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I’ve probably said this before but being a mom of many small kids often feels like I’m moving from one state of crisis to another, sprinkled with brief moments of respite in between where nobody is ill or sniffling or germy.

All my life, I’ve been mostly ok with a moderate amount of germs but those days are over because motherhood has turned me into a total germaphobe.

Why? With all these kids running around, I’m basically just a palmful of bacteria away from a full on catastrophe.

Any number of ailments could befall any of them at any given time, and it will immediately spread like wildfire to the rest of the kids. Almost every kind of virus is likely to become an epidemic around here. HFMD, stomach flu, regular flu, scarlet fever, any other kind of fever…the terrifying list goes on.

Having been through enough sick baby moments, I feel like I need to share some tips that might come in useful for when disaster strikes.

1. Double sheet the bed.

The one thing worse than having a sick baby throw up in the middle of the night is having the baby throw up on your bed in the middle of the night. The number of times I’ve tried to catch baby vomit with my bare hands in the middle of the night in the hope that it won’t land on my bad is TOO MANY, and the number of times I’ve been successful is ZERO.

The solution to this is to add another layer of waterproof mattress protector and bedsheets over the original layer when the kids are ill. This way, when the baby throws up (which he will!), all you need to do is peel off the pukey layer and go right back to bed.

2. Lollipop meds.

The 3 big kids are pretty good with taking their meds but baby Theo does not like the taste of medicine in his mouth. No matter how I try to trick him into eating it, this baby will not stand for it.

The only thing that’s worked so far is this genius lollipop trick – dip his favourite lolly into the meds and let him suck it. When he’s done with all the meds, he gets to finish the lollipop. It’s tedious, but it works!

3. Use good tissue for delicate drippy noses.

Drippy noses make for sad babies, but getting a nose abrasion from using poor quality tissue makes for sadder babies, and that’s just unnecessary.

We’ve been using Pursoft’s premium facial tissue and it’s perfect for the kids’ delicate skin. It’s made of 3-ply 100% virgin pulp, which makes it the right kind of smooth and soft and absorbent for those drippy baby noses.

They also have a travel pack that makes everything much more convenient because it’s so compact. There’s always one in my diaper bag and I make sure my kids carry a pack around so that they will always have tissues within reach at all times.

Pursoft tissue is also stronger, resulting in less tears, which also means that we end up using less tissue each time, so we’re saving money and the environment. In addition, they’re also free from Optical Brightening Agents that make the tissue look artificially whiter, so I don’t have to worry about triggering allergies.

4. As well as good toilet tissue for upset tummies. 

Yes, it’s true, I’m a bit of a toilet tissue snob. One can save on lots of stuff like shopping and travel and even food, but bathroom tissue is not one of them – you need to get the best that money can buy because baby buttock abrasion is just NO.

One time, I bought a toilet tissue that felt like sandpaper and the kids were like “Why are you doing this to us, mom???!!”

Well, never again.

If you want really good toilet tissue, Pursoft’s 4-ply bathroom tissue is the best thing ever, especially for those really bad cases of tummy aches. The 4 ply bathroom tissues are soft and luxurious, yet strong enough so you use less sheets each time. There’s also a green tea scented core version that smells divine without aggravating sensitive skin.

Like the facial tissue variant, it’s made of virgin pulp and free from Optical Brightening Agents. It is also Forest Stewardship Council ^TM (FSC ^TM) certified. This is important because no illegal woods have been used and they’re not one of those irresponsible haze-causing corporations that obtain pulp by resorting to slash and burn methods. It’s nice to know that Pursoft is both safe for our skin and the environment.

5. Load up on the cuddles.

Having sick babies is tough on everyone, especially moms. All that extra cleaning and having to put up with grouchy babies can take its toll and I’ve discovered that the best way to get past an epidemic is to buckle down and load up on the cuddles. It’s ok if the laundry piles up for a couple of days or the kids don’t get a 5-course meal for dinner.

Some days, I’ll just phone it in and spend the day cuddling with my sick babies in bed because at least this way, they’ll feel better and so will I. Regular programming can wait till everyone’s healthy again.

***

If you’d like to get a complimentary Pursoft Travel Pack sample, just fill in your details on the website here. (while stocks last.)

Pursoft is also having an introductory offer price, plus an additional $2 off $10 Pursoft purchase at Fairprice online. Ends on 31 July 2016!

Look who’s ready for pants diapers! Yeah, this guy.

You know you have a big boy on your hands the day he starts transitioning to pants diapers. One day they’re helpless little infants and then they’re off running to explore the world and next thing you know, they’re putting on their own little pants diapers without any help because “I can do it myself, mom!”

Looking for the right pants diaper isn’t just like grabbing a pack from the shelf at the store because a lousy diaper will result in an irritable, grumpy baby and trust me, nobody wants that. What you want is the optimum combination of softness, absorbency and comfort.

With these 4 kids, I think I’ve tried every diaper brand available in Singapore and I’m here to save you the trouble of having to go through the whole research process.

One of the best pants diapers you’ll find is Merries Walker Pants.

The No. 1 diaper brand in Japan, Merries diapers is developed with Japan advanced technology to provide comfort and assurance for your little one. The diapers are so ridiculously soft and fluffy, it makes diaper wearing a dream. You’ll have to touch it yourself to understand how plush this diaper is.

It’s also excellent both in comfort and absorbency, which means less frequent changes and zero leaks.

For baby Theo, it’s basically like wearing a very fluffy, absorbent cloud on his bottom while he goes on his epic adventures. And who doesn’t want that, amirite??

Here’s why your baby will be very happy wearing them:

1. Exceptional Breathability

Merries Walker Pants is designed to allow air to flow freely between the diaper and the skin, so every part of the diaper releases heat and moisture from pee and perspiration. The airy channels around the waist also allow heat and moisture to escape from the top as well, so your baby can enjoy maximum dryness and comfort 24 hours a day.

Why is this important? Baby Theo is all action, all the time, which means that he perspires a lot everywhere. Coupled with the frequent peeing, there’s a lot of moisture pooling around his little bottom, increasing the risk of skin irritation and diaper rash. An absorbent and breathable diaper reduces the moisture and heat trapped in the diaper, making it nice and comfy all day.

2. Comfortable waist fit

Softness and comfort is a big deal because this baby has to be in diapers all day and any sort of irritation around his body drives him absolutely nuts. If he’s wearing a diaper that irritates his skin, he’ll be yanking at it and yelling “DON’T LIKE!!!”

Merries Walker Pants have soft gathers around the waist that fit snugly and hold the diaper in place so it does not slip, allowing freedom of movement no matter how active your baby is, without causing any red marks or abrasions. In addition, the fine fibres of the new, fluffy, silky smooth sheet prevents the diaper surface from rubbing against your baby’s skin. It’s no wonder that Merries has been awarded a “Good Design Award” for its amazingly comfortable fit.

3. Softer side seal that is easier to tear

With the new product improvement, the side seal is smaller and softer, providing more comfort for the active toddler to move about and making it easier to tear upon disposal.

This may seem like a small change, but a very helpful one. Struggling to tear the side seal of a poopy diaper is not recommended unless you want to get the poop smeared over as huge a surface area as possible. A diaper that’s quick and easy to remove once it’s soiled is a lifesaver.

With Merries Walker Pants, all you need are these 2 steps to deal with a poopy diaper:

//Tear open both sides and remove.

//Roll pants diapers up and seal firmly with the tape at the back and then throw away.

4. Colour changing wetness indicators

It’s pretty cool not to have to do the diaper squeeze test to check if it’s full. Now, when the strips change from yellow to dark green, it is time for a change.

5. New XXL range

Is this good news or what? Merries Walker Pants now runs from size M to the new addition, XXL. The XXL size can fit children from 15 kg up to 28 kg, which is the only brand that caters to the heaviest weight range. This is great for my chubby baby, who won’t have to deal with tight diapers squashing his jellyroll thighs no more.

Did you know that you can request for free Merries samples to be delivered straight to your home? Yes, you can! And is easy, just fill in the form here.

*Request for samples is available for Singapore residents only.

For more information and to stay updated on Merries promotions, check out the website and Facebook page here.

Having spent several days with baby Theo in the hospital a few weeks back, I’ve come to realise that there’s nothing quite as heartbreaking as watching my baby battle an illness. To see his tiny body hooked up to a bunch of scary machines, looking all defeated and miserable, it’s more than this heart can take. 3 nights in KK Hospital with a sad, sick baby ain’t no staycation, is all I’m saying, and can I not do it again please??

The thing is, sometimes, it sneaks up on you real quiet like a sudden bout of pneumonia, and there’s nothing you can do except step into the ring and parry the punches.

But then other times, hospital stays are completely preventable, as long as we take the necessary preventive steps. And in those cases, you can be sure I’m doing everything I can to keep my babies safe.

For example, cases like dengue. Dengue is one of those ailments that can be prevented and all it takes are a few easy steps (hello, 5-step Mozzie Wipeout!). It’s a year-round threat so we need to be constantly vigilant, but especially during the hotter months of June to October, it’s when we need to step up our game against them pesky mosquitoes. This period is usually the worst due to accelerated breeding and maturation cycles of the Aedes mosquitoes and shorter incubation periods for the dengue virus.

So what is this 5-step mozzie wipeout you speak of and how is it done exactly?

I’m glad you asked.

It has 5 easy steps (yes, way to state the obvious) and they all have to do with getting rid of places for mosquitoes to make babies. You know how much I like babies, but if there’s ever an appropriate time and place to exterminate babies, this is it. Sorry, but nasty mozzies don’t get to have babies. Not on my watch.

5 Step Mozzie Wipeout

Specifically, I’m here to show you how to prevent mosquito breeding in your kitchen because hey, fun fact, did you know that water containers used in the kitchen and toilets are one of the most common breeding habitats of mosquitoes found in homes? If mosquitoes are looking for a safe place to have a little boom chica wow wow action, the first place they’ll go to is your kitchen and toilets.

But you’re not going to make it easy for them, are you? Just follow these 4 steps and you’ll be ok.

Step 1: Turn over all water storage containers when not in use.

Step 2: Empty water from dish tray on alternate days.

Step 3: Empty coffee machine drip tray on alternate days.

Step 4: Cover bamboo pole holders when not in use.

Preventing dengue is a team effort and we all have to do our part because well, mosquitoes can fly and if you let them make babies in your house, they’ll not only make you and your babies sick, they’ll fly on over to your neighbour’s house and make their babies sick too. It takes all of us working hand in hand to keep each other safe.

You guys, I’m counting on you just as much as you’re counting on me. We can do this together.

//Remember to join the Stop.Dengue.Now Facebook page for community updates and other useful dengue prevention information.

Since Truett started Primary 1 earlier this month, we’ve had a lot of fun teaching him about money management. So many lessons to be learnt here! In the past 2 weeks, I’ve gotten really good at monopoly junior and being a pretend supermarket cashier, among other things. The bad news is that even after so many practice visits to the mamashop (ha!), he still gets confused sometimes when he’s counting change but on the bright side, he now understands the value of money and the importance of savings.

Every morning, Truett goes to school with $2 in his wallet and the deal is this: it’s his money so he can choose to spend it all on food/snacks/knick knacks or he can spend some of it wisely while saving the rest. When he comes home from school, he will transfer his savings to his piggy bank and we’ll match cent for cent the amount he’s saved each day. So if he saves $1, we’ll give him an additional dollar for a total of $2 savings that day.

Apart from the dollar matching system, we are also planning to introduce new ways to encourage him to save, like maybe have a goal/reward system in place. For example, we’ll set a goal of saving $4-5 a week and if he achieves it, he gets to have an extra hour of Wii time on Saturday morning.

On our part, we try to set a good example by saving money too. We figured that the best way to teach the kids something is to first do it ourselves so we have a special jar of coins where we drop in our savings into at the end of every day.

The first 3 days of school, Truett spent $1 on chicken rice and saved the extra $1. On the fourth day, he spent $1 on chicken rice, and another $1 on a packet of milo in school (I’m not sure if the milo costs $1 or he forgot to take his change from the vending machine – either way, he came home with $0). When it was time to transfer his money to his piggy bank, he realised that he had nothing left to transfer and he was super bummed about it. So he came up with a plan – he asked if we could buy packets of milo from the supermarket for him to bring to school so he wouldn’t have to spend his savings dollar on it. Smart move, because we did. Since that day, he’s been bringing his own milo to school and saving the extra dollar.

It’s been a good start so far but cultivating the habit of saving takes time and I’m all for fun new initiatives that teach kids to save. When I heard about POSB’s National School Savings Campaign recently (it was started in 1969 – why did I not hear about this as a kid??), I thought it was brilliant. In fact, it’s so genius in its simplicity that I sort of wished I had come up with the idea myself (occupational hazard kicking in).

How this works is that each primary school student can get their POSB National School Savings stamp card from any POSB/DBS branch, SingPost outlet and at Pacific or Popular bookstores in schools from 2 February 2015 onwards. Stamps ($0.50 each stamp) will be sold at Pacific or Popular school bookstores and at SingPost outlets. So if Truett has $1 extra from his pocket money everyday, he can buy 2 stamps to stick on his stamp card. Once he completes the stamp card with 20 stamps, he can deposit the stamp card into any POSB/DBS Quick Cheque Deposit location, and the bank will then credit the full value ($10) and a $1 bonus (the bonus is limited to one stamp card per child, per month and only valid for POSBkids account holders) to his savings account. Didn’t I say it was genius?

First, you tackle the issue at the point where it happens. Recess time is when the kids are spending their money, so when they see the savings stamps being sold at the school bookstore, this acts as a reminder that they can (and should) save their money instead of spending it all.

It’s also a great move because kids are into collecting things. At least mine is. Truett has hoarder tendencies – it’s like a mission for him and gets a huge kick out of completing a collection.

And for some bizarre reason, kids love to buy stuff from the school bookstore. I used to have an unexplainable fascination for useless stationery trinkets from the bookstore when I was a kid so I fully understand this. So instead of buying a $0.50 sticker sheet that becomes worthless after it’s pasted on random surfaces, they can buy a cute $0.50 stamp, which is worth every cent. What a deal!

This National School Savings Campaign by POSB is a 10-month long initiative by POSB, supported by MOE. Together with Smiley the Squirrel, parents can pledge their support for the campaign and find out more about it here and encourage non-participating schools to pick it up too .

I told Truett about this campaign and he’s really looking forward to buying “money stamps” in school (fingers crossed that his school turns out to be one of the participating ones). I’m definitely pledging my support on this. :)

*Sign up here for an ePOSBkids account if your child doesn’t have one.

One of my favourite things about having a baby (that’s why I have so many!) is being able to experience the world through their eyes all over again. As grown ups, for better or worse, we’ve learnt to see things the way they should be. But kids, they’re just discovering the world for the first time, a world where everything is new and wonderful.

Before babies learn about how things work, they are able to discover wonder in the world. That’s magic. With all my kids, I’ve let them run free to explore the world right from the moment they started getting more mobile. Go, be off on grand adventures! There’s so much fun to be had in the world.

These two little ones are already planning their next adventure

But the thing with babies is that along with the freedom to roam and discover wonder comes the very real possibility of discovering danger. They have zero awareness of danger so any number of bad things could happen in that split second that we take our eyes off them. They might accidentally get their fingers pinched by the door (that’s happened), or bang their precious little head onto a table corner (yes, that too!), chomp on an wire (um…yeah), or poke a thumb into the electrical socket (ok thankfully, no). I love watching my babies grow but the crawler phase? That’s intense, because I have to watch them like a hawk every second of every day.

That’s where babyproofing comes in. With the right safeguards, the kids’ exploration around the house doesn’t need to be filled with knocks and bruises.

Baby Theo’s getting more mobile in the next few months so I’m looking into re-babyproofing my house to make sure everything is safe once he starts crawling everywhere.

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

Over the years, I’ve tried so many child safety products and I’m here to tell you that you should save your time and money and just go straight for the ones from 3M. Nobody does better child safety products than 3M. These are thoughtfully designed with moms in mind, to provide a safe environment for babies in the home. It’s so convenient and easy to use.

Rotating finger pinch guard

All the other finger pinch guards in the market are pretty basic – you wedge it on side of the door to prevent it from slamming on your baby’s little fingers. The problem is that when you don’t need it, you pull it off and put it somewhere you’ll forget. Then when you need it again, you’ll be hunting around the house looking for it.

3M’s rotating finger pinch guard is genius. You stick it on the door and it stays there all the time. When you need the pinch guard to work, you simply swivel it out and when you’re done, you just swivel it right back. Voila! No more hunting around for a pinch guard when you need it and more importantly, no more injured baby fingers when this little guy is playing peekaboo behind the door.

And how cute are the designs? I’m happy to have this on my door all the time.

swivel out

swivel back

Table corner and edge guard

Those pesky table corners are the worst, amirite? Truett and Kirsten were masters at avoiding the corners (very cautious babies) but Finn, my little adventurer, has banged his head into the table corner so many times it’s starting to get embarrassing. For me, mostly. It actually hurts me every time he does it but this boy does not seem to register that having his head come into contact with a sharp table corner with great force is a bad thing. I seriously considered making him wear a helmet at all times but he wouldn’t hear of it.

“That’s silly, momma, helmets are for outdoor adventures only!“

With 3M’s soft corner edge guard, it cushions the blow when Finn walks right into the table edge yet again. Not ideal, but at least it reduces the damage drastically and I can have some peace of mind knowing that my baby is safe. Once in a while, the 2 bigger kids will accidentally jab their sides into the table edge while running around playing their crazy games at home so this helps to keep them safe as well.

Frivolous, but these come in a gorgeous rich, brown colour that complements my furniture. :)

3M’s corner guards keep all my babies safe…and they’re pretty too

In addition to the thoughtful design, 3M child safety products come with reliable 3M adhesive, making them stronger and longer-lasting. You don’t have to worry about replacing the adhesive after a few weeks.

Most importantly, all 3M products are tested and internationally certified by SGS, an international inspection and certification company, which means that the range of products is non-toxic, BPA-free and free from 19 heavy metals. With 3M’s range of child safety products, you can give your little one the freedom to explore the world and discover wonder while having the peace of mind that they’re safe.

Make your’ child’s world safer with 3M.

*Stand a chance to win a grand prize of a photoshoot for your child worth $300 or one (out of 50) of 3M’s innovative Rotating Finger Pinch Guard! Head on over here to take part.