Curry and me

I've fallen ill.

stomach flu, doc said.
vomited more than 5 times since about 6pm after I woke up from my nap yesterday.
Have since stopped at 8:30pm after taking anti-vomiting medicine.

but please continue to pray for me to be able to eat and keep the food in today.

actually I had frequent bowel movements (3x poo per day) for two days before yesterday but my parents didn't think much of it (cos it happens sometimes).

~ photo taken from mygreenspace.nparks.gov.sg ~
They even brought me Mushroom Cafe at MacRitchie Reservoir to celebrate Deepavali

~ photo taken from www.bighooha.sg ~
with curry.
Look at the bread.
It's so big and it was toasted so I was really tempted.
then my papa dipped it in the curry and gave it to me.
I asked for more!
and had 3 servings of curry-dipped bread.

~ photo taken at mushroom cafe ~

after this episode, think my mummy won't allow me to eat curry anymore.
sigh!
I love curry!
and laksa too!
(though my papa insisted that it was not the curry's fault)

Healthy Snack: Cheerios

if you like the photo of us below, please vote for it at
http://apps.facebook.com/life-from-all-angles/photo-contest/view-photo/photo_id/44/appmodule_id/1
~photo taken in April 2011 when I was 10 months old~
We love Cheerios!

Why Mummy loves Cheerios too:
1. Made from whole grain oats,
2. has no artificial colors or flavors
3. have only one gram of sugar.
4. low in fat, have no saturated fat and are naturally cholesterol free.
5. an excellent source of folic acid
6. a good source of fiber.
7. trains babies' fine motor skills.

Cheerios are so much healthier compared to

image taken from www.fairprice.com.sg

Gerber's Graduates Puffs.

If you compare the nutritional facts of Gerber's Graduates Puffs to those of Cheerios,
you'll know that the Graduates Puffs are just junk.


These
Happy Baby Organic Puffs
are more comparable to Cheerios.
These puffs do not contain Magnesium unlike Cheerios though,
and Cheerios are much higher in iron.
S$8.90 per bottle of 2.1 0z.

So, Cheerios are still the best for babies.
They're much cheaper too.
S$10.95/BOX of 14 OZ

Pss... Cheerios are also great for toddler (me now at 16 months), pre-schoolers (my korkor), children and even adults (my mummy eats them with milk and cranberries)!
Papa, u should eat this too. soluble fiber from whole grain oats in Cheerios can help lower cholesterol.

but Don't give baby other flavoured Cheerios as they may contain more sugar,
even this

Multi-Grain Cheerios
contains 6g of sugar compared to the original's 1g.

Cheerios are available at all Cold Storage and NTUC Fairprice Finest.

Row Row Row

Guess what are we doing?

Row! Row! Row!
We're rowing boats.
My idea at 15 months 1 week.
Am glad my korkor plays along with me.

"Row Row Row your boat" is my favorite song now and I can sing say "row row row"!

Usually, Mummy lies on the bed and sits me on her tummy then holds my hands while pulling them forward and back as she sings "Row row row your boat".

Check out the crocodile's version if you don't know it yet.

self-feeding with spoon

Me feeding myself with a spoon at 14.5months.
Sorry, don't know why can't upload the video.

Mummy breathed a sign of relief when I finally managed to feed myself with a spoon.
She had hoped that I will be able to feed myself before I turn 18 months cos she's worried that my new school will not actively train me to self-feed.

Anyway, here's what you need to make baby self-feed less messy.

1. bib with catch-all pocket/ tray.
I'm wearing a Bumkins Superbib, available at Mothers Work Baby & Kids, Tanglin Mall Level 3.

My korkor used Sassy EZ-Clean Pocketed Bib and Crumb Catcher Feeding Bib.
(click to see my korkor feed himself at 17months)
These were great too but they comes with cloth binding while the Bumbins bibs are full nylon so it dries faster.

2. Bowl with suction base
(keeps the bowl on the table and from moving about)
Mine's from Sassy - comes with lid so we can bring the bowl out.

3. Newspaper
to cover the floor below baby's high chair so you can just wrap up the messy after the meal.

Babies, have fun feeding yourselves!

13 months old

Sorry! Have been neglecting my blog.
So here's a summary of my milestones:

Physical:

before I was 7 months old, I could already stand up by grabbing onto something.
Hence, My parents thought I would be able to walk before I turn one but I have other things on my mind.

can't remember when I started to cruise but this photo was taken when I was cruising at 10 months old.

and I finally started to walk on my own at 12.5 months.

This was my 1st birthday celebration at my Grandaunt's place.
The cake was decorated by my korkor and mummy.

by then, I can wave hi, goodbye and clap.


cognitive:

at one year old, I also started to appreciate books more and can be left alone to "read".


I love music and can follow instructions at music class such as "stop", "drum on the floor", etc.


Speech:

by 13 months, besides "papa" and "mama",
I can say "up", "star", "no", "hi", "bye", "来", "mum-mum" (means food), "nai-nai" (means milk) and the latest - "Hann!"

yup! the inspiration for this post is because my family is very proud of me for being able to say my korkor's name at 13 months old.
We absolutely adore each other!

Hann is a wonderful brother who takes care of me when my parents are busy.

Mothercare Infant Massage Workshop

Infant Massage Workshop
20 July 2011, Wed
11am; 2pm; 4pm

Click to register.

Brave Kids

July 02nd, 2011
10:00 AM - 07:00 PM
VivoCity, Central Court B

organised by NESTLÉ® NAN® Pro 3, Brave Kids is a day of celebration for children’s achievements which will take place at Vivo City, Central Court B on 2 July, 2011.

Featuring lots of uniquely designed activities to challenge, stimulate, and excite toddlers – from event partners, Baby Jumper Gym, My Gym, Tumble Tots, and Mother Care.

The Fimbles mascots from the award-winning and highly popular CBeebies children’s programme, produced by BBC UK, will also be making a special appearance at the event.

An important aspect in the development of a strong child is good nutrition plus the bond shared with him by his parent. Mrs. Wong Boh Boi, Senior ParentCraft Manager at Thomson Medical Centre, presents a talk “Nutrition & Bonding with your Child” at 12pm. Parents will get to know proper nutrition as well as effective ways of communicating with their toddlers.

Ten toddlers will also be especially selected to join the prestigious NESTLÉ® NAN® Pro 3 Circle of 10 Brave Toddlers.

Promotion:
Bring an empty tin or proof of purchase of any growing up milk (for children 1 to 3 years) and get a Free NAN® Pro 3 (900g) tin. (Limited to 1 tin per child per household, while stocks last. NAN® Pro 3 Premium Junior follow-up formula is suitable for babies from 10 months onwards. Redemption is only applicable to parents with children above 10 months of age. It is not applicable to pregnant mothers and parents with children between 0-6 months of age. Terms and conditions apply.)

Program Highlights:

10:30-11:30AM Morning Exercise with Fimbles mascots from CBeebies

5:30PM Family Dancing with the CBeebies mascots

12 Noon “Nutrition & Bonding with your Child” Talk and Activity by Thomson Medical Centre

10AM-6PM Fun games

Korkor and I wanta try out these YBIKEs from Mothercare!

and yes, I have started on Formula milk and is on NAN HA since 9months old.
still being breastfed though.

For Sale: Bumbo Seat and CO-Sleeper *sold

I have sold the following preloved items for Sale

1. Bumbo seat (aqua) with box
Condition: 7/10
Some scratches. See Photos.
S$30

my papa's testimony on the bumbo:
"After I put my son (i.e. Jade's korkor) in this seat for one day, the next day my son was able to sit by himself! I don't know if it is coincidental or not."

2. First Few Years Baby Close & Secure Sleeper
Condition: 8/10
Working Night-light
stains on back of mattress cover (see photos)
but you can use any pillow case cover for the mattress instead
S$20
For more pictures and description, see
http://www.walmart.com/ip/The-First-Years-Close-and-Secure-Sleeper/3205748

for both items,
self-collect at Bishan.
other venues can be arranged: AMK, TPY, Jurong (weekday lunchtime).

viewing at Bishan only

mail to ariellyp-at-yahoo.com
if interested.

Just for laughs

轻松一下！

Tahini vs Black Sesame Paste

Have you heard of Tahini?

My Mummy hasn't, until she read the Super Baby Food book.

Tahini is a paste made from grinding sesame seeds just as peanut butter is made from grounded peanuts. It is a spread so it's super easy to add into baby's food.
Tahini is super healthy because it is high in calcium, protein, and healthy fats baby need for proper development (e.g. brain development).

Chinese also believe that black sesame seeds are great for hair growth.

Not only are sesame seeds a very good source of manganese and copper, but they are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc and dietary fiber. In addition to these important nutrients, sesame seeds contain two unique substances: sesamin and sesamolin. Both ... have a cholesterol-lowering effect in humans, and to prevent high blood pressure and increase vitamin E supplies in animals. Sesamin has also been found to protect the liver from oxidative damage.
~ taken from WHFoods.com. Click to read more about what these minerals do for the body.

So Mummy went in search of Tahini and found only one brand in the supermarkets - Melrose.

image taken from www.originshealth.com.sg

Mummy didn't buy Melrose Tahini cos it says on the label, "may contain traces of peanut".
She decided to look for other brands and happen to find this

Healthy Mate's Organic Black Sesame Paste
in an organic shop at HarbourFront Centre -
Taste Original (Organic Food).

It says "suitable for diabetic" so Mummy thought it must be less sweet than Tahini.
(somehow, Mummy thinks Peanut Butter is not very healthy so she's not convinced that Tahini is any better)

Click on image to see the Nutrition Facts if you are interested.

Review - this "suitable for diabetic" black sesame paste has a little bit of bitter taste so add just a little bit (tip of a teaspoon) to baby's meal less baby doesn't like the bitter taste.
now we wonder if tahini will be sweet. haha.

Tip: use a dry spoon to scoop from the jar.

more about my name 雯汐

Jade's Mummy's prayer for Jade 雯汐

May you be like the beautiful clouds 雯 that are always in fellowship with the Sun (God)
and like the tide 汐 that brings the gospel to every shore.

In Jesus' name we pray, Amen!

Jade at the Armenian Church Open House 12 March 2011

Baby Care Festival @ Singapore Expo

BabyCare Festival 2011

Date: 18-20 March 2011
Time: 11am to 9pm (18 & 19 March 2011) & 11am to 8pm (20 March 2011).
Venue: Booth D13, Singapore Expo, 1 Expo Drive, #01-01, Singapore 486150

click on picture to see details of events.

Merchants include Nestle, Learningtech, LittleToez.

Mothercare Baby Fair @ HarbourFront

3 - 13 March 2011

click on image to enlarge

click for the flyer and some items on sale.

4Es for successful breastfeeding

not Jade but Jade's Mummy said...

Originally published on Hann's blog in 2007 as "the 3Es for Successful Breastfeeding" (in black).

I'll now add on a 4th E and other stuff (in blue).

For an "easier time" and for breastmilk to come in as quickly as possible, remember the 3Es:

1. breastfeed as Early as possible.

best is to latch baby the moment he is born.
tell your doctor before THE day that you want to breastfeed your baby as soon as he is delivered. Remind your doctor again during labour or ask your husband to remind doc.

well... if it's not possible, as soon as you can, ok?
or pump 1st if baby's kept from you.
don't worry that if you were to pump, baby won't have milk to drink later because your body will produce milk again soon if you keep the demand up!

2. breastfeed Everytime baby wants.

Resist the temptation to give baby FM cos it will disturb the establishment of your supply.
"Nurse at the first signs of hunger (stirring, rooting, hands in mouth)--don't wait until baby is crying. Allow baby unlimited time at the breast when sucking actively, then offer the second breast. Some newborns are excessively sleepy at first--wake baby to nurse if 2 hours (during the day) or 4 hours (at night) have passed without nursing." ~ taken from Kellymom.com

Bear in mind that supply = demand.
the more you feed baby / pump, the more milk you will have.

Used to advocate dont't give FM at all and used to believe that all will have abundant milk if only they dont' give baby FM but give breast everytime baby wants milk.

but I started to change my thinking when I learnt that a friend of mine's milk came only in 2nd week. Meanwhile, she gave baby FM and pumped cos she doesn't want to stress herself.
Imagine if my friend had not persisted, and gave up after two days of no milk. but you'll have to keep latching and pumping. cannot think the milk will come if you do nothing. You must work hard for milk to come.

preferrably you shouldn't give baby any FM so that baby will demand for breast milk and suckle more.
for the 1st few days, it's enough just to give baby colostrum but I suppose, like what my friend said, no point stressing yourself. if baby's hungry, just give FM 1st. but please remember to pump.


3. breastfeed Efficiently.

Make sure you latch baby correctly and that you are sitted or laying down comfortably. Your back should be supported when you are breastfeeding.
Get the nurses to supervise you everytime you wanta latch baby so that you are sure you get it right. It's not a time to be shy about your body. When you are discharged, nobody can help you.

4. Expect to breastfeed.

Do you really want to breastfeed?
If you really want to breastfeed, you should expect yourself to breastfeed, rain or shine, pain or not.
Some mothers have this mentality - I'll breastfeed if I have milk.
I tell you, more likely than not, these mummies won't have milk because they just wait for milk to come and didn't work for it.
you'll never have milk if you just wait for it to come.
You'll have to latch, if not pump often.

Feed like you have milk / pump like you have milk.

oh. and when you 1st pump, the milk will be very little, so don't be discouraged.

Have a 假想敌 (an imagined opponent),
someone who breastfeeds and is your rival in someway - ex-boyfriend's wife, husband's ex-girlfriend, rival at work, ex-classmate who always fight for the 1st-position with you, any1 you will not want to lose to.
and tell yourself, "if she can do it, so can I!"

Jade's food before 8 months old

Realised that I've been slacking in recording my food adventures.

So far, Mummy tries to introduce food to me as recommended by the Super Baby Food book though my Teacher doesn't.
Mummy bought the Super Baby Food for her but think she's not reading it.

Click image to enlarge.

Those with ticks are the ones I've tried.
Mummy marked a cross next to "yogurt" cos I developed rashes after eating yogurt!
so no yogurt for me until 1 year old perhaps.

Teacher also gives me fish, pork and chicken. Think from 7months onwards.

Baby Singapore 2011 Contest

This is not just a Kaki Bukit Constituency contest but at various constituencies where
1st prize winners at the constituency baby shows for the “Most Photogenic Family” and “Happiest Parent & Baby” categories will vie for the national top spot during the Baby Singapore 2011 Finale.

the prizes at national level are
(for each category)
1st Prize $600 cash
2nd Prize $300 cash
3rd Prize $150 cash
All winners will receive 1 year free subscription of Young Parents Magazine and be featured in a Baby Singapore 2012 calendar.

oh well... my parents probably think it's not worth their time and effort.
unless we manage to get a funny video of me and win the video category (like my korkor did when he was a baby)

Medical Specialists Directory in Singapore

Mummy recently found this
http://www.bookmyclinic.com/

while trying to help a friend find
a pediatrician near her place.

other specialist clinics are listed there too!

Welcome the Year of Rabbit with teeth!

兔年快樂!!

Heehee!
I've got teeth for Chinese New Year.

my 1st tooth made its appearance two or three days ago
when I'm 7 months 3 weeks old.

young percussionist

7 months 3 weeks old

Mummy taught me how to play cymbals bang two toy cups together.

to her surprise, I did it!
She was so not expecting me to be able to bang the cups together
(considered an advanced skill for 7-month old on BabyCentre's Milestone chart).

the next day, she gave me clappers/ click clackers and I "clapped" them together while Mummy sings my favourite song from korkor's Yamaha Junior Music Class - The Little Drummer Cat.

You can get these clappers / click clackers from
ELC and party shops like SPK.
Mine are free from some events.

Mummy thinks I can start going for music classes!
but papa think Mummy has too much $$.


If you are thinking of sending your baby to music classes, here are some which offer music class for young babies:

my korkor had attended -
Kindermusik - from newborn
Seimpi School of Music - from 4 months

not tried before -
Staccato! - from 6 months
Bloom - from newborn
Magic Fiddler - from newborn

crawl

21st Jan 2011
7.5 months old

pardon me for showing my backside and for the low quality photos.
Mummy was too eager too capture my 1st crawling moments and there were no other cameras available except for her very laoyah camera phone.

Yup. I can crawl on my fours now.
a little bit slowly compared to moving on tummy though.

btw, thanx to Yi-Po, Gugu and YeePak for getting this set of Christmas Thomas wooden railway for my korkor.
I love it too!
and yes, my korkor shares it with me
though he has a hard time keeping me from eating the trains and railway tracks.

mei 妹

My word of the day is "mei".

went out for lunch with my mummy's cousin and future cousin-in-law.
when the lady asked my mummy what's my name and how to call me, Mummy said, "meimei" and started asking me to say the word "mei".

and I did.
ha.
You should have seen the surprised look on Mummy's face.

mmmmma mmmmmpa

19 Jan 2011
7 months 10 days old

This evening, I surprised my parents by calling them -
mmm-ma
mmm-pa
mama
papa

Mummy wonders why I have to say "mmmm" 1st before saying "pa" cos "pa" doesn't start with the "m" sound.
Papa thinks it's because I use "mmm" to start off saying words.

Actually I start saying "mmm-ma" a few days ago but my parents weren't sure if I was really speaking or just making sound.

There was once I woke up in the morning and wanted to drink milk.
Mummy wanted me to crawl (actually more like wriggle) across the bed to her and I cried out, "mama! mama!"

well, this time they're sure I'm speaking.

the next morning, the moment I woke up and saw Papa, I called him,
"papa. papa"

to stop or not to stop

not Jade but Jade's Mummy said...

"When men share their problems, they want solutions.
When women share their problems, they want empathy."
~ quote from John Gray's "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" ~

May I add, "and hear the answers she already had in mind."

Recently have thoughts of stopping breastfeeding
because my supply is getting quite low and have to use freezer stock everyday on top of daily produce to meet Jade's daily demand.
Jade also seems not satisfied after her last feed at night and even started waking up at 3am for milk when she had been sleeping thru' the night since 2 or 3 months old.

So I posted this on facebook and got some comments.

It appears most moms think it's ok to stop breastfeeding once baby reached 6 months and some are even happy to stop breastfeeding.

I'm not so sure if I'll be happy if I really have to stop breastfeeding now.
in fact, I think I'll be depressed.

I think it is NOT ok to stop breastfeeding at 6 months because I'm kiasu and kiasi.
Read my 10 kias here.

now I can add a #11 kia:
Kia Jade feels shortchanged or unfair cos 6 months of breastfeeding is not even 20% of what her brother had.

After getting a few responses, I think the answer I want to hear is not that it's ok to stop breastfeeding now but that it's ok to continue breastfeeding and supplement with FM.

Oh well... for now, I'll continue to breastfeed.
Afterall, I have not tried the 101 methods to increase milk supply (will talk about that in another post someday).
Perhaps we've gotta start looking into supplementing with FM though.

I can sit up on my own!

9 Jan 2010

at exactly 7 months,
I can finally get from lying down position into sitting position all by myself.

So the teochew saying:
7 坐 8爬 9发牙
(sit at 7mth, crawl at 8, teething at 9)
is right on me!

I can move around really quickly on my tummy now and get into crawling position.
let's see when I can really crawl.

Millet - super healthy whole grain

Have you heard of this food - Millet [mil-it]?

image taken from crazysalad.typepad.com

My mummy hasn't heard of Millet til she read the book - Super Baby Food.
and now she knows that Millet is used to make one of her favourite bread - chapatti.

Millet is super healthy because
Millet is rich in B vitamins, especially niacin, B6, and folacin and offers calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc.

source: http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch29.html

check out other health benefits and nutritional profile of Millet at
www.whfoods.com.

Mummy grind and cooked and gave it to me today.
but I didn't like it and didn't want to take it!
even when Mummy added in some bottled pear baby food, I still refused to eat it.

Later in day, I finally took it when Mummy added a little of the Millet porridge into my brown rice cereal.

Mummy, u should take Millet and not give it to me since
"Millet has an interesting characteristic in that the hulls and seeds contain small amounts of goiterogenic substances that limit uptake of iodine to the thyroid."
source: http://chetday.com/millet.html

Tip: (updated on 10 July 2011)
soak the millet overnight before cooking.

Melt-in-mouth Baby Biscuits

Baby biscuits and other finger food are great to keep baby self-entertained during meal times.

though I still need a little help holding onto the biscuit.

Mummy thinks melt-in-the-mouth Rice Crackers are safer, compared to other baby biscuits,
for Beginning eaters like myself.

picture taken from fairprice.com.sg
Take One Baby Bites are especially popular with Singaporean mommies.
I suppose it's because it's cheap ($2.40 for pack) and easily available in NTUC Fairprice.

BUT my mummy is not about to give this to me. This Baby Rice Cracker is made in China.
How quickly people forget about the massive recall for China-made milk and dairy product in 2008 when this product was one of those that were taken off the racks.
Well... this product might be tested (or assumed to be) ok now,
but my mummy doesn't want to take the risk and be shocked like how
this Mummy did in 2008 during the recall.



We'll be sticking to made in Japan Pigeon baby biscuits which my korkor was taking.

Pigeon Small Fish Rice Crackers
Ingredients:
Rice, Cornstarch, sugar, fructo-oligosaccharide, salt, small fish powder, calcium carbonate.

cost $4.90 per pack, 2x the amount of Baby Bites, but I suppose we pay for the peace of mind.
Available at all major departmental stores.
You can always wait for these stores to have their 20% sale and grab a few of these.

Recently, Mummy found, by chance, another brand of Baby Rice Crackers:

Wakodo Rice Crackers (Akacyan Osenbei)
Ingredients: Rice (domestic production - Japan), rice/potato starch, sugar, table salt and calcium carbonate, the pyrophoric acid iron.

cost $4.50 per pack,
Available at Yamakawa Super - Japanese Supermarket at Square2 and Central
or you can try Cold Storage and Isetan's supermarket.

Wakodo is a reputable brand in Japan and has its own line of formula milk and other baby food.

Think the next time we go Square2 or Central,
we'll get the
Wakodo Rice Crackers with Vegetables (Pumpkin, carrot, spinach)

Mummy likes these Wakodo and Pigeon baby biscuits not only because they melt in the mouth but also because they are animals' milk free.

Cow's milk is listed on "Super Baby Food" as
"the food most notorious for causing allergies in young babies".
Since I'm on breastmilk, Mummy wishes to introduce cow's milk to me as late as possible.

So don't just buy any biscuit for me, kay?