Tips: Feeding Your Kid Tablet

Denise was down with throat infection on Sunday. Googled and found that Raffles Medical @ Clementi Avenue 3 opens from 8.30 a.m. - 1 p.m. on a Public Holiday.

It was the FIRST time Denise was prescribed with medication in tablet form. Doc advised that syrup form would be too mild for her height and age. She would have to drink "tons" of it to get the right dosage :)

First, it's hard. Second, it's bitter. Lastly, she would have difficulty swallowing due to her infected throat. Below was what I did.

1) Crush the tablets. Forget those pill crusher. 2 metal spoons can easily do the job.

2) Crush everything at one go. Faster for them to swallow at one go. They only "taste" the bitterness once.

3) Mix a little of plain water with the crushed pills. Give your kid a little dip at the tongue to "warn" them of the bitterness.

4) Do not gulp down water so as to reduce the tendency to vomit everything out. Instead, take sips of water and gargle before swallowing the water.

Denise complained about the bitterness but managed to hold the medicine in her stomache.

If you have other tried and tested methods, please feel free to share :)

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

Debbie Hit By Food Poisoning (Gastroenteritis)

Debbie was down with Gastroenteritis, better known as food poisoning, recently. She could not eat for 4 days :( Praise God, she did not vomit and could still drink water which was the important! Most kids had to be warded due to dehydration because they were either vomiting or not drinking.

To cut the long story short, it took her 7 days to be up on her feet again! Now I am on a mission to fatten her up!

HFMD???

Yesterday I was called up by school to pick Debbie because she was having a fever. Temperature shot from 37.7 to 38.6...

Today, the fever is gone but I had to keep her at home for another day. Guess what? Found a few white spots in her mouth...:( Not sure if they are symptoms of HFMD... So far, only 1 red spot on her palm...:( Also not sure if it is another symptom...

Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed that it is nothing serious!

Pray for my D4!

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...:)

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!

19 Going to 20!

Others ask me how old is Debbie... "18 months!"

Today, I just realised that my baby is 19 mths and 3 wks!!! Oh man...I even stopped counting...:(
Anyway, I have been a little busy to update the blog... Weekend was super-packed!
- Brought Denise for swimming lessons (my usual Saturday morning routine)
- Supported friend's baptism (a former beauty queen)
- Attended both services in Expo (had 4 new friends on Sunday!)
- Met up with friends (left kids with MIL and went Cafe 211 to chill out with friends)
- House-hunting with JX (finally saw something which we like. Pray! Pray! Pray!)

A quick update on the kids:
- Denise is doing super fine! Back in school...:)
- Debbie is down with flu and cough...:( Resting at home.

Sick AGAIN!

See both kids keeping each other company at home!...:)

Talked to a mother of 3 recently. She is open to trying for No.4 but she dreads it when they fall sick. Sigh...with only 2; I already understand what she means.

On Friday, I was asked to bring Debbie home as there was a "string" of green mucus that flowed from her nose. In view of the recent HFMD and being a responsible parent, I took half day urgent leave and when home. All I could say was "TGIF - Thank God it's Friday!"Over the weekend, she started getting very cranky and drool ALOT!!! I attributed all these to her 2 teeth that is rather visible by now.

Last night (Sunday), Denise developed FEVER at night...:( Had to keep her away from school for a few days...

Took urgent child sick leave for the next days to let both of them recover fully...

No.3? Hmmmm...... I am still thinking about what my friends told me...:p

Choked!

Had a scare last Friday when I went to see the doctor with Debbie. I was down with bad flu and cough! While the doctor was checking me, I gave Debbie her piece of bread, tied tightly in a plastic bag. I could hear her playing with the plastic bag while I turned my back for the doctor to check my lungs...

Suddenly Debbie gave a loud cry! She seems to be choking! I realised that she had tore the plastic bag and bitten off some bread...!!!

I felt lost! Immediately the doctor lifted her up and started patting her back. Debbie opened her mouth and I digged a piece of bread, sized about my last finger, from her mouth...:( I told the doctor if I was not in the clinic, I would have held her upside-down and start smacking her from the back... To my surprise, she said that was the right thing to do...

Praise God, Debbie was alright after that! For a moment, I felt lousy as a mother for not looking out for her... Sigh, one of those moments...:p

Chicken Pox (Day 2)

Even though down with Chicken Pox, Denise is still as active as ever. Nothing gets her down... Thanks to the vaccination...:)

So far, 4 spots only. 2 on her left ears and 2 on her back! The cream prescribed by doctor will quicken the drying process. So far no more blisters...:)

CHICKEN POX!!!

Saw 2 red spots on Denise's back last night! One of them with a blister.....:(

"I thought she took the vaccination?"
"Why did she still get it?"
"Where did we go last week?"
"Who did we come into contact with?"
"Why was there no sign of fever?"....

Thousands of thoughts ran through my mind.... Sigh, have to take urgent child sick leave!

Doctor says it will be a MILD outbreak; most likely will last from 1-3 days. Gave us anti-viral medication and 2 weeks MC. Told us to go back 3 days later when the scab begins to dry up and fall off; he will shorten the MC so that she can go back to school.

Keep the house well-ventilated. Minimise hugs and kisses. No specific food to avoid; basically keep Denise happy as she will feel uncomfortable.

As of now, only 4 spots...:) Will post a few pictures once I finish charging the battery for the digital camera.

Debbie? Well, trying to keep her away from Denise...:)

Fever... MC from Wednesday - Friday

Denise woke up on Wednesday with a fever. Kept her away from school for the rest of the week. It's my first "taking care of 2 kids without maid" challenge. I was tempted to ask my mum or sister to help, but didn't.

But everything turned out fine...:)

Debbie is still young and not mobile at all. She needs little supervision!...:) As for Denise, she was a little cranky. And she always have a reason/excuse for refusing to follow instructions... sigh.

Fever!!!

Denise was down with a fever last Tuesday (May 1). Her fever usually does not last more than 2 days and we were not too worried either. However, her temperature escalated in the night and we decided to bring her to the doctor. See how hip she is even though she was sick...:p

Doctor gave her paracetemol and antibiotics to ease her throat infection. But it didn't help...:( I took 2 days off on Thursday and Friday to look after her at home. Finally we couldn't take it anymore! Brought her to Gleneagles on Saturday evening and her temperature was 39.8 degrees!!!

Doctor gave her a suppository which should bring her temperature down fast. Supposed to ward her but only 4-bedder rooms left. As isolating her would be a better choice, we decided to bring her home with the stronger medication given.

Praise God! She obediently took all the medication and her temperature is much lower today...:) Usually I am not too worried about viral fever but 6 days of fever?!? After I came back from the hospital, a friend told me, "See, I told you that it is a viral fever...ha..." I was a little mad!!!

By the way, I already knew that it was a viral fever...but what virus is that? Denise never had fever for more than 2 days and I am not taking chances... Read too many horrible stories of parents losing their young children to bacteria attack...and I AM NOT TAKING CHANCES!!!

Anyway, she is well and up again! Will keep her away from school for another day. Back to work for me and school for her on Tuesday!

FEVER!!!

Denise had fever on Monday night; had to bring her to the doctor on Tuesday. She was very obedient and cooperative. Doctor prescribed medicine for cough and running nose (the usual stuff). JX and myself took turns to look after her on Tuesday and Wednesday.

She went back to school on Thursday. When I picked her up, I saw her art & craft being displayed outside her classroom. Like a "kiasu" mum, I cannot help but compared her artwork with her classmates...:p

They are learning the letter "X" this week.

Hahah....comparing to the red one next to her, I must say Denise's purple X is a much nicer and neater one....!!!

Absent From School Again!

I brought Denise to the doctor last night. He verified that the ONE and ONLY spot on her back was not chicken-pox (phew!). However, she was having a slight fever (37.4 degrees) and mild wheezing. Doctor gave her paracetemol, syrup for cough and runny nose. He said that it was most likely a mild case of bronchitis and should go away in a day or 2. Praise the Lord!!!

Well, today is my 31st birthday and I will be staying at home to fulfill my motherhood duty - to look after my princess... :)

This morning, she woke up asking me why can't she go to school. I took the opportunity to explain to her that she is not well and must take her medication if she wants to go back to school soon. Satisfied with my explanation, she gladly ate her breakfast and watch Playhouse Disney. Hahah....she'll never be bored at home!

I believe the explanation works because she was so co-operative when I asked her to take her medication. Have you ever seen a child looking so happy and excited taking her OWN medication? That's my SUNSHINE!!!

First "MC" From School

Today is Denise FIRST "MC" from school. I brought her to school this morning and she was feverish, 37 degrees. Her teacher wanted me to monitor her at home as there were reported cases of chicken pox from school last week. As Monday is my off day from work, I gladly brought her home.

Ever since she started school, I do miss spending time playing with Denise. Even though I have the whole Monday to myself and can enjoy some privacy, I do miss her "nonsense" and presence (sometimes)...

It was divine that I arranged for the part-time cleaner to come today. I did not have to worry about doing the house chores while Denise is resting at home. After her lunch and nap, if she is still feverish, I intend to bring her to the doctor. In fact, I've already planned to bring her to Jurong Point for a walk later.


Meantime, she is entertaining herself with "Teacher Barney". One thing good about Denise is that she is always so bright and cheery... As a baby, she would smile and play as normal even when she was having a fever. One of my friends commented that she is so "SUNSHINE". Whether in sickness or in health, she definitely brightens up our lives... :)