Baby's bedding - IKEA fitted sheet for cot can fit other sizes?

I find prices in Malaysia for bedding for babies rather expensive compare with adult's bedding.

I mean a SMALL latex dimple pillow by Bumble Bee costs RM49 and a fitted sheet for playpen mattress of same brand costs RM34.30.

I can't say about the quality of the latex pillow but for the fitted sheet, it's a bit too expensive for a single piece of cotton textile the size of 41" x 28" x 1" (104cm x 71cm x 2.54cm) because:-

1) the quality of the cotton is not there.. It's not even thick nor soft

2) the motif / print may not be to your liking.

So instead of spending this amount for the fitted sheet, I opted for IKEA's fitted sheet which retails for RM39.90 for 2 pieces (at a much cheaper price of RM19.95 apiece).

The only problem is IKEA's sheet are stated to be 120 x 60cm. Not exactly a perfect fit for a normal playpen mattress of 41" x 28" x 1" (104 x 71 x 2.5cm).

But I took the risk because I prefer plain colour bedding (can choose from white, blue or pink) and the material is stretchable like t-shirt materials.

VERDICT:-
fits perfectly!

Breastfeeding + Eu Yang Sang "So Hup" Pills = JAUNDICE

If you plan to breastfeed your baby, then don't take any herbal pills like 'SO HUP' pills, regardless of what the salesperson said.

Take it from me.. I paid a heavy price for trusting a saleslady from Mid Valley Eu Yang Sang branch.

Through breastfeeding my baby was indirectly consuming those herbs and his small-yet-to-fully-develop liver was unable to process it and it became toxic to his body.

It was these toxic which caused him to have high *jaundice or skin appearing yellow.

*[granted that having assisted vacuum during natural delivery will also contribute to higher risk of jaundice.. Yes you read correctly, babies which were delivered through natural birth using vacuum to suck the baby out will also tend to have jaundice].

But consuming more than 1 1/2 boxes of 'so hup' pills push the jaundice reading higher.

By Day 6 when I sent my baby for check up, his jaundice reading was 361 umol/l approximately 20.63mg/dL.

Apparently in Malaysia once the level reach 400 umol/l the baby will have to go for a blood exchange with possible risk of brain and ear damage.

Since it was 361, my baby went through hospital admission for 2 days 1 night with photo therapy with 2 lights.

While he was in hospital, the jaundice level had to be monitored every 6 hours through blood test. It was really heart wrenching to hear his loud cries as the doctors try to find the correct tiny veins on his tiny hands. Imagine doing this every 6 hours  T.T

After checking out of the hospital, we have to continue to monitor the level at local government clinic by drawing blood too but thankfully this time from his heel.

The whole ordeal took 2 weeks to end and all because of the simple mistake of taking herbal concoctions while breastfeeding!

So if you plan to breastfeed, please steer clear of ALL herbal potions. Just consume normal chicken soup etc for nourishment.

Because apparently most emergency wards are not as effective as it should be, especially when your emergencies happen at night!

It can really SAVE LIVES if you know what to do and where to go for medical help. I hope what I learnt the hard way can help you avoid the same mistake and HEARTBREAK which I went through with Hospital Pantai Cheras and Ampang services, so CLICK baby-jaundice-emergency-what-to-do.

What happens if failed glucose test during pregnancy

Apparently many pregnant women failed their second glucose test.

Blame it on the urge to binge or the sudden cravings for fast food and carbonated drinks.

Anyway so what happens next?

Well for me, my nurse at KKIA (Klink Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak) immediately rang me up for a next day appointment for BSP (short for Blood Sugar Profile).

I suspect this is the same standard test for diabetic.

Basically it's a test done for sugar level AFTER 2 hours of every meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) which inadvertently mean you'll be spending the whole day in the KKIA.

Bummer!!

Double bummer for me because my nurse did not explain properly the procedure so I ended up starving until 230pm before my lunch because I was under the mistaken belief that I must take a before-eating-blood-sample for each meal.

Why 230pm? Cos the KKIA closes from 1 to 2pm. No one explained that I just eat at 1230pm and come back at 230pm to draw blood :(

SO BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENS IS:-

1) You fast 10 hours (last meal was before 10pm the night before), then at 8am you take a control blood test (TEST 1).

2) Go for your breakfast, then wait 2 hours then go back for TEST 2.

3) Go for your lunch at 1230pm or 1pm then go back for TEST 3 after 2 hours.

4) Go for your dinner at 6pm then go back for TEST 4 after 2 hours.

Sounds simple right?

Still I managed to mess up my BSP test.. haha.. Well at least it's good news that they will not be drawing blood for 6 times but only 4 times.

Note the results are immediate because they use the same device which diabetics use to monitor their sugar level.

So since my mother have the device, I did all future tests at home because I have to control my diet and monitor the glucose level with BSP (blood sugar level) every 2 weeks until I deliver my baby.

Not only that, I have to do MGTT test (click this link for more info on MGTT glucose-test-during-pregnancy-mgtt) after 6 weeks of delivery.. Hmm... Guess monitoring glucose level is pretty serious business during and after pregnancy!

UPDATE:- my result for the glucose test AFTER delivery came back normal!! So means I'm not diabetic! So failing the test during pregnancy does not mean you are diabetic.

Just have to control your food intake during pregnancy so that you do not pass a high glucose level to your baby during delivery.