(2007/04) April 2007 MTB

[caicai]

dlim , mine also hard leh . i think u better ask michelleK , she makes carrot muffins ? Or the hardworking Mrs Lai

my ma was telling me , my sonny quite reluctant to eat his lianrong bao today , she guessed he is abit sianz to eat the same thing evryday . hahaha , so tonite i will try to do the steam cakes again. hope i wun flop

 

[jessesmom]

Cindy,
how interesting. It must be wonderful to go for just a short period. From my observation, usually those who go for shorter periods do more than those who are there for longer periods.

E.g. we've never been to FL...actually we hardly went anywhere...heh.

Min,
I also think my boy's a little bit of a bottomless pit. He loves to eat and try everything...yes, I have given him some curry puff before

sandwich,
I'm glad Kaizer is eating much better now. It must be a relief to you! Some times Jesse would go through periods of not eating as well...maybe they just go through phases. That said, he is eating less than he ate at 10 months.

caicai,
I think we were pretty desperate to get Jesse to sleep through the night, since we didn't have any help. When the Dr said he didn't need his night feeds anymore we just got him off them...it's much easier to do when they are younger than now, when they are older, have more of an opinion and a set pattern. Perhaps the only "trick" in our case is to start it early. I think there'll be a lot of crying involved for any time of change we make now. If you're serious about cutting out the night feeds, you can either start decreasing the amount given (1 oz every 3 days) or go cold turkey (offer something else, like pat pat on the back, try not to carry). If he's getting up a different times every night, then he's probably hungry, so give him more during the day. e.g. A few months ago, Jesse started waking up earlier and earlier, so I increased his solids feed during the day and then he could sleep longer again. If it's a set time every night, then it's just a habit that need breaking. That's all I can advise lah... There's a whole "study" on sleeping and eating for babies...I may know a lot of theory but I haven't tried it all!

 

[bunniette]

Cindy: Ooo Bioinformatics hot hot in Singapore. A very LOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGG time ago, I was with a centre dealing with bioinformatics hahahaah but dun ask me what is it

jesse: no idea hahaha but I really do want some of the items, but I need to maximise my budget and rally financial support from my siblings! The clubhouse one, we have enough space to put it somewhere (not my place lah) but just the cost alone is staggering, so if it's suitable for all the kids, then we all can chip in.

Walking : my gal is still not walking but we got a pair of sqeauking shoes for her and she's happily stomping her feet now We just hope the dogs don't steal her shoes cuz they think it's a toy!

 

[caicai]

juz curious , what is the amt of milk/feed u all are giving ur babies/toddlers now ?

i am feeding 220ml -230ml

 

[dlim]

Cai,

U r a very hardworking mum! Thumbs up!!

I dun have time to prepare for him except wkends.
Wat a lousy mom right.... haiz..

Do u feed him the liangrong as well? Isnt it too sweet? I tried to give the cornflakes mix with milk.
He doesnt really like it...

I also run out of ideal what to feed Jayden. I see him eat the same thing again & again,
I also feel boring for him. I tried the marconi but not the bake type with cheese.
He still ok with it. Maybe this wkend, I try it with the cheese on top. Have u try? Does yr son like it?


Mrs Lai/Michk,

Any ideal why my muffin turned out to be quite hard ar? Can advise?

 

[dlim]

Cai,

Im feeding 240ml in the day time & 270ml for the last feed b4 he sleep.

 

[bunniette]

caicai: I never made muffins before so I dunno

 

[augleo]

mummies,
any suggestion whr to hv dinner?
need to cfm a place for makan.
coz after class will b 6.30pm and we need to settled down fast to feed our toddlers dinner.
dun wish to waste time to search for the makan place

latest need to leave FORUM @7.45pm


4May (Sunday) 6.30pm dinner (after trial class)
1. Augleo
2. CoolD
3. michele
4. Rina
5. bububear

 

[bunniette]

Dlim: I can only think of 1 possible reasn - over mixing. I remember reading somewhere for muffins (i do have books on muffins although I never made them before) that when u mix the batter, cannot overmix. Meaning you don't need to mix until smooth, it's OK if the batter is lumpy. I think the reasoning is that over mixing will cause gluten (?).

Not sure if it's any help to you though ...

 

[bunniette]

Augleo: For Forum I can only think of a few places

1. Genki Sushi *yummy*
2. California Pizza
3. Macs
4. Crystal Jade but looks v exp

I dun think secret recipe is there anymore though, not sure.

 

[bunniette]

Dlim: oops, silly question but do u need to cream the butter and sugar together first? I not sure because I cannot rem the steps for Muffins.

If yes, maybe you wan to cream it till really pale and fluffy. That may help.

 

[augleo]

Yo Mrs Lai,
thks for the makan place

i dun mind the 1 n 2 makan place

 

[absolut_vodka]

secret recipe is there still but very small outlet. hb hates genki though so we'll pass if you guys are going there. there's really not much food choices there. on top of mrs lai's list, there's

1) coffee bean
2) spinelli's

as well

 

[augleo]

3rd May (Pre-Mother Day celebration)
Venue : Plaza Mkt Cafe
Time : 12.30pm
1 pax : S$27.05
2 pax : S#54.10
** it could be lesser than stated amount

the following mummies hv paid:


<table border=1><tr><td>S/N</TD><TD>Nick </TD></TR><TR><TD>1</TD><TD>Augleo </TD></TR><TR><TD>2</TD><TD>EE </TD></TR><TR><TD>3</TD><TD>ixora </TD></TR><TR><TD>4</TD><TD>CoolD </TD></TR><TR><TD>5</TD><TD>Gene </TD></TR><TR><TD>6</TD><TD>Aprilmum </TD></TR><TR><TD>7</TD><TD>Dlim </TD></TR><TR><TD>8</TD><TD>michele </TD></TR><TR><TD>9</TD><TD>Springdance </TD></TR><TR><TD>10</TD><TD>Catherine </TD></TR><TR><TD>11</TD><TD>babyraphael </TD></TR><TR><TD>12</TD><TD>Ms Tan </TD></TR><TR><TD>13</TD><TD>traz </TD></TR><TR><TD>14</TD><TD>Jon's mummy </TD></TR><TR><TD>15</TD><TD>Sandwich </TD></TR><TR><TD></td></tr></table>


anymore mummies like to join us?
if u can only cfm on tat day, appreciate if you could oso hi-lite to us too

 

[caicai]

I hv to add my views on genki . hahaha ,
i went to genki @ Marina Sq , not nice leh , not filling . california pizza is ok , got pasta

Mrs Lai , i must admit i really beat the batter till smooth then .

Dlim , 270ml ???? i think i muz be underfeeding my sonny liao

 

[dlim]

Mrs Lai,

Yes, u need to sift the flour and baking powder &amp; sugar in a bowl 1st.
In another mix the egg, milk, and butter together.

Thanks, will give it a try this wkend again...

 

[bunniette]

Dlim: Ogie ... if i can dig out my muffin book, I'll have a read thru again and see if I can pick up any useful info.

 

[sanrio]

Augleo,
can i cfm d mother's day lunch after 28 apr as ash is going for surgery on that day n we have to c how. tks.

 

[bunniette]

cai cai: my gal will have a 125ml feed at about 8 to 9 ish and then a 240ml feed at about 11pm.

Needs to have 2 feed cuz 11pm she has to take her antibiotics. Once she turns 2, then we can increase the last feed to whatever she takes and hopefully she will sleep thru the nite cuz dun need to take anymore antibotics.

 

[dlim]

Cai,

U did not underfeed yr son. I think 220ml -230ml is quite alot already.
Sometimes he cant finish the whole bottle also. I juz give the max &amp;
see how much he can drink &amp; hopefully he can sleep throughout the night.

Yesterday I went to attend the Schicida parenting class. Oh my god...it ended at 11pm!
Luckily hubby came to pick me. Was so damn tired!

 

[bunniette]

Dlim: Wah ... i for one will not bring my child for Shincida cuz I need to do the homework and attend the class! I am the lazy mom! i peifu you for your dedication to your child!

 

[caicai]

i think even if i give him 300ml , he will gush every down , my pa called him " endless pit"

 

[bunniette]

Dlim: want to ask 1 last thing. what sugar are you using for the muffins? Coarse? Fine? Super Fine? Caster?

 

[augleo]

cai2 n Dlim,
wld like to know what is the total FM ur sonny drink per day? more than 1 liter?

 

[dlim]

Mrs Lai,

The partenting class only 1 day. Its something like the orientation type. As for homework,
really have to put in effort &amp; spend some time to go through with him. Else defeat the purpose
for enrolling him in. Its not a everyday routine. If u r very busy, at least 3 times a wk also can.

Im using caster sugar.


Cai,

Why dont u give it a try tonight. Let says abt 250ml &amp; see if he can finish it? Dun give 300ml ..
I think it too much already.

 

[jessesmom]

caicai,
Here's my feeding schedule:
between 6:30-7am he'll wake up and we give 240ml formula
7-ish: he'll take some oats/bread/whatever we're eating. But it's very small amount.
8am: I give him his breakfast proper. Which is like 3+Tbsp of instant rice cereal/oats/barley (whatever is open) with a dash of milo. Yesterday he had 3/4 hotcake from Macs

9:30am: 200ml formula + nap
12noon: Lunch - a bowl of porridge (or instant food). Guess it's about a rice bowl worth.
1:45: 200ml formula + nap
4pm: a little snack (raisins/puff)
5pm: Dinner - 1 bowl porridge (or instant food)
7pm: 240ml formula and sleeps for the night.

I'm trying to lessen his formula feeds but slowly lor...that's why now the two middle feeds are 200ml. If I drop it to 180ml, he'll complain

Also, if he's peckish throughout the day, I offer him puffs or some biscuits or whatever I'm eating.

Mrs Lai,
Hehe...it's good that you have space! It's such a commodity.

Muffins
I've never baked muffins either (find it too fussy...have to put in cups and all). But I've done quite a bit of other things like cakes and cookies and what have you. anyway, I agree with Mrs Lai that the creaming has to be done well (10-15 mins on high speed?) and once the flour is added in, over-mixing is a no-no. Also, could check temperature of oven.

Dlim,
it really says that the flour and sugar are in the same bowl first?

I would think that for all these "cakey" sort of things, it'd be cream the sugar and butter till smooth and lighten in colour. Add the eggs and milk (on low) and then spoon in the flour, salt and soda/powder mixture in slowly/in thirds just until incorporated. Then hand-stir in the "stuff" (chopped nuts/fruit/etc). That's the usual step for cakes lah...maybe it is different for muffins hmm...

Place to eat at Forum:
Used to work around that area...anyway, can consider Hard Rock Cafe.

It's nice and noisy for children or rather to mask the sounds of screaming kids and they look like they can deal with mess.

 

[absolut_vodka]

TODAY's FOOD FOR THOUGHT
If SOMEONE is dishonest, possible to teach their child(ren) to give to charity? what do you think?

 

[jessesmom]

Dlim,
the only recipe I can think of off the top of my head that uses castor sugar and puts flour and sugar in the same bowl is the one for scones...but it uses the rub-in method for incorporating the butter...

How do you mix the butter with the flour mixture?

 

[caicai]

Leo ,
my sonny drinks formula milk about 4-5bottles = 1litre ( my mum likes to feed him small bottle of milk to lure him to his dreamland)
1 220ml of milk + cereals , so total shd be more than 1 litre ba . alot ?

he is 11.2 kg now .

 

[augleo]

cai2,
wow....1 litre of FM + 3 solids + snacks?

Zac is almost 1 mth younger than JK n can eat so much....is my JK under-feed?

 

[caicai]

leo , no lah

morning : my ma fed him bao minus lian rong, sometimes 3/4 bread or steam cake

4pm fruits ( half a pear or half apple , sometimes 1/4 avocado )

6-7pm porridge for dinner

Zac is a milk monster , but i think JK bigger than my sonny eh

 

[dlim]

Augleo,

Total FM for my son per day only abt 750ml.


Jesse,

Your feeding between 12-1:45pm is abt an hour+, can Jesse finish the milk?
You give Jesse dinner so early? Mine will have his dinner ard 7pm+.

I sift the flour and baking powder in a bowl 1st. Then in another mix the egg, milk, and butter.
After that, make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour everything in. Then use
a batter beater, mix the mixture.

Im not too sure either cox its my 1st time doing the muffin. Hopefully im not wrong ya. hahaha..
Else I need our expert MichK to advise...

Cai,

Zac already hit 1 litre...u still said he is underfeed??

 

[caicai]

dlim , leo
hmmmm , i think i shd retract my words then .

 

[augleo]

Dlim,
Jayden FM intake same as JK

Cai2,
it seems like no lunch for Zac.
as for the weight, not really much diff. slightly heavier

sanrio,
sure, let us know when u n family are ready

u take care.

 

[caicai]

leo , lunch @ 12pm or 1 pm ( 220ml cereals n milk)

issi advisable to feed 2 bowls of porridge per day ?

 

[peanutbutter]

augleo, dlim, cai,
my boy is at 120ml per feed still -- like a small bb. so have to drink many many times a day since he's drinking abt close to 700ml i think. if he latch on, he definately drinks more at a go, but when bottlefed, he's impatient and 100-120ml is the max he can take. my bbsitter trying very hard to increase it to 150ml now

 

[bunniette]

Dlim: Do you melt you butter before you mix with your milk and egg? Melted butter need to be cooled first - I made the mistake once and ended up with cooked eggs

If not melted butter, perhaps u can try using multed butter and see if it makes any difference?

Caster sugar is right, I can't think of anything else ...

 

[alcin]

Hi Jesse...
Yes...the more time u have, the more u will procrastinate and not go anywhere! just like i think i have a lot of time in Boston..so have been dilly dallying in exploring the place! I havent covered everything yet! heehee. now realising that my hol is coming to an end...have to hurry up and explore and travel already! dun think i will come back in awhile...the flight is just too long! i hope to go Nigara Fall or somewhere interesting before I head back home!

Mrs Lai...
I think bioinformatics not very hot already...

Wah...all of you making me hungry with the muffins and cakes talk. And you gals make from scratch ah? I'm lazy...i use cake mix! Betty Crocker never fails me! hahahaha

 

[caicai]

cindy , nice nice , niagara falls , go buy icewine . cheap cheap

s/w , kaizer can use the small glass bottles then . i went to supermarket to kpoh , dun hv BIG glass bottles . did u try giving him more ?

 

[alcin]

caicai...
really nice nice ah? ok...then i better go! hehehe!

 

[cool_daughter]

Jesse
Someone from Abbort called me yday &amp; was asking if jboy still on Isomil &amp; I said yes. She says actually there's no need to switch to cow's milk as the nutrients in soy milk is adequate &amp; comparable to cow's milk. So .. maybe I will stick to it, or perhaps mix?

Dlim,
yes, i got 3 Avent bottles from bbgoh too. Now really tinking wanna stop sterlising or wat. But now wif the super high HFM cases, how to stop sterlising? Last nite's new says there are 500+ cases in ONE SINGLE DAY !!

Michele,
Only if the 'someone' is Robinhood. Rob the rich, save the poor

Anyway, I tell u, i hv a colleague who likes to 'cheat' us of small little amt of $$ .. like $0.50 bus fare, few dollars lunch $$ kind. Hiaz .. this is just how much her reputation is worth !!

 

[caicai]

cindy , i hvnt been there , hear say from my sis who went there before . she bot icewine for me . said it is cheap there .

 

[absolut_vodka]

haha... ya lor! Robinhood!! but female one? but robinhood is robbing, not cheat leh. cheating is worst isn't it?

 

[cool_daughter]

michele
Yeah .. cheating is worse, especially those who cheats on small amt. If wanna cheat, cheat millions of dollars &amp; be featured on the paper. Those I admire them .. haha

Btw, how come the sudden 'Food for thought'? U kena cheated ah?

 

[kelley]

Thanks for all the mummies concern.. my womb has actuali made a funnel towards the cervic and doc say is very low.. hope I don’t go into labour soon.. so I need to rest.. next week if still funneling and the hole bigger. I have to admit to lie in bed 24/7… boring.. and I took 2 jabs to strengthen the bb lungs.. OMG.. it’s so pain… I cried.. as usual..haiz..

Mrs lai: sorry.. after I went to gynae.. I was scared myself too!!

Darbebe: got it from new urban male at vivo city. I don’ know leh.. stress with everything ba.. cos HB always so busy at work.. if I don’t do.. no new plc to stay in time loh.. lucky bulk of everything is done! Now only new maid n abit of furniture.. and I can move in soon!!!

Augleo: yes.. msst remember I m preggy.. mst behave like one.. walk slowly n best don’t do anything..

Rina: I don’t want her to come out cos her lungs still nt develop n I don’t 1 2 spend tons of money on the ICU!!!.. not worth it…

Min: my MIL has added whole egg to cook porridge for my gal even the egg tou fu..… bt ribena.. haven’t.. ashlyn only has juices and sips of whatever we are drinking except ribena.. she has even tasted yakult!

Michele: ya loh.. my hb told me a friend gave birth 2 months early also.. bb stayed in icu for 3 weeks.. bill almost 30k!!.. I was like.. can buy a lot of things leh.. so I lie n nv walk much liao.. keep sleeping.. becoming fat!!

Dlim: u signed up ur son for the shichida class ah.. hb wanted me to sign ashlyn for it… but got to do homework.. how is ur review on our kids going there so young? Worth it.. I heard it was like 3 months over $1K leh..

 

[caicai]

kelley dear ,
u better take care of urself n ur little one . dun be blur lke sotong . if unwell , must quickly cheong to gynae

and what are u doing in forum when u are supposed to hv bed rest ??? sleep

 

[honeybunch]

Caicai: Actually Lele had been waking up for milk at least once to drink milk.
His last feed:7-8p.m. of 210-240ml milk. Then sleep. Then he will wake around 3am for milk 210-240ml. And wake proper at 7 plus.
But a few times, I was so tired that I ignored his cries for milk long enough for him to "give up" and go back to sleep. I realised Lele is way too old to still NEED to feed in the mid of night (since he was 11mths old le ma) and he might be waking out of habit than anything else.

So I decided to make him go cold turkey for 1 week, as my colleague advised. She said 1 week of suffering (for us parents!) is all that is needed.

So I tried. When he woke at 3 plus, I patpat him. When it doesn't work (usually!) I will carry him in my arms to rock him till he drowsy/sleepy then put him back. Then within half hour he will wake again and I will do the same. Sometimes he refused to sleep even after a few rounds, so I will change his diaper, massage his tum with oil, give a sip of water, then rockrock again before putting back to sleep.

Then at 6am I will feed him.

Really quite tiring but he started getting up for milk later, like at 4plus, then 5plus. And it was easier to sooth him back to sleep. I did not give him any milk before 6pm. Only when it reaches 6, I will give him milk.

After 1 week, voila!

He can sleep thruout and will wake me up at 6 -6.15am for his milk!

This schedule fits us all so well, cos 6 is the wake-up time for us to get ready for work. And when he drinks at 6am, he will go back to sleep till 8plus, instead of the past 7plus.

So if you really serious about stopping his wakeup habit, you have to decide a last feed time and first feed time and firmly dun give any milk for at least one week. Maybe Zach might need more than 1 week since he got so used to the habit. But as long as you see improvements you can continue the coldturkey a while more.

It really works.)

In my case, I was the consistent "trainer" cos my hubbie cannot stand baby crying. So I let him sleep in the other room while I train him for one week. Cos I can tahan noise better and sleep like a pig!

 

[caicai]

kate ,
ya lor , i agree wif u .
he wake up at 4am , expecting to be fed , which i refused , i gave him water . then half hr , he will wake again .. until i cannot take it , coz i worried he is not getting enuff sleep .
so i caved in @ 5.30am ...

OK , i will try my best to stop for 1 week , try .... since u are sucessful in ur training

 

[caicai]

but , just to check , night feeds are redundant for babies aged 1 yr ?
coz my cousin n colleague's sons ( born Oct 2006 ) still hving their nite feeds till now ?

 

[jessesmom]

caicai,
If he wakes up same time very morning, it's a habit, he's not hungry. What kate did works ...though I've not done it myself, I've heard of many people doing it already. But it is tiring and it is important that once you decide to do it, you cannot change your mind and see it through. Otherwise, you child will become confused and will cry even more and take even longer if you decide to try again.

Drinking a lot of milk is one thing but it digests very quickly. At this age when their digestive system is more mature, they need solids keep them full. Which is why I don't increase FM anymore but keep increasing solids. At some point his solids has to "take over" the FM feeds. He's actually supposed to only do 3 FM feeds a day but...oh well...I put less powder in his feeds, like 3.5scoops instead of 4. He needs the fluids but I think he'll do fine without all 4 full scoops.

Dlim,
actually, Jesse eats/drinks/snacks on something every 1.5hours or so. When all he does is nap between feeds, it could be about 2 hours in between feed. But if he's awake, he needs something to fuel him every 1.5hrs or so (it could even be just 20 gerber puff stars).

cool_d,
Abbott called me before, the lady said I should move on to pediasure. But yesterday Dr say don't need to give pediasure...should try cow's milk first. But of course, Dr also says no rush on switching lah...he can probably go on isomil till 18 months. It's HB who keeps bugging me to switch but he doesn't want to give cow's milk...duh.

Cindy,
Niagara is pretty nice. Usually we go in the fall. But since you have no choice, now isn't too bad either..haha. But you want to drive up all the way with Caitlyn?

If you want to get Icewine, you need to go over to the canada side...so bring your passport.

Personally, I prefer Maine. Of course, the other place I always wanted to go but never did is the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory! haha. It's much nearer for you than it was for me.

The trip I most like when we were there was our trip to CA. haha. The part I enjoyed most and would do over and over again? White Water Rafting. Can't do that with a kid though...and that was before Jesse's conception.

There are some white water spots in PA but they weren't as thrilling as at yosemite.

Hmm...how about visiting the Amish county? It's a little further for you, Lancaster PA, if I'm not wrong.

The other road trip I had planned but we didn't have time to do was...Texas. This (Mar/Apr) is the best time to go, btw.

And according to a Texan friend, forget about Dallas. Do Houston, San Antonio (the Spurs are doing very well this season I wish I could go watch live) and Austin.

Of course, you can just enjoy Boston and the neighbouring burbs. We didn't go many places but I think we combed through the whole manhattan (and parts of the other boroughs) pretty well.

We're feeling a little "itchy" already