby we had to wake her up again to feed and changed her. Poor girl...

Sometimes I really salute those parents who likes to go shopping with their babies every weekend and spend many hours out there. I really don't know how you do it... SALUTE!

This weekend, we're going Ikea... hahaha. I want to buy her a high feeding chair...

Where is the cheapest place to buy Enfalac A+, Mamy Poko and Pet Pet?

Just thought of sharing this with mothers who are also using the same brands. Or maybe if any of you know of a cheaper place, do share with me as well.

ENFALAC A+
The cheapest place (so far) for me would be a supermarket which is a few doors away from Steven's Corner in OUG. Sorry I forgot the name of the supermarket but I know its air conditioned. A 650 gram box pack cost RM48.40. Other supermarkets such as Giant, Tesco, Jusco and Carrefour are selling at RM50 and above. So if you are buying a few box at one go (like I do), you can actually save quite a lot. The place is very crowded in the day and it will be quite tough to find a parking spot. I've been there 3 times so far and I've been quite lucky :-)

MAMY POKO
Hayley uses Mamy Poko at night and when we're out and about. The cheapest price I've bought so far would be RM42.90 for the Jumbo Pack, 70 pcs for size M. I bought it at Carrefour. However, they often restrict you to 2 packs per family per day. So I always ended up making a few trips to stock up :-)

PET PET
Hayley uses Pet Pet in the day. I've tried other brands such as Fitti, Huggies Dry & Comfort (red and blue pack) and Huggies Comfort (blue pack) but I still find Pet Pet the best in terms of quality and value for money. Fitti is good as well but it's slightly costly for day use. Pet Pet was in fact highly recommended to me by some of my friends. I have also tried Pampers and Drypers but I don't like them.

When Hayley uses Huggies, she developed rashes at her back where the elastic strap is. Maybe she's got sensitive skin. But when she uses Pet Pet and Fitti or even Mamy Poko, she doesn't get rashes. So Huggies is out! The cheapest place to buy Pet Pet is at Tesco. The cheapest price would be RM25.90 for Jumbo Pack, 70 pcs for size M.

Flower bath

I thought by now I would see a definite sleep pattern in Hayley but I was wrong. Her patterns changes like the weather. Sometimes she would sleep throughout from 9pm till 7am, sometimes she wakes up a few times in the night and sometimes she fusses the moment we put her in the cot. These patterns tends to last a few days before it changes again.

The same goes for her afternoon naps. Although she is tired (rubbing her eyes and nose and yawning away), she is not the type of baby who would fall asleep on her own. I don't put her in a cradle nor does she get a pacifier. So in order to put her to sleep, I will need to gently pat her buttocks. It can either be with her lying face down on the bed or me carrying her with her head resting on my shoulders. It all depends on her moods and what she prefers. Either way she would still cry (without tears most of the time) until she falls asleep. Her naps are often very short. Mostly 30 mins to an hour and occasionally between 1.5 - 2 hours.

Last weeked was terrible. I think it was becuase of the jab on Saturday. She became very cranky and fusses more than usual whenever we tried to put her to sleep be it in the afternoon or night. I became a zombie over the weekend due to lack of sleep. She would wake up every 2 or 3 hours in the night crying. I will need to carry her out of the cot and pat her until she falls asleep again. This went on for 2 nights. The papa tried to help but she refused him.

When I brought her to aunty's on Monday morning, I told aunty my dilemma. Aunty believes she got frightened (maybe because of the jab) hence the night crying. When I pick Hayley up in the evening aunty told me she gave her a flower bath (flowers used in Chinese prayers). She said after the bath, Hayley napped for long hours in the afternoon without any fuss. She also said that Hayley would also sleep well in the night after the bath and I really hope she is right.

That night she really did sleep throughout the night! She did wake up once with some light cries but then she went back to sleep on her own without needing us to pat or carry her. That was amazing. The consecutive nights were even better. She slept throughout until I woke her at 7am. The best thing about this is she doesn't fuss anymore when we put her in the cot or when we pat her gently to help her sleep. It doesn't sound like she's being forced to sleep anymore.

I hope this pattern would stay for good. I had 2 nights of good sleep and I am looking for another good night sleep tonight :-)

This may be a superstitions or this may be true. I don't really know but since it is harmless to my baby, I don't mind trying and I am glad it turned out well.

Which thermometer should you buy?

For all new mothers out there who are unsure of which thermometer to buy, I hope this post will help you make a wise decision. I used to ask the same question. We want the best for our babies but we're just not sure which one is and we certainly do not want to buy all of them and ended up wasting $. There are so many types in the market - ear thermometer, the old fashion mercury type, those where you stick on the forehead, the pen-type etc etc. One thing I know is that the pediatrician said the most accurate would be those where you take the measurement from the ear and the anus.

So I started with a Microlife Digital Pen-Type Thermometer. It was recommended by the sales assistant at one of the pharmacies. It cost us about RM29 (can't recall exactly how much). We bought it since Hayley was a few days old (kiasu ma so we bought it early and want to have it handy just in case). You can put it in the mouth, under the armpit or the anus. We started by putting it in the mouth (we dont dare to insert it down there) but we find it dangerous as she likes to chew on it. We fear that we might end up injuring her throat if we push it too deep. Then we used it under the armpit and as she gets older, it gets tougher to keep the thermometer in place while we wait for the reading. We normally have to wait for about 1 - 2 mins until it beeps. That feels like forever. And moreover, we were told that it is not accurate to take measurements under the armpit and as the last resort, we used it down there. That was ok for a while but after sometime I guess she felt uncomfortable and started struggling with us. At about the same time, the thermometer started acting up. Sometimes it was clear, ie we could read the number clearly but most of the time the number would only appear in half. The top part would be invinsible. We're not sure why it happened but if we hit it a few times it would come back again. That was frustrating. I have to bring the same thermometer to the baby sitter if she has a fever and imagine my frustration having to explain to a 60 year old aunty on what to do when the thing gets cranky.

Then we found out that Guardian was having a promo. That was several months ago. If you spend RM40 in a single receipt, you can buy the Microlife Digital Infrared Ear Thermometer at RM98.88 (original price was RM199.80). Our thermometer looks slightly different from the one above. For some reason I couldn't find the one we bought. Maybe it was old stock but we don't really care as long as it works. Anyway it comes with 2 years warranty. We bought it and there were no turning back ever since. The thermometer was fantastic. It was so easy to use and quick and Hayley seems to like it. It makes taking her temperature so much easier. And all you need to do is switch it on (operated using a battery) and then put it in her ear and press the start button. It will make a 'beep' sound in like 1 or 2 seconds and we're done. If Hayley has a fever ie 37.5c and above, the thermometer will keep beeping for a few times indicating a fever. If her temperature is 37.4c and below, it will only 'beep' once. The only downside I think is that the 'beep' sounds tends to wake a sleeping baby cause it will beep with the thermometer still in her ear.

I don't like using those mercury type cause I find it difficult to read and I hate those where you have to stick it on the forehead as I find it not accurate. So I hope you will make a wise choice and buy just 1 good thermometer :-)

Pneumococal Vaccination 2

I had my 2nd pneumococal jab today at 9 months. Boy, that was painful. Before the jab, the pediatrician as usual will need to inspect me - measure my head circumference, check my ears, touch my belly etc. The moment she measure my head, I cried! Then I went on crying and crying until after the jab and even until we left the room (very drama you know). Can you imagine that!

I don't know why I cried, I didn't cry that much the last time but I guess I was scared. I hate needles, just like mummy. The doctor said I was overall ok although a bit on the small side (well, can't blame me, both my papa and mummy are small :-)).

At 9 months, I am 70cm tall and 7.89kg in weight. I gained 6cm and 0.99kg since 2 months ago. The doc said since I eat well (mummy told her I had milk, then cereal, then milk, then porridge, then porridge again and then finally milk) the doctor gasped and said 'ok, that was quite a lot' hehehe.

Mummy used to worry when I was 'lightweight' but now she does not worry anymore as doctor assured her that I am doing ok :-). Told you she was paranoid.. hahahaha.

Oh, by the way, my friend Samson was also at the clinic. Samson is 3 months younger than me but he was already at 7.9kg! He's a big boy. Samson had a bad cough and he came back for a follow up as he finished his med but still coughing away. Pity him. He looks so cute now :-)

Today's bill was RM306 as expected. My final jab will be at 15 months but I had to go back to the clinic at 12 months to get my MMR jab. When I got home, mummy gave me a dose of fever medicine just in case (as advised by the doctor). Hopefully I won't get any fever, fingers and toes crossed.

Rebuilding my friendship (part 1)

Today was a fruitful day. I woke up at 6am (Hayley woke up at 6am!) and I snoozed till 6.30am cause Hayley poo-ed. After sending her to the babysitter at 7.30am, I went to the market as usual. Bought all the stuff I need and got home at 9am. Checked some emails and did some work and started my 'maid' routine at 9.30am. I had to finish cleaning the house and doing the laundy before 11.30am so that I could get myself ready to meet an old friend for lunch.

We had a good lunch and a good chat. Nothing formal, it was just to catch up and to rebuild the friendship. The first thing he said to me when he saw me 'aiyoh, why so thin one? I thought all new mothers have to worry about losing weight and keeping fit but you look like you need to gain weight' ~ lol. He also recommends that I get a medical check up done to make sure I am ok... see how bad it is??? Anyway, I promised him that I would get a check up done next week when I have some time.

We didn't eat at an expensive place (he was very kind to my wallet) but nonetheless it was a good lunch. Not so much about the food, more on being able to chat to him. The 1.5 hours lunch was a bit too short but it was better than nothing. After lunch I did some errands and got home at 3.30pm. I was exhausted and sleepy but still I was happy that I achieved something today.

Now I need to plan for next Friday, hmm.. who should I date? :-). Hopefully I dont have much work so I can go ahead and take my Friday off.

Losing my friends

Not sure if other new moms out there felt the same but I suddenly became very depressed over the weekend. I suddenly thought of my friends. When was the last time I contacted them? When was the last time we met up for a good chat or for dinner or even for a drink? I could not remember. I think it was before I had Hayley so that must at least be 9 months ago.

I did receive invitations but often I would reject them and after a few rejects, they stopped asking me. I did attend a gathering once but I left after an hour as I was worried about Hayley (alone with the papa for the 1st time and I am not sure if he could handle her). Some friends also took the effort to drop by for a visit but I felt bad. I felt that I didn't put in any effort at all in maintaining the friendship. Friends who understands will understand but there will always be a few who doesn't and I do not want to lose my friends.

I think I spend too much time on Hayley. I set too high an expectation for myself in caring for Hayley. I felt that if I didn't do what I had to do for the day, I am not a good mom and I am not a responsible mom. I have to make sure the same routine was performed everyday otherwise I would feel bad/guilty and its like my day isn't complete. As I only have quality time with Hayley on weekends, I made sure I dedicate my time to her on weekends without allocating anytime for myself. Come to think of it, I forgot when was the last time I actually went shopping for myself. Each shopping trip is to the baby's department. I also dislike bringing Hayley out with me to meet friends as she is a 'busy body' girl. Eventhough she is tired, she won't nap when we are outside and I dislike the idea of her missing her naps. I also dislike the idea of her missing her porridge or cereal or fruits whenever we are out. As weekends are the only time I had with her, I need to make sure she gets all the good stuff ie nutrients etc from the food I feed her. These are all the excuses I give myself to stay home.

Because of all that I suddenly became lonely. I used to be very outgoing, dancing and performing everywhere and could never sit still and had friends from all walks of life. Now I am often at home and 24 hours with Hayley and becoming a 100% dedicated mom. Am I becoming too obsessive? Am I doing it all wrong? Or do other moms out there had the same problem like me?

A friend who cared made some suggestions like a lady's night out once every week or every 2 weeks. Just a couple of hours after work for dinner or shopping or foot reflex or anything at all except being home. She even offered to accompany me. Glad that I still have a good friend out there. Talking about this good friend, she is pregnant herself and warned me that if she ever became obsessive like me, I need to pull her out of the house ~ lol.

I think this is quite a common problem for moms who couldn't let go. It is not an easy decision to make but it is one that has to be made. My sister who had 2 girls (4 years and 8 months) had the same problem. We have also agreed that we have to find time, once a month to go for some self pampering activities. A spa day out or even shopping just for us. NO baby stuff. I said ok.

This Friday I am going to put words into action. I have actually made a lunch appt with a good friend who often came over to visit Hayley (with gifts). I am going to buy him lunch as I will not be working on Friday (clearing annual leaves). As I do not have the luxury of a maid, Friday is normally my spring cleaning day. I could only clean when Hayley is not with me or not at home and that day is only Friday. As she is now crawling everywhere, cleaning the house is something that I must do (again obsessive I know). It will be a tough Friday for me as I had to juggle going to the market (to buy stuff to cook her porridge for the weekend), to spring clean the whole house (fyi its a double storey terrace house), to meet a friend for lunch in PJ and to pick her up after it all ends. It will be tiring for me , no doubt (I always complain to my husband that being on leave is even more tiring than being at work) but I am going to give it a try. Wish me luck and I hope after a few attempts with different friends, I will be back on par again and be a happy mom. A happy mom will lead to a happy baby! Now you know why I lost 5 kg! lol

I finally poo-ed

I finally poo-ed today which is the 3rd day and boy was mummy relieved. However, aunty told mummy that I poo-ed twice. The 1st time only a small little piece which was hard came out. The second time I bombed 'KL' :-). Aunty also told mummy that I cried when I poo-ed, maybe the stool was too hard.

What could have caused it? The Enfalac A+ milk? The solid food? Well, it is something that mummy will need to observe and find out. I have been having the same brand of milk and the same solid food for the last 3 months (although with different ingredients) and this is the first time I am having problems with hard stool. Maybe I just didn't get enough water?!

I love food

I love to eat anything and everything. In one of the earlier post, mummy mentioned that I hate bananas, I don't anymore :-). I love bananas now. I have tasted peaches, pear, red apple, papaya (Hawaii solo only) and bananas (pisang emas) and I love all of them.

This is what I eat every weekend (which may differ slightly from weekday because aunty ie the babysitter didn't really like to follow mummy's routine but I am ok la, not too picky):

7.30/8am - 7oz milk
10.30am - cereal with milk and pureed fruits (pear or apple). Mummy uses 2oz of milk
11.30am - 3oz of milk
1.30pm - porridge with pork, dried scallop, vege (spinach/broccoli), peas and carrot/sweet potato
5.30pm - porridge again
8.30pm - 7oz milk

I get water in between all the meals and biscuits occasionally. At aunty's place, I also get 2 porridge a day but no cereal. Sometimes I get fish porridge and sometimes pork. Aunty doesn't use as much ingredients as mummy, well, what to do...

In total I am taking less than 20oz of milk a day. Should mummy worry (read the extract below)? Probably not since I am a happy and healthy baby with a bulging belly. I will get her to try and increase my milk to 24oz a day. That means for meals for me, happy me :-)

This is extracted from babycentre's website "Once you start adding solids to her diet, her daily intake of formula milk should gradually decrease to about 720ml / 24oz. The Food Standards Agency recommends that once your baby is established on solids, she should be having approximately 600ml / 20oz or one pint of formula milk per day alongside a varied diet until she is a year old."

I didn't poo for 2 days

Don't know what's wrong with me. I didn't poo for 2 days now, Sun and Mon and mummy as usual is freaking out. She massaged my tummy today using one of those techniques she learnt from where else but the web. It is supposed to help me poo better. This is what she did:

1. rub my tummy in circles (clockwise) from the belly button going outwards for 15x
2. hold both my legs and move my knees to touch my belly also for 15x
3. use both her hands and rub from slighty below my chest downwards towards the belly for 15x
4. repeat step 2 above

So far, I still didn't feel like pooing. Hopefully I will poo tomorrow morning so mummy can relax a little... Although I am not in pain or anything (well I still play and crawls and wrestle with papa like usual), my tummy is feeling a bit hard and it looks quite huge. Maybe because I ate a lot and didn't discharge the unwanted hehehe

Uninvited guest

See what came into my house on Saturday!

I was crawling towards it but thankfully mummy saw me and rescued me from squashing the lizard (or maybe I will be the one who will get bitten). Mummy is always my hero.

Papa came to our rescue and he caught and released the lizard into the backyard. We don't know what it is and we are not keen to find out :-)

Gift from Aunty Eileen

Aunty Eileen is very sweet. She lives in NY with her hubby Richard and her 2 boys Jack and Rhys. Both the boys are very very cute and handsome :-). Rhys is a few months older than me and Jack is almost 3!

Aunty Eileen always buy me stuff from NY. She bought me dresses, Baby Einstein CD, Combi Food Processor etc.

See what she bought me recently :-). I love those dresses. Although some people still mistaken me for a boy when I wear a dress (because I don't have much hair la), I always forgive them. Mummy doesn't like to buy me dresses for that reason. Mummy likes to buy pants and shirts for me and make me look hip.

I hate potty

Mummy put me on a potty over the weekend for the first time and I hate it.. I am sure you can tell from my expression. Mummy forced me to sit on the potty for a good 15 mins and she failed to get anything out of me.. Yes, I win! hahaha.

BTW, that is papa behind me making sure I sit still and doesn't make a mess. Can you see his belly! Gross! But if you lift up my shirt, I have the mini version of papa's belly hehehe

My favourite pyjama

This is my favourite (well more of my mummy's) pyjama which my papa hates (he's simply jealous). Mummy bought it for RM5! Yes you heard it right, its only RM5 from Reject Shop. The material is good and comfy and it is definitely worth the price. As I often kicks my blanket away in the middle of the night, this pyjama keeps me warm all night :-)

Mummy had to go and check out Reject Shop all the time for good deals such as this. It doesn't come everyday :-)

My lil cousin and me

This is my lil cousin Caitlin. She is 3 weeks younger than me and we were both born in the same hospital and our moms visit the same gynae :-). Caitlin looks like her dad while her elder sister (Cadence who is now 4) looks more like her mom. So they both look very different which is very unique.

Caitlin is afraid of strangers, unlike me, and cries when a stranger attempts to carry her. She even cried when my mom carried her! I can't understand why as I just love when people carries me. I will swing my hands in excitement each time someone comes near me :-)

But I love playing with her, she is my only friend for now apart from the kor kor at aunty's (babysitter) house.

Eczema and cradle cap

When I was 3 months old mummy thought I had dandruff on my head (she thought they were really dandruff). Over time, the patches got bigger and thicker. It was so itchy that I started scratching and once I scratched till it bled. I freaked mummy out. Mummy didn't know it was cradle cap (she haven't even heard of cradle cap until it happened to me). She didn't know what to do and called up a few of her friends who were experienced mothers and they told her different stories. Some said it was because she didn't shampoo my head properly, some said leave it and it will come off on its own, some said she will need to wet my hair and comb it off. She was confused, who wouldn't be?

At the same time, I had mild eczema too. Talk about troublesome babies :-(. Mummy noticed the areas where my skin were folded (ie elbow, neck, thighs, armpit etc) were reddish. The babysitter asked her to use powder which she reluctantly followed (isn't she silly?). It got even more red and my skin was peeling! She was even more freaked out. She blamed herself as she thought she did something wrong. She kept asking herself if she used the right product, if she bathe me correctly, if she did anything wrong and she even questioned if she was a good mom.

My aunty (mom's sis) and grandma said she was paranoid. They ask her to calm down and take it easily. They thought she had post natal depression as she was constantly worried and constantly trying to find solutions to help me.

Then mummy stumbled upon 'Life As A Mummy' blog by chance. It was then called 'Life as Parents'. Mummy googled 'baby eczema' and found this blog. We read her posting on treating eczema using Eubos Bath Cream Oil and Sebamed Baby Cream. We followed and after a few months, we could see the improvements. We are not sure if it's the product or if it's something else (mummy's friend told her that her daughter had cradle cap and eczema too and she tried all products and it won't go away, miraculously they went away when she was 7 or 8 months old so it is just a normal baby thing). We don't care why or what causes it to go away BUT WE ARE HAPPY IT DID. Thanks to 'Life as Mummy' for all those wonderful tips.

I am now free from cradle cap and eczema. Occasionally I would have small red spots on my neck and armpit (especially when the weather is hot) but mummy is not worried anymore. She continued to use the Eubos Bath Cream Oil and Sebamed Baby Cream on me even till today. The red spots will either disappear in a few days or sometimes they might take longer but eventually they will go away.

Mummy even emailed to Eubos asking them for the right directions to use the product to treat eczema properly. A pharmacist from Eubos did reply to mummy, to our surprise. She suggested using the product as follows:

1. Wet baby's body and apply several drops of Eubos Bath Cream Oil all over the body paying special attention to the affected areas
2. Rub for a few minutes
3. Rinse off with clean water

Sticking to mummy like glue

I am all dressed up ready to go to the wedding

Last Sunday, we attended mummy's cousin brother's wedding in a chinese restaurant. I went along as usual. Unfortunately unlike the last dinner (grandma's birthday), I wasn't as well behaved as they expect me to be.

Mummy brought along biscuits to keep me occupied and seated in the baby chair so they could eat, it didn't work as well as they hoped (I was just too naughty). The moment they put me in the chair, I tried to grab her (wanting to be carried as usual) and I started crying (without tears). Mummy gave me toys, it didn't work. The biscuit kept me occupied for a while, enough for her and papa to finish 3 - 4 dishes.

Mummy had to carry me (taking turns with papa) for the remaining hours of the night. I was actually very tired. I was rubbing my eyes and nose and even yawning but I just refused to go to sleep. There were too many people walking around and all those interesting noises.

We left the restaurant at about 11pm and mummy was expecting me to knock off in the car. I disappointed her. I was playing by myself in the car for a while and then cried as I wanted to be cuddled. Mummy took me out from the car seat and I finally knocked off when we were about 5 mins away from home in mummy's arms.

It's been a tiring day for me, mummy and also papa but we were happy to be there and to share the happiness of mummy's cousin brother :-)

The end of breastfeeding, bye bye milk

After exclusively being breastfed for 6 months and supplementing with formula for 2 more months, mummy have had enough. She initially aimed to breastfeed me for 1 year but had to stop at 8 months. She is not proud but she knows she has done her best.

I am not sure if this happened to other breastfeeding mothers out there but mummy encountered several difficulties. Firstly, she couldn't use the pumps. You heard me right. When mummy use pumps (we've got the Avent manual pump) it will take her ages to clear the breasts. In desperation, she tried manual and it was surprisingly much faster. Mummy have since then expressed manually using her hands resulting in bruised breasts (not sure why but I guess if you press your fingers onto your breasts for like 4 - 5 times a day and 20 mins each time, you will end up with bruises). Mummy used to express every 3 hours when I was 2 or 3 months old, so imagine the bruises!

Mummy also lost a lot of weight. We know breastfeeding help mothers to lose weight after giving birth but she wasn't expecting to lose this much weight. She lost 5kg! The miracle of breastfeeding is that she was back to her usual weight during the confinement month (amazing huh) and she lost another 5 kg in the following 2 months. She look so skinny that she could no longer fit into her usual pants, those she use to wear before she got pregnant. Everyone who saw her said she looked frailed and lethargic, probably because of the weight loss. She doesn't look like someone who just had a baby!

The biggest reason why mummy gave up breastfeeding is because of thrush. I developed thrush when I was 3 months old. Not sure when, how or why. I had white spots in my mouth and bad rashes down under, they were itchy. Mummy's breasts were fine. Mummy wasn't even sure if it was thrush but pediatrician said it was. She continued to breastfeed me and pediatrician prescribed Daktarin cream to apply into my mouth and onto mummy's breasts. While her breasts showed no symptoms of thrush, mine refused to go away. The moment she stopped applying the cream on my mouth, it will come back. When she applied, they will go into hiding. Mummy continued to put the cream with hope that it will go away permanently but it didn't. The thrush stayed on until I was about 6 months old. She didn't know what else to do and decided to stop breastfeeding me directly cause we all know that thrush will spread from mommy to baby via breastfeeding or vice versa. She didn't want to continue applying the creams on me as we do not know if the cream will cause harm if taken over long period.

Mummy then decided to express and feed me from a bottle. She also continued to clean my gums and mouth thoroughly every morning and night with clean wet cotton. I love it when she does that as I can bite her finger. Eventually the thrush slowly disappeared, without mummy putting any cream. We were elated. But at the same time mummy's production of breast milk slowly diminished no matter what she do. She continued to drink lots of fluid, taking plenty of fruits and expressing frequently but nothing helped and I wasn't helping either as I refused to suck on it anymore. I prefer teats!

Anyway, mummy convinced herself that 8 months is better than nothing and she is happy that she managed to feed me for 8 months. I am also happy as her breastmilk keeps me healthy. IF she is going to have a 2nd baby, she said she will do the same :-).

How do you put a sleepy baby to sleep?

Mummy wrote this in desperation. Anyone out there able to help?

"I have been having problems putting Hayley to sleep every night in the last couple of days. When she was much younger, it wasn't much of a problem. We'll put her in the cot, pat her buttock for a while and she will eventually go to sleep.

As she gets older and wiser, it became harder. Since she knew how to crawl and stand, the moment we put her in the cot she will start climbing and standing in the cot and playing by herself. After letting her play for about 10 mins, we will hold her down (she sleeps facing down) and pat her buttock. She will resist and cry (without tears most of the time) for about 10 mins and then eventually fall asleep.

Now, the moment we put her in the cot, she will cry. Most of the time it's fake cry and if we let her continue, it will become real tears. When we hold her down to 'force' her to sleep, she will resist even more and cry even louder and sometimes she even throw up. I tried various methods of putting her to sleep from letting her head rest on my shoulders while carrying her, putting her close to my body whle continuing to pat her buttock but nothing seems to work. She will still resist and cry although you can tell she's tired.

What else can I do? Friends suggested that I need to train her to sleep by letting her cry on her own. When she realised after a few days that no one will come to the rescue she will know its bed time. Do I really have to do this? It sound so cruel to me."

I hope mummy won't leave me alone to cry to sleep every night.. sigh...pray hard...

I can clap

We have not been writing for sometime cause we actually forgot that we have a blog ~lol~.

I am 8 months 8 days old today and guess what she I did yesterday evening? I clapped! Mummy asked me 'show mummy how you clap' and I did, to her amazement. I repeated a few times cause she kept asking me to do it as she wanted to be sure (and of course I got tired after a few times and ignored her). I have been watching the 'Your baby can read' cd which teaches the word 'clap' a lot and mummy also demonstrated it to me all the time. She is glad that the RM100 investment paid off :-)

Next she is going to teach me something else, maybe body parts or electrical appliances or even animals hehe

Hayley the 'Rat'

At 8 months, my development has been really astonishing. Guess what I can do now?

1. Crawl on 4. I started with the commando style crawling for a few weeks before I was able to crawl on 4
2. Stand with support. I can grab the sides of my cot and pull myself up to stand on my 2 feet. I can even walk a few steps while holding the sides of the cot on my own (wobbly of course la)
3. Going for the stairs (yes I am now starting to crawl towards the stairs but I have not been successful in going up the stairs yet, must try harder)
4. Ride like a pro on my walker.

The boos boos:
1. No signs of any teeth (or maybe this is a good sign? as some old people will say that the later the better so the teeth won't fall off that early)
2. I can sit unsupported but gets tired after a couple of minutes and tumble to either sides
3. I have a bad temper and some character!

Oh well.. I learn new stuff everyday and will try my best to surprise mummy and papa with my new tricks everyday :-)

I had diarrhea!

My diarrhea started since last Thursday. I usually poo once or twice a day but since Thurs I pooed 4 times a day! Mummy wasn't really concerned at that time cause I was still happy, healthy and eating like normal. Mummy did some research on the internet and was advised to make sure I stay hydrated (by poking my flesh and making sure it bounces back). She poke me all the time, how annoying ~lol~. She also sniff at my bum all the time (like a dog) so she can change my diaper immediately to avoid nappy rash.

After 4 days, I still pooed 4 - 5 times a day. Mummy was getting slightly concerned. She email my pediatrician Dr Wong and asked her for advise. Dr Wong suspected it was just a mild stomach flu and told mummy to change my milk. Instead of the usual Enfalac a+, she was told to give me Similac Lactose Free Cow's Milk or soy milk. Dr Wong gave both samples but she recommended that we try Similac Lactose Free Milk which she said taste better. She also advised mummy to stop giving me fruits or veges. Just mik and carbs (porridge and cereal) for now.

Mummy changed my milk on Thursday (the 7th day of my diarrhea) and we could see the effects immediately. I only pooed 2 times on Friday and Sat and once on Sunday. Mummy was elated. She started me back on Enfalac A+ on Sunday and my poo seems to be back on course. She also ask aunty (the babysitter) to start giving me veges in my porridge and they will probably reintroduce fruits later.

Mummy will monitor me for a few more days to make sure everything is back to normal.

'Your Baby Can Read' VCD

I finally found them and bought them too. It comes in a set of 5 VCDs at RM99.90. each VCD lasts 15 mins. I bought it from http://www.mybbstore.com/. It costs S$60 in Singapore so it is much cheaper here.

It also comes in the form of DVD but of course I chose the VCD cause its cheaper and I am not prepared to waste that much as I am not sure if Hayley will enjoy it. I showed it to her for the first time on Sunday and she seems to enjoy it (which is good). Let's wait and see if my little girl will be able to read after a couple of months watching this like they promised.. hehe

My favourite hobby

I have a hobby, developed since I was 6 months old - hair pulling! No joke, I love pulling hairs from the head or the legs or the armpit (papa's of course :-)), anywhere and everywhere beyond my reach... here is a photo of me in action. Papa's hair is actually less than an inch and my little magical fingers still could grab them.. amazing huh!

How to read bar code - China or Taiwan products

The following are from SingaporeAgnesTan blogspot:

With more and more milk products from China and Taiwan having problem, we really got to check where the things are produced. Here is a way to differentiate Taiwan made products and China made products : by looking at first three digits of its Bar Code.

If the 1st 3 digits are 690, 691 or 692 - China made
If the 1st 3 digits are 471 – Taiwan made

http://singaporeagnestan.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-know-if-milk-products-made-in.html

These items have been recalled due to China's milk scandal

I received the following email from my NY friend this morning.

For your information, the following items have been recalled inSingapore due to China's milk scandal:

1. M&M
2. Snickers
3. Mento's Yoghurt Bottle
4. Dove Chocolate
5. Oreo Wafer Sticks
6. Dutchlady Sterilised Milk
7. Wall's all natural mango
8. Mini Poppers Ice Cream
9. Magnum Ice Cream
10. Moo Sandwich Ice Cream
11. Mini Cornetto
12. Youcan Ice Cream

Stores have been asked by AVA Singapore to remove them. If u have anyof these items at home, don't eat them.

I have consumed M&M, Snickers and ice cream for the last so many years. If something were to happen to us, I wonder who will be held responsible?

Hayley hates bananas

Gave Hayley bananas for the first time today and she hates it. She did take a few spoon and after a while she started spitting them out and making the 'wek' (vomit) sound.

She ain't going to ger it her way cause tomorrow I will try again :-)

'Your baby Can Read' CD

A friend of mine in Singapore told me about this educational CD for baby. She said I should forget about Barneys or Sesame Street or any other cds out there and just get this one. It is S$60 for the complete set in Singapore's Kiddy Place, not sure where to find it in KL though. It comes with a few cds for various months.

According to her the cd is rather boring (that is why you dont want to show your baby Barney and Sesame Street :-)) but it is extremely educational. She showed it to her son since he was 2 months old for 15 mins twice a day and even before her son reaches 1 year old, she found out that he could read. Her son is now 2 years old and he could spell some basic words like his name, mommy, daddy, elephant etc! That is just amazing.

I am so keen to get this CD for baby and I will try and find it in KL. If not, I might just get it in Singapore :-)

My birthday

I'll be celebrating my birthday on Monday. I wonder how different it would be this year as compared to previous years except the obvious which is the addition of Hayley :-). Hubby is not exactly the most romantic person and his 'surprises' (if any) are always predictable - dinner cum 'choose your own present' session :-)

I wasn't really thinking much about my birthday and in fact we have already begun discussing about Hayley's 1st birthday party ~lol~

Hayley's first bank account

Opened a joint account for Hayley today, after delaying it for so many months.. what a lousy mummy.. hehe. Anyway, went to Maybank (the same branch where I opened mine) and got her a Yippee account. Glad that I finally did and hopefully by the time she turned 18, the account has enough $$ to get her through college and university [BIG GRIN]

Am I feeding her right?

Hayley is 6.965 kg at 7 months. She was 3.4kg when born and 6.65kg when she was 6 months old. She only gained about 300 grams in the last month. I was concerned but the ped said it is ok as long as she is eating well, happy and is alert (and she is!).

From birth till 6 months:
Hayley is exclusively on breast milk. At 6 months she was taking 6oz at every feed (3 hours interval) 5 times a day. We religiously feed her at every 3 hours (my baby sitter insist) even if she's not crying or showing any hungry signs and I just followed suit on weekends. She would normally finish all her milk with occasional wastage of about 1oz once in a while. She gets water in between feeds.

After 6 months:
I slowly introduced her to formula (Enfalac A+). Started with replacing the last feed with formula instead of breast milk. No issues so far. She is getting between 6oz - 8oz 5 times a day. Occasionally the baby sitter said she will ask for more (esp in the morning) after finishing the 6oz and she will then make her an additional 2oz formula. I have never experienced that on weekends when I look after her myself.

I also started introducing her to solids. I gave her Heinz First Rice Cereal once a day in the afternoon in between feeds. I also introduced pureed fruits and she tried green pear, apples, peaches and papayas. She get fruits once on weekdays (in the evening) and twice on weekends. I have also asked the baby sitter to give her cereals twice starting from today, maybe once in the afternoon and another in the evening. This I hope will help her to gain more weight. I am also keen to introduce her to vegetables. I know broccoli, carrot, sweet potato and spinach are good for her but when should I start? How do I start? I was told to puree them and mix them into her cereal to make it tastier, is that the right thing to do? and what about meat? When should I start making her chicken or fish porridge?

It is so difficult for a working mom to ensure that our baby gets enough nutritions from her food intake when we're not the one preparing them ourselves. What do other working moms out there do? Does your baby sitter prepare the pureed fruits for your baby or did you prepare it in advance and bring it to her? My baby sitter is a bit 'old schooled' and I am afraid of introducing new stuff to her. Initially she told me to wean Hayley from breast milk after 3 months but I insisted on going and I am happy I did. But after 7 months I am not that particular anymore and am happy to slowly wean her.

And what about jar food? Are they good and reliable? My friend in NY told me she fed her 'jumbo baby' organic jar food and they are as good as self prepared food and her baby is cute and huge.

Pneumococal Vaccination

Hayley had her 1st Prevenar jab yesterday and it cost us Rm300! Well, I think it's worth paying as long as we have peace of mind knowing that she will be safe from meningitis etc. We initially wanted to start her earlier, ie 4 jabs if we start her before 6 months and 3 jabs if we start her after 6 months and we decided to start her after 6 months cause I cannot tolerate seeing her getting so many jabs in the first 6 months. My heart cringed everytime she cried (not to mention the fever that comes later) when jabbed. I had to stand faraway and close my eyes while her daddy attend to her.

She is so smart now. The moment we put her on the bed she started crying. The moment the pediatrician walked towards her, she cried even louder. She knew what will happen next, smart girl. But the jab was quick and she cried for a bit. But overall it went quite well and she is quite a trooper.

The ped said she might get fever after the jab and told me to give her a dose of fever med when we get home which I did. Thankfully, she didn't get any fever and I am so so glad. Her next jab will be 2 months later, the 2nd Prevenar and another RM300 into the ped's bank account :-)

I made mummy proud

Me and papa (everyone said I look like him, what do you think?)

Me enjoying my biscuit

We attended grandma's 81st birthday dinner in Six Happiness on Sunday. It was the only time where everyone could gather and meet and update each other apart from during CNY. It was more of an annual gathering of family and relatives. This will also be the first time where I will get to meet everyone cause some of them did not attend my fullmoon party.

I made mummy very proud of me on that day. I was such a darling and everyone loved me. There were 2 other babies of the same age (the other 2 born in March) there but I was at the centre of everyone's attention. I allowed everyone to carry and played with me. I was kicking my legs frantically the moment I was passed from one person to the other showing that I was happy and obviously very active. All my relatives commented that I must have got my mummy's 'dancing genes'. For those who do not know, my mummy used to be a part time freelance dancer before she had me. Mummy dressed me in a pink top with matching pants and a cute little hat which she bought from Singapore the previous day. I looked so adorable :-)

During the dinner, while everyone was busy eating, mummy gave me the Heinz teething biscuit for the very first time to keep me occupied (so that she and papa can eat too). They put me in a baby chair and I sat comfortably. I gnawed on the biscuit and finished almost half of it until the biscuit fell on the floor. I cried wanting more. There were no more as mummy didn't expect me to like it the first time so she didn't bring more. She distracted me with a little bit of water and soon I forgot about the biscuit.

We left at about 11.00pm and it was way past my bedtime. I was tired but happy. I usually sleeps around 9pm and as expected I fell asleep in the car. Luckily mummy changed my diaper and put me in my pyjama at the restaurant itself. I knocked off immediately in the comfort of my car seat :-)

Bloggers

Didn't know that some of mummy's friends have started blogging too. A good friend of hers asked mummy to visit her blogpage http://jaredjaden.blogspot.com/ today. Well, I guess we are late starter (we're still trying to find time to update and manage this blog, so bear with us) but I guess its better late than never!

BTW, if any of you are interested in hand made scrapbook or cards or posters etc, do go to the above blog and contact the owner. She's got plenty of good stuff to show! I received a hand made card from her (aunty Saw Leng) together with a lovely dress when I was a month old.

Thank you Aunty Saw Leng!

This is me!

Let me introduce you to 'me' :-)

Name: Hayley

Date of birth: 14th February 2008

Weight: 3.4kg

Length: 50cm

The birth was quite a traumatic experience for mummy. Will ask her to share her experience sometime soon.

Our first entry

Ever since I arrived mummy have so many questions left unanswered. She searched high and low in every search engines she could possibly find for answers to all sorts of questions from weaning to food to feeding solids to health issues etc. I am sure every new parent would understand what I mean. There are so many things that her parents, friends or even colleagues didn't tell her about having a baby. She thought it was as simple as having a life size Barbie doll ~lol ~ but she was in for a big surprise. She learnt a lot and found lots of answers from blogs written by other new mothers. Their blogs guided her and made her a better mom (she hopes) and provided relieve knowing that she is not the only one going through what she thought was only happening to her.

Therefore we decided to create this blog hoping to be able to share our experience with other new moms out there.