Diarrhea

Can't believe I'm posting about diarrhea after constipation but well, they happened to different kids.. so.. JY was down with diarrhea yesterday. Not sure if it was the addition of a tiny bit of avocado in his oat cereal that caused it or something else.. might have been due to teething.. but he pooped 5 times yesterday and granny asked me to bring him to the Dr.

I thought to bring him to the clinic opposite mum's since at 4plus, Most clinics have stopped their PM sessions and that clinic had a evening session between 1900 - 2030. So I gobbled up my light dinner and prepared to make a visit across the road. I had called a couple of times but no one picked up! Irritatingly, the Dr put a note to say it had closed at 1940! Hubby had seen the Dr open awhile before that and of all times it had to close after my boy woke from his nap n gave a lil poo!

Arghh.. we hurried home and rushed to go TMC instead as Dr Tan at L6 was open til 2000 for the last registration. But we reached at 2004 and the nurses hae closed the desk. Hurumppphhh... We trudged down to l1 24-hour clinic instead.. got some powder meds and probiotics powder, plus anti nausea ones in case. When collecting meds, I then remembered to ask the nurse about diluting his milk feed and was told to stop his regular milk! She gave me some Similac total comfort samples instead to give JY for the time being, at least for 2 days.. and offer solids like white bread, porridge, steamed fruits in place of milk. She said some babies might even be sensitive with soy milk..

Thankfully, everything is fine now. But will still watch his diet for the next few days..

The past few weeks have been going to Dr visits, tiring on the senses and pocket.. hopefully the kids stay healthy and accident-free...

Visit to NuH

Talk about emergency for kids and most people immediately think of KKh. However, I keep hearing of long wAits there even in late hours of the night.. becox presumably, the whole nation's parents go there after GPs and PDs are not available..

About two weeks ago, my girl had an acute constipation episode where she was straining in pain n sweat for more than an hour. She has had a bit of a problem pooping since after 6 months old when brown rice cereal was added to her milk to fill her up. In the past, my grandma had manually cooked brown rice paste for us in place of milk. But now, it was the Nestle one we used.

Back to that night, granny, my hubby , maid and I tried to see where's her poo after an hour of sweat and crying, it was at her anus but it was too big and hard to come out. After Calling the GP who advised us to go KK, I decided to go NuH instead since it was closer. We live in Bukit Panjang, I guess either would take us about 15-20min in smooth traffic, but the queue at KK would be far longer. Given that I had not too good an episode during my 2nd pregnancy where I had an emergency admission into KKH, I was also less inclined towards KKH.

We spent about 2.5 hours at NUH that night, registration was fairly smooth. Told the triage about JE's ongoing flu and constipation. Saw the Dr who left JE rather traumatized especially after the medicinal liquid was dispensed up her butt by the nurse.

It was a good thing she wasn't toilet trained yet, and just pooped into her diapers. Else it would have been a mess. I brought a diaper and set of clothes just in case for the a&e trip, but the diaper wasn't enough. And thankfully, we got one more from the triage.

By the time we settled back into bed, it was past midnight. Thankfully Dr had given MC and I applied for urgent child sick leave the next day. Lactulose was prescribed to soften her stools over the next week before a follow-up appointment at NUH Children's Clinic.

On the appointment day, JE was in high spirits after I told her I was bringing her to sit the train. She had only taken the train once when we were waiting for our appointment at Yuguo baby massage and the queue was horrendous so we went to Paya Lebar for a walk in the mall.

It was abit more than an hour's trip on the bus, and transiting across two trains from Bukit Panjang to Kent Ridge. We arrived at 1144 for our 1145 appointment. Her razor eyes zoomed in on the play area but paranoid mummy forbade her to enter the playroom since it was presumably a sea of germs. After taking her weight, we were led to a quieter waiting area outside the Dr's room. I gave her old one baby puffs and vitamins I had packed.

It was a horrendous crying fit upon entering the Dr's room having been traumatized the week earlier at A&E. She was crying and reciting "Go outside ah..." Throughout the 45minutes of consultation where a pretty Dr asked about her history. I had forgotten how her constipation had started, and only realized I missed out some facts in the night when recounting the episode to my granny.

After collecting 2 more bottles of Lactulose, and appointment for a month's time, we went to meet my Sis who works at NUH ENT Clinic for lunch at Xinwang. JE feasted on the papaya fish soup beehoon I ordered, plus some of Yiyi 's mushroom pasta before my order arrived. Afyer lunch, we went to the ladies for a diaper change. It was then time for Yiyi to head back to work, but the little one clung onto her Yiyi like a koala and we bluffed her that her beloved Yiyi went to buy cakes. Yiyi then escaped back to work.

I brought her to buy a fruit tart at Deliverance home in consolation, and then cabbed home. jE fell asleep on the ride back but woke once I put her down. Arghh.... She only fell asleep out of exhaustion around 1630.. not before I nodded off while patting her to bed...

Hopefully the situation improves, with more water intake, along with vegetables and fruits. She only takes packaged purees rather than fresh fruits.. and spits out if I give too much spinach or any other vegetables. I wonder when will she freely eat everything offered...

Found a useful link for further reading: http://patient.info/health/constipation-in-children-leaflet

8m milestone (Aug)

Time flies.. JY is turning 9 months. I've had tough times, cox the boy is somehow hungrier, fiercer and stronger than his sister. He is increasingly vocal now, and will flip in the Yaolan swing if he's awake or if he doesn't want to sleep..  He's sitting on his own for quite a bit now, and will try walking when we hold him and inch forward, still doing the leopard crawl but now it's from the TV area all the way to the common toilet or bedroom. Agile lil one, he has been trying to pull himself up using the TV console drawers and coffee table. And knocked his head against the floor a couple of times. He also likes to climb against the folds of the back of the sofa and try grabbing the window grilles.. much as I try to baby-proof the house and be careful, I foresee heart-stopping moments to come and pray that the knocks would be light ones..