Serendipity is defined as the “faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident” .This is exactly what happened with me and BDW when we went to a couturier to have DW’s measurements taken as he’ll be a ringbearer at my cousin’s wedding. Right in front of Zandra Lim’s shop was this store:

I let out a little scream, tapped BDW’s shoulder and asked him if we could go to the store right after DW’s thing is finished. BDW made a quick U-turn and before we knew it we were inside Numa. All those things you’ve researched about baby-friendly Eco-friendly products?? THEY’RE ALL THERE and then some!! I asked a lot of questions with the attendant and asked if we could take pictures. The store manager said NO at that time since they were still on soft opening. So, i left my contact details and asked if they could contact me if they’ve officially opened so that I can take pics for the blog.

And thus last March 4, BDW and I drove to Numa to interview Gerry Sioco, the general manager about Numa pronounced as “New-Ma” and touted as Manila’s organic and eco baby store

Numa’s interiors are warm and inviting with its wooden floors and soft lighting. Looking around you can see that great care and research has been done so that you only get the best brands for your baby.

There is a wall of Seventh Generation products there that made me swoon. (To learn more about Seventh Generation’s pioneering efforts  in producing eco-friendly and sustainable products visit their site here)

Seventh Generation Wipes and Diapers

There are also two walls of baby clothes that are made of oh-so-soft Bamboo Fibre, which also has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The store also has miYim organic cotton toys and eco-friendly toys from Green Toys. We bought DW that green recycling truck.

Of course there are organic toiletries from Earth Mama Angel Baby, Little Innoscents and Green Baby and BPA-Free nipples from Natursutten that are made from natural rubber.

Charlie Banana reusable diapers and liners are also available in a variety of colors and prints!

Numa is also the sole distributor of Tummy Tub – known as a womb-shaped and sized bath that eases baby’s transition from the womb to the outside world.

They also have toys and educational products for kids and toddlers!

I asked Gerry if there are plans for bringing in locally made and locally sourced products and he told me that they are still studying the possibilities. Their goal is to bring in the best products so that moms can choose from the best when they step into the store. Numa will also be launching an E-commerce site soon so you moms can just order and pay for your goodies online.

I just love NUMA and their efforts to make it a complete shopping experience for parents and kids alike. When we first went there, the sales staff offered DW oatmeal cookies. Gerry also showed me their plans of creating a changing and breastfeeding rooms so moms could have a comfortable place in the store to feed their wee one.

Numa will be expanding soon and I wish them all the best. I believe that parents should always have access to the best products for their kids. I also do hope that local products find their way into the store soon to give the parents a wider range of product choices and at varying price points.

You can visit Numa at the AEK Building, 40 E. Rodriguez Sr., Avenue, Quezon City. (From St. Luke’s QC, sits on the left side of the road before you get to D. tuazon St. If you’re coming from Mabuhay Rotonda, go to E. Rod it would be at the right side after D. tuazon

You can call them at 732.1522/ 732.1954 or email them at info@numa.com.ph

Please click HERE to view more pictures of the products available at Numa

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So, we had to find a way. Luckily, someone we know recommended that we try Avent’s disposable system which used disposable inserts which you could just throw them away when you’ve used them up. We decided to buy one bottle at SM’s Baby Co which already had around 10 free liners. The extra liners were on promo and were on buy 3 take 1. We bought all of them and so we ended up with the Avent Tempo Bottle that came with a number 2 nipple and bpa-free liners and 4 boxes of liners! It was pricey as the bill came close to Php 3,000. Yes ang mahal!! So the question now is, was it worth it?

Let’s look at the bottle. It’s wide and it’s not heavy. A kid DW’s age can still easily grip the bottle.

The nipple and the inserts are securely held by this double hinge in the bottle’s collar.

The inserts are pre-sterilized and are BPA-Free.  They also collapse while your kid is drinking milk to prevent air from getting trapped inside the system which would definitely lead to colic (and a seriously grumpy baby). A box of 50 inserts is about Php600. I believe you can reuse the inserts but you can’t sterilize them nor boil them in hot water. But then, you’d be missing the point about a disposable system if you reuse these right?

All you need to do is to drop the liner in, screw the collar on and  you’re set!

My verdict? Pricey as it is, this system is a god send when you’re travelling.  All we had to do was to wash the nipple, and the bottle in hot water. The inserts are disposable and we just threw them after every use. We have yet to use up the first box of inserts and so we’ve been using them on our weekend trips. We just keep a ziplock bag in our diaper bag to keep the inserts and an extra nipple clean.

When you do decide to buy the system, you might get better deals online (such as Amazon) but all in all this is a great investment if your baby is still feeding from the bottle and you have lots of travelling to do. Thumbs up to Avent!

For more pics, please click the thumbnails below:

For anything concerning BPA and other toxins that are unfortunately present in our environment, I only refer to two sources:Safe Mama and The Soft Landing. The ladies behind these blogs and websites have done their research and are staunch advocates of eco-conscious child rearing. These blogs are great resources and have empowered a lot of parents with great information.

I love Safe Mama for their cheatsheets which are updated regularly.  I’ve asked Kathy if it would be alright to repost their BPA-Free Bottle cheatsheet and she said it was fine as long as I note that the list is live and that us moms and dads (and well meaning titos and titas) should still go to Safe Mama for the most recent list of BPA-Free goodies.

A partial list is found below. I’ve filtered the list so that what I have here for you are BPA-Free products available in Manila and that I’ve seen stocked in local baby stores like SM’s Baby and Co and Rustan’s Baby Club.  You may want to print out the list (or better yet go to Safe Mama and print out their list) so that you can bring it when you go shopping as some of the brands only have specific variants which are BPA-Free. There are still baby brands out there that carry products which have not been found to be safe from BPA.  If you know of any other products that are available here locally, I would love for you to shout it out at the comments section for the other mamas to read about. Again, to get Safe Mama’s list, go here

A quick note, glass bottles offer the safest, bpa-free option out there. Silicone jackets or cozies are available which slips on these bottles for easier grip and so that when they fall, the won’t break easily.

Now on to the list:

Feeding bottles

• Avent: “Via” Feeding System, Tempo Liners, Avent PES Bottles (see here to read up on Philip’s FAQ regarding BPA)
• BornFree: All bottles and cups BPA free
• Dr Brown’s Glass Bottles, Dr. Browns Polypropylene Bottles (all vent system pieces BPA Free – made with polypropylene – and fit all models)
• EvenFlo: Classic™ Glass Bottles, Classic™ Light Tint Polypropylene bottles, Classic™ Clear Polypropylene Bottles, Purely Comfi™ Bottles
• Medela: All bottles
• Munchkin: Dora the Explorer Classic Bottles, Mighty Grip Glass Bottles
• Nuby: Standard Neck Non-Drip Bottle, Wide-Neck Non-Drip Bottle, Wide-Neck Bottle with Handles and Non-Drip Nipple, Standard Neck Bottle with Handles and Non-Drip Nipple, 3-Stage Wide Neck Easy Grip Feeding System with Non-Drip Nipple, Natural Touch SoftFlex InfaFeeder (silicone) (keep up to date on Nuby products here)
• Playtex: Original Nurser, Playtex Drop in liners, Ventaire Advanced Bottles (marked BPA Free)

Hope this helps!