Diarrhea in Baby

Diarrhea is a condition in which watery stool is discharged from the bowels frequently.

The symptoms of diarrhea may last for 2 to 4 days. This infection of the intestine is known as gastroenteritis in medical field.

Symptoms of diarrhea

Frequent stool and water stool are symptoms of diarrhea. Other symptoms of diarrhea may  include stomach pain, vomiting, abdominal cramps, bloating, weight loss and fever.

When to seek doctor’s help?

As stated in KKH (KK women and children’s hospital) HealthPedia, majority of children suffers from diarrhea do not need any medication. Parents just need to ensure their babies remain well hydrated.

If any of the following happens to your child who suffer from diarrhea, parents should consider seeking doctor’s help as soon as possible.

1. Has a fever of more than 39 degree celcius.

2. Has bloody stools. This can be a sign of viral infection.

3. Has not wet diaper in three or more hours. This is can be a sign of severe dehydration.

4. Cries without tears. This can be a sign of severe dehydration.

5. Diarrhea condition does not improve after 24 hours.

6. Has black stools.

7. You baby looks unusually sleepy, drowsy, unresponsive or irritable

Source: Diarrhea in Baby

Low Lying Placenta

What is placenta and its function?

The placenta, also known as afterbirth, is an organ that connects the growing fetus to the uterine wall. It plays an important role in keeping baby alive and healthy.

First, the placenta acts to provide oxygen and nutrients to the growing baby via umbilical cord.  It also helps to protect the growing fetus from infections because it filters the blood from mothers.

Lastly, the placenta also produces large amount of female hormones estrogen and progesterone.

What does it mean by low lying placenta?

Low lying placenta, also known as placenta previa, is a common problem during pregnancy.

There are three different forms of placenta previa which is detected through ultrasound scan.

When the gynecologist informs you that your placenta lies low, you may want to know the exact form of placenta previa that you suffer from.

Why cesarean delivery (C-section) is needed if condition does not improve?

Gynecologist will tell you that you may need a Cesarean (C-section) delivery if the condition does not improve. When the placenta lies low, it will cover all or part of the cervix which is the opening to the birth canal. A vaginal delivery is impossible in this case. Vaginal delivery in such case can cause severe bleeding which is very harmful to both the mother and baby. That is the reason why gynecologist will suggest you to do a cesarean delivery.

Will my placenta move up as pregnancy progresses?

In many cases, the placenta will be able to move up gradually as pregnancy progresses.

If the placenta still lies low in the third trimester, you may need to prepare yourself for a cesarean delivery.

Precaution to be taken at home

First and foremost, always follow the instruction from the gynecologist. Usually, the gynecologist will ask you rest more and do not carry heavy objects. In some severe cases, hospital bed rest may be required. For the health of both mother and baby in the long term, expecting mother should slow down the daily activities for a few months.

Exercises should be banned. If placenta previa is detected during early pregnancy, you can still enjoy light exercises like brisk walking. However, if the condition does not improve in second trimester, all kinds of exercises should be disallowed.

Please take note that you should seek gynecologist’s help if you experience any severe cramp or bleeding.

Source:  Low lying placenta

Infant care service in Singapore

As of end of 2016, there are 471 child care centres offering infant care service. This means that more than 1 out of 3 child care centres offering service to cater children that ages between 2 months and 18 months. Sengkang, Jurong West, Woodlands and Yishun are the towns with most child care centres. 

Infant care services is not cheap because it is labor intensive as these children will probably need attention as long as they are awake.

Of course, most of the time, they are sleeping. One parent even say that my child is just sleeping in the infant care centre and play with us at home.

This does not mean the child care teachers do not need to do anything. In fact, they need to feed these children often as the tiny stomach cannot store a lot of nutrition and therefore need to be fed more often.

Most of the time, infant care service will cost parents more than $1,300 a month. However, this is far less than the average income that many mummies can earn now. According to latest data by the government authority, the median fee for infant care service is $1357 and the average is $1477. It should be noted that these fee is still high as some mummies may not earn more than $2000 a month.

For details, you can check infant care centres in Singapore to find more information about infant care centres in Singapore such as contact,address, details of fee and map of its exact location.

Top 100 baby girl names

In a recent survey conducted by https://www.babyment.com, parents in Singapore picked up the top 100 baby girl names. 

Top 10 baby girl names are Emma, Olivia, Charlotte, Hannah, Alyssa, Scarlette, Chloe, Mikayla, Leia and Grace.   

Close to 1000 parents have participated in the survey, and the top 30 baby girls names are:
1. Emma
2. Olivia
3. Charlotte
4. Hannah
5. Alyssa
6. Scarlett
7. Chloe
8. Mikayla
9. Leia
10. Grace
11. Meredith
12. Sophia
13. Averie
14. Natalie
15. Chevelle
16. Mia
17. Ainsley
18. Elena
19. Amelia
20. Adela
21. Charlize
22. Kalley
23. Megan
24. Krystal
25. Cassidy
26. Kraylyn
27. Seraphine
28. Belle
29. Xandria
30. Naomi 

You can refer to top baby girl names for a complete list of  top 100 baby girl names selected by the parents in Singapore. 

Sore nipples causes and prevention

Sore nipples:causes, treatment and prevention

Sore nipple is different from temporary pain which lasts for about 30 to 60 seconds.

Researches have shown that the most important cause of nipple soreness is improper positioning of the baby on the breast which causes the baby not take the nipple deep enough into his mouth. The baby ends up sucking on the nipple rather than the breast. This causes the nipple pain.  

Other causes of nipple pain include:

(a)    Infection in the milk duct which is called mastitis in medical field.

(b)    Breast engorgement which is another breastfeeding discomfort. 

(c)    Baby is tongue-tie or lip-tie.

(d)    Strong suckling by baby

(e)    Unusual nipple anatomy such as inverted or flat nipples.

(f)    Teething. If your baby has tender gums due to teething, she may change the way she moves her tongue. If she is not able take in a big mouthful of breast, she may end up biting your nipple.

Treatment of sore nipples

In most cases, nipple pain can be solved by adjusting the positioning of your baby during breastfeeding.

A good position occurs when the baby is able to take the nipple deeply enough into his mouth. He is able to have the entire nipple and part of the breast in his mouth, so that the nipple is near the back of his mouth. A proper latch also means that the baby latches on with his head tipped back and his chin is pressed into the mother’s breast with his nose away from the breast. 

Prevention of nipples pain

You can do the following to prevent nipple pain:

1. If you feel your baby nipple-chewing, break the suction, remove your baby from your breast, and try attaching him again.
2. If your baby is sucking his tongue, you may hear a smacking sound and see his cheeks caving in. Take your baby off your breast and reposition him.
3. Ensure proper release by inserting a finger between your baby's jaws to break the suction before removing him from your breast.This can prevent your baby from clinging to the breast and damage it when you remove him or her. 
4. Allow your nipples to air dry after each feeding. This can help to prevent any infection.
5. Keep the nipple area free from Irritation by avoiding breast cream that is dry or contain alcohol. This helps to prevent infection or kill the germs.

Nursing room Suntect

Cheap baby milk powder

There are many brands of baby milk powder sold in Singapore: Similac and Isomil series by Abbott, Enfa series by Meadjohnson, Friso, Nestle Nan series, Bellamy, Karihome goat milk, Aptamil and Dumex by Dannone. All these are established brand and it comes with a price: baby formula milk in Singapore was sold at a much higher price compared to other countries in the world. I can only help you to buy cheaper than normal selling in supermarket or online.

First, it is not a good idea to go to baby fair to buy baby milk powder. It is not a good investment of time and transportation cost as the saving is not significant compared to your time spent and the transportation cost, especially if you stay in the north or west which is far away from common baby fair destination.

Second, you should buy online only when there is significant discount like more than 10%. This is because you have to buy large quantity in order to enjoy free delivery. You usually have 2% to 4% discount for members when you buy it at supermarket, provide that you have the membership. Online stores usually do not provide time-independent discount.

Third, you may not need to wait for any promotion for stage 1 formula as retailers, distributors and manufacturers are not allowed to promote or market stage 1 formula milk as instructed by the Health Promotion Board under the Ministry of Health.

Fourth, you should consider buy from Malaysia, Products sold in Malaysia are similar to those sold in Singapore, but at a much cheaper price. If you buy from Malaysia, you can enjoy at least 30% discount. Please note that AVA has a restriction on the amount of processed food that you can bring into Singapore.

Furthermore, you should visit baby milk powder promotion to check the latest baby milk powder promotion from all supermarkets or online stores in Singapore.

Also, you should join the membership club of the manufacturer, you can get the free sample of 400g in some cases. You can visit free sample baby milk powder to request sample. You can also enjoy very good discount on some special occasion like birthday of your baby, national day of Singapore. The manufacturer may also inform you when there is a promotion through newsletter.  

Lastly, you should try to practice breastfeeding. If your baby is fully on breast milk, the saving can be more than 2000 a year. Of course, the benefits of breastfeeding is not just about cost saving. 

Cheap baby milk powder

Cause, treatment, prevention of breast engorgement

Source: Breast engorgement: cause, treatment and prevention

Breast engorgement is a condition in which new mother’s breast is painfully overfull of breast milk. 

It happens when nursing mother's milk first “comes in”(right after birth, which usually occur in day 2 to 5 after birth delivery. Most breastfeeding mothers will experience breast fullness or slight pain during this period. New mothers do not need to panic first.

Breast engorgement can also occur when your baby suddenly breastfeeds less than usual due to various reason like poor appetite.

To prevent it from happening, nursing mothers can look for signs first.

Common signs of breast engorgement:

1. Swollen and painful breasts. 
2. Flattened nipples.
3. Slightly swollen and tender lymph nodes in your armpits. 

Treatment of breast engorgement

Before nursing, you can take a hot shower or soak in a warm bath. Heat can improve circulation and help the milk let-down. Warm compresses or a heating pad can also be used to achieve the same effect. 

Furthermore, you should use pump to express a small amount of breast milk from both breasts before you allow your baby to latch onto the breasts. This will soften the breast and makes it easy for your baby to latch on. 

Lastly, you can also massage your breasts. Gentle breast massage improve circulation. 

How to prevent breast engorgement

First and foremost, do not skip breastfeeding, especially nigh time feeding. Instead, you should try to nurse frequently and practice breastfeeding on demand which mean you may need to nurse your newborn about 8 to 12 times in a day in the first two months after birth.

During breastfeeding, you should completely empty one breast before you switch to other side. Your baby will ‘signal’ you when to switch side.

(a)    Your baby's sucking slows down a lot or stops for a minute.

(b)    You can no longer hear your baby swallowing.

Lastly, you can wear a supportive bra. But make sure it does not have under-wire and don’t bind your breasts as it can lead to plugged ducts.

Should I call doctor?

In most cases, breast engorgement can be treated at home without any medicine. Nursing mothers must take action immediately to relieve the engorgement before the situation becomes worse.

If you experience fever associated with breast engorgement, you may visit the doctor as it can be a sign of infection.

Breastfeeding