Ahoy Matey! Grand Baby Fair Year 6

Ahoy Matey! Grand Baby Fair Year 6

     This weekend brings us the Grand Baby Fair which is held annually at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall. It is a 3-day event hosted by SM's Baby Company where there are talks and games and a lot of sale items from different vendors of baby clothes, baby gear and other baby necessities. Expectant parents, first time and veteran moms and dads are invited to visit the Fair from January 29 to January 31 during mall hours. There are over 200+ exhibitors and you can get up to 70% off on the sale items there. You can also get a free Swag Bag if your purchases go over 3,500 Php and you're a Mom Card holder (to be honest I really want the umbrella they have this year even if the red Swag Bag is uglier than last year's). There were coupons given out to those who registered online and the lucky 100 registrants are in for a treat!

     My family went there at around 12 noon hoping that the lunch rush would ensure that there were less people around, but the Megatrade Hall was still jampacked with parents and kiddos. It was hard navigating the place because there was no map given this year and there were strollers parked all over the place. There was also a shortage of pushcarts when we arrived and that made my husband a tad irritated. There were few good finds on clothing, which was sad because that was our primary purpose. But there were a lot of good deals on baby gear like cribs and strollers and car seats. Booths for disposable diapers and cloth diapers were strewn here and there. We saw some ergonomic carriers on sale like Lillebaby and Ergobaby but most parents were buying cheap narrow based carriers. A lot of booths were selling knick knacks for household use but there were also a few booths for toys for babies up to toddlers.

     It was tiring shopping at the Grand Baby Fair. People were elbow to elbow and the check out line was insane. The check out line spanned the whole of the Megatrade Hall, looping from Megatrade 1 to 3 like a snake. The good thing about it was that they had people making sure the line goes smooth and no one cuts in. Another good thing I noticed was the water stations placed at easy to reach spots all over the Hall. There is even one beside the Breastfeeding Room. Yes! There is a Breastfeeding Room and it's very comfy inside. Some of the booths give out freebies if you buy their stuff, so make sure that the freebie you want is still available, otherwise you'd end up buying 3 liters of detergent and getting a bottle of lotion instead of the baby wash you wanted. We finally left the Grand Baby Fair at half past four and I'm happy to say that we were quite satisfied with our loot. Until next year!

Just arrived!

Met an online friend!

Beddings!

Playards as low as 2000

They have the best deals on clothes!

Cloth nappies and hybrid slings!

Baby toys!

They had car seats for as low as 1400

More baby toys!

Lillebaby and Ergobaby are in front of the stage

Checking out!

Tired baby and daddy.

Swag Bag goodies!

     

Carrier Review: Daiesu Ring Sling and Wrap

Carrier Review: Daiesu Ring Sling and Wrap

     Last year I was picked as one of the testers for a new brand called Daiesu which originates from  a family based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mommy Ilyani Mat designs the wraps and has them woven in India, while Daddy Azhar is in charge behind the scenes and their son Daie is their model. I was chosen to test two carriers, their Jigsaw Mustard Woven Wrap and their Jigsaw Lime Ring Sling. The Jigsaw design is the first design from Daiesu and it is 100% organic cotton. It is woven on an Ecru warp with a Honey Mustard (for the wrap) and Lime Green (for the ring sling) fill to make out a Jigsaw puzzle pattern.

     I received the carriers recently and they are both super soft. I am far down the line of testers and this may be the reason why they both are broken in already. I started using the Lime green ring sling immediately and fell in love with it. It was easy to thread and easy to use and very, very supportive. My kid is very active and even when he kicks out he can't unseat himself which is great. I used the RS daily and the maximum time was 4 hours in the RS with baby boy asleep 80% of the time in. It was super easy to breastfeed in it and it became my go to carrier for the week it was with us. I still had difficulty with back carries on a RS but that's more of a user problem than with the RS itself. Even though the RS is one-shouldered, it was still very cushy and not as diggy as I expected.

     The woven wrap I tested was a Mustard yellow size 6. The carries we tried out were FWCC and a ruck with different finishes for the back carries. Like the RS, this Daiesu wrap was very soft but still grippy enough that a single knot is enough (not good practice but I had to try for tester purposes). For a longie wrap this one was very easy to use and I loved it for that, it was easy to maneuver and tie behind me even with a struggling kid in it. It also has oodles of sleepy dust and is the first wrap where my little one has fallen asleep in while on my back, The longest carry we've done with this is 4 hours and that 4 hours has been very good on my scoliotic back. Since it's a longie, it's easy to breastfeed in it, and readjust when the babe has fallen asleep while feeding.

     When our time with the Daiesu carriers were up, I was truly sad to see them go, I would love to have them for my own. I would definitely recommend them to people, for newbies and experts alike. Newbies would love them for being easy to use and experts would love them for the fine weave and support. The Ring Sling retails for around 2600 pesos and the Woven Wrap starts at around 3000 pesos making them very affordable for international wraps that are internationally safety tested. Truly, Daiesu is a brand we have to look out for in the future for more amazing carriers.