October 15th, 2009 | Health, Personal | No comments
Yesterday was one of those days where it starts out with everything going wrong. My husband woke up with a fever. Clarisse woke up with a slight runny nose. The government nurse who came to check on baby Edward in the morning said his jaundice level is fairly noticeable and suggested I go to the government clinic to have it checked. So I knew I was in for a difficult day. To make things worst, the ol’ window-unit air-conditioner in my bedroom broke down for good this time. I had to schedule for a new unit to be installed.
First thing in the morning, we took baby Edward to have his jaundice checked at the government clinic. Good thing the clinic is barely 5 mins drive from our house. Baby Edward jaundice level was 9.9 and the nurse said he need not be admitted.
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March 5th, 2009 | Health | No comments
In most cases, chicken pox is relatively harmless. It tends to give a deceptive perception where one would often think vaccination or treatment is not necessary. Chickenpox vaccination is available to children from age of one.
How does one get infected with chicken pox?
Chicken pox is caused by a highly contagious virus known as varicella-zoster. It spread easily through droplets from an infected individual when he or she sneezes. You may not realise you have caught the chicken pox virus until two to three weeks later. Chicken pox virus requires 10 to 21 days incubation period after exposure.
Even before the rashes start to appear, an infected individual can spread the virus to surrounding people two days before chicken pox rashes are seen developing.
An infected invidual who appears to have recovered from chickenpox recently may still be infectious until all the scabs resulting from dried up fluid filled vesicles are completely dried.
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February 12th, 2009 | Children, Health, Parenting | No comments
It is crucial to let a child learn how he or she should eat healthy and that usually means staying away from McDonalds, KFC or Burger King.
These days, fast food is a big part of modern life. It might seem to be a losing battle as fast food joints come up with all sorts of gimmicks and marketing ploys to attract our kid’s attention. Even baby Clarisse, now twenty months old, recognises the golden arches and associate McDonalds as a fun place. She’d make a fuss while pointing her finger whenever we drive by a McDonald outlet. If you let your child the alternative between healthy food and junk food, you usually will not like the answer. As parents we have to stick to guns and hopefully our kids adopt a healthy eating lifestyle.
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February 10th, 2009 | Children, Health, Parenting | 2 Comments
A few months ago, Clarisse picked up a very annoying habit. Grinding her teeth. It annoyed us to no end because the more we asked her to stop doing it, the more she’d do it.
It may simply be her sudden discovery of a new physical sensation by grinding her teeth. I have even asked the paeditrician why Clarisse is doing it and would it be advisable to bring her to a dentist. According to her experience, dentists have yet to determine what cause toddlers to grind their teeth. At least the mental and emotional side of it. But I was also told that teeth grinding, as horrible as it can sound, would never be severe enough to cause much worry. Baby teeth are only meant to last for a span of few years so long lasting problems are negligible. Even so, it would take much more severe grinding to wear out their teeth.
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November 15th, 2008 | Health, Personal | No comments
Nothing disgust me more when guests poke their chopsticks or spoon into dishes. It is a very common scene at chinese dinners I attend where everyone doesn’t give a s**t about hygiene and just grab food using their own utensils. Even when a spoon is provided and placed on the dish for everyone to use. I hate to say this but I notice patrons of the older generation are usually guilty of this unhygienic practise. I may be wrong but younger diners seem to be more aware of healthy table manners.
Either way, it doesn’t matter. I have yet to been to a dinner where someone doesn’t poke their utensils into the dish. As a result, I always strive to be the first off the block when the dishes arrive on the table. I would dash forward to grab a portion before everyone else stick their chopsticks into the dish. It’s ugly I know but far less disgusting than eating from a dish where there’s bits of their saliva from everyone at the table.
November 11th, 2008 | Children, Health | No comments
Once your toddler starts to teething, its time for parents to learn how to take care of their teeth. Although the first set of your baby’s teeth won’t last a lifetime, the next six to ten years of your toddler’s growth is still a fairly long time to practise good dental care and hygiene.
Start your child off to good dental health practise. Cultivate the habit of good daily dental care and to ensure it lasts a lifetime. Therefore, it is never too early to get your toddler into habit of brushing their teeth regularly each day.
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August 21st, 2008 | Health, Personal | No comments
The chances of my father-in-law reading my blog is non-existant so I’m going to rant to my heart’s content.
This morning we went for Dim Sum with my in-laws in an open air restaurant. When I arrive, my father-in-law walked toward us and wanted to amuse baby Clarisse. Seeing him with a ciggarette in hand, I just walked pass him (I know I’m a bit rude but I have no choice) without a care. Its situations like these when I’d rather hurt his feelings than baby Clarisse’s health.
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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.
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April 19th, 2008 | Health, Pregnancy | 3 Comments
Pregnant and suffering from bowel irregularity? Tell me about it. It’s a fairly common condition that many women face during pregnancy.
When you’re pregnant, your hormones relaxes your bowel muscles. Slowing down your bowel muscles also hampers intestinal movements. Hence, limiting your muscles’ ability to push food and waste down your intestines.
Here are some tips to keep your bowel movement moving along:
- Fluids, and lots of them. Drink more water regularly.
- Keep your feet up in an elevated position whenever possible. Preferrably when you’re lying down because sitting down too much is unadvisable.
- Supplement your daily cup of hot cereal with a dash of molasses or grounded flaxseed. Adding them to hot drinks if much preferrable to drinking it straight with a warm cup of plain water.
- Being pregnant doesn’t mean you are banned from exercising. Regular, gentle exercise like walking, swimming, stationary cycling, yog a or pilates (watched by a professional trainer of course) improves bowel stimulation. You’ll find your body able to digest food better. Kegels (floor exercises for pelvic) also benefit bowel movements by improving blood flow to the bowel area.
- Go whenever you feel the urge to pass motion. Don’t wait or you’ll risk having your stool become dry and hard.
- Certain fruits and nuts contain natural laxatives. Go with olive oil, watercress, soybeans, apricots, almonds, mangos and perhaps best of all: prunes.
April 11th, 2008 | Babies, Children, Health, Parenting | No comments
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.
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