Having a gap of 4 years since taking care of a baby proved that memory can really fail when we are not doing the “job” everyday. Ever since Eva was here, I realised that I had long forgot alot of stuff during Dawn’s baby days. Now that it’s still fresh in my mind, jotting down some notes in case need to refer again to share my own experience.

• ♥ Cheap maternity clothes can be found in Carrano.  Why spend so much for casual maternity wear? I went to the Carrano at Bencoolen mall. I did buy from Spring Maternity too, for working pants and dinner dresses.  For weekend wear, Carrano is sufficient.  If you are lucky, you might find some suitable for working too!

• ♥ Most Newborns cry for milk every 1-1.5 hrs after discharged from hospital. Reasons? Either we didn’t hear their cries in hospital because they are in the nursery or they have finished their 3 days reserve in the body and are really hungry. As what most internet reference will state, it’s not that the mother does not have enough breast milk, it’s because the stomach of a baby is so small that they can’t drink enough to last them longer than 1-1.5 hours. So breastfeeding mums, be patient and just keep feeding.

• ♥ It’s tiring for the first 2 weeks when baby and mother are discharged from the hospital. So mothers should get as much rests in the hospital for that 2-3 nights stay. Hopefully the friends and relatives understands that the mother needs alot of rests! Baby poo when breast-fed? Ring that bell and ask ms nurse to help! 🙂

• ♥ Besides crying for milk, newborns cry when they first reach the house because it’s a different environment and surroundings. Having sleeping in the womb for 9 months, and staying in the nursery for 2-3 nights, it’s “too much” for them to understand why need to change bed/surroundings/people again.

• ♥ Remember to ask the baby’s PD to provide the cord powder @ discharge so that you can start using it when back at home. Keep that area really dry!

• ♥ It’s very common for babies to have air (colic) in their stomach and cry non-stop or become very fussy.  Instead of bringing the baby to the PD and pay a fee for the consultation, buy the Dentinox Infant Colic Drops from Guardian-like pharmacy.  If you go to PD, it will be the same that they will provide.  Tried it for my Dawn (and get chopped a near $100 including consultation fees) so I am a smarter mum now with Eva.

• ♥ Same, if babies have cradle cap, buy the Dentinox Cradle Cap Treatment Shampoo from pharmacy.

• ♥ Use good nappy cream if you can.  I tried those cheap nappy cream on Dawn before (those that sells like less than $10 for 2-3 tubes) and resulted in nappy rash.  I swear by Desitin Rapid Relief Cream now.  Expensive, but a tube can last for long time.  And it’s good!

• ♥ Mentioned in my previous post also, get the glass bottles from hospitals, they are great for small feeds as required by the baby.  For breast-fed mums, if you have decided to breast feed but also to pump and feed by bottles (so that you have some rest while the family members help to feed and bond with the baby), buy the teats and bottles when there’s sales.  I was in much dilemma because I want to breastfeed but read from forums that buying teats will “give excuses” and not successfully breastfeed in the end.  I think that’s not the point anymore, if you decide to breastfeed, nothing else can stop you, not even a teat or a bottle. As my hubby always said to me, it’s a lifestyle that you chose, so if you want to breastfeed and at the same time want others to help out feed so that you can rest, just buy a good pump + the teats to standby before baby is here.

• ♥ No need to buy expensive branded milk bags! Milk bags can be as cheap as less than $10 in a box of 30 pcs.  They are as good as those branded ones and BPA free too.

• ♥ Buy lots of wet wipes if you are a working mum.  Even if you are a stay-at-home mum, I think this kind of money cannot save. I will write another post on wet wipes reviews again.

• ♥ There’s a shop at Bugis selling cheap baby clothes.  They sell like 6 pcs in a pack and it average out to be about $2 per shirt.  Same for mittens and booties.  If you are not able to get any hand-me-down clothes, then you can visit this shop.  It’s opposite the famous temple, the corner shop below the HDB block.  In front of the shop is a public toilet. Why spend on branded baby/newborn clothes when they outgrow them very fast and hardly step out of the house except for doctor’s visits and 1 month old celebration?

• ♥ It is common for newborn to keep dropping the pacifier out from the mouth even though they want it.  They are still learning how to suck and hold on to the pacifier.

• ♥ Get samples for diapers, milk powder etc.  Even from your gynae’s clinic! Being thick-skin will not kill but save a hole from your pockets!

• ♥ Newborns do not need pillows, instead buy the nappy cloth (that comes in 10 in a pack) and use it as a “pillow” for baby to sleep on.  Fold it a few times to form a rectangle shape.  As newborn will sometimes spit out milk (yes, even after burping), having the nappy cloth will protect the mattress.  I would rather wash a nappy cloth then changing the mattress every time when baby spit milk on it! Nappy cloth can also be the burp cloth and the cloth to swaddle the baby in Singapore’s climate.

• ♥ Check this video out on how to burp babies!

• ♥ By 2nd month, babies will need toys to play with.  Toys such as musical mobiles, or anything that are hang above their head when lying down so that they can look at it. Eva loves her musical mobile which has a hippo, ostrich and frog on it.  And she will sound as if she is talking to them if they stopped or moved. Cute!