To 2013

When I looked back of 2013, these words came to my mind first: round the clock, education, schools, live in chaos, food safety, my Breastfeeding Journal app (on Google Play), work, life, balance, live in fear, landlord, decoration, paints, legwork.  

New Mum's new experience

How to know a baby is over cold or over hot: my trick is to feel her nose-tip. If her nose-tip feels cold, that means that she is really cold and she needs more clothes. Another rule is also very useful: When a baby is active, running around, she usually should wear one layer less that the mum wears. When she is in the pram, she should wear one more layer than the mum wears.

How to know a baby starts not to digest well: some early signs to watch out: when the baby starts to have looser and looser poo, she often has some digestion problems and her food might be too greasy.

How to know a baby starts feeling unwell: when a baby is not teething and suddenly starts drooling a lot, that is the early sign to watch out when she feels unwell.

The color of a baby's poo could tell a lot of interesting information about the baby's well being. For example, my baby had Amoxillin for a week and then she had digestion problem, say. vomitting all her dinner at one night, and the day after, the color of her poo is kind of white which says that her tummy is fragile and plain and soft food should be given to her.

My baby also caught Hand, Foot, Mouth disease. She started drooling a lot, really a lot, needing to change a bib every other hour, for the two days, but she was active which did not give a feel that she was sick or she would be. Then red spots appeared around her mouth and the redness is like that kind of red when her skin gets allergic reaction to some tomato juice after her lunch, so still nobody was too alert by that. Until red spots appeared on her hands, did not the staff get alert immediately. Because this disease was very contagious, I had to bring her back home immediately. The doctor did not prescribe any medicine because  it is virus and there is not any medical cure for it. So she stayed at home for a week and fought against virus very hard. During this week, I remember that her appetite was poor and she wanted more sleep. After ten days, red spots around her mouth and hand were nearly invisible and then she was allowed to go back to the nursery. Luckily she did not spread it to other kids later.     

Art vs Stone, Which one is your favourite

In May 2008, Hong Kong pioneered the Asian Contemporary Art Evening sale. Zeng Fanzhi's Mask Series No.6 was sold for HK$75,367,500, setting a world auction record for the artist in 2008.

A plum-sized diamond known as the Pink Star has fetched a record-breaking $83m (£51.7m) at auction in Nov. 2013.

Angela Merkel's hands

It is the poster for Angela Merkel's third term election. Found it very interesting.  
"The solution was to neutralise them against each other, which happens to be pleasingly symmetrical and also pushes the shoulders up, improving posture."

Does that make any sense to you?
A good foundation is the best precondition for a solid basis in Europe.

Thermometer, which kind?

Thermometer is an essential baby gear. Among so many kinds of thermometers in the market, this one is my favourite. It takes two seconds to measure temperature and digital reading is clear.

 

What to put on when a new born sleeps

We like the coziness of moses basket, but most say that it will not be used for that long and is costly.  So we planned to wait to see whether we needed it after the baby was born. Then we found out it was not necessary. When our baby was born, it was in the summer already. For the first month, mostly we used cellular blankets and sheets and tucked these sheets in the cot. Because a new born can not move much during the first several months, a secret found out by every new parent, we did not have to worry much about the baby going under a blanket. After one and half month, we started using sleeping bag. Overall, for a summer baby, it is certainly easier to find what sleeping gears to be used than for a winter one.

Dropside cot, still useful

When we were choosing a cot, we hesitated a lot on which one to choose. Finally we went for dropside one. After one year of using it, I can assure you that it is a good buy for us. Now we use the lowest level and if without the dropside, it would be not easy for me to put the baby back to the cot, especially for a sleeping baby. But when going for a dropside one, be sure to get one with very good quality, so that your mind could be free of those safety concerns which are daunting enough to scare every new parent dearly. 

In the market, there are more non-dropside cots than dropside ones. I reckon that they expect that either users are very tall, or a baby can sleep awake so parents donot need to put sleeping ones back to a cot.   

Donot forget thermometers!

Room thermometer, medical thermometer, must-bring during a holiday with a baby, especially when it is your first holiday with the baby. 

Heart shaped Cactus!

Cute, isn't it?

Giraffe Bread, not tiger bread---One of the top 10 news of 2012

Sainsbury's has bowed to a social media campaign urging the supermarket to rename its Tiger Bread to 'Giraffe Bread' on the advice of a 3-year-old girl. The new Giraffe loaves went on sale this week, eight months after toddler Lily Robinson sent a letter to the supermarket suggesting the splotches on the bloomer's crust resemble more a giraffe's pelt than that of a tiger.

Follow the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16812545

Happy New Year