You The Mom!

Motherhood is a bit overwhelming. Ok, not just a bit but maybe a lot. But if you find the right people to help you or advise you, then it can turn the tables and reveal the real awesomeness of being a Mother. Long story short, I found mine in Mommy Mundo.

Mommy Mundo is the Philippines’ most extensive portal of mom and family-focused resources. Born out of a passion for motherhood, an advocacy for active parenting, and driven by a desire to help and provide support to mothers, Mommy Mundo aims to serve the information needs of moms not only through this online home, but through other forms of media such as print, web, events, and beyond. Mommy Mundo is made up of an active community of more than 30,000 moms. - Mommy Mundo

Mommy Mundo's Expomom "You The Mom!" in Glorietta

Mama Goes Shopping

Now, I truly believe that "Shopping is a girl's best friend." And I also found out how it starts and who's to blame - the Mothers. Hahah! I'm raising my hand here.

Having a baby girl is like having a life-size doll. I remember how I used to play with Barbie dolls and paper dolls. I learned how to sew in grade school because of them barbies. But I enjoyed playing with paper dolls more because I get to easily cut and draw different clothes. Now, I get to dress up a real doll! :)

So I'd like to share with you my favorite brands and shops where I get most of our stuff, not only for babies but also including breastfeeding accessories and other Mama stuff. I included the items we got  and love from them that are totally noteworthy. Here we go.. :)

Wrap Baby Wrap

UPDATE: Make sure you do a lot of research first when making a DIY wrap. After this post, I was able to learn more about DIY wraps. You can search Babywearing Philippines in Facebook to learn more.

I've been a baby wearing Mama ever since I became a mother to my beautiful toddler. She's almost 17 months old already, so that's about 16 months of baby wearing. :)

We got our very first baby pouch from the Mommy Mundo Christmas Bazaar back in 2012. Ava was barely a month old then and we braved the Christmas bazaar season in Powerplant. Amongst the baby carriers that we saw, I fell in love with the simplicity of Indigobaby's Baby Pouch. It was also a good decision to get the pouch right after I gave birth instead of ordering online because I was able to check the correct size for me and Ava. Apparently, if I followed the size chart, I would've gotten a wrong size. It is always best to try the (sized) carriers first before getting them because a wrong size can be uncomfortable and can make or break your baby wearing journey. We were yayaless during our first couple of months with Ava and I was doing household chores while attending to my newborn. Those include breastfeeding, cooking, cleaning and washing baby clothes. I don't think I would've survived if not for baby wearing. I guess I rubbed off some of my love for baby wearing to Mr. T because a few months later, we got an Ergo Sport for him thanks to our sponsor (aka Grandpa). It's a Soft Structured Carrier (SSC) with lots of buckles and straps, it was really perfect for him. Then I became a member of the online Facebook community called Filipino Association of Babywearers (FAB) and oh boy! Hahah! Fellow baby wearing parents with different types of carriers sharing tips and helping each other which made me learn a lot. That resulted to me getting another carrier called Saya. It's a hybrid type which is a lot lighter than Ergo since it is only made of very lightweight fabric.

Left to Right: 1 m.o. Ava in our very first Indigobaby Pouch | Ergobaby Sport at 5 mos. |
Our second Indigobaby Pouch at 5 mos. | Happy to be in our Saya at 7 mos.

Recently, I joined an international Babywearing DIY Advice and Support group and was so amazed with all the projects that the other moms were doing. So I decided to try and make our own that both Mr. T and I can use which is the wrap type.

Before I share with you a simple tutorial let me just remind you that you should always consider your baby's safety before making your own baby carrier. I figured a wrap is the safest type to do since it does not consist a lot of straps and buckles that require sewing which, when done incorrectly, can tear and cause accident to you and your baby. So please do your research first.