Baby's First Teeth

Baby first teeth appeared when it was around 7 months old. It was quite a torturing yet exciting milestone. His first set were twinnies and I found out cos he really likes taking a sip out of my porcelain mug. And that fateful day, I heard a distinct clank. Me being me, stuck my finger into his mouth and baby gave me a good nip to confirm my suspicion. Ouch!

After going through this painful process, we did notice some behavioural change in baby before they sprouted and thought some parents might want to know more:

• Baby didn't sleep very well (and so did us). He could wake up to 4 times in the night.
• Baby was always scratching his ears or knocking the sides of his head. And cos I saw a documentary of an autistic boy becoming blind because he kept banging the sides of his head, we were so worried, we actually saw a doctor because of this. The doctor even checked his ears and found some ear-wax HAHA
• Some babies have feeding problems, ours actually ate more during this period, maybe to sooth his gums. He expanded quite a bit during this period. 
• Iced teethers/ cloths are recommended soothers, but to be honest ours were not particularly keen on them. 

Basically, the process repeats itself when his new teeth sprouts. On the bright side, life gets a bit more interesting because he can eats food that are not completely pureed. He even managed to chomp down a few strawberries with his 4 teeth. Haha. 

Now that his teeth are out, oral hygiene also becomes more important. Our baby isn't sleep-trained so he still drinks at night. Since I have weaning off, I avoid giving him breastmilk at night cos I think it is sweeter and may cause more cavities (not sure whether it is true, is just my own thoughts). I am trying to shift him to water, but sometimes this dude is smart and realise it. Bleh!

Here's a no big deal fact about myself, I actually have no cavities. I am quite proud of this actually and I always receive praises for my dentist. I did see a colleague's child who had 2 rotten front teeth that just scared the shit out of me. And so I really wanted to instil good oral habits to my child.

 I have been doing this so far and since I experience success I thought I will share it too. Every morning, baby will join me and observe me brush my teeth. (Carrying him and brushing my teeth is training my arms to be real thick, bleh!) He is very curious and so we also introduced the Marcus & Marcus Baby Teething Toothbrush ($13.90) to baby every evening.

Baby has been responding very well to the toothbrush. My guess is that the silicone bristles also act as a gum soother. He has no problems gripping it so far. The whole point for now is really to get him used to the feeling and habit of teeth brushing so that he won't resist it when he is older. There is baby toothpaste available in the market, but after some thoughts I decided water will do for now as my preference is still chemical-free. 

The Baby Teething Toothbrush is steam-friendly so it is quite easy to wash. After a quick cleanse I will throw it to the steamer. As it rather small, it can fit in our snack box ($13.90) quite easily (which we sometimes use as a storage to transport his spoon ($8.90)  as well). Hope this post helps you fellow parents out there!

Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!

Babyspa Toys!

Here's a big fat secret that many parents don't know. Babyspa sells toys and at quite a great price too. (Pss..quote CHAA10 and you will get to enjoy 10% off the products from their online store). You can either get them online or purchase them from the shop. To avoid disappointment, I would suggest to cart what you want online. You can arrange to collect from a shop to save on delivery charges.

I decided to put some of the toys to the test and review whatever I got. To be honest, the quality was surprisingly good. For the cost, I wasn't expecting much. But you know what, I am never buying off those dubious shops in Shopee ever again. 

100 Pcs multi-coloured fun balls ($15)

This has to be my absolute favourite purchase. I created a DIY ball pit at home. Basically, I just poured the whole sack of balls into the a bath tub. Easy peasy! It is great fun. Baby loves sinking himself in it or simply standing by the side and picking balls out or throwing them back in. For older kids, you can even hide items in them for your child to find or teach colours with them. 

My kid is at a stage where he puts every thing in his mouth, so I am quite thankful to share that the balls are of really good quality (smooth texture). Plus point, they look great in photos too! Definitely a must-buy!

Link Hoops ($6)

My personal preference has always been to invest in toys which have more possibilities. And hence the link hoops caught my eyes. Its actual use is probably used as an extender to hang toys and other items on the stroller. For us, we made it to a necklace so that he can pretend be an ah-beng is his gaudy shirt (it has a real loud motif at the back!)

Can't say he exactly like the necklace considering he enjoyed tearing it apart and fiddling with the texture. The links are not particularly rigid so it doesn't have much strangulation risk. Love the colours again cos it brightens up photos and provide opportunities to teach colours. 

3. Rabbit Birthday Cake ($10)

I do feel a little extra for saying this, but this toy is really quite a good trainer for first birthdays. Initially, we thought this would be a great prop for the first birthday. I have to admit as of now, it is quite under-utilised for its other possible functions - decorating of cake (maybe when he is older), pretend play etc.

Somehow this smart little boy has learnt how to make the rabbit sings but he still haven't figure out how to blow although he can purse his lip. Usually, he will clap along to the birthday song, watch me cut a cake and then snatch a piece and try to eat it. Pretty exciting, I can't wait to see how he reacts to his birthday on the actual day. :) 

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Note: Will be updating the reviews along the way...we don't introduce too many new toys to baby at one go! Bookmark this post to read more!

Wishtrend: My Klairs Loot

 

Being a working mum is truly F-hard. I barely have time for myself anymore and I am speaking from someone who has lots of support from the family. Ever since my baby turned 6 months, I told myself I am going to work on myself again. I am going to exercise and continue my beauty regime. I am going to look good and feel good again. 

I am quite a fan of some of the Klairs products and I usually get them from Wishtrend. Here's my haul for this quarter and I thought I will do a review on them here as well :)

Klairs Fundamental Eye Awakening Gel ($25)

I have been putting quite a bit of focus on my eyes lately because mums don't really get enough sleep. Klairs products have always been quite compatible for my skin and this one didn't disappoint as well. Some products cause milia around my eyes. But this one doesn't and it is really light. For an eye product, the price is very reasonable too, thumbs up for this!

Klairs Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish ($23)

This is another one of my favourite. After using it, my face felt really smooth. When it comes to scrub, I do find that sugar seems to have a moisturising effect versus after forms of scrubs. The only problem is that you need to keep the bottle really dry otherwise the sugar would melt and become gooey. Most sugar products usually smell really good, but Klairs doesn't. Not sure why, but it is not a deal breaker. Am consider to use it for my body as well cos the price is still considered reasonable :P

Klairs Fundamental Nourishing Eye Butter ($24)

I actually like this a little better simply because I prefer a creamier texture so you feel like you are putting something and doing some work. It is still very light and is more moisturising. If you have dark eye circles, this one seems to be more effective for people who needs help. It is more of a "to improve" and less of a "to maintain" product. And it is cheaper too by a dollar LOL! I am still using both. For better effects, you should use both. But I admit, I can be kinda of lazy sometimes so I pick the item more within my reach :P

Cooling Weighted Blanket from Serenity Living

And so, I had my first taste of luxury in bed. Weighted blanket is quite the rage now so I sort of decided to jump on the bandwagon and test it out for myself. Mummies as you know don't have the best rest and if anything can make me sleep better, count me in!

We got the Cooling Weighted Blanket from Serenity Living in Twilight Blue (S$288) as it was the only available colour then. But it suited our house's blue theme fine. They now have a dainty pink and dusty grey shade which I am very in love with. Deciding on the colours would have created quite a bit of problem if there were these colour choices HAHA!

Quite honestly, I expected these blankets to be very heavy. I won't say that they are light but the weight is very well-distributed. You can flip and toss around and the blanket doesn't even make a sound. I have to say the bamboo duvet cover is my favourite. It is silk-like and cooling, which is great for Singapore's humid weather. But a down side is that you need to iron it after a wash or else it would look crumply like mine!

Washing is quite a breeze. You just have to untie the sides (it is is kept in place by tying them to each side) and throw it into the washing machine. The recommended wash frequency is once a month. Overall, I did sleep soundly maybe because the weighted blanket felt like a nice, soft hug. 

They say mummies save the best for their child and there might be some truth in the statement because my child is enjoying it now as an extended matress. Weighted blanket make pretty good mattress too (though not its intended use) because they are quite substaintial in thickness and heavy enough not to be lifted by my young baby. 

Does he also sleep better? I don't know but sometimes we find him curled in the corner of the weighted blanket, sleeping calmly. But I do for sure. Because sometimes I have to sleep beside him to comfort him and this weighted blanket is a god-send. Without it, my back would probably hurt and dang I am no spring chicken. 

I would think the weighted blanket is not just a fad. Give it a try if you are looking for a better night's sleep!

*** For our readers only, quote "ChaaYen20" for S$20 off. 

It's tea time!

 I really miss going out, I truly do. To make myself feel better, I sort of brought the nice high-tea deliveries to the comfort of my own home. Surprisingly, I enjoy feasting in my pjs and being a messy eater, no need to be pretentious! I even turned on a movie and the air-con. Luxurious without breaking my pocket!

If you are a coffee lover, you have to check this out! Aroma Coffee released a set of 6 tea-infused coffee beverages ($42). You can't pick and choose but it is a nice set to share within the family. Flavours include the traditional Dirty Earl, Perky Peppermint and Creme Caramel. Special shoutout to the Summer Blossom (blend of fruits and white tea) as well as Mellow Melon, you probably can't find anything similar outside!

Each bottle contains a double shot of the specialty Espresso and fresh milk so you can still taste the coffee. The flavouring in no way overpowers the coffee and does enhance the taste and experience. Do try if you are looking for some pampering and indulgence. 

If your pockets are filling full, you can also order Conrad's Language of Flowers Afternoon Tea ($85.60) to go with your coffee. It is a very pretty and intricate set for sure. Top up to $100 and you can save $23.90 of delivery fees. We ended up getting the waygu and foie gras burger set ($22) so that we could get free delivery. The burgers were not fantastic though. 

Some of pieces were hits in the tea set while others were misses. I partially value a good scone and was rather upset that it wasn't up to expectation. I have a sweet tooth so I can finish up my own portion my husband felt surfieted halfway through. The good thing about having it at home...you can save it for later and share with other family members :D More bang for your bucks/ lesser waste!

My Home Pantry: Feat. Mama Nougats

Whee~~ new stuff that you can load up in your home pantry. Quite honestly, I am pretty sian by now.  Can't wait for this Covid shit to be over. Even if it is over, we probably can't travel yet and I can be certain that all the travel funds would go into food/ snacks, so I thought this is a good time to do such reviews for the benefit of everyone)

I hope you guys like nougats cos I found a homemade place, Nougat Mama. These nougats are the soft, chewy type (like those I had in Taiwan) and is quite hard to find in Singapore. I tried out their signature and cranberry flavour.

It comes complete with the rice paper at just $9 per 100g. One thing I have realised about home bakers/ producers, their products are always packed with healthier ingredients. They don't stinge on quality for sure! Personally, I prefer the Cranberry nougats because they are sweeter and I like the contrasting flavour and fragrance between the nuts (almond and peanuts) and the cranberry.

If you are into a slightly more bitter taste of sesame, you might love the Signature. Apart from sesame, it contains walnuts, peantus and goji berries. Moving forward, the nougats will be packeted in really cute packaging and latest updates: they have free delivery till 13 June with no minimum spend, a great time to give it a try if you ask me...hehe

New Addition: A throw on my sofa

I have always hankered for a throw in my house. Since my home was of a scandenavian theme, a throw was a must-have. So far, we love our throw. Apart from being decorative, it also acted as a blanket of some sort. The Hubs would wrap himself up while reading. For me, I prefer dragging it to snuggle on my beanbag (you can read about it here!) It gave our sofa a lot more fabric texture and brought a soft fuzz to the living room!

Styling a throw  though, was way harder than I thought. In home deco magazines and Ikea, they always look so good being casually thrown around. In actual fact, it does look good when you throw it about after use, however if it is intentional, something about it just doesn't look right. Most of the time, I fold my throw in squares or rectangles so that it lays neatly on the sofa and it works like a charm. 

My throw is in fact a turkish towel. It is the Pink Ombre Peshtemal from Summer Moments. At 177cm by 98cm, it can effectively cover an adult snuggly. It is made of 100% cotton and is very light weight and soft. Best of all, I think the price is very reasonable at $35. 

Although we use it solely as a throw for now in the living room, I am contemplating to use it as a bed runner when we change the colour scheme. Given that it is so pretty, I find it an absolute waste to use it as a towel, might use it as a shawl in the office (if we ever have a chance to go back that is)

For parents out there, Summer Moments also has the kid's kaftan hoodie/poncho ($35). Turkish towels are very absorbant so these make great drying robes. It is really cute too! Saving tips, upsize it cos children grows really fast. The fabric is really good and soft, hence there wasn't much complaints from my boy when we slipped this on him to take some photos!

We will probably pack this piece when baby visits the pool. Don't really know when that will be given the pandemic but we are definitely looking forward to some water fun, it is getting kinda of boring - always staying indoors. By the way, there are other colours available too, but I think this shade works best for boys!