(2006/01) Jan 2006 MTBs

Tabby, SSF
very impressed leh..taking care of 2 kids alone!!!

Mummies
i cannot decide whether to keep my helper. Can give me some suggestions?

Pro of my helper
- dependable when it comes to taking care of JH
- no need to train again if i have #2

Cons
- She falls sick easily and spread to JH
- doesn't clean well so hb concerned abt JH's cleanliness
- wants a day off when i renew her

I am quite torn between keeping her and letting her go..sigh...hb is right in saying that she falls sick easily and will pass to JH. and nowadyas JH becomes health officer. when he step on something (even a little bit of dust), he will immediately lift up his foot to check and he will catch ants too.

cookie
dun feel too bad. i think it is quite natural that we get impatient when we are tired. even when we are tired from work, we get impatient with our kids. somemore u r sleep deprived.
 


god's child

i'll be in Japan in Nov too! She can book via internet. There's 2 hotel chains which are good.

www.superhotel.co.jp
www.toyoko-inn.com

The price is cheap at about 8k-9k+ y per room per nt, including a simple breakfast. It's a business hotel chain, so they have them all over Japan. The room is small, and so is their small toilet, but otherwise it's clean. I've stayed in several superhotels like in Osaka, Kyoto and Nara and I enjoyed each of my stay there. However, this time round I'm not staying there coz their room is limited to 2 persons and my boy is counted as 1 person. Their triple rooms are all fully booked.

As for Toyoko Inns, have read rather good reviews abt them. So giving it a try this time round.

There's another hotel: Sakura Hotel at Ikebukuro. Heard it's good too. Tried to book but it's fully booked for the period that I'm going. It's slightly more expensive than Superhotel and Toyoko Inns. If wanna book this, go thru asiarooms coz the rates are cheaper there.

Both hotel chains have English websites, but the info provided in English is rather limited and booking notice are shorter, ie, Japanese website allows pp to book earlier compared to the English website.

I'll be heading for Toyoko Inn Ikebukuro-kitaguchi 2. It's going to open on 30 Oct this yr, so there's a a promotion going on at 5000+y for 1st 2 days for the first 2 weeks of opening. It's their 'Gomen' (sorry) promotion. So cute right? Coz they expect the opening to be faced with some teething problems, so they gave discounts to entice people to go there and also to say sorry in advance in case their service is not up to mark.
 
SY,
I laugh when I read about JH being health officer. Jamie also, she will walk around pinch up a strain of hair and show me. Looks like telling me "Mummy, u never clean the floor properly."

RE: Bully
I noticed that Jamie dun like to share things and would push pple away when other kids come near her. Is it bcos she is the only child? That's might be a reason why hb had decided to have a #2. She is getting out of hand and I have no choice but to smack her. But she doesn't seems to understand what is sharing. I can't even carry other kids and can't even sit with hb. She got to be between both of us.
 
winter clothings : what to wear
I found this useful info while searching for info. Thought of sharing it with all of u since so many of us are going overseas these few months.

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winter layering.pdf (38.7 k)</td></tr></table></center>

Ready-for-collection Calendular cream @ $16 each (Anyone wanna buy?)
I bought quite some extra tubs of calendular cream before it went OOS and it has just arrived today. Anyone interested? I hope to sell it for $16 each. Honestly, I'm earning 80cents from it for all the trouble. If u don't mind and want to get it fast, u can get it from me, otherwise, I'll sell them off at marketplace. They're ready for collection anytime.

God's child, Tracy
You can collect your calendular creams already. They've arrived.

CL,
Our Burt Bee's still not here yet. Still OOS.

mongs, babylon
Your ON stuff still with me waiting to be collected.
 
Re: Winter Wear

Hi Mamapanda;
You can check out this website for winterwear suitable for Scandinavian weather conditions: www.raindrops.co.uk

The snowsuits are about 40 pounds each but they are very warm.

Rory has an ultra thick winter jacket from Gap, it's too small for him now but should fit your girl since she's skinny. Gabby can't wear it this winter because she's too small. It looks similar to this one except it's not fur-trimmed - http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=8787&pid=502109&scid=502109002

Can loan it to you if you're keen. My parents will be heading back to SG end of Oct, you can get it from their place at Bangkit Rd if you want..
 
cass,
When will ur parents be going back to UK or when will u be coming back to SG? How should I return it to you if I borrow it from you?
 
Hi mummies,

Re. Winter Wear
It's correct to layer instead of just relying on a thick jackets. The air between layers will help to trap heat. And layering makes more sense as you can remove layers easily and adjust to temperatures indoors or outdoors. For Isaac when he was in Paris at temps around 5 deg, he wore only 2 layers, a thick long sleeve bodysuit and a fleece (non-padded) bodysuit. When we are outdoors, we cover him with fleece blankets (2 layers if it's very cold). It's adequate, body is warm. But our babies now are so mobile, blankets probably will not work, so add another layer below the jacket or sweater.
Do not neglect baby's head. They lose the most heat through the head. So make sure to put on a thick woollen hat and that can cover the tips of the ears and the outermost layer (sweater or jacket or bodysuit) has a hood.
As for hands and feet, I find that Isaac's hands and feet were the coldest part of his body when we were outdoors in Paris. Make sure that they wear thick gloves and socks (double layer if necessary) and shoes that are warm. Adjust accordingly with temperature.
 
Today I was worken up by the sound of an accident. Bang!

Only saw a truck. So thought, siao liao, that person sure die. Then miraculously, I saw that guy pulling out a bicycle, well and alive! Wow! It was a really loud knock, I'm amazed that he is alive! I wonder if he suffered any internal injuries. Hopefully he's ok.
 
SY - re your maid, i think i will look for a new one instead of renewing her since you say she always fall sick and not clean. i am quite particular of cleanliness esp since she is taking care of JH. i think its isn;t difficult to train one right..just take a little time. and also many say its good to chg a new one every 2 yrs as they themselves get bored too and tends to slack after working for so long. BTW, when hb and yourself are working, the maid is looking after JH alone? anyone overseeing?

mamapanda - thks for the info on the winter wear. it really helps. but then i was thinking if the kids are to wear long john(pants), they will not be able to fit into another jean or another bottoms. and to wear just the long john itself doesn;t look good. same applies for the top too. hence, do we really need a long john? the top can be layer easily. the most wear a singlet, plus a t-shirt and a sweater. how abt the bottom? just a jeans or pants will not be sufficient right?
 
SY
Hmmm, in my humble opinion, I feel that if JH is very comfortable with her, should not change maids as now at the toddler stage, they are able to "reject" or even bully the new maid. In fact, if your helper is mainly to help care for your child, it's best not to keep changing the helper as it will make a child feel insecure (same theory applies in a CCC where there's high turn-over rate in teachers), especially if they have bonded with the helper well. In regards to the issue of the maid's health, is she more prone to flu/cough? Perhaps can consider "benefitting" her by encouraging her to eat Vit C everyday as a new requirement or have her vaccinated with the flu or influenza jabs so that recurrance of flu will be less in future; this will also in return benefit your family, esp JH from falling sick often. I think having an off day after renewal of contract should not be an issue, just state that you are agreeable so long she finishes up certain chores and leave by say 11am and be back home by 5 or 6pm should be ok bah. So long you state your new terms to still keep her within boundaries and she's agreeable, then I would say keep her.
 
May
I believe our todd at their age now.. still cannot understand what is sharing. They are "supposed" to be self-centered now but of course with teaching and as they grow they learn to play with others.
Of course by character, every todd is different, perhaps Jamie just love mummy soo much she want mummy all by herself
happy.gif
hee more possessive kind.
For kae.. she is opposite..hahaha.. she ask everyone who come to our house to play with her, showing them her toys and even cry when they leave. Thats a bit over "friendly" to me..haha

But I guess these are all stages, our todd changes all the time growing from 1 stage to another. When they are babies... the challange we face are different, now they are todds a different set of challange to handle.

I remember my friend was telling me.. we have to treasure the time now as in it's Honey moon time..haha cos when they grow older the more complex the problem
happy.gif



SY
Personally I felt the attitude of the helper is very important and of course the quality the her work and her committment to stay in the job.
I remembered you metioned before your helper a bit ROD mode and was giving black face to you.
IF she has the tendency to give black face etc.. where is her respect to you and Hb as employer?
In the case of renewal, will it become worst? because she might think you "needed" her.
As fr quality or work, depends on what you view more important.. cleaniness or taking care of JH?
is JH also very attached to her? since she is the main cargiver.. sometimes I think from JH attitude can tell if the helper has been REALLY nice to our todd.. becos they tell best since both of you are away working in the day.

if you do decide to keep the maid...i totally agree with mamachan to boost up her health.
personally I'm REALLY bothered when my babies are down becos of whoever who never take good care of them :p.. like I hear my FIL coughing for sometime already and never see doc and when he is with kids he will be coughing away. I'm really concern but my HB say thats Lau Ren Bi...so I'm keeping my finger cross.
 
Re : Silomat recall

did ur see the news on the Silomat cough syrup recall? Celeste was taking tat previously and i still have bottles in the fridge... am gona dump them tonite!

managed to find a short link on it

Cough syrup Silomat recalled (Straits Times) SILOMAT, a cough medicine commonly prescribed for children, is being recalled by its manufacturer. The voluntary recall started in Singapore late yesterday afternoon with the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the drug manufacturer sending letters to doctors, hospitals and pharmacists.

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH said it is recalling most of its cough medication Silomat, as it may lead to cardiac arrhythmia in some patients.
 
SSF
I think it depends on how cold the weather is gonna be. The info applies more to adults. For toddlers, you can let them wear a long sleeved thick bodysuit and a footed or footless tights, followed by their jeans or pants outside or a jumpsuit. Be sure to buy loose fitting bottoms so that they can fit into their bottoms with the tights on. Just like Queen said, their legs and hands will be the coldest. Wearing footed tights will warm their little feet. You can let them wear woolen socks over their footsie for extra warmth. Hence, you need oversized shoes as well since their feet will be much bigger after wearing thick socks and a footsie.
 
god's child
don't throw away the syrup. i heard from the radio that if you bring the syrup to the pharmacy by nov 07, still can get refund.
 
954424.jpg


here's the windbreaker I was saying (sorry, can't find a better photo) ... it comes with a hood and mittens tied to it. if i'm not wrong, ds was having 3 layers underneath in additional to this, and a tights and pants on the bottom.

Another place to lose heat is the head, esp neck and ear area ... protect those area too

.ky.
 
SY
i didn't have maid for myself before but from what i have dealt with my dad's previous maid, i think another reason is to look at the willingness of the maid if she wants to re-new the contract.
for my dad's ex-maid, she was taking care of my dad for more than 2 years. before the contract was expired, she mentioned to us that she felt like going back to indo to find a partner and get married. but we managed to convince her to stay and re-new the contract 'cos overall she had been doing quite a good job (not to mentione some hip-cups here and there in between). and we also wanted to save the trouble to get used to a new maid and train her all over again.
just after we re-newed the ex-maid's contract, we installed the cctv to monitor her 'cos my mum was not around to supervise. we were so shocked that she did some abusive acts to my dad. i am not too sure if she's mentally too stressed up to take care of bed-ridden old folk or she purposely wanted to do it so that we would send her back.

so, my advice is that if she was not enthu about renewing the contract which you should be able to feel/tell from her work done, it's no point to keep her. And, after my dad's incident, we got a lesson i.e. nvr let the maid know that we can't afford to lose her. Of course, if you change a new maid, there would be adjustments for the whole family especially your kid. The best is to discuss with your hb 'cos you would need his support if there's any adjustment to be made.
 
Mashy - thanks for your recommendations, am asking my sis to pop in and see your useful info! hee... xie xie ni!

Sunny - mine are all from the PD clinic, won't tink can refund hor?

SY - tricky lei... i guess it depends on how comfy you are wf her. sometimes even if the maid can live up to expectations wf our kid, its doesnt mean we can keep her lor... the child is just their bait. my first maid was very 'kiang' in caring for the kids but i super super dislike her ( all the long stories that i shared last time ) ... aft much torment, i sent her off and got a new one. Life is so much better wf my second one... i feel tat it is ok to change a maid if u tink her attitude is not gettin better. cos im sure if she gets renewed, tats it. no turning back, she will get very yaya papaya as wat happened to my colics. as for JH re-adjusting to a new maid, i wld tink its alrite cos kids tend to bond easily to the one who they see most. so long as you take some time to be wf him during this transition preiod, it will blow over soon.

mabbie can have a gd talk wf ur HB and decide if ur are happy wf her attitude... if at tis point, she is aldy turning 'bad', then i guess no point in keeping. just my opinion...
happy.gif
 
SY
Agree with cookie and sunny. End of the day, is she enthusiastic in staying on as well as what's her attitude towards you and hb now. With an active toddler, it's inevitable if the house is not entirely clean, or are you referring to her overall hygiene?
 
May
Jh also cannot understand sharing. he will push other kids away or snatch the toys.

Mummies,
thanks for your input.
JH is attached to her at certain times. Yesterday when he vomitted cos of his cough, he kept asking for her. think he a bit angry with me cos i went to wash up as he vomitted all over me and i din go to him when he wanted me. so he purposely asked for her.

i agree with what all the mummies say. but now i got another concern. i just brought JH to see Dr Khor and he most likely has a case of allergies and dust mites is probably one of the main culprits. while i think she really likes JH and cares for him, i can see her getting more 'kiang' and she will have more tricks. i m ready to give her the off days once a month too.

as for her health, the main reason that she falls sick is cos she sleeps late. we noticed that sometimes she wlil listen to music until late and then next day sure sick one. and she won't even admit she sick at times.

as for cleanliness, i used to think that it is her lousy eyesight that caused her not to clean well but i guess it is probably her nature also. just not those super clean type. surface clean ok lah but if u look closer, u can see the hair on the floor etc.

i really feel like just becoming SAHM to look after JH full time..think i shall talk to hb again.

my hb leaving it to me to decide on the maid issue so now a bit of headache. i can tell she feels quite sad abt leaving JH.

mamachan,
the house not entirely clean and she always drink very little water so sometimes her mouth smells bad...u know what i mean. and she is always with JH..my mum always used to joke dunno how JH tahan the smell...

and one thing my maid very 'kiang'. my parents more well off compared to my in laws. sometimes in front of JH she will say things like 'popo got a lot of money. she buys a lot of things for u.' then she will say that my in laws dun buy things for JH. even if that is the truth, cannot say out right... and she likes my dad a lot which both my parents can feel it.

mummies
Dr Khor suggest i see an allergist. any recommendation? she did give me a few from NUH, National Skin Centre.
 
SY

Maybe she has sinus prob?

Dustmites can't be cleaned out so totally and easily. Gotta change the bedsheets more often and wash using very hot water. Maybe u can get the water vaccuum to clean the beds? I think there's this rainbow brand and delphin brand. But it cost a bomb.

I ever ask my boy's PD (who is also a family friend) abt allergy testing. He said there's 2 types, one is patch test. The other is prick test. Patch test is not accurate while prick test will be painful. So in the end I decided not to do the allergy test.
 
Mamapanda,
Thanks! God's Child will help me to collect my 3 tubs of calendula cream while collecting hers.

God's child,
Thank you! *Muacks*
 
Tabbiesus / SSF,
Do you have enough winter wear for you baby boys? I still have the fleece bodysuit which Isaac wore last year. Would you like to have it?
 
Mamapanda,
The shoe size is 12cm - think Ariene won't fit.

SY,
My mum's previous maid was really good with Charmaine and loves Charmaine very much. She takes initiative when it comes with Charmaine - sing to her, teach her, encourage her plus give her baby massage some more. Think she's really responsible for Charmaine's advanced motor skills then cos she really knows how to encourage her to crawl, stand and walk. We can leave Charmaine with her safely cos she really, really loves her. BUT the issue that my mum has with her was she tend to be a bit disrespectful as in she only do things that she wants to do. If she doesn't feel like cleaning that day, she won't clean. So when her contract's up, we changed a new maid. The first few weeks were terrible. Charmaine's not familiar with her so refused to stay with her, some more got communication problems (switching from Philippine to Indo) then also got to train her all over again. But after 1 mth or so, everything's okay now and charmaine likes the new maid now as well - she can play with her. We find that the new maid treats Charmaine pretty well as well - when she's free, she will automatically play with charmaine. So I guess, after changing maid is not really an issue if you can take the time to adapt to a new maid and train her. Of cos JH must also take the time to adapt to her. Plus, I find that it's good that then Charmaine won't get too attached to any maids.
 
sl
think u just pointed out one main point that is always at the back of my head - attachment. one reason why i wan to change is also cos i dun wan JH to get too attached to the current maid. imagine the nightmare i wd have when she goes back. that happens to my fren's son. still cry when he talks abt the maid....

mashy
yeah the PD also said, if i really wan to clear the dustmites, get the rainbow cleaner which is 2-3K....dun think she really encoruage me to go to the extend.

she asks me to go for allergy test cos it is highly that JH has allergies as my hb and SIL has allergies. so we will see how. probably wil lgo and read up on it first.
 
tracy
God's child collecting for u ah? Ok. God's child, let me know when u wanna collect the 5 tubs of calendular cream.
 
Mashy,
Rainbow vaccum cleaners are ex! But they really last very long. My mum has one which lasted for the past 13 yrs. : ) I got the little mermaid from osim which is water based as well and can vaccum the beds as well. It's good to vaccum the mattresses once in a while. when we vaccunm, can see the water turning black.
 
"The Magical Ocean" lantern display @ Chinese Garden

can get from Suntec booth now till 09 Sept selling the tickets. Booth is near Royal Sporting House

$10/- for adult (12 yrs & abv)
$6 for children (3 yrs & abv)

Normal admission price is $12 (adult) and $8 (children) during the mid-autumn festival

.ky.
 
Hi mommies,

RE: JG teachers
haha, I think this goes to show that everybody have different taste and preferences. For me, I really like Winnie, and I thought S***** was not too bad, except sometimes a little direct. Anyway, mommies, I have managed to transfer S to Monday late afternoon class coz she is dragging her nap times really bad now, I have been having serious problem getting her to nap, and now, she is sleeping at only 230pm...
 
SL,

I got the generation before you. Me got a OSIM Genie. Was thinking of converting to steam iron so ha ha make my ironing job easy. I use my Genie once every 6 months on all mattress and sofa.

SY
Do you have any referral letter from Dr Khor which states the condition ? Can fax to me and I ask my nurse or dr for referral ?

Sleepingdeer,
If you let me choose I will prefer Winnie and any of the assistant teachers than S****. Oh so we wont have 2 classmates from Jan Thread. Will see if our own mummies can fill up the GAP. Maybe bring AK, SL and SH over to our class ha ha.
 
cass
OK! Thanks. When ur dad returns, u PM me his contact number and address ok? I'm so excited with this trip I cant help thinking abt it everyday. Hee!
 
SY
when we were shopping for our vacuum cleaner, I understand that there are those vacuum cleaners which can suck up the dustmite. But, when you open the bag to throw it away, the dustmites might come out into the open again. For us, no issue as my hb always brings the whole part to the lift lobby to remove the bag, so the dustmites will be at the lift lobby area. haha...
 
clare
ON just emailed me that the white bodysuits are OOS already. I asked them if can change to 2T but they said they've already processed the order so cannot change.

spree payment
flo = $32.14
krissie = $25.63 (no need to pay me 10cents diff) - received $25.63 -
clare = $98.40

If I've missed out your posting/email on your payment, let me know.
 
tabbiesus,
I think should be no problem lah... I'll pass the bodysuit to you together with the Gap items. Best to wash the bodysuit before the trip!
 
Mamapanda
I've transferred $32.03 to your POSB a/c on 1 Sep based on your previously posting. So the bal should be $32.14?

SY
So JH is having allergy and not flu?
 
RE: Gynae
Mummies, I suddenly tot of this qn. Not sure if I should go back to the same gynae if I were to plan for #2 early next yr. What happened to my encounters on my #1 was:

1) Got contraction @ 3am. I admitted TMC @ 7am. Dilation is only 2cm. I chose to stay cos I dun want to travel from Jurong to TMC again.
2) Gynae broke water bag @ 10am. Saying baby will be out abt 8pm.
3) 2pm, I cannot tahan the pain. Took Epidural.
4) 8pm, dilation 5cm.
5) 12midnight, dilation 8cm. Already taken 3 dose of Epidural and starting to have side effect.
6) 1am, gynae then tell us. Mummy is too tired due to the long labour.Baby is facing the wrong direction, upwards. Need to do Emergency C-sect.

My hospital bills went up to 7.2K due to these. I was thinking, if the gynae were to discover Jamie is facing the wrong direction earlier and advise us to C-sect, then it will save us alot of money. He kept asking me to go for normal delivery until the very last min.

So now, I am doubtful if I should go back to him or change another gynae if I am planning for #2. Cos he will have the record of the birth of my #1. I intend to do my pap smear soon, so not sure should go back to him and discuss with him the #2 plan or not.



What will u do if u were me?
 
god's child
hmm... i am not too sure then. mayb can check HSA's website?

may
if throughout your 1st pregnancy, you didn't have any complication, i would think that it's ok not to go back to the same gynae. just wonder, how come the gynae didn't know that the bb was not facing down when he scan? or bb turned upwards during your labour?
for my case, initially i didn't wanna go back to the same gynae again 'cos of the location. but at my wk 6 for this #2, i got spotting and went to hospital. we didn't know which gynae to call for except the previous gynae, so, at the end, still visit the same gynae back.
 
Sunny,
Ya..I was wondering how come gynae did not know bb is facing wrong direction. Was it bcos she wasn't engaged? As it is Emergency C-sect, I am worried that only this gynae what's wrong with me. I only know I had low placenta prob in the beginning stage of pregnancy. Other complications, I do not know. So I am worried that if I change a gynae, this new one will not know anything.
 
May,
Babies may turn at the last minute during labour. But frankly, your labour was really very long and dilation pretty slow. I believe a C-Sect was the best choice at that moment. For me, after 10hrs, i already dilated 8cm and nurse was saying shld be soon. But when gynae came, she looked at the baby's chart and at me and proposed C-Sect. I agreed cos I knew that I had no energy at all to do anything else, as my fever was hitting 39.5 already.

Ultimately, it's how comfortable you are with your gynae and how much you trust him/her. If you are not comfortable, then you should now start scouting for a new gynae through recommendations before you start trying to conceive your #2.

For me, I will be going back to my same gynae for my #2 even though my last TMC bill was $6k plus and I had to go through almost the same as you but a shorter period.
 
may
probably when you go back to the gynae for pap smear test, you can check with him what happened at that time? i guess more importantly is how comfortable to stay with this gynae and if you still have confident in him/her.
 
may

it really depends on yourself. Whether u gave birth #1 with this gynae or not is no issue. I've heard of many pp who changed gynaes. If u don't like him, by all means change. Once trust is lost, it's difficult to gain back. And u'll question his decisions all the time.

I also 18hrs labour, then end up emergency c-sec coz no strength liao.
 
May,

Hmm.. your labour's a bit long? For me, I didn't get any contractions though. Waterbag broke at 3am and we went to hospital but no dilation. I wasn't given a choice of going home cos my waterbag already broke so I checked in and "rest" in the ward. By 8am, already felt the urge to push and went to get the doc - not much dilation though but the doc said that better go to labour cos she felt that the baby's position is pretty low. Dilation was really fast by 11am, I was fully dilated but somehow the contractions are not intensive or long enough for me to push charmaine out so the doc added medications to intensify the contractions. sad to say, no difference, so the midwives page for gynae and he came at around 145pm to vaccum charmaine out. By 215pm, charmaine was out. By 245pm I was having lunch plus breakfast in the labour ward. Overall, I think it's a pretty pleasant experience.

I would go back to my gynae and SGH cos I think the midwives (?) also know I can't make it so they page for my gynae pretty early and he vaccumed charmaine out. My hospital bill was cheap - less than $3k and all from hubby's medisave even though I stayed in class a ward for 5 days and charmaine stayed for 1 wk. Like what mashy mentioned, if you already have doubts about the gynae, you will not trust him fully. Not a very good thing during labour?
 
CL,

I also considered getting a steam iron before cos it seemed so easy to iron and the clothes are so well-pressed!
 


spree payment
flo = $32.14 (no need pay me 10cents diff) - reveiced $32.03 -
krissie = $25.63 (no need to pay me 10cents diff) - received $25.63 -
clare = $98.40
 

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