Dream Stroller

Saw this cool stroller when I visited the Red Dot Design Museum for Mothercare Baby on Board. The design is a Red Dot winner. I saw the ad for this stroller. A baby was sitting in the stroller and it was elevated high enough for her to play ping pong! Of course, it's ridiculous that a baby can play ping pong but it sure left a lasting impression. Made by Stokke, they design products that allow the child to rise to the adults' level. I actually own the Stokke chair for my daughter so she can sit comfortably with us at the dining table during meals. It's fully adjustable up to adult size so although it's got quite a killer price tag (S$400+), I think it's worth it.

If you are interested to look at great product design, visit the Red Dot Design Museum. You'll see award winners and be inspired. There are only two Red Dot Museums in the world. The other is in Germany. Pretty cool that we have one here in Singapore.

Library Finds

Did I mention before how much I love the National Library? Their selection is just incredible. I am happy to pay the $21 a year! Next time you visit, see if you can borrow the Parents magazine. It's really quite a great read and you'll learn a lot about children and parenting. I also like to borrow Oprah, Real Simple and sometimes, Family Circle. But Parents is my all time favourite, now that I am a mom.

Home-made and Free

Have you noticed how much more your child likes to play with day to day stuff than toys? I've found that she spends a lot more time with an old pillow case (aka cape) and tissue box with ribbon (carrier) than Thomas, Dora or Barney.

Songs of the Sea at Sentosa

Wow... I was really impressed with the Songs of the Sea show at Sentosa. I think it's way better than I expected. And for $8 a person, it's really quite affordable for the whole family. If you need an activity for the family, this is a good one to consider. Even my 8-month old baby enjoyed it.

Honda Freed or Toyota Sienta

Saw the latest Honda Freed at Downtown East. I drive a tiny Honda Jazz now and we're outgrowing the car. Well, the car seats are forcing us to look at a larger car since it's taking up all the seating space! Our poor helper has no room to sit once we upgrade our second infant car seat to a toddler size one. Anyway, the Honda Freed is attractive since it's got a small 1.5 engine. And it seats 7. So is the Toyota Sienta. But I don't know if I like the second row seats where it's separated. We were taught in the USA that it's safest to place baby in the middle seat. With this design, it would be at the third row. I actually like how the Honda Stream looks but it's even less flexible and practical since the seats cannot be moved. Other cars we're thinking of... Toyota ISIS and Toyota Wish.

Try this with your Babies

When I had my first daughter, we showed her the first edition Signing Time DVDs in the USA. She learned how to sign before she could talk and we had very few tantrums and screaming fits. It was really cute. I think her first sign was bird (not that useful) but she eventually learned how to sign milk, sleep and books. I found the latest edition of the Signing Time series recently at the library and learned they now have "Baby Signing Time." It's catered to babies 3 months and up. I think it's an improvement. Try it out with your baby and see if he/she likes it!

Fishy Business

The Mothercare Baby on Board project brought me to Fish Reflexology located next to Underwater World at Sentosa recently. The experience was pretty interesting. I highly recommend you try the fish spa with your loved one--don't go alone. It's more fun to squeal with someone when you do your virgin dip. When you dip your feet in, you're literally savagely attacked by all the fish! It's quite a horrific feeling initially. You know it's going to happen but you don't quite know how it feels like till you experience it. So did my feet come out silky smooth? It was better than before the fish nibble. Staff said it will would take at least a few more dips to complete get all the dead skin off. There are lots of fish spas in Singapore now. This one offers two kinds of fish (from Turkey and Africa). I chose the Turkey fish coz I was told the African fish are more aggressive, making it a more ticklish experience. Having smaller fish nibble at your feet also feels a tad less scary...