Driving license

Dear SG,

Andrew had a driving test today because we finally need to convert our driving license from a SG driving license to a NZ one. SG driving license allows us to drive in NZ for one year upon entry but we manage to drag so long because we went back to SG last year for some family matters. I’m due to take mine this Friday afternoon so wish me luck.

Here’s some interesting comparison on NZ and SG driving test.
SG driving center is known as “SSDC – Singapore Safety Driving Center”
NZ driving center is known as “AA – NZAA Inc”

SSDC provides the following services; Driving lessons, driving test and Road safety education talk.
AA provides the following services; Car registration, plate registration, transfer of vehicle ownership, driving lessons, driving test, vehicle insurance, AA maps n guides, road services for breakdowns etc.

SSDC has a training circuit for motorist
AA has a membership scheme that provides insurances, help and any road services a driver could ask for. As with most membership scheme, they have rewards scheme too.

SG practical driving test cost SG$156.96 (including GST)
NZ practical driving test cost NZ$70.80 (including GST)

SG Theory test has a fixed test date where a big group of people will be taking the test together and monitored by a member of the staff.
NZ Theory test can be taken anytime during their office hours, taken alone in a cubical and is monitored by a security camera. (And if we fail that, we can retake it again immediately after)

In SG, upon passing the theory test, a person is only allowed to drive during driving lessons with their restricted license.
In NZ, upon passing the theory test, a restricted license allows them to drive on their own during certain hours in a day or with supervision after those hours. (yes, I mean on the main road, not in a training circuit)

In SG, driving lessons can only be given by professional trained instructors.
In NZ, anyone with a driving license can teach a new leaner how to drive.

In SG, the driving license card is valid for life (with no expiry date).
In NZ, the driving license card is only valid for 5 years and require renewal.

In SG, the minimum age to drive is 18 years old.
In NZ, the minimum age to drive is 15 years old! (Gasp!)

with love from NZ,
j

Maternity Money no enough

Dear SG,

Although I’ve cross blog this with Karen’s baby blog, I didn’t forget that To SG with Love from NZ is still a blog for differentiating SG and NZ. (Not that there are a lot of similarities to begin with! Hee…)

But since we are on babies’ topics, I would like to take this opportunity to answer one of the most commonly asked questions by all my SG’s mom and girlfriends. How long is my maternity leave?

In SG, we are given 12 weeks of PAID maternity leave, 8 weeks by the company we are working for, and 4 weeks by the SG government. Certain conditions apply of course, for example, we had to be working in the organization for at least 180 days to qualify for it. And when I stress PAID leave, I mean paid as in the monthly gross rate of pay.

In NZ, the Pros are that the companies are obliged to provide the maternity leave for a maximum duration of one year. Now for the cons, the leaves are unpaid. Another pros, the NZ government will provide an allowance of approximately $400 a week for up to 14 weeks. And the cons again, we are taxed on that $400 which means it’s down to $300 a week (reminder, the tax in NZ is really high and cost of living is pretty high too).

In case you are wondering if $300 a week is sufficient, renting a house here would cost at least $200+ a week on the lower end of the scale, if there is a house mortgage to pay off, that will be at least 3 times the cost of renting which is at least $600+ a week and that’s also on the lower end of the scale. There’s always a silver lining though, with so many different welfare bodies in NZ, if “money no enough”, there’s always a welfare packages that might fulfill the basic needs.

Read on a friend’s blog that the new local movie, Money no enough 2 (钱不够用2) is pretty good. Anyone cares to send me the VCD? ;)

With love from NZ,

J

On becoming Babywise

Whenever I am faced with a problem, a challenge, a need to get some answers, I would always turn to 2 of my favorite source of information. The internet and books. Before the internet, I would borrowed heaps of books with topics that interests me or simply caught my eyes. Now with the world wide web at a click of a button plus over $80 of monthly broadband fees, I could have information at my finger tips.

I've been busy before Karen arrived hence I haven't been reading up as much as I could. With a baby that could only communicate by crying, I was desperate to get some help to set up a routine, and hopefully to get her to sleep longer at night (before I become a vampire). I turn to the library for help and requested for the book "Baby Whisperer" but I was put on a waiting list. While browsing, I came across this other book "On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving your infant the gift of Nighttime sleep" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam.

I recommend this book to the parents who would like the possibility of getting a little more sleep at night. So far, it has bagged us at least 3 full hours of sleep each interval (I really mean sleep, which doesn't include feeding and changing) and once in a while, 4 hours of sleep!!! The book actually suggest a possibility of 6 to 7 hours by the time she's 8 weeks old. Karen's only 3 weeks plus and I am pretty happy with the result.

But warning, you will need to get half way through the book before you get to the main point that explain how to establish the routine.

Oh, another warning, we have the advantage of formula feeding which actually last longer in between feeds. :p


Cross Post from Multiply "Karen's baby step"
http://joantohlau.multiply.com/

3 weeks old today

Karen is 3 weeks old today. It's the reason why i set up this blog in Multiply for her. 3 weeks have passed so quickly and I'm still trying to figure her out. Seriously, I've beginning to enjoy having her around especially during bedtime because she's so warm and it's winter here. This means I get to cuddle her to bed with me. She's like my little hot water bottle. The only problem with this tiny "water bottle" is the leaking... she isn't leaking urine if that's what you are wondering, she sweats furiously if I cover her with my blanket. This means I have to keep her cool while she keeps me warm. It's not an easy task.

As a mother of 3 weeks, I've learnt the following:
1. She can smile.
2. She has very strong neck
3. It's possible for her to almost sleep through the night
4. It's possible for her to wake up every hour too.
5. By 2 weeks plus, she could grab our teeshirt if we tried to put her down
6. She snores... (takes after the dad)



Cross Post from Multiply "Karen's baby step"
http://joantohlau.multiply.com/

Dummy for babies?

Dear SG,

Should we get a dummy for the baby? Now you must be wondering why would a baby need a dummy? But if I tell you dummy is just a pet name in NZ for the word "Pacifier", does it makes more sense now? ;)

with love from NZ,
j

Baby Pics and Video

Dear SG,

As promised to all my friends and families, some photos of the baby. Click on the baby photo to go to her online album on dotphoto.



And here's 2 of the video Andrew took after the delivery.

Karen's first injection.


Karen's first Nappy


with love from NZ,
J

Baby's birth

Dear SG,

The baby has finally arrived. Instead of the pre-planned date which was later postponed to 24th of july, I had a contraction at 2:58am in the morning of 23 July. We timed the contraction for an hour before calling our OB and she advised us to get ourselves admitted. We arrived at the hospital at 5am but was found to be only 3cm to 4cm dilated. I had epidural at 7am and hormone injected to speed up the process.

Before 1pm, the hospital midwife Jill Perrson could sense that I had fully dilated. I could feel the baby really low in between and so we decided to try pushing. With the epidural, I couldn't really push correctly. We had it removed so that I could feel if I am using the correct muscle. But seriously, with the epidural gone, i was worried once it totally wear off, I will be in a lot of pain. So, I was determine to try very very VERY hard. :p (motivation found)

There was only Andrew and the midwife with me because my OB hasn't arrived yet. But Jill was our OB's most trusted midwife hence we were going to try and see if we could get the baby out before she arrives. My OB got lucky, once she arrived, we only need 2 more pushes and the baby was out. I remember Andrew shouting, "The head is out!" when I was just about to give up and wait for the next contraction.

So I give it all with all the strength i had left and delivered at 1411hr. The rest of the delivery was pretty hazy to me because I was so tired I kept falling asleep even when they put the baby on my chest. No wonder they called a delivery a "LABOR", it's really exhausting. We discharge from the hospital at 5pm and moved to Birthcare, a facility that provides care for mothers and babies just after deliveries.

I've upload pics and 2 videos that Andrew took. Check it out in my next blog.

with love from NZ,
Singapore Producer - Andrew
Singapore Manufacturer - Joan
New Zealand Made Product - Karen