Other Initial Baby Expenses

Apart from the baby necessities (e.g. cot, baby car seat, clothes, diapers, formula milk) we shared about previously, there were also other types of expenditure as well.

1) Cord Blood Banking

We decided to collect and keep Hannah’s cord blood for at least 21 years in case of medical emergency. In all probability, this need is quite low. However, since my maternal side of family has a high incidence of cancer and tumor-growths, it is a good investment. We chose to bank with Cordlife as it is AABB accredited.

The damage? Well, almost 6k… It is not too bad as we could use Hannah’s CDA (Child Development Account) fund to foot for the bill. For every dollar we deposit into her CDA, the government will match with another dollar. Parents can deposit a maximum of $6000. Can lah.

2) Confinement Month Expenses

We paid $1.8k + $150 angbao to our confinement lady. On top of that, there were tons of confinement foods to buy. Examples: red dates, dried longans, ginger, meats, veg, fish, Chinese herbs/tonics (e.g. dangshen, pa zhen, shi quan da bu) and herbal bath packs. I got Yang to do transportation duties here hehe.:)

3) Baby’s Full Month Celebration

Mainly the buffet lunch and cake vouchers. We forked out nearly $1k for it.

I have an Excel spreadsheet done up for buying baby items. It was done up based on the suggestions given by my sister in-laws (thanks Jas & Sharon!). The prices are mostly accurate but may change with time of course. Available on request.

I heard that if you have Robinsons membership card, their 20% discount is worth the wait. As for me, I got myself the Kiddy Palace membership card which also offers 20% discount during certain months. Otherwise, it will be 10% discount on most items. Items on offer are not given any further discount. Ya, I’m a Kiddy Palace mom.