Breastfeeding Beyond The First Year(Part 1/3)

BREASTFEEDING BEYOND THE FIRST YEAR (Part 1/3)
It may pose a unique set of challenges, but overcoming them provides dividends for your baby, writes a mother who shares her experience

By Anita Daubars | Reprinted with permission from Today’s Parents Magazine

WHEN I was expecting my first baby, I had been keen to try breastfeeding my newborn. However, I never thought that my breastfeeding story would turn out the way it has.

I exclusively breastfed my daughter until about six months of age, then began introducing semi-solid food to her. It was around this time that we discovered her allergy to dairy and wheat products.

After taking food containing these ingredients, she would throw up continuously for many hours, and be irritable and fussy. She would also refuse to nurse or eat any other food. After a few hours, she would begin to nurse but would still refuse solid food.

This refusal lasted for many days after each allergic response; during this time, she relied on breastfeeding for her nutritional needs as well as to comfort her. As we identified the specific suspect foods and avoided them in her diet, her allergic episodes became fewer.

Breastfeeding continued to fulfill a large part of her dietary needs. My daughter’s first birthday passed but weaning her felt arbitrary and somewhat odd.

My faith in breast milk’s ability to nourish my baby in the gentlest way, my wariness of triggering further allergic reactions, together with nursing being able to meet my baby’s intense need for closeness motivated me to continue breastfeeding her for as long as it felt ‘right’ for us both.

Most babies do not have such allergic tendencies, and for each individual family, breastfeeding, extended or otherwise, takes its own shape and style.

Nursing mothers whose babies have passed their milestone first birthdays and who continue to find breastfeeding a fulfilling way to meet their babies’ needs face a unique set of challenges.

Those who have resolved early problems with baby’s latch-on technique sometimes find that their baby’s latch becomes more relaxed as she grows bigger, and they begin to have sore nipples once again. The mother then needs to reassess her nursling’s latch and initiate a better latch. The same applies for the nursling’s position.

Nursing toddlers tend to engage in ‘nursing gymnastics’, wriggling and squirming during nursing. They comfortably get into a myriad positions to breastfeed.

Mothers often have to emphasize to their toddlers to stay properly latched on throughout nursing. Toddlers also tend to be busy, distractible people.

Yet, continuing to nurse after the first year sustains the emotional connection between mother and toddler and serves as moments to touch home base and reconnect with their mothers between their outbound exploration trips. Many toddlers settle on having shorter breastfeeds.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), breastfeeding should continue at least until age one, and thereafter, for as long as is mutually desired by mother and child; extended breastfeeding provides significant health and developmental benefits for mother and child, and there is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding.

Click here for next Part 2

Source: Breastfeeding Beyond The First Year(Part 1/3)

Pregnancy Tips: Will Exercise Make Giving Birth Easier?

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
By Dr Vanaja K, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist | National University Hospital
reprinted with permission from “Great Expectations by Today’s Parents magazine

I am 30 weeks pregnant and have not been exercising very much. I would like to start now as the antenatal class instructor says exercising will make the birth easier. What is the most appropriate exercise for me to start with in order to prepare me for labour?

Resuming your normal activities is recommended. The most appropriate exercises will be slow walking and swimming.

Source: Pregnancy Tips: Will Exercise Make Giving Birth Easier?

PREGNANCY TIPS: I Caught The Flu, Is It Bad For My Baby?

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

By Dr Lai Fon Min
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist | A Company for Women, Camden Medical Centre
reprinted with permission from “Great Expectations” by Today’s Parents magazine

I HAD A BAD FLU AND COUGH RECENTLY WITH A FEVER OF 38° C. I AM AFRAID IT MAY AFFECT MY BABY AS I AM THREE MONTHS PREGNANT. PLEASE ADVISE.

Influenza (commonly called “the flu”) is a common and contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. The flu can result in severe illness and life-threatening complications.

Influenza usually occurs in epidemics. What you are referring to as “flu” is more likely a “cold”.

Viral infections such as colds and flu are just as common when you’re pregnant as when you’re not, so many women end up worrying about whether a minor illness could harm their unborn child.

In general, there’s probably very little to worry about if it is short-lived and your baby is unlikely to suffer any ill-effects as a result. Because your immune system is affected during pregnancy, you may feel worse than usual.

Any severe or prolonged illness which causes you to be feverish and generally unwell may increase the risk of miscarriage. However, the “baseline” miscarriage rate in the first trimester may be as high as 20 percent, usually due to chromosomal abnormalities.

If your flu does not get better and you begin to cough up green/yellow sputum, experience shortness of breath, persistent chest pain, severe sore throat or a fever of 38 degrees, you should see a doctor. If you are less than 12 weeks pregnant, you should not take medication unless recommended by your doctor.

Source: PREGNANCY TIPS: I Caught The Flu, Is It Bad For My Baby?

Is Myopia In Kids Preventable? (Part 2/2)

Can You Prevent Myopia In Kids?
Parents guilty of passing on the myopia genes should not fret since they can still play a role in controlling their children’s myopia

By Jessie Kok | Reprinted with permission from Today’s Parents

Click here to read Part 1 of this story

Dr Gerard Chuah, senior eye surgeon at Total Eyecare Centre (Camden Medical Centre), and Dr Chew Wai Kwong, chief optometrist at Capitol Optical, answer frequently asked questions about myopia:

What exactly changes in the eyeball that causes myopia?
“Unlike normal children or adults, highly myopic people have elongated eyeballs which means the tissue at the back of their eyes is stretched,” says Chew. “Tissues like the retina, when highly stretched, become weaker and more vulnerable to retinal tear, resulting in higher risk of developing glaucoma and macular degeneration.”

Is it true that leaving the light on at night for babies may predispose them to myopia?
It is common for parents to leave a light on for babies while they sleep. While recent studies in America show that leaving a light on might lead to the development of myopia, more studies would need to be done to show conclusive evidence.

Are all cases of myopia irreverisble?
General cases of myopia are irreversible. However, another type of myopia – pseudomyopia – which occurs when there is excessive spasm of the focusing muscles in the eyes and more commonly seen in young children is reversible.

How is pseudomyopia treated?
When young children first visit an optometrist cycloplegic refraction is routinely done to eliminate pseudomyopia. Optometrists also rely on objective methods of retinoscopy and fogging to check on these cases.

How can eye drops assist in cases of myopia?
Currently, Atropine 1 percent eyedrops are used in some hospitals and clinics as a tool to address myopia progression. The Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) has ongoing studies to assess the role of the drops. There are promising preliminary results that show Atropine may help to retard the progression of myopia but more overseas and local studies are required for conclusive results.

Can certain types of food or supplements boost vision?
According to Dr Chuah, there is no conclusive evidence in studies that show consuming more vitamins and minerals can help to improve or control myopia, unless the child is severely malnourished. It is more important to get a child to relax her eye muscles by looking at faraway objects. “It’s got nothing to do with the colour of the object but more about letting the eye muscles rest after doing near-work,” he says.

Dr Chuah also highlights the efforts by the Ministry of Health in their myopia control programme that teaches students good eyecare habits such as taking breaks after 45 minutes of near-work and simple eye exercises.

A beneficiary of this programme is Kevan, who has successfully helped to control his children’s myopia. Now grown up and aged 11 and 13 respectively, Sarah and Sean have managed to control their myopia over the years through sporadic rests in between studying, and doing simple eye exercises as instructed by their father.

While Kevan does not expect complete recovery in his children, the improvement and control of his children’s myopia that gives him a sense of satisfaction.

“I know we cannot control hereditary symptoms,” he says. “But every parent can play a part when it comes to environmental factors to ensure the best management of childhood myopia.”

Source: Is Myopia In Kids Preventable? (Part 2/2)

Great Expectation: How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 3/3)

How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 3/3)
No matter what your income level is, early planning for financial security is always the best course of action. Here, some tips on how to get started!

Click here to read Part 1

Click here to read Part 2

TIP 5: TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TO ACHIEVE YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS
With your goals identified, you can start exploring the available financial solutions to achieve these goals. For example, when building up savings for your children’s education, you could consider:

1. Putting an appropriate amount of savings in a bank deposit
2. Buying an endowment plan or investing in another longer term investment product
3. Investing long term in some blue chip stocks or funds

As can be seen from above, different financial solutions are available to achieve the same goal. For example, if you plan to buy life insurance to give you and your family financial protection against death and permanent disability, there are a few types of common insurance plans such as whole life plans, endowment plans, term insurance or investment-linked plans to consider.

You should shop around and understand the key features of each product before deciding which product best serves your needs.

CHECKLIST FOR A BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

1. Set up a monthly budget.
2. Set aside an emergency fund consisting of six months of your monthly salary.
3. Identify your financial goals and objectives.
4. Know what your net worth (assets minus liabilities) is.
5. Protect your family and yourself against risks such as accidents and loss of income.
6. Know how much you need for your retirement and know how much CPF savings you will have when you retire.
7. Have a proper plan to reach your financial goals and objectives.
8. Put aside some money in investments to grow your wealth.
9. Review your financial plan regularly.

Some families may be more comfortable developing their own financial plan. However, it might be appropriate to engage a financial adviser (FA) to assist with planning if you need expert advice. However, do take note of the following when engaging a FA:

1. Deal only with FA regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
2. Engage an FA with proper qualifications and experience
3. Make sure you ask for documentation and keep your documents safely
4. When in doubt, always seek clarification and ask for more information
5. Beware of verbal promises and guarantees of unrealistic returns

Remember: Ultimately, your financial plan belongs to you and your family. It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand your plan and stick to it.

You can also log on to www.moneysense.gov.sg and check out The MoneySENSE Guide to Planning for Your Family’s Financial Future for more information and tools on how to get started.

This information is provided by the Insurance and Financial Practicioners Association of Singapore (IFPAS) and Life Insurance Association (LIA) as part of the MoneySENSE national financial education programme.

Source: Great Expectation: How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 3/3)

Great Expectation: How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 2/3)

How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 2/3)
No matter what your income level is, early planning for financial security is always the best course of action. Here, some tips on how to get started!

Click here to read Part 1

FIVE TIPS TO BASIC FINANCIAL PLANNING FOR YOUR FAMILY

TIP 1: PREPARE AND STICK TO A FAMILY BUDGET TO KEEP EXPENSES IN CHECK

A budget is a useful tool for families to monitor their income and expenses. Without a budget, we may not be able to keep track of the many bills and expenses we incur.

Steps to prepare a family budget:
1. Create a list of all monthly income, e.g. salary and wages.
2. Create a list of planned or targeted expenses and a list of all actual monthly expenses. If an expense is not incurred monthly, pro-rate it on a monthly basis.
3. Set aside a fixed amount of savings every month. You should aim to save at least 10 per cent of your monthly income and have savings equivalent to six months of your salary as emergency funds at any point in time.
4. Make sure your expenses and the amount set aside for savings do not exceed your income. If you are overspending, reduce your expenses accordingly.
5. Review your budget regularly.

You may also wish to consider involving your family members in drawing up the family budget so that it becomes a shared responsibility.

TIP 2: DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN “NEEDS” AND “WANTS”
Our decision to spend is usually motivated by “needs” and “wants”. “Needs” relate to the essentials in life, something you cannot live without, e.g. rent or mortgage or food. “Wants” are usually things that we desire, such as the latest IT gadget or a new fancy handbag. Do a reality check before taking the plunge. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do we really need the item?
2. Is it worth waiting and saving up for?
3. Is there a cheaper alternative?

TIP 3: IDENTIFY FINANCIAL PRIORITIES
Priorities change at different life stages. For example, a family with young children may have the following priorities:
1. Ensuring sufficient income to maintain household expenses
2. Saving for the children’s education
3. Retirement planning

Do review your priorities regularly, especially at different stages of your life and whenever your family circumstances change. These could include events such as starting work, getting married, buying a home, having children or reaching retirement.

TIP 4: TRANSLATE PRIORITIES INTO FINANCIAL GOALS
Once we have identified our priorities, we can proceed to take steps to make them our financial goals. For each goal, determine how much funds you need to accumulate and the time available to accumulate the funds.

For example, if your priority is to ensure adequate income for your family in case of unexpected events, you may wish to review your insurance policies and calculate the optimal level of insurance coverage required.

Similarly, if your goal is to save for your children’s education needs, you may wish to start by projecting how much tuition fees might be by the time your children start university and the time available to accumulate such funds.

NEXT: TIP 5 – TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TO ACHIEVE YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS

This information is provided by the Insurance and Financial Practicioners Association of Singapore (IFPAS) and Life Insurance Association (LIA) as part of the MoneySENSE national financial education programme.

Source: Great Expectation: How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 2/3)

Great Expectation: How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 1/3)

How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 1/3)
No matter what your income level is, early planning for financial security is always the best course of action. Here, some tips on how to get started!

STARTING a family is probably the biggest responsibility you’ll undertake. Taking care of your spouse, your kids and your extended family requires much thought, attention and love. It also means having to manage your finances right.

WHY PLAN NOW?
Most of us are going to live longer. Fifty years ago, the average life expectancy in Singapore was just 61 years old. Today, the average life expectancy is 80 years old and many people will live beyond that. If we want to ensure our golden years are smooth and pleasant, we need to be self-reliant and start financial planning early. Our plans need to take into account rising costs, an ever-changing job environment, and most importantly, our growing families.

The lessons we learn from planning and managing our finances will also be invaluable to our children. Passing on good money management habits to our children should hopefully translate into lives less troubled by monetary woes. With increasingly smaller families, there will be fewer economically active persons to support an elderly one. Therefore, it is important to plan early for a secure retirement as well as reduce some of that burden for our younger family members.

Our financial security and that of our family’s is our responsibility, no matter what our income levels. A healthy CPF balance helps but may not be enough. Everyone should have a financial plan, tailored to our needs, lifestyle preferences, attitudes to finance and appetites for risk. Our plans might also reflect the different life stage we are at.

WHAT IS FINANCIAL PLANNING?
Financial planning should minimally comprise setting some financial goals or objectives and mapping out how we achieve them. A financial plan should minimally cover the following areas:

Cash-flow Management: this is about living within our means. Our expenses should never exceed our incomes and ideally we should be setting aside sufficient money and other assets to meet future financial goals.

Risk Management: this refers to taking precautions to make sure that our families will have enough income to live on in the event of unforeseen circumstances such as premature death, disabilities or illness.

Investment Planning: this relates to investing our savings to meet our investment goals and grow our wealth. There are many financial products and investments to choose from depending on a person’s appetite for risk and understanding of the different products.

Retirement Planning: this relates to building up wealth during our working years to achieve financial independence when we retire.

NEXT: FIVE TIPS TO BASIC FINANCIAL PLANNING FOR YOUR FAMILY

Source: Great Expectation: How To Plan For Your Family’s Future (Part 1/3)

Pregnancy Tips: Sex Before And After Pregnancy

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
By Dr Ann Tan, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist |
Women and Fetal Centre, a member of Pacific Healthcare Holdings

reprinted with permission from “Great Expectations by Today’s Parents magazine

Until what stage of pregnancy can I still have sex?
Actually both sex and pregnancy are natural events and you can enjoy them concurrently so long as you do not experience any undue pain or bleeding. If you have any particular pregnancy problems of preterm labour/ incompetent cervix or multiple pregnancy, you should consult your obstetrician on the advisability of intercourse. The use of condoms may help to reduce the uterine reactivity by preventing semen from contact with the cervix.

How soon can I have sex after my baby is born?
There is no hard and fast rule and usually the woman is ready in four to six weeks post normal vaginal delivery and Caesarean section too! The vaginal wound is usually a little firm initially but should stretch out once activity is resumed while in the case of a Caesarean delivery, there should be no difference at all. For the latter, deep penetration may cause stretching of the Caesarean scar and that may initially be uncomfortable.

I am six months pregnant and find myself surprisingly more turned on than usual. Why is that?
The hormones of pregnancy are making you more curvy than before and it’s very natural that you might feel more sexy than ever before! Enjoy!

Source: Pregnancy Tips: Sex Before And After Pregnancy

Interior Decorating For Kids

Who spends the most time in the kids’ bedrooms? The kids do of course! So why not make it a room they want to be in?

By Komee Carpenter

Interior Design Tips for Children's Room

I BELIEVE kids are born creative. Unfortunately, living life usually squelches most of that creativity unless it is carefully nurtured. You can help your children maintain their creative nature by allowing them to express it. That’s where interior decorating for kids comes in.

Kids start having color preferences at an early age. Test this out yourself by giving them choices. Rather than purchasing a cute outfit for your child because it’s fashionable or because you like it, pick out two or three and give your child the choice. If you do this often enough with various items and choices, you’ll start to see a pattern emerge. Go with it.

Who spends the most time in the kids’ bedrooms? The kids do of course! So why not make it a room they want to be in? Let your kids have a say in how it’s decorated. Give them choices, and guide them along the way.

Read more about decorating tips for your kid’s room.

Bashful First Fire of Dawn

An unexpectedly shy and sensible demeanour – could this really be Dawn Kwan, the 11-year-old art prodigy whose paintings have been selling for thousands since she was five?

By Huang Nickmatul / Home Concepts
Photography courtesy of Jonathan Sim Location
Thanks to Praser Place

Dawn Kwan Ning Yu

IN THIS WORLD OF HYPERBOLE, a writer hesitates to use superlatives. Nowadays, saying something is the best, ingenious, fabulous, fantastic and so on seems to automatically heighten people’s scepticism. Yet “prodigy” is the first word that comes to mind when one wants to speak of Dawn Kwan.

Looking at Dawn’s paintings, you get a sense of passion and a huge joy for life in the large brushstrokes and bright colours, but there is also a sense of control in the sophisticated choices and the obvious restraint evident in the strokes that form the shapes and, most importantly, the textures that are fast becoming one of her trademarks.

Yet upon meeting her, there is nary a hint of the fine painter that Dawn is becoming. Instead of the laughing, animated girl one might expect, Dawn is surprisingly reserved. Dressed in black leggings and a loose white tunic, she hovers in the background behind her mother, Swee Lin.

Under Swee Lin’s encouragement, Dawn begins the interview shyly, speaking in monosyllables before gradually opening up, though never quite making it to the pages and pages of chatter that an obviously mistaken writer expected while glancing through the prolific number of paintings by the young artist.

Yet there is something restful and charming in her hesitant smile and quicksilver laugh, gone in a flash; something touching about the way the unassuming and polite young girl shoots occasional fleeting glances at her mother who has retreated a short distance away to give her a measure of space and independence.

Read more about Dawn Kwan Ning Yu, art prodigy.