brit_mum

Hi there, off to Manila with my husband's job for a large European bank in 5 weeks time! Only just found out we're going so i have no idea what i need to think about! Never been there before. We'll be there for a few months. Have a 2 year old and a 6 month old. Can i buy branded nappies?? baby food/baby formula milk? What is the food like in general? Worried my boys won't eat anything! Please help...excited, but quite scared!

alicantina709

Hi there-
I am in the same situation as you (but with only 1 child!). We got word that we are moving and I don't have time to visit the area, etc before our move date. I have done a bit of research and talked to other mom's with blogs that live there. They were super helpful and I am happy to report that they do have branded nappies there and your usual baby products. My husband was just there for a week and he took some pictures while in a supermarket just to ease my mind!

The milk situation is what worries me. I have heard that you can get pasturized milk but I am not sure how easy it is to get it. Mainly they have UHT milk. I plan on bringing some powder formula just in case.

You'll get there before me though so any updates would be appreciated.

If you'd like you can email me directly at <please do not post you email address online. Info seekers can PM you for additional comments.>

brit_mum

hi there,

Thanks so much for your help - much appreciated! Think i'll get a load of formular milk shipped!! We should keep in touch. I'll keep you updated on what i find in Sep when i'm there. Do you know where your staying?

alicantina709

Sounds good! We'll be in temp housing in Makati (luckily we found housing (fraser place) that would allow for a dog) and then looking for property. Hopefully will be able to find something soon.
My husband is going back for a week at the end of this month. I will have him do some more investigating at let you know what we find out. Every place seems to be very child friendly which will be great.

Def. keep me updated on your move. Very interested to hear how it goes.
You can email off line as well at [email protected]

belle4484

hi there! good to inform you that there's loads of milk formula and baby food in manila, even disposable nappies (mamy poko is the best!). there's a lot of big supermarkets here. manila is not what others think that it's provincial, cause it's not. there's everything you need here- even branston, piccallilly, marmite... you can pm me if you have questions. we've been here since 2000. i have two boys- one 6 y/o and one 2 y/o. cheers!

belle4484

oh by the way, there's plenty of restaurants to choose from- from casual to fine dining... british, italian, american, indian... you name it. so no worries about food.

brit_mum

hi belle, this is really helpful to us mums with babies/toddlers, so thank you! i was worried that i'd have to look like a crazy person in tesco with 20 tubs of aptamil and a thousand pampers!! actually, do you know if they sell aptamil formula as that's the one they're used to? are there nice baby/kids clothes shops out there?

brit_mum

sorry, belle, me again! what do i do about water for the bottles? do i just boil bottled water? thanks

belle4484

hi there! i haven't seen aptamil, but there are loads of local brands with international counterparts like Gain, Promil, Pediasure... On water, my two boys has been using distilled water (Absolute or Wilkins) since they were newborns. My pediatrician said no need to boil them, but don't give them mineral water. On baby/ kids clothes, there are plenty of local and international brands. You may want to go to SM department store in Megamall- they have loads of characters like Elmo, Ben 10, Cars... (though SM is spread across the country) which are so cheap, like 3pounds per shirt. There's also Mothercare and Debenham's in Shangri-La Mall. There's also an occassional 3-day sale in the malls, so might want to check it out. There's loads of malls and the 3rd biggest mall in the world can be found here- Mall of Asia (which is an SM company).

alicantina709

This is so helpful! Thank you for all of the information.
I have a question for you about milk. What kind of milk do you give your children? Is pasteurized milk available??

I am really excited about moving to the Philippines. Although it will be a bit of a change from where we are living now (Switzerland) it sounds SO much more exciting with so many different things to choose from and places to go! We are counting down the days!

belle4484

Hi there! I used to breastfeed my youngest son, but now I give him milk formula (Gain Plus). It's full of vitamins and minerals. my eldest son had a bit of a hard time, I only breast fed him for two weeks, then switched to formula, then the doctor prescribed soy based formula coz he was having rashes, then he became picky with food so he has to have pediasure. Yes, the milk here are pasteurized. Plenty to choose from and come from good companies like Wyeth, Abbott, Mead Johnson... Cheers!