(2008/02) Feb 2008 MTBs

[kitsune_sg]

XY, Gar, don't know leh. I asked the shops on booster seats before and they tell me about weight limit. None said anything about min height though.

XY, oh, enfagrow so exp meh? It was a comment that another mummy shared. Friso3 is about $25 per 900g so ya, it's still cheaper than enfa then.

 

[toot]

pauline,
i get C's milk from jin tai tong at sengkang, but i think they have a branch at tampines. can try and google it?

gar,
C drinks UHT now, simply because he doesn't drink from bottle so ever since he turns 1, i give him packet milks which is easier to give if we are outside

my only complaint is that the packet uht milk in singapore are all big sizes, smallest i find is dutch lady junior, the rest are all ike 250ml which is too much for C... in indon, they have many varieties of uht milk and small sizes of 120ml...

re kue lapis, i think i may have to skip if no collection at RP

xy,
how come you're still at work?

anyone gg for airshow next week ?

 

[xiaoyun9]

Pauline,
Friso $25 per 900g is still cheaper than GainIQ and NAN Pro which is about $28 per 900g. After GainIQ change formula, it will be even more ex.
The next expensive formula will be the NAN HA then Enfa. and then probably Pediasure..

Garfield,
forget to mention, the GainIQ promotion is for the old formula.

would like to try substituting her milk to Meiji full cream after she turns 2. But then, i just stocked up 8kg of milk powders.

tute,
now working shift on Sat. then get offday on Monday.

 

[garfield9]

Uht
I plan to transition after my confinement is over, but maybe try half half first. But also depends if A likes the taste or not.

Tute,
no worries next time will have chance to try

xy,
thanks for info. Actually i think this new formula is just excuse to increase price. I will stick to old formula hehe... For #2 will try to intro cheaper FM cos I think they are more or less the same one only branding diff!

 

[toot]

pauline,
went to the store just now to get C's milk and i checked the price for friso for you... the big tin is $21.90. also googled the shop just now, they have shops at tampines and pasir ris :

5 Tampines St 32
#01-06 Singapore 529284
Contact : 64533027

735 Pasir Ris St 72
#01-354 Singapore 510735
Contact : 65853027

 

[kitsune_sg]

Gar, once old formula is OOS, you may be forced to buy expensive new formula like me.

Xy, my hubby likes Meiji full cream too but he finds it too exp now. End up he always stock up on marigold uht full cream milk. 2 packs for $3.05 at NTUC.

Tute, thanks so much. Price is good.

Maybe will go and get the FM tomorrow if we manage to put both kids at MIL house with the maid. Thanks for the numbers too. At least can check if they have stock. Didn't know they have a branch at Rivervale plaza or else should have bought it last weekend when I collected the desitin cream.

I don't dare to bring RaeAnne to air show yet. Don't know if she will be frightened by the loud noise. Anyway with Mei Mei around also tough to bring both kids out to places with no nursing room.

Aiyoh, today Raelynn has been demanding milk every 2 hrs and crying/cranky in between milk feeds. Growth spurt at 8 weeks? Hope this phase passes soon.

 

[stephie]

garfield
the giant promo for gain iq is really good, given that there is $20 voucher with min $200 spent. hubby bought from vivocity and can redeem for car park rebate too. also, with citibank div card, can earn cash rebates as well. $200 also entitled to free delivery. the new formula is so ex at abt $60 per 1.8kg tin. so good to stock up now. at least save some $.

i agree with you that introducing new formula is an excuse to increase price. when hubby commented "maybe should train shawn to drink nestle"

 

[kitsune_sg]

Got the fm n diapers even pigeon wet wipes today. Thanks to a Jan mummy, I checked out both medical halls at west plaza pasir ris n got the best deals from each shop.

Tute, the numbers listed were fax numbers by the way so I could not call through. But it is ok cos they had stock n they r open from 8am.

Jin tai tong
1 tin of Friso3 900g - $21.90 ( malaysia packaging)
3 packs of huggies pull up pants - $13.90
1 pack of mamy poko s 48pcs (small pack)- $14.20

Chinese medical hall nearer to kopitiam
2 tins of Friso3 1.8kg - $45
1 big bundle of pigeon wet wipes 6 packs - $18.40

 

[babyxan]

the gain IQ promo is at giant??

 

[stephie]

bx
yup and it ended yesterday.

 

[isobellies]

gar
dun worry k! gateway a bit out of the way for me so i'll just have to settle with factory made goodies instead of home made ones, haha..

stephie
is this GainIQ promo only with giant?? I want to go check it out!

quite sian that the price just keeps going up and up. sigh!

tute
i want to bring E for airshow! but i think no time cos hubs works whole day on sat and sunday we have E's birthday... :S maybe next year then.

 

[stephie]

iso
based on what i know, giant was the only one with gain iq promo last week. when i was at vivo yday, the stock was practically swiped out. left a few tins and i m not sure why the staff bring a trolley to clear them off.

if i see promo again, will alert the mummies here.

i ks, stocked up enough to roughly last shawn till 3 years old.

 

[isobellies]

stephie
boohoo.. lucky i got a 1.8kg tin from sheng shiong on slight discount over the weekend. not sure how many tins i still have at home, still got some from the abbott guardian voucher buy 6 get 1 free promo..

wow, how many tins did you buy??

 

[kitsune_sg]

Stephie, I would have done the same. My last stock up for Friso 3 was Sept 2009 http://anewpiggy.blogspot.com/2009/09/friso-3-baby.html, 20 tins like so kua chang but now all the stocks are gone.

Just to clarify, prices I listed are unit prices.

 

[babyxan]

stephie,
alamak, missed the promo

 

[stephie]

iso
haha.. these are what i've bought during the past two weeks:

1) 2 weeks ago - 3 tins of 1.8kg from carrefour (offer not v fantastic, it's $54.60 per tin. bought cos of the 10% rebate. bought 3 tins in order to have free delivery). then the giant promo comes the following week.

2) last week - 6 tins of 1.8kg from giant.

So total bought 9 tins within the last two weeks. I've still have about 2.5tins at home. so all in, assuming 1 tin per month, should be able to last till 3 yo. probably not as shawn should be using up more than 1 tin in a month. i agar use 1 tin a mth as argaration only.

one thing good about abbott is that you can join their club and redeem 400g tin with receipts accumulated (whereas enfa don't have such reward system). i reckon should be able to redeem 2 tins of 400g from my purchases since shawn started on fm.

 

[stephie]

bx
i believe carrefour should have the 10% promo every now and then. can tap on that to buy which is what i usually do when there's no promo for gain iq. 10% better than nothing. sometimes their 10% promo coincide with already discounted price, so lagi best. i remember there was a period where gain iq is at $49 and there's add'l 10%. but only bought 1 or 2 cans then.

 

[toot]

pauline,
oh so the friso 900gr is not the big tin huh? sorry i also didn't check the packaging coz they put it on shelf... is the other chinese medicine hall selling singapore or malaysian packaging? some mummies are quite particular in this. for me i'm quite okay...

stephie,
wow... you do stock up a lot !! haha... i never dare to stock up coz C is a small milk drinker so rather not... i only buy one at a time, perhaps coz it's easy for me to just go across the house and buy 1 tin...

re: milk price,
didn't know that other milk powders are so much more expensive! heheh... so i guess i'm lucky C didn't like similac and nan last time... he only likes dumex oh and choc pediasure these days

bx,
if you get posb everyday card you'll get 10% rebate for a min of $25 purchase at carrefour. that's not bad if you buy milk powder from them

 

[kitsune_sg]

Tute, yup, I bought the malaysia packaging in the end since it's $0.60 cheaper at jin tai tong but I just found out that Sheng shiong is even cheaper for Friso 3. Buy 1 big tin and get 1 small tin (900g) for $51.50.

 

[stephie]

tute
so far milk is shawn's fav drink. everyday will ask for milk when time is up (at least thrice a day). so i dare to stock up. if he's fussy and drink milk like want his life type, then i'll buy on a can by can basis. not that it's inconvenient to buy the milk powder since ntuc is just opp my mum's block.

somemore i checked the expiry date, it's till dec 2012. if i had intro not so ex milk to shawn, believe he would have taken it too. consol myself that the $ saved for bfg him for a year justify the higher cost. keke.

i don't buy from medical hall cos someone (think it's my sis in law) told me about something that we need to take note of when buying from medical hall (which i can't recall).

for carrefour, the usual rebate is 5% for min of $20 spent. at times they will have 10% (actually less than 10% cos it's 5% + 5%).

 

[lezyger]

<font color="0000ff">tute</font>,
i got trade pass to Airshow...but dunno if can make it or not..

plus travelling there is such a pain.

bring ruth - likely not lah. such a pain getting there it's not worth the hassle - plus it's trade days so abit too business-like to bring along a toddler...

 

[isobellies]

stephie
yah at least got points! and recently i got a $20 voucher also, when u spend $100 or $150, which i did using their guardian voucher, heh. actually i'm not sure how much E drinks, next time i open one i should see how long it lasts

 

[lezyger]

<font color="0000ff">milk powder</font>,
I'm still cheapo person...and firm supporter of medical hall and minimart milk powder cuz much cheaper.

Mamil Gold normally about S$39 for the 1.6kg ( think it's 1.6kg...the big tin lor).

I used to think m'sia milk powder no good etc. But my cousin challenged me once and I realize i could not provide any good reasoning.

Anyway, a lot of malaysians are very smart! SO no reason not to consume stuff from there.

UHT/Fresh milk - dunno if will transit. MOney not an issue...but i will probably be veto-ed if i transit cuz everyone will think fresh milk not as nutritious as milk powder. Can our tots really transit already?

Mine only drinks max of 120ml at one go...about 3-5 times a day. Not sure when she will reject it fully. Milk cannot be drunk at ANY time of the day one. Usually is just before sleeping or just woke up. Other than these timings, she won't drink. Cannot even bargain!

 

[tongtong8]

lezy, my boy takes fresh milk pretty well when i offer him. he prefers cold than warm fresh milk though. as for the nutrition vs formula. i really have no idea cuz i think fm is processed food? and fresh milk is less processed?!

 

[stephie]

lezy
at this age, think it's alright to drink twice a day as long as our kid gets the nutrients from solid food. for shawn, sometimes he sleeps while we are having meals or our meal time is super late kind (during weekends only cos weekdays my mum will feed him on time), then he'll demand for milk to fill his stomach. will panic when the 3 portions of milk is finising before we are heading home. luckily it doesn't always happen.

my girl also drinks very little when she was young. like ruth, ard 120ml. she hardly drink more than 200ml from birth till 5 yo now.

 

[stephie]

tongtong
think for fm, lots of nutrients are added onto it nowadays (i can't recall all those cheam cheam name), so comparatively more nutritious than fresh milk i think. the fresh milk you gave shaun is those chilled kind which have to be consumed within 2-3 weeks?

 

[toot]

lezy,
me same as you... haha! still ok to buy malaysian packaging milk. at least Ruth is ok drinking milk from bottle and before/after sleep time... for C during weekend these days if we are outside, definitely cannot drink FM one... I also want to give FM to plump him up but then he don't want... so now I just relax a bit, give more tidbits outside coz I know he'll not take milk well

UHT - can drink after 1 year old.. not a problem, but if Ruth likes her FM might as well stick with it? unless you wanna cut cost

btw, your trade pass is what ah? is it for visiting during the weekdays one? coz they only have the show during weekends right? yeah, i think it's going to be REALLY HOT and troublesome to go, that's why i'm bringing my helper as well... hehehe.. initially hb don't want to bring then i remind him about not being able to take nice pics with C in tow and only the 2 of us... plus bringing all the barangs and umbrella so decided to get another ticket for my helper with the hope that we can at least enjoy a bit... heheh...

iso,
it's ok... can always bring E next year... i think airshow is a yearly thing right? it might even be a good idea to bring him when he's older and he can understand better... more worth the $$

btw, saw the pics of your new place at FB... nice reno!

 

[tongtong8]

stephie, yea chilled kind. ALthough i'm skeptical with FM cuz i dont like to give kids processed food and i always give whole food only, i will still give 1 feed of FM ( going to buy) cuz recently he always demand for milk ( 2 times ) after dinner/before bed. so i thought maybe the oatmilk i give is not filling for him. AM going to get FM for his bedtime liao.

 

[reena]

Pauline,
I hate to say this but my hubby is just like your hubby. He's not good with his words and expression, typical block of wood. And mine likes to take the easy way out too. When I was down with fever due to block ducts, he told me to wean. Even with DD3 now, he still asked me to wean as when I'm nursing, I need him to help handle the 2 older kids. I know where you're coming from. We are all women, we just need that emotional support from our men. But alas, they need to learn and are still learning. Like I always tell DH, why does a wife nag? Because the men don't listen! Hahaha! Try to have a chat with him, not complain. Share with him your concerns and what you want from him. It works for me but only for the 1st week, then got to constantly remind him over a period of time (still reminding up to today). We can't expect them to be as sensitive as women, and I've long accepted this fact. And I agree with XY, they expect the mother to be able to feedback but not the child, so usually won't ask if the mother is doing fine. And mine is so good in "throwing" the 3 kids to me, like weekends, he will happy happy tell me "I go Eastpoint walk walk", or "is my hair long? time to cut hor?" (I only go to the hairdresser 2 - 3 times a year and my hair's always in a mess!). Also, even when we go shopping, he can leave the 3 kids with me while he shops alone and I struggle with them. Kinda immune leow but I will suan him jokingly.
Anyway for me, I like to tandem pump when I have blocked ducts, works like charms!

XY,
What do you mean by double fry with 2nd deep frying? Does it mean fry once, remove, reheat oil to higher temperature and fry again? I think I've seen this "san cai yi tang".

bkkgal,
I used to grumble to/at him when he came back from work but I soon realised that it backfired. So now when he comes back, I make it a point to greet him in a happy tone and makes sure the kids greet him and ask him how's his day.

iso,
It is only through times like this that you get to see the colours of your friend(s). And the pump is considered 3rd hand. Hope you can get a good "discount".

 

[kitsune_sg]

Reena, well at least he doesn't dare to do that. Leave me alone with 2 kids when he goes to jalan jalan. He usually throw to his mum and dad instead. But ya, I know, I talk to him liao and let's hope we both improve in the process lor.

wa tandem pump, maybe I'll try that one day but I'm so scared of spillage. Cos need to burp baby in between latches when she fuss.

 

[reena]

Pauline,
Just curious, you are a sahm right? So why do you need to express?

BTW, my girl is only 9kg now so don't have to worry about Raeanne's weight ;-)

Milk for toddlers,
I'm still breastfeeding DD3 but when I need to run errands and DH is at home, we give her UHT milk. I used to give fresh milk to my 2 older ones but need to warm up the milk (when they have cough) so I just bought those 6-in-1 (250ml/pack) for my kids. Both DS2 and DD3 are not on formula milk at all. And I always stock up when there's offer, yes very cheapo but helps me safe alot of money ;-)

Some clinics do sell FM at a discounted price. My gf bought before but that was like years ago. For clinics that give out FM as samples, you may want to check with the nurse/helper if they do sell in bulk.

If I'm not mistaken, the FM from medical halls are "parallel imports" and the ingredients may not be what's approved by AVA.

 

[kitsune_sg]

Reena, I express to stock up in case demand outstrip supply like no. 1 And cos I'm going for dental op in March and won't be able to BF for 1-2 days. Got to pump and throw. Also, any excess, I want to give to no. 1 to mix into her FM for any additional antibodies. But now, my freezer is almost full.

Also, I find that when I'm lazy and don't express, I often get blocked ducts esp because baby can be feeding every 2-2.5 hrs in the day then at night can become long stretch like 5 hrs (if I'm lucky). Then end up my boobs will be rock hard then next day got problem liao.

 

[stephie]

reena
you are very patient with you hubby. if mine say such things like "i go xx walk walk" or tell me to handle the kids alone when outside, i sure become bao qing tian cos at home he is already every eng when the kids tend to stick to me. lol.

tongtong
hmm.. maybe treat fm is 'good' processed food bah, as in pros outweigh the cons if we compare to other types of processed food.

 

[isobellies]

tute
i think now he can understand a lot already, but i guess he will remember or learn more next year. but good to bring C!! too bad got no train shows, hahah... plus we have been q busy with the last bits of the home reno these few weeks

reena
thanks, learnt my lesson, just need to be more careful when borrowing things next time!

btw, i almost always only buy things at supermarket when there's offers/specials, haha. esp now that we're preparing our own/new home, i've only been buying household stuff when it's on sale, heh. can save $ why not right?

 

[lezyger]

<font color="0000ff">Tute</font>,
Ya...trade days will also have the air displays. have gone quite a few times...usually will have.

2 years ago (when our babies were born), we were given chance to 'help out' at the airshow. too bad i was big and pregnant. and lucky i didn't volunteer as well. ha.

 

[toot]

lezy,
ic ic... can sell your tickets or not? maybe can get some $$ from it... hehehe...

reena,
hmm.. never thought about the ingredients in the milk. since C doesn't drink a lot of milk maybe i should invest in a more trusthworthy milk? :S

iso,
yeah... too bad there's no train show! btw, i started buying thomas dvd and i recommend this one... it's called "Sing a Long"... one of the rare Thomas DVD with just songs in it... i can make a copy for you and lend it to you (a more legal way) if you want to see if E likes it...

 

[tubao]

Pauline,

Last time my hubby used towel dipping in boiling water massage for me, twice. It's burning hot.

After 10 mins, water won't be so high temp, and we boil water again, and massage again.

Then I got to know that maybe it's because I had poor blood circulation, since my finger, joints are painful after giving birth. Now it recovered.

So every time when direct latch-on or pumping, I keep massaging. Initially scared that baby doesn't enjoy her meal peacefully, then my girl was strong enough to keep readjusting herself. ^_^

Xiaoyun,
Hehe......cave men.....sounds familiar.
My hubby is very happy to brand himself "mountain turtle".
The furthest place he went is kluang, Malaysia which is MIL's hometown, when we knew each other at age 26.

His first flight is that we went back to visit my parents.

Every time I dragged him to travel, he will show me many many " impossible" reasons. Now I am super used to it. But after a few travels, I found out that he is much more pleasant travel companion to other fellow backpackers.

Now he learns his lesson, every time after I lose patience on him, he will say " you and I improved a lot, now you're angry with me much less frequently".

 

[kitsune_sg]

tubao, I did that for no. 1 too. The water I used was so hot that the skin turned dark brown due to burn and over massage. You mean you massage while baby is doing direct latch. So good. Mine will keep losing her latch even when I don't do anything.

Got a small lump on left side again. Trying hard to massage using the technique that TMC LC taught. But she said it shouldn't be too painful. Pian ren de. If blocked, you massage and press on the lump, sure painful one lor.

 

[isobellies]

tute
ooh sounds good! is it the same as this? maybe i'll borrow from the library
http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/cw_cgi?fullRecord+4236+3002+13177702+1+0

recently someone bought 2 box set of DVD for us on thomas, but i don't like it, seems like the old version, doesn't even have the "we're 2, we're 4, we're 6, we're 8.." theme song!

 

[bluegin]

Pauline,
For blocked duct, did u press on it and do the circular motion then push it towards the peak of your nipples. But best ask your hb to help cos it is very very painful. Use a hot towel might help. Tips from Mt A LC. I find it useful tip. Hope your blocked duct clear soon cos it is very painful.

Shenon used to be drinking every 2 hours last month which I thought is the growth spurt. But "NO" leh. She is drinking 120ml now.

ISO,
dun judge the DVD. I used to dislike Barney, but now I find the songs in it are fine for Channet.

Any idea if working mother hv any subsidy for hiring a maid? How much to engage a maid on average?

 

[fairfield]

stephie,
i stayed at Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, very convenient.

The train to Hakone from Shinjuku takes abt 1 1/2hr, not too bad. But hotels in Hakone are super ex! I stayed in Hotel Senkei, one of the cheaper ones i could find. Oh, and the biggest problem there was that restaurants close at 7pm!! So rem to eat dinner early, or u will find urself without any food.

 

[isobellies]

fairfield
i think i stayed at the same place also! we stayed in the tatami room, with dinner and breakfast included, very worth it..

blueging
haha.. actually E also doesn't quite seem to like it. the styling looks a bit older than the current version they show on tv.

 

[xiaoyun9]

re: milk
i also would like to convert C to a cheaper FM like Dugro.
but if you look at the nutrition content carefully, they have Trans Fatty Acid.
wanted to get from Malaysia too, NAN Pro 3 only RM 41 ~ S$17 for a 900g. But it contains Trans Fat too..
In the end stick to the Singapore NAN Pro 3.
do not dare to try other brands of formula since I dun have the sample. C doesn't like GainIQ. I tasted it and find it sweeter. C doesn't have sweet tooth.

Pauline,
although Meiji increase the price but it's still cheaper than HL milk. I tried the marigold UHT, hated the taste.
btw, when we say UHT, it's those milk that do not need refridgerated when storing right?

 

[stephie]

fairfield
thanks for the info. yeah, sunroute plaza shinjuku is one of the 2 hotels i am looking at. what type of room did you stay in? the other hotel is keio plaza. both hotels should be around the same distance to station (according to map).

shall check out the hakone hotel since both you and iso stayed there before. and will take note of the restaurant closing time.

xiaoyun
i only agar compare the fm. only look at the nutrients declared on the front and didn't look closely at content. since trans fatty acid is such a bad stuff, will just stick to the current brands for the kid. my hubby tasted gain iq and said it's sweeter too. cherylin don't like gain, she prefers her enfa. she used to be a very easy baby when it comes to fm. she practically drinks all types of brand i offered her. so whenever i have sample, will feed her. shawn is not so adventurous.

 

[tubao]

Pauline,

Yes, I massage hard while latch on, especially on small hard spots. This is most effective for me. At beginning baby will grumble, soon she will be used to it if you ignore her crying.

When use hot towel, maybe you reduce hot towel time per session first.
Last time, for me, hot towel time 3 mins, massage 2mins, hot towel 3 mins, massage 2 mins. Then boil water again, hot towel time 3 mins, massage 2mins, hot towel 3 mins, massage 2 mins.

Maybe you can try hot towel 2mins, massage 3 mins, hot towel 2mins, massage 3 mins, boil water again, hot towel 2mins, massage 3 mins, hot towel 2mins, massage 3 mins, boil water again, hot towel 2mins, massage 3 mins, hot towel 2mins, massage 3 mins.

Hehe.... don't know whether you get my explanation.

 

[star70]

Hi Stephie - i happen to watch the Japan hour on Sunday, it was showing hotels in hakone, perhaps you can check the hotels mentioned. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/japanhour/highlights.htm

Hotel Kasansui.

 

[stephie]

qingling
thanks. will check out the link you've provided

 

[kitsune_sg]

Thanks, blueginger, tubao. Asked my hubby to help me massage last night and he could only do it at 1230am cos RaeAnne slept at 1130pm. Seems to help cos the lump is smaller and less painful but I know if don't diligently massage and press, it will get blocked again.

Tubao, I know what you mean, but a lot of times, the lump is too near to the nipple. If I massage her, baby cannot latch properly. Ya, the hot towel really helps but I got low threshold of pain and my skin sensitive so can't take boiling heat. End up the towel cools even faster. I like to do it in hot shower cos ready supply of hot water and no need to clean up but waste a lot of water lor. One of the Dec09 mummy suggested using a milk bottle half filled with hot water then rolling over the breast lump before pressing. That helps too.

 

[stephie]

qingling
hmm.. the website of hotel kasansui is in japanese only and i don't know japanese except can catch a little of the pricing (which i assume is on a per pax basis?)

 

[star70]

Stephie - i also try to check out for u,it seems the website only in japanese. do u have frens who can speak japanese and can help u check it out. That day i saw the japan hour, it is a room for 2 and includes bf and dinner for 2, ard sgd 143+.