Chicken Pox

It started with low grade fever on Sunday night and Debbie complained of itch. We were not suspecting anything serious... Probably because of the swimmig in the afternoon. The following day, there were blisters on her body! Chicken pox! And a few had burst :)

Debbie did not take the vaccine. However, the doctor prescribed anti-viral medication which will shorten the outbreak period from 14-21 days to 10-14 days. But the medication costs $125 a bottle, to be taken 5 times a day for 5 days.

With anti-itch med and calamine lotion, the spots started to dry up and no more new ones appearing after 4 days.

Debbie

Denise, on the other hand, took the vaccine which cost about $70 per dose from polyclinic or $70 - $100 from private clinic. She only had 2 spots on her back :)

Denise

Well, 2 different options and 2 different outcomes :) Which will you choose?

More information on Chicken Pox here

Fever & Visit To The Dentist

Last Saturday, Debbie had low grade fever. Eventually she developed runny nose and had to keep her from school on Monday.

Denise was "not so fortunate". She developed high fever on Sunday and had to miss school on Monday. We discovered that she had an erupting front lower tooth!

I was SUPER worried that her adult tooth will come out crooked.... Brought her to the dentist immediately! To my surprise, he advised against removing the baby teeth. He gently explained to me why...

- Denise's jaw is growing. This explains the gaps developing in her front teeth.
- When the baby tooth drops, her tongue will automatically pushes the erupting tooth forward.
- If I want to remove her baby tooth, he will have to inject anesthetic which will be quite traumatic for Denise.
- So his advise was... Everyday, use her fingers to "shake" and loosen her 2 front teeth. The idea is to quicken the process and let the front teeth drop by themselves. In the event that they are loose but not dropping yet, he can easily apply anesthetic cream to remove them, instead of using a jab...:)

So, with much assurance, I decided to wait...:)

As for Debbie, dentist advised not to remove her decaying teeth but to continue brushing them to slow down the process. She is already using a fluoride children toothpaste so that will help a lot! If we want to remove them, which is unnecessary at the moment, she might have to be under GA. As of now, the teeth are still fine...:)

Adjusting To New Environment

DENISE

Denise is doing well in school. She is self-motivated and I have no problem in getting her to complete her daily homework. Initially I was concerned for her Spelling but thus far she has been scoring full marks... Cham! The kiasu-parents symptoms are showing!

She was appointed as the Class Monitress. We asked if she volunteered herself :p But she said her form teacher was the one that selected her...:) She has to give commands for the class to "stand" and helped the teacher marked class attendance during assembly etc. When I met her form teacher, Mrs Ong during the Parent Meet Teacher Session, she commented that Denise is very helpful. She will even help to sweep the floor when the floor is dirty! I remember Denise telling us that she wants to be a helpful person this year; think it is coming to pass!

Last week, she was also appointed as the 小老师in class. Her responsibilities include helping the weaker students with their homework. I think she is really enjoying school...:)

DEBBIE

Debbie, on the hand, has been crying in school...:( The week break she had because of the family funeral must have disrupted her schedule. She is still excited to go to school every morning. In fact, when I told her we are going to Pat's Schoolhouse, she will be very excited. But the moment I drop her in class, she will start crying. Debbie is already "famous" for being Denise's younger sister, but now she is also known as the "crying" one in school...:p

This morning, when I dropped her, Denise's former teacher, Ms Wendy was there. She was, as usual, so sweet... She carried Debbie and brought her to the playground to distract and calm her down. I heard the school principal, Ms Ada, even brought Debbie to Denise's former classroom to familiarise her with the new environment... Thank God for loving and caring teachers...:)

New Schedule for 2010

This year is a milestone for both Denise and Debbie. Denise starts P1 in FMS(P) and Debbie starts Playgroup in Pat's Schoolhouse.

Thus far, it has been easy getting Denise to wake up at 6.45 a.m. every morning. I will drive her to school and stay for the Morning Devotion. I will stay to at least hear the verse for the week so that I can remind her what she has learnt in school.

This is how her Morning Assembly looks like. I will drop her off and she will settle down for her Silent Reading. Every Tuesday, she will assemble in the school hall for Chapel.

For the first 2 weeks, all P1s have a P4 buddy who will help take care of them during recess time. I found out that Phoebe takes the public bus to school. Maybe by the time Denise is in P4 she can takes the public bus on her own too... (provided I feel assured of her safety...:p)

It has been easy dropping Debbie in school too! On the first day, she just waved "bye" and went to the Music Room with the teacher. On the second day, she did not even wait for the teacher, she went into the Music Room on her own. On the third day, the Chinese teacher commented that she is the happiest child in class...:)


Well, this also spells the beginning of a new schedule for me. I have to wake up at 6.30 a.m. every weekday morning for the next 10 years!!! (till Debbie graduates from Fairfield)

Sleepless in *Dover*

Debbie has been off breastfeeding for almost a week already. So far the journey has been *rather* smooth. The only challenge is how to put her back to bed when she wakes up in the middle of the night. She used to snuggle towards me and suckle till she falls alseep again.

For the first 2 nights, it was "better". She woke up and asked me to bring her to the kitchen. She ate a little yogurt and then went back to bed. I think she was hungry as she was not eating much when she had stomach-flu.

The next 2 nights was "heaven"! I had uninterrupted sleep from 12mn-7am! She woke up but she will close her eyes and sleep again.

However, last 2 nights was "horrendous". Especially last night, she woke up at 4am and 7am; screaming and kicking a big fuss! Thinking that she might be hungry, I offered her "Honey Star" but she didn't want. Gave her milk, didn't want... Gave her water, didn't want... She just kept crying and asking me to carry her from room to kitchen, and then kitchen to room! All these at 4am!!! Argh!

Finally, after 30mins of screaming and crying, she asked me for "Honey Star" and quietly laid down on her bed, munching on them... And eventually fell asleep...

This morning, the same thing happened at 7am...:(

The worse is that all fussing kids want is MUMMY... JX tried to help; but she got even more frustrated, thinking that JX wants to carry her away from me... Sigh!

I hope this is part of the weaning process... I am almost there... almost there...

Huge Milestone for Debbie (And ME!)

*Think I will receive quite a few comments on this post...:p*

It all started on Thursday morning, on the way to Suntec Nursery. Debbie put her finger into her mouth and I thought she had something stuck there. I wanted her to cough it out and out came her milk! I didn't think much about it...

Thursday night, after drinking her milk, she woke up at 2am and vomitted! This time, it was messy and massive! I knew that the stomach flu virus has hit her...:( In fact, the children in Nursery have been hit one by one; Debbie was the last few to get it... A friend recommends drinking Yakult Ace Light. So the children get to enjoy Yakult these few days!

Kept her at home on Friday, diarrhea in the morning and no more vomitting. But before I left for CG on Friday, I fed her milk and when I came home, my maid told me that Debbie vomitted..:( I reckoned that she should not take dairy product for now. In fact, she had no appetite for food and only drank soup for 2 days!!! Heartbreaking to see her so lethargic and skinny... She even fell alseep on the floor while watching TV.

Hmm...believe it or not, both my princesses were breastfed exclusively since young! In other words, no formula and supplement at all (I don't even know how to make formula milk)! Debbie is 27 months and I am still breastfeeding her. Have been thinking about weaning her; but not sure how to or if I want to... I fed Denise till 3 years old! And the reason I stopped was because I was expecting Debbie then. It was easy to wean Denise. I only had to tell her that Mummy has a baby and baby needs the milk... She stopped immediately...:)

On Thursday, I put Debbie to bed without suckling...just patting.

On Friday, she napped without suckling...just patting.

Friday night, she slept by patting again!

You see, Debbie has NEVER slept without suckling... Others can put her to bed; but with ME, she has gotten used to suckling to bed. So when I can put her to bed without her suckling, I think she is ready for weaning.

Last night, she slept without suckling again and this morning, she woke up without asking for the breast....

So I officially annouce here, that I am stopping this 6 years journey with my kids! I am finally stopping breastfeeding...:) Some mothers cried and get all emotional about it. I do feel apprehensive but I am definitely not teary about it...:) Hmm, I see the benefits of breastfeeding in my kids. They are close to me and defintiely stronger in their immunity system. Even when they fall sick, they recover faster. And not to mention the amount of money I saved from milk powder!

And look at my happy Debbie today. She seems to be back to her usual self... Praise the Lord!

@ The Dentist

Last Sunday, Denise complained about toothache and wanted us to bring her to a dentist. The last time I brought her to one, I was TRAUMATISED! She was crying and whining throughout! She was afraid of the drill and I even had to pay for 2 fillings that dried up while waiting for her to be mentally prepared...:p

This time round, I decided to let JX bring her... As it was already 8pm on a Sunday, they went a few places before they found Q&M (Bukit Batok) still open!

It turned out that the molar at the back is growing!!! And the dentist also suggested filling up 2 tiny holes. Before Denise left home, I told her to be brave and everything will be alright!

I must say she was really brave this time! JX didn't have to coax her much. She willingly let the dentist do everything she wanted. The drill, the suction, the cleaning, the filling....EVERYTHING! But she was definitely nervous...

She was clinching her fist...:) My Brave Princess!

Discipline

I have been thinking much about discipling my children. A few parents I spoke to tell me that they cane their children. And if it is real bad; they will "cane like there is no tomorrow". The children will remember the punishment and will behave in future.

Last night I had a discipline episode with Denise. I was contemplating if I should (like what my friends have shared) cane her. Anyway, we do not have a cane at home. We only use Mr Spoon... Maybe give her a few smacks and make her remember!!!

But I couldn't bring myself to do it... She was giving excuses, blaming others and finally broke down when she knew that she was wrong... And she really cried!

My heart broke whenever Denise starts to sob! And they are not "crocodile tears" or out of manipulation... They are remorseful tears. I know "spare the rod and spoil the child"... But I must say that Denise is a very sensible girl.

I remember during her baby dedication, Ps Ulf said, "this baby will grow up, understanding complicated things." She has always been a child whom you can reason with. Comparing to other children her age, she is really rather mature. Even though she is a year end (Dec 27) baby, she definitely does not lose out to her "2003" older peers.

I believe in discipline. I still use Mr Spoon. In fact, Debbie is VERY scared of Mr Spoon. She has stopped screaming in the house because I told her if she screams, she will wake Mr Spoon up... Haha.... So now, she will "shhh...." at me. She will point to the cupboard where I keep Mr Spoon and tell me "Mr Spoon sleeps" when I speak too loud at home...:p So what did I do?

I choose to reason with Denise. But if need be, Mr Spoon still proves effective...:)

Denise & Ethan

A friend sent me a photo that Denise took with Ethan in the Suntec Nursery when they were 2 years old. She commented that while Ethan still look pretty much the same, Denise has grown up! This must be what people say "girls mature faster than boys".

Had a chat with a mother recently. She has a 8 years old daughter and I was asking her about parenting a growing gal. I shared with her my concern about Denise wanting to wear dresses, wear high heels, put on makeup etc. She says I should be MORE WORRIED if she only wants to wear pants and hate all the girly stuff...:p

Haha... That's so true! So for now, let the girl be a girl...:)

Debbie's Hair Clip!

Haha... Managed to clip Debbie's hair....:) But not for long; she is not used to it!

Book of Promise & Reward Chart

Denise is turning 6 this December and I suddenly realised that she has GROWN UP! I mean, she prefers dresses and skirts to pants. And when she wear shorts, she prefers those hot pants...:p

I have been asking myself if I am doing well as a mother. In the area of character development and preparing her to be a "lady"... I wonder if there's anything else I can do better. To "express" her independence, sometimes it gets rather hard to expect her to "do as you are told". It's no longer as easy as "Yes, mummy..."

Anyway, I was praying one day (yes, it got spiritual)... I had an idea of starting a Book of Promise and Reward Chart with her. I started her on writing things she promised me on the book and later bring it out to remind her to keep her promise.

For instance, she wanted to wear her spaghetti-stripped top but I was concerned that she would be cold when she comes to my office. I got her to promise that she will wear her sweater when she visits me. It works! When she came to Suntec, I reminded her what she wrote, and she willingly put on her sweater! That was easy! No arguement or whining....:)

Next came the Reward Chart! I got Denise to write down a list of things/tasks which she will be rewarded for if she does them. And it works!


Thus far, a week now, I have no problem waking Denise up every morning and she will go to bed on her own...:) No fuss and no complaints! For every 10 gold dots she accumulates, she can buy a special gift. To encourage her, Daddy already bought her a set of Magic Colouring Markers from Crayola...:) The 2 blue dots at the bottom... Well, she misbehaved....haha....

K1 Scrapbook

This is Denise's K1 scrapbook from school. It is a simple summary of what she did in school this year. Next year will be her last year in Pat's Schoolhouse. English teacher, Ms Wendy, will be teaching them again. Apparently, she is both the students and parents' favourite teacher...:)

Self-Feeding

Debbie is 16 months and 2 weeks now. She has started to self-feed. When she was younger, she refused to wear any bib. Ever since she started watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, she would allow us to put on the Mickey Mouse bibs we bought for her from Hong Kong Disneyland....:)

Notice how wide she opens her mouth... That helps her to "aim" her spoon directly into her mouth...:)

New Car Seat For Debbie

Debbie is past 9kg and her legs are already hanging out of her infant car seat. We decided to start looking for a toddler front-facing car seat for her.

We went to a few places, Robinson, Mothercare, Toy R Us.... and were deciding between a few brands... What a headache! Why are there so many different brands? And at such different prices? Aren't they supposed to just strapped the kids down?

Anyway, after watching High School Musical - The Ice Tour, we went to Metro Sale at Expo Hall 2. We finally bought Debbie's car seat!

A black and grey Lucky Baby Spawtee car seat for $169.

Features :
-Suitable for : GRP I/II
-Protection against the side impact
-5 point safety belt lock
-Adjustable to 6 sitting/ sleeping position
-4 safety belt adjustment combinations
-Easy one-hand adjustment
-4 posititons safety belt adjustment

We got it fixed and she happily sat in it throughout our journey home...:)

Debbie Is Walking!

Denise walked at 9 months! Last Friday, Debbie finally took off at 13 months! She started with 3 steps, then 5, then 10... Finally recharged my camera and managed to take a short video of her walking...:)

Debbie's 1st Birthday - Pt 2

CG celebrated Debbie and Jezelle's birthday last night. Mervyn and Jenny bought them a very nice BARNEY cake!

Debbie seems to know that the attention is on her. She was so excited when we sang her the "Happy Birthday" song.

Look at the number of children we have in the CG!

CG bought her a "pull-and-walk" toy. This will come in handy when she starts to learn how to walk unsupported.

Thank you everyone for making it special for Debbie!

Debbie's 1st Birthday (10th July 2008)

The entire family was exhausted after the funeral. After a day of rest, we decided to go out for a nice dinner and celebrate Debbie's birthday at the same time.

Went to Globetrotters at United Square and I must say their food has improved a great deal since the last time we were there. Then we went to Starbucks for a mini-celebration. Couldn't buy a whole cake; we bought many different slices to share among us instead.

Happy Birthday Debbie! You bring so much joy into our lives...:)

Baby Sign and Sing

Debbie had her 2nd round of mock class in CHEC; Baby Sign and Sing. She had a lot of fun playing with her reflection in the mirror. Do you know that clapping is part of babies' development?

She just learnt to clap and that came in useful for this class. Debbie had fun with the singing and shakers!

Teething

I was trying to take a picture of Debbie's tooth for the blog and ended up causing her to knock her head against her cot...:(

Well, I managed to snap a shot with her mouth wide open....crying of course...:p

First "Day" in School

Debbie attended her first class in CHEC. It was a mock up class and children of the staff are invited to attend for FREE! These are her "first classmates".

The first theme is PAPER... The children are free to roam in the room, filled with everything made of paper!

Debbie was putting everything into her mouth!

Even the parents took part in the fun...:)

I am looking forward to the next 4 weeks of Baby Read, Sign and Sing!