Sunday 28 July 2013

ringsling



 my maiden day out.
21 july 2013.
we went shopping!! :D

 this is our new babywearing gear that i was talking about

couldnt decide which colour to get
ended up with this kiwi ringsling,
from jumpsac baby
not many colours/ choices left

this is tummy to tummy position, with legs in.

i am still not very used to it, and it seems matty's not very fond of this position.
he cant sleep in it for long :(
not sure if it is HIM or it is because of me,
that i am doing it wrong.

well, it says premmie loves to be in this tummy2tummy position.

after sleeping in the sack for a while, say at most 1 hour? then he will suddenly CRY and mom will say Oh, he is not comfy in it. -_____-"
im definitely gonna make my money well worth it.

however she says this ringsling is much friendlier and gentler as compared to my 'previous' ssc.

i have tried breastfeeding Matt in a cradle position in the hospital last week.

must explore further :)

homemade fishball

home made fish balls!!

we dont know how to estimate.
so ended up with two huge bowls of fish ball soup!

they are pure balls.
haha.
no other additives.

just fish, salt, and pepper.


Saturday 27 July 2013

teaching toddler shapes

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crackers from Philippines. we did not go to Philippines, we bought these from a shop selling their products in KK.

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playing with Winnie the Pooh

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comes with small miniatures and a few pages of story lines. got this from Popular Bookstore.

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uh, he only played with it a couple of times. i should bring this out again. well it is actually out all the time ,guess he is not that interested.

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this is a good game.
he knows the basic shapes from here.

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matching game

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the pegged shapes are borrowed from his wooden jigsaw puzzle.

there is another game that we play. i will place a set of cards on the table in the living room (anywhere else appropriate) and we will sit in inside our bedroom with another similar set of cards. i will call out one shape and he will need to run out and fetch me a card with the matching shape.
start off with a shorter distance and slowly increase as the child gets better.
he loves this.

there are many variations to this simple game, but im just not that creative.

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he must be wondering...how to match that...

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thrilled and proud of his achievement! clapping to celebrate.

reinforce, reinforce. he will remember them and will master them when time comes.

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my darling Ms Y attending kj's godmom's wedding~ march 2012


Friday 26 July 2013

Day 13 of life

Day 13 of life
 preterm babies are afraid of cold

i had to be in sauna with him

 plus u wouldnt want to expose them to coolness,
they should be kept warm like in our tummy

sitting on my new bed and new mattress

my green flask exploded on this same day this photo was taken.
timing could not have been better.
because we flew home the next day.
would cause more nuisance if it happens earlier.

Umbilical cord stump

Day 9 of life
 both mom and i were intimidated by the cord stump and plastic clamp.

i did not manage KJ's.
the nurse gave me his dried cord when he was discharged.

i was glad mom decided not to bath him due to his still-detached-cord. phew.

i accidentally twisted the clamp so the cord lifted and almost dissociated.
we could then see the 'wetness' on the belly button.
applied 'chlorhexidine in alcohol' a few times and air the cord.
i prefer the latter drying method.

chlorhexidine does not help to fasten the drying process,
it only function in inhibiting bacteria growth.

 in the car seat
on the way to the clinic (luyang) for SB
unquestionably, i do not approve this
matty's sleeping on a pillow. O.O
there is a higher power than me, your highness dictated so i obeyed.


Day 10

stretched feets
missing socks
kicked up 'blanket'
thats my baby =)
teary eyes?
myriad of hormones kicking in
*kj the photographer*

8 days old

DAY 8 of LIFE

welcome home for the second time!

 mom im hungry!
 mom im hungry i cant wait!

check out the boy with red shirt,
unconcerned

 yellow man
still yellow. look at the cheeks!

no clothes can fit him.

sorry darling

 so was kept warm with towels for a good 2 weeks

cheeks still pretty chubby at this stage

surfing in KK


i miss my merman!!!!!

yes,i initially started this blog with him being a merman :)

because he loves the SEA.
WATER.

now that we are not home, the single boy goes SURFING! 
in KK!



one evening, it was raining, he couldnt go to the field, he suggested bringing us to the beach instead.
HUH???????
raining and u want to bring us to the beach?
i complied and that was all!
would be my first and my last darling!
ended up going home with a long face.
lols.

well, this father says he lost to me JUST BECAUSE he could not breastfeed.
because he does not have milk.
he would PAY if u have recipes for him to lactate.
haha
he proposed that i express my milk and he will bottle feed.
including midnight feeds.
"why not?" he pronounced!

 children, that shows how much your dad loves you.
despite not being able to sacrifice in this term.
in future if i have osteoporosis or any nutrient deficient related illness,
it is his fault.
:)

happy anniversary.

it was over and none of us remembers.
dont worry, no meltdowns.
peace :)

Thursday 25 July 2013

More postnatal food

Confinement food

 thin long beans, chicken shallots shoup, grilled tenggiri

turmeric grilled fish

i cant keep track of the names of the fish, sorry.
mom knows her fishes in hokkien (a chinese dialect),
who the hell speaks hokkien in KK?
so i could not be bothered to ask her.

stir fried green mustard (sawi)

2 dishes and a soup - at minimum

breakfast - mee suah soup

red wine chicken

my favourite dish!
the red wine was made specially for me! yes for me!
by MIL's cousin in sitiawan.
original home made red wine.
slurps!

during my first confinement, they couldnt make the rice wine in time (early labour) hence MIL bought normal rice wine (yellow in colour) from the market in ipoh.
they were sweeter.

this red wine is not that sweet. truly delicious!

kailan

ginger soy sauce steamed fish


every single dish needs to have ginger!
veggies, soup, pork, fish. EVERY DISH.

because matty is jaundice, mom reduced the ginger.
this time she added pepper to substitute reduced ginger.

according to her, Vietnamese mothers ate pepper-loaded food during confinement period.

yes mom!

newborn jaundice

Matty was discharged from NICU level 2 on Day 5 of life.
when we brought him home, my heart dropped.
there is no escape, again.
Two glaring patches of yellow cheeks tell me that my baby has to go back to the hospital.

lethargic, inactive, slept most of the time, not feeding well.

bad signs.

On day 6, we went back to the hospital's casualty department and they made me furious!
A staff nurse tried to poke him 3 times. 
how did i know?
duh. i could see the puncture marks on the back of his hand.
she had to SOS a Sister nurse to assist.
i could feel bad omen when the SN chased me out of the room.

i hate! hate! hate! it each time they chased me out before drawing blood from my baby.
WHY oh WHY cant i stay and accompany?
if you were to draw my blood, i will be THERE and look at you drawing right?
so why cant i stay beside my baby when you are doing it?
although they cant speak and convey messages, they deserve to be treated with dignity.
 sigh.
the pain in me is beyond words.
no, i am not those mothers who cannot withstand seeing my baby being poked and blood being drawn.
i cannot tolerate watching my baby being ill-treated.
:(


NNJ unit (neonatal jaundice) Level 1
 readmitted for NNJ on Day 6 of life,
with SB (serum bilirubin) 255 mmol/L.

 he is more cooperative than his brother in this situation

 he slept in the cubicle throughout the night except for that 2 hours, 2-4am whereby he fussed and i was dead tired so i put him next to me in my camp bed and we both slept soundly.
well i did that because i looked around and saw my neighbours doing it hence i got the same idea.

do not do it too frequent.
if your baby has high SB and you put him next to u most of the time, the doctors will nag the morning when the SB result is out.
jaundice is far too common these days so they have pretty high traffic at times.
high turnover as well so they want to discharge u quickly.

 day 7 of life, SB dropped to 209 mmol/L.

Due to inefficiency of certain staffs, our paeds MO friend came and drew blood soley for Matty. 
We confided in him that we did not want to draw blood and test the SB on day 7, we rather, or they (mom and hubs) were keen to put him through a 3 days 2 nights course of phototherapy.
but what about me?
*bummed*
Anyhow we could foresee that the SB wont drop drastically and poof! disappear,
considering that he is a premature baby,
they are more prone to be affected.
Siblings with jaundice is also another risk factor.
his brother has a higher bilirubin and was near ET (exchange transfusion) stage.

big bro was under phototherapy for a longer period.
i moved from corridor, to camp bed to rooming in. 3 places.
thankfully they manage to secure a first class rooming-in room then.

okay,
i digressed!
in the end, the specialist Dr.Siti Aisyah came and discharge us.
yes, she says memang patient keluar masuk keluar masuk.
Dr.Dedrie was actually fine with us remaining.

we were thinking of avoiding the keluar masuk distress, hence a request of a direct 3 days stay.

besides, Vasan adviced that we should still take the SB daily even if we want to stay on,
so that we can see the pattern.

Jaundice could be fatal, if left undiagnosed.
the symptom itself is not (fatal).
jaundice is a symptom, not a disease.
this is a good read:  Neonatal Handbook on Jaundice
very high level of bilirubin can cause brain damage.



my oh so comfy camp bed!

secured a good spot! in a corner!

despite being under the light,
not forgetting the crispy cold air,
Matty fed well.
he drinks every hour.

i requested going home the next morning even after we came to a decision to continue staying because i couldn't use the staffs' toilet at my convenience. unless when i really need to, then i'll request for the key.
the hubs and mom are supportive in this, me not going home so soon. how could they! evils!
they agreed to cook and bring food to me.
travelling from home to hospital takes about 30 minutes on non-peak hours and 50 minutes or more on peak hours.

thank you mom and hubs and KJ

Wednesday 24 July 2013

must have: inflatable swimming pool

KJ @ 34 months old

when he requests for TV time,
it is as though he asking if he can drink petrol.

yes. that serious.
the paranoia in me is indescribable.

hence this is one of the activity that can distract little children.


 his playmate which we both do not favour.
strange right?
10 times u ask him if he likes her, he says NO.

i hope i do not look shallow blatantly sharing this but yes, i have my reasons.

sorry kid.


all kids love water, dont they?
 the green monster is all game! always!

the more the merrier.
there is no age group =D

leader of the flock.


haha. makes me laugh looking at this photo.

the bigger kids cannot resist the mini pool too huh?

everyone with kids should have this inflatable pool at home!



photos taken in Dec 2012

Vibrant smoothies and rotating greens

mango, purple cabbage, apple, coconut milk (santan), flaxseed

 purple smoothies

frozen coconut milk.

freeze it fresh from the market.
coconut milk is highly perishable so please be cautious.
the moment u come back from the market,
freeze them immediately.
for some reason if u cannot do it in that instant,
soak the bag of coconut milk/santan in a bowl of ice water and keep inside the fridge.
this should be able to last for a couple of hours. 

santan is not popular in KK i reckon.

places selling it are limited,
so i went to the main market in town and buy 1 kg worth of freshly squeezed santan,
and make beautiful "sunflower".

we are lucky to have a bountiful supply of coconut.
all of us has learned in school on the many uses of coconut.
the whole fruit has it's own functions beneficial to the us and
the versatility of this magic fruit is enormous.


coconut milk contains lauric acid which is also found in mother's milk. lauric acid will be converted to monolaurin in our body and this component has extraordinary powerful antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal properties.

the heath benefits of coconut milk is shared here in healthyeating. you can read up on the references for credibility of this page.

based on these knowledge, my family will be consuming more raw coconut milk instead of cooked coconut milk, which may notoriously do harm to our body. (the LDL cholesterol and what not)



 kiwi, mango, chia seed, sawi (mustard green)

i dislike kiwi in my blends.

 kiwi, mango, spinach, chia seed


we drink our juices early in the morning on an empty stomach.

the correct way should be to drink slowly, swish it around our mouth and allowing the saliva to be mixed to increase digestibility.

one thing i was doing wrong all this time.
i have been blending the fruits and vegetables in the morning, the fruits and veg taken out directly from the refrigerator.
feeling nauseated drinking them cold, i dare not tell hubs.
well i need to be the role model !

anyway, read this:

When you drink your vegetable juice, the juice should be at room temperature. This means you should take your vegetables out of the fridge and place on the counter for a few hours before juicing. Ideally and if you can, leave your vegetables out overnight to ensure they are at room temperature. Cold food shuts down the digestive system and this would then defeat the purpose of juicing.


before u venture into this project,
do know some cardinal rules such as:
side effects of going raw,
how to introduce greens slowly.

i highly recommend reading the juicing tips.

more ideas for smoothies:

10 Recipe Ideas for Smoothies

5 Healthy Green Smoothie Recipes