Santa Handprint DIY Salt Dough

There was some time between lunch and N's ballet at 4pm. Baby M was sleeping and we could do a short activity together. 

I first saw this on facebook and decided to save a picture of it on my handphone's photo album. It is an activity I plan to do during the upcoming xmas party gathering with colleagues. There would be about 5 kids and it should be fun! Furthermore I had bags of expired baking flour, rather than dump them. Make art! ;)

The dough mixture was really sticky and i had to put more flour! :/ I added a little oil to the mixture to smooth it out too... 

Read online that baking the dough takes ages and microwaving is faster. As my dough was quite thick, the dough was microwaved for 2 minutes sandwiched between 2 plates and for about 1.5 minutes without the top plate. 

 

 

I retrieved the plate aft every min to check if the dough was hard. The middle took the longest to harden. The final product before colour. Somehow the dough bloated which is why the palm area was not flat... Cute isn't it? 

When the dough cooled down, N started her hands on painting it. 

To guide her along, I drew the outline of santa's cap for her to paint. Tip: For a vibrant colour, we did not make the paint too watery... 

N decided another colour was needed for the clay to make it more colourful... So there is green! 

After adding the eyes nose and N insisted a smiley mouth. Here is her dough handprint santa... ;) 

Weaning diaries...

With the breastfeeding going smooth so far, weaning became something that was placed far back in my mind. I was dragging my feet when it came to weaning baby M. Furthermore, my GP told me that baby M should wean later at about 6 months old, since she seemed to show signs of sensitiveness to dust (a sign of allergy). 

Having weaned baby N at 4 months, I was getting nervous about weaning baby M almost 2 months later. And to make things worse, the 5 year gap made recollection of weaning difficult. As with all textbooks, we start with rice cereal with EBM. Baby M did not take it too enthusiastically, in fact she didn't like it. I was constantly struggling to keep the cereal in her mouth. Baby N started cereals early so by this age she was eating pretty well. 

After 2 weeks of cereal, I started to puree   pumpkin for baby M. Yup it was disaster! Feed was a nightmare of trying to stuff the food into her mouth... Despite that, I continued to make other purees like carrots, potato and beetroot.

After one last feeding of pumpkin and spinach puree, it was a war of making her open her mouth for the food. *horror* I tearfully asked hubby why my kids were so "hard" to wean? After showing mother-in-law the "spoils of war" photo (which is missing from my phone and i have no idea why), she suggested I started making porridge.

The first porridge i made from rice + millet + red quiona + carrot was an instant hit! No more trying to stick the spoon into her mouth. She opens her mouth for the food. 

With the porridge going well, I started to make variations of the porridge by adding different sweet vegetables (carrots, sweet potato- the orange and purple variety and pumpkin). After that it was adding a green veg to the porridge, so there would be a sweet vegetable + a green veg (spinach, broccoli). Worried about the iron content, I began to mix fortified cereal into the porridge. 

This photo shows jap sweet potato porridge with Barley cereal from Healthy Times. 

 

Introduced protein - fish (ikan kurau or threadfin) to her at 7 months 1 week old. 

2 days later, she was given chicken porridge ( first photo is the chicken puree and the porridge base with carrots). 

There is much lesser creativity when it comes to porridge. So other than the ingredients, the way forward is to vary the grains. In fact, studies have shown that white rice has the least nutrients. So I do own cocktail of grains. :p 

Baby M is not much of a fruits baby. Suprising since fruits are naturally sweet. She prefers savoury stuff hence the preference for porridge vs Nestle Cerelac (which contains sucrose/sugar). I did give her some apple puree which she rejected all 3-4 times, including the gerber jar! She does take some banana - depending on her mood! Was telling hubby that maybe I did not eat as much fruits while pregnant with baby m versus the one slice of papaya per day with baby n in my tummy! :)

Weaning is so much fun! Yipppe! 

The almost sad post...

Was happily going about the usual routine and going to bed when I realised that I have not prepared sterilised bottles and pump parts for work the next day. Shot out of bed and suddenly remembered that my EBM were not in the fridge yet. 

Frantically looked for the black medela ice bag but could not find it at home. Ran down to the car and found the bag in the car. Luckily, the ice brick was still cold and the ebm safely chilled *phew!*

In fact after 5 hours, the blue ice brick was still doing a great job - I could see that the EBM was beginning to separate as they will when in the chiller... 

Here is a grim reminder that I wont be so lucky the next time I forget them... :( 

Bloom and Teeny Weeny Photo Shoot (Overdue post)

After getting pregnant a second time, I wasted no time in telling hubby that I wanted to have a maternity photo shoot. The photo shoot would entail some artistic bare it all shots. Hubby was of course apprehensive at first until I told him that I will try to choose a studio with a female photographer. What I wanted to do was to capture the rare moments of a stretched tummy with a baby inside and of course while my skin is still smooth...  

I shortlisted a few photo studios which were known to take really nice maternity photos and studios or free lancers who have just joined this lucrative business. As I was looking around, the Parenthood Fair came along and one of my top choice studio actually had a promo! As luck would have it, I only needed to pay $500 for maternity and newborn photo shoot! I slept over it for a week (since it was announced on the studio's facebook page) and decided to just go ahead with it. The studio had at that time also published their new rates card and the package was really a "not to be missed!". Got my sister to go down to the fair with me just so I can book the package and appointments. Hubby was overseas then and it was quite a feat trying to book an appointment that would fit his schedule. 

My studio of choice was (drum rollssss.....) The Studio Loft! I have always admired the photos on their Facebook page after knowing about them through my colleague who took family photos with them. There was just something that struck a cord with me - what I can't really tell. All I can say is I really love the photos. :p

The maternity photo shoot was enjoyable. I wanted to be a little more adventurous but I guess I got conscious because my older daughter was with me. I didn't want her to have the impression that it is perfectly ok to take photos without clothes (not that the poses were raunchy or that she will understand that I was taking it to remember the big tummy). 

The newborn photo shoot on the other hand was quite difficult. Baby M fussed for quite a bit and was not really co-operative - wanting to latch and latch and latch... It was really stressful and I really hated the first half of the photo shoot. My worry was that none of the photos were going to turn out right. That said Maryann was really calm and cool in handling babies (being a mother herself) and managed to take many pretty shots (yes I wanted to buy all but hubby the disciplined one said no. *bleah*). And there was Joanne who was there to lighten the mood and keep N in a perky mood for the sisters' portion. :)

It was a great experience and I would surely go back for another one if I were to get pregnant again. 

It's time for the reveal (do not worry... no NC16 or M18 photos will be posted here)...

The Bloom Shoot 

This is my favourite! N looking so sweet isn't it?

The Teeny Weeny Shoot 

Pardon me... But hubby wanted this finger sucking photo... :p

Aren't tiny feet cute?

The sleeping child...

That sweet smile

The sisters!!!

Love how the two of them look in this photo...

Angels...

 Papa Mama & Baby M 

Just the girls and I...

 Realised that this looks so much like the photo of me and the girls! *faint*

Busy weekends...

Life for typical Singapore parents on weekends = shuttling their kids around for classes. 

We have signed N for classes at a slow pace... It first started with Berries, swimming then ballet... Berries was not something that N chose but something which hubby and I wanted her to pick up. I must say that Berries is really good and I kinda regret not sending her when she was in N2. For now, she is slowly but surely picking up character recognition.

Swimming and ballet are two activities which N loves. It's easy to tell when she comes home practicing whatever she learns in class. For example, she was prancing around the house like a butterfly today because the teacher thought her the moves.  

Here is a photo of her in her favorite attire  (ps: papa actually forgot to bring that little tutu skirt! So she wears the skirt that she had on before the class. 

While N goes for her ballet class, M would go for her "baby spa"... Aka tub swimming. Apparently she enjoys swimming without diapers on. As soon as the lady took it off, she was smiling happily in the water... :p 

Baby M's swimming...

It's been almost a month since my last post! Time really flies and with two, the reality is I have lesser and lesser time to log in to blog...

Baby M is almost 5 months old (one more week left). At around 4 months plus, we decided it was time to expose her to "swimming" in a tub. The baby spa at Habourfront is still run by the same company and the aunty who helped N with her first swim was still there at the outlet.What was different was the price (from $26 per session it has increased to $38 (?)). They have also changed their single tubs - there is jacuzzi (bubbling water) and you can see baby legs kicking in the water through the "fish tank" side. There was also a bigger pool which can accomodate up to 3 babies at a time.

What I understand is that first and second timers will "swim" in the single tub to get them used to the float and kicking around in deep water... Subsequent sessions would require babies to be "upgraded" to the huge tub for them to socialise with other swimming babies.

Here are some photos of  Baby M enjoying herself in the tub...

Side view of the tub...

The excited big sister encouraging baby M...

Looking at jiejie... :)

Smiling while kicking away in the tub...

 

 

Steamboat on Labour Day

A group of friends have been contemplating a steamboat lunch or dinner gathering. Being a steamboat lover, all the talk makes me crave for one. With baby M, it's difficult to have a proper seat down steamboat outside so the decision for a simple one at home.

Bought some ingredients from the market including hubby's favorite 福州鱼丸 and what I think Nic would like - Angry Bird fish cakes! What was missing though was my favorite crab stick which is only available at Giant or Sheng Shiong. *sigh*

Luckily baby M was co-operative and slept from 3pm till 5pm so I could cook the chicken broth and make my version of marinated meat balls.

By 6.30pm, everything was ready! Little N loved the concept of cooking her own food by throwing it into the boiling soup and picking the cooked food using her chopstick. Hubby says she ate quite a bit of the handmade meat balls and angry bird fishcake. ;)

Overall it was a joyous dinner as baby M waited for me to finish most of my dinner and little N ate quite a share of the food. ;)

Some pics of the happy steamboat... ;)

Longan Red Date Tea with a twist

This was an online recipe shared by Jinny when I was preggy and she just finished her confinement. She tells me that she is keeping the recipe in case she needs to boost her BM supply.

Being an active participant of an online forum, a few mummies shared about low BM supply. Having remembered the recipe shared by Jinny, I too shared the recipe with the mummies.

A handful of mummies actually tried out the tea and reported that their BM supply did increase. I guess it is due to 通草, (supposedly) commonly used in cooling teas (凉茶) - mainly to help 排小便。

I have not tried it myself but am keeping this recipe for future reference. ;)

Taken from: http://wendyinkk.blogspot.sg/2011/05/lactating-red-date-tea.html?m=1


Red Dates 红枣 : 90gm
Black Dates 黑枣 : 60gm
Dangshen 党参 : 30gm
Dried Longan flesh 龙眼肉 : 30gm
Wolfberry 枸杞子 : 20gm
Astragalus 北耆 : 10gm
Rice Paper Pith 通草 ：6gm

1. Remove seeds from red and black dates. Rinse dates.
2. Rinse dangshen in water to remove dirt.
3. Give wolfberry, rice paper pith and astragalus a quick rinse.
4. Put everything into a pot together with 4L of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 2 hours.
5. Consume this throughout the day.

And yes, there is another version of longan red date tea which i was told to make and drink which will help BF babies who are gassy. The ingredients to be boiled together are: red date, longan, black sugar and ginger (a few slices. If u love teh halia, you can afford more slices). I was also told that eating longan or having it in the tea is good in improving the baby's 胃(digestive system)... Time to get moving to drink the above and hopefully my little spitter will spit less.

"Kracie" Cooking Fun...

This was something which I first saw on a Facebook BP. For some reason, I did not join the BP as I was doubtful about it's origins and the ingredients used to make these. It was also during this time, I actually viewed videos of how to make "ice cream" and even showed it to N.

This started her off and suprisingly she manage to find other videos of people making other things like sushi, bento, cheese burger, etc on Youtube. Being someone who enjoys "cooking" play, she kept asking papa to buy it for her.

I googled and found that these kits were sold by Candyplay and they had rented retail spaces in TOYoutpost to sell them. Each box cost $11.90!!! And 5 sets cost $50. You know what happens... We walked out of the vivo outlet with 5 boxes! One would be given to my niece as a belated birthday present...

Here are photos of the four boxes which little gal would be cooking and the proud little girl with her "ice cream" creations...

The worrisome breastfeeding mummy...

As quickly as little M came, she is now 2 months and 1 day old!

This is an update of the previous post on breastfeeding... Yes! I survived latching baby M for 2 months. And the truth is it is addictive and tiring at the same time.

Having pumped exclusively for N since birth, latching is such a breeze now and best part is I do not need to wash and sterilise bottles and pump parts or heat up EBM or freeze up extra EBM. Going out is also easier, just baby and me - the walking milk bottle.

The road to 2 months hasn't been easy as I began doubting if I was headed the right direction after baby M started to nurse with clicking sounds (read wrong/shallow latches), green poo (read took too much hind milk) and feeding almost every single hour. Unlike a bottle with measurements, nursing is totally unscientific. My biggest question: must baby latch 15 mins in order to get a full feed?

Based on my experience:
Nursing with clicking sound- it usually happens at the start of feed where there is more milk. Apparently, suction is broken (therefore the clicking sound) as baby needs to swallow a large amount of milk. Anyway it is easily solved when I tell M, why drink got so noisy one. Usually after 2-3 more suckles, the noise stops (makes me wonder if M did it on purpose)

Green poo poo - a result of taking too much fore milk. It happened during the full month celebration when M nursed for less than 5 mins each time. As I switched sides, she did not get to the hindmilk...

Frequent feedings - this remains unexplained as baby M has her sleepy spells. She would nurse for less than 5 mins and KO. After 1 hr, she cries again for milk!!! She "sleeps on the job" especially during the 9-10am feed. I have found the solution - a good bath does the trick. ;)

With all these, I called on my LC again. I needed a professional to tell me that I was doing right. I got it and since then I mever looked back.

With another 3 to 4 weeks before I return to work, I made hubby intro M the bottle and pump after the 10.30 feed... My yield for both sides after M nurses on one side is 140ml, but the next day I only managed 125ml! That got me pretty upset and worried as I was wondering if I will have enough for her after I return to work. A quick calculation shows that yes I do have enough as long as I pump 3 hourly.

Comparing with my previous breastfeeding journey, I have been storing very little packets of milk in my freezer. Anyway here are some pics of my frozen milk (check out how the colours changes from transition milk to regular breastmilk) and the seperated 3 tiers after the EBM is left in the chiller. ;)

The little BIG sister...

The question "how is ur #1 with the arrival of #2?" tops my list after M was born.

N's reaction towards the arrival of her little sis was better than I had expected. Is it because she is already 4YO when M arrived? Other than the always wanting attention from papa and nainai (to the extend of 撒娇 all the way), she has been a gem!

And for memory sake, I shall list them down:

She is my handy helper: if i forget something, I can count on her to help me... So far she has helped me fetch M's towel when I am already bathing M (yes I forgot), auto top up diapers in the basket, tell me when M cries (she says mei mei wants to drink milk) and counted diapers to put into the diaper bag while I latch M before an outing.

She loves M to the extend that she will run to my room to see M first thing she comes home from school, sayang M by stroking her head or jus standing by the cot and watching M sleep. When I told her to help me watch M, she sat next to the rocker and pulled the rattle for the music a few times. Then to entertain M further, she took a few photos to do "show and tell".

She likes to see me bathe and change M's diapers. And if she has the opportunity, she will hand over a clean diaper for me to wear it for M.

Deep down, I am thankful for the level of maturity and love/attitude she has displayed towards M.

The darkest moments are times when she throws her tantrums and insisting on getting her way. Everytime I react, i land up blaming myself for being too harsh on her. Because in the back of my mind, she seems mature and well behaved for her age...

With a new born to compare my not-too-long-ago baby N, N seem to have blossomed overnight to become an independent girl. She can wear her own uniform and button up, brush her own teeth, wear socks n school shoes all by herself. When I was 4, my aunt and grandma were helping me wear uniform and socks!

With this post, I hope I can be reminded to be less harsh and praise her a lot more for her "good" then frowning too much at her "bad".

Ending this with a photo of my two girls. N was particularly enthusiastic and excited to be able to sleep next to M on the same bed... ;)

Chartering another breastfeeding journey...

Prior to the birth of #2, i told hubby "if baby cannot latch, I am not going to pump!". The nightmare of pumping 3hourly, the routine of being strapped to a pump, wash pump accessories, sterilise pump accessories, warm up milk for #1, feed her, wash and sterlise her bottles were fresh on my mind. Without help after my confinement lady left, I was totally exhausted and sleeping when #1 slept, skipping my breakfast and lunch...

The journey towards latching was not easy either. This time I made it a point not to pump unless absolutely necessary. Being a first timer at latching babies, I was put through the physical tests of sore, cracked and bleeding nipples and mental tests of waking every hour to 2hrly for milk feeds.

Day 1 to 3: Started bf-ing in hospital. Managed to latch and baby did suckle on the breast. There was a transparent honey textured discharge. Was quite worried as baby seem to have a sunken spot in the middle on top of the forehead. Asked nurses if she was dehydrated and they didn't answer me.

Day 3: Back home with baby. I continued to latch baby on when baby crys. Was quite worried about her hydration so sent hubby off to buy a tin of FM for baby. CL fed her 30ml using a spoon and I was super thankful for that gesture.

Transition milk came in. Unsure if baby had latched and drank, I pumped after the feed and manage to get 30ml. It was also during this pump, my aerola skin "tore". *pain* Unable to continue without knowing if I was latching right since my nipples hurt and the aerola skin tore, i sms-ed Betty Lee, a Lactation Consultant (LC) whom I met at the Avent BF-ing seminar for a 1 to 1 consultation...

Day 4: Continued to latch baby on despite the sore nipples and the pain fr the torn aerola skin. Jinny visited and passed me 2 tubes of her Medela Lanolin nipple creams. She told me that it was a lifesaver for sore and cracked nipples. Sure enough i needed them! She even bought a magazine n essense of chicken for me. ;)

During the entire day of latches, I was looking forward and waiting for my teacher (LC). During the session, she thought me the cross cradle and the football hold latch. She assured me that i was latching baby correctly and taught me how to massage the lumps while baby latched. It was such a "feel good" session, I felt encouraged to continue! Before leaving, she told my CL to cook papya fish soup to up my BM supply. :p

Day 5: As the day progressed, the engorgement got worst. It felt that two stones on my chest... Warm towels did soften the breast but there was no relief as my mum said they would. I could barely sleep and baby was not able to latch properly as she struggled on my breast. It was also during this period that my nipples became super sore and started to crack and bleed.

Day 6: Used warm towels again and did some massage. Suprsingly, it got comfortable. Baby's PD visit was my 1st venture out without formula milk/expressed breastmilk. TMC was great as there was a BF-ing room that I could use and the PD had a room where mummies can BF (wo privacy). Managed to latch the baby and survived! Was totally over the moon!

Day 7: Engorgement persists. I refused to use cold cabbage leaf but used cold compress instead just before the feed. Latch was definetely better and the engorgement finally backed off. *phew*

Day 8 to 9: The days where I routinely latch (yes it was so painful! I would tremble for the first few seconds of the latch), apply EBM, air dry and apply lanolin. The bleeding and cracked nipples began to heal... *double phew*

Day 10: Baby begins to have irregular latch time. From 2 hrly, she would wake up wanting milk hourly. Her latches were also shorter at 10 mins. This drove me insane because I was waking up every hour after midnight.

Day 12-14: Baby and I have learnt proper latch. She would spit out if she only got my nipple. I hope this means an eternal goodbye to sore/cracked /bleeding nipples. As the latching continues, I am faced with what fellow mothers say is a happy problem- fast flow. My LC, my cousin in law and internet recommends that the mother lies back or pump out some BM before the feed. Lying back did not really help much but pumping out does... so in the meantime, this is a problem that baby and I have to struggle with other than her milk intervals.

As the saying goes "no pain no gain". Several times along this 14 days, I was so tempted to put up a white flag and say "ok enough is enough". Crazy as it may sound, I feel encouraged enough to press on whenever baby wets her diapers, dirties them with mustard coloured poo and my CL tells me "有吃到". Thankfully, Hubby would also show his support by taking care of #1 and give me shoulder massage when I need it... ;p

The breastfeeding journey is tough and there would be challenges ahead. It is with hope that someday in the near future, I would model the image of a smiling mother looking lovingly at her baby latch.

Before I end this post, I would like to thank:
- Fellow mummies, Jinny, Sylvia and Jophia for being my breastfeeding hotlines, without you guys, I would have given up. ;)
- My LC Betty Lee who assured me that I could latch and breastfeed my baby. Without her, I would still be battling my inner demons of whether I was latching right.
- My CL for spoon feeding the baby so that she would not love teats over me.
- And of course, my supportive hubby! ;)

The 2nd birth story...

The lack of updated post here could only mean one thing - Yes! I have delivered my precious #2!

On week 39 day 3, hubby and I together with little gal went to see my gynae at TMC. The appointment was at 10.25am. At the clinic and the day prior, I was experiencing mild discomfort at the abdomen area. I already suspected that it would be that Saturday or Sunday... 4 years have passed since my #1, I can barely remember how contractions felt like not to mention how to time them.

In brief, my 2nd labor seemed longer as contractions began to become irregular and my dilation got "stuck". I would attribute this to the fact that my waterbag did not break until Dr Tseng broke it before delivery.

Here is the timeline (notice everything is approximate since I was not staring at any clocks):

1025hrs : appointment with Dr Tseng. Baby head has gone down hence cannot see baby's face in the ultrasound.

~1100hrs: Hubby dropped me at the hawker centre to buy my brunch and my helper's lunch.

~1130hrs: Pain gradually increasing, told hb that labour was impending and I wanted to pack the hospital bag into the car, just in case... 

~1200hrs: Eventually, decided to send little gal to MIL's place just in case I needed to go to the hospital. Contractions were bad enough that I just stayed in the car to rest.

~1215hrs: Dropped by AMK to buy my Pigeon disposable breastpad (last thing on my to buy list). Enroute to shop, a sharp contraction pain came and I just froze on the spot to wait for the pain to go.

~1230hrs: Told hubby he should get lunch before we headed to TMC to check out my contractions.

~1400hrs: Reached TMC. Nurses did a VE. I was 5cm dilated and effaced. Contractions were regular but not strong. Since I was 5cm, there was no way they were sending me home.

~1600hrs: Another VE was conducted. I was quite dissappointed as I was still 5-6cm dilated! :( Nurses also noted that my contractions seem to be slowing down...

~1730hrs: Dr Tseng came in to see me and asked if I wanted to stay in the delivery suite or go up to a ward to rest. I opted for the latter since I didn't want to be strapped to the bed by a CTG monitor and I didn't want to use a bed pan to pee!

~1800hrs: Walk about at level 3 ward to see if walking could speed up the contractions and help with the dilation.

~1900hrs: Hubby spotted his colleague's twins in the nursery and we went to her room to congratulate her.

~2030hrs: Contractions seem to be coming back and the pain was pretty intense. Headed back to room to lie down on my side. After 5 sets of quite painful contractions, decided to call for nurse to bring me down to the labor ward.

~2100hrs: Contractions got really bad. VE was conducted and I was 8cm dilated. I was asked if I needed epidural and I said no.

~2200hrs: Used laughing gas but it didn't help. The pain was so intense as it travelled to my inner thighs. The pethedine was adminstered and it did not really help. Hubby stood by helplessly as I super 没形象, groaning in pain with each contraction. Eventually told hubby to squeeze my inner thighs as the contractions came.

~2230hrs: The nurse did another VE, I was 9cm dilated but the baby was still very high as the waterbag was still intact. She asked if I had the urge to push and all that I could muster was PAIN! V PAIN!!

~2300hrs: Finally, Dr Tseng arrived to break the waterbag. He left the room to see another fellow mummy as the nurse told me to try pushing. I made a half hearted push as it was just too painful for me. Dr Tseng came in and said that baby's head was crowning. After 4 pushes under Dr Tseng's guidance and the nurses' encouragement, baby emerged! ;)

Here are photos of baby and us. :)

The same red lips as big sister! :)

 

Tired after labour but still must take a picture with baby!