Disclaimer: I'm not a expert on baby nutrition, just sharing my experiences. Feel free to give comments and correct me if I'm not right.

I started weaning Damien on solids since he was 5.5 months old, though the recommended age was really 6 months (according to all the baby health guides in the world). Firstly, his constipation problem was awful so I wanted him to try out The Prune Treatment (which worked yayyy). Secondly, I'm just an overly-zealous first-time mum who was anxious about feeding the baby real food for the first time lol.


There are a zillion weaning guides on Pinterest but here's my version for first foods at 6 months.

  • Apples 
  • Avocadoes*
  • Pears
  • Prunes
  • Bananas*
  • Carrots
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Pumpkin
  • Butternut Squash
*Okay to eat raw. All other listed foods should be cooked.

Some guides recommended mangoes too, but it sounds that it might be too sweet/heaty? That's for me, but that's really up to your comfort level.

Consistency should look something like this. Not TOO watery like soup ok.



How to cook:
The best way to retain nutrients is to steam and blend, but baking and blending is fine too. You can choose to blend with a little hot water or milk. I used his usual formula milk to blend with the foods so that he can get more used to the taste.

Several mummies swear by the Avent Steamer and Blender so I would say that it's a good product. I use my regular blender though - more washing I suppose, but my kitchen had no more space for any additional gadgets. :(


To freeze, or not to freeze?
Some people don't like the idea of freezing... I'm personally okay with that, but I didn't do much of it because I felt that it's easier to whip up smaller portions to feed within the day. Less cleaning. Less storage. Less hassle.

But if you DO happen to make too much extra, make sure that:

  1. Puree foods are stored in cube trays or storage cubes with covers. Hygiene reasons.
  2. Consume frozen cubes within 1 month. Google says 3 months, but I feel 1 month is optimal.
  3. Consume refrigerated cubes within 24 hours. Google says 48 hours.
  4. Do not use thawed breast milk to blend with fruit/veggie before freezing. Thawed and re-frozen breast milk = Fishiness to the max. Either use fresh breast milk or formula.
OXO Trays, available on Amazon.com! :)

I fed Damien with rice cereal too, and here's what I went for.

From iHerb - a mummy's haven. :P
I actually tested Damien on a few brands like Heinz, Nestle, etc. and this is BY FAR his favourite. Occasionally I mix in some fruit/vegetable puree but he's fine eating it without anything too. He's eating the multi-grain version now, since he's older and all. :)

Key points:

  1. Feed one food for three days to test for any allergies.
  2. Don't be too ambitious. Milk feeding is as per normal for the time being - start with 2 - 3 spoonfuls (teaspoon size of course) to let baby taste. Not every baby is accepting to solids at the start.
  3. If baby is accepting, slowly increase portion of solids and reduce milk, until you feel that baby is ready to replace whole feeds. Damien started taking solids-only for lunch and dinner since 7.5 months.
  4. Milk should still be baby's main diet till 1 year old.
  5. Certain foods which are common allergens include eggs, honey, nuts which should only be tested/fed when they're older. I've recently started Damien on egg yolks at 8 months old.
Will do a write-up on the next stage of weaning soon! Will be including some simple recipes as well. :)
Introducing my ah buiwell-endowed erm, son. I created a special hashtag for this little guy called #mylittledamien on Instagram to document his journey as my little human and mine as his creator. :)

The past 6 months was like a dream. From a teeny little newborn at barely 3kg to a fluffy 9kg sack of rice today, Damien has really grown. Why do babies grow up so fast! :( Mixed feelings... on one hand, I don't want him to ever grow up and retain the cuteness always, but on the other hand I can't wait for him to feed himself lah, lol. More than anything, I'm really glad that Damien is a really healthy baby (other than the constipation -_-), and didn't catch anything more than a runny nose. 

Damien was born looking a lot like his daddy. But he grew up to look a little more like me, heh. He's really cheeky, smiles a lot, has a hearty laugh, craves human attention, loves listening to stories, drools like mad, hates not getting attention, and takes up 60% of our bed space.

Why you so perfect one. #obsessedparentalert

Warning: Cuteness Intensive.
(this mama not paiseh one LOL)

Hello, I am The Damien.
FINALLY flipped over at 5 and a half months!
Attended his first CNY lohei at Boon Lay Raja.
Subsequently took a family photo with his slavesparents on the styrofoam sheepies at J Cube.
Started solids slightly earlier than the recommended age at 5 and a half months, as his pooping got backlog. -_-
The boy was like "WHY NO MILK" *VOLCANO ERUPTS*
Beginning of The Teething Nightmare. Drools like the Niagara Falls and bites on everything.
EVERYTHING.
I cannot deny that this parenting thing is hard. REALLY hard. Like nothing I've ever encountered before. It is a huge responsibility. It requires you to multi-task on a whole new level altogether. And you can forget about 'me' time, or 'us' time, or whatever time. No more sleeping in on weekends. You will keep worrying about your child until he's 50. It's like wearing your heart on the outside... so fragile. In a nutshell, that sounds like a pain in the ass. But you have never known that a human's heart can hold so much love, it's going to explode. You have never known love in such a magnificent form. Nothing makes you happier than seeing him/her smile, or laugh, or eat his toes. Being a parent is magical, and all worth it. We keep falling in love, over and over again.

Happy Half Year Old, #mylittledamien. 

With love, Daddy & Mummy.
This guide is written in Singaporean context. J

Oscha Sekai Hiiro, size 6, Front Wrap Cross Carry.
Sizing
“What size should I buy?” is the first question every mummy who’s venturing into babywearing would ask. For beginner mamas, I’ll recommend starting out with your base size – It’s the size where you can do full-length carries (e.g. Front Wrap Cross Carry) most comfortably. After experimenting with different sizes, here’s a conclusion from my own observations.

Petite body type (short, underweight/skinny) – Size 4
Average body type (slim mamas, most common in Singapore) – Size 5
Large body type (eh, me lah… UK14 to 16) – Size 6
Plus-Sized body type (above UK16) – Size 7

If you google, Size 6 is the average but see… Caucasians have bigger body frames than us Asians. The sizing is not only dependent on your body type, but also preference and experience. Some slim mamas like longer tails, so they’ll get a Size 6 anyway. I like shorter tails occasionally, and I can do a Front Wrap Cross Carry in a Size 4 (with the tummy muffin top jutting out haha). If you still can’t decide which size you are by the end of this write-up, just get a Size 6.

The sizing of the wraps also depends on the types of carries you want to do. This is a good website on the types of carries you can do with various sizes:
http://www.wrapyourbaby.com/wovenwraplength.html

Which Brand Should I Go For?
It varies from person to person, but most beginners go for Lenny Lamb, Girasol, Didymos, Little Frog, Inda Jani. 

Where do I buy these wraps?
There’re a lot more, just listing the more common ones if you’re just starting out. J

Local
SG Babywearing Swap (Facebook Group), Jars Of Fluff, Fluff Mail, Sophie Ian Baby Boutique, etc.

Overseas
The Babywearing Swap (International Facebook Swap Group), 5mr.com, birdiesroom.com, marsupial-mamas, b2boutique.co.uk, wrapbabyboutique.com, pinkletinkbaby.com.

Types of Fiber (Materials) and Fiber Care
Refer to: http://babywearing102.tumblr.com/post/53280622414/washing-and-care-by-fiber for more info. This is a pretty good guide. J

Types of Detergent
Rule of thumb is no Optical Brighteners and no Softeners. Most mamas use Ecover Delicate (can buy from iHerb), Earth’s Choice (Cold Storage). For wool, Eucalan is recommended.

Learning How to Wrap
I mostly learnt from Babywearing Faith/Wrapping Rachel/Wrap You in Love YouTube Channels. Or join a Wrap Clinic here. The key is to practise practise practise and soon you can wrap with your eyes closed.

Why are Wraps SOOO expensive?!
If you have spare time, read this: http://babywearing102.tumblr.com/post/56148580856/the-economics-of-babywearing

In a nutshell… Wraps are just like bags. There are Korean-style Bags from Qoo10 (wraps under $100), Coach Bags (wraps $100 to $300), Gucci Bags (wraps $300 to $600) and Chanel Bags (wraps $600 to $1000 or more).  The more expensive wraps are either limited edition, are of better material (which means more lasting and supportive… it’ll probably do fine after being run over by the MRT 10 times), or customized/hand woven. Wrap economics involve market value too, like how you can sell Chanels above the retail price that you bought.

For even MORE detailed information…

Check out the documents from Babywearing Singapore Facebook Group here. J Happy babywearing!
As a follow-up post to what I packed in my delivery bag, I realised that half of the things were useless and the 2 nights' stay at the hospital went by in a flash, lol.


Clothes and other wearables
Button-down PJ set x 1 Tummy was still humongous, couldn't button up shit. My maternity tank top worked better for latching. 
A set of clothes for going home x 1 I just wore whatever I wore on the day of delivery. Who cares how chio I look? I just gave birth to a baby yo. I took a taxi home anyway.
Jacket x 1 I wore a cardigan, because I felt damn hot.
Baby clothes set x 1 Okay, this was useful. :D
Bedroom Slippers x 1 pair Slippers were provided by the hospital, so I didn't need to use them.
Socks x 2 pairs Totally unused.
Nursing Bra x 2 Only used one. I was practically bra-less throughout. 
Disposable Underwear from Guardian x 1 pack This was important. :D
Maternity Pads from Guardian/Watsons x 1 pack The hospital provided pads, so... barely used them while I was still there. Could've left them at home lah.
Belly Binder I was too lazy. Yup. But necessary, I guess. 

Toiletries
Bath Towel x 1 Didn't manage to bath, of course.
Travel Neck Pillow x 1 (to put on my butt) Turns out the stitches weren't as painful as people mentioned, so didn't use this either. Meh.
Wet Wipes x 1 pack Okay, this is a must-bring. Remember to wipe boobs after latching!
Tissue Pack x 1 (the bigger kind) Provided by the hospital. 
Travel Toothbrush/Toothpaste Set Yes, I managed to brush my teeth. :D
Dry Shampoo I think I used it once.
Angel Mama Bottom Spray Didn't use it. Like I said, the stitches were not as painful as I thought.

Nipple Cream YES. Because chapped nipples.

There should've been a LOT less things to pack, or maybe I'm just a minimalist at heart.
I've been struggling on how to continue blogging, because my life just whipped up, over, and sucked into the black hole of baby baby baby ever since I gave birth. And now I've been back at work (since January, actually) and I finally have time to blog again. But every time I tried, it'll end up looking like a hard news article (it's a work thing -_-). Anyway I'm the type who's too lazy to upload and edit images lol. 

I'll press on anyway. Because the husband's been bugging me for the lack of writing. 

There's a MEGA huge misconception about maternity leave. I mean, it's "LEAVE" and it's four fricking months long. Sounds awesome to most people. Like a dream. Like a sabbatical. Eat Pray Love. To non-parent people, I mean. Maternity leave was like having to run on chicken essence pure adrenaline due to the steep learning curve of parenthood. 

Because...

1. Mama became a raging ball of hormones, feeling demoralised and pissed off half the time for no reason. 

2. Mama constantly feels (or made to feel) that she's under-performing. Lay off the "advice", people!

3. Breastfeeding. Another rant for another day (another long article for this!).

4. Cranky baby is cranky. 

5. Sleep. What sleep?

Teaser to more ranting posts ahead. 

Anyway, I have some really good review posts coming up. Maternity leave was also the season of experimentation, and I learnt so many things that no one told me about. I won't proclaim myself a guru, as different stuff work for different babies, but it's cool to try. Stay tuned.

Here's a random picture of my boy to end this post. I'm starting to miss the newborn version already, though he's such a cutie pie now. 


Despite all the bitching, nothing beats being Damien's mummy. :) BEST THING EVER.

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the missus

serynn g. / missus chew / damien's mummy / 1985 / libra / b+ / live laugh love! / @ email me

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