I was a cup C before I got pregnant, and I'm a cup E now that I'm breastfeeding. And there are absolutely no nursing bras in the Philippines that are my size.
So how have I been managing?
Before I gave birth, I went the desperate route and simply tried whatever cheap nursing bras were available in the Philippines. So-en only goes up to cup C, so I made the best of it, and wore a band size 2 sizes bigger than my actual size so that the cups would fit. The bras fit quite poorly, but I didn't have much else of a choice so I made do with it.
Then I discovered that Mothercare sells nursing bras that go up to cup D. Still a cup too small, but much better. I managed to find nursing bras that fit me reasonably well, and I've been quite happy with my purchase. The Mothercare bras are about P1500 per bra, but if you buy a two-pack the discount is significant: it's about P2300 for a two-pack. There are Mothercare branches in Shangri-la mall and Trinoma.
Another option for me, which I haven't actually done yet, would be to make my own nursing bra. This link shows how to convert a regular bra into a nursing bra. I haven't gotten around to trying this yet, but I'll seriously consider it when I start going back to work.
Finally ... since it's Christmas season and I have relatives coming home from the US, I just ordered a few nursing bras online, had it sent to them, and asked them to bring them home for me when they fly in.
My latest follow-up post to this one is here.
Before giving birth, I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers. My main reason was ecological: if I can create less landfill waste, then I will. I also knew firsthand that it was doable: I'd watched my mom put my younger brother exclusively through lampin; not once had she bought Pampers until my younger brother was toilet-trained.
But which method to use?
I purchased five kinds of cloth diapers: good old lampin, pre-folds, Chino Pino cloth diapers (the kinds with Velcro), contour diapers and diaper covers from the US, and Tushy Wushy all-in-ones. How did they fare? Here's my rundown.
1. Chino Pino cloth diapers with one-size-fits-all diaper covers (and a comment on lampin and pre-folds
When our son was born, I tried the Chino Pino cloth diapers first. I had a friend who was using them on his newborn daughter, and I figured I'd give it a go. I wrapped the Chino Pinos in locally-available diaper covers and saw how it went.
It did not go well. The Chino Pinos leaked miserably, because neither the Chino Pinos nor the diaper covers were actually made to fit. The diaper cover was a one-size-fits-all diaper cover that was way too big for my newborn son. The Chino Pinos were one-size-fits-all as well, and even though I folded them meticulously, they just didn't wrap snugly enough to keep our baby's poop in.
Verdict: Any one-size-fits-all system does not work well with young babies. For cloth diapers to work, they and the diaper covers should fit snugly. And one-size-fits-all diapers, including Chino Pinos, do not fit snugly on newborns.
After that experience, I didn't even bother trying the pre-folds and lampin on my newborn son. The lampin became burp cloths ... and both the pre-folds and the Chino Pino cloth diapers went into storage, and will stay there until my son is bigger and the diapers can fit him better.
2. Contour diapers and diaper covers from the US
Next I tried the stash I'd bought from the US. The diaper covers were sized for newborns (7 to 10 lbs) although in retrospect I should've bought the size small (for babies 8.5 to 15 lbs), and the contour diapers were sized for babies up to 20 lbs. This time, the cloth diapers worked fantastically.
I've actually had more leaks with some brands of disposables than I've had with this cloth diapering method! This system also fits pretty snugly. This means that my son can wear onesies over the cloth diaper and diaper cover, although if he's wearing these diapers we use slightly looser onesies than we would if he were wearing disposables.
The only thing is that these foreign-bought diapers and diaper covers aren't cheap. The diaper covers are Canadian-made, and cost around P500 per diaper cover. The plus side is that they dry very quickly; if dry them from a hook in the bathroom, I can use them after 24 hours.
The contour diapers, on the other hand, cost about P330+ per diaper.
Assuming you use disposables at night, you line-dry your laundry, and you do laundry everyday, then you'll need around 24 cloth diapers and 16 diaper covers. In total, that's costs P15920.
You'll also need a completely new set when your child is around 6 months old. If he remains in diapers till he's a year and a half (about the age that toddlers begin getting potty-trained), that comes to a total of P31840 for the cloth diapers. Add to that the price of using disposables at night and when you go out, that's 2188 over 18 months (average of 3 disposables per day), or P9846 (for P6 disposables).
In total, then, this system costs P41,686 for the entire time he's in diapers.
In contrast, if he were exclusively using disposable diapers, at an average of 10 diapers a day, we'd only be spending P32,820.
Verdict:: From an economic perspective, using U.S.-bought cloth diapers and covers is actually more expensive than using disposables everyday. (This assumes you're using an affordable brand like Prokids [the brand we use]. Of course, if you use Mamy Poko everyday, at P10 per diaper, it would be a different story.) Update: I now use Thirsties diaper covers with prefolded lampin and it's cheaper than disposables and super-duper effective! You can buy Thirsties diaper covers here. The ecological benefit of putting less waste into our landfills is still immeasurable, though, so some people might think that the cost difference is worth it. In terms of ease of use: this system isn't that much more complex than using disposables; there's just one additional step, which is putting the diaper cover over the contour diaper.A cheaper alternative is to just use lampin inside the U.S.-bought diaper covers, but I haven't tried this yet. Read my update to this post here.
(Note: Some people argue that cloth diapers also have their own negative ecological impact because you use water to launder them. But trust me: diapers don't really take that much space in the laundry. You won't be using that much more water than you already do.)
3. Tushy-Wushies
The third diapering method I tried was Tushy Wushies. I'd heard about Tushy Wushies and I had a friend who swore by them. As far as I know, Tushy Wushies are the only locally-made all-in-one diapers on the market. At P330+ per diaper, they're also a lot cheaper than the all-in-ones in the US, which are *at least* P500 per diaper and can run up to double that.
Tushy-Wushies are shaped like disposable diapers, so there isn't any new diapering skill you need to learn. The water resistant outer layer acts as diaper wrap, so you don't need an additional diaper cover. When you wash the Tushy Wushies, you remove the inner absorbent pad and wash it separately from the outer cover.
How do Tushies perform? Pretty well. When he's very very wet, the outer cover--which is only water-resistant, and not completely waterproof--can feel slightly damp to the touch, but not so damp that it wets anything else that he's sitting or lying down on. When he's damp it's time to change him anyway, so this isn't really a problem.
I've never had a poopy leak with Tushies, so in that sense, they perform even better than disposables.
I only have two minor complaints with Tushies. One is that they're bulky. Because of this, my son can't wear his cute onesies when he's wearing Tushies. On the other hand, the Tushies come in really nice, bright colors, so Tushies take the place of shorts. My second complaint about Tushies is that the workmanship of the sewing can be improved a little more. After six weeks of using Tushies, the stitching of the Velcro tabs came a little loose (from pulling the Velcro) and I had to reinforce the stitches.
So how much does using Tushies cost?
Again, assuming you use disposables at night and you line-dry your laundry, you'll need at least 24 Tushy Wushies for a complete laundry cycle. This comes to P8000. If he keeps using Tushies until he's 18 months old, he'll be going through 2 sizes: small and medium. Total cost for his Tushies: P16000. Add to that 3 disposables a day over the course of a year and a half, that's 2188 P6-diapers, or P9846.
Total cost of this diapering system: P25,846.
Compared to the P32,820 cost of exclusively using disposable diapers, that amounts to savings of almost P7000, plus the additional benefit of knowing that we aren't adding to our overburdened landfills.
Verdict:: From an economic perspective, Tushy Wushies do save a significant amount of money. The disadvantage of not being able to put onesies over the Tushies is offset by the fact that the Tushies themselves are quite fashionable as "shorts." And again, the ecological benefit is immeasurable.
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My suggestion. I still suggest that parents who are debating with themselves whether or not to use cloth diapers try out different systems before making a decision. Maybe Chino Pinos will work fine for you. (I have a friend whose daughter exclusively uses Chino Pinos.) But my point is that in this day and age, even with busy on-the-go parents who lose their patience with lampin's, cloth diapering is still a feasible option because of the array of cloth diapering methods now available.
Are you weaning your child from breastfeeding? Or do you simply have a very generous supply of milk? Then you may want to consider donating your breastmilk.
Phlippine Children’s Medical Center has a milk bank for premature babies whose moms can’t go to the hospital everyday to feed them. According to their brochure, just 8 oz of your milk will give 16-20 preemies a better chance at survival.
Their contact details are:
Alay Gatas Headquarters
Human Milk Bank
2/F Philippine Childrens Medical Center
Quezon Avenue, Quezon City 1100 Philippines
Telephone numbers: 9240838 and 9246601 local 354
Email: pcmcmilkbank@yahoo.com
