Taiwan: In the eyes of a Travelling Mom

Before I had baby J, I assessed a country I was visiting depending on how much I enjoyed shopping there and the unique things they could offer me.  But now that I am a mother, I rate every country I visit on their "baby-friendliness".

The family recently went to Taiwan for its culture, gastronomic delights, and of course, shopping.  The minute we de-planed, I was already doing my assessment.  I was very happy that the airport offered a Breastfeeding Room.  I naturally decided to check it out.  When I got to the room, I was very happy to see that they really considered the comfort of mommy and baby in that room.  The room had changing tables, with free Mamy Poko wipes, a dryer, hot and cold water, baby powder, and individual rooms for breast feeding! 

I am attaching some of the photos I took there.

The baby-friendliness of Taiwan did not stop at the airport.  The malls also had dedicated breastfeeding rooms.  Even Guang Hua Digital Mall had a breastfeeding room! 

Another nice thing I noticed was sidewalks all had ramps for wheelchairs and strollers!  So walking to your favorite night market did not prove to be a problem either!

Taxi drivers also do not rush the passengers.  They would also even drive you cheerfully to your destination.

All in all, we had a pleasant stay in Taiwan.

I know how stressful it is to prepare for an overseas trip with a baby in tow, especially for the first time!  So, try to choose a baby-friendly country.  It will make your first trip a breeze! 

Breastfeeding Benefits - My Personal Experience

I have been breastfeeding baby J since I was wheeled out of the Operating Room ( baby J was delivered via Caesarean section) more than 15 months ago.  So, I have personally seen and experienced the many benefits of breastfeeding.

First of them is the bond you develop with your baby when you breastfeed.  I have personally seen this with my daughter.  She always prefers to be with me over everyone else (even her dad, who is the next best thing for her when I am not around).  It is also heart melting to hear her squeals of glee when I come home from work.  I now understand what people have always been saying about all your worries, stress, and tiredness disappearing when you see your baby.

Breastfeeding is also very easy on the go.  You do not have to prepare bottles, formula milk, and hot water before you leave the house.  You don't even have to spend time preparing the milk! Just bring along your trusty nursing cover and you're ready to feed your baby with fresh, warm milk.

The puplik nursing cover is what I am using because I like the rigid neckline design which allows me to view my baby while I am feeding her.

Breast milk has many nutritional benefits for your baby. It significantly increases brain development in your baby as well as improve the immune status of your little one.  Breast milk also has less fat content so fully breastfed babies are not as chubby as formula-fed babies.  With the rising number of childhood obesity, I think this is a very good thing.

Imagine the dollars you are saving also when you breastfeed your baby.  I estimated the dollars I have saved in the last 15 months, and guess what it amounted to?  The hubby and I have already saved more than 4,000 dollars!

But I think the benefit most women want out of breastfeeding is the weight loss! Yes, you read it right!  Breast feeding lets you burn an additional 500 kcal per day.  In my experience, I lost 7kg during my first month post-partum.  It was a very pleasant surprise to step on the weighing scale and find out I lost 7kg without doing anything.

So, mommies out there, plan to breastfeed (if you have not done so already), continue breastfeeding, and do it as long as you can!  The benefits are enormous.  Happy Breastfeeding!

Working moms and breastfeeding

I went back to work when baby J was just 2.5 months old.  Naturally, it was a very difficult time for me since that was the first time I had to leave the baby for hours at a time.  What made it even more difficult was the fact that baby J has been exclusively breastfed since birth.  And knowing the many benefits of breastfeeding, I have already decided to breastfeed her for as long as I have milk to offer. 

Balancing a full-time job (with frequent travelling involved) and being a full-time breastfeeding, hands-on mom has been the most difficult challenge I had to face.  If we had tons and tons of money, I would have let my career take a back seat and be a stay at home mom until baby J was old enough to enter pre-school.  But who am I kidding, I would probably have missed working also if I did that, plus the fact that the hubby and I now have a mini human being to raise and give the best possible future to.  So, of course, the extra income would go a long way for the little one.

So, it was off to work I went with my handy electronic breastpump complete with the ice pack and insulated bag.  Lucky for me, the office was very close to our house, so I would go home for lunch to feed baby J when time permitted.  On busy days, I would express milk 2-3 times in the office, leave everything in the office freezer, and just get it before I went home.  Usually, by the time I bring it home, the milk has been frozen already. 

My greatest fear with expressing breastmilk is its "life expectancy".  I did not want to give baby J spoiled milk, at the same time, I did not want to waste a single drop of breastmilk (all breastfeeding moms would understand this!).  With this in mind, I stumbled across the guidelines from La Leche League regarding storage of breastmilk.  Check the link below if you are unsure.

http://www.llli.org/faq/milkstorage.html

Difficult as it is to work and fully breastfeed baby J, we have successfully managed to do it for the last 15 months!  I am proud to say that baby J is still breastfed (and eating solids, of course), and we will keep going until she decides to stop wanting it (at the rate we are going, I don't see her wanting to stop anytime soon).

All moms want the best for their kids.  Since breastfeeding is best for babies, that is what I am giving her! Thankfully, I have been blessed with very good milk supply.  So, if you have good milk supply, just go for it.  Know that there are millions of women out there with the same situation as you.

Child Nutrition Course, anyone?

Once your baby enters the sixth month, your pediatrician may start advising you to start feeding your baby.  Naturally, we always want only the best and most nutritious food for our little one.  But what constitutes healthy food for our kids?

Before baby J started on semi-solids at 6 months, the hubby and I were already reading books on food preparation for babies.  We bought a few books on this, just to be well equipped in providing nutritious food for our baby that is also age-appropriate.

I have recently started joining the Child Nutrition and Cooking 2.0 course by Stanford Medicine on Coursera. Coursera is a free online education course on various topics ranging from Medicine to Business.

Below is a link to the course.  Currently, we are on third week of the five week lecture series already.
https://class.coursera.org/childnutrition-002/lecture

The lectures include discussions on what constitutes a balanced diet, discussion on the different food group as well as creating healthy, easy to cook food to serve our kids.

I am not really a Pro when it comes to cooking, but watching how easy it is to create healthy meals is actually inspiring me to be more pro-active in the kitchen.

For moms and dads out there who would like to further their knowledge, try signing up with Coursera (No, I was not sponsored by Coursera!), it is quite interesting.

Cloth diapering anyone?

Child rearing has changed so much over the years, yet some fundamental aspects are still the same.  When I was a baby(let's not talk about how long ago it was), cloth diapering used to be the norm, where an eyelet cloth was artfully folded to create the perfect "diaper" for the baby, fastened with safety pins. 

After some time, because of potentially pricking the baby when the safety pin comes loose, the non-safety pin fasteners were introduced.  Then came disposable diapers, with so many brands to choose from. Now, it's back to cloth diapering, but this time with a more modern approach.

When I became pregnant with my first (and only for now) child, I decided to go with cloth diapering instead of using disposable diapers.  I checked the different brands available out there and checked the feel of the materials before I decided to choose which brand I wanted for my baby.

I decided to go with Charlie Banana (as pictured below) because I felt they offered the softest material for my baby's bottoms.   Since they offer OS (one size), I decided to go with this instead of buying different sizes as my baby grew older.  OS size is slightly more expensive than the S, M, L, XL options.  But I felt that since I can adjust the sizing to fit my baby's current weight, I can save money as well.

Cloth diapering is not fun.  Initial cost outlay is significantly higher than buying disposable diapers.  Plus the fact that you have to manually scrub the diaper clean before you leave it overnight in a pail of soap and water.  But a few significant reasons made me decide on this.

1.  After the initial cost of buying the cloth diapers (with prices ranging from approximately 5 - 15 USD per piece), you will actually be saving money in the long run.  Baby J has been using cloth diapers since she was a month old.  She just turned 15 months today, and we are still using the same cloth diapers.  I am very happy that the cloth diaper I chose has retained its softness and elasticity despite the many washings it has endured.
2. Using cloth diapers reduces the incidence of diaper rash on our babies.  Putting diaper rash cream or ointment is also not necessary when using cloth diapers.  The only downside to this is you need to change the cloth diapers more often (although this is a minor issue for me). 
In the 15 months I have been caring for my daughter, she has never had a very bad diaper rash.  I believe this is because of the cloth diapers we are using.
3.  With all the climate change happening around us, I would like to do my share to try and help save the enviroment from further damage.  Using cloth diapers decreases the carbon footprint.

Have I convinced you yet to try and go with cloth diapering?  If I have managed to convince you, please read on for some tips!

1. When I started buying cloth diapers, I was advised by a friend to buy at least 24 pairs of cloth diapers.  I followed her advise.
You may ask me, why 24 pairs right?  Why not less?  In the course of 24 hours, you will easily use up around 6 cloth diapers.  These used cloth diapers will need to soaked in soap with water at least overnight before they are actually washed and dried.  Because of the material that is being used, it then takes a minimum of 24 hours for them to dry and be ready for use again.  It is best to have a few extra pairs ready as we dont know when our baby will need to change more often.

2. The minute you notice there is poo, after washing your baby, make sure to scrub the stains on the cloth diaper right away.  It goes away faster the sooner you wash it.  I should know, I have been doing it for the last 15 months.  Being able to scrub it clean is one of the small joys you will have with cloth diapering ( HAHA).

3. While you are soaking the cloth diaper, it is best to add approximately 1/4 tablespoon of vinegar to the soap and water.  It helps to decrease the odor.

4.  If you're concerned about spills, you just have to make sure that you have buttoned it snugly to fit your baby.  Make sure it's not too loose as this will cause spillage.  Buttoning it too tight is also not recommended as it will not be good for your baby.

If at this point, you do decide on cloth diapering, trust me, you won't regret it.  Seeing my baby's smooth bottom, without diaper rash, is worth it even if I have to keep scrubbing countless diapers day in and day out!  Happy cloth diapering Mommies!

Feeding on the go

I am frequently asked by friends how I prepare for trips out of town.  Normally, I send them the link to my previous post listing the things I bring on our trips (which I am attaching here).

http://pedramusings.blogspot.sg/2013/07/travelling-with-baby.html

Yesterday, a friend asked me what I do for long haul flights.  Her questions inspired me to write this blog.

My husband and I have always prepared stuff depending on the age of our baby J and her developmental milestones at the time of travel.  When baby J was just starting semi-solids, we would bring along home cooked blended/pureed fruits and vegetables for the entire duration of the trip.  We had to ensure that the ice pack would last the entire duration of the journey until the time we can safely deposit the food in the hotel room's refrigerator.

Then came the time baby J liked those organic baby meals pre-packed for travelling.  This became easier for us logistically since all we had to prepare for was how many of those we had to bring.  Another plus for this type of meal is that you can also buy spoons that went with the container.  This made feeding very easy on the go.  The only thing you need to remember about this type of food though, is that it needs to be refrigerated once opened and it will only last 24 hours from the time you open it.

Above are some of the pictures of the organic baby food we bring on our trips together with the spoon.  And NO, I was not sponsored by Plum organics for this post.

Aside from this, we also always make sure to bring snacks for her to munch on in-flight, especially during take off and landing.  There are various options for this.  Among the snack items baby J likes are: Happy Yogi pre and probiotic snack, Gerber's yoghurt melts, Plum's eat your color snacks, and organic rice crackers.

Another thing I  always bring along is the Medela quick clean bags.  Bringing a sterilizer along is very bulky.  So, if you know that you will have access to a microwave during your travel, then you just need to bring the quick clean bag.  Each bag can be used 20 times before it needs to be replaced.

I have noticed that as baby J gets older, it is getting easier for us to travel.  Now, I do not even have to bring food for her when we go out.  I just bring her plates and utensils plus water and her snacks. She eats whatever we order for her in the restaurant.  It is very nice to bring her to buffet  restaurants as well as she gleefully tries a lot of food!

My husband and I share the same sentiment when it comes to travelling with a baby.  We should not see travelling with them as a burden.  Rather, we should always see it as an experience that all of us will remember.

Travelling without Baby

Exactly one week ago, I took my first business trip without my baby. That was the first time I travelled light in ages. In fact, I did not even have to check-in my luggage. I was supposed to feel relieved and more comfortable. But, it didn't make much difference to me. I was still travelling with baggage. I travelled with a heavy heart, having to leave my daughter for the first time since she was born. I was very worried that she won't be able to sleep without me, that she would cry when she didn't see me come home that night. But, babies are naturally resilient and tougher than they look. She was actually fine in the three days I was away. She ate very well the whole time, played, slept, and did her daily routine. She also never cried, except for brief periods in the wee hours of the morning (as usual). I missed her terribly when I was away, and I was very worried about how she would react to my absence. But as it turns out, the baby is tougher than the mommy. She was quite happy in the company of her dad, grandparents, aunt, and uncle, while I was miserably counting the hours until I came home to be with her again. This experience taught me that we should never underestimate the little humans. They are tougher than we take them for. But of course, I still want to be with her as much as possible. After all, our kids need our presence and not our presents, as the saying goes.