Best Baby Purchases

After nearly one year in, I am compiling a list of the things and items that I have found most useful in taking care of Lola, as well as our favorite brands. These items are very individual to us, but I wanted a place to share the items that I found to be so wonderful during Lola's first year.  I researched extensively what to buy before having her, but of course I knew we couldn't perfect it because so many of these things would depend on her preference.

None of these are affiliate links, and this is not meant to be an exhaustive list covering every category.  It's just a list of stuff that we found, were recommended or were gifted, that we have found to be amazing, useful, or just really essential.  Everything on this list is an item that we used or continue to use (nearly) every day and sometimes multiple times a day.  Of course, given how quickly babies develop during this time, some things were absolutely essential which Lola has now outgrown.  And similarly, I am sure there are things that we are using constantly now that we will soon cease to use.

1. i-angel hipseat carrier.  We were gifted this and, after Lola turned 3 months, is the item that we use every day, multiple times a day.  I know there are a lot of ergobaby fans out there, but for us, this was the absolute winner.  I purchased a beautiful ergobaby carrier and promptly re-sold it when Lola turned 5 months because we probably used it a grand total of 10 times. The i-angel offers more support (it looks like Lola is sitting on a platform) and is a thin mesh layer which is ideal for our climate.  She loves sitting up in it, facing out, interacting with the world at adult-height.  We never use our babyzen stroller as a result.  We find the  detachable hipseat very supportive, as well, and so helpful for those moments when you just need to rest her somewhere, but not necessarily have her clipped in.  Amazing.

2. Wubbanub pacifier.  There are so many different kinds of pacifiers available out there.  We tried a few and ultimately (for better or for worse) the Wubbanub has become the winner.  We limit pacifier use only to nap time and bedtime, but it's clear at those moments every day that Lola loves, loves, loves her Wubbanub.  She loves stroking the plush animal (the very soft elephant, lion, giraffe, etc.) while soothing herself to sleep.  Because it has a larger footprint by virtue of the stuffed animal sewn on, Lola is also better able to find the pacifier at night when she wakes up, and she often uses it to soothe herself back to sleep.

3. Baby Bjorn high chair.  This is such a simple piece of equipment, with no padding to get dirty or wet, no straps to get tangled or caught, and a beautiful, sturdy, streamlined design.  Cleaning it is SUCH a breeze.  Lola has been using this since she can sit up and she has all of her meals here, multiple times a day. The only tricky bit is that she figured out how to squeeze her (admittedly very slim and trim) little calf and ankle through the little space on the side and contort her leg onto the table.  She has only done it for a few times and has not done it recently, but it does cause us a little bit of concern.  While I eventually plan to integrate her into our dining room table, this has been a wonderful and easy chair for us for this transitional period.

4. LovetoDream Swaddle and Halo Sleepsack in cotton muslin.  The LovetoDream swaddles were Lola's favorite when she was a newborn.  She pretty quickly figured out how to force her (usually right) arm out of any other wrapped swaddle that we put her into, and we found this zippered swaddle to be the easiest and most convenient.  It kept her soothed and yet allowed her to stretch her hands and arms up above her head.  Once she was able to roll over, we used their transition swaddle to help her get used to having her arms free.  Now that she's older, Lola sleeps in the Halo sleepsacks in cotton muslin which helps keep her ventilated and covered while the a/c runs.  She wears these for every nap and every night.

5. SkipHop Changing Pad.  We use this everywhere we go - it is a permanent fixture in Lola's diaper bag.  It has come with us on every trip that we have taken and has been busted out on every flight.

6. Tiny Love Mobile and Music Box.  One of Lola's favorite things to do when she was just a tiny infant was to lie on her back and stare at this mobile.  She would jiggle her feet and legs and arms, trying to dance to the music.  When she progressed to sitting up and being able to pull on the animals, we took off the top and just kept the music box.  When she progressed to being able to press the buttons with her feet or hands, or possibly hitting her head, we progressed to putting the music box nearby and using the soothing lullaby setting at naptime or bedtime.  We still use it now.  It has been absolutely amazing and I'm so glad I heeded my friend's advice to buy this instead of a pretty artsy mobile that would never have kept Lola entertained for this long!

7. Jellycat bunny soother and Jellycat bunny.  These are the softest stuffed animals that you can imagine.  Lola didn't really like stuffed animals until we introduced these specifically at bedtime.  She fell suddenly and swiftly in love with the Jellycat bunny's ears, which are long and soft and which she uses to tickle and rub slowly over her nose and eyes. If she's feeling generous, she will extend an ear to your nose for you to rub.  But otherwise, she has never really taken to any other stuffed animals.

8.  Guava Travel Crib and Playpen.  I also bought their matching bassinet for Lola when she was a newborn, but we really honestly never used it except for a few moments during her bath time.  The playpen, on the other hand, we use quite a bit.  It is well padded but very safe with a secure baby proof zipper.  She could technically sleep in this but we have never used it for that purpose; instead, she just plays in there whenever we need to run to the bathroom/make milk/step into the kitchen.  I chose this one over the babybjorn because of the zipper that allows you to get in there with her on ground-level.

9. Braun In-Ear Thermometer.  Most accurate thermometer out of all of the ones we tried.  This is also what our pediatrician uses.  Skip the forehead ones, what inaccurate garbage.

10. Piyo-Piyo curved nail scissors.  Very well designed baby scissors that are sharp and precise but still very safe, with a curved blade and a rounded tip.  As Lola has gotten more active, we now need something on the TV to keep her still, but these remain without a doubt the best for mini fingers and toes.

11. Carter's.  Lola sleeps in the long sleeved Carter's bodysuits and they are so soft and comfortable.  Interesting tip for those in warm weather climates or for whose babies run hot - while the bodysuits with side buttons look to be much easier to put on the baby (rather than those that go over the head) they are warmer because it is essentially a double layer on the baby's front.

12. Jacadi.  I had never heard of Jacadi before having a baby in Hong Kong, but call me a convert.  Their clothes are insanely expensive given how little they are, but they are so cute and they are perfect for so many occasions that we find ourselves reaching for these over and over again.  In that way, they are actually very economical because we get a ton of use out of them.  Our favorites are especially their Liberty prints (because, flowers!).

13. Seed hairclips.  Another thing that is on the pricey end, but I can't resist all of their fun and pretty designs, and they are one of the few stores that consistently sell hair clips with cloth-wrapped clips so that it does not damage Lola's fine baby hair.

Messy the Turtle (and Art Class)

Lola tried a new art class yesterday afternoon, called Messy Jam, which I think she quite enjoyed.

The girl loves messy play, so I was pretty surprised that she somehow knew that this was not food.  She managed to smear the paint all over her hands, apron, face, pants and socks, but she did not eat it.

I hinted at a turtle in my previous post.  Well, drum roll.... Lola made a new friend, Messy!  She loved him!  She chased him all around the studio, stroked his shell, painted him, tried to feed him broccoli, and then tried to grab his head (the poor guy pulled his head in and refused to emerge while Lola was around).  I was a bit aghast but the art teacher reassured me that Messy is very used to this kind of aggressive loving from all of her toddler kids, and he gets multiple baths a day.

Anyway, Lola painted her first "masterpiece" during class, which Michael is just waiting to dry before he hangs in his office.

Lola started off pretty clean.

 And then she went to town, wheeeee!  The teacher would dribble paint directly onto her hands, and Lola knew to reach out for it.

 Without a doubt, though, her favorite part was Messy the turtle.  Something about having a slow, calm little creature at her level seemed to really appeal to her.  It was very sweet (though I'm not sure Messy felt that way).

This look says, "Pretty please, may I have a turtle?!"

 

Lola, Playing

I can't believe our Lola is nearly one years old, wow, 12 months go by quickly!  Never has that been more clear than this year, which on the one hand was easy to track because we were so focused on each of Lola's milestones and developments, and on the other hand flew by even faster as a result.  Here are some pictures of her engaged diligently in playtime at her playgroup.

 

 

Lola went to a "sports day" with her playgroup at her beloved park two Fridays ago.  As you can see, she is very steady on her feet, and can stand for long periods of time.  But she is scared of walking (even though she can do it) and to date has taken at most 10 steps (very quickly) at one time.  I joked that Lola is very much about incentives - she learned to pull herself forward for apple, to crawl for a fake iPhone, and now to walk... for bubbles?  The record before this past Sunday was only four steps though, so she is definitely improving.

 

I was pretty amused when I saw this picture of her trying to put the bucket on her head, ha!  

I think there is very much an impression here, especially among some of the more local set, that playgroups are a waste of money if the babies are all just playing (instead of, I guess, "learning").  My nanny has said to me a few times that she doesn't think the current playgroup that Lola is in is that "worth it" because "they don't do anything" except a bit of story time and messy play (with food).  The rest of the time are songs and music and toys.  I think it's really hard, especially in this hyper-competitive and intense environment, to find value in the freedom of expression and learning through playing.  It's also just traditionally not something that the Chinese culture values.  

I do believe that playing is the best way for Lola to learn and engage with the world now, and I am hopeful this is the foundation on which she will build a lifelong curiosity and love for acquisition of new facts and knowledge. I am pretty comfortable with the idea that while it may seem like nothing "concrete"  immediately comes out of these playgroups, over time, we really do see a lot of changes in Lola's development.  For example, Lola is significantly less intimidated when she enters a new space with a lot of strangers, she knows the words to songs and can pantomime, she is willing to try new things, and she is completely fearless when it comes to many things (trying to launch herself off our bed, grabbing the head of a turtle in her art class, etc).  And this isn't even touching upon all of the other things that we can't yet see.

All of that said, I am still preparing to change her playgroups, but that's just because as Lola gets older I want to ensure that we are getting her exposure to a well-rounded experience.  I'm also not certain that we have found yet the best teaching style and school environment.  While it's still relatively easy to pull her in and out of these various playgroups, I don't mind experimenting.

The weather has been pretty bad yesterday and today, and to fight the cold, wet and gray skies, I decided to take Lola shoe shopping (ohh, can I claim that as my first mother daughter shopping excursion?) on Sunday afternoon.  We got Lola some really adorable kicks - pink suede (suede-ish?) boots with white pom poms, and light purple high tops with floral patterned bottoms.  Her shoes look doubly adorable given they are so miniature. In an effort to convince her that she can and should wear shoes (to date she has always pulled or kicked them off) we are having her wear them whenever she goes out and also a little bit at home to practice.

 

 

T

Air Quality and Pollution in Hong Kong - My Research Process

The weather is getting cooler in Hong Kong, and "winter" is approaching.  I use that term very loosely because it would be rare for the weather to fall below 40 degrees Fahrenheit here (dropping below 50 degrees Fahrenheit is already newsworthy), and only on the very coldest of days.  However, the cooler weather does signify a change in the air quality here. 

In the past, Michael and I have been, admittedly, pretty cavalier about this.  I knew the air quality was bad and I occasionally checked the AQI (Air Quality Index) but not very religiously.  I purchased a Sharp air filter quite a few years ago, barely changed the HEPA filter, and ran it when I knew the pollution was at its worst.  For nearly three years, we lived in a tiny walk-up apartment without a front door (seriously, just a metal gate) which meant that we essentially had a front row seat to all of the gas exhaust and fumes that were churned out of the taxis and scooters that zipped by our front door morning, afternoon and night.  I got not one but two eye infections.

It has been better since we have moved to our current place, but we have also become a lot more attentive to these issues now that we have Lola.  This week, I decided that it was finally time to do something about it.  So many children in Hong Kong have the "Hong Kong cough" due to irritants in the air.  I started out by canvassing friends and reading articles about what exactly we're trying to "fix" when it comes to filtering our air.  With the caveat that this is all from a layperson's perspective, I still hope it's somewhat helpful (to those who are in a similar predicament) or at least interesting (to those lucky ducks who live in say, Montana, or Auckland).

I knew enough to know that I needed to buy an air filter to help me "purify" the air in our apartment (in my mind I pictured a Brita pitcher but for gaseous elements), but not much more than that.

What I've learned is that PM2.5 is the evil thing that we are most worried about when measuring the quality of air - and then also TVOCs when measuring the quality of indoor air.  PM2.5 refers to those fine particles that are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, and are so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, but cause reduced visibility and for the appearance of the air or the to appear "hazy".  They pose the greatest risk to our health and well-being.  TVOCs refer to total volatile organic compounds, and essentially refer to the kind of very bad, no good substances that may cause, or are highly correlative to, damage to our organs and central nervous health system.

Hong Kong (and actually, lots and lots of countries and cities around the world) has a bunch of highly technical, huge PM2.5 particle machines installed throughout the territory, easily accessible to the public via their website (and a handy dandy app) called HK AQHI, which you can use to see just how bad the air quality is in your current area.  The problem, though, is that a lot of places (for example, the entire south side of Hong Kong) do not have any PM2.5 machines.  In addition, if you are really serious about monitoring your air quality, one of these machines does not help you with your individual environment.  What I failed to realize before embarking on this learning/shopping journey is that indoor air can be even more toxic than outdoor air.  Sure, you're worried about pollutants and smoke and dirt and dust, but all of that gets trapped inside your apartment or house, coupled with all of the stale air... not ideal either.

What to do?  Enter the air quality monitor.  These allow you to test the air in your very vicinity - in the rooms you are actually residing in - so that you can determine when to turn on your air filter, when to close your doors, and when it's okay to shut the air filters off and throw the doors open to enjoy the day.  If you're living in very dire conditions then this can probably be done on a visual or sensory assessment, but otherwise it can be hard to tell based on visual cues.

There are very many air quality monitors, which either reside in the air filter that you buy, or which can be standalone.  This monitor will tell you how bad (high) the PM2.5 number is.  From what I've been reading, ideally we should be striving to reach a PM2.5 of 10 ug/m3 or less.  I know plenty of people who do not have a standalone air quality monitor, and plenty of people who rely on the one built into their air filter.  But based on consumer feedback (comparing readings from both) I feel pretty confident that the monitors built into the filters do not achieve the level of accuracy that I want.

Now onto the actual purchasing decisions, because, once you know that there is bad air around you that is potentially very hazardous to your health, the next question is, how do you fix it?

After reading quite a lot of blog posts and articles on this subject, I finally decided, based on many friends' recommendations, to give the newest generation of Xiaomi air purifiers a go.  These blog posts (here and here) did a lot to persuade me.  While the Xiaomi isn't perfect, I was ultimately sold given the footprint, its innovative cylindrical design, the large fan, and the affordable filters.  Everyone tells me it is very quiet and there is even a night/sleeping mode.  It comes with wifi connectivity to link to our phones, but I will not be using it as I don't trust the Xiaomi monitor. 

I decided to try the Laser Egg 2+ for my particle counter.  It got some bad reviews on the connectivity for the phone app, but I decided to give this one a try because it looked to have the most user-friendly interface, was portable, and was the most reasonably priced (the others I kept hearing about were the Dylos and the Node).  These reviews from g trusted (here, here and here) helped, along with other articles, to sway me.  I also liked that Laser Egg allows you to set the AQI to that of a different country.  For example, if you set it to the US AQI instead of China's AQI, you will suddenly discover that a lot of what was "acceptable" air quality suddenly becomes "unacceptable."   This is not the blatant deceit that you may think at first - developing or industry-heavy countries are genuinely permitted to have more lax AQI indices.

If I really feel like nerding it up, I might carry my Laser Egg around with me to see how the air quality compares at different spots in my daily life.  It could be a very interesting and enlightening experiment.  Yes, this is what it has come to...

So far, I have only had the Xiaomi air purifier for two days and I am still waiting for my Laser Egg.  Once I get the whole kit and caboodle set up, it will be good to check how effective this all is.  Finally, I still need to tape up the "leaks" around our balcony doors as I think that also plays a huge part in how effective the air filter can be.

Happy Thanksgiving! And Another Weekly Recap

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I struggle mightily to get my blog posts written any faster than 1 per week lately.  Sigh.

Last I left off, I was heading to do a marathon showing of apartments bright and early on a Saturday morning.  I can't believe that was only a week ago.  The agent and I managed to hit up 9 units in 8 buildings from 9:15am until 1:15pm, and the entire thing pretty much fully discouraged me from any old buildings and any buildings that are not at sea (or pretty damn close to sea) level.  I was sadly reminded of the poor state of apartments in this ridiculous market. 

The tight bedrooms and bathrooms are terribly depressing at the best of times, but then when you see them with the gaudy fixtures, ugly furnishings and things full of just generally such poor taste (I really don't know how else to describe it), you get really, really depressed.  Here are some examples.  And all of these apartments are asking nearly US$10,000 a month.  I really don't understand the appeal of living half-way up or on the peak, either.  To me, it just seems to make you feel more hemmed in, and have to deal with how to get up and down the mountain every day.  Upper Happy Valley and Jardine's Crescent have been completely crossed off of my list. 

 

After my viewing, I rushed home, had lunch, and then headed to the Aberdeen Marina Club with Michael and Lola, to finally meet our friends' baby boy.  He just turned 4 months and was very strong, able to do tummy time for long amounts of time, roll over, and lift his head up super high.  Looking at him and Lola together, it's really amazing to me how much babies change and how quickly they learn. 

The Aberdeen Marina Club has fantastic kids' facilities and Lola loved them.  She kept playing, and kissed the dogs in their "pet shop," and pushed around their medical cart, and played with their police car... and walked and walked around their center area (with one hand on the middle couch for support at all times, of course).  It was great to see her have so much fun.

Then, after tucking an exhausted Lola into bed, I headed out to Chaiwala on Wyndham Street for dinner, to enjoy girls' night (such a rare occurrence nowadays!).  The restaurant is actually located in the basement, and the key to finding it is to find this red door.  I thought the décor in the restaurant was amazing (full of all of the vintage knickknacks and thoughtful, quirky touches that I love) but the food was... okay.  I liked their naan the best.  Most of their other "highly recommended" dishes fell pretty flat, in my opinion.  But the space... I could not fault the space.  And of course I could not fault the company, either.  It was a funny change of pace from old times though - we all were sitting there in our comfy pants and flats and the night was over by 10 pm. 

 

 

 On Sunday, we had a playdate with our friends and their baby boy, as well as their dogs.  Lola had such (I repeat, such) a good time.   She was only timid for a very little bit when we first arrived, and she warmed up immediately.  She was so happy when she discovered there were dogs (they were in the master bedroom behind a safety gate when we first arrived).  It was so cute when the dog came up to the gate and licked her hands because she kept giggling at the sensation. She was completely delighted when one was allowed out to play with her, and not at all scared even though he was a pretty sizeable dog.

Here, she is trying to pet him, and he is very eager to be petted.


The week was surprisingly busy for me - due to an ongoing but sporadic but always urgent litigation matter that I've been helping with, and for a few other unlucky reasons, I had a very crazy Monday and Tuesday.  The week was also really busy because we were hosting a women and wine tasting event on Thursday (I know, on Thanksgiving day!  What blasphemy - it wasn't my idea). 

In an ambitious leap from our plan last year, we decided to plan a full wine pairing dinner menu .  It involved culling guest lists, planning a keynote speaker, arranging with sommeliers and wine distributors, negotiating with the restaurant, planning a seating chart... basically, it was like planning a wedding (but on someone else's budget).

The venue itself (Bibo) was fantastic - we had the whole place to ourselves.  I thought the cocktail hour was perfect - people had the opportunity to mingle and meet in a very organic, non-forced, and warm setting.  But once we were settled into our respective tables, the long sit-down dinner felt a bit too extensive. 

I was also really, really disappointed with the restaurant, as well as with our wine merchant/sales person.  The restaurant failed on many points - they were 45 minutes behind schedule in serving our first course (which was just the amuse bouche, for God's sake), they served food while our speaker was talking, they were inconsistent with their pours, they failed to offer coffee or tea, etc.  As for our sommelier, the guy was seriously useless.  He was supposed to give a 5-10 minute overview on the wines we were serving that day, and not only did he completely chicken out and didn't give the speech, he also failed to introduce any of the wines that we served, except for one (ONE! Out of SIX!), and in the quietest possible voice so that I think more than half the room would have been hard pressed to hear him.  I kept shooting him stares and trying to encourage him to speak, but to no avail.

What, is there something intimidating about a room of 30 professional women?  Anyway, despite these hiccups, it was still a fun evening.  This does not deter me from planning another event, it only makes me more determined to make the next one better!

 

The area that we had set up for the dinner and tasting was really beautiful.  The artwork is lovely and whimsical, and there are not one but two Banksy's.

 

  

 Here are pictures of the foods that we had:
 

 

 

Then, finally, it was the end of the week and I celebrated with my associates at work by treating them all to a lunch at Shake Shack.  I figured, how much more American can you get?  Michael and I celebrated Thanksgiving dinner at home together on Friday night with Peking duck, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and some good red wine.

On Saturday morning bright and early, I took Lola to the Maggie & Rose club in Repulse Bay to celebrate a friend's son's birthday.  Consistent with the weather during the week, the day was absolutely beautiful.  Should we live on the south side?  We would feel more like we were living at a beach resort...

 
The birthday party was lovely on the roof deck overlooking Repulse Bay, and gave me some further food for thought on our next new neighborhood (if we move).