Mummynista!

A tough dilemma isn't it? Giving birth in Jakarta or Singapore has its pros and cons. We know of many expats and affluent Indonesians moms would fly down to Singapore to have their delivery there. After all Singapore's healthcare is unarguably one of the best of the region and the entire country runs efficiently. The price difference between delivering in Singapore's hospitals and the prestigious hospitals here in Jakarta is not that huge either; and of course Singapore's hospitals are definitely way better maintained so it does seem like a very attractive idea to deliver in Singapore. There's couple of considerations when hubby G and I were debating to give birth in Jakarta or Singapore. 1. Medical Care. How comfortable and confident we feel about the local hospital facilities? 2. Logistics. If I were to give birth in Singapore, it means I have to be there a month before I am due and only be able to fly back a month after I deliver. Plus minus..I ...

Are you looking for a gynaecologist/obstetrician in Jakarta? Perhaps you may find this post useful for your research or contemplation on which gynae you should go to. The moment the pregnancy stick indicated that I was pregnant, hubby G and I were eager to find a Gynaecologist/Obstetrician in Jakarta to confirm the results. The first place we thought of finding a gynae for me was Jakarta Women and Child Clinic as we have been taking our toddler to the paediatrician there and we were quite happy with there (Read about our experience with JWCC's paediatrician  here -  Part 1: Finding a Pediatrician in Jakarta ). *Warning*  This is going to be a lengthy post so please bear with me. I found there's a lack of information on gynaecology care and childbirth in Jakarta so I thought a post on our experience would probably help other moms like myself. **All written below are also based on my own experience and personal thoughts, and it could be subjective to different individ...

The Jakarta Women and Child Clinic (JWCC) Alex was sick few weeks ago when he turned one, hence we weren't able to get him his one year vaccination back in Singapore. We went to Kinder Clinic in Paragon where Dr Kenny Ee is practising. He was Alex' PD since childbirth and has been under his excellent care for the past year. I told Dr Ee that we were moving to Jakarta and he recommended the Jakarta Women & Children Clinic which is a subsidiary of Kinder Clinic and a Pediatrician called Dr Lineus. The procedures are pretty similar to Singapore's; Register at the counter, get baby's height and weight measured and wait for your turn. We asked for Dr Lineus as he was recommended by Dr Ee; he can speak very good english for an Indonesian therefore communication wasn't a problem. He checked Alex quite thoroughly too and asked about his development. He isn't as friendly as Dr Ee and Alex didn't take to him as he did with his former PD so we are probab...

Sadly, most of us don't wake up looking or even..feeling like this. A more realistic one is like this. Credits:  http://www.seattlewolf.com/Hate-Waking-Up- It's one of THOSE days when you just feel like wearing your PJs all day; or perhaps feel like a bloated hippopotamus because of too much sodium the day before. A girl, however, needs to stay pretty so this is the perfect outfit for you when you are feeling anything shitty... like me right now. *humming Bruno Mars' Lazy song* Batwing sleeves ensure no one sees your flabby arms, shorts to create illusion of a silhouette and of course one will always need a centre piece, which will be your latest designer bag or a new favourite necklace. Helmut Lang petite top lagarconne.com Forever New scalloped lace shorts $65 - forevernew.com.au Tory burch flat toryburch.com River Island brown bracelet $40 - riverisland.com MAC Cosmetics lip gloss macys.com

I was going through all my posts and realised that there isn't a single one on fashion. It's a little cliche since the blog is named Mummynista... Hence I decided that I should probably start blogging a little more on fashion and beauty and not just food. Otherwise, I might just need to change the blog name to Fatmamanista. *cackles* If you've read ' About Me ' or knew me personally back then, you would probably know how much I used to dress up. Everyday WAS  'I need to be fabulous' day. However since pregnancy and giving birth, my fashion laziness just escalated. Nevertheless, I need to reinforce the emphasis of still looking good. Even as wives, we still need to stay competitive...if you get what I mean. I go by these subconscious rules nowadays: 1. Buy clothes that does not require ironing. Have at least one body flattering jeans. 2. Scarfs are my best friends on lazy days. 3. To look like I've put in some effort dressing up- wear sandals i...

Thought I'll share this as it has benefited us greatly. I heard many horror stories about the children's PD and we are quite thankful that we found a really good pediatrician for Alex in Singapore. I am not sure if it will apply to your child but Alex loves this PD for some reason. Dr Kenny Ee tended to him since he was born and the amazing part is that Alex never cries despite the injections when he is under Dr Kenny Ee. I mean of course he whines a little when the needle is poking through him but then the moment it's done, he is fine again. And he loves smiling at Dr Ee too, G and I call him the baby whisperer..haha Onae side note, we did try to go to another highly raved PD in Marine Parade but he doesn't seem too concern or friendly towards Alex or us. The receptionist/nurse is not approachable at all.  The clinic is situated within a neighbourhood and we would expect the fees to be lower than Kinder Clinic however the bill came out to be the same. Therefore we ...

My baby tiger Alexander is currently 4.5 months old and on partial breastfeeding supplemented by formula and solids. Yes Alex started on solids at 4 months old as his pediatrician gave a go ahead. I have also returned back to work for a month and returned to my pre-pregnancy figure(almost). I thought it would help some moms by posting various tips that I picked up the last few months: How to increase breastmilk 1. Use a double pump (would recommend Medela's double pump) When I first gave birth, I was using Medela's swing, a single pump. It was a good pump but it was not fast enough and also tiring for me. I got the double pump and seriously it reduces my stress of producing enough milk. Firstly I got almost twice the amount of milk by using the double pump (increased from 200ml to 400ml in total) each pump. I pump 4 times throughout the whole day- 9am, 2pm,6pm,10pm and slept through the night. Not a problem at all. However you got to keep your pumping routine reg...

Lil Alexander is turning 2 months in a week's time! I know most asian parents avoid taking their young infants out, I however brought baby out when he was only 3 days old. Kudos to moms who persevered  and stayed home throughout the whole confinement or avoided taking baby out for the first 3 months! Feeling all cooped up, I bring baby out on average twice a week and during this time, I realized how important it is to visit baby friendly places.  After trial and error from my own experience and frantic attempts,  below is a list of notes I've compiled to make your life as a parent cool and easier! Top 4 Things to Note (to make your life easier!)  When You Take Your Baby Out Tip 1: Always know/take note where the diaper changing stations are located To avoid the frenzy, do arm yourself with the knowledge of where the diaper changing stations are especially if you know that you are going to be in that location for a while. The diap...