We are now @
www.ngdoghouse.com
If you don’t want to miss any new postings (coming up soon), do check out our new address!
The dog decided to move and so the rat reluctantly followed in order to avoid the cat!
What’s the difference now?
Everyone will agree that having a baby means a lot of changes like having less time catching up with friends over a relaxing dinner, having less opportunity to spend time together as a couple, having more restless nights etc and the list goes on and on… While all these are true to a certain extend, I am going to share with you what are some of the little changes I have been experiencing ever since Jing Yih came along!
- First thing in the morning is no longer to brush my teeth.
The first thing I do is to feed Jing Yih in the morning because he will be THE alarm clock that I have to wake up to after snoozing continuously and refusing to get out of the comfy bed. I will do my washing-up after Jing Yih took his morning nap.
- Morning wash up becomes simplified. You can have Step 1 cleanser (in small circular motion), Step 2 toner using cotton pads, Step 3 moisturizer by spreading it equally around the face before massaging it into the skin, Step 4 pimple cream using your ring finger, but all those are history. Now, it’s just a simple cleansing, toner without the use of a cotton pad (unless time permits) and putting on moisturizer with the whole palm.
- Always the last to get myself ready before going out. It used to be that I would get myself ready first so that I have the right to nag at those (who else?) who take their own sweet time and almost got us late. But now, I will first get Jing Yih ready by feeding him; Jing Yih’s stuff (aka my diaper bag) would have been packed the day before. In the mean time i will nag at the rest (who else?) to hurry up. Its only when everyone is ready do I then wash up (point no.2 above), get changed and GO, within 10 minutes. We try to avoid feeding Jing Yih in the car.
- Assessing the difficulty in cleaning up will be my first thought whenever there is a spill over the dinning table.
My reaction to it will differ according to the level of difficulty. Spills over dinner is not welcomed before Jing Yih came, but now that he has started semi-solid, spills are expected, and at times even desired (better that he learns his manners now by making mistakes at home than breaking bowls and plates in a restaurant next time). - My hands are wet almost half of the time. Throughout the day, my hands are just wet, wet and wet! I washes my hands before preparing Jing Yih’s milk, got them wet from preparing meals and cleaning up after that (Hubby will help to wash the dirty dishes but I forbid him for washing my pots and pans!), doing some pre-laundry washing or when Jing Yih’s poo dirty his clothes. Of course not forgetting bathing Jing Yih and I also got to shower right?
- It’s still considered neat even with some cluttering and/or things not put back to its original place. There are more things at hand than to let yourself be bothered with a little bit of cluttering huh?
- I can tell the time in every corner of my home now.
When we shifted into our new place, we hardly need a clock because we are always near our iPhone or laptop/PC, if not I can also tell the time from my watch. Now, I don’t always have my iPhone with me and I also don’t wear a watch unless I go out. BUT! I have a digital clock in my kitchen and bathroom. The 2 analog wall clocks that we kept it away was also hung (finally after so much procrastination!!) in both Jing Yih’s room and the living room.
Although my attitude and expectations towards certain things have changed, although the order of how things gets done are no longer the same, I am glad I am still the one with the prerogative to nag and nag (only that now it’s done with more love and tolerance!) Haha! Looking forward to more changes coming my way!
Courageous people in little parts of the world
It is already thought-provoking for watching just the prelude for “Touch of Hope”.
Morning marketing and I saw a partially physical disabled making his way home after his marketing for the week and he wasn’t accompanied by anyone.
Read about thoughts by a Dad who had twins with Autism. Having Twins is already a handful to begin with, more so if they are diagnosed with Autism. Read more @ It’s a Wunderful Life.
These are really just normal people, only that they needed additional medical assistance to help them survive the first few moments in life (Touch of Hope on premature babies), only that they needed more time to learn essential life skills to survive the often cold-cold society (physically disabled man I saw), only that they needed extra-loving parents to be their guide to help them relate better with others around them (Autistic twins).
While we try not to be overly concerned about whether our babies reached their many milestones on time, let us also not take it for granted that things will just fall into places by themselves. Monitoring their progress and observing their growth is important to ensure timely intervention if required. They are still normal, just that they needed some special assistance to help them along.
Mummy Paparazzi!
Its quite a challenge to take pictures of Jing Yih smiling or laughing. So when opportunity comes, mummy just keeps shooting!
So happy! If you noticed, Jing Yih wasn’t looking at the camera but looking at me!
Because if he ever finds a camera (or in this case my iphone), he will stop smiling instantly!! The 2 pictures above when he saw the camera and stop smiling…but he turned back to where I am…
and start smiling again! =) Love it!
Solid food introduction for Jing Yih
I just started Jing Yih with rice cereal some time ago! I know there are other food around that I could let Jing Yih try as his first food, but I have chosen rice cereal (instant type) for simple reasons:
- Its easy and fast to prepare;
- My efforts won’t go wasted if Jing Yih didn’t take on his semi-solid well;
- In my opinion, the first few tries are just practise session for him to get used to taking food from the spoon as well as practise swallowing, so I save my efforts for later!
Anyway, in the following days or weeks I will start Jing Yih on other food items and follow the 4-day allergy test rule. Am getting so excited already! I have listed down which vegetable or fruit to start off with! I will start with vegetable first before fruits with the exception of my No.1 on the list =)
Which is…….
Avocado (Yes! it’s a fruit)
Many have shared with me that avocado is a great first food to introduce to babies, so this will be first on my list after rice cereal. Its benefits includes:
- Excellent source of unsaturated fatty acids
- High proportion of “good” fat
- Easy to digest
- Contain lots of healthy nutrients and minerals for a growing baby (i.e Vit A & C, Folate, Potassium, Iron, Magnesium & Calcium
- Iron needs Vitamin C for better absorption and this wonder fruit has both in her smooth and creamy package!
- If baby couldn’t finish it, I can always enjoy it myself! I love avocado!
- This can also be a good excuse to make my hubby eat avocados! muhahahahah!
#Potassium gives you healthy blood pressure and heart function
#Iron is something you would want to pay attention to because baby’s stored up iron from birth would have depleted by 6 months
#Calcium is for strong bones and teeth, I was told that if a baby takes in a lot of calcium, their milk teeth will grow faster!
#Magnesium helps support strong immune system
#Folate aids in the production and maintenance of new cells, so it’s very important for baby’s growth!
Squash (Just another name for pumpkin)
There is winter squash and summer squash in which I don’t really know how to tell which is which..apparently not all squash are suitable as a baby’s first food, so I guess the butternut squash will be what I will be using. It’s a winter squash and its also a wonderful first food for babies!
- Loaded with Vitamin A and Folate and also high in calcium
- Contain some Iron in it as well!
Sweet Potatoes
Why are all these food my favourite?? Another excellent first food for babies! Read that it was one of the most complete food too as its loaded with vitamins and minerals!
- Excellent source of Vitamin A & C, Folate,
- Good source of magnesium, potassium and also Calcium
- Its sweet and baby likes sweet food right? so they will be more receptive to this new taste! some may be concern with baby picking up a sweet tooth by introducing sweet foods to them, so I hope introducing Jing Yih sweet potatoes following avocados and squash will not make him a sweet tooth later on =)
Pear (Western Type)
Pear is not something I thought I would introduce to Jing Yih so soon until I read that:
- It has Iron and Vitamin C packaged together too, making iron absorption better =) Other vitamins include A & B
- Contain the mineral potassium
- It’s also a good source of fiber which can help constipation especially when some babies start to have some constipation after started solid.
Banana
An exceptionally easy to prepare food for baby!
- Known for their high level of potassium and fiber ( I actually learn that bananas have potassium from a movie, but I forgot what’s the name of that movie already)
- Contains Vitamin C, B6 & B2 and many other nutrients
- It helps to protect against stomach ulcers too!
- Its sweet and baby will probably like it a lot! but let’s not to give too much bananas else baby may have constipation!
- It’s so easy to take bananas with you while travelling too huh? since it comes with its own packaging =)
#Vitamin B6 is good for brain development
#Vitamin B2 helps to keep our eyes, skin and nervous system healthy
Papaya
This is not so common for a baby’s first food which is why papaya is listed last here.
- It’s loaded with Vitamin C. Since I don’t think I can introduce Jing Yih to citrus food that are known to contain lots of vitamin C, papaya would be a good alternative to get those vitamin C in! Plus, it comes with Iron too! so it helps with the Iron absorption again!
- Of course it also has other nutrients and minerals such as Vitamin A & E, Folic acid and Potassium
- It’s also high in fiber
That’s about the first few food item I would like to introduce to Jing Yih. I hope he will take them well! Yogurt (homemade ones) will be next so that I can then mixed and match some of these food items already introduced!
Disclaimer: Whatever stated on the benefits of these food are based on my own findings, reading and of course sharing by friends.
You are welcomed to comment / share more information on these first food too!
First experience with Solid Food
Lately, I realised Jing Yih didn’t just wake up in the middle of the night because he couldn’t flip himself back but rather that he was hungry. Our usual tactics to get him to fall back to sleep took longer than usual, so my guess is that its time to start solid food for him. He could also be going through another round of growth spurt because he now finishes his bottle rather quick!
I have previously tried to feed Jing Yih rice cereal about 2 weeks ago but it wasn’t a very encouraging event. Mainly because Jing Yih didn’t hold his head up and I can see that he wasn’t too comfortable on the high chair, neither was he comfortable on the rocker too (he wanted to flip over even when placed on the rocker). So I drop the solid food idea completely until a few days ago…
What happened was, Mum and Brother (aka Jing Yih’s naughty uncle) came over for lunch (mummy’s cooking of coz!) and the naughty uncle took a piece of savoury mushroom and place it near Jing Yih’s nose. While Jing Yih’s eye was still fixed on the mushroom, he then ATE IT (with exaggeration), MUNCH IT (also with exaggeration) and ACT as if the mushroom was the world’s most delicious food!
Jing Yih paused for a while before wailing!! Haha! To that my brother concluded that his brain was working hard and seriously thinking about OUR food!
I think that does the trick! the next day after his 11.30am milk feed, we gave Jing Yih some rice cereal and he finished whatever I prepared. Not a lot though, haha! just 1/4 teaspoon before adding some formula.. but he did start to show more interest now. So I guess it helps to do a little tempting a few days before weaning and also to have Jing Yih watch us eat during our meals time so that he could visualise the act of eating (something also encouraged by the book ‘On becoming babywise 2′). If your baby of at least 6 months is still not showing any interest in your food, why wait? make him interested by tempting him a little using his sense of sight and smell!
One Wakeful Night
Jing Yih had a fever at 38.2 degree celsius last night. It was something expected due to his immunisation jab in the same morning. Having the Pigeon Cooling Plaster ready ever since Jing Yih was born, I quickly took a piece out and try it on Jing Yih before I take his temperature again. 38.1 degree celsius, not much of a difference and so I gathered that I shall administer a dose of paracetamol in his next feed while helping him to cool down first. He wasn’t cranky, just exceptionally sleepy. thank God.
According to the box, the cooling plaster should stick unto the required area (in this case the forehead) but it DID NOT! With Jing Yih sleeping on his tummy, this thing won’t be staying on his forehead for more than a minute! But regardless of whether a child is sleeping on his back or on his tummy, I concluded that this thing will NEVER stick! So quick-thinking me made a little bandana and wore it on Jing Yih! haha! It didn’t totally solve the problem but at least it helps to keep the plaster in place longer. Each plaster could last for 8 hours, but because it’s not as sticky as I thought it to be, I am already on the 3rd piece when giving his last feed. So it doesn’t really matter if the plaster last for 8 hours, I have already replaced more than 1 piece within a couple of hours…even with the help of the bandana.. sign.. Nevertheless, the cooling agent does seems to effectively cool Jing Yih down and its cooling enough but not ice-cold.
Thankfully we kept a bed in Jing Yih’s room for times like this so that either my hubby or I could closely monitor his condition at night. I wasn’t expecting him to sleep through the night at this state but to top things up, he has also been flipping from tummy to back during his naps and sleep, so you could imagine how many times I was awaken by his cries…
Wah~ (The bandana fall off coz I turn and twist too much!)
Wah~ (I feel so lousy and weak, it’s so warm here!)
Wah~ ( I cannot flip back, please help me!)
These were just small sacrifices I thought to myself and they are indeed!
