A fresh thread looking for Melbourne mummies

[cj_mum]

my dodo,

thanks. "a few grannies" to teach music?? that's pretty interesting

i intend to find a music school for my kids, but school like yamaha doesn't hv any branch in the city...any recommendation? btw, i'm keen to order the catering service do they deliver to city area? is it similar to the tingkat delivery in spore? how's the charges like?

 

[cherisw]

my dodo
yes, the music class sounds like a good idea..my fren who's in brisbane now was just telling me abt sending her ger to a music sch there...the description of the prog sounds a lot like mandeville music sch in SG...hope to find sthg like dat for my ger too. But again, all these enrichment prog r not my immed priorities. More impt to find a roof over our heads first, hopefully a nice one haha wif a sch for her nearby.

yes, tell us more abt the catering service, what kind of food? ex? r they popular?

 

[my_dodo77]

it's not really a music class. the activities are just singing and dancing, both kids n moms (a good exercise for moms too ^-^), followed by morning tea and freeplay for the kids while the moms chat. it costs $4/kid, but if u got 2, then it's just $7 per attendance.

about the catering, the one i have is not from a restaurant. rather a home cooked food by a friend. but in the city and east/south east area (e.g. for box hill / glen waverley) there are a few. the ones i know are actually by indonesian restaurants/caterer. not sure about those by chinese/malay/sporean.

i think it's similar to the tingkat delivery in spore. not sure about the charges. will find some advertisements about it and let u all know

 

[sharky]

Hi everybody! I'm new here... also a SAHM in Melbourne, Point Cook. Does anyone know where I can get Similac or Gain IQ here in Melbourne?

 

[sharky]

Just realized that I'm not the only Point Cooker here... Hi my dodo... which street are you at? I've only moved here a month ago...

 

[hopeac]

hi Kat,
I don't know where we can get Gain IQ. If you do find it, do let me know. For us, I transit my daughter to S26 Toddler which is also for 1-3 years old.

 

[my_dodo77]

hi kat, i stay at astley crescent. how about u? been in melb long?
btw, i give Nestle Toddler for both my daughters.

 

[sharky]

my dodo, I'm staying at Palmer Ave. My hubby just started work here early Jan and I've been here since end Jan.

I really like Point Cook. We used to live at Southbank for the first 2 months. Altho it's convenient, it's nothing compared to living in a landed house with lots of space and no traffic jams!

Foodwise, have been exploring the eating places around here. Have found a nice and cheap Vietnamese place at Werribee called Duyen Duyen. Was going to try First Chilli Thai at Laverton last weekend but it was fully booked. Have you been there?

I've just started on S26 Toddler here for my boy. He's turning 1 in 2 weeks time and we're running out of Similac for him. Had brought a dozen tins over, thought it would be enough but it wasn't. Hopeac, will definitely let you know if I find a source of Gain IQ over here.

Btw, dodo, do you attend church here?

 

[cj_mum]

Hi Kat,

I'm going to Melb end may. May I know how did you bring over "dozen of tins" to OZ? I may start my baby with similac follow on when she turns 6mths. So far, I've been searching woolwoof but can't find abbots products.

Anyone knows any good school at Hawthorn? I heard it's a good residential area. I may stay there if i can't find any good school in the city.

 

[sharky]

Hi JE,

We ordered a dozen tins of similac through a doctor friend of ours and they delivered them to us in SG in a carton. Then we just brought them over with us. You need to have a baby with you to bring milk powder over. A 900g tin can last 8-9 days so you can work out how many tins you need.

 

[cj_mum]

Kat,

thanks.

 

[cherisw]

wow this thread is alive again!

we'll be in Melbourne this Sat to 22nd May...staying in Mantra on Russell street cos hb needs to attend a conference in the city for some of the days. We hope to drive ard the few suburbs to check them out; hope to cover as many as poss haha (boxhill, blackburn, brighton, point cook, mordialloc, boronia etc)..any mummies keen to meet up? or we can do a group meet in the city or sthg??

hi kat!
point cook sounds like a nice place to live in. how r u adapting to life there? share wif me the ups & downs & tips leh

re milk powder
my 3 year old ger's has been on goat milk powder so far...heard there's a bellamy goat milk in Oz...is that organic? cheaper than in Sg, i heard. For this short 2 week trip, intend to either get Bellamy (small tin cos dun wanna lug back again) or just warm up fresh milk for her.

je
wat hv u heard abt hawthorn so far? i've an SG acquaintance who's centre director of a childcare in Carlton now. Will probably meet her to find out more but i hv a feeling it's more for residents or PRs

 

[my_dodo77]

hi kat,
ha3... yeah, i love point cook too. used to live in glen waverley and used to miss the convenience of asian groceries shopping, but after time it doesn't really matter. can still go to footscray on the weekends

yes, tried duyen duyen once, not bad. never been to first chilli thai, though.

about the church, i only go to indonesian mass once a month at port melbourne. he3... not very religious type.

r u catholic too?

 

[cj_mum]

hopeac/kat,

i called abbotts spore this morning. they don't carry similac, gainIQ in australia. but they do hv pediasure for 1yr old onwards (fussy eaters).

cheri,

carlton is quite near city. is ur hubby's workplace near city? maybe you can check which visa your hubby will be holding. you may enjoy local rates if you're holding certain residential visa. i can't find any school at carlton. so unlikely to stay there. i heard hawthorn is quite good for family.

 

[cherisw]

je
hb either will work from home or fly ard so we dun really need to stay in the city. r there many types of visa? wat's residential visa? will try to check out hawthorn too this trip.

 

[cj_mum]

cheri,

u can go to au embassy website to find out more info abt the visa. wow, your hubby can work from home, then you can stay any place you like!!

 

[cherisw]

je
haha think better stay in a more asian-area first; dun wan a major culture shock. Already, relocating there is a big change for all of us.

 

[encounter85]

Hi All,

I am planning to travel to Melbourne in June and is wondering if you can recommend a car rental company ?

 

[sharky]

My dodo, I'm christian and I attend City Life at Hobsons Bay. Got a question to ask you. Where do you throw cardboard boxes away here? I have quite a lot in the garage from our furniture move over here and I don't know what to do with them. Any ideas?

 

[sharky]

Oh btw, there's an asian grocery shop opening in point cook town centre soon. So don't have to go all the way to footscray soon!

Encounter, my hubby always uses Hertz when he's here. You can try them. You can pick up the car at the airport. Think their rates are good and their service is good too.

 

[my_dodo77]

hi kat,
there's a place called werribee tip where you can dump the boxes. we did it couple times. if i'm not wrong, each entry costs $25.
pls refer to this site: http://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/environment/waste/tip
but if you can wait till july, there'll be 2 free tokens for the entry.

yes, saw the grocery shop and looks like it's opening soon. good for ad hoc needs

but for big shopping, i think still go to footscray.

 

[cherisw]

my dodo
wow, dump boxes oso need to pay for it? am i missing out or misunderstanding sthg here? haha

thanks for having us at ur place today! Showing me ard point cook too..nice place to stay in. Will definitely consider it if distance is not a problem later.

btw, r there good schs ard your area? we r planning for the next 2 years ahead for N. Schs r oso one of the priorities. Esp since we r not going to be PR as yet, things r trickier.

 

[hopeac]

hi Kat,
We have 3 bins, green for garden waste, red for rubbish and yellow for recycle materials. I was wondering, if you can sort of cut it up or fold it to put it into the yellow bin for them to take away for recycling.

 

[aurorin]

Hiya all..

I am a mummy with a 5 1/2 mth old gal moving to Melb in June. Glad to see that there are a number of melb mummies here chatting. Heheh

Hi JE,
Hey, did you get your freight sorted out yet?

*wave to Pluf* wow.. already starting to recee here too? heh heh

 

[my_dodo77]

cheri,
that place is not just for boxes

as hopeac said, can also use the recycle bin (in point cook, it's the one with blue lid). but if got too many boxes n too big, better dump them at the tip.

it's lovely to meet u n nikki too. she's a sweet girl. yeah, it'll be great if u can stay in pt cook too

about school, as in primary school and above, i don't really know. *sorry* but one of my fren's daughter is in lumen christi, a private catholic school, here in point cook. will ask around, for my knowledge too

 

[aurorin]

Sorry to bother you all, but just wanted to check with the melb mummies regarding maternal & child clinics there..

my baby will need to complete her 3rd dose of hep B vaccination in june but we will be in Melb already.. jus wondering if we can do it at the maternal/child clinics? do we need to call for appt or walk-in can? Does anyone know how much it will be for the vaccination and doc's consultation (e.g. development assessment)?

I have a medicare card (applied long long time ago but never used before) but my baby just got her PR so dont have it yet. Shd i apply first for her before going for the vaccination or can do it with my medicare?

Sorry for all the questions. Grateful if someone can advice me

Thanks!

 

[cherisw]

my dodo
maybe i've used the term 'schools' wrongly hee. I'm not looking too far ahead cos if we really stay beyond 2 years, can always shift or move again when it comes to primary sch years. More concerned abt a good playschool or childcare centre for her now.

Visited a fren's childcare centre in Carlton area yesterday. She says for non PR is abt $90 per day at her centre. V nice place though, esp since she's a former principal of a reputed presch in SG...at least got standard hahha. But dun think we'll be staying in the city so most probably will not enrol N there. Dun mind 3 hours type too cos since i'm not working, dun really need to put her there for full day.

will be flying back to SG tmr, gals! Hope to meet more of you when i'm back in melbourne again

aurorin
hv u decided where to stay since you'll be moving over next mth? how much r u paying if you r renting? i'm still doing my research hahah

 

[cherisw]

hopeac & other mummies
hehe i'm rereading ur previous posts now on the diff areas to stay...makes so much more sense to me now after i've driven ard those areas. So far, we like Glen Waverly (so near to Chadstone!), Blackburn & Doncaster. We felt we still preferred to be in Asian areas for a start. We enjoyed our late nite shopping in Chadstone tonite so much! Esp after so many nites of being in the hotel after 5 pm with nothing much to do haha. TV is so boring in my apt!

What r the things i should compare/contrast for these 3 areas? i know it oso largely depends on the houses available for rental in these areas.

 

[aurorin]

Hi Cheri,

Hope you had enjoyed yourself in Melb! We have a place to stay in Melb.. an apartment in the city that my dad bought years ago for my brother when he was studying/working there (but now he is in HK). So lucky for us, its rent free (but we need to pay maintainence fee cos its a condo).

Are you researching on childcare? Can share findings? Heh i am considering playgroup or similar for my gal who is coming to 6mths. The childcare you visited is $90 a day? Wow.. very ex wor. 8)

 

[cj_mum]

aurorin,

nice to see you here

you didn't take the modified 6-in-1 pkg for baby? that's why hv to take the hepB jab separately? when do you intend to put your baby in childcare? i'm still very busy with my packing & shopping hv not decided whether to ship over or not. will delay my departure til june.

cheri,

wow, Glen Waverly? it's quite far from the airport considered your hubby has to travel a lot? I heard hawthorn has a lot chinese food....did you visit there?

 

[aurorin]

JE,
No, didnt do the 6in1 becos she had the hepB jab immediately after birth in hospital. Now we need to complete the 3rd dose of HepB seperately lor. I am thinking childcare after 1yrs.. if have any of the weekday/weekend playgroup for mummies and bbs before 1 year, i also dun mind joining. I saw some listed on the aussie website but they didnt put the fees down.

I decided not to ship.. i only got a few boxes and it cost 1-2k (takes 1-2mths to get there). Not very worth it since 1-2K can get a return air tix already. Will pack in batches, ask my folks/bro to help bring some when they go over melb lor. Now i am emailing SQ to increase my baggage allowance. They say they will consider if we provide proof of us migrating. Oh i am leaving in June too.. delay till the 5th.. too much stuff to wrap up.

 

[cj_mum]

aurorin,

my baby also had her 1st dose of hepB immediately after birth in kkh. but the 3rd dose of hepB can combine with the 5-in-1. you may want to chk with your PD. it's better to avoid clinic/hospital now since melb also has H1N1.

yeah, i also dont hv much to ship over cos i intend to buy most of the stuff in melb. huh? can request to increase baggage allowance? when we chk-in?

 

[aurorin]

JE,
When i asked the polyclinic, the nurse tells me have to wait one month to take the hepB leh. Aiya. Nevermind la.. i call my PD see can take before we leave or not.

If want to request, must do so before check-in. I called krisflyer and was directed to email their manager to request. They are considering our request now but must submit documentations of migration. Hopefully can lor..

 

[hopeac]

hi,
If you want to ship. YOu may want to consider bownti. I shipped 22 boxes of stuff for 1.3 K including quarantine etc. Door to door service

 

[cj_mum]

aurorin,

I thought you went for PD. My baby also took her jabs from polyclinic. they hv two types: 5-in-1 wo hepB and modified 6-in-1 (with hepB). So I took the modified 6-in-1.

 

[aurorin]

hopeac,

thanks for the recommendation but think can manage without shipping

JE,
Didnt know that.. aiya.. too late anyway

 

[cherisw]

aurorin
apt in the city? which part of the city is that? The childcare that my fren is running now is in Carlton area, v near Melbourne Museum. I've not visited other oz chilcares yet but i like what i saw in hers. Some asian teachers, v happy kids & teachers, lots of fun messy things for kids to engage in, new centre & environment. Saw the kids having their lunch too. Healthy & good portions. R u PR? If you r, the $90 daily rate doesn't apply to you lah. Hee at $90 for us, we can only afford to send her twice a week. Good too, then the rest of the time, i can 'teach' her at home myself or just bring her out for playdates/outings.

re shipping
yah, we oso might not hv that much to ship over cos most of our furniture in the SG flat is either built in or to be left for the tenant. So mostly just clothes, toys, books perhaps. But we're thinking abt our king size mattress though. We bot a Simmons one & it's firm enough for our backs so not sure if we wanna spend another few thousands to buy a mattress in Oz.

 

[aurorin]

Cheri,
Its somewhere near Vic market. Carlton is a few tram stops away. Don't mind PM me the place address then i can check it out when my baby is older? Btw, at wot age do they take in children? $90 is for foreigners? You mean PR is another rate? Actually if can send twice or 3 times a while is also a bonus.. i can try find part time job. What's the session hours like? Sorry ah, so many questions

re shipping,
Can go get a quote? Maybe the money spend on freight, you can buy another simmons.. but if you have the volume, may work out to be worth it lor.

SQ just approve our excess baggage allowance for another 30kg. Means we have together 80kg for 2adults/1baby. Phew, think we can manage to bring over most of our stuff. Very grateful for SQ. Heh heh

 

[cherisw]

aurorin
yes, the centre is pretty near Vic Mkt too...I've a fren who stays opp Vic Mkt area too. She has a younger child who's 5 mths old now. maybe when u move over, i can help you link up with her since you both stay so near. Can hv playdates tog.

u can check out the centre website.
http://www.starbright.org.au/lemontree.html

i did see some very young babies in the centre...they will usually be on the lower level, away from the older kids. Ya, $90 is the rate for non PRs, not sure abt the subsidy rates for PRs. Session hours should be full day but unlike SG, may end abt 5 pm. I'm not too sure really.

yes definitely will check out the shipping when it's time for us to move. Maybe can get one of the mummies here to check the price of good mattress for me then like you said, may not need to ship my Simmons over hahah

 

[cj_mum]

aurorin,

80kg? That's great! Any packing tips??? I've limited space after packing in those thick winter clothings...Btw, do you intend to bring your baby for flu jab b4 leaving for melb?

cheri,

the childcare centre sounds good. i hope to find good one near my new home there.

 

[aurorin]

Cheri,
Thanks for the link! I will go check it out! Thinking to put in childcare after she is 1yrs old. Anyway,it will be nice to link up with your fren.. or else i think my girl will be quite lonely ah.. Thanks!

JE,
I am looking for bags that can be vaccum sealed. I remember seeing it on TV last time. You put things like clothes in the bag and extract on the air w/i with a vaccum cleaner to reduce the space taken. Wondering where they will sell this. Hahaha. Anyway, i am only bring a few pieces of winter clothing becos i intend to buy over there. The heavy items for me is my hubby's books and things like our PS3 etc.

Decided not to go for the flu jab and just keep baby home for the time being when i reach Melb. Just in case she has any reaction to it just as we about to fly. Only 9 days more to go before flight...

 

[cherisw]

aurorin
i bot those bags from daiso b4...v cheap, $2 per piece & many sizes available...u can check them out.

 

[cj_mum]

aurorin,

I want to minimize shopping during winter. That's why I bought most of the winter clothings here. Me too, don't intend to bring my baby for the flu jab. Hmm...good idea to use those bags. Will decide later.

 

[aurorin]

Cheri,
Will go Daiso to find. Friend told me Winter Time also have but cos liike $8-9. Hmm..

JE,
Got H1N1 cases in Vic so we will minimize going out also. Sigh. Think can survive with the 2-3pc we have since not going out much. When i try out the bag, i let u know how...

 

[happy_33]

Hi Mummies,

Will be travelling to Melbourne for 10 days next month and will be putting up at Mantra 100 Exhibition Apt.

Any idea whether there's supermarket and drug store near this apt? Can't find much info on the surroundings from the net.

Please help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[cherisw]

aurorin
i saw some selling in supermarts too but more than $10 per bag...mayb quality differs. But when i used the Daiso ones, they seem ok. Din break after one use

aa
i stayed in mantra @ Russell for 2 weeks recently. Exhibition Street is right smack in the city area so it should not be tough to find a mart.

 

[aurorin]

Cheri,

Found the bags at Daiso@$2. Very good! I managed to stuff all my winter stuff plus baby things into one (100cm/110cm) and it compact really well. Of cos still heavy but really reduce the space taken. Think quality not bad leh.. easy to use also. Can recycle to store our linen/bedding etc.

 

[cherisw]

aurorin
great to hear that! hee sometimes we use these bags for our winter clothing in our luggage when we travel overseas for hol. Cos winter clothing wif all its padding takes up lots of space but r actually not that heavy...bedlinen at home; how to use? will always take & change then hv to reseal again?

 

[aurorin]

cheri,
ya.. really helped to reduce space! Oh i am talking abt those bedlinen or pillows for the guestrooms.. good to store cos dun use often.. leave it out will collect dustmites etc.. then when my folks come, can take out and use.. after they go back store again for a couple of months. heh

 

[cherisw]

aurorin
good idea! btw, will u be leaving one room for ur guests? we're still wondering whether to opt for a 2/3 bedroom...esp since my dd should b sleeping in same room as us. R the rooms in the houses generally quite big?