Braun BET1000

One of the most essential tool for parents with babies and young children is a thermometer. You have to have at least one at home in the event the young ones run a temperature.

Back in our time, the most common thermometer widely used is the mercury thermometer. You know, the versatile thermometer that can be used under your tongue or under your armpit? Well it has come a long way.

We been using the Braun ThermoScan 6022 ever since Xavier was born. Its an in-ear thermometer that give you the reading in a matter of seconds. It can be a pain to use especially when you are trying to get a reading from a sleeping child. Imagine someone trying to poke something into your ear while you are sleeping. And I find it annoying when it gives you a reading of 37.5 degrees which is mild fever and the PD would say "Oh the in-ear thermometer? its a +- 0.5 degree so he's not really having a fever." It's almost like the device is only giving a ballpark figure.

Given that it recently started to give us some issues, we decided to get another thermometer. We were considering the forehead scanners but those are pretty expensive. Then I came across the Braun BET1000.

BET stands for Behind Ear Thermometer. And that's basically where position it to take the temperature. Press for 1 sec and the reading appears in the LCD screen complete with coloured backlight. So it's almost fool proof as the colour will indicate to you if you are not having a fever (green), having mild fever (orange) or having fever (red). As you only need to position it behind the ear, it would be able to take an accurate reading without the thermometer touching the sleeping child.

The thermometer is manufactured by Kaz USA Inc. Strangely when I tried to Google for more information via the Braun sites, I could only find it under Braun Korea. Braun USA does not seem to carry it. Kaz.com has a similar product on their website but its marketed as another brand Vick, the company behind the famous VapoRub.

Anyway from the site, it explains that "the measurement site in the hollow behind the ear is very close to the carotid artery, which carries blood to the brain. This is an ideal external site to measure temperature."

I seen these for sale at Robinson and heard that Courts also carries this. For us, we are just happy we found this lovely thermometer.

Gino, Mummy's Great Helper

Gino MAMAMOANSHIN Multi Food Cutter, known more commonly as Gino food cutter, never fails to get people's attention when we use it. Friends at gatherings are always gasps when Lilian whips Gino out and they are equally amazed at what it could do.

This little tool is a godsend for parents who needs to cut food into baby bite size. When I first saw it, it looked like one of those mini construction vehicle toys, with the signature yellow colour and sharp merciless claws/teeth.

But it does its job really well, cutting up noodles, meat, vegetables and almost anything you throw at it into baby bite sizes without much effort. I said almost anything because Lilian broke one before, trying to cut the stem of one of the vegetable. Made of plastic, it does have its limits.

We tried to look for a stronger substitute but nothing comes close at all. In the end, Lilian bought a second Gino. This wonderful tool also doubles as a masher so if you need to mash potato or pumpkin, it will come in handy.

Comes with a compact carrying case, you can find in sites like Japan's Kenko.com, Singapore Motherhood Forum or Tiny Shop Blog.

Xavier's Shark Crocs

As Xavier is walking more, we wanted to get him something that he can just slip on and walk around. Wasn't too keen on sandals as its open toe so we got him a baby Crocs instead.

Saw this Crocs in the design of a shark. Looks pretty cool and since he eats like a shark, we decided to get it for him. Talking about eating like a shark, he is so alert to food, or should I say the mention of food around him, like shark is to the smell of blood.

The infant care teacher told us an incident where he was sound asleep one afternoon. One of the teacher was telling another teacher that its time to feed another baby food. Immediately Xavier woke up at the mention of food and walked to the teacher who said it and say beside her, waiting to be fed. And he often gets angry when the teachers dun feed him food that is not meant for him.

Even when feeding him, he is very impatient. Nobody is able to feed him fast enough, not even me. So how fast does he want to be fed? Well, when you put the food into his mouth, the very moment the spoon leave his mouth he makes noise demanding for the next feed. The only way I figured he would not make nosie is if his mouth is at the end of a conveyor belt.

Xavier's First Pair of Shoe

One of the greatest joy of having a baby is sharing his experience when new things are first introduced to him. The puzzled look, the happy look, the frighten look, the angry look the sad look, are experiences words can't describe.

Yesterday Lilian decided to get him a proper shoe as he is able to stand up on his own without support and is learning to walk with support. He had a confused look on his face as we try to fit the shoe into his feet. Took us a long while as he curled his toes up, making fitting the shoe impossible.

After we manage to fit it in and got him to walk about, his face became excited as there was tapping sound as he walked (as the sole was plastic and the shop floor ceramic. He even did a little tap dance...

Baby "Mah Piu Poh" (Newspaper)

Yesterday we went to Lilian's colleague's baby girl Kirsten's 1st Birthday party. Her colleague is also a photo enthusiast and was running slideshow of Kristen's photos from birth. It sort of kick me in the head that I have taken much lesser photos of Xavier recently than during his first three months.

Lilian recently bought for Xavier a baby newspaper from Combi. I love this Japanese company products, especially the Smile Lab series. Its pretty innovative and cute.
It is made of synthetic material so it is almost "indestructible" by a baby. They also pack a rattle and a squeaky in it. Below is an image of it beside today's Sunday Times.
So did Xavier have fun "reading" his newspaper? Not really, he throws it away like all other toys. Haha...

"Hello, where is my newspaper?"

"Ok, let's see today NTUC got any diapers on offer or not..."

Darth Xavier is back!

The Dark Forces (Dr. Chee) has once again lure Xavier to the dark side and made him Darth Xavier again (well he put Xavier on a 4+2 days Nebuliser course). Xavier didn't get Bronchitis again but he has been coughing for two weeks and it was getting worse so Nebuliser seems to be the next best thing.

Prescribing medication for Xavier has been a challenge for Dr. Chee due to his size. "He is a 8 month old baby in a one year plus body size" was how he put it. Yeah we know tat, since he is wearing 12-18 months clothes now. So if he prescribe based on his age, it might not be effective for him (too little). If he prescribe based on his "body" it might be too much.

This time round its more challenging for us to do the Nebuliser peacefully. Xavier would toss and turn and wiggle his way around, use his hands to slap and push away the mask, kick and bounce his way out of it. We had no choice but to engage a higher power for help. He came readily to our rescue, in the form of a chubby purple suit. Yes Barney is here to keep Xavier still.


Image from Amazon website.

It's amazing Barney could catch kids attention so easily. I do not know if its something to do with the size, the colour, the voice or the chucker but kids are just drawn to it, Xavier included.

The latest Tiger Beer commercial is also a sure attention grabber for Xavier. Whenever it is aired on TV, he would drop everything he is doing and just stare at the commercial till its finished. Now that's what I call a successful commercial.

Takashimaya Baby Fair starts 27 Aug 09

The Takashimaya Baby Fair starts tomorrow 27 Aug 09 to 13 Sept 09. For those parents to be and parents of young children, this fair is not to be missed. Elsie had said before that this is the best baby fair in Singapore. The discounts are genuine and the variety are aplenty. I trust Elsie on it. If there is one person that I know that does more research than me, it has to be Elsie.

So what are stuff to get? For parents to be, you can look at strollers, car seats, breast pump, stream sterilizer, bottles, wet wipes, etc. Do your research and comparison, especially on the stroller. Handle it, push it around, try opening and closing it.

For parents of young children, you would know what you need by now. They also sell toys and educational stuff like flash cards and DVDs if you are keen.

See you at the fair.

Xavier's First "Toothbrushing" Experience

I haven't been sick for such a long period before, hence the reason why I been behind in my posting. Xavier had his first "tooth-brushing" experience early this month. Well not exactly tooth-brushing as his teeth hasn't show up yet. More like gum brushing. But we thought we get him use to the sensation. Derek gave us the Nutec Infa-Dent Toothbrush.

Did I tell you how expensive his toothpaste is? SGD17.00! I also haven't use such expensive toothpaste before. It's a special toothpaste that is safe for the baby to swallow. Here's a shopping tip, get them from the "toiletries shopping haven" at Chinatown and that same toothpaste will only cost SGD10.90. We also discovered that have a wide range of California Baby products as well, selling at wholesaler prices.

Baby Tips 1: Useful Items

Quite a number of friends around me are going to be first time parents or are already parents of a newborn. Xavier is going to be 6 months old in two days time. So I thought I share with you guys some of my experience as a father of a 6 months baby. Do note that I am no expert and the following are thoughts from my personal experience.

I will start of with baby items which are useful:

1) Guardian Underpads - These are waterproof sheets which comes in very handy to contain the spillage or soiling. They come in two sizes: 17" x 24" and 30" x 30". We usually stock up on the 17" x 24" (they seem to be out of stock when we most need it) as we find the size very handy. We use them on changing tops, lay a sheet when we are changing outdoors and let him sleep with the sheet on the lower half of his body. I even used it to put in between a towel and my sofa when I did his naked portraits. It has saved me from dealing with a mess when his diapers fail to contain his output.

2) Pigeon Baby Wipes - This one needs no introduction. One of the popular wet wipes in the market, it does its job well. Wait for offer then buy the 6 large packs for maximum value.

3) Desitin Creamy - The only napper rash cream I trusted and used so far. It helps prevent and heal diaper rash really well. Like recently he had a very red ass from the infant care (dunno what they do there) and we used it extensively over the weekend to help heal it. I literally cream his rash area like icing on a cake.

4) Combi Nail Cutter - We tried a few baby nail cutters before Elsie recommended we try this curved scissor by Combi. The curved shape ensures you do not end up cutting the baby's finger by accident.

5) Beco Baby Carrier - Not everywhere is stroller friendly and there will be times when you prefer not to use a stroller. That is when a baby carrier is useful. Lilian had tried those sling type before but found the strain on the single shoulder too much to bear (especially when Xavier is nearly 10kg). She narrowed down to two which she finds useful, Beco Baby Carrier and Ergo Baby Carrier. Both are similar in that the baby is in a natural sitting position when carried and it distributes the weight between the shoulders and the waist. We settled for Beco as it enables transfer of the baby (from one parent to another) without taking him out of the carrier.

6) LG Baby Playmat - These colourful playmats are developed by LG Chem. Its great as it is cushioned and very colourful, so it becomes a very good play area for the baby. Especially useful for the baby to roam and discover how to move and crawl. Babies need to learn and practice how to move and crawl. It doesn't suddenly just wake up one morning and start crawling. So you need to give him the space to "practice". The link is actually a vendor whom we found from the Singapore Motherhood forum. The design and pricing are available on the link as well as how to order.

7) Attractive toy - Ok this is really subjective but the bottomline is find a toy that your baby really likes. For Xavier, it happens to be the Lamaze First Mirror Lilian bought for him. He loves this mirror so much that you can put it anyway on the mat and he will crawl to it (and attempt to eat it. Maybe he find himself too irresitable). This mirror has been his main crawling "training" tool.

8) Hand me down clothing - The 1st six months your baby is gonna grow so fast there is no point buying him nice clothes. Ok maybe a couple for special occasions but the rest of the time, try to get hand me down clothing. They are soft (due to repeated washing) and very comfortable for babies.

9) Thermometer - Get one which gives you fast and accurate reading. Eric and Elsie gave us the Braun ThermoScan Ear Thermometer and it works great, plus the ear filters are also easily available. Baby have no patience for you to put those under the armpit or in the ass thermometers.

10) Rechargable Batteries - With a baby around you will find that suddenly you will have many stuff around you that uses batteries. Things like fans, cot mobiles, toys, rocker that plays music all uses batteries. And if you want to save money in the long run and be more friendly to the environment, use recharable batteries. I use Sanyo Eneloop. They have cool adaptors which converts their AA size batteries into C and D size batteries.

Hope you find the above items useful as well.

Xavier's First taste of Pumpkin

As Lilian starts to introduce new food to Xavier every week, she got a tool to help with mash the stuff so she dun have to pound it. When she took out the U-Like Blender, it looked like one of those retro blender, bright orange with a transparent top. She also got the "Baby Cubes" to store the mashed stuff for the rest of the week.

So this week's menu is Pumpkin. Lilian usually do not like pumpkin, but somehow she could not help herself to the warm tasty pumpkin while cooking it for Xavier.
Xavier was pretty receptive to it.
But boy it was a messy food to feed. He would have his hands over the spoon and his mouth, then proceed to touch his toes. Lilian probably used half a box of tissue to clean him while feeding him. Look at that innocent face with the pumpkin "lipstick".
He was eating big mouthful of it happily till he almost choked. Thinking it was too thick, we diluted it slightly and also gave him some water. After that he just had the disgusted look on his face and refuse to eat more pumpkin. Thinking he wasn't that ready yet for pumpkin, I told Lilian maybe we try again tomorrow.

While it turned out he had poo in his diapers and was damn uncomfortable, hence he didn't feel like eating (I can imagine why). So after cleaning his butt and changing the diapers, he happily finished the rest of the pumpkin. Good job my boy.

Xavier First Weaning Session

Xavier had a first taste of food other than milk on Saturday (25 July 2009). Lilian started Xavier's weaning session with white rice cereal. This is preferred over brown rice cereal as it is less likely to cause allergy. Lilian mixed a teaspoon of cereal with his milk for this session.

The thought of tasting a new food puts a cheeky grin on Xavier's cheek.
Taking the first few feeds with a spoon. That's a novelty.
So what's Xavier's verdict on this first weaning session?
Actually he enjoyed it. But it was very messy with him trying to blow bubble while eating and doing sneak attacks on the bowl while mummy is feeding. I'm sure he would be looking forward to trying other new food in the coming weeks. Lilian has sweet potato, spinach, pumpkin, apple, banana, and pear in mind.

"Darth Xavier" sums up what a week it has been

If you are wondering how come I haven't been active online recently, well the past week has been one of the worst week for my family.

It all started with Xavier's cough last Friday, then Lilian's got 1 Stye and 2 Chalazion all on her right eye on Friday as well. She needed to go for operation Friday evening and was on MC Friday to Tuesday. Then Xavier's cough worsen and Tuesday/Wednesday was the worse. He was coughing the whole night that neither himself, Lilian or myself got any sleep at all. Add that to his stroller losing one of the wheels without us knowing and our sudden urgency to look for a new infant care added to the week of "interesting" events.

The problem with baby coughing is they dun know how to get the phlegm out. So its heart-breaking hearing him trying to breath through his stuffy nose and hearing the phlegm going up and down his airway. And when he cough, he was trying so hard that it sounded like he was coughing his whole lungs out (like those coughing and choking at the same time).

We took him to see Dr. Anthony again on Thursday. He said he expected the cough to be worse but the medication seems to have control it well. But given Xavier has developed Bronchitis already, he tapped his table with his fingers for a moment (as if in deep thoughts) before saying he is gonna change the method now. Xavier will be on Nebuliser every 6 hours and had to go to Mt Alvernia for Chest Physiotherapy. This would be the most effective way to clear his phlegm.

Receiving all these instructions at 10pm at night was daunting for first-time parents. Add that to Xavier crying till he totally lost his voice (his worst crying I heard so far) when the nurse demonstrated how to use the Nebuliser, I couldn't help feeling lousy again (since Xavier likely to have got the cough from me). Lilian and I were at a lost for a moment as either of us had to take leave to bring him to Mt Alvernia on Friday to do the chest physio and Xavier would not be able to go to his Infant Care Centre up to Tuesday when we go back to Dr. Anthony for a review. After weighting our options, we manage to work out a plan and I thank my colleagues for their understanding (with the urgent leave matter).

The chest physio was very effective, though not the most pleasant for Xavier. The therapist taught us how to "percussion" (clapping Xavier's chest to "loosen" the phlegm in the lungs and the airway) especially after Nebuliser session. She then proceed to suck out the phlegm in the nose and throat area. This is by far the most effective way to remove the phlegm for babies. The coughing reflex from the baby to "bring" the phlegm up from the airway to the throat area so that it could be sucked out. This is where my heart aches again seeing Xavier coughed till his whole face turn purple. But seeing the phlegm being sucked out of the tube, I knew he would feel better after that.

As for why I titled this post Darth Xavier? Well he looked (and the machine sounded) like Darth Vader. I'm just looking at the lighter side of things. But its not always so relaxing, most of the time he would be crying as he hates not being able to put things in his mouth. Joking again. He just cry because he hates that thing.

Its Sunday now and so far his condition has improved. He is getting better sleep, his milk intake is slowly going back to before he fell sick and he is happier. However he still has the phlegm sound when he breaths. And he threw up twice today on our bed (and we are running out of bedsheets to change). But its a happy problem since its the sticky phlegm he is throwing up.

But its been a tiring week and the lack of rest/sleep and with Xavier coughing constantly, Lilian seems to have now caught the cough from Xavier. Let's hope Xavier recovers soon. Nothing warms my heart now than to see his smile and hear his hearty chuckle.

Introducing... Chairman Lee!

Eric and Elsie was kind to pass me the Bumbo baby seat as Zachary can't fit in anymore. Too tired to try it yesterday night so today we decided to see if he is able to fit in. To our delight, he fit in just fine. In fact, he had those "Boss" or Chairman" look on his face while in it.

Look at his cheeky face.

"Show me the money!!!"

Thanks Eric, Elsie and Zachary.