Cheers to 10 Years of Cradle and Cycles!

Did you know that Cradle baby bottle and nipple cleanser is also great for washing toys, baby accessories, and even fruits and vegetables?

Emily Balajadia, who along with her husband Dennis, the husband and wife team behind Cradle and Cycles, also shares that Cradle baby bottle and nipple cleanser is perfect for washing real nipples (yes, as in our nipples), prior to direct breastfeeding.

When she was still breastfeeding, she would get OC about the toxic residue left by regular body soaps, and recommends this as the safer alternative because it is gentle and mild. Just use it like soap and rinse off with water. That easy.

So that is why if there's one product I bring with me whenever I travel, especially since I am still breastfeeding and pumping when on the go, it would be a Cradle baby bottle and nipple cleanser. 

This sample size pouch I packed on my last trip was enough to last me a week!

Even though I have big bottles of Cradle stored at home, I would still collect all the samples and save it for my trips, because they're so handy. I've brought them along to Singapore, Hong Kong and recently Paris. It's an essential part of my pumping kit. (In fact, I'll share with you tips on how I pump and bring home breast milk from abroad on a separate post ;)

Speaking of essential, I can't imagine having a baby 10 or more years ago, when "baby safe", "organic", "biodegradable", and "natural" were just buzzwords. It was 10 years ago in fact, that Emily and Dennis started Cradle and sister brand Cycles, when they realized that they were shipping boxes of baby laundry detergent and baby safe products from abroad, they decided they might as well make their own. (On a side note, Emily and Dennis are also behind Beach Hut sunblock, a line of sun protection products borne out of their frequent family beach trips!)

Fast forward to now, not only has their product range gone beyond laundry detergents and bottle cleansers - with Cycles coming out with a stain soaker and skin care products like insect repellent cream and mosquito patches, diaper rash cream, cleanser and lotion and Cradle with a toy & surface cleaner, they have also become a trusted source of baby safe products here in the Philippines, as well as in Indonesia and Thailand.  What a feat, and all in 10 years!

Emily and Dennis, this deserves a huge thank you!

Thanks for having all these products made available here, so we don't have to do what you did a decade ago, shipping natural baby essentials from abroad. You have made going green easy and inexpensive for today's parents!

Happy 10 years to Cradle and Cycles, and many more years to come!

As part of the festivities, here's a chance to be one of the 5 lucky winners of Cycles & Cradle gift packs, simply by liking and sharing the celebrity moms or mommy bloggers postings! 

Here’s how to join: 

1. Like www.facebook.com/cradlenatural Fan Page. 

2. Like and Share any of the celebrity moms or mommy bloggers postings on Cradle Natural Facebook Fan Page from August 1 to November 18, 2015. 

3. On your caption, include #CradleNatural #10yearsofCyclesandCradle #NoCompromise 

See full mechanics: http://on.fb.me/1PwpKzq 

- Like & Share as many posts as you can for more chances of winning. 

- Participants may like and share multiple posts but may only win once in the entire duration of the promo. 

- Winners will be determined via e-raffle and drawn from Facebook and Instagram participants. - Make sure your post is public. 

- Promo Duration: October 20 to November 18, 2015. 

For more on on Cradle and Cycles, visit www.cradlenatural.com and www.cyclesbaby.com and follow @cradlenatural_ph, @cyclessensitive and @cyclesbaby_ph on Instagram.

Bugs Away + More, with Cycles Sensitive

After Dada's bout with dengue, nothing excites me more now than anti-mosquito patches and insect repellents.

Make that kid-friendly, natural and non-DEET at that, such as these new products from  Cycles Sensitive, also from EVEolution, Inc., the homegrown company that has also brought us Cycles Mild Laundry Detergent & Cradle Baby Bottle & Nipple Cleanser.

Cycles Sensitive completes their range of must-have products for mom, taking care of baby's skin needs by coming up with a head to toe wash, baby lotion, protective diaper cream and of course, the much touted insect repellents and citronella patches.

Cycles Sensitive is a dermatologist tested, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic and pareben-free line of baby skincare products, each product guaranteed to pass the standards of meticulous moms, very much like Cycles Sensitive endorser, celebrity mom Cheska Garcia-Kramer.

I attended the brand launch last week at Olive Tree Kitchen & Bar on Bonifacio High Street, where I had the pleasure of seeing Cheska again, and finally meeting her gorgeous, well-behaved Gavin. Cheska shared that she has always been a fan of Cycles & Cradle so when they reached out to tap her as an endorser, she was more than happy to come on board.

Natasha Reyes, the brand manager, gave a very in depth presentation on their new products while Cheska spoke from her experience as a mom caring for Gavin's sensitive skin.

Pediatric dermatologist Dr. Donna Marie Leelin-Sarrosa also shared some very insightful tips on caring for baby's sensitive skin, as well as debunking myths on the use of insect repellents!

What I learned:

- skin asthma is a term used to describe atopic dermatitis here in the Philippines and is not a medical term. Atopic dermatitis is the most common dermatitis in children
- caring for skin also means washing clothes thoroughly. In fact, did you know that you should thoroughly wash new clothes because it may contain formaldehyde which keeps it from wrinkling?
- we don't need to apply insect repellent all over, just to exposed areas because all it takes is the scent of it to repel a mosquito or bug
- do not soak skin with repellant, it is important that it gets washed off the skin
- never put insect repellent on the face, especially close to the eyes

I also learned that the couple behind Cycles & Cradle are Dada's batchmates from college in Ateneo!

It was such a pleasure meeting Dennis & Emily Balajadia, the husband & wife team/dad & mom of five kids, who have made it their mission to create products and brands borne out of their own need. They shared that Cycles actually started because they used to ship boxes of baby laundry detergent from abroad, until they realized, "Hey, why not make our own?"

That eureka moment in 2007 has led to an expanded line of baby care products today, and I can just imagine that with their ability to make things happen, we can expect Cycles, Cradle and Cycles Sensitive to give birth to more products and variants made with the most discerning of moms in mind.

Cycles Baby
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyclesbaby
Twitter: @Cyclesbaby
Website: www.cycles-sensitive.com 

Hong Kong, January 2014: Day 1

I had Air Asia tickets for two expiring next month, so Dada & I decided to fly to Macau last weekend. Thing is though, we don't really go to casinos, and so we had this brilliant idea to fly to Macau, but stay in Hong Kong for the duration of our stay.

 

One thing I like about flying Air Asia? No lines. 

No lines at the x-ray machine, no lines when you pay the airport tax and terminal fee, no lines at the ticketing counter, no lines at immigration. We literally breezed through the normally arduous airport process at the other NAIA terminals.

Getting to Hong Kong was another story. Due to flight delays, it was almost 6 pm by the time we arrived in Macau.

Right after we cleared immigration and picked up our luggage from the carousel, we headed out to the Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal to catch our ferry to Hong Kong. We got our tickets and went through immigration in 10 minutes, enough to catch the Cotai Water Jet bound for Hong Kong that was leaving in 5 minutes.

That's not bad at all, I know. But see, riding the ferry was not pleasant. At all. 

When my friend Miriam told me to take Bonamine, I should have taken her advice seriously. I was practically singing myself a lullaby, convincing myself that I was being gently lulled to sleep when in reality, I was thisclose to throwing up. Thank goodness for the Rio Mints I had in my bag, that somehow distracted me from my ordeal.

I told Dada as we stepped out, "Never again will I take a ferry! Ever!" Which I belatedly realized was something we had to do again when we leave for HK to fly out from Macau. Eeeeek. So I said, "When we go back, we have to stay at the top deck of the ferry na, Cotai First Class, baby!" Lolz.

That's what I get for thinking this Macau-HK-Macau sojourn was going to be a fun adventure. Well it was naman.

Because once we stepped into Pacific Place, all was forgotten.

Still, tired, hungry and having no energy to venture out into the famous streets of Hong Kong to look for food, as soon as we checked ourselves in at JW Marriott (Hello Mr, & Mrs. Stoeckl!), we headed out to Great Food Hall at the basement of Pacific Place, where we ended up at Triple-Os by Canadian burger chain White Spot.

Because when you're tired and hungry, it seems nothing satisfies that empty pit in your stomach like hunkering down to a big, greasy burger and fries. Or maybe that's just us. Haha.

I mean, just look at this baby. Nothing close to a Shake Shack burger, but I'll take it.

By the time we finished dinner and had walked around the grocery store, enthralled by all the food choices, all we wanted was to go back to our room and rest. Friday gone, just like that, but it was an experience like nothing I have ever experienced before. All in all, I was happy to be back in Hong Kong. Besides, I was looking forward to the whole of Saturday which was dedicated to eating and shopping!

That said, I just wanted to share with you at how pleased I am to have realized that all those sample sized tubes and bottles of cleansers, moisturizers and serums can come in very handy during short weekend trips! I used to lug around all my regular sized products, too resistant to transfer them into travel containers. But then, I had this eureka moment! Why didn't I even think of this before?

Since I still breastfeed Xavi, I also brought along a sample sized pouch of  Cradle bottle cleanser to wash my bottle and breast pump parts with, that was just enough to use for our stay! I don't know if it's just me, but I really get a kick out of these things. Heehee.

Day 1 was not heart pumping exciting, but tomorrow, I shall regale you with my Ap Lei Chau finds! OMG!