Breastfeeding Stations Part 2

Robinson's Magnolia

Magnolia's breastfeeding station is near Mothercare. It is very big and spacious. 

Similar to SM malls, it's beside the mall clinic and the toilets were nearby as well.

It has very basic components inside-table, sink and comfortable seating area.

It would benefit more by increasing the number of seats because when I was inside, another mom was there and she had her baby, the stroller and the yaya. 

I did not notice any electrical socket inside which would benefit moms who use a breast pump.

Shangrila Mall East Wing

As of October 2013, I saw a room waited to be constructed when I opened the door.

I really hope they place a not yet in service sign because if you are carrying your baby, you will be welcomed by the dust from the cement inside the room.

Eastwood

Eastwood's breastfeeding room is near Babyland and the other shops for children.

The area was quite cramped and there were only two seats separated by a curtain around it.

It was not very well maintained.  There was no sink in sight too.

The only plus point was there were magazines available as reading material.

Update:

The Eastwood breastfeeding room has deteriorated with my last visit January 2014.

I hope that Megaworld decides to renovate it SOON.

     Area outside the room that was full of dirt and dust

Trinoma

Trinoma's breastfeeding area is inside Ayala's VIP Family Room.  It's free to use by nursing mothers.  However, for the usual folks, you need to have the BPI-Ayala co-branded credit card to use it or you have to be an OFW member of their VIPinoy program.

Good furniture inside the family VIP room.  They even had a big play area for kids.

Seeing this made me want to apply for the BPI-Ayala credit card so I can leave Gavin and yaya while shopping (hehe).

By far, their breastfeeding area is the biggest compared to others because it's ratio is one is to one; one mom to a nursing station.  It is covered by a small individual wall and a curtain that be shut closed.  It has a spacious area inside with a long ledge where your child, yaya or other family members can sit while waiting (*there is a sign however that the nursing private area is only for moms and babies).  The seat is the most comfortable seat ever, I really loved it.  There was even an ottoman to relax your feet in.  Aside from this, there is an individual electric socket per station.

Outside the private breastfeeding area, there is a sink with a ledge and a changing station.  You can wash bottles here or your breast pump paraphernalia.  There is also a toilet beside it as well as a long sofa as the waiting area.

The only point for improvement was that beig a VIP area, it would be great to find some baby items inside such as wipes, bottle cleaner, diaper trash can and some alcogel for sanitary purposes.

So far, in spite of the points for improvement, I'm really loving Trinoma's VIP Family area :)

Long Weekend Lamierda

Since this week is a long weekend, we spent some time going to the malls, Glorietta, SM and Rockwell.  Gavin had his first ice cream at Bono Gelato while waiting at SM.

We also had a fun afternoon breaking the little man into the pool again.

It was really chilly but we had fun.  I think medyo mana siya sa akin, a bit of a scaredy cat in the beginning.  I can feel his grip tightly at my arm when he was under the water.  He was also a bit scared when he couldn't feel the floor under his feet.  Pero when he got the hang of the waves and the water, he started loosening up and having fun :) Success!!!

Happy Six Months

I can't believe it's been half a year!!!

My baby is not a newborn anymore....medium baby na.

Sometimes, I really wish I can just freeze time and stare at Gavin.

It still never fails to amaze me that he was just a speck of blood before.

Here he is now...woke up at 530am on his 6th month birthday.

We had cake for breakfast :)

Who says you can't have dessert first thing in the morning?

I also surprised Gavin with a bigger ball with mirrors to sharpen his eyes with colors,

soft parts to chew on and a mirror to play with.

It has been my new resolve not to buy him more toys from now on...sa pasko na dapat ang next.

We still have gifts from his baptism that he hasn't used.

       Hello Six Months!

Gavin was asleep when I came home from work.

Quite funny that he was wearing the hood of the pajama when I saw him in bed.

My mom said she made him wear it to protect his head from mosquitoes ... Tsk tsk

We still celebrated with spaghetti and inihaw from Analyn and dessert from Ninang Monica.

I hope the little boy had loads of fun today, I sure did :)

Milestones:

The little boy can now easily eat oatmeal, lugaw which he hates and the teething cookies he loves.

He can flip from side to side.

He can now take a bath in real bath tub.

He can now hold his milk bottle for a few seconds.

We are also joining Kindermusik next week :)

His first day of trial class was last Saturday, October 19.

(Seperate post on that)

Rubber Duckie Baby Tubby

My son has come a long way from his fear of water days.

Last weekend, we gave his bath tub a test run.

It was his first time to use it because he can now sit with little assistance.

We also used the rubber duckie giveaway during my baby shower as his water companion.

Mukha namang nag enjoy si Gavin :)

He wanted to grab it!

He also learned how to grip the sides of the tub so as not to slide.

More baths to come...pwede nang mag swimming again sa real pool next time :)

Almost A Century

Our family went up to Tagaytay today to bid Tito George a safe trip before going back to the US.

We also had the opportunity to spend time with Lola Pina which comes very rare nowadays.

Turns out, birthday pala niya this Saturday :) plus it's her 90th birthday!!!

I still can't over the fact that she is 90, healthy, beautiful and energetic.

Almost a century old :)

I don't know if I should wish to reach 90 too....hahaha, but I wish that I have her vigor and beauty till my later years.  Glad that we were able to spend time with our extended family today.

Goodmorning Sleepyheads

I was never a morning person, but my son is.

He has been waking up at 5am the past few weeks which is short of driving me crazy.

Every time he wakes up, he gives me the biggest smile which makes my heart melt

and pushes me to rouse from sleep and play with him.

He has learned how to kick and nudge me when he sees that I am closing my eyes.

What to do? How to do it?

He used to sleep until 7am but his teething gums has been keeping him up and about early.

I wait for the folks at home to wake be up at 7am so he can then have his morning sun outside

and short nap while I also catch a short shut eye before going to work.

I can't wait for the first tooth to come out, if only to make him a longer sleeper :)

For now, Goodmorning from Mommy will do!

Breastfeeding Stations Part 1

I'm very happy that there are a lot of breastfeeding stations at the malls nowadays.  I usually prefer to shop at the malls with conducive breastfeeding rooms.  Even if I'm just pumping and expressing my milk, I still find it easier to do so in a private area.

Rustan's Alabang

The first breastfeeding station that I have visited is the one at Rustans in ATC. They have a crib, a changing table and a small sofa. The sofa is only a two seater so it gets crowded pretty easily.  The beddings at the crib looks dirty though, it can be changed to a newer one.  What I liked about the room was that they had liquid bottle cleaners that you can use.  I can clean the accessories attached from my pump easily.

*located at the back of the baby section! near the gift wrapping counter

     Photo from Smart Parenting

Rustan's Shangrila

I also got to try Rustans Shangrila's Nursery.  It was newer than ATC's.  It also had a sofa, a crib and a changing station.  They had a lot of baby lotion, baby powder and cologne that you can freely use.  Same as ATC's, I wish that they have more sitting areas for moms.  It doubled as a play area for kids so it's sometimes hard to concentrate while feeding.

*located near the toys and baby section of Rustans 

Glorietta 4

I recently discovered that a nursing mom can use the breastfeeding station inside the Ayala VIPinoy lounge for free.  No Ayala card needed.  They had two small rooms that can be closed with a cloth curtain.  It had a very comfortable seat and a foot cushion to bring up your legs or to place your other things.  The space is very cramped, though.  They didn't have any table too, which is needed when you are directly nursing or even whilst pumping.  It was good that each seat had a ready nursing pillow and the toilet had a roomy area as a changing station. Hopefully, Glorietta can have more nursing rooms due to its size and foot traffic.

*located near Play & Display at the third floor, Glorietta 4

      Photo from Smart Parenting

SM Mall of Asia

I also enjoyed the breastfeeding station of SM MOA.  It had a nice space, it solely for breastfeeding.  No cribs or changing matts here.  They had a lot of comfortable sitting.  It also has it's own sink inside which is very useful when cleaning the parts of my pump.  It also has a liquid cleaner you can use.  Most importantly, SM's breastfeeding room has a refrigerator inside.  This way, pumping moms can just leave their milk while malling and just get it before going home.  It also had a hot water thermos which is very useful in sterilizing. Surprisingly, out of all the malls, this was so far, the best one for me.  The only disadvantage was that it was at the farthest end of the mall and it's inside the mall clinic so your baby might be exposed to germs.  SM also has one room only.  With a mall as big as MOA, they should have at least three.

I was able to meet two moms while inside the station.  One was a mall goer while the other one worked in one of the shops at MOA.  She goes to the room during her break time and leaves her milk at the refrigerator.  Since she was working, she also pumped and had her own breast pump with her.  We got to compare notes with our birth and breastfeeding experiences with our newfound role, being a mom :)

*location second floor, fronting Da Vinci Discovery Center

    Photo from Smart Parenting

More posts and reviews for other malls soon :)

Visit To The Doctor

Gavin, my mom and I visited the pedia's clinic today.  He was set to get another dose of rota virus and the five in one shot.  Nangingilala na si bulilit. He let out a cry when he saw Dra. Carmela's face when she was weighing and measuring him.  She said that it's good though, for it means that he can already recognize and remember familiar faces.  Gavin was also amused with the rubber duckie...reminded me of the theme of my baby shower...maybe he can somewhat remember :)

He now weighs almost 7 kilos and is 65 cms long.  Time flew by so fast, he was only 48 cm when he was born.  

At home na at home siya at the doctor's clinic! We all held him down for the injection, but he barely cried...so unlike his me with my tremendous fear of needles, hahahaha! Brave boy pala! Here he is waiting for the shot and during the shot, parang deadma lang.

The pedia reminded not to make him watch tv and the iPad.  It will not help in any way developmentally  at this point.  She also recommended putting the mattress on the floor.

We were also given the green light to introducing real food to the little one, oatmeal, porridge, banana, apple and the likes.  Must learn how to do our own tasty baby food ASAP.

I'm happy with our pedia, Dra. Carmela De Lara (Asian Hospital & Pque Med) because she doesn't have long lines during weekdays and she is really good with kids.  Glad that I came across her clinic by chance 4 months ago.  Happy happy joy joy that I made the right pedia switch :)