Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Breakfast @ Fidgets

Yesterday, Daddy bought Heinz pumpkin & sweetcorn baby food jar from cold storage.
Today, Mummy is going to bring Ryan to Fidgets.  A playarea with cafe. Similar to GoGo-Bambini, but much bigger and cleaner.  Mummy went with Sandra & Jasmine & their respective toddlers...

Mummy decided to officially introduce solids to Ryan.  Reason being: Ryan has been yearning for solids for quite some time already... By his mouth actions and teething symptoms...

Around 4mths, I already started Ryan on a weekly 1 teaspoon Heinz Rice Cereal.  Then I realized that Ryan was not ready yet.  So I gave up.

Today, I managed to feed Ryan a total amount of approx 2 tablespoons of pureed jar food.  Aiyo, he loves it so much... Eating with glee.
He responds to *Open Your Mouth*.  So happy for Ryan to reach another milestone... Hehe

Before going out, Mummy defrosted EBM for Ryan's daily bottle feeding exercise. Total amount he drank was approx 100ml... Ok lah... Don't force the issue on him. As long as he drinks, I let him do anything he wants.

Ryan's daily feeding habits shall be as follows from today onwards:
Morning - 100ml EBM
Mid morning - 2 tablespoons of pureed food
Noon - Latch On
Mid day - 1 tablespoon of rice cereal
Evening - 100ml EBM
Nite - Latch On

How's my schedule?

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Synchronised Breastfeeding Event

Saturday, 23rd August 2008 is the synchronised breastfeeding event held in suntec convention hall 301.

A few friends of mine, Jo, Kate, Ashley, Aileen, Celia.  We went for the event together...

Ryan decided to start his "singing" career by refusing the nursing shawl... Haiz. Silly mummy thought since it was raining, better for me to wear t-shirt instead of the usual spaghetti top.
So mummy has to lift up the shirt from below to latch Ryan on.

Ryan struggled like a squealing pig ready to be slaughtered. Make mummy so paiseh!
I had to run to the back of the room in order to latch Ryan on properly without nursing cover.

After the event, Ryan, Mummy & Waipo took bus 106 to bukit batok because we intended to attend mass @ St. Marys of the Angels church.

It was raining so heavily, 2 adults, carrying Ryan & a pram & 4 bags... Alamak! How to walk in the rain? Mummy didn't understand why Waipo refuse to take a cab... Haiz... So how?
Mummy folded up the pram as she did not have a pram raincover yet.
Lugging a 5kg pram & 3 other bags, I did not have any more hands to carry an umbrella. So in order to speed up walking process, mummy decided to walk in the rain.

Waipo carried Ryan in ERGO & carried her own handbag.

We alighted at the wrong bus stop.  So we had to walk a very far distance. Again, mummy had to lug the items in the rain... Haiz...

Thought I wouldn't get sick. But alas, today after a morning trip, I end up sneezing away...

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Third Day of Bottle Feeding

I skipped wednesday as i was out with darling Ryan to a friend's house.

Thursday - 21st August 2008
Today is hectic as I had 2 seminars that lasted the whole day with minimal breaks.
I had to wake Ryan up @ 8am to quick shower him as pack his barang barang...
I met my mom @ 9am to pass Ryan and his barang to her before leaving for the seminar.

I went to latch him at 12noon during my break. Prior to that, he already drank 3oz.
After which he fell asleep. I went on to hand express some more milk for his afternoon feed.
When I reach him at 3.30pm, he refused bottle... Ha! He was bullying his waipo...
I carried him and made him drink... He managed to finish 1oz.
I tried to latch him, he also didn't want... I realised that he wasn't hungry then.

We proceeded to gleneagles hospital for his final 6-in-1 jab. So notti.. he wanted to drink. I cleared the bottle already. So i latched him...
He had his jab. Grumbling while the doc jab him. Keke.. He stopped immediately after the needle was pulled out.. Good Job, Ryan!

Waigong came to fetch us. We went to Gongdou's house. *Hainanese for Great-Grandpa*

Ryan wasn't happy at all... I think it was the small warm and confined area that made him fidgetive...
But he took to gongdou very easily. I think it's because of the animal signs... Ryan - Rat, Gongdou - Dragon.. Same as his daddy.

After a long day, we proceeded home @ 5.30pm... Ryan showered with me, latched and fell asleep. Hehe

Super long day for Ryan... Waipo commended Ryan for well job done as he wasn't cranky at all. Hope I don't jinx myself here..

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Second Day of Bottle Feeding

After a long delay from day 1 of bottle feeding due to the greedy mummy hospitalised and all, we've finally gotten back on schedule.

Monday - 18th August 2008
I went for manicure & pedicure in Holland Road Shopping Centre *Shangri-la Nail Spa*
I fed Ryan ard 3pm and waited till Ryan fell asleep before going out.
I came home around 7pm.. At the doorstep, mummy heard Ryan making some noise. Not too bad.. He drank about 1oz after much fidgeting.

Not much result.. But i'm glad to have some alone time today.


Tuesday - 19th August 2008
I went for my AML course & exam *anti-money laundering* - yearly refresher exam *mas rule*
I woke Ryan up for diaper change and small feed around 8am. Thereafter I left the house with hubby.
MIL carried Ryan to the doorstep to wave us bye-bye.

Coursed ended, exam finished. 10am. Hmm... should I go home? Nah.. Since MIL never call me, I assume Ryan's ok.
I went to office to settle my paperwork & clear as we're shifting office from singapore post centre to scotts road *new building*.
Bought Prushield Premier & Prushield Premier Extra for Ryan... Though I am an insurance consultant, I've been proscrastinating about buying health insurance for Ryan.. Reason? Lazy..
After hearing so many of my forum friends' infants falling sick, I think I better buck up and do something quick.
I do not want to blame myself later on if Ryan ends up uninsurable due to procrastination on my side..

I arrived home at around 1pm. Yay! MIL told me Ryan drank about 3oz today.. Distributed over 2 feeds. Much lesser than his usual intake, but rather good results on 2nd try..

After feeling more confident, I went to Holland Village again around 3pm after latching and pumping.
I went cold storage, DBS, coffee bean cafe...
Funny thing, while queuing in DBS bank, i found myself leaking milk! I told I latched and pumped out already??

Came home around 5pm. Ryan drank alittle more.. about 1oz. But this time round, he was abit relunctant... Haha.. Overtried?

I think the reason why I leaked while outside was because I can sense Ryan's need to drink? keke... No scientific reason. Mother's instinct...

I did pumping again after latching Ryan... Woah... First time after 5months, I felt a minor letdown during pumping... So happy... First sign that my breasts are finally being acustumed to pumping aka latching feeling...

Results: 4oz in total in 3 feeds.

Very happy to be able to be *free* once again. I've worked out a plan with MIL. Since she don't work on Mondays, I'll go out every monday without Ryan. Be it for leisure or work. I hope I can have a breather...

Saturday, August 16, 2008

SecondHand Smoke Being Harmful

I decided to blog about this because my MIL has invited her brother to stay over at our house for the weekend. Bad idea... Because her brother is a smoker..
I've restricted all of Ryan's toys and access to our bedroom only. I'm patiently waiting for monday when he decides to go back to his home...

健康的影响,暴露于二手烟

你知道

11 岁的儿童六年下,暴露在对外电讯服务供应商在各自的家中定期的基础上( 4天或以上,每星期)

国家统计调查的环境管理,哮喘和儿童暴露在吸烟环境

内容

么是二手烟

二手烟是一个混合的烟雾给小康由燃烧完的香烟,烟斗,或雪茄,烟雾是由吸烟者呼出。二手烟也称为环境烟草烟雾(对外电讯服务供应商)和暴露于二手烟环境有时也被称为非自愿或吸二手烟。二手烟中包含更多的4000质,其中有几个是众所周知的致癌物质在人或动物

  • 美国环保局的结论是,暴露于二手烟可以导致肺癌,在成年人谁不吸烟环保局估计,暴露于二手烟环境的原因大约有3000肺癌死亡人数每年在不吸烟者
  • 暴露于二手烟环境亦已表明,在多项研究,以增加患心脏病的危险

严重的健康风险,儿

儿童特别容易受到影响的二手烟,因为他们仍处于发展阶段身体,有较高的呼吸率高于成人,并没有多大的控制权,他们的室内环境。儿童暴露于高剂量的二手烟,如那些母亲吸烟,运行的最大的相对危险性在经历了损害健康的影响

酒吧图表对健康的影响

  • 暴露于二手烟可能导致儿童哮喘的谁以前没有展出的症状
  • 暴露于二手烟环境的风险增大,为婴儿猝死症
  • 婴儿和儿童的年龄小于6谁是经常暴露在二手烟环境正处于上升的风险较低的呼吸道感染,如肺炎和支气管炎
  • 儿童谁定期呼吸二手烟正处于风险增加, 中耳感染

健康风险儿童哮

  • 哮喘是最常见的慢性疾病影响的童年在一学校13岁的儿童平均水平
  • 暴露于二手烟可能导致的新个案,儿童哮喘的谁先前未表现出症状
  • 暴露于二手烟能引起哮喘发作,使哮喘症状更加严重

科学背后的风险

  1. 一般外科医生警告:二手烟把处于危险中的儿

2006627日,外科医生一般公布的一项重大的新报告对自愿暴露于二手烟环境,得出结论认为,二手烟的原因,疾病和死亡在儿童及非吸烟的成年人 报告发现,之间的因果关系暴露于二手烟和婴儿猝死综合症( SIDS)的,并申明,民政,正在成为主导位置的暴露,儿童和成年人的二手烟

  1. 国家统计调查的环境管理,哮喘和儿童暴露在吸烟环境( nsema /中欧和东欧) (美国环境保护署, 2004年)

主要结果

  • 11岁的儿童六年下,暴露在对外电讯服务供应商在各自的家中定期的基础上( 4天或以上,每星期)相比, 20 %在1998年的国民健康访问调查(nhis
  • 长有责任为90 %的儿童接触到电子投标系统
  • 暴露于ETS是高等及哮喘患病率是更有可能在家庭与低收入和低教育水平。
  • 哮喘儿童拥有尽可能多的接触到电子投标系统,作为儿童哮喘

Fact Sheet: National Survey on Environmental Management of Asthma and Children’s Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (PDF, 2 pp, 89KB, About PDF ) 实况报道:全国调查的环境管理,哮喘和儿童暴露在吸烟环境 PDF格式,共2页, 89kb 关于PDF

  1. 呼吸健康的影响,二手烟(也称为暴露于二手烟或环境烟草烟雾-对外电讯服务供应商) 美国环境保护署, 1 992年)

主要结果

在成年人的:

  • 对外电讯服务供应商是一个人肺癌的致癌物质,负责大约有3000肺癌死亡人数每年在美国的非吸烟者。对外电讯服务供应商已被归类为一组致癌物质,根据EPA的致癌物质的评估准则这种分类是保留给那些化合物或混合物,其中已被证明是致癌在人类的基础上,研究在人类种群

在孩子

  • 对外电讯服务供应商暴露的风险增大下呼吸道感染如支气管炎和肺炎环保局估计,之间的150000300000这些案件每年在婴幼儿长达18个月的年龄是由于接触到电子投标系统这些之间, 750015000导致在住院治疗
  • 对外电讯服务供应商接触增加,患病率流体在中耳,标志慢性中耳疾病
  • 对外电讯服务供应商暴露在儿童刺激上呼吸道及相关联的一个小而显着降低肺功能
  • 对外电讯服务供应商接触增加发作频率和严重程度,症状的哮喘儿童该报告估计, 20.0万,以百万儿童哮喘有其条件恶化,暴露在吸烟环境
  • 对外电讯服务供应商接触,是一个危险因素的新个案,儿童哮喘的谁先前未显示症状

查看完整的报告:美国环境保护局,办公室的研究和发展,办公室的卫生和环境评估,华盛顿哥伦比亚特区, epa/600/6-90/006f 199212 PDF格式 525页, 4 MB的, 约有PDF格式 一个事实,资产负债表总结了本报告: www.epa.gov /无烟/酒吧/ etsfs.html

  1. 健康的影响,暴露在吸烟环境 (加利福尼亚环境保护局, 1997年)

查看完整的报告: www.oehha.org /航空/ environmental_tobacco / finalets.html

  1. 国家毒物学计划的第九报告对致癌物 (国立卫生研究院, 2000年)

主要结果2000年,美国国家卫生研究院(保健院)正式上市二手烟作为一个已知的人类致癌物质

鉴于该报告的摘要: www.nih.gov/news/pr/may2000/niehs-15.htm

  1. 环境烟草烟雾(第8章,谁的空气质素指引,欧洲第二版)(世界卫生组织

查看完整的报告: www.euro.who.int/air/activities/20050223_4

  1. 际谘询环境烟草烟雾(对外电讯服务供应商)和儿童健康 (世界卫生组织, 1999年)

鉴于会议的总结: www.who.int/tobacco/resources/publications/general/en/

  1. 科学委员会的报告,关于烟草与健康 联合王国科学委员会对烟草与健康, 1998年)

查看完整的报告: www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/tobacco/contents.htm





Health Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke

Did You Know?

11% of children aged 6 years and under are exposed to ETS in their homes on a regular basis (4 or more days per week).

The National Survey on Environmental Management of Asthma and Children's Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke.

Contents

What is Secondhand Smoke?

Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled by smokers. Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and exposure to secondhand smoke is sometimes called involuntary or passive smoking. Secondhand smoke contains more that 4,000 substances, several of which are known to cause cancer in humans or animals.

  • EPA has concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer in adults who do not smoke. EPA estimates that exposure to secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths per year in nonsmokers.
  • Exposure to secondhand smoke has also been shown in a number of studies to increase the risk of heart disease.

Serious Health Risks to Children

Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke because they are still developing physically, have higher breathing rates than adults, and have little control over their indoor environments. Children exposed to high doses of secondhand smoke, such as those whose mothers smoke, run the greatest relative risk of experiencing damaging health effects.

bar chart on health effects

  • Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause asthma in children who have not previously exhibited symptoms.
  • Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
  • Infants and children younger than 6 who are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of lower respiratory track infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
  • Children who regularly breathe secondhand smoke are at increased risk for middle ear infections.

Health Risks to Children with Asthma

  • Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease affecting 1 in 13 school aged children on average.
  • Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause new cases of asthma in children who have not previously shown symptoms.
  • Exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks and make asthma symptoms more severe.

The Science Behind the Risks

  1. Surgeon General Warning: Secondhand Smoke Puts Children At Risk 

On June 27th, 2006, the Surgeon General released a major new report on involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke, concluding that secondhand smoke causes disease and death in children and nonsmoking adults. The report finds a causal relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and declares that the home is becoming the predominant location for exposure of children and adults to secondhand smoke.

  1. The National Survey on Environmental Management of Asthma and Children’s Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (NSEMA/CEE) (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004)

Key findings:

  • 11% of children aged 6 years and under are exposed to ETS in their homes on a regular basis (4 or more days per week) compared to 20% in the 1998 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
  • Parents are responsible for 90% of children’s exposure to ETS.
  • Exposure to ETS is higher and asthma prevalence is more likely in households with low income and low education levels.
  • Children with asthma have as much exposure to ETS as children without asthma.

Fact Sheet: National Survey on Environmental Management of Asthma and Children’s Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (PDF, 2 pp, 89KB, About PDF)

  1. Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking (Also Known as Exposure to Secondhand Smoke or Environmental Tobacco Smoke - ETS) (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)

Key findings:

In adults:

  • ETS is a human lung carcinogen, responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually in U.S. nonsmokers. ETS has been classified as a Group A carcinogen under EPA's carcinogen assessment guidelines. This classification is reserved for those compounds or mixtures which have been shown to cause cancer in humans, based on studies in human populations.

In children:

  • ETS exposure increases the risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. EPA estimates that between 150,000 and 300,000 of these cases annually in infants and young children up to 18 months of age are attributable to exposure to ETS. Of these, between 7,500 and 15,000 will result in hospitalization.
  • ETS exposure increases the prevalence of fluid in the middle ear, a sign of chronic middle ear disease.
  • ETS exposure in children irritates the upper respiratory tract and is associated with a small but significant reduction in lung function.
  • ETS exposure increases the frequency of episodes and severity of symptoms in asthmatic children. The report estimates that 200,000 to 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition worsened by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
  • ETS exposure is a risk factor for new cases of asthma in children who have not previously displayed symptoms.

View the full report:  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Washington, DC, EPA/600/6-90/006F, December, 1992 (PDF, 525 pp, 4 MB, About PDF)   View a fact sheet summarizing this report:  www.epa.gov/smokefree/pubs/etsfs.html

  1. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (California Environmental Protection Agency, 1997)

View the full report: www.oehha.org/air/environmental_tobacco/finalets.html

  1. The National Toxicology Program’s 9th Report on Carcinogens (National Institutes of Health, 2000)

Key findings:

  • In 2000, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) formally listed secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen.

View a summary of the report: www.nih.gov/news/pr/may2000/niehs-15.htm

  1. Environmental Tobacco Smoke (Chapter 8, WHO Air Quality Guidelines for Europe, Second Edition) ( World Health Organization)

View the full report: www.euro.who.int/air/activities/20050223_4

  1. International Consultation on Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) and Child Health (World Health Organization, 1999)

View a summary of the meeting: www.who.int/tobacco/resources/publications/general/en/

  1. Report of the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (United Kingdom Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health, 1998)

View the full report:  www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/tobacco/contents.htm

Ryan's Look-alike Meter *5months*

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family reunion - Ancestors

Ryan's Look-alike Meter *Birth*




Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Ryan's First Hospital stay after birth

Surprisingly, Ryan's first hospital stay is not due to him being sick... It was mummy!!
Ya.. me. I had extreme tummy and back pain on sunday night. I tahaned for 2hours before daddy had to drag me to gleneagles hospital with Ryan in tow.
Luckily we have our baby emergancy bag packed at all times. We only had to pack some nightsuits for Ryan..

10pm
Tummy & Back pain... after much tearing and whining, i gave in.

12.30am
Fed Ryan milk... Left for hospital with bags and Ryan in tow.

1am
Went to 24-hour gleneagles hospital clinic *nearest 24-hr clinic*
Had a jab to kill the pain. Diagnosed - chlorities
Prepared admission. Nurse said general surgery ward too much germs for a 5month old baby.
So our only option was the maternity ward or children's ward.  Too many people delivering babies this week.. Haha... so we ended up in children's ward. As Ryan need to be with me at all times, he's still not bottled trained.  So we decided to choose a 1-bedded room.

1.30am
Ryan decided to wake up. Luckily he didn't demand milk immediately. Daddy took care of Ryan while mummy was in the consultation room. When the room was prepared, we proceeded to Bed No. 933
Ryan was happily playing with daddy on the lounge bed while mummy whine in pain..

2am
Doctor came. Took blood for testing and doctor decided to diagnose me as GERD before ultrasound was done.

3am
Sleep time... I did the usual co-sleeping latch.  Ryan was placed to sleep on the hospital bed with me.. While daddy was sleeping on the lounge bed provided.
There, we spent our 2nights...
The room was a corner unit. So there is a 90deg angle corner where it's totally empty apart from the electrical socket.
I had to draw the curtains to cover it up... Reason why i didn't want to go hospital initally was due to me being afraid of hospital stays. Esp during this month... Eerie...
Luckily i had my hubby and son to accompany me. :)

10am
Ultrasound done.
I had some gallstones in gallbladder... Doctor say i have to remove them.. But because i'm still breastfeeding, I can't. Unless I want to supplement with formula . And also it have to depend on Ryan. If he's gonna accept bottle feeding..
If he takes bottle, I can pump every hour to store enough supply for 2days post surgery.

Discharged on wednesday @ 11am...
Total bill came up to be $1900 *approx
Not as expensive as i've expected. Whew...

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gallstones/

Friday, August 8, 2008

First Day of Bottle Feeding

After much consideration, I've decided to test Ryan for a whole week. Putting him on a schedule...
I bought The First Years BreastFlow 5oz bottle to try.

Reached Home @ 8pm.

Test - Water... No adverse reaction... Biting teat. Water flow well. Ryan accepting it gradually...
Next step - 2oz of freshly squeezed breast milk... Abit unwilling to bite or suckle. Grumbled alittle. Face turn angry.  Persisted with some cooing. Ryan began suckling bit by bit...

End Result?
I'll give it a 3 out of a full 10.

Hope tomorrow is a better day.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

My Poor Son

Dear Ryan,

Mummy is very sorry to put you through bottle... I've been in my bedroom hearing you scream and yell and cry till you choke and vomit.. I am very sorry to put you through 1hour of torturous crying.
I tried to rescue you from your nai nai. But she refuse to let me have you... She say she wants to carry on trying...

I am near tears as I hear you cry and cry... I sincerely hope you'll forgive me for letting your nai nai try.. I should have been there for you. I should have let your doting daddy try instead of her...

Please don't hate me. Mummy need to go back to work when u reach 6mths as this is the maximum no. of months your daddy is allowing me to stay at home to look after you.

Mummy want to stay by your side all day. But financial circumstances do not allow that to happen. Though I can give up all monetary pleasures, your daddy cannot. I am trying my best to love and care for you. Hope you understand our situation.


Lovingly yours,
Mummy