As a nursing mom with a 24/7 nibbler, I realized how difficult it was to go out of the house and shop for clothes, bras, etc. etc. So, I thought about compiling a list of relevant shops – online and brick/mortar for nursing moms – and my Nursing Mom’s Shopping Guide was born. Currently there are 5 posts in this series – clothes and more clothes; nursing covers; nursing bras and malunggay. I have a post about breast pumps which has been languishing in my drafts folder for several months now. I also want to make a guide about nursing accessories (storage bags, nipple creams) locally available.
Despite having a shopping guide and having an online store catering to nursing moms, I still maintain that you don’t have to buy anything to successfully breastfeed your child. As Kellymom says – you only need 1 breast and 1 baby. But for shopaholic moms like me out there, I hope that my shopping guide compilation is useful – especially during the first few weeks when new moms are still learning the ropes.
Apart from shopping for myself, I was excited when Naima was born because there were more reasons to shop! To begin with, I was already a shopper when I was younger and single. With online shopping on the rise, I’m now hooked on baby/toddler stuff shopping for Naima and my niece Anya and nephew Julian.
However, I found out that some items on every baby shopping list and that I also purchased are really useless. For example, Naima’s high chair is parked in 1 corner, eating up my precious space. This high chair was used for about 3 months – when Naima was eating solids. The chair was supposed to “grow with my child” but Naima has stopped using it since she turned 1. Another useless purchase was the crib – which is now a glorified toy box. Naima still sleeps with us so we just stack her toys – including a humongous bear (bigger than her) in her crib. Meanwhile, my most useful purchases would be my breast pump and baby carrier.
I’m sure moms have their own list of useful/useless purchases. For the giveaway this week, moms are asked to share their own useful/useless purchases.
There will be 2 winners. Prizes for this week are:
1. Wall Candy Arts Count Border (winner chooses between pink or blue) and
2. 2 wooden toys – spinning toy and hangman
Despite having a shopping guide and having an online store catering to nursing moms, I still maintain that you don’t have to buy anything to successfully breastfeed your child. As Kellymom says – you only need 1 breast and 1 baby. But for shopaholic moms like me out there, I hope that my shopping guide compilation is useful – especially during the first few weeks when new moms are still learning the ropes.
Apart from shopping for myself, I was excited when Naima was born because there were more reasons to shop! To begin with, I was already a shopper when I was younger and single. With online shopping on the rise, I’m now hooked on baby/toddler stuff shopping for Naima and my niece Anya and nephew Julian.
However, I found out that some items on every baby shopping list and that I also purchased are really useless. For example, Naima’s high chair is parked in 1 corner, eating up my precious space. This high chair was used for about 3 months – when Naima was eating solids. The chair was supposed to “grow with my child” but Naima has stopped using it since she turned 1. Another useless purchase was the crib – which is now a glorified toy box. Naima still sleeps with us so we just stack her toys – including a humongous bear (bigger than her) in her crib. Meanwhile, my most useful purchases would be my breast pump and baby carrier.
I’m sure moms have their own list of useful/useless purchases. For the giveaway this week, moms are asked to share their own useful/useless purchases. There will be 2 winners. Prizes for this week are:
1. Wall Candy Arts Count Border (winner chooses between pink or blue) and
2. 2 wooden toys – spinning toy and hangman
How to join this contest?
Leave a comment about your most useful baby purchase and most useless baby purchase. You can also get extra entries (total of 4 entries) by:
- Becoming a fan of Mama.Baby.Love on Facebook.
- Tweeting about this giveaway (please leave a link to your status update. Right click in the time stamp and copy the URL).
- Blogging about the giveaway (please leave a link to your blog entry)
Leave a separate comment for each entry so it will be counted separately. One comment = 1 entry. However, both most useful and most useless baby purchase should be in 1 comment and counts only as 1 entry even if you write down xxx number of purchases in separate comments.
If your email address is not in your public profile, leave it with your comment in words (e.g. fabnaima[at]gmail[dot]com) so I can contact you if you win.
This contest is open to readers within the Philippines and items will be shipped to you for free using Xend. Contest will end on May 21, Friday at 11:59PM. Names of winners will be posted in this entry and will be contacted by email. Please respond within 48 hours – otherwise, I will choose another winner. Two winners will be chosen using random.org. Winners can win once per week.
CONTEST CLOSED. WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED BY TUESDAY
Congratulations to the winners – Anne and Dark (darkhalf888).
Anne, please check your email.
Darkhalf888, please email me at fabnaima[at]gmail[dot]com. Your profile is marked private and you didn’t leave your email address.
Please include your prize choice in your email. Person who emails first gets to have the prize preference/choice. Thanks for joining and check out the giveaway for week 4!
Chronicles of a Nursing Mom 
became a fan in facebook 🙂
My most useful buy is my MEDELA BREASTPUMP- I am a working, pumping mom who expressed milk for my eldest daughter for almost 2 yrs. Now that I have my 2nd baby, I have been pumping again. So, my pump is definitely my wisest and most practical buy!My most useless buy is my infant carseat, not only was it outgrown reaaly fast, it was also one of the most expensive buy! http://www.thespoiledgirl.multiply.comemail:thespoiledgirl@yahoo.com
to add: I love my next 9 nursing cover which I recently bought in lime green circles print- the fabric is high quality, serves its purpose well because of its size and the price is really affordable compared to other brands 🙂
No pains, no gains................................................................
My most useless purchase would be those cheap feeding bottles that came in packs with colorful prints on them. When I bought them, I thought they would perform as well as those pricey ones. So I bought about 15-20 pcs of them. Turned out, my daughter didn't like them and so she only used them for the first few months. I ended up buying a more expensive bottles with softer nipples. So much for practicality.My useful purchase would be my breastpump which i recently bought about two months ago when i had my second daughter. I was never a believer on costly pumps. but having tried it out, I'd recommend it to all nursing mothers. If someone had told me when I had my first child how it could have helped me out, I could have nursed her for a longer time. http://www.theshopnextdoor.multiply.comemail: annemargauxquezada@yahoo.com.ph annemargauxquezada@gmail.com
USEFUL:1. medella breastpump both pump in style and freestyle. pump in style used at home, freestyle at the office. 2. breastfeeding pillow (mother care) – used when ally was 1-6 mos., still used now for playing with ally, the pig cow cow design & the zipper played by ally3. freezer – to store breastmilk4. sterilized bags- used to store milks & share to those in need5. nursing wear c/o mamaway – used all the time when going out with ally6. bath tub – safety 1st – still used since 0 months till now (adjustable)7. medella bottles – used for pumping & feeding ally when I'm away
tweet:JaydeeCheng Shopping Tips for New Moms? – Giveaway Week 3: http://bit.ly/ctIawC via @addthisless than 5 seconds ago via web
My useful purchases:nursing blouses and bras, Medela swing pump, pouch and baby carrier, music for babies tapes and cdsMy useless purchases:a mattress for my baby to crawl onto (we thought it would be a safer and cleaner)which he doesn't use because he prefers to crawl on the floor!
most useful purchases:baby sling/pouch – i use it to carry baby everywhere, it's handier than stroller. also use it for nursing or putting the baby to sleepnursing blouses and bras – so i can feed my baby whenever, wherever (well, almost!)rocking chair and nursing pillow – makes nursing at home much more comfortablemost useless purchases: teething guard – although our baby bit just about any book or toy she can get her hands into, she never did try biting her crib (probably because she spends so little time there! she sleeps with us)8 or 9 oz feeding bottles – my baby is now 1 and 1/2 years old, but still nurses directly most of the time. she could hardly finish 5 oz of milk (expressed or formula), so i never used the 9 big bottles that i bought when i was still pregnant
am already a fan on facebook :)anneattack[at]gmail[dot]com
My most useful purchase is our baby's crib because it really help us a lot but the worst thing that we have bought is the bonnet, we never get a chance to use them and we bought six pieces of that. A real waste of money and a lesson learned.
i am a facebook follower and i also tweet about this giveaway. http://twitter.com/melandriaromero/status/14240880465
i also blog about it. http://www.melandriaromero.net/2010/05/chronicles-of-nursing-mom-blogversary.htmlthank you so muchmelandriaromero@gmail.com
My most useful purchase, even though I really only used it during those first few weeks was a tube of Lansinoh. I don't know how I would have survived without it. And my most useless purchase was the moby wrap. I know some babies and mommas just love it, but my little boy just screamed everytime I tried to put him in there and he didn't like to be put down either so I just held him. :)sjjones3[at]gmail[dot]com
my most useful purchases: definitely my Ameda breast pump, nursing bras, crib that's convertible to a toddler bed (my daughter turned 2 and she still sleeps there), sterilizer,my most useless purchases: baby sling carrier (daughter refused to be put there), cocoa butter lotion for stretchmarks (got too lazy to keep on applying it)jamieisip[at]hotmail[dot]com
already a facebook fan…other useful purchases: breastfeeding cover, playtex drop in bottles (so convenient when travelling), other useless purchases: pacifier (bought so many different kinds but daughter never liked using them)jamieisip[at]hotmail[dot]com
most useful – the bottle sprayer. it makes changing nappies a lot easier and cheaper. No cotton balls and wipes. just water and lampin.most useless- my son is now 7 months. to this date we havent take outthe stroller outside the village. It is more convenient wearing my baby using a sling.
im your FB fan
my email btw is maquifranky(at)yahoo(dot)com(dot)ph
My most useful purchases:1. My medela breast pump – my best friend at work!2. 8 Tommee Tippee bottles – I breastfeed my baby whenever I am home, but store my milk in bottles for him while I am away. Also, I wash the bottles by myself, so the extra bottles are great for when I am too tired to wash and sterilize the used bottles!3. Tommee Tippee gummy teether – he likes to gum on this instead of a real teether!4. Sensible Lines milk trays – when my baby started on solids, I was no longer using these to store milk, so they doubled as frozen food trays— I didn't need to buy any additional baby food trays with lids.5. Lock & Lock Food containers – I didn't bother to buy any expensive baby bowls or baby food containers because these airtight, freezer-safe, microwave safe and BPA-free containers do the job! They are also more economical and can still be used in the kitchen even when baby grows up!6. Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker – perfect for lulling baby to sleep for short naps, and works great as a feeding chair as well!My most useless purchases:1. Baby crib – is now a glorified toy box and mattress holder2. Sippy cups – my baby hates these as it takes too much work to suck the water/juice out; he prefers to drink straight from a cup (he's only 8 months now)!3. Baby sling – He hated this so much (his movements are too restricted) I gave up trying to use it, but he had no problem with the Baby Bjorn carrier.4. Pacifiers – my baby prefers to be pacified by my breast! These things do nothing for him except act as a substitute (and unsatisfying) teether when his gummy teether is due for cleaning.
already a fan on facebook! 🙂
Tweeted!http://twitter.com/darkhalf888/status/14414432080
i am a fan on facebook
tweeted!http://twitter.com/renaeh28
blogged about the contesthttp://stagemommy.blogspot.com/2010/05/win-wooden-toy-set-or-wall-candy-art.html