Lil' Darling down with Fever

Little cranky girl with fever.

It was yesterday that I was having a flu in the morning. Taken a clarinase (Yes, it's safe for nursing moms, according to Dr. Koe) and taken a nap too with mild headache.

I got up at about 2ish woken by her cries. Mom told me the thermometer needed a new battery. I felt he warmth from her body immediately when I carrying her to nurse. It doesn't help that we don't have any spare battery at the very moment! While waiting to leave the house we sponged her a bit with wet hanky.

On the way back to my in-laws' place we quickly drop by a hardware shop nearby to grab some batteries. The moment we reached the house, check straight away. It's 38 degree!

We continue sponging & basically the whole house panicked trying to locate any paediatrician that opens at that hour!

Spoke to a few friends for advise, we gave her paracetamol, a cold bath, sponge with tab water, dress down with light clothing, ran to grab the koolfever for babies from Guardian pharmacy. Find out how to reduce your little one's fever without using medicine.

Everything seemed to work, we managed to bring down her temperature to 36.8 degree. While we continue monitoring, it's goin up & down but at least we kept it under 37 degree. We had to skip a wedding dinner just to keep monitoring closely.

Since it's under control we decided to observe for a night instead of going in to the admission & emergency department, hopefully she gets better the next morning.

We gave her second round of paracetamol before settling her to sleep, sponged & left the cool fever patch on her forehead. Hubs volunteered to measure her temperature every hour so that I can get some sleep. Throughout the night it's around 35 to 36 degree.

Towards the morning around 6am she woke up and I notice the koolfever patch was gone. Her body seemed to be warmer again, temperature raise to 36.8 degree. We decided to bring her to the pead which opens on Sundays:

Dr Chan Wai Yue
Chan Baby & Child Clinic
Tel: 03-7726 3348
Location in Damansara Jaya, few doors away from Jin Xiang Dim Sum Restaurant.
Consultation Hours:
Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 8.30am - 12.30pm
Mon, Wed, Fri: 6.30pm - 9.00pm
Sat, Sun: 9.00am - 1.00pm

It wasn't too bad that we were no.12 as we got there, as they're up till no.5 already. Still, waited almost 2hours for our turn. Doctor did a quick check, her nasal and tonsil are clear, no ear infection, temperature 37 degree, but she said it's not fever (read about baby fever here). Doctor suspected viral infection, which the fever is helping her body to fight it off, and the fever could go up and down for 2-3 days.

So we gotta watch closely, let the fever run its course, only give her paracetamol once it reaches 37.5 degree. While observing we'll be sponging once in a while or placing a damp washcloth on her forehead which she hates it and fights it everytime we do that!

So sorry Mommy has to do that, Mommy hope you'll get well soon my baby.

Love ya
xoxoxo

SAHM wannabe!

Sitting up is your favourite position now :)

This marked the last of the 6 days of me being a SAHM. Hate to know that I'm gonna be back at work tomorrow. Gawd I miss spending time with my Darling already! These 6 days just flown by without giving any warning!

But I'm grateful to have this golden opportunity to spend some quality time together with my Darling, without distraction, just me and her in her innocent world :)

I've been so busy that I lost track of her development. I realised she's grown so much and so fast! I've been missing too much :'(

In these few days together we experienced some of our first-times, I'd like to believe it is :)

Your 8 Months Milestones, Part II:

- You're so much into gadgets. Your face shines when you saw us using our phones or laptops next to you, you'll wanna have a peek on the screen too!

Caught Mommy snapping photos of you standing up :)

- You can stand up from sitting position almost instantly by holding on to the sofa, even tries to climb by lifting up one leg!

- The sarong is becoming your least favourite item. Over the last few days I almost couldn't put you in at all. Not even half way in you started wailing already that I was carrying you to sleep most of the time! (My arms are aching the next day!)You can roll over and sit yourself up in the sarong too!

- You're starting to experience separation anxiety. When we're out of your sight, you'll be calling or looking for us in your walker ;)

- I'm super happy that Mommy is your favourite person, at least in these few days :) Everytime Mommy walk away, you'll be wailing. Or show a huge grin when you manage to see me finally. You scream in excitement when I pick you up!

- Jabbers: ufh ufh ufh, rrrrraffh rrrrraffh, tzuck tzuck (playing with tongue) mammaaa mammm...
Can't wait to hear you calling Mommy already!

- Developing strong sense of sounds, react to all kinds of sounds i.e. plane flies by, motorcycle passes by the back lane, our phones rings... You love music too! You'll look at us when we sing to you, smiling :) You'll rock lightly back and forth sitting up when we play you music from your toy, as if you're enjoying the rhythm too :) Favourite songs of the month: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Old MacDonald Had A Farm.

- You've mastered the pincer grasp by now. I discovered this when you pinching me with your sharp nails and full strength that I almost jumped! You can pick up even the tiniest sewing string.

- Crawling well with your belly off the ground :) Especially when you see my phone or your favourite book: Molly's Jolly Brolly.

- Extend your arms wanting to be carried :)

- You'll look at the door whenever you hear the keys, welcome whoever comes back with your biggest grin :)


Ain't it too sweet?
Sweeps off all my tiredness when I see my little Darling smiling :)

Love ya most,
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Happy 8 Months Old My Little Darling!

Happy 8 months old my little Darling *cuddle*

We have a 8-month-old now! Wait, what? (Cue record scratch.) While those sleepless nights often felt like an eternity, the months have flown by, which only means one thing: When the next few months fly by, we'll have a (gulp) 1-year-old.

OK, now we're getting misty-eyed with nostalgia. I can't help thinking,"They grow up so fast. Sniff!"

My little Sunshine, here's what keeping you busy recently:

- Of late you've been talking the language of ma-ma-mam-mammmmm after doin the ba-ba-da-de-daaaaa for quite a while... I'm wondering if you mean Mommy or you're just hungry? :)

- Practicing to wave in the style of Queen by twisting your wrist often, once or twice you surprised us by waving bye-bye when we say goodbye you to!

- Mommy admit that I was jealous that you prefer Daddy over me, and was upset when you used to give me that who-are-you face. But till recently, you became really attached to me. Which of course, I'm loving it to the max! :)

- You're showing interest to all the details you get contact with, from the sounds of the plane flown by to the tiny little eye on the plushy yellow ducky. It's just so cute each time you're trying to scratch it off ducky's face :D

- Starting to understand object permanence when you trying to look for Daddy as he played peekaboo with you :)

- You love munching papaya with the Nibbler mommy bought for you. Reaching for spoon while being fed shows that you're ready to feed yourself :) Favourite food of the month: banana! Next, we'll try pear, ok?

- Learning to imitate moods and emotions from us. When I'm laughing over things you'll look at me and giggle too!

- Recent exercise: cruising around by holding on sofas and pillows. Mommy can't wait to see your very first steps forward already!

- Favourite toy at the moment: our iPhones! Crawling excitedly to grab it whenever it's within your sight! Fascinated while we showing you your pretty pictures on the phone :)

- Last but not least, your very first 2 bottom white caps officially make their appearance, finally, after all the fussiness and crankiness. In the meantime Mommy & Daddy are brushing up our photography skills trying to snap photos of those little cuties! By the way, your top middle tooth is peeking already :)


Love you more each day!
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Breastfeeding May Boost Children's IQ?

Xena (Lucy Lawless) seen here breastfeeding her baby gal for the campaign.

"Suckling at the breast results in changes in the mother's brain—increased blood flow and oxytocin release [a hormone promoting bonding between mother and infant], and probably in the baby's brain."

Children breast-fed longer than six months scored a 3.8-point IQ margin over those who were bottle-fed, according to a seven-year study by researchers at Jagiellonian University Medical College in Poland.

Medical epidemiologist Wieslaw Jedrychowski and colleagues followed 468 babies born to nonsmoking mothers. The children were tested five times at regular intervals from infancy through preschool age. The data showed that cognitive abilities of preschoolers who were breast-fed scored significantly higher than bottle-fed infants, and IQ score was directly proportional to how long the infants had been breast-fed: IQs were 2.1 points higher in children who were breast-fed for three months; 2.6 points higher when babies were breast-fed for four to six months; 3.8 points higher in children breast-fed longer than six months. The results were published in the May 2011 issue of the European Journal of Pediatrics.

This research confirms observations reported 70 years ago by Carolyn Hoefer and Mattie Hardy in JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association, as well as many subsequent studies. This body of research provides the scientific basis for the World Health Organization's recommendation that all infants should be exclusively breast-fed for the first six months of life. But what is the missing ingredient that undermines the cognitive development of bottle-fed babies?

Chemists searching for a specific compound in mother's milk have been overlooking the obvious difference between breast-feeding and bottle-feeding—something that could easily account for the difference in cognitive development, wrote Tonse Raju, a pediatrician and neonatalogist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the current issue of Breastfeeding Medicine, October 2011. (Raju was not involved in the Jedrychowski study.)

"Sometimes even the most obvious facts need to be reiterated," he wrote. "An infant suckling at his or her mother's breast is not simply receiving a meal, but is intensely engaged in a dynamic, bidirectional, biological dialogue." It is the physical and psychological bonding and interaction between infant and mother during breast-feeding that nurtures development of an infant's cognitive abilities.

Jedrychowski strongly agrees with Raju's statement, and adds: "I believe the IQ effect may in part be explained by this dynamic interaction between mother and child in the breast-feeding process."

Brain bulk and white matter in early life (Continue next page)

Muscle pull in lower back

Everything is so high above me!

Recently we've lowered down her playpen & crib to the bottom level, for safety purpose as she's started pulling herself up already.

We decorate the playpen with her favourite toys, distract her when we put her down. She fusses a little but got used to it really fast & started exploring her new little world :)

Now the challenge is for us to lift her up. By bending all the way down all the time to pick up a 9kg is gonna take a toll on our back. It doesn't help that me & my mom are already unfit & having a weak back muscle.

For the crib at night is even tougher for me, as we used to wear her to sleep, bend over to lay her down into the crib & slowly pull ourselves out from the sling. Now it's impossible to do that. So we put her down onto our bed & then transfer her to the crib, which risking her waking up. Putting her down gently & slowly also required much strength from the back.

My worry came true. When I'm getting her ready for bed, I lifted her up from mom, at that very moment it hurts, & I pulled my back. Later on I found out I couldn't even bend down or minor stretch. I've pulled my muscle.

What's next? Appointment with a sinseh for some tui-na or orthopedist for some painkiller jab?

My Little Darling Turns 7 Months Old Today!

My first Liverpool kit!

It couldn't be time flies just like rocket. It feels like just yesterday that i was pregnant!

My little Sunshine you've learned so much now everyday I discover new things about you!

Your 7 Months Milestones

- Ever since you mastered the ability to grasp an object, so excited you started transferring it from one hand to the other! :) I'm overjoyed witnessing your first throwing moment (I think I was the first one!)

- You're able to sit up independently, occasionally topples over. So we put up pillows barriers while you exploring around.

- Able to get from your tummy into a sitting position by pushing up on your strong arms.

- Refusing to sit most of the time, & wanting to stand instead!

- Enjoying the joy of jumping with your strong little kickers, while holding up by human jumperoo :) Mommy's getting some serious arms workout!

- You tasted your very first spoon of semi-solid food, & you loved it! Your favourite food of the month: brown rice cereal :)

- First time holding & drinking from the sippy cup by yourself, though it's more like you're playing with it like a teether :)

- Mommy managed to shed off 5kilos (yep, took me that long!) part of your contribution too as Mommy lost weight by breastfeeding :) though I still have the remaining stubborn 5kilos clinging on me :(

- You enjoy riding a imaginary pony on all fours (very furiously till u topple over!) as much as we enjoy watching it :)

- First experience of socialising with other babies. Reached out & touched each other's face. Awww...

- You amazed Mommy the most by starting to hold the objects around & pull yourself up already! :D

Love
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Blood Test or Not?

Had fun riding the rattan horse in Dr Koe's clinic!

2 weeks ago we finally brought Darling to see the highly recommended Dr Koe Swee Lee, a consultant pediatrician & lactation consultant. Was planning to get the allergy blood test which she explained to me on the phone the other day.

Went there at about 10.15am & we're at #19 of the queue! Some families went for lunch in between so we got to skip a few slots earlier, only waited for about an hour, not too bad on a Saturday right?

Dr Koe doesn't recommend the allergy blood test especially at this young age, as the result won't be accurate. She did a few test with other patients & was very disappointed cuz couldn't find any culprit.

I shared with her on our case & diagnosis of the stool with streaks of blood. She explained that lactose intolerance is very rare in babies. If it does occur it will be from the day they born, & not after few months. Symptoms are vomitting & diarrhoea. So far Darling never experience those.

But the fact that I'm on a strict elimination diet & that still happening, it really worries me. Hence the decision of taking the allergy blood test, however that she doesn't seem to recommend. She said that happened only twice in last month, with only very little fine lines of blood & tiny bit of mucus. That indicated improvement of her condition.

Elimination Diet (Continue Next Page)

Review: Nutritionists' Choice Cookbook

Lovely gift from Lynnora!

I mentioned about receiving this lovely gift from Lynnora when I was sharing my EBM with her for her 5 months old baby boy (read about breastmilk sharing!). A beautiful [Nutritionists' Choice Cookbook]!

(Top) Fruity Snack - bananas, mangoes, yogurt & oatmeal
(Bottom) Pumpkin, spinach & potato mix... mmm...
Fish in mixed vegetable soup

Comes in useful guides & yummy recipes of baby foods with lots of pretty images. Covering all you need to know from starting solids to feeding toddler!

(Top) Meehun with sweet potato/ Fish with Kei-chi porridge
(Bottom) Minced chicken with carrot porridge/ Broccoli in tomato rice

That'll be pretty handy for me as we're just started solids, I'd really love to make our own baby foods!

Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Any recipes you'd like to share with me?

Sippy cup do's and don'ts

Plain water? Blegh...

When should I introduce a sippy cup?

Some babies enjoy a sippy as early as 5 or 6 months, and others aren't interested until after their first birthdays. Most babies seem ready around 7 to 9 months, though.

What's the best way to transition to a sippy cup?

Some babies take to a sippy cup immediately; others take a while to get used to the idea. Here are some tips on making the transition easier:

- Start off with a soft, pliable, nipplelike spout, which will feel more familiar to your baby than a hard plastic spout.

- Show your baby how to raise the cup to his mouth and tip it up to drink.
Give it some time. Until your baby masters the maneuvers, you may want to put only water in the cup. When he shakes or throws it, even a sippy might not keep purple grape juice from hitting the carpet. Don't worry if your baby doesn't use the sippy cup properly for a while. It makes a fine toy, too!

- Try different models until you find one that suits your baby. Some cups have valves that are so effective at keeping the liquid from spilling that children really have to work to get a drink.
Encourage your child to use a regular cup when you think he's ready.

What should I do if my child refuses the sippy cup? (Continue Next Page)

Starting Solids: The 10 best foods for babies

Lovely gift from Lynnora :)

Yesterday I was sharing some of my extra EBM with Lynnora for her 5 months old baby boy (read about breastmilk sharing!). Without expecting anything in return, Lyn gave me a hand book titled [Nutritionists' Choice Cookbook] which she got from the Ministry of Health Malaysia. What a lovely gift! I told her that'll be really useful as we're just started solids, & I'd really love to make my own baby foods!

Here are 10 of the absolute favorites of many parents. After introducing any new food, wait three days before moving on to the next new food to identify any possible allergic reaction. If your baby's still a beginner at eating solids (read about introducing solids to your baby), grind or puree the food as needed.

The 10 best foods for babies

Squash

Squash is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, is naturally sweet, and has a pleasing, creamy texture.

Serving idea: Sprinkle parmesan cheese and a little chili seasoning on half a squash, roast it, and scoop out a serving for your baby, suggests pediatrician Susanna Block, owner of World Baby Foods, an ethnic baby food line. "Cooked squash with a little cilantro, mild chiles, and garbanzo beans are another great combination," she says.

Lentils

Crammed with protein and fiber, lentils pack a powerful nutritional punch. They're also one of the cheapest healthy foods you can buy.

Serving idea: Combine cooked lentils with mixed vegetables, rice, and seasonings of your choice. "Try basil and oregano," suggests dietitian Karin Hosenfeld of North Dallas Nutrition. "Or toss in a bay leaf, which works really well with lentils." (Remove the bay leaf before serving.)

Dark green leafy vegetables

Leafy greens boast high amounts of iron and folate. While spinach is perhaps the best known of this group, there are many other varieties, including kale, chard, and collard greens.

Serving idea: Steam and puree a batch of greens, then mix with iron-fortified cereal to give your baby a double dose of iron. Experiment with the proportions to see what your baby likes; Hosenfeld suggests starting with two parts veggie to one part cereal.

Broccoli

Brimming with folate, fiber, and calcium, broccoli is also known for its cancer-fighting properties, says dietitian Kate Geagan, author of Go Green, Get Lean. And thanks to its sulfur compounds, it has a unique flavor that can help expand your baby's tastes.

Serving idea: Steam pieces until soft, then chill. "Steaming takes the bite out of broccoli," says Hosenfeld. "And chilled broccoli is sometimes better accepted by babies. It can also be soothing during teething."

Blueberries

The deep, brilliant blue of these berries comes from flavonoids called anthocyanins, which are good for your baby's eyes, brain, and even urinary tract, says Stephen Gass, co-author of Mix and Mash: Adventures in the Kitchen for Baby and You.

Serving Idea: Gass suggests this easy blueberry soup: Combine 1 cup of blueberries with one-quarter cup of water in a bowl, microwave for one minute, and let cool. Then swirl some plain yogurt on top.

Avocados (Continue Next Page)