On a blogging maternity break

It's been a little over two months since I gave birth to Baby Zee... and also two months since my last blog post. There are so many things I want to write about  but I've been having a challenging recovery from pregnancy...

Baby Zee is 10 weeks old, and I've been sick (we're talking 40-degree fevers, joint pains, headaches) 7 times already - which means I've been sick almost every week! I've been to 3 doctors then on my 7th fever, I heard about Dr. Patricia Kho, who is an internationally-certified lactation consultant. Turns out, I have a recurring case of mastitis. Mastitis is a breast infection that causes swelling and plugs the milk ducts. It's still safe to breastfeed (in fact, it is encouraged) but momma suffers a LOT. It is really, really painful. I had to undergo an uncomfortable breast ultrasound to make sure that the lumps are not something more serious than clumped up milk. Then Dr. Kho gave me antibiotics to fight the recurring infection. 

Then a few days after recovering from my fever, my little dumpling gets sick. He caught a flu bug in school and we are now nursing a 39-degree fever, a cough and a cold. And to make matters worse, I caught his virus, too! Baby Zee is now under isolation in her room while Dumpling and I are fighting this bug. I miss holding my baby girl! We can't go near her because the doctor said what we have is very contagious. The only good thing about this is Dumpling and I get to spend a lot of quality time. But still, it's quite a challenge to take care of a sick, feisty toddler when you're sick yourself.

So please pray for me and my little boy that we get better soon! I promise to write again as soon as we are both back to fighting form - I have so much to tell you!

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you this video clip from the movie "Love Affair". I love, love, love this song. I used to sing this to K when he was Z's age. And now that he's on sick bay, I've been singing this to him again to help him sleep and help him forget about his clogged nose and persistent cough...

Just a quick note to my co-parents: Please, please, please keep your children at home when they are sick, even if it's just a mild cold. Putting other kids at risk is totally not cool. Let's spread love, not germs :)

Kian's First Visit to the Dentist

Toothbrush time is always a challenge with Kian (which is a polite way of saying HE HATES IT!). To make it a wee bit easier and more fun, I got him a toothbrush that lights up while he brushes.

It lights up for a minute so Mommy knows when to stop brushing!

But even with this fun toothbrush, my active toddler would only allow us a few seconds to clean his teeth before he scoots away. And because of this, I've been worrying a lot about his oral hygiene. So yesterday, I brought him to his very first visit to the dentist.

The dental clinic we chose is highly specialized in Pediatric Dentistry. They had a lot of toys for the kids to play with and even 2 flatscreen TVs complete with Sony Playstations in the waiting room! After registering, the assistant told us that Dr. Caparas would like to talk to the us first before they bring in Kian.

Dr. Lourdes Caparas - the best pedia dentist for me!
(photo grabbed from their website) 

When we entered the room, Dr. Caparas greeted us with a warm smile! She asked us a couple of questions - our expectations from the visit, how we currently take care of his teeth, Kian's personality. She went on to explain what will happen when we bring in Kian inside the room. Lots of crying for sure but it's normal. She taught us the best way to help Kian get through this is to show him a confident smile during the entire session and to avoid saying things like, "It's okay! Mommy/Daddy's here! We'll buy you a toy later! It won't hurt I promise"  as this will NOT soothe him and just make him feel more agitated.

It was finally time to bring in the star of the show! He entered the room without hesitation and Dr. Caparas immediately bonded with him. I could tell that Dr. Caparas had a natural way with children. Kian generally isn't fond of doctors but she instantly won him over with her soothing and motherly voice. 

Since it's Kian's first time, Dr. Caparas felt the dental chair might intimidate him so he placed his head on her lap instead while my husband held the other half of his body. He also held Kian's hands for support.

Daddy, am I getting a massage?

Pretty, pretty light!

Oh, and there's a TV in the ceiling! I want that for my room!

Dr. Caparas first applied a special blue ink on Kian's teeth. We should expect to see 3 different colors: areas colored in pink are plaque from that same day, areas colored in purple are plaque from the day before and areas colored in blue are plaque from the 3 days ago. So how did Kian's teeth fare? She said we were doing an OK job of cleaning his teeth but we could do better to ensure we avoid cavities!

Then she began to clean Kian's teeth...

Dr. Caparas showing Kian her special toothbrush.

Cleaning his teeth one by one!
Kian cried but he didn't struggle as much as we expected.

After cleaning Kian's teeth, Dr. Caparas applied a special flouride vitamin on Kian's teeth to make them strong!

And because Kian was such a good sport, Dr. Caparas opened her drawer of goodies and Kian chose his prize! He chose the Angry Birds eraser.

Dr. Caparas also gave him an orange balloon! Dumpling was a happy camper!

Before we left, Dr. Caparas showed us the proper way of brushing Kian's teeth. It should be two teeth at a time, brushing in circular motions (and not side to side). And to make sure all the dirt and grime are removed, we have to wipe down his teeth with a damp gauze or cloth. 

She also told us to use flouride toothpaste (uh-oh, we've been using Orajel flouride-free toothpaste since his first tooth came out!). She explained that flouride-free toothpastes are only for countries who already have flouride in their drinking water (like the US). But here in the Philippines, we have no flouride in our water! And that's why it's important to use flouride to keep our kids' teeth healthy and cavity-free. 

And this is the toothpaste she recommends:

Locally, you can find this in Healthy Options. 
Also sold in Amazon.

Kian says goodbye to Dr. Caparas and gives her a well-deserved high five!

Thanks for not terrorizing me!

Kian so proud of his sparkling pearly whites! Great job, Dumpling! 

How I wish Dr. Caparas would accept adult patients, as well :)

Caparas-Goduco Dental Clinic is located at Active Fun Building 2nd Floor 9th Avenue Corner 28th Street Bonifacio Global City.
For appointments, please call 815-2396 or 816-7957. 
Note: It took us 2 months to get a slot!