My Life in Mono...

Tackling Nits and Lice for First Time Mums

Last week, my little girl came into my bedroom telling me that her head it itchy.  I brushed it aside telling her that it might be the summer heat that is making her head sweaty and prickly.  The next day, I noticed that she was constantly scratching her head and that is not usual.  I calmly told her to sit in front of me and with my hair tied back, I scanned her head for confirmation.  HOUSTON WE HAVE A CASE OF NITS AND LICE.  Sigh.  My worst nightmare and pet peeve has come true.  I guess it is a right of passage for school age mums.  In my case, I got it at the end of the "school year", well technically the Lil' Tiger is not in Big School yet but she is in Montessori School and we are on a Christmas to New Year Holiday, which means that she got "infected" by it when she was still IN SCHOOL! 

I had a whole flood of bad memories coming back in my head, having personally dealt with Nits and Lice during my wee years, I remember the ITCH. Owh the itch, the constant scratching and bleeding of the scalp. The smell of the treatment that mum used and my grandma combing my hair with a red double sided fine tooth comb.  I personally hate them with a passion.  

Jumping up and down  trying not to panic, as we were meant to go to the beach that afternoon, my good friend, Kelly, confirmed that we do have the case of Nits and Lice and told me to get to head to the Pharmacist at once to get a bottle of treatment. Now,  although I am all for doing it naturally for my little girl, I was not prepared with how I was feeling that moment.  Panic started to sink in and I wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.  I am thankful for my friend for calmly telling me that everything is okay, all we need to do is treat it and go off on our merry way.  

We got a bottle of Moov Lice Treatment and a metal blue fine tooth comb. Ahhhh the comb.  So we meet again.  We sat down in Kelly's bathroom with the Lil' Tiger and started combing her hair.  It was horrible.  It took me back to the time where I had to do the same.  Poured the treatment on her hair and drove home.  The treatment said that it only takes 10 minutes but I made sure that it stayed on for at least 30 minutes just to be sure that I nuke the little buggers!  

We are now clear of Nits and Lice so I am now on preventative mode.  I will need to treat it one last time before my paranoia will allow me to calm down.  

THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNT SO FAR

1. Remain calm and try not to attempt to burn every linen and clothing items that have been in contact with your child.  Instead, strip the bed down, put everything in the washing machine, wash it in a hot cycle with your usual laundry detergent and add a few drops of Tea Tree essential oil during the last rinse cycle. 
2. Remember, they hate Tea Tree and Lavender Essential Oil. So make them  your best friend during this time of need. These are only used as a preventative measure. Meaning, I would only use them to help me prevent the Lil' Tiger's head from getting them.  If you have an "infestation", I would strongly suggest you get a treatment from the pharmacist as usually the lice would have laid eggs and eggs are a bitch to get rid off. 
3. Now there are two train of thoughts with this but, one train says that Lice do not like dirty hair.  They live and breathe in clean hair.  The tip is to not wash your hair thoroughly every day but do it every other day or wash it during the weekend. This may go against my instinct but they say it works.
4. If your child has long hair, and by long I mean below the ears long, tie it up.  Braid it up and make sure there are no fly aways. This is where you become a ballet mum.  Everything in a nice neat bun, hair clips and HAIR SPRAY! I may or may not send the Lil' Tiger to school in a bun the next time but Hair up and some sort of deterrent hair spray, which I will share in another post, is my first measure. 
5. Call and let the school know.  Don't be a dick and send your child to school with Nits and Lice in their hair.  Once you have confirmed that your child has an "infestation", be the responsible parent and call the school and FOR GOODNESS SAKE TREAT YOUR CHILD! I know of parents who send their child to school sick and this is not the time to be reckless.  Lice spread fast and usually silently as it usually takes at least 6-7 days for an infestation to be detected and by that time it's too late.  So do the right thing and CALL THE SCHOOL.  It is okay to be known as the parent with the child who had lice.  It is not okay to be known as the parent with the child who infected the whole class with Lice! 

 

NATURAL HAIR DETANGLER & CONDITIONER (AKA THE SECRET LICE PREVENTER)

 

I adapted this Natural Hair Detangler & Conditioner from Live Simply to suit my needs.  

Ingredients

• 1 tbs Aloe Vera Gel (make sure it is 100% aloe vera gel.  I use Sukin Brand Aloe Vera Gel)
• 1/2 to 1 tbs vegetable glycerine (you can get them in most pharmacies, health food store or baking stores.  Lil' Tiger's hair is fairly long so I used 1 tbs.  you can half that amount if your hair is short)
• 5 tbs of boiled or distilled water 
• 10 drops of Tea Tree essential oil
• 10 drops of Lavender essential oil
• 10 drops of Peppermint essential oil (this also help repels those pesky buggers)
• small spray bottle

How to

• with a funnel add all the ingredients above in the small spray bottle and shake well. 
• use on damp hair and comb through.
• I have used it on my own hair, again with my paranoia, and it works well just as well. 

I hope to God that you do not have to deal with Lice but I was told that every mum will have to go through it in some form or another.  Now, if you would excuse me, I am off to wash my hair from the treatment.  YES.  I DID IT ON MYSELF AS WELL.  Again, PARANOID ANDROID. 

Have you been through an "infestation"? Share your tips and stories! 

 

So curious...

These photos were taken this time last year.  One thing that has not changed is her curiosity of things around her.  Always wanting to touch, feel and now, ask.

Always willing to give things a go and never shying from wanting to jump from things high up there, while mum sits back and bite her ever diminishing finger nails.

It's memories like these that keeps me going.  As a full time working mum, I know my hours with her are little to none. Sometimes, I come home and she is already ready for bed, sometimes she waits for me to read her a story in bed and say good night.  Owh how I envy stay at home mums.

I can not believe that she is already 3 and I am so proud of her for being who she is.  I love you, Chori.

Redundant..

Lil’ Tiger is growing up really quickly.  I realised the other day that she is gaining her independence and showing me her true personality now and it scares me.  The fact that she is talking and communicating her feelings now is certainly a sign that she is a “big girl now”.  Though part of me relish the fact that my little girl is able to take care of herself now but the other part of me is slowly dying because I am scared that one day, she may not need me anymore and I be made redundant.

The other morning, I was looking for some left over mooncake in our pantry and asking mum, if the ones that we have are red bean flavoured and when mum said there weren’t any left, I pouted and said “Owh well”.  The Lil’ Tiger came up to me and gave me a cuddle and ask “Mummy are you upset?”  I smiled and said “No, because it means that I can eat something else for breakfast.”

I was still in bed last Tuesday morning and the Lil’ Tiger came into my room and said “TADAA!!” and proceeded to twirl around in her dancing dress.  I asked if grandma helped her change out of her pyjamas, “No mummy, I did it myself.  I took my nappy off, put it in the bin and wore my dancing dress, mummy. I’m big girl now, I don’t need grandma to help me change.”

“Mummy, Laura and Kristen (her carers at day care) said I no need ruggy at school anymore, they say only use at home, so I don’t need ruggy in my bag now. I only use at home mummy ok”, she rambled on telling me that how she was a big girl now and she doesn’t need her ruggy, her muslin comforter that she use to hold to sleep every time since she was a baby, her one thing that would only stop her from being upset and the one thing that she needs the most when she needs comfort.  She doesn’t need it anymore, well apart from sleep at night, because she is a big girl.

I know a child, no matter at what age, will always need their mums, but I just can’t help but think that one day, she may not need me anymore and until that day comes, I will welcome any cuddle and kisses that she would allow me to give or have.

Our bike rides

The Lil' Tiger and I love riding our bikes. And why not? We live close to the river and there are heaps of bike trails around for us to explore.  I think this will be one of our monthly if not fortnightly mummy daughter thing to do. 

The Lil' Tiger is of the age where she knows what things are and is curious about other things.  On our bike ride, she always ask me questions from the back of her seat.  "Mummy, what is that?" or  "Mummy look, a truck! Weeee"  I love this stage.  The curious stage.  To see everything again in through her eyes.  To teach her things that I usually take for granteed.  To learn new things with her and to grow up together.  

We usually stop over and take a break at one of the parks on our route.  She loves playing at the park. Slides are her favourite.  Over the past few months, she has learnt how to climbe the stairs and ladder by herself.  She doesn't need me to hold her hands up the stairs or help her up the ladder anymore.  She would go on the slide over and over and over again until I tell her it's time for us to go.  Sometimes, she is happy to go, sometimes not so much.  I will then explain to her that we have to go home because it's getting dark or its lunch time and will give her at least 5 minute as a warning.  I realise if I give her such warning, she will know what is expected ofher and go without a fuss.  That doesn't work some days though, but for now, I will take the positive over the negative.  :)

{ Looking at different types of ducks in the river}

{Always curious about things}

{Observing her surroundings. Taking it all in}

{Weeeeeeee}

Toddler craft: Noise shakers

What do you do when you have to stay indoors because of a heatwave? You make noise shakers of course! All you need is 4 simple things you can find around the house. 

1. Toilet roll. Clean one of course. 
2. Beans. In my case I used split peas. 
3. Duct tape.
4. Scissors. 

Step 1 - Get your child to decorate the toilet roll. We used paint for ours. You can use marker pens or colour pencils. 

 

Step 2 - Use the scissors and cut the duct tape and cover one end of the toilet roll. Make sure you cover it properly. 

Step 3 - Fill the toilet roll 1/3 full and cover the other end of the toilet roll with more duct tape. 

 

Step 4 - Shake it shake shake shake it. Hours and hours of fun. 

{Pixel wanting to get in on the action}

Warning labels for Formula Milk.

Have you read this article?

Basically, a UK based charity wants Formula tins to have Cigarette style health warnings. Are they kidding me? Things like these usually makes me feel a little angry. Ok. Maybe a lot angry.  I mean come on! Cigarette style health warning? What are they going to show on the tin? A super skinny baby with it’s rib bones showing because it’s malnourish because the mother feeds it formula milk? What are they trying to achieve here with warning labels like that? 

As if mother’s who can not breastfeed for a hundred reasons is not feeling guilty enough, now she has to worry about being ashamed for buying formula milk just to feed her baby.  To the other mothers who chose not to breast feed for another hundred reasons, this will make them feel even angrier towards the hoity toity of society that think that all mothers who do not breast feed are bad mothers. You know like how smokers get the stink eye for smoking in public areas from the rest of us who do not smoke. Yeah that.

I was fortunate enough to breastfeed the Lil’ Tiger till she was about 10 months and she was on formula after that.  The 2 months that she was on formula, I got judged from mothers from the street looking at me as if I am feeding my daughter beer or alcohol.  I get asked “Owh, so you are using formula to feed your baby? Have you weaned her that early? Did you try to see if she will take the breast again?”  Yes. I am using formula for my baby because you know she needs to eat.   No I did not wean her that early. She weaned herself off me.  Yes I did try for almost 2 weeks to see if she would take the breast again but time and time again she bit me and refuse to take the breast. She even bit me twice and drew blood.

I hope this article is just there to get people to talk about it and will not come into reality. Owh and also, not to mention comparing cigarettes, which are poisonous to the body, to formula milk, which is beneficial to the baby or so that the baby has some form of nutrients in their body. It's like comparing apples to bleach It just doesn't make any sense.  I was formula fed, I turned out fine.  I know most of you out there were formula fed as well and you turned out brilliantly right?

Yes, I agree that breast is best but sometimes, I think we have to step back and look at the whole situation on why the baby is being formula fed and instead of giving that mum the stink eye, praise and support her for doing what is best for her baby. 

Can someone explain??

Firstly.... Can I ask you to watch this video? All the way. 

 

This is what you see on TV OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN right? You can even see it on Youtube on your phone or on your computer. Pretty normal now a days for images like these to be seen EVERYWHERE right? 

So tell me one thing? WHY does these images / act causes a lot of DRAMA? 

Why can't mothers like these girls breast feed their baby in public without being made like they should be ashamed of it? Can someone please explain to me why is this still a contraversy? Can someone please tell me why we are still debating about this? Why? 

The Lil' Tiger saw these photos (not the video) and she said "Mummy, is that mummy feeding baby milk? Baby is hungry so baby drink milk. " See even my 2 year old child can comprehend that it is about feeding a baby and nothing more. 

P/S: While I understand some mums can't breastfeed, this post is for those who can and were made ashamed by people who feels "uncomfortable" with this simple act. 

{images here, here and here}

Dummy Weaning...

So, we I decided that the Lil' Tiger should stop using the dummy COLD TURKEY. Yep. Cold turkey. I was so sick of her asking her dummy all the freaking time so I said enough is enough. 
When the Lil' Tiger was a baby, we gave her the dummy because she was constantly trying to comfort suck, it was ok while I was on maternity leave, but when I went back to work, it was not an option for her to be with me all the time. So we tried the dummy. She was resistant at first. She kept spitting it out and was restless. Now it's the total opposite. 

I told her since she was moving up to Pre-Kindy soon, she should be a big brave girl and donate her dummy to the babies in the nursery room. She spends most morings in the baby room because the carer, Linda, loves to have her in there. When I told her that we were going to donate it to the babies, she was a little unsure (pictured above) but I made sure that she understands that it is part of growing up.  So the next day, I literally made her give Linda  all her dummies and said that she was such a big girl and she is growing up. She was so happy to give the babies her dummies. 

Getting her to nap was a little difficult at first, she was asking for it over and over again. And over and over again I had to explain that she donated her dummies to the babies, remember? When she remembered, you could see the light in her face saying "owh yeah" and go to sleep. Of course it was not always like that. Some nights she cried and cried and cried asking for her dummy and M and I just explain it to her twice and let her be. We know that she CAN sleep without it. It just takes time for her to comfort herself to sleep without it. She still has her ruggy, which is her baby muslin wraps that she sleeps with, so that is ok. It's not too much of a shock to her system. It's been almost a week now since we started and we are going on fine. 

Next, potty training! I have failed a couple of times but I really want to get this sorted. 

ANY TIPS ON THAT? 

Independence...

Sitting away from me

My little girl is growing up. I know I say this all the time but it's true. With every passing day, she gains a little more confidence and a little more independence from me. It's not a bad thing they say and I know that but it saddnes me a little that she is growing up so quickly and so soon. 

Here is is wanting to sit by herself away from me. I asked her if she wanted to sit next to me to enjoy the band that was playing music and she flat out said "No mummy, Tiger sit alone there". I was shocked. She rarely ventures out on her in public but saying that, I am proud of her that she is a little brave to be on her own. 

She likes to do things on by herself as well. After a meal, she clears her own plates and ask if she could wash her hands in the bathroom sink (I knew daycare was good for something). She also wants to put her own dirty clothes in the hamper and her dirty nappy in the bin all on her own. She refuses to let me feed her anymore. *sigh* 

You may be asking why am I sighing. I am not sure really. Maybe it's because I am scared that she no longer need me in her daily life anymore. Maybe it's because I have the need to be needed by someone all the time. I need to take care of something all the time and if my baby grows up, who am I suppose to take care of now? 

The only thing I can do now is give her the independence she needs and tell her over and over again that I love her and she can always come to me if she needs me for anything. They say that if you really love something, set it free and if its meant to be it will always come back to you right? RIGHT? 

DO YOU HAVE TROUBLE LETTING GO?

 

 

First Bike Ride...

I just found these photos on my computer and I thought I would share this beautiful moment I shared with the Lil' Tiger. These photos were taken in March of this year when we went out on our first bike ride. I did't know how she would react to the bike but she enjoyed it so much she was laughing and telling me to look at things during our 2 hour ride. It is something that I will never forget and I hope to do share more moments like these with her. 

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH YOUR LOVED ONE LATELY? MIND SHARING THEM WITH ME?