Exam, exam & exam

It is the final term exam for Werney this week and the word EXAM seemed to stress her out! Both DH and myself are definitely not kiasu parents and we have never demanded that she must score all As or 100%!

Werney has been stressed out coz' after the first day of the exam (which is Number), she came back home, thoughts hard and long and during bed time, she told me she can't do this question 18-4=?. Well, it is definitely easy for an adult but this simple subtraction exercise could be difficult for a 5 year old! I've reassured her that it is okay if she doesn't know how to attempt the question and we could always do correction once the teacher returns the exam paper. She was so worried and terrified of exam now!

Gosh, it is our education system or what? Even a 5 year old can get so stressed up for exam? I don't remember that I had fear of exam or anything during my kindergarten years and it was so much fun back then! I am not sure whether Werney is just taking things too seriously or is this phenomenon affecting other kids too?

Werney is currently enrolled in a Fungates system kindy. Although the teaching methods and systems are quite good, I find it too "academic". There are homeworks almost every other day and kids have to sit for formal written assessment twice a year. Werney has been complaining that there is very little "play time" at kindy, it is usually study, study and study! I am just wondering whether I should let her continue in the same kindy next year.

Mommy and daddy bloggers, please share your thoughts on this? Anyone else have kids facing the same issue?

I just do not want Werney to grow up thinking life is just about study & exam!

Baby's taste buds

Just last week, I blogged about how Anney hated the new lactose-free formula milk that our
paediatrician has prescribed for her and prefers to go on a hunger-strike! Well, that didn't last very long and my milk queen is back to her 5-6 bottles of milk + 2 solid meals a day.

After our last visit to the paediatrician on Thursday, the paed has given Anney the green light to resume her regular formula milk. However, as I didn't want to waste the unfinished can of formula milk, I decided to let her continue with the lactose-free formula.

Yesterday, my mom switched baby back to her regular formula milk and she refused to drink it. See how picky is this baby! She just knew it is not the same milk with one sip! My mom has to try persuading her and finally added some chocolate flavour Pediasure from Werney into Anney's milk before she finally polished off her bottle of milk.

I wondered whether all babies are so fussy with their taste buds! Now I have problem switching Anney back to her regular milk, which we have stocked up previously.

Dressing up as Barbie & the three musketeers

Werney has been watching the new Barbie and the three musketeers video that Sis#3 downloaded for her. She really loves this show and has been quite crazy about it.

Just last evening, she asked me for a towel and requested me to clip the towel to her back (to work like a cape) and rushed down stair.

When I came down, this is what I saw......



Look like the Barbie from the show or not? As we don't have any toy sword at home, Werney uses a toy golf club instead!

Homemade yogurt

Do you know you can actually make your own yogurt at home?

Yogurt has been known to contains many beneficial bacteria to keep our digestive system healthy. However, the lifespan of these good bacterias is short and at many times, the good bacteria would have diminished in quantity and quality by the time we bought home the commercially made yogurt from the store.

I have just learned 3 easy steps to make this homemade yogurt. You can make this yogurt in 5 minutes (great for super busy mommy!) and no electricity is required. The yogurt is so fresh, preservative-free and taste better than the one we bought from supermarket!

Verdict: Both Werney & Anney love it!

I am using the EasiYo Yogurt Maker. EasiYo is a product from New Zealand and you can get it from local pharmacy (like Caring), major supermarket or organic store. Some online stores also sell EasiYo products.


Ways to make the yogurt:

1) Fill the yogurt jar with 500ml room temperature drinking water
2) Pour the whole packet of yogurt mix into the yogurt jar, give it a good shake to ensure all the yogurt mix has been fully dissolved
3) Fill the yogurt jar with more water until it reach 1,000ml. Shake the jar again
4) Fill the yogurt maker with hot water until the indicator line
5) Put the yogurt jar into the yogurt maker and leave it for 12-24 hours undisturbed (no opening and closing the yogurt maker to check whether the yogurt has set!)
6) Once ready, the yogurt would have set (thicken) and you can transfer the yogurt jar into the fridge. Serve cold
7) If you wish to add fresh fruit, add it into the yogurt mix after the yogurt has set. For sweeter taste, add some honey before serving

Enjoy your freshly homemade and healthy yogurt!

The yogurt maker is sold for RM79.00 and each sachet of the yogurt mix cost about RM15.00. The yogurt mix comes in many flavors like strawberry, peach, boysenberry, mango, vanilla or the plain natural flavor. Each sachet if good to make 1 kg of yogurt and you can keep it up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Of course, it is better to consume the yogurt as soon as possible to reap the health benefits.

Influenza vaccination

Yesterday, I brought my two girls to the hospital for a follow-up review with the appointed paediatrician on the recent acute gastroenteritis (AGE) attack. The good news is both girls have been declared healthy now though Werney needs to put on more weight as she is considered too petite for her age. Werney is only 100cm and weights 14.5kg. My 5 year old is really petite, huh?

During our visit, the paed actually suggested that I should vaccinate my girls with the influenza (flu) vaccination. This is the seasonal flu jab and does not protect against H1N1 or SARS, but it is recommended as the next phase of influenza attack is likely to happen around year end (normally it is around winter time).

The seasonal flu jab is not a compulsory vaccination in Malaysia and the vaccination need to be admitted annually due to the highly variable flu virus. Each flu jab contains three influenza viruses: one A (H3N2) virus, one regular seasonal A (H1N1) virus (not the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus), and one B virus. Children (between 6 months to 18 years) and elderly people (above aged 65 years old) and certain high risk groups are recommended to be vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Potential side effects from the jab are aches, fever and running nose.

According to the paed, the flu jab costs about RM60+ per shot at the hospital. I've also checked with my regular paed near our residential area and they are charging RM85 (yet the waiting list is so long as they have got limited stock)! I guessed the price varies from clinic to clinic.

I will bring my girls for the jab in another 1-2 weeks times as they have just recovered from AGE. Do you vaccine your child against the seasonal flu?

Happy 5th Birthday Werney

Today is Werney's 5th birthday.

Initially, we have planned a birthday party at McD for her over the weekend. However, as she has just recovered from acute gastroenteritis, the doctor has advised her to avoid crowded places (where possible) and also monitor her food diet. Hence, we have to postpone her birthday party. Invitations for the birthday party were sent out earlier and we have to call and sms all the parents to inform of the last minute postponement. The parents were very understanding but most of Werney's friends were upset!

October doesn't seem to be a good month for Werney. She was also warded last October while we were holidaying at Gold Coast, Australia. At that time, she was diagnosed with intususseption. Another tongue twisted word, huh? Well, this is again no joke as she had intense stomach cramp for more 24 hours and finally admitted to the hospital where the doctors have to order for numerous tests, x-ray, blood test, urine test, ultrasound etc before finally diagnosed the illness. Thanks God that it was over now as it has been quite dramatic for all of us as we were in a foreign land!

As for today, mommy wish Werney a Happy Birthday and hope she will grow up to have good health! By the way, Werney has resumed school and seemed to have overcame her school phobia after 6 weeks of drama! Am praying hard that it will not occur again.

Tonight, we will have dinner with family members and I've also prepared some party packs for Werney to bring to school today.

What is acute gastroenteritis?

After what Werney & Anney have gone through for the last week, I am determined to find out more on what exactly is acute gastroenteritis ("AGE"). Learning more about this illness would hopefully helps to prevent and manage a relapse in future.

Gastroenteritis (also known as gastro, gastric flu, tummy bug in the United Kingdom, and stomach flu) is generally an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract involving both the stomach and small intestine.

In fact, this is a very common illness in infant and young children below 5. The main causes of gastroenteritis are virus and bacteria. For children, the majority of the severe cases are due to rotavirus (Anney has been vaccinated against rotavirus!). Unfortunately, no test was done at the hospital to identify the exact type of virus or bacteria that causes the AGE in Werney and Anney.

Symptoms and signs

Gastroenteritis often involves stomach pain or cramp, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, headache and weakness.

More serious symptom includes dehydration - weakness, light headedness, decreased urination, dry skin, dry mouth, lack of sweat or tears, sunken eyeballs etc

Treatment

There is generally no medication to treat gastroenteritis. However, doctor may give medication to stop the vomiting (antiemetic). For fever, it is usually treated with paracetamol or ibuprofen.

Antibiotic is usually not given unless the bacteria has been properly identified through laboratory testing as using a wrong antibiotic may prolong the infection.

Offer frequent small amount of fluid or re-hydration solution to the child. If you are breastfeeding, you may continue to do so. However, if you are bottle-feeding your baby with formula milk, formula should be stopped and offer clear fluid. You may resume formula after 12 - 24 hours or until the vomiting / diarrhea improves but should give lactose-free milk or maybe soybean milk.

How can I prevent AGE?

• Frequent hand washing with soap after nappy change, before preparing for foods
• Keep your child who has AGE away from other children
• Sterilise and wash nappies of children with AGE separately
• Teach your child the proper hand washing technique
• Cook all meat thoroughly before serving to children

When should you seek medical help?

• Your baby is <>
• Your child keeps vomiting, (especially if bright green or brown) and cannot keep fluids
  down
• Your child continues to have many watery motions a day
• Your child's motion contains blood
• Your child has on-going tummy pains
• Your child has a persistent high fever (above 38ºC)
• You are concerned that your child is not getting better
• Your child is passing less urine than normally
  

We are finally home

I am saying "we" coz' after my last post, Werney also got admitted to the hospital for gastroenteritis infection on Wednesday evening. Instead of one sick little kitten at the ward, I have to care for two. Mom who is supposed to help out at the hospital suddenly developed the same symptoms while I was with Werney at the ER. Mom started to feel giddy, tummy upset and puking too. Immediately, we have to send Mom to ER as well. As Mom conditions improved after the anti-vomit jab admitted by the doc, she was allowed to go home. However, as Werney is still quite young and the dehydration risk is high, doc has requested Werney to be admitted immediately. My poor girl has vomited like 6 times in 2 hours and could not keep anything down in her tummy - not even water.

Anney was ordered to stay for an extra night too as she had diarrhea after the vomiting stopped. Anney was super bored in the hospital ward and always shouting "out", "out" & "out" to get out from the ward. I even have to take the IV stand and follow Anney around the hospital corridor as nothing could not my super active baby!

Now, although both girls have been discharged, the doc has ordered lactose-free milk and no fruits or vegetables for the next 10 days. Anney, my "milk queen" also refused to drink the lactose-free formula milk prescribed by the doc! Poor baby, prefer to go on hunger strike!

My two princesses in the ward

Anney entertaining herself with the DVD (played in the laptop)

Both Anney hands needs to be bandaged to prevent her from pulling out the IV line

Werney showing her right hand with the IV line

Anney is hospitalised

Anney is currently being hospitalised.

It all started on Monday midnight when Anney started puking out all her milk, all over herself and the bed. Then the vomiting continued every hour or so. She can't keep anything down, whether milk or water!

Then at around 4am, DH drove Anney to the ER and Anney was given an anti-vomit jab. The vomiting did stopped for 8 hours or so and it all started again after that. Although Anney was still quite active, the constant vomiting worried me sick. She was hungry but just could not keep anything down in her tummy.

We sent her back to ER in the evening and luckily, there was a paediatrician on duty that evening. She diagnosed that Anney to have acute gastroenteritis and the possible cause is viral. Apparently, there is a gastroenteritis outbreak in town and it started before Hari Raya. The paed immediately requested Anney to be admitted to the hospital for IV drip as one of the main concern for gastroenteritis is dehydration. Dehydration can happen very quickly in young children!

Poor Anney cried big time when the doctor and nurses inserted the IV line on her left hand. They also have to bandaged her right hand to prevent her from pulling the IV line.

The paed has just instructed to stop the IV drip now(after 22 hours) and luckily, the vomiting has also stopped. They has also given anti-vomit drug in the IV drip earlier. If Anney could resumes drinking and eating normally, then Anney probably could be discharged tomorrow.

Am praying hard Anney will be well soon!

Magic sponge

Anney has officially turned 19 months two days ago.

Besides being a super duper active, Anney is quite a stubborn baby! Mommy has been reminding her that pencil, crayon or colour pencil should be used on paper but this little baby just love to scribbles our wall and furniture!

See the latest "artistic" act of Anney, scribbling all over our Ikea table & chair with her pencil.


Luckily, I remember reading a post from HealthFreakMommy about using Melamine Foam to clean stubborn stains and I quickly rushed out to get one. The one I got was from Cosway and it cost RM7.90 for a bar!

This Magic Sponge really does wonder and work better than my Jif or Axion. The melamine foam is compact and light-weight and magically eases cleaning chores. It cleans superbly without detergents nor chemicals. You can use the sponge either wet or dry but I find it works best if I slightly wet the sponge.

Magic sponge is recommended for most surfaces except for paintings, lacquered surfaces or car paintwork.

If you have kids at home, you will definitely find this magic sponge a life saver!

MomBloggersPlanet Cutest Baby in Stroller Contest

Baby photo contest again? Yes, mommy here really wish to win those attractive prizes from PhotoBook Malaysia and Alicewonders.com, organised by Mom Bloggers Planet, where Malaysian Moms Unite! Photobook Malaysia prints those quality photos and present it in a book format for their client and Alicewonders, the online store that sell all those gorgeous bags!

The theme for October is Baby In Stroller! That's easy as I have not one, but two strollers now! Please note the deadline for submission is 15 October 2009. For more information, please click here.

The 2 things that I never leave home whenever I am out-and-about with my kids are the strollers and my sling. In fact, the strollers have been the permanent fixed assets in my car now. Stroller is great to ease the tired arm of parents (from carrying baby) or for baby to nap and sling is great whenever we are at crowded area or not so baby stroller friendly path!

We actually have two Mothercare Jive Strollers - that showed how much we love this stroller. We purchased our first one when Werney was about 1 year old as our previous stroller was too bulky for traveling. Since then, this trustworthy stroller has followed us to many places, both locally and abroad. After 4 good years, the stroller is still in great condition. This is one of my best investment in baby stuff so far!

A great value stroller that's perfect for holidays....but of course, we also uses it everywhere we go - zoo, mall, park, airport, ferry etc. We invested a second Mothercare Jive Stroller when we had Anney last year.

This is Anney in our Mothercare Jive Stroller.
DOB: 9 March 2008 (yes, she turns 19 months today!)


Mothercare Jive Stroller Retail price - RM279
Product specifications

• Suitable from 6 months up to a maximum weight of 15kg
• Multi-position seat adjusts to suit your baby (uses belt system)
  
• Lightweight aluminium frame
• 5-point harness
  
• Comfy-grip handles
• All-round suspension
• Shopping basket
• Handle height: 98.5cm
• Weight of stroller: 6kg
• Folded: 102x30x18 cm

Tips for choosing a stroller

Stroller can be a parent's best friend but choosing the wrong stroller could spell trouble and inconvenience. If you are a first time parent, you would probably be overwhelmed by all the term used by manufacturers such as umbrella-fold, 3-wheelers, drink holder, rain hood or harness.

I personally think that the right stroller should match your lifestyle. Will this be your primary stroller or one that you will use for traveling?

Some of the concerns that your might have when choosing a stroller are:-

• Safety is be your priority. Make sure the stroller is tested for stability and come with 3 or 5 harness (5 is best!)
• Age of your baby? If you are buying a stroller for newborn, then get one that can recline flat
• Stroller weight? If you travel a lot on public transport, ensure you get one that is lightweight
  
• Folding mechanism? Umbrella fold would be more compact and great for traveling
• Where would you be using your stroller? If you intend to bring your baby for jogging at the park, then consider getting a three-wheelers as it is more stable and work better at terrain paths
• Do you need those extra such as storage basket, sun shades, rain hood, cup holder? All this will add to the cost of the stroller
• Lastly, the price of the stroller...ranging from RM100 to RM3,000+ depending on the brand. Buy one that meet your basic need and something that you can comfortably afford! I secretly wish to own one of those McLaren stroller that cost 4 digit sum but knowing how impractical that would be....I settled with my Mothercare Jive Stroller, which has served it purpose so far!
  

Stroller is a must-have for any new parents who love to bring their baby out and about.

What is wrong with me?

I have been having this bad flu and cough for more than 2 weeks and I am still coughing badly now. Been to 5 GPs and even Chinese sinseh but this bad cough doesn't seems to go away..sigh..know of any formula I could use?

As a result of the regular doses of flu & cough syrup and tablet, I also have this lingering headache for the last few days. According to the GP, it could be due to too much medications and yet, after the last visit yesterday, I still ended up with 5 different type of medications!

Another problem is most of this medication will cause drowsiness and I can't take it during the day time as I got to work!

On a lighter note, Werney has resumed her kindy this week. The crying is still there but more manageable. Mommy is praying hard everything will be back to normal soon!

International Babywearing Week

The International Babywearing Week was held from from September 21 to 28 this year. The tag line for this year - Close Enough To Kiss....such sweet tag line and I couldn't agree more.

In Malaysia, due to the Hari Raya holidays, the launching of the event was only kicked off on 27 September 2009 in Penang. I think the Malaysian Babywearers (MBW) group is also planning a walk sometimes in KL in month but the date is still not firmed up yet.

However, MBW has launched 5 contests in conjuction with the International Babywearing Week in Malaysia and there are so many prizes to be won! If you like more information on the contest, jump over to official website of the Malaysian Babywearers.

By the way, I have just bought the Littlepods Soft Structured Carrier and hope to write a review on it soon once I have a chance to test it out!

Happy Babywearing!