Mummy and Pregnancy
Nursing Pads
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
31 May 2009)

For
nursing mothers and those who are lactating, I strongly recommend
Pigeon Disposable
Breast Pads. These are really comfortable, never
leak and you do not even feel them when worn. I heard about other
breast pads that turned soggy or washable breast pads that go out of
shape when put in the washing machine.
Another reason why I am so impressed with Pigeon Disposable
Breast Pads
is, when I mistakenly put the breast pads in the washing machine, they
turned out really bloated but did not leak at all. I also used them on
my nursing bras without padding when I stopped nursing till my breast
returned to their original size and I could fit into my pre-pregnant
bras again.
Maternity wear
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
19 April 2009)

My
first purchase was 2 pairs of black work pants that had adjustable
waists and costed almost $70 each. However, I soon realized that I
could have spent less. I grew 2 sizes and put on 14kg in total. Only
one pair of pants was able to grow with me as it was 1 size bigger than
me at the time of purchase.
I managed to get most of my maternity wear at
baby exhibitions which happen almost every quarter, online websites such as
Moms R Us (new clothes),
eBay
(new and pre-loved) and during sale periods. The average cost of the
clothes was $35 each and lasted me throughout the pregnancy. It was
important to buy nursing wear and maternity bras as well and need not
be branded ones from eg, Triumph.
This is what I got:
3-4 pairs of pants for working and casual
3-4 pairs of skirts
10-15 tops including 5 nursing wear.
5 Maternity bras – I bought them 1 size bigger when I was 7 months and they were just right when I was nursing.
I did not get dresses as I preferred to mix and match my clothes. Even
then, I spent $1,000 on clothes alone. The maternity bras were around
$25 each as I bought them during the baby fairs.
Try not to spend too much as breast feeding mothers will realise that
within a few months, they will revert to their pre-pregnancy size and
these maternity clothes will just be kept in the closet until the next
one comes along.
Baby
Jumperoo
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
10 Jul 2009)

My sister bought this fantastic machine and Baby Avatar absolutely loved it! He is always jumping up and down, laughing, playing and turning round and round in it.
It is also from Fisher Price and is quite pricey. But I guarantee you that your baby will have endless fun in it and you will actually have time to do your own things…for a while.
The only thing to note is that it has a weight limit of 11.5kg and Baby Avatar’s feet is already touching the floor when he should only touch the floor if he tip toes.
Pram
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
10 Jun 2009)

When we bought our pram, we looked out for a few things:
1. Firm backing - my father-in-law felt that a soft backing will affect Baby Avatar’s spine development
2. Open and close with 1 hand - If you are out on your own, who is going to carry your baby while you open/ close your pram?
3. Cover from sun - so he can sleep
4. All wheel drive – easy to manoeuvre.
5. Can use from birth up to 3 years old – save money
It is also good to have 2 prams in case your baby dirties 1 pram or 1 pram becomes faulty. Make sure you also buy a head snuggler, cushion padding, stroller cover, mobile fan and a pram toy. Blanket is needed in case it gets chilly.
Baby Toothbrush
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
24 May 2009)

I
started brushing Baby Avatar’s teeth once the first one grew out from
his gums. Oral hygiene is very important although milk teeth will
eventually fall out as tooth decay causes lots of problems and money to
fix.
His first silicon
toothbrush fitted over my index finger and it was
pretty easy to brush his teeth. Now, he has 8 teeth and every time I
use this toothbrush to brush him, I get multiple bites from his razor
sharp and extremely strong teeth. Hard to believe that this comes from
an 11 month old.
So now, I also use the Pigeon Lesson 2
toothbrush which is meant for
babies with 8 teeth and it is really quite cute. You put a bit of
toothpaste on the rubber tips and brush his teeth like a normal
toothbrush. Just make sure you do it quick as he likes to bite it at
every opportunity. At this age, he will also want to hold things by
himself so I usually teach him to brush by himself after I have done
the job for him. The
toothbrush has a safety ring over it to prevent
Baby Avatar from pushing it too far back into his mouth.
Hand and Mouth Wipes
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
10 May 2009)

Another
thing we highly recommend from Pigeon is the Pigeon
Hand and Mouth
Wipes. These are very useful to wipe when you are outdoors and your
little one has just touched something dirty or made a mess with his
food and you need to wipe him up quickly. Again, these are easy to
pull out and thick.
Please DO NOT use the wet wipes for his backside to wipe his hands and
mouth as there may be chemicals that are not suitable for consumption
since your little one will very likely stick his fingers in his mouth
soon enough.
Wet Wipes
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
3 May 2009)

We
tried many different brands of
wet wipes complimentary from baby fairs,
magazine subscription and from NUH where Baby Avatar was delivered. Of
all the brands tried, our favourite is still Pigeon Chamomile
Wet Wipes as
they are thick and wipes well and importantly, are easy to pull from
the packet. This is especially useful when you try to clean an active
baby who never stops moving, rolling left and right and grabbing
everything that his little hands can find AND making sure he does not
stick his feet onto the soiled diaper, or peeing again before you wrap
him up which means you start all over again.
What we also bought was the Pigeon Plastic Container which opens and
closes easily and prevents the moisture from escaping from the
wet wipes.
Liners
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
26 April 2009)

It
is not a good idea for the baby to use disposable diapers 24 hours a
day as he/she may develop nappy rash. I must share with you about
Bumwear
and was introduced to it by a nurse at our antenatal class. It is
really quite clever. Instead of pins or velcro, you can just pop the
diaper together using the rows of plastic clips and I heard that you
can use it until your baby is about 2 years old. Imagine the amount of
money you save from buying disposable diapers! However, do note that
the starting price for
Bumwear is not exactly cheap but you can spread out the cost in 2 years.
We started Baby Avatar on
Bumwear
when he was about 5kg (3 months) as it would slip out if he was smaller
than that. Make sure you wash these at least 3 times before use and
WITHOUT softener or the urine will not be fully absorbed into it. If
he defecates, it is easy to wash off and you do not have to touch the
poo or scrub it out.
Please make sure you use 2 layers of
napkin liners though so that most/
all of the solids will be captured on the napkin liner. I have tried
Pigeon and TollyJoy
napkin liners and felt that the TollyJoy one is
better as it is bigger and remains strong after washing in the
machine. You must be as surprised as me to find that
napkin liners can
be reused after washing (of course not after defecation!) More money
saved!
Why we started using the pacifier?
(written by Baby Avatar's mummy on
12 April 2009)

When
Baby Avatar was about 1 ½ months old, he would wake up every 4 hours to
feed and would sometimes cry for long periods of time and refuse to
return to sleep. I would carry him around, sometimes close to an hour
to make him sleep. I was against using
pacifiers as I felt that it
would make him dependent and most importantly, make his teeth ugly
(when he gets them eventually)! However, my aunty, being a mother of 4,
coaxed me into trying the pacifier on Baby Avatar. She bought NUK
brand ones called orthodontic
soothers which were shaped such that they
did not affect the growth of his teeth. These were made in Germany and
we all know German products spell quality.
I must say these orthodontic
soothers were really useful as I could get
more sleep once Baby Avatar went to sleep quicker using them. To my
great relief, he also did not depend on the
pacifiers as they popped
out of his mouth when he was fast asleep. Even now at 10 months old, we
give him the
pacifier only when he is about to fall asleep and he will
sleep right through, with or without the
pacifier. And he has 8
beautiful teeth!