Post natal massage

The time is approaching and I'm in the panic mode to look for a massage lady to "slim" the tummy as much as possible.

There are some recommendations from forums and I also did some online search for post-natal massage. Here's a summary of my research:

Name	Pricing (7 days)	Remarks
Babies & Bellies	430	Excludes transportation fees ($5-$20), complimentary body scrub
9 Months	430	Excludes transportation & binding fees ($20-40)
Sri Therapy	450
Home Massage	550	Complimentary baby massage
Jm Singapore	588	Complimentary baby massage class
Jamu Massage	628	Complimentary cloth binder and baby massage oil
Origins Jamu Masage	648	Complimentary cloth binder and baby massage oil
JamuGuru	750
Beauty, Mums & Babies	751.07	Complimentary ginger scrub
Thomson Baby	802.5
Yati, 91126241	350	Excludes transportation fees ($5-$20). Recommended by friend
Kartini, 90091493	550	Recommended by friend

Wanted to try Yati but its their fasting month in July hence I 'm going to try babies & bellies. I'll do a review thereafter!

Update on Babies & Bellies
Took their 10 days package at $680, including transport. Need to pay a deposit for the wrap which will be refunded to you when u return the wrap. The masseur, Maria sent by them was good and my friend also took her thereafter.The tummy did became smaller after massage but its the maintenance thereafter...you need to continue with a binder etc to keep the tummy tight.

Shopping for maternity (plus sized included) and baby stuff

Shopping for maternity clothes can be a pain and you might prefer to save the money for the baby then to spend on expensive maternity wear.

I did a fair bit of research and bought most of my stuff from the china website, Tabao via 65daigou. Maternity wear, baby bags,. nursing bras etc can be found here. Can browse for baby stuff here.

Pros
Quality -Worth buying from Taobao as even those maternity wear and bras from fairs are also made in China. Quality is good and much cheaper.
Variety - WIDE variety to choose from. Maternity clothes,nursing bras confinement stuff, etc. IF you are a plus-sized like me, you just have to add 大码/ to whatever you  wish to buy. E.g 大码孕妇内裤, 大码孕妇装
Price - Cheaper than SG, even with the agent fee for 65daigou and shipping.
Agent - 65daigou makes ordering easier as they will check the items and repackaged them for consolidated shipping. To order, just paste the url that you want to buy from to 65daigou and indicate the quantity, size, model and color etc. Here's a map to help you locate which warehouse you should send your orders to since they have 2 warehouses in China.

Cons
Language - you need to read Chinese. A Google translator is definitely your best friend!
Currency - Need to convert the prices to SGD to get a sense of your savings.
Preparation - Cannot do last minute orders. You need to wait for the items to be delivered to SG, suggest that you order at least 1 mth before delivery.

Here are some items that i bought...there's alot more not shown, hahaha:

Maternity Tour

Finally went for maternity tours at hospitals that my gynae goes to.

1st tour - Mt Alvernia, located at Upper Thomson is a seasoned player in the maternity field and a hospital founded on Catholic values. Their packages for 2014 can be found here. They have 2 wings and personally much preferred the new wing, targeting at the single bed room.

Maternity tours are being conducted on weekdays from 2.30-3.30pm and Sat at 10-11am /12-1pm. Do register here to attend the tour. They do provide shuttle services to and fro from Novena/ Bishan, check out the timings at their website. A goodies bag will be given to each couple. Overall feel: Experienced staff and relatively new rooms at the new wing, location is not as centralised. 7/10

2nd tour - Mt Elizabeth Novena, conveniently located near Novena Sq hence no shortage of amenities compared to Mt Alvernia. Same, short briefing on admission process, tour to the rooms and a goodies bag given. Pls call them to book an appt for maternity tour. Currently with only single bedded rooms so you are guaranteed of the room once you pre-register with them. The rooms are of hotel standard I would say at first impression. Overall feel : Newly established hence rooms are spacious, new and with contemporary design. Location is good. 9/10

Prices packages
Mt E is on the higher side but includes the charges for 1 companion in the single room. A overview of prices btw the 2 hospitals:

Type	Mount Elizabeth Novena	Mt Alvernia*
Normal/Assisted Vaginal Delivery	$3,058.00	$3,108.35
Normal/Assisted Vaginal Delivery wif Epidural	$3,673.00	$3,369.43
C-sec - Elective	$5,348.00	$4,471.53

* based on Single deluxe room

At the end, its abt the ease and comfort of each couple and not burst their budget. My personal decision is to select Mt Elizabeth Novena since I really only want single room and we are without a car hence the location would be much more accessible. I'll do a review of the stay, whether its worth my moolah after I deliver in July!