This past long weekend we had grand plans of bringing Elliot to the zoo and to various outdoor playgrounds to enjoy time as a family. Alas, the dreaded haze returned to Singapore and clouded what was meant to be a wonderful weekend together, casting a shadow over our outdoor plans.
But no matter. We didn’t want to let a little haze get in the way of family time. Friday was spent roaming around Plaza Singapura super duper early. Let me share with you a little tip, that I noticed a few other families also seemed to do: Malls in Singapore are mostly empty before 11 am. Go to a mall early and you get the whole place to yourself. You can run like a crazy toddler (or woman) through an empty floor, sit for as long as you want on the coin-operated mechanical kiddy rides. Because Spotlight opens early as well, we enjoyed roaming the aisles looking at the colourful fabrics and home crafts. We left just before 12 noon and hardly encountered much crowd.
E having fun at Spotlight!
On Saturday, we got up early and spent the entire morning making goop.
I found the recipe on my favourite parenting channel on YouTube, What’s Up Moms – they called it Non-Newtonian Fluid, but I just call it goop!
Goop is incredibly easy to make. To me, DIY kids activities need to require as few ingredients / materials as possible, be as easy as possible to make and quick and easy to clean-up afterwards.
So after researching many, many, many DIY kids activities, I finally settled on making GOOP!
The result was SOOOO much fun, I really can’t wait to share it with everyone.
Ingredients 1) Corn starch
2) Food colouring
3) Water
Method 1) Measure out 1 cup of corn starch into a plastic bowl
2) Mix the food colouring with 1/3 cup of water
3) Pour the coloured water into the corn starch
4) Use a tablespoon to mix it up
5) PLAY!
I know it seems extremely easy. It really was! And it was so much fun. The end result is this gooey viscous liquid that “solidifies” when you touch it or hit it but then melts when it is left alone. Maybe some of you might have made this in school, unfortunately I didn’t!
E loved playing with it, because in his own words, he was “making cake”. But he didn’t like touching the goop with his hands. That’s why he decided to use a spoon and a measuring cup instead. I, on the other hand, was content to dig my fingers into the thick liquid – playing with the unique viscous texture! Needless to say, it was fun for everyone!
The viscous liquid took shape in my palmE spent about 1.5 hours playing with it. He said he was “making a cake”.It looks like a liquid, but it’s pretty thick!
Do let me know in the comments if you have tried this out!
Our after dinner routine often begins like this: “LET’S GET READY! READY! GET READY! YOU GOT YOUR HELMET? YOUR SHOES? LET’S GO!!!!!!” Often spoken as loudly as the capital letters imply.
And then E-Man runs to put on his shoes, grabs his helmet, gets put into his car seat and then our little red hatchback flies off into the night. No quiet time or winding down time for this family.
We often reach the park at around 9 pm. I know, most other toddlers are in bed before eight, but ours goes to bed about 10, well, ok 10-ish. I finish work late and because he has nothing better to do during the day than to sleep, eat, poop and play, so the night is family bonding time.
We almost always go to the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. It’s a beautiful space with a waterway running through it.
We often spend our time playing with this spinning top catapult that you catapult into the air so you can watch it fly with the breeze with its inbuilt LED light flickering away amongst the park lamps. E-Man loves this especially because he gets to pick up the top wherever it lands. Sometimes our spinning top catapult attracts other young kids who stop and watch us play. Sometimes I let them have a go as well. Most other times we bring our big bottle of bubbles and let E-Man run after the bubbles.
E-Man at Bishan Park. Can you see MacDonald’s across the waterway?
We aren’t the only ones in the park.
Once, as we walked towards the space we often occupy, we met an older couple dancing in rhythm with a ball and racquet. We were all mesmerised for a while. It looked a bit like tai chi or qi gong, but yet different. I had personally never seen anything like that before. E-Man loved it. He watched them for a while, enjoying the traditional Chinese music blaring from their small transistor radio.
After a while, when they stopped for a break, we went over to talk to them. Conversations always flow easily with a baby in your arms. They let him play with the ball and we realised the ball wasn’t as light as it seemed. They explained what they were practising was called “rhythm ball”, a form of tai chi (I think). They even gave me the opportunity to try out their steps. It was certainly not as easy as they made it look! They actually told me that there’s a lady who teaches a group of rhythm ball enthusiasts every Friday and Saturday evenings from 8 pm. I actually went to the park once during those times, but didn’t see anyone, sadly.
Another reason we like the park is because we get to see and meet so many dogs! E-Man is a HUGE animal lover. Every time he sees a little dog he HAS to go up and grab it. Much to the delight of the owner. They just love seeing a little baby run up to their dog to give it a big hug.
E-Man with me and Peaches, the dog my sister was dog-sitting
We also play catching and hide-and-seek. I can’t imagine anywhere else in the entire world where a baby can run completely uninhibited in a public park at 9 pm at night.
Oh, I guess at this juncture I should explain why he has to wear a helmet to the park. Yes. It’s because he runs TOO freely that sometimes he topples over. Most of the time it’s my fault because I play a serious(ly fun) game of catching with him. The park is so big and wide and safe that we just run like crazy people everywhere and once he ran too fast and toppled over head first on the path. I heard a thud. Do not judge me.
Needless to say, he has worn a helmet from that time on. It’s actually become a ritual for him. Like he knows that before he gets out of the car, he needs to put his helmet on. Then when he gets back into the car, he gets to take it out.
A few times since then, while playing hide-and-seek, he has accidentally bumped his head on a pole, which was completely pain-free. He even noticed the difference the helmut makes and insists on it when he goes out now.
Apart from the dog-walkers and rhythm ball dancers, I’ve come across late night picnic goers, cyclists, sword fighters, Thai boxers (I think?) and people just sitting on benches talking on phones.
It’s a really safe space for the community. I must also confess that there’s also a large MacDonald’s in the park. I’m not sure what the health conscious amongst us have to say about that, but we personally like it. We can go in and buy a cone anytime we want or even, I confess, chicken nuggets.
E-Man is also thoroughly tired out by the time we get home at 10. So by the time he gets home, he is completely spent and ready for bedtime. Really, raising E-Man is a walk in the park.
HAPPY NEW YEAR DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!! It’s been a while since my last entry mainly because I started a full time job in November. So far, it’s been very exciting and interesting, and I don’t regret the transition at all. Having said that, I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to take up consulting work for six months. It gave me wide exposure and flexibility with my time that I would not have had with a full time job. It also allowed me to pursue interests and classes that I could not have were I desk bound. For that I am truly thankful.
The past two months have indeed been very interesting. When I shared my news with some family and friends that I went back into full time employment, the top two questions I received were, “So? Do you have better hours than your previous job? Do you get to spend more time with your baby?” And then I have to explain that no, I was under no misconception that I would have better hours. In fact, I started the role knowing that the hours would be long. But I believe that in any situation in life, if you are in the position to do so, in order to find meaning in Work, there should be a delicate equilibrium of not only toiling but also learning. I am also of course very grateful that I was offered this opportunity to pursue my passion in marketing & communications.
Working full time has actually made me a better manager of my time. Every minute, every hour is precious. From the half an hour I spend with E-Man in the morning to the few precious hours (if any) I get to spend with him in the evening. In fact, I feel that now that I work full time, I actually spend more quality time with him than before.
So how have I been managing my EXTREMELY active toddler during the time that I have with him during a busy work week? Honestly, it has been a walk in the park.
Really? Yes. Literally. We try to go to a nearby park a few times a week for an hour each time. One thing I want to say is that I feel so blessed to live in Singapore – where walking in a public park at 9:30 pm feels no less safer than walking in the park at 9:30 am. We mainly go to Bishan Park weekday evenings and then maybe the Botanic Gardens on the weekends. During this time we play catching, throw balls and talk to other park-users. There are joggers, dog-walkers, dancers, sword-fightersand many, many other children. I’m going to write a separate post about our time in the park because it truly is a quintessentially Singaporean experience and one that I would like to document and share. After all, it is an experience not many other people in other parts of the world can understand.
Apart from walks in the park, we visit the various shopping malls after dinner, read books together, play hide and seek and, another personal favourite, throw baby dance parties! Baby dance parties are a lot of fun. It’s when we blast pop music and dance our hearts out in the living room. E-Man goes nuts, he loves it and I must admit, so do I!
We decided to visit Marina Square one evening after work! Thank goodness shopping malls close late in Singapore.
Figuratively speaking, it is not a walk in the park balancing work and baby. It takes discipline and hard work and more energy than you know you have. There are other times I work late and miss his bedtime, go out with friends or hole myself up in my room watching YouTube videos. But we try to spend time with him – and as the great philosopher PINK once said:
“You gotta get up and try, try, try
You gotta get up and try, try, try
You gotta get up and try, try, try”
And that’s what matters, right? 🙂
I would love to hear from other working mothers. How do you manage your time between work and family?
When I was five months pregnant with E-Man, my husband and I spent two weeks in Italy on a babymoon. It was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had. We travelled all the way from the South of Italy to the North. We walked through the sun-dappled cobblestone streets of Capri and enjoyed the warm, slightly salted Mediterranean spring, braved the crowds at the Vatican, nearly got mugged in Rome (luckily we had only 20 Euros in our wallets and the mafia men weren’t interested, thankfully), lived in a stone-wall villa in Tuscany, tried to hold up the leaning tower of Pisa, shopped at the Prada Space Outlet (I mean, how could you not?) and braved the small meandering roads through to Bellagio, Lake Como, to enjoy the most beautiful views I had ever seen in my life.
The sun-kissed Capri island
At the end of our two week long journey, half of which was spent with our good friends who were on honeymoon, we met a very distinguished looking middle-aged couple at the airport in Rome. They looked how I would like to look when I grow up. The husband wore a navy blue blazer with kaki pants and the wife wore a beautiful silk headscarf with, if I remember correctly, a soft silk blouse with black (the actual colour eludes me) pants. They looked great. Calm. Peaceful. Happy. They had just spent a good week by the seaside in Italy and were glowing. I decided to describe their attire because they looked so put together compared to my husband and me who were in t-shirt and jeans. They had time to iron their airplane outfits. She even wore perfectly applied red lipstick. I was lucky to even have crudely applied lip balm on.
Anyway, after waiting in line to check-in to our flight, it was established we were all from Singapore. We soon started chatting and sharing our adventures. During our conversation, the lady shared that they had four children. Four children?? I looked at her, amazed. But you don’t look frazzled or stressed. Well, of course her children were now all teenagers or older, so that helped, but she then let us in on a secret. She said, with the confidence that only a mother of four well-raised teenagers can have, that the secret to a great marriage was that they always went away on holiday as a couple after the birth of each child. And continue to have couple holidays when possible.
Honestly, it was one of the best pieces of marriage advice we’ve received!
So, even before the baby was born we booked our trip to Bali. The budget airlines were booked, our resort was booked, even my spa treatments were arranged. We were going to go to Bali in January 2014.
HOWEVER, once E-Man came I discovered breastfeeding. Yes, I was so ignorant I didn’t even think about engorgement and pumping. As I had shared in my earlier posts, E-Man had trouble latching and I began my exclusive pumping journey when he was just two weeks old. Going to Bali, while still exclusive pumping would mean:
1) Bringing my stupid breast pump
2) Deciding how and where to freeze all the milk – and whether I should pump and dump or pump and keep and how to transport all the milk back
3) Not being able to do ANYTHING but sit in the hotel room or some other clean place and pump every 3 hours
4) Having a massage while slowly getting engorged – NOT my idea of fun
5) Having to come home early from dinner or shopping just to pump – it’s not like I can pump just anywhere in Bali
6) Waking up in the middle of the night during your holiday just to pump – OMG
Bringing the 4/5 month old was out of the question as well since he doesn’t latch on demand, I would still have to pump and it’ll become more of a headache. So we decided to postpone our trip until October this year.
Fast forward six months and we just got back from Bali. Four days and three nights in the land of the gods. We stayed at The Chedi Sakala basically because I saw the pictures on a website and they looked AMAZING. I testify that it’s critical to invest in great photography for your product. Seriously. I literally just booked The Chedi Sakala not caring where it was because I just loved the photography. It’s a full-suite luxury hotel, you can’t expect anything less from GHM Hotels, which means all rooms come with a separate living, dining and kitchen area. It is actually perfect for families with young children because you can store and heat up their food in the little kitchenette. Thanks to a friend, we got upgraded to the Cabana Suite which meant that we could jump into the pool from our balcony. We’ve never stayed in a hotel like that before and we loved not having the hassle of changing into our bathers, looking for the sunscreen, packing the sunscreen, packing the sunglasses, packing the hat, packing the mobile phone, looking for the key card, packing the key card into a bag and walking 10 minutes to a pool. No, staying in the Cabana Suite meant that you just changed into your bathers in your room and jumped into the pool. Awesome.
The living room!The bedroom!We could jump from our room to the pool!
Oh wait, sorry for spending so much time describing the hotel, job hazard.
So we also went to the Rock Bar which was INCREDIBLE. Truly worth the hype. I also discovered how important it is to invest in a good DJ. The DJ playing that day we went, 3 October, was really good. The music was trance-y chill-out lounge-y ocean music. The music she chose perfectly complemented the crashing of the waves onto the rocks. Hard to describe. My mobile phone pictures do not do it justice.
Rock Bar at AYANA Bali
Luckily for me, my husband likes shopping and eating as much as I do so we spent all our time eating and shopping. And travelling to eat and shop. HAHA. Yay! Oh and we decided to go beach parasailing on a whim. It was SCARY and exhilarating. Don’t do it if you are afraid of heights, though.
It’s been a really crazy six months. I’ve been working three consulting jobs, starting up a business, going to part-time night school to become a tour guide (out of interest), trying to spend time with the baby and at one point of time trying to write a book (but I’ve since shelved that). The long weekend was seriously much needed!
The best part about the trip away was coming back to Little E-Man. While this is cliche, it’s SO nice to come home to your child. Although he was sleeping when we got back Monday night, when I saw him on Tuesday morning he gave me this HUGE big smile and came to me as though we hadn’t even left! 🙂 Wonderful. On to the next adventure!
As there recently seems to be a renaissance in reading here in Singapore, especially in children’s literature, I thought I would share a few of my favourite board books for babies.
To be honest, I sometimes also read “older” age group books to E-Man because there is a limit to how many times I can say “goodnight room, goodnight moon, goodnight cow jumping over the moon…” without going crazy. I will share these older age group books later on, but for now, in no particular order, here are my top four favourite board books for babies!
Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, That’s not my penguin and On the Night You were Born
On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman
On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman
“On the night you were born,
the moon shone with such wonder
that the stars peeked in
to see you
and the night wind whispered,
‘Life will never be the same.’
Because there had never been
anyone like you…
ever in the world.”
Inside of “On the Night You were Born”
On the Night You were Born is a book that is written for parents as much as it is for their children. In beautiful rhyming verse, Nancy Tillman captures the strong maternal (and paternal) instincts that most parents feel at the birth of their child. I remember at the birth of E-Man, when he entered into the world, the operating theatre was silent, just waiting to hear his cry. And for those few moments, the world stood still, as all we could think about was the miracle of new life. Nancy Tillman perfectly articulates all we want to say to our children; all our unspeakable joy, gratitude and happiness as new parents.
On the Night You were Born is a book that can be read and re-read until our children are adults. It is sheer poetry. It can serve as way to recount the story of our children’s birth as well as an affirmation of their value and self-worth, “So whenever you doubt just how special you are / and you wonder who loves you, how much and how far, / listen for geese honking high in the sky / (They’re singing a song to remember you by.).”
Needless to say, I have teared up a couple of times while reading this book out loud.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
This book was a gift by an American friend. It is a Classic American children’s bedtime book that was first published after the War in 1947. The vintage illustrations are poignant reminders of how simple life used to be. In the good old days there was knitting to be done and mush to be eaten. I like Goodnight Moon a lot because the sentences are short and most importantly, they rhyme. When E-Man is older, I can imagine asking him to point out the “three little bears sitting on chairs”, “the two little kittens” and “a pair of mittens”. Goodnight Moon is a great book if you are looking for a quick story to read. There is also something powerful and enchanting about reading a book, knowing that millions of other mothers have read the same lines to their little ones across the world. As though you are united in your love for your child and for the written (and spoken) word.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I should include this book in my list since it is probably on everyone else’s. Anyway, I put it in because it is obviously one of our go-to books. E-Man loves turning the pages and reading it on his own. I remember reading The Hungry Caterpillar at my cousins’ house as a young child. I personally did not own it, but my cousins did, and I liked reading it. E-Man loves turning the pages of this book himself (actually he likes turning pages of almost every book you give him). The illustrations are timeless and I love how the book teaches children the days in the week, numbers, food and also the life cycle – all in a vividly coloured shortly phrased board book. Amazing!
That’s Not My Penguin… by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells
That’s not my penguin…
So if E-Man could vote, he’d probably choose That’s Not My Penguin. This book is actually a wildcard entry. It secured a place in the top four simply because E-Man just recently took up significant interest in it. I bought That’s Not My Penguin when E-Man was only three months because I thought he would like the textures. He did. Then I got sick of the book because the book is basically all about textures and images, not so much the story. So I relegated it to the bottom of the pile. Then just a week ago, we took it out and behold, E-Man loved it. He would turn the pages and go straight for the textures. He has also woken up in the middle of the night and just entertained himself by reading the book by the soft light cast into his room by the street lamps outside. We could actually hear him talking to himself as he turned the pages and felt the textures on each page. It must be riveting stuff. Oh if you can’t see in the picture below, the wings of the penguin are velvety.
That’s not my penguin…
So yes, it’s a worthwhile investment, simply because babies like texture.
So that’s the end of my top four favourite baby board books. I was just thinking about it – baby books are actually a great baby shower gift if you don’t know what to buy because they last a long time and can be used and re-used and hopefully even passed down through the generations.
Do share with me what your favourite baby board books are in the comments below!
When Baby E was about five months old, my mother bought him a little walker, convinced that he would need it when he turned six months. Oddly enough, the hyperactive baby that he is, didn’t quite like the walker because he couldn’t figure out how to move in it. Even though his feet touched the floor and the wheels were in full working condition, he would just sit there looking annoyed that we put him in this blue coloured contraption.
He preferred to be free. Since learning to crawl at around six and a half months he has become a champion crawler and has recently, at nine months, mastered the art of going up and down steps.
But of course, just crawling has its limitations because one’s head is generally focused on the floor and one’s elevation and view of the world is a lot lower than one would like. So, at about nine months he came up with his own “walker”.
Baby E’s own makeshift walker
Yes. He started realising that the space between his IKEA highchair (that incidentally my mother picked up from a garbage pile somewhere – yes we take reduce, reuse and recycle very seriously) was just perfect for him. So this is how he has been moving around recently.
Baby E walking out to the patio in his makeshift walker
The good thing about this, is that he keeps himself entertained and this mode of transport and entertainment can be easily replicated anywhere. He started pushing chairs at my grandmother’s house last week.
Baby E pushing chairs at great grandma’s house
The bad thing is that if the chair is not stable, it can topple over. Also, it is very very noisy and can scratch the floor. Lucky nobody has complained and luckily all our chairs have felt protectors!
No, a rocker is not a good chair to push around
The funniest part about it is that he is VERY VERY serious when he is pushing the chairs around. As though he feels it is his duty as a baby to push the chairs around. He can be laughing and smiling before, but the moment he decides its time to push the chairs around, he puts on this serious look on concentration. I guess that’s why he hasn’t really fallen yet!
Do tell me how your pre-walker gets around! I’m interested to know!
Fellow Mothers of Boys. It is time we stood up for our sons, and with our sons, so that we can create a different tomorrow.
I am tired of hearing people say Be a Man and Big Boys Don’t Cry. I am sick of it. When we tell our boys this, they internalise their frustration and their emotions which can, at the very worst, result in abusive, controlling a**holes. We confuse our boys. We tell them not to cry, then we call aloof. We tell them to be good to their mothers, then we call them mama boys. We tell them to be gentle, then we call them a wuss. It’s wrong. It’s insulting. It’s hurtful. And it should stop NOW.
To be honest, when I found out I was having a boy, I felt like all my dreams of princess dresses and dainty tea parties went out the window. I don’t have brothers and most of my cousins are girls. So I’ve never grown up with a boy (except for my cousin Matt who is much younger and we just made him do whatever we did). I don’t know how little boys play. I’m not a sporty person and the idea of driving around in a car filled with dirty rugby jerseys and socks is not something I ever envisioned as a mother.
Of course, Baby E could grow up to love tea parties and that’s fine too. He might like to be part of his school’s dance troope or like cooking. It would be pretty cool if he did — imagine all the dinner parties I could throw with my son as chef!
So here I am with my son. My extremely energetic son. With him, it’s NON-STOP. He needs to move, to stand, to explore, to touch, to taste, to break. He cannot sit quietly for a second. He cannot stand being still. He is charged with testosterone that’s for sure. After speaking with other mothers and on forums, I realise that yes, boys are ALOT more active and curious than girls. There are ALWAYS exceptions to the rule, but in general, boys have way more energy to spend. It’s evolutionary – they were the hunters, girls were the gatherers. Hunters need to constantly be looking for prey, they need energy to run after animals, to run away from animals to FIND animals.
So as a mother of a testosterone-charged boy, I need to ensure that this energy is harnessed positively, not negatively.
I have a lot to be thankful to my feminist predecessors for. They have been responsible for giving me suffrage, giving me the right to earn a living outside the home and for giving me the confidence that I have to speak my mind. To them, I am forever grateful.
But now, I feel we need to take back our boys.
Our men have all this energy and strength and yet we emasculate them. Mothers of Boys, we have our work cut out for us. Hear my battle cry!! We need to teach them that there are times to be gentle and times to be tough. We need to teach them that it is ok to cry. We need to teach them that women are both the weaker AND the stronger sex. We need to teach them when to stand their ground and when to give in.
Big boys don’t cry, big boys don’t whinge, big boys don’t show weakness. Boys play with guns, not dolls. Boys play fight, not play house. All the games that are marketed to boys are about shooting, killing and fighting, and you wonder why our boys are violent. We made them that way and now, we have the future in our hands. We can change it.
We can teach them to love music and dance to the rhythm of the strumming guitar. We can teach them to create works of art that we can hang on our walls. We can teach them to play in the rain. We can teach them to explore the world around them. We can teach them to cook by stirring a pot filled with flowers. We can teach them how to enter a world of make believe. We can teach them how to keep a good and tidy house. We can teach them to read and write poetry. We can teach them how to help others who are in need. There is SO MUCH we can teach them! The options are endless and the potential is limitless.
Imagine a world filled with men who are kind, gentle, grateful and loving, but with the energy and strength of an army. Imagine the good that can happen. It starts with me, and it starts with you.
Mothers of Boys. It begins with us. Let’s take back our boys!
One of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandmother’s red tiled kitchen floor. I am not sure what I was doing on the floor, probably chewing a toy or clanging on a stainless steel pot with a wooden spoon.
It has come full circle since I am now on the floor once again with this new activity that I have been playing with Baby E. He is now 7.5 months but it can be played the moment they start crawling or even during tummy time when they are in their early infant stage. It is “Follow the Leader”, or our variation of it. What I do is get down on my hands and knees and crawl in front of him. When he sees me crawling around like him his face just brightens up. It’s so beautiful to see! He then laughs as he tries to follow where I go. So I crawl in front and then urge him to come follow me.
Whilst crawling on the floor, I have actually discovered a whole new world — from his point of view! I feel like Baby E is not the only adventurer in the household now!
It also encourages him to crawl more and practice his motor skills. Previously, all he wanted was to be carried because I guess that was where the grown-ups were at. We talked down to him and I guess from his perception, all the fun was happening up on top and if you know his character he does not want to miss out on the action.
Now that I have been crawling around the floor with him, he is more willing and even excited to crawl!
By the way, don’t you just love his hot pink Charlie Banana cloth diapers? #Realmenwearpink!!! 😀
I remember the first time I heard about modern cloth diapering from Mama Natural, I was so amazed! Was there really an alternative to the dowdy, hard-to-use flat white sheets that our grandparents used??
Yes! Modern cloth diapers are funky, cute, waterproof and very easy to use. Look how many colourful patterns there are!
It’s difficult to be succinct about something you feel passionate about. So let’s try. I ❤ Cloth Diapers because:
1) It feels good to do something for the environment. My husband is a huge recycler. If I threw something into the normal waste paper bin, he would extract it, gross as it may be, and place it into the recycling bin. He would also rather have an empty plastic shampoo bottle sitting in the bathroom for months on end rather than have me throw it in the normal bin. I, on the other hand, am a lazy recycler. I recycle only when it’s convenient.
Cloth diapering gives me my shining opportunity to do something for the earth. As you all know, dirty diapers are one of the most common items found in landfills. In fact, according to the oracle of all wisdom, Google search, disposable diapers make up one third of all landfill waste. That’s disgusting but not surprising. A typical baby goes through six to eight diapers a day! And this waste is just sitting there waiting to decompose in the next 500 years. And I don’t need to remind you how vile dirty diapers smell!
2) I’m lazy and I do not want to go out to buy diapers in the middle of the night. Everyone thinks that cloth diapers are extra work. They are far from it. You only do one extra load every two days and then hang them out to dry.
A lot less energy is spent compared to getting into the car / bus / train walking to the supermarket, walking down the aisle, carrying the big bag of diapers to the check-out counter, carrying the bag of diapers to the car / bus / train and carrying into the house. All the while, you have a (possibly) crying infant in tow. And don’t forget the time it takes to leave the house with the infant! I’m tired just thinking about it.
3) I ❤ saving money. A box of six Charlie Banana diapers costs about S$150 at Mothercare Singapore. You can also use your 10% membership discount. On Singsale, cloth diapers are frequently on sale and are sold anywhere from S$10-20 depending on the brand. I bought Bumkins diapers I bought were S$10 each!!! In total, I have spent about S$500 on diapers – but most of it was paid using vouchers I received when Baby E was born.
This is compared to about S$20 for a bag of 70-80 diapers. Based on my basic calculations, since a baby probably soils about six to eight diapers a day, you would need three to four bags a month. That’s about S$60-80 a month! Then factor in how much you have to spend on milk powder if you are formula feeding or combination feeding. OMG… Seriously.
Using cloth diapers will allow you to break even at 10 months!
4) I ❤ the patterns. Have you seen how cute the patterns and colours on cloth diapers are?? So darn adorable! I LOVE Bumkins diapers for their cutesy prints. They are also the only diaper manufacturer that has the rights to use Dr Seuss prints on their diapers. How cool is that?
5) I ❤ how luxurious they feel! The minky ones are nice and fluffy and the PUL and satin-finish ones just feel so luxurious! They are also nice and cushy on my baby’s butt. This is probably silly but I also don’t think it hurts him as much when he falls on his butt!
6) Better for babies with sensitive skin! Baby E has eczema and sensitive skin and I’m sure if he wore disposable diapers for a prolonged period will develop diaper rash. Disposable diapers are scratchy and you don’t know what sort of chemicals go inside them. These chemicals are obviously very strong because they are able to keep the baby’s butt dry for extended periods of time. I don’t want these chemicals to touch his skin! I’m already dealing with his eczema and rashes and I’m thankful I don’t have to deal with any additional rashes!
Cloth diapers are fast gaining popularity in Western countries such as America and Australia but they are not so popular in Singapore. Maybe because people don’t seem to understand them and still associate cloth diapers to those large white flat sheets that are not very practical.
While not many people cloth diaper here in Singapore, or at least not many that I know of, it may be worth noting that Singapore does have its very own cloth diaper brand Moo Moo Kow!
I think I will put together a list of frequently asked questions on Saturday. Do you cloth diaper?? Why did you choose to cloth diaper? Do you love cloth diapering as much as I do?
I knew nothing about babies when I became a mother. I still don't. Seems like Baby E isn't the only one taking baby steps!
Baby Step by Baby Step 