Milk strike

For the past week or so, Faith has been on a milk strike. Well... technically, its more a "formula milk" strike, rather than a strike against all milk. She likes her breastmilk just fine, preferably, served at source.

Frankly, I don't have a good idea what really makes Faith ticks when it comes to drinking milk of any kind other than BM. She was drinking well -- at least by Faith's standard -- during the trip to London. When we first came back, she wasn't drinking all that much, but we chalked it up to jetlag. Yet, the jetlag came and went and she still wasn't drinking much of her milk.

Faith gets her daily dose of formula milk twice a day; during the mid afternoon feed (120ml of formula and 60ml of BM) and another small amount which I give her before her bedtime feed.

Since our return from London, there would be days when she would drink about 100ml for her afternoon feed. During the not-so-good days, she would drink about 50ml or less.

No amount of coaxing, cajoling, threatening or bribery would my mom or I be able to get her to drink any more. She would wriggle out of our grasp if we try to grab her, push the teat right out with her tongue if we try to wriggle it into her mouth or simply just shake her head left and right.

We tried pouring the milk out of her milk bottle into all sorts of cups that might usually attract her to drink but to no avail. We had varied successes in trying to put some of her all-time favourite cornflakes in it to get her to eat/drink her milk. It worked once but not the next.

I'm not sure if she's protesting against the specific brand of formula. After all, I've read that toddlers at this age may suddenly develop a distaste for some food that they used to eat or even enjoy eating. In the event that this might be the case, I've requested for other brands of formula milk samples to test out the hypothesis.

I've also bought some full cream fresh milk and yoghurt. For the milk, I've been giving it to her along with cornflakes for her morning breakfast for the last 2 days. I've added in more of her cornflakes cos I figured it would soak up much of the milk too, allowing me to sneak in whatever precious millimeter of milk into her little body.

The yoghurt is on standby in case she still drinks a pitiful amount of her mid-afternoon milk. In which case, my so-called "Plan B" would be to make her a banana milkshake.

I have no idea why Faith's milk drinking behaviour has been so erratic. Then again, it shouldn't surprise me given Faith's long history with formula milk. However, given her small frame and her weight, I am always fretting about her meals, snacks and milk intake. Thankfully, she enjoys and takes her solid well -- although that's getting to be another challenge these days becos she just won't sit still long enough to finish her lunch and dinner.

I've read that its not unusual for toddlers to eat lesser now as their growth rate is slowing down and they don't need as much as before to keep up. But most of what I've read online and in books are toddlers who are on food strike. I've hardly come across cases of kids on milk strike.

Nonetheless, I am grateful that she's still eating her solids well, although I feel that milk is still an essential component of her diet too. At the very least, I am able to supplement the calcium in milk through other food like cheese, yoghurt etc.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to keep calm and not get too hang up about the fact that she's not drinking her formula milk.

New washing machine

Barely two and a half years into its life, our washing machine up and went kaput on us. The drum just wouldn't spin.

We called the service centre to have their repair man take a look at our machine and his diagnosis at the end of it was to go get ourselves a new one. Not becos it couldn't be repaired but it would cost nearly as much to repair it as to get ourselves a new one.

The cost of replacing the worn out drum alone was nearly $300. As the suspension holding the drum at the back of the washing machine was worn out too, it would cost more than $100 to replace. Plus GST, the total bill for the repair would be in the region of $500.

Desperately, my mom and I beseeched him a few times to try to do something to get it to spin another one or two load as we had a lot of laundry to clear. He must have thought the two of us to be some numbskull cos he repeatedly told us that machines are a strange lot -- they either work or they don't work. You can't get them to work temporarily. True enough, he was right. We tested the machine again after he left, but the drum just wouldn't spin. Sigh...

It was also partly our fault that our washing machine had such a short lifespan.

We tend to overload our 6kg load washing machine. And when it was packed, we would still push in more clothes. Every other day, we would set the machine to spin at least a load of clothes.

Louis and I went to Audio House last Saturday to check out the range of washing machines. After speaking to a well-versed salesman, we decided to buy the Electrolux 7 kg load washing machine that was on offer for the weekend. Our old one was a Brandt.

Our washing machine was delivered today. Just in time for us to try it out with yet another load of Faith's clothes :) Over the last 4 days without a washing machine, we had to hand wash most of Faith's and Louis' office clothes, and hauled the rest of the clothes to my MIL's place to "spread the load" -- see... another good reason why its good to stay close to one's parents :)

The new washing machine is performing great. In fact, it was so silent that you don't really hear the machine washing and spinning. This time around, we would be more careful not to overtax our washing machine, so hopefully, it would stay alive longer than its predecessor.

Breast milk is the best

Page 4 of the Mind Your Body section of the Straits Times dated 6 August 08 featured an article written by Dr Peter Chew, a senior consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician at the Gleneagles Medical Centre titled "Breast milk is the best". In it, he expounded that breastfeeding is the natural way and human milk - made specifically for this - is the best source of nourishment for the infant with many benefits to the mother. He further quoted that the WHO recommends a minimum of 2 years of breastfeeding, with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant's life.

Reading this article, I feel vindicated. At the same time, I am tempted to shove this article in front of the people who have looked at me incredulously in the past when I tell them that I'm still breastfeeding Faith beyond the age of 1 year. I feel the need to cut and safe keep this article in my wallet so that I can flash it in the face of whoever else that will give me that same incredulous and judgemental look should they learn that I still am and would like to continue breastfeeding Faith for as long as I could.

Sadly, some of the people who judged and thought that I'm mental for continuing to breastfeed Faith instead of giving her formula milk are friends and even people close to me.

Most people recognise that breastfeeding is better [than formula]. Unfortunately, the unspoken time frame in which they think it is acceptable to transit from breastmilk to formula milk lies somewhere between the age of 6-12 months of an infant's life.

It is all good and fine to quote WHO's statement on breastfeeding for a minimum of 2 years. What I felt the article failed to articulate further was why breastfeeding beyond the age of 1 is beneficial for toddlers.

What a lot of people, even some mothers who have breastfed their kids, do not not know is that the important immune factors present in breastmilk increase in concentration in the 2nd year. That makes a whole lot of sense becos that's the age that children gain independence with greater mobility. Their curiosity is boundless, their eyes are so sharp to see what we adults would miss, and the little fingers so quick to pick things up from the ground and put it in their mouth before a single exclamation could be uttered.

There's also the other benefit that kids who wean themselves off breastfeeding instead of being forced to before they are ready tend to be more secure.

I've been asked by mothers who breastfed kids before if it was painful to continue breastfeeding when the baby has teeth. I've been questioned and ridiculed (in a nice way) for my desire to continue breastfeeding despite my telling them the benefits of extended breastfeeding.

I feel indignant. I feel frustrated. I feel trapped. I feel exhausted from having to defend my decision to do what is medically proven to be the best and right thing to do for my baby.

Why should I substitute my best and what nature had intended for formula milk? Pharma companies have been trying unsuccessfully for years to replicate all the beneficial components in breastmilk but failed to accomplish. They cannot reproduce in formula milk the immune factors that protect my child as she is growing up.

Please do not mistake me. I have nothing against formula milk. In fact, when Faith was 10 1/2 months, I introduced a serving of formula milk for her in the day to replace breastmilk for a slot. Neither do I think lesser of any mom who chooses to give her child formula.

Having gone through the daunting and difficult period of having Faith learn to latch on properly after birth, I know how stressful it is to have to breastfeed at a time when one is coping with post-natal depression, hormonal changes, recovery from delivery and a totally different lifestyle and responsibility. It didn't help that well-meaning friends advice to to persevere with breastfeeding made it worse for me.

The thought of giving up then and there was so strong. Each time I entertained thoughts of that, I feared I would be labelled a failure as a mom for failing to persevere. I gritted my teeth and things got better. I told myself that I would do the requisite 6 months. Six months came and went. Then, I thought again that I will let her hit the one year mark before switching her to formula milk.

Fate [or Faith] has a habit of intervening. At nine months, Faith still has a distaste for formula milk. Given her pint size, I was determined that she should still drink her share of milk, even though she eats her solids well. Breastmilk was the answer becos she never refuses breastmilk. In fact, she loves it.

Thus, the 1 year mark came and went. Even though she continues to have her once a day share of formula milk, she gets to latch on for the night and early morning feeds. As I plough the web and read more information on extended breastfeeding, I became fully convinced of its merits and why I should continue breastfeeding.

Nonetheless, I yearn for the return of my boobs to its former size. Seriously, an increase bustline and cupsize is over-rated. I have scores of tops in the wardrobe left hanging forlornly becos I either can't squeeze them past my chest or zip them up. I've got to buy all my tops one size bigger or go for loose-fitting tops to accommodate my new boobs.

Yet all this inconveniences to me will come to pass in a matter of 2-3 years, maybe more if a second one comes along. However, the benefits of breastfeeding will serve Faith well, even for the rest of her life.

I once held similar incredulous views about extended breastfeeding. My little one taught me otherwise. I hope that as more people read such articles, they would be encouraged to not view extended breastfeeding negatively.

I made no judge of any mom who chooses to breastfeed her child for whatever length of time, or even not at all.

I only ask for the same consideration to not judge me and to respect my decision in bringing my child up the way I deem best for her.

Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

I've read on some mommy's blog about the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden near the Singapore Botanic Garden. Now that Faith's older and more mobile, Louis and I were thinking that we should bring her out more often, either for a swim, to the parks or whatever.

Faith, fortunately and unfortunately (depending on situation), is not an early riser. She sleeps pretty much a 12-hour cycle and usually wake up between 9-ish to 10-ish in the mornings.

By the time we feed and bath her, there's not much time to do anything before her lunch. In the afternoons, she sleeps anywhere from 1 to 2 hours at around 3-ish or 4-ish pm. Her timing kinda makes it difficult to have any outings becos we either hit the hot afternoon sun, or else, the timing would be too tied to bring her out and clean her up in time for our weekly weekend dinners.

Still, since her routine has been messed up becos of the jetlag, we thought we might go check out the Jacob Ballas garden with her. Call us crazy but we headed there on a sweltering hot Sunday at 2 pm -- admittedly, not the best time to be out in the sun.

We dropped my MIL at the swimming pool nearby and parked at the garden. Upon entering the lobby, we see a cafe on the left and it was speckled with a gaggle of parents and young children. Walking into the park, we followed the sound of some distance noise and came to a sheltered area where a private party was ongoing.

Retracting our steps, we walked the opposite direction and soon approach a water-play area where there were some kids in their swimming costumes playing with the water fountain. Further on, we saw a science and discovery area, a suspension bridge, some empty classrooms and a pond.



As the weather was really hot and we didn't want to risk Faith getting a heatstroke of any kind on top of the jetlag, we decided to head back to the little cafe at the lobby and have a cuppa and some snacks.

I ordered some drinks for Louis and myself, a cup of chocolate ice-cream to share among the 3 of us and a plate of fried fish fingers. As expected, the prices at the cafe was sky-high... I paid $10.50 for all of the items.

Lesson learnt - next time, bring my own snacks and drinks.

By the time we were nearly done with our drinks and food, my MIL called to say that she was done with her swimming. We drove off to pick her up and headed home.

I like the garden, but most certainly, not at the timing that we went. Would try to find a time to go there another weekend... most probably in the late afternoon. Maybe the 2As could join us then, cos I think they would enjoy playing at the waterplay area.

Chorizo sandwich ala Borough Market

Remember my bountiful purchases from London's Borough Market? Well... I finally put the fresh chorizo sausages that I bought to good use: replicating the chorizo sandwich that we bought from the Spanish store.

Seriously, the only difficult thing about putting this sandwich together is finding the right chorizo. Maybe becos the first chorizo that I ate were the ones from Spain. So, all the other types of chorizo that I find here in Singapore seem to lack in taste and oomph.

I bought some multi-grain ciabatta breads from Delifrance, which I lightly grill on the griddle. I also charred the skin off 2 red bell peppers, which I promptly put in a plastic bag and tied it up, waiting for it to cool before I peel off the skin. Grilled red peppers are really very sweet and juicy.

Just before eating, I heat up the griddle pan, add the cut chorizo onto the pan to sizzle over medium heat on both sides. When done, simply assemble by:

1) Drizzling some olive oil onto the bread

2) Dropping some rocket leaves on top

3) Adding the red bell peppers

4) Adding the grilled chorizo

5) Topping it up with the remaining slice of bread

I accompanied the sandwich with a salad made from the remaining rocket leaves, pear slices, roasted sunflower seeds, and finally, drizzled some balsamic orange syrup (again bought from the Borough) and olive oil.

The hubby said "Yummy!" :)

Sleepless in Singapore Part 2: More Nocturnal Activities

As predicted, Faith needed a few days for her body to regulate and adjust back to the 7-hour time difference.

Night 2

After trip to McDonald's on the first night of our return, we psyched ourselves for yet another night marathon on Thur. Faith woke at close to 1 am, drank milk and sat up in bed and looked around the room in curiosity. Louis and I roused ourselves up from bed. As we resign ourselves to yet another few hours of entertaining our bright-eyed kid, Louis said that he felt like having some porridge.

I suggested Oasis Taiwanese Porridge at Toa Payoh Gardens as it was opened 24 hours. He called the restaurant just to ensure that its open. We changed Faith our of her pyjamas, got changed ourselves and headed out of the house for the second night for the drive to Toa Payoh.
It took us only an hour to drive there, eat and return home. We did some winding down activities after that, reading to her quietly in the room, followed by milk and then putting her back to sleep.

The 2nd night, we were all awake from 1-4.20 am. Not bad. An improvement of nearly 1 1/2 hours from the previous night.

Night 3

Faith woke at 2 am.

By this time, Louis was thoroughly exhausted, surviving only on 2-3 hours of sleep and having to put in a full day of work the last 2 days. Having told him to go back to sleep, I brought Faith out to watch some TV and we shared some cornflakes with milk.

We had been advised by both my MIL and elder BIL not to venture out at night becos of the lunar 7th month's Hungry Ghost season. After an hour of TV, I ushered her back to bed and spent the next 1 1/2 hours trying to cajole her to sleep.

Countdown for Night 3 - We were awake from 2-4.30 am. Total waking time was 2 1/2 hours, which is 1 hour less than Night 2. Again, an improvement.

Night 4

All was quiet. Having slept till nearly 4 pm that day and going without any afternoon nap, Faith was dead beat. She slept at about 10 pm that night and didn't wake up for any nocturnal activities, although she did roused from her sleep a few times, which I easily patted her butt and got her to go back to dreamland again.

So, it seems that Faith has gotten over the worst of the jetlag by the 4th night.

Hallelujah!

Airport send off and new car seat

Even though she has jetlag and slept only around 4.30 am the night before, we still woke Faith up at 10.30 am. It was an important day. Her Dua Peh (my eldest BIL) was leaving for an overseas assignment for 2 months. The whole family was headed to the airport to send him off and wish him a bon voyage.

Thankfully, we made it to the airport in time to have lunch at the Kopitiam foodcourt, before sending him off at the departure gate. After Adrian left, we headed to the toilet to change Faith's diapers. While in the toilet, Anders cried becos he missed his dad. I asked Faith to kiss and hug him which she did twice :) Poor Anders. Hope he would adjust well to Adrian's time away from home.

Looking back nearly 2 years ago, when Anthea was about the same age (4+ yrs), she too cried at the departure of Adrian when he went away for a few weeks of assignment overseas. Which leads me to wonder if that's the age when they suddenly realise the significance of what it means when someone departs for an extended period, yet, they are still too young to control their emotions at the thought of their love ones leaving.

Nonetheless, travelling, especially for long periods is always disruptive for everyone in the family. Unfortunately, in today's time, we all need to do what we need to do in order to earn our keep.

As it was still early after the send off, Louis and I decided to head to town with my MIL to check out the child seat for Faith. She's outgrowing her infant rear-facing child seat. We have not moved her to a forward-facing one becos she's only reached 9 kg. So, even though her legs are scrunched up becos the seat is now too short for her legs, we have kept her in the smaller seat.

At Mothercare, we decided to buy the Britax Combination seat (which faces both rear and forward from birth to 18 months) after consulting with the sales staff and much deliberation on our part. Compared to Mothercare's in-house car seat and Concorde, it was roomier and had more cushioning support.

After paying for our purchase, the sales assistant kindly offered to help us set up the car seat in our car.

Faith seem to like her new car seat very much. Its elevated and she can now look out of the window to see the passing cars and view instead of facing the back of the car seat. The other thing is that its also cooler cos the rear-facing car seat blocks the air circulating from the front of the car. Lastly, she's now able to see everyone in the front of the car.

Given that she seems so comfortable in her new car seat and that she's not making a lot of noise (fingers cross on that one), I decided to move myself up from sitting at the back of the car to sitting next to Louis at the front.

Hurray for front-facing car seats!!!