I’m back! Sorry for the long hiatus. That’s because I was working on a very important project for the past 6 months. We took Baby J out of school yesterday so that we could all get the flu vaccine together. (Yes, Baby J has started playgroup! I will talk more about it in a separate post.) So, we got the flu vaccine earlier in the week, and I’m here with some information I’ve learnt in the process. Continue Reading…
We have this system at home, and Daddy Sean insists we do it: He will only speak to Baby J in Mandarin, while the rest of us at home can speak to him in English or Hokkien dialect. Sean is very consistent, and may only slip in a sentence or two of English with Baby J. This way, Baby J will hopefully be able to converse comfortably in two languages as he grows up. Continue Reading…
Ah Taiwan. We Singaporeans absolutely love the country! We are so won over by the mix of good food, shopping and breathtaking scenery. There’s really nothing not to love about Taiwan. People are often warm and friendly too! Also, some of the most bittersweet memories (but nostalgic) with hubby Sean were from Taiwan. (Yup, Part 2 will be out later this week!)
So we just returned from a 10-day trip to Taiwan 4 days ago. (I will do a separate blog post on the awesome stuff we did there.) Hubby Sean and I brought Baby J and both our mums along with us. This is also Baby J’s first airplane ride! We are definitely not strangers to beautiful Taiwan. But during this trip, we learnt more about how to budget properly, and still provide comfort to the little one and the two elderly. In the past, when we travel, Sean and I would only book our first accommodation (along with our flight tickets, of course), and settle the rest of our accommodation only while we are there. We no longer have the luxury of doing that since it can be pretty risky. Continue Reading…
Five days ago, Daddy Sean and I celebrated our third year anniversary! Yes, we just turned 3! These have been three excellent years of marriage. While we were dating (for 2 years), many people commented that all the nice stuff that Sean (the then-boyfriend) had been doing for me were because we were still in the honeymoon stage. But he’s been consistent and improving himself as the years go by. Looking forward to more awesome years with Baby J and Daddy Sean! 🙂
To understand why I admire my husband so much, read this post and this post! 😛 Continue Reading…
Early last week, we went for a three-night staycation in Johor Bahru, Malaysia with Baby J. This was the first time we took him to JB overnight. While planning for the trip, we were stressing over what to bring and how long to stay, as first-time parents do. In our previous visits, we had excellent experience with Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel, so we booked it at a super reasonable price for a 5-star hotel. I’ll talk more about the hotel later, and how awesome it really is! We also decided not to drive in, since it’s the holiday season and traffic will be rough. Continue Reading…
It’s very important to get insurance for our children in Singapore, with the rising medical costs. Every Singapore citizen will have Medishield Life, which is a basic plan administered by the CPF Board. It is paid for by our Medisave accounts. Medishield Life fully covers subsidised treatments in public hospitals, and is limited to B2/C wards. Continue Reading…
The People’s Association (PA) has been organising Embracing PArenthood events across Singapore for parents of babies born in 2016 and 2017. The purpose of this event is to showcase the various promotions for new parents as well as for families to gather for some simple activities. I must say, the highlight of this event, at least for me, is the NTUC Good Start Bundle promotion. I will talk more about this in a separate post, as it is deemed important enough for me to do so. (There’s a complimentary one-year insurance coverage for your baby!) For now, I shall focus on what parents will expect in the Embracing PArenthood event (especially the goodie bags!). Continue Reading…
Have you ever missed your flight because of an incident you could not control? Does seem rather annoying at the time, doesn’t it? Ever missed an important event, or arrived late, due to a decision you made? Or because of a last minute poop?
This late afternoon, I took a bet, and went into a small road to avoid the traffic lights at the main road that were turning red. Along that small road, about half the time, a truck may stop there to deliver some goods to the shops and block the road. Or we may even encounter a car waiting to pick someone up along that stretch. I lost my bet. Because even though the traffic lights turned red at the main road, there was a truck delivering goods along the small road I picked. Had I chosen to wait at the traffic lights instead, I would’ve reached my destination slightly earlier. Such inconveniences used to tick me off very easily in the past. But not anymore.
My hubby related this incident that happened to him many years ago. He had planned a trip to Malaysia with two good friends. They were to meet at the train station and travel in by train. It was supposed to be a rather short ride, and they should reach their destination within a few hours. They even met up at an earlier timing for breakfast before their train ride. Continue Reading…
tl;dr: Baby J had diarrhea and was warded in the Mount Alvernia Paediatric Ward. Mount Alvernia Hospital has single rooms for babies and toddlers which are very well-equipped. There is a steam steriliser for baby bottles, a bottle soap dispenser to wash our bottles in the bathroom, and a small play area. They are flexible in letting more than one companion stay in the single room without extra charge, as they understand parents may need an extra helping hand. This also comes, of course, with very warm and friendly nurses. However, these rooms are very limited especially during the weekends.
Three Mondays ago, Baby J started getting the runs. He was pooping every 3 to 4 hours, so we had to do at least 6-8 nappy changes in a day. There was no fever, no loss of appetite, and his activity level was still high. We could not figure what was causing the diarrhea, but it was causing him great discomfort in his bum area. He had angry red diaper rashes all over his bum, and would cry whenever we wiped him down. Continue Reading…
Two nights ago, at about 10.30pm, we made our maiden trip to Mount Alvernia 24-Hour Walk-In Clinic. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. Our trip totalled only 30 minutes.
That evening, Baby J started feeling warm to our touch. We took his temperature: 37.5 degrees Celsius. Ok, we thought, perhaps he’s teething. He seemed a little lethargic, so we let him nap for awhile before having our dinner. We’d go to Thomson Plaza almost every evening for our dinner because we are usually too busy to cook at home. Whenever we are there, Baby J would be very excited and scream a lot, to the amusement of many shoppers (and perhaps annoyance to some others). However, that evening, he was strangely quiet and sleepy. Continue Reading…