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New moms can lose weight faster by adopting a calorie-reduced regimen such as the HCG diet.
November 21st, 2007 | Babies, Diet, Personal | 1 Comment
One night when my baby Clarisse was 3 weeks old, she cried out hysterically loud and seemingly inconsolable. Her face went red, hands clenched and legs lifted up screaming on top of her lungs. Gasping for air in between outbursts. My mother and I were guessing it could be stomach pain. We massaged some oil on Clarisse’s tummy and tried to soothe her by walking around the room cradling her in our arms. We thought nothing of it. It might just be a bad dream or stomach ache.
3 weeks later, I recognise the same sort of cry again when Clarisse was around 6 weeks old. She started to cry hysterically around midnight and however I tried to soothe her, she just won’t stop crying. I was beginning to worry and contemplated taking her to the hospital thinking she might be in some sort of pain. I called my mom and told her about Clarisse’s crying. She suggested I rub some oil on Clarisse’s tummy and wrapped her with a towel. Then hold her in my arms in an upright position. That managed to stop her crying. And after several bouts walking around the room holding her tightly in my arms, wrapped warmly in a towel, her head leaning on my shoulder, Clarisse fell asleep. I was absolutely exhausted after her crying spell.
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November 20th, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding, Personal | 23 Comments
It was weird, my baby Clarisse just decided to stop drinking formula milk one particular afternoon when she’s around 6 weeks old. Before that, she would willingly consume a bottle of formula milk and breast milk but on that day, she started to cry and refused after drinking only 1/2 oz.
Initially, I thought nothing of it. Maybe she’s just being fussy. I kept trying to persuade her to drink her bottle of formula milk. She would drink a sip, turn her head away and start crying uncontrollably if I continue forcing the bottle at her. We tried everything but the kitchen sink, baby Clarisse just won’t give in. She just won’t drink her formula milk. I put the bottle of formula milk away. She seems perfectly alright when I breast feed her afterwards.
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November 19th, 2007 | Babies, Personal | 3 Comments
After a full one month stay at my mother’s house, it’s time to say goodbye and Clarisse and I went back to our house. I have to admit, I’m slightly spoilt having my mom take care of me and Clarisse, in particular. And I’m feeling a bit nervous about having to care for Clarisse all by myself. After all, it will be a new experience for me and there’s a lot to be learnt when handling a one-month old infant.
The first day started out fine. Then come night time. Clarisse just refused to sleep during the night. My husband and I tried whatever we could – hours of nursing on sore nipples, rocking her in aching arms, walking all about the room on tired feet, singing lullabies till our throats get sore – to make her sleep. Just when we thought she dozed off, we slowly put her down on her baby cot. Before we could catch our breath, Clarisse would either wake up immediately or startle herself awake in a matter of minutes. This went on for at least 5 times and I nearly fainted due to fatigue. Finally, we gave up trying to make her sleep in her own baby cot and let her sleep next to us on our bed instead. Thank god, she stopped crying and slept. The time was 4am.
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November 17th, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding, Personal | 2 Comments
Baby Clarisse was scheduled for a visit to a paediatrician 6 days after she was born. I was shocked to see Clarisse’s bilirubin level rising to 16. Jaundice with bilirubin level above 13 is considered high. On the day she was discharged from the hospital, Clarisse had a 9 on her bilirubin level and wasn’t considered to be suffering from jaundice.
I was adviced to admit her for phototherapy. She was stripped down to her diaper, except for an eye patch protecting her eyes, and placed under ultraviolet light therapy to speed up her body’s removal of bilirubin. The hospital’s phototherapy room is a small room houses several newborn cots with ultraviolet lamps. No parents or individuals are allowed to stay overnight. I was worried and sad as I couldn’t bear being away from her. Moreover, I wanted to breastfeed Clarisse as much as possible so I made several trips in a day to the hospital just for that. It was painful having to walk and move about during the first week after delivery but I had no choice. We’re grateful we live just 5 mins away from the hospital.
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November 16th, 2007 | Babies, Breast Feeding, Diet, Health, Personal | 3 Comments
After spending 4 days and 3 nights in the hospital, I went back to my mother’s house for my confinement period. Previously, she took care of my eldest sister’s newborns so Clarisse is the third grandchild she’ll be taking care of. I’m so grateful she agreed to take care of us because the first month is an extremely busy and taxing time for families with a newborn. She has to cook for the family, household chores and apart from breastfeeding, she took care of everything else for the baby – bathing, changing diapers etc. It was a learning experience for me. I learnt the ABC’s of baby care by watching my mother.
We had worries about me lacking in breast milk production. My intention from the start was to fully breast feed Clarisse but she would cry after every breastfeeding session. My mother and I worried that I might not produce enough breast milk to satisfy her hunger so we supplemented formula after breastfeeding her. She would sleep soundly after a bottle of formula.
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November 15th, 2007 | Babies, Health, Personal, Pregnancy | 1 Comment
It’s been decided long before giving birth to Clarisse that I will breastfeed her for at least one year. My eldest sister was a big influence in my decision. She told me that she can see the difference in general well-being between bottle-fed and breastfed children. Her daughter was breastfed for only for 2 months, whereas her son was breastfed for up to 2 years. She told me her daughter easily fall sick, unlike his son who appears to have a stronger immune system.
From what I heard so far, I really do believe breastmilk is the best milk for my baby. First of all, baby could consume colostrum from the mother’s milk produced during the first few days after giving birth. Colostrum is essential for newborns because it is high in carbohydrates, high in protein, high in antibodies, and low in fat. It is by far the most beneficial nutrition your baby could get.
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October 28th, 2007 | Babies, Health, Personal, Pregnancy | No comments
Things were looking up by the end of first trimester. My heartburn problem seems to be coming to an end after suffering for nearly two months.
Unlike my first trimester, I feel like eating again. In fact, my appetite was ravaging. The smell of food was so inviting. I was so looking forward to get through my pregnancy’s first trimester. Everyone says that the second trimester is the most enjoyable period for pregnant mothers. This is the time where your appetite is good and you can go anywhere you like because the size of your baby bump won’t be hindering your movements very much at all. Well, nothing prepared me for what I’m about to face … ITCHINESS!
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October 26th, 2007 | Babies, Cough, Health, Personal, Pregnancy | 1 Comment
I was worried when I caught the flu during the 3rd month of my pregnancy. I had mild fever, sore throat, cough and runny nose. I went to see my gynae but I did not mention about my cough as I do not wish to take cough syrup. Fearing it might affect my baby. I took some panadol to relieve my fever and lozenges for my sore throat. As for my cough, I was able to relieve it with a few effective natural remedies :
- Take 1 cup of honey, 3 tablespoon of lemon juice and mix them in a 1/4 cup of warm water. Take two teaspoons daily.
- Boil 3 cloves of garlic in a cup of water, then just drink the water when it’s still warm for twice a day.
For dry cough, try this natural home remedy instead of resorting to cough syrups:
- Almonds are useful for dry cough. It is also a good source of calcium to boot. Soak 5 to 8 kernels of almond in water. Leave it overnight. Remove the brown skin. Mix 20gms of butter and 20gms of sugar into the paste. Consume it morning and evening.
October 25th, 2007 | Babies, Personal, Pregnancy | 2 Comments
In my second and third month of pregnancy, I had terrible heartburn and as a result, I had no appetite to eat anything. What you’d feel when getting heartburn is a kind of burning sensation in the chest and throat with some sour and acidic taste in my mouth. This is due to some of the hormonal and physical changes in our body. Many women start experiencing heartburn and other gastrointestinal discomforts in the first trimester of pregnancy but in some cases, it could last until their baby is born.
Luckily, my heartburn went away on the fourth month of pregnancy. However, here are some of the steps I took in order to relieve heartburn :
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October 24th, 2007 | Babies, Personal, Pregnancy | No comments
It was last September, I woke up in the early morning and feeling a bit down cause my period was delayed for 5 days. I did not expect anything because my period is usually late and I have been doing pregnancy tests every month. But on that morning, I was so surprised to see my pregnancy test is positive. My hands were shivering and I quickly ran into the my room and woke my husband up.
My husband just gave me a smile and went back to sleep! Then I shouted at him saying “Hey Dear, it’s really positive!”. Then he said “We better go for a check up to make sure it’s not a false signal”. Later on that day, the doctor confirms I am pregnant! We could barely contain our joy.
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