~ 6 months old ~ New Tastebud Discovery

It has been a while I got the chance to update my blog. My work has been craaaaazy lately with too many things to do and too little time to do it. Albeit my crazy work schedule, my little bouncing baby and me has been traveling to and fro from my home and her grandmama's home. It does take a big toll on me but for the time being this is the best arrangement for her.

My dear daughter is now 6 months old! Since the days of her being a tiny little baby that does nothing but lie and sleep all day, now she is quite the talkative and active baby. Since she is of age to be introduced to solid food, our pediatrician advised us to try and give a tiny bit of solid food to our baby so that she can learn to accept the new texture in her mouth. He told us to start off with a small spoon of finely milled rice cereal and see how it goes from there. I decided to try and give to my daughter is Heinz plain rice cereal. Why? Because it is totally plain, nothing else is added and there is absolutely no sugar nor salt. The only thing I need to add is my baby's milk to the cereal, and then we are good to go.

I do wish I have the time to prepare home cooked baby food for my little baby but as the current arrangement does not permit me the time to do so, I had to settled with what I can for the time being. I highly respect mommies that could prepare home made baby food for their little loved ones, but I do believe that by introducing a store bought food to my baby does not mean I love her less. Huhu..

I was super duper excited to give my baby her first taste of solid food. I think I was more excited than my baby herself! Haha! The first time the baby spoon hits her mouth, baby Mia opened her mouth very wide gleefully! I think she thought it was a game. But, after the food hits her tongue, she gave me this confused look as if asking me, 'Mama, what is this goop you are feeding me? Where's my bottle?'. She did gum on the spoon and food but her expression never wavers from the confused look.

I thought she didn't like the plain taste of the rice but she opened her mouth nevertheless every time the spoon hovered in front of her tiny little mouth without fail. Confused as she was, she did manage to finish the two tablespoon of cereal I prepared. It really made her little tummy full as she slept soundly afterwards. I can't wait to try various flavours once she is old enough to find out what she likes. ( ^_^ ) I hope she does not inherit my allergy to flour! ( >.< )

~ First Fever ~ The Combat of the Runny Nose!

My dear little daughter had caught a fever complete with the whole package of the sniffles and also the ever frightening cough. Whenever I checked her temperature it was always at 37 degrees or a bit higher. Only sometimes would I get a lower reading than that (usually after she had taken her meds). Baby Mia who rarely cries now whimpers and sometimes cries whenever she sneezes or coughs. I felt so sorry for my poor little baby. If only her sickness could be transferred to me, I would gladly be sick for her so she can feel better and be healthy. ( T T )

In these times of need, a baby nasal aspirator is a God sent! After I had given birth, my dear husband went out and bought the bulb nasal aspirator thinking it would work to help our baby once the need arises. We did use it a couple of times when her nose was blocked but I didn't see the effectiveness of the bulb aspirator that much. I did some surfing on the internet to find a better nasal aspirator and narrowed down my choices to NoseFrida and BabyComfyNose. I really didn't want to use the kind of nasal aspirator that had to be inserted inside my baby's little nose. I am afraid that it would hurt her (yup, I am a bit of a paranoid mummy!). Both NoseFrida and BabyComfyNose works the same way: the end of the aspirator is held against the baby's nose and the parent just suck manually to get the snot out.

I opted to get BabyComfyNose because it does not need any filter purchased like NoseFrida. BabyComfyNose just use any type of tissue as its filter. I find that very convenient indeed. The soft rubber tip does not go into baby's nostrils so it is definitely safe and would not hurt. Unfortunately for me, it is not sold anywhere in Malaysia. I ended up purchasing it with the help of a friend and it cost me quit a bundle! No matter though, anything for my dear little baby.

So, when my baby had her fever and her nose was runny, I used the BabyComfyNose aspirator and it did helped clear my baby's nose. The first time I used it, my baby made a bit of a fuss. I think the noise of the snot being sucked out of her nose startled her. She calmed down after her nose was cleared though. After that, every time I took the nasal aspirator out of its' mesh bag and show it to my baby, she would smile at me. 98% of the time she would co-operate with me and offer me her nose to be sucked clear! So cute! Hehe..

This is the BabyComfyNose nasal aspirator:

The package consists of the main body of the aspirator, the soft rubber tip, a long tube with a mouthpiece and a mesh bag. All of these components could be dissembled to be washed separately.

To use the aspirator, I just have to connect the end of the tube without the mouthpiece onto the small cylindrical connector at the top of the body.

Then, I would have to open the main body.

Next, I only need to insert soft tissue as the filter.

Attach the body together and I am good to go!

I would have never guessed that a simple product would help me so much. I am so glad I purchased this. With her nose cleared, her cough seems to lessened and she could sleep more soundly. I feel that as a newbie parent, this is indeed a life saver. I would definitely recommend this nasal aspirator for every parents with a baby.

Until next time! ( ^_^ )

~ Mothercare Shopping Spree! ~

Since having our little bundle of joy, I had always have this weak spot for baby products and those itsy bitsy baby clothes. One of the most frequent shop I end up walking into happens to be Mothercare. I just couldn't help it, the baby clothes are all sooooooo cute there! ( >.< ) So, one day when my hubby took our dear baby daughter and me to Alamanda directly from the hospital after she got her second month's shot, I took the chance to stop by Mothercare's outlet and give in to that little voice in my head that always chants,"Shop! shop! shop!". Lucky for me, Mothercare was having their 25th Anniversary Sale! I ended up buying quite a storm in my one shopping trip at the store. Well, actually the storm was brewing in my hubby's wallet! Hehe..

One of the things I bought was a pack of Aden+Anais' Swaddle Blanket. I had been looking for Aden+Anais' Swaddle Blanket for quite a while and I was very delighted to find it in Mothercare's store! It is really impossible to find anywhere else, even on local online baby shops. The fabric is very soft and comfortable, it definitely will not scratch my baby's delicate skin. It is also breathable so I am not worried about my baby being overheated when she is all swaddled up. The size of the blanket is actually very large, making it easier to swaddle my little baby girl and ensuring that she does not succeed in cleverly wiggling her little arms free of the swaddle. The best part is the more you wash the Aden+Anais' Swaddle Blanket, the softer it gets! Seriously, no kidding, it is true. I really really love them!

Aden+Anais Swaddle Blanket.

I know the shade of pink for girls are so overrated, but I had been eyeing the pink 8-piece gift set for girls for quite sometime now but never got around to purchasing them since the size that I wanted to get was always out of stock. Fortunately for me, it was available during the sale! My little heart was jumping with joy as I, at last, picked up the gift set for my dear daughter. In this set, there is an adorable little reversible long sleeve shirt, a long sleeve sleeping romper, a long sleeve bodysuit, a short sleeve bodysuit, a pair of pants with feet, a bib, a pair of mittens and a hat. All of the colours are coordinated and there's a cute motto which says 'Made with love' and teddy bear motifs with either little dots or stripes printed on the clothes. The material is very soft and comfortable. I think the long sleeve shirt and hat is going to be used often whenever we go to the hospital for our baby's checkups and shots and the rest is definitely for her daily use.

The adorable 8-piece Gift Set. Very very cute outfits!

Mothercare always carries cute bodysuits and I always have a weak spot for cute clothes especially bodysuits! During my shopping spree, I also picked up a pack of 5 pure soft cotton bodysuits with animal prints on them plus a pack of 3 pure soft cotton coordinated pants that matches the patterns of the pinky bodysuits. By that time, I thought 5 pieces of bodysuits were plenty enough for my baby so I decided to wrap up my shopping spree for the day. On the way to the cashier, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a very cute bodysuit with a cute slogan printed on it which was 'Mummy's little dreamer'. It was in the shade of off white and baby blue, so I guess it was really meant for cuddly little baby boys. I really don't think it's wrong to dress my little baby girl in it because it is sooo adorable looking! ( ^_^ ) After a short mental debate with myself (as if I needed the debate!), I picked it up in the end! Hehe.. I also picked up two pairs of blue pants (dark blue and soft baby blue) to be worn with the cute 'Little Dreamer' bodysuit and also two extra pairs of plain pink pants (soft pink and dark pink) that can be worn with any of the pink bodysuits, mix and match style.

My baby's collection of Mothercare's bodysuits and pants. Love 'em!

Arms bundled with a whole lot of cute outfits for my wee little one and feeling satisfied with the selections I chose, once again I decided to wrap up my shopping escapade. After steeling my heart against picking up other cute outfits on display, I aimed myself to the checkout counter. Again, as I was walking in between the aisles heading towards the cashier, arrays of hanging socks at the socks' section caught my eyes and I stopped (yes, again!). On impulse, I reached out and felt the material of the socks and I thought, "Ho boy!". They were oh so soft and I just couldn't pass them up. A baby can't have enough socks, right? Haha! My baby do need lots of socks and this pack consists of 5 pairs of them. I was torn in between the pink ones and the multicoloured ones. In the end, I chose the one with soft brown, beige, yellow and green socks. I bought the socks in a size larger than my baby's current feet size so that she is able to wear them a little bit longer.

 The pack of very soft socks.

I really love Mothercare's range of baby clothes because the material are always soft and comfortable. Plus, they are always made out of 100% cotton so I am sure my baby feels comfy in what she wears. Here's a picture of my little cutey in her cute Mummy's Little Dreamer bodysuit and baby blue pants, sucking her favourite pacifier, trying to fight off her sleepiness after being bathed and nursed.

Our darling little baby Mia

Here's another picture of our baby girl fast asleep after being swaddled in the Aden+Anais' swaddle blanket. She slept, well, literally, like a baby! ( ^_^ )

Baby Mia fast asleep in her swaddle blanky

I do believe these purchases I made were money well spent for the quality of the products I got. I definitely am going back to the store again and again to browse through the clothes, toiletries, feeding bottles and other baby essentials products! And I am definitely will be purchasing more outfits from Mothercare for my dear little baby girl as she grows. ( ^_^ )

~ Medicine Time! ~

My little baby is in her second month and is a bit colicky, especially at night. My poor baby. ( T.T ) My mother told me to get a bottle of Gripe Water to ease her tummy upset. We opted to give our baby Woodwards Gripe Water as it is the same brand my mother fed us when we were babies and plus it is Jakim halal certified.

Since the gripe water is in liquid form, the medicine needed to be administered via either a medicator or a syringe. We had not bought any at the time we first wanted to feed the baby a dosage of the meds. We did have a syringe left by my hubby's sister and we agreed to try and use that. Our first trial in giving our baby the liquid medicine kind of failed because it was quite hard to feed a squirming and screaming baby her medicine via a syringe. The gripe water ended up either being spat out or dribbling down my baby's chin.

Our second attempt to give her the gripe water was by using her feeding bottle's nipple. It was quite a success but only for the first time. The second time we tried that, the gripe water dripped from the nipple's hole and made a bit of a sticky mess.

My frustration was growing by the day and I decided enough was enough. We needed a medicator for the baby! I ended up purchasing a Munchkin's Medicator hoping that it would solve my problem.

Munckin Medicator. Mine is purple in colour.

The first time we used the medicator, it was a success and easy to feed our baby the gripe water. We only felt happy with the medicator that first time because the second time and so on, the medicator did not work as well as the first time. It was hard to screw the medicine tube to the collar and the medicine always leaks at the joining of the medicine tube and the collar. It drove me crazy just trying to get the tube screwed on right because it took a looong time just to get it right!

I ended up having a love and hate relationship with the medicator and had started to surf the net again to find any other type of medicine dispenser for babies to help me feed my baby her meds without any problem.  In my head, I thought that one of these days I would resort to pouring the liquid remedy into her feeding bottle!  It would be so much easier if there was a small feeding bottle that is small enough to feed liquefied medicine to infants. That is when I came across Nuby's Medi-Nurser on the internet. Since it looks like a feeding bottle, I guess it would be the best option and much more easier to give the baby her medicine via this medi-nurser.

Nuby Medi-Nurser

The only problem is that none of the baby online shops in Malaysia carry this medicine dispenser. That means I needed to buy it from US. I was in the dilemma of either proceeding with ordering the medicine dispenser from the US or otherwise when one day I found a Nuby Medical Kit at Alamanda's Anakku outlet! Yay!! My heart was singing as I picked up the pack of the Medical Kit and I was smiling happily all the way to the counter.

Nuby Medical Kit

The first time using the Nuby Medi-Nurser was a HUGE success. Our baby suckled the small bottle just like she suckled her milk bottle. She finished her gripe water without any fuss or mess! I absolutely love this Medi-nurser! It is so easy to use. We just have to snap off the nipple and collar, and then pour in the liquid medicine as needed and then snap back on the nipple and collar. Then, we just feed our baby the tiny bottle and then we are done! Seriously, no leak, no mess, no stress! The only gripe I have about the medi-nurser is that it didn't come with a cover like the one in the picture above. If only it is sold as singles, I might even buy another bottle of Medi-Nurser for just in case. ( T_T )