Review: BabaBing Noah Highchair

I love the look and function of the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchairs but find them really overpriced in Singapore. Yes, I know that you can use them into adulthood, but still…

Z had been using a Nuna Zaaz highchair since she was about 6 months old. M was using it previously and then moved onto the Ikea Antilop. Both of those highchairs are pretty nice for their own reasons. I love how comfortable the Zaaz is for younger babies. And the Antilop is so easy to clean. The main reason for wanting to “upgrade” was that the kids couldn’t climb into or out of the chairs by themselves. Hence my search began. After seeing the price tag of the Tripp Trapp, I had a look at the Yamatoya SukuSukuES. It was a fair bit cheaper than the Tripp Trapp and comes in lots of funky colours. The weight limit is 60kg though, so not suitable for adults unless they’re quite light. However the colour that I wanted was sold out online and I don’t know of any shops where I can go to have a look and buy. They also have another model, the MaternaEU, with a higher weight limit (80kg). That one is a bit more expensive though.

It was by chance that I was browsing Rakuten (which had newly launched in Singapore) and saw a great offer for the BabaBing Noah highchair. I can’t remember the exact price, but with various offers that were going on, I purchased it for around $130. I see now that the price has increased to $269. Still much cheaper than the Tripp Trapp but not significantly cheaper than the SukuSukuES anymore. Here is a link to the seller that I purchased it from. It was a bit of a risk for me, having never used the site before and seeing such a great price made me suspicious. However I had heard of Rakuten so decided to give it a try. I had nothing to worry about! It was delivered within the specified time scale and no issues with it.

Assembly didn’t take too long, maybe 30 minutes or so.

And that was the finished product. Configured for M so I didn’t use the bar or seat cushion. After seeing the product, I decided to order another for Z. The same voucher codes weren’t available so it ended costing me about $30 more. Still a good price.

It’s not as sleek as the Tripp Trapp but it still looks pretty good and not too childish for adults to sit on. There was no specified weight limit but it has held up fine on the occasional use by adults up to around 90kg. We didn’t use the cushion on either because it’s just an extra thing to wash and I don’t think that it’s particularly uncomfortable to sit on the bare chair.

We’ve had the chairs for around a year now and so far only had two small issues. The first is that the tray has become a bit marked (not sure if you can see on the picture but there are a few white marks). The second is that the tray sags down a bit, which I didn’t notice when we got it. Maybe from adults leaning on it whilst feeding Z.

Now that M is over 18 months old, we have removed the tray and bar anyway, so that she sits like her sister (but always supervised, of course). Overall, I think that this was a great buy. If I had to make the decision now, I would be carefully comparing it to the SukuSukuES now that the prices are so similar but would probably still choose it over the Tripp Trapp due to the huge price difference.

Nursing Pad Roundup

Okay, so this post is not going to be of interest if you’re not a nursing mum in Singapore.  Feel free to click away now.

Still here? Well, I thought that it might be useful to have a quick comparison/cost breakdown of the various nursing pads available here. I’ve been nursing for almost three years now so have gone through a fair amount of pads of various brands in my time. And what has been my criteria for choosing one brand over another? Well…there really hasn’t been any. I started off using the well known brands, then tried the cheaper looking brands, and finally dabbled with cloth reusable ones. It’s difficult to differentiate between the brands as they all have very similar selling points: ultra thin and discreet! highly absorbent! soft & comfortable!. Price comparison is not straightforward either as you have different amounts in a box and some seem to permanently be on offer e.g. buy 2 get one free. So without further ado, here are the ones that I tried (Medela box not pictured).

And here they are out of the box:

L-R top to bottom: NUK, Philips Avent, Farlin, Tommee Tippee, Tollyjoy, Medela

Price Breakdown

BRAND – PRICE – QUANTITY – PURCHASED FROM – NOTES – PRICE PER PAD

NUK – $8.90 – 48 – ??? – one sticky pad, dots to remember which side last nursed on, 2 packs of 24 – $0.19

Philips Avent – $7.90 – 30 – Kiddy Palace – one sticky pad – $0.26

Farlin – $7.90 – 36 – Kiddy Palace – bulky – $0.22

Tommee Tippee – $21.80 – 108 – Mothercare – 3 for 2, 36 per pack – $0.20

Tollyjoy – $7.90 – 48 – Kiddy Palace – 40 plus 8 “free”- $0.16

Medela – $15.90 – 60 – Mothercare – offer, 2 packs of 30 – $0.27

Summary

There is variety in size, thickness, shape (as in curve to fit the body) and the pads packaging material. Some have two sticky tabs and some have one.

Looking at the cost breakdown, the most expensive (Medela) cost more than 1.5 times that of the cheapest (Tollyjoy). That is quite a big difference if you are looking at cost alone. Absorbancy will vary but if you change pads frequently, this hopefully wouldn’t be an issue. I didn’t experience leaks with any of the brands tested. I prefer the thinner pads but to be honest, I find that all are visible when wearing a fitted t-shirt. The brand that I used the most were Tommee Tippee (but only when on the 3 for 2 offer!). Their price is mid-range but I like the thinness and having two sticky pads keeps them nicely in place.

Travel Strollers

This summer will be my first time taking a long haul flight with the kids. M will be almost 3 years old and Z almost 18 months. Our main stroller, a Maclaren XT, is a little bulky and heavy so I’m looking for a lighter weight stroller to use. This has proven to be more difficult than I thought as there seem to be issues with all of the ones that I’m considering! My requirements are 1) Lightweight (under 6kg), 2) Umbrella fold (so will fit easily in car boot. Bonus if there is a carry strap) 3) Recline (this is preferred but not absolutely essential as I have the carrier which both kids are comfortable sleeping in) and 4) Good price as this will be used as a second stroller to the XT (hoping to get for under $200; second hand is fine). Here’s my list:

• Maclaren Volo
• Maclaren Mark II
• Maclaren Triumph
• Maclaren Globetrotter
• Uppababy G-Luxe
• Peg Perego Pliko Mini

As you can see, the list is dominated by Maclarens. I love the XT and find it really sturdy and comfortable for the kids to sleep in. I would be happy with another Maclaren but it would need to fit a sufficiently different role to the XT for me to justify buying (or be so great that I sell the XT). So let me go through the list.

Maclaren Volo

As I started to do my research, I found out the the Volo is not readily available at the moment. The online store lists its availability as “coming soon” and it has been removed from many retailer’s sites. It seems to be being replaced by the Mark II but not yet listed as discontinued. Therefore it might be difficult for me to find a new Volo. The “basic weight” is 4kg; ideal for travelling and trips out on my own. The folded dimensions are very small  – 33.5inches x 11.8inches x 30.11inches (taken from pishposhbaby). So far so good. Then the big issue – no recline. Now if M falls asleep in the stroller, that won’t be a problem. We used to have a Maclaren Daytripper and she slept well upright in that. However if she falls asleep in someones arms (which is likely…) then I’m sure she will wake up once we try to put her down.

Maclaren Mark II

Very similar specs to the Volo but even lighter at 3.3kg! This comes with a bigger price tag of course and it looks like it will be $300+ here in Singapore. Because it is so new, there are no second hand ones available. I would love this stroller but unfortunately can not justify spending so much extra over the Volo.

Maclaren Triumph

Finally a Maclaren with recline! This one weighs 6.2kg so quite a bit heavier than the first two strollers but lighter than the XT. The recline seems decent enough but not flat (so not suitable for younger babies). From reading reviews, the main complaint about this stroller seems to be that the upright position is not so upright, but instead tilted back a bit. This may or may not be a problem, depending on how your child likes to ride. Mine usually don’t spend too long in the stroller and my main reason for bringing a stroller is for them to sleep in so maybe I could get away with this…

Maclaren Globetrotter

Very similar to the Triumph but lighter at 4.8kg. Same complaints about the seat being tilted back. I remember trying this stroller out at a baby fair maybe a year back and not being impressed. But that was comparing it to the XT which is not really a fair comparison.

Uppababy G-Luxe

This stroller doesn’t seem to be readily available in Singapore but I do sometimes come across it on Craigslist/Gumtree etc. According to the Uppababy website it is “the lightest reclining umbrella stroller in its class”. Sounds perfect! There are so many features that I love in this stroller. One handed recline (this is the thing which I dislike most about the XT. Having to use two hands and crouch down. Not easy whilst carrying the other child), easy fold without using your foot (I find the Maclaren foot fold pretty easy actually. It’s only when I’m wearing flip flops that it becomes difficult). The stroller stands by itself when folded, so easy to store.  And it has a strap for carrying around. True weight is 13.4lbs (6.08kg) so it’s lighter than the XT and Triumph. Triumph now crossed off the list. But again, one thing noted in reviews is that the upright position is not truly upright. Sigh. Still a strong contender though.

Peg Perego Pliko Mini

The Peg Perego Pliko Mini isn’t an umbrella stroller but it does fold very small (94cm x 33cm x 30.5cm) so I’m including it on my list. The fold looks great with no need to bend over and it’s self standing when folded. Weight is good at 5.7kg. The recline isn’t one handed but it does look easy to operate. This stroller was a bit harder to find reviews on. The bad point about it seems to be that it’s not great on bumpy ground. The price is also much higher than the other strollers I’ve been looking at (~$400). If I was looking for a stroller for all occasions, and I didn’t have the XT, I’d pick this one. But as things stand it’s too expensive, and difficult to find second hand at a good price.

Summary

Lightest: Maclaren Mark II

Easiest recline: Uppababy G-Luxe

Best fold: Peg Perego Pliko Mini

Cheapest: Maclaren Globetrotter or Volo (both second hand) can be purchased for under $150. I’ve seen the Volo go for as little as $50.

No stroller perfectly fits my requirements but the one I’m most interested to try is the Uppababy G-Luxe. Lighter than the XT but still has a good recline. I’ve managed to find a second hand one at a good price so am going to give it a try. Once I get back from my trip I can always exchange for the Volo or Mark II as a recline won’t be as essential then. I’ll let you know how I get on!

* One thing to note is that when I started my search I was dismissing some strollers due to their weight limit of 15kg (M will be coming up to this weight soon). I’ve just read on Maclaren’s website that 15kg is stated because European testing only tests up to this weight. US testing is to a higher limit so the Maclaren’s capacity is stated as 15kg (EU testing) or 55lb (US? testing). So this would actually be able to carry a pretty heavy child.