Electric Toothbrush for Kids

I was initially quite hesitant about getting an electric toothbrush for the kiddo because I was worried the vibrations might be too strong and damage his teeth growth. We came across the Marcus & Marcus Kids 2-Min Timer Sonic Silicone Electric Toothbrush ($29.90) and it proved to be a good addition. 

There was a point our toddler was resisting toothbrushing. I am not sure why but somehow when they lose momentum (We gave him some slack when he fell down and hurt his lip, thinking there might be a hurting blister.), they just lose interest in teeth brushing. And I would have to come up with something snazzy all over again. 

1. Just like Mummy. I personally use an electric toothbrush myself. So I guess kiddo was really excited, probably thinking this is an adult moment that he is sharing the same sort of toothbrush as me. We would clink our toothbrushes (as though we are drinking), every time we brush our teeth. 


2. The vibrations are really gentle. And so, I am very approving of this. And it set at 2 minutes per use which prevents him from playing / brushing too long. 


3. The bristles are soft. In fact, they look more like gum cleaning pads. Kiddo seems to like it more than the bristled brushes and would allow me to clean his back teeth too!





4. It is battery operated (1 AAA battery). I love battery operated brushes because I am so absent minded that I will misplace my charging wires. Especially when you are travelling overseas, batteries are easily replaceable. 


5. The brush heads are replaceable. ($7.90) . For hygiene purpose, it is important to replace them and I don't want to keep buying the complete set!


6. Kiddo really enjoy teeth brushing! And I think that's the most important reason. In fact I bought a rather cute looking (non-electric one) for use at our other home, but nope he is not interested in them at all. :'(

The Cot Makeover

Quite honestly, when it comes to the second child, I would admit I am not too keen to spending as much. I have definitely ruled out the purchasing of "new" big ticket items unless it was absolutely necessary (spoilt, better product in market, consumables/health related). 

By now, I really ought to know better that motherhood is full of twist and turns and basically unpredictability. We had to move back to our in-laws place and with 2 kids, the previous option of having a nest on the king sized bed between us was no longer an option. It was dangerous with a slightly jealous and temperamental toddler around. 

To help other non-first time mothers, here are some of our considerations for our cot, beddings and sleeping aids. 

1. Should I get a second-hand cot? Depends. There was a mark-down sale and the price was so attractive that we got a new cot at a real steal. :P Having said that, the baby actually still prefer sleeping on me more than her new cot. :'(


2. Should I get waterproof beddings? Honestly, I don't. I just line the mattress with underpads. Personally, I prefer cotton materials for their beddings (cos it feels softer). Ours is from thebubhaus. It is pretty comfy and affordable. Lots of designs to choose from too!





3. How do I keep my cot neat? I am guilty of hanging a lot of random stuff on the cot sides. This time round, we got a cot organiser to hang at the side and it is such a life changer. I feel like the room is now more organised since all the kids related stuff and accumulated and packed into it. :)


4. Why do you put a nest on your mattress? You can read my post on the uses of a nest here. Just to add on, when you have a toddler, a nest becomes even more important because it creates the barrier, especially if all 4 of you co-sleep together. For us, the nest gives us options...to move her around and also more space to put baby related stuff around it. Oops. 





5. Does your baby use sleep aids? Yes she does. We use a white noise machine from pursay that calms her down quite a bit (and helps the adults to sleep well). We also have customized comfy mink blankies (pillow and bolsters have been put aside) for her. Super CUTE! For those who ask, we got them from Honeythreads.sg We would also swaddle her in LovetoDream. I recommend the authentic version because of its more lasting and softer fabric, which in turn provides effectiveness for the really fussy babies (like mine).  


6. Is a cot mobile necessary? Our #1 was not very interested in it. But this baby loves staring and cooing at it. So I guess it is a good buy :) On top of that we also let her play with the Star Rainstick Rattle from Itots($14.90) and a bunny rattle from Nattou (price unknown cos it is a gift). 

Special mention to our customised cot deco (though not a necessity but very pretty), we got it from plushedsg!

I froze my first packet of milk

Before the baby even arrived, I had a boob infection. And breastfeeding was seemingly impossibly tough. By the third day post-partum, I was pretty sure I am going to give up on breastfeeding. By a twist of fate (probably due to power pumping and the rights boosters - will write more on them in a separate post), I became an over-supply mother in 2nd month of post partum.

Being an over-supply mother means I need to learn how to freeze the milk. I found this summary which I thought was very useful. Previously, I also never used any milk storage bags. Youtube was very helpful in that aspect. 

What I am doing is to maximise each bag by freezing alternate day feedings. Having said that, most of the time, I still feed the excess to my #1 because he takes it and there is less work.) Apart from the labelling, I would wrap each bag with a kitchen tissue so that they are better separated (not stated in the youtube videos)

What I realise was some breastmilk packets are more premium than the rest with more functions. The best so far is Marcus & Marcus ($19.90 for 50 pieces). For the thawing of breastmilk, you can either move it down from the freezer and let it slowly thaw or use the warmer for quick thawing. Should you be comfortable with the latter, the temperature sensing function on the Marcus & Marcus Breastmilk Storage Bags would be very useful. 

One thing to note, you should also let your little one have a taste of the thawed frozen milk to make sure they are not fussy about the taste early. Otherwise you will be freezing in vain. Ending the post with a photo of the tools I used for my first packet of frozen milk T_T. Can't believe I have come so far.

Updated Hospital Bag

I did a post on this previously (read it here!) However, looking back, I found I wasn't being "light" enough so here goes my updated version for mothers who are looking to pack light! Photo looking not as aesthetic this time round because now that I am a mother of a toddler, I really don't have as much time!

1. 1 Jacket to keep my Mummy warm.
2. 1 Bottle of Chicken Essence for push energy, but ended up not taking this time round. 
3. Some maternity pads and disposible undies
4. 1 bottle of Biocair Disinfectant Pocket Spray ($15.80) and 1 packet of wet wipes to keep the area sanitise at all times
5. 1 Power Bank
6. 2 underpads
7. 1 amulet
8. Baby's first toy for photography
9. Milestone cards from Happy Starts (You can understand what milestone cards are for here!)
10. Silverette Nursing Cups (Read about our review here!) and Marcus & Marcus silicone breastmilk collector from iTOTS
11. Personal hospital documents and items the hospital requeated us to bring
12. 1 set of nursing dress and bra from 9 Months Maternity to come home in (Read our review here!)
13. 1 nb set from Blue Almond. Quote "BA13YG" to get 10% off any products!
14. 1 extra set in case baby is too fat for nb clothes 
15. Sitz bath tub

iTOTS: Interesting Taf toys

We saw some interesting developmental toys from Taf Toys and thought a review on them for parents would be much appreciated. From my Mummy's chats, I heard a bit of good comments on their products. One being "I kept the toy for 7 years before I had my next kid and the toy is still in good condition. They are expensive but really value for money".

My personal experience has also been good. Apart from looking classy (sorry, but I hate those cheapass shopee/ taobao toys), the finishing is good. Most of the items, we have been using them for a year+ (and probably more with the growing extended family) and they are still in very good condition. 

1. Taf Toys Kimmy Koala Wonder Tissue Box ($39.90)

This toy initially caught my eye because I was sick of our little one ripping out tissues from our tissue box. With this, I hope our kiddo would stop wasting tissue and money, LOL! And I did see a lot prospects in using this same set-up for different play methods. The original play method is to basically load the tissue box with the coloured cloth and textured fabric and get the child to pull them out. 

You can also assist them if they are younger by placing them at the sides if they are uncomfortable with placing their hand into the box. As the cloth is sheer and of different colours, when he is older we used it to teach colours and he would at times place the cloth over his head to experiment looking through the different shades.

For alternative play, we would hide toys within the box and get him to pick them out. There is some element of surprise for him cos he wouldn't know what was hidden. His favourite so far has been us tying the cloth on his limbs and he would try to unpick them himself. I guess it does help to improve his fingers coordination. 

To wash the cloths, I usually toss it into the washing machine along with his clothes. No special care is given but so far the sheer cloths has yet to tear or show any loose threads.

2. Taf Toys North Pole Ball Drop Stacker ($39.90)

This is really ideal if you want to teach the kid on object permanence. My kid honestly plays it like a toy. He would pop the balls in and watch them as they roll out. Although you can actually stack them up so that it becomes a more complex structure, he doesn't really play it that way. It is usually just a 1-storey high box. 

This set comes with 6 coloured balls, with 3 being texture. We actually have like a whole box of balls so sometimes he just use the other balls to keep popping them in and out and watch them roll out of the box. By the way, the bottom of the box has a height gradient, so the ball would always roll out. No disappointment for the little one. 

Bath Toys from iTOTS!

It is quite cool that now baby is older, he interacts more with his toys. Having said that, he has also grown fearful of water, especially when they splashes all over his head. Showering him has definitely grown a lot tougher. One of things which I always wondered if there were any true value (apart from being fun) was bath toys. 

There are a lot of bath toys in the market and the price range can differ greatly. I have a few from different sources/ price range (some of them being gifts) and I am starting to see the difference between a cheap-ass toy and one from a reputable source. Here's some tips on what to get:

1. Toys that promote sensory learning: Rain showers, squirt toys are great for showering too. We got silicone bath toys from iTOTS - Submarine (S$13.90) and Seaplane (S$16.90). We use them to shower his head and introduce him to the sensation of trickling water on his head. Because it is "fun", he lets us get away with it. He is now very curious about how the water squirts out. I think soon we will be having water fights. 


2. Toys that are made of softer material: We have those that are made of hard plastics as well. Maybe it is just my kid that behaves badly. Sometimes when he is frustrated, he would whack himself with the toys. Hence, anything silicone/ soft plastic is much preferred. 


3. Toys that are easier to clean: One thing about bath toys is that they can be a breeding ground for bacteria. So always get toys that don't trap water. Go for things that can be opened to clean. Especially for squirt toys it can be quite hard to find. Glad we got our handy submarine and seaplane!





4. Get quality toys: I got a few cheapos from shopee that was pretty much blessed out immediately because they are (i) rough at the edges or (ii) don't look true to its pictures. Some were pretty good buys but most were bleh. As my kid gets older, I also find that the toys from established brands seems be more thoughtfully designed (apart from the details they put in the aesthetics) to engage kids such that they would play with them in different manners. I don't know whether it stimulates their brains more. Maybe it does. But, if you ask me, I think there is no harm giving a variety to see what works!

For Mummies who are sitting on the fence on thinking whether to get a set of nice bath toys for your kids, please go for it. I think there are just too many times we forget that this is just a one-off expense and the child actually plays with it so many times. (I am very guilty of this too!) Mine bathes twice a day and plays with his toys every single time. By now, each play are probably in cents/ play HAHAHA!

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. 

Hot fav from Taf Toys

My laptop crashed so I lost quite a bit of photos of my baby. One of things I love snapping are the interactions my child have with his toy. Does it sound creepy? LOL. 

Baby has been growing up with a lot of the toys from Taftoys from itots. Some of the items we previously featured such as the Taf Toys 2-in-1 Tummy Time Pillow ($35.90) and Tummy Time book ($33.90), he is still using them, just for different purposes. The pillow now lies in his playroom and he would lie on it to drink his milk. Sometimes when "his  younger friends" come over, they lie on it too!

His favourite page now on the Tummy Time book is the mirror. He would flip to that page and smile at himself...and proceeds to kiss his image. Oh Gawd, guess I got a Little Loki on my hands! We have some other toys from Taftoys which baby loves which we thought we would share it here. 

Hunny Bunny Stacker ($29.90)

My baby really loves this stacker. But he doesn't really use it for stacking but more for chewing the rabbit's ears. (He is quite unstructured in his learning.) Also, we play donuts with the rings (cos he has a separate donut toy) so we would "pretend" to eat them. Although sometimes he does give these rings a good lick. For the stump, we would turn it over and act like it is a mic too! Hehe.

What I like about this set is that it is really easy to grip and have quite a variety. One of them even has coloured beads in them and can make a sound. They also don't have to be stacked in a particular order which suits rebels like us who hate following rules :P

Laptoy Activity Center ($69.90)

This is one toy which grew up with him. It started as his bedroom toy as it was hanging at the side of his cot (yes, I split his toys so he would associate them to the different rooms). When his cot was collapsed, it followed him into bed. Initially he was only interested in the nose of the bear which would sing 2 tunes and the star rattle.

I used to distract him when putting him on a highchair when he was younger (sadly I lost those photos). Silly parents we are, we didn't know that we could turn off the music and sometimes when we kinda of bump into it on our bed it would start singing. My husband hence named this the "creepy toy". Whatever my husband named it doesn't matter because my baby loves it and has now progress to playing other parts of the toy which trains his pulling, twisting and turning abilities. 

Koala Car Wheel Toy ($52.90)

My baby used to be quite easy on cars. But as he grew older, he became more curious and refused to keep his hands to himself. Whether you drive or grab, this toy is a super useful distractor. Especially if you grab, some cars do not have the baby lock and babies with itchy hands will try to open the door. Mine opened once on our family car (somehow we forgot to lock) and I freaked out. 

This toy imitates a steering wheels and the buttons give quite realistic sounds (a 2nd click would make them sing a tune). My baby likes it because he feels that he is in control and manipulating the movement of the car. Sometimes we would sing "the wheels of the car go round and round" as we play with it. It also comes with a mirror which my baby is obsessed with (remember he is a Loki). 

Ending this post with a bonus photo, baby hola hooping with his pillow :P

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!

Yum in the Tum: Baby Weaning Journey

Honestly, I feel that weaning is as tough as breastfeeding. I feel quite ridiculous saying this, but there is a lot more to research and read up during this stage. At the start, it is pretty easy. You just feed the baby milk and he pretty much gets all the nutrients he need. But now, it gets a bit more complicated, what do you exactly even give him to make sure he has all the nutrients he needs?

Today, I am going to dive into this topic, featuing some of the tools we use and food we try for traditional weaning. I always think the right tools are pretty darn important. Use the right tools and everything gets done more effectively and you pretty much have more time to bond with your child!

Weaning

We started weaning baby off breastmilk from 6 months. His staple till now is still the organic oatmeal from Gerbers, just that the consistency has changed for a more watery form to a less watery form. (We skipped rice ceral because of the whole hoo-ha on arsenic.)  Some tips on the bib, get one with a catcher! Ours is from Marcus & Marcus ($19.90), it is really good to catch leaks and when baby is drinking water and helps to reduce the mess!

To wean him off, we use the Marcus & Marcus masher spoon and bowl set ($17.90). The spoon's masher side is really good if you are making your own puree. During meal times when baby joins us at the table (not eating), the set would also be a constant feature to let him feel like he is a part of the meal convos. We initially started with traditional weaning and this spoon was of a good length to feed him.

After a few meals, we noticed that baby seemed to want to snatch the food to feed himself. We changed to the Marcus & Marcus palm grasp self-feeding spoon ($8.90) for some of his meals. We would usually scoop and let him feed himself to reduce the mess. I wouldn't think it is a full-blw yet but it trains his motor skills. 

Cooking

In my opinion, a slow cooker is the best for cooking. Although there are other utensils, I find the food cooked from a slow cooker the tastiest. If you have a thermomix at home, you can use it to do a bit of steaming. mashing etc. (The Hubs uses it, but I am not very used to it, so it is not my preferred utensil.) For my parents, they would use a traditional pot to cook my baby's puree. On work days, we would use ready-made purees from Bellamy Organic . Usually, I would get more interesting flavours so that baby can be exposed to a greater variety of food.

Storage/ Transporting

I am not a full-time caregiver for my child so he does go a few places in the day. Hegen PCTO 2 Oz Breastmilk Storage ($52 for 6) is a new product and I use it as a storage cup. I do have the Philips Avent one which I use to store my excess breastmilk, but in comparison, I do feel Hegen products are more secure (on the flip side if you are not use to the mechanism, it can be quite hard to open.)

6 is quite a good number cos I split it around 3 households. Sometimes my parents would prepare puree for my child and pack them in this storage cup to bring them over. I only got this when baby was around 5 months, but if I were to have #2, this would be pretty excellent for storing colostrum.

Snack Box 

We use the Marcus & Marcus Suction Bowl ($13.90) as a snack box. This is particularly good because it is air-tight and keeps the puffs fresh. We would fill it up and let him practice his pincer grip. The first few attempts were pretty frustrating for him but now he can pretty much feed hinself and enjoys grabbing handfuls from the snack box. 

The suction at the bottom is strong enough to keep the bowl upright. Even when he knocks on it, it doesn't overturn. It also helps that he hasn't quite figure out how to open the cover. He is starting to recognise this box as a treasure box of food and would look at it and make sounds so that we would pass it to him (He adores the organic puffs from Gerber by the way).

Tools for Tummy-time!

My little one has no problem with flipping. But I do know of mums who are very worried when their little one is a little behind schedule. So here's some tips and tricks I use to help my baby flip faster (and safely). 

As a first-time, I was initially very hesitant in flipping him over to do tummy-time. When my baby was a newborn, he was so soft and it was very scary to do so. We started his tummy-time on my chest. We would hug-carry him while I slowly lower my body down. Initially, he couldn't really lift his head very long. 

After his 2nd month developmental check, the PD advised to start him on his tummy-time. That was when I started to flip him over. Initially, we only used a tummy-pillow and did tummy-time on the mattress as it was softer. For mummies who are not familiar with a tummy pillow, it is a U-shaped cushion that helps to soften the blow when baby slams its head down (when their neck isn't strong enough yet). We used Taf Toys 2-in-1 Tummy Time Pillow ($35.90) which had 2 different heights. (Note: My baby was quite advanced by then so we placed him on the bigger pillow.)

First-time mummies would pretty much agree that the first lift of the head is pretty much an exciting milestone. One trick I learnt to take nice photos of it is to use a Tummy Time book ($33.90). To take a frontal view photo, I would place the book in front of him so that my baby would stare at it. I will quickly position my phone in between them to take "that shot" :P

Don't worry that this will be a white elephant. We use the Tummy Time book even for his bedtime story. We definitely flip it more than once every week, quite a good mileage if you ask me. The pages make a crinkly sound and by 4-5months, our baby adored such sounds. I would pass him the book to distract him while he is on his bouncer so that I can do my other chores when it is only just me and him. The different pages also have textures and flips so you can also use it to train your child's motor skills. 

As he became better with his neck control, we also started the use of a playmat. We are using Marcus & Marcus reversible playmat - ABC ($49.90) and it is huge! It can definitely fit snuggly into a playpen. For now, we are folding it so that it is twice as thick. Our little one is starting to dry-crawl, once he can really crawl, we will open the mat fully. 

On one side, the design is ABC and the other side is 123. Sometimes, we do use the mat to expose him his ABCs and 123s. The design of the neutral ABCs fit our scandenavian house theme better. The colourful 123s capture our baby's eyes more. To balance it out, we flip it as and when to balance Mummy's love for aesthetics and baby's love for development. :P

Here's a photo of our complete gear! I have to say I am rather enjoying motherhood and preparing for my child's each developmental stage. Hope my tips and tricks works for you too!

Travel Aids: I survived CNY with an infant

 I think too many people forget to give thanks to the travel aids that make travelling possible with a young child. Particuarly during CNY, the amount of travel increases by a few fold (our little one has been a homebody most of the time because of Covid and only travel to his grandparents house.) So here's a post to thank our top 3. Hehe. 

1. Wet Bags ($10)

Wet bags are an absolute must-haves. Usually, I use them to store baby's clothes changes neccessities. This includes some diapers, a small packet of baby wipes, spare hankies, a jacket (for cold weather) and a separate set of clothes. Within the wet bag, I would store another wet bag to store the soiled clothes and hankies. Apart from segregating items, it also prevents contamination by the soiled items on other items in the diaper bag. 

The pink rabbit wet bag from Reveriebelle is the smallest in my collection. I used it for CNY because of the festive pink colour and also because it was small enough (16.5cm x 17.5cm only) to slip into the oranges bag. Honestly, wet bags are things you can splurge on a few, haha. After baby grows up, it can also be used for swim classes or Mummy's own gym workouts. :P

2. Taf Toys Musical Mini Moon ($24.90)

This was an absolute life-saver because my baby hasn't really been taking public transport much. To be honest, because of Covid, we haven't been stepping out of the house much. My little one love cars and buses figurines. But when a car zoomed pass him at the bus stop, he panicked and broke into tears. On the bus, he was also quite nervous. 

We attached the musical moon to the stroller (quite easy) cos it is clip-on. And he has been clinging onto it ever since we go on bus rides. He has been a lot calmer and is now comfortable to look at the scenery around him. The musical moon sings 3 happy tunes and 1 shushing sound and comes with a light. It acts as an effective hands-free distraction and at quiet places such as lifts, baby would be seen staring at it.Quite a must-have for sanity's sake!

3. Stroller Cards for the car seat ($20)

As baby was taking quite a bit of car rides during CNY, we also used the stroller cards to distract him. The stroller cards were attached to the car seat carrier and was dangled on top during car rides. When not in use, we slip it by the side. At the relatives' house, if the chats get too long and boring, we would also take the cards out and use it as a book :D #dualuse

Personally, I really love this set (from Reveriebelle as well) because it is so cheery and colourful. I also like how it has prompts for the user to engage the child. Now, my baby can't really talk yet so he would just mouth/ try to imitate our mouth what we tell him and smile when we ask him questions. But as he grows older and out of his car seat, I think this would still remain quite useful as a strap book instead. :)

Let us know if you have any in your list. ** We will be having a giveaway from Reveriebelle, so stay tune~!~

Cleaning infant's gums (feat. Marcus & Marcus Finger Toothbrush & Gum Massager Set )

 Do you know that babies, even though they don't have teeth have to clean their mouths/ tongues too? I am quite sure many parents actually don't know about this. Babies unlike us don't produce as much saliva, so after drinking milk you will observe that they have a build-up of white residue in their mouth. The excess milk can lead to bacteria growth. 

By right, you should clean every feed. My Mum helps to clean his tongue/ gums once a week ever since our child passed 4 weeks and so far he seems fine. (I can do it myself but my Mum really enjoy this exclusive bonding moment so the honour is all hers.) The tool we use is Marcus & Marcus Finger Toothbrush & Gum Massager Set ($8.90).

From what I heard from other mothers, there are other different options in the market. However, this comes in a set of 2 and is reusable. I intend to use it to clean baby's tooth too! Ever since baby's mouth got bigger, my mum changed to the bristles. She dips the brush in a cup of water and give baby's mouth a good scrub. The silicon is very gentle and baby doesn't fuss at all when his mouth is being cleaned. 

The only grouse I have with it is that it doesn't fit all fingers. My husband has insisted that his finger (even his pinky) can't fit in snuggly. My Mum and I have no problem at all, so I can safely say that it works for females. By the time he starts toothing, he will probably be used to this routine and hopefully he doesn't bite and hurt my mum >_<

Baby's First Toy: Taf Toys All Around Me Activity Hoop

 

Although I didn't write about this first, this was actually the first toy we opened for baby. It was really interesting because we got to witness how baby rearcted and eventually warmed up to it. Taf Toys All AroundMe Activity Hoop is basically a circular hoop which you can pop in interesting items to engage the child. It consists of a rainbow baby-safe mirror, felt cards (both in black-white/ coloured, creaking koala, butterfly and snail rattle as well as a plushed koala with a baby teether. 

Honestly, it was initially quite disappointing because at 0+ month, the baby was barely interested in any of the toys. Most of the time, he was yawning at me despite my desperate efforts to play with him. There were some points I wondered if he was behind his peers in his development (Note: It is just me being over-zealous.) Fortunately for us, the toy was quite easy to set up so I had enough patience to keep trying. 

By the second month, our little one can be seen cranking his head to look at the felt cards. As he grew more active (and aggressive), we saw him punching some of the more advanced toys. For me, I only use a-third of the Taf Toys All AroundMe Activity Hoop to make baby turn on his left side so as to shape his head.

At his stage, he would be more reactive to the mirror and black-white felt cards but I incorporated all the toys (different one each time) to expose him to the different textures. Also, I didn't want him to be bored by the same toys. His favourite thus far is the butterfly rattle which we always hoop onto his arm when he is in the rocker. 

By now, as a parent, I have learnt that toys don't always have to be played in their intended manner. My FIL hung the toys on the top of the bunk bed and I thought it was ingenious. I am quite happy with the taf toys thus far as they are encouraging our baby to lie in different poses and seem to develop his motor skills. He used to be rather lazy in doing his push-ups. Now, he would occassionally show them off to me and would even be seen "lifting pillows". It is really fascinating sometimes to see how much he grows and develops, although I admit I don't entirely let nature takes it course (by creating opportunities for him to practice his motor and coordination skills).

Taf Toys All AroundMe Activity Hoop is retailing at S$69.90. It is cheaper as compared to the Koala Musical Newborn Cosy Gym (read my review here). Personally, I prefer the Koala Musical Newborn Cosy Gym  more because I am not very creative when it comes to modifying toys and the baby seems more engaged in the  Koala Musical Newborn Cosy Gym because he is not a fan of tummy-time. But if you are on a budget, Taf Toys All AroundMe Activity Hoop is a great option because it is versatile and can grow up with baby, making it quite a value for money investment!

Baby visits family home Feat. Koala Musical Newborn Cosy Gym

Finally, after a month or more of confinement, I finally pluck up the courage to bring my baby out. Okay, he isn't exactly going out. He is just going to my family home. Honestly, I am quite excited because it is like showing a part of my past to my child (he probably can't see that well yet LOL!) This was also when I realise "Oh my, a baby needs so many stuff!"

As my child isn't staying with my parents, we don't really have a nest etc. there. Fortunately, we decided to bring the Koala Musical Newborn Cosy Gym along. Our intent was to provide baby with something to do, but when we arrived at my parent's house, we realise there was no mattress for baby. Oops. And hence, we used the thickly padded gym as a nest too, which was pretty effective because baby was so comfortable, he fell asleep. 

The Koala Musical Newborn Cosy Gym comes with 4 multi-sensory toys. It includes a mirror, crinkling toys, rattles and also a teether. There is a music & lights toy that play an extremely catchy tune :) As of this time, my baby is only about 1.5 months old. He doesn't interact much with the toys if you hang it on the arches. However, if you put infront of his face, he might stare at it for a while or 2 depending on his mood. 

On the arches, there is a lower position for you to hang the toys. Being rather kiasu, we actually got more toys for him (not in the photo). For those who are keen, you just have to get toys with hooks and you can also incorporate them into the Cosy Gym . Similarly, the toys that come with the Cosy Gym can also be removed and fixed onto your strollers/ cars. 

Here's some behind the scene photos of my parents being really entertained by their grandchild. Oh, did I tell you how good this Cosy Gym looks in photos? The vibrant colours of Cosy Gym makes it a superub photo backdrop. I love how pretty every photo of it and the baby is. The Cosy Gym grows with the baby and can support tummy time in his early stage and transits to a playmat for him to improve his motor skills as he grows older, letting us milk every dollar worth of S$139.90. Hehe. 

So far, the baby's favourite toy is the music & lights toy. And it is no wonder because the music is so catchy. I am quite embarrassed to say but sometimes I do hum along and boogie with the music. Here's a video which we captured of the baby looking extremely adorable <3 Will definitely be sharing more of his playtime. This is not the last you see of our Cosy Gym.