Mosquito Repellents

Mosquitoes are everywhere in the Philippines. Most homes have screened windows to keep them out. However, even with screened windows, these pesky mosquitoes can still find their way into the home. They can find small gaps or simply fly in through the door when people move in and out.

Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance but can also pose a serious health threat. Our daughter used to get lots of large itchy red bumps from the bites of these nasty mosquitoes. It was so heart breaking to see her suffer from these itchy bites and scratch herself until the skin breaks. We started applying mosquito repellents but were worried about effects from prolonged use of mosquito repellents based on synthetic chemicals like the commonly available OFF Lotion.

The most common chemical used by conventional mosquito repellents is DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide). Although DEET is still considered safe by most government safety bodies if used as directed, these directions include:

• Do not apply over cuts, wounds, or irritated skin.
• Do not apply to hands or near eyes and mouth of young children.
• After returning indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water.

Once your child has been bitten and has scratched the bite, it is no longer safe to apply DEET-based mosquito repellents on that area.

Although rare, there are reports of DEET-associated seizures. A study from France found DEET to be toxic to the central nervous system of insects and also mammals. This should not come as a surprise since DEET was originally tested as a pesticide.

After learning the potential dangers of DEET based mosquito repellents, we started buying and testing alternative products made from natural ingredients. Most natural based mosquito repellents are much more expensive. The product that we liked most and have been using on our 2 year old child for about 8 months now is MOZ AWAY NATURAL from HOE Pharmaceuticals Sdn. Bhd. Its active ingredients are Citronella and Neem oil. It is also non-greasy, non-staining, alcohol free, contains no artificial fragrances and formulated to pH 5.5. It comes in 75ml PE spray bottle. NTUC Fairprice and Unity NTUC Healthcare are selling it at less than $7.

We're very happy to see our child's body clear of those nasty red bumps from  mosquito bites.

More on breast pump and baby bottles

After doing more research online, we have decided to get the Ameda Purely Yours ULTRA breast pump instead of Medela, and Born free glass baby bottles instead of Avent BPA-free bottles for my daughters. Yes, my wife has given birth to our second daughter last February 7, 2010. :)

We went for Ameda because of its more hygienic design. Ameda’s design uses silicone diaphragms to prevent the milk from getting into the tubing and pump. Medela pumps don’t have this barrier and there have been several reports of mold growing in the tubing of Medela pumps. If the tubing gets molds and since Medela has no barrier between the milk and the tubing, the breast milk can be contaminated.

I purchased the Ameda Purely Yours ULTRA breast pump from the US. I got it from http://www.breastfeedingexpress.com/. I checked several online shops before making my purchase and they had a very competitive price. Their service was also great.

The Ameda Purely Yours ULTRA breast pump from the US is exactly the same as the new Ameda Lactaline Dual Breastpump available here in Singapore except that the Purely Yours ULTRA comes with a tote bag and extra accessories. The Purely Yours ULTRA also comes with three breast flange sizes so my wife can choose one that best fits her. The Ameda pump kit is also BPA free. The price I paid for the Purely Yours ULTRA from US including shipping cost and an extra UK style power adapter was about  S$100 more than the selling price of the Lactaline Dual Breastpump here in Singapore. However, with all the extra accessories and spare parts that came with it, it was well worth it.

For baby bottles, we initially wanted to get the Avent BPA-free bottles. We were very happy with the Avent bottles. However, after reading from reviews that Avent BPA-free bottles have leaking problem, we decided to look for other alternatives. We also decided to be more conservative and went for glass bottles. Polycarbonate plastic has been used for milk bottles and food and beverage containers for years before BPA was identified as unsafe. What if they later find other unsafe chemical in the new BPA-free plastics?

We finally decided to get the BornFree glass bottles. Although their baby bottles have an additional part to wash and assemble, we think it is not too much of a trouble. The additional part is their air vent system. It is quite effective. The glass bottles are slightly heavier than plastic bottles but we don’t find it a problem.

BornFree glass bottles are not so easy to find in Singapore though. I also had to purchase our bottles from the US. These are a little expensive and I had to pay extra for shipping but I think the BornFree glass bottles are worth the extra effort and money. My sister who also just recently gave birth to her second son bought the Avent BPA-free bottles. She confirmed that the new Avent BPA-free bottles do leak.

To save on shipping cost, I used vPOSTUSA and consolidated all my purchases in US before shipping these to Singapore.

Milk: Breast Milk is the Best

After the melamine milk scandal, do you worry if there might be other harmful stuff in baby milk formulas? My advice is just to go for breast milk. Breast milk is the best for babies. It is a lot more healthier than formula milk. Breastfeeding also allows the baby to bond with the mother. It is how mother nature intended us to feed our babies.

Babies should be exclusively feeding on breast milk until 6 months. There may be very little milk available immediately after delivery and the baby might not suckle. Don't be discouraged. This is when we dads can help. Dads can suckle on the breast. This stimulates the breast to produce milk and also helps it flow.

Even when the baby is already suckling, the baby may get discouraged and stops suckling if there's not enough milk flowing. To prevent this, you can also use a dropper or supplemental dripping system to drip milk onto the breast while the baby is suckling. My wife used an ordinary medicine dropper. It was a little messy but it worked. I wanted to buy a supplemental dripping system but was not able to find one in the city where we were staying. I eventually found one when I returned to Singapore. We lent it to my wife's friend when she gave birth to her first baby and she found it very helpful.

Another option is to buy a breast pump. The baby may stop suckling even when the breast is still engorged with milk and painful to the mom. A breast pump can then be used to express milk. It is a good idea to get a good breast pump ahead of time. We didn't do so because we were afraid my wife might not have breast milk or not able to breastfeed. Hello! Isn't that how mother nature intended us to feed our babies? :)

Someone gave us a glass bicycle horn pump. However, it was not effective. It was also slow and painfull. It is not advisable to use this type of pump. Cleaning the rubber bulb is difficult and breastmilk can get into the bulb while pumping. If the inside of the bulb is dirty, it can contaminate the breastmilk.



When tears started to flow down my wife's cheek, I had to rush down to the mall and get another one. The pain from her engorged breast was getting intolerable. I bought her an Avent Isis manual breast pump. It helped a lot. She was able to express the milk out. Breastfeeding and expressing milk was so much easier from then on even after she went back to work. She had lots of milk. My wife was able to give some of her expressed breast milk to the milk bank at the hospital where she worked. We froze the excess milk for storage. My wife stopped producing breast milk when our baby was 1 year and 4 months old. The froozen breast milk then allowed us to slowy switch our baby to milk formula over a period of 2 months.

Other baby foods can be introduced after 6 months but breast milk should be continued for as long as it is available. Breast milk is also good for your wallet. You may have to spend money on a good breast pump and milk storage bags but this is still cheaper than buying milk formula over 1-2 years.

I strongly advice expecting parents to get a good breast pump ahead of time. Read reviews and compare prices of different breast pumps from several retail shops. Breast pumps are expensive in Cebu, Philippines. You can buy it cheaper in Singapore. The Avent Isis manual breast pump in Cebu costs about the same as an an AVENT ISIS iQ UNO electronic pump in Singapore. However, it is so much more cheaper in the US.

The Avent Isis manual pump is a very good pump. However, manual pumping can be very tiresome. So, I later bought an AVENT ISIS iQ UNO electronic pump from the US. It is basically the same as the manual pump except that it has a motor and electronic controls inside the pump assembly. It is attached to the milk bottle through the pump body. The breast pump is thus a little heavier. Eventhough it is an electric pump, it took longer to express milk. My wife is able to express milk faster with the manual pump. The biggest dissappointment though was that it lasted only a few months. It's a good thing it also came with manual pump parts so it can still be used as a manual pump.

I think the AVENT ISIS iQ DUO electronic breast pump will probably last longer. The pump motor is a separate unit connected by tubing to the pump handle. This also makes the breast pumps lighter when holding these against the breasts. Expressing milk will also be much faster with two breast pumps. It is much more expensive though.

Medela also produces excellent breast pumps. My sister-in-law bought a Medela Pump In Style dual electric breast pump. My wife tried it and she loved it. I guess I'll have to get one for her for our 2nd baby. :)

BPA-free Baby Bottles

Any idea what all the fuss on Bisphenol A is about?

Bisphenol A, also know simply as BPA, is used in the production of the plastic known as polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is commonly used for food and drink containers including baby bottles and sippy cups. It falls under the plastic ID code "7".

Plastic ID code "7" is for other plastics not covered by code 1 to 6. It includes polycarbonate. Containers manufactured using a blend of plastics will also have the ID code "7".


Polyvinyl chloride or PVC can also contain BPA and is commonly used in toys. PVC plastics have the plastic ID code "3". It is another plastic that should be avoided.

PVC have the ID code "3". Aside from BPA, it can also contain diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) which may reduce the penis size of developing baby boys. Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) is also a known carcinogen.

There has been many studies reporting BPA to be harmful to animals even in levels below the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) maximum safe dose of 50 ug/kg/day. Some reports say it can lead to behavioral changes in babies or contribute to early onset of puberty in girls. It is reported to mimic female sex hormones. Some say it has carcinogenic effects.

Eventhough most government food safety bodies consider the level of exposure to BPA from drinking bottles safe, Canada has declared Bisphenol A a hazardous substance and wants to restrict it. A number of retail stores have also announced to stop offering food/milk containers, drinking bottles, baby bottles and pacifiers containing BPA. Manufacturers have also announced to either stop using it or offer alternative products that are BPA-free. Popular brands like Avent, BornFree, Dr. Brown's, Evenflo, Medela, Munchkin, Nuby and Pigeon to name a few now offer BPA-free baby bottles.

So, there are lots of reports saying BPA is bad while most government food safety bodies say it poses no risk. However, it is not so long ago that they also said there's no evidence linking cigarette smoking to cancer. Are you willing to gamble with your baby's health? I'm not. I'll go for BPA-free sippy cups for my baby and BPA-free baby bottles for my next baby. I'll try my best to minimize my family's exposure to polycarbonates and polyvinyl chloride.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
http://www.bisphenolafree.org
http://www.bisphenol-a.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride