Mothering Corner

I’ve just received the newsletter from The Baby Loft that there is going to be a talk on baby signing conducted by BabySigns (USA) certified instructor, Jamie Soloman, on 24th February 2008 (Sunday) at 11am to 3pm. If you are interested, please email info@thebabyloft.com to book your seats in advance.

I taught my kids about baby sign language when they were younger and it’s fun communication to babies in such a way. I didn’t teach a lot of signs, but only concentrate on a few easy ones that being used frequently. My gal still signs sometimes when she’s trying to emphasize what she’s trying to say.

So, if you don’t feel like learning the signs from books, why don’t you join the talk?

It’s the eve of Chinese New Year and I told my boy that he had to wash his hair as we wouldn’t do it on the first day of Chinese New Year. I don’t know, someone told me it’s the tradition of not doing so on the first day, of course, I have no idea why I followed this custom!

My boy was terrified and he screamed and cried in the shower. We have problem getting him to wash his hair and his hysterical cries influenced his little sister as well. Now, I have two children crying and screaming in the bathroom with me when I wash their hair. It can be a very stressful daily routine.

I searched through the net and read up on related topics, and I found that I’ve tried most of the advice. I’m tempted to get this shampoo rinse cup but hubby is reluctant. He thinks the kids will get used to it. Sigh…

Shampoo Rinse Cup

I did lots of cleaning up lately and I found that I have more than 5 baby bags. Some of them were given to me in the baby hampers and I bought 2 of them. I don’t know why I needed that many baby bags considering that my kids were breastfed when they were babies!

But some mothers are very particular about baby bag. I have seen some mothers carrying designer baby bags from Gucci or Louis Vuitton, but thank god I didn’t get any of them.

I didn’t use the baby bag often or too long, so it’s just a waste of money to me. Who’s using it for more than a year? Let me know!

My newborn niece is going to be one month old in a few days. If she’s staying here, MIL will surely prepare the red eggs and pray for the ancestor on her first month birthday. It’s the Chinese tradition and we still practice this in the family. But what I really like about full moon is the food. LOL!

I like those glutinous rice with curry and some of those nyonya kuih like ang ku which are simple delicious. But for my babies’ full moons, I wanted to give my friends those cute packages from One Joy. However, they don’t deliver to areas outside of Kuala Lumpur and no one was to go down and pick them up. Thus, after 2 kids, I still haven’t got a chance to give out the cute boxes full of cookies and candies!

Don’t you think they are cute?

BIL called last night asking his mother about the tiny spots on his newborn baby. I think they should be milia as most newborn babies have them in the first few weeks. He was asking for some ailment or cream to clear of the spots. Actually, these white bumps are harmless and they will go away eventually without any treatment. A newborn baby’s skin is very delicate and milia occur because the dead skin cell were trapped in the small pockets near the surface of the skin. Nonetheless, when the surface of the bumps wear away, the dead skin will wear off and same goes to the bumps.

I didn’t apply anything on my babies but just wipe their faces with warm water in a gentle gesture a few times a day. It’s best to leave the milia alone without squeezing them to avoid scarring. If the milia do not go off after 3 months, then you can consult the doctor for a solution if you are concerned.

I wrote about breastfed baby’s poo poo some time ago, but I can’t seem to find that post. LOL! I came across a mother who wondered if her baby has constipation, but for a 2 months old baby who’s being breastfed exclusively, it’s very unlikely that she’s having a constipation.

Most exclusive breastfed babies wet or dirty the diapers 5 – 12 times ago during the first few weeks. The frequency will drop gradually, and some babies will not pass stools for days, even if they still wet their diapers. My boy had the highest record of not having a bowel movement for 11 days when he’s 3 months old, while my gal didn’t poo for about 7 days at about the same age. But for formula fed babies, it’s still best to have bowel movement once a day. If your baby is supplemented, she will have bowel movement like formula fed babies, so it’s unlikely for her to without passing stools for days.

Nonetheless, it’s depending on individual baby. Some babies will have bowel movement like once a day, just like formula fed babies. But most of the breastfed babies I know have watery poo poo, which is quite yellowish in color. Believe it or not, breastfed babies’ stool are sweet-smelling. I have 2 exclusively breastfed babies, so I know well about this! But for formula fed babies, the stools will be bulkier and more formed since not all the formula is completely digested as comparing to breastmilk. It doesn’t smell nice either, just like adult’s stool. Once a breastfed baby is supplemented or starts taking solid food, you will see the difference in her stool which is thicker and smellier by now.

If you have any doubt about the stool of your baby, talk to the paediatrician. I brought my first baby to the doctor when his stool looked greenish. It turned out that he’s feeding more on foremilk but didn’t get enough of hindmilk when he was nursing for comfort but not hunger. It’s best to make sure that a baby clears out the first breast before offering the second one so that he’s taking the hindmilk which is more creamy and filling. You will be able to see the different in breastmilk if you empty your breast one side at each time.

Frankly, I miss the sweet smell of breastfed baby’s stool. My kids are much older now and cleaning their smelly poo poo doesn’t look like a nice task to me anymore. LOL!

Frankly, I don’t feel like having another baby soon. It’s a lot of work and sleepless nights involved, and I’m not ready for this. My SIL has just become a mother last week, and she’s trying her best to breastfeed her newborn baby. She has a cesarean but she’s doing well now. She has only her sister to help her with the cooking, thus it’s a lot of hard work for her. It’s just like me. When I had my babies, I had only MIL to cook for me and later my maid helped me with my first child. It’s really tiring and at one point, I thought my days were passed with breastfeeding, burping, cleaning up poo poo (my babies poo after feeding!), lying down for a while and start the whole process all over again.

Let’s admit it, taking care of a newborn baby all by ourselves is very tiring, but it’s rewarding by the end of the day. Being able to be there for the first smile, first turn, first coo and everything else make my mothering moments more worthwhile than diamond rings. It’s not easy, but most of us have been through it rather well.

Nonetheless, I hope that SIL is able to get more sleep. Sleep was what I missed the most during the early days!

I know a baby who’s diagnosed with water in the brain. His father couldn’t tell me the medical term, but I Google for it and I found that it’s called hydrocephalus. It’s a birth defect where there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain that will increase pressure which may damage the brain. His baby was suffering from seizures since birth and they only found out the condition of the baby after an MRI. The doctor said that he’s going to have problem in speech as it’s affecting the left part of the brain which is responsible for speech development. Nonetheless, he’s still young and the brain might develop the skill in other part of it.

For the time being, surgery is impossible so he’s under medication. When I saw the baby, he was pretty much in deep sleep due to the medication. He takes a lot of nap and only wakes up for milk. It’s not easy to take care of him when he has seizures, so the medication keeps him sleepy most of the time.

I really hope that he is doing fine now as I won’t be seeing him often.

One of the most tiring moments of motherhood is the first few weeks after your newborn is delivered. I didn’t sleep much as I was breastfeeding on demand and without a pacifier, I felt like my babies were hanging onto my breasts days and nights. Sometimes, I felt asleep breastfeeding lying now and I didn’t notice it. It was that tiring…

But if you are uncomfortable with the idea of co-sleeping with your baby, you still just place your newborn in a cot. But it’s quite troublesome getting up to carry the baby who might be nursing a few times at night. Some babies are angels who sleep through the night but not mine. LOL! My kids only sleep through after one and a half year, and I wonder how I made it through?

Anyway, if you have help from hubby or maid, don’t feel shy to ask. It’s best to rest as much as you can during confinement. I didn’t have a lot of rest and it’s very taxing. Just ask for help, you deserve it.

I almost had the fright of my life when I saw my gal trying to insert the Cat 5 cable tester into the socket! We have a lot of tools at home which are kept in the drawer and she’s very good at opening it even if it’s heavy. I have socket protectors for most of the empty sockets at home, but some are left open. I think I better get more and make sure that all of them are closed.

My gal knows that she’s not supposed to play with the sockets but she can be very curious sometimes. I guess baby proofing will still be going on for a while.