My Beloved Beco

Beco, Manduca, Ergo, BabyBjorn, Pikkolo, Sleepywrap, MIM sling, Pupsilk pouch – these are the popular baby carrier/ slings commonly found in Singapore.  Ok, maybe not so for the Beco because when we got it last year, the shopkeeper told us that the supplier had not been bringing in more Beco into Singapore for a while already.

Sample picture taken from Beco’s website.

I love my Beco!

We bought the Beco Butterfly Panther from this shop in Novena Square 2 during its last piece clearance.  $199 down from UP $249 so it was a 20% savings, woohoo!  Someone told me that a baby carrier is a good investment and I can’t agree more (Dear1 too!).

I’ll Beco Baby1 to the market on weekends morning, and Beco her out shopping in those shopping malls that are crowded or when lifts are not so common.  Believe me, every flight of stairs, and even just a step, is a chore when you are strolling a 8+kg baby.  And not to mention shopping malls – the stroller being a bulky item tends to occupy much space in supermarket aisles as well as corridors when you have the usual whole-Singapore out shopping on weekends and public holidays.

The Beco, like most good baby carriers, distributes the baby’s weight to the carrier’s hips so that your shoulders feel less of the weight.  Surprisingly, your shoulders really do not feel much of the strain even after a day’s out. Dear1 and Dear2 tried the Manduca at the Novena shop and we both dislike its shoulder straps.  Though more padded, it just didn’t feel comfortable for us.

Everything about the Beco is good, haha, but I’ll just mention this one unique feature of the Beco.  You can transfer baby from one wearer to the other without taking the baby out, because the baby sits in an enclosed wrap. Very useful feature for us as we transfer between wearers when Dear2 visits the washroom during our shopping trips.

I’ll strongly recommend the Beco, but minus some disadvantages – the Manduca has other better features like being able to carry the baby on one side with its detachable straps, as well as being able to extend the main body when the baby gets bigger.  But, we still love the Beco nonetheless!

A brief run down on the other slings:

The sleepywrap looks very stylo – I mean, really stylo when mummy goes out shopping but you can’t tell that she’s actually carrying a baby wrapped inside her!  Be mindful of the tedious process of wrapping baby up though, plus because of its many layers of cloth, u literally can only use it during shopping trips (in air-conditioned places).

I never got the hang of the MIM sling when Baby1 was smaller (and lighter), and now that she’s much bigger and heavier, this piece of cloth will remain in the bag for Baby2.  Luckily I had the foresight to buy a second hand one at $30, compared to its UP of at least $49.

The Pupsilk pouch was highly acclaimed, but again luckily I was too stingy to buy one.  With baby’s weight solely on one shoulder (and your protruded hips maybe), I foresee that at 12 months, Baby1 is probably too big and heavy for this already.  Again, you are better off getting a second hand for this, but make sure you get the correct size as it depends on the carrier’s body build.

I love the Beco. We’ve brought Baby1 on the cruise with this, and to Taiwan and Hong Kong with this. Though it may be used up to age 4, but I guess when Baby1 learns to walk and run on her own, she’ll probably not want to remain in the Beco anymore (read, meaning to say, all the baby carriers/ slings will probably last you about 6 months, so………….. don’t spend a bomb on this!  I know of a mummy who has 2 Manducas + 1 MIM sling + 1 Pupsilk sling + 1 Fisher Price one, for for her 1 little one!).

– Dear2

Me, Myself and I

How many of you actively update your Facebook, adding what you feel about the morning rush crowd, the stench in the air, your grumbles about that someone you dislike; the nice chicken chop that you are eating now, the unique restaurant where you and your friends are at currently, the gathering that you went with your other friends last week; the photos you took while in Japan/ Hong Kong/ Bangkok/ Taiwan/ Vietnam/ etc/ etc/ etc; the photos of company dinner, the photos of a new branded bag purchase,and  even your Primary School class photo?

Why do we do that?  Is Facebook your personal diary such that you want to detail all these experiences for your own reference to next time?  Or did you merely want to show other people, your friends, all the things and thoughts that is happening to you right now?  I would tend to think that it is the latter.

Aren’t we self centered!!  We update our Facebook status ever so frequently, and upload what-have-nots kind of photos on the go, and when our friend leave a comment/ tag/ like on these, we feel happy because someone is ‘listening’ to you.  Oh, it means that I have friends!

So hence, I continue to update my status and photos with ‘d@mn the traffic jam that I am in right now’ and ‘oh, this show screening on Channel 8 now is interesting’ for my friends, hoping that they are forever logged on to Facebook to see my latest update.

So much for Me.

Yet, there’s another group of people who, because of all these constant updates by their friends, begin to feel lack.  I have not been to Nex (that new shopping mall at Serangoon) yet.  Wah, that food looks nice, but I’ve never ate that before.  Oh… His holiday looks so fun, I wish….

Stop!  Don’t compare.

Facebook is so sad.  It has become an outlet for people to vocalise Myself, and for others, create much un-necessary envy because I don’t have that.

However said, it will continue to be an avenue where Myself continue to post about Me, and see what I am missing out…

– Dear2

On Leave Taking

The so-called ‘clear leave’ season had just passed, that’s December. Why do working people have to clear leave in December? Well, that’s because most of them didn’t plan their leaves ahead of time and had to clear all their annual leaves before they get forfeited at the end of the year.

So, what I’m going to share (with my limited working experience) in this post is, my personal opinion on what the best times to take leaves are. And it is definitely not in December.

How many leaves in a year?

First, let’s take a look at the total number of leaves/holidays a hypothetical working person in Singapore has. Let’s assume that this person has 21 days of annual leave and 14 days of medical leave. This person also has carried forward a maximum of 7 days of annual from the year before. Let’s further assume that this person is a parent and hence is eligible for 6 days of childcare leave. This person also takes an exam which the company supports and grants 2 days of exam leave. Finally, there’s 11 days of public holidays in Singapore.

So, in total, this person has a total of 21+7+14+6+2+11=61 days of leave/holiday per year! That’s like about 2 days per month.

Some notes. First, 11 days of public holidays are fixed, so our person don’t get a choice of which days to take a break. Second, he (I assumed it’s a he) probably want to reserve 7 days to bring forward to the next year. Third, exam leaves are tied to exam dates so that can’t be arranged. Lastly, it is a little hard to choose which day our person will fall sick to take a medical leave, but, there are ways to arrange this. ;P Let’s assume medical leave *can* be arranged.

So, our total number of arrange-able leaves is 61-11-7-2=41 days. This is what we’ll be working with.

Never ‘clear’ leave

First rule, do not ever fall into the category of clearing leave. This will mean not having control over which days to take leave, which will most likely fall on the last 2 weeks of December.

You do not want to take leave in December for several reasons. First, travel fares are expensive during December as it is considered peak season, so it either means that you will be spending more than usual on traveling or you won’t be traveling at all. Second, it’s school holidays so everywhere will be more crowded than usual. This will include public transports, shopping malls, restaurants, etc. Third, the office will be most empty during this period of time as most other working folks will be clearing their leave. Instead, you should stay in office during December as the office environment will be quieter, you can focus better and be more productive. There will also be less meetings and your boss will probably clearing his leave.

Now, for similar reasons, try not to take block leave for traveling during school holidays (1 week in March, whole of June, 1 week in September), because traveling costs are high. You should always travel during off peak periods. That is, avoid school holidays and public holidays of *both* Singapore and your destination city.

4.5 days work week

Let’s assume you want 2 travel holidays per year, each using 7 days of leave. I will not elaborate on how these 7 days should be utilized. So we’re left with 41-7-7=27 days. Let’s further assume another 5 days will be used for genuine emergency needs. So we’re left with 27-5=22 days.

Now, since we’re not taking leaves in December, let’s spread the remaining 22 days over the remaining 11 months. Wow, we’re looking at 2 days of leave per month. That’s 1 rest day every 2 weeks. Or 0.5 rest day every week, implying a 4.5 days work week. Cool, isn’t it.

Best day of a week to leave

Let’s see what the best times to take leave during the week are. Again, these are my opinions.

Over the course of the week, people generally feel moody-er early on in the week and happier later in the week. Therefore, the leave should be taken to offset such moody effects. As such, Mondays are good choices for leaves. And never take leave on Friday because it is going to be a relatively relaxing day at work.

However, there are some disadvantages with taking a Monday leave. One is that you have to work for 4 consecutive days (Tue-Fri) after the Monday. Personally, I don’t like that. I prefer to take a leave on a Wednesday to break the 5 day week into 2 smaller chunks of 2 days.

By taking a leave on a Wednesday, there will be something to look forward to on a Monday. So the Monday starts ‘feeling’ like a Thursday because of the anticipation of the upcoming midweek break. Similarly, the Tuesday will ‘feel’ like a Friday. This way, the happy mood can be maintained throughout the week.

AM or PM?

On to half day leaves. Is it better to take an AM leave or a PM leave? For AM leave, the pro is that you get to sleep in late and not squeeze with the morning rush hour crowd while the con is that most shops are not opened in the morning so there is limited entertainment options. For PM leave, the pro is that you get to knock off after lunch and it is easier to coordinate gatherings with friends during this time while the con is waking up early and morning rush hour.

Sleep is a luxury. Personally, I prefer taking the AM leave. The reason being I can sleep in, and upon arriving at work after lunch, knock off time is just a few emails away. Yay!

If the intention is to take a half day leave every week to create the year long 4.5 day work week, my preference will be Wednesday AM.

General tips

You may have noticed that my preferences with leave taking involve maximizing happiness. I like to organize my leaves in such a way that allow myself to feel happy or to create a happy and pleasing environment. This includes being about to do my work in peace without distractions. So here are some general tips towards to happier work environment.

Always try to find out when the boss is going on leave. The rule is, always be around when the boss isn’t, and take leave when the boss is in office. This minimizes the chances of seeing the boss in the office and hence reduces distractions => higher productivity.

Take leave on the day of the meeting if it is going to be a boring one. More often than not, you can guess the agenda of a meeting and predict whether it is going to be a constructive one or not. Schedule a half day leave on the un-constructive meeting days so that you can go take a break instead of sitting through a mindless boring round-and-round conclusion-less weekly 3 hour meeting.

Take a look at the calendar for the whole year. If there are days where a 4 day super long weekend is possible with just 1 day of leave, avoid taking leave on those dates. Same reasoning. Most people will take leave on those dates, the office will be quiet, lesser distractions, feel happier, more work gets done.

That’s all for now. Sure hope someone will find these tips useful. If I do get more ideas on leaving taking, I’ll append this post. Cya!

-Dear1

We are going to the Bird Park

“We are going to the Bird Park, how about you? You can come too, we are going to the Bird Park.”

Dear1, Dear2 and Baby1 are going to the Jurong Bird Park on Dear2’s birthday.  In fact, we went to the Zoo on Dear1’s birthday not too long ago.  If it wasn’t that Baby1’s birthday is on the Chinese New Year itself, plus it’s late, after 7.30pm opening hours, we might have visited the Night Safari on Baby1’s birthday too.  Or maybe the River Safari which has yet to open, opening in 2012.  :p

You may or may not know, the above mentioned attractions offer FREE ENTRY for people who visit on their BIRTHDAY.  Yes! Free entry + 1 (tiny) scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream + 1 Wild Birthday Badge + staff who will wish you Happy Birthday.  So cool, isn’t it.

Let me consolidate the opening hours and fees here first:

Singapore Zoo

Opening Hours

8.30am to 6.00pm daily
(Last ticket sale at 5.30pm)

Adult S$20.00
Child (3 to 12 years old) S$13.00

Jurong Bird Park

Opening Hours
8.30am to 6.00pm daily
(Last ticket sale at 5.30pm)

Adult S$18.00
Child (3 to 12 years old) S$12.00

Panorail Ride
8.30am to 6pm
(Last train leaves from Main Station at 5.45pm)

Adult S$5.00
Child (3 to 12 years old) S$3.0

Night Safari

Opening Hours

7.30pm to 12mn daily
Restaurants and retail shops open from 6:00pm daily
Last admission is at 11.00pm

Admission + Tram
Adult S$32.00
Child (3 to 12 years old) S$21.00

Go to the respective website and click under Visitor Information, Opening Hours and Rates. Right at the bottom, there’s a section on Wild Birthday Surprises – FREE admission for all birthday boys or girls of all ages.  We went to the zoo on Dear1’s 30th birthday, so yes, 30 years old is still a “birthday boys or girls of all ages”.

It must have been a looooooooong long time since Dear1 and Dear2 went to these attractions.  The websites are updated and funky, the staff at the Zoo are all youthful and enthusiastic, the Zoo is well maintained and clean and scenic.  Dear2 has never been to the Bird Park before, so hoping that it will be as fun and nice as the Zoo.

We are going to the Bird Park, how about you? You can come too, we are going to the Bird Park.

– Dear2

PS: Oh, before we go to the Bird Park, must remember to check out the Maybank Card again.  Dear1 remembered that there was a 5% discount using the Card at the Zoo, but the staff wasn’t aware of this.  We paid using the OCBC Card instead which gave us a 5% instant discount.  After leaving the counter, Dear1 recalled that the 5% on the Maybank Card was a rebate on the card in the bill.

2011 New Year Resolutions – Dear1

Just like how Dear2 had set her new year resolutions, I will do the same now. In the past, we used to list down our new year resolutions together in one post, but Dear2 suggested that this year we should write our own so that we feel more ownership and responsibility towards our own goals.

As usual, we did our review of our past year’s resolutions and set our new year resolutions at our yearly ‘retreat’, this year on Royal Caribbean Cruise.

Here’re my goals for 2011.

1. Maintain at 77kg.
2. Pass oral defence and formally complete my degree.
3. Submit 2 papers.
4. Attend HDB seminar.
5. Ask for less oil, less salt, more vegetable.
6. Be more focused at work.
7. Start studying Japanese again – Aim for N3.
8. Be more gentlemanly.

Jia you!

-Dear1

Taiwan (Hong Kong) Trip Planning

Haha… It seemed a step back in time that I’m writing a post on trip planning after Dear2 had already written a post on the trip itself! Oh well, I wanted to document how this trip came about.

Brainstorming

Planning for this trip started back around Sept/Oct 2010. At that time, we had already booked our Royal Caribbean Cruise for Dec 2010. At the same time, we were already considering plans for Baby2. To make the story short, we decided we shouldn’t travel with both Baby1 and the bump of Baby2, which meant we had to travel before conceiving Baby2.

We first explored the option of going to Malaysia for a relaxing resort holiday. But that plan soon went out of favour because we had wanted to visit somewhere slightly more adventurous. At the same time, we wanted to go somewhere modern such that medical facilities were available should we need to visit a baby doctor. Seoul was one of the options. And Taiwan came into the picture too.

We decided on Taiwan as we would both prefer a place without communication barriers for safety reasons since we’re traveling with Baby1.

Direct or transit?

While searching for cheap tickets to Taiwan, we decided that budget airlines was out of the question as we wanted a larger plane and proper service (again for the sake of Baby1). Most direct flights were pretty expensive. Eventually, we stumbled upon this Cathay Pacific promotion in conjunction with HSBC. For Singapore connecting to Hong Kong then Taipei, it was around $515 inc taxes per adult. Great price, but with a few disadvantages. First, Baby1 would have to endure 4 flights which meant 8 take-offs/landings. Second, there will be time wasted for connections. Third, this promotion did not allow for infant fares.

After calculating, we found out that it was still cheaper to buy a seat for Baby1 using the promotional rates than to pay full price for adults and infant price for Baby1. And so we took up the promotion.

Stopping over?

The next thing that happened was, we decided to do a stopover in Hong Kong, partly to visit Disneyland, partly to visit the places we didn’t visit the last time we were there. It was quite a challenge. We had never done a stopover itinerary before, and this time we’re doing it with Baby1 in tow. Well, we like being adventurous, so off we went.

Date and time

Last thing was to decide on the dates. The promotion pretty much limited our choices to Jan – Mar 2011. We decided to visit in Jan 2011 despite going on a cruise just 1 month earlier. This was because Feb was Chinese New Year which meant travel havoc and Mar was clashing into our Baby2 plans. So Jan 2011 it is.

Since it’s our first time traveling with Baby1, we decided to keep the itinerary simple and flexible. We decided to spent 4 days in Taipei and 4 days stopover in Hong Kong. We stayed within accessible areas (i.e. within MRT network), and took taxis to and from Taoyuan Airport instead of the bus. We took airport express train and taxi from and to HKIA respectively.

We also selected flights that were extremely comfortable. Our flight times were typically around 11am to 2pm, and arrives no later than 6.30pm.

Planning a trip with baby certainly isn’t the same as planning a trip for 2 adults. Overall, we tried to make the trip as convenient as possible with minimum walking (except night markets) and minimum transfers. It was still very very tiring but it worked out well.

Budget

Here’s the overall cost breakdown.

Airfare: We paid a total of SGD1464.40 inc tax for 3 seats by HSBC credit card required by the promotion.

Hotels: We paid SGD81.91 partial deposit for CityInn (booked direct from hotel website) and SGD330 full payment for CityView (booked from Jetabout website) by Manhattan card for the rebates.

Local spendings: After conversion, we spent SGD523.30 (based on 1:TWD22.4) in Taiwan including all the airport transfers and hotel balance, and SGD446.12 (based on 1:HKD5.8) in Hong Kong.

So in total, we spent 1464.40 + (81.91 + 330) * 0.95 + 523.30 + 446.12 = SGD2825.13. The factor of 0.95 there is for Manhattan card rebates. It’s not the cheapest around but I’d say it’s a good price for a 7D6N trip considering Baby1 had a seat on the plane. :)

-Dear1

Taiwan and Hong Kong 2011

We just came back from a 7D6N trip to Taiwan and Hong Kong with Baby1.  Believe me, I wouldn’t want to bring a baby on such a holiday again.

It wasn’t that bad actually, just that my dry, cracked skin feels soooooo much better after a nice warm bath once we reach home in Singapore, and my body feels soooooo much relaxed the next day after a nice sleep on our own bed.

Let me summarize our trip here.

Flight

Cathay Pacific offered us a bassinet seat when the flight was not full.

Very decent food onboard Cathay Pacific.

We took Cathay Pacific to Taiwan, transit in Hong Kong.  Cathay was great – they gave us a diaper pack with 2 diapers and some creams, and Baby1 had many jars of Heinz as baby meal.  They even offered us a bassinet seat when the flight was not full, so Baby1 had the opportunity to sleep a while during the 3.5hours flight. Flight meals for adults are ok, as well as the helpful attendents – much nicer than Northwest, I’ll say.  4 popcorns.

CityInn @ Taipei

Exterior view of our hotel at Ximending, CityInn.

Nice new hotel located right in the centre of where we wanna go – Xi Men Ding, the Presidential Office Building, The Red House, Taiwan food of Lu Rou Fan, Hun Tun, Metro station, JSP Burger, milk tea, post office, all within a stone’s throw away (ok, maybe not that near, but it’s really pretty accesible).  We also had Ah Zhong Mian Sian at Xi Men Ding (twice, yummy), and going by mrt to anywhere was such a breeze.   5 popcorns.

Taipei

Walking towards Taipei 101 from Taipei City Hall station.

The weather was rather cold and gloomy on the day we visited CKS Memorial Hall.

CKS Memorial Hall was really impressive. Wu Fen Pu wholesale garment market was a really BIG area with rows and rows of little shops selling ladies fashion, but I was genuinely disappointed by the lack of babies wear and non-winter wear for adults (read, dun go looking for baby wear and clothes for Singapore wear during winter..).  Rao He Night Market was decent.  Shilin Night Market was of a bigger scale selling fashion again.  We had Hao Da Da Ji Pai (oishii!!) though we didn’t manage to find much other food there.  DON’TTTTTTTTTTT go to the ‘Indoor’ Shilin Market – you’ll only get rows and rows and rows of oyster omelet and Stinky beancurd and some soup – all the shops sell the same thing!!!  4 popcorns.

Flora Expo

Entrance of Flora Expo from Yuanshan station.

We visited the Flora Expo which is from Nov 2010 till Apr 2011. They sell a 3 day pass because the venue is really HUGE!!!!!!  On the day we went, the expo passed the 3 MILLION visitors mark the day before.  Imagine 3/5 of Singapore had been there………….  3 popcorns.

Friendliness

Taipei was a really nice place, it’s people nice and friendly, and you feel so welcomed by the greetings of its courteous service personnel.  Can consider come back again next time.  5 popcorns plus a star.

Baby in Taipei

We were pleasantly surprised by the well equipped baby room at Taoyuan International Airport. They even have free diapers!

They have wet wipes as well. This is what I call a baby room!

Taipei is very baby friendly (wonder why they have such low birth rates then?).  There’s plenty of nursing rooms and diaper changing stations (in the Train Station, in the Expo, in the MRT stations, so accessible) and even free diapers (Taoyuan airport), and you see mummies/ grandparents bringing their little ones out frequently.  5 popcorns.

Hong Kong Airport

After 4 days in Taiwan, we went to Hong Kong.  First foot out and it was chaos.  Hong Kong airport was so busy, so crowded.  People everywhere, and queues everywhere.  And there’s not even priority queues for babies at the Customs, unlike Taiwan. Sigh… This felt pretty much like Singapore…  2 popcorns.

CityView Hotel @ Yau Ma Tei

Our very retro (read outdated) room at CityView hotel. Check out the control panel between the beds.

It’s location was superb, right outside exit A2 of the MTR station, which happens to NOT HAVE an escalator so all the tourists have to LUG their luggages up.  Right round the corner and you’ll enter Mong Kok very soon, and plenty of shops and eateries right along Nathan Road.  The location was really ok, but……………… Don’t ever stay here if you wish for a warm room.  We totally don’t understand how can the room be sooooooo cold even after switching OFF the air con all the time.   2 popcorns plus some demerit points for the cold.

Disneyland

The Pooh ride at Disneyland was fun!

We reached at 12pm, and by 5pm, we were already bored and waiting for the fireworks display at 7pm. Baby1 enjoyed the teacups ride the most, while we had the Pooh ride and shoot the aliens ride (Astroblasters) and watched 2 shows too.  My verdict – visit Hong Kong’s Disneyland so that you can say that you have visited Disneyland before, but beware #1 Don’t lose your child.  There have been many reports of children going missing when the parents lose sight of their little ones just for a second. #2 Don’t eat the pork chop burger cos Dear1 had stomach flu after eating that.  #3 Be prepared to walk back to the entrance area multiple times cos that’s the ONLY diaper changing station in the entire park.  2 popcorns plus health advisory warning for providing dirty food.

(Baby Friendly) in Hong Kong

Evening rush hour at Central station. We abandoned the idea of taking the MTR and went to take Star Ferry back to Kowloon.

No baby stations in the MTR stations, no priority for babies in the airport, no friendly Hong Kong-er who chat along side with you.  In short, Hong Kong is not baby friendly, or any friendly at all.  Harsh shop attendants who snap at you, commuter who “tsk” at you for walking a tad too slow in the train station, people bumping into you cos they were all so in such a hurry, just loads and loads and loads of people everywhere along the pavements.  Forget it, I’ll never want to transit Hong Kong again.  I won’t even feel like giving any popcorns for this.

Baby1

Baby1 has been such a dear during this trip, except for the aching shoulders Beco-ing her all the time, and the dry weather which resulted in cracked skin all over.  It was a nice trip, but I’ll probably stay comfy in my weekdays/ weekends routine for a while now. 4 popcorns for Baby1 plus a star and a kiss.  Muck!

And finally, our leftover baby food jars from all 4 Cathay Pacific flights.

– Dear2