I’m back! Sorry for the long hiatus. That’s because I was working on a very important project for the past 6 months. We took Baby J out of school yesterday so that we could all get the flu vaccine together. (Yes, Baby J has started playgroup! I will talk more about it in a separate post.) So, we got the flu vaccine earlier in the week, and I’m here with some information I’ve learnt in the process. Continue Reading…
We have this system at home, and Daddy Sean insists we do it: He will only speak to Baby J in Mandarin, while the rest of us at home can speak to him in English or Hokkien dialect. Sean is very consistent, and may only slip in a sentence or two of English with Baby J. This way, Baby J will hopefully be able to converse comfortably in two languages as he grows up. Continue Reading…
As parents, we often worry ourselves, many times unnecessarily, over our kids. Are they drinking enough milk? Are they drinking enough water? Are they eating enough? What happens when strangers touch them? Are they developing at the right pace?
About 1.5 months ago, when Baby J was about 10 months old, he suddenly refused to drink milk during his waking hours. He would shove away the bottle, kick and scream, cry loudly. Whatever we did, he would refuse to drink. We had not changed his routine, nor his formula milk brand. He was taking Friso Gold Stage 2 at that time. (Check out this page for Friso’s formula milk samples, plus many others.) So from 10 months, Baby J would go to bed without milk, and the only time he would be willing to drink is when he’s up and groggy early in the morning. Continue Reading…
Early last week, we went for a three-night staycation in Johor Bahru, Malaysia with Baby J. This was the first time we took him to JB overnight. While planning for the trip, we were stressing over what to bring and how long to stay, as first-time parents do. In our previous visits, we had excellent experience with Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel, so we booked it at a super reasonable price for a 5-star hotel. I’ll talk more about the hotel later, and how awesome it really is! We also decided not to drive in, since it’s the holiday season and traffic will be rough. Continue Reading…
tl;dr: Baby J had diarrhea and was warded in the Mount Alvernia Paediatric Ward. Mount Alvernia Hospital has single rooms for babies and toddlers which are very well-equipped. There is a steam steriliser for baby bottles, a bottle soap dispenser to wash our bottles in the bathroom, and a small play area. They are flexible in letting more than one companion stay in the single room without extra charge, as they understand parents may need an extra helping hand. This also comes, of course, with very warm and friendly nurses. However, these rooms are very limited especially during the weekends.
Three Mondays ago, Baby J started getting the runs. He was pooping every 3 to 4 hours, so we had to do at least 6-8 nappy changes in a day. There was no fever, no loss of appetite, and his activity level was still high. We could not figure what was causing the diarrhea, but it was causing him great discomfort in his bum area. He had angry red diaper rashes all over his bum, and would cry whenever we wiped him down. Continue Reading…
Two nights ago, at about 10.30pm, we made our maiden trip to Mount Alvernia 24-Hour Walk-In Clinic. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. Our trip totalled only 30 minutes.
That evening, Baby J started feeling warm to our touch. We took his temperature: 37.5 degrees Celsius. Ok, we thought, perhaps he’s teething. He seemed a little lethargic, so we let him nap for awhile before having our dinner. We’d go to Thomson Plaza almost every evening for our dinner because we are usually too busy to cook at home. Whenever we are there, Baby J would be very excited and scream a lot, to the amusement of many shoppers (and perhaps annoyance to some others). However, that evening, he was strangely quiet and sleepy. Continue Reading…
Baby J is almost 6 months old now, and I feel like time is passing too quickly! He’s picking up new tricks every day, and he surprises all of us at home all the time with his cute little antics. As a new mother, I am constantly learning new things. Yes, it can be exhausting caring for a baby, doing milk pumps etc., but I know for sure that motherhood is a journey I will always cherish. Today, I am going to share 5 rather important life lessons that motherhood has taught me, and I’m sure many mothers are going to relate to. I have saved the best lesson for the last!