Shit Happens.

or should we say Poo Poo Happens?

Do mind the title of this write up, am sure as a mom, you are dealing with lots of these, like literally!! So might as well we extend this topic :)

For the next couple of days, i am set to series of challenges from Mio Solo from Bambino. They are the award-winning reusable nappy that is all-in-one simple, stylish and super soft, aaand... as easy to use as a disposable, it even comes in 1 size so it can be use from birth to potty training! hmmm.. too good to be true? Lets prove it!

 
CHALLENGE #01: The Stay at Home Challenge.














Ever since Nayaka is less than a year old, i have always love to use reusable nappies. Besides the money saved from spending on the disposable ones, i like to do my hippie part to choose Eco friendly and sustainable products *high five for mother earth!*

When Mio Solo pack came to my house, i was quite excited and can't wait to try it on! One noticeable thing after i opened, the material of Mio Solo is very soft and touchable, it almost like a soft toy material.

The outer layer, the velcro part is not really a fashion statement.

The inner side has many great little inventions

My previous reusable nappies are all with Button Tap, im a bit worried that Velcro Tab will deteriorate over time and wash... however, Mio Solo's Velcro Tab seems to be made from high quality material: gentle for the skin (not the rough type) yet stick strongly. Turns out that Velcro Tab is even better for fitting and its real easy, somewhat like disposable diaper efficiency! (mom, surely you know that babies likes to kicks and sometimes get very impatient when changing diapers, so 2 second difference can really save our live!)

The elasticated leg cuff is not too tight, however i do find the level of elasticity is a bit loose, am not sure if it will run over time. For now, Nadia is happily rolling and even sit down for a longer period. I guess she is too, feeling the comfortable cloth material.

Verdict for day #01 Challenge: Mio Solo 1 - Disposable Nappies 0


CHALLENGE #02: The out & about Challenge.

Okay, I have to do a bit of guilty confession here. We are supposed to do the 2nd challenge out of the home, but i figure out this 'mishap' is much better way to illustrate the super absorbent core from Mio Solo's inner layer.

As i work during the daytime, i can only try the Mio Solo once i got back home, as i have not teach anyone in the house how to use it. Around 8pm Nadia wears it... and since most of the cloth diaper i use normally can only hold max 4 hours, by 12 am i should change or check the level of wetness. However, we both happily fell asleep and only woke up at 5am! (ahem.. actually she woke me up) and when i check... her bum stays dry and no redness or rashes!

woah... *speechless*

For the info, i have not even using the Mioboost yet (extra sheet to be use night time or if the baby is heavywetter) There is only a slight leakage on the pants - im guessing this is why she woke me up. but yes, staying dry for 9 hours was waaaay more than i expected!

Slightly loose yet no spill!

She twist and...

she turn!

Verdict for day #02 Challenge: Mio Solo 2 - Disposable Nappies 0 - Other reusable Nappies 0


CHALLENGE #03: The overnight Challenge.

My struggle with all the reusable napes lies on the bulkiness, even without the extra sheets for the extra absorption hours. But i guess since we are using the mioboost at night time, it is just the matter of comfort against appearance! Do use loose fitting pants for the tummy area... For the night time, beside mioboost, i've also added in the liner, just to try on the difference in terms of skin and comfort.

added the mioliner. hmm.. should it be tucked inside?

Ive added in the mioboost inside with ease, thanks to the tuck-in pocket. This tuck-in pocket is very handy not just for putting in mioboost in the right place, but also super easy to put back the attached inner-layer.

Okay all tucked in and ready for our beauty sleep.

Mama, err.. you forgot my pajamas!

The next morning…

no leak on the bum, checked!
no rash or red skin, checked!
however.. there's a slight damp in both side area. Unless im putting it wrongly, the additional mioliner makes the pee sips thru the nappy.

The good part is, miolliner helps better for water resistance. her skin was not as damp as the previous day (the one without miobooster). I really love how Nadia's thigh area were significantly less crinkled than using the disposable nappy.
When i took inner layer out, the mioboost is just slightly damp! i think the overall Miosolo with added mioboost can hold even longer hours, its good for Nadia when she grow bigger and became heavy-wetter! *applause*

Verdict for day #03 Challenge: Mio Solo 3 - Disposable Nappies 1 - Other reusable Nappies 0


CHALLENGE #04: The dad, grandparent or babysitter Challenge.

I am blessed with my helper and my mom-in-law around the house to babysit Nadia. However to prove the point to this challenge, we need to try with the one that hardly deals with baby messy time: the Dad.

all set and ready...

Easy peasy like one two three!

We start of with the preparation and little orientation for the Nappy. It was a real easy to understand and the dad simply had no problem putting the inner liner and adjusting the fitting.

Dad's number one rule in the house: clean yourself before you go to bed.

Spread the front part...

Fasten the Velcro Tab...

Snug it nicely!

Yaay for Dad! even baby Nad didnt seem to feel any discomfort whatsoever ~ she is busy looking pretty to the camera! :) Total time spent is less than a minute, and Dad says: it is as easy as any disposable nappy.

Thanks Dad!

Verdict for day #04 Challenge: Mio Solo 4 - Disposable Nappies 1 - Other reusable Nappies 0


CHALLENGE #05: The Washing and Drying Challenge.

As i use washing machine and dryer at home, i normally read up all the icons and instructions in the tag, just to make sure my clothes can withstand the harsh tumbling and spin from the machine. Mio Solo has very minimal instruction and it fits to be used in any washing machine.

Pull-out Tab is very useful for pulling the inner layer out in one pull action.

Warm wash and do not use chlorine bleach.

To pre-wash, I need to soak up the inner layer, because from my previous experience of using other disposable nappies, the smell of pee (amoniac) will linger if we didnt pre-wash it properly. Although it is not necessary to put any detergent or softener, i use a little bit because i love the smell :)

pre-wash the cloth diaper is necessary to reduce the pee and poo smell.

squeeze out the excess water and softener

I love how after a gentle squeeze, Mio Solo inner layer dried immediately and leave only a slight damp. Also the outer layer has a great water resistant, it took a while to make the whole nappy totally wet.

In and out we go!

After a wash and dry, Mio Solo is ready to use! I dont even need to iron it, the outer layer is not even wrinkled and the inner layer stays soft. The Fold Back Tab on both side are useful to make the Velcro Tab stay put and not sticking to the other clothing inside the washing machine.

Verdict for day #05 Challenge: Mio Solo 5 - Disposable Nappies 2 - Other reusable Nappies 0

Mio Solo definitely a clear winner to me! :)

Any mommies out there has a similar stories to tell?

Its purple theme and my mom couldn't help but taking my sexy butt pic!

 

The birds and the bees

... and things that makes you go weak in the knee.

Lately, the news feed post in my facebook is being filled with the calamity of famous school in Jakarta; stating that there are a few kindergarten kids inside the school are being molested and being asked to do sexual favors to their school staff. Even scarier news coming up that even the teachers and head of school did it too and no parents dares to speak it up all these years, due to the culture or the shameful fact that reflect back on them.

As a mom to my 3 years old Nayaka, my fumed head to toe made a strong desire to burn the school and teach a live-long lesson to these sickened-morally-deserted people.

Putting this idea aside, this phenomenon is not really a new thing. Instead of hiding behind our comfort blanket, i want to use this blog for a way to learn and educate about signs of abuse and hopefully prevent this from happening again.

WHAT IS CHILD SEX ABUSE?
While the list is too wide to be categorised, the basic must-know for every parent is:
1. Touching activity. Some examples:

• touching a child's private parts for sexual pleasure
• making a child touch someone else's genitals, play sexual games or have sex putting objects or body parts (like fingers, tongue or penis) inside the vagina, in the mouth or in the anus of a child for sexual pleasure

2. Non-touching activity. Such as:

• showing pornography to a child
• deliberately exposing an adult's genitals to a child
• photographing a child in sexual poses
• encouraging a child to watch or hear sexual acts
• inappropriately watching a child undress or use the bathroom

pretty sick yes? lets armor ourselves with these hard truth knowledge, so we have the best weapon to protect the innocents.


WHAT ARE WARNING SIGNS?
1. Behavioral signs. These includes:

• A sudden fear of a particular location, gender, or physical appearance
• Acting out in an inappropriate sexual way with toys or objects
• Nightmares, sleeping problems
• Becoming unusually secretive
• Regressing to younger behaviours, e.g. bedwetting
• Unaccountable fear of particular places or people
• New adult words for body parts and no obvious source
• Talk of a new, older friend and unexplained money or gifts
• Not wanting to be alone with a particular child or young person

2. Emotional signs. These includes:

• Sudden unexplained personality changes, mood swings and seeming insecure
• Outburst of anger
• Display signs of a speech disorder such as stuttering. 

3. Physical signs. These includes:

• Self-harm (cutting, burning or other harmful activities)
• External signs of physical abuse such as bruises, burns, black eyes, cuts, abrasions, and other injuries.
• Unexplained soreness or bruises around genitals or mouth, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy
• Difficulty walking or sitting, or signs of a urinary tract infection.
• Changes in eating habits, loss of appetite, unexplained vomiting due to emotional stress.

Lets face it, as a parents sometimes we barely have the time to take note to really look at our kids in the eye. All we know and what we want is just for them to eat right and have enough rest. After reading this list alone, I am taking an psychological note for myself that i would take a deep look at my Nayaka and Nadia once in a while, simply to check their state of happiness.


KEEPING THEM SAFE.
Googling and reading a few good articles about these make me realise that having sex education is the best weapon. I thought it is too early for Nayaka to understand these things, but sooner than later, in his daily life, he is exposed to other types of sexual activities that he is not supposed too, it can be as simple as people kissing (for those international readers, i'm born in the Asian generation where kissing mouth-to-mouth is preserved only for special people in a special timing) or if he accidentally clicked into raunchy and suggestive video-clip by Madonna or Lady Gaga on his ipad. and so on.

So how can we start? how early can we start? Well mommies, we dont have to scare our children, but we should start simple by letting them know what is "okay" and "not-okay" behaviour. The main thing is to give them an understanding that some parts of their body are private and not okay for just anyone to touch them.

Here's a great video for our knowledge, and we can pass this to some of the older kids too. (i didnt let Nayaka see this yet, as the vocabulary is still quite heavy for him)

Other great tips:
1. Use real names for body parts, as it makes kids think that there is something weird or shameful about their bodies. Use real terms like penis and vagina or breasts instead. 
2. Think beyond “stranger danger.” Instructing kids to never talk to strangers is good advice. But the fact is, 80 percent of abuse is committed not by strangers but by someone the child knows well—and possibly loves. However, this doesnt mean you have to be suspicious to everyone in the neighbourhood... identify the people that your kid is comfortable with and those that he seems to shy-off from. 
3. Dont keep secrets. I always believe communication is the key to all relationship, and with kid, whatever random ramblings or nonsensical talk it is, it always a good lead to know deeper about them. And besides, it establishes this trust that only bonds within you and your kid.
4. How to identify a pedophile. This is a good article for parents to identify and be more aware to their surroundings, because if you don't pay attention to your child, someone else will.

And if you do know anyone who need it, or suspect an abuse, there are helplines too. All in all, we owe this knowledge to our kids.

iNbox is in!

Happy day for Nayaka as he received a big box of fun!

Creativity unveiled!

Here's a bit of iNbox, it is a box filled with activities for your kids from 3-7 years old. What i love about it is that, it reminds me of the good old days of the 80s when there were less of cartoons on tv or high-tech gadgets and we as kids just need to extend our imagination of play.

Im surprised that the box is quite big! Opening up the box, there a numerous individual 'mini-projects' that actually linked to a theme. This April theme is Colour Scientist. My Nayaka is soon to be 3, so we tried to follow the instruction, however in the end he is more entertained by his own way of play.


THE COLOR LAB
The objective is simply just to learn about colors by mixing it. This one is definitely Nayaka's personal rave, he was screaming "Look mama, its purplee! Look mama, its Pink! Look mama, its blaackk, yaayy! and on and on and on. He had fun even being charged of changing the water. We havent got enough of this till the next 2 days.

Love the cute test tubes and its holder

THE SPRAY PAINTING
This really reminds me of my childhood days! But Nayaka is a one clean freak (for instance: he requested his mouth to be wiped out after each scoop of soup) He asked me to do the toothbrush paint spraying so he don't need to dirty his hand. In the end, mama do the job, he just glance at it.

Can you see the 2 butterflies and the flower?

THE MAGICAL KALEIDOSCOPE
The reason why i chose the April iNbox theme is because of this. i have always fascinated and wanted to know about DIY kaleidoscope, and they did a great job in making it simple yet fun! (now now.. how come mommy more excited than the little scientist?)

Busy pasting the stars

Ma, why are you slightly orangish?

Kaleidoscope done!

FLINTO IN CREAMY LAND
This board game might be too complicated for a 3 years old, however he learn quite a few things about rules and restriction... for 5 minutes. Then Nayaka decides to change the marble figures into his car toys and they gonna have a race day instead.

The colour dice

Boys and his car toys

WHO IS PAGERA?
A clever storybook is always welcomed in our home! i like the moral of the story and how it has an intriguing plot with happy ending. Nayaka directly relate himself with Quinto, the main character, who is a brave little octopus, and im happy to set Quinto as an example of him being a good big brother to his little sister, Nadia. :)

The story of the brave octopus

THE SWEET & SOUR NOTE
1. I love how iNbox provided detailed materials and packed to the individual mini-projects. (i love the Apron too!)
2. The quality of the materials given are well adjusted to try-on, though i doubt it will last for a month. (iNbox comes as a monthly subscription)
3. The content of iNbox is very creative and inspiring, as a mom, i would definitely get a subscription once my Nayaka grow a little bigger, as he will be more appreciative to the arts and crafts.
4. As someone who work in creative industry, i do find the characters and the colours can be graphically more interesting, given the story is well written. We love going to libraries and it is filled with exciting pictures for simple stories that personally inspires me even as an adult.
5. Even though Nayaka is fascinated with the mini projects, i do find parent's participation is really important to narrate the stories. Not just because to explain about things work, but also that sparks of creativity that slowly building up for both kid and parent, you will be amazed how your kid is such an amazing learner and more imaginative than you! :)

and... as an addition, there is a GIVEAWAY going on at R&R site! For mommies who wanna try it out in longer term, iNbox has different subscription with even customised content too, one great idea for a bday party presents for kiddies.

Starts having fun while learning and let me know what you think of it too ya!

Breastfeeding - what i know and what i did.

Part 1
The first few weeks and the establishment

I decided to do this topic, as my journey of motherhood, breastfeeding has been the most difficult skill i need to master within super short time frame.

While i don't have the experience of direct latch with Nayaka, i manage to do it with Nadia.
Here's my key findings:

1. The baby is as blank and frustrated as the mommy, so do talk often with them beforehand that we gonna do this together, and we will survive! and plus, your bonding moment that will pass too soon before you know it.
2. I thought bleeding nipple is a horrid experience, but nothing beat the wasted milk every time the baby rejects :(
3. Drink plenty of warm water work for me. (before going to bed, after we pee, after we pump/latch, after we shower... i keep a jug of water next to my bed)
4. Dont expect your lovely breast as a water tab, rather treat them honorably more like a gold mine... a slow hard-work but surely rewarding.
5.  I thank God for being born in the era where people had invented of electric breastpump!
6.  Pills or tea might work to increase the supply, but it differ for each person. (it doesnt do anything for me, but i heard success stories..) One recipe i always find successful is dont get stressed out. try to relax and take a deep deep breath whenever possible.
7. hmm i know i shouldnt say this, but sleep helps a lot. even if its just 10minutes.
8. if all fails, dont forget there still formula milk. remind yourself there is no hard rule of 100% breastmilk or else. i was so stress with establishing my milk i ended up loosing it. and strangely a day after we bought a big can of formula milk, my breast is as hard as rock and the milk just excessive!

THE FIRST FEW DAYS
i dont have enough sleep, i barely produce enough milk, and still recovering from the labor. The only retribution is the look of your little one sleepy face after they finished the milk...  :)

my workstation

Milk flow establishment require extra work, and the breastmilk progressively changes in terms of composition. So here's my first week schedule with Nadia:

06.00 am    :   pump for 20 min (even if there's no more milk coming out)
09.30 am    :   try to latch direct as much.
10.00 am    :   pump for another 20 min
12.30 am    :   try latching again
01.00 pm    :   pump for 20 minutes
02.30 pm    :   try latching again
03.00 pm    :   pump for 20 min
05.30 pm    :   try latching again
06.00 pm    :   pump for 20 min
08.30 pm    :   try latching
09.00 pm    :   pump for 20 min
11.30 pm    :   try latching
12.00 am    :   pump for 20 min

and here's the tricky bit.. for after midnight I normally wouldn't put any timing for pumping or latching, because every baby have their own preference (Nayaka woke up twice to drink while Nadia is anytime she likes, sometimes she can just sleep it off for 5hour without milk) so i would suggest mommies to sleep whenever the baby sleep.



So, overall, you will get the rhythm of pumping and trying to latch directly. The purpose of pumping often is to stimulate the breast to produce milk and the purpose of latching is for both mom and baby to get the hang of it, while in the same time trying to establish the feeding schedule.

Only after our body has adjusted to the schedule, slowly reduce the pumping frequency. i started as 3-hourly on the 1stmonth, and 4-hourly on the 2nd, and 6-hourly by the 3rd. 6-hourly is a comfortable schedule for working mommies, just nice to pump 1 time during lunch time.

THE SWEET AND SOUR NOTE
on direct latch and pumping (as my experience to both Nayaka and Nadia)

Direct latch
1. night time is easy for mommy and baby as we dont need to wake up and heat the milk. sometimes the baby is too hungry, we dont want them to wake the whole hdb block :p
2. another easy and convenient way to bring the baby out because less things to carry and less hassle on the equipments. i love how every mall in sg there's baby room.
3. the more the baby direct latch the lesser we bumped into the problematic mastitis or blocked milk duct. trust me, we dont wanna go there.
4. The extra special and amazed feeling deep inside; because your baby has grown with nothing else but your breastmilk. yours.

Pumping
1. Other family member can help to feed, thus you get more rest time. plus, and delightful to see the bonding between your husband or ur parents when they feed and fell asleep together :)
2. We can set the excess ebm for future use.
3. We can see how much the baby drinks and progressively set schedule from there
4. The baby is independent and learn to drink milk from the bottle, and less chance to cling to your breast just for comfort sake. Thus, getting back to office time is much easier.



So, mommies, when you are reading this article in the middle of 2 a.m, with one hand holding the pump and the other at google cursor, just remember, we did it all for that chubby little angel in our arms ;)

Hello :)

hello. as this is my first post, i think it would be nice to do an introduction post about myself :)

I'm an Indonesian mom working and living in Singapore. Been living here since my college days, and i've considered this as my second home, one i cant live without, the convenience and the comforts.

While outside life seems pretty stable here, inside, i'm in a stage where the age of maturity suppose to come to me naturally. however, seems not like it. The title "Mom" still feels strange and tingly to my ear. even after 3 years together with my active Nayaka and my 8 month chubby Nadia.

Every day is like a surprise box waiting to be opened. Or in my own term, a mix of Rojak where every scoop is a different taste.

That sweet moment when your baby gave you that pure hug, the sour moment of your baby rejected the pumped milk that you've collected painfully in the middle of the night, the spicy moment of your husband looking at you in a different seducing look but you are too damn tired to even lift any eyelid.

and for that, this blog is born. i would dedicate this blog to all the mommies out there, i have a plate to share, so pick your fork up, and have a munch or two with me :)