Pregnancy
What a Confinement Nanny Can (and Can’t) Help With for Breastfeeding
The practice of confinement traces back to the traditional practice of “zuo yue zi” (坐月子, “sitting the month”) — a structured postpartum recovery period centered on the mother’s physical healing. A confinement nanny “yue sao” (月嫂) traditionally takes over newborn care, household tasks, and the preparation of warming, nourishing confinement meals, so a new mother’s…
Read MorePostpartum Care Options in Singapore — Comparing Confinement Nanny, Family, Stay-Out Postpartum Doula, and Confinement Centre
Once baby arrives, one of the biggest practical decisions a family faces is who helps look after mother and newborn during the postpartum period — and in Singapore, there’s genuinely more than one path. Broadly, families choose between four options: a live-in confinement nanny, help from mum or mum-in-law, a stay-out nanny or postpartum doula,…
Read MorePrivate vs. Group Antenatal Class in Singapore – Which One’s Right for You?
If you’re pregnant and starting to look into antenatal classes, you’ve probably noticed there are two very different paths: a group class — whether run by a hospital or an independent provider — or a private, one-on-one class at home. Both cover similar ground — labour, breastfeeding, newborn care — but the experience of each…
Read MoreThe Ways Mothers and Fathers Say “I Love You”
Fathers and Mothers express themselves differently, but they love their children and their family all the same. Here’s some different ways mothers say “I love you” to their babies: Puts up with weight gain, dry skin, endless puking or hunger pangs, and more while carrying her baby Spends 6 hours a day having her nipples…
Read MoreHow to Make Padsicles
Wait, what? What are Padsicles? It is very common when giving birth naturally, that a tear occurs in the perineum. In Singapore, most gynaes also perform episiotomies to help the baby come out more easily and/or to control the “shape” of the tear. This wound naturally hurts quite a lot in the first week after…
Read MoreDo I need to do Confinement?
In Singapore, regardless of race, unless you have no Asian blood in you, it is almost a given to be expected to do at least 4 weeks of “confinement” post-partum. What is it? It entails many practices meant to keep both baby and mother indoors during the period of confinement to protect them from ill…
Read MoreWhy I Follow Routines from Day 1
There is no right or wrong way to do motherhood – everyone has different preferences and lifestyles. This post is to share the way I prefer for my personal and family’s lifestyle, which is to follow rather strict routines when we welcome a new baby into our family and continue to maintain loose routines as…
Read MoreHow to Choose a Pram
When it comes to prams or strollers, there are SO MANY options out there and there is NO such thing as THE “perfect” pram. This is because every family’s lifestyle is different and so different prams or strollers meet different needs. To simplify your decision-making process, here are the main considerations when choosing one, and…
Read MoreBuying Second Hand – How Much can I Really Save?
Buying second hand is the smartest thing you can do for baby items! This is because (i) you/the usually only need to use the items for a short period of time (and the item was only used for a short period of time) and (ii) you do not know if your child/family might prefer a…
Read MoreMust I Spend Hundreds of dollars on a Breastpump?
I happen to have a few issues which hinder my babies from having a good latch. These are: having short/inverted nipples, being more prone to lumps/blockages than most women, having relatively few “holes” from which my milk flows out from and having an oversupply. As such, I exclusively pumped for Baby#1 and pumped more than…
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