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What we get up to during the holidays

School holiday crazy has reached new heights. With 6 kids spanning the ages of 3 to 17, the past 2 weeks went by at breakneck speed as I juggled their schedules while preparing for the opening of my enrichment centre in July.

For the first week, I left the house at 7.30am every morning to send #2 to school and crashed into bed past midnight. Several times, I had to drop a kid and pick another up without having time to go in and check what’s happening with the rest. This is definitely more exhausting than the school week.

School holiday schedule
As #2 and #4 are having their O levels and PSLE exams this year, they returned to school for the first week for supplementary classes to cover what was not taught during the term.

Besides that, they are inundated with homework to prepare for the upcoming exams. I’ve engaged a tutor to come over to our place and they arrange their slots with her themselves. #2 also has study sessions with her classmates and I support her by being the chauffeur if the location is inconvenient.

Robotics class

I have to send #5 for some holiday programs to keep him from watching too much TV at home and from annoying Kate no end.

It was much easier logistically when they were younger and I could bundle all 5 along for the same events. Now, with each child having 1 or 2 activities per day, I’m running around like a mad woman.

This was how Tuesday went for me:

7.30 am: Left the house to send #2 to school. Reached home, quickly made breakfast for #1 and dropped her off for a full day of school. She’s having a busy week with one assignment due every 2 days.

9.30 am: Made it on time for a work meeting.

12pm: Rushed home to pick #5 and took Kate along.

12.30: Picked #4 from school and took #5 for class. Kate whined to follow gor gor and kept saying that she was a big girl and wanted to go for ‘class’. Unfortunately she was not allowed in.

Did the shades herself

As we walked off in search of lunch for a starving #4, with a grumpy Kate shuffling along, we chanced upon an art school. I popped in to ask if they had ad hoc lessons for her age and lo and behold, they did! #4 and I couldn’t be more delighted as we said our goodbyes.

Chicken sandwich

Having bought ourselves an hour of special mummy-daughter time, we ducked into the nearest cafe. After a charming lunch, we turned around to pick Kate from class and #4 was so amused that the young teacher was able to handle her for a whole hour and even managed to teach her to colour in gradient tones. Kate was so proud to show us her artwork.

3pm: #4 had arranged to go over to her cousin’s house for a cookie baking session and I dropped her off before sending Kate home for her afternoon nap. It was time to head back and pick #5 from his class.

5pm: #3 called and said she was done with volunteering at the Home. They are required to complete 15 CIP hours this round. Mummy taxi despatched again. Luckily, the hubs called right at that moment and he went over and picked them up.

6pm: Their grandpa walked through the door and we all had dinner at home together.

8pm: Everyone was in a holiday mood and the teens suggested we go for waffles. Came back, settled Kate to bed and did some work before calling it a night.

Diggersite @ ECP
For #5, I try to get him to go out and do some physical activities to expand his energy. Lots of swimming, trampoline park and play dates with his friends.

Before I left to spend the day catching up with my old friend and her boys, I had to ensure Kate was well occupied when she awoke. I looked around to see who was home and tasked #3 to take Kate out for tea after her nap. They went to the neighbourhood cafe for a slice of cake and tete a tete.

We took the boys to try their hand at being construction workers and it was harder than it looked! Finally they managed to manoeuvre the diggers properly and could plonk the sand in the bucket and pick up the wooden logs. Only grouse of the parents was the pricey $5 per 5 minute tokens.
Les Miserables

With the older girls, the activities we bond over have changed from kiddy fun to things like watching musicals and going for fancy meals. I was so excited that Les Miserables is back after a 20-year break and I knew the girls would love it as much as I did. To prepare them, I asked them to read the book, which was the same copy I read when I was a teenager. As expected, only #2 finished the book and she had to explain the storyline to the others.

Needless to say, they enjoyed the musical thoroughly and it was well worth the money. I taught them to play the scores when they were younger and finally they had the chance to hear the songs sung live.

Influencer event

Saturday was a back-to-back day for me. Was woken up by Kate at 7am and we cycled to the playground after breakfast. Went back to shower and had a meeting in church at 9.30am. Excused myself from the last bit and rushed home to pick Kate up as we were invited for an influencer lunch with Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO of NTUC.

The hubs was left with the other kids and they took the opportunity to go for their favourite sashimi lunch without Kate around.

Lunch done, we made a quick exit and went off to meet some old schoolmates for a lunch-extended-to-tea session.

Kate was exhausted and had a nap in the car. After her forty winks, she was all ready to go swimming with her little cousin and #5. The rest of the family waited for us to get back to have dinner.

We rested on Sunday, and I had a nice long nap with Kate. All refreshed and recharged for the week.

My very own wheels

Come Monday, we were off again with a full week. Met up with a childhood friend and the nicest thing is to see our kids playing together like we did when we were little. We decided not to try the newly opened places to avoid the crowds.

Instead, we went to Kaboodle at East Coast Park as Kate and #5 enjoyed themselves the last time and we had the whole place to ourselves the entire few hours.

As we parted with the other kids, #5 asked if they could go to Lilliput, the mini golf centre which their grandparents used to take them to. Unfortunately, it was closed on Mondays.

#5 asked for my phone to google other mini golf places. I was quite certain that there wasn’t any other in Singapore and handled my phone to him.

He found out that Amazonia had a 9-hole mini golf, which glows in the dark! And they just had to go there! The 2 of them were jumping up and down with excitement and after much pleading, I relented. It was the holidays after all. Besides, I was busy the next day and the both of them were going to spend the day at home.

Amazonia at Great World

I love going out on weekdays. The indoor playground was relatively quiet and being a weekday, entry was for unlimited hours.

While they made new friends and played happily, I ordered lunch and did my work. Another handy skill I’ve picked up. Being able to pull out my work and delve right into it anytime, anywhere.

We had to leave at 4.30 to pick their cousin up for swimming lessons and Kate fell asleep in the car.

New found friend

When we reached home, she insisted on following us to the pool. While their cousin had lessons, #5 swam by himself and Kate made a new friend. Good for her, as I continued with my work while keeping an eye on her.

Sam @ 8Q

On Wednesday, we met up with an old friend and took the kids to Sam (Singapore Art Museum) @ 8Q. It is housed in a separate building from SAM and is situated on Queen Street.

Added bonus is the free entry for Singaporeans. We spent about 1.5 hours there, although the kids didn’t quite get the environmental message. At least we tried to expose them to different forms of creativity.

Dental surgery

The school holidays are also the time when we get the extras done. #2 was getting her braces fixed but the x-ray showed that she had an embedded tooth which needed to be removed first.

We went to Orange Orthodontics at Lucky Plaza medical centre and had it done by Dr Seah, an Oral & Maxillofacial surgeon as it was a delicate surgery due to the location of the tooth. The good thing was that she did not need to do it under general anaesthetic, but could get away with IV sedation. All went well and she is staying home to recuperate.

That was a whole morning gone, and I squeezed every minute out of the 1 hour when she was sedated to zip out and get my partner to sign some documents for submission. I literally ran back to the clinic as I wanted to be there when she awoke.

As though my Thursday was not harrowing enough, while I was home and tending to #2, Kate burnt 2 fingers on the iron while looking for our helper. Thankfully I had worked in the burns department in the hospital and knew what to do.

The hardest thing was to convince my helper not to put all sorts of remedies on her, and to insist that the hubs not run her fingers under cold water but tap water. She was crying hysterically because of the pain and I gave her paracetamol and applied fresh aloe vera to the burn. When she woke up from her nap she was feeling much better.

Casting call

Even though the older ones are independent, they still need mummy to accompany them for certain things like auditions and private vocal lessons. I’m happy that the strings are slowly released and they are not overly independent at this stage.

That’s how our June break has been going so far.

2 weeks down, looking forward to a more relaxing 2 weeks!

~ www.mummyweeblog.com – a blog on parenting 6 kids in Singapore ~
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{Interview #5} Professor Tan Huay Cheem – Cardiologist

Professor Tan Huay Cheem, 52, is Senior Consultant at the department of Cardiology at National University Hospital (NUH). He is also Director of National University Heart Centre, Singapore (NUHCS), and Professor of Medicine at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS. He is a visiting professor to several hospitals in China and is an invited speaker to many international cardiology meetings. He is married to a locum G.P., who spends much of her time looking after their 11 year old daughter.
This initiative is part of our 101 Paths to Success series of interviews to gain insight into how successful people came to do what they are doing, and enlighten parents that there is a vast array of occupations for our children to discover. Hopefully it might spark an interest in our children and youths to start their journey of discerning their life’s path.

Your qualifications

Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery MBBS (Singapore)
Master of Medicine (Internal Medicine)
Membership of Royal College of Physician (MRCP) United Kingdom
Fellowship of American College of Cardiology (FACC)
Describe your job

I am a cardiologist, a heart specialist. Specifically, I am an interventional cardiologist who specialises in ‘unblocking’ patients’ ‘blocked heart arteries’ (coronary artery disease) from excessive cholesterol and fat deposits.

I do so by inserting a balloon through the wrist or groin artery to access the heart (coronary) arteries. I would first dilate the arteries (which fractures and pushes the deposits against the side of the wall) with a balloon catheter and then implant a stent (which is either a metallic or ‘plastic’ scaffold) to prop the artery open. That way, it allows for restoration of blood flow to the heart which can relieve patient’s symptom (called angina pectoris) and prevent heart attack. The whole procedure is called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

PCI is a generally safe procedure with procedural complication rates of less than 2%. It can be really life-saving in patients with acute heart attacks. In these patients, their arteries are completely ‘choked off’ with no blood flow to the heart muscles by blood clot and fat deposuts; and by performing this procedure, the whole process of heart attack can be aborted.

This job requires me to be on duty some days where I have to be on standby for a whole 24 hours to be activated whenever a patient is admitted with heart attack. This can be very tiring especially when there are many heart attack patients who are admitted on the same day; or when they come in the middle of the night which deprives you of your sleep. In choosing this profession, I have acknowledged that this will have to be my lifestyle. My wife and family accepts it.
How did you find your passion/ area of interest?

I have always wanted to be a doctor since young. I still remember writing about being one as a young primary school student. I must have been inspired by the doctors who cured me of my illnesses when I was young. These doctors had left an indelible impression on me. To me, the medical profession is a noble and respectable one. Having become a doctor, I realise that respect from our patients has to be earned and not demanded. It is my wish that all doctors will continue to place the interest of their patients before their own, and not be influenced by extraneous factors such as financial gains or others.  

I have always thought that I would be an Obstetrician & Gynaecologist. This is because I topped the subject in my class. However something happened in my life that changed my initial plan. My mother, who was very close to me, had sudden death from a heart attack when I was serving my National Service as a medical officer. I found her collapsed in the bathroom on my return one day and started performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her till the ambulance arrived. She did not make it and died shortly after.

It was a shocking experience for me and it changed my life completely. My mother was only 55 when she passed away. She was simply too young to have died! I then decided that I would take up Cardiology, and specifically interventional cardiology, so that I can make a difference to heart attack patients in future. Although I could not save my own mother, I hope to be able to save someone else’s parent or spouse. I found myself to have a knack for the field and made sure that I was well-trained in it to serve my calling. Having performed nearly 10,000 cardiac  procedures both locally and overseas over the last 20 years, I believe I have made an impact to many people’s lives.

I have been working in NUH since my graduation 28 years ago. I still have many long term patients whom I had previously operated on, under my care. While I am definitely not the richest doctor around, I am very wealthy with the showers of gratitude and thanks which many of my patients bestow on me. That, to me, is the best gift.

Professor Tan Huay Cheem
Which aspect of your job gives you the most satisfaction?

My job as an academic cardiologist encompasses 4 main areas of work, namely clinical service, teaching, research and administration. I derive tremendous satisfaction in all these areas.

To be able to save someone’s life at the time when he or she needed you most gives me the most gratification. To be able to teach and train someone so well that he can treat his own patients competently is another satisfaction. To create new knowledge and to come out with new therapies to treat patients better is what I try to do in my research. And finally as a leader in the public institution, I help develop clinical programmes, manpower planning and participate in formulating public health policies, all of which are meaningful to me. What keeps me in the public sector, instead of going into private practice, is that I can be a member of Singapore’s public healthcare system which provides quality, accessible and cost effective care to the people of my country, regardless of their background.    
What does success mean to you?

I like the definition of success by American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“To find the best in others; to give of oneself; to leave the world a bit better; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived- this is to have succeeded”

I wish to be a blessing to someone every day, be it big or small. That is my definition of success. My work gives me the privilege to literally do that every day!

I owe all that I have to God. I hope to be an Ambassador for Christ, to testify of His wondrous works through my work and life.
Are you involved in any charity work?

I volunteer my time with Singapore Heart Foundation, a voluntary welfare organization (VWO) that aims to promote heart health, prevent and reduce disability and death due to cardiovascular diseases and stroke among the public. I am the Secretary General for the organization and am actively involved in promoting health in schools and the community through programmes such as obesity management, exercise for life, Go Red For Women, and cardiac rehabilitation. We also raise funds to support needy patients for their expensive treatment in hospitals.
One advice to parents

Be a good role model to your child for much of what he/she becomes later in life is shaped by you.
One advice to teens

As you pursue your dreams in life, do not forget that much of what you have is owed to your parents and the society. Learn to count your blessings and be grateful.
To be a cardiologist, it takes someone who is….. fully committed to the job with passion. Life-long continual learning is a prerequisite. You must also have three core values: empathy, compassion and effective communication skills. Take care of your patient like you would take care of your loved ones and do not allow financial gains to influence your judgement and management.
 

{Interviews} 101 Paths to Success

#1 – Dr Karen Crasta Scientist Associate Prof at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine


#2 – Jeremiah Choy Creative Director Sing50 Mega concert at the National Stadium

#3 – Elaine Yeo Musician Singapore Symphony Orchestra

#4 – Chong Ee Jay Cyber Wellness Educator TOUCH Cyber Wellness


~ www.mummyweeblog.com – a blog on parenting 6 kids in Singapore ~
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An allergy that almost killed #1

#1 has always been the most allergic child among the 6 of them. As a baby, she was allergic to eggs. Every time she ate some eggs, she would vomit or have diarrhoea. We didn’t even know that was an allergic reaction until one day at the supermarket, she reached for an egg and squeezed it. It broke and splashed onto her face. Immediately, her face and palm swelled and we rushed her to hospital. A bit of egg had somehow gotten into her mouth and she had difficulty breathing due to the swelling in her throat. The doctor gave her some injections and the swelling subsided.

Thereafter, she was referred to do a skin prick test to find out what else she was allergic to. As it turned out, she was also allergic to nuts, soy, prawns and wool. The doctor told us that she will probably grow out of her egg allergy at around 7 years of age. She’s now 15, and although she does not have any serious reaction to eggs, she still gets eczema around her inner elbows which becomes very itchy when she eats food containing eggs.

Skin prick test

We thought that her allergies were sort of under control, until one night.

 We went out for dinner and the restaurant served escargots which the kids were keen to try. They loved it and wanted to order another plate. Luckily the hubs didn’t allow them to. After we walked out of the restaurant, #1 started developing flu like symptoms. She asked for tissue and kept blowing her nose. She finished 3 packets of tissues in about 5 minutes. I thought it must be her sinus flaring up. She told me she felt really uncomfortable so I told her to sit for a while and rest. Her nose was literally dripping by then, but I did not recognise the signs of an allergy. I told the hubs we had better head home so she could rest. We got into the car and she was very quiet on the journey back. It was only later that she told me her throat was getting so constricted that she couldn’t even talk! We reached home and she sat silently in the car, hardly moving.

 Something told me to go to the computer and google it (this happened many years back and I think I was not accustomed to googling from my phone). I typed in escargot allergy and was shocked to find that it is highly allergenic! When I saw what the symptoms were, I froze. I shouted to the hubs that we had to take her to the nearest clinic immediately! We sped to the clinic right outside our street and told them she was having an allergic reaction. The doctor saw her immediately and it was quite a blur after that. I think he gave her a jab and hooked her to some machine to help her breathe. Shortly after, the peak was reached and her symptoms disappeared almost as fast as it appeared.

Ever since becoming a mum, that was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced. To know that our child could have died right before our eyes. Who knows what would have happened if we had ordered another plate? Her guardian angel must have been watching over her.

Needless to say, I’m now very wary when she tries new foods. There’s such a fine balance between continuing to allow her to explore new foods and being afraid of a similar situation happening again. I have told her not to be too adventurous when it comes to shell seafood, and to always eat just 1 small bite of something new.

 Awhile back, I read a Facebook post about a little girl in the States who ate a peanut snack and passed away due to an allergic reaction. What’s more, her dad is a doctor and he had an epi pen with him. Scary.

These are some symtoms to look out for to identify an allergic reaction:

  • Flushed face, rash, red and itchy skin
  • Trouble breathing or speaking
  • Nasal congestion
  • Swelling of the face, lips, throat, eyes
  • Diarrhoea, vomiting
  • Feeling dizzy or faint

Apparently, if you already have any type of allergies, it pre-disposes you to getting an allergic reaction. So parents with kids who have any allergies should be extra vigilant.

 Every time I recall this incident, I am just so thankful that all our kids are healthy and well, and I no longer take good health for granted.

Linking up with:
Related post: How to take care of your child’s teeth to save a ton of money on dental treatment.



~ www.mummyweeblog.com – a blog on parenting 6 kids in Singapore ~

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Help, Dentist! One grinding teeth.. one bleeding tooth

#1 has been grinding her teeth intermittently for the last 4 years. It started in her P6 year when her stress level was higher. I thought it had since disappeared. However, when a friend stayed over and slept with the girls, she mentioned that #1 grinded her teeth the whole night! My friend also has that problem and she needs to wear a mouth guard at night to prevent further wearing down of her teeth. I got worried and took #1 to see her godma who is a dentist.

In the good hands of her godma

After checking her teeth, her godma said that there was no urgent need for her to wear a mouth guard as yet as there are no signs of wearing out of her teeth. However she did ask us to check back periodically to keep an eye on it. I was relieved as I half expected her teeth to be all worn down after so many years of grinding. I asked her if it could be stopped but she said that as it was probably caused by the normal stresses of life and school, we can’t do very much about it at the moment. In future, if it carries on and starts to wear her teeth down, we could consider a mouth guard or even botox. Botox?! She said it was to relax the muscles so the grinding wouldn’t be so severe.. and the remaining could be used elsewhere too! 


However, that evening, there were more tooth problems to come. 

We had just finished our dinner and somehow, #5 tripped and fell on his face. His upper lip and one of his front tooth was bleeding. After so many kids, I have learnt not to panic when I see a lot of blood. I calmly opened his mouth to see where the bleeding was coming from. The blood was coming from the space between the gums and the tooth and there was a black spot right in the middle of the line of blood. The gums was also slightly indented so I decided that I should take him to be examined. 

As it was past 7pm, I didn’t know where to take him as most dental clinics were closed. So I called up #1’s godma again and asked her where I should take him to. She said the only place open would be the A&E of any hospital. I was not keen on that as I know we would have to end up waiting a few hours to be examined. 

I described to her what had happened and she asked me to check if the tooth was broken or chipped. It wasn’t. Then she asked me to check if it was shaky or out of alignment. (He screamed when I tried to move his tooth to check). But no, it wasn’t noticeably shaky. She explained that the black spot was just the blood clotting. We decided that it could wait till tomorrow for me to take him to his regular paediatric dentist. He showered and promptly fell asleep. 

The next morning, he woke and came downstairs as per normal. Our helper had already put out his breakfast and he sat down to eat it without any problems. I was observing him quietly but decided not to mention about his tooth. I concluded that since he could eat without any pain, he should be alright. After a couple of bites, he suddenly grimaced and said “My tooth hurts”. I asked him if the pain was just a little or a lot. He said “A little”. I examined his tooth and the bleeding had stopped and the alignment looked fine. I tried to shake it and it was not shaky, so that was a good sign. There was just a tiny trace of blood left between the tooth and the gums.

Swelling almost disappeared overnight

So off to school he went! I was instructed to look out for any darkening of the tooth just as a precaution, and that I should still take him for an x-ray as his front tooth had just grown out less than a year ago and the roots may not be very stable yet.

Sane tip: Even when there is a lot of blood, I have learnt to pause and try to figure out if they need immediate medical attention. We have had quite a few visits to the A&E over the past 15 years (fractures, allergies) and I don’t relish sitting there with a sick child for hours. I’d much rather sit it out at home in comfort and see the doctor the next morning. However, it is only with so much experience after this many kids that I can trust my instincts to know when to seek help immediately and when not to.

Save tip: I’m also extremely grateful to all our friends and relatives who are doctors or dentists whom we can turn to for help and information, saving us many unnecessary trips to the A&E!

~ www.mummyweeblog.com – a blog on parenting 6 kids in Singapore ~
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Trip to the dentist

Took #3 to the dentist for her half-yearly check-up. She has been seeing Dr VicPearly for the past few years and strangely, she looks forward to her dental visits! Probably because Dr Vic is very good with children, and there is a TV screen on the ceiling to keep her distracted. This round, she says that she has been monitoring #3’s front teeth and they are starting to flare out. She will have to do a retainer-plate thing and hopefully if #3 is diligent enough to wear it all the time, she won’t have to do braces in future. I really hope it works, as getting braces for 5 kids is really no joke. It will indeed bring new meaning to ‘paying through your teeth’!

Dr Vic said #3 is doing a great job brushing her teeth

#3 took a mold of her teeth and we have to come back next week when it’s ready. 

Orange Orthodontics is a family dental clinic

Orange Orthodontics is in Lucky Plaza Medical suites so we hopped over to Tangs to get some Krispy Kreme donuts. They taste sooo good warm out of the oven, but way too sweet though. I’m sure Dr Vic won’t approve of all that sugar 😉

The famous Krispy Kreme donuts
~   mummywee – parenting 6 kids in Singapore without going mad or broke  ~
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Please take care of your children’s teeth

The National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS) has been reaching out to parents in a bid to educate them on the importance of good dental health. A survey showed that 7 in 10 parents polled had not taken their children to the dentist before. The number of children being treated at NDCS for early childhood caries has doubled in the last decade. Many of these childhood dental problems are a result of parent’s ignorance in this area. I was one of those ignorant parent, and the state of my children’s dental health was terrible. I am determined to inculcate good dental hygiene in Kate.

Kate loves brushing her own teeth

A couple of years back, #1 had a tooth infection. There was some swelling on her gums (like a bubble) and we took her to Pacific Healthcare at Paragon. As she was already about 11 years old, the dentist decided to extract her baby tooth. The swelling disappeared and the problem was solved. The dentist enquired about the other family members and asked us to check the other childrens’ teeth. True enough, we found out that #4 suddenly had a cavity in one of her back tooth. We took her to NDCS and they said that the infection was most likely passed from one sibling to the next due to the sharing of food. As she was only about 5 years old at that time, they didn’t want to extract the baby tooth as the space needed to be saved for the adult tooth which will appear a few years later. So she had to do a crown. She was scheduled for a crowning to be done under general anaesthesia (G.A.). Even though it was done at NDC, it cost me more than $2,000 to fix that tooth!

About 2 years ago, we noticed that #5 had ‘rotten teeth’. Several of his teeth started getting discoloured and we could see that they were decayed. We took him to The Kids Dentist at Camden and Dr. Rashid shook his head after examining him. He said that many of his teeth had started to decay badly and he needed some pulpotomy treatment, 5 crowns and a couple of fillings. 5 crowns?! Wouldn’t that cost me $10,000? This was a nicely set-up private clinic at Camden, so I was sure it would cost me an arm and a leg. As it turned out, Dr. Rashid said we had 2 choices. If #5 manages to be cooperative (meaning sit still in the chair for about 1 hour for 5-7 sessions and open his mouth big) he wouldn’t need to be sedated. A big chunk of the cost for #4’s crowning was for G.A.

Before Dr. Rashid could start, #5 needed to do an x-ray. He was very uncooperative and Dr. Rashid said that there was no way he could do any treatment without G.A. if he behaved like that. I knew I had to convince #5 to be a willing patient. He loves Lego, so I told him that if he did what he was told, we would go and buy 1 set of Lego after every session. That worked like magic! He cooperated fully and after every session, I would allow him to buy a $9.90 box of Lego of his choice. (That was a steal compared to paying more than a thousand bucks for G.A.). In the end, I paid about $3000+ to fix all his teeth.

After discussions with Dr. Rashid, we realised that the cause of his rotten teeth was a combination of factors. When he was young, he would go to bed with a bottle of milk and not brush his teeth prior to falling asleep. Our previous helper also used to give him a bottle of ribena several times a day as he lay on the couch watching TV. It was easy for her as there was no mess (compared to a cup) and he wouldn’t bother her for a long time. His teeth was also not brushed properly and there were times when he was tired and I didn’t insist on having him brush his teeth before he went to bed.

Baby gum cum tooth brush

That was indeed a very expensive and painful mistake to make. Now I am more careful with Kate. From the time she was 3 months old, I got her this tooth/gum brush. It’s bristles are really soft. I instructed my helper to brush her teeth every evening and she replied rather incredulously, “Brush her teeth? But she has no teeth!” I explained to her that it was just to get her used to having her gums cleaned. I will definitely not let her drink any other sweet drinks out of her bottle besides milk. I will also try to wean her from her bottle when she turns 1… or maybe 2 😉 That’s already a big improvement. The other 5 of them drank from their bottles till they were about 4 or 5! ( I seriously thought milk was meant to be drank out of a milk bottle).

Dr. Rashid also told us that if we really wanted to give the child a sweet drink, it was much better to drink it all up in one go, than to take sips of it over a prolonged period of time. It will just be a sugar bath in there. And although we all know that sweets are bad, the nasty ones to really watch out for are those sticky ones. One surprising thing we learnt was that rice, left on the teeth for a long time, will also break down into sugar!

Later on, I asked a dentist friend why #4 had to do her crown under G.A. at NDCS, when #5 could have an option of local anaesthesia if he was cooperative? She used to work in NDCS and told me that they were seeing patients back-to-back there and did not have time to cajole the child to be cooperative. It was more time efficient to just send them all through G.A. I personally will not choose the option of G.A. if I can avoid it, not only because of the cost, but because there is a slight risk in getting a G.A.

Sane tip: Start taking your child to the dentist when she is about 1 year old. It is more to get her used to the dentist and the environment so that she will not protest next time. Also, it is good to start getting their teeth checked from a young age as the dentist can point out any early problems, and it is much easier to prevent problems than to seek treatment. 

Save tip: Taking good care of your child’s teeth will definitely save you a ton of money on dental treatment in future.

~ www.mummyweeblog.com – a blog on parenting 6 kids in Singapore ~
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“Doctor?” Nah..

Today, Kate did not seem to be her usual cheery self.  She was a little more whiney and wanted to be carried. I felt her forehead and it was a bit warm. I checked all over her body and found little red spots on her legs, about 10 on each leg. I took her temperature, it was 39.0. This was the first time in her 9 months that she fell sick.

Little red spots on her legs

My helper (who has only been with us for 6 months) was very worried and asked me to take her to see the doctor. I explained to her that I do not take my kids to the doctor unless absolutely necessary. Usually if it’s just a common cold, or a fever, I will keep them hydrated, make them as cool and comfortable as possible and ride it out. She refused water from her water bottle so I gave her sips of it from her milk bottle cap, which she accepted. I googled her symptoms and found out that it was most probably a virus and that treatment is symptom control and time. I continued to observe her and as she didn’t look too listless or lethargic and was still moving around, I decided that a visit to the doctor was not necessary.

Sick but still very alert


I try not to give my children any medication because I believe that the body is then able to build up its own defences and its immunity will be strengthen. #3 has never taken any medication in her life and her immunity is the strongest. From what I can remember, hardly anyone of them has missed school in the past few years due to illness. Besides, there are so many viruses out there nowadays with H1N1, HFMD, etc, it’ll be worse if she caught something contagious at the clinic. I will then have a bigger problem on my hands!

The 5 of them were so sad to see her sick and took turns looking after her so that I could have a break. (you wouldn’t believe the coincidence but the contractor came today to fix some leaks and my helper was busy cleaning up the whole mess).

Getting worse…

She had her nap and when she woke up she was feeling really unhappy 🙁

Poor baby


We had a quick and quiet dinner, then the kids prepared for school tomorrow and settled themselves to bed. I finally have some quiet time. I’m really tired and ready to crash. Hope she’ll be better tomorrow!

Sane tip: Don’t panic, sometimes it looks worse than it really is. Stay calm and trust your instincts. After a few visits to the doctor, you will slowly be able to tell when it’s serious and when you just need to monitor and ride it out. Some parents feel that they would rather give medication to make it more comfortable for the baby. However, I would rather suffer for a few days (both the baby and myself) for a much stronger immunity in the long run. Some of my kids have not fallen sick at all in many years.

Save tip: Save consultation, save medication, save transportation.

~ www. mummyweeblog.com – a blog on parenting 6 kids in Singapore ~