Staying at home is a luxury but staying at home for a month could be a chore if the mother is so used to working out. For ladies like us, I have compiled a list of things to do at home during confinement to keep you productive and alert.
List of to-dos:
♥ Register your child’s birth cert if you have not yet done so. Registering at the hospital may be a better option before you discharged as this saves you the trouble of going down to ICA to do up one. The cost is about $42.
♥ Finding a good chinese name for your child? You may want to try Jin Zi Long. I did mine at $80 with a few options of last and middle name. They will explain each meaning of the chinese character to you when you dropby their main office to collect the booklet. It takes about 2-3 working days. For more details: http://www.jingzilong.com/
♥ Apply for your child’s CDA account if you have yet to do so. This is essentially important for mothers who are intending to put their child in infant care. Not to be confused with the cash bonus. Let me briefly explain to you what are those.
CDA Account= An account for every singaporean child. You may apply this account from either POSB or OCBC Bank. So every dollar that you contributed into the account maybe say $300, the government will put in another $300 to match your contribution. So a total of $600 will be in the account by the end of the month. The match will take around (1-2 weeks) to process. However, do note that any amount contributed into this account is not available for withdrawal. It is a one-way ticket. For more information about the usage, please visit: https://app.msf.gov.sg/Press-Room/Child-Development-Account-Usage-Expanded-to-Better
Cash Bonus= This is received via Giro or cheque (upon request). You will receive a booklet to guide you through the registration processes via postage to your registered home address. The first cash payout is $3000, exactly by one month when your child is born.
♥ Call up the polyclinic or your PD hotline to schedule a check for your child regarding jaundice and also to schedule the first immunisation.
♥ Visualise and start planning how and where you want to hold your baby’s shower. I did a simple yet heartwarming baby shower for Elora at home. Plan your guest list in advance and create an RSVP page for those you intend to invite. For family members or extended family, it would be a good idea to call them up one by one to check if they are available for the celebration. Place your cake orders 1 week in advance to prevent disappointment. This is especially true for babies born during the Chinese New Year period like Elora.
I was very fortunate to have supportive friends and family to help me with the buying and decoration around the house. Don’t be shy to ask for help. We cannot go out anyways.
Food: https://www.neogarden.com.sg/celebrations/index.html#babyfullmonth
Cakes (Very recommended): http://www.choz.com.sg/
♥ Prepare a passport size photo for baby’s passport. You can do so online through the ICA website. I did mine using one of her front facing photo by removing the background using adobe photoshop. This is a sample:
♥ Plan a short trip after your confinement!
iam-elora. 