how much insurance one actually needs

1. Dependent protection scheme
2. Medisave
3. Medishield and integrated plan
4. Eldershield
5. Company group health surgery
6. Home insurance
7. Travel insurance
8. Motor insurance
9. Life insurance

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Baby outing (0-3 month)

During my 10 months of pregnancy, we couldn't wait but to plan for baby outings. However after the bb arrived, we were so overwhelmed by the logistic challenges, the feeding, the changing, the crying etc. Besides hospital visits, we tried to avoid outing.
In the first 3 months, we only been out for a few times.
#1 Mapletree business center Cedele for afternoon tea. Met uncle kp n uncle hz. While pumping gas at SPC bb already started to cry but considered quite cooperative in the cafe. Nursed once and learnt to use the green nursing shawl.
#2 Orchard Bedrock Grill. To celebrate bb full month. The car ride took too long. Bb also demand feeding b4 our main course was served. Realized the shawl is too warm for bb. Gotta change.
#3 ARC. We went there for lunch. Although 1 bottle was prepared but bb slept throughout our lunch and only started to cry on the way home. I got no choice but to nurse her in the car. What an interesting experience.
#4 Wendy's at U-town. We used to go out every weekends be it a simple lunch or jalan jalan in the park. Bb shall follow our lifestyle. We cleaned up bb quickly one afternoon and drove to NUS. Bb was quiet in the car. The moment we stepped into Wendy's, she fell asleep soundly. We enjoyed our burger v much. On the way home she woke up in the car. Conclusion, she likes aircon.
#5 Imperial Treasure dim sum at Great World City. Similarly she slept the moment we stepped into air con place. Surprisingly she continue to sleep back home after the outing. That's not good. I suffered at night as she only managed to sleep at 9+
#6 Modesto lunch. Bb fell asleep while we were eating and woke up after we finished our meal. Good girl!
#7 church for Champion 1 at MBS and followed by lunch at DTF@ MBLM. During this outing bb was nursed 3 times. Tiring for mummy. Bb likes to be pushed around in the stroller.
#8 NUS U-town again. Mummy n daddy want to eat Wendy's. But after the lunch we went to West Coast Plaza for a short walk.
#9 Clementi Mall. Mummy needed a quick fix on the loose swissflex spectacles. Might as well have some Ya Kun kaya toast. The nearest is CMT. Bb slept in the stroller for almost 1 hour while we visit Ya Kun, Capitol, Crystal Jade n Kiddy Palace.
#10 Breakfast at Huber's Dempsey Hill.
#11 Getting a Xmas present for bb at Funan. We bought a bb latex mattress and had 老街 bakuteh for lunch. That was unexpected. Bb was kind enough to sleep through our lunch. But when we head to Suntec she woke up in the Braun Buffel shop. When baba was away from the stroller, bb will be anxious n start to cry. I found my Xmas present but didn't buy anything yet. Will go to another outlet.
#12 Westgate DTF after mummy see doctor at IBP. After lunch mummy got her Xmas present yeah!
#13 Baba want to eat rosti!! Like now! We went to Suntec again. This time the red zone at tower 3 only. We all had lunch at Marché. Of course bb had free milk. This is by far the best Marché outlet. Big n quiet. We like. After lunch bb go back to sleep we stroll around. There are many new stuff such as GV, alive museum, BK Kopitiam, Lego, Teo Heng and many banks. The place is spacious and not much ppl. We like. 

#14 Dinner at Bornga Vivo. The isetan also not selling ceramic peeler.

#15 Isetan Scott. Finally got my ceramic peeler. Haven't been eating katsu don for very long time. After lunch we went to Singtel to get new phone. Xmas mood very strong now.

#16 Xmas eve lunch at Greenwood. Baba dropped a fork on the plate and made bb awake in the middle of our lunch.

#17 Xmas is here! Went to Star vista cedele for brunch. Saw a nice wooden coffee table $199 almost wanted to buy. But then went to IKEA and found $20 table set including 2 stools. Free parking some more. So we bought new furniture on Xmas day.

#18 Staycation at Changi Cove is finally here. During the Staycation, we went to airport, changi boardwalk and had lunch at punggol choon seng seafood restaurant.

#19 Whole afternoon outing. First to Tuff City to pick up a Russian Walnut cake. Basically bb slept in the car. Then to baby hyperstore and baby kingdom. Followed by house warming party at uncle KP's place. 

#20 lunch and dinner at Shaw The Ship and ARC Canton. Also enroute to Wheelock and ion.

#21 Another weekend outing. This week we went to HillV2. There are many restaurants. First time tried Dean & Deluca and black Angus. The ribs is quite nice.

Baby outing and staycation

1. Nuh

2. Maple business city

3. Bedrock grill

4. Arc canton paradise
5. Nus u town
6. Imperial treasure great world

7. Modesto hotel elizabeth

8. Church at mbs and marina baylink mall

9. West coast plaza

10. Clementi mall

11. Dempsey hill

12. Funan

13. Suntec city

14. Westgate 

15. Vivocity

16. Shawcentre and singtel

17. Greenwood

18. Starvista and ikea

19. Changi airport

Basically tried to find baby frenly mall thats not crowded and have good nursing facility. Suntec being one of the favourite

Looking forward to xmas long weekend and our first staycation at changi cove

A big change in my life (0-3 mo)

Since the baby was born our lives have changed so much.
Month 1
Week 1 was tough. Baby jaundice did not clear immediately so she had to stay in hospital 1 more day for phototherapy. Went back to clinic every other day while still doing postnatal massage tummy wrap. The pressure was distressing. Body pain, bleeding, hormone change, breathing difficulty etc. Pushing bb cart around and fold it behind a taxi also caused much stress especially when a old and 眼花 taxi driver waiting for me. Milk supply was low so I gotta introduce a few formula feed. Thank god the supply came on day 5 or 6. 

Week 2 was not any easy although the massage was over and I got slightly more rest time. But excessive perspiration constantly woke me up from sleep/ nap. I lost count on the number of shirts I changed in 1 night. Confinement rule #1 no fan and body all cover up in this hot and humid Singapore. To make things worse, confinement food made me more heaty. I suffered from cough and sore throat. As I started to get a hang of breastfeeding, baby wasn't cooperative. She just whine n cry the moment I try to latch her on. Before the pregnancy hormone return to normal level, anything can trigger a mental breakdown. I cannot withstand baby cry so I pump my milk and give her in bottles.

But pumping is not as efficient as bb suckle so some ducts  blocked in Week 3. I developed Mastitis and had fever for 2 days. No matter how much I pump, I can feel a lump in my breast. The remedy - let the bb suckle more often. In order to prepare for days to come, we learned bathing, carrying bb, change clothes, diapers in 2 short weeks. We observed what the CL did and learned from her. Steep learning curve. Week 4 was fast. It's time for CL to leave and that's when I realized she has been a super great help for the whole month.  $2500 was the money most well spent. To celebrate bb full month, we venture to mapletree business ctr for afternoon tea. Bb suddenly wanted to nurse in the middle of our gathering. Tried and successful. The next day we had lunch at Bedrock Grill. Again bb wanted to nurse b4 our main course was served. But overall it was a challenging experience.
Month 2
Week 5 is even more tough because CL is gone. Bb doesn't sleep much at night. I was home alone with bb for a day. Her cry can bring down the house. There is absolutely no specific crying patent. I don't know what she wants. I can only try to nurse or change diaper in order to pacify her. Growth spurt (I believe it is) made her hungry all the time. Nursing has become round the clock, full time job. The real sleepless nights just began. We tried to bottle feed at night to buy some sleeping time. In Week 6, we gradually understand bb cue and able to tahan her cry. She also started to sleep in more human-like patent. I still wake up to nurse 3 times in a night. I even cut my hair short to ease the night feed procedure. I learnt to save time n make do with every single thing. To take up the challenge of motherhood, I also began to do more house chores such as laundry, both hand and machine wash, sweep n mop floor, cook light lunch. Hm will then do marketing, prepare for bb bath, run errands, watch tv, play game etc. This is also the week we get absolutely no help from anyone. We are on our own for real. We achieved so much, especially bb Sabrina. She is 4.5kg this week. She also started to spit up milk, regurgitation. At first we were worried but after a while we just get used to it n simply wipe the vomit quickly. No big deal. She will outgrow it. Week 8 is still very tiring. Expecting my last few visitors. Slowly getting used to bb sleeping schedule. Our life now revolves around bb sleeping schedule. Hm can still go out for midnight show while bb sleeps. On one Sunday after came back from Clementi Mall, bb fell asleep in the rocker herself for the first time. No lullaby no cuddling. That's amazing.
Month 3
Struggling with 3 meals and finally gave in to order tingkat delivery. Cooking is taking too much time from preparation to dinner on the table. Every day there are tons of housework waiting for us. After finishing one round another round of housework is already queueing up. Laundry, wash, hang dry, collect n fold. sweep n mop floor, prepare food, eat, clean up n wash plates. Wa.... Baby is so used to suck breast n refuse bottle now. But I still got 2-3 months to train her hehe. From this month onwards we go out more often. Slowly picking ourselves up and get back to our normal life once again. Inducted bb into Dinner Gang.

NUH ward 48 vs ward 9A

We were first sent to ward B1 while waiting for the single room to be made available. October probably is an auspicious month when many babies were born. No single room is available at all.
B1 ward is 4-bedder. a small room divided into 4 corners. With a common sitting area, common toilet and shower room. The space is very cramp. Baby cot is pushed right next to the bed. There is absolutely no space to maneuver between the bed and the cot. Luckily hm is thin and able to squeeze in between. Meals were served at the bed. The trolley tray is old and hard to push. The food sucks big time. When friends visited me I feel paiseh also haha.
A1 ward is for single room, only 16 of them. The food is also by Sodexo but there is maternity food option. The taste is slightly better, only slightly. The room is spacious & comes with a toilet and tv. You can roam in the room or nurse the baby all you want. Husband also can room-in with a small fee. The sofa bed is more comfortable than the patient's bed. Celebration dinner was also organized inside the room. We had our first family dinner in the room.

D-Day for 小baby

We have been waiting for baby's arrival since weeks ago. Today is the big day for us, 7 Oct 2014.
9:00
Had something for breakfast. Reached NUH Ward 22 delivery suite. Put on the cardiograph monitoring device to monitor baby heart beat. The heart beat changed whenever the baby moved inside.
9:30
Checked cervix. It was soft but only 1cm. Start putting in the first pill to induce contraction, dilation etc.
12:00
Break for lunch. 2nd round to resume at 15:30. Took a 2-hour nap. Blood pressure increased probably due to contraction or anxiety.
15:30
Dilation is still small. No additional pill needed because the contraction was regular. Just rest in the ward 48 till 1930. Food by Sodexo taste really sucks. No vege but only chicken & fish. All protein.
19:30
Back to delivery suite for the 3rd round. Contraction is still regular but dilation only 2cm. Next door neighbor was sent back to the ward while I stayed to take high blood pressure pill. First took 50mg then increased to 200mg. Waited for another round of observation.
21:30
While waiting, my body started to shiver even though the place was not cold. The nurse gave extra blanket anyway. My teeth uncontrollably hitting on each other. Suddenly there was a strange sensation like a kick at the bottom and something snap. I realized my water bag burst. Then fluid just keep coming out slowly like urine but uncontrollable. Nurse checked and confirmed the water bag ruptured. I feel like pooping too. Cleared my bowel and back to the bed.
23:30
Checking of cervix can only be done every 4 hours so I waited. First shot of pain killer was administered on my thigh but it doesn't seem to be effective. Dilation was 4-5cm. I decided on epidural.
2am 8 Oct 2014
I was finally given epidural and straightaway fall asleep because the pain and discomfort just disappeared immediately.
5am
Woke up by aneastistian to explain how the pumping device work. I signed the consent form while on drugs. After he left, doctor checked dilation and surprisingly saw baby head. She asked the nurse to get me ready to push. They both encouraged me and told me that I pushed well. Baby will be out very soon.
523am
In less than 10 pushes, the baby is born!! I can feel the weight is offloaded from tummy. they placed the tiny baby on my body to let me feel her. The feeling was so amazing.