Welcoming your baby can be a daunting task. There are many things to be done, including shopping for the perfect stroller, planning baby showers and booking your post-natal massages to get back into shape.
To help make your life easier, a baby planner service can help you to do all this and more, shares Ms Andi Rabiah, baby planner at Thomson ParentCraft Centre.
We had a Q and A session with Ms Rabiah to learn more about how the Thomson Baby Planner Service lightens parents’ load, especially when it comes to preparing for baby. Read on!
Q: Can you share more about the Thomson Baby Planner Service?
A: We help to arrange for things a mother will need when expecting a new addition to the family. This ranges from purchasing car seats and other baby-related products to arranging for newborn photography.
Our list of services include arranging for the following:
• Baby showers
• Full-month parties
• Purchase of baby products
• Photography – pregnancy, baby and family
• Confinement nanny services
• Confinement food
• Post-natal massage
• Weaning classes
We will also recommend workshops for new parents to attend, such as Childbirth Education classes that will help ease their transition into parenthood.
Research has been done to ensure all products that we recommend are safe for baby and everyone in the family.
Q: Who usually comes to you for help?
A: There are two types of parents – first-time parents who are not familiar with what is needed for baby and working parents who don’t have the time to make arrangements to prepare for baby’s arrival.
The former need more guidance to know what they need to prepare for, and we will run through the items and services available to help them make informed choices. The latter are busy people who will rather head to just one place rather than several locations to pick up everything they need. Parents also come to us to purchase items they want, as our prices for items can be 15 to 20% cheaper.
Q: How much do your services cost?
A: For members of Thomson Medical’s Maternity Savings programme – First Born Incentive and Subsequent Born Incentive, the service is free and they get to enjoy a discount on all products in our retail store.
Members of the public pay $100 for the baby planner service, but this amount is redeemable when you make product purchases.
Q: How can I engage a baby planner?
A: You can simply visit us at the ParentCraft Centre and request for our services. We will then do a quick assessment to better understand what you would require.
We will also enquire about your budget and work within it to suggest suitable items and services.
Q: From your experience, what items and services are the most essential?
A: I would recommend that all parents attend Thomson’s Childbirth Education classes to be better prepared for delivery. A breast pump is also a must-have for mums who intend to breastfeed.
Q: What do you love most about your job?
A: It is interesting as I get to talk to people from different walks of life and I feel very satisfied when I am able to help them. Customers also remember me and will come by to say ‘hi’ whenever they are in the vicinity.
From a happy customer:
“Thanks, Thomson Baby Planner, for brightening my first month of being a mother for the second time with the delicious confinement food. My meals from Thomson were nicely presented and personalised based on the different needs at the various stages of confinement.”
- Joy Gai, customer of the Thomson Confinement Food services, part of Thomson Baby Planner Services
Find out More about Thomson’s wide array of Baby Planner Services at Thomson Medical Presents “Journeying with Baby” this 20-22 June 2014, Suntec Convention Halls 401/402. For more information, visit www.thomsonbaby.com/home