Babes at the bay
Babies get VIP treatment at mass massage session at Marina Bay
The Marina Bay floating platform was transformed into a giant spa yesterday where hundreds of mothers turned up to perform a soothing massage for their babies.
The event was part of the inaugural Great Eastern SuperMom Carnival, organised by parenting group SuperMom, for mothers and their babies to bond and enjoy quality time together.
Madam Celest Tan, 30, who works in customer service, learnt how to massage her youngest son, five-month-old Caden Oo, at the massage-a-thon, which was also organised as an attempt to set a new record in the Singapore Book of Records for having the largest number of babies being massaged at the same time.
"I think Caden really enjoyed the massage. Even though it was a hot day, he did not make a single noise when I massaged him," she said.
However, the organisers missed breaking the record by a significant margin when only 237 babies showed up.
The current record was set by KK Women's and Children's Hospital in 2005, when they had 408 babies being massaged.
Said Madam Tan: "I had expected more people to participate. But never mind. I learnt something new and I managed to bond with my baby. That's more important for me."
Six-month-old Jaeden Riley Chua, was another baby who was pampered at the event.
His father, IT consultant John Robert Chua, 36, said: "My wife massaged him. He was so soothed by her touches that he fell asleep.
More than 1,500 parents turned up at the five-hour carnival that started at 4pm yesterday.
YOGA SESSION
Besides the mass massage, there were other events such as a yoga session and a consultation session on lactation for mothers.
Singapore permanent resident Kumar Hitesh, 34, went to the carnival with his wife and only child, a year-old boy.
The Pakistani, who works in IT and has lived here for six years, said that he was there to meet new people and learn parenting tips.
He said: "We didn't take part in the mass massage. But we learnt how to plan for our son's education and picked up important nutrition tips.
"I intend to raise my son in Singapore because I feel the environment here is more conducive to raising a child."
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