Babyone stroller review

This stroller is really difficult to push when the handle is wobbly and the front wheel is hard to maneuver.
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When I got this stroller, I should have been more prudent in the quality `checklist. Alas, I was only fixated on the light-weightness of this stroller.
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Indeed, the stroller is very light-weighted and easy to fold, carry and definitely no problem during oversea travel.
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In addition, the stroller is really spacious and comfortable for my kid. The seat is lengthy and this allows older kids to sleep/rest comfortably without dangling their feet in àwkward way.
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But I missed on several important points:
1. Stroller should be easy to push. This one was not and it tend to swerve left/right.
2. Easy to maneuver. Not easy, especially when your toddler sits up. It is only easy when your toddler is lying down (when the weight is shifted to the back-wheel).
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So my review for this stroller is 2/5 for satisfaction. I wouldn't have bought it if the rate was not above 3/5. Too late.

Daily thoughts

There are just several important matters that I will think about daily. Not in specific order, except to me it is of high to low importance: family, career, health, and personal.

Family, is my past, present and future. Career is my means to living it. Health is the duration. Personal is how interesting places and people I meet along the way.

Slinky that doesn't work

If you want to get a slinky for your kid. Don't go for the plastic ones because they don't work. If you want, test if first and if the slinky works on the spot, get it. Else, it's a waste of money.
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We got this slinky for our girl and it failed. -

Christmas tree at home in Singapore

We bought a synthetic Xmas tree that looked like the real tree from Carrefour five years ago. Carrefour is no longer in Singapore.
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We also bought ornaments for adorning the shoots and leaves. However, we have never got anything to decorate the apex of our Xmas tree.
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Our first Xmas with the tree was when we had our daughter. She was 1 yo then and couldn't yet appreciate the tree. We had the tree out every Xmas since.
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This year, our girl is going to 4 yo. She was very excited when I got the Xmas tree out. She helped mummy decorated the tree. We had everything except the ornament/star at the apex.
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Getting a decent and beautiful star from shops is easy, we wanted to try something that will be more meaningful. We helped our girl to DIY the star for our Xmas tree.
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She was excited and helped to color the star. When it was placed at the top of the tree, she was so proud of herself. Most importantly, she was ecstatic.
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Here is her work.
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DIY Star for the apex of our Xmas tree

Zaini milk chocolate eggs with a 3D collectibles

The product is made in Italy. We got two boxes for S$11 at VivoCity Harbour Front. If you are familiar with "egg surprise" on YouTube, then you will be aware of the craze kids nowadays about egg surprise. 

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Zaini Milk Chocolate Egg Surprise.

Our kid loved it. However the stickers that comes with the car are so small that it was difficult to paste them on the car model. Here is the final outcome of car.

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Front view

Side view

Back view

 Another surprise about this car is that IT GLOWS in the dark. So cool!

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However, if you have less than a year old toddler in the house, remember to keep this car away from him/her because it is a choke hazard.

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Just to share.

Learn about periods of the day

Morning starts around 5 am and noon takes over at 12 pm. Evening is at 5 pm onward and night is from 9 pm until 5 am on the next day. Twilight is the first light over the horizon. From the East, twilight signify day while on the West, it signify the starting of night.

Periods of the day

Fruits available in Singapore markets

Fruits available in Singapore markets are as follow (in alphabetical order)

1. Apple
2. Avocado
3. Banana
4. Blueberry
5. Buddha’s hand (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis)
6. Cempedak (Artocarpus integer)
7. Cherry
8. Ciku (Manilkara zapota)
9. Coconut
10. Custard apple (Annonaceae spp.)
11. Dragon fruit (aka Pitaya)
12. Durian
13. Grape
14. Grapefruit
15. Guava (Jambu batu)
16. Jackfruit (Nangka)
17. Kiwi
18. Lychee
19. Langsat (Lansium parasiticum)
20. Lemon
21. Longan (Dimocarpus longan)
22. Mandarin orange
23. Mango
24. Mangosteen (Manggis)
25. Melon
26. Orange
27. Papaya
28. Passion fruit
29. Peach
30. Pear
31. Persimmon
32. Pineapple
33. Plum
34. Pomelo (Citrus maxima) is similar to grapefruit
35. Pomegranate
36. Rambutan
37. Red berry
38. Rose apple (Jambu air)
39. Salak (Salacca zalacca)
40. Soursop (Durian Belanda)
41. Starfruit (Carambola spp.)
42. Strawberry
43. Tamarind (Assam Jawa)
44. Watermelon

Post cereal expiration (or best before) date

According to Post Food official website, in the FAQ states that due date is in the following format: yymmdd (or 13JN01 means 1st Jan 2013). However, when production/printing is not standardised or updated, you will get confused with the following (see Fig).
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A simple search at Google didn't help to enlighten me about how to read the expiration date. I can't recall when the unopened box was purchased. That complicated the interpretation,  e.g. is the expiration date in 2012 (3 yrs ago! ) or 2015 (just recently).
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My wife suggested we try the cereal and if they are bad, we will know. I didn't want neither her nor me to get poisoning, so I decided to visit the local supermarket to find out.
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At the supermarket, on the box states mmmddyyA## (e.g. SEP122015T01). The alpha numeral (or A##) at the end of the numbering had no informative value to customers and Post Food should just remove/separate them from the best before/expiration date (to avoid confusion).
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Also, Post Food FAQ website need to be updated because the format yymmdd don't apply here.
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Baby belly button from hernia-like to normal (updated)

Previously I was concern about the protrusion (and collapsed region) observed in our baby's belly button. The pediatrician assured us that our baby's umbilical hernia is normal and will recover after several months. We waited for 2 and a half months and indeed the hernia was less obvious (and the region of collapse had also disappeared).

After 3.5 months, our baby's umbilical hernia disappeared.

What we did during the wait (as according to the doctors and nurses) was to allow our baby to exercise the tummy more.

Helpful exercise

• We would gently tickle our baby's belly to induce him to contract his stomach muscles.
• We placed our baby on a rubber mat with the belly facing down so that he can lift up his head and try to kick and move. The main purpose was to train and strengthen his tummy muscle.

It worked! We were worried about persistent hernia but fortunately, it was just normal hernia. For information about persistent hernia, refer to Umbilical hernia by Children Surgery. New hernia service at University Surgical Center, National University Hospital (NUH).

Breakfast for the lil one

I got a sandwich maker/toaster that has a waffle plate to make waffles. I would use the electrical item to make the following.

• Waffles (recipe is available here at All Recipes).

Waffle recipe can be found here at All Recipes.

 
 The best combination to have with waffles would be peanut butter and strawberry/berries jam. Locally, peanut butter and kaya would be a great combination and added with a slice of cheese would make it super.

Kaya recipe can be found here at Rasa Malaysia.

Our favourite peanut butter must be Peter Pan. We used to buy peanut butter from Skippy, which has comparable taste, but the price was slightly higher than Peter Pan (SGD 1.09 higher). We bought them at NTUC FairPrice. NTUC Fairprice site is a good reference for item price and to compare different brands.

• Egg sandwich

 Sometimes, I would make sandwiches and the best combo would be egg sandwich or tuna/sardine mayonnaise sandwiches. A way to get a consistent hard boiled egg can be referred to this site (or other types of boiled eggs; Fine Cooking). I used the 8 min hard boiled egg method. Cooling the eggs in iced water and then peeling them under running tap water helps to remove the shells. To prepare egg sandwich, I would mash the egg with a tea spoonful of salted butter. Adding mayonnaise would add extra flavour (but my kid doesn't fancy mayonnaise nor butter). Adding a cheese slice to the mashed egg and then toast them would add a little saltiness to the product (not to mention calcium for stronger bone).

Hard boiled egg by Fine Cooking.

3 months old cries

Our baby used to be all smiles and then suddenly all cries at 3.5 months old. Our concern was that something was wrong. We thought that it could be fever, stomach discomfort, or shoulder dislocation (paranoid me). The first two possibilities were demonstrated to be remote, whereas the latter physical injury was nil. It seemed that our baby is at the stage where he will start teething. Our baby would still break a smile to us, but whenever he is uncomfortable, he will scream and cry out the most dreaded cries that would leave us with cold sweat.

Teething & Symptoms
BabyCenter provides information about baby's teething. Few indications of teething are as follows:

• Drooling (our baby is doing that)
• Difficulty sleeping (probably due to teething-associated discomfort)
• Likes to bite (when we cleaned his gum, he would nip at our fingers; although he hadn't started biting mummy's nipple). Note that mummies would be the first to know when their babies are teething because they will start biting nipples.
• Cranky (irritated by the discomfort)
• Refused to be fed (probably due to distraction from the discomfort)

We still haven't observed the last indicator.

Other associated symptoms (though it might be inconsistent) would be:

• fever (probably due to infection as teething babies likes to stuff things into their mouth, hence predispose them to infections)
• others (refer to Baby Center)

Means to alleviate symptoms

• Teether (to soothe the "pain" (it's an itch-cum-pain feeling). A refrigerated, cooling teether could help to alleviate the gum discomfort.
• If baby is not comfortable with teether, then using a finger and muslin cloth would be a good idea. Rub it gently around the gum and allow baby to bite (slightly painful) whenever he/she has the urge.
• Apply Bonjela gel to soothe the discomfort.
• We tried Bo Ying Compound (Chinese medicine) to soothe our first baby's discomfort during teething, but after a scare about contaminant that can be harmful to children (reported not long ago in Hong Kong [FDA report]), we dared not try it anymore (though I believe that Singapore scrutiny on its products is of highest stringency compared to other places).
• Carry our baby and soothe him/her with comforting voice/lullaby and attention will help to alleviate their fear and anxiety (of the unknown because teething is our baby's first experience and can be frightening).

 When can my baby eat solid (semi-solid)
 Some said we can give our babies at around 4 months old (we preferred to wait until 6 months).

More adventurous means to alleviate teething discomfort (if in doubt, consult pediatrician before trying the following). I have not tried any of the following. Also, make sure the ingredients are safe for children (e.g. be organic with no pesticides)

• Rubbing the gum with ginger slices, spices, almond (or vanilla) extract, banana, chilled food or plastic utensils, and other solid food (referred to Home Remedies For Life).
• Home-made teething oil (composed of olive oil, coconut oil, and clove bud essential oil; referred in MommyPotamus).
• Teething cream (composed of coconut oil, cocoa butter, clove essential oil; Modern Alternative Mama).

Children saving accounts with very low interest rate p.a. in Singapore

We wanted to start a bank saving account for our kid and I searched for reviews pertinent to best interest rate saving accounts.
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In Singapore, saving by adults and children will give near zero interest rate (hence zero motivation to save).
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What I gathered from these reviews (without the latest up-to-date reviews), OCBC is okay in terms of interest rate while DBS/POSB is the lowest.
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When we visited OCBC, we found out that the interest rate for children saving account is at 0.05% per annum (p.a.). That's equivalent earning 4 cent per month for a SGD 1000 deposit.
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There are other plans available, such as those associated with insurance/assurance scheme.
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Alternatively, there is also the arrangement that earns higher interest rate for saving accounts, e.g. zero-withdrawal criteria with minimal monthly deposit of SGD 1000. This arrangement will allow earning of 0.48 % p.a. or 0.88 % p.a. (for child who holds OCBC child development account).
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We opted for the basic saving account that earns the 0.05 % p.a. interest rate.
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Visiting the bank today made me realize that saving in the bank is not a wise decision for saving money for our children's future. I need to find prudent investment options in the near future.

OCBC saving plans.

Rashes

My kid developed eczema and we suspected it was due to contact allergy. The allergen was still an enigma but most probably came from outside the house, e.g. playschool.

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We have visited the clinic twice. The first one was at a polyclinic and the pediatrician prescribed anti-histamine syrup and steroid cream. The thing about steroid cream was that it didn't help alleviate the itch. Our kid scratched and broke the skin. We tried calamine and it was better than steroid cream. Calamine with menthol that gives off cooling sensation is the best. However, doctors would warn against over-usage of calamine because it will dry off the skin and aggravate the eczema. To prevent that from happening, we would also apply moisturizer intermitently.

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It didn't work. After more than three weeks of itchiness, we decided to bring our baby to see a skin doctor (dermatologist). 

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The doctor asked about our history of allergies and came to the conclusion that our kid's eczema is due to genetics. Although he was right, we know that genetics is not the only factor. Environment and habits are also involved in the development of eczema in children and adults.

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A study on urban versus rural suggested that habits, lifestyle and environment play important contribution to discrepancies in rural versus urban susceptibility to eczema or autoimmune disorders.

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We are currently giving our kid another antihistamine oral medication, steroid anti-inflammatory oral medication, and topical steroid creams for body and face (the distinction is due to the potency of steroid, where the face will have lesser steroid content as compared to body cream). Hope this week will see a better improvement.

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There is a great reference about skin rashes and type of rashes with their associated probabilities. Read "Rashes" by AskDrSears.

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For persistent/chronic eczema, I wouldn't suggest using steroid cream long-term because the side-effects are bad for developing kids. I would use calamine for most time and try to reduce steroid usage. I am willing to try traditional chinese medicine (TCM) or Ayurveda approach.

 

Kuih bangkit recipe

Our baby loved kuih bangkit. Unfortunately, lunar new year was over and it was difficult to get find stores selling one. Bengawan Solo has kuih bangkit and I bet it would be very delicious but a little pricey for me. Furthermore, I wanted to learn how to bake kuih bangkit so that I can make some for my kid whenever there is demand in the house.

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There are two main recipes that I consulted.

• Bake for happy kids 
• Nasi lemak lover

I followed the latter (Nasi Lemak Lover).

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It wasn't difficult to get tapioca and sago flours from Singapore. I could easily get them from NTUC Fairprice. I used the packed coconut cream and the outcome was okay. I was having difficulty finding the classic mould for kuih bangkit with bunny, tortoise etc., so I simply got one for other purposes and it worked just as well.

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Home made kuih bangkit as according to Nasi Lemak Lover recipe.

 

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The outcome was delicious.

Steroid cream will get into body for adults and children (inevitably)

I have received plenty of reassurance that topical cream with steroid will not cause any problem because the steroid will not get into the body (or at least at a predetermined rate of skin absorption), i.e. steroid will stay on the skin longer while absorption rate is controlled.
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I asked, "what about accidentally ingesting it from fingers or hands"? The same reassurance of negligible amount.
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I asked "what about scratching and breaking the skin"? The same negligible amount.
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However, steroid such as hydrocortisone will be absorbed by the body. It is important to know how much is considered hazardous (or detriment). I hope the clinical or toxicological studies on steroid cream toxicity considered the above accidental means of introducing steroid into the body (e.g. increased "absorption" due to skin tear made by scratching or ingestion by toddlers).
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Our 3 yo toddler got prescribed the following medicines:

• Elosone 0.1% (w/w) mometasone furoate which is a synthetic corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory, anti-pruritic and vasoconstrictive properties used on face. Precaution includes adrenal suppression more prone in infant and children (I had a look at a similar disorder adrenal insufficiency in children). In children, other complications are Cushing syndrome and probable stunted growth (no study on it thus far).
• celestroderm/diprocel (aka Betamethasone dipropionate) 5g is a body topical steroid cream.
• Prelone syrup taken orally. Synthetic steroid with anti-inflammatory and anti-itch effect.
• Polaramine (aka DEXCHLORPHENIRAMINE MALEATE) taken orally. It is an antihistamine.

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We never felt confortable giving steroid cream but had to give in after seeing how unbearable the itch was. Unfortunately, the steroid cream is not as effective as Calamine solution with menthol (soothing and cooling effect). We are using these two medication alternately and prefer the Calamine over steroid cream.
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As for the oral medication, we are hoping that the anti-histamine will neutralize the histamine produced by the body.
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It's been three weeks now and any sign of recovery would be a relief.
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I hope there is no "urbanized eczema" caused by exposing children to overly clean and sterile environment. After this, we are planning to bring our kids to more outdoor activities with lots of earth, soil, and sand. Physical interaction with leaves, grass, and crawlies will be good. Some gardening will be super.
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References

• Topical steroids (DermNet NZ)
• Ministry of Health Management of Drug Overdose and Poisoning infosheet.

What to expect in newborn prolonged jaundice

There are many reasons (multifactorial) for newborn baby jaundice. Some are normal events (for Asian babies), whereas in rare cases they are due to insidious reasons.

First week

After given the green light to go home (especially with acceptable jaundice level), baby will still be susceptible to increased bilirubin (biological product that causes jaundice), especially when he/she drinks just mother's milk. There are two main means to remove bilirubin, i.e. urine and stool. If baby's urine is pinkish/reddish, it is an indication of blood/hemoglobin in urine (e.g. hemoglobinuria as experienced by our baby) which can indicate ABO incompatibility (e.g. mother's antibody is attacking baby's blood cells) which is common for parents with different blood type (see below). After discharge from hospital, parents are required to visit polyclinics to monitor their babies' bilirubin level (every two days). The result mostly will show an increase in bilirubin level (if it reaches a threshold, hospitalization and phototherapy will be required). To minimize the chance of going back to hospital, babies should be given sufficient amount of milk for him/her to pass both yellowish urine and stool. Some doctors don't encourage sun-bathing babies (but morning sun should be harmless). Alternatively, getting a portable photo-therapy assembly is good (if ABO incompatibility is suspected; good hospitals will check baby's blood type and compare it with mother's).

ABO incompatible arises when mother, father and resultant baby's blood types.

Second week

After second week when the bilirubin still persist on the high (even after healthy amount of passing urine and stool), it is still normal considering that baby's liver is still not fully functional. Visit to the clinic is still at two days intervals. There is nothing much the doctor can do except prescribe the next visit.

Third week

If the jaundice level is still high. It is time to add milk with formula. Although we wanted fully breast milk, but jaundice and re-visiting the clinic is not permitting that ideal. The best way to beat baby jaundice is to add milk with formula for the day-feeds and fully breast milk during the night-feeds. You will realize that the amount of stool will increase tremendously. Giving our baby fully breast milk at night prevents constipation (milk is mild laxative whereas formula can cause constipation). 

Normally if jaundice is still high, doctor will prescribe liver function test. Our baby has normal liver function.

Subsequently

After introducing formula at 1/3 part of daily feed, our baby's jaundice stabilized. The jaundice still come-and-go but by the look of the skin and white eye, our baby is getting better.

What we wished our hospital provided

• Blood type test on baby (we had to ask for it)
• Portable photo-therapy assembly for rent (when required)
• Step-by-step expectation if jaundice level persisted. Although the hospital encourages fully breast milk for babies, persistent jaundice is an indication that breast milk is not enough and a compromise is needed.

 
 

Good Gift Vouchers

What makes a good gift voucher?

• Discount should be more than 10 % off listed price. If the gift voucher can't provide an equivalent of 10% discount of the listed price, then it is useless.

I got this voucher with terms & conditions stating "a minimum purchase of 12 packets of Pampers/Merries diapers". There is an ambiguity in the term "packet". If it meant a pack of diapers (e.g. Pampers New Baby Diapers size S 46 diapers cost SGD 18.20), then 12 packs would be SGD 218.40! That would translate to a  3.7 % discount which is not attractive.

 Anyway, there is also Pampers New Baby Diapers (24 pieces) that cost SGD 8.80 per pack. At 12 packs, they cost SGD 105.60 and an SGD 8.00 off would translate to a 7.57% discount. Well, it's still less than 10% discount.

However, if you compare with Dutch Lady promotion of SGD 3.00 off for every SGD 8.00 spent. That translate to 37.5% discount! Way better than the first example. However, practically, I would have to buy approximately SGD 9.00 of Dutch Lady product to qualify for the SGD 3.00 off, which is still better at 33.3% discount.

This is how voucher/promotion supposed to be! At more than 30% discount. Great buy Dutch Lady!

Another good example is Old Town White Coffee SGD 5.00 off for minimum SGD 20.00 spent in the restaurant. That is a 25% discount! Although it's not possible to have exactly a SGD 20.00 bill, the voucher is still better at more than 10% discount.

Old Town White Coffee voucher worth SGD 5.00 for every SGD 20.00 spent (equivalent to 25% discount).

• Ubiquity to redeem the voucher. If the voucher requires the holder to travel to far region of Singapore just to spent it, then it will not be a favourite.
• Free-means-free vouchers. Sometime back, a friend received a free facial treatment voucher and went to redeem it. The outlet provided free facial treatment to half of the face (as a comparison for "before-and-after effect" of treatment). However, the other half of the face will require payment! That's a deceitful tactic (even if there is fine prints on it).
• Reasonable time/duration to redeem voucher.
• Privacy protection voucher. A voucher that requires filling in personal particulars with name, address, phone number, spouse name, children's name etc. can sometimes be an uncomfortable feeling, especially when we don't know how the personal data will be protected/safe-guarded.i

That is my list of good voucher criteria. I'll add more if I can think of any.

Just to share.

 

Engagrow A plus LeapFrog AlphaPup Learning Playset (worth SGD35)

With minimal spending of SGD200 on participating Enfa A plus products.

• Enfamama A+ 0.9 kg, 
• Enfamil A+ Stage 2 0.9/1.8/1.95 kg, 
• Enfamil A+ Gentlease Stage 2 0.9 kg, , 
• Enfagrow A+ Stage 3 0.9/1.8/1.95 kg, 
• Enfagrow A+ Stage 4 0.9/1.8/1.95 kg, 
• Enfagrow A+ Stage 5 0.9/1.8 g

Send NTUC Fairprice receipts (in single receipt dated 1 Mar to 31 Mar at >SGD200 of participating products) to Mead Johnson Nutrition (S) Pte Ltd by 7th April 2005 (deadline). A redemption slip for collection of LeapFrog free gift will be sent via direct mail (while stock lasts) two weeks after the deadline (expected date would be around 20 Apr 2015).

Redeem LeapFrog AlphaPup Learning playset with Enfagrow purchases (see participating products).

I sent mine and hope to receive the redemption slip soon (after March).

Noisy foldable bathroom door wakes baby

Foldable plastic door that you slide to open and close in the bathroom has a "clickable" catch, i.e. spring catch (I called it springy latch). It is used to fasten the foldable door in place and it makes a clicking loud noise that startle my baby.
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Going to the bathroom will have a fail-proof baby-waking effect in our household, especially when our baby sleeps in the master bedroom with a bathroom.
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There are different types of spring catch out there, with some that comes like ball bearing. I think they make clicking sounds too but I'm not sure how subtle these better quality designs are.
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The easiest to fix way would be to do away with the door catch. I removed two of them (bottom and upper ones). These catches will not affect the locking mechanism of the foldable door.
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It is much better now with the catches gone. The only difference to the door is that if you don't lock the door, a strong wind/draft will move the door.

Child height prediction

Sometimes back, I read an article about height prediction for the son or daughter of basketball player Yao Ming and his wife We Li. Note that both are 2.26 m and 1.90 m, respectively. Based on the formula given, e.g. for daughter’s estimated height = (father’s height x 0.923 + mother’s height)/2 produces 1.992 m, whereas for a son’s estimated height = (father’s height + mother’s height) x 1.08/2 produces 2.246 m. The average height of a man is 1.74 m.

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The above calculation is easier than the online version where you have to convert meter or centimetre to foot. In addition, you will have to input the child’s age and weight (in kg or pound). Fortunately, Google can help with the conversion, e.g. typing “180 cm to foot” will produce 5.9 foot.

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Online height predictor

• BabyCenter height predictor. You will have to produce child’s current age, height (in inches), weight (in pound), and parents’ height. The minimal age of child is 2 yo.

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Sometimes, abnormal growth (gigantism) could be due to benign (or malignant) tumour to the pituitary gland, in which case, there is an over-production of the growth hormone. However, the reverse is true for under-development (hypoplasia) of pituitary gland in which lesser amount of the growth hormone is produced, and thus causes dwarfism. Read more about the treatment for dwarfism (MayoClinic). Growth hormone therapy can be expensive and it is required daily for several years until the targeted height is achieved.

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An example of synthetic growth hormone therapy is Protropin from Genentech. Yearly treatment cost is estimated at USD 20,000 to USD 40,000 or more (as quoted in NYTimes dated 1994). There are other drugs out there nowadays, e.g. Nutropin by Genentech. It is best to consult paediatrician/doctors.