Only in China

Yesterday, Simon and I courageously ventured into a big department store in search of a water dispenser for the office. 'Courageously' because we try to avoid weekends when there's way too many people out and about. Anyway, we managed to get into the elevators and out on the floor we wanted. Went straight to the counter that sold these dispensers.

Unfortunately the sales women were not very keen in selling their products contrary to what we have experienced before in like department stores. They were more interested in staring at my belly more than selling the product! After a few attempts at trying to get them to explain to us the features/functions, Simon and I walked out out of frustration! Yes, only in China (Shanghai) does this happen.

Typhoon

Friday night, typhoon hit Shanghai. Saturday morning started off with slight drizzle but come Saturday afternoon, it rained continually and hard without any sign of stopping. By around past midnight, our entire back hallway and conservatory was flooded with water! The drainage holes in our garden and out in the lane are all overflowing with water. So we had to scramble to get things off the floor. Simon and Adeline spent some time getting the computers in our office off the floor for fear the water will rise further and end up flooding the office. Fortunately it didn't.

Sunday, started off with dry sunny weather. But yet again, the afternoon brought some more rain. And this time, the rain wasn't as bad as it was.

Apparently this was the worst typhoon to hit Shanghai in the last decade. Our other employees also experienced similar flooding in their homes but no where near what we had.

Baby Registry

Simon and I started a baby registry on Amazon a few months ago but after re-thinking through what we really need and what we don't need, we've decided to come up with our own list of the last few basic items we cannot get in China... Please don't send us clothes as these are very cheap here as well as mostly made in China.

Baby Sling
We like the Tricotti ones as they can be used from birth without the need for the extra pillow (as with the New Native ones). Click here for another great site for the Tricotti sling.

Terry Nappies
Yes, you read it right. I am going to brave it, using washable nappies instead of disposables. The least we can do for the environment. I've already ordered a few but we need more for twins. The brand that we liked is Tots Bots as these are the best so far. White and Unbleached would be fine either with the velcro or non-velcro version. If you want to give the colored ones, please get the more unisex colors.

Nappy liners
There are biodegrable ones that can be flushed down the toilet which is used in conjunction with the terry nappies. Not sure yet which is best of the two but they're both flushable and biodegradable - Bambino Mio or Cotton Bottoms Bioliners.

Baby Bjorn Sitter 1-2-3
Great for keeping the babies amused. I've already managed to snag one at eBay but we may need another one in case both wants to sit in the bouncer at the same time. Cannot be found in Shanghai and the HK shop also don't have this in stock. Other sites for this products: BabyWorld and MotherBliss

Baby Monitor
Movement and sound monitor from Unistar has some good reviews. BT Digital Monitor is out-of-stock at the Mothercare online shop but it looks promising. The Tommee Tippee one also looks interesting. Best is to choose one that can be used in China where we have 220V.

Since this is not really a dynamic registry, kindly leave a comment so we know what items we can cross out from our preparation list.

Again, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.