Baby goes staycation

I did think quite long and hard before finally deciding to risk it and bring the family for a staycation. At this point, the Covid situation was worsening and we could only dine in 2s. Back in June, we couldn't even dine outdoors and we thought it would be lame to go ahead with the staycation so we postponed it. 

Initially, we were supposed to stay in Sofitel @ City Centre. However, as they became a Stay-Home Notice Dedicated Facility, we were moved to Fairmont Singapore instead. I was quite impressed by their honesty (which gave me a bit of faith in the measures that they would put in place) so I decided to go ahead. Upon reaching, I realised Fairmont was an approved hotel for the Green Lane Passengers when I spotted people in PPE. I admitted I freaked out a bit and wanted to take a cab back but the taxi driver being highly efficient had unloaded my luggage.

To be honest, the first day at the Fairmont didn't go well. During the weekends, the restrictions changed so the operations teams probably couldn't react too. My booking was apparently not transferred properly. They got my name wrong and addressed in the wrong salutation too. The complimentary dinner was no longer part of the package (sad), but since we were in town there were quite a lot of good food around so the Hubs told me look on the bright side and not let this affect my mood for the next few days. 

Since we can't dine out as a family, we decided to have our meals in our room. They had this online ordering system. But somehow, it wasn't working very well and I had to call in to make my orders. They also got my orders wrong (I think) and we ended up with Antidote's high tea (around $90 for hotel guests). I have to say this was the best high tea I ever had. It was so good that it made my day literally (and after that, everything just got better too!)

Our plan was to use our staycation as a base to explore the other areas. The CBD area was like a ghost town and I managed to take many nice scenic shots. (Nobody in sight!) It is kinda of surreal and sad at the same time. But it was quite safe for baby because of the lack of crowd. Fairmont is at quite a nice location so we could take a nice stroll to most of the nice attractions - Gardens by the Bay (read about our experience here!), Esplanade, Chjimes.

Although it was a staycation, it did feel a bit like we went overseas haha. Nice food around their vicinity (if you are not into room service) includes - Hvala, Senor Taco, Wooloomooloo steakhouse etc. Yums. 

One of the highlight for any kid (if you don't stay in a condo) is probably the pool. Not only did I bring our own unicorn float, I also brought his shades along. The pump ($25) and float ($20) (both from Baby Spa) took a good 25% of our luggage. In fact the husband and baby's stuff took a good 60%. For the first time, I packed very very light for myself. Baby was decked cutely in the Short Sleeve Rashie Set ($51.90) from The Baby Closet. (First time and probably last time wearing cos he grows big so so fast!)

We were initially quite hesitant to bring him to the pool but according to my husband, Covid doesn't spread at the pool. Also, you had to book for a slot at Fairmont. So at any one time, there were a max. of 2 families at the different ends of the pool (non-heated by the way). You could also only swim in 2s, hence I was the official photographer. Cute towel is from Cheekaboo.

Thought we will end with some quick tips for parents who are planning to bring their kids for a staycation as well. We did prepare food for the baby - mainly fruits. He also shared our fruit platter for breakfast. For the sterilizing of bottles, we brought our own tingkat (yes, you didn't hear us wrong) and poured boiling hot water in it to do it the traditional, portable manner (haha).

By the way, room cleaning is only on request. So thank god, I brought along my zip-lock samples packets for baby's soiled diapers. Locked the stench in and kept our room fresh throughout the whole stay. My favourite collapsible snack container ($19.90) from iTOTS was also very useful for acting as a bowl for baby or a container when on the go!

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For  Baby Spa products and services, quote "Chaa10" to get 10% off. 

For Cheekaboo products, quote "CHAAYEN20" and you can get 20% off! Valid until 31 Dec 2021. 

Looking cute in Cheekaaboo Thermal Swimwear

So exciting, last weekend, we took our little one for a trial swim class. Because baby is still very small, a parent had to enter the water with him. I am quite jealous of the Hubs because he went down with baby. They did look like they had a lot of fun. For parents who are curious, the classes take place in an indoor thermal pool and the classes are pretty small (about 5 students). 

Each class last about 30 minutes. Try to go early so that the parent taking photos can get a good seat to capture nice shots. I was quite lucky some parents let me have a seat (maybe cos I was too excited and disturbing their peace). There was an instructor around and baby did some water training such as floating and picking water toys. 

As you know, we went for BabySpa as well (read our review here!) Personally, I feel that the BabySpa seems a bit safer for the baby because the swim school did water submersion for baby. (My heart did stop a bit at that.) I know many parents feel that swim classes are more value-for-money because the pool is bigger, but I do think baby is a bit too young to appreciate swim class. 

Comparitively, he didn't smile as much but he didn't cry either. He was completely exhausted at the end of the class and we got to enjoy some date-time :P It was quite tiring for the Hubs as well as he had to squart most of the time. Swim diapers is not provided and you do have to spend quite a bit to invest in the whole gear.

To help fellow parents out there, here's our packing list:

1. Thermal swimwear ($53.10) including swim hat ($15.90) and reusable diaper ($22.30) and cute panda towel ($17.90) from Cheekaaboo. The swim school will check on the reusable diaper and this passed. FYI, if your baby contaminate the water, you would have to pay a fine of $500!
2. Disposable Swim Diapers (In retrospect, I should have bought them off BabySpa since there is a 10% discount, just quote "CHAA10")
3. Body Shampoo (not used in the end) 
4. Clean set of clothes and diapers 
5. Wet bag with extra compartment 
6. 2 bottles of milk (not in photo)

Initially, I did dress our cutie in his full gear. But since this was at an indoor pool, the instructor took his swim cap off. This was his first time wearing his thermal swimwear (6-12m) and dang it was getting tight. Tip: Get a bigger size for your baby for longer mileage! Psss...Cheekaaboo is having 19% off right now and there is free shipping when you spend more than $100!

If you plan to let your child swim frequently in the condo/ public pool, it is pretty important to invest in a thermal swimwear so that your child can be kept warm. This piece by Cheekaaboo had a velcro at the back to prevent it from falling off. FYI, babies do struggle quite a bit. Not to boast, but my child did turn a few heads when he was dressed like this (have to admit I was beaming with pride throughout). Go for neutral colours like ours if you want to pass this piece to baby #2 in future. Erms, nope this is not a baby announcement. There is no sibling yet la!

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[Update] For our readers only, quote "CHAAYEN20" and you can get 20% discount at Cheekaaboo. It is valid till 31 Dec 2021.