Category Archives: Personal Picks

Personal pick – Lamaze Books

As soon as Joshua hit 3 months, his curiosity grew. Perhaps his eye sight can clearly see colors that he could better appreciate what he could see.

At 3 months, Joshua is able to hold his head, stand on his legs when supported, he reacts positively to my voice and to those in the family, he can grasp things and coo. I loved witnessing each of his milestone. Thanks to technology today it’s just easier to capture it and share.

We were in Davao back then, when I had to attend a meeting. Since I’m a breastfeeding mom, I can’t be apart from Joshua. Where I go, he goes.

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SM Lanang was just a perfect place to stroll young babes. So I took him for a shopping trip. I had to buy new set of clothes for Joshua as he was quickly outgrowing his clothes. Then, I decided to get him a gift for being such a good boy. He did not throw a tantrum or complained while I went shopping. So we stopped at the toy section. I would show him rattles and toys. If he did not show interest, he would just bite his fingers and look at the toy with a blank stare. But if he liked something, he would stretch his arms, kick his legs, and smile. I thought, this is great because my baby gets to pick what he wants and enjoy it (and mommy’s money does not go to waste).

Then, I saw baby books for babies as early as 0+ months. I did not realize book reading is encouraged even before a baby turns a month old! So I showed Joshua the books. He liked them. Since there was quite a selection, I chose the 2 books he got most excited with.

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Both books are products of LAMAZE. The “Panda’s Pals” book is a soft book made of fabric and colors of subjects predominantly in black and white. The other book Joshua chose is the hard bound one, “Farm Sounds”. We started a new routine where we include reading of these 2 books everyday. He loves it and its a good bonding time for us as he listens to me talking and him looking at the subjects in the book.

I have researched about reading to children while they are young. It builds up their interest in reading as they grow older. They will associate reading as fun! I highly recommend Lamaze books for our babes!

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Personal Picks – Mamy Poko

One of the things you stock up with before the baby comes are diapers. The moment you room in with your baby, diapers become your accountability. I had to ask what to buy from family and friends.

It was my cousin Paolo and his wife Michelle who gave me advise. Paolo, who is pretty hands on with his son, guarantees a diaper that can absorb his baby’s wetness all throughout the night… “Try Mamy Poko”. When I first heard it, I was not sure. I never heard of Mamy Poko before. I know Huggies, Drypers, Pampers, EQ… (Ok that’s all the brands I know)… But “mommy what was that again?”

So off I go to purchase a Mamy Poko newborn diaper pack. It’s more costly than most diapers (up to 2 times more in price). It is a Japanese brand made in Indonesia.

As I tried it, Paolo was true to his word. The Mamy Poko is super absorbent. It can absorb wetness maybe approximately up to three pees or 30 ml of urine. It keeps the baby’s bottom dry keeping it from diaper rash too. I also like its reattachable tape so you can check wetness and reuse when necessary.

You may think its quite expensive (about P12.85/pc) but in my experience I change diapers more often with the other brands. Effectively, it will come out the same rate but with less changes using the Mamy Poko. There are also other options to make diapers “price-friendly” to our pockets. You can buy other brands and use it for day time and use the Mamy Poko at night. I can now attest that when Josh uses his Mamy Poko at 830pm, the next diaper change will be at 3 am. That is 7 hours leak protection and absorption making it easier for me to sleep longer too.

Oh, another thing! Don’t over stock on diapers… Babies grow faster than we think. They soon outgrow the size. Josh outgrew the newborn diapers before he hit 2 months! If your baby gains weight at a healthy pace, then purchase diapers as you need. You would not want to have a stock of diapers that you cannot use!

I’m really happy with Mamy Poko. With the other brands, I get so frustrated because they leak and does not have the super absorption of Mamy Poko. With other brands diaper change means a total wardrobe change! It can be time consuming, more detergent for soiled clothes, and more diapers! So for me I pick Mamy Poko– less diaper change, less leaks, and less stress!

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Personal Picks – Human Nature

There are many baby products out there in the market. For infants, they have sensitive skin so it’s important to find the most gentle and mild products for baby’s skin care and health.

I have heard of Human (heart) Nature products through my friend Lisa. She is so happy with their products and their advocacy of social entrepreneurship. The main source of its formulations come from Gawad Kalinga community farms. The farm help the Gawad Kalinga residents with their livelihood. It is a line of proudly Filipino made products and they are packaged really well!

During one of my baby showers, Kat, my friend gave me the baby wash of Human Nature. It had a very mild scent and is made with camomile, rosemary and lavender extracts. The best part is, it is chemical-free! Making it really safe for babies.

I have used it from the first bath of my babe and it has been gentle, tear free, and not very bubbly. I tried other expensive brands and I really see the difference on the bubbles and the dry feeling from the chemicals. Human Nature has really great baby care products including the baby lotion and oil.

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Also for mommies who can’t leave home a lot, Human Nature products are really easy to order and shop online! You visit their website http://www.humanheartnature.com. Register, shop, and once paid you receive your order in 2-3 days.

Recent products I ordered are the Tough Love liquid detergent made of gentle all natural, fully biodegradable ingredients. Again, it has no harsh chemicals which is great for laundry of baby’s clothes. It has a wonderful citrus scent too!

I also ordered their facial moisturizing day fluid. It’s a day cream filled with 100% natural ingredients and vitamins. It’s nice and light and good to use before applying make up!

You will be surprised at the other stuff they have and promos they offer. I highly recommend you check it out! Support our own Filipino products, it’s worth your peso!

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Personal Picks – Nipple picking

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It is another of my Personal Picks Day! Today I’m going to share with you my choice of nipple for bottle feeding.

different brands of nipples and bottles

different brands of nipples and bottles

I take the night shift with my baby. He wakes up about 3 times from 10pm-6am and I breastfeed him, change his nappy, and sometimes even play with him if he is super awake. From 6-9am I try to catch on sleep. I leave my baby with the yaya, and she feeds him breast milk via sippy cup.

As my son grew, the sippy cup became too small for his mouth. It made it harder to control the flow of the milk into his mouth. So, my milk often spilled and Josh is underfed or chokes with the way we administer the sippy cup. It was time to move him to the bottle. But I was concerned of nipple confusion so I needed to test which nipple would be the best.

I tested Breastflow, Medela CALMA, Medela slow flow and Dr. Brown natural flow. I did not realize I could be this OC (obsessive compulsive) over nipples!

Breastflow has a nice large nipple with a center control that only allows milk to flow upon squeezing or sucking. The flow from this nipple is a strong, straight squirt once it is sucked. The Medela slow flow and the Dr. Brown natural flow both drips naturally even if it isn’t squeezed. The Dr. Brown has a a straw-like middle attached to the nipple that works to control the air inside the bottle to prevent babies from gas and even colic. Lastly, Medela Calma is a specialized nipple designed with a long tip to imitate a stretched nipple when sucked. It took about 4 strong squeezes before a soft drip is released.

Other mommies including my twin sister uses the Medela Calma nipple. The Lactation Counsultant told us that it is important for baby to exclusively breastfeed from the breast for the first 6 weeks to allow both baby and mom to get used to the latch. If there is a need to drink breastmilk from the bottle, the nipple should still encourage the baby to suck so that they would not get lazy and would prefer mother’s breast and direct feeding rather than bottle feeding. The basics on breastfeeding is more latching and sucking on the breasts means more milk. Less sucking on breasts means less milk. Bottle feeding in my opinion is only a temporary substitute to the breast which means the primary source of feeding should be mommy’s boobs. 🙂

Let me be clear, Josh is feeding once a day breast milk using sippy cup and we are now moving to use a bottle once a day… I introduced the Calma nipple to Joshua on his 7th week. At first I got worried because he might get frustrated because he has to suck hard so the milk would flow. But to my surprise he was totally fine! He finished 2oz in about 10 mins… And he latches well with me on direct feed 🙂 … In later days though, the calma nipple was just too long for my young babe. He looked like choking so he would let go of the nipple and cry.

We moved to using Breastflow. Again I was worried that he would not take it because he was lazy to suck the nipple (and I was around watching him). Later, without me around, he finished his milk in about 10 minutes. I guess he was hungry and he had no choice.

The other bottles I will reserve when he is bigger. Yey! No more spilled milk and so far no nipple confusion using BREASTFLOW! I can take my 3 hour sleep without worrying because my baby is satisfied and well fed!

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Personal Pick – Avent 3-in-one

Today I will make a review on another personal pick that I am happily using. One appliance I believe you need to purchase is a sterilizer. Whether you are breastfeeding or going formula you will need to sterize baby bottles, pacifiers, and even later utensils and plates.

When I was searching I needed a sterilizer that would make life easier. It must be flexible to handle small items and larger ones too. This is why the Avent 3-in-one sterilizer became a great fit for me!

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It has 2 plastic compartments. A larger one that can hold big bottles, plates, etc… Then it has a smaller one that can fit nipples, pacifiers, and baby utensils. The reason it is called 3-in-one is the flexibility to sterilize just the big compartment or just the small compartment or both! Sterilization is just one click and 6 minutes long. It is also easy to clean because the compartments are removable and light.

Currently it retails around P6,500+ but if you wait for its sale you can buy it as low as P5,200. Try befriending Avent_unlimited on Instagram and purchase online at P5,800.00.

For me, this appliance is something worth investing on. I use it everyday, even twice a day… And will be using it maybe for the next 3-4 years. So settle for the product of quality and with warranty. 🙂

Personal Picks – Chicco Liteway

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It is another Personal Pick Friday! Today, I want to share with you another item that mommies put on their wish list for their babies – the stroller.

When I was looking for a stroller the first thing I considered was how easy this stroller can be transported wherever I would be going. My life consists of monthly travels and since I intend to breastfeed my baby, it will mean I have to bring this little babe with me. What we need now is a light weight but sturdy stroller that can be used by a newborn until probably 3 years old.

So I was at a quest of finding the best baby carrier for me and my babe. I saw many kinds of strollers. There were those paired by car seats and bassinets. Others had stimulating toys. There were strollers considering the other baggages the mom or caregiver would be bringing by giving it space.

For me the most important features of the stroller should be — light, foldable, and can recline for newborns. So I entered Baby & Company and I was introduced to the Chicco Liteway.

The Chicco Liteway stroller weighs 7 kilos and folds like an umbrella. It makes it easy to put at the trunk of a car or to check-in the plane.

Joshua super loves this Liteway stroller he sleeps in it during the day! He also loves sitting and going around in it…

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It is a great travel partner and Im so happy to have received this as a gift from Joshua’s Ninang Pria!

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Personal Picks – Medela Freestyle Breast Pump

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It’s my first Friday in this blog. I will try to make every Friday a Personal Pick Friday… Weekly, I intend to blog about products and services that can be useful for baby and mommy. Its my personal review of a product or service we have used and inform readers how they fare.

Today, I want to share with you a really good investment. For those breastfeeding, you will need to invest on a breast pump. I know there are many brands out there and comes either automated or manual styles. Before I invested, I asked my other mommy friends what they use. Many of my friends prefer the Medela brand. So, I went on to research on Medela and how to purchase it. Medela has many kinds of automated breast pumps. They have Medela Swing, Medela Pump in Style, and Medela Freestyle.20130208_071113

My twin sister, who is a certified Lactation Peer Counselor uses Medela freestyle. Since she recommended it, I followed suit in researching this model. The great thing with the freestyle is it is a double pump (you can pump both breasts at the same time). Its main machine is small and handy and can fit in the palm of one hand. It also has a belt clip where you can attach this machine on your waist. Like its name, freestyle, you can really walk around and do other chores while pumping. Its kindda cool!

The reasons why you pump is to express milk so moms don’t get engorged, and to store milk for your baby’s mealtime in case you are away during feeding time. It also helps in tricking your body to produce more milk. Because your body is designed to produce milk the more it is stimulated by either your baby’s sucking or thru pumping.

I bought my Medela freestyle on Amazon. If you have friends or relatives who can bring this pump for you from the US, then buy it on amazon because it is cheaper. Now like i said this is an investment but it is worth the investment because this product can last you years even to the next child.

I bought on Amazon and it costs US$341 or less than P15,000 for the Medela Freestyle Breast pump package. It includes the following: A bag with the Medela Freestyle pump and its accessories, rechargeable ion batteries and charger, 2 Breast shields, 2 bottles, Ice pack with bag. If you buy it locally, it can be around P19,000 to P30,000. It seems pricey but I look at it this way:

Breast milk + Medela Freestyle cost per month:
P15,000/ 6 months of breast feeding = P2,500/month
P15,000/ 12 months of breast feeding = P1,250/month
P15,000/ 24 months of breast feeding = P625/month

If you go formula – you can use one can of milk at P900 in one week. That means your average monthly spend on formula is about P3,600/month. The breast pump and mother’s milk will still come out cheaper especially if you do it longer. Plus, breast milk is more nutritious for our babes.

Medela House in Manila can also tune up your breast pump if you buy your Medela breast pump from them. I have friends who have used their Medela breast pumps until their 3rd child. Which is why it is a good thing to buy and keep. 🙂