There are tons of baby products out there that look so cute. As parents, we love to buy things for our kids and sometimes they end up as white elephant.
I’m a minimalist even though it is hard to continue this lifestyle after the kids are born. To achieve the minimalism in me, I always ask myself “do I/ baby really NEED this?”
A newborn baby has few needs, eat, shit and sleep. So my shopping list revolve around these 3.
Eat
I believe in fed is best and not overly stress myself with exclusively breastfeeding the baby. For the first few days when baby had jaundice and I couldn’t supply him with enough milk, I chose formula.
1. Water dispenser
If you are formula feeding, get a water dispenser that comes with instant varying temperatures such as 37 deg C, 50 deg C etc. No more guessing how much hot water to add to room temperature water. My husband thanked me for this purchase. Parenthood made easy!
A water dispenser with instant varying temperatures is excellent for making formula!
2. Spectra double breast pump
Spectra heavy duty hospital grade breast pump
I learnt from my first breastfeeding experience, a hospital grade breast pump is a must as it clears milk better. Get a double pump to save time and pump both breasts simultaneously.
3. Haakaa silicone pump
Haakaa silicone pump on the right
This haakaa silicone pump is good for catching letdown when baby is latching on one side as every liquid gold is so precious!
4. My Breastfriend nursing pillow
Still on breastfeeding, this breastfeeding pillow was a wonderful support for my newborn and helped me to have better breastfeeding posture.
Baby soon outgrow it at 2 months old so getting a second hand item is cost saving.
Baby struggled less when nursing with this pillow. Photo credit: Mums & babes
5. UV steriliser
UV steriliser
I used steam steriliser for first child but hated how it always leaked water onto my kitchen counter top. Decided to invest in UV steriliser this time! It doubles as a storage for the bottles! That said, steam steriliser seems to be less harsh on the plastics as I noticed the teats broke more easily with UV than steam.
It’s a personal choice to get steam or UV steriliser but having one is a must! The conventional way of boiling bottles is too troublesome!
Poop
6. Bidet bottle
Didi had frequent pooping (3 poops in less than 10min) that resulted in bad diaper rash. It was so bad that we could see his flash. Hence we had to wash his butt instead of using wet wipe every time he pooped. It was so troublesome to bring him to the sink and this bidet bottle was a life saver!
Adjustable angle and pressure for baby’s delicate bum
Sleep
7. Zipper swaddle
This zip swaddle from love to dream allowed baby to self soothe as he can access his hands. It is also very convenient to change diaper when he is sleeping as I do not need to remove him from the swaddle (can unzip from bottom) unlike the common cloth swaddle.
The snug fitting also helped him to sleep longer and better.
Ok there you go! These are my 7 most commonly used items besides the other essentials like bath soap, bath tub, milk bottles, cot and so on. Hope this article helps in your planning for baby items shopping.
This post is published 5 months late, this shows how busy a mum of two is!
For my second pregnancy, I engaged Dr WK Tan as my MIL raved highly of her (yes she delivered for my MIL!). Her fees are surprisingly affordable for a popular private practitioner.
Perhaps this is my second child so most consultations were short and she didn’t explain much to us. However, she is very experienced and I feel assured to have her. She was very thorough with the checks when I had spottings in first trimester and it was a very pleasant journey with her. Long childbirth story ahead.
Before the Arrival of Baby Didi:
At w37+2, Baby’s head turned but not engaged in pelvis yet.
At w39+3, there was still no sign of labour. Head has descended more. Could feel his head was very low but cervis not opened yet. Baby was at 3492g.
At w39+6, some minor brown discharge. No contractions. Not sure if it was sign of labour. Decided to brush it off and spent a meaningful weekend with #1 in case it was the last weekend before didi pops.
At w40+1, finally felt some cramps at 11+ pm. Wasn’t sure if it was Braxton Hicks as the cramps were not painful, kinda like menses cramp (1 min for every 10 min interval). Decided to wait till the next morning since I had a gynae appointment. Besides, midnight hospital charges aren’t cheap and there was nobody around to look after the elder kid. The cramps made me too anxious to sleep. Only managed to sleep from 5+ am to 8+am. Surprisingly, after the nap the cramps were gone.
The Day of Didi’s Arrival
We took a cab down as I was too tired from the lack of sleep.
11 am:Appointment with gynae
Waited an hour until I told nurse that I’m having cramps and she jumped my queue to see gynae first.
12 noon:Water bag burst, cervix 2.5 cm
Dr Tan did ultrasound scan and was surprised to hear that I could sleep as contractions should be too painful to sleep. She did a cervix check and said I was 2.5 cm dilated and in labour already. Before I could react, she burst the water bag and an assistant wheeled me to the observation ward.
1-3pm: Wheeled into the observation ward
Everything progressed quickly at the ward. A nurse, Corfel, attended to me. I changed into hospital gown, strap with contraction and baby heartbeat monitor, and also had enema. Mild contractions (1 min for every 7 min interval). As this is my second baby, I knew the procedure well and wasn’t as anxious. I even told hubby to go home rest and bring the hospital bag.
All the labour wards were occupied so I had to wait. Although Thomson Medical Centre’s ward was smaller than Mt Alvernia’s, I like the cosy feeling it gave as the ward feels less like a hospital. While waiting for cervix to dilate and hubby to be back, I kept myself occupied by counting contractions on an app, updating my Instagram story, texting my MIL and friends. Corfel gave me a light lunch and asked me to eat for energy before the contractions became more painful. This is in contrast to Mt Alvernia where I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink water.
Light lunch. So hungry I gobbled down the sandwich.
Contractions were going on well and I like that Dr Tan did not check on my cervix again when she visited. Cervix check is very painful and I hated it. Corfel dropped by regularly to check on me and she made me feel very safe and assured. Nobody pressured me to take epidural unlike my experience with Mt Alvernia.
3-5pm:Contractions were more uncomfortable . Cervix dilated to 5-6 cm
As the contractions became more uncomfortable (1 min for every 5 min interval), I started to use deep breathing and listen to IU’s music. I was able to breathe through each contractions pretty well. Tried to stand and do yoga poses but it was troublesome as I made a mess with the drilling blood and water.
When hubby came back around 4plus pm, contractions were more uncomfortable but was still bearable. Hubby dare not ask me to take epidural as I wasn’t happy that he pressured me to do so the previous time. Though this time I was contemplating to just take epidural for the easy way out. Cervix about 5-6 cm dilated by now and I started to use essential oil to help me breathe through the contractions.
5pm: Decided to take epidural
After I was wheeled into the labour ward, I asked for epidural before the pain gets worse. Mila, the nurse at labour ward, was very supportive and kept telling me I can do it without epidural. But even if I want to take, it’s good too. I love how she held my hand and assured me. The anesthetist came in 30 min.
6.15pm: Hubby went for dinner
Hubby went for a quick dinner but didn’t expect my dilation to be so fast after epidural.
6.30pm: Finally cervix at 9cm
6.43pm: Felt numbness and nauseous from epidural
Catheter inserted at this point to drain urine to hasten the cervix dilation.
6.51pm: Cervix 10cm. Pushing begins
Dr Tan came in and told me I’m 10cm now. Started pushing. Quickly called hubby to rush back. Thankfully he managed to run back in time. As I couldn’t feel any pain due to the epidural, Mila and Corfel guided me when to push and helped to push my tummy.
7.15pm: Baby is out
After 25 min of intense pushing, baby is out without any vacuum this time, as predicted by Dr Tan. She carried the baby to show me before passing to the nurses for cleaning. She calmly pushed the placenta out then stitched me.
By the time the nurses placed baby on me for skin to skin, I was so exhausted from the intense pushing and felt nauseated. I started to puke and soon blackout. I could hear their voices but couldn’t open my eyes.
The nurses told me it is normal as I pushed too hard and the oxygen went to the lower body instead of the brain. Mila also remembered how badly I wanted a girl and before I was wheeled to the recovery ward, she held my hand gently and assured me to think positive and that I will have a girl the next pregnancy. I was very touched by her kindness. ◡̈
I’m so thankful to be in the good hands of Dr Tan, Corfel and Mila from TMC. They made my birthing experience so pleasant and I hope to have them again for my third child. ◡̈
The stitching by Dr Tan was excellent. I felt no pain at all and could walk the next day. Didn’t have to do sitz bath or sit on a float. Comparatively, I was in pain for two weeks for my first childbirth.
First family photo with didi. How do other mums appear so beautiful after labour? I couldn’t even open my eyes properly!Sleeping soundly next to me. I will love you with all my heart and soul. ❤
You’ve just gotten a double line for pregnancy test! If you have been trying for a baby, CONGRATULATIONS! You’re about to embark on the most exciting, rewarding and joyous journey ever (albeit an extremely exhausting one)!
After the excitement is over, you might be thinking: “okay the sh*t is real. What do I do next?”
Here, I’ve compiled some easy to read pointers for first-time mums-to-be!
First Trimester
Obstetrician and gynecologist
The immediate thing to do next is to research for your preferred obstetrician and gynecologist. I am writing based on Singapore context.
You have basically two options: Private gynae or KK Hospital subsidised. For private gynae, do note their hospital for delivery as some mums have a preferred hospital to deliver that the gynae do not practice in. For KK Hospital, subsidised consultation can be as cheap as around $30 (if eligible for subsidy) but you will be assigned a different gynae for every prenatal consultation. Most of my friends who went for KKH subsidised route eventually convert to private KKH patient (meaning you get to choose your preferred KKH gynae to deliver but that means you no longer enjoy any subsidy the moment you convert).
I wanted to save some cash by choosing the KKH subsidised route since healthcare in Singapore is generally good across all hospitals but the husband said that I can only save about $1000-2000 if I eventually convert to KKH private patient during delivery (as I am sure I do not want a random gynae during delivery) hence he said no point saving that few bucks.
I have thus decided to go full private in Mt Alvernia (Mt A) or Thomson Medical Centre (TMC).
After weeks of reading on reviews written by mums, here’s the top few gynae in Singapore who practiced in Mt A or TMC.
Mt Alvernia (female gynae): Dr Goh Shen Li (S L Goh Women’s Clinic is a Obstetrician & Gynaecologist), Dr Chua Yang (A Clinic for Women), Dr Joycelyn Wong (ACJ Women’s Clinic Pte Ltd), Dr Caroline Khi (ACJ Women’s Clinic Pte Ltd)
Mt Alvernia (male gynae): Dr Adrian Tan (ACJ Women’s Clinic Pte Ltd), Dr Phua Soo Mear (Gynae Health Clinic for Women)
TMC (female gynae): Dr WK Tan (WC Cheng and Associates), Dr Adeline Wong (Adelina Women’s Clinic)
TMC (male gynae): Dr Benjamin Tham (WC Cheng and Associates), Dr Paul Tseng (TLC Gynaecology Practice), Dr Adrian Woodworth (Thomson Women’s Clinic)
Reviews stated that: Dr Paul Tseng is rather expensive but he is super pro natural; Dr Adrian Woodworth is very affordable but he is super fast in consultation and does not answer much questions.
Highly recommend to try out for one consultation to see if you are comfortable with the gynae before getting the prenatal package (if any)!
Supplement
There is no need for any multi-vitamin or additional supplement other than folic acid as baby has its own nutrients from the yolk sac during first trimester. It is cheaper the get folic acid from pharmacy than from private gynae’s clinic.
Down syndrome test
The gynae you have chosen will advise you on the down syndrome test to take. There are basically two types: OSCAR vs NIPT Harmony blood test.
The main differences? Cost vs accuracy. OSCAR is about $480 (including 20 weeks detailed scan) with 90% accuracy but NIPT Harmony test is about $800-1200 (depending on service provider) with 99% accuracy and can also test for gender.
Both tests are done at around week 11-12. So it would be best to see a gynae before week 12 so that he/she can better advise you on the test.
Diet/ lifestyle changes
There are some food and activities pregnant women should avoid. Most gynae would recommend avoiding raw food (including half boiled eggs, sashimi etc), caffeine drinks (max 1 cup a day), alcohol, and cigarettes. My gynae also asked me to avoid high mercury seafood (tuna, swordfish, shark, lobster, mackerel, stingray) and bird’s nest as the latter might lead to childhood asthma in the baby.
source: babyment
She is also very safe and advised me to only walk, swim or easy zen yoga (no hot yoga) for the exercises that I can do.
Pregnancy app/ books
I like to be an informed mum hence I try to read as much as I can before I pop. I like this baby app that keep tracks of my baby growth: “Baby Centre”. I also enjoyed reading this book “Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy”
Love reading this book.
Start thinking if you want a maternity insurance
In my first pregnancy, I was busy with work and family matters so didn’t research more on insurance. By the time I enquired at 33 weeks, I have already missed the deadline to purchase the insurance.
That said, I researched early for my second pregnancy and decided not to have it as the premium is rather high and the coverage is mainly for very complicated pregnancies (which the pay out can only cover a fraction of these cost due to the complications). What I wanted was also more for baby’s coverage in case of NICU charges during the first 14 days where we are not able to buy any insurance for him yet. There is no hospital coverage for baby, only cash benefit if baby is warded (about $100 a day while the premium cost $1600. Hence I decided not to go ahead).
Do speak to your insurance agent as different people have different needs. Sgbudgetbabe sums up the maternity insurance in Singapore well.
Second Trimester
Hopefully the morning sickness (if any) has subsided by now. But if it hasn’t, here is a consoling news to read! 🙂
Supplement
We are losing calcium to the growing baby hence it is important to take 1000mg of calcium every day (about 2 glasses of milk). I also take prenatal multi-vitamin and fish oil every day. Depending on your health conditions, gynae will be able to give you better advise on the supplement and diet to take.
I prefer to buy my multi-vitamin and calcium for pharmacies as they are cheaper than from clinic unless you can get at subsidised KKH rate.
Been taking this for my second pregnancy.
Shopping for pregnancy/ baby items!
Here comes the most exciting part! Retail therapy! Towards the end of the second trimester, I had to get loose clothings or pregnancy outfits. I try to buy loose clothings instead of pregnancy outfits so that I can wear after birth. Some of the must-buy items are: nursing bra (even if there is no intention to breastfeed, the breasts would expand and will not fit current bras anyway), stretch marks oil (if you are vain like me) and pregnancy shorts/pants (with expandable waistline).
Bra extension usually comes free with my online nursing bra purchases.I like this type of expandable waist shorts.
Personally, I prefer to shop online such as shopee, qoo10, taobao or ezbuy as they are usually cheaper than retail shops. The same model of nursing bra I saw on qoo10 costs about $5 each whereas at babyfair is selling for $10 and retail shops about $30!
I did not buy many baby clothings as baby outgrows clothings very quickly. Some items that I gotten were baby cot and mattress, baby carrier, bottles & sterilizer and baby pram (gift). You may refer to this blog post for more comprehensive breakdown on newborn items to get.
Hospital Tours
If your private gynae can deliver in more than one hospitals, it is time to book the hospital. You may decide after going on a hospital tour. Hospital tours also provide some free gifts and samples!
Hospital tour to see what type type of ward your prefer…
Prenatal classes
I don’t find the hospital prenatal classes useful because during delivery, nobody really remembers all the lessons taught among the excruciating pain. It is good for bonding between the couple though, as my husband is now more prepared for the challenges ahead.
I enjoyed the prenatal yoga classes though! The deep breathing exercises certainly help during the delivery for me.
If you need help during confinement, it is time to book your nanny as the good ones get taken really fast! The average cost is $2800 to $3200. There are private nannies and confinement agencies but I personally prefer word of mouth recommendation as I have heard many bad reviews about agencies.
Discuss your birth plan with gynae
As mentioned, I didn’t do much research for my first pregnancy and did not discuss any birth plan with my gynae except my preference to have natural birth without epidural. On hindsight, it is better to have a more comprehensive plan, such as whether you want a doula or not. Read more about my birth experience here.
Decide on what you want to do with your child’s cord blood and your own placenta
There were lots of private cord blood banks at babyfairs and I was tempted to sign up. As parents, we always want the best for our kids and knowing that this is a once in a life-time chance to store the cord blood, I did quite a lot of research on it.
When the promoters were not able to give me satisfied answers, I decided not to go ahead with the cord blood storage but donate his cord blood to Singapore Cord Blood Bank. You have to contact SCBB by around week 34 as you need to sign some forms. Also do note that if you are storing or donating cord blood, you are unlikely to have delayed cord clamping. I will write more about cord blood storing in another post.
As for placenta, there are some people who consume their own placenta after making it into pills. I am sitting on the fence for this but decided to just discard the placenta after my gynae strongly discouraged me from consuming.
Last chance to buy maternity insurance
Reminder! Last chance to buy maternity insurance (by around week 32 depending on the company) if you are getting any.
Third Trimester
Shopping for more baby items!
I wasn’t confident that I would be able to breastfeed succesfully hence I only purchased the breastpump a month before I pop. It was a good decision as it turns out online purchase is much much cheaper than during baby fair!
Pack for hospital bag
During the hospital tour, you will probably receive a pamphlet with information on what to pack for labour. This is the list of items I packed:
Lavender essential oil and socks for labour (labour ward is quite cold)
Discharge home clothes (I prefer to wear their hospital gown during stay since I might stain with blood and milk)
Sanitary pads
Breast pump (I didn’t use as I was learning to latch)
Skin care set
Toiletries (prefer to use mine)
Makeup
Handphone charger
Disposable underwear
Nursing bra
Slipper
Marriage certificate if you want to register birth certificate at the hospital
Baby clothes, mittens and booties (2 sets)
Swaddle
Car seat
Rest well for the labour!
Lastly, rest well and take the last bump shot! All the best! 🙂
mamakeng.com 