family


Days 1 and 2: Entertaining the Toddler + Addressing FAQs

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J Boy Colouring

In my previous post, I had talked about arriving in Singapore, and checking into our hotel to serve our SHN. It’s great that the government is taking great lengths to welcome its overseas residents home, and taking such good care of us. At the same time, this can also save our tourism industry. Even the receptionist we met at check-in agreed with this!

Entertaining an active toddler

Our jetlag seemed to disappear pretty quickly – we adjusted to Singapore’s time zone almost immediately. With the lack of sleep, I was still exhausted and unable to keep up with J Boy’s activity level. So we resorted to screen time, and lots of it! Chromecast + iPhone games sure have saved our sanity! And no, I’m not guilty of it – parents need their down time too! Continue Reading…



11 Things to Note When Getting the Flu Vaccine

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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…


Can a One-Year-Old Understand Two Languages?

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Daddy Reads to Baby

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…


10 Budget-Friendly Tips For Your Taiwan Vacation

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Baby J and Grandma to Taiwan

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…


You Don’t Need to Buy a SIM Card When Driving Overseas

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A few weeks ago, our GrabHitch driver (let’s call him Bee) shared his experience driving overseas for his business trip. He’s not a novice overseas driver. However, he mentioned he bought a SIM card specially for using his navigation maps app (Google Maps). I asked him why he did so, since his phone had GPS. He responded with, “Huh can meh? How does it work?” Continue Reading…


My Baby Refuses to Drink Milk. What Can I Do?

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Baby J Drink Milk

As parents, we often worry ourselves, many times unnecessarily, over our kids. Are they drinking enough milk? Are they drinking enough water? Are they eating enough? What happens when strangers touch them? Are they developing at the right pace?

About 1.5 months ago, when Baby J was about 10 months old, he suddenly refused to drink milk during his waking hours. He would shove away the bottle, kick and scream, cry loudly. Whatever we did, he would refuse to drink. We had not changed his routine, nor his formula milk brand. He was taking Friso Gold Stage 2 at that time. (Check out this page for Friso’s formula milk samples, plus many others.) So from 10 months, Baby J would go to bed without milk, and the only time he would be willing to drink is when he’s up and groggy early in the morning. Continue Reading…


5 Top Tips My Mum Taught Me About Marriage and Relationships

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Sean Michelle Wedding Marriage

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…


How to ‘Survive’ a Staycation in Johor Bahru With a Baby

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Baby J Fanpekka

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…


How to Get a Complimentary One-Year Insurance Coverage for Your Baby

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Complimentary Insurance Voucher from NTUC Good Start Bundle

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…