The truth about fixing a nose bleed

Both my kids are prone to having nose bleed. Watching huge amount of blood profusely streaming from the nose and lood stains on tissues and towels is very gory! Most times there are even blood clots. Not that it's some serious medical problems they are having. It's because of the sensitivity of the nose lining or nerve that can easily tear, especially since they are very young. Both my kids have this, i dunno if it's sinus, major mucus production factory in their nose. And also their nose is ultra sensitive to slight weather changes and dust mites. We consulted a specialist in both KKWCH and the private practice; and both came to the same conclusion or diagnosis.

So someone is having a nose bleed... what would you do or how would you help?

Misconception is that you'd tell the person to look up so the blood would not flow down. I mean that was what i was taught by my teachers waaaaaay back then and also now when i ask my elders.

No. Don't ever do that.

Instead, contradicting to facing up, you should tell the person to bend slightly down down and pinch the part slightly below the bridge nose. Do that for a while or a 5 to 10 minutes till the blood stops flowing.

Bending down brings the nose closer to the heart and that will stop the bleeding. Facing up will cause the blood to flow back into the throat and this will lead to other problems like vomitting etc. And placing an ice pack is fine... but not at the forehead! But at the nose... that will clot the blood and stop the bleeding.

I made sure that the teachers in my kids' pre school know this and i am glad they do! If unsure, please seek a doctor's advice on the proper treatment to stop the nose bleed. There are free pamphlets around in hospitals for information. So, don't be ignorant. Do the right thing.

Nurul's swimming... ?

It's been 2 years since she took up swimming with coach Tan. Err... how come so far no swimming test or cert? Or is she not good enough yet? I mean, i could see that her arms and legs coordination not so in sync in the water... but she could already swim breast stroke. I'm so proud of her! But i think she was still having problems with floating facing up cos she kinda sank last Saturday.... oooooowwweeeee... oh man! She was struggling a bit there.

Nurul posing in her new fuschia pink swim wear.

Nurul with her new swim-mate. I couldn't figure out if it was a boy or a girl...

ok, this was the part where she refused to turn back. She was having a nose bleed then! She had a nose bleed at 2am that wee morning and i think the wound in her nose had not dried up yet. She swam breaststroke and had to go deep down into the water, the wound acted up again. I was in a shock when she turned to look at me with blood flowing down from her nose. Bledding stopped about five minutes when i brought her out of the water and did the 'emergency' aid.

While waiting for Nurul to finish class, he had his iphone in his hand all the time.

Riyan having fun after Nurul's swimming class... now he's not afraid to go down the slide!

Testing out my new Tamron

Scouted a few shops for Nikorr 18-200 VR. The lowest offer was at Alan Photo at SG$950 inclusive of GST. But i was not intending to buy the Nikorr lens as yet as i didn't foresee myself spending enough time for photography with all the kids' errands... so i decided to settle for a Nikon mount Tamron 18-200 for now. Till i can commit time to take loads of photos, i shall stick to Tamron after battling between Sigma and Tamron.

So we went around to do a few test shots... seems pretty ok... the review about the barrel distortions, i have yet to come across... so far, so good... or maybe like they say, the good photo lies in the composition and not the lens... at least the major attribution is the photographer himself/herself... :P

One of the things that bugs me is the stiff turning of the lens when it's pointed upwards or downwards. Joseph of Alan Photo said it's normal and it'll take time for the motion to be smooth. Not that it's a big problem but just that it's not consistent when handled horizontally.

And since i have the original 18-55mm Nikorr, i'm thinking of buying that someone a basic Nikon body and i can pass him my 18-55mm... that is, if he does well for his major exam, Insya-Allah. We'll see...

Fast forward birthday

My baby boy had never celebrated his birthday in school. That's because his birthday falls on 29 Dec! It was either the traditional pulut kuning (yellow glitinous rice) for relatives or fishing b'day celebration or at the chalet during relative's BBQ. Let's recall:

1st year : Gutinous rice + cakes for relatives
2nd year : Fishing and cake (+ heavy rain and and eveyone squeezed into the tent! it was soooo fun!!!)
3rd year : Wak Yah's chalet. I shall upload the photos for this one when i'm not too lazy
4th year : really cannot recall... it was that bad..! i think he just gave some tidbits to his frens at school.

Tomorrow is the last day of the academic year. This time he requested to celebrate his birthday at school... on the last day of school. He didn't want a fancy-smancy cake. He wanted my mom to make a simple one and i decorated it. For the goody bag, i let him decide what he wanted to give away as favours. He chose pencil. Smart choice! So i made it complete by adding ruler, eraser and a pencil case to top it off.

Now, now... don't the photos look familiar? 4 years ago, my both ladies here were in the same kitchen making the same cake to give away to relatives for Riyan's birthday (left) and 4 years on, same ladies, same cake (right)...

Everyone chipping in to help out with the packing of the goodie cases...

His much awaited presents for his friends: 2 Disney babies pencils, ruler and an eraser in a see through pencil case... i like!!!

I printed this out, included his favourite McQueen, to slot into the pencil case...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha everyone... :)

This meaningful day is sometimes, or should i say all the time, over looked. We have so much to be thankful for in this country and all the sacrifices made by one or the other. We have been having it easy, Alhamdulillah... As i pray as a gratitude for this abundance that have been bestowed upon us by Allah, I too pray for the safety of those pilgrimages in Mecca and also for those who were left homeless and helpless due to the Mount Merapi.

It's a very quiet Aidiladha this time round. I don't recall any of my relatives or Pa's are doing the pilgrimage now. Breakfast this morning was also a simple one. Mak cooked sambal satay with lontong and i had requested for mee Siam the night before. My breakfast was a much delayed one because Pa took a while to come back. Didn't know he went to deposit money and filled up petrol for the car. Got me worried for a while and i didn't know if I should call his mobile. Didnt want to interupt if he was still in the mosque.

We are still waiting for Cik Yon to come by as i am typing this entry. Bile nak sampai nie..?

If by Zohor she doesn't come by, i'll just go out... meanwhile, here's wishing you a Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha to all Muslims from my family and I.

She looks oh-so-like me... below are photos of them monkeying around.

HAPPY 34TH PA...!!!!!

Kesian Pa.... it was supposed to be a Satay dinner at Lau Pa Sat under the twinkling sky. :P...

But it rained. Rained so heavily that even Arnold's suspended their delivery services to Sengkang area. Our celebration spirit dampened a little... but, hey, hey, hey.... Pizza Hut was still willng to take our orders. So it was a Pizza Hut birthday dinner for Pa!

I miss Australia!

I'm now listening to Aussie radio live streaming from the PC... makes me feel i'm in Australia. I miss Australia....

B105 !!!

Can't get enough of cake decorating

And the craze for decorating went on and on and on and on....... this time attack was on Wak Yah's birthday cake! Found out that her birthday fell on 11 Nov, so complementary cake from Royals with FREE inhouse designer's input!

Even when they were trying to express their creativity, I had to scream and be irritated as i need perfection on the cake... heheheheh i'm so insane, rite? Anyway, they liked the outcome....

Cute and sincere, rite...? Designer cake! Their own input ok... not mine... I only assisted with squeezing Riyan's hand to let the cream flow....

So ok! Which one of my aunts or uncles birthday next??!!

Look what she goooooot...!

Kudos, Nurul! We are so proud of you.... :)

... and so they followed my interests

Both kids expressed so much interest in decorating the cupcakes. They insisted on having their own design. Mak made extra, just in case my order required more. So they had their trial on the extras. Not only they enjoyed the decorating part... they love to eat them after that too! Except for Riyan who only ate the cream!

Setting up their decorating factory at the dining table. Nurul demonstrating to Riyan the correct way to handle the piping bag and Riyan looking on intensely.
It just had to be a picture of a cat!