Kate's ill again...

Wanted to post a completely different entry. But yeah, Kate's sick again. It started with me having a bad cough first then it was her turn. We brought her out yesterday to Jurong point and today she has running nose and fever, it was rather high too. I'm abit frustrated at the whole falling sick thing, it's the second time this month but I'm not angry with her, just worried and when she looks at me and cough badly with her teary sleepy eyes, my heart aches. Poor gal must be feeling so miserable. Immanuel is over tonight and Kate had fun with him but she's having difficulty sleeping since she's coughing so badly. She keeps whining in her sleep and even her cries are not loud tonight. Sigh! I hate it when she's sick.

Chalet getaway -- Are we gonna go?

So I brought Kate to see the doctor again today, mostly to certify that she is well and fit enough to go for our little family getaway at Sentosa. Hubs have three days off starting today...so last week before all the HFM disease thingy, we booked a chalet.


To my immerse relief, the doctor says that she is able to go ahead, no issue. She can also go to the beach but keep away from too crowded places for awhile, as her immunity is low at this point.


Daniel, poor Daniel has gotten the HFM from Kate...And I am also seeing little bumps on my palms! I asked the doctor and she seems uncertain - might be nothing. But I have got to see how it is when I wake up tomorrow. If I see many red bumps -- we can't go again. I feel like heck caring the whole world and just go ahead with our plans, but a little voice tells me it's not right. I prayed before we went to the doc; I told the Lord that if it is alright that we went, let the doctor advise us so... If not, I'll just forfeit our 200 bucks. I really don't wanna cause anyone else to be sick...


So if all goes well, you will be seeing an updated post about how great I feel about getting the little getaway!

Hand foot mouth disease. Yikes.

Last tuesday at my mil's place, I saw a few little bumps on Kate's bum while changing her diaper. I thought it was just because of dust or something. The next morning when we woke up, I thought she was unusually hot. As we packed to head home, I realised she was having a fever...


Still, I did not realise what was wrong. At home, she was grouchy and drooling, which led to us thinking she was teething. Since it was teething, I decided to skip seeing the doctor that night and see how it was the following day. The next morning, mom realised that she had rashes on her forearm. The moment I changed her diaper, I realised she had rashes all over her bum, a few on her soles and palms. Alarmed and thinking that she had measles or something, we brought her to Immanuel's doctor. (Her doctor was closed on thurs, which I forgot) While walking, I looked into her mouth and realised that she had ulcers all over her lower lip. That explained the super-grouchiness, her reluctance to eat and drink, her misery, and her drooling. She couldn't even sleep properly and refused to be put down. She also didn't want me to carry, preferring her grandma, which really tire mom out. The doctor confirmed mom's suspicions of hand foot mouth disease, which really upset me because she isn't even in a lot of contact with other kids and it's such a painful experience for her. (And all the other poor kids who got it!)


I was really upset with her before we found out what she had. The night before, she was really going crazy and telling us her mouth was pain(ful) but we kept thinking it's her teeth coming out so we applied teething gel and all for her. She made so much noise none of us could sleep til really late. I shouted at her, which probably is the reason why she only wanted her grandma throughout this period. Frustrating!


Then her refusal to eat or drink really worried all of us.

Her usual input every day?

-540ml of milk
-2 solid meals per day, eg. porridge
-snacks in between meal times eg. biscuits

Toddlers need to eat snacks in between their meal times so as to replenish their energy. They have small tummies so they eat frequent meals throughout the day. They fill up and get hungry easily because of their little tummies...

But on thursday, friday and saturday, all she had each day was;


- 90ml of milk
- a little bit of water, maybe amounting to 40 ml?
-1/3 cup of jelly
-a few spoonfuls of ice-cream


It was really worrying...She could go for a few days without food, but not without water. Every time she refused water, I would get really upset, but not with her. I felt inadequate, I felt so helpless.
The doctor was really good; she told us to try giving her water every hour, to try giving her juice or jelly or ice cream. She told us to get creative; anything with water content should be tried. Cold stuff would be better as it would be less painful. Bribe, threaten or coax Kate, whatever. If Kate still refused, we would have to get her to the hospital. But the doctor said that as long as we were consistent, it should work. (I agree with the doctor totally, consistency is the key to successful parenting, a topic which I would touch on another time)


So immediately after seeing the doctor, hubs and I went to get jelly for her. When we reached home, we applied the gel on the ulcers, hoping it would numb the pain enough for her to try eating jelly. When  we tried giving her the jelly, she cried and cried since she really wanted to eat it but felt that she couldn't because of the pain. When she finally got abit of jelly down her throat, and realised it wasn't as painful as she expected it to be, she began shoving the jelly down. I nearly cried. There was my little gal in so much pain, and so hungry yet refusing everything til then. Yet, she didn't eat much. After a little, she began to cry again, telling us it was pain(ful).


So for the last three days, she cried whenever we tried to get her to drink or eat. She would look at us when we eat and turn away. (Usually she would run to us when we are eating, hoping to get a bite or two) My usually very interested little food monster showed a complete disinterest in all food. But the second time she broke my heart was when hubs asked me to force-feed her some jelly. (To show her it wouldn't hurt her to eat it) The moment I pushed it into her mouth, after she swallowed it, in her hurry to eat some more, she bit my finger.  She started crying as she wanted to feed herself, but in her frustrations, she nearly spilled the jelly. She kicked up a tantrum as she didn't want us to look at her, so we pretended we weren't looking at her. As she struggled to feed herself; in her concentration and hunger, we could see her hand trembling as she tried to get the jelly onto the spoon and into her mouth. That broke our hearts so completely, we both nearly cried.


Argh! I hate hand food mouth disease! It's so painful for the child.


The symptoms? Fever, rash on the groin area and bum, the palms and soles. Ulcers in the mouth. Kate's gotta stay away from other children, since it's highly contagious. Fanni wanted to come visit, but I was afraid that she might carry some of the virus and spread it to her little nephew. So I warned her against it... Adults are usually immune to it too, but there are some that do get it too. Sigh.


But I'm so grateful because even though it was really such a terrible few days, she is finally eating AND drinking properly today. Yipee! =)

Recently I have been feeling really bored. Not sure why either. Been barking alot at Kate too.


On friday, even though no one could meet us, I decided to bring her shopping alone. She has been getting up at 4am,sleeping at 6am, and getting up again at 2pm the previous couple of days. So I refused to let her take her nap that day. I brought her to Jurong Point even though I didn't really feel like it, nor did I have anything to buy other than her ABC flash cards. To my surprise, she was so co-operative, I managed to shop in peace with her for company! I bought 2 tops, a sketchbook for my designs, some jewelry findings and I had a great time just going into every shop looking at stuff. I have never really shopped alone with her before, only before we meet my friends or hubs so I am quite sure that was a first. And it was great. Even though it ended not so well... Because it was friday night and it had been raining non-stop, everyone was waiting for a cab. I have never seen the taxi queue so long before at JP. So I decided to call a cab, but Comfort gave me a non-tone when I called in. And SMRT put me on hold for really long. Desperate, I called dad to ask him to call Comfort for me. After a long half-hour, still no cab. I didn't think of the train til then, so I told Kate that we were gonna take the train and that she had to be good.


And she was! It's not her first time, but I'm usually very apprehensive about taking the train alone with her and the stroller. If she acts up, I don't know how I am gonna carry her and the stroller. On the long walk back to my house, she was also very obedient and sat inside her stroller with the canopy opened overhead. I told her I couldn't carry her and push the stroller - I didn't have the strength so she has to sit and be good. I also told her that it was raining and she had to be good and hide inside her stroller so she won't get wet and she did all of it. I can't tell you how pleased I was with her that day.


She's been trying to string words together recently and whenever she manages to, it makes us all sit up and listen to her. That day she managed to say "I don't want the car!" in her playpen and hubs and I laughed and laughed so hard.


Anyway, I have been thinking about Stella recently. I keep thinking about how she is pregnant and perhaps she would love more company and more supportive people around. But... I wished I could be there for her like she was for me during my pregnancy and even in the first year after Kate was born. No matter how I tell myself that perhaps a friendship like ours isn't worth keeping since it was so easy for us to just break it up in the first place. But no matter how I try, and even after a long time of not thinking about it, it still comes back to me. The wondering how she is, if everything is going right for her. And I hate that. To be frank, I think friends should accept each other as they are, flaws and everything. Even at this point, I know deep down no matter what harsh words were exchanged or said, she will always be my friend. That if she were to open up again, I would too. I don't know why, but honestly she was there more than anybody else and she understood everything. Yea, I miss her.


Thank God for the other people in my life that keeps me sane. Sometimes I wonder what I would do without my other great friends who make an effort to visit me and meet up despite their busy schedules. I suddenly feel like crying again.