Origin Superior Coolmax Latex Pillow Review: My wife slept within 1 minute of using the pillow.

And.. I'm not even joking.

If there's one thing that my wife absolutely loves, it is definitely sleeping. Now that we have two young children, sleep has become a much needed luxury. An uninterrupted 8-hour sleep now seemed far-fetch. So if we can't sleep as much, the next best thing would be to improve its quality.

Everybody knows we spend a huge amount of time, one-third in fact, laying in bed. So if there's something that you want to skimp, it's definitely not on your sleeping necessities. Save on other furniture, but invest in your mattress, pillow and blanket! After all, a good set could make your sleep better AND last you through many years too!

Thank God that new technologies are coming up every now and then to improve our sleep, and one such invention, is latex pillow. Now, there are probably a heck lot of brands, but Origin Superior Coolmax Latex Pillow brings it to another level.

Should I get a confinement nanny? PROS & CONS!

One of the most frequently asked question is... should I get a confinement nanny? What's their responsibility ah? Wah, very expensive leh. Must get one ah?

I know, I know, I've been through twice already. So let laojiao enlighten you regarding your burning questions.

First things first.

What is a confinement nanny? 

A confinement nanny is someone who helps the new mother and the newborn, usually for the first 28 days starting from the day of discharge. This allows mummy to recharge and recuperate after performing the most noble job of mankind - childbirth. 

What's her responsibility?

Her role mainly revolves around the following:

- Take care of mummy, prep herbal bath, etc.

- Take care of newborn, bathing, feeding, etc. (even at night)

- Cook confinement meals for mummy (usually they will cook for hubby at no additional charge)

- Basic household chores (laundry for mummy and newborn, sweeping, mopping floor)

- Breastfeeding advices (most, if not all, do not provide any form of breast massage, or massage of any kind)

As confinement nannies differ from agency to agency, private or agency, it is recommended to understand the exact job-scope before hiring one. Mummy will be extremely tired during the confinement month. Coupled with a possibility of post-natal depression, it is best to get everything sorted beforehand in case of a fallout.

Here are some things you might want to clarify:

- Previous experience, how many years? How many babies has she cared for?

- Is she cooking the confinement meals? How many times per day? Does she mind cooking for another pax? (On some days, we requested her to cook for our elder daughter too.)

- Is she getting the groceries?

- Where is she sleeping? Any requirements?

- Miscellaneous fees and cancellation charges.

What's their price?

Emmanuel's 100th Day Staycation at JW Mariott South Beach

When we were planning for little Emmanuel's 100th day celebration, we had a few options. Book an event space and cater food. Probably too costly and too much prep work. Celebrate at home and have a nice balloon deco. The deco cost over $500?? No thanks. So we chose, a staycation and invite our family over for an intimate party. We wanted a suite room so there's moving space and not everyone hovering beside the bed and JW Mariott was perfect.

JW Mariott is located beside two MRT stations, 2-min walk from Esplanade and 5-min from City Hall, which means that it is a stone throw away from some major shopping centres, such as Marina Square, Suntec, Funan, and other attractions.

You might know JW Mariott as the fancy wedding venue with thousands of crystals hanged from their ceilings. To be honest, we may have considered there for our wedding if not for the hefty price tag. Nevertheless, this day we are here for a staycay. And never did I thought.. with two children!

Our room: Premier Suite

As expected, this suite is really spacious at over 100sqm (that's almost the size of a 5-room HDB!). It features a great living room area to host our guests, a guest toilet, a bedroom, and a ginormous ensuite bathroom. If we were to pay $500 for balloon deco, I rather spend $700 for this room. Just saying.

The whole design is contemporary, filled with monochrome rugs and paintings, completed with leather-toned furniture. 

Easy, Fuss-free Confinement Meals with ReLacto

Most of us know the importance of the confinement - the period after a woman gave birth. It allows her to recuperate, to rest after doing the most noble task on earth. Having a good confinement is also a restart button, you may end up even healthier and stronger after confinement. That is why most people go after confinement nannies. We did too. 

But according to older folks, do you know that confinement period is actually 40 days, and even up to 100 days? Uh, so what happened after the nanny left after 28 days?

After settling back in work after my extended paternal leave (I took 1 month in total), it is pretty bothersome to check what could my wife, Lydia, eat. To be honest, I'm not an expert so everything looks ok to eat. That is why we kickstart our ReLacto journey shortly after our confinement nanny left. This is to ensure that my missus is getting sufficient nutrients to recover as well as to support her breastfeeding journey. ReLacto is unique as they place great emphasis on ingredients that will provide both recovery and boost the quantity and quality of her breastmilk.

This is Home, Truly

This article was first published at Hipvan here.
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Our contractor escaped.

The nightmare that every new house owner feared the most landed on us. Nevertheless, we were still grateful that he was literally contactless during the last few stages of our home renovation.

Oh, before I move on, my name is Thomas, a 30-year-old home-grown boy. Together with my beautiful wife, Lydia, we got ourselves one of the biggest investments of our lifetime – a 5-room HDB (113 sqm) located at Punggol. I once told myself I will never move to Punggol. Prior to moving, we reside at Beach Road, where we could walk to our favourite hangouts such as Suntec and Marina Bay Sands, so Punggol is considerably further (but again, how big is Singapore?).

Getting our nest

Considering the long waiting times for BTOs nowadays, we decided to opt for a resale flat. Psst, they offer huge grants for resale flats now. We visited a few places at Seng Kang and Punggol, before choosing this flat. It was brimming with laughter, children running around, and the whole family was really amiable towards us. Without thinking much, we told the property agent, this is it and we dealt at $620K (down from the original $638K), which to be honest was still more than our budget.

The great thing was that, it is already well-furnished with the previous renovations, so we get to saved huge ka-chings on renovation. We had in mind what we wanted. A warm, cosy, Scandi-mix-modern feel to our house. We made a renovation list, which roughly reads:

1. Refurbish living room wall.

2. Retile two toilets.

3. Paint entire house.

4. Laminate headboard in master bedroom.

With that, we approached three interior design companies in Singapore, which quoted us close to $20K. Our budget was $10K, which includes $2K to buy furnishings, such as fluted panels, toilet accessories, etc. So, through a business contact, we got to know Mr. A (to remain his integrity, I will not name him), a freelance contractor. He could do it within our budget and we were delighted. Long story short, manpower was short, he did not pay his workers, did not do the final checks, resulting in our renovation being 90% completed. Thank God I was smart enough to withhold the final payment, which was later utilised to fix his errors.

So, here’s a useful advice: Make the last payment after completion and checks are done!

Second Delivery at Thomson Medical Centre + Hospital Fees (Feb 2022)

And...we were pregnant again.

Before I move on, if you are reading this, most likely you are already pregnant and planning where to give birth to your little one, so here's the heartiest congratulations from me! Being the father of two children now, I can tell you that parenting is the hardest, longest, heart-wrenching, emotional and physical lesson that you will ever partake. But, but, but, it is also the noblest and reaps the best rewards.

Choosing Thomson Medical Centre (TMC) is pretty much a no-brainer for us, since myself and my first born, Olivia, are delivered here. Both by the same gynae, Dr. W. K. Tan. As compared to other private hospitals, TMC is considered pretty affordable. But as always, child delivery (not to even mention child bearing) is not cheap, so it is good to plan your finances beforehand.

If you have not, I would love to invite you to check out my experience on TMC in November 2018 for my firstborn. This post has since garnered more than 1 million views.

Delivery at Thomson Medical Centre + Hospital fees (Nov 2018)

You might be interested in these other reads too:

What You Should Do After Finding Out You're Pregnant
Pregnancy Tips for Surviving the First Trimester
Pregnancy Tips for Surviving the Second Trimester

Pregnancy Tips for Surviving the Third Trimester

Our gynae

Instead of Dr. W. K. Tan, we opted for another gynae, Dr. Benjamin Tham, this time round. No, no, it's not because Dr. Tan is not good, in fact, she's amazing. Dr. Benjamin was introduced to us by our friends, and thought why not? Yes, Benjamin is obviously a male, so make sure you (or your partner) is alright with it beforehand. To be honest, this didn't bothered us much. Throughout our consultations and even the delivery, Dr. Benjamin was amazing. He was humorous all the way and gave us really useful advice such as using an Epi-no to reduce vaginal tearing.