• As a first time mom who never held a newborn in her life, I was terrified of SIDS & rolling over baby while co-sleeping...Can you relate? It‘s especially scary for babies who prefer to sleep on their front/face - like @diplobaby. So I did lots of research for the most breathable mattresses and nests that would reduce our anxiety & prevent us from rolling over the baby. Bonus: nests help babies sleep longer because they feel snug like they did your tummy. I wanted to find the gold standards for breathability in beds and nests. The bonus for this particular baby bed was it was easy to move with - a must for expats and diplos. Another EXTRA? It can grow with our child until he is 10 years old and can be passed on to another baby after! Isn’t that amazing in terms of sustainability? We avoided MDF, compressed wood and plywood beds that are difficult to take apart and will become loose/UNSAFE when put back together. Beds in these materials need to be moved whole, but they get damaged going through doors/ elevators/stairways and so difficult, if not impossible to repair. Not ideal if you have any chance of moving homes in the next 10 years. So if you have a newborn or about to give birth and don’t want to think of what bed to buy or upgrade for the next 10 years of your kids life, this might be the bed for you: https://undiplomaticwife.com/moving-friendly-crib-stokke-sleepi-baby-bed/ When researching baby products I found the variety astounding and overwhelming for FTPs or First Time Parents. I didn’t want to got from moses basket, to crib, toddler bed, and then a junior bed. In the end it was also also about cost. The bed we chose was pricey but came out cheaper over 10 years. Have you ever moved with a bed and a baby? Where did you move from and where did you go? How old was your baby? What was it like? What were the challenges that you had to deal with? #diplobaby #diplowife #diplofamily #expatlife #diplolife #urbannomad #diplomama #diplomom #stokke #stokkesleepi #coocoonababy #sleepyheadofsweden #dockatot #newbornbabies #babystuff #babystuffph #instacute #instagood #firsttimemom #expat
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    As a first time mom who never held a newborn in her life, I was terrified of SIDS & rolling over baby while co-sleeping...Can you relate? It‘s especially scary for babies who prefer to sleep on their front/face - like @diplobaby. So I did lots of research for the most breathable mattresses and nests that would reduce our anxiety & prevent us from rolling over the baby. Bonus: nests help babies sleep longer because they feel snug like they did your tummy. I wanted to find the gold standards for breathability in beds and nests. The bonus for this particular baby bed was it was easy to move with - a must for expats and diplos. Another EXTRA? It can grow with our child until he is 10 years old and can be passed on to another baby after! Isn’t that amazing in terms of sustainability? We avoided MDF, compressed wood and plywood beds that are difficult to take apart and will become loose/UNSAFE when put back together. Beds in these materials need to be moved whole, but they get damaged going through doors/ elevators/stairways and so difficult, if not impossible to repair. Not ideal if you have any chance of moving homes in the next 10 years. So if you have a newborn or about to give birth and don’t want to think of what bed to buy or upgrade for the next 10 years of your kids life, this might be the bed for you: https://undiplomaticwife.com/moving-friendly-crib-stokke-sleepi-baby-bed/ When researching baby products I found the variety astounding and overwhelming for FTPs or First Time Parents. I didn’t want to got from moses basket, to crib, toddler bed, and then a junior bed. In the end it was also also about cost. The bed we chose was pricey but came out cheaper over 10 years. Have you ever moved with a bed and a baby? Where did you move from and where did you go? How old was your baby? What was it like? What were the challenges that you had to deal with? #diplobaby #diplowife #diplofamily #expatlife #diplolife #urbannomad #diplomama #diplomom #stokke #stokkesleepi #coocoonababy #sleepyheadofsweden #dockatot #newbornbabies #babystuff #babystuffph #instacute #instagood #firsttimemom #expat
  • Cooped up indoors without a balcony or backyard? Create your own indoor garden or put pops of green all over your home to have a more soothing space! Whether you choose real plants or faux, studies show that any greens will help! We are on day 28 of quarantine. We started earlier than the rest of the manila because we arrived from Kyoto via Nagoya airport a few days before Manila went on lockdown. What’s saved my sanity is our little indoor garden. This photo was taken by @Chuzailiving when she featured my home on https://www.chuzailiving.com/scandinavian-design-home-manila/ What I found works really well in our condition: indoor, no morning or afternoon sun, no direct sunlight, lots of AC use are hardy plants like what you see. OMG I don’t even know the names! But the surprising one that grows so fast and really filled up my space is Oregano. I started with one plant but it grew so fast. Every time you cut a stem, all you need to do is stick it in soil and it will grow roots! AMAZING! People ask me how we do it and the secret is this: You have to try different varieties to see what kind of plants love the conditions of your home. Sadly several plants will die while you are figuring it out. But once you know 2-3 plants that like your space, the key is to repeat them. Repetition also makes your space visually decluttered. For now ask a neighbor for cuttings that you can replant or root some of your veggies like spring onions, garlic, etc. any little bit of greens will help. Tag a friend who would love to have more greens in their home!
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    Cooped up indoors without a balcony or backyard? Create your own indoor garden or put pops of green all over your home to have a more soothing space! Whether you choose real plants or faux, studies show that any greens will help! We are on day 28 of quarantine. We started earlier than the rest of the manila because we arrived from Kyoto via Nagoya airport a few days before Manila went on lockdown. What’s saved my sanity is our little indoor garden. This photo was taken by @Chuzailiving when she featured my home on https://www.chuzailiving.com/scandinavian-design-home-manila/ What I found works really well in our condition: indoor, no morning or afternoon sun, no direct sunlight, lots of AC use are hardy plants like what you see. OMG I don’t even know the names! But the surprising one that grows so fast and really filled up my space is Oregano. I started with one plant but it grew so fast. Every time you cut a stem, all you need to do is stick it in soil and it will grow roots! AMAZING! People ask me how we do it and the secret is this: You have to try different varieties to see what kind of plants love the conditions of your home. Sadly several plants will die while you are figuring it out. But once you know 2-3 plants that like your space, the key is to repeat them. Repetition also makes your space visually decluttered. For now ask a neighbor for cuttings that you can replant or root some of your veggies like spring onions, garlic, etc. any little bit of greens will help. Tag a friend who would love to have more greens in their home!
  • Gosh I was getting so sentimental when I was writing this blog post on a moving-friendly baby bed for expats, diplomats and people who are likely to move homes within the same city or not. Seeing @diplobaby’s pictures got me all gigil and good vibes! When he was a newborn in Berlin and when we moved here he was so so tiny! I had so much fun showing him his baby pictures last night! We ended the night on a high note. If you wanna see some pics that will make you smile head over to https://undiplomaticwife.com/moving-friendly-crib-stokke-sleepi-baby-bed/ or link in bio! After almost 5 years of use I can honestly say that this was the best investment ever. And I’m happy that my son can use it for 5 more years - I don’t have to keep shopping for a bed every time he meets a milestone because it grows with him. For people who have the possibility of moving whether in the same city or to different countries, this is the most convenient coz we can easily dismantle and assemble it, get it out the door, transport it and that it doesn’t take up so much space in our shipments!
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    Gosh I was getting so sentimental when I was writing this blog post on a moving-friendly baby bed for expats, diplomats and people who are likely to move homes within the same city or not. Seeing @diplobaby’s pictures got me all gigil and good vibes! When he was a newborn in Berlin and when we moved here he was so so tiny! I had so much fun showing him his baby pictures last night! We ended the night on a high note. If you wanna see some pics that will make you smile head over to https://undiplomaticwife.com/moving-friendly-crib-stokke-sleepi-baby-bed/ or link in bio! After almost 5 years of use I can honestly say that this was the best investment ever. And I’m happy that my son can use it for 5 more years - I don’t have to keep shopping for a bed every time he meets a milestone because it grows with him. For people who have the possibility of moving whether in the same city or to different countries, this is the most convenient coz we can easily dismantle and assemble it, get it out the door, transport it and that it doesn’t take up so much space in our shipments!
  • Okay I’m gonna serve up some mommy real-ness and TMI the $#!+ out of this post! Well that’s why I changed my name to #undiplomaticwife right? So I can talk about #undiplomama stuff! Okay kids can be really gross, boogers and all. Swipe to second pic! @DiploBaby insists on me taking a picture of his boogers before I use saline solution to remove it. Yup you heard me right! We do not allow nose picking! So here is what we do instead. All you need are: - Salinase (basically salt water solution) - 2 pieces of tissue 1. Tilt toddler’s head and put 2-3 drops of salinase in each nostril 2. Squeeze the nose a few times to soak the boogers 3. Have them blow each nostril into the tissue. I swear you will be surprised with what you will find! 4. Check the nostrils and if there are still some remaining, repeat steps 1-3 until clean. Salinase is not just for colds. It’s to prevent nose picking & getting wounds inside the nose from nose picking. It’s so essential that aside from our @kurinwater baby safe hand sanitizer, and a lampin, this is one of the things we bring with us everywhere: anytime DiploBaby leaves the house and when we travel. Always close at hand for any pesky boogers! Or to ease colds! My son has always preferred getting it in drops with Salinase compared to the higher pressure Sterimar spray. He hated the latter. But some babies prefer it. For babies who do not know how to blow their nose yet, be sure to have an Angel Vac so you can suck up all the snot in 1 second. It’s soooo much more convenient than the Nose Frida coz all it takes is 1 second per nostril! My baby would fight me tooth and nail so I could never really make the Nose Frida work! It was so frustrating! What’s your favorite salt solution for kids? Did you know it’s also great for adults?!
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    Okay I’m gonna serve up some mommy real-ness and TMI the $#!+ out of this post! Well that’s why I changed my name to #undiplomaticwife right? So I can talk about #undiplomama stuff! Okay kids can be really gross, boogers and all. Swipe to second pic! @DiploBaby insists on me taking a picture of his boogers before I use saline solution to remove it. Yup you heard me right! We do not allow nose picking! So here is what we do instead. All you need are: - Salinase (basically salt water solution) - 2 pieces of tissue 1. Tilt toddler’s head and put 2-3 drops of salinase in each nostril 2. Squeeze the nose a few times to soak the boogers 3. Have them blow each nostril into the tissue. I swear you will be surprised with what you will find! 4. Check the nostrils and if there are still some remaining, repeat steps 1-3 until clean. Salinase is not just for colds. It’s to prevent nose picking & getting wounds inside the nose from nose picking. It’s so essential that aside from our @kurinwater baby safe hand sanitizer, and a lampin, this is one of the things we bring with us everywhere: anytime DiploBaby leaves the house and when we travel. Always close at hand for any pesky boogers! Or to ease colds! My son has always preferred getting it in drops with Salinase compared to the higher pressure Sterimar spray. He hated the latter. But some babies prefer it. For babies who do not know how to blow their nose yet, be sure to have an Angel Vac so you can suck up all the snot in 1 second. It’s soooo much more convenient than the Nose Frida coz all it takes is 1 second per nostril! My baby would fight me tooth and nail so I could never really make the Nose Frida work! It was so frustrating! What’s your favorite salt solution for kids? Did you know it’s also great for adults?!
  • Happy Birthday to the man who has turned life upside down sideways and brought us so many adventures! The Yin to my Yang balancing out life at home and the best dad in the world to @diplobaby and @diplodoglife. We wish you good health and long life! The world is so much brighter with you in it. I felt so bad coz I wasn’t able to decorate or bake a cake yesterday coz I was feeling so sick. Little did I know that TD and DiploBaby with Yaya B made a mango float using the @lotusbiscoffus that we had so much of (instead of graham cookies). So we got to sing him happy birthday with a cake and candle. Yayyyy!!!
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    Happy Birthday to the man who has turned life upside down sideways and brought us so many adventures! The Yin to my Yang balancing out life at home and the best dad in the world to @diplobaby and @diplodoglife. We wish you good health and long life! The world is so much brighter with you in it. I felt so bad coz I wasn’t able to decorate or bake a cake yesterday coz I was feeling so sick. Little did I know that TD and DiploBaby with Yaya B made a mango float using the @lotusbiscoffus that we had so much of (instead of graham cookies). So we got to sing him happy birthday with a cake and candle. Yayyyy!!!