Caitlin has bad tooth enamel that encourages decay

The dentist told me that Caitlin's tooth enamel were badly formed, that is why she gets cavities easily. Badly formed enamel already has lots of pits that trap food. Sigh.

What we can do now is to brush her teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and at night, we let the toothpaste with fluoride remain on her teeth, and dap a bit of fluoride toothpaste on the cavities. And also, we have to wean her off the night feeds (she can't have fluoride on her teeth and then drink milk right?) which I have already done when I found out that she has so many cavities. Fluoride therapy, the dentist said, would delay the progression of decay until she is old enough to go through the procedure for filling. The brown spots will not go away but will not get deeper, and some beginning decay may remineralise.

Badly formed enamel... that never happened to Kieran. He has nice teeth although two of his molars had decay which were filled. Being experienced with dealing with tooth decay with my older child, I was very diligent with brushing and cleaning of teeth for Caitlin, my second born, so why does the decay still happen? Why was her enamel so weak and badly formed? I'm agonising over these questions. So I did some research.

Breastfeeding mothers does not need to rush to wean their babies off night feeds to prevent decay. In fact research has shown that breast milk can protect baby's teeth from decay. Unfortunately, research has also shown that night nursing exacerbates decay if baby already has cavities. A lot of factors goes into baby tooth decay. It could be genetics, medications mother took while pregnant and affected the formation of baby teeth, mother's health while pregnant with baby, presence of bacteria that caused the decay (the sugar bugs) and of course parents' diligence in brushing and taking care of babies' teeth. I've read that antibiotics caused weak tooth enamel. I'm avoiding antibiotics for my kids unless absolutely necessary. I had a very serious episode of stomach flu that required hospitalisation and strong medication while I was 8 weeks pregnant with Caitlin and I thought that might be the reason for her badly formed enamel. Every time I brush her teeth, or see her smile, and see those cavities, I say sorry to her. I'll take extra good care of her teeth now. I hope she won't have to go through too extreme restorative dentistry work that requires GA, and I certainly pray this won't affect her permanent adult teeth.

Read more about weak tooth enamel here.

Caitlin's baby bottle caries?

I'm wondering whether Caitlin has baby bottle caries? After discovering a brown spot on her front teeth (and even before), I've been very diligently brushing her teeth. As soon as she know how to spit out water after rinsing her mouth, I am using a fluoride toothpaste on her twice a day. I have high hopes that her condition will get better and the problematic areas will remineralise. But I was wrong! She had a few more cavities lately! I noticed brown spots on the two upper molars (she only has two upper molars now), and a very obvious cavity on one of the front teeth, and both lateral incisors have one brown spot in front and one brown spot behind and a developing small spot in front! A total of 5 teeth affected! All the brown spots are on the upper set of teeth and her lower set of teeth are cavity free and gleaming white. I read online that THIS means it is baby bottle caries or early childhood caries. But you know what is most ironic about it? She does NOT take a bottle at all! Caitlin is a TBF baby, a TOTAL BREASTFED BABY! So how did this baby bottle caries come about?!

I'm so perplexed. I have read many articles that said nursing baby to sleep is not linked to childhood teeth decay. And yet my breastfed baby has baby bottle caries. I must also say that she probably has the bacteria from her older brother who had cavities treated earlier on. But I thought breastmilk is supposed to have anti-bacteria property? This is worrying me to death and I do not want my daughter to have decayed teeth that will cause her pain and embarrassment later in her childhood. I definitely want to help her remedy the situation NOW. But the problem is how? Must I really quit the night nursing? Nursing to sleep is a die-hard habit for her. I tried to get her to sleep without nursing and she cried her heads off. She's a very headstrong girl. She usually needs to feed once or twice in the middle of the night too. After yesterday's failure, hubby and I thought we'll just continue to nurse her and we'll see the dentist on Tuesday to see what we can do for her. Today, I tried something else. I have got this baby toothpaste that has Xylitol (bacteria fighting sugar found in some toothpaste) that is safe to swallow. So after she fell into deep sleep, I put a smear of the toothpaste on her toothbrush and brushed her teeth. She sucked a bit and then went back to sleep. I dunno if this works in the long term. If I have to wake up to brush her teeth every time after she wake up to nurse and then fall back to sleep, I will do it if it means my daughter's teeth will be protected. I can't reach all the teeth with this method but at least the front ones will be brushed.

Sigh. A mother has endless worries.

I feel so frustrated and beaten because I followed expert advices and did so much for my children, and yet problems cannot be avoided. I'm a really sad and worried mummy. As much as possible I would love to avoid the GA option. I can't bear to see my child go through the risk and the operation. Little Caitlin is not calm and composed like her brother. She screams her head off when we step into the doctor's office, before the doctor even touch her. At the dentist, I don't know what will happen.

Please God, please let my daughter be cooperative and please let her be well!

On the brighter side, Kieran's teeth have since been cavity-free and shining. I made sure I brush his teeth after breakfast, lunch and before sleep, and always floss them clean before bedtime.

iHerb shopping!

I just shopped on iHerb again! I recently added myself into an I love Daiso group on Facebook and some of the daiso fans there are really hard core! They can wipe out the egg timers in Daiso island wide, and went into Daiso with empty cart and came out with $200+ worth of items. 真是甘拜下風！I wonder whether there's an iHerb shopping group to add myself to on Facebook? I spend more on iHerb than on any brick and mortar store. Haha!

I found out that iHerb has a personalised page for shoppers! Check out my page here: http://www.iherb.com/me/ngsuqi

I love to shop for cruelty free and eco-friendly household items, shampoos, organic baby or children's snacks, health supplements and essential oils. It is thrilling to receive the items on my doorstep and open up the boxes to welcome my spoils. I use Singpost for the free shipping but the downside to this is if you are not at home when the delivery man comes, they will send the box to the nearest post office for you to collect. If my items are not too heavy, I'm fine with it since the nearest post office to me isn't very far away.

If you are a first time buyer on iHerb, use discount code RBZ415 to get $10 off your purchase!

Mothering

The thing about being a mother is that we are always worrying about our children. I have been telling myself to relax but I really can't. If my child shows a slight indiction that he may be developing a fever, I will panic, and if my child gets a tooth cavity, I will see it as an indication that I am a bad mother, that I haven't been taking good care of the children. Care for the children is never enough. There's always more to be done, more to do, more to perfect, and so on.

Top items in my worry list are now Caitlin's front teeth cavity and Kieran's phonics. I'm trying to see if I can help her teeth remineralise by giving her the appropriate vitamins and starting her on fluoride and xylitol brushing since she now can spit out after gargling. Caitlin is a stubborn and fiery little one. Getting her to accept me brushing her teeth is like fighting a battle with her. I have found a way to get her to cooperate a little bit more, which is to let her watch an iPhone app of a cute panda brushing his teeth and then gargling. I can set the brushing timer to as long as I like. She finds it interesting and often laughs at the silly panda, so I place the phone with the app running in front of the wash basin and coax her into brushing. If she struggles, then well, I have to keep brushing despite her cries. It's sad to see her struggling twice or thrice (sometimes I brush her teeth in the afternoons if we are not outside) everyday during toothbrushing but that is better then seeing more cavities on her teeth. She has about 5 small but noticeable ones on the front teeth. The back molars look alright and all of her lower set of teeth are nice. I don't know how the decay only happens on the front ones.

Kieran is now learning very fast and to help him absorb the good stuff, I'm reading a lot to him, teaching him to recognise simple Chinese words, and to learn to write simple letters and strokes. He's progressing at a snail speed but at least there's progress and he won't go to Kindergarten next year not knowing anything. I'm also teaching him phonics myself using this teaching tool: The ordinary parent's guide to teaching reading. There's an audio companion which I borrowed from the library. While teaching, I also learn valuable lessons on phonics. I'm convinced that phonics help young children read better, and he has to read, otherwise he can't even understand math problems at Primary One. If he don't finish learning phonics by K1, he will confuse it with Han Yu Pin Yin that he will learn in K2.

So being a mother, we have no time to relax. My favourite way to "relax" is sipping hot, bitter-sweet black tea in a cooling air conditioned room, away from the suffocating heat in the rest of the house, and temporarily away from that forever "Mama! Mama!". Sweet black tea works wonder for my soul. 苦中作樂，因為人生就是甜中帶苦，苦中帶甜。

Swollen Eye

Poor little Caitlin has a swollen eye! I was shocked to see that she woke up one morning and one eye was red and swollen. I brought her to the GP downstairs who prescribed antibiotic, and constantly assured me, the anxious, worried and frightened mother, that she do not need any eye drop or wash. So I gave her two doses of the antibiotic that day (once in morning and once at night) but the next day, the swelling got worse. The upper and lower eyelids were so swollen that her eye look permanently shut! So we went to the GP again who referred her to KKH.

Here's the answers I got from the doctor at KKH.

• It's not contagious.
• It's an infection of the eyelid, most likely due to her excessive rubbing of the eye when there is a broken skin on the lid. He suspected the broken skin is due to insect bite, mosquito or something else.
• It should get better in two days. If not, we have to go back to the eye clinic. We were given an appointment in case we need to return.
• Caitlin has a stubbornness to reject medicine and spit it out while we feed it to her. So if she continue to reject the medicine and the swelling persists, she has to be admitted to hospital and be put on drip.

So when we come home, hubby changed the bed sheet and vacuumed the bed. Maybe she was bitten by an insect while she was sleeping, maybe not, but we are not taking any chances! I just mopped the floor with tea tree essential oil yesterday. Every night starting from yesterday night, I diffuse lavender essential oil to ward off the mosquitoes and hope we all enjoy a better sleep.

The experience at KKH was quite good. The waiting time was long but the process seamless. There was a flat charge of $103 for children emergency cases that included doctor's consultation, blood test, urine test, medicine etc. But when I was purchasing the medicine from the pharmacy, I was told that I have to pay for the amoxicillin antibiotic as it is not a standard drug. Standard drugs, like paracetamol, are free. I hope more drugs can be subsidised. This could make a big difference to low income families.

Pray hard that Caitlin get well soon!

一家人在一起才幸福

Very emo today because hubby isn't around these few days.

I'm used to having us together as a family. Like Kieran said, "一家人在一起才幸福."

I will take this chance to clean up the house and make sure everything is neat before hubby return home.

The happiest moment of my day is at night, when I have gotten the kids ready for bed, teeth brushed, clothes changed, and we tumble around together on our big family bed. Two days ago, I stayed over at my parents' place and it just didn't feel right. I refused to stay over tonight at my parents' house after a relative's wedding dinner banquet. Here at home, our cozy bedroom is our paradise, our natural habitat, and I'd love to cuddle the children, nurse my little Mei mei, throw bolster missiles at Kieran, tell them bedtime stories and give them more cuddles before it's lights out and kiss good night. They snuggle in close to me as they drift off to sleep. Sounds like a mother bear snuggling in a den with her baby cubs?

That is what 幸福 is about.

Kieran, 3 year old

Kieran is 3 year old and he is very active, smart, cheeky and happy.
He actually can tell me, "爸爸去哪裡？我很想爸爸。我們一家人在一起才幸福嘛。"
Once he spoilt my iPhone cover and he knew he was wrong. He said "Mummy, I'm so sorry. 我弄壞你的東西。"
Makes my heart melt when he said it! We don't know where he learn to say such things from!

I am teaching him some basics of writing, reading, alphabets in capital letters and small letters, 1-10, and some chinese words.

We do bread making together.

We do painting together.

Everyday, when the weather is fine, we go to the playground together.

We do lots of fun together!

Caitlin, 20 months

The problem with his little toddler is that she is super clingy to me. I'm her source of comfort and food which never fails to sooth her day or night, on demand at any time whenever I'm in her sight. So as long as she sees me, she will fuss for "Ma ma! Ma ma! Milk!" Sigh. My parents said that when I leave her with them, she is totally a perfect little angel, she will play by herself, play with her gor gor and she won't cry and fuss.

Speech Milestones:

She can speak a lot of words now.
She can call everybody in the family including "gu po" and "ye ye".
She can tell people what she wants and what she doesn't. Boy, she's very obstinate on what she thinks is right! A typical conversation goes like this:

Mummy points to picture of a camel and says, "Mei mei, camel!"
Caitlin shakes head in disagreement, "Horse!"
Mummy says, "No, camel."
Caitlin says, "horse!"
Mummy says, "Camel."
Caitlin stamps her feet and shouts, "Horse!"
Mummy says, "Ok, horse."
Caitlin nods, "Horse."

The same goes for duck and goose (I say goose, she says duck when it's obviously a goose!).
When gor gor snatches her things or shouts at her, she looks pitiful, points at him and complains to me "Gor gor! Gor gor!"

She likes to use her sweet girly voice to say "Share share?" whenever Kieran disallow her to play with his toys or when I disallow her to play with my iPhone. Very smart girl. The sweet voice and cute face just melt your heart and make you so incline to say yes.

Physical Milestones:

She's rather petite but she's within the normal weight and height range, and she looks chubby. So we are not worried.
She can climb up the playground slide, ladder, anything with little assistance. Very agile and active. Kieran wasn't as brave and agile at her age.Caitlin rushes to the playground and squeal in delight. Kieran would look fearful and stand by to observe before he decides its safe to climb up the playground ladder.

Founding Father of Singapore passed away

Today, the founding father of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew passed away.

Just want to mark this day in my blog. It will be a day to remember - 23 March 2015.

Too bad he could not see the SG50 celebration this National Day. But I think it is good that a person leave without suffering too many years of confinement in bed, pain and discomfort. My paternal grandmother left one day suddenly without being confined in bed for long. My maternal grandmother lived a longer life but she was bedridden for many years. I guess less suffering is good for both the deceased and the family members. I wonder whether the government will mark this day as a National mourning day every year?

CNY 2015

Chinese New Year 2015 had been a busy and fun period for us. Thankfully, the kids did not get sick. We were very strict on their new year goodies quota for every house visit, and we keep those goodies out of their sight at home. Also, lots of water everyday. Regular home cooked healthy food everyday, no slacking off even during festive season. We would bring home cooked porridge in tumbler to restaurants if we need to eat out.

The kids on CNY Day 1

Family photo!

Now is the busy time for Kindergarten registration. I am hoping to enrol Kieran in PCF and MOE Kindergarten near by but unfortunately, the vacancies are limited. I'm looking at a new My First Skool Kindergarten at Compassvale, PCF at 303A, PCF at Punggol Plaza, and MOE Kindergarten at Punggol View. If he couldn't get into any of these, we might have to look at private kindergartens that are much more expensive and located further away which might be inconvenient. 

Caring for children's teeth

I'm just sharing some tips by the paediatric dentist on caring for the preschooler's teeth:

• Bring the child to see the dentist when she is young (some recommend when the first teeth sprout) to get her used to seeing one, so that when she needs cleaning or treatment done later on, she's not so afraid. I started bringing Kieran for dental visits when he was two years old. I was a bit late. Many started at one year old or younger.
• Brush the child's teeth three times a day. By this time, the child will have all his baby teeth. And he would have learnt how to spit out water after gargling. So you can brush with a fluoride toothpaste. 
• Use an adult strength fluoride toothpaste. The dentist recommended one with 1400ppm (the strength of fluoride in the toothpaste). We bought one with tutti fruitti flavour at 1350ppm, which is close enough. The fluoride will help to re-calcify the enamel if food/acid/juices decalcify it. This prevents decay. Kieran will not use an adult's toothpaste because of the mint.
• Floss the teeth which are close and tight together as trapped food will cause decay. Kieran's teeth have tiny spaces in between them which the dentist say is great because these are spaces for adult teeth to come in. That is good news for us because it means we only need to floss between those teeth that are tight together which is between the molars and between the two front teeth, total of 5 times.
• Floss at least once at night. I floss whenever his teeth trap food which is after every meals. But then I'm a SAH(Paranoid)M so it's my prerogative. Haha!
• Reduce teeth contact with food/milk/juices. Kieran usually had a bottle of milk to sip throughout the morning. I changed it to lesser amount of milk so that he can finish the milk quickly and brush his teeth. He also took very long to finish his meals so now I time him and coax him to finish his meals within an hour. He has some vitamin gummy bears a few times a week. I let him eat them before lunch, then the sweet stuff will be chomped away while he eat his lunch, and then brushed away after lunch. I also reduced his intake of sugary drinks when we go out. I used to buy him yakult or strawberry milk or fruit juices to drink while he's on the stroller. Now he drinks plain water and he only have these sweet stuff occasionally after meals and then brush after drinking it.

The paediatric dentist said his mouth and gum shape is very good and is genetically determined for a nice set of adult teeth. I hope this means no need for braces. He must have gotten the good genes from his daddy. Hubby has a beautiful set of teeth that look like you know the silhouette logo you see on 黑人牙膏 packaging? Haha!

Now, I'd also like to share some tips from another dentist on getting the preschooler to fill his teeth:

• Prepare him for the treatment. Talk to him about it, show him videos about filling teeth. Tell him that it will be quick and painless (which is true, contrary to what we believe! No, Kieran does not need local anaesthesia at all for his filling. But then again that's because his cavity was shallow. If your child needs a root canal, it will be a different story.)
• Get the calmer parent, and the parent whom the child is less attached to to accompany him into the dentist's room. In my case, it is the daddy. Kieran fussed to see mummy and the dentist and daddy said he could very soon if he will be cooperative. Daddy won't give in to his cries and whims, unlike me! So this is a very good decision, to let Daddy go in for treatment with him.
• When you bring the child for his first visit, let him get used to seeing the dentist and build a rapport with her, and let her do some less scary treatments like cleaning and polishing and checking the teeth. This also allows the child to not be afraid of lying down on the dentist's chair.
• The dentist's clinic has a computer on top that lets him watch cartoons on youtube while she fills his teeth so that's a very good distraction.
• Give a small toy as reward to the child for being brave after he has done his treatment. Kieran has been saying that he wants a doctor's toy set so we got it for him and passed it secretly to the dentist, and the dentist said she will give it to him after he gets his tooth cavity cleaned and filled. He was allowed to hug the toy while she filled his teeth.

I am so happy to see the black spot on his tooth replaced with nice white composite filling. Kieran hated brushing his teeth like all preschoolers but it's our job as parents to make sure he gets his teeth clean no matter how much he hates it. Clean teeth means no toothache, no heart pain, no anxiety and no need to worry about coaxing the child to do dental treatment, and of course, less money spent.

I noticed some greyish spots on his teeth but I guess decalcification has already taken place on some molar crevices, so I'm extra vigilant. Even if it's the festive period now and sugary temptations are everywhere, there can be no slacking off the brushing and flossing for mummy and daddy.

Kieran's cavity is filled!

Kieran's dental appointment went fantastically well! I was so happy that I finally can eat and sleep without worrying!

At the dentist's advice, daddy went into the dentist's room with Kieran instead of me. Both daddy and the dentist were pretty strict with Kieran. I heard him cry for mummy and my heart broke but my nerves were racking and it really was better for me to stay outside. My anxiety could scare Kieran. Amazingly, in 5 minutes, I heard the dentist praising Kieran because the cavity has been filled! I was so happy outside the dentist's room that I almost cried tears of joy. This means no more GA! No more dental surgery that puts my dear son at risk!

There is another cavity at the side of his molar, in between both molars but the dentist say it's too small for her to place the excavator in to dig in and she will review him next month to see if the cavity has grown big enough for her to dig. If it is still small by then, he only has to do it when he's older. Meanwhile, we floss and brush well for him.

That left hubby and I wondering why the paediatric dentist we brought Kieran to earlier on said he must do the fillings by GA when one cavity could be filled so easily? Another puzzling thing is the paediatric dentist said she will fill both larger cavities at the molars as well as other 5 smaller cavities (which the dentist who filled his teeth said are not cavities), and also put sealants on all his molar crevices, and this process will take 1.5 hour and of course charge us doctor's fee for 1.5 hour which comes up to a thousand plus! But one cavity could be filled in 5 minutes for a child who is awake and requires coaxing. If the child is not even struggling, I bet she could do it in 2 minutes. So why the 1.5hour huh?

Anyway, we have decided that he does not need the GA. But we have stupidly paid the doctor's fee at the clinic to secure a date for the GA, so we need to get the refund back from the paediatric dentist's clinic. I called earlier and the clerk said if we decided not to go ahead, we can get a refund. I don't know whether they will honour their words? I certainly hope so because it is expensive!

The lesson learnt? Always always always get a second opinion. Never rush into making decisions.

And a more important lesson: always brush and floss your child's teeth very DILIGENTLY three times a day, morning, afternoon and night, especially at night before bedtime. That could save you and your child lots of pain!

For tips on caring for your preschooler's teeth, see my blog post here.

Paranoid Mom Syndrome

Ok, is there such a syndrome actually? The Paranoid Mom Syndrome?

I am one of those paranoid moms. Ultra paranoid. I really can't explain it fully at this time since I recently just gave a name to this range of emotions, behaviours and thoughts that I have been experiencing and displaying lately.

My family just recovered from a bad bad flu with Kieran down with febrile fit right in my arms few weeks ago! It was damn scary even though I knew most likely he's not going to die. It was terrible to see it happen to your child.

The paediatric dentist suggested putting Kieran under GA to fill his teeth. He has two cavities, one on top and one at the side of two different molars. BUT GA?!!! It scared the hell out of me and I was a nervous wreck, I couldn't eat and sleep well for days thinking about it and I became so paranoid of him getting cavities that if he ate and I haven't brush his teeth yet, my thoughts are overwhelmed with nothing but paranoia about the germs eating away at his teeth. All his teeth.

It was 3.30am and I have just finished writing and submitting an article. Baby Caitlin is crying for milk. I hope all will be well tomorrow for Kieran's second dental appointment. I am scared.

17 months and still latching on!

My little boy at 17 months old used to hold my hand and guide me into a room, saying "Walk nat, walk nat, walk nat..." when he wanted to latch on to drink milk milk.

My little girl at 17 months is now holding my hand and guide me into a room, saying "Milk, milk, milk..."

Super cute, these two little ones!!!

Caitlin is reaching the toddler milestone in a month's time, and she is very healthy, very active, talking a lot more words now, and she has been saying "milk" all day, demanding to be latched on.

Book Review: Chasing Windmills

I've taken to reading novels again and I'm going to share my review for this awesome book that I borrowed from the Public Library.

Chasing Windmills by Catherine Ryan Hyde

This book writes in the perspectives of Sebestian, a 17 year old boy living in the shadows of his strict father who showed no love, and of Maria, a 22 year old mother of two children, 7 year old C.J. and 2 year old Natalie, and wife of an abusive husband whom she had endured several violent episodes for seven years.

The story was so engaging that I couldn't put the book down even though it was way pass bedtime. The characters met on the Subway at night, where they travelled to escape from something and someone in their lives. The author's descriptions of their feelings, their thoughts and the way they look and behave paint such a realistic picture of those characters in my mind that it is almost like I am seeing the story unfold before my eyes.

Sebastian made friend with a wise old lady named Delilah. What she said in one chapter stayed with me,

"If I was unhappy like you are now, here's what I'd do. Now just listen and try to take this in. Might not make much sense when it first hits your ears. When life just cuts me to ribbons and bloodies me and knocks me down, I go out of doors into nature. Now that's gonna be hard for you, where you live. If you could get to the ocean, that would be great. But I don't guess you can. But, you know, even the stars are good enough. Except, I suppose you don't see many stars in the city, because the city lights wash 'em out. But I guess you see some don't you? And even if you don't, there's the moon. The moon'll do. See, you're looking for something that's not man-made. And you won't get it indoors. Everything indoors we invented. No bigger powers involved. but we didn't make the stars not the moon. Or the trees or oceans or rivers, and we never could. Never will. That's how come you know somethings's bigger's at work. So look at the proof of something big. Breathe it in. And then here's what you say, "Thank for my life."

I just sat there, slumped on the couch. Confused. The kettle started to whistle, and she got up to tend to it.

"Why? Why would you say that if you're so miserable?"
"That's exactly why. Because you're miserable. It's like, if you love somebody. When they hurt you or let you down, you let ' em know you still love them. That's called unconditional love. Anybody can love somebody when they're making you happy. That requires no special talent. That's also how most people do it. But when get a little wiser, you know you got to love somebody with all their faults. So, if you can do that with a person, what about your own life? This is like unconditional love for your own life."

I could hear the ice cracking and popping as she poured hot tea over it.

"And then, after I say thank you my life, then what?"
"Then you keep going. Keep living. You wake up every day and get dressed and brush your teeth and see what life has in mind for you next."

I wondered if, when I looked at Maria tomorrow night, I could love her in spite of Carl. Which let's face it, was a pretty big fault.
I guess the better question was, could I stop loving her because of it?
In other words, did I really have any options?

When life throws stones at me, I will take Delilah's advice. Thank you, Catherine Ryan Hyde for making the world a more beautiful place with this novel.

Booking Dental Appointments

Kieran has a cavity on this molar for quite some time. And we have to get it fixed asap.

Recently, to our horror, I found out that Caitlin also has one cavity on her front teeth.

I did some research and we have two choices, School Dental Clinic at Health Promotion Board and Dr Ong Yean Sze's Kids Dental World at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital. I don't think SDC treats Caitlin since they treat preschoolers. And since Kieran has a cavity, I think its better to go for a paediatric dentist who is well known for her skills with young children. I'm so frightened that I really hope hubby can come with me to the dentist's visit with me and Kieran. We booked the appointment date two weeks later. They actually have an available slot tomorrow at 3pm but I was afraid that Kieran can be very cranky since its afternoon after his lunch. Caitlin's appointment is in Feb, before Chinese New Year. I hope that they will be very cooperative during the visit and I hope his cavity can be filled without much trouble, without the need for GA or anything.

Simply calling the dental clinic makes me all nervous. I hope I didn't take that cup of tea this morning. It makes me more anxious and jumpy.

Rabbit Babies Gathering

The Rabbit Babies had a gathering at my friend Leevin's house last Sunday. We had a gathering whenever our friend Sharon and Jerry are back from Poland. The Rabbit Babies are called "Rabbit Babies" because they are all born in the year of the Rabbit (Chinese Astrology). They are Jasper, Kieran, Xin Ning and Jodi, children of Sharon, Leevin, Yan Ping and me. Because we were pregnant at around the same time and will give birth at around the same time, we formed a close knitted support group that see each other through our breastfeeding struggles, relationship stresses and parenting woos. This friendship will last a long time!

The Babies and the Mummies

(from left to right) Yan Ping hugging Xin Ning, Leevin carrying Jovan and Jodi on her lap, Sharon holding Jasper and Jeanette (our latest member!), and Suqi hugging Kieran and Caitlin.

Missing in the picture is pretty little Xin Yi (Xin Ning's 5 year old sister) who is present but doesn't want to be in the picture.

The children had lots of fun indeed and the parents enjoyed a lot too. We look forward to every gathering!

Finally visited Jia Jia & Kai Kai!

On the first day of 2015, we brought the kids to see Kieran's favourite Panda at River Safari. Mei mei was excited and called them "Da!" for Panda. Kieran was intrigued by all the animals at the River Safari and he was especially excited when we went for the river cruise (boring for us adults but not for kids coz it's Kieran's first boat ride, not counting the one we had in San Francisco because he was sleeping throughout). I smiled at the excitedly jumping up and down, giggling and smiling little Kieran as he went to board the boat with us.

Pictures below!

Cute Kai Kai!

The Red Pandas

Caitlin saying "I want!"

Panda Bao (Cost $3!)

On the River Cruise

Happy Kieran on River Cruise

Little explorer using his binoculars to see the far away animals (yes, they are ahem really very far away. One reason why the boat ride is damn lame)

Piranhas with it's beautiful shining scales

I do like Zoo trips for the fun and education they provide but we really need to rethink whether it is necessary to enclose animals for our viewing pleasure. I am alright if the animal is bred in the Zoo but if the animal has been captured and taken rudely from it's lovely native home in the wild, it doesn't seem so good, especially if the Zoo enclosure is so small. I noticed that the Red Pandas are prancing around. I don't know if this is a typical red panda behaviour or whether it is a behaviour caused by extreme boredom due to lack of space and freedom. Some of the marine animals have small enclosures, and those Giant Arowanas and Sting Rays, although they have large tanks to swim in, it must be boring and small compared to the ocean they once roam (assuming they are from the wild). After reading this article "9 Reasons Why Fish Are Really Sad ‘Pets’", it makes me think twice about keeping fish in enclosures. After all, they are sensitive and social creatures too.

For parents who want to bring the children to see the Pandas, do remember to bring jackets for them and yourselves because the Panda enclosure is freeeeeezing! Oh, and remind them to be very quiet when they are inside because Jia Jia and Kai Kai will hide and not come out to play when they are frightened by loud noises.