More on Frugal Spending

I like to have my magazine fix but magazines can be rather expensive. So recently I was pleased to get 4 magazines for the price of less than one. Yup! I got backdated copies. Hehe.

I read magazines while waiting for the kids at the toilet, while supervising their homework etc. In other words, I read them while doing something else, so as not to waste time. Time is precious and I hate to be idle.

It does not matter to me that the magazines are backdated. I don't mind not reading about the latest fashions or the latest celebrity gossips. I am just pleased at a bargain and 4 magazines for the price of less than one is certainly a bargain. It'll last me quite a while too as I usually read them in between doing other things. I don't have the luxury of time to browse through the entire magazine in one sitting.

An article here and there is just about all I can manage in my little snatches of time but thats fine with me. At least I get to read now. When the kids were younger, it was even worse. Time was even more precious then.

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The Pain of Mastitis

The other day I had fever and chills which reminded me of the time when I was breastfeeding and having recurrent mastitis. I had severe fever and chills then. I felt so cold and sick during one of the occassions, I thought I was really ill and almost checked myself into the hospital emergency section.

I almost gave up breastfeeding then. My husband thought I should do so too if I had another bout of mastitis. Fortunately I never did. I remember being on at least two rounds of a 10 day course of antibiotics and feeling really guilty and unhappy about feeding baby breast milk laced with antibiotics. The paeditrician assured me that the milk contains only a small amount of the antibiotics but I felt guilty and unhappy nevertheless.

My baby failed to latch on and thats probably why I had the problems I did when breastfeeding. I had milk blisters and blocked ducts which led to mastitis. Milk Blisters are like little white pimples on the nipples. Sometimes pumping would release the milk and the milk would flow freely again. I can't describe the feeling of joy when that happens. However, once, pus was released instead and I had to pump and throw. What a waste. How tiring to pump and throw away the precious breast milk but I had no choice, not when the milk was green with pus!

Breastfeeding was really an emotional journey for me. The pain, the worry, the joy... it was an emotional time indeed. It was full of stress at the beggining but worth it eventually when we got it right. It did take a long time for us. (About 2 months) but I managed to breastfeed for 3 years so the beggining hard months seem little in comparison but it was really hard at first and it seemed like a long time then.

Breastfeeding can be hard, stressful and does not feel natural at all but do perservere. Its really worth it. Feeding your baby the best milk and bonding with baby is definitely worth it don't you think?

If you are suffering from a milk blister, blocked ducts or mastitis, I'd like to point you to some of these pages on kellymom which has very comprehensive information and links. One of the ways to lessen your worry and stress is by reading up and acquiring more knowledge about breastfeeding (and theres so much to learn!). I hope that the links below help you. Good luck in your breastfeeding journey.

How do you treat a milk blister?
Plugged Duct and Mastitis
Recurrent Mastitis or Plugged Ducts

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Switching to a more Frugal Lifestyle

Moomykin tagged me on this one but I can't access my personal blog to do it. So I shall just do it here. That is the beauty of having several blogs. Haha. If you can't access your blog on that day for whatever reason, you don't sweat it.

She wanted to know how I would change my lifestyle with prices rising on just about everything. I must say that she has most things covered so I can only think of a few more things.

1. Eat out Less. Its terribly expensive to eat out.
2. Drink water when eating out. Drinks can really bring up your bill quite a bit.
3. Stop buying toys. Play with homemade toys instead. This encourages creativity in the kids. I won't stop buying books though because books encourages reading and a love for reading which are good for a lifetime.
4. Use fan instead of aircon whenever possible.
5. Shop during sales.
6. Use discount coupons to shop.
7. Buy things in bulk. That helps to save money as well as trips to the supermarket.

Now, how would you change your lifestyle?

1. Sting
2. Lim Ai Lian
3. BengBeng
4. Henny

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Moms don't sleep

Moms don't sleep! I read this in an article from Reader's Digest Online's Parenting Channel http://www.rd.com/children-parenting/ and I totally agree. If you are a mom reading this, you would agree too, I am sure.

The article entitled Help for Sleepless Moms reveals that in a totally unscientific poll of mothers taken recently, no mother sleeps until her kids are grown and out of the house. Wow! That would mean that I have many more sleepless nights ahead of me. Help! I certainly need help.

I started not sleeping well the moment I was pregnant being heavy, having to get up to pee every hour, having to sleep on one side and difficulty turning, worries, etc etc etc. Then when baby came along it was worse. Difficulty breastfeeding kept me up all night and all day long pumping and trying to latch baby. It was crazy.

Now that they are older I have to keep them entertain and wait for them to sleep before I do. Sometimes they wake up in the middle of the night and look for me. This is especially so when they are sick. When they are sick then I am in a standby mode, ever ready to wake up at the slightest sound.

Now this sleep article is telling me that I won't be getting good sleep till the kids are adults and leave the house! Fortunately, it does suggest some strategies or 8 sleep secrets for mothers. Unfortunately I fail in most of them. Lol! I think a revision of my sleep strategies is in order.

A great article. You can find this and many more articles at http://www.rd.com/children-parenting/.

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Busy School Holidays

Recently my girl had a two week mid term break. I had planned many activities for her. One of them was to let her practise her Chinese Online on BetterChinese.com. She really enjoys navigating the site. Her favourite is the animated Magical Chinese Characters. She likes to watch the stories transform into Chinese words that she recognises.

During school days, she has little time to explore the site because of her homework so I thought that school holidays would be a good time. But with so much to do and so little time, I found that 2 weeks flew by just like that.

In the end, she watched a lot of cartoon shows on VCD and we did some crafts and a little bit of lesson in Math and Science which she enjoys. Oh, I feel so guilty! I really need to let her practise her Chinese if I am going to send her to Chinese School.

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