July 11th, 2008 | Diet | 1 Comment
It’s been nearly 2 months now since the day I stopped breastfeeding my baby Clarisse. I think its now safe to say she has been successfully weaned.
We’ve made some changes to her diet. She’s eating a lot more solids these days. There’s three servings of a variety of porridge – lunchtime at 12pm, dinner at 6pm and finally a very small portion at 8pm just before bedtime. You might say she’s eating a lot of porridge but do bear in mind she is very reluctant to drink milk.
Click Here To Continue Reading
May 20th, 2008 | Diet, Health, Pregnancy | No comments
Sushi
Kind of unfair to single out sushi as the main cuisine to have raw meat and fish I admit. Sickness contracted from uncooked food can be especially harmful to pregnant women. Food poisoning can cause diarrhoea which reduces your body’s ability to absorb nutrient. On the other end, it can cause severe complications and lead to foetal abnormalities.
Cold cuts
Make sure to put pre-packed lunch meat in the microwave before eating them. Pre-packed lunch meat usually sold at supermarket deli counter are known to carry the risk of containing listeria. Listeria can survive despite being heated before you buy them.
Click Here To Continue Reading
April 3rd, 2008 | Breast Feeding, Diet, Health, Pregnancy | 6 Comments
Pregnant women demand adequate amount of the right vitamins and minerals before, during and after pregnancy. Consuming enough vitamins and following a nutritional diet is also very important to enable your body to keep up with the demands of breastfeeding. Below are some common types of vitamins likely to be prescribed to you by your doctor.
FOLIC ACID
Also referred to as folate, folic acid is one of the very first and widely prescribed supplement to pregnant woman. It is also given to women who intend to conceive and should be taken one month before conception until the end of first trimester of pregnancy. In fact, I was adviced to start taking folic acid when I wanted to start conceiving. A whole six months before I managed to conceive baby Clarisse.
Click Here To Continue Reading
January 24th, 2008 | Babies, Diet, Health | 4 Comments
Having gone through difficulties of bringing up a colicky baby, I’m always scouring for information and remedies to ease the symptoms of colic. I understand that doctors have yet to determine what exactly causes colic in babies so I accept the fact that a cure is still far from being discovered.
Recent studies show that giving your colicky infant Probiotics might help relieve colic symptoms as well as several related conditions such as lactose intolerance, necrotizing enterocolitis, and gastric inflammation.
Click Here To Continue Reading
January 11th, 2008 | Babies, Children, Diet, Health, Parenting | 175 Comments
G6PD deficiency and jaundice
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, one of the most common metabolic disorders afflicting newborns, requires special dietary care for both babies and their nursing mothers. Babies born with G6PD deficiency means their body lacks a specific enzyme, G6PD. Without G6PD enzyme, red blood cells have a shorter life spans when exposed to certain chemicals, usually found in food and drugs. Hence when red blood cells are destroyed (anaemic hemolysis) it will cause anaemia, resulting in dizziness, pale-skin, persistent tiredness, headache, tea-colored urine, abdominal or back pain.
Newborns are by nature born with excess amount of red blood cells. Their bodies will break down excess red blood cells and this process creates bilirubin, a waste product which their liver needs to dispose of. Often, their immature liver are taxed when excess bilirubin are required to be disposed from the body. This causes jaundice which is very normal in newborns. However, newborns with G6PD deficiency, with more than normal excess of bilirubin needed to be extracted from the body, taxes the already overloaded liver even more. As a result, they often experience higher and prolonged levels of jaundice than normal newborns.
How do you care for babies with G6PD deficiency?
Click Here To Continue Reading
January 4th, 2008 | Babies, Diet, Health, Personal | 2 Comments
I started my baby on solid food when she was 4 months 3 weeks old. Up until recently, her solid diet is solely pureed rice. Just plain white rice, to be specific.
Consumption of brown rice seems to be on the increase among my friends and family. Yesterday I read an article and some forum discussions that brown rice is highly nutritious as it is not processed and stripped of it’s natural goodness.
I’ve been eager to introduce brown rice to baby Clarisse’s diet so yesterday, I bought a packet of organic brown rice
under the brand of Radiant Whole Food for her. According to the label, this organic brown rice is not polished and most nutrients are intact. It also very digestable and good source of protein, vitamins and minerals. I don’t know how true is it, but I will try it out for a week.
Click Here To Continue Reading
December 5th, 2007 | Babies, Diet, Personal | 3 Comments
My baby’s first taste of solid food is nothing more than just plain good ol’ rice. All mashed and pureed at it’s finest. Baby Clarisse got her first experience of solids when I decided to start her off when she was 4 months and 3 weeks old.
My mother whipped up some pureed rice out of the blue one particular afternoon and tried to feed it to baby Clarisse. Surprisingly, baby Clarisse really enjoyed the meal and ate all of it. Albeit it was only a tiny serving of rice puree but I was pleased she did not spit it out. Babies who aren’t ready for solids tend to push them out with their tougue.
Click Here To Continue Reading
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.
Click Here To Continue Reading
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.
Click Here To Continue Reading
November 4th, 2007 | Diet, Health, Personal, Pregnancy | 1 Comment
Bird’s nest is highly regarded as a miracle supplement which promotes general well being, moisturize the skin, maintain beauty, relieve fatigue and enhance the metabolism of fat. Naturally, I was told numerous times by caring family members and friends to consume bird’s nest during pregnancy.
It should be obvious by now I suffered skin ailments throughout my pregnancy. Chinese physicians and medicine practitioners recommended bird’s nest to improve my skin condition and overall health. I’m delighted to hear that not only is it good for the mother, my baby’s general well-being and complexion would also benefit from bird’s nest I consume. Well, I have always been wary of what I eat when pregnant but I’ve heared enough good things about bird’s nest to go out to get some and try it for myself.
Click Here To Continue Reading
