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Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Hello Cinema!

July 27, 2013

The last time I stepped into a movie theatre was in 2008. Fatherkao and I (and Ben whom I was preggers with) watched Bolt on the big screen. We had deliberately selected a movie that would be sanitised for our unborn child. No violent scenes – check. No sex – check. No vulgarities – check. I’ve not watched anything else on big screen ever since that movie about a spy dog.

And I have been so deprived ever since motherhood consumed me. Even more so now, with 24/7 care-giving, once a day homelearning and 8 hours of co-sleeping.

So when Golden Village invited me and the kids to watch The Croods on big screen last week, guess who jumped for joy. The kids were like, “No…. we don’t want… we’re scared of the dark and the loud noise!” cos’ that’s what I told them theatres would be like, but I was like, “Come on, guys! Don’t be such a wuss! We have to go!”

They have never step foot in a cinema ever and this was going to be their first.

And watched The Croods we did, at Golden Village City Square.

Picture credit: disneydreaming.com

Picture credit: disneydreaming.com

Clutching on tight to the soft toys they brought!

Clutching on tight to the soft toys they brought!

I was surprised that for a ‘Mums & Babies Movie Screening’, which GV does on a regular basis (ticket at $6 and kids below 90cm go free!), they didn’t turn up some lights and turn down the volume. It would have been perfect if they did, because I needn’t have to sit Becks on my lap the whole time and have her almost bruise my arm every time there was scary music, loud sudden sounds and “bad stuff” happening on screen. The little girl was squeezing my arm so tight I had to cover her eyes and ears to stop her from injuring me. There were also a couple of kids and babies crying at different parts of the movie, and I guessed if the lights were turned up and volume turned down a little, it would probably help soothe some of them.

Ben, on the other hand, was cackling away and enjoying the show and his huge bag of popcorn. It was a really good movie, one of learning to embrace change and sticking together as a family. Very heartwarming. And funny!

As for Nat, the littlest caught the first ten minutes of the show, took a walk outside when he got cranky, fell asleep on the helper’s shoulder and slept through the entire movie with her covering his ears. I guess the only good thing about the complete darkness was that it was perfect for him to take his nap.

I am thankful to be seated in a movie theatre once again, after so many years. I’m also so glad to be able to lug all three kids to a movie, and watch it with so many other parents and their kids. We’re all parents there, so it was perfectly ok when a kid yelled / cried / screamed / talked / asked questions. No glaring. No shushing. No tsk-ing. We were all in the same boat — all deprived of a movie experience ever since parenthood but made possible by the Mums & Babies Screening at GV.

Yay, we did it! We watched a movie!

Yay, we did it! We watched a movie!

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. We were invited to the Mums & Babies Movie Screening at Golden Village. All opinions are my own.

Becks Kao Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Milestones and growing up

Operation Ballerina

July 26, 2013

I am of the opinion that every little girl needs to learn ballet.

But that’s just what I think cos’ I am one of those unfortunate few who didn’t. Have you seen how clumsy and chor-lor (loosely translated: sorely lacking elegance and poise) I am? And if you haven’t already noticed, I’ve also got two left feet and a back that’s pretty hunched.

I’ve always associated being trained in ballet with helping a girl develop good posture, elegance and composure, which is a great investment for her future. Ballet is a form of dance that relies heavily on physical strength and agility, strong concentration skills, an understanding of music and rhythm and a love for movement. That’s why I am on a quest to get our resident tomboy to LIKE ballet and go for classes.

My little girl turns three this month. Since the day she started sitting up, she’s been sitting like an ah-lian (loosely translated: an unsophisticated Chinese girl). When she started talking, she’s discovered that her vocal chords could be used to shout and holler like a drill master and has been doing that every single day. And oh yes, because she’s growing up with two brothers, she also secretly wishes she was a boy, and actually thinks she will be one when she grows up. Which explains why she hasn’t put on a dress for the whole year, and pees standing up.

I don’t know of any cure for all these except to put her through ballet classes.

So we’ve gone for a couple of trial lessons to get Becks interested in pre-school ballet. When she was two half, we were invited for a trial at KiddieWinkie School House. After the trial, I concluded she was too young (and too sticky) to be learning something so foreign to her, such as tiptoeing and prancing, and so we decided to wait till she’s three to start again.

Just this month, we were invited to the Metropolitan YMCA for their pre-school MY Ballet classes on Saturday mornings. I was thrilled. For her. I think I was even more excited than her. I showed her Youtube vids of ballerinas her age dancing to classical tunes. I even bought the Tyrell Katz ballet bag and tried to interest her with the pretty pictures of ballerinas on it.

Alas, she’s at the stage where she dislikes pink (her favourite colour is now green). She hates princessy things and the only doll she has (a Disney Mulan now looking completely disheveled and more like a slave girl than a princess) has been banished to a corner on the shelf to eat dust.

So what does a desperate mother do to begin Operation Ballerina? She bribes the little girl with vitamin pastilles so she would participate in class.

And this is my little girl trying to participate, after much coaxing and pleading, and two sugar-coated gum drops:

Ballet trial at MYMCA

As you can see, she doesn’t seem very into this ballet thing.

The first two lessons were new and a refreshing change from our usual routine on Saturdays, and so they were still quite fun to Becks. But by the time it got to the third week, she was begging me not to go. She started negotiating for more candies and asking if she could be learning swimming instead.

Urgh.

Gonna have to adopt a wait-and-see approach again, and introduce her to ballet when she’s more ready. I still think she needs to learn it, but perhaps not now.

Till then, thank you, Metropolitan YMCA, for offering Becks a chance to participate in July’s MY Ballet lessons and allowing me to sit in with her too!

*If you’d like to sign your little tot up for MY Ballet at the Metropolitan YMCA, you can email programmes@mymca.org.sg to enquire. Motherkao readers get a 5% discount off term fees!*

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post or review. Becks was invited to try out pre-school ballet at the Metropolitan YMCA. All opinions in this post are my own.

P/S: Yes, and I do also know she doesn’t need to pick up ballet to learn to be lady-like. Perhaps if she had a role-model who would teach her how to be graceful and gentle, that would pretty much fix some of our problems, yes? Umm, have you seen Becks’ mother? Hurhurhur. 

Fatherkao loves... Food, glorious food! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Product Reviews The Kao Kids

Smooth Operator (with help from the all new Philips Jamie Oliver Blender)

July 25, 2013

No, I’m not referring to Sade’s lover boy with diamond life.

I’m referring to this man who’s been in the kitchen lately, making after-dinner drinks for the kids and winning their hearts:

Smooth(ie) Operator

Smooth(ie) Operator

Thanks to the all new Philips Jamie Oliver Blender, Fatherkao is now the official Smooth(ie) Operator in our house. With mangoes in season, a 600-W blender with a two-speed pulse setting, a high quality 1.5-litre jar and titanium-coated 5-star serrated blades, he’s been wowing the kids with his smoothie creations effortlessly using this new kitchen tool.

The all new Philips Jamie Oliver Blender

The all new Philips Jamie Oliver Blender

He throws in ripe mangoes with lemon sorbet, some fresh lime and mint leaves, and pulse everything with crushed ice. Some days he adds a dash of milk and some days a splash of orange juice.

The ingredients for a refreshing mango smoothie

The ingredients for a refreshing mango smoothie

And the kids go on an all-time high waiting for their desserts after dinner…

Act 1, Scene 1: Impatience

Act 1, Scene 1: Gimme, gimme!

Act 2, Scene 1: More impatience

Act 2, Scene 1: Can’t wait! Gimme!

Act 2, Scene 2: Smoothie ready!

Act 2, Scene 2: Smoothie ready!

And going totally ecstatic to the point of declaring this:

Ben: Mama makes smoothie a little bit nice. But Dada makes the NICEST! Next time, when Mama wants to make smoothie, we’ll call you, ok, Dada?

Yummy yum yum, they say

Yummy yum yum, they say!

Now, that’s how the Smooth Operator stole my thunder and became the latest hero in the kitchen, with an uncomplicated blender who does all the work for him!

Keep life simple with the PHILIPS | Jamie Oliver range which includes a food processor (S$268), handblender (S$128) and blender (S$108). Available at leading electronics and departmental stores.

Disclosure: I received the Philips Jamie Oliver Blender for the purpose of writing this. This post is the second in a series of sponsored conversations on behalf of Philips Singapore. All opinions are my own. And yes, I am jealous that what I make for the kids is only “a little bit nice” but that’s just because I lent Fatherkao my Philips JO blender.

Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Reviews

FoodArt fun at Nutriville

July 24, 2013

During the June holidays, we were invited to check out Nutriville, a social enterprise that was established in 2011 that aimed to create novel yet practical ways to empower and equip senior folks in our community to help them age better and happier. The organisation was born when the founders, two young adults in their twenties, witnessed how their grandmother’s health and well-being deteriorated after a bad fall, and after being diagnosed with dementia. These two cousins then decided they wanted to do something meaningful for the senior folks in our community – they set up Nutriville and have been trying to accomplish their social mission ever since.

How is this social enterprise relevant to me, a mother with three kids, you may ask. Nutriville has launched a series of Food Art classes for children aged 4 and above, and are committed to channel their revenue from these programmes to engage their beneficiaries. I thought it might be worthwhile to check out what exactly is Food Art and find out what this social enterprise had to offer.

Nutriville’s FoodArt Programme is probably the first of its kind here in Singapore. The programme integrates food and art to create real art work, mosaic, crafts and clay. We checked out their “Carnival of FoodArt” at their pre-opening, and Ben and Becks had fun creating their own masterpiece with corn paint, carved potatoes and coloured rice.

Carnival of FoodArt

FoodArt Experience

It was a good hour of fun for them. I must say, given the neat freak that I am with my obsessive compulsion to keep everything orderly and clean, I might never allow this mess to happen at home. I’m glad Nutriville gave the kids a chance to make a mess and go creative on their drawing paper!

Final product

Nutriville offers a range of courses from creative FoodArt and food-carving to healthy cooking with traditional recipes. They also have classes that promote inter-generational learning, where you can bring a senior folk to go to class with you. The senior goes free too, for every paying participant. So if Grandpa or Grandma are bored out of their socks at home, they can attend class with junior, learn a thing or two about food art and in turn, pick up some skills. Special moments of bonding included too, I am pretty sure!

If you’d like to support Nutriville, do enquire at enquiry@nutriville.org, or visit their website and Facebook page for more details on their programmes, camps and workshops. Nutriville is located at Hangout@Nutriville, 153B Rochor Road, Bugis Village

Disclosure: We were invited to Nutriville’s pre-opening earlier in June. I did not receive any monetary compensation to write this and all opinions are my own.

Going Out! Invites & Tryouts The Kao Kids

No sweat at the Drypers Little Day Out

July 18, 2013

We were at the first Drypers Little Day Out last year and I wrote about how the kids were averse to crowds at 3 and 2 respectively. Now that they’re 4 and 3, they are not so allergic to people anymore and welcome any opportunity to play, jump on bouncy castles and hop on carnival rides.

So we checked out the 2nd Drypers Little Day Out that was held two Saturdays ago at the Expo.

Dypers LDO at Expo

It was somewhat different from the first one we attended last year, in that, there was a lot more space, there was a lot less jostling we had to do, and it was a lot more cooler to be having carnival fun in air-conditioning comfort.

There was a whole host of activities for learning and family bonding from the get-go till the evening. There were activity stations on the left of the hall which included parent-accompanied music jamming for toddlers by KinderMusik, gym play by Gymboree, and a make-your-own-cupcakes booth. There were also story-telling sessions by Creative Ark on the stage, but of course, none of these were as enticing as those bouncy castles and Uncle Ringo rides that bade Ben and Becks come.

Activity booths at LDO

And go they did, the whole afternoon long. On foot and by wheels.

Playground fun at LDO

Bouncy engine at LDO

Train ride at LDO

Good thing there were chairs for the adults to sit around.

I was a little disappointed that there weren’t snacks available for the very hungry and tired mother that was me who needed to space out while the children played. Some tea and popcorn would be nice! I remembered having popcorn and candy floss the last time round. This year, I had to walk out to one of those push carts to pay for a super-inflated cup of corn for two-frigging-fifty. Oh well, things I do for my kids – eat so they can play longer.

Still, the kids had fun with Uncle Ringo and were practically still bouncing away when we had to leave. They were like, ‘Can we please go to this carnival again, we like doing this in aircon!’ These are spoilt kids, I say, but I must thank Drypers Singapore for pampering them silly. At least this time we had a cool, lovely Saturday together, and the kids didn’t have to queue in the heat and sweat buckets!

Balloons galore at LDO

Today we had fun

Parting shot at photo booth

This post was brought to you by Drypers who kindly sponsored our Drypers Wee Wee Dry and  Drypers DryPantz and invited us to make time for the family at their Little Day Out.

Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews The real supermom

Shake legs grocery shopping with RedMart

July 16, 2013

I’ve written some time ago how supermarketing is now a whole new experience with three kids in tow. It’s a big excursion that requires planning and coordination of naptimes and mealtimes, as well as a good deal of strategizing on how to get my shopping-list items in the most efficient way, while keeping the kids out of mischief. And oh yes, the three of them now fill up one trolley, so I push one more extra now so the groceries can go somewhere. Which means I can never head to the supermarket without an extra pair of adult hands to help me push the kids around and make sure they don’t pinch, stab and squash whatever they see along the way.

There are some days when I really don’t feel like I want to be pushing three kids in a trolley, don’t wish to be lifting a single grocery bag, don’t want to be stepping foot into a supermarket (which is almost always crowded these days!) and wasting precious time queuing. Did I also mention that finding parking at these malls with supermarkets is such a pain?

What can I do on these “some days”, especially if the larder, refrigerator and toiletries cabinet are calling out to be replenished?

Online shopping! I hear you say.

Somebody recently told me that I should start buying groceries online if bringing the kids out is such a hassle. There are local e-grocers that offer competitive prices and free delivery within the same day to cater to the modern need for efficiency and convenience. Some time ago, I experienced one of those “some days” and decided to stock up my household items at RedMart. We were running out of rice, bathroom cleaners and snacks for the kids; plus, the doc’s just given me orders to lower my LDL, so I desperately needed to buy some oatmeal cereal and go make myself a few thousand bowls of that to eat over breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of my life. And with the recent haze crisis, I wasn’t too sure of the PM2.5 concentrations in our air to be heading out with the kids. I dread looking for parking and paying for parking, and Nat fussing to be carried after a few minutes of being in the trolley.

So I went online and got everything I needed in the comfort of my couch, using only five fingers and a mouse.

And it was so easy, so quick, so convenient! Here’s what I did:

Redmart Sign up

Signed up with an email address and a password

Redmart Successful Registration

Got a smiley and an email for registering successfully

Browse by categories

Browsed by categories, which were readily available on the header and footer and the left sidebar

A while later…

What happens after check-out: payment, choose a delivery timing and wait for items to be delivered!

What happens after check-out: payment, choose delivery timing and wait for items to be delivered!

My orders came promptly the next day at the delivery timing I selected, and the larder was restocked. Happiness!

Order came promptly!

Orders came promptly, and we’re restocked again!

No need to push trolleys around. No need to strategise shopping route. No fuss and meltdowns. No need to have to lug the kids who somehow always had the magical ability to conjure up a full bladder despite emptying it before we leave home and whenever we’re halfway supermarketing. No need to have to hear them scream Yakult! Oreos! Apples! – and wish there was a hole to hide – whenever we go down the aisles.

Can shake legs some more.

I’ve concluded: I need to do this more often – especially if all the heavy stuff like rice, diapers, milk powder and canned food all run out at the same time – and on those “some days” when I am too bone-tired to have to run about a supermarket!

More details:

The store comes to you at RedMart, with its large product selection of home essentials, same day delivery within 2-hour delivery windows (so you need only be home for 2 hours), free delivery on orders above $75, competitive prices and automatic reminders to restock. RedMart knows you have better things to do!

*Wanna shake legs shopping for grocery too? RedMart is offering readers of this blog a 10% discount on your first purchase! Simply check out with the code rm_mkao!*

Disclosure: The good folks at RedMart sponsored this post and gave me the opportunity to shake legs, drink a glass of Milo, and grocery-shop away online in the wee hours of the night. They were also kind enough to pick up the tab. All opinions and doctoring of the screen captures (yep, those with added emphasis and shout-outs; and also so you won’t know where I live!) are my own.

Going Out! Invites & Tryouts

Hey Little Mousedeer! [Tickets giveaway]

July 14, 2013

Hey Little Mousedeer_Sistic

This production really couldn’t have come at a better time. We don’t know if hazy days are really over – and will never again return – but it’s a good time to reflect about what we can all do to help save the environment.

And what better way to drive the message home to our little ones than through story telling!

Hey Little Mousedeer Fighting the Haze

Hey Little Mousedeer! is a drama-musical by I Theatre which explores the challenges that the Little Mousedeer and his friends face in the forest.  The jungle creatures find out about jungle fires and the devastating consequences for all the inhabitants of the jungle. Through a carefully interwoven selection of fascinating and fun folk tales, the clever mousedeer and friends take us on a journey of discovering our region’s colourful heritage and teach us valuable lessons about saving the environment, bravery and facing the consequences of one’s own actions.

The production is recommended for 3 to 14 years old.

*Giveaway*

I Theatre is giving away two tickets (worth $56) to the drama-musical on 27 July (2.30pm) to Hey Little Mousedeer! for one reader of this blog! Leave a comment telling me how you kept well during the haze season, together with your name and email address, and we’ll be randomly picking one winner!

Giveaway closes on 20 July 2013.

P/S: I’m bringing my two older kids to learn a thing or two from the little mousedeer himself about saving the environment, thanks to I Theatre who also sponsored our tickets! I shared about how we kept well in an earlier post here, and have been thinking of ways to educate the kids about forest fires and the devastation they bring, besides showing them news and Youtube vids. Again I say, this production couldn’t have come at a better time!

Results of the giveaway: The random number generator picked Akila as the winner of the 2 tickets for the 2.30pm show on 27 July! Congrats, and a big thank you to all who participated! Thanks for sharing how you kept well in the haze. I picked up a few tips from all who shared.

You can still get tickets from Sistic and catch the production!

Becks Kao Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Reviews

Learning fun at Chengzhu Mandarin Centre [Review]

July 5, 2013

If you don’t already know, my children speak little Chinese and the Mandarin they use in speech is so poorly pronounced it sometimes puts me, the student who used to ace Chinese from primary school to JC, to shame. My children think it’s funny to converse in Chinese, although their nurturing Chinese teachers in kindergarten are slowly changing their minds about that.

As for me their mother, I am quite helpless, really. They think Mama’s telling some joke when she uses Mandarin to speak to them.

So I would gladly outsource teaching the Chinese Language to anyone other than me.

During the second week of the June holidays, Becks was invited to attend the Holiday Programme at Chengzhu Mandarin Centre (成竹华语中心). Titled Kaka’s Teeth (卡卡的牙齿), the 5-day programme was designed for preschoolers aged 3 and 4 to immerse them in the world of Kaka, the friendly dinosaur, who helped his animal friends crack open nuts of all sorts with his strong teeth.

Becks was, of course, initially very frightened to be suddenly surrounded by people who spoke in Mandarin in a wholly Chinese environment on the first day. She was initially reluctant to go for class, until she stepped further in and saw this:

Spacious play area

Spacious play area

The school, located at Rochester Mall, is designed so brightly and cheerily to reflect the richness and uniqueness of the Chinese culture. I was awed by the details that were in the classrooms, hallway, walls and even the toilets!

A very bright and cheery learning environment that highlights the richness of the Chinese culture

A very bright and cheery learning environment that highlights the richness of the Chinese culture

Needless to say, my little girl was too happy to embrace their play before work philosophy:

Getting around in her Little Tike before class

Getting around in her Little Tikes before class

When it was time for class, we joined 7 other children (whom we would spend the next 4 days with) and Teacher Zhang Ping to explore the world of Kaka from the story, Kaka’s Teeth.

First lesson

Becks at her first lesson

Over the next few days, we met a squirrel, a monkey and a cat from the story, all needing help from Kaka the Dinosaur. Kaka‘s strong teeth helped them crack open the hard shells of pine nuts, walnuts and the tough husks of coconuts.

Story of Kaka's Teeth

We were also introduced to new words from the story through games, songs, flashcards and experiential learning.

Building vocabulary through flashcards, games and songs

Building vocabulary through flashcards, games and songs

Teacher Zhang Ping even brought food mentioned in the story to class to help the children make meangingful connections and relate to the story. So the kids got to try coconut juice, walnuts, pine nuts, and even tasted bittergourd, chilli sauce and lemon as they were learning words like 味道, 椰子, 核桃, 松子.

Making meaningful connections through tasting!

Making meaningful connections through food tasting!

They were plenty of speech and drama and storytelling bits incorporated within each lesson, which I hear, is Chengzhu’s niche. The teachers are all native speakers who spoke very well and are very experienced with children. Teacher Zhang Ping and her assistants were always engaging the kids with songs, puppets and lots of dramatic play. The kids also looked forward to the hands-on part in each lesson where they would create their own “storybook” of Kaka’s Teeth, by pasting slips of cut-outs that matched the illustrations.

Becks got to make a few pages of her "storybook" by sticking slips of paper to the pictures. The children then ran aloud with the teacher after the "storybook" was done.

Becks got to make a few pages of her “storybook” by sticking slips of paper to the pictures. The children then read aloud with the teacher after each page of the “storybook” was done.

Of course, Teacher Zhang Ping also constantly encouraged parents to help the kids retain what they learned in class by revising what she taught that day. She gave parents a quick briefing before dismissal every day on how to do just that.

Becks had a lot of fun, and actually spoke A LOT of Chinese that week! She remembered the songs, the dramatic play and the phrases that were taught, reinforced and repeated from each day’s lesson. It was great to finally hear accurate pronunciation from her. I am now more convinced than ever that I need to keep using the language with the kids, no matter how odd I sound to them. Persistence, Motherkao! Persistence!

All in all, the 5 days of learning the language was fun (and not funny, like she used to think) for Becks who thoroughly enjoyed “going to school” during the holidays. She now reads her “storybook” with pride and even went home to teach Ben what she’s learnt!

More details:
  • At Chengzhu Mandarin Centre, children and their families can look forward to being immersed in the Chinese language and Chinese culture, as well as holistic, meaningful and long-lasting learning experiences. The centre runs regular Adult Accompanied Programmes, Preschool Programmes and School Years Programmes throughout the year, as well as Holiday Programmes in the month of June and December.
  • Chengzhu Mandarin Centre is located at 35 Rochester Drive, #03-01 Rochester Mall, Singapore 138639 | Tel: (65) 6737 5348

Stay tuned for a giveaway happening in October for the next run of Chengzhu’s Holiday Programmes at the end of the year!

Disclosure: Becks was invited to the Holiday Programme and I was allowed to sit in for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

Invites & Tryouts Product Reviews The Kao Kids

The sakura blossoms here, too!

July 1, 2013

The heat’s back with such a vengeance the kids are begging to take their clothes off. They are smelly, sweaty and sticky all the time.

I’m not so keen to be blasting the a/c in the house even in this heat. I’d much prefer the kids sit in a tub and cool down with water. So it was timely that Pigeon sent the Kao kids their new Pigeon Sakura Baby Toiletries to keep their skin enriched with natural Sakura extract in this unbearable weather. The cherry blossom, also known as the Sakura flower, is said to bring about a whole host of benefits. The natural Sakura extract helps combat skin roughness, refreshes and moisturises even the most sensitive of skins and contains anti-inflammatory properties.

Pigeon Sakura Baby Toiletries

Bath time is always fun time, and the kids are loving the new Pigeon Sakura Babycare range of products. They are mild and gentle, and smell awesomely refreshing. Best of all, they do not contain harsh chemicals like parabens, sulphates and colouring agents.

Pigeon Sakura Shampoo

Pigeon Sakura Baby Wash 2-in-1

Pigeon Sakura Baby Milky Lotion_Ben & Nat

Pigeon Sakura Baby Milky Lotion_Becks

I’ve not yet seen the cherry blossom, but if this is how it smells, I am so going to head to Japan sooner than later to see and smell the beautiful Sakura for myself. Till then, I’m going to be stealing these toiletries from the kids to use so I can smell refreshingly good like them in this crazy heat!

To learn more about their products, visit www.pigeon.com.sg.

Web Banner Sakura Baby Toiletries

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Rise & Shine. We received the Pigeon Sakura Baby Toiletries Set for the purpose of this review. All opinions here are Motherkao’s own.

Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up Product Reviews The Kao Kids

Perfectly diapered by Drypers

June 27, 2013

I know exactly what I want in a diaper and what a diaper at each stage of my baby’s growth must do. As a mother who’s birthed three children in four years and changed at least 9657 diapers for all three kids put together (and still counting), I think I qualify somewhat as a diaper expert here.

Here is my very own list of what I think the perfect diaper must possess.

The multitasking diaper

If you asked me if I’ve found the diaper of all diapers that has all of the above 10 qualities, I have.

Before that, I’ve tried diaper brands of almost every kind in the market and requested for samples at every opportunity. In my first stint as a newbie mother, I was perpetually in search of the perfect diaper that would meet the diapering needs of my baby as he grew. When Ben did the explosive poop on me and the diaper leaked, I switched brands in the hope of finding something that’s leak-proof from poop bombs. When he started getting nappy rash, I started searching for something that could keep his skin dry and moisturised at the same time. When my baby started to flip and crawl around like Speedy Gonzales on the loose, I was on the hunt again for comfortable yet absorbent pull-ups. When he finally slept through the night, I needed diapers that could last him through at least 10 hours and not have him waddle in a pool of pee.

The search didn’t stop even when I thought I’ve found a good brand to stick with. I discovered what worked for Ben might not work for Becks, and what works for the either of them might not work for Nat. We’re talking particularly about the way each child’s skin takes to the material of the diaper and the cutting and sizing fit for the shape of his or her bum here. With every new addition to the family, the search for “the one” for each child begins all over again.

Ever since Drypers launched a new and improved Drypers Wee Wee DRY and Drypers DryPantz, the search is officially over. Both the Wee Wee DRY and DryPantz are the variants of the multi-tasking disposable diaper, fully capable of delivering #1 to #9, and also #10, with its value for money in each pack, on my list.

As of now, Ben is fully toilet-trained in the day, so he doesn’t require diapers at all. Becks is toilet-trained (finally). After more misses than hits, we’ve finally gotten off to a good start this year. I still make her wear her Drypers DryPantz when she goes out, simply because I hate having to bring her to public toilets. Even I hold pee in as much as I can when we’re out. I like it that the Drypers DryPantz can hold a lot of her pee and I usually don’t have to change it for many hours.

It also fits her snugly and doesn’t leave ugly elastic band marks on her waist. Best of all, she moves with ease in her Drypers DryPantz. Her fitting pull-ups have never given way even when she rolled and tumbled during gym classes or played wildly at playgrounds.

It comes with a cute kangaroo design too, which is always a welcoming thing to look at when you have to diaper a child. Unlike other brands which says plainly “front” and “back” to indicate how to wear the pull-up (and which requires a child to be able to read), the DryPantz does a no-brainer with this, so Becks can easily put this on on her own:

Drypers DryPantz

As for Nat, well, he is just happy to be naked.

Butt Naked Nat

I’m kidding. He wears whatever’s available to him most of the the time. Because the Drypers DryPantz costs a little more than the Drypers Wee Wee DRY, his pull-ups are usually reserved for going out.

Nat in Wee Wee Dry

At night, all three kids wear their disposable diapers to bed. My toilet-training philosophy for the night is simple: Show me the first dry diaper in the morning, and we will begin. Until then, diapers please! It used to be that we were set on a particular brand to be used as night diapers because the whole world said it was the best in the market that keeps baby dry through the night.

Until we put the new improved Drypers Wee Wee DRY to the test.

Drypers Wee Wee Dry

Along the way, we’ve had a few incidents, and I initially thought that Drypers Wee Wee DRY Zip Dry Core™’s claim to absorb and lock urine doesn’t hold water (couldn’t resist the pun here). I was on the verge of switching back to everybody-says-it’s-best-for-night brand, when I realised that the wet beds usually happen when the kids had a little more milk or water than the usual the night before. So now, I just make all of them empty their bladder after their milk feed before diapering them, and I’m happy to say, Drypers Wee Wee DRY hasn’t failed us one bit as our night diaper.

Colour coded Wee Wee Dry

So yay, I’m breathing easy now that I’ve found what I want in a diaper for ALL three kids. I’m glad Drypers made all the improvements to their diapers cos’ thanks to that, I don’t have to keep switching brands to try and asking for samples everywhere I go. Got better things to do, you know. Like watching my babies walk around in cute diapered bums.

Disclosure: We’ve been regular users of Drypers since June 2012. Becks and Nat received four packs of Drypers DryPantz and four packs of Drypers Wee Wee DRY respectively for the purpose of this review, and Motherkao was compensated to put these diapers on for them. All opinions here are Motherkao’s own.

This is the first in a series of sponsored conversations on behalf of Drypers Singapore.