Sick babies continued - 29 October

The boy still do not feel too well.

After we returned from the International SOS clinic, Cameron went straight to bed. But he woke up so often because he could not sleep well due to his blocked / runny nose. He could not sleep, unless being carried upright. Even then, he couldn't sleep for a long time. Lester carried him til 3am, while I took care of Cayden. I took Cameron over from 3am and it was tough. I slept with him lying on my chest, on my shoulders while I sat up straight. In the end, I put him on the rocker and rocked him while I layed next to him on the floor. This lasted til 6.30am. Rough night.

Cayden also had fitful sleeps. He constantly woke up coughing and crying. Both Lester & I did not sleep the entire night.

During the day, Cayden was seemingly worse. He was lethargic, & slept & watched TV most of the day. He ate very little too. Cameron was better. His fever went down and after talking to my PD, I gave him Prospan for his cough and he was better. His nose was still runny, but it was starting to get green, so its a sign of improvement.

My PD asked why treatment was not given since they were suspected of having H1N1. I told her that baiscally we were turned away by International SOS clinic. She told me to give them either Tamiflu or Methisoprinol. I couldn't find it in Mongolia so we made arrangements for Lester's office to pick up the meds and send it via DHL. It was sent out immediately.

Thurs night was better, but not too good. Cameron slept til 2am and woke up crying. We gave him milk and he took 90ml. He had a fever, so I gave him infant Panado. He spit out most of it. He slept til 4am and woke up crying. Gave him water which he took, but not milk. He also had no voice, so his cry was like a whimper. Crying like a little kitten.

Cayden was woken up at 2am to take his antibiotics. He was better when he woke up in the morning.

International SOS Clinic Mongolia

It has been a rough 3 days & 2 nights.

On Tuesday, the boys did not get better, in fact, they got worse as the day progressed. I continued to give them their medicines. Cameron, for his fever, and Cayden for his fever & cough.

On Wednesday, the boys were really sick. I made an appointment at the International SOS clinic for Thursday, as the pediatrician was only on duty on Thursday afteroon. Cayden was lethergic, still had fever, had no appeitite and was coughing. He took a long nap in the afternoon. Cameron started to have runny nose and he was so grumpy. His fever also spiked up to 39.4 degrees c at about 3pm in the afternoon. I decided not to wait and went to the clinic to see the GP. Afterall, Cameron needed some medicine for his nose and cough, so that he can sleep better at night.

Who knows, this was a bad decision. After we reached the clinic, the nurse stopped us at the entrance and took our temperature. Because the boys had high temperature of about 39 degrees, they stopped us from entering the clinic. We had to wait outside (in the cold!) and put masks on us. Then they instructed us to drive our car to the back of the clinic and enter a room. We had to have nose swabs taken to be tested for H1N1. This really scared Cayden and he was really clingy to me. I was feeling confident that they would not be tested positive for H1N1, as we had not been out of the house at all, since Cayden sprained his foot.

During the wait, the nurse came in with Neurofen. She wanted to give them both. I was comfortable with them giving Cayden coz he had it before. But for Cameron, I was more apprehensive. I wanted to be sure that the dosage was correct. She wanted to give him 2.5ml (according to the dosage on the box) but I refused! It stated 2.5ml for babies 6months to 12 months. But Cameron is only 7 months. Also, don't they have to check the weight of the baby and determine the dosage??? She consulted the doc again said it was ok. I had no choice. (For the records, I checked with my PD. The 2.5ml dosage is too high for Cameron. He should only be taking 1.5ml at most. And also she told me to avoid Neurofen if possible coz its too strong for him).

After 30 min of waiting,  they told us that they boys tested positive for H1N1 so they have to send us to the Centre of Infectious Diseases to do more testing. (as International SOS clinic do not treat infectious diseases). The test the clinic did is only 75% accurate. I was livid! It seemed like we had no choice and had to go. So off we went to the centre in an ambulance. I called Lester and updated him, so he also made his way down to the centre from his office. We discussed that if it was confirmed, we do not want the kids to be treated in Mongolia. We will air-evac the kids out to Korea or Singapore.

When we reached the centre of Infectious Diseases, we had to wait for a long time inside the ambulance. After that we were ushered into a small room, with 3 doctors and maybe 8 patients. The doc who checked Cameron and Cayden checked their lungs and said their lungs are clear. Their condition is not serious and they can be treated at home. They cannot confirm for sure, if they do have H1N1. I wanted the doc to check their ears & throat to see if it was infected. Something must be causing their fever! But the doc said they dont do that. She only prescribed some medicine.

When we returned to the SOS clinic, I thought the doc there would check them, but who knows, they did not even allow us to enter the clinic! We had to wait in the car and the doc will come out with the prescribed medicine. They only prescribed Cayden an antibiotic and Cameron a high fever supportsitory and for both of them Vitamin C. USELESS BUNCH OF DOCTORS! I wanted the doc to give me some medicine for Cameron's cough. He gave me Robutassim and but told me its not recommended for kids under 2. If I wanted to give, I can do so in a lower dosage. Its my choice. What kind of doc is that????? I rejected and told him I preferred to consult my own PD in Singapore.

So in the end, it was a futile visit. All for nothing. Boys did not get more medicine to get better. We were only hassled more.

I have to say it again. The International SOS clinic in Mongolia is completely, utterly useless. I will definitely NOT sign up for membership again.

2 Sick Babies

Its the time of the year again. Weather is colder, air is smokier, and kids fall sick.  Damn polluted air.

I have 2 sick babies at home. It started with Cayden waking up yesterday with his double eyelid on his left eye. I saw it and went "Oh, oh". Yes, that double eyelid always appear when he is either VERY tired or about to fall sick. True to form, he started coughing during breakfast and his fever started at 10am and he was really grumpy. To make matters worse,  I had invited some friends over for lunch, so I was really busy with the lunch preparations. Anyway, we managed through yesterday without much drama.

Today, the little fella still had a fever and his cough had developed into a phelmy one. He refused to eat and complained of being in pain when swallowing. So I became Dr Yeo. Out came Neurofen (for his sprained foot and fever), Prospan (for cough), Mucosolvan (for phelgm), and Leftose syrup (for inflammation - sore throat).

As for Cameron, he started coughing last night. Heard him through the baby monitor. I was in denial. I told myself that its just a one-off cough. Then this morning, his cough was more apparent, more often. Then he had a fever. Not a high one. A low grade one of 37.4 degrees c. So I gave him infant panadol and pasted a Kool Fever patch on him. With an infant like Cameron, I don't dare to be Dr Yeo, so I will monitor him and see how it goes. Hopefully they will be well soon.

Cameron's Weight

I tend to weigh Cameron weekly now, since his milk strike. It has been 10 days since I last weighed him. He is now 8.7kg. Yay! His weight is increasing...

Cameron Sits!

First time that he sat independently for more than 5 min. Yay!

Cameron's Weight

Weighed the little fella today. He is now 8.4kg. Thank god he is putting on weight. On the other hand, mama needs to lose weight. :-p

Cameron's Update

Cameron's drinking has somewhat improved. For the last 4 days, his total milk intake has reached 800ml. I have been giving him a mixture of Nestle Nan Probiotics and Similac. Somehow, he doesn't like Nan at night, or at bedtime. So I learnt to give him Similac during these fussier times.

Eating solids is a still a challenge. We started him on bananas 3 days ago. He doesn't really like it either. I have also changed his eating position. I place him on his bouncy chair, instead of his high chair. He took half tablespoon of bananas mixed with rice cereal and milk reluctantly. Its a slight improvement, though.

Yesterday, he had a slight fever of 37.4 degrees. I think he is really teething (although I have been thinking that since he started drooling at 3 months). Is he really? I (and everyone else) tend to blame "teething" for everything. Lack of appetite, crankiness, red cheeks, fever. He has all the symptoms, but no teeth!

His cheeks also developed a rash. Its rough, looks and feels dry, and makes his cheeks really red. I have been applying California Baby Calming Cream on him, I hope to see improvements soon. I wonder if its the result of switching from HA formula to regular formula?

Cameron has also been making new sounds. A few screeches, shouts - really reminds me that he won't be a baby for long. He is constantly growing.

Funky Baby

This is Cameron, wearing a romper from Baby Got Style. We were going out for lunch at Casablanca at Bayangol Hotel. I think he looks really funky! Love him in black.

It still continues

Well, Cameron's drinking volume has somewhat increased yesterday. In total he drank 800ml, which was a relief.

I brought him to see the pediatrician at International SOS clinic yesterday. We weighed Cameron. His stats:

Weight: 8kg
Height: 63cm (when I measured at home, he was 65cm!)
Head circumference: 44cm.

He is of healthy weight, but he is short (Alarm bells! Is he short and fat?)

It seems that the pediatrician is not alarmed that Cameron's drinking volume has halved over the last 5 days. She said that Cameron's drinking volume is too high. At his age, he should only be drinking 600ml. But she is not accounting the fact that Cameron is on NO solids! For babies 6 months and above are usually established on 3 solid meals already, but Cameron is not!

Anyway in conclusion, she declared Cameron healthy. If he continues this strike for another week, go back to see her. Meanwhile she would like me to start him on solids. I have to try to find his accepted food, and his accepted way of eating. It sounds rather ridiculous to me...

Today, he has taken the usual 7oz at the morning feed, but took only 4oz at the 11am feed. Shall see how much he takes at the 3pm feed.

My 2 boys

Finally, I get a picture of the 2 of them. Got this picture before Cayden decided to be uninterested and dropped Cameron... No, its ok. He wasn't hurt. Just a gentle "plop". I think Cameron looked kinda "stunned".

Milk Saga Continues

Either my baby has really very sensitive taste buds or he really doesn't like to drink or eat very much. I wrote yesterday that I mixed the Similac formula with the Nan HA formula. At the 11am feed, he took it, but not as well. Made him 7oz which he took 6oz. Still not too bad.

At the 3pm feed, I made him 100% Similac 6oz, he took only 5oz.

At bedtime, I decided to mix it up again. Made him 7oz. He took only 4oz :(

At 11pm feed, I made him 4oz, he took 3.5oz.

Overall his drinking volume has not reached normal level yet. Yesterday's grand total was 750ml (25oz). Not great.

Today, I have decided to give him 100% Similac. Let's see if it will improve.

I have also made an appointment with the pediatrician at International SOS to check him out. To make sure he doesn't have any ear infection, ulcers or thrush in the mouth. I want to get to the bottom of this.

Despite his milk strike, he is still a happy baby.

Figured it out!

We finally figured it out why Cameron was not drinking his milk. He doesn't like this formula. We have been giving him Nestle NAN HA since he started formula at 5 months. It was recommended by my pediatrician and he took it well. So naively, I figured that he will take it ALL the time. But this little fella has developed taste buds, so he decided NOT to like it. So all 3 days of his milk strike, he was drinking just enough to take the hunger edge off, and nothing more.

Yesterday, after a dismal amount of milk he drank in the morning, I started to panic. I also weighed him and he put on a little weight. Not much. When he woke up from his afternoon nap, he was very upset. Crying with tears. I wondered if it was pain (from teething?), if he was feeling unwell (maybe a cold coming?) or if it was hunger. I decided to try hunger. I made him a bottle of milk, but with Similac 2 this time. He drank it with gusto. Took 4oz at once. He burped and rested a bit and finished the remainder 2 oz within 30 min. I was soooooo happy and relieved! At last, he is drinking!

At bedtime, I made him 7oz of milk. He took 4oz before bath and rest of the 3oz after bath. No problems. At the 11pm feed, he took 4oz. Finished it all.

So now we face the problem of getting Similac here in Mongolia. Its not available. Friso is available, so we will try that. If he likes it, then we have no problems. Fingers crossed. If he only likes Similac, than we have a HUGE problem as we only have 2 cans.

We also brought over about 15 cans of Nan HA2 to Mongolia. Now we have to think about how to get rid of them.

Lester suggested mixing some Nan HA into his formula, just to see if he will take it. If he does, then we can finish off the 15 cans slowly. This morning, I made him a bottle with two-thirds Similac and one-third Nan HA. He took it, but not with much enthusiasm as with Similac only. I could be imagining it. I will try again at the 11am feed.

Milk Drinking Strike - Day 3

Day 1 (Sunday 27 Sep)
Drank only 540ml in total. Gave him 1tbs of cereal, he took it reluctantly.

Day 2 (Monday 28 Sep)
Drank only 550ml in total. Tried giving him 1 tbs of cereal & pears, but he rejected.

Day 3 (TODAY)
So far, he drank even less than last 2 days. 2 feeds - 270ml. No solids given. Decided to stop the solids for 1 week. I would concentrate on getting milk into him instead.

I am really worried. I wrote an email to my pediatrician in Singapore and she mentioned to try giving him regular formula (instead of HA), chill his regular milk (tried and no improvement), check his mouth of ulcers or thrush (nothing!).

I am desperately looking for teething gel here in Mongolia, but so far, nothing found.

Tried to make appointment with pediatrician at International SOS, but she is not going in til Thursday afternoon.

Weighed him today. He weighs only 8kg (compared to 7.27kg on 12 August). So he has only put on 730g in 48 days! That's really bad.

What to do? What to do?

Frustrating Sunday!

The day started with Cameron NOT drinking his milk. Instead of his usual 7oz, he takes only 3 oz. I was concerned. I proceeded with his usual bath and sleep routine and he slept for 1 hour. After he woke up, he drank another 2 oz of milk.

At 11am feed, he wouldn't take much. I let him eat 1tbs of rice cereal mixed with milk and he took it reluctantly. Right up to his afternoon nap at 12noon he took 5oz of milk. After a 2 hour nap, he drank another 2 oz of milk.

At the 3pm feed, he refused his milk. We tried for 2 hours and all he took was 40ml.

During bedtime, he took only 3oz of milk. Refused anything else. At the 11pm feed, he took only 40ml.

I keep wondering why? Is it the formula? We had to change from Nestle Nan HA1 to HA2. I read the ingredients and HA 2 does not have lactose and corn syrup, so it might be less sweet. But we offered Nan Probiotics to him at the bedtime feed and 11pm feed, he still did not take much. I doubt that is the problem.

Is it because of teething? But I can't feel anything from his gums. He has redden cheeks, he keeps biting everything in sight, he keeps drooling. All signs of teething. But no teeth.

All in all, he took only 540ml of milk, compared to his usual 800ml.

This morning, he woke up at 6.40am crying. I assumed he was hungry, at last! But no, he did not guzzle the milk. I made him a bottle of half HA2 and half Probiotics formula. Took lots of persuading to make him drink, but at least he finished his 7oz of milk before his morning nap. Lets see how this day will go...

When should I start panicking?

Lazy Saturday

We did nothing much. I am reluctant to leave the house for lunch, as I do not want to disrupt Cameron's lunchtime nap. Fingers crossed, this whole week he has slept for at least 1hr45min to 2hrs during lunchtime. I want to keep it this way.

We introduced apples to Cameron today, after a full week of eating rice cereal. He hates it. Really really hates it. Before I know it, this little fella just pursed his lips tight and refused to let the spoon in! I mixed it with milk and rice cereal a while later, but he still refused it.



After this disaster meal, he refused his milk. Not only for this feed, but for the next feed too! Instead of his full 6 or 7oz, he takes only 4oz.

I have to say, besides looks, Cameron resembles NOTHING like Cayden.

Cayden had his haircut today. Ironically, he had his haircut the day AFTER the school took official pictures for yearbook. Oh well...





Lastly, a cute pic of Cameron all bundled up before taking his walk.

Starting solids

Cameron started solids the day he turned 6 months. Rice cereal mixed with milk. 1/2 tbs. Verdict? This little fella does not like food very much. Not like Cayden. With Cayden, I couldn't give it to him fast enough, but with Cameron, I can give him tiny spoonful, go take a walk, go to toilet and he will still be swallowing that mouthful.

Watch this video:



I thought he needs more time to get used to it, but it has been a week now, he is still the same. I have increased the amount though...

Tomorrow we start with apples. Lets see how that goes.

Sleep training update

Ok, Cameron is sleeping "more or less" ok now. He goes to sleep on his own, with no fuss or little fuss. He takes a 35-45min nap in the morning, 1hr45min nap in the afternoon and 30-45min nap in the late afternoon. Bedtime is still around 6.30pm - 6.45pm. We still wake him up for a late feed at 11.15pm, but these few days, he has only taken 2-3oz so I am thinking of dropping this feed. But we need to increase his food / milk intake during the day so that he will be full enough to last him through the night. I am sure he is waking up early due to hunger.

Yesterday was a bad day for feeding. He took only 4oz of milk during bedtime (his usual is 7oz). No matter what I do, he refused to drink. So I let him be. 30min later, I was hoping to make him drink when he is sleepy, but failed! He still did not want. He slept til 11.15pm when we woke him up for late night feed. He took only 3oz (his usual is 5oz). Then surprise, surprise! He woke up at 4.30am! Cried and refused to sleep for more than 10min! I am sure it was hunger, but I refused to succumb to the vicious cyle of nightfeeding, so I gave him water. He took about 2oz and went back to sleep til 7am.

I thought he will wolf down his morning milk, but NO... he took only 6oz out of his usual 7oz (after much, much coaxing). I really don't know what to do. I know babies won't starve themselves, but still... I don't want it to affect his night sleeping.

He is really stubborn! If he doesn't want the milk, he will either slap the bottle away, or if I succeed in pushing in the teat into his mouth, he will let the milk dribble out. Very annoying.

I guess I will have to ride out this one...

Cameron - Rolling over

Cameron has started to roll over at 5 months. I think he did it earlier than Cayden. Now changing him is a problem. He loves to roll over. Feeding him is a problem too. Everything else is more interesting.

Between Cayden and Cameron, Cameron is definitely the more active one. Like Lester said "He will be the first one to break a bone next time."

Sleep Training Starts - Day 5

Ok, today went slightly better. Key word being slightly.

Morning nap - ok. Slept for 40min.

Afternoon nap - again he woke up after 50 min of sleeping. Cried for 20min before falling asleep again. But he wailed off and on til nap time is over.

Evening nap - he went to sleep with a brief protest. Not loud crying but whimpering for about 10min. Slept for 30min.

Bedtime went well. Fingers crossed for the rest of the night.

Sleep Training Starts - Day 4

Not too good today.

Morning nap went well. Slept for 30min and he refused to go back to sleep after lying in crib for 15min.

Afternoon nap went bad. Slept for 30min and woke up. Gave him remaining of his milk and burped him. Put him back on crib and he wailed for 45min before falling asleep again for 1 hour. Stuck to the same routine of checking on him every 10min. I was sure he needed more sleep because he only had 30min sleep. He refused milk, burped, not sick, so I stuck to my guns and continued... IT was hard. I was told that babies regress so I was prepared for it.

Evening nap went bad too. He cried for 20+min before falling asleep for 30min.

Night time - He was just grizzling... now quiet. Fingers crossed that he is already asleep.

Update: he woke up after 1 hour but fell asleep after 10min of crying. I woke him up at 11:45pm for late night feed and he fed well. He cried at 5:20am but managed to fall asleep again after 10min.

He slept from 6:45pm til 6:45am