Online Shopping for Cloth Nappies

We're planning to mix cloth with disposable diapers for our newborn, mostly to prevent diaper rash. "According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54 % of one-month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, 16 % having severe rashes.  A study done by a disposable diapers manufacturing company... shows that the incidence of diaper rash increased from 7.1% to 61% with the increased use of throwaway disposable diapers." (a)

So I went off on another online research and shopping spree in search of the perfect nappies. Its amazing where Google can take you, found 3 local websites that sell cloth diapers:

• Eco Baby Boutique
• Sunshine Babies Boutique
• Pinoy Baby

Took a look at a number of brands before finally choosing the GroVia All In Twos. It's basically composed of an outer waterproof shell and an inner absorbent and removable soaker pad. What made me go for this brand was the fact that the diaper system is adjustable and can be used from newborn all the way to the toddler stage. Most of the other brands came in multiple sizes depending on the child's age. Plus, almost all the online reviews were positive. Below is an online review of how this thing works.

One set of this diaper system comes with a shell and a soaker pad. Additional soaker pads can be sold separately. My next question was, how many of these will I need? After some researching, they say I'll probably need 3-4 shells and about 10 soaker pads for partial cloth diapering for a newborn. Considering one shell is over PhP 1k, and a 2 pc soaker pad set about the same price... hmmmm, am I really sure to use this?

Off to some other alternatives, another option is to use prefold diapers instead of soaker pads, at least until our newborn starts to need less changes. Although the GroVia was not made for this, I did read that it worked quite well for other mommies. Prefold diapers are much much more reasonable.

So those are my options for now... I almost went ahead and purchased them online, then figured I can probably hold off on it until I am 100% sure to go "mixed-nappy-ing".

Sources:
(a) http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/diapers.htm

This Stroller or That

The next baby necessity for us to buy after the crib was the stroller. Choosing the crib was tough (since we had to make sure it fit the theme and size of our nursery), but choosing the stroller has been much more taxing. There's just so many choices and considerations!

For me, the priority considerations were that it had to be safe, comfortably padded for the baby and able to attach a newborn car seat. It also had to be durable enough to last us years. For Eyebrows, it had to be easy to fold and compact enough to travel with and fit in the trunk. We've trimmed down our choices to 3:

The Bugaboo Bee Plus is just too adorable to ignore. I love the look - so modern. It's compact and easy to fold. It doesnt seem padded enough for a newborn though, but you can buy a separate infant car seat that sits snuggly on top. The big catch - in Amazon, it costs $649!!! In Hobbes and Landes, its even more! And that does not come with the car seat, any accessories or shipping! Hmmmmm... definitely not the practical buy. But... but....

The Peg Perego Pliko P3 Compact stroller with the Viaggio car seat was another top contender. It folds really easily (umbrella-type style). It seems stable and durable and the reviews are 99% positive. It can come with an infant car seat that clips easily to the stroller. In Rustans, the stroller costs approximately PhP 21k and the car seat PhP 17k. Still on the high side. When we checked in Amazon though, the entire travel system costs much less. Running price is at $580 for the set. Even with shipping, it still comes out cheaper.

Our third option (c/o Eyebrows' ingenious internet shopping skills) is the Britax B-Agile stroller and B-Safe car seat travel system. I've never seen or tested this stroller so I feel a bit iffy about it. But the online reviews are almost all positive! It's sturdy, has full leg support for the baby, comfortable padding, a large canopy and it folds easy and compact. Cons include it having a relatively small basket and it folds with the seat exposed and handle to the floor. And it only comes in red and black. All in all however, its good value for money. Amazon sells the entire travel system for $350. We'll probably have to add a little more for shipping, but not significantly.

So those are our top 3 stroller choices for now... The more I Google, the more confused I get! Ultimately, I think any reasonable, safe, sturdy and compact stroller + car seat should do the job.