3. New mother is well read.

The 4th Shih Tzu puppy licked the muscle relaxant cream from the tube used by the new mother's mum who helped her to babysit.

"Mum's hand gets sprained after carrying my baby," she told me. Now the puppy is very quiet. Could she be poisoned by the salicylate in the cream? The owner had rinsed the puppy's mouth.

An examination did not reveal much. The rectal temperature dropped from 39.1C to 38.4C over the next 30 minutes at the surgery.

"How is it like to be a full-time mum?" I asked her. She was a human resource assistant managing over 400 staff and their overwhelming demands for attention and explanation. She quit after 8 years as workload increased considerably. The company did not want to recruit more staff to help her.

It was a loss to the company as her network is extensive.

"What books do you read to help you be a good mum?" I asked. She is in her 30s and well informed. These are her recommendations:

1. No Cry Sleep Solution - Elizabeth Panley - Page One bookshop at Vivo City.
2. Good Night Sleep Tight - Kim West - Page One bookshop at Vivo City.
3. babysupplies.com forum.
4. Asian Parenting Today Book. Most appropriate than baby books written by Westerners, she said.
5. babycenter.com


"How about your husband?" I asked.
He does not seem to need to read such books.

"I read Dr Benjamin Spock," I said to her. "That was 20 years ago. Have you heard of this famous doctor well known in the U.S.?"

She shook her head.