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…
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…
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…
‘Motor skill’ is a process involving the coordination of muscles that work together when motions are carried out. There are 2 different kinds of motor skills in a child’s development – fine motor skills and gross motor skills. 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…
Just like adults, children learn at different paces. Some absorb information and process them quickly, while others take a longer time to understand and retain new information. While parents are eager for their children to learn what they are being taught quickly, it is important to exercise restraint and patience when it comes to handling a child who is a slower learner. It does no one good if both parties get frustrated, and parents who lose their patience this way might inadvertently kill the joy of learning in the young one and cause them to lose their self-confidence, and affect their self-esteem. 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…
Sensory play is an interesting concept I’ve recently come across. It involves little kids learning through play and invoking their five senses to promote development. Sometimes, it involves creating a mess. 😛 Once babies reach the crawling stage, they pretty much want to roam around and grab stuff. So I thought, why not let Baby J grab stuff and learn at the same time? Went to do some research, and found some ideas of safe sensory play for babies.
We created a gooey concoction of cornflour and water, and added food colouring. This made the mixture edible for babies who enjoy putting stuff into their mouths. The night before, I excitedly followed a recipe I found online to a tee, but found that the mixture remained liquid for a long time. I suspect it could be the climate as I had followed instructions from a sensory play event from the US. Had to improvise, and I would advise anyone trying to follow the following to improvise as well. Also, check out the pointers at the bottom! Continue Reading…