Itchy and Scratchy

Evan and Marissa are both afflicted with red spots and rashes! AIYOH! 

Made 2 trips to Baby and Beyond Clinic to sort things out. 

Brought Marissa there on a Thursday morning when we noticed some spots on her arm and cheek near the ears.

Paed on duty : Dr. Chuah Sai Ling. 

Diagnosis : bacterial infection on the skin. 

Instructions : apply topical hydrocortisone cream 1% and also Fusidic Acid. 

Infection should clear in 2-3 days.

Teacher Cindy called me on Thursday morning and informed me that Evan had been scratching his ears and it turned very red and there are rashes behind his ears. So we applied the medication for Evan as well. Coincidence that both of them have bacterial infection?

Fast forward to Sunday morning, the spots and rashes had spread to more areas  (especially for Marissa) and became even more reddish even with the medication. The kids complained of pain and itchiness. We went back to the clinic again and this time....

Paed on duty : Dr. Cheah Cheong Wooi

Diagnosis : Urticaria

Instructions : Bath with soap-free shower gel & moisturiser. Apply hydrocortisone 1% and benovate cream. Take piriton (anti-histamine) orally. 

It's most likely from something that the kids ate. Not sure what the allergen is but hopefully it doesn't recur! We've already seen 4 out of the 5 paeds on duty at Baby and Beyond Clinic in 2010!

Kedai Mini Muffin Giveaway RESULTS

 

All participants had to guess the number of mini muffins in this styrofoam box. I guessed 1096... but the actual number is 1457. But my answer is the 3rd closest to the actual amount so I won 100 mini muffins & a discount voucher from Kedai Mini Muffin! Full results here.

Guess that I will be planning a small birthday party for Marissa in June.... hmmm... any ideas???

More CNY Pics taken in Segamat

 

Marissa in a satin cheongsam with her Kung Kung

 

Makan-makan at a Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant

Package deal : RM158.00. 6 dishes: yam basket, curry fish, chicken (or pork?) slices, soup, tauhu & vegetables.

The camera-shy Por Por with Marissa

Down and Out

As much as we like the medical care provided by Baby & Beyond, we didn't expect to return so soon for another medical emergency. This time, our hero, Evan was down with acute gastroenteritis.
He complained of stomachache on Thursday nite. Then he said he was hungry. Immediately after consuming 2 little kuih bahulu, he vomited on the floor....... and slipped on his own vomit. He hollered non-stop thoughout his shower. Then the vomiting continued through the wee hours of the morning. Larry inserted a metaclopramide suppository - it was supposed to be anti-emetic but Evan still continued his vomiting episodes. He had a bout of diarrhea with loose stools and continued vomiting.

On Friday morning, all of us headed to Baby & Beyond. The attending paediatrician was Dr Amir Hamzah who is a clinical professor specialising in allergy/immunology. He checked Evan thoroughly and ruled out appendicitis. He said no need for any medication but ORS would be sufficient - taken in sips instead of gulping down cups of it, otherwise it may trigger more vomiting episodes. He advised us not to give any foods cos Evan won't be able to keep it down. Once the vomiting tapers off, introduce drinks eg milo and then later on solids. It was very difficult to Evan to drink ORS cos he said it's YUCKY (I personally think so too!).

Anyway, on Saturday, the vomiting stopped..... but everything came out at the other end. He still didn't take much of ORS but drank lots of water. He also had a fever. Larry stuffed in Voren suppositories but because of his bowel movements, the suppositories didn't stay in long enough to work. So we resorted to giving him Brufen orally.

On Sunday, he was still very weak and completely not himself.  His tummy was aching and he had no energy for anything. Larry gave him a dose of Dhacopan for his stomach pain & also Brufen for his fever. We made another trip to Baby & Beyond and this time Dr Rajini was on duty. She said that his potassium levels could be low and to replenish, drink 100 plus or eat bananas. Add some salt  & a pinch of sugar into his porridge as well. She also said that the stomach pain is due to accumulation of wind. Dhacopan works to help alleviate the pain associated with the wind.

We prayed many times throughout for healing - even Marissa prayed for her Koko. Praise God that Evan is now much much better. He woke up on Monday morning his usual self - chattering away non-stop and started playing with his toys..... well.... he got an 'extended' school break today and will resume classes on Tuesday.

The Cousin

 

This is Marissa and her cousin brother : Tuan Jay Han. He's 9 months old (DOB : 10th May 2009). Marissa is 20 months old and they are more or less the same size. They both wear L-size diapers.

Marissa striking a pose in the plum blossom dress I bought online at the Baby Organic Store.

I couldn't resist taking a photo with my ever jovial nephew. He's already sprouted 6 teeth..... 2 on the bottom and 4 on top. Guess it's all in the genes.... both my kids, my brother & I..... congenitally missing lower incisors.

My mom helped take care of Jay Han until he was about 7 months old. Now she's stopped cos my SIL is now working from home. Jay Han is fully breastfed. He's now taking solids thrice a day and he loves to eat!!!

Dad's Double Six

My dad's 66th birthday falls on 17th February 2010. This year my mom ordered a blueberry cheesecake from Isemeina Cake House in Segamat Baru as a surprise. His birthday is usually very near Chinese New Year and we usually celebrate it in Segamat. We celebrated it on 14th February because it's ahem! Valentine's Day and also CNY 1st Day.....

 

Evan helped his Kung Kung blow blew out THE candle after we all sang the birthday song. The cheesecake was rather yummy..... I ate slices and slices of it over 2 days and I now am having trouble buttoning my pants.

 

My dad's birthday pressie : a dragon puppet. His puppet collection is growing! We bought him 2 lions before this for his previous birthdays. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PA! LOVE YA!

Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni

 

Reached Segamat my hometown on Saturday New Year's Eve just in time for reunion dinner and the jam on the highway had everything to do with it! My mom did some cooking and we had a simple dinner. 

The next day we attended church at Segamat Wesley's new building. Evan stayed home playing with his fire truck cos I wasn't sure whether there's any children's room in the church and I didn't want to be shouting at him in church.

Marissa tagged along to church and she was very well-behaved - she participatesd in the worship and kept herself busy during the sermon. Afterwards she wanted to nurse and I brought her to the children's room (it exists!) which was empty except for some plastic chairs/table & toybox. She kept herself occupied the rest of the time playing with the toys there. However, once inside the children's room, you can't hear the sermon but can only view it through the window.

After the service, Marissa ran around the church! Light refreshments were served and we took the opportunity to catch up with friends.

The church looks very spacious with a traditional setting. Nice sound system. Only keyboards for the musical instruments. Lots of parking space within the church compound. Lots of toilets too!

The church building was officiated by Bishop Rev Hwa Yung on 20th July 2008. It was the first time we were there cos last year we weren't around on a Sunday.

Children's Book Giveaway by Little Red Reading Nook

Organized my very 1st giveaway at Little Red Reading Nook.

For more info/submit your entry please click here.

 

Little Red Reading Nook had a complete make-over! I changed the template.... installed a new header & menu bar professionally designed by Adori Graphics. I won the grab button/logo and favicon in their Christmas Giveaway last year, so I decided to order a custom designed header & menu bar as well.

BEFORE

AFTER

Emily Joy Photography Blog Makeover Giveaway

Emily Joy Photography is celebrating its 400th post! Wow!

Emily is a multi-talented 13 year-old Christian residing in the United States. She loves photography hence her blog. She's also a very creative blog designer. Do check out her work at The Chic Boutique Blog Design!

Oh and back to the giveaway, Emily is giving away a blog makeover to one winner. I am hoping to win this so that I can make-over my blogs! If you are interested to take part in this giveaway too, check out this link

To Baby & Beyond.....again

We were at Baby & Beyond again on a Sunday morning. Evan woke up complaining of a painful penis. While saying grace before his breakfast of oats & milk, Evan prayed for healing of his "swollen penis".

Both Larry and I checked and it does look inflamed and slightly swollen. So off we went to the paeds clinic located at Bangsar Village II. They open on Sundays at 10am and we were there on the dot.

Evan and Marissa enjoy playing in the wooden playhouse fully furnished with an Ikea wooden toy kitchen, wooden table and chairs set also from Ikea and a wooden doll bed which I believe is also from Ikea. 

The paediatrician on duty was Dr. Cheah Cheong Wooi. He sat down with us at the reception area dan had a chat with us on Evan's signs/symptoms. He explained that boys who have a tight foreskin where the foreskin is not fully retractable (condition name is phimosis) are more susceptible to inflammation around the penis as smegma can easily accumulate underneath the foreskin. He suspects that Evan may have this condition. Usually the best treatment would be male circumcision and the procedure is done under GA.

He then proceeded to examine Evan in the consultation room. He managed retracted Evan's foreskin and yellowish pus oozed out. It was clear that an active  bacterial infection is there and antibiotics are needed to stop the infection from spreading up to the urinary tract. Since Evan's foreskin could be easily retracted, he does not have phimosis. He justs needs to be more hygienic in the future! Dr Cheah then used saline to clean the pus and he also applied fusidic acid cream on the infected area. Evan was very brave and he didn't cry one bit. 

Dr. Cheah also advised us to retract the foreskin and wash with water each time Evan showers to ensure the area is clean.... which I must admit was something that I didn't do....  alamak! never knew that I had to do that! 

Anyway, Dr. Cheah prescribed Zinnat (a second generation cephalosporin) which works well for Gram +ve and Gram -ve bacteria. In Evan's case, it's a lot more for the Gram -ve bacteria. We are also required to apply fusidic acid cream topically.

I requested a suppository as well as a stand-by just in case Evan develops a throat infection/fever during the CNY or during our overseas trip. He prescribed Voren which is anti-inflammatory and is also an analgesic.

We also requested Dr. Cheah to check whether Evan has congenital inguinal hernia. This was because one of our church member's son had it and no one knew. Suddenly one day the 6 year old boy couldn't walk because of pain in the groin area. He was then admitted for an emergency op. According to Dr. Cheah, Evan does not have this condition.

Before we left, Dr. Cheah showed us some images from the internet about phimosis which he initially thought Evan had.

I had a chat with Dr. Cheah while paying at the cashier counter and found out from Dr Cheah that his brother is a dentist in Singapore. Dr. Cheah also goes to Seremban GH to teach medical students from IMU. He also does calls there as well.

Well, I was very satisfied with the level of care & competency of the team at Baby & Beyond. The entire consultation lasted half an hour. Total paid was RM80 for consultation and RM99.50 for the medication.

Kids Shots by Covershots

2 months ago, we signed up for a photography session just for the kids at Covershots. They were the same group of photographers who took my graduation pics, wedding photos, couple shots with my then boyfriend/soon-to-be-hubby (Larry) & family pics! Very loyal customer here! Anyway, paid RM250 for a 5R leather album with 11 laminated photos plus the data cd. Which photo do you like best?

Evan just kissed Marissa and she touched her cheek

Lots of outdoor shots! They were momentarily distracted by dragonflies

I'm a fairy princess!

Butterfly wand & butterfly headwreath from Pretty Roses for Pretty Girls

Another outdoor shot

One of my favs

Shoes & dress from Gymboree

 The teddy's bigger than my petite princess

Results for the twopixel photography contest is finally out but our entry did not win the top 3 prizes.... The good news is all participants will receive a voucher! So I guess we can plan our next family photo session either before or after Evan turns 5 this year!!!

After School Program

 

Asked Evan to smile but he did this instead!

We went to pick up Evan at 3:15pm after school dismissal. He has now started on the ASP (After School Program). Basically the kids who are enrolled in this program will be involved in activities & extra classes e.g. Mandarin class, gardening, cooking etc. 

I spoke to Evan's former class teacher and she told me that Evan cried when Joseph went home (The boys used to go home together). He thought he was left behind. Then he remembered that he was supposed to stay back for the ASP. To my surprise, he ate his lunch (loh shee fun).... albeit being the slowest to finish his meal. He told me that he went to the Multimedia room and he said he didn't need to wear his uniform.

We bought a new backpack for him.... from Hush Puppies cos his old one is too small to fit all his belongings. We plan to let him use it for the Hong Kong trip as well. He was showing off his bag to everyone. 

I was hoping to arrange transportation for him from school to home on alternate days but no transporter willing to go to KL. As for other kids who stay back for the ASP, they stay nowhere nearby. So..... have to take time off from work to be my son's driver!

The Baby Organic Store Giveaway RESULTS

The results are finally out! And *drumroll* I am one of the 2 lucky winners selected using random.org.

I won a RM80 voucher & free shipping voucher for my purchase at The Baby Organic Store! With Chinese New Year just around the corner, I have decided to purchase the organic plum-blossom summer dress (which I blogged about) for Marissa - only one left in stock and it's a size 1-2Y. It's now on sale at RM150.

For full info on the results of the give-away, check out this link at A Pregnant Pause : winners list

I plan to do a give-away next week as soon as my blogshop : Little Red Reading Nook's make-over is complete. I've installed a new template but ran into a speedbump with the integrated menu bar & header design.