Will I get paid for blogging?

For these recent weeks, there were at least 3 media reports in Singapore on how much the bloggers in Singapore had been earning. These reports got me excited and I asked myself whether one day I will start getting paid to blog.  How nice it is to have that extra cash to spend on my little Dawn, isn’t?

While surfing the Internet one night, I bumped into this website. Get paid to blog, it said. I was curious and read further. The more I read, the more excited I got.  Is this the answer? Is this the place which will start me off?

My mind started to wonder off as I went through the registration form.  Halfway through the registration, I turned around to look at Dawn, who was peacefully sleeping in her cot.  If I get my first paycheck, I will spend it on her.  She is my motivation, my little darling.

So here I am, a member of PayPerPost, blogging about my first assignment. Let’s just hope that assignments will not stop here and it will get more!

Are you also interested to get paid to blog? If yes, join PayPerPost!  I will be glad to know you too!

Free Samples and Freebies!

Ok, I am getting real here. I love to receive free samples and freebies (who doesn’t?).  Especially after I have my girl.  I mean, it could be just a sample diaper or a one-time feed of milk powder, but to me, it’s a potential opportunity to save some hard-earned money. Also, the samples allow me to test the product first before making a real purchase. 

I have a few friends who had asked me where to get those samples and freebies.  I am going to share them here so that the other parents can “benefit” too. :D

1. Abbott - You can get free samples of Similac, Gain, Grow, Pediasure, Isomil milk powder.  If you are expecting, they will also send you this booklet on “Naming your baby”. Sign up as their member too! They will send you a 400g tin of milk powder when your baby is 6 months old and 1 year old.  And I must say they are very prompt in this too
2. Dumex - You can get samples on their Mamil Gold series or the Nutrakids Cereal if your kid is ready for semi solids. For pregnant ladies, you can get the Mamil Mama!
3. Enfa - Here’s the Enfapro, Enfagrow & Enfakid or Enfamama milk powder. If you sign up as the club member, they will send you a 400g tin of milk powder when your baby is 6 months old. After which, they will send 2 packets of the 1 year old milk powder.  But if I remember correctly, their membership has an expiry date.
4. Nestle -  You can’t ask for free samples over the Internet for nestle.  But there’s a customer service number which you can call to ask for NAN sample and Brown Rice/White Rice cereal samples.
5. Goo.N Diapers - Register and get a free sample of the Goo.N Diaper.
6. Huggies - Register and request for samples.  You can request up to two samples per product per household.
7. Sometimes Drypers also gives samples but information can be found in their advertisements in magazines for mothers.  They will usually require you to sms to ask for samples.  Huggies does that too.  So look out for those advertisements!
8. Collect a free babyplus bag when you join the FairPrice BabyPlus Club. There are goodies in the bag!
9. Depending on which hospital you gave birth to your child, you will get a Bag of Love or the Baby Plus guidebook. Check out here.
10. If you are staying in the southwest district, you can get a babybliss cash-card valued at $38! This amount is good for paying off some ERP or car park charges right?! For those who do not drive, you can buy your baby items and pay off using the cash-card.  Check out details here.

Do note that these freebies are for those who are staying in Singapore.  For information about samples and freebies in other parts of the world (for example, US), check out bestfreestuffonline.

Hope this helps!

Baby Darryl is here

Carine gave birth to Baby Darryl today! Went to Thomson to visit them after work today. Darryl was sleeping all the time when I was there…sleepy

Dear came to Raffles and met me for lunch today.  We were caught in a sudden heavy downpour.  Initially planned to go to Asian Kitchen for some soupy stuff, but because of the rain, we went to the Japanese Resturant at Far East Square instead. Both of us were too full with our set lunches and 10 pcs of maki that I ended up eating the filling of the last maki.  And naughty me decided to create something silly using the leftover sushi rice and the cucumbers.  Pardon me with the bad clarity of the photo because it was taken by my mobile phone and the lighting condition was bad because of the gloomy sky.

Cute?

The 5 must-have in case your kid is sick at home

With a new baby or a kid at home, what’s the 5 must-have for a mother in case your kid is sick?  I swear by these :

• Ear Thermometer

Invest in a good one. Or at least a decent one. You will never know when you need it and when you need it, YOU REALLY NEED IT. Personally will recommend a ear thermometer instead of those which you need to stick into the kid’s mouth or armpit.  Most kids will be too active for you to do that!  There are a few brands to chose from, check out Safety 1st Hospital’s Choice Accu Light Ear Thermometer .

• Medicine issued by doctors

I’m a kia-su mum! I have extra cough syrup, fever syrup, running nose syrup in my fridge for emergency cases.  I am not encouraging mothers to feed your kids medicine unnecessarily. But these medicine act as a back-up plan.  For example, if kid is running a fever of 38 degrees in the middle of the night with no other symptoms, instead of rushing to the 24-hour clinic or hospital, you can try the medicine and sponging method.  Or that sometimes kids are prone to having running nose due to weather changes, and it’s very mild but still adding discomfort to the child, you can feed the running nose medicine.  Take note that all these medicine are issued by doctors, and not self medication which you buy off the shelves from pharmacies. And that if the problem still persist or sickness became more serious, please bring the kid to the doctor.

• Fever Cool Plaster

These come in handy when kid has a fever, though I don’t think that it is as effective as sponging. But these can relieve you for awhile instead of those constant sponging and get you some rest. Usually I will use this when the kid is sleeping and I too need some rest. And this plaster will stick on the forehead and will seldom drop off, unlike the sponging method. Something off the topic, if you chose to sponge your child, please use tap water.  It’s cool enough to start of the sponging. You do not need to use ice water, and it might cause headache to the child due to the sudden coldness.

• Decongestant Capsules

These are oil that come in capsules form and it helps to clear blocked noses and congestion.  I will squeeze the oil into a handkerchief and tied it at the cot during the night.  It helps the kid to have a better sleep during the time she has a blocked nose. There are a few brands in the market and it is easily available in pharmacies such as Guardian. I am using this brand called “Karvol”. I simply love this!

•  Biscuits

You must be wondering what does biscuits have to do when a kid is sick? Well, these help me alot when it’s time to feed the kid medicine!  Find out what you kid loves.  It could be that favourite puff or that favourite animal biscuits. I will usually show Dawn her favourite puffs (which is Gerber Finger Foods Puffs, 3 Strawberry and Apple Puffs and 3 Banana Puffs(6 per Pack)) and tell her that she has to take the medicine first before having her little biscuit. It simply helps.

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Hope this bit of information is useful for those new mothers or mothers-to-be

Cartoon Drawing

One of my colleague, Elaine, went for a cartoon drawing class. The other day, she came over my working area and drew this for me with pretty fast strokes. Not bad for a beginner right?

A Day in the Singapore Zoological Gardens

We finally brought Dawn to the zoo today. Had been wanting to bring Dawn there because she will always point excitedly to the animals shown on the TV. It’s a good way to futher stimulate her growing mind.

I didn’t know that the Zoo is just a 10 mins ride from CCK interchange.  I thought it’s far away! And its quite convenient to take the train to CCK and change to bus 927. It brings us right to the doorstep of the Zoo!

The entrance fee is $16.50 for adults (without the tram ride) and it’s free for kids below 3 years.

We saw quite a lot of animals, though some were hiding in the shade due to the weather.  The tiger, the lions, the giraffes, the elephants and many others.  We were always on the move and never stayed for an animal show. The zoo was quite crowded due to the weekend. 

 We saw this statue built in the remembrance of Ah Meng.  Ah Meng, adored by most Singaporeans, passed away in the beginning of this year.

We were all tired after all the walking in the zoo.  Dear was carrying Dawn most of the time so that she can see the animals.  Instead of having her relaxing in her pram, we made Dawn walked too. Kids need some exercise!

Admission Fees - $33

Time Spent in Zoo - 2 & 1/2 hours

Energy spent - countless (+ litres of sweat dripped)

This Sight >>>>>

>>>>> Priceless.

• I’m Bzmommy • I’m Peach • I’m Queen •

That Classic Expression

Dressed in the dress that Yee Yee bought her, she was fascinated with the sight of falling leaves on the ground…and there she stood with her “blur” look… I wonder what is going through her mind then?

What will we do?

I was very disturbed with the recent news about the China Earthquake.  So much so that my eyes will be filled with tears whenever I read news about the dead and the survivors’ stories.

Many of the reports covered about the huge numbers of schools being destroyed during the quake.  And it really hurts me when I looked at the number of children being killed because of the collapsed schools. I mean, can you imagine the hurt that was brought to their living parents? Even if the parents were killed during the quake, will their souls rest peacefully? Were their last thoughts wondered around the fate of their own children?

As I felt the tremors last night at around 10-ish p.m., I started to wonder, what will we, Singaporeans, do if a earthquake strikes us? What will I do? What if the tremors last night was indeed a earthquake that had hit Singapore? And that the buildings start collapsing on me?

As I was lying on my bed, I thought of my immediate actions if there’s ever a quake happening.  Which table am I going to run to?  Will I be quick enough to carry Dawn in my arms and run to the nearest sturdy table to take cover? And what if we managed to survive the quake but was buried under the debris? Will Dawn have enough will to survive? What will I do for our survival? Will I drink my own urine?

Look, I am not being paranoid.  But have you not thought that we Singaporeans are living in too much a protected area? So much so that we are taking granted of our own bliss? Of course I am not wishing or hoping that Singapore will get a earthquake or some very bad natural disaster! But do Singaporeans know that we are indeed fortunate? I too sometimes am guilty of that with all the complaining (”how damn hot is the weather!”)

It must have been a frightening experience for the children and adults in China.  The battle to try and outrun the falling bricks, enduring the sight of nearby friends falling one by one, and own ears are filled with the sound of cries. I really cannot imagine any further.  And I really hope the survivors will be stong to build their lives again. Gambatte people!

When the kid is running a temperature

Because I was sick, my little one became sick too.  Oh well, we sleep together, how to avoid spreading the least bit of virus to her?

So poor Dawn started with a fever on Monday afternoon.  We brought her to the doctor and had to trick her into taking the medicine with her favourite biscuits.  However, her fever still went up and down through Tuesday. 

On Wednesday one-ish morning, Dawn vomited in her sleep. It really threw me into a state of shock because that was the least expected.  And I am grateful that I got up in time to check on her instead of having her choked on her own vomit.  Despite the shock, I managed to clean her and the bed up, fed her medicine and pat her back to sleep.

Half an hour later, Dawn vomited again.  And I knew that something might be very wrong.  I had to ask my mom for help.  I felt really really bad to disturb my mom from her rest, but I was in my wits ends and was also afraid that something really bad has happened to Dawn. 

We bought Dawn to KK Hospital. Despite her vomiting and temperature, she was still asked to wait for almost 2 hours before the doctor attended to her.  My Goodness, I really cannot understand why A&E in hospitals need to wait for so long?  And trust me, the number of patients during our visit was not alot, but we just cannot understand the long wait. 

Furthermore, despite having to pay the consultation fee of $75, I have to do the sponging myself,  feed Dawn glucose water myself and monitor her myself.  And I wasn’t even given a satisfied answer as to why Dawn is having a fever. And they are dealing with the “possible dehydration” issue when the doctor herself told me that there’s no dehydration because Dawn is having very wet eyes. What’s all these about??

Fortunately, Dawn’s fever started to subside.  But because I was still very worried about her vomiting in her sleep, I ended up waking every hour on Wednesday night.  I guess that’s how most moms will feel, issn’t?

Through all these, I learnt from my mom that when babies are running a fever, it’s best that they stop their solid food because their digestive system might not be functioning 100%.  If kids vomit, it’s better to keep feeding them clear liquid so as to keep them hydrated.  In this case, milk is to be avoided till the kid shows no more sign of vomiting.