Constipation, although very common in children, it can also be a very frustration problem. It is defined as the passage of hard and painful stools or going four or more days without a bowel movement.

It is most commonly caused by a diet that is low in fiber, but it can also be caused by drinking too much milk (more than 12-16oz/d) or not drinking enough water.

Our Little Edison has been struggling with constipation problem for the last 2-3 weeks. Whenever he is constipated and has hard painful stools, he will hold his bowel movements to prevent it from hurting again. This creates another cycle of constipation and it will become worse.

Constipation is not only painful for Little Edison but it is also a heart-wrenching experience for me. I feel so sad whenever I see him in pain. There is no major change in his diet, thus I’m really clueless on what is the root cause of his constipation.

The only change that I can think of now is his formula milk – Pediasure. He started taking the “new formula” Pediasure about a month ago. When he was drinking the “old formula”, he had regular bowel movement and he wasn’t constipated. Could this be the root cause?

I’m wondering if anyone of you faces the similar problem like me. Care to share?

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Every child should eat a well-balanced diet that comprises a variety of nutrient-dense foods. However, during childhood, some children tend to become fussy with food, reject certain foods or eat very little. This phase of pickiness may last for just a few days or it may go on for a while.

Our Little Edison became fussy with food after he turned two. When he was 1+ years old, he ate oatmeal everyday. My MIL cooked oatmeal with fish, chicken or pork with different types of vegetables. He loves them.

After a year, he decided that he had enough of oatmeal and he rejected the food totally. He will scream if we attempt to feed him with oatmeal again. From there on, he eats bread, noodles, biscuits or soft-boiled eggs for his lunch and dinner. He doesn’t like porridge or rice, and he rarely eats them.

As a full-time working mother, it is quite a challenge for me to ensure that he takes proper meals everyday. As a matter of fact, my MIL prepares the meals for Little Edison on the weekdays and I leave it all in her good hands. On the weekends, I will cook for him if we are not going out.

I put up this little chart in my kitchen. It serves as a reference for me – every time I prepare meals for Little Edison. It’s nice to look at, isn’t it? =)

This information is extracted from ‘Birth to Eighteen Years – Dietary Tips for Your Child’s Well-Being’, published by Health Promotion Board.

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3 to 6 Years Old

Rice and Alternatives (3 – 4 servings per day): Two slices of bread, ½ bowl of noodles, 4 plain biscuits and 1 cup of plain cornflakes 

Fruit (1 serving per day): one small orange 

Vegetables (1 serving per day): ¾ mug of cooked leafy vegetables 

Meat and Alternatives (1 serving per day): one palm-sized fish or lean meat.

Milk (500ml) and Water (6 to 8 glasses)

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A mother posted a question in the forum recently. She was asking what the recommended milk intake is for a toddler. I was thinking something like 500ml, but I wasn’t sure. So, I googled for the answer and here are my findings:

What is the ideal milk intake?

According to the guidelines stated in Dumex website, a toddler (1-3 years old) needs a minimum of 350ml of milk but not exceeding 600ml so that they don’t fill up too much.

The Health Promotion Board recommends that children between 3 to 6 years old consume 500ml of milk each day. Milk is a great source of important nutrients essential for keeping our toddlers healthy and most importantly calcium for strong bones and teeth.

So, I’m right. It’s 500ml!

But not too much!

Excessive cow’s milk can cause an imbalance in two ways. Firstly, it is high in energy (calories). Secondly, it contains a lot of calcium. This energy-dense milk can fill a little tummy quickly. As a result, they might turn away from meals and thereby causing them to become deficient in other nutrients. Too much calcium can also interfere with iron absorption, which in turn has been link to fussy eating. Finally, too much milk can increase the risk of tooth decay due to milk sugars. (Information depicted from Huggies website)

Argh! This is so tricky. When Little Edison refuses to take his meal, we usually supplement him with milk so that he won’t go hungry. But when he drinks more milk, he becomes full and his next meal may be affected again. It’s a chicken-and-egg situation.

Anyway, the above information really shed new light on Little Edison’s fussy eating behavior. Perhaps, he has been overfilling with milk or he is low in iron due to too much calcium.

What is the RDI of Calcium anyway?

The recommended daily allowance (RDI) of calcium for children between 1–3 years is 400-500mg. When I take a look at Pediasure that Little Edison is taking, one feed of 225ml has 212mg of calcium. So, just two feeds (450ml) provide 424mg of calcium. Obviously, with three feeds, it will exceed the RDI. Not forgetting other calcium-rich food that he is taking, such as cheese and yoghurt, I realized that he has over-reached his calcium needs.

Read the rest of this entry…

Looking at the mirror, I realized that I’ve aged a lot. I have laugh lines (or the so-called crow’s feet) around my eyes. I have fine lines on my forehead and brown spots on my face. I’m so pathetic.

I’ve been fraught with oily and acne-prone skin since young. From my teenage years till early twenties, I had big, red and pus-filled pimples. I was skeptical about trying new products due to my sensitive skin. When I was studying in the university, I didn’t have much money to invest in good skincare products to treat my acne problem.

When I started my first job, I visited a dermatologist to treat my skin problem. I tried all sorts of acne-treatment, from Roaccutane to chemical peel and IPL. After a few years, I’ve finally grown out of this acne problem. I hated it so much, it was so depressing.

Well, that was the past. I hope that Little Edison will not inherit my acne-prone skin type. Daddy V has better complexion. He doesn’t even use a face wash and yet, he seldom have break-out. The world is so unfair.

Anyway, I’ll put a stop to acne problem here. It’s NOT what I’m going to talk about today. What I really want to talk about is collagen supplement.

So, what exactly is collagen? You may be wondering. Collagen is a protein and is found in all body parts including our skin. Together with soft keratin, the collagen and elastin fibers are responsible for the strength and elasticity of the skin. It also helps in repair and regeneration, making the skin firm and supple.

As we age, our store of collagen starts to decrease and this leads to aging and accompanying wrinkles. Our face is not the only one impacted, but the skin on our body will gradually lose its elasticity too and presence of cellulite would be more visible. Our hair may start to lose its shine and elasticity. That is why I’m so keen to start my collagen supplement now.

The usual benchmark is 5,000mg of collagen daily. One tablespoon of Meiji’s Amino Collagen contains 5,000mg – it is just nice! Meiji’s Amino Collagen was one of the best-selling beauty and health products in Singapore last year. It is selling like hot cakes in Japan with 10 million cans since its introduction.

I bought this bundle pack at Watson’s last weekend. 1 can + 1 refill pack + 3 bottled drink at $119. I had my first try yesterday. I add one tablespoon of Amino Collagen into a glass of water. Then, I add one teaspoon of Manuka honey to sweeten it. I stir it gently until all the collagen and honey are fully dissolved.

Little Edison watched me as I gulped down my collagen drink. It tastes a bit funny though. Tonight, I’ll try to add it into fruit juice.

More about Meiji Amino Collagen coming up next week. Stay tuned! ?

Ipoh has always been touted as one of the best destination for a sumptuous, mouth-watering and reasonably-priced dim sum. It has been a family favorite for years in my family. I just can’t get enough of it every time I return to Ipoh.

The main dim sum restaurants in Ipoh are Foh San, Ming Court and Yoke Fook Moon. The best thing is they are all located along the same street. If one of them is fully-packed, you can conveniently walk to your next choice.

However, all these restaurants are mostly packed even on weekday mornings. You can forget about eating there on weekend mornings, unless you have excellent table-hogging skills. Sorry but tissue paper is not recognized here (unlike Singapore).

We usually dine-in late morning for brunch. The crowd is lesser but some of the popular dishes maybe sold out.

I visited the brand new premise of Foh San Restaurant last week. Foh San has been in Ipoh for a good 37 years. Last year, they opened a new restaurant that spreads over two floors with special function room on the third floor. The ambience is really good and welcoming. The dim sum is still as yummy as before.

This is Foh San Restaurant 30+ years ago.

And this is their new outlet at 51, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, Ipoh.

Some of our favorite dishes – (from top left) fish balls, char siew pau, har gao (shrimp dumplings), chee cheong fun, chicken feet, egg tarts, fried carrot cake, siu mai and fried yam.

Yum, I can never get enough of them!

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