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 :)