November 29th, 2007 | Babies, Personal, Pregnancy | 3 Comments
Label me superstitious but when it comes to pregnancy, I found myself being extra wary of supertitions and taboos even after baby Clarisse was born. Lots of people say I’m old fashioned, that these old-wives tales are bogus and cause you unnecessary worries. So why bother!
I hate to say this but speaking from personal experience, minor plumbing work was carried out to repair a leaking tap a day before my premature labour symptoms were felt. I had a miscarriage two days later.
There’s never going to be scientific proof for superstitions and taboos, but for the sake of my baby, I would rather adhere by it than be sorry later. Your mileage may vary.
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November 27th, 2007 | Personal | No comments
Been away from my blog a few days, you might’ve noticed. My sisters, all 3 of them, came back from outstation with my niece and nephew tagging along. Baby Clarisse and I went back to my parent’s house and stayed for 3 nights. I was so happy to see them as the last time I saw them was when I was being wheeled out of the labor room. That was exactly 6 months ago. They came back when I give birth to Clarisse.
I was suprised to see how much my niece and nephew, aged 6 and 4, had grown in such a short time. They look so different compared to the last time I saw them. It’s always great to spend some quality time with the entire family.
I was afraid baby Clarisse might cry when all my sisters enter the house. When she see strangers, she would cry but luckily most of the time, she’ll react fine to strangers. Clarisse got along well with my sisters except the youngest one. Funny, she just couldn’t get along well with my youngest sister even after 4 days. She will start cry whenever my sister go near her. Anyone experienced such a thing? On the other hand, Clarisse absolutely adores her 6-year-old cousin sister.
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 | 9 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 | 2 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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November 13th, 2007 | Personal, Pregnancy | 1 Comment
Friday 9pm
I checked into the hospital delivery ward on a Friday night for my induced labour. Shortly after admission, my OB arrives and inserts a pessary containing prostaglandin into my vagina to ripen the cervix and hopefully stimulates enough contractions to jump-start my labor. After that, I was asked to stay in the delivery ward and get some sleep. If all goes well, I could be ready to deliver the next day.
Saturday 1am
My husband left the hospital at 1am. I couldn’t doze off no matter how I tried. After a few hours tossing about on my bed, I began to feel slight contraction pains at around 4am and from then on, all I could do is lie down and rest my eyes. There’s no way I could sleep with the pain being a constant bother. It’s during times like these I wish I could fast-forward the clock. Anyway, it was a really long, boring and uncomfortable night.
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November 10th, 2007 | Personal, Pregnancy | 1 Comment
During an appointment with my OB on my 36th week of pregnancy, I was adviced to opt for an induced labour sometime around the 38th week of my pregnancy. Due to my previous miscarriage, he told me my baby appears to be doing well and her head is engaged, it would be better for me to go for an induced labour. But I did not decide immediately.
I went for my 37th week check up after a week, my OB told me that my baby was in good condition but traces of varginal fungal infection remains. He precribed another type of varginal tablets, a 7-day treatment to completely get rid of the infection before labour.
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