Greenish Poo

Starting from Saturday, Yuzhe been having greenish poo instead of the usual yellow mustard seedy type. It raises a concern whether the colour is abnormal? I did a google search and most of the write-ups suggest is either diarrhea, stomach flu, overfeeding, underfeeding, over dosage of lactose or imbalance of fore and hind milk. And some assured that it is actually normal, nothing to worry about. From our observation, Yuzhe is feeding well leh, drinking his milk, active, always smiling and responding to our coo-ings. So, erhmmm, he should be alright bah ....

Anyway, we did wanted to highlight this to our Paed yesterday when we "intended" to let Yuzhe has his 5th month vaccination. However, there was a suspected H1N1 case in the clinic and they "evacuated" all the patients out to "sterilise" the place. Being more 'kiasi', we decided to postpone the vaccination till few days later :p

So, whether greenish poo is normal still remain a question mark until we consult the Paed. (hee... I did took a few shots of the poo in my hp as 'evidence' to show to the Paed if need to ... )

And before I forget, Yuzhe made his FIRST FLIP yesterday night!!!!!!!! I think he's trying to reach out for that red sports car I placed at the side to "attract" him. But I'm not the one who withness this historical moment because this Yuheng was bugging me to arrange the cars for him!!!!!! It's the indon maid who "screamed" out that Yuzhe had flipped over.

Argggggghhhhhhhh ....... Hope I won't miss it when he did it again the next time.

p/s: We started 1 formula feed for Yuzhe yesterday night because mummy's milk is NOT ENOUGH anymore :"(((((( Fortunately, he did drink 80ml out of the 120ml made and slept through until 8am this morning!!

Sophie the Giraffe

Recently, Yuzhe is putting whatever he can grab into his mouth -- be it his own fingers, my fingers, handkerchief, nappy cloth, blanket or even the feeding spoon. So I start sourcing for some 'proper' thing to let him 'bite'. I can't seem to find those teething toys that I bought for Yuheng. And one day, I happen to come across this toy -- Sophie the Giraffe.

I made an order from the online spree and received it few days ago. I can tell you this Yuzhe's expression is sooooooooo very funny the moment I handed the Giraffe to him. He immediately associate this giraffe as something 'bitable' and started putting it into his mouth, trying to chew it as if it's really edible!!! I think the giraffe head is tad too big and he had a hard time trying to put it into his mouth. He'll try to bite on the body or the legs but too big to go into his mouth. Sometimes, he try until so frustrated that he started wailing!!! The only way I can help him is to put the giraffe aside and let him chew onto his own fingers instead.

Hahahaha ..... maybe the toy might be more suitable when he's slightly older. Btw, this giraffe is also squeezable, making a "kute-kute" sound.

Singapore Cord Blood Bank -- Follow Up Call #1

Received a follow-up call from the Singapore Cord Blood Bank this afternoon. The purpose is to ask a few questions, mostly on the health and well being on the baby and mummy. Before the conversation ended, I asked the lady if the donated cord blood is ok and she replied it'd pass all the criteria so far. I'll be receiving another call from them again when baby turns 1 year old, which is February next year.

While I'm typing this post, I realised I have quite a few draft posts that's yet to be published. The content is up but not the pictures. I really conk out on weekends that I don't even bother to switch on my Mac. And this morning, I actually forgotten to prepare the snack box for Yuheng until hubby reminded me before stepping out of the house. As were were rushing for time, I just poured in some honey cornflakes and a piece of Chipsmore cookie. OK ok ok, I must remember to make some egg-crabstick mayo tonight for the sandwich fillings tommorrow >_<

this is taken from my hp -- ha! sucking his fingers non-stop from day to night !

Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Family history sites

Yuzhe on walker

Yay, Yuzhe is into his 5th month already and it's time to take out the baby walker. His head seems quite steady now, able to look up and turn around swiftly. When I put him into the walker for the very first time, he remained motionless for quite a while. Quite hard to describe but his expression was very cute, kind of stunned and curious. Yuzhe started out by moving backwards, the easiest way to maneuver around bah.

And this Yuheng -- whenever he sees Yuzhe in the walker, he'll come by, and push him around as if it's a toy. I have to keep an eye on him, in case he goes wild and starts taking Yuzhe on a roller coaster ride. But Yuzhe looks quite satisfied being pushed around lor. When the walker is unoccupied, Yuheng will hop onto it and traverse around the house in that! Argggh, I'm hoping the walker is able to take his weight and not give way anytime soon.

Parenting Thoughts - #2

Whenever I'm seated down, enjoying some peace and quiet moments, some thoughts will flow across my mind, and I thought it will be interesting to blog it down.

The 20 things of PARENTING :

* You hope the government will increase the number of days for childcare and child MC
* You start sourcing for a preschool or even primary school for your toddler
* You start looking at parenting forums even before the baby is born
* You feel refreshed when the baby start smiling at you the moment you come back from work
* You start appreciating the hardship that your parents' has gone through to raise you up
* You eat what your kids like to eat, no more spicy korean noodles or lardy char kuey teow
* You become a trash bin, eating your kid's leftovers
* You rather save on your clothing budget and buy branded stuff for your kids
* You know who is Barney and Hi-5
* You are late for work almost every day
* The conversation between you and your hubby revolves around the kids
* You visit the Paediatrician/GP at least once a month
* Sleeping throughout the night becomes an impossible task to achieve
* It's been dinosaur ages since you last watched a movie with your hubby
* You gobble up your food so that you can feed the elder one while the younger one is waiting for his milk feed
* You come back from shopping with more than half of the stuff belonging to the kids
* The dark circles below your eyes do not get any better despite applying all sorts of eye cream
* Weekends = NO REST! You get even busier handling kids and housechores!
* You will envy the freedom that your friends who are either single or married with no children are enjoying
* And lastly, YOU'RE 100% SURE YOU WANT TO STOP AT 2 KIDS !


P/S: Some of the above ranting happens when I'm too stressed up with the kids and other issues on hand. Most of the time, I feel very blessed with 2 lovely boys and a good, supportive hubby lah :) May them be blessed with good health and happiness always >_<

Keys taken -- Part 1

Today is a mad rush!

We went over to our new flat in the morning to settle some renovation issues with the contractor. By the time we're done, it's already past noon. We quickly went over to IMM for lunch and then to the contractor's firm to select the tiles and door design. And then, the contractor suggested to go down to Balestier to buy all the necessary stuff since we've already taken 1-day leave. So around 3pm, we rushed down to Balestier and grab all the things -- toilet bowls, wash basins, taps, water heaters, hob, hood, lightings, roller blinds.

Phew, it's a really tiring day for both of us!! I'm so knocked out that I missed my milking time. It was already 5.30am when I woke up and immediately rushed to empty out my breasts. And after I had my breakfast and thinking to catch a short wink, Yuheng also awoke followed by Yuzhe .....

Post Partum Hairloss

With experience from my first pregnancy, I'm 'anticipating' to have hair loss this time round. And it really happens 4.5 months later :(

More hair fell off especially when I'm washing my hair. I can collect a small bundle from the drainage choke. Even when feeding Yuzhe or sitting down, I can see strands of hair beside the area I sat or lying on Yuzhe's shirt. Am I going to do something about it? I will continue to monitor to see if bald patches start showing up! And by then, it will be disastrous and may need to wear a wig liao! I can't recall when did the hair loss stop when I had Yuheng. Haiz, before I become botak, my memory already leaking badly :p

Well, hope this hair loss will just be temporarily and come to an end soon.

Note: My very nice colleague passed me a box of phytocyane this morning. Meant for thinning hair treatment. Hopfully will see some good results soon :)

Catching up with the demand

Since few weeks back, Yuzhe is starting to drink more. He's drinking at least 5x per day, and around 180ml per feed, sometimes up to 200ml. However, the milk supply is stagnant already, producing barely enough to meet his demand. I cut down on the pumping to 4x per day since that time the supply is far ahead from his demand. And with this growth spurt, I'm having problem with producing more. And so, from now, I need to pump 5x per day to increase the milk supply. I'm hoping this to last until Yuzhe is into his 6th month. Thereafter, I can afford to take a rest, supplement the night feeds with formula.

Sigh, it's tough to breastfeed, especially when you're running out of milk and your baby needs more milk!!!

Time to move on

Our little family will be very busy for the next few weeks. We'll be moving to a new nest soon, just next block from my parents' place. We hope this new arrangement will be better for the kids, save the time and hassel from travelling to-and-fro every morning and night. Also, the new place will have a bigger space for our little ones to run around.

Before it comes true, it's another nightmare of packing and unpacking .. Arrrgggghhhh ...

i'll miss this current home, both hubby and i have spent lots of effort to design, renovate and furnish it ..... it has served us well, with many happy moments spent here ....

Weekend woes

Most people look forward to weekends, a time when they can finally take a break from the hectic work week. But for us, we become extra busy on weekends, tending to the 4+ month baby, terror 2+ year old toddler and 'simple-minded' helper.

This Yuheng is fussing so much that his shouting and crying always disturb Yuzhe from his nap. At times, I really wish I had a cane with me! (my motive is just to 'scare' him off only) To calm myself down, I simply just ignore and let him time out by himself. And while this trauma happens, my poor Yuzhe is being awaken and withnessing the terror brother's misbehaving act. I'm putting my fingers crossed that he won't be another terrible-2s when the time comes.

After working for 6 months, this 'simple-minded' helper is still not up to it yet. Her command of English is so poor that she cannot understand very simple instructions. And even if she don't understand, she can still nod her head and say 'YES'. Afterwhich, she did everything wrong! I cannot help it but vent out my frustrations and anger at her sometimes. I think I'm going to get high blood pressure one day if I'm going to have maids for long!!

So .... by Monday, both hubby and I become walking zombies, yawning away at work.
Zzzzz... zzzz..

yuzhe half-flipping

2 little cuties

2 incidents in a day

Incident #1
Yuheng fell from the dining bench. Actually, he was shifting himself to come down from the bench, but some how lost his balance and toppled down. He had a hard knock on the right side of his forehead, 'rewarded' with a big ba-lu-ku (black bruise). We immediately applied the ointment on the bruise and it faded to a faint bluish colour this morning :p

Incident #2
We were at this Seahorse shop@West Mall, looking at Sofas. Yuheng is inside the shop, happily running around, hopping onto the sofas and beds. Suddenly, hubby noticed Yuheng is not in the shop! I dashed outside to look for him and neither was he around the vincity. A kind-hearted guy, upon seeing me frantically searching for someone, told me that he saw a little boy with yellow-coloured shirt somewhere at the other side of the level. I ran over and saw my Yuheng standing there with a man holding onto his hands. The moment he saw me, he wailed out loud, hugging me tightly. I thanked the guy who was helping Yuheng to find his daddy and mummy. I feel so bad not to keep an eye on him. My carelessness might have nearly resulted him being taken away by strangers. So sorry, my dear boy, mummy has learnt her lesson :(

Kids are really so innocent and naive. Despite these unsightful incidents, Yuheng regain back his happy self the next moment, running around and playing already ....... PHEW!

Parenting Thoughts - #1

Recently, I came to know of this 4 year old girl suffering from 4th stage of neuroblastoma. Her kins are making a public appeal for donation to send her for treatment in the US. I'm deeply sadden by her misfortune and could understand the pain and suffering her family is going through. Moments later, I read a blog posted by a mother on her 10-month old son admitted to the hospital for some illness. The poor boy has to be poked with needles and put on anti-biotics drip. So sad!!! He's still a baby and it must be so painful to locate the veins on his tiny hands!

Whenever my children fall sick, I feel sad for them too. I reprimand myself for eating too much junk/cold food during my pregnancy, causing them to get so phlegmy and allergic. We stay awake whole night to take care of them so that they can regain their happy self again. We know the sacrifice is definitely worth it whenever we hear laughter coming from them.

Parents worry for their children the moment they're born. Nothing in the world is more important than seeing your children healthy and happy. I start to understand why some people choose to remain childless. They do not want the heavy commitment and responsibility to tie them down for the rest of their lives. One tend to mature faster when you start a family. You can no longer act as if you're on your own, but to think for your spouse and children. In short, there is still so much more to learn to be a parent, and I'm still a long long way behind from being a good one.

Baby talk

The bonding between me and Yuzhe is getting stronger each day. I love seeing him happily settled down after a good milk feed, sucking on his fingers deliciously. His tiny mouth is able to take in 4 fingers or even the whole fist. At times, his wide grin and small chuckles really brighten up my tiring day. Though it sounds not very hygenic, but I just like planting lots of kisses on his chubby face. Perhaps that explains why he still got some rash spots on the face. I really enjoy this stage when the baby is extremely adorable, laughing at the silly faces and coo-ing sounds you make. Now, he's able to make the 'tok-tok' sound by curling up his tongue. It's really very-very cute!! I must remember to capture a video of it if opportunity strikes.

Realistically, this 'cute-cute' stage flies by very fast before we came to know of it. Whenever I glance at Yuzhe, I'm amazed at how much he has grown, how he's able to fit into my tummy 4+ months ago. In a flash of time, he'll soon become a toddler, like my Yuheng now, having a mindset of his own, not so easy to make him giggle anymore. He'll start running around, defy our instructions or throw tantrums when things aren't in his way. Of course, we hope he'll grow up to be a well-mannered, nice boy, unlike his fiesty elder brother. But before these happens, we must cherish the current precious moments, take a lot of snapshots and store them in memory permanently. Luckily, if my memory fails me, I can have this blog to refresh them should I need to in future :)

A snapshot of my darling boys in the car, Yuheng taking the front passenger seat on a child booster, while Yuzhe is taking the baby seat behind
(pardon the poor quality, it's taken using my hp camera)

Rent-a-Toy

Infant toys are quite costly and usually being cast aside after the baby outgrows them. So, economically speaking, it's 'cheaper' to rent instead of purchase. I came to know of this 'Rent-a-toy' website ever since the birth of Yuheng, but did not use their service until now. I was thinking of getting a baby gym for Yuzhe and at the same time give Yuheng a surprise. Fortunately, the Fisher price 3-in-1 gym I'm eying at is available for rental. The shop does not have much toddler toys and the most suitable item I can find is the Mickey Mouse tricycle.

I received an SMS on the 3rd day after placing my order that the toys will be delivered to our house on Saturday morning. (free delivery for $40 order and above) The guy arrived quite punctually with 2 big bags. I gave thumbs up for his service because he made an effort to convert the rocking horse into a gym after multiple attempts. And I was quite pleased with the condition of the toys -- clean and well maintained. Yuheng was very excited upon seeing the tricycle and hop onto it, circling around the house. As for Yuzhe -- he's happily staring at the dongles and listening to the nursery rhymes coming from the toy.

Still no sign of flipping?

Yuzhe is into his 4.5 months already but he doesn't show any signs of flipping yet. I feedback this to the PD during the 2nd 6-in-1 jab. Initially he raised the need to visit the neurologist for further examination, and I was like "huh .. is there such a need ..?". But later on, he feel should be alright since his limbs and neck coordination looks normal to him. The PD advised we should try to stimulate his interest in flipping by encouraging more tummy time. Sometimes we did try, but the moment we put him on the tummy, he started wailing, perhaps not comfortable in that position.

Maybe by the next month, he should show some good progress :)

More Bumwear

Sometime ago, we bought a starter pack of bumwear reusable diapers consisting of 6 pants and 15 inserts. After using it for about a month, we're convinced that the bumwear can absorb more urine than the normal diaper cloth. Yuzhe is able to sleep longer without being awaken by the wet diaper. However he still poo so frequently, almost every feed, that 6 pants is not enough for daily use. We just bought 6 more, to cope with the 'demand'.

Though the design is already better than the rubber diaper pants, it can still cause accidental leaks of "poo-poo" if not worn properly. I had experienced it myself today !

I personally prefer the pretty batik designs compare to the solid colour ones

Cute dino design fits nicely on my Yuzhe

Obession with DVD

Recently, Yuheng is hooked onto watching his DVD on our home TV. He can rotate between the "Baby You can Read", Tom & Jerry, Doraemon, Barney and Children KTV DVDs for the whole day!!!!! Despite our countless attempts to switch to other TV channels, he just insists to watch them! If we don't switch it on for him, he'll scream and kick up a fuss until we finally raised white flag. At times, we really have to give in because he's waking up the little brother who just had his milk feed and going to dreamland. I have already lost touch of what's showing on TV now, not to mention watching the news or enjoying my VV Drama channel. I get so sick and tired of watching that purple creature everyday!! I don't understand why that boy can persist and still find the Barney show very refreshing. He can even tell us what's upcoming in the next scene!

Anyway, hubby suggested getting a portable DVD player to 'conquer' his current obsession. I kinda hesitated as it'll cultivate him into a "TV addict", kept staring at that tiny 8 inch screen. I understand we need to fix a schedule for him, shutting off the TV at appropriate times. But then, it aren't easy dealing with this little terror. We need to come up with more creative ways to distract him. In the meantime, I just have to endure the pain of watching those kiddish shows over and over again. ..... "I love you, you love me, we are happy family ....... "

Expressing milk in office

I'm really glad I bought the Medela Freestyle Pump which is lightweight enough to carry around effortlessly. Since I started work 2 weeks ago, I do not feel the hassel of dragging so many stuff to office everyday. The advantage of running on rechargeable battery enables me to do some work on the PC while pumping during that 12 - 15mins. After pumping, I'll wash those parts and bottles at the staff pantry and put them back into the lock-lock container for sterilization. I will boil a flask of hot water and pour it into the container, making sure the water level is sufficient to cover all the parts and bottles. This method may not be as proper as using the sterilizer, but is the simplest way of keeping the parts and bottles clean and somewhat sterilized.

Starting from 2 months back, I do not freeze the breastmilk anymore. All the expressed milk is placed in the fridge and any unconsumed milk is discarded after leaving on the shelf for more than 2-3 days. Yes, it sounds wasteful but I believe in letting baby drink "fresher" milk than frozen ones.

And this Yuzhe is quite particular about the temperature of the milk. He'll wiggle around, pushed the bottle out from his mouth using the tongue if the milk is too warm. On the other hand, if the milk gets cold, he'll refuse to drink unless it's slightly warmed up again. We had a hard time guessing the correct temperature of milk that he's most comfortable with. His appetite seems not fully recovered yet. Still drinking around 100 - 120ml per feed compared to 130 - 150ml two weeks ago.

Macbook on Logitech Alto Cordless

I started using Macbook about a year ago and the greatest challenge faced is getting used to the keyboard. Perhaps I'm too used to the windows keyboard that I find it a hassel to press 2 buttons (instead of just PageUp and PageDown) when I need to do scrolling. I'm very particular about the "feel" of the keyboard and sensitivity of the mouse (perhaps due to my profession), thus I started sourcing for some accessories to make some improvements. The first gadget that I gotten is the Microsoft Bluetooth wireless mouse. Why bluetooth mouse? Because this macbook has 2 USB ports positioned side-by-side and inserting a USB receiver into one of the ports means the other one can't really be of use. I personally feel is a design flaw of the macbook.

Next, I found this Logitech Alto Cordless station which has a notebook stand and wireless keyboard. I always fancy Logitech products, especially the ergonomics factor which I find it very comfortable to use. Due to the PC Show now, it's selling at a discounted price of $159 instead of $199. Thanks to my brother who helped me purchased a set and here I am, happily using it now.

They keyboard feel is great, smooth and quiet. One lacking feature is the flexibilty to tilt the stand to any desired angle. So unless your notebook can open up to 90 degrees upright, if not, you'll need to slide the notebook a bit off the edge to get the correct posture. Hubby feel this gadget is too bulky for his liking. Yes, I agree, but since I'll be only transporting between study and living room, the bulkiness is still acceptable :)

Yuzhe at 4th month update

Yuzhe started off his 4th month with cough and blocked nose. The mucus from the nose flowed back to the throat causing him to cough rather badly. We felt guilty not insisting to suck out the mucus from his nose after he screamed so loud whenever we did so. Brought him back to the PD yesterday and they managed to suck out another tubeful of mucus. Was also given antibiotics for the redness in his throat. His milk intake reduce quite substantial this week that there's a slight drop in his weight. The scale shows 6.7kg compared to 6.8kg a week back.

So here I am, taking leave today to stay at home and take care of this little one while Yuheng went to my parents' place.

Yuzhe still showed no signs of flipping yet. He's always looking happy and turning his head around whenever placed on the mat or mattress. We aren't worrying too much yet since his brother, too did not follow the usual milestones when it comes to stunts like flipping or crawling.

Yuzhe's current favourite hobby : Sucking fingers
(noticed 2 red patches on his face? .. ya .. it's mozzie bites ... damn mozzies !!)

p/s: Argghhhh, wrong time to stay at home .. someone doing renovations .. loud drilling ... !!

A hectic week

I'm supposed to start work from Monday onwards but it hasn't been easy for us this entire week.

Monday :
Yuheng caught a flu over the weekend. I stayed together with him until 10.30am before leaving my parent's place for work.

Tuesday :
Yuheng's cough did not get better, hubby brought him to the usual PD in the morning. One of the PD was on leave and there were so many patients in the queue. By the time they collected medicine, it was past noon. Hubby took leave and they went back home instead and came over in the evening to pick up Yuzhe. My mum suggested to leave Yuzhe at their place while we bring Yuheng back.

Wednesday :
My turn to take child MC to take care of Yuheng at home. He's super cranky and whiny after taking that cough medicine which will cause drowiness. I stopped that medicine and change to his usual Rhiniramine for allergy. Hubby came back in late afternoon after learning of Yuheng's crankiness. He got a bit better in the evening. Called up my mum to tell her we going over to pick up Yuzhe. She wanted us to take care of Yuheng well first and Yuzhe will stay another night over there.

Thursday :
Yuheng looks well enough to attend class. Hubby fetched him back from school and feed him his favourite fishball noodles at my parent's place. Yuzhe did not finish his milk during the night feed, and we thought he'd too much during the day.

Friday :
Yuheng supposed to go for school excursion to the Zoo with hubby, but after my mum's constant nagging, we drew him out from the trip. I received MSN from my brother around 12.15pm that my mum is having problem taking care the 2 of them. Yuheng is getting cranky again, insisting my mum to do everything for him, forbiding her to feed Yuzhe. I was required to go back home ASAP. And so, I immediately pack up my stuff, took hubby's car and zoomed back home. By the time I reached home, Yuheng was sound asleep. I noticed Yuzhe having some sneezing and coughing too. Most probably, he must have caught the flu virus from Yuheng.

Saturday :
Yuzhe was coughing more than the day before. He's having a blocked nose also and affected his appetite. He was drinking lesser milk and got irritated when he can't breathe properly. We'll monitor his situation to see if there's a need to visit the PD.

Sunday :
Hubby brought Yuzhe over to the PD for a checkup in the morning. As suspected, he'd caught the flu virus too and had swollen tonsils and a bad blocked nose. He was given treatment to remove the mucus from his nose. Was given some medicine and nose spray to administer on Yuzhe. Hubby bought a nose syringe as well to blow out the mucus, in case it's blocking the breathing passage.

Hubby will be claiming his Vesak day off tommorrow to take care of the 2 boys.

I haven't accomplish much work for the past 1 week due to such unforseenable events. However, I'm fortunate that I have a very understanding boss who is willing to let me continue whatever's undone from home, and to leave early if need to. Best of all, I know I have a very supporting hubby who not only have to worry about his work matters, but also spend a lot of time on the 2 kids, irregardless of how tired and sleepy he is. I believe we would be able to cope through this difficult period. Hopefully .......

Bumwear Reusable Diapers

During the initial stage, Yuzhe always poo after each milk feed and thus develop a nappy rash. My mum initiated to change to wearing reusable diaper cloth to prevent the nappy rash from getting worse. What's more, we have a helper now and she can wash the diaper cloth and get it out to dry fast. And so, from 1+ month onwards, Yuzhe's been wearing cloth diapers during day time. So far, this arrangement is good and Yuzhe's been having a clean bum since then. But the problem comes when the diaper pants isn't able to secure the diaper cloth very well and we encounter leaks when he wee-wee or poo. That's when we thought of getting the bumwear reusable diapers.

We got the 1-size-fits-all diaper which supposingly can last until Yuzhe is potty trained. Each diaper cost $27 and the insert is $7. Yes, it sounds quite a costly investment, but if you calculate in long term, it's cheaper and more environmental friendly than buying disposable diapers. However, Yuzhe still wears disposable diapers at night and when we're out, for convenience sake.

You can read more about the bumwear diapers from here.

Yuzhe wearing the 1-size-fits-all bumwear diaper