Loot from Baby and Kids Fair

Last August 27, Thursday, after work, my husband and I rushed to the Bench Tower at BGC for the Baby and Kids Fair because I learned that some of the stuff I planned to get are available at the fair. The fair promises discounts and freebies and I am a sucker for these. We were at the Bench Tower two months ago for the Mothercare Sale but at the time, the gender of our baby was still unknown to us. My mom also advised me not to buy yet until my belly is 7 months already. The organizers of the Mothercare Sale contacted me to inform me of this Baby and Kids Fair and it was also timely because I can start buying already and we are now sure of the gender of our baby. You can imagine my excitement!

We had to shop really quickly though because we only had I think 30 minutes left to shop before it closed. We left the office a bit later than expected and the heavy traffic did not help. It was a good thing that I already had a list of things I wanted to get.

• Halo 2-in-1 SleepSack Swaddle for Newborns This is part of my Baby Shopping List because I did not want to use blankets on the baby to avoid SIDS. I also did not want to swaddle the baby myself because if the baby untangles the swaddle it becomes a risk for SIDS as well. If I do it too tightly too, it's a hip dysplasia hazard as well. Since a swaddle blanket is just 300 Php cheaper, might as well get this. I was only planning to buy one because it is a bit pricey but my husband convinced me to buy two for cases when my baby leaks and soils the swaddle. The woman manning the booth though, talked us into buying a "starter set" that inlcudes one Halo 2-in-1 SleepSack Swaddle for Newborns and a Halo SleepSack for a baby that can already lie on his tummy. The SleepSack Swaddle becomes dangerous when baby can already turn over on his own because baby might end up suffocating. If we buy the "starter set" we save 650 Php. We ended up buying two "starter sets". We got two different sizes for the Halo SleepSack. I am grateful because I have a husband who recognizes safety for our baby. :)  

• Cloth Diapers

• Bamboo Dappy As I have said in my blog about cloth diapers, I wanted to get Bamboo diapers for our baby because this is supposed to be more absorbent. However, bamboo diapers are harder to maintain because you need to wash them with hot water. Since we do not have a multi-point water heater, we will have to boil water and my husband does not want us or our help to routinely boil water because many accidents may result from this. After weighing the pros and cons, we decided against getting the bamboo diapers. Note that we did all these discussions within the 30 minute shopping window!  

• Next9  This brand is reasonably priced and has received good reviews. This uses cotton microfiber inserts and is lined with microfleece, a material that wicks away wetness even when insert is already wet. We got six pieces for 2000 Php. This can be bought online but since we were there anyway, we decided to get them from there. My only regret is not buying extra inserts then and there. Now I am thinking of ordering online but I can wait. They say two inserts are needed for nighttime use. 

• Wink Hip and Belly Shaper and Wink Ultra Bikini I read rave reviews about these binders so I got them. They are harder to get online because I was not confident in measuring myself. The people at the shop could have me measured then and there and I also will not have to pay for the shipping fee. This is quite a splurge though but since I saved on other stuff during my pregnancy, I decided I could get this. They say this will help me recover faster from my CS. Husband also approved of this purchase though I am not sure if this being a splurge sunk in.

• Sterilizer Chicco was a candidate but the brand was not at the fair. Months ago, Chicco was on sale at half the price but I was not allowed to buy a sterilizer then yet. We wanted to buy a sterilizer already so we did not consider Chicco anymore. Other candidates were much cheaper brands like Precious Moments and Looney Tunes. My husband did not think they were sturdy or safe enough so though they were much cheaper he decided not to get them.
• Pigeon The sterilizer is priced at 8500 Php but because we were at the fair, they were retailing it for 7500 Php. This is a 3-in-1 sterilizer as it acts as a food warmer, bottle sterilizer and bottle warmer. Since we are breastfeeding, we do not need to warm the breastmilk because warming it can destroy the micronutrients. Also, this is too expensive for a sterilizer in our opinion.

• Philips Avent At the malls this fetches for more than 5000 Php but we got this for a little more than 3000 Php thanks to the discounts. They call this a 3-in-1 sterilizer but this really just does one thing. It just allows you to change its size in three ways. We got this because my husband trusts the Philips brand. 
 
• Natural Bottles Since I have to go back to work after 60 calendar days, I need to train my baby to drink milk from the bottle.  I still want to let the baby directly latch to me even after I get back to work, I hope to avoid nipple confusion. While most breastfeeding advocates would recommend cup feeding, this is really too much of a hassle for the caretaker. Since cup feeding is not going to be an option, the next option is a natural bottle. They say this tries to simulate breastfeeding as much as possible.

• Pigeon Perstaltic Plus is a natural bottle that mimics the mother's nipple or so they say. We did not get this because we were not sure if this will work with our Spectra S2 pump. Pigeon was giving away Perstaltic Plus bottles though so we will still get to try this. I tried this morning if this bottle will work with the pump and I learned that it does not screw into the flange well. This can still be used for feedings though so thank you Pigeon for the extra bottle.

• Philips Avent Natural Bottle is the wide neck bottle that works with our pump. We bought six of these because we already bought 10 Spectra wide neck bottles. I decided to buy bottles instead of disposable storage bags because the bags can be very expensive as well. Transfers from the bag into the bottles can also introduce spillage and I do not want wastage. I tried the bottle with the flange and it fits. 

• Messy Baby Dishwashing Liquid We are going to use this for cleaning the bottles and the pump parts. I am not sure if we will be sustaining this or if we will eventually resort to ordinary dishwashing liquid. This is still up for another review. Another candidate for this is Human Heart Nature Tough Love Natural Dishwashing Liquid but they were not at the fair. I also did not find a powder laundry detergent so we have not washed the baby's diapers yet. I am beginning to ponder on just using ordinary detergent since some are using Tide on theirs.

• Messy Baby Shampoo The shampoo was available but it did not have an expiry date. The thing about organic things is that they have less preservatives so they expire earlier. I am particular about this. Though they assured me that the product was just manufactured, I did not feel safe buying an item that is not properly labelled. We do not have a shampoo yet. 

• Car Seat While we have decided on Britax First Class that can be used from 0 to 4 years old, we wanted to look at other options primarily because Britax First Class will not be available until September or October.
• Aprica Only had a booster car seat at the fair so it's still the Britax First Class for us for now. 

Because we bought so much, we also got three Bench loot bags! Each loot bag came with a Bench Baby Bear puppet. Hana antibacterial handwash 220 ml and Hana shampoo 208 ml, Cradle baby bottle and nipple cleanser 35 ml, Kodomo toothpaste 45g, Kodomo extra soft bristle toothbrush for kids, BC magazine, Oishi Choco Chug, Oishi Great Lakes juice, Oishi Bread pan and Oishi Pillows. All these came in a Bench environment bag.

Not bad for a 30-minute shopping window. :)