SO MUCH HAS CHANGED IN FIVE YEARS, AND THE NEST GAVE ME AN UPDATE ON BABY GEAR!
Five years ago, I was a new and clueless mom who had a thousand questions and zero sleep.
What I remember to have helped me a lot through the drag of long nights and bleary-eyed mornings weren’t even books or Google, but a handful of real people. First, there was a small group of moms whom I personally knew to be also awake around the same hours to serve their own infants. Our WhatsApp group chat was so indeed helpful for my real-time questions.
Then, there were a few of those baby gear suppliers who approached me and asked if I would be open to try their products and that was when I met Tiffany, who made me try Baby K’Tan and opened my eyes to the wonderful idea of baby-wearing.
It is now five years after we first met and this world is largely different from the one I encountered when I first became a mom. Everything is faster, nicer, updated, in the whole baby gear world.
Baby K’Tan began with carriers and eventually branched out to other things. In photo is their chic baby bag, which has wet, insulated and padded compartment that a mom might need! This one bag fits all is good for storing expressed milk, taking in wet nappies, and even housing your gadgets and more.
Tiffany, too, is no longer just a distributor of the Baby K’Tan but even founded a parenting attachment hub called, “The Nest.” And together with Jane Kingsu-Cheng, who is the editor in chief of Manila Bulletin’s Moms and Babies section, Tiffany gathered many of the hub’s suppliers to give my Baby Manu an intimate shower at their San Juan branch.
Tiffany Tuazon on my left and Jane Kingsu-Cheng on my right! Thanks, ladies!!!
Tiffany introducing the Lavie Lactation Massager to me! Available at The Nest!
Jane’s gift to me was this shirt….medyo late na, haha! So maybe this means, for the next baby???
To this day, I am still in awe that in simply half a decade, the baby gear world is able to address many mommy concerns we had a few years ago. Like breast shells were the norm back then but now, we even have the Haakaa breast pump. And aside from hot or cold packs along with manual breast massage, we now have the Lavie Lactation Massager, which is battery operated and is designed to help loosen the clogged milk ducts.
The new Looping stroller marries some of the travel system’s idea with a compact and light design. You can now carry your stroller on board like your carry-on baggage (of course, airlines still have to be asked for permission, but the size really is the size of your hand carried bag!), and by simply pulling the handle up, you get to turn your stroller into a trolley!
You can find Looping on IG through this handle: @looping.philippines
Oribel’s gift also saves me from buying a recliner and a high chair because they’ve designed a seat the can be used from zero to the latter years of a child’s life, serving both day cot and eating purposes. It basically is a high chair, with a padded and recliner version for the first few weeks of a baby’s life. It easily transformable by adding a table and adjusting the angle of the seat, when baby is ready to try eating solids.
Oribel can be found on Instagram through this handle: @oribelph
Combi’s car seat must also be a new favorite amongst dads because they are always the ones with the cumbersome job of installing the equipment. So, Combi’s latest technology allows for a simple pressing of the button to turn the seat from rear to front facing. Mindblowing, yes, but there really is no longer to take the entire seat out just to change its orientation. Hooray for the moms and dads, yes???
You can check out Combi on IG by looking for this handle: @combiph
Then, of course, we’ve got all the usual! Sleeping, feeding, cleaning needs for the baby, as well as supplements and self-care products for the mom!
@babymobyph @vpharmaph @naturaliph @vpharmaph @herbilogyph @profreeze.ph @megamalunggay @honeysuckle.ph @babydelightph @snugahug @zyji_shop @babyleafdiapers @ktanph @bellybandit_ph @lavie.ph @marcusnmarcusph @comotomo.ph @beaba.ph @kmom.motherkph
You guys can check them out on Instagram, those are their actual handles if you want to check out everything else that they offer. Also, these products are available at The Nest, in case you want to just want to make only one trip out of the whole baby needs shopping!
It was really nice to meet the faces behind these brands, too, as they were also young moms and we shared a lot of our experiences, praises and qualms, about the latest baby products in the market. And while most were completely fresh encounters, there were a few familiar faces from as far back as five years ago! It was so nice to see Merryl, who gave me the i-Angel hipseat back then, and reached out to me again to shower the second born with the Eco Mom sterilizer, new i-Angel carriers, and the Sobble Bath Tub. Then, Snug-a-hug, also sent me the new C-shaped pillow good for expecting moms, too!
I was also very happy to have only a few of my family and friends with at the shower, and I want to thank @girlstuffforever (nail polish that sa safe for expecting moms) and @ellanaminerals (local makeup that is made out of the gentlest and natural ingredients) for giving them thank you gifts for coming to the party.
Jane was actually able to write about some facts about this pregnancy and the upcoming birth on Moms and Babies. Answers came from a game at the party, where we made the guests guess some hopes and facts that surround this upcoming birth! (Click this if you want to read it: https://momsandbabies.com.ph/2019/05/exclusive-rica-peralejo-hopes-for-home-birth/)
I must also remember to thank our food suppliers, @doughmesticph for our cake, @pokepokemanila for our yummy bowls (they made me fried tofus as a replacement for the raw ingredients, yey!!!), @mangmaxlechon and @kesongkesongputi, also.
@DentelleManila, thanks also for the styling. One highlight for me was getting to bring home the flowers and leaves and twigs you guys used for the centerpieces! Haha! You decorated the place so simply and yet so elegantly, thank you!!!
Amari Moments, thank you so much for capturing the day for all of us! All photos you see on this blog are from Amari!
This is quite a long list to look at for moms, especially when it’s your first and everything is new to you, so let me suggest that you guys check my vlog out, too, for the THREE PRINCIPLES I go by before buying anything for the new baby season. Because I know it could be overwhelming, especially when every product has something to offer that other brands just won’t, so I suggest canvassing and researching before purchasing, and to have a very relaxed outlook in the first few months because you still have the time to decide as the baby is developing!
Won’t keep you all from what you need to do for this day. You might be extremely nesting like me, so go ahead and do your thing! Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and happy day to y’all!