Health: Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease

Poor Tiger's caught the Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease (HFMD).

I am having some oral ulcers too but none of the other symptoms. I have been exposed to HFMD constantly in the infectious unit for years which makes it quite unlikely that I may have it.  Although, being pregnant does make my immune system a total wuss.

Given the incubation period 3-5 days, he must have caught it in:

1. Mothercare, Bangsar Shoping Village
OR
2. Toys R Us, KLCC
OR
3. Tweedlewink
OR
4. Mommy

Since Prettichubbi's alright, we can rule out Bangsar. Both his Tweedlewink classmate are also fine.  That means KLCC or Mommy!

Just as his previous two influenza and one roseola infections, he is handling his current ordeal pretty well.
His mouth was probably ulcerated since Wednesday morning as he kept poking it with his fingers and refusing solid food. Then, he developed high-grade fever on Wednesday afternoon but still well enough to play with his ipad =.="

The rashes broke out that night itself, mostly on his feet and palms. By Thursday, the rash had spread to his knees and elbows with several vesicles. Today, the rash is drying up and he is pretty much fever free.

Luckily for me, he is still taking his milk despite the pain. He actually refused Haagen Daaz!
He is still a little monkey, jumping all over and asking for 'school' all the time. So, I have no worries about him developing any life threatening complications such as myocarditis, meningitis, encephalitis or dehyration.

Since HFMD is a viral infection, I just forced him to take lots of fluids and adequate amount of ibuprofen when the fever is >38 C. A little fever is good until it turns your child into a tantrum/whiny monster. Another 5 days till the storm blows over.....

Hopefully, my Little Dragon is alright too but being in mid pregnancy, it is quite unlikely for any malformations/miscarriage. It is also not contagious to Little Dragon as I am not about to push her out anytime soon.

Another bump in the journey of motherhood.



On Day 2 of illness.




Links on HFMD:
I linked the Malaysian guidelines first because outbreaks are commoner in South East Asian countries. Sarawak is famous for the 1997 outbreak.

HFMD Clinical Practice Guideline (MOH)
http://jknns.moh.gov.my/doc/cdc/Hand%20Food%20and%20Mouth%20Deasease%20(HFMD)%20Guidelines.pdf

HFMD Guidelines (Sarawak Health Department): more parent friendly
http://www.sarawak.health.gov.my/hfmd.htm

CDC

 

Pretend Play: Fun With Miniature Dinosaurs

Tiger is afraid of bugs but he LOVES his dinosaurs.

If there is one thing you can buy for little boys, I highly recommend these. He has wild animals, farm animals, sea creatures but these dinos are his everyday playdates.

Here are some of his favourite activities:

Dancing to the Dinosaur Song.

This is one his all time favourite songs.

Stomping with the brachiosauras

 

'Chew' like the trachadon

Arranging his friends on the tray

Spa time with shaving cream

Painting them with blue food colouring mixed in the shaving cream

 Bathing them after the 'spa'

Playing teacher

Tiger's first sensory bin:

Dinosaur bin

We have also painted with them, held mock fights, conversations, etc

Endless possibilities, really



Tot School: O is for Owl/ Bird Week

Tiger's 20.5 months

We did Bird Theme for 2 whole weeks.

By the end of 2nd week, Tiger was saying "NO!" to all the trays.

Tot Trays:

Our Owl/birds tot trays setup here

Dough/free play tray

He loved this tray.

I modelled rolling and shaping the dough into little balls.

Here he was attempting to do the same.

Worksheets:

He was very much into worksheets as well.

So much so, he kept requesting for more!

He really enjoys painting, dotting, scribbling and making a mess!

M&D See & Spell:

He loved this, as usual.

Practiced his phonics, fine motor and independent work.

Mini meltdown:

He he, my bad....

I gave him a 'n' instead of an 'u' for DUCK and it didn't fit!

Bwahahaha....  :p

Sticker/art activity:

A blast!

There is no failing when you give a toddler stickers  ^.^

Oh, when I buy the cheapo stickers (like this one), I just sit back and relax.

These, he can unpeel and stick by himself.

Tangram:

He only played with this once after I demonstrated.

Too advanced for him.

Told me to put it back on the shelf!

An unexpected visitor:

*Mr Spider* on our whiteboard!

Tiger still calls all bugs "kah kah" (It's a chinese thing)

I drew a water spout and we sang 'Incy Wincy Spider' too many times

He requests for the same song whenever it rains.

Sensory Bin:

He did a lot scooping and some pouring this week

Crafty goodness:

We made a bird by recycling McD's drinks carton

Bird Feeder

Bird watching

 

Reading with puppets

Glue and Paste:

Tiger's art.

Can't tell if it is an owl anymore!

Free art activity

Toilet paper tube printing

Painting with different knobbed brushes

Phonics play:

Matching with lowercase sticky alphabets

Teaching by Tiger:

reciting numbers to his pals

We are skipping letters P, Q, R and jumping to Letter T for train/transportation next week.

Linking up to Tot School at 1+1+1=1

Shopping: Mothercare Grandprix Sales

I love Mothercare.

Their clothings are adorable and durable.

Best part is, they carry Melissa and Doug products!!

During sales, most clothings and ELC (early learning centre) are 40% off

M&Ds are 20% off

Members get an extra 10% on the first three days.

The result:

For Tiger:

1. M&D Sort and Snap. (RM 64)

2. M&D Jumbo Cardboard Blocks (RM 129)

3. ELC Lite-up Globe (RM 100)

4. Two shirts (40% off)  

5. Wooden dough design set (40%)

6. Splash mat (50% off)

7. Textured painters (40%)

8. Kumon stick and paste book

9. Liverpool underwear (to wear as shorts!) Daddy say must buy! ^.^

 For mei-mei aka Little Dragon:

Pink madness!

Tiger's fav:

The globe!

It isn't so glaring in real life.

Just nicely lit with cute animals and landmarks.

 "China, Mommy!"

The only country he can identify ;p

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude and love to Mr Hubby...*snicker* .....for putting up with my insane need to relive my childhood/spoil my child.

Little Dragon: 21 weeks

This was my appointment with my gynae last week:

Dr B  : Aaah, 20 weeks. How's everything?
Me    : Great
Dr B  : You have gained 2 kgs. That's good.
Me    : Weak smile
Dr B  : Blood results look fine. A little anemic.
Me    : Hmm hmm
Dr B  : Do you want to know the sex?
Me:   : YES PLEASE!
Dr B  : Parameters are appropriate. Very active.
Me    : (Praying & chanting) No bird bird, no bird bird...
Dr B  : Looks like you are having a girl!
Me    : YEEESSSSS! (with fist pumps and all)
Dr B  : Smiles. 99% a girl
Me    : Raise one eye brow. Huh?
Dr B  : It's a girl
Me    : Stupid grin

Called hubs stat:

Me    : I just had my scan. Baby's fine.
Hubs : Boy or girl?
Me    : Excuse me. That's not the point of the ultrasound. I am not telling yooouuuuu....
Hubs : From your voice, I can tell it's a girl, okay?
Me    : Darn it...

Called mom, called sis, etc

We are having a baby girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited, my brain's gone pink :)

Seriously.

Reading: How To Make A Toddler Read?

If this was an infomercial, it would sound something like this:

• Do you have a feisty toddler who stacks, throws, tears and literally eat books?
• Does your toddler sit down to read together?
• Do you want to know the secret to make your toddler love reading?

Imagine a teary mother wiping her tears and nodding her head in agreement.

Haha! (Silent laugh). Then they make you pay $99.99 for an useless product.

PS: I have never bought anything from TV. Although I really wanted to get the abs buster. Fortunately. as I grow older, I realised that saving my money for a liposuction would be a better option.

I have all the above problems with Tiger (including the desire for the abs buster/liposuction).
On occasions, we will sit together to read a couple of books. NO cuddling allowed. Yeah, snobby kid....
Sometimes, he flips through several books in rapid successions and runs off.
Occasionally he stacks, throws and tears. He no longer chew his books. Thank God!
Sometimes he does't want me to read and prefers his own voice (in high-pitched gibberish, mocking me)

Then I discovered *The Secret* (In no way affliated with Rhonda Bryne)

Hand puppet! Yup, it is that simple. We used it looong ago and I forgot about it. We have a monkey and a tiger and these two are currently my Little Tiger's reading BFF!
He is addicted to reading now, opting to read first before anything else...he he
He makes me put them on before reading.
They also come in handy for singing, clapping (he is in a self-praising phase), high-fives, hugs, etc.


Prove:

Very happy with his monkey...probably because I snort everytime he touches the monkey's nose.

Giving monkey a BIG hug after reading

Putting on the tiger puppet

Reading to monkey!

Why is reading important?

Reading promotes literacy, language development and bonding.

Unfortunately, every child is different. There are children who enjoy reading by flashcards, the so-called prodigies you see on Youtube. Since they enjoy the activity, who is to say no? That's why some of them pick up reading at 9 months old. Their temperament and thirst to learn enabled them to absorb that fast.

Since Tiger abhors doing flashcards at the moment, we are learning by reading, singing and movement. Stuff that he enjoys. I hate forcing him down to do e-flashcards when I can clearly see that he hates the activity. In the end, I feel guilty as sin.

So, this is one of our ways of injecting fun into our daily rhythm.

Resources for reading to toddlers that I LOVE:
1. How to Use Picture Books
2. Zero To Three: Early Literacy & Language

Do you have any other ways in gettting a 20 month old to read? Please share under comments if you do :)

Art & Craft: Simplest Bird Feeder

This craft took approximately 10 minutes.

Stuff needed:

2 CD sticker labels

White tray

Bird seeds

Pipe cleaners

One excited kiddo

It was also an excellent sensory tray..

Tiger enjoyed pushing the seeds around.

He didn't try to eat them but he did scatter them all over the place..

Definitely an outdoor activity!

I demonstrated one side and gave him the other

The finished product!

I attached an old CD between the two sticker sheets for support

and tied them together with a pipe cleaner.

We hung it and waited for the birds...

We are still waiting..hehe

*The Bird Watcher*

 Washing up at the pond while grinning.

He knew he wasn't allowed to do that..monkey face!

Update: I have been informed by dear MIL that the birds have been nibbling off the feeder!

Success!

Messy Play: Sidewalk Chalk

We tried sidewalk chalks last week after I made this purchase.

This box is available at Toy R us for RM39

Each chalk is about the size of a giant marker which makes it more durable than regular chalks.

The colours are heavenly..

This is an optical illusion shot which looked as though Tiger was writing.

Actually, he just doodled all over ^.^

We did this in the evening, so he got distracted by the birds..

"Bird!"

BIRD!!!

Funny boy, still looking for birds...

One of the best ways of learning to read so far..
He definitely enjoyed this more than Little Reader :p

Messy Art: Busy Ball Painting

Thankfully, Grandma went for dental appointment and left me in charge of Tiger on Saturday.

Otherwise, I would have been lazy again..he he

He was terribly excited for 'painting'.

He chose to wear his Thomas bathing suit sans swimming diapers.

I begged and begged for him to put them on but to no avail.

As predicted, within 1 minute, he peed in his bathing suit!

Wakakaka!

He pointed at his pee and shouted "Uh-oh!"

I said, "It's OK..just pee"

He refused to listen and cried...he he

Here's the pee boy after cleaning up :)

I came up with this idea after he picked up a ball in the morning.

I have seen pics of children enjoying marble painting on pinterest and blogs.

Since I am a little scared of him trying to eat the marbles, I opted to use his Playskool busy balls instead.

Instead of a box, we used his small inflable pool to paint on.

It was perfect!

As always, he was more interested in squeezing out the paint than the actual work.

Checking out the 'painted' ball.

I didn't get a shot of us painting as we were rolling the balls back and forth..

I was messy too!

Our art work.

Simple and fun for a lazy Saturday morning..

Then it was off to Kim Gary's for breakfast with Daddy.

^.^

On Sunday, I overslept :p