Little Helpers in the Kitchen

Was browsing through my photos and saw this..🤣🤣 Oh so chubby! Lol

These are my boys two years ago..Ian was 3 while Evan was 1 back then. These were actually photos of our pineapple tart making session. Our very first baking session with these 2 youngsters..😄😄

It’s really great to have kids helping out at the kitchen..it’s not just the fun factor, but also a good way to bond. Not only that, they get to make use of their fine motor skills to get dough out and mould the dough into the shape that they desire..they learn how raw ingredients can combine together to form food that are delicious..they learn action words like sieving, flattening, rolling etc. Haha most importantly, I thought it’s a good way to learn to be patient especially when they need to wait for the food to be ready. Last but not least, they will learn to appreciate our (and their) effort in food preparation.💪💪

I used to hang around when my mum prepares pineapple tarts for the new year, and she will always make a very big one just for me (because I’m a pineapple tart lover😆😆). Memories like this are really precious. I’m sure the kids will never forget about their experience with us in the kitchen!

If given the time and the chance, I will definitely plan a baking session with them this coming CNY! Haha next year perhaps!

Since CNY is around the corner, keep a blind eye on the mess😂😂 and do some easy baking with your little ones if you have the time! Here’s my favourite pineapple tart recipe:

Ingredients

Butter – 250g

Egg – 1

Plain Flour – 360g

Milk powder – 4 Tbsp

Corn flour – 1 Tbsp

Icing sugar – 2 Tbsp

Vanilla essence – 1 Tsp

Pineapple paste (from Redman or Phoon Huat) – 1 pkt

Steps

1) Mix the butter and icing sugar together

2) Add vanilla essence into the mixture

3) Once the mixture reaches a creamy consistency, add the egg into the mixture from step 2 and continue to mix them evenly

4) Finally, add all other ingredients together with the flour

5) Once the dough is ready, you can mould it into any shape that you want (with the pineapple fillings in it)

Since this year is the year of dog, you could make a round shape pineapple tart with koko krunch for the ears on both sides, chocolate rice for the eyes and chocolate chip for the mouth. This will make the pineapple tarts especially pleasing to the kids! Yummy!! 😋😋

Reflections of a 5 year old Mummy

It’s been almost 5 years since I gave birth to Ian. So I’m a 5 year old mummy to be! These 5 years is definitely filled with ups and downs..as well as many trials and errors. So what have I gained from this enriching journey as a mum?

1) Stepping out of my comfort zone

If you ask me about cleaning poos and vomit 15 years ago, I would probably be the first to run.😂😂 But when you are tasked to do certain job as a mum, you would not think twice and dive into it. So if you were to ask me now (15 years later), clear poo? No problem! Clear pee? No problem! Clear vomit? No problem! What’s new afterall? 🤣🤣

The next was to bring me back to driving again. For those who know me well, I’m an absolute scaredy cat. I will have 101 reasons NOT to drive. I would very much prefer taking the public transport if given a choice. But ever since Evan is born and the need to bring him to so many visits at the PD or assessments (as well as to send Ian to school, with Evan in tow), I decided to drive again in the interest of time and convenience. BUT I only drive to places and carparks that I’m familar with..Lol.

Well, 2 years ago, I was pretty apprehensive when I first started out..especially with 2 kids at the back of the car (with the younger one occasionally crying while I’m on the wheels). Guess I was blinder than the blindspot back then and my side mirror hit a pillar while I was parking. 😅😅The outer case of the side mirror fell out and there was a loud thud sound. The boys heard it and since then, Ian started reminding me not to crash everytime before I drive (Evan probably doesn’t know what had happened as he was already crying at the back of the car for some other reason)..haha thankful that it’s been almost 2 years since the last incident..and Ian no longer remind me about crashing..😂😂 I’m a safe driver!! But I must say that the boys are very cooperative when I’m driving..Thank you, boys!

2) Learning how to cook

I’m not a fantastic cook and I’m a total noob when it comes to cooking. Yet, cooking is something really important (I would think that it’s a life skill!) especially when the little guys need to be well fed with a variety of food (it’s no longer just porridge or purees). And that’s how I started learning how to cook..but I guess Facebook groups like Singapore Home Cooks or Homemade kids meal and Youtube videos help alot! My mother-in-law and my mother are great advisers when I have questions about cooking . I’m really thankful to have all the support from them! Hopefully, with more practices (and failures too🤣🤣), I will be as skillful as them in time to come!! 💪💪

3) Not taking things for granted

Ian has been asking interesting questions like “Why are our voices different”, “Why do we need lips”, “What is the purpose of belly button”, “How does the traffic light works”, “Why is it that our lips will turn purple when we are cold”, “Why do we need to breathe”..all these little questions made me realized that I have been taking things as it is, without giving much thought to it..to the extent that I got to think hard for some questions (or even consult google) before answering him. Time to appreciate the little things that happen in daily lives!

4) Be thankful for every little thing

And finally, I learnt to be thankful for every little things in life..appreciating all the support and encouragement from our family and friends when things get tough.

Parenting and motherhood is a journey with lots to learn. We need to keep learning to be in tune with our kids since different kids have different temperaments and different age groups have different needs..

I have to confess that I’m far from being the perfect mum (I’m still learning about parenting, perspective taking and working on my patience)..So I started reading parenting books like these 2 below (I’m only halfway through the first book and we had the book like 5 years ago??!!)😅😅 The last book that I read was “What to expect for 1 year old”..and oops, they are way past 1!!

Hope I will be a better parent after reading these books! But I guess I got to speed up my rate of reading because time waits for no one..they are growing way too fast! 😣😣 And 5 years have gone by!!!

Evan’s Plagiocephaly Journey

Since I have finally found the images of Evan at the orthopaedic clinic, I thought I would spend some time to share about the helmet therapy that Evan underwent when he’s about 5 months old!

Hi there! Here’s chubby Evan at 5 months old with his armour..a helmet that cost a whooping 2k💸💸💸.

Prior to that, I have bought a medical pillow (Mimos pillow) that cost 99 bucks 💸💸💸 in the hope that we can avoid helmet therapy..but I guess things are not meant to be. It was a tough decision made and I remember that I was very upset that Evan had to go through helmet therapy as the helmet wasn’t exactly comfort.

And this photo was how things started..

This was Evan around 3 to 4 months (adjusted). He was having his tummy time and I realized that he could not straighten his head and his head is tilted to one side. We have also noticed that when we get him to sleep on alternate sides (to prevent flat head), he would always turned to e preferred side. Hence during one of the developmental check with the PD, we voiced this out to the PD and on further checks, we realized that Evan has torticollis on one side of this neck. Torticollis is a condition where it’s hard or painful to turn the neck. So this explains why Evan’s head is always tilted to one side, no matter how we adjust it.

Some babies with torticollis develop flat head (or plagiocephaly). For Evan’s case, his plagiocephaly was assymetrical – meaning one side is distinctly flatter than the other.

It’s also flat when you look from the side. Hence we made a tough decision to let him go for helmet therapy since MIMOS pillow didnt work for him and time is running out. For babies with plagiocephaly, the correction rate is higher when they are younger..if we were to start him later, the problem may not resolve completely.

So off we went to a recommended clinic by PD – Orthopaedia. And here’s how the measurements for the helmet was taken (with some plaster all over Evan’s head after this..and no photos were taken because Evan was crying badly and we were kind of upset too)

It definitely wasn’t a comfortable process and 2 weeks later, we got the helmet which he got to wear for 23 hours a day for 2 months. The helmet’s outer layer was actually one of Evan’s romper and the clinic incorporate it into the helmet to make it aesthetically nicer..but well, no matter how pretty it is, it’s just not comfortable.

The helmet has to be adjusted again and again..especially when Evan is sleeping, the helmet will shift a little and fold his ear. There are also times that Evan had abrasions from the rubbing of helmet’s inner surface with his forehead so I had to take it off and give him a break. My aunty actually asked why let him go through this when she sees nothing wrong with it and that flat head is quite common in the past..well, it’s not just about aesthetics..but assymetrical plagiocephaly can affect his eyesight and hearing too. If it worsens, it can lead to facial assymetry too. Hence to us, we would not take any chances and would want to rectify the problem the soonest.

So every 2 weeks, we will bring Evan to Orthopaedia for follow up and to take some measurements, as well as to shave off part of the cushioning in his helmet to accomodate his growing head. I must confess that Evan doesn’t wear his helmet for 23 hours a day as he fell sick pretty often and he couldn’t sleep well with the helmet on. At times, he would also throw up when lying down (in times of stomach flu) and dirty the helmet.

Nevertheless, we are quite thankful that the therapy still worked for Evan and he’s off the helmet in 2 to 3 months’ time. Coincidentally, torticollis was also outgrown by then. And here’s the cheeky boy these days!

Hello, Jovan!

After months of hiatus, I’m finally back to blogging😂 and Baby Jovan has been swimming in my womb for 27 weeks. Lol. Continue to stay in mummy’s womb..Don’t be out too soon!

Meanwhile, my best friend these days is actually this..

A blood glucose meter! 😅😅

Unfortunately, I’m diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD)..though my gynae has been pretty assuring by telling me that it’s very common and not a big issue..but deep down, I know what are the implications to both baby and mummy; so I have been diligently monitoring my diet and blood glucose level. Thankfully (after a thorough research on Google), I found this virtually pain free lancet by Accu check. Indeed, it’s nt as painful as the typical prick at the clinic. Papa Thiam gave it a try too (and he agreed that it’s not painful🤣🤣..he started to be conscious of his diet too after this whole GD incident that happened to me). So for now, my “best friend” and I will meet 2 consecutive days a week, 7 times a day for blood glucose data. It can be pretty interesting when I see how the food that I consumed affects my glucose level. It’s like experimental science..hmm ok of course, if given a choice, I wont want to do such experiments! 🤣 Weeks ago I was still fantasizing about a durian feast nearing Csec date to boost baby’s weight..and my favourite granola breakfast to boost my milk supply..But for now, I guess I will have to change to avocado instead to boost baby’s weight😂😂 See you soon, Durian and Granola!

As I move on to third trimester, flashbacks of massive bleeding kept coming back. Kind of scary. I do hope Jovan will stay well in my womb till full term (I do not have placenta previa this time round..thankfully..but cramps and contractions are way too often). And of course, we might need another detailed scan at week 32 to check on Jovan’s brain as there’s an isolated choroid plexus cyst (CPC) discovered in his brain at week 20 during the fetal anomaly scan. The presence of choroid plexus cyst is actually linked to Trisomy 18. Though my gynae has assured that things should be okay (since my OSCAR results for trisomy 18 is ok) and it’s just one cyst that may just disappear. I still can’t help worrying. Definitely hoping that things will be okay..💪💪

Each pregnancy is a new experience for me..there must be something eventful that happened somehow..from fainting in the shopping mall for Ian, to massive bleeding for Evan, and finally GD and CPC for Jovan..Nevertheless, I’m really thankful to be home (and not the hospital this time round) at this point of pregnancy..

We thank God for his grace and the privilege to be parents of three. 😊😊

Evan’s SCN experience

Today is World Prematurity Day which reminds me of our little warrior. To be honest, what Evan went through is considered minimal compared to many other premmies. But no parents would ever want to have the child to be in tubes and wires..if given a choice.

When Evan was born, he was able to breathe without assistance but he couldn’t suckle and had episodes of apnea (where he will forget to breathe). As such, he was sent to the special care nursery for monitoring. In the early days, he needed to be fed using tubing through his nostril..and there’s many occasions that he regurgitated..with some milk coming out from both nostril and mouth..As I watched the frail little body, I can’t help feeling sad and worried. He had sleep apnea occasionally during his stay in SCN but eventually overcame that nearing to discharge. We also did Kangaroo care for him during his stay too, hoping that it will help to encourage his growth. The 3 weeks in SCN was a long and dreadful experience..I look forward to some good news everyday but each day was a disappointment. When Evan could finally suckle after 3 weeks (it doesn’t matter if he takes 1 hr to drink up 30 ml of milk), we knew that we have to bring him home and assured the doctor that we are confident to look after him. To be frank, I must admit that I was very fearful of breaking his bones initially..coz he is sooooo small and lean..he looked very fragile..but as time went by, I became more confident when it comes to caring for him.

Along the way as he grows, we uncovered some other issues like torticollis, plagiocephaly and ligament lax..but I’m definitely glad to see that we have come so far together and the little boy is progressing well at the moment, which I’m really thankful for. Salute to my little warrior! And many many other premmies who fought the fight well! 💪💪

Phototherapy for Jaundice

Kangaroo Care for Evan. Can you find little Evan??

Trying to bottlefeed Evan instead of feeding through tube.

At the SCN, the nurses will help Evan put on different beanies everyday to keep him warm.

My second pregnancy – Hello, Evan!

When I realized that Evan’s EDD actually falls on my birthday, I was elated. I thought it’s so cool to share the same birthday if he really pops on my birthday. Lol. But that’s just a theoretical date..things don’t always end up the way you would like it to be. 😂😂

Same as Ian, I had spotting in the early weeks and was given duphaston. All was great and I even applied for no pay leave in August so that I could spend some time with Ian before we welcome Evan. But little did I expect my 2nd and 3rd trimester to be a nightmare..

I was told at my 5th mth detailed scan that my placenta was low (placenta previa), but there may be chances of it moving up. Meanwhile I need to limit the amount of physical activities and rest more. And weeks later, I started to bleed. The bleeding wasn’t alot but it’s still a concern..so my no pay leave turned out to be hospitalisation leave. Days later, I bled again. Much more this time round. And I’m admitted to TMC for 2 nights. But that’s a whopping cost of 1.6k!!!! A scan at my placenta showed that the placenta had moved even nearer to the cervix. Ok, I can no longer be optimistic..so I got my gynae to write a letter for my admission to KKH just in case I bled again. Well, after I was discharged from TMC, all was fine..until days later, I felt a gush of fluid flowing out while I’m resting on the bed. To my horror, I saw a pool of blood..so I got a cab and set off for KKH immediately. And that was probably the last day I’m home.

From 27 weeks onwards, I was at KKH for a really long “staycation”. I was also given a painful steroid jab to help mature Evan’s lungs (just in case he’s born early). Initially I bled once a week, then once a few days..and eventually everyday..and each time I bled, I was sent to the labour ward for monitoring..and I can’t escape the horrible speculum..I can be having a meal and suddenly one gush of blood just flow out..whoosh..and I’m off to the labour ward. That technically summarizes my 1.5 mths in KKH. Other than the bleeding episodes and my worries for Evan, I was also very affected by my separation from Ian. I can’t stop crying whenever I thought of Ian. I just want to spend time with him but I couldn’t do so.

Every night I prayed for the bleeding to stop so that I can be home with my family and to spend time with Ian..I prayed for Evan to be healthy and hope that labour can be delayed so Evan would have enough time to grow in my womb before coming to the world. I joined preemie support group and read up on preemies..and the cycle goes on. But everytime we did a scan, my placenta just went lower and lower..and eventually covered my cervix..so I was considered high risk for my pregnancy due to placenta previa major. The high risk team would drop by my bed every now and then to check on my bleeding and to prescribe medications to prevent contractions. I was technically on strict bedrest, meaning I eat, pee and poo on bed. No shower. More of dry shower for me. At times, nurses will help to wash my hair while I was on the bed. Food wise, I’m free to eat anything..but once I bled, that’s it..no consumption of food..and that happened almost everyday..so when I had the chance to eat, I would eat as much as I can. Really thankful that Evan managed to hit 2kg at birth (2kg is the weight for preemies to be discharged) despite all the drips and limited intake of food.  I would have probably sank into depression if not for the support and help from our family and friends..so I’m really really really grateful to them and thankful to have them in my life.

Anyway at week 33, I started having massive bleeding and the doctors felt that I really need to have a casearean this time round as the bleeding doesn’t seem to stop. So yup, I panicked and cried..I wasn’t ready for Evan to be out at 33 weeks but I don’t have a choice..so off I went to the OT after Papa Thiam arrived.

And that marks the birth of our 2nd prince..

Because he was a premmie, he was sent to the Special Care Nursery for 3 weeks (will share more about his stay in the SCN) in the next post. So the birth of Evan marks the end of my KKH staycation and the start of a little warrior’s journey!

The Lost Performance

Finally feeling better to blog..Apparently, the boys had a very short Chinese performance today which both hubby and myself couldn’t make it due to events at work. At the same time, my childcare leave for both mc and without mc have been used up after the episode of HFMD in January and the recent Herpangina episode (so I couldn’t apply for anymore time off to watch the boys perform) 😦

Ian was pretty affected while Evan was quite chill about it (probably because Evan doesn’t quite understand what’s going on). Ian actually asked why didn’t I turned up to watch his performance and he looked pretty upset. I explained that I need to work and he said that I could have watch him perform before heading off to work. Needless to say, the mummy here feels lousy. I managed to catch a few glimpses of Ian through videos shared by other parents..and I can see him looking around (probably looking for me) while some of his friends were waving to their parents. I saw him hiding behind and asked why..so he said he hid because he didn’t see me.

Sorry to disappoint you, Ian. Mummy won’t let this happen again. Promise!

My first pregnancy – Hello, Ian!!

A month after our wedding, I started having cramps..pretty similar to menstrual cramps..but more intense..I thought it’s just a really bad PMS and I went ahead with my 10km run after testing negative. Halfway through my run, I couldn’t continue anymore because of a sharp pain at the abdomen. Still disturbed by the incident, I tested again the next day..and I’m pregnant!

The first thing that we did was to arrange for an appointment with a gynae. The first gynae that I visited made me weep loads..because she told me the cold hard truth about miscarriages..so I got really paranoid and worried..the 2nd gynae’s location is less accessible by public transport..so we moved on to the last and final one..Dr Jocelyn Wong. She is really optimistic and I feel at ease whenever I see her. So yup, she’s my chosen gynae!

My pregnancy with Ian is considered smooth sailing compared to my time with Evan.🤣🤣 Though at week 5, I did have spotting (implantation bleeding)..I was fine after taking duphaston and days of bedrest. At week 10, I tried to queue at a restaurant and I fainted after less than 10 mins of queueing..heard from Papa Thiam that the scene was quite dramatic as it happened in a crowded shopping mall and I was sent to the hospital by ambulance. But thankfully, all was good. From then on, there’s no major medical concern for the pregnancy.

As my tummy gets bigger and bigger, I started having cramps and pains..My gynae thought I may gave birth earlier so gave me 2 weeks of hospitalization leave prior to my EDD to rest and to prepare for Ian’s arrival. Unexpectedly, Ian finds my womb sooooo comfy that he’s not out at 39 weeks and I’m advised to walk more and climb more stairs (complete opposite for Evan’s case!). I did! I walked from Novena MRT to Thomson medical for my check ups..I walked an hour plus around the park connector..but still, there’s no sign of labour.

Just when you least expect things to happen, my water bag burst after Papa Thiam head off for work. At that point, I was thinking if it’s really waterbag bursting because I just felt a small trickle of liquid flowing out and it stopped. It wasn’t like what I have seen on the TV..and I had too many false alarms before that (so was a little embarassed to head off straight to the clinic without being sure)..so I made my way to my aunty’s hse by MRT and bus (still thinking if my waterbag has burst), had my favourite wanton mee and finally cab down to TMC (glad that my aunt’s hse is pretty near the hospital). And hooray! My gynae confirmed that my waterbag has burst! But everything was still pretty slow motioned..maybe because it’s still the early stage of labour, there’s no contractions or bleeding. I even spent some time washing TMC’s labour ward toilet because I didn’t expect the suppository to work so soon and it’s so powerful. 😂😂

Before the delivery of Ian, I told Papa Thiam that I will try to do without epidural. So from 10.30 am to 6 pm, I was without epidural and I don’t feel much pain. But I guess the waiting game became too long..my cervix was not opening and I started having an immense pressure at the cervix before contractions kicked in..it began to get more painful and I finally decided to call for an anaesthetist for epidural. But the anaesthetist wasn’t around and I got to wait for her to travel to the hospital. By 7.30 pm, I can no longer enjoy my Korean Drama and I can’t wait to have epidural administered. After the epidural, I felt much better and the cervix started to dilate faster. At the same time, I had some side effects of epidural..I began to have fever and was shivering..then I started to vomit. When Dr Wong asked if I’m ready to push, I said “Okay but wait, I need to vomit” and of course that made me felt better before I began the pushing exercise. And very soon, Ian was out!! Hurray!! A good 16 hours of labour. Lol.

HFMD vs Herpangina

Sooooo as Evan is making small recovery from Herpangina, our little big brother is down with Herpangina too.

So now, they are the happy Herpangina brothers..having lots of fun falling sick and cuddling together..🤔🤔🤔

So what’s Herpangina and why are we so dreadful of it??

Herpangina is actually similar to HFMD (yes, the scary four letters!)..caused by enterovirus or coxsackievirus. The only difference is probably because Herpangina may just consist of mouth ulcers and fever while HFMD includes blisters in hands and feet as well.

While there’s usually no fixed treatment for HFMD or Herpangina, some doctors do give anti-viral med and/or oral ulcer gel..some thinks no intervention is required other than keeping them away from crowd. But this time round, our doctor recommended the boys to take Lysine as studies have shown that it can not just boost appetite but also to help ulcers to heal faster! Sounds great, isn’t it? I hope it works! Because our self proclaimed “Doctor” Evan insisted that the doctor said he can’t eat rice, can’t drink milk etc and Ian non-chalantly replied “No, Doctor never said that you can’t drink milk and eat rice. You tell lies.” Wahaha! Indeed!

But this “Doctor” said Evan can eat biscuits and tohato. Well, better than not eating I guess!

Anyway, that’s why I suddenly feel hopeful when I learnt about Lysine because “Doctor” Evan hasn’t been gaining weight for almost a year and he’s losing weight in this whole Herpangina episode! Fortunately for Ian, his appetite is still great..but then again, he’s only at Day 3 of the Herpangina outbreak..but I do hope it won’t get any worse. Hope the boys will get well soon!! Fighting!💪💪

SAHM vs FTWM

A year ago, I returned to work and over the year, I have been thinking about my days as a SAHM. The struggles of FTWM (Full time working mum) are real..having said that, it doesn’t mean that a SAHM (Stay at home mum) is any easier.

Let’s start off with a FTWM..no doubt when our children are sick, priority definitely goes to them..but how long can you be absent from work? Who will be covering your duties and responsibilities? Let’s take HFMD or Herpangina (an illness also caused by enterovirus, the same culprit responsible for HFMD) for example..the days that the child needs to be quarantined can go up to 10 days. If the sibling gets it later, it implies that the parents will have to be away from work for pretty long. Guess the entitled number of childcare leave aren’t even enough to cover for the duration of MC for the children. Boohoo! And that’s what we had experienced at the start of the year and experiencing right now..

That aside, FTWM also doubles up the duty of an employee and back home as a mum. Rest only comes in when all the necessary work and chores are done after the kids are asleep. For this, I must thank Papa Thiam for taking up the load at home! Else I think I wouldn’t be alive writing this blog.

For us, we send our kids to school slightly past 7 am and we try to end work earlier to pick them up at 5 pm. There are times where we can’t pick them up early, and the kids were very upset when most of their friends have left home (leaving only them) by the time we picked them up. Can’t help feeling guilty!

Next comes the issue of our daily dinner..I started off waking up at 4 am to prepare soup for the dinner..but gosh..I’m too tired to sustain the routine..so I tried to knock off earlier to cook before the kids are home. But as workload gets heavier, this is nearly impossible. There are many occasions that I got to trouble my mum and my mother in law to help us with dinner..and I’m really thankful for their help! There are also simply times that we were too tired and we ate out more frequently in a week. When the kids fell sick, I’m guilt stricken again. I thought if I could provide them with home cooked food more often, then they probably won’t fall sick so easily. Papa Thiam always ask me which is more important – outdoor playtime or dinner..and I couldn’t decide. To me, both are important (outdoor playtime is especially important to Evan in strengthening his muscles and to double up as his physiotherapy)..but well, the amount of time we have with the kids after we knock off is really limited.

Perhaps to sum it all, that is why I miss the days being a SAHM..I may not have any earning power..my pocket is empty..but I’m happy (on most days..)

There are definitely days that can be really insane..days that I feel frustrated and needed a short break because the house is in a mess, the kids aren’t cooperating and the list goes on..But at least, I know that I can be there for every of my children’s milestone..be there when they are sick (without having to worry about taking leave)..be there to laugh, hug and cry together. And there’s definitely no rush in bringing them to school or for medical appointments..the only rush I probably have is to get dinner ready by evening and my personal toilet needs.

To sum up, whether one is a SAHM or FTWM, things aren’t any easier..they have their fair share of challenges and struggles..In fact, it’s never easy being a parent! 😂😂😂