Tuesday, January 14, 2014

5 Nice to Have Baby Stuff and Gadgets

When you're a new parent, it's just natural to be excited about buying new stuff for the baby. And if you hadn't known any better, you're probably gonna buy really nice stuff that you don't really need. When we had our first baby girl, we had this Warm Me Shower and Bath by Safety First which was worth 7 grand at that time. 



Now that we're having our 2nd baby girl, I thought to myself that if we had 7 grand to spare these days, I would've bought more necessary stuff. With the expense of child delivery these days, not to mention the expenses that come afterwards, splurging on baby stuff should be the last thing on my mind.

But then again, it's still a happy experience to browse online and window shop around just to see what the baby section has to offer right? Let me give you my list of 5 unnecessary but nice things to have:

1.      1.  Benbini Watch

  • The Benbini watch is an ergonomically designed watch, perfect for any mom on a schedule. It has 2 bezels that indicate hours and minutes for anything that a mom needs to time on and a left/right switch to remind mom which side baby last breastfed on.  Pretty much like the milkbands, which I also like, but this is a watch and I love watches!  On the other hand, you can always use other reminders and scheduling techniques on your newborn, so this watch is definitely just nice to have.
2.       2. A Bottle Warmer



  • The bottle warmer that I like is called Quick ServeBottle Warmer by The First Years because the newborn kit that I bought was from the same brand. And not only that, it says that its “Unique design heats standard bottles and food jars to the perfect temperature instantly.” What a way to warm frozen breastmilk during wee hours of the night right? But, with great timing and knowledge on breastmilk storage, you can always heat water on a bowl and immerse milk bottles there for heating. Otherwise, nothing beats a bonding time latch-on. 
3.       3. A Hands-Free Breastpump Bra


  • The breastpump that I have is a battery / AC operated hand pump which I'm very grateful to have received as a gift. I have not given birth yet so I’m not sure up to what extent my daughter is going to depend on breastmilk since my first daughter didn’t have much luck on the breastfeeding part. If I will be successful on the lactation area this time, I’ll probably need a dual sided pump and it would be lovely if I could pump conveniently hands-free. 
4.       4. An Electric Bottle Steam Sterilizer


  • Of course, the sterilizer that I like is also from The First Years. Yeah, I’m OC like that. Who wouldn’t want an electric sterilizer that does all the sterilizing? However, since a good old steamer cooker have done the same job for my eldest daughter, might as well use that.
5.      5.  A Co-Sleeping Crib


  • I have always been an advocate of attachment parenting and co-sleeping. In certain parts of the world it is recommended to co-sleep using a co-sleeping crib instead of having the baby sleep next to you on an adult bed because of risks of suffocation and strangulation. But, I’m here in the Philippines and have never experienced such with our eldest. So, an extra adult bed is the most practical way to go. Daddy just has to sleep with our eldest on another bed.
If I win the lottery, I wouldn't think twice about buying these things. But for now, I think what we have is enough and we'll just buy as the need comes along.

I wouldn't mind receiving stuff from my list though! (Ehem...)

 your every woman,

Parenting Innovation: The Good Deed Card

Ask anyone about the annual sticker drive for Starbucks planner and they would most likely be familiar with it. Heck, almost anyone in the work force is motivated to complete a 18-sticker booklet regardless of the price that comes with each sticker just to get one Starbucks planner every year! With that in mind, it’s easy to see that the Good Deed Card is such a wonderful parenting idea. If adults go crazy over such a scheme, why not kids?

Presenting, the Good Deed Card. (By the way, this is not my idea, which is why I included the original photo with the creator’s signature to give credit.)


There are actually a lot of variations of the Good Deed Card, depending on what your intentions are with the discipline of your kids. The principle is, for every good deed (or chore, or accomplishment, etc) your child makes, you get to punch one number off the card (or use stickers just like Starbucks). Once you kid completes the punches or stickers on the card, he/she is entitled to a prize.

Now, to combo the Good Deed Card with another brilliant idea I got from Pinterest, below are rewards cards:


Each reward card entitles your kid to something special they get to do instead of something they’re gonna  get. Well, for my kid’s sake, I inserted a few treats which she’d “technically” still get but I did that to remove the out of the blue requests for things like ice cream or a toy. She would still have to earn treats like those.

If you have a colored printer, you can browse online for card suggestions and tailor your rewards to suit your kid. Or better yet, craft your own! The laminating part was a challenge for me because who keeps laminating materials at home? So, if you’re interested to find out how much it costs, don’t hesitate to comment below.
Happy parenting!

your every woman,