Due to my baby Clarisse’s constant demand for breastmilk, I have never left her to be cared by someone else throughout her first 10 months. Even during the day, baby Clarisse needs to be nursed to sleep. I bring her along wherever I go.
Now that she’ll be turning one next month, I’m glad to be able to devote all my time and energy to care for her throughout her entire first year but this has to stop somehow. I have decided it’s time for me to get a job and return to the workforce.
Before seriously looking for jobs, there are a few things I need to take care of. First, I have to wean baby Clarisse from breastfeeding. Secondly, my mother has agreed to take care of baby Clarisse and we have to make sure baby Clarisse get used to spending long hours at her grandma’s house gradually.
Some things just make sense. Take for instance, baby nail clippers from Baby Light & Clip. It addresses the problem of clipping your infant’s nails in dim lighting. Even with the lights on, it is barely enough brightness when your face is a few inches away from your baby’s finger. So the novelty of Baby Light & Clip is to put the light in the nail clipper itself to illuminate your baby’s fingertip while you trim away her nails. Simply brilliant, functional and practical.
Most moms tend to prefer clipping when their babies are asleep. I used to do it that way with my baby Clarisse. She tends to move about and can’t stay still when she’s awake. I can’t keep her fingers steady for more than a few seconds. So I had to trim her nails at night. It’s a hassle holding a small torchlight, nail clipper and her fingers at the same time.
Travelling with a baby tagging along is always a challenge. More so when it’s the first trip for you and your baby.
With a little careful planning, even air travel can be organised into a manageable logistical mess. The word is manageable at the very best because frankly, you’d never know what to expect.
Before embarking on your overseas trip, have your baby checked for vaccinations that might be needed in the country you’re visiting, particularly third world and developing countries. A visit to the doctor a few weeks beforehand is advised as some vaccinations require separate doses over several weeks.
Baby Clarisse is definitely a late toother. She’s now 10 months old and her first pearly white has yet to erupt. The symptoms and signs of her teething is pretty obvious now. And I can see two small whitish bumps on the bottom part of her gums. Could it be anytime now?
Drooling, oh my gawd, she’s drooling much more than I had expected. Baby Clarisse has always been drooling a lot but the past few weeks were simply terrible. She had to wear a bib at all times or else her shirt would be all wet with her saliva within 15 minutes. And I guess it’s true that one of the symptoms of teething is mildly choking on her own saliva. Sometimes baby Clarisse would choke a little during her sleep and wake up with a cough or two.
About two or three weeks ago, my baby Clarisse showed me she was capable and strong enough to grab hold of my hand and pull herself up to standing position. And a week later, she could even release one hand and balance herself with just one hand holding onto mine. That’s when I thought I should help her stand up independently.
Is your baby ready to stand?
Eventhough the signs are obvious that she’s ready to stand up, I’m still having doubts. At 8 months plus, are her legs and bones strong enough to support her weight? Is she ready to stand up at 8 and a half months?
From the day baby Clarisse discovered she could stand, which is around 5 months, my mom often warned me not to place her in a standing position for too long. This is to prevent any stress to her soft and immature bones which could lead to risks of getting bow-legged and spinal problems. On the other hand, there are disputes saying that it’s totally not true that a baby who stands early in age will risk getting bow-legged later. These are people who believes that if your baby initiates and willingly stands up, she’s ready to stand irrespective of how old she is. As simple as that.
Baby Clarisse had problems with constipation last week. Her stool was very hard and dry she cried when passing motion. There are two things which led to this I suspect. First of all, since I’m breastfeeding her, it could be that I’ve been avoiding fruits and vegetables when I had a cough last week. That could’ve caused my breastmilk to contain less fibre. Secondly, two days before baby Clarisse’s had constipation, I switched from Bellamy’s Oats Cereal to another brand. For several months, I’ve fed her Bellamy’s Oats Cereal every morning. So I quickly bought a box of Bellamy’s Oats Cereal and fed her in the evening. The next morning, her stool was back to normal.
Having seen the immediate effect of lack of fibre, I’ve got to make sure she gets her daily dose of fibre to promote healthy bowel movements.
Today, my baby Clarisse managed to hold my hands and pull herself up to a standing position. Like always, having discovered a new physical prowess, she gets very excited to try it out and she certainly did countless of times tonight. Of course I’m happy with that but when she kept doing it during bedtime, I wish she’d stop and resume practising it tomorrow morning. I had to pin her down several times just to make her sleep tonight. But I hand it to her for being so determined and anxious to stand up.
For the past few days, feeding my baby Clarisse turned into such an ordeal. Not that feeding sessions in the past is smooth sailing but lately, with all her might, she would twist, turn, yank, mouth tightly shut, blocking the spoon with her tougue and scream her lungs out with every spoonful of oats cereal. On a good day, it would normally take just 15-20 mins for me to feed her. But now, it’s taking longer than 45 mins. Talk about taking my levels of patience and tolerance to the limit.
Three weeks ago, some rashes started to show on my baby Clarisse’s cheeks and around the mouth. I took her to see her paediatrician. She told me it is milk rash and prescribed a mild steroid cream hydrocortisone for baby Clarisse. However, I declined the prescription as I do not wish to apply anything that has steroids on her skin especially near her mouth. Wouldn’t want her accidently swallow some steroids, no matter how miniscule the amount. Therefore, we went home without any prescription medicine.
A few days earlier, my neighbour suggested Hazeline snow (the original one). She applied it to her baby’s face milk rash and found it to be an effective remedy. I don’t know how effective is it because I haven’t try it out.
What I did try is this. It’s an advice from a good friend of mine. I regularly wiped my baby’s face with chinese tea and within days, my baby’s milk rash/salive rash subsided. Much better than using steroids if you ask me.
I’d brew a cup of chinese tea every moring and use it to wipe her face after feeding session or when there’s saliva around her mouth. It might take several days for the rashes to fade away.
For new mothers who breastfeed their babies, here is a video clip giving out some tips on breastfeeding by 2 expects. I found it quite useful for beginner mothers who wish to give their babies a healthy start in life through breastfeeding.
