Thanks to Kate for allowing me to post these pictures of her baby girl, who is less than 2 weeks younger than DD. This baby has got the funkiest hair that I've ever seen on a little person. So cute! :)
Friday, December 14, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Hyland's Teething Tablets - Important Info
Prior to today, I was a big fan of Hyland's Teething Tablets. (http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php) Most mothers I have "met" in online forums both in Singapore and internationally sing praises about this wonderful product, which does wonders to relieve the crankiness and irritability of a teething infant or toddler. I have given this homeopathic product to DS when he was teething (he was horrible everytime he cut a tooth) and would always be amazed at how his crankiness would miraculously disappear. As such, I have recommended this product to quite number of mummies. I have even bought a new bottle of Hyland's Teething Tablets in anticipation of DD cutting her first tooth, just in case she doesn't take very well to teething, like her brother.
Well, after reading what one mother posted on the Baby Center board, DH and I discussed it and we decided NOT to give our children anymore Hyland's Teething Tablets. We're going to throw away the bottle that we bought for DD. Here's a summary of what the mother wrote on the Baby Center board, for those of you who do not wish to read it - essentially, this mother gave her infant son the recommended dose of Hyland's Teething Tablets and he got anticholinergic poisoning from it. In anticholinergic poisoning, the person may, for example, get delirious, hallucinate and have urinary retention. If medical care is not administered, death may result in severe poisoning.
For the record, I would like to say that I am a skeptic. I usually read what others write with a pinch of salt, especially if it's related to personal experience and not evidence-based. However, DH has read what this mother wrote and he says her description of her son's symptoms does accurately fit a case of anticholinergic poisoning. Some of you will know that DH is a medical toxicologist-in-training (that's why we're here in Denver!).
The reason why Hyland's Teething Tablets work is because they contain a substance called Belladonna. According to DH, Belladonna causes numbness, hence the tablets work to ease the discomfort caused by teething. However, in large doses, Belladonna can cause anticholinergic poisoning. Now, do note that the dosage stated on the product label of Hyland's Teething Tablets is NOT high enough to cause any sort of problems. However, there is no guarantee that there will not be any mistake in the manufacturing process, hence resulting in a higher amount of Belladonna present in the tablets. Hyland's Teething Tablets are manufactured in the US, and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the US does NOT regulate homeopathic products, Hyland's Teething Tablets being one of them. There is really no guarantee that the tablets contain the substances in the proportions stated on the label.
In addition, infants/toddlers may accidentally be overdosed on Hyland's Teething Tablets. I know that I am guilty of having given DS slightly more tablets than recommended on the bottle.
For those mummies who have used or are still using Hyland's Teething Tablets, it is really up to you whether you will continue to use it. I just wanted to highlight the hidden dangers of using this product, which I didn't give much thought to before. DH and I have decided not to use it anymore, even though it worked very well to ease DS's crankiness when he was teething.
I will follow up the case posted on the Baby Center board and post if the laboratory test results are out. I am also curious to know if the tablets in that bottle did contain more Belladonna than they were supposed to.
Well, after reading what one mother posted on the Baby Center board, DH and I discussed it and we decided NOT to give our children anymore Hyland's Teething Tablets. We're going to throw away the bottle that we bought for DD. Here's a summary of what the mother wrote on the Baby Center board, for those of you who do not wish to read it - essentially, this mother gave her infant son the recommended dose of Hyland's Teething Tablets and he got anticholinergic poisoning from it. In anticholinergic poisoning, the person may, for example, get delirious, hallucinate and have urinary retention. If medical care is not administered, death may result in severe poisoning.
For the record, I would like to say that I am a skeptic. I usually read what others write with a pinch of salt, especially if it's related to personal experience and not evidence-based. However, DH has read what this mother wrote and he says her description of her son's symptoms does accurately fit a case of anticholinergic poisoning. Some of you will know that DH is a medical toxicologist-in-training (that's why we're here in Denver!).
The reason why Hyland's Teething Tablets work is because they contain a substance called Belladonna. According to DH, Belladonna causes numbness, hence the tablets work to ease the discomfort caused by teething. However, in large doses, Belladonna can cause anticholinergic poisoning. Now, do note that the dosage stated on the product label of Hyland's Teething Tablets is NOT high enough to cause any sort of problems. However, there is no guarantee that there will not be any mistake in the manufacturing process, hence resulting in a higher amount of Belladonna present in the tablets. Hyland's Teething Tablets are manufactured in the US, and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the US does NOT regulate homeopathic products, Hyland's Teething Tablets being one of them. There is really no guarantee that the tablets contain the substances in the proportions stated on the label.
In addition, infants/toddlers may accidentally be overdosed on Hyland's Teething Tablets. I know that I am guilty of having given DS slightly more tablets than recommended on the bottle.
For those mummies who have used or are still using Hyland's Teething Tablets, it is really up to you whether you will continue to use it. I just wanted to highlight the hidden dangers of using this product, which I didn't give much thought to before. DH and I have decided not to use it anymore, even though it worked very well to ease DS's crankiness when he was teething.
I will follow up the case posted on the Baby Center board and post if the laboratory test results are out. I am also curious to know if the tablets in that bottle did contain more Belladonna than they were supposed to.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
More Snow Pics
DS now spents most of his outdoor time playing with snow. Here he is again in the picture above. We even bought him waterproof fleece-lined pants for his snow play. And Mr Snowman has grown bigger too!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
DS's First Snowman!
It has been snowing intermittently since the weekend and DS has been having a ball of a time playing with snow. I think we've had at least 6 inches of snow fall. Here are some pictures of DS playing in the courtyard of our apartment complex.
DS built his first snowman on Saturday. Yes, my dad even brought along a small piece of carrot for Mr Snowman's nose.
DS also loves throwing snowballs at DH and Grandpa, although I think they don't enjoy that very much. :P
Recipe Alert: Crockpot Lasagna
I never knew lasagna could be cooked in a crockpot. And when I found out lasagna could be cooked in a crockpot, I was skeptical. But I have since cooked crockpot lasagna twice in the last 3 weeks (once with ground beef and once with ground pork) and it is seriously yummy. Even my dad, who is a fantastic cook and doesn't really fancy anything else other than Asian food, gave me 9/10 for the lasagna. So believe me when I say this recipe is worth a go. However, if you prefer your lasagna in nice, neat, rectangular slices, then this recipe is not for you. :P
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 1 lb (~450g) ground beef (can use ground pork or chicken if you prefer)
- 3-4 tbsp Italian seasoning, or more if you like a stronger taste of herbs (this is basically a bottle of dried herbs, Masterfoods or other brands would have it)
- 1 jar (about 800ml) spaghetti sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- Cottage cheese (16 oz)
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Break noodles in half. Place half of the noodles at the bottom of a greased crockpot. (Grease with whatever cooking oil you use at home. Also, I place the noodles in two stacks, side-by-side, so that most of the bottom of the crockpot is covered. But how you place your noodles will also depend on the size and shape of your crockpot) Stir Italian seasoning into meat and spread half the meat over noodles in the crockpot. Over the meat, layer half the sauce and water, and then half the cottage cheese and then half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 hours. (I prefer my lasagna "drier" so I usually cook on low for 6 hours)
That's it. Enjoy! :)
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 1 lb (~450g) ground beef (can use ground pork or chicken if you prefer)
- 3-4 tbsp Italian seasoning, or more if you like a stronger taste of herbs (this is basically a bottle of dried herbs, Masterfoods or other brands would have it)
- 1 jar (about 800ml) spaghetti sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- Cottage cheese (16 oz)
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Break noodles in half. Place half of the noodles at the bottom of a greased crockpot. (Grease with whatever cooking oil you use at home. Also, I place the noodles in two stacks, side-by-side, so that most of the bottom of the crockpot is covered. But how you place your noodles will also depend on the size and shape of your crockpot) Stir Italian seasoning into meat and spread half the meat over noodles in the crockpot. Over the meat, layer half the sauce and water, and then half the cottage cheese and then half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 hours. (I prefer my lasagna "drier" so I usually cook on low for 6 hours)
That's it. Enjoy! :)
Sunday, December 9, 2007
It Takes Ages For Us To Get Dressed!
This is how the kids and DH look after they are all layered up. Of course, you can't see very much of DD because she's all zipped up in her carseat "blanket". Very cosy.
Dressing ourselves, DS and DD to go out takes an hour. Nope, I'm not kidding. That's the only thing I do not like about this cold weather. It takes forever to dress everybody up!
Other than that, I really love this freezing weather. It feels so good to not perspire ALL the time! :)
Arrghh! I Haven't Posted Since 28 Nov!!!
I can't believe it has been that long since I last blogged! Internet time has been pretty limited in the past week or so. Firstly, DH has been bringing work home, the workaholic that he is. He works on the laptop til late, so I get limited time in the evenings. Any tiny pockets of internet time during the day has been spent doing internet shopping to make sure the two kiddos are nice and warm for the Winter. I've been buying stuff like thermal underwear for all of us, a carseat blanket cover for DD, more clothing for DD since she's fast outgrowing her newborn ones, jackets for the adults, etc. It's been really cold the past few days - between -5 deg C to 5 deg C, so I'm glad we're well-prepared for the Winter!
More later.
More later.
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