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Food & Feeding

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The Light at the End of the Tunnel

May 22, 2007 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Food & Feeding | 4 comments

Yesterday evening when we picked Ethan up from Mrs Tan’s place, she proudly announced that Ethan willingly gobbled up every last bit of the rusk cereal mixed with Isomil!  However, when she tried feeding him the Isomil from the bottle, he only took a mouthful and then rejected it.  But she noticed that there was slight improvement, and he appeared to begin accepting the Isomil little by little.

I am now providing 1.5 feeds of EBM to Ethan while I am away at work (previously it was 2 feeds), in the hope that the remainder of the 0.5 feed can be covered by the Isomil in due course.  I am also slowly training myself to express milk at work just once.  It is an arduous process, but one which I knew I would have to undertake sooner or later.

This morning, Mrs Tan asked if she could give him 2 pieces of rusks for his breakfast instead of one.  Of course, I said!  Our boy is a healthy eater 🙂  Why not?

The Saga Continues

May 21, 2007 in Ethan, Food & Feeding | 4 comments

 

Yesterday, for the first time ever, I forked out my hard-earned money for a tin of formula.  Just for a small tin of Isomil, it cost me RM24.90.  And according to the instructions on the tin, once the tin is opened, the contents will expire 3 weeks from then.  SIGH.  The only thing I could think of when I bought it was how much money I had saved by breastfeeding Ethan for so long. 🙂

Last Friday when we picked Ethan up from Mrs Tan’s place, as expected, she told us that he totally rejected the Nestle NAN H.A. formula, not even wanting to take it as a mixture with his oats.  I had already expected this reaction and had braced myself for it because I know that the NAN formula tasted horribly bitter and since Ethan had already tasted other delicious food like siew mai, chicken rice and of course Mommy’s milk, why on earth would he want to take NAN?  Mrs Tan had also already packed up the tin of NAN ready for me to take home.  Haha…

So it was time now to try the third brand of formula: lactose-free Isomil.  My Mom told me that when I was a baby, I too was allergic to regular formula and was on Isomil, so it only made sense that perhaps Ethan is just like Mommy.  On Saturday morning, I mixed some Isomil with oats for Ethan but unfortunately he didn’t want to take it.  Strange…. I tasted a little bit of the Isomil and it tasted fine to me.  Not as sweet as Enfapro but definitely miles better than NAN H.A.!  So I dipped a few pieces of wholemeal nine-grain bun into the milk and gave it to him.  He took just a little bit, but at least that was improvement.  The next morning, I made a thick creamy cereal for Ethan with Isomil and his Farley’s rusks (which contain DHA too).  I showed him how to hold the spoon and exaggerated feeding himself with it.  Heh Heh…Guess what, our boy fell for it and had a considerable amount of the cereal with Isomil in the end!  Since the Isomil samples I had at home were all in sachet form, we thought it would be easier to buy a small tin and leave it at Mrs Tan’s place.  And that’s how we ended up buying that tin of Isomil.  I can’t wait to find out what transpired at Mrs Tan’s place today.

Papular Urticaria

May 17, 2007 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Parenting | 2 comments

Huh, what? That’s a scary term to deal with.  And it is the scientific name for what is commonly known as hives.  That’s what Ethan has been diagnosed with…here’s the story:

When we picked Ethan up from Mrs Tan’s place yesterday evening, there were some small red rashes on his left cheek.  I applied some Sebamed Baby Cream as soon as we got back and breastfed him.  He fell asleep soon after and was still asleep even when Pete came back from his futsal game.  Ethan woke up at about 8:30p.m. and played for a while before we bathed him.  During his bath, we noticed that there were also small tiny rashes of a similar kind on his legs and a couple on his back.  I applied some baby cream and Egozite on those rashes and some calamine cream on his legs too.  Then early this morning, we felt his body was slightly warmer than usual and I promptly took his temperature.  We had bought a digital ear thermometer a couple of months back, so it was significantly easier to register a temperature compared to our conventional armpit thermometer.  The reading was 36.3 degrees, i.e. no fever.  Phew!

But still, I was paranoid and decided to take him to see Dr Jessica, for fear of it being HFMD.  After about an hour’s wait at GMC, we were ushered in and Dr Jessica examined Ethan.  She remarked that it could be due to the Enfapro formula which Ethan had been taking for the previous 2 days, albeit mixed with his oats.  Thankfully he had no ulcers and his fever had subsided.  Dr Jessica just asked us to apply the Egocort cream on Ethan’s rashes and monitor his condition, in case there is a fever.  We were to stop giving him Enfapro and instead, if we wanted, we could introduce the hypo-allergenic Nestle NAN H.A. formula. (I told Dr Jessica that I had a taste of NAN H.A. last night and it was HORRIBLE!  So much more bitter than Enfapro and made me almost throw up!)  In addition, Dr Jessica also gave us some sachets of Isomil, which was lactose-free, and she added that adults could also take it since it tastes like soya bean milk 🙂

We had lunch at Fatty Loh’s Chicken Rice at Tanjung Tokong where Ethan really enjoyed his chicken rice (and even demanded for more when we were done), and then we went home to pack up for half-day work.  I packed one feed of EBM for Ethan to bring to Mrs Tan’s place and brought along that tin of NAN H.A..  I gave her specific instructions to STOP Enfapro for the time being and try NAN H.A. instead.  Let’s pray that Ethan will be cured of his Papular Urticaria soon.  I’m ever so thankful that I have been breastfeeding him for so long 🙂

Messy messy messy!

May 7, 2007 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 3 comments

Yesterday morning, I prepared oatmeal for Ethan for his breakfast.  I had purchased a set of baby fork and spoon for him a few weeks back and being a little adventurous, I thought it was high time I took them out for him to try.  This first time round, I only used the spoon.  I blanched his baby oatmeal in some hot water to make it a smoother consistency and then added some organic soya bean milk which I had bought yesterday.  Being curious, I tried a little of my concoction and it tasted fantastic!

I then placed the oatmeal into Ethan’s bowl in front of him together with the baby spoon.  He immediately took to it like a duck to water.  I demonstrated to him how it should be done, and he was fascinated.  He attempted to feed himself and gosh, it was certainly a mess all right.. but can you tell that he is having so much fun?

I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!

April 27, 2007 in Ethan, Food & Feeding | 7 comments

We bought 4 cups of yogurt yesterday night and decided to try if Ethan likes it.  I gave him baby yogurt before a few months ago, but he didn’t like it, and I had to finish it all up in the end.  😛

Anyway, I gave him a spoonful and he gave a sourish-looking face.  Some of the yogurt dribbled out from his mouth but he swallowed most of it.  Then I took a spoonful myself, and exaggerated how GOOD it was…..:) I followed that with another spoonful for him.  Sour face again.  Then I ate another spoonful, and when I fed him his third spoonful of delicious mango yogurt, he took it happily and smiled, showing whatever teeth he had 🙂  He even asked for more after that!  And when the whole cup was finished, he still insisted he wanted some more, even though I told him “No more…”  Hehe… will try with strawberry yogurt tonight.

The yogurt I fed him is the low-fat variety, but I might try making my own high-fat yogurt with the low-fat starter later on, when I have introduced milk powder, or other forms of milk to Ethan.  After the yogurt extravaganza last night, and after his bath, Ethan became superhyperactive and Pete claims it could be because of the yogurt.  You think?

Char Siew Pau

March 31, 2007 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, Funny Moments, Milestones | 3 comments

 

A couple of weeks back, I fed Ethan char siew pau when Pete and I were having brunch at our favorite dim sum restaurant, Maxim’s at Taman Pekaka.  Ever since then, Ethan seems to be enjoying our dim sum trips and it is not surprising that his favorite item on the menu is char siew pau.  When we place the char siew pau on the table, he will bang his hands on the table and yell “MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM!” and tug at my arm.  Even while I am peeling the outer layer of the char siew pau, he will insist that we feed him immediately (this fella does not know patience yet!).  And when I DO give him a piece, there will be peace and quiet.

Pete and I normally just order 2 char siew pau…but now we have to order 3. 🙂

SAHM* for the day

March 28, 2007 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, Miscellanous, Parenting, What's Cooking | No comments

I took a day off on emergency leave today because Ethan came down with the flu and had slight fever.  Must have either been contracted from the little girl he played with and hugged in church last Sunday or just a side effect from the chicken pox jab he had.

He still looked his usual self but slightly tired-looking.  He slept for 30 minutes in the morning and another 30 minutes in the afternoon.  I breastfed him the whole day long and I decided to breastfeed him for lunch too, as well as give him as much fluids as possible.  When he woke up at 3:45p.m., I prepared some organic carrot noodles which I had bought some weeks ago.  I cooked the noodles with some egg, lettuce and a little bit of ikan bilis powder.  At first he would not take it, and kept turning away, but when I put the bowl of noodles in front of him with a teaspoon and showed him how to use the spoon, he became VERY interested suddenly…. not sure if he was more interested in the spoon or the food la…but anyhow, I managed to get him to eat a few spoonfuls.  Feed the flu, the say…

Get well soon, my darling Ethan boy! 🙂  I know Ethan enjoyed me staying at home with him today as much as I did…. I could really get used to this! 😉

*SAHM: Stay At Home Mom

Self Feeding

March 27, 2007 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, Milestones | No comments

Last weekend I allowed Ethan to experiment with self-feeding.  Not with a spoon but with his hands.  So for his breakfast on Saturday morning, knowing how much he likes cheese, I broke the slice of cheese into several small pieces and placed the pieces in his bowl on his high chair tray.

Our boy immediately grabbed the pieces of cheese and put them in his mouth, chewing away as he did so!  He did it with such gusto, I was amazed!  Hmmm…I probably should get the baby spoon and fork soon too!

Yay Daddy!

February 9, 2007 in Ethan, Food & Feeding | No comments

Pete has not bottle-fed Ethan for quite some time now. He used to do it when Ethan was much younger, but at home I nurse Ethan direct, so we hardly ever give him the bottle.

Yesterday evening, there was some EBM left over from the sitter’s place when we took Ethan back, so Daddy was eager to feed Ethan the rest… and the clever little fella finished every single drop!

I remember when Ethan was a few months’ old, I had to hide myself sometimes when he was bottle-fed. In fact, I didn’t feed him the bottle myself until he was like 5 or 6 months’ old! By and by as he grew older, he willingly took the bottle from me and from Pete too. But you know, we never have to worry that he is overfed, cos he will know how to push the bottle away when he is full.

A Voracious Appetite

November 6, 2006 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, What's Cooking | No comments

Since starting off on solids when he was 6.5 months, Ethan has been taking all sorts of yummy food. But food which is only approved my Mommy and Daddy.

So far he has been enjoying:

Carbohydrates
Red rice, white rice, millet, wheat, oats

Vegetables
Spinach, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes

Fruits
Pears, apples, prunes, papaya, bananas

Protein
Chicken, and just last weekend, I introduced him to fish.

White pomfret, to be exact. And I am a proud momma to announce that my boy ABSOLUTELY loves it! It was a real joy to feed him his fish porridge. He would open his mouth WIDE in anticipation of the food, take in his mouthful of porridge happily and then clap his hands with GLEE after each mouthful!!! — and then start banging the table for more!!

Recipe for Happy Fish Porridge
Ingredients:
Red rice
White rice
Millet
Red dates (for flavor)
Steamed white pomfret
Steamed carrots (can also substitute with pumpkin, potato, ad lib)
Unlimited amount of LOVE

Method:
Cook rice, millet and red dates into porridge consistency. Mash white pomfret meat and add into porridge together with carrots or other vegetables. Serve lukewarm with LOVE to happy baby.

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