A ROYAL Contest

Has it been 30 years since we watched the wedding the Prince Charles and Diana Spencer? Back then, we had hoped for a prince of our own and for him to whisk us away to ‘happily ever after’. Tomorrow, we relive our royal fantasies when we sit down in front of the telly…

In commemoration of the Wedding of HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton (and to get you into the royal wedding fever!),

WE ARE GIVING AWAY one (1) SILVER CROSS Dazzle Pushchair!

In case you didn’t know, SILVER CROSS is a true and true British company.

Silver Cross first began designing transport for babies back in 1877. It all began when engineer and inventor William Wilson combined his ideas for an innovative spring suspension system with a handy reversible hood, and invented the modern pram. It was truly revolutionary, and was duly patented followed by over 30 more design patents filed in his prolific lifetime.

Royal approval in the 1900s ensured a special place for Silver Cross in the nation’s heart. Since the very first Silver Cross pram, every new idea, every smart design, every improvement in manufacturing, every single change has been a response to the changing needs of parents, babies and children.

2000 - Today
Since the turn of the millennium we have been designing and building new award winning products for parents and children offering the highest levels of quality, baby comfort and safety with chic, contemporary design. We now sell worldwide offering not only wheeled goods, but also a range of nursery equipment and toys.

We are very proud of our history, tradition and lineage. We also consider it a privilege that over a million expectant parents have trusted our products to transport, protect and comfort their new born children. Like William, 130 odd years ago, it is a responsibility we take very much to heart.

TO JOIN "A ROYAL CONTEST", post your favorite wedding photo to our Facebook wall. You may also opt to post a photo of your little one at a wedding or add a photo from a friend or relative's wedding. Please tell us what made the day special for you.

Then, ask your friends and family to LIKE your photo on our wall. The top 10 photos with the most votes will be considered the finalists and their names will be entered into a raffle draw. We will pick one winner at random.

One photo entry per Facebook account. Voting ends on Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 12:00 noon. The winner will be announced the following day. The winner would need to pick up the Dazzle pushchair from our Greenbelt 5 store or at our Greenhills office.

For more info on the SILVER CROSS Dazzle, please visit www.youjiandme.com

NUBY Formula Dispenser

One of the products we receive the most questions on is the NUBY Formula Dispenser. Well, there is actually just one question. :-)

HOW MANY SCOOPS OF FORMULA FIT IN EACH SECTION OF THE DISPENSER?

So we called our Mommy Brigade and asked them to send us whatever formula scoops they have on hand. We got 4 different ones. We found that most brands use the same scoop across all formulas in their range or at the most, they have 2 different ones -- one for infant formulas and another one for toddler/preschooler formulas.

In the interest of full disclosure, we tried the scoops out using Coffeemate. It had pretty much the same texture as our Pediasure and we didn't want to use our kids' formula for hygienic reasons.

We filled 1 section with 4 scoops, another section with 5 scoops. Although 4 scoops fit more "comfortably", you can certainly pack in 5 scoops if your child drinks 10 oz. or more each time.

PEDIASURE / GAINPLUS ADVANCE(1 scoop : 2 oz.)

ENFAKID (1 scoop : 2 oz.)

GAIN SCHOOL ADVANCE (1 scoop : 2 oz.)

NAN HW (1 scoop : 1 oz.)
This is an infant formula so it came with a smaller scoop. 8 scoops fit in one section with room to spare! Not that your infant will take 8 oz. in one go. :-)

We also went ahead and tried the NUBY Natural Touch Formula Dispenser. (A better option for infant formula.)

This single-serve dispenser is included in both the 150mL Natural Touch Silicone Feeding Bottle (right)

...as well as the 150mL Natural Touch Softflex Feeding bottles.

These are also sold in 3-packs.

The Natural Touch formula dispensers fit right inside the bottle. So when you're out and about, you just have to pull out the dispenser, fill your bottle with water, mix the formula in and shake/swirl/stir!

If your baby or child's formula uses one of the scoops featured above, please do comment below and share the info with other parents! :-)

TV and DVD's

I would like to think that I am a very laidback type of Mom. I let our toddler climb up and down our couch, operate the DVD machine by herself and I don't force them to finish what's on their plate.

I would be the first to say: "Hayaan mo siya" when our preschooler attempts to move a big toy to the next room; or "Vitamins lang yan" after I realize my toddler had picked up a cracker from the floor and shoved it back in her mouth. (By "Vitamins lang yan.", I personally think that our digestive system becomes a bit hardier if occasionally exposed to some *ahem* elements. Haha!) I do not get full support from the family on these issues though as my husband and yaya are terribly overprotective. :-)

Anyway, before you call me a neglectful Mom, I AM very particular about a handful of things. One of which is their TV fare.

Local channels are off-limits to our kids. Our yayas know that if they want to watch their favorite teleserye, they will have to wait until the kids are napping or watch from the TV we have provided in the kitchen.

Limited access to cable channels such as Disney Playhouse and Nick Jr. are allowed. Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, Wonder Pets, Dora the Explorer are acceptable. (Yaya loves Wheel of Fortune and that is on the approved list :-)

We do supply them with educational or mommy-approved DVDs. Two series that we highly recommend are:

YOUR BABY CAN READ series
www.yourbabycanread.com

We have the whole system (5-pack DVD, sliding word cards, books, etc.)! Sorry if they're missing from the picture.)

We credit the YBCR series for our kids' early reading skills. Our eldest, DK1, started watching the YBCR series when she was 14 months. A bit late if you go by Dr. Titzer's recommended start of 6 months old. In a matter of days, we learned that DK1 could recognize (sight-read) short words such as "hi", "nose", "ear", etc. Next batch of words were "gorilla", "hippopotamus". A mouthful but we understood what she said.

Learning to read early threw open a door of possibilities to our kids. They want their own copy of restaurant menus and they learned what calamari and bolognese really are; the Tiger (biscuit) billboard on EDSA was a bane as they declared "It is for energy, Mommy!"; and my favorite --

DK1 (at 5 years old): Daddy, you cannot call me "Ms. Dilly-Dally" anymore.
Daddy: Why?
DK1: Ate and I checked her dictionary today and it was not there.
Daddy: It's a real word. It just wasn't in that dictionary. (checking his Iphone dictionary app): See here. Dilly-Dally: to waste time, to vacillate.
DK1: Oh, I see. *grins*
(moments later)
DK1: Mommy, so I can use "vacillating" sometimes?


LEAPFROG series

These Leapfrog DVDs are a great complement to the YBCR series. DK2's current favorite is the Learn to Read DVD. It teaches them how to sound out each letter and how to string them together to say a word. The videos really engage the children to learn along with the characters. Our toddler/DK2 is watching the Math DVD now and I can hear her counting along in 2's.

DVDs aside, it is quite important to instill the love of reading and learning in our children very early on. We always read them a bedtime story before tucking them in at night. And if we decide to give them a reward for say a job well done in school, our 'prize' is always a trip to the bookstore.

Please share with us your kids' favorite DVD's and shows!

P.S. I was told the Your Baby Can Read series is sold on one of the local home shopping channels.