What to Bring in a Hospital Bag

This is always the big question for a increasingly-panicky mom-to-be, as the date of arrival for the little one looms around the corner. In Singapore, most hospitals provide basic necessities in the hotel room plus the goodie bags that come along with the hospital stay with the child's birth. So most items to be brought along with the hospital bags are good-to-have for entertainment and other purposes.

What to bring:

1. Going home clothes (do keep in mind that the body will still be similar to its pregnant stage, tummy and all; If planning a C-sect, one piece dress would also be more comfortable around the abdominal wound)
2. Disposal underwear
3. Handphone and charger 
4. Abdominal binder (optional, recommended for c-sect, can also be purchased at hospital)
5. Comfortable footwear
6. Car seat for baby (if applicable)
7. Breast pump, accessories and cleaning tools (if needed. Hospitals may also loan one if urgently needed)
8. Money / Credit card
9. Ob-Gyn receipts and other documents for claiming medisave, opening baby bonus account etc (all these can be done at the hospital for your convenience!)

What will (usually) be provided:

1. Baby diapers
2. Baby going-home clothes
3. Baby towel/swaddle
4. Baby wipes
5. Maternity pads
6. Nursing gown / hospital gown
7. In-room slippers

Basically, most things that you will need to survive for the 2-3 nights at the hospital. Baby will generally be well taken care of. 

8 Ways to Start Building Baby's Vocabulary From Young

We all want smart kids, don't we? (Given that they are healthy and happy, that is) It is definitely a great desire of all mums and parents, as we can see from the hype and growing spending on DHA and Omega3. One of the first measurements at an early age, is how quickly Baby starts to understand us, and how large his or her repertoire of vocabulary is by a certain age. I'm not a pro in this area (i.e. language development), but I have engaged my own son in infant language studies (involve them in research from a young age!), and I think my son has done pretty well in that aspect. By that, I mean a top 15 percentile on a Bayley Scales of Infant Development. He started understanding simple vocabulary by 6-7 months (e.g. pointing to the aeroplane or the fan when we mention it), and by 10 months, could follow detailed instructions (e.g. the magnet on the fridge can stick on any metal. Try the chair! Remember to stick the black part of the magnet there, as the front side with the picture will not stick). He also started saying "mama" by 5 months, and spoke language with purpose by 9 months. I wouldn't say he is a genius, but he definitely is on the faster end of the scale in terms of perceiving language and using it.

So just my 2 cents worth of what I tried doing with my son (no scientific proof to say these are game changers, but they seem to make sense)

1. Talk to them. Talking to them means face to face, with eye contact, and not looking at your phone when mumbling random sentences. I mean talking to them like you would politely with any adult, with full eye contact, expressions and perfect conversational grammar. This is important as research has also shown that a baby who listens to instructions from a person speaking to him will remember the instructions, while another baby who listens to instructions through a radio (audio only) or television (audio and visual but no eye contact) will not. 
2. Articulate clearly. Which means no more mumbling. I have observed that my son spends a good portion of our conversations looking at my lips. He can hear perfectly well, but he lip reads probably to figure out how he can learn to make the same sounds as I do. So enunciate your words clearly for them to learn, and sometimes exaggerate and open your mouths wider just so they can observe easily. 
3. Read to them. Don't wait until they can hold or flip  the book before you read together. I started reading to my son the day we went home from the hospital. I sang to him as he nursed, but because he nursed for 40minutes each time, and 8 times a day, I ran out of songs that wouldn't bore me. I ran out of new thoughts because I was exposed to nothing else besides him. So I read books. Since he couldn't see yet, I read books that I myself would read. That included Reader's Digest, novels, business books and even encyclopedias! Just keep reading and he will learn something. I had secretly hoped that he would even remember a thing or two from the encyclopedias that I read, but I will leave that for another post on "How to Raise a Genius". LOL
4. Think aloud. This allows you to talk to your child a lot more than normal. Your brain is always active and thinking about something, and if you verbalize your thoughts while having eye contact, it's like having a permanent conversation with your child. So you can never say you have nothing else to talk about. Examples could be "what should I have for dinner tonight? I have 2 carrots that I bought last week, and a tomato left. I'm craving some hot soup, but I will need some potatoes to go along..." yada yada yada. Or "I haven't been out shopping much lately, how about some online shopping later when you're asleep? I should check out the latest sales on Amazon... or get that juicer that XXX mentioned on Facebook!"
5. Use simple words. They are, after all, still babies learning a brand new language. Use simple words repeatedly so they can grasp the context which it is used it, and learn the meaning of the words. 
6. Speak with perfect grammar. Babies learn language from a young age - this means not just vocabulary, but also grammar. If you use baby babble or broken English just to emphasize certain words, your baby might end up learning a bunch of nouns but have trouble piecing them together in a grammatically correct sentence. Language learning starts young!
7. Vary your vocabulary. It is tricky to keep repeating the same words to help them learn a new word, and at the same time remember to vary your vocabulary so they learn more. But one very common phrase is "Good Boy!" Regardless of what the baby did, parents and grandparents always exclaim "Good Boy!" Sometimes, being more specific helps. For example, "That's an obedient boy, thanks for putting the toys back into the box!" or "Well done, you finished your meal!" That gives more meaning to your praise, is more specific so your child knows what he is being praised for, and also helps broaden his vocabulary. 
8. Be bilingual. This is a result of some studies performed by the Infant and Child Language Center, NUS, which shows that bilingual children learn faster than monolingual children. 

We survived our first vacation with the little one!

It was quite terrifying, thinking of all the possible things that could happen when going on a holiday with my baby. Him not being able to clear his ear pressures during the flight; giving me a poo explosion on the plane; screaming the plane down; not being able to sleep in a new hotel environment; going on a food strike and milk strike; screaming down the michelin star restaurants that we were planning to go; etc etc etc.

I'm more than overjoyed to say that we survived, with non of the above (at least, not much). And here's proof of my happy baby, with the beautiful skyline of hongkong behind. More about our trip and what I learnt in upcoming posts :)

65 First Food Ideas

Starting solid food for the baby is a major milestone in his first year. I waited patiently for 6 months before giving him his first solid food (according to WHO, total and exclusive breastfeeding is highly recommended for the first 6 months). There are multiple sources of recommendations as to which foods are best as baby's first foods - be it low allergenic, soft texture, easily digestible or easy on the palate. Below, I compile my own list of tried and tested baby foods, based on their availability in Singapore (listed in order of testing).

Despite the earlier foods being low allergenic, I (being a very kiasu parent) still strongly recommend that all parents stick to the 3 day rule of letting baby test out each food to be allergy-free before moving on to the next food. We, after all, want the best for our child. And because of that, we test about 10 new foods per month.

As we progressed, I sometimes tested 2 foods together, if they were both deemed to be very low allergenic, and especially if they are recommended for babies younger than my son (e.g. recommended for 6 months babies, but I was giving it to my son at 10 months). I reason that some babies outgrow their food allergy when they get older, so if my son was already older, the risk of allergic reaction to that particular food was even lower than expected. Of course, testing 2 foods at the same time is not very scientific, because IF anything happens, I wouldn't know which was the culprit. I would then have to either test each one individually again, or just eliminate both from his diet. With that risk in mind, I only tested 2 foods together if logistically they made sense.

I also indicate below the food group each first food belongs to, so that you can vary the tests to include foods from different food groups, ensuring your little one has a balanced diet most, if not all the time.


6-7 months

1. White rice (carbohydrates)
2. Brown rice (carbohydrates)
3. Wheat (carbohydrates)
4. Oatmeal (carbohydrates)
5. Pumpkin (fruit / vegetables)
6. Apple (fruit / vegetables)
7. Pear (fruit / vegetables)
8. Avocado (fruit / vegetables)
9. Banana (fruit / vegetables)
10. Spinach (fruit / vegetables)
11. Threadfin (protein)
12. Watermelon (fruit / vegetables)
13. Plum (fruit / vegetables)
14. Prunes (fruit / vegetables)
15. Broccoli (fruit / vegetables)
16. Papaya (fruit / vegetables)
17. Peach (fruit / vegetables)
18. Blueberries (fruit / vegetables)
19. Barley (carbohydrates)

8-9 months

1. Carrot (fruit / vegetables)
2. Sweet Potato (fruit / vegetables)
3. Millet (carbohydrates)
4. Cauliflower (fruit / vegetables)
5. Lean Pork (protein)
6. Salmon (protein)
7. Peppers / Capsicum (fruit / vegetables)
8. Potato (fruit / vegetables)
9. Tofu (protein)
10. Chicken (protein)
11. Grape (fruit / vegetables)
12. Cucumber (fruit / vegetables)
13. Yam / Taro (carbohydrates)
14. Apricots (fruit / vegetables)
15. Persimmon (fruit / vegetables)
16. Turnip (fruit / vegetables)
17. Flax seed (carbohydrates)
18. Pasta (carbohydrates)
19. Cherries (fruit / vegetables)

10-11 months

1. Beet  (fruit / vegetables)
2. Egg Yolk (protein)
3. Onion (fruit / vegetables)
4. Couscous (carbohydrates)
5. Quinoa (carbohydrates)
6. Cantaloupe (fruit / vegetables)
7. Honeydew (fruit / vegetables)
8. Cherries (fruit / vegetables)
9. Coconut (fruit / vegetables)
10. Cranberries (fruit / vegetables)
11. Garlic (fruit / vegetables)
12. Kale (fruit / vegetables)
13. Eggplant (fruit / vegetables)

After 12 months

1. Tomato (fruit / vegetables)
2. Green beans (fruit / vegetables)
3. Corn (fruit / vegetables)
4. Peas (fruit / vegetables)
5. Beef (protein)
6. Egg White (protein)
7. Kiwi (fruit / vegetables)
8. Strawberries (fruit / vegetables)
9. Cow's milk (protein)
10. Yoghurt (protein)
11. Cheese (protein)
12. Mango (fruit / vegetables)
13. Orange (fruit / vegetables)
14. Lemon (fruit / vegetables)

5 Reasons Why Breasfeeding is Awesome!

Breastfeeding is such a great thing that nature has created. But it's not easy to breastfeed exclusively, and even less so if the mother heads back to work. Knowing the many difficulties, it takes a whole lot of determination to keep on breastfeeding. Many times, I had wanted to give up. But thinking of all the benefits of breastfeeding that both my son and I get, I press on. Through sweat and blood (literally!), I toil on, alongside many other breastfeeding mothers, because we know it is the best present we can give to our child. With breastfeeding, I mean direct latching. Feeding breastmilk does not totally equate to breastfeeding, as you will understand after reading my points below. From all the many benefits of breastfeeding, I list here the top 5 that encourage me the most through my (still ongoing) breastfeeding journey.

1. Breastmilk is adjusted according to baby's needs. When baby is latched on, his sucking motion creates a vacuum. This in turn causes a backflow of his saliva back into the milk ducts. The mother's body detects the baby's saliva, including any form of infections, and reacts accordingly. The next milk feed is adjusted according to the information transmitted to the mother's body through the baby's saliva. This includes varied nutrients as the baby grows, and any anti-bodies if the baby is fighting an infection. As my husband said, this is nature's way of increasing an infant's survival rate! This real-time communication makes every baby's breastmilk unique and personalized! 
2. Breastfeeding taps into mummy's fat reserves. Yes, that means weight loss. A pregnant mother naturally puts on weight as a way for the body to store enough fats to make breastmilk for the baby later on. If we defy nature's call to breastfeed, we do not tap into those fat reserves meant for feeding the baby, and thus weight loss is more difficult post partum. Nature put on weight for the baby, nature will help shed weight for the mummy. 
3. Breastmilk gives much more than formula milk. Formula has fats, proteins, and carbohydrates that the baby needs to grow. It is even fortified with higher levels of iron, calcium, DHA, etc. However, there are many things that money just cannot buy. There are things that the formula milk companies just cannot add into the milk - at least not with the existing technology. This includes a variety of antibodies from the mother (unique to each mother and child pair), and all kinds of good bacteria that will help the baby's gut system develop and mature. Some of these stay with the child throughout his life, and so a breastfed child has a stronger immune system, and lower risk of obesity and diabetes later in life. 
4. Breastfeeding increases baby's security. While latching, we naturally hold the baby very close to our bodies. That warmth, that coziness, that heartbeat, that smell, all contribute to creating a very strong sense of security in the newborn baby. A newborn is suddenly thrown into a cold, strange, new world. Cuddling them helps them calm down and adapt to the new environment. Research has shown that extensive cuddling of infants contributes to secure babies and kids later on. A secure baby is a happy baby. A happy baby means a happy family :)
5. Best of all, breastfeeding is FREE. Should I say more? I've saved hundreds of dollars on formula milk already. More benefits for free, why not?

Recommended Baby Weight Chart

At my 20 weeks detailed scan, the sonographer gave me a shock by telling me there were a few things she needed to "double check" with a more senior and experienced sonographer. Apparently, my baby's thigh bone length and abdominal width is way higher than average. In fact, when the experienced sonographer came in to check, her re-scan yielded even larger figures that were off the charts. They then decided to take the original, smaller number that would at least fit within the regular charts at ~95th percentile. Talk about trying to make us first time parents feel a little better.

During the review of the results with my gynae thereafter, she was not too concerned with the thigh length being long, as both my husband and I are considered tall for Asians (and myself even tall amongst some caucasian ladies). However, abdominal width was a small concern, because big babies tend to be more difficult to deliver naturally. Her comforting words were that "at least the head is of average size, because the head is of a fixed size, if it is too big, it cannot be pushed out easily. As for a big tummy, since it is slightly flexible / malleable, you can do it with just a slightly harder push". Also, this being only a 20th week scan, there was still alot of time for "weight correction". Furthermore, at only 360g (average is ~200-300g), my baby was actually just 60g "overweight". Which isn't too big a number actually. If, at 37 weeks he was still just 60g "overweight", that was just within standard error of the machine's calculations. So, conclusion was, it's not the end of the world.

With the sonographers' and gynae's reassurances, my hubby and I returned home with a calm heart but strong resolution to stop all excessive tonics I had been given from the start of the pregnancy. I also decided to check websites for a comprehensive table so I could continue to track the progress of my little one as he grows in the next couple of months. After some searching, to my dismay, there were either a lack of measurements in metric units, or differed largely in recommended weight/length to gestational age. Hence, I decided to compile my own table, pooling together various resources and doing my own calculations, so that I can see both weight and length on any preferred measurement unit of choice in a single table. I also added an additional column to the right to suggest how that length equates to, so that it is easier to imagine how the LO looks in terms of size. (I really loved doing that... every week I would update my husband by saying "He's a little Mango now!" And that association really helps us to connect the numbers to something we see on a daily basis)

One note about the table though, since it is compiled from websites that do not really cater specifically to either the caucasian or asian population, it may be neither here nor there. Measurements and estimations also vary according to gynaes and clinics, because different machines use different formula to calculate weight, so there can be a systematic bias. Just take it as a point of reference. For example, although my baby has since become "average weight" according to my gynae, he has always appeared to be ~1-2 weeks faster if I compared his weight to the table below. As long as the growth remains consistent (i.e. progress 2 weeks in 2 weeks, not gain weight equivalent to 4 weeks in 1 week), then I believe you will be fine :)