Baby Ashton's hospital updates.

Thanks everyone for all your texts and messages on Facebook, Whatsapp and SMS. Thank you for asking, I am grateful that Ashton is in your thoughts.
As it is nearly impossible to reply each and everyone of you due to us settling back at home, I have decided to come up with an update for our family and friends.

Ashton and I waiting in Children OT, he is changed into his gown, fasted for many hours, and waiting for his Anaesthetist to come bring him in. I am all nerves. Stay strong baby! Mummy will be waiting right here.
We were told it was going to be a 3-hour op due to the complexity of the spinal structure and the risks involved in the nerves, but his surgeon Dr Seow called me 1.5 hours later to inform me the surgery was over. Thank God!

While waiting for Ashton's turn, I met a Grandma carrying a wee baby, smaller than Ashton. She shared with me he was only 3 months old and going for surgery for his undescended testicles. I made a remark in passing "Wah, so young ah.." and she told me, this is nothing compared to what he had been through - at 2 mths of age, he underwent open-heart surgery to fix a "hole in his heart".
I was devastated.

Throughout our hospital stay, I met many other unfortunate and poorly children and compared to their plights, Ashton's ordeal seemed very minuscule. My heart goes out to those children.

 

After my baby woke up from the op, we were transferred to High Dependency unit due to his tender age and the worry for infection.

At the High D, there were no beds for parents to sleep on because of the machines and lines everywhere.
I slept on a chair for those 3 nights, and many times I woke up with aching bones, awoken by the noise of the beeping and buzzing of the mointoring equipment. It was truly unbearable, I couldn't wait to get transferred out!

Day 2 - He yanked out his IV line which is meant for Morphine, his pain control. He had another IV plug on his ankle, but by evening he yanked that out as well. Since then he has been Morphine-free and pain-free. Thankfully, he wasn't in distress at all, as the doctors couldn't do anything to him!

Day 2 - The naughty rascal - can you tell this little baby had major surgery to his spine the day before?

Day 3 - After 3 nights in High D, he was stable enough to be transferred to a normal ward. KKH Ward 86. The nurses there are awesome.

 So thankful to finally have somewhere to sleep on! A foldable couch is better than sleeping on a chair that's for sure!
One downside of being in private ward is the 24/7 aircon. Can you spot our Osim uMist Baby?? Heh...



With Dr Seow Wan Tew, Head and Senior Consultant of Paediatric Neurosurgery, KKH.
He performed the surgery personally for us and he came by daily to visit Ashton despite his busy schedule and the fact that his other patients are seen by his Consultants and subordinates.
We were fortunate enough to be under the care of the best Pd Neurosurgeon in the country. 

Day 5 - Ashton has been given the all-clear and is ready to go home! We miss home! Thanks everyone for your well wishes and prayers. We are eternally grateful.

As it was my *ahem* 30th Birthday, my gal friends Charmaine & Meena gave me an Angpao because I told them not to get me anything as I would be in the hospital on my birthday, I didn't think there was any reason to celebrate.


While we have been very fortunate to be able to afford the best care for Ashton, I am aware there are many under-privileged children out there from my stay in the hospital this week.
I have therefore donated the money to Children's Cancer Foundation, Singapore. It is not alot of money, but hopefully it is enough to make a difference to a child's life.

"People pay the doctor for his service; for his kindness they remain in his debt".
thank you Dr Seow and your wonderful team of doctors and nurses who delivered nothing but the most competent care to us. We are eternally indebted to you.

My baby was hospitalised

This week has been a long roller coaster ride for us. Ashton was admitted to KKH on Sunday night and had surgery on Monday. Our baby was born with a fatty tissue on his spine and surgery was needed to correct it.

I will share more of it in another post if I have time.

Alone in the nights staring at my child on the hospital bed, I was tired but couldn't sleep, hungry but had no appetite to eat. I think even if I were thrown into a jungle with nothing, I wouldn't feel half as helpless as what I'm experiencing.
But for the sake of my children I must soldier on, for God gives his fiercest battles to his strongest soldiers.
Sleepless nights spent in the cold wards with only a chair for bed is nothing compared to the ordeal Ashton is going through.

I felt scared and lost when I first learnt of his diagnosis but I am lucky to have supportive angels around me (**non-mummy and mummy friends alike who had or hadn't have children undergone major surgeries) who rallied by us throughout and constantly checked on me for updates.
Charmaine, Meena & I were on Whatsapp groupchat and they said it was my 24-hour "help line" and sent me videos to keep me occupied. What would I be without such wonderful friends?

The toughest part is helping Adam cope. He's a sensitive boy who loves his brother fiercely and always wants to be around Ashton. He even wants to wear the same clothes as Ashton!

My lovely twins, born 3 years apart. Adam is totally smitten by his brother and they have been sleeping in the same room since Ashton was 2 months old so it's mighty tough for the boys to be separated.

I also found it difficult to be in 2 places at one time shuttling between hospital when Ashton is sleeping & rushing home to be with Adam in the evenings when he is back from school. Even giving him a bath & changing him into his PJs before bed are precious moments to me because time is very scarce and I have to rush back to the hospital before Ashton wakes up for the next breastfeed. Andy has been a real gem, the unsung hero, quietly chauffeuring my MIL, helper and I up and down, without any complaints.

When we were waiting for Ashton outside the theatre, Andy sat quietly at a corner playing games on his iPhone but instead of getting mad & accusing him of being heartless, I know that's Andy's way of coping. My husband is a man of few words, but sometimes it's the unspoken that tell you so much more.

For my past birthdays, I wished for nice bags and shoes and when I got them, I wanted nicer/ more expensive ones.
This year, I spent my Big Three in the High Dependency Ward. In retrospect, all those material things are worthless to me now even if they cost an arm and a leg. Nothing is more important than the speedy recovery of Ashton and simply being able to be with my children, husband and loved ones.

My baby, so small and helpless. I am his source of food, love and comfort. To him, I am his everything. I am his Mummy. Therefore, Mummy is everything.
Oh I just hope that Ashton's wound would heal fast so his stitches can be out soon.
I miss home, I miss our old routine of noisy, pesky kids before bedtime and I miss cuddling them both to bed.

“I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much.” - Mother Teresa.

** Thank you Joey, Jas, MagMag, Charmaine, Meena, Twinkle, and so many other people whom I cannot list all at once. But your friendship and support is very much cherished. Thank you.

[Review] OSIM uMist Baby air humidifier

We are lucky recipients of an OSIM uMist Baby air humidifier as a complimentary gift, so I've decided to do a quick review of it.

 

Product information:

The fine mist evaporates easily to humidify your room and helps to moisturise your skin, soothe your throat and moisten your airways, relieving breathing difficulties caused by dry air.

 

It has a night light function which is especially helpful for children's rooms.

Air humidifiers need no introduction, as they have been around in the market for quite some time.
The uMist Baby came in handy because it has been a season of flu and bugs for our family and every parent knows what a nightmare it is when children fall sick!
I like that it is very small and easily placed at a corner of the boys' room.
The only downside however, is that due to its small chamber size, water needs to be refilled daily if you turn it on through the night.

Other than that, I find that it is a great product because I woke up without a dry throat even though I was having sore throat, and I didn't hear the boys wheezing at night which happen when they have dry nasal passages.

Edit to add: Another advantage of OSIM uMist Baby is the mist doesn't leave any water marks AT ALL even though I put it right next to the curtains. Fantastic!

Retails for SGD$88 at all OSIM outlets.

Thank you OSIM!

Gardens by the Bay

Went to Gardens by the Bay tonight for dinner and a stroll, where we joined thousands in the crowd seeing Super Trees, Super Trees, and more Super Trees.

After so many days of eating restaurant food, I'm craving for good ol' hawker fare.



Round round Buddha-baby so tame and so lovable, but lately it's been quite a chore breastfeeding him because he is so kaypo and turns his head to watch TV / look at people and exposing my "raisins" to the world.



My little boyfriend

20-plus kilos on Hubby's shoulders = no joke!

 

Happy 1st day of Water Snake year!

What a busy first day of the Lunar New Year! As usual, we went visiting and it's Ashton's first year celebrating Chinese New Year and collecting Angpaos.

After spending the entire day out and about, and having my children live out of the diaper bag, we went home for a quick shower before heading out to dinner.

While seemingly the rest of Singapore is closed for the festivities, we managed to book a reservation for steamboat buffet at M Hotel.

So comforting to have piping hot steamboat in the cold rainy weather.

 

 

My cheeky monster. Although Adam is always making my blood pressure rise and I always have to give him my Goldfish-eyeball stares, but I still adore him to bits.



My MIL knows that I don't like to peel prawn shells and my Hubby is one weird specimen who consumes the prawn whole (shell included, therefore he also doesn't peel prawns), so she peeled them for me.. So loved!

My beautiful family. So in love with them and so loved by them. Just the other night, Adam told me "Mummy I love you too much"  :)



Loving my vibrant blue and turqoise peacock Bodycon dress from Tracyeinny.
Bag: Hermes Picotin PM

 

 

I wish everyone a Happy and Precious Chinese New Year, filled with lots of health, joy and peace!

May your resolutions come true.

Love lots, smile always :)

The glamorous sides of Motherhood

Hi! Wanna know how we have been in the weeks preceding CNY?
Adam finished all the cookies I baked for CNY, developed a sore throat and passed his germs to Ashton.
Apparently, he's been the Smart Alec here and asked my maid to give him the cookies.
I asked Dwi why on earth did she give him so many cookies to eat and she replied that Adam told her he was very hungry. Needless to say, both of them got an earful from me.
At the same time, Adam also developed oral thrush and I, mastitis.
The mastitis came about because Ashton was feeling unwell and didn't latch much, and with two sick babies, I didn't have the time nor luxury to sit down and pump my milk!
I tried latching the baby but his stuffy nose made it hard for him to breathe when my boob is in his mouth so he gave up on my breast and the blocked ducts came on. When he needed them, they gave him supply in abundance and now when my booby needs him to suckle and clear the clog, he gives up on it. I'm feeling betrayed like that.


"I'm really trying.... Mummyyyyy... zzZzzzZ"

I've never had mastitis or clogged ducts so badly before and I can tell you, for someone whos not fond of crying, I was reduced to tears from the excruciating pain and hardness of my breast. I pumped and pumped for dear life and couldn't even get a single drop of milk out. I tried to convince Adam that it's the same as sucking a lollipop but he stared at my "lollipops", giggled, and ran out of the room.
I tried hand squeezing, hot towel compress, massaging the blocked ducts but nothing - I mean NOTHINGGG - worked.
All the cold cabbage in the world cannot save me.
I called KKH lactation clinic and they can't slot me in till Friday. I tried calling Mt Alvernia but never got through.
Drastic situations call for drastic measures.  In the end, I called in a private lactation consultant who, God bless her soul, does house calls and agreed to come to my rescue at 8:30pm on a Monday night. God bless the person who invented Google too.
$160 poorer but my milk jugs will be saved!

As if my life isn't melodramatic enough, I'm happy to announce that I am also going bald.

This is the amount of hair that comes off everytime I bathe and brush my hair.
Sometimes I run my fingers through my hair and more clumps fall out.
By CNY I'm pretty sure I'll be BALD.

The glamorous sides of motherhood! You have been warned.

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As a side note, these are the Cornflake & Raisin cookies I baked for Adam that he polished off batch after batch.


They are really child's play to bake! My Mum used to bake them for me and my brothers during CNY when we were kids, and now I'm paying it forward, baking them for my child(ren).

Ingredients:

- Raisins 1 cup (cut into halves if they are too long)

- Cornflakes 1 cup (pour into ziplock bag and crunch them lightly)

- Plain flour 240gm
- Icing sugar 160gm
- Corn starch 60gm
- Butter 240gm (1 block, softened at room temperature. It forms a slight depression when you press with your finger)
- Egg yolks x 2

- Vanilla essence 1 teaspoon



It's doing those Mummy-things that make me very happy.

Method:
- Pour icing sugar into a mixing bowl and add in the butter, cut into cubes.
- Using an electric beater, beat the butter and icing sugar at low speed until they form big lumps.
- Add in the 2 egg yolks and vanilla essence and continue whisking at low speed.
- Then, slowly add in the plain flour in batches and continue whisking until you achieve a smooth and fluffy consistency that does not drip when you hold it up with a spoon.
- Pour in raisins and mix.
- Using teaspoon, dish out the batter into small cookie paper cups.
- Sprinkle corn flakes and lightly pat them to stick onto the batter.
- For decoration, you may add 1 raisin on top of each cookie.
- Bake in preheated oven at 180-deg celcius for 15 minutes.
- Hint: they don't brown very much so careful not to overbake otherwise the bottom becomes burnt.

 

 

Hope you have fun baking!