October 2008 – Page 2 – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

Mess-Free Crayola Finger Paints

The other day, Alycia went to the cupboard in the maid’s room used to place all their new stationeries, books and toys and dug out a cool mess-free fingerpaints that their koo mah or koo koo (can’t remember who bought it) bought it for them last year.

It’s really a neat activitiy as it’s mess-free and does not stain the table, clothes, skin or anything, except that it’s pretty oily on the fingers…. but it’s non-toxic though.

The paints that are colorless but….

…the minute the paint touches the paper of the coloring book, it turns into a color. It’s really cool and amuses the gals…

The gals think that it is magical coz something that’s colorless can turn into different colors when their little fingers touched different drawings in the book.

However, this activity needs to be under adult supervision coz my 2 brats were so amused with the magical paints that they kept digging and digging on the paints with their fingers that within 10 mintues, more than half the paints were wiped off… and only 2 pages of the coloring book were colored and there are still over 20 pages in the book, which means that there would not be enough paints for the remaining pages.

Has anyone seen this fingerpaints in our local bookstores? This is bought either by my sil in New Zealand, Saipan or HK. I don’t think I’ve come across this fingerpaints here.

No. of times viewed = 52138

Books Are Still The Best Gift

The other day, hubby bought Alycia and Sherilyn toys again when he went shopping without me. This always happens whenever he goes shopping without me. This time, he bought them a doctor’s set and a hairdressing set. The girls were thrilled to see the toys when daddy came home at night and started playing with the toys but after 2 days, the toys are now chucked in their toy box. I always find that buying toys for my kids are a waste of money as they would get bored with them within days. I rather spend the money on something useful like books or educational DVDs, which could be read or watched over and over again.

Alycia’s 5th birthday is just round the corner. I think the best birthday pressie to get her will be books. I love books and I always think that it’s never too early to start instilling the love for reading books in your kids. Borders.co.uk is now having discounts of up to 40% off fabulous new releases. I intend to get some Children & Education books for Alycia’s birthday. I think she will love a book on Thomas and Friends, one of her favorite cartoon characters. I won’t leave Sherilyn out of course. How can I not get her anything? There will surely be a tug of war between Alycia and Sherilyn on the birthday pressie if there is only one pressie. I think Sherilyn will love Peppa Pig’s Little Library. This title contains six delightful mini Peppa story books in a slip case. The six books together make a jigsaw! Hey, if you are looking for some books for youself or your kids, do head over to borders.co.uk to enjoy some great savings.

This review has been paid by borders.co.uk.

No. of times viewed = 44599

No Mood

I have no mood to blog,
no mood for anything,
for my mind is just on Baby C.

I think she has another UTI attack….

Will be bringing her to see our pediatric nephrologist today for her pee to be collected via catheterization, for a urine culture.

Please pray that all will go well for us.

No. of times viewed = 406

Another Electronic Toothbrush For Alycia And Sherilyn

After lunch 2 Sundays ago, daddy brought Aly and Sher to Guardian Pharmacy after dropping me and Baby C back home as Baby C was fussing and wanted her nap. I had asked him to get the gals Pureen Colostrum tabs and probiotics for Baby C. Daddy also took the opportunity to buy Aly and Sher each an Oral B electronic toothbrush, something which he had longed wanted to buy them but I had been stopping him coz it’s freaking expensive at RM99.90 each! Last year he got Aly and Sher each a Colgate electronic toothbrush which cost around RM30 but they were spoilt after just a couple of months coz they and also the maid didn’t know how to take care of the toothbrush. One time, my former maid immersed the electronic toothbrush into a cup of water! Daddy said the Oral B electronic toothbrush is good as the toothbrush head is replaceable…. and so Oral B electronic toothbrush it was that he bought the gals. When he came back, my mil and I were nagging him coz those 2 gadgets were freaking expensive and I personally feel that kids don’t need to use such expensive toothbrush. At RM99.90 each, the same amount of money can be used to buy more than 20 regular toothbrushes… which could last them for years! Next time I better follow daddy whenever he brings Aly and Sher shopping!

No. of times viewed = 348

A Career In Medical Assisting

A career in medical assisting is one of the fastest growing occupations. Job prospects should be best for medical assistants with formal training or experience, particularly those with a certificate. As the need for healthcare services is ever increasing from major cities to rural areas, a qualified medical assistant is always in constant demand by doctors and hospitals.

A medical assistant perform routine clerical and clinical duties in order to maintain efficiency in offices of physicians, chiropractors, gynecologists and others. Medical assistants are different from nurses and physicians’ assistants. Some of the administrative responsibilities of a medical assistant include greeting patients, answering phone calls, keeping medical records, completing insurance forms, handling correspondence, making appointments, setting up hospital admission and laboratory services and managing billing. Some medical assistants take the patients’ vital signs, inform patients about treatments, assist patients and physicians with examinations, conduct general laboratory tests, sanitize medical supplies, educate the patients about treatments such as medication or eating habits, prepare and give medications and much more.

If you would like to take on the challenge to be involved in this noble job, you can get your medical assistant certificate from a recognized medical assistant school. You do not necessarily have to attend the traditional classrooms at strict timings in a medical assistant school. You can now get a medical assistant certificate in just 6-8 weeks at your own flexibility by pursuing the program online. To learn more about this online program, visit medassistant.org today.

No. of times viewed = 409

Doing Physical Stimulation Exercise With Baby C

The experts say that a good physical program is vital for the development of the baby’s brain. Last night I did a little physical stimulation exercise with Baby C, which she always seems to enjoy. She’s another samseng, just like her 2 cheh cheh when they were her age.

First, I let her crawl on cheh cheh’s queen size mattress on the floor, whilst I blew dry my hair after my bath. Aly and Sher cheh cheh were playing jig saw puzzle on the floor ….

then I held both her feet and put her upside down and swung her left and right like a pendulum, which she actually likes, surprisingly….
BTW, Alycia snapped this pic, not bad eh?

then I rolled her on her sides, like a log….

put her on the bolster, arched her back and rolled her….

let her crawl till the edge of the mattress and tell / show her what height is.

Baby C seems to know that she will fall upon reaching the edge of the mattress and will normally stop there, waiting for me…. She loves those colorful stickers on the mirror and always crawls towards the mirror to touch those stickers….

As she reached the edge of the mattress, she slowed down, kept looking at the floor. When I put her hands on the floor, with her legs still on the bed, she fussed a little….

then whined a little……

But she loved all the physical stimulation exercises and cried when I put her back into her crib.

No. of times viewed = 433

My Daily Diaper-Changing Battle

My battle with Baby C each time I change her diaper started 2 weeks ago. I had this battle with Alycia and Sher too when they were Baby C’s age. Changing their diaper was such a great challenge that I needed my maids’ help whenever I needed to change their diapers.

Now, I need at least 1 minute to fasten Baby C’s diaper…. loosely first, so that she would not pee and wet the bed and herself…. then unfasten the tapes again to readjust them properly much later. Each time I need to change her diaper, this hyper Energizer bunny would flip over, arch her back, scream and crawl to her favorite item – the tissue box, grab the tissue box, pull out a tissue and stuff it into her mouth or she would grab other items from my bed.

Yesterday, it was the first time I raised my voice at her coz I was struggling to put the diaper on her and she was like a little baby monkey, full of energy and refused to lie still on her back. Today I hit her bum gently with my hands when she kept arching her back and flipping over. My back would hurt like hell as I bend over to put the diaper on her…. and I need to move my hands at lightning speed to fasten the tapes on her diaper. Most times, she would flip over in a split second and crawl everywhere, with me pulling her legs to position her body back on the changing mat. Sometimes I would distract her by giving her a fresh diaper to chew on for a few seconds (I know it’s disgusting but that’s the only way to keep her still), or the box of tissue for her to lick (I know, it’s disgusting too). When she’s engrossed playing with these forbidden items, I will then quickly position the diaper beneath her bum and fasten the tapes before she flips over again. It’s really a battle and involves lots of power struggle just to put on a diaper and I have to go through this motion like 10 times a day! She even arches her back and whines softly when I change her diaper in the wee hours of the morning. Not only is this task back-breaking, it makes me sweat as though I’ve just toiled under the sun in some laborious chores. These days, I sweat so much handling Baby C that I have to shower at least 3 times a day, sometimes 4 times a day. I kid you not, can you beat that?

Is your baby like that too?

My little uncontrollable energizer bunny crawling to grab my camera pouch when I changed her diaper last night. I took the opportunity to snap a pic of her in action.

Flipping over to grab other things on my bed before I can even put on her jammies.

Check out my daily schedule with Baby C here.

No. of times viewed = 513

A Cheque From Google… Finally

After having the Google Adsense ads on my Blogspot blog for 16 long months, I finally got my loooooooong awaited first cheque from Google, amounting to USD122.13! Earnings are moving at snail’s pace but at least I don’t have to do anything, yet get paid, in USD that is. This cheque motivates me to create a few more niche blogs to monetize my blogs from Adsense! No wonder some people can have hundred over blogs and earn a 5-figure income every month. Samm, I must learn from you!

No. of times viewed = 217

My ‘Vampire’ Tooth

One of the many things on my wish-list is to realign my left tooth as well as to zoom whiten all my teeth. I have what people call a ‘vampire tooth’ jutting out on my left when I smile. Many people have told me that I look cute with that tooth but I prefer not to have that tooth jutting out, though it is not very conspicuous. I prefer to have a set of straight, white and sparkling teeth when I smile or laugh. It ain’t cheap to have these cosmetic services done to my teeth but if I have the extra moolah, I will find a good dentist, just like the San Diego Cosmetic Dentist to have my teeth transformed into a set of white, flawless and straight pearly whites!

No. of times viewed = 176

Her Cup Is Now Her Favorite Item

I mentioned that I will post about the item that can keep Baby C occupied most of the time, an item that she does not seem to get bored with…. YET… Today is the 4th day and Baby C is still very much besotted with her Tommy Tippee cup. Whenever I need to have my meals, I will put Baby C in her playpen and give her the cup and this can distract her for at least 15-20 minutes, during which time I have to quickly gobble down my food.

Baby C will then lick and play with her cup and make suction sounds when she places the cup over her mouth. It amuses her that her voice can be magnified when she places the cup over her mouth and she goes “wor wor wor…. aaarrrr aaaarrr aaarrrr…..” sooooo cute!

Hmmmm, just when will mummy bring me out from this cage that’s darn hot inside?

The other items that can keep her distracted are her diaper, tissue box, wet tissue box and just about anything that’s not meant for her. Looks like she’s just like her 2 cheh chehs. The forbidden apple always look so tempting eh?

No. of times viewed = 226

Baby C Wants New Toys All The Time!

I can hardly have my meals in peace since Baby C turned 3 months old as she wants to be carried ALL the time. My mistake…. I’ve carried her too much from the beginning. In fact, everyone in the family is spoiling her because no one can bear to hear her cry. The moment she fusses, she will be picked up. How to yan sum to hear her cry when she is so prone to getting UTIs and always has to endure so much pain right? Anyway, we’ve placed the playpen next to the dining table and during meal times, I will dump her inside the cage and she just hates it coz it’s hot inside, so hot that when she’s removed from the playpen, her head will be all sweaty, though the fan is turned to no. 3 speed.

One way of keeping her quiet inside the playpen is to give her new toys and new teething rings every few days. I have to constantly dig up Aly and Sher’s old toys from the storeroom until I’ve now run out of new old toys. So I asked daddy to get her a new teething ring, which daddy did last week.

Daddy got her a set of 2 teething rings – one water-filled, the other gel-filled snail shaped teething ring.

She was really excited when she first saw the teething ring and for a whole half an hour, she stayed inside her crib without making any noice but just chewed on the teething rings.

The new teething rings managed to keep her amused only for 2 days after which, she did not even want to touch them anymore 🙁

And so 2 days ago, I gave her something else to keep her occupied. Stay tuned to find out what I gave her. Today is the 3rd day and she’s still fascinated by this item.

No. of times viewed = 423

How Kids Can Make You Look Crazy

I say that coz today, I looked like a ‘soh poh’ (literally means crazy woman) when I wore my mil’s slippers to church LOL!!

As usual, we were rushing like mad to reach church on time. I was outside the door of our house and my 2 older gals were wearing their shoes. I was carrying Baby C and had taken my wedge platform shoes out from the shoe cabinet. I was about to wear them when I noticed Alycia, my pretty daughter with a tomboy sense of fashion wearing a pair of sports shoes with her pretty dress! Of course, I stopped her coz she looked so funny wearing sports shoes in a dainty, pretty dress. I asked her to wear a more matching pair of shoes but she refused. So I brought the shoes to the car and got inside the car…. without changing my own shoes…. and daddy drove off to church… o_O!

When I got down the car upon reaching the church, I felt something not quite right on my feet. I looked down and was shocked to see my mil’s Crocs slippers which looked oversized on my feet! OMG, I told my hubby and he said “so how, you want to attend church or not?” I said “of course, we’re already here!”

As I walked to the Sunday School class, I was hoping that no one would notice my legs and feet…. in the oversized worn out flip flops. I really looked like a soh poh… carrying a baby in my arms, wearing pretty clothes but with a pair of oversized flip flops with black dirt stains on them. I consoled myself that at least the flip flops is an original Crocs, not just pasar malam slippers wor. My maid and I were laughing at my own ridicule!

When we were in the Sunday School class, my maid offered to let me wear her sandals. The sandals, which still looked new belonged to my previous maid and she had forgotten to bring them back to Indon. Fortunately I had bought her a presentable pair of sandals. I took her offer and swapped shoes with my maid. It was after I swapped shoes with my maid that I had the courage to walk inside the church to attend service. You would laugh at me too if you saw me in the oversized flip flops…. but I had a good laugh!

So the moral of my story is :

1) Always look at what you are wearing before you step into the car. With your bunch of boisterous kids around, you can’t think straight and tend to forget many things sometimes.

2) Always buy your maid presentable shoes coz you never know when you will need to wear her shoes !

Here are some pix of Baby C playing with her cheh cheh’s new toy cars taken this week.

Alycia who is very fond of hugging her baby sister hugged her so tightly that…..

…baby fell on the gym mat and knocked her head. Thank God the gym mat is soft and she didn’t bawl. Notice Alycia’s expression here as she was shouting “Ooopsssss baby….”

No. of times viewed = 315

Alycia’s School Concert

Today is Alycia’s school concert and it’s the first time she ever participated in a school concert. They have been practising for almost a month and today’s finally her big day.

Parents were told to apply light make-up on the kids. Alycia hated it when I applied powder on her face and lipstick on her lips. She kept wiping the lipstick off.

After I had helped her put on the costume, I laughed at her coz she looked so cute and chubby in the sexy costume. But Alycia was crossed with me and said “don’t laugh, it’s not funny ok” lol!

Alycia practising the Mexican dance moments before she left for the concert hall. She danced and danced and jumped about so much that her face and head were all sweaty again, though I had just showered her. The make-up was also all gone. I think her teacher will touch up her make-up before the concert starts.

Daddy, mah mah and Sherilyn had just left the house to attend the concert. Sher would have to sit on daddy’s lap as tickets are limited. It’s a shame I am unable to attend her concert again. I just can’t wait for Baby C to grow up so that I can be more involved in Alycia and Sher’s extra-curricular activities.

My living room looks so horribly messy! What an eye sore lol!

No. of times viewed = 256

My 2 Earnest Helpers

My 2 older gals can be of great help to me when it comes to handling and minding Baby C, especially Alycia, who takes my requests seriously, most of the time. As for Sherilyn, she is always very playful. Sometimes she would ignore my requests and most times, she would create havoc rather than lend a helping hand. Today, she bounced the bouncinet so hard that Baby C was almost thrown off the bouncinet! However, sometimes the both of them can really make my day.

This afternoon, after Baby C had done her poopie business, I wiped the poop off her bum. I then asked Alycia, my regular helper to help me hold the water faucet in the bathroom whilst I washed Baby C’s bum. Today, Alycia quickly enlisted the help of Sher and asked her to bring the nappy…. which Sher happily did and waited with the nappy draped across her shoulder, outside the bathroom. After washing baby’s bum, I asked Alycia to wash baby’s hands and feet, which she did quite well. Then I asked Sher to wipe baby’s feet and hands, which she also did pretty well. With these 2 rascals helping me, the back-breaking chore of washing up baby’s bum can be quite a breeze…. though my back would still hurt as carrying a near 7kg weight with both hands and washing her bum simultaneously with my back bent can be very strenuous on my back. If only my 2 rascals could willingly and earnestly help me all the time, my back wouldn’t hurt so badly at the end of the day, everyday.

We brought Baby C to see the pediatric surgeon at SJMC today. Find out the outcome of our second consultation with the pediatric surgeon at my health blog.

No. of times viewed = 211

Really Warm-Blooded

Baby C’s body is always hot and she sweats really easily. When she was a newborn, I used to put on long-sleeved rompers for her at night but now, I have to let her wear short-sleeved t-shirts with holes and long pants with holes at night…. and she sleeps in an air-conditioned room with the temperature set to the lowest at 20 degrees Celsius! The ceiling fan also has to be switched on for at least a couple of hours to cool her body down before I switch it off each night. Even with such a low temperature in the room, she still sweats profusely, especially on her head as she has such thick hair. I wonder if there’s anything wrong with her body or is this condition caused by her kidney reflux. I don’t remember this happening to Alycia or Sherilyn when they were a baby. I’ve asked our doctor and she said there’s nothing to worry about as some babies have very high metabolic rate.

I guess Baby C takes after me as my body is also hot all the time. Anyone who touches my hands would be alarmed that they are really hot and would think that I am running a fever. When I was in Australia, I can even wear just a t-shirt under a sweater during winter without the need to turn on the Oliefyr or wear layers of thermal wear. I guess that’s just how my body is… I am just a very warm-blooded and warm person!

No. of times viewed = 175

Baby C Is 6 Months Old Today

How time flies, my baby is 6 months old today. Baby C is one very, very cheeky baby. She’s always very curious, alert and observant. When she’s brought to a place where she’s never been before, she will inspect the place with great intent with her eyes.

When it comes to nursing her, I have to nurse her in a quiet place with no distraction or noise, especially without her 2 older sisters around, else I would have to cover her eyes and ears with my hand so that she can’t see or hear her sisters talking or laughing, coz she never wants to be left out in all the fun …. definitely no TV turned on when nursing her, otherwise her head would turn towards the direction of the TV too.

No point putting the cot bumper on her crib coz cheeky baby would untie the strings and play with the bumper…