Wednesday, November 26, 2008

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...

Friday, November 21, 2008

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.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

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.

Monday, November 17, 2008

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 :-)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

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.

Friday, November 14, 2008

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.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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?!

Monday, November 10, 2008

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

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

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.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

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 :-)