Hi
Kayla &
Thel
we would like to go back some day with the baby but my hubby is not too keen to travel when the baby is under a year old. So we just have to wait and see.
It is good idea to buy baby's cloths in Singapore as they are much cheaper than in the UK. We got all of our baby baju from neighbourhood shops in Toa Payoh. But had to get neutral colours as we don't know the gender of our child. However for winter clothing we'll just get them in the UK probably from ASDA or from a charity shop. But I've heard that superstition from my Indian friend about getting things too early.
I was a bit apprehesive about getting baby stuff at the beginning too but my hubby and I have been praying for our baby and we decided that we should just put our trust in God and He will protect our child.
As for cloth diapers well it's best to find out what different brands are out there and their pros and cons. Anyway if you are deciding to buy your diapers in the UK, there's this website which asks various questions about what you are looking for in a cloth nappy and you'll get a personalised response with recommendations.
http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/default.aspx
Not so sure if you'll find that useful as I've never used it but I found it on some other forum where they were discussing reusables.
In our case, I found out about
bumwear from this forum and since I was down in Sg in Mar/Apr we went to investigate. My hubby and I both liked the feel of their one-size pocket diaper. I know some parents in Sg have a few reservations about the fleece as they feel it could be too 'hot' for the Sg climate but for temperate climates like the UK, fleece is quite ideal and its so easy to wash and maintain.
My hubby is a great fan of fleece and almost all his jumpers and jackets are made from the material. But back to diapers I've been testing out their drying times and the diapers do dry pretty quickly however the cloth inserts do tend to take a little longer. You do need to buy nappy liners. But the man at bumwear told us that for urine you can wash the liners and re-use but for the 'poo' just flush them down the toilet.
I'm not sure if the ones sold in the UK are better or cheaper but for cloth diapers I think you need to feel them for yourself before deciding and being where we are it's not that easy to find such shops. All the UK ones I've seen are through the internet and I didn't really fancy them to be honest which is not a fair way to judge I guess. But having said that we are pretty pleased with the diapers we've got that we decided to put in another order online from bumwear a few weeks ago. They have been delievered to my parent's place and my mum will be bringing them up in a few weeks time.
I didn't really bother to get milk bottles as I'm intending to BF. However my mum got me a Lindum milk bottle at the Taka Baby Fair ... just in case.
As for breast pumps that was something I took a while deliberating. Wasn't sure if I needed one if we wanted to BF. But my hubby suggested that we get one just in case I was tired or ill or whatever
at least I could still express and he could feed the baby with breast milk. We've investigated breast pumps and finally settled for the Avent one. It was one of those advertised in the Bounty Booklet.
I suggest that you take a look around the shops and see what you prefer and note down the prices. Then compare the same product with those sold on ebay. We got a brand new Avent travel set for about GBP 20 on ebay. In Sg the same thing cost about $100 plus!
We didn't really investigate prams as my SIL passed on hers to us. Still in pretty good condition and can be converted from pram to stroller and can also affix a car seat to the frame. It's a silvercross but guess the model won't be sold anymore as it is about 12 years old!
But I'm sure you would find newer and better models around nowadays. The one given to us by my SIL is a little too bulky to take overseas. And tbh I prefer a baby carrier. We got one from Isetan (when they had a sale. Was pretty lucky to be back home at a time when most sales seem to be on!) and I think I will probably use that more often.
Would like to go for an all natural birth with no medication too. But that would depend on the outcome of my scan this Monday.
My MW recommended that I take regular walks and hubby and I try to take walks whenever we can but not very regular as we both come back quite late from work.
Have a great weekend girls and keep well!