An extract from babycentre...
Can an insect bite or sting cause an infection?
A bite or sting can become infected as a result of bacteria introduced when the insect bit your child or within a few days if your child scratches it too much. Check for a growing area of redness around the bite, a firm bump where she was stung, or a temperature. If you suspect your child has an infection, contact your GP, who may suggest a course of antibiotics.
If a tick bites your child, watch out for signs of Lyme disease, which is a serious bacterial infection. If a rash or a ring forms around the bite and starts to spread, take your child to a doctor (CKS 2007).
Although it's extremely rare, children can get encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and other conditions from viruses carried by insects (CKS 2007). If your child seems confused or sleepy or develops a temperature or stiff neck, be on the safe side and take her to your nearest accident and emergency department.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Should babies watch TV?
Hmm... we know that the Health Promotion Board encourages kids to play outdoors and take visual breaks from near work to combat myopia. Scientific studies also shown that near work is associated with myopia i.e. if your kid reads 2 or more books per week, he/she is 2 times more likely to develop myopia.
Question 1: Should babies watch TV?
Question 2: Would they get myopia from TV watching?
Question 3: Would the harmful rays from TV affect their eyes?
Let me share my training in this Blog
Answer for Q1: Babies should watch TV. TV is an attractive stimulus for babies. Colour, motion, facial recognition and audio cues helps to develop the neural connections between the eye and the brain and within the brain.
Answer for Q2: Babies are highly unlikely to get myopia from TV. Babies' eyes are usually hyperopic to begin with. As the eyes grow longer and bigger, the amount of hyperopia (long-sightness) reduces till they achieve perfect eyesight (emmetropia). If the eye grows longer than it should for its focussing power, you get myopia. This process takes several years. In addition, TV watching is not strictly speaking a near task. A near task is defined as reading something within one metre. Most TV sets are placed more than 1 metre away from our eyes.
Answer for Q3: There are no harmful rays coming out of our TVs! There is no need to install 'special filters' or spend extra money on EMI spectacle lenses. The radiation coming out of TV sets is Infra-red rays and they are generally harmful. All 'hot' items emit Infra-red and they are almost everywhere. The only way that Infra-red rays can harm the eyes is when the heat gets so high that our eyes are BBQ-ed! That of course does not happen unless you are trapped in a burning room.
Question 1: Should babies watch TV?
Question 2: Would they get myopia from TV watching?
Question 3: Would the harmful rays from TV affect their eyes?
Let me share my training in this Blog
Answer for Q1: Babies should watch TV. TV is an attractive stimulus for babies. Colour, motion, facial recognition and audio cues helps to develop the neural connections between the eye and the brain and within the brain.
Answer for Q2: Babies are highly unlikely to get myopia from TV. Babies' eyes are usually hyperopic to begin with. As the eyes grow longer and bigger, the amount of hyperopia (long-sightness) reduces till they achieve perfect eyesight (emmetropia). If the eye grows longer than it should for its focussing power, you get myopia. This process takes several years. In addition, TV watching is not strictly speaking a near task. A near task is defined as reading something within one metre. Most TV sets are placed more than 1 metre away from our eyes.
Answer for Q3: There are no harmful rays coming out of our TVs! There is no need to install 'special filters' or spend extra money on EMI spectacle lenses. The radiation coming out of TV sets is Infra-red rays and they are generally harmful. All 'hot' items emit Infra-red and they are almost everywhere. The only way that Infra-red rays can harm the eyes is when the heat gets so high that our eyes are BBQ-ed! That of course does not happen unless you are trapped in a burning room.
natalie watching hi5@3 months old (26/05/09)
Favourite TV shows - Thomas & friends, Bob the builder, Dino the gift dragon
Genre -3D Animation
Friday, May 22, 2009
Her Favourite things..
Nat is now able to exhibit an obvious recognition of her mummy! The bond between us is getting stronger to the extent that she specifically wants me to carry her each time she cries. (Though I feel elated knowing the fact that I am Nat's favourite, but I don't think over reliance would do her any good and might potentially be an issue once I start work). Chris would say this is first mover's advantage, as I've been the food source since the very beginning and with the maternity leave that was 'bestowed' to only the mums, I am the one who has the privileges of spending the most time with her. I think he is just jealous!=p Work harder daddy I'm sure dada might be her first words since you've been repeating it religiously to her each day =).
At 3 months 3 days old, I must say Nat has developed into such a friendly baby. She proactively smiles and returns the smile to anyone who smiles at her. She gets excited and waves when we look her straight in the eye to talk to her. Her eye-hand coordination has improved tremendously as she begins to understand the concept of play. Amazed with her new found motor skills, she frequently places her salty, smelly mittens into her mouth and enjoys a good suckle. When bored, she'll blow bubbles with her saliva to self-entertain.
We are cultivating the reading habit early. As a start she is attracted to cheery, colourful boardbooks with simple details. Her favourite book is a counting book by Claire Henley - 'In my little blue bed', which counts the no. of toys the little baby has brought along with him to bed. Daddy and I have both concluded that her favourite colours are yellow and bright green cause she coos and waves frantically each time we flip to a page of that colour. Black and white books produced by 'The Children's Project'is also great for pre-speech learning suitable for newborns and above. It introduces simple shapes using black and white contrasts and different materials like tracing, crinkly and shiny paper. Check out www.socialbaby.com to find out more.
It's amazing how quickly babies develop! Am so glad I played a major role!
( Written when Nat is 3 mths 3 days old)
At 3 months 3 days old, I must say Nat has developed into such a friendly baby. She proactively smiles and returns the smile to anyone who smiles at her. She gets excited and waves when we look her straight in the eye to talk to her. Her eye-hand coordination has improved tremendously as she begins to understand the concept of play. Amazed with her new found motor skills, she frequently places her salty, smelly mittens into her mouth and enjoys a good suckle. When bored, she'll blow bubbles with her saliva to self-entertain.
We are cultivating the reading habit early. As a start she is attracted to cheery, colourful boardbooks with simple details. Her favourite book is a counting book by Claire Henley - 'In my little blue bed', which counts the no. of toys the little baby has brought along with him to bed. Daddy and I have both concluded that her favourite colours are yellow and bright green cause she coos and waves frantically each time we flip to a page of that colour. Black and white books produced by 'The Children's Project'is also great for pre-speech learning suitable for newborns and above. It introduces simple shapes using black and white contrasts and different materials like tracing, crinkly and shiny paper. Check out www.socialbaby.com to find out more.
It's amazing how quickly babies develop! Am so glad I played a major role!
( Written when Nat is 3 mths 3 days old)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Gina Ford method + modification
At 2 months 3weeks, we are now able to fit in a more stable sleeping and playing routine for little natalie.
To maximise her learning and ensure a sustainable sleeping habit, I've modified the Gina Ford method to specialise to her daily needs. Her day starts at 630/7am where she'll wake for her first feed. She'll go back to sleep again after having her nappy changed and wakes up at 1000/1030am for a bath. By 1030/11am she'll be placed under the play gym which would occupy her for 15 -30mins before crying for attention. She'll jiggle to the tune of nursery rhymes till 12noon and nap for about 2 hours. I'll usually do my grocery shopping at about this time. She could stay awake from 2 pm onwards and by 530pm we'll prepare her for bath. Once cleaned and dressed, Nat would be fed and we'll try to put her to sleep by 7pm. She may wake at 8pm to poo and dependent on her mood or how excitable she is after a change of nappy or when daddy's home, (So far there there are fewer occassions where she manage to sleep till 1030pm)she may stay awake till 10pm for her final feed. At this stage, she'll only wake up in the night if she has wind in her stomach.
Anyone with tips on maintaining baby's sleeping pattern from 7pm to 7am or keeping the little one occupied with little fuss, do share it with me!
To maximise her learning and ensure a sustainable sleeping habit, I've modified the Gina Ford method to specialise to her daily needs. Her day starts at 630/7am where she'll wake for her first feed. She'll go back to sleep again after having her nappy changed and wakes up at 1000/1030am for a bath. By 1030/11am she'll be placed under the play gym which would occupy her for 15 -30mins before crying for attention. She'll jiggle to the tune of nursery rhymes till 12noon and nap for about 2 hours. I'll usually do my grocery shopping at about this time. She could stay awake from 2 pm onwards and by 530pm we'll prepare her for bath. Once cleaned and dressed, Nat would be fed and we'll try to put her to sleep by 7pm. She may wake at 8pm to poo and dependent on her mood or how excitable she is after a change of nappy or when daddy's home, (So far there there are fewer occassions where she manage to sleep till 1030pm)she may stay awake till 10pm for her final feed. At this stage, she'll only wake up in the night if she has wind in her stomach.
Anyone with tips on maintaining baby's sleeping pattern from 7pm to 7am or keeping the little one occupied with little fuss, do share it with me!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Survival Tips
Hey for those who are sick and tired of what's showing on tv and the repeat telecasts on starworld /HBO etc. Check out this site
http://www.freeonlineepisodes.net
You can watch Online Episodes of your favourite TV shows, Anime, Cartoon and the latest movies and films streaming for FREE!!
They have the latest seasons of all my fav tv series such as House, M.D.;Grey's Anatomy;Nip/tuck; Bones; Two and a Half Men etc.
Quick downloads and superior quality! Saves me loads of money from buying/ renting the latest seasons.
Bad excuse for not blogging as frequently as I would like, but this is definitely addictive!
http://www.freeonlineepisodes.net
You can watch Online Episodes of your favourite TV shows, Anime, Cartoon and the latest movies and films streaming for FREE!!
They have the latest seasons of all my fav tv series such as House, M.D.;Grey's Anatomy;Nip/tuck; Bones; Two and a Half Men etc.
Quick downloads and superior quality! Saves me loads of money from buying/ renting the latest seasons.
Bad excuse for not blogging as frequently as I would like, but this is definitely addictive!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Isetan sale
Bought this really cool egg shape looking blender cum miller at the isetan sale, which came highly recommended by a friend. Price was a steal @ $69.90 after a 50% discount and what's more it came with a FOC soya/juice blender. Best suited to process puree food in small quantity. I stood for at least 20 min at the U-like counter and asked all sorts of questions before making my purchase. The demo lady seems a little frustrated as I insisted on her demonstrating the functions using all the available foodstuff on her counter.
All other baby products were on sale including clothings from luxury brands like burberry, Dior etc were going at 50-70% off. The ladies section was in fact only half as crowded as compared to the children's dept. Fisher price products were going off the shelves in minutes. Medela / Avent / Pigeon / Nuk Nuk products are also available at discounts between 20-30%.
Though some of the items after discount were not dirt cheap, mums were all going insane over the bargain as the selection is definitely much better than GSS /year end/boxing day sale.
All other baby products were on sale including clothings from luxury brands like burberry, Dior etc were going at 50-70% off. The ladies section was in fact only half as crowded as compared to the children's dept. Fisher price products were going off the shelves in minutes. Medela / Avent / Pigeon / Nuk Nuk products are also available at discounts between 20-30%.
Though some of the items after discount were not dirt cheap, mums were all going insane over the bargain as the selection is definitely much better than GSS /year end/boxing day sale.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Demand exceeds supply
The weather these days is way too hot! Nat has been increasing her feeds to reduce her body heat. By evening my reservoir has reached its lowest ebb. Fustration kicks in as she tugs and pull to stimulate the flow. Have tried giving her water but all she could handle is 10 ml. She tends to zip her lips tight when I try to feed her anything more. Am feeling the impact of dehydration on my fingers. The skin around my cuticles are starting to peel & bleed slightly. Mum said I over washed my hands with soap. Normal hand moisturisers didn't work. Am resorting to oil oinments now. Hopefully there would be less flaking.
Anyway back to the topic on breastfeeding, I've increased my fish and water intake. Understand from an expert breastfeeder that fenugreek would help increase milk flow (Hey theresa, thanks for offering the tip). Out of desperation we've bought a bottle yesterday from GNC ( cost $29.90 a bottle). Am not sure whether it's the fish, water or fenugreek that's taking effect but it worked. The volume extracted by pump has increased! So I've decided to put this up on my blog and share it with those who are having difficulty coping with your baby's demand.
So what is fenugreek? - Fenugreek is a traditional Ayurvedic herb. They are available whole and dried, or as a dull yellow powder, ground from the roasted seeds.When grounded, they give off a spicy pungent smell, like an inferior curry powder. So what are it's uses? Fenugreek seeds are used to add flavor to curry and made into lip balm. The seeds could also be brewed as tea to help reduce fever and menstrual pains, or they could be used in an ointment to treat skin infections. Some sites even mentioned that consumption could serve as an aphrodisiac to increase libido in men. Fenugreek's leaves, which are high in iron, are used in salads. Taken internally, fenugreek is used to treat bronchitis, coughs, respiratory problems, sinus conditions and of course to increase milk supply.
Mothers generally notice an increase in production 24-72 hours after starting the herb. Once milk production is stimulated to an appropriate level you could disconti ue the herb.
Fenugreek is considered safe for nursing moms when used in moderation and is on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's GRAS list (Generally Recognized As Safe). As with most medications and herbs, various side effects have been noted. You could visit this site for more info.http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html
Anyway back to the topic on breastfeeding, I've increased my fish and water intake. Understand from an expert breastfeeder that fenugreek would help increase milk flow (Hey theresa, thanks for offering the tip). Out of desperation we've bought a bottle yesterday from GNC ( cost $29.90 a bottle). Am not sure whether it's the fish, water or fenugreek that's taking effect but it worked. The volume extracted by pump has increased! So I've decided to put this up on my blog and share it with those who are having difficulty coping with your baby's demand.
So what is fenugreek? - Fenugreek is a traditional Ayurvedic herb. They are available whole and dried, or as a dull yellow powder, ground from the roasted seeds.When grounded, they give off a spicy pungent smell, like an inferior curry powder. So what are it's uses? Fenugreek seeds are used to add flavor to curry and made into lip balm. The seeds could also be brewed as tea to help reduce fever and menstrual pains, or they could be used in an ointment to treat skin infections. Some sites even mentioned that consumption could serve as an aphrodisiac to increase libido in men. Fenugreek's leaves, which are high in iron, are used in salads. Taken internally, fenugreek is used to treat bronchitis, coughs, respiratory problems, sinus conditions and of course to increase milk supply.
Mothers generally notice an increase in production 24-72 hours after starting the herb. Once milk production is stimulated to an appropriate level you could disconti ue the herb.
Fenugreek is considered safe for nursing moms when used in moderation and is on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's GRAS list (Generally Recognized As Safe). As with most medications and herbs, various side effects have been noted. You could visit this site for more info.http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html
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