Hospital Bag: things to bring for your delivery and admissions to NUH

Packing your hospital bag for delivery

Even with a packing list, I tend to overpack on most occasions. So for my third child I decided to trust my instincts and go for the bare essentials when packing my hospital bag.

Summary for November 2013:

This entry is a checklist for me to find out what I need to do before 2014!

1. Pack my hospital bag for delivery
Panic - Not done and I'm probably due in another 2-3 weeks time!

2. Buy baby mattress cover, change mat & rompers for baby boy
My son is gonna kill me if he finds out he was dressed in pink for the first 3 months of his life. Gotta get decent coloured rompers for him.

3. Decide on baby's name
Have a few in mind. Just need more time to really think through what is suitable.

4. Get oil cloths for new dining table
This one is made of particle board and will blotch if I'm not careful with it.

5. Read Gina Ford's book on The Contented Baby with Toddler Book
I have used her baby schedule for my daughter. She slept through the night since 3 months old and is still sleeping through the night now without waking up for feeds. Must-have for every mummy to be.

The Time You Have (In JellyBeans)

The Time You Have uses jellybeans to give us a perspective of how our time are being used in a lifetime of 79 years. Created by ze frank from Buzzfeed.com

Toilet Roll: What to do with them

If you have strangely amassed a huge collection of toilet rolls and you don't have the slightest idea on what to do with them, please read on.

I vaguely remembered asking my husband to keep toilet rolls for my craftwork projects. As usual, I have forgotten about them.

My stash:

edited with pixlromatic

Getting a Maid - Key Issues to Consider

I have posted this reply on Singapore Motherhood forum and I thought I should share it here as well. The post below reflects some key issues I am considering if I want to employ maids again. 

Scenario #1: I want to go home all the time

I used to have a maid and I can empathise with any maid employer. 

On the contrary, I think all maids are smart - that's why they can see the loop holes in our government policies and use them to their benefit. They are highly competent - all humans are - but they will choose not to because being competent doesn't help themselves. Frankly, to them, there's very little incentive to be competent cos it means more work (for the same pay).

Regarding their attitude, I don't think I can blame them for lousy attitude. Being a maid isn't something that anyone is really proud of - even if you are paid to do it. From their point of view, it's just a lowly job that pays well enough to attract them to leave their home. So I can't really blame them for showing lousy attitude (but that doesn't mean her attitude doesn't affect me). No one, in the right frame of mind, will take pride in being a maid. 

Washing Machine - After purchase thoughts...

If you intend to get any big ticket appliance from the usual big retailers - Courts, Harvey Norman, Best Denki, etc - remember to go around and ask about the price of that item in all shops.

Big retailers will match the price from their competitors. 

Washing Machine - Specifications Comparison Chart

I have short-listed a few 6-7-8 KG washers within my comfortable price range. In my list, I have the following brands: Samsung, LG, Míele, BOSCH, Electrolux and Fisher & Paykel.

My short-listed brands of washers:
Just noticed that the colours used for the logos are mainly red and blue :D

Míele, though out of my price range, is included, as it has been touted to be a very long-lasting washer. I just want to find out if it's technical specifications contributed to its durability.

Using the technical specifications that I have mentioned in my previous post, I created an Excel sheet to compare the specifications* across my short-listed brands and models.

A print screen of my Excel Sheet:
Red text indicates best ratings and Purple text indicates worst ratings

*Do note that all prices was taken from COURTS website in August 2013. I chose COURTS because its site shows pricing for all the washers that were short-listed. 

Getting a washing machine

I suspect a conspiracy going on:

All washing machine promoters for the big retailers in Singapore are affiliated to LG

Whether it's Best Denki, Harvey Norman or Courts, I'm always directed to a LG set.

Baffled, I decided to conduct a very thorough investigation on what criteria is need for my washer.

After reading countless products' specifications and manuals, I noticed the few recurring terms that seem important:

1. Energy efficiency index (EEI)
2. Washing performance index
3. Spin-drying efficiency class

A further search reveals this Wikipedia article on a European Union directive to standardize the measurement of energy efficiency levels for major home appliances. 

What to do if your maid fails to return from her home leave

Yes, my maid did not return from her home leave. If you are unfortunately in the same position as me, do this:

Step 1: Try to contact her first to find out what is wrong
Do it as soon as possible as you will have to pay for her maid levy. According to the link, the maid levy is paid by you at the end of each month.

Sources taken from MOM Work Permit Page.

Buying Air Tickets for my Indonesian Maid

My maid just asked if I could get tickets for her to fly back from Padang, Indonesia instead. Previously, it's a round trip from Yoyakarta.

So now, I'll be getting:
- a one-way ticket from Singapore to Yoyakarta and
- another one-way ticket from Padang to Singapore

AirAsia offers one-way tickets to Yogyakarta. Their tickets are more expensive on Saturday and Sunday.

DIY: Renew your Indonesian Maid's Work Permit (for Singaporeans)

Update 12 May 2016: I didn't realized how popular this post has gotten :)  Thank you all for the support. It's been 3 years since I have written this article. The procedures might have changed slightly and I might not be aware of the new changes - as I have no maid now. 

Update 25 Feb 2015: Amended Step 7 for KTKLN application. Your FDW needs a health certificate for KTKLN application now. 

Now that I have gone through it, here's a chronological display of documents and events to complete and do.

Process Summary:

1. Negotiate her salary and benefits for the next contract and Decide Duration of her Home Leave
2. Go to the Indonesia Embassy to renew her passport (OPTIONAL) and get the work agreement done (COMPULSORY)
3. Buy maid insurance (COMPULSORY)
4. Renew her work permit (COMPULSORY)
5. Get her new Passport from the embassy (COMPULSORY)
6. Buy her air tickets (COMPULSORY)
7. Apply for the KTKLN card in Indonesia (COMPULSORY): The new Indonesia president has made some comments on removing the need to apply for KTKLN card, but as we know, a change like this will not happen overnight in Indonesia. So just make sure your maid's KTKLN card is valid when she returns to Singapore. 

Summary of Cost Involved:

1. Renew Passport = $35
2. Maid insurance = $308.16
3. Renew Work Permit = $20
4. Air Tickets = $247 (AirAsia)
5. Worker Insurance (in Indonesia) = $38

Total cost to DIY maid renewal is SGD648.16

How to get maximum rebate at NTUC (& other major groceries stores)

Most people who frequent NTUC would have probably applied for these cards:

(click for detailed terms and conditions)

Both cards guarantee you an additional 5%* off FairPrice Housebrand products and the automatic enrolment to LinkPoints Plus! Program**.

* FairPrice Housebrand is already at 5% discount. What the Plus!/NTUC Plus! Visa Card does is, it gives you an additional 5% discount. Good thing is that the additional 5% discount is calculated based on nett price after all promotional discounts and senior citizen discount. So the total discount is 5% + 5% = 10%.

**You earn 2 LinkPoints for every S$1 spent. And you can exchange 150 LinkPoints for S$1 off at FairPrice.

Spent S$1 to accumulate 2 LP

To accumulate 150 LP, you need to spend S$75

Base on the calculations above, you are only getting a 1/75*100 = 1.3% rebate when you use LinkPoints to offset your purchases at NTUC - that's isn't a lot, especially if you are not getting their Housebrand items.

Much to my pleasant surprise, I have recently discovered that Standard Chartered SingPost Platinum Visa Credit Card offers a 6% rebate on purchase at selected supermarkets (NTUC, Cold Storage, Giant, and Carrefour).

(click to apply for this credit card)

Hitler finds out the Start menu will be removed from Windows 8

Mah Bow Tan's article on ensuring property market's stable growth for all

TODAYonline | Singapore | Ensuring property market's stable growth for all

Ensuring property market's stable growth for all 

Minister for National Development assures young couples, Govt will help them set up their first home

by Mah Bow Tan

05:56 AM Mar 04, 2011

Everybody knows the property market was very hot last year. This was due to various factors: Low interest rates, excess liquidity, and jobs growth attracted many buyers into the market. Some were upgraders and investors. Others were speculators out to make a quick buck.

High property prices have made some Singaporeans happy. But others worry that they have missed the boat, worry that prices will go up even further. It is hard for both groups to be happy at the same time. Property prices and economic growth go hand-in-hand. Property prices cannot be expected to stagnate while the economy is powering ahead as it has done.

What the Government can, and will try its best to do, is to stabilise the market and moderate price increases amidst extraordinary economic growth.

Getting a maid

We visited Bukit Timah Shopping Centre - oh mine, what an impressive place it is. It's like the Sim Lim Square for maid agencies. You'll find an agency at every nook and cranny of the building.

TS's colleague recommended CRISLO maid agency. She mentioned that the maids are well-trained (sounds like I'm getting some toilet-trained puppy) and provides some good quality transfer maids who have working experience in other countries.

We wasted no time and quickly proceeded to CRISLO on the second floor, next to the escalator. One thing really doubtful about the agency is that it is so conveniently located. 'Cos instinctively, shops that are near convenient locations tend to sell more expensively or are more dubious. Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.