Ku Ku Duckbill September 8, 2012

I love the excitement of discovering a kids and baby store that has either unique products or cheap prices whether online or at the mall. My newest discovery is at Market! Market!, Taguig and its cutely named Ku Ku Duckbill. It has its own product line but carries other brands as well, like Next 9 diapers.

Good finds are:
-organic towels
-Pocoyo clothes and slippers
-Next 9 diaper inserts (P300 for 3)

Cutlery

Towels

Pocoyo clothes

sippy cups, training underpants, mittens and booties

Other noticeable goods:
-foam bib
-sippy cups
-breast pump
-wide range of cutlery set for baby (ranging from P80-P180)
-toothbrushes
-toilettries and detergents for babies

For now, they only have one branch which is at Market! Market! They will soon open in Festivall Mall, Alabang. Ku Ku Duckbill is a Taiwanese brand of baby and children’s products.

A Mother’s Way to Help August 17, 2012

The recent flooding in Metro Manila is no joke and we have to change. It was said that this is no aberration and expect this to happen every year. It was also said that the situation was aggravated by the garbage problem in the cities – footage of plastic bags of garbage blocking the pathways of water or photos of plastic bags hanging on fences and trees are all over the internet. *yuck* It made me realize even more how important it is to reduce our consumption of plastics and I’m happy that a lot of young people realize this too. This is the time to take things seriously.

As a mother of 2 children still in their diapers, our consumption of disposable diapers is at 50% per child – only using diapers at night – which means 1 pack of 42 (more or less) per month per child. Yet, with all this flooding, I want to lessen our usage of disposables to 20 pieces of disposables in a month per child. Not only will this lessen our expense in the long run, I believe it will do our country good.

So how much will it cost me initially? Cloth diaper prices range from about Php 270 – 550. This normally includes the insert which you put inside the diaper to absorb the wetness.  You would need about 8 pieces if you intend to use it for daytime only – 4 a day and another 4 for alternate. For night time use, you would probably need6-8 more. Cloth diapers available here in the Philippines are of the pocket diaper type. See below:

Here is an updated list of online suppliers that I know sell these:

• The  Spoiled Girl: sells BabyLeaf Cloth diaper for Php 350 each, inserts for Php 150 each and wet bags

My favorite print from Baby Leaf – Pink Flamingo

• Choochoobaby: has 2 brands of cloth diaper. The Babyland solid colors diaper for Php350 and the Luvable Friends printed diaper for Php399. They have a wholesale promo for the Babyland diaper: buy 3 for php 1000;5pcs, get 1 free; buy 10pcs, get 3.

Another favorite print – Owls

• Baby Chic Boutique sells the following brands: Kawaii (Heavy Duty, Bamboo Minky, Happy Leak-free diaper cover, Goodnight Heavey Wetter,  Snazzy Minky), Sunbaby (size 1 and size 2), Baby Wizard (3D Leaking Guard Snap, Supreme velcro, Double row snaps, Three dots snap, Beauty Hook and Loop, Duo Wrap, Groovy Aplix, Bamboo inserts). Baby Wizard diapers cost Php 350 a piece and Php 1000 for 3 pcs. The Kawaii Goodnight Heavy Wetter is Php 450

This is the Double Row snap.
I absolutely love owl prints!

• Wholesale Washable diaper  sells Alvababy cloth diapers solids for Php 290, printed for Php 310, the double gusset for Php 380,Papoose and Babyland cloth diapers for Php 290. They also have bibs and wet bags

Alva baby cloth diaper in blue animal print. Thank goodness they have cuter prints from 2 years ago.

Online shopping anyone? June 22, 2012

I absolutely love online shopping! Why? Because it’s convenient, reasonable and I love the feeling of receiving a package in the mail 🙂

But is there a right way to shop online?

Here are some tips:

1. Choose a trustworthy supplier. I’ve been shopping online for 2 years now and my first concern naturally was “what if I don’t receive my package?”. Before you start ordering, you have to establish the site’s trustworthiness. For me, I look at the score.  At ebay, its the number beside the seller name. I believe it signifies how many transactions or items the seller has sold. So if the number is 700, it means the seller has sold 700 items. And under the seller’s name there is a feedback score – 100% positive feedback means that all those who left feedback of the transaction gave a positive comment.
2. Number of items being sold and presentation. Another source of online goods is Multiply.com. but multiply does not have a score. So how do you gauge if this is a legit site? I look at the number of items being sold, the comments and the look of the site. If there are a lot of items being sold, it might be a good indication of the site’s business. If a site only sells 10 items of varied interest then I don’t go ahead. Also, most online sellers invest on site appearance so if they have a personalized banner and it looks like there was a lot of work put into the site, I’d give it a try.
3. On hand or preorder. Be careful and ask if the items are on hand or on a pre-order basis if it’s not already inidicated. On hand means it is available and ready to ship. Pre-order means it is not with the seller and they will still have to buy it from the supplier and then shipped to you. Normally, they would require a downpayemnt for the item. I haven’t tried pre-order and it doesn’t mean its a scam. It’s just that most of the items I buy are needed soon so I don’t have time to wait. Waiting is usually anywhere from 2-5 weeks.
4. Contact the seller for availability. Though the items would be categorized on hand, not all suppliers are diligent enough to update their site every time there is a sale. Almost all sellers have their mobiles indicated somewhere, text them for availability.
5. Location and delivery. It would be good to know, but not necessary, where the seller and the item is actually coming from. You will have a gauge of how long and how much the delivery will be. Some delivery companies are Xend, JRS express, Air21. Within Metro Manila, you can get the package the day after they are shipped. So from the time you pay, it might take 2-3 days depending on the seller. I once had to wait for 3 weeks and I got really mad and told the seller. She gave me an extra toy for consolation but I never ordered from her again. Some delivery companies offer insurance for an extra charge in case the package gets lost. Thankfully, this has never happened to me.
6. Payment. Most sellers take payment via bank deposit. This is where the trust issue comes in. Once you’ve given the payment, you just have to trust that the seller will send the package. I have not been scammed in my 2 years of online shopping. You do have to note extra charges. BDO charges Php 50 regional fee if you are depositing to an account residing in another region (e.g. paying in Metro Manila and the account is in the province). Other sellers accept Gcash or Paypal. If with Paypal, sellers require you to shoulder an additional 3% fee, if I’m not mistaken, of the total amount.

So those are my learnings from my online shopping escapades.

Here are my favorite online sellers:

quack_oink  (ebay and multiply) sells cheap Avent products – the cheapest according to my research. They are from Iloilo but is very efficient and easy to transact with. Delivery charge is higher than usual because it’s coming from Iloilo. I usually get my package the next day if I pay in the morning.

• Avent nipples P250
• Avent 40z bottle to cup trainer kit (with rabbit design) P400
• Avent 90z cloudy 2pk P700

Choochoobaby (facebook, multiply and  ebay) sells everything – clothes, toys, furniture – for baby and kids. Kathleen Tanyen is from Davao and she owns several stores and markets her products online as well. She has new items almost every month. Also sells Babyland diapers wholesale – best deal as far as I know.

The Kiddie Closet (multiply and facebook) sells kids and baby clothes and accessories. Easy to transact with.

The Spoiled Girl (facebook and multiply)  sells kids and baby clothes and accessories. Has both onhand and pre-order items.

Mamaway    (multiply and facebook) is the official distributor of Mamaway nursing wear. Sells Lansinoh Breastmilk bag (25pcs) for Php 350 and Honeysuckle Milk bags (50pcs) for Php 650. Has a shop  at Greenhills Town Center, 2 Granada Street, New Manila QC

Mama Baby Love   (multiply) sells  different brands of nursing wear (bra and clothes), has the widest selection of breastmilk bags and accessories, baby carriers and a lot more items for moms and babies.

Hope you have as much fun shopping as I do!

Reusing Diapers April 18, 2012

Yes, I am an avid recycler just like my mom. We recycle everything and we’re the type that brings reusable bags to the grocery even if we live in QC where it’s not (yet) prohibited to use plastic bags – I’m wishing it were. We also segregate our garbage and do composting since 10 years ago. So what next? My baby’s diapers!

Even when I had my 1st child 5 years ago, I’ve heard of a mother my age actually using cloth diapers on her girls. I tried it the way I knew  how – using the age old “lampin” (muslin cloth and the “curity” birdseye cloth). However, it did not work out for us – my baby was always wet all over – lampin, shirt and socks every 15 minutes! I wondered, “how did she ever do it??” I never asked and to this day, I don’t know what her secret is and I don’t really mind not knowing because I have discovered the wonderful (& colorful) world of CLOTH DIAPERING!

Cloth diapers – locally bought

I use cloth diapers just like any disposable. Once it’s full of urine or poop, I put it in a pail for washing.  Others, I’ve heard, would change the insert and use the cover again (if urine only)- that also works if you don’t have a lot of “inventory”. I have 9 cloth diapers with inserts and additional 6 inserts I bought separately. This is enough for 1 baby even during the rainy season as I use up only 2-3 diapers a day (I still use disposables at night because they tend to leak…boo!) depending on how many times he poops. These were all locally bought and of the same make.  See below.

one size fits most with snaps

This type of diaper is known as a “One size pocket diaper”

Advantages of this type of cloth diapers:

• I don’t really believe in “one size fits all” hence, it’s a “one size fits most” for me. Having those 3 rows of snaps in front makes the rise adjustbale. It can replace a disposable diaper of the size Small to Extra Large  and thus is more practical than buying cloth diapers by size (not available in the Philippines as of this post)
• Dries fast. Since the pocket diaper is composed of an outer leak-proof cover and an inner lining of microfleece (only 2 layers), this dries fast. About 4 hours in really sunny weather and 10-12 hours in rainy weather. The insert which is made of 3 layers of microfiber takes longer to dry and that is why I have extra inserts.
• Can opt to change inserts instead of the whole diaper. As I said above, some mothers opt to change just the insert if its full of urine and reuse the pocket diaper. This is okay because the inner lining (made of microfleece) stays dry most of the time.
• Snaps are harder for babies to play around with. At some point, your baby will begin exploring the diaper and try to open it. Snaps just keep in place and very difficult for baby to pry open.

Cloth diaper insert

Disadvantages of this type of cloth diapers (Most of the advantages above can work against you in certain situations):

• The  “one size fits most” is just too ambitious. It cannot fit a “new born” baby very well and thus, will leak whatever happens. Most “One size pocket diaper” manufacturers in the U.S. have come up with their “mini” versions (e.g. Happy Heiny’s) if not another line of cloth diapers that is by size. On the other hand, bigger babies or toddlers outgrow this eventually. My SKY is 1.5 years old to date and he is not big at all. He’s using this diaper at its largest and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to last him more than a few month more.
• As snaps are harder for baby to open, it is also hard for caregivers to put on! When you have a baby eager to walk or a toddler who is fussing to get on his feet then, this does take a little time
• “Leak-proof” – not really. I have had leaks with this diaper – both for urine and poop – even if its not that full. For us, it usually comes out at the inguinal area (“singit”) where the inner liner and the outer cover meets. For the 2 months that we’ve been using this, we’ve had about 3-5 leaks only… still not bad

These disadvantages, however, are not enough reason for me to give up cloth diapering. In fact, I’ve done research and to overcome these, I have ordered an imported brand that’s unique in design and proven “leak- free”  – Thirsties diapers. That would be on another post.

Other types of cloth diapers:

• All in ones (AIOs)
• Fitteds
• Hybrids

Some brands that can be purchased locally and where…

• The most common type of cloth diaper: One size pocket diaper with snaps. I say common because there are several brands that carry the same make, material and position of tag – even the print is the same. Can be purchased from these brands at the following sites:
• Choochoobaby   I bought 6 pairs from her because she has discounts for bulk order. Buy 1 for 350 pesos,  buy 3 for 1000 pesos, buy 5 and get 1 free and so on and so forth. She also sells extra inserts for 120/pc (as of this post). Her shipping is 120 pesos because it comes from Davao and when paying at BDO, the buyer needs to shoulder the “access fee” or whatever you call it for 50 pesos.
• Babyland (http://thegoodstuff.multiply.com/photos/album/219/BABYLAND_CLOTH_DIAPER)
• Babyleaf
• Next 9 are available at the following resellers:
• MamaBabyLove www.mamababylove.com
  Mothering Earthlings www.motheringearthlings.com
  Pinoy Baby Store www.pinoybaby.com
  Indigo Baby www.indigomanila.multiply.com
  Mom and Baby Essentials mommynbabyessentials.multiply.com
  Brussel Sprouts brusselsprouts.multiply.com
• Alva diapers is another kind of One size pocket diaper with snaps . From what I know Alva is made in China (not that the others are not -I just haven’t confirmed their manufacturer). I haven’t used or seen one  on hand but from their website, they have the biggest assortment of prints. These can be purchased from http://www.pinkyshop-online-store.com/
• Haute diapers is a little different from the rest – it’s a one pocket diaper with velcro. This is being sold for P400/pc. (http://otysajorda.multiply.com/photos/album/2/Haute_Pockets_Cloth_Diaper_1-size_fits_all_Nappy?x_source=mplist&x_term=alva%20diapers#)
• Bamboo Dappy(http://bamboodappy.multiply.com/) is a one size diaper also  but it is made with bamboo. You can choose between snaps and velcro.  It’s also  being sold at the Medela house for P450/pc (with insert) if I remember correctly. (#29 1st street, New Manila; call for appointment)
• Grovia is an imported brand and can be bought from  Sunshine Babies boutique . They have one-size, all-in-two’s, hybrid diapers, diaper covers and other accessories. Since this is imported, one set would cost about 1500 pesos.
• Landmark Dept Store @ Trinoma. I’ve seen an assortment of pocket diapers being sold for P599 each – way expensive – but their insert is the cheapest I’ve seen, P99.75