Mummynista!

Many friends and acquaintances I know are actually pretty skeptical about giving birth in Jakarta due to the lack of medical know-hows and emergency infrastructure locally. Hubby G and I decided to deliver in Jakarta after much consideration. (You may want to read about it here: Deciding To Give Birth in Singapore or Jakarta ) Couple of blog readers have been asking me about my childbirth experience in Jakarta and hubby G is also constantly pestering me to record the birth experience so that we won't forget in the future.(Birth amnesia is real~~ I am starting to forget details of my delivery with my first child) And also, for the sake of anyone like myself who's frantically trying to research about delivering in Jakarta; for those who has tried googling for e.g 'delivering in Jakarta', 'giving birth in Jakarta', 'experience childbirth Jakarta', 'natural birth jakarta', 'expat giving birth Jakarta', etc and yet got not much information i...

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...

Image Credit: Photodisc/Getty Images   Nausea? Puking? Food Aversions? Loss of appetite? Welcome to the club. I would like to think that we who experience these revolting symptoms of morning sickness as a highly privileged club- noble and sacrificial mothers-to-be. Not saying that women who breezed through pregnancy are not, it is just a good positive reinforcement to have when we are running to the nearest bathroom every couple of minutes (for the ones who got it real bad). And if you need more encouragement like I did!! - Nausea has long been known to be a sign of a healthy pregnancy; it's been linked to a lower miscarriage risk and a lower risk of heart malformations in the fetus. Read more:   http://www.ctvnews.ca/study-links-morning-sickness-to-brighter-kids-1.392315#ixzz2wtLuxi00 - The more severe the morning sickness is for the mom, the higher the IQ is for the child  Read more: Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina ( http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Ru...

Korean food has became as famous as Japanese cuisine over the last decade. It is yummy yet easy enough to prepare. And here's a Korean supermarket in Jakarta for you to check out if you want to whip up some nice korean dishes at home or get some korean snacks. MGH (Mu Gung Hwa) appparently a supplier of korean groceries here in Jakarta, have their own stores around Jakarta. I went to the one at Jl. Senayan (it's not at Senayan though! Nearer to Senopati) which is the nearest to me. In the midst of couple of housing estates. You can find korean frozen food, as well as fresh ingredients that are used in Korean dishes. Stocked up on my korean ramen, pepper paste, etc. They also sell poultry and beef which looked relatively fresh, better than some Daily supermarkets. There's also a section where one could get fresh rice cakes and homemade kimchi/radish/etc. Be warned to check the prices before you head to the cashier; while most are reasonably priced,  some i...

Are you relocating to Jakarta? So you are looking for a place to stay in Jakarta? And perhaps feeling really perplexed on which area would be the best for you. Don't worry, you are not alone. When we were moving to Jakarta, one of the biggest decisions G and I got to make - was to mutually agree on which area to stay. The popular places where expats live in Jakarta are CBD/Sudirman area, Menteng, Kuningan, Senayan and South Jakarta- Kemang/Cilandak/Pondok Indah area. G has always love to live next to work(right in the city) so that he could just walk to work and not be affected by traffic or transportation issues; while I hate living next to the offices/bustling areas and prefer a quiet laid-back area. We are polar opposites when it comes to this so it is always a battle when we choose a place together. So I thought I'd try to list down some pros and cons which may help you to better weigh your choices :) PROS AND CONS OF EACH AREA South Jakarta- Kemang Area/Cila...

We went there the first time last week and I was back again today. Not sure if you realised but groceries are considerably pricey in Jakarta; as compared to the overall living standard.  I find that meat in Ranch Market and even Carrefour/Lottemart to be more expensive than Singapore. And less fresh. And thank goodness we found Indoguna through Ana's blog   and can attest that it was a great recommendation as the prices were almost half of Ranch Market and twice as fresh. It is not a big shop but you can find most of the cuts you want (beef), some lamb, salmon, mackerel and sometimes even lobster! So this is definitely the place to go to if you want some great and cheap meat in Jakarta! Apparently Indoguna supplies to all the major supermarkets here, hence the lower price; and I've checked out that they do also have a presence in Singapore. Entrance of the meat shop. Some of the purchases today. I've got 6x ribeyes, 2x tenderloins, 0.5kg ground beef, salmon...

The last that I checked, I am not a hermit, at least I don't look like one so...I kept myself surprisingly busy by trying to find myself some new friends in this new city. I think meeting like-minded people is one of the most important thing for someone new in town especially if you are a stay-home-mom or temporarily not working. As much as I love Alex, it is a one way conversation; at least at this point of time. And talking too much to Alex's nanny or the apartment's concierge is also not the best thing either. I realised I needed friends (of the same frequency)..if you know what I mean..so that I can sustain my sanity in this lovely yet crazy place. And I also know that I don't possess some super magnetic powers that I could just sit at home and people will come knocking on my front door, "Hi C, I am your new friend." So I decided to take a proactive approach to this and here's couple of channels that I've used or reached out to: 1. Fri...

We were visiting the cute barber shop  around Blok M when we realised that the Japanese Grocery store, which another Japanese expat-Kaho blogged and recommended before, was just a minute walk away. Was so delighted to spot this. The frontal of the shop. A small mart but with all things Japanese you may wish for. I was really excited to see the various Sashimi available at reasonable prices. We didn't get much as it was our first time shopping here and we wanted to try out the freshness of the products.  Remember to ask them for Wasabi and also ice to keep the Sashimi fresh if you are going to travel a while in the car. We arrived home after an hour and half later (as we proceeded to shop at Indoguna Meat Shop); I quickly sliced up the salmon Sashimi and dug in with G. It was really not bad at all! In fact better than what we had in Ritz ( read more here ) the other day. We will definitely return again for all our Japanese supplies :) COSMO Jala...

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...

We were heading to church at IES (International English Service), when we realised that both routes that the GPS recommended were all blocked. We got down and decided to check it out. Totally not geared in any sporty outfits, we looked pretty out of place strolling in my yellow jumpsuit(wore this especially for church! Yellow = happy...haha) and Ferragamos.  How strange but cool at the same time! Empty roads in Jakarta. LOTS of cyclist as well as joggers. Some booths selling bikes. More people cycling. Decided to keep a picture of me standing right in the middle of the road. That's the only time I can do so, right? Cyclist, joggers and skaters all congregated. Can you spot the children skating? We thought it is a really great movement implemented by the Indonesian Government. You could really find groups of friends and family gathering for this; either just strolling, sitting along the road, cycling, etc.  We would definitely bring Alex f...

After a whole week of packing, giving away and selling off stuff and final two days of 'cramming'; we are left with 6 huge cartons, 5 check-in luggages and 6 hand carry. Alex trying to help...hehe.. Check-ins and handcarry that weighs more than 200kg in total. Saying bye to our Singapore home.. We were thankful to have chosen to travel with Singapore Airlines this time instead of succumbing to the cheap budget rates that Jetstar and AirAsia were offering. It definitely helped to ease some of the process, for example excess baggage weight, hand carry, flight delay issues that one usually face when traveling budget. Arrived at Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, and immediately greeted by a long queue in the immigration counters. We collected our luggage, meanwhile keeping fingers crossed that nothing went missing (heard many horror stories on how luggages are slashed or ripped apart at the checkpoints- officers searching and confiscating valuable...