No Directions! No User Manual!

I was reading a blog of a blogger mummy who was questioning what is the right parenting and what is wrong parenting. 

Being a parent myself, I have received countless advice on what is right and what should be done from so many `so called' experts or `experienced' parents. I know many of them meant good but many of their advice seemed to contradict each other if you analyse them deeply. So, which should I follow? If I am not doing what they claimed is the `right' thing to do, does that mean I have not been a good parent. Does that mean that my child will grow up any less smarter, less intellectual, less complete and worst, emotional scared. The responsibility sometimes is just too heavy to bear...

I do not really know whether I have been a good parent. All I know is that I am doing my very best to the best of my understanding and with lots of love.

I personally do not believe in laying my hands on them anymore. But trust me, in my younger days, Reuben, my eldest son from my previous marriage had felt my wrath in full. I felt that talking to them nowadays would be a better idea but trust me, there are many times when Ryan would test my patience to the limit and there were times when I almost cross that edge .... Children seemed to have that tendency to test our limits don't they ...

But I like what this Canadian mother said about parenthood, when we happened to sit next to each other during one of our breakfast in this American diner in San Francisco during our recent holiday.

She said, parenting is like purchasing a product and when the box arrived, surprised! There is no directions as to how to use the product! There is No User Manual! You got to figure how best to use it as you go along.

How true. I really believe that there is no hard and fast rules on what good or right parenting is. There is no pre-set rules as every child has his or her personality, natural talents and virtues. What is important for us as parent is to learn to understand that, recognize that and do all we can in love to nurture them into all they can be as they grow up. Will that guarantee that they will grow up successful, rich and complete. Unfortunately, the answer is a big NO. No one can guarantee how or what they will grow up to be. The best we can do is to provide a good foundation and fundamentals for them to build on as they grow up in this world and this society.

Am I an expert? Hell No! This is just how I would bring up my child and learnt as I grow with them and enjoy the process and the journey. I hope that you would too .....:)

Preventing Food Allergy - The Role of Bifidobacteria

Our intestine produces 80% of all antibody-producing cells, thus, making it our largest immune organ. It is the home of trillions of both friendly and unfriendly bacteria, forming an intestinal microflora. Its role is to keep us healthy as well as preventing allergy.

A newborn’s intestine is sterile but within hours from birth, it will quickly become colonized by microorganisms from the mother’s birth canal and environment. A particular type of bacteria known as the Bifidobacteria becomes dominant and will eventually takes up 99% of the total bacteria count in exclusively breastfed babies.

The role of the Bifidobacteria is to stimulate the maturation and functions of our child’s intestinal immune system. It is reported that young children with food allergy have lesser bifidobacteria. In addition, Bifidobacteria also protects against intestinal infections caused by harmful bacteria such as gastroenteritis leading to diarrhea, which in turn is still the leading cause of infant mortality.

How does the method of child delivery affects the population of Bifidobacteria? The mother’s gut, skin and vaginal flora are sources of bacteria for colonizing the newborn’s intestine. Hence, it was found that infant delivered via caesarean section, where there is minimal or no contact with the mother’s vaginal and faecal flora, experienced a delay in the building of their intestinal microfloral and it may be disturbed for up to 6 months after birth. The Bifidobacteria population is further reduced if these caesarean-born infant are not breastfed or breastfed for only a very short time. Breast milk still has the special bifidogenic properties that will encourage the growth of Bifidobacteria.

Weaning also affects the population of Bifidobacteria, leading to changes in the intestinal microfloral population and decreasing the count of Bifidobacteria. Hence, solid food has to be introduced carefully since weaning is considered a high risk period due to the risk of developing food allergy.

Herein, lies another strong reason why we should be breastfeeding our babies as long as we possibly can, all the more so, if your baby is delivered via caesarean section.

Preventing Food Allergy - Causes and Symptoms

In my earlier post Preventing Food Allergy – Is my baby at Risk, we have seen that infants from parents with food allergies have a higher risk of developing food allergies themselves.

What is food allergy? How does it come about? Normally, our immune system will attack harmful bacteria, viruses and foreign substances in the body while recognizing food as harmless. However, food allergy arises when the immune system mistakenly identified a particular food or component, usually a protein, as dangerous and attacks it.

Symptoms of food allergy vary, including itchiness, eczema, dermatitis, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, wheezing, asthma and bronchitis. In some severe attacks, severe reactions can be fatal.

Any type of food can cause an allergy although the possibility for some is higher than others. Highly allergenic foods include cow’s milk, egg white, soy fish, shellfish, crab, shrimp, lobster or crayfish and peanut. It is reported that allergy to cow’s milk is particularly common in infants.

Since, there are no cures for allergy; it is only prudent that parents help to prevent the development of food allergy for babies at an early age.

Measures that can be taken include the following:-

• Recognize baby’s risk by knowing or recording your family allergy history


• If you are not breastfeeding, discuss with your doctor other options such as hypoallergenic formula. (It’s protein is less allergenic and is formulated to prevent allergies)


• Using soya milk and goat’s milk formulae do not reduce the risk.


• Wean your baby only after 6 months and avoid highly allergenic food for the first year.


• Reduce dust in the house.


• No pets at home or child care centre.


• No smoking during pregnancy or in the presence of the child

In our next post, we will look at the role of our intestine, the largest immune organ of our body and how a friendly bacterium plays an important role in preventing food allergy and why babies delivered naturally has fewer tendencies to develop food allergy as compared to those delivered via caesarean section.

Preventing Food Allergy - Is my baby at risk?

As I have mentioned in my earlier post where Ryan had his first solids, we were quite eager to get him started the moment he reached 4 months old. We saw some baby foods that are recommended for babies of 4 months and above. We bought a packet of the organic rice cereal and were about to start him on that before we were advised by our paed to refrain from doing so. He explained that starting Ryan only upon 6 months is much safer to prevent him from getting food allergy. Of course we obediently followed. Hence, when Ryan started his solid a couple of days ago, Ryan could only take about 6 spoonfuls before the packet expired. Sigh! What a waste of hard earned money.

So, how does a baby develops food allergy? Is there any prevention? What are the risks of a baby getting it?

We did some research and found some pretty interesting facts.

For this post, we will share what we learnt about the risk of food allergy.

Food allergy has no age barriers and it usually begins during the first year of life. It is reported that most children will outgrow certain allergies by the time they begin schooling. However, some may persist into adulthood. High risk group are those with a family history of allergies.

Risk of developing allergy based on family history:-

Both parents with no allergy – Only 5%-15% risk of allergy
One parent with allergy – 20%-40% risk of allergy
Both parent with allergy – 40%-60% risk of allergy
Both parent with same allergy – 50%-80% risk of allergy

I have a couple of good friends who are extremely allergic to egg white for example. Just a brush with egg white in their food (apparently even the apparatus that cooked them) can bring them down with severe symptoms including asthma, nausea and black-out. Frightening isn’t it?

For the next post, we will share how food allergy comes about, common symptoms and the type of food that would commonly causes allergies.

Maid - Setting Up the Review Process

Every human being likes to be told whether they are doing well or otherwise. Praises are good motivators while reprimands on wrongs must be swiftly delivered. Similarly, everyone has their likes and dislikes, opinions and concerns. It is only fair then that they be given an opportunity to speak up and be heard.

We treat our maid no differently. We set up periodic reviews that we will sit her down with us to review her performance. We will let her know what she has achieved, improvements that we noted and are glad and similarly, what we disliked and areas that we wanted her to change. At the same time, we wanted to give her an opportunity to voice out her concerns, views and requests.

We will take this opportunity to remind her and reinforce our expectations and at the same time, shared with her what other new responsibilities we would be entrusting to her.

This periodic review also gives both of us an opportunity to release any penned up frustrations and tensions before it explodes, becoming even more difficult to manage.

For the past one week, our maid who previously was not allowed to handle Ryan has been entrusted with the following new responsibilities:-

• Prepare milk to feed Ryan (although we have not let her to feed Ryan just yet)
• Take care of Ryan for brief moments including carrying him.

She seemed excited at the prospect of being allowed to take care of Ryan. We are glad although we will still be supervising her closely. Ryan seems to have taken a liking to her and would smile whenever she calls out to him.

She has progressed rather well in the last six months considering that she does not even know how to cook. To-date, she cooks our rice, boiled vegetables, boiled simple soup, cooked double boiled herbal soup for my wife (as long as I gave her the ingredients) and boil bird nest soup for my wife. We have also `officially’ assigned to cut all our ingredients whenever we have to cook, and she is pretty good with the knife.

Maid - Setting the Work Schedule

Around 500BC, Sun Tzu was granted an audience with the Prince of Wu and was put to a test to drill his 180 concubines and ladies. Upon dividing them into 2 groups headed by two of the Prince’s favorite concubines, they were instructed to follow Sun Tzu’s instruction to turn accordingly. However, on the first and second attempt, there was total disarray. But Sun Tzu did not punish the ladies or the concubines, giving them the benefit of doubt that they have not clearly understood the instructions. Upon the third failed attempt, both the head concubines were swiftly executed.

In my working history, there have been jobs where I reported to work without any job description or briefing of what my job is and what are the expectations. Have you ever had such an experience? Sitting there on your first day, not knowing what to do? Feeling completely lost? Imagine, if you were given a task without proper instructions and you got fired or lashed out for not doing it right. How would you feel? Was it fair to you?

Our maids are the same too. If we do not lay out a properly structured job description and schedule for them, hoping, wishing and expecting that they would be able to perform from the very first day, should we blame them if they got it all wrong?

The second thing that we did with our maid when she arrived home, after sharing with her our simple expectations, were to give her a weekly and monthly work schedule, detailing what she is expected to do from the time she wakes up to the time she retires. We make sure that she understands what we wanted by getting her to repeat it to us. She knows that she has to sweep and mop the floor by 7:30 am for example. She knows that she has to clean the refrigerator every second Tuesday of the month. She knows that we expect her to change the bed sheet and clean the fish pond every Saturday.

Having a schedule does not guarantee a problem free relationship with the maid. We have our fair share of issues with her. However, it becomes much easier for us to tell her off. Just like Sun Tzu, if we have not given her clear instructions and made her understand, how could we punish her?

Choosing a baby Car Seat

Selecting a car seat for your baby can be quite a challenge as we found out. There are so many brands and models in the market. The price itself also varies greatly. You can find some at a really attractive price that starts from slightly over a RM100 to those prices closed to RM2000.

A car seat is definitely an important accessory that one must invest for our baby once they arrived. Although most mothers would prefer to carry their infant in their arms while travelling, this is certainly unwise for safety reasons. Without any proper restraints, a collision even at 50km/hour could prove fatal to the baby, who could be crushed by the weight of the mother, strangled by the front seat belt or thrown against the dashboard or through the windscreen.

Ryan started with an infant car seat from Peg Prego and when he outgrew it, we finally invested in a Chicco Proxima car seat that could accommodate Ryan till 4 years old (or 18kg).

Since we rely heavily on the car seat to protect our baby in the event of an accident, it is paramount that the car seat manufactured has to pass certain certification to verify that the specifications of which the car seat was designed and built were able to provide the safety level required. It is pointless to buy a very affordable car seat that has not been tested extensively or certified fit to do the job. Hence, it is critical that an appropriate car seat (regardless of brands or price) MUST conform to the United Nations standard, ECE Regulation 4403.

Weight of the child is the most important factor in deciding the type of car seat to use. Manufacturers have also categorized the different types and model based on the weight of the child.

Rearward facing Baby Seats
Group 0 for babies up to 10kgs (22lbs), roughly from birth to 6-9 months
Group 0+ for babies up to 13kg (29lbs), roughly from birth to 12-15 months

Forward facing Child Seats
Group 1 for children weighing 9-18kgs (20-40lbs), roughly from 9 months to 4 years

Booster Seat
Group 2 for children weighing 15-25kgs (33-55lbs), roughly from age 4 to 6 years

Booster Cushion
Group 3 for children weighing 22-36kgs (48-79lbs), roughly from age 6 to 11 years

It is always safer to put Group 0 and Group 0+ car seat in the rear and placed it rearwards facing to provide higher protection for the baby’s head, neck and spine. NEVER place a car seat in the front passenger seat if there is a passenger airbag.

It is also common now to find some child restraints or car seats that are capable of being converted as the child grows and hence, fit into more than one group. The Chicco Proxima for example, can cater babies from newborn (Group 0) to 18kg (Group 1).

So, if you are shopping or thinking of upgrading your child’s car seat, I hope that this basic information will be of help. Remember, SAFETY FIRST!

My freezer is full of this!!!

My freezer is full of this! There are cups and cups of this in the freezer and I'm running of space. No. They are not jelly or agar-agar. They are cups and cups of breast milk for my Ryan.

This is how we saved and stored the expressed milk for Ryan from day one. Since he was a premature baby, he had difficulties in sucking directly. It was extremely frustrating and stressful initially. After much massaging and pressing, there were just a few tiny drops. At that moment, they were like liquid gold to us. We carefuly collected and passed it on to the nurses to feed Ryan. The nurses at the Damansara Specialist Centre were extremely helpful and encouraging. Since Ryan could not suck directly and not wanting to give up our desire to breastfeed him (since it is the best milk to him), my wife has been faithfully and diligently expressing it out and stored them in this tiny cups, frozen and stored them for Ryan. (That's how she got the De Quervain's Tendinitis if you read one of my earlier post).

I understand that it is extremely difficult to continue breastfeeding once you start to work. This could be another good way to continue giving your baby, breast milk for as long as you can. However, this is sometimes easier said than done. We were lucky that my wife's organization does provide their female employee with a special and private room for this purpose.

If your baby is having difficulties sucking directly, do not give up breastfeeding. You too can express the milk and feed your baby using the bottle. It is still better than feeding him baby formula.

The cups are cheap. We buy them from Giant. The one that we are currently using is able to store 4oz each. We will sterilise them, store the milk and freeze them. When needed, we will warm them up by placing them on warm water. DO NOT put them in the microwave oven!! The process of course takes a little bit more time as compared to preparing baby formula but the baby is still getting the most nutritious milk there is.

And a great big hug to Ryan's mommy for her dedication, diligence and commitment in wanting to give baby Ryan the best.

Timed Your Pregnancy. Confinement could be cheaper!

Chinese mothers will undergo a one month period known as the confinement period. During this month, the new mother will have to eat certain nutritious food to renourish the body. This period is also known as confinement because there are a lot of do's and don'ts. For those who are NOT so lucky enough to have their mother or mother-in-laws to help out, we would have to hire a `Confinement Lady'. A confinement lady is normally a lady in the age range of late forties to early fifties, experienced in handling new infants, a knowledge of what a new mother would need and what the mother is not supposed to do.

Their duties include cooking for the mother and taking care of the baby for the next 28 to 30 days.

Finding a confinement lady is always a concern and finding a good and understanding confinement lady is like looking for treasure. Most of the time, finding a confinement lady is through word of mouth recommendation although there are several agencies that are also offering confinement services.

A common problem that I hear are problems between the confinement lady with the older folks at home (especially the mother or mother-in-law) due to difference in opinion on how the baby should be looked after, what food is cooked, how they are cooked and what the mother can do or can't do. For a young mother who has just given birth, with the additional stress of a new baby, this could be an extremely challenging time. So, an understanding husband to act as a go between would really be useful.

Another common problem would be between the confinement lady and the live-in maid. Again, the right expectation must be set from the very beginning for both the confinement lady and the maid as to their responsibilities, duties and line of reporting. Yes, you hear me right. Otherwise, you would end up with the confinement lady giving orders around the house or the maid getting lazy because she thinks that there is another MAID at home and start barking instructions. The last thing you want to do is to irritate the confinement lady when you need her most.

Start sourcing for a confinement lady the moment you realised that you are expecting. That way, it would less stressful to you as the delivery date draws near. (We were really stressed because we found our replacement one day before my wife's delivery. Talk about last minute arrangement)

The market value for a live-in confinement lady would be RM2900 to RM3000 for a period of 28 to 30 days. But, if you happen to deliver your baby in the month of the Chinese Lunar New Year, be prepared to pay double. It can be a costly affair! Besides, there are not many confinement ladies out there who are willing to work during this period.

Hence, time and plan your pregnancy! If the Chinese New Year the following year falls between the end of January and early February, you should know what to do.....

(Having a pre-mature baby is another story.....)

The sound that calms him down

I am sure that many parents here would agree that there is a unique sound that will calm individual babies. Whenever they are in their cranky sleepy mood, this unique sound will soothe them, calm and `hypnotise' (if I may call it) them. I have heard stories from other mothers that their baby will calm down if they are made to listen to the same sounds that they were frequently exposed to while they were in the womb. We did play lots of children and kiddies songs when my wife was carrying Ryan but surprisingly, I have found a different sound that will soothe him and puts him gently to sleep almost every time I tried.

It's the sound of running water from our little gold fish pond in the garden. Don't ask me why because I have no glue. But I have noticed that whenever he is cranky and wanted to sleep, he could fall asleep faster if I carry him close the fish pond and let him listen to the sound of running water. It happened last night and again this morning. He was fast asleep within minutes and without his pacifier too.

So, what is the unique sound that pacifies your baby? Does it work everytime? It will be interesting to compile and see what types of sound will calm the baby down.

Be your Baby's Paparazzi!

I spent a good 3 hours going through all of Ryan's pictures and categorised them, picked out the good ones and created and added a slide show entitled `Follow Ryan's Growth'. After I have finished and was admiring my handy work, I was suddenly hit by a moment of nostalgia. Looking back at those pictures when he was much younger and the moments that we have captured then, brings back many fond memories of raising him (although he is only 4.5 months old now). There were pictures that brought a smile to my face and I must admit, I think even a tear to my eyes. I wish I can relive those moments. So priceless and precious.

My wife who is currently in Singapore on business actually cried last night when she looked at them and it made her missed us even more.

I am definitely glad that we have been snapping pictures of Ryan like a couple of mad paparazzi. And I am glad that we infested in our new Canon IXUS 860 IS. It was definitely much better than my old HP digital camera with limited features. I particularly like to switch on the continuous picture taking mode. This is because Ryan will never pose intentionally for any picture to be taken. We will just snapped away and then choose and pick the one which capture that `perfect' pose or moment. You must have a sizable memory card of course. We have 4GB!

Looking at the pictures made me love Ryan even more although he is getting naughtier and cheekier by the day. All the frustrations simply just fade away.

So, if you are a first time parent, take those pictures and lots of it. Relive those priceless moments when they have grown up and shed a few tears in the process. I know I will.

Pullovers Vs Shirt with buttons in front for Newborn?

Just like every excited expecting parent, we were busy buying up shirts, pants, mittens and booties, preparing for the arrival of our baby. We walked into every baby shop that we knew or came across, hoping to find some good deals. We were grabbing anything that we thought was a good deal. When Ryan finally arrived, there were some clothes that we really regretted buying because they were so difficult to put on, especially when you have a premature 2.2kg fragile baby.

From our experience, avoid pullovers and go for front buttoned shirts. Even our confinement lady (who have years of experience handling newborns) would not want to use the pullovers that we have bought. When I have to put one on for Ryan, I quickly found out why. To put on a pullover, I have to lift up Ryan's fragile head and neck and pull the collar of the shirt through. Once that is done, I have to somehow manipulate his two tiny and extremely fragile hands into the two sleeves. Every time, I held those hands, I had this extreme phobia that I will somehow break them. To make matters worse, Ryan was not cooperating every time by laying still. Believe me, it was a real struggle.

Putting on a shirt with buttons in front on the other hand, is much simpler and less stressful. For one, I do not have to manipulate his head to pull the collar through. It is much easier to manipulate his hand into the two sleeves before buttoning up the shirt.

I have to admit that babies wearing pullovers are so cute and we definitely have a soft spot for cute nice pullovers. Today, we have a dozen pullovers for Ryan but it is a much simpler task now for two reasons. Firstly, Ryan is already four months old and his neck is much stronger now. Secondly, I am more experienced now although Ryan still dislike having his face covered (even for a brief moment) every time I put on the collar of a pullover.

How to give baby a Bath

Giving your baby a bath is a wonderful time to bond with him/her. It's a special time shared between us. As he enjoys a bath more, the time is even sweeter as compared to when he was apprehensive of the touch of water.

Ingredient: 1 bath tub of lukewarm water, baby bath, 1 dry towel

• Lift up baby's head gently and place your left arm at the back of his head with your left hand holding his left armpit. Make sure that your left arm is supporting the baby's head and neck especially for newborns and infants as their neck are still fragile. Refer to picture (1).
• Using your right hand, gently pick him up by holding on to his left leg. For infants or newborns, it would be advisable to support them at their buttocks with your right hand. Refer to picture (1).
• Place them gently into the bath tub.
• Allow the baby's head to rest on your left arm while you apply bath bath and wash him. Refer picture (2).
• To turn him over, gently sit the baby up and place his chin to rest on your right arm with your right hand holding his left armpit. Refer to picture (3).
• Once you have him secured in your right hand and arm, gently lift him up and then lay him down tummy first into the bath tub.
• You can now apply baby bath and wash him.
• Once done, lift him up by supporting his buttock with your left hand and place him on a dry towel to dry.

The above task can be quite taunting to first timers or when you are handling infants or newborns. As they grow older, it will become easier.

Tips:

• Newborns tend to be apprehensive of water for the first few times. Ryan gets scared every time he touches the water and he would cry. To give him more comfort and assurance, I would hold him very close to my chest and lower him down into the tub while trying to maintain our bodily contact while doing so. I found that this brought him comfort and security. Of course, I ended getting wet as well in the process.
• As they grow older and stronger, watch out for that sudden `kick' when they are enjoying their bath. If you are not careful, you might just drop him into the water or his head knocking against the side of the bath tub.
• You do not have to invest heavily into your baby's bath tub if you don't want to. I have seen bath tub costing close to RM90. The reason is because they will outgrow the bath tub within 4 to 5 months and you would have to buy a larger one for them.
• Have all the necessary items ready and within reach before placing your baby into the bath tub.

Ryan is now enjoying his bath so much that sometimes he does not seem to want to get out. He is also beginning to learn to play with water and bath bubbles. When washing his back, he is happily kicking his legs away, just like a little frog learning how to swim. Those moments are precious and priceless.

How to wash baby's hair

Giving our baby a bath or washing his/hear hair can be quite a taunting task, especially when they are so fragile. Our confinement lady was doing all the bathing and washing during the first month. However, towards the last few days before she leaves, she wanted to pass the skills to someone in the house to take over. My wife naturally, nominates yours truly. Stressful was not even the word to describe the first attempt. I was sweating all over and my back aches after due to the strain and tension. Nevertheless, it got easier as the days go by and as Ryan's neck got stronger. So, this post is share what I was taught. Hopefully, it will be useful to you too, especially if you are expecting your first born.

Ingredient: 1 bath tub filled with lukewarm water, baby shampoo, 1 dry handkerchief, 1 willing baby.

• Lift your baby's head and put his head in the palm of your left hand. Make sure that it supports the baby's neck. Refer to picture (1).
• Using your thumb and your index finger, gently fold and cover your baby's ears. This is to prevent water from getting in. Refer picture (2)
• Once you have him firmly in your grip, place baby under your left arm as shown in picture (3).
• Wet his hair with the lukewarm water and then apply small amount of baby shampoo.
• Rub his hair and head gently and wash off with water.
• Dry with dry handkerchief.

Simple right? It is simple if your baby is not kicking up a fuss or throwing his/her usual tantrum. Otherwise, it could be a real struggle to hold him/her while he/she is kicking away. I would advise to leave him/her alone until he/she has calmed down. As the baby gets older and definitely heavier, it would also be increasingly demanding on your left arm to hold him/her in place.

Tips:

• Place the bath tub at your hip's height so that you can stand to wash/bath your baby. I find it extremely difficult and tough on my back and spine to bathe Ryan, when I have to bent over when the bath tub is placed on the floor.
• Get all the needed stuff such as shampoo ready (with cap opened) and handkerchief easily within reach before bathing him.
• Try not to panic when he/she starts screaming half way through. I used the word `try' because often times, we can get easily rattled when our baby starts screaming away.
• This is good. Make sure that your baby's diaper is still on while washing his hair. Ryan has the tendency to wee-wee while I'm washing his hair. I tend to get `drenched' and have to take a shower myself afterwards.

We will talk about giving him a bath in the next `How to' post.

Be Prepared for Pre-mature Arrival

Baby Ryan arrived when he was only 34th week and he really caught us by surprise. Being our first child, preparing for his arrival was already a challenge and we were not really prepare for his pre-mature arrival. Luckily, we got a few things done early and did not wait to get those preparations done during the eight or nine month (like many parents do) with good advice from some very concerned friends. Be prepared as early as the sixth or seventh month. List of things that you might want to get ready by now should be the following (based on our own experience):-

• get all the required baby stuff by now. Have a checklist and start buying them (especially if you see any of them on sale with discount). I will share the checklist that we have and an indication of how much they will cost.
• decide on where you are going to have your baby delivered.
• if you wish to get a hair cut before delivery, it is a good time to get it done now. A lot of old folks do not allow you to wash your hair after you have delivered (at least for the first week, if not for the entire month of confinement)
• if you are working expecting mum, please prepare your boss or your collegue for a pre-mature delivery. Start planning your hand-over during your maternity leave.
• prepare the bag that you are going to bring to the hospital should you go into labour.
• if you are planning to have a confinement lady, you should have already confirmed her appointment by now. However, do have contigency plans that she might not be available if you deliver early. (This actually happened to us)
• if you plan to have a live-in maid, you should get your maid in and working for you by this time. You would want your maid to be ready rather than having to train her when you are busy with your pre-matured baby, confinement lady, your mum and your mother-n-law. You could go totally crazy.
• for Chinese mothers who have a whole range of chinese herbs to purchase for the confinement meals and diet, it is a good time to start buying them now.