Surviving Winter

Winter kali ni mama buat lebih banyak preparation berbanding tahun2 yang sudah.. Masa first winter (2010/11) Z di Ireland, Alhamdulillah x de sebarang masalah. Ingat lagi, first tima Z tiba di airport dublin, it was snowing heavily! Bayangkanlah, daripada lahir di Malaysia (Kedah to be specific) yang panas berdengung tu, terus ke Dublin yg tengah heavily snow. Sampai2 jer terus mama bawak Z ke GP for consultation. He was only 3.5 months at that time. Alhamdulillah we manage to went through the whole winter successfully. Nak kata sebab immune kuat from breastmilk pun tak juga, sebab Z dah start formula at that time..

First winter (frozen Ireland)

Second time winter (2011/12) pun mama ingat ada la sekali dua jer yang Z sakit n it wasnt that bad.. But last year (2012/13) was the worst. Combination of school and also his bowel obstruction perhaps. Sekolah memang banyak virus. Setiap hari ada jer kawan2 Z yg hingus merembes. Blom lagi masuk bab winter bugs. Aduihaiii.. Seram mama ingat kisah setahun yang lalu.

2nd winter (it was snowing kat luar tu..)

For that reason, mama take few *additional steps to control the situation. Tu pun Z kena jugak cold yang teruk haritu. I blame myself jugak, planning dh ada, lambat benar nk implementasinya.. Mama oo mama.. Dah sakit baru nak carik penawar..

1. Probiotics - to improve immune system.

Rasanya Z started probiotics since he was 1 yr kot. Mama bagi infant pre+probiotics (1billion CFU). Then changed to prebiotics around 20 months (acacia gum advised by Dr Halim), but still add probiotics occasionally. Tapi skrg tukar balik ke probiotics, mama x nampak sgt pun kesan prebiotic tu plus it quite difficult to give it to Z. For probiotics, normally mama bagi 1 capsule per day (4billion CFU). But for winter mama bagi 2 caps. Sejak2 bagi 2 capsule la Z terus baik from his cold.

Udo's Choice - Junior Blend

2. Sambucus (Black Elderberry)

To fight cold n flu. Basically to support immune system jugak. rich in vitamin C and Zinc. Mama baru tahu jer pasal nih from DS Ireland Forum. 1 sudu jer sehari. Ni mama order online, x jumpa pulak dekat pharmacy. Z dah kena cold haritu baru sampai. But since then mama bagi ler sesudu tiap2 pagi sebelum pegi sekolah. Rasanya manis. So, senang jer nak bagi Z makan.. :)

3. Vitamin D3 - Pun untuk immune system (Vit D deficiency could increase the risk of viral infection)

Di Ireland nih memang all babies are recommended to take extra VitD3 supplement. Cuaca kat sini mendung sepanjang zaman, susah nak dapat matahari. Masa Z admitted to hospital early last year, paed tu nasihatkan suruh Z ambik extra vit D. Sebab kulit Z yang gelap tu memerlukan more Vit D than white people (Hihihi). She recommended 400IU, and to increase during winter (anak mat saleh perlu 200IU jer). So now mama bagi 800IU = 2 drops. Campur jer dlm cereal Z pagi2 tu..

4. Humidifier

Winter jer, mesti kena pasang heater. Last year memang buka heater most of the time, and I think that contribute a lot to Z's poor health state. Extract from wikipedia

In winter, when cold outside air is heated indoors, the humidity may drop as low as 10-20%. This low humidity can cause adverse health effects, by drying out mucous membranes such as the lining of the nose and throat, and can cause respiratory distress.

Lama jugak mama dok survey which type of humidifier nk beli. Finally down to 2 choices, Vicks Warm Humidifier and Cool Mist (ultrasonic) humidifier. Memang nak beli yang kecik jer sebab rumah pun kecik jer kan.. but tak sure sangat whats the different between cool and warm humidifier nih. Most review cakap sama jer benefit, except cool mist tu safer la (plus quiet). So mama pun order this one from Amazon mid November, tapi boleh lost in post pulak.. Z dah sakit haritu baru sampai. Haiyoo semua nak sampai lambat kan..

Kecik jer, but enough for 8 hrs sleep.

Anyhoo, masa Z demam tu papa n mama bergilir2 mengasap/steam (boiled water letak dalam besen + vicks, then halakan asap ke arah Z). Sebabkan cuaca terlampau sejuk, 7-8 minit sekali kena masak air baru. (Yes! cepat giler sejuk!). So mama decided to go and buy the warm humidifier jugak. Padehal masa tu cool mist tu baru jer guna sehari. Nasib baik ada jual di Argos. And we never look back!

Bulky in size

Tido malam Z terus lena since pakai humidifier nih. Kalau tak 2-3 kali jugak bangun sebab tak boleh bernafas n batuk2. Lepas Z baik mama pulak sakit kan.. Amazingly, mama pun tido lena tiap malam. Walaupun demam teruk di siang hari, dengan hingus meleleh, berkahak, blocked nose, sakit kepala, semua ada.. But bila balik jer rumah, malam terus rasa ok sikit. Kalau tak, nak tido malam lagi la worst. But not anymore. Siang jer sakit la balik (sebab mama still pegi keja).. Since then, memang tetiap malam ler pasang Vicks Humidifier nih :).

But I do prefer the cool mist humidifier though.. Quiet operation, but produced a lot of mist. Bilik rasa fresh n nyaman jer.. Cantik kiut miut pulak tu ;)

Masa cuti panjang haritu, siang memang tak pasang heater so ok lagi la.. my plan is, bila dh snow nanti siang pun kena la pasang heater kan. And we can use the cool mist humidifier tu siang2 hari. satu letak kat ruang tamu, satu letak kat tempat tido.. bende dah beli pun kan...(self justification jer nih) hehehe.. ruang tamu mama dah letak air purifier (from vicks jugak), but thats to clean the air jer.. I normally keep it on during weekend. Tak per, winter kita pasang humidifier jer la..(papa kata mama hoarder, kihkihkih)

Anyway, Alhamdulillah.. Sejak 3 mgu lepas, Z memang bebas dari sebarang penyakit. Hingus pun tak de. Batuk pun tak.. Semoga kesihatan Z berterusan baik.. Amin..Ya Allah.. Amin... 3 months lagi nih before winter end.. Jan/Feb is always the worst. Tu pun kat Ireland nih selalunya sampai bulan May pun masih sejuk sangat lagi...Kita berusaha jer lah kan, InsyaAllah semoga Z terhindar dari virus2 jahat.

*In addition to his regular multiviatamin, supplements & healthy foods intake

Thyroid

Doctor Mona (GP) call mama on Thursday and her conversation begin with ' you know what, you are right all along!' Yep, I knew it has something to do with his thyroid. His iron level is ok and his blood count also perfect. Bila mama tengok result thyroid Z masa lepas surgery haritu (which is VERY normal) I know something is not right. TSH Z tak pernah normal. Selalu above average. Not much higher, but slightly over. But his T3 and T4 is still within normal range.Sub-clinical Hypothyroid. So Dr Murnaghan (Paed) cakap tak perlu treatment sebab he doesnt really have other symptom pun. Plus mama n papa pun tak nak ler Z's life depends on ubat.

And now his TSH is quite high, and t3 t4 still within the range (but t4 is quite low). Dr Mona cakap Sub-clinical hypot jer if based on numbers (lab value). The only problem is, the symptoms. Hair loss, constipation (sekarang Z cuma bm every 3 days!), enlarged tongue and recently fatigue (asik nak tido jer keje dia.. kejap2 sangap. Nap 2 jam pun tak cukup). Those are quite alarming. Dr Mona pun tak sure to proceed with treatment or not, so dia refer us to paed endocrinologist. Hmm.. lagi 2-3 bulan la jawabnya.. 

Botak ler kepala Z kalau nak tunggu lagi 3 bulan. Mama tak risau sangat pasal botak tu sebab once the thyroid is ok, his hair will grow back. Mama cuma risau pasal constipation and fatigue. Constipation could effect his bowel blockage. Pastu asik penat jer.. Weekend haritu Z cranky sepanjang masa. Temperature takde lah tinggi, suam2 sikit badan tapi asik menangis and nak menempek dengan mama jer.. Ya Allah.. risau betul mama. Dah lama dah Z tak sakit2. Last dia demam teruk masa awal April dulu jer. Since then, memang sihat walafiat until now.. 

Honestly, mama lagi prefer putting him under thyroid supplement now. Papa kata nanti susah nak wean off sebab once dah start dia akan depends on the medicine and wont be able to produce his own hormone. But I think we should for now. It has been nearly 3 years now and his TSH never normal. Sigh..

Btw, Dr Mona pun dah resign.. (-____-')

Hair loss

Perbezaan dalam masa sebulan..

Pening mama fikirkan.. Pada mulanya mama memang sangat risaukan takut Alopecia Areata. Tapi setelah sebulan observation, mama rasa bukan kot sebab rambut Z gugur secara menyuruh, bukan bertompok tompok. Plus AA selalunya happen quite sudden. Dalam masa sebulan dah boleh nampak botak. But in Z's case takde la sampai botak, menipis jer.. 

Seminggu lepas potong rambut haritu, mama nampak kepala Z ada flakes. Macam kelumumur, lebih kepada cradle cap kot. Bahagian depan jer, penuh keping2. Mama pegi pharmacy, diorang suggest Dentinox. So pagi2 mama sapukan minyak kelapa (vco) and biarkan sekejap, then mandikan and shampoo with dentinox. Alhamdulillah hilang flakes and Z pun dah kurang garuk2 kepala. Tapi kena buat tiap2 hari, kalau tak naik balik flakes tu. Tapi rambut Z masih gugur seperti biasa.?

Then mama risau takut ringworm ke? Ringworm pun boleh sebabkan hairloss.. Ringworm symptom includes flakes on scalp. Hanya doctor (dermatologist) bleh confirm.

Lagi satu mama rasa ada kena mengena dgn thyroid jugak. Last thyroid test masa Z lepas surgery haritu. Result normal jer (walaupun sebelum2 nih TSH level selalu top of the normal range..). Masa jumpa ankel bazak (endocrinologist) haritu mama tanya la, ada possibilities tak. Dia kata maybe, sebab thyroid test after surgery x leh pakai. Dia suggest p buat test baru. 

So mama call la nak buat appointment dengan Doctor Nia, rupa2nya dia dah tak buat practise (GP). She's a prof in UCD now.. Sight, sedih mama sebab after so long, I finally found the best doctor, but now dia dah berhenti la pulak.. Kena cari doctor baru. Seminggu jugak mama survey sana sini. Finally decided to go to Dr Mona (errmm.. Ok la, baru first time jumpa...)

Anyway, jumpa dr Mona on Friday. Dia pun pening. She never seen a toddler that loss their hair the way Z is. Lepas examined Z's hair/head, she ruled out AA and ringworm. Lega sikit di situ... Dia rasa lebih kepada iron deficiency. Hmm kind of make sense, sebab Iron level Z memang selalu on lower range pun. Memang keturunan mama pun semua camtu, not aneamic but low iron. Lagipun semenjak dua nih Z dah kurang minum susu. 2 botol jer sehari. supplement iron memang takde. harapkan sikit2 from his diet jer la.. Pastu mama baru re introduced curcumin kat Z (stop masa surgery dulu). curcumin is a mild iron chelator. sblm ni mama bagi malam sblm tido, tapi skrg mama p bagi waktu pagi (which shown some good improvement in Z's babbling!). Mama rasa sebabtu la iron Z rendah kot sebab iron from makanan yg Z makan pagi n tgh hari kurang diserap.. Its all makes sense for me now..

Anyway, doc mona suruh buat blood test for thyroid n iron. Besok la mama bawak Z g Temple Street. Tengok la result macam mana nanti.. Kalau memang sbb iron, thats easy, ambik supplement. Jangan la sebab thyroid (or worst tatau sebab apa..) Harap-harap hair loss ni hanyalah temporary. Hopefully it will stop soon and Z's hair will grow back to normal. Aminn...

Teeth Grinding - Pt. 2

Adoiii...!! It's drive me nut to hear Z grinding his teeth! Semenjak lepas surgery, activity dia yang satu ni bertambah mencabar. Dulu dia akan grind bila dia bored or stress teramat jer..now.. ALL THE TIME!! Memang literally ALL THE TIME! Sampai terpercik2 air liur. Berkelicap bunyinya.. Bunyi gigi tu tak payah cakap ler.. Luckily dia dah pandai control his tongue, so takde lah sampai berdarah.. Tapi memang mama sangat tension dengan bunyi dan kebarangkalian bahawa giginya akan musnah tidak lama lagi.

Dulu supplementing him with magnesium seems help a lot. now macam tak berkesan jer. kalau tak bagi magnesium lagi lah melampau-lampau. Bila bagi pun still berbunyi all the time jugak. Tengah malam pun masih berbunyi.. Mama dah urut, mama dah warning, mama dah marah, mama dah letak essential oils, mama dah up kan magnesium.. semua tak jalan. Oh vibrating teether seem help a bit. Tapi jenuh la nak suruh dia gigit jer mende alah vibrator tu..

Image: specialneedtoys.com

Mama risau tengok gigi geraham Z dah macam masuk kedalam jer.. Gigi taring dia pun dah semakin senget. Tanya paed, 'Sorry, there's nothing we can do about it. Hopefully he will grew out of it'. No..no no!I can't stand it anymore.. helpppppppppp!!! Mama harap dapat jumpa paed dentist soon.

Mama found out from Autism website, Zinc boleh membantu kurangkan teeth grinding.
hmm..Zinc pulak.. DS forum kata magnesium.. ni lah masalahnya bila ada dua diagnosis.. anyhoo, mama dah order zinc. cepatlah sampai.. Dapat kurangkan sikit macam dulu balik pun jadi lah..


Read more about Z's issue with teeth grinding

ketap gigi / teeth grinding & teats
Magnesium



p/s: aunty Aumi, mama beli vibrator ni end of last year. lupa plak nak bagitau kat anti.. Jumpa kat Metrojaya MidValley yer ;) thank you for letting us know. Z loves it. It does help with his brushing. Sekarang memang takde masalah langsung bila nak brush his teeth :D

~You're The Jam to My Jelly~

Since the past 2 weeks mama buatkan Z homemade jelly. Tapi ini bukan sembarangan Jelly, ini jelly ber magnesium :D.

Mama read a lots about the goodness of magnesium, especially how it could help with the anxiety - sosial, loudness, laughing, and teeth grinding - in Z's case. Sebab tu mama nak try bagi Z magnesium supplement. for the moment mama just kasik Floradix about 5ml (62.5mg) per day. Mama pilih Floradix sebab it based from nature.. And not that strong in my opinion. Mama blom berani lagi nak kasik magnesium lain. lagipun Floradix ni liquid based and ada rasa buah2an.. 

Mama rasa sedap jer taste nya (mama pun kena makan jugak time pms tu..), tapi not for Z! Mesti tutup mulut rapat2 bila mama nak suap. So nak tak nak, mama kenalah being creative. Sebabkan ia dah ada rasa buah2an, so mama buat lah jelly. Mama masak agar2 and gelatine (halal), then campurkan dengan homemade fruit juice (pear/apple). Bila dah agak sejuk sikit, baru mama masukkan Floradix. Yummy!! Z loves it!

Tapi stok agar2 n gelatine dah nak habis, kena beli kat kedai Pakistan le pulak. The only problem is, they come with flavoured. Ada tambahan gula, pewarna, perasa and all.. hmm.. Kena suruh mak teh post from Msia la nanti..

Then, mama juga dah start buat homemade jam over the weekend. This time mama buat apricot jam (less sugar). Sebabnya nak kasik Z makan with his NVD Nightime supplement. Selama ni mama cuma add to his dinner, but actually it is not advisable to add with other protein base food, nanti kurang lah effect dia.. Sebab tu lah mama try kasik with jam :)

Oh btw, Z dah on magnesium for nearly 2 weeks dah now. Nampak la dah berkurang sikit aktivity teeth grinding.. but still 'krup krap' lagi lah time dia tengah khusyuk buat something tu.. In term of anxiety pun nampak la sikit improvement. Sikit jer la.. Contohnya masa physio datang last week, dia tak nangis pun, but asik berpeluk dengan mama jer la.. That's a lot better than crying nob-stop for the whole session actually..:) Masa pegi housewarming party kat rumah aunty rini weekend haritu pun agak ok jugak.. Boleh bertahan nearly an hour without crying walaupun orang bising2. Lepas sejam, dia dah mula buat perangai lah. Alhamdulillah.. Its a lot better :D

Severin Yogurt Maker

Next project is homemade soya yogurt! Z mmg  makan yogurt everyday. Sangat2 costly sebenarnya. Kalau mama boleh buat sendiri, dah boleh cut cost gitu. Now tengah survey inexpensive yogurt maker. Hopefully menjadik ler.. :)

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor neither do I have any medical backgroud. Just a normal mom who seek the best for my son.

Post Viral (kot)

90% of the rashes has gone away.. Alhamdulillah :)

disebabkan kehilangannya yg agak cepat tu, highly likely its just post viral + allergy jer kata doctor. the only problem is allergy amende lah gamaknya yer.. mama masih suspect allergy to DHA supplement so mama tak berani nak kasik Z the supplement yet.

but papa rasa it has something to do with lotion johnson & johnson milk yg mama beli kat malaysia haritu. sebab masa kat malaysia pun Z pernah jadik a bit of rash (more mcm heat rashes jer) lepas pakai lotion tu.. so, papa x kasik dh pakai. tapi mama x buang pun, terlekat balik ke ireland. and out of my knowledge, rupa2nya kak yah mmg dok pakaikan lotion tu di badan Z. baru semalam mama perasan. laaaa... patuitla..

tapi heran gak sebab dia kata mmg dia pakaikan lotion tu sejak balik dr malaysia 2 mgu lepas lagi. apesal baru naik rashes? maybe tak sesuai dipakai ketika hari panas kot. sebab 2-3 hari lepas mmg panas berbahang kat dublin nih. sebelum2 nih nyaman jer.. maybe sebab tu la kot.. so, pada firasat mama, its the lotion, plus the heat, plus the viral, maka jadiklah rashes yg menggerunkan itu..

btw, harini dah Friday! and team mate mama suma bercuti. jadik mama pun bercuti lah jugak di pejabat.. hehehe..

mama tengah survey gymboree class and ginko and magnesium skrg nih. mama baru found out yg teeth grinding tu ada kena mengena dgn kekurangan magnesium. and much more interesting info yg mama dapat, its actually related to ANXIETY! and sensitivity to noise e.g. ketawa. WHAT??? lately mmg penyakit ketap gigi Z bertambah serious. sampai berdarah2 lidah dia.. hmmm, harini jugak mama nak pegi carik magnesium supplement for Z (with or without papa appoval hihihi). so now mama tengah carik the best magnesium for children. rasanya boleh jer ambik any magnesium, but the dose must be 80mg per day. tapi mama nak jugak la carik yg khas utk children kalau ada..


UPDATE: OMG! why its never registered to my mind before??? balik rumah tadi mama dok belek2 la lotion JJ milk tu, pastu baru mama terasa kebodohan terpikir, duh! it was made from MILK. Z kan milk intolarence. so definitely this was the cause. so, Z is actually not milk intolerence, but milk allergy instead!!!!! for some reason, mama x pernah pun terpikir pasal milk dlm lotion nih.. patutla papa beriya2 cakap he think that's the lotion. mama pulak mcm pening2 lalat, apehal pulak lotion pun boleh kuar rashes. DUH!!! now, the lotion already in the bin. sorry sayang. i wouldnt bought it at the first place if i wasnt this bimbo :(