Kitchen Exploits | Family Favourites

I'm excited to share with you a new series on Kitchen Exploits, featuring guest bloggers who are incredible home-cooks in their own rights.

Each of these bloggers will be sharing a Family Favourite recipe. The recipes range from hearty main dishes, to light bites and desserts. The common threads would be that every recipe is well-loved in the households of the featured bloggers, and will feature easy-to-find ingredients and uncomplicated steps that can be replicated in your own home.

I hope that these new voices on the blog will provide you with fresh inspiration for your own kitchens. It was certainly refreshing for me to see what others make, feeding my kitchen exploits with revived creativity and enthusiasm.

Do join me and my featured writers in this space!

MindChamps Reading Program & Child Minding Service

Bubbles and I were offered an opportunity to attend a trial at the MindChamps Reading Program recently. MindChamps offers such trial classes as a way for children and their parents to experience what the program is like, before deciding if they want to sign up for it. MindChamps is also a Rise & Shine partner this year.

Bubbles enjoyed the session that included animated storytelling, craft work and a game.

At the session we were at, there was Bubbles and another little girl in attendance. The teacher used a well-known book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, as the basis for the various activities. It was an interactive and conversational session, with the teacher regularly asking the children questions to test understanding and create dialogue, while giving opportunity for language use. Bubbles, being the chatty sort of person she is, was in her element that day, bobbing up and down answering questions and chipping in comments.

I appreciated the enthusiasm of the teacher and her ability to create a fun atmosphere for the very small class of two. She was also mindful of the two very different little girls she was teaching that day, and took every opportunity to give recognition to the strengths that they each have. Bubbles clearly had fun during the session, and particularly enjoyed the conversations. 

MindChamps Reading is the brainchild of a team led by Brian Caswell, an expert at developing learning, literacy and creativity programs, and author of over 100 books, including The Art of Communicating With Your Child.

MindChamps Reading aims to develop
1. Narrative Intelligence
2. Higher Order Thinking Skills
3. Connectivity
4. Attentiveness
5. Language in Comprehension

The program offers 3 different levels to cater to different reading stages called Joey, Panda and Dolphin. You can read details about each level here.

Prior to choosing a program, children will undergo a comprehensive reading assessment to determine the level that he/she is at, before getting placed in a suitable stage.

After our trial class, I requested for Bubbles to be given this assessment, for me to have an understanding of what it entails.

It was an eye opener for me to see the session being conducted. Not being a language specialist, it was interesting to see where the gaps were in Bubbles' comprehension of words and sentences, along with where she shone. The assessment included identification of letters in the alphabet, pointing out mistakes in words and sentence formation (eg. upside down words, punctuation marks at the beginning instead of at the end of sentences etc), and actual writing of words, among other areas. There are proper terms for each segment of the assessment of course, and I am describing them as a non-expert!

I found the session useful as a mother keen on helping her child progress in her reading. It is definitely essential before a program placement so that the child gets into a class that best caters to his/her current abilities.

If you would like to find out more about the MindChamps Reading Program and Assessment, do contact MindChamps using this form or contact the Paragon branch (where we were at) here:

MindChamps Reading @
Paragon
290 Orchard Road #06-19/20
Tel: 8332 0020

By the way, did you know that MindChamps at Paragon has a Child Minding Service every weekend? Yes, one that includes story-telling, cooking and gym! You now have a place to leave your kids while you shop! Check out the service here.

(This post is sponsored by Rise & Shine)

This post is sponsored by Rise & Shine)

Mooncakes by Oven Bakes

Mooncakes! The season is around the corner, and I spent a morning with a dear friend Rina, helping to photograph her homemade mooncakes for her new bake shop, Oven Bakes. A much older relative has been selling mooncakes from her home for nearly three decades to a small but loyal customer following. Rina is now taking over the business, serving their long-time and mostly older folk customers, and hoping to reach out to a younger customer base as well.

As requested of her, Rina is sticking mostly to the regular products this year, with baked and snow skin selections. However, she has created a special duo-flavoured mooncake that includes Red Bean paste together with the usual White Lotus paste. I hear this flavour has been especially popular with her new customers.

Oven Bakes also offers durian mooncakes, and even some mooncakes with macadamia nuts! Although I consider myself to be rather traditional in my taste for mooncakes, preferring the regular baked mooncakes with lotus paste, melon seeds and egg yolks, I must say that the macadamia nuts ones are oh-so-good.

When she offered me some mooncakes to try a few weeks ago, I enjoyed them so much I was biting right into them (to Roboman's eye-rolling) instead of portioning them out as one usually does. The paste she makes has a nice texture with just the right level of sweetness, and includes a generous portion of melon seeds. Very satisfying, especially if you are a mooncake fan!

If you are planning to buy mooncakes this year, either for yourself or as gifts, do have a look at what Oven Bakes has to offer, and consider buying some tasty homemade ones. No frills, un-fancy, but good! I particularly like the mini mooncake selections, as they look adorable and are so easy to eat.

Oven Bakes offers free delivery to one local address for orders of at least 12 boxes. You can find the Order Information and Price List on their Facebook Page, and they can be contacted at ovenbakes@gmail.com.

Psst
Oven Bakes will be offering other baked goods for sale in the near future. Like the Facebook Page for updates, or if not, I'll be sure to tell you about it here!

FOX Kids & Baby

You may have seen my happy announcement about my girls being sponsored by FOX Kids & Baby on my Instagram or Twitter.

FOX is one of my favourite brands for children's clothing, and both my daughters own a number of casual, everyday items from FOX Kids & Baby. In fact, several of these items have previously appeared on this blog, as seen here, here and here. I love the fact that this brand marries comfort, quality and design at a price point that is affordable.

Needless to say, we were thrilled to embark on a partnership with a brand that we like. It was a bonus that the selection at the FOX Kids & Baby stores today carry a range of tasteful and modern Disney and Hello Kitty designs.

So, I took Bubbles shopping!

You know, Bubbles has never quite gone shopping for clothes before. I have always bought her clothes for her, estimating size, and choosing items either for practical purposes, or selecting styles that I know she will wear. 

It was therefore a most exciting outing for her, doing the grown-up thing of selecting clothing off a rack, and trying them on in a fitting room. She was prancing around the whole time, and bantering with the sales rep, who by the way, was super amused by Bubbles and told me on another day that she looks forward to seeing her again.

I inwardly groaned a little when Bubbles first started selecting only PINK items! Thankfully the pink shades available are in tones that I myself like - strong, warm pinks. She picked out a pair of gorgeous dark pink skinny jeans to match a pair in the same shade I recently bought for myself. She undoubtedly looks better than I do in them, being tall and lean like her dad!

Bubbles is also very much a Disney fan, and we could not walk away without getting something with a Mickey or Minnie Mouse on it. She found slit-shouldered pink t-shirt with a Minnie Mouse and sparkly sequins. For course this had to go into our shopping bag!

We also picked out a pretty Hello Kitty white tee. She liked the Hello Kitty, we both liked the white, and I liked the effective use of a few colours to make this an understated piece. The watercolour effect adds a nice current touch.

FOX always carries a range of basic cotton pieces in seasonal colours. Stuff like basic t-shirts, leggings and shorts. I find them really practical and we always have a few pieces in rotation.We picked out two pairs of shorts for Bubbles to wear to school, including a pair in a lovely aqua shade.

Since September will be a month of celebrations, with Bubbles turning four and a cousin getting married, I let her pick out a dressier item. We really liked this flutter-sleeved dress with a sash tie. Again, she chose a colour that I too have as a dress (this girl just wants to be me. oh dear.). But really, a lovely coral shade like this looks beautiful on our skin!

Shopping for Bubbles done, I went on another day to select items for Bun.

Here are a few photos of Bun rocking her Minnie Mouse t-shirt and her leggings made to look like jeans. She loves telling people she meets about the "Mouse" by pointing to the Minnie on her t-shirt! I personally LOVE these leggings. I think little tots in jeans are just so cute a look, but real jeans in our humid weather can be really uncomfortably hot. These leggings are thin, stretchable, and super duper comfortable. I need them in MY size!

I'm pretty sure most of you would have already heard about FOX Kids & Baby. If you haven't, or if it has been a while since you've stepped into a store, do pop by and you might be pleasantly surprised.

A list of FOX Kids & Baby stores in Singapore can be found here.

Happy shopping, and join me in the next couple of months as I share various FOX promotions, and other highlights!

Sponsor Shoutout - Bags at The Sunshine Kids (+ Discount Code)

The Sunshine Kids has stocked some new animal themed kids' bags from PaddlePak and Skip Hop. Besides my all time favourite Owl bag, here are four others that caught my eye:

1. PaddlePak Grab Bag - Jelly Fish | S$24.90
2. Skip Hop Panda Zoo Backpack | On sale | S$35.90
3. PaddlePak Clown Fish Chuckles | S$47.90
4. Skip Hop Lion Zoo Backpack | On sale | S$35.90

And I just spotted some new straw bags in the store, including this adorable one with rabbits on it!

Aren't they such fun? :)

From now till 12 September 2013, The Sunshine Kids is offering blog readers 10% off your purchases with the use of discount code corsage10. Happy Shopping!

::

*The Sunshine Kids is giving away a Skip Hop lunch bag every month. Hope over here to find out how you can participate. 

Weekend Workouts

This weekend started off with really sunny weather. We wandered around Rodyk Street, wanting to taste some gluten-free cakes from All Good Things, not knowing that they are temporarily shut. After having a hasty brunch elsewhere, we headed home to escape from the heat.

Unfortunately, a downpour in the afternoon has dashed our plans for a swim with the kids.

I have asked Roboman to watch the kids for a bit, while I sit at the computer typing this, and to do some thinking about the blog.

There are some exciting plans in the works, including a blog re-design and a five month clothing sponsor for my kids. There is so much I have planned, and want to do, but am limited by time. Do you also feel this way with projects that you are working on?

There is a twinge of disappointment when I look the calendar and see that a lot of the year has passed, without having accomplished many of the things I would like to do.

Sure, changes in the home-front has messed things up somewhat, but it is also because I have been choosing to go with the flow of daily responsibilities without forcing time out for disciplined planning.

So here I am, trying to work out and re-evaluate my priorities, and figuring out how to achieve what I hope to, before the year ends.

And oh, two things that just might once again throw me off my plans:
1. Bubbles' 4th birthday next month
2. Our recent discovery of her food allergies

Just this morning, she requested for an "Ant Birthday Cake", specifically with underground tunnels (!), bugs and flies.

So yes, watch this space for a gluten-free Ant Habitat Chocolate Cake.

Anyone offering me a pat on my back in advance? ;)

Our Experiment with Baby-Led Weaning

I shared previously that Bun started her solids-eating journey with a disinterest in food. Heeding her doctor's advice, I gave her whole pieces of food to eat, to give her some autonomy in food choices, and to help her develop an interest in food.

Today, at almost 15 months, I will place her meals in front of her, and she will feed herself fairly efficiently. Sure, I will always have newspapers lining the floor under her highchair, and make sure that she wears a waterproof bib, but she does get a fair amount into her tummy. She is able to use a spoon and fork quite well when presented with them, but is most happy using her bare hands to put food into her mouth.

Her independence in self-feeding has been wonderful, as it frees me up to do other things, including feeding myself! Although there is a lot to clean up (grimy hands do get everywhere, including her ultra-thick hair), I am secretly pleased that this partial baby-led weaning experiment has worked well for us. There is a sense of pride in watching her feed herself intentionally, and in observing how she tastes everything that is put in front of her. She particularly likes vegetable stems!

Bun gets most thrilled however, when I present her with a whole fruit, particularly when it comes straight from the fridge. She would cup the fruit in her little hands, grin widely, and announce "Cooold!" before sitting down to gnaw on it.

If you are interested to try this method of feeding your child, there is this excellent Facebook Group that you can join to learn how others do it.

Like every other parenting methodology, there are extreme proponents of baby-led weaning. Purists, if you will. I say, read the literature, read about others' experiences, but most importantly, read your child.

Have fun exploring food with your baby!

Coping with my Child's Eczema - The SEC Shower System (and Discount Code)

:: Thank you to all who responded to my recent posts on Eczema. I will continue to write about our experience with eczema, and will look into all of your recommendations! ::

About two months ago, SEC contacted us to see if we would like to try out the SEC Shower System, a Korean product that has been clinically proven to help improve skin conditions. SEC will be participating in the upcoming Rise & Shine Expo 2013, and they noticed that Bubbles suffers from eczema.

As a mother, I am aching to find solutions to help alleviate Bubbles' discomfort. About a week before I was contacted, a friend happened to send me a text about the SEC Shower System too, and I filed it at the back of my mind, intending to find out more about it when I could.

Naturally, my interest was piqued when SEC offered to set up a system for us to try. I read these testimonials, and decided that I would like Bubbles to try this.

The SEC folks came to set up the system and to patiently explain to me how it works (and answer my many questions). I was surprised how quick it was to have the system set up. It is also easily removable if you move and want to take the system along with you.

The SEC Lifestyle website has a comprehensive explanation about how this system works, and I encourage you to have a look at the site. I will, however, explain the key aspects in this post, and also share our experience using it.

This is essentially what the shower system does:

It converts ordinary tap water into 
SEC bubbles that are even smaller than skin pores, 
giving the user a host of benefits. 

With the high concentration of tiny SEC bubbles, more oxygen is delivered to the skin, keeping it hydrated. As the bubbles are smaller than skin pores, they are also better able to cleanse the skin follicles, getting rid of dead skin cells (of which eczema sufferers have a lot of!) without pain-inducing scrubbing.

Besides the benefit of smallness of the bubbles, the system also produces ultrasonic waves that along with heat help with sterilization. SEC states that there is a sterilization rate of 99.9% (Colon Bacillus and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa). Ultrasonic waves are also known to enhance blood circulation, promote metabolism, and help recovery from muscle fatigue.

In addition, the system produces negative ions that are widely credited to enhance the immune system, speed up skin’s recovery process, and reduce fatigue.

It is easy to use this system. You can see from the above photograph that there are three tubes attached to the bottom of the white tank. One is where the water from the original water source enters to be created into SEC bubbles, another attached to the shower head, and the final one is for draining of the water. I have lifted up the part for water drainage and placed it next to the shower head for photography purposes.

So, how has our SEC Shower System experience been?

1. First of all, it has been incredibly fun to use. When you fill a bath with the water produced, the stream of bubbles produce a temporary milk-like effect! I find this very inviting, and Bubbles is intrigued by this.

2. More importantly, Bubbles no longer has meltdowns before her showers. She used to absolutely hate showering, as she said the water hurt her skin. She would cry, and come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid bathing. Unfortunately, she did succeed some of the time, leaving dirt and grime on her skin, worsening her eczema condition.

The fine SEC Bubbles is somehow a lot gentler on her skin. She enjoys the feeling of it on her body, and  actually requests for showers. I can't begin to tell you how this has made my days a little easier, without the daily bath-time struggle. I use this shower now too, and I too really like how the water feels on my skin. There is an inexplicable refreshing sensation that I enjoy.

3. I use a lot less skin cleansers and shampoos than before as well, as I have noticed that the spray of the water alone seems to be effective in normal day-to-day cleaning. There are many times when I have left out the shampoo altogether, and simply give her scalp a good spray.

As suggested by the SEC folks, I try to focus the water sprays on the parts of her skin that has rash so that these parts get the most benefits of the bubbles. I remembered this advice and do that each day. I have personally seen the redness of those patches turn less red during showers.

4. Another benefit I have noticed is that Bubbles' skin is a lot less dry after showering with this system. Previously, I would rush to put on her moisturizers after a shower, when her skin immediately shows dryness. With this system, the post-shower dry skin effect is a lot reduced, and I don't feel so frantic about needing to hydrate her skin!

5. I have also noticed Bubbles scratching less in general after using this shower system. I believe this has got to do with the effective cleaning - the removal of dead skin cells, along with itch-causing bacteria

::
Now, Bubbles eczema is quite bad, and we are constantly trying out various products, including some medication. I cannot say that the SEC Shower System alone has improved her eczema, but it has definitely alleviated her discomfort in showering, and helped reduce the post-shower skin dryness and itchiness that she used to experience. With the system, we are also less reliant on bathing cleansers in keeping her skin clean, and I particularly like this, as it reduces her exposure to additional chemicals in cleansing products.

All in all, I would say that this has been a great product to use. Bubbles has asked that we keep the system!

::
SEC is offering readers of this blog a discount of $400 (usual retail price $1,999) for the SEC Shower System.

The discounted price of $1,599 would be inclusive of 7% GST, delivery and installation.

Simply quote ADOLLOPOFME/55 from today till 30 September 2013 to get this discount. Do share this information with friends and family!

If you are keen to find out more about the SEC Shower System, or to see a demonstration of the system, do contact SEC at the details below:

SEC International Pte Ltd

1 Pemimpin Drive

#07-09 One Pemimpin

Singapore 576151

Opening Hours: Mon to Fri (10am to 5pm)

Tel: 6659 7890  
Email: sales@secitnl.com

I hope you have found this review useful! 

(The SEC Shower System and some images in this post are c/o SEC with our heartfelt thanks. This post is sponsored by Rise & Shine)

(products c/o Philips AVENT and post sponsored by Rise & Shine) - See more at: http://www.adollopofme.com/2013/04/review-philips-avent-steamer-blender.html#sthash.4GL9VolT.dpuf

The Elusive Singapore National Day Song

I recently took Bubbles to Eat Play Love Cafe for dinner, and to meet some lovely folks representing Coca Cola Singapore. While I enjoyed a pleasant chat among adults, she had fun crafting and adorning me with various ribbon and pasta jewellery. It delighted her when I wore her creations all the way home.

In the car on the way back, Bubbles suddenly starting singing Singapura, Oh Singapura, followed by Stand Up for Singapore. Before long, we were both belting out various Singapore National Day songs - totally off-key singing with lots of humming to make up for lyrics that neither of us can remember. We sang with gusto and in earnest unison. She obviously has been learning these songs in school, as a lead up to National Day celebrations.

It dawned on me that our short time in the car singing was a special shared experience. Roboman is not Singaporean, so he is unfamiliar with these songs as he has never heard them growing up. For Bubbles and I however, these songs have and will be staples in our childhood memories of melodies.

(If you haven't already heard this year's much discussed National Day song One Singapore, you can listen to it here.)

Bubbles asked if I could teach her teachers THE National Day song that I sing at home.

Which one? I asked.

The 9th of August don't need to go to school one! She replies.

AH. That one.

In my memory is this National Day song that I sang in primary school. I've always remembered it, as it is short, has fun lyrics, and a catchy tune. It is only in recent years that I found out it is not one of the standard National Day Songs. No one else I've asked seems to know it, and no, I do not own a CD of this song either.

Do you recognise this song?

THE 9th of AUGUST

The 9th of August is a holiday,

we don't have to go to school,

we all can play.

I'm dressed in my best,

especially for today!

Hip hip hooray 

It's our National Day.

Today is the birthday of Singapore.

We will celebrate this day 

like never before.

I don't know how it started

but I know it's true.

This is the day for

me and you!

Coping with my Child's Eczema - Products for Bath Time

I shared about the various creams and lotions we have used, in bid to keep Bubbles' skin as moisturized as possible.

Besides a regular moisturizing routine, many eczema sufferers like Bubbles, need to find suitable products for cleansing of the skin. Clean skin is important, as bacteria in the eczema sores can cause incredible itch.

In general, the cleansing products used must be gentle, and not strip the skin of its already low levels of natural oils. It ideally should also be fragrance-free, as a preventive measure against additional irritation.

We currently use Cetaphil's Gentle Skin Cleanser, and it has worked quite well for Bubbles. It is very gentle and leaves the skin feeling smooth. We leave a bottle of it in her school as well, so that she can use this in place of the regular hand soap provided by the school.

I also personally like MooGoo Milk Wash. I felt it helped moisturize Bubbles' skin. Unfortunately, she did not quite like the milky smell of this, and so we discontinued using it.

I would also like to share about these two other products that have helped Bubbles quite a lot:

1. Potassium Permanganate - This is a common substance that you can find in any pharmacy. It comes in the form of liquids or crystals, and it is essentially a mild disinfectant. We add this into her bath water (turns it purple - super fun!) and it helps to relieve some of the eczema itch.

2. Dentinox Cradle Cap Treatment Shampoo - A little of this goes a long way. We discovered this shampoo during a phase when she had a really bad flare-up on her scalp. There was terrible itch and a lot of daily flaking of skin. This really helped reduce the skin flaking, and lessened the scalp itch.

:::
What skin cleansing products have you used?

One recommendation that we have not tried are bath oils. I will write about it if we do use them!
:::

Read all posts on Coping with my Child's Eczema here.

Coping with my Child's Eczema - The Creams & Lotions

One thing we've experienced with Bubbles' eczema is that we get no shortage of advice and sharing of experiences by well-meaning people. Family, friends, and many strangers have taken time to approach us to share what has worked for either themselves, or people that they know.

I have been heartened by this, and appreciate the concern that we have received. I recall in particular one woman we met at a McDonalds. She felt so sorry for Bubbles (who was hurting from getting her hands washed), that she chatted with me for a long while, sharing about doctors, creams and eczema eliminating methods that she knows of.

Initially, I didn't know if it was wise of me to share about the products that we have used. After all, I must state clearly that none of these products have cured Bubbles of her eczema. We have applied medications that have healed her rashes and wounds (I will share about those in another post), but so far, no product has helped prevent the rashes from recurring.

However, after being contacted several times about various products to help ease rashes cased by eczema - either as recommendations, or queries about what works, I decided that writing about the products we have tried could be useful for others.

In this post, I would like to share about the various moisturizing creams that we have used on Bubbles. People with eczema often have dry skin, with some having skin barrier conditions whereby the skin is unable to retain moisture well. Many of these creams were able to ease all symptoms of mild eczema, as attested by people who recommended the creams to us.

1. California Baby Calendula Cream
This was the first cream that we tried, and we used an entire tub. This is the cream that was recommended most often to us, especially when Bubbles was younger. From what I know, many babies with mild eczema only needed this to ease the rash. Unfortunately, while it provided moisturizing comfort to Bubbles, it did not stop the itch for her. If your child is young and the eczema is not serious, it may be worthwhile to try this cream out.

2. Physiogel Cream and Physiogel AI Cream
Physiogel as a brand was the next most recommended product to us. One of the doctors we saw prescribed the Physiogel AI Cream, as it has properties that help relive itch. For eczema sufferers, and in particular children, reliving the itch is a big part of the process to stop the eczema cycle. This is because scratching causes the skin to break, increasing the chance of bacteria to enter, and upping the itch factor in a vicious cycle. We used the Physiogel AI cream for quite a long time, but with Bubbles eczema being so bad that the cream did not stop enough of the itch, we switched to the cheaper option of regular Physiogel Cream just for the moisturizing properties. We still use this cream today, alternating with Cetaphil Cream, as I shall describe next.

3. Cetaphil Cream
With Bubbles needing to be moisturized 3-4 times a day, we were using out creams at a very fast rate. Roboman came home one day with a huge tub of Cetaphil Cream. We find its texture a tad lighter than the Physiogel Cream, and therefore perhaps a little less rich. However, since it is cheaper, we are able to be more liberal in applying this on her. Like the Physiogel Cream however, this also does not have itch-reliving properties.

Next, I'll share about 3 newer products in the market that we have tried:

4. Atopiclair Cream/Lotion
This product claims to help relive the eczema itch, along with moisturizing properties. The cream was recommended to us by one of the doctors we saw. It does seem to relive some of Bubbles' itch during the times when her flare-ups were not too serious. To save cost, we also tried the lotion, but found it too liquid and not moisturizing enough for her. However, I can imagine the lotion working for eczema sufferers who do not have as bad skin barrier a condition as hers.

5. Ceradan Cream
We received a tube of this from a doctor, and were told to try to see if it works on Bubbles. This cream is said to help "strengthen the skin barrier by restoring the skin's natural compounds". Bubbles' skin has problems retaining moisture, so we were asked to use this along with a regular moisturizer. We only used one small tube, and it was along with a whole host of other products and eczema managing processes, so I cannot say if this produced clear results for Bubbles. If you are seeing a doctor regarding eczema, you may want to ask if the clinic has a sample for you to try.

6. Ezerra Cream
This cream was given to us from one of the doctors we saw. As we understand, different creams suit different eczema sufferers, and so we tried this as well to see if it works. This cream is stated to be suitable for mild to moderate cases of eczema, in particular in infants and children. Given that this cream was created with young ones in mind, it may be a good option to consider and to ask your healthcare practitioner about if you have a young eczema sufferer with you. Bubbles' eczema was probably a little too severe when we tried this.

Finally, we used two other products that didn't quite fall under "Creams" or "Lotions" but were certainly products that we applied on her skin:

7. Emulsifying Ointment BP

After spending tons of money on expensive creams, the price of this came a bit as a surprise for us. It is very affordable, and is basically a thick gel-like ointment. It is similar in texture to a block of petroleum jelly. It really helps retain moisture on the worse parts of skin, but its heavy texture means that it is uncomfortable for use in hot, humid weather. Given that we live in sunny Singapore, we only used this at nights, when air-conditioning is turned on. We also used this together with prescribed wet wraps, something that is tedious to do, and uncomfortable for Bubbles, but very effective.

8. Chlorhexidine Solution

This is basically an antiseptic solution. It also comes in little sachets. We applied these specifically on the areas of rash where there was broken skin, to prevent infection and bacteria growth. We were told that it is the bacteria that causes this itch, and therefore killing the bacteria would reduce the itch and scratching, and therefore aiding in the healing of the skin.

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If you have landed on this post searching for products to help with yours or your child's eczema, I hope you have found this useful. I will add to this list, if we try other products.

What other skin application products have you tried?

If you haven't already, you may want to read this related post:
Coping with my Child's Eczema - Our Story