Convenient location

Amuma Childcare Services - Cebu is located on the 2nd floor of the Pacific Square Building at F. Cabahug St., Mabolo, Cebu City.

It's right across ICON Bar and Kima Glass; the same building with RCBC and Yakiniku Japanese Restaurant.

Reasonable rates

• Hourly rate: 99 pesos for a minimum of 5 hours; 175 pesos for 4 hours and below 
• Daily rate: 750 pesos for up to 8 hours
• Weekly rate: 2, 500 for up to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week
• Monthly rate: 6,000 pesos for up to 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, 20 days in a month

It must also be noted that electronic devices and picture-taking are strictly not allowed in the facility for safety reasons. 

We also asked if we can access the CCTV footage to monitor our child, but it's also not allowed, which we understand. 

They provide photos of your child from time to time, though, through Facebook Messenger. :-)

Competent and patient childcare assistants

What I like most about Amuma is that they have stringent qualifications for their childcare assistants (CCAs or yayas).

They hire TESDA-certified caregivers, or yayas who have worked for at least 5 years with a certificate of recommendation from their previous employer.

All their CCAs have also undergone comprehensive health, security, and psychological checks, as well as first-aid trainings—pretty impressive, if I say so myself.

My daughter is quite clingy, and it was the first time in a long time that she's been separated from me.

My husband and I were also super anxious when we left our daughter at Amuma, but their CCAs were very competent in handling our clingy girl. 

For children spending longer hours in the facility, Amuma has several activities to engage kids, such as reading, games, handcrafts, and more.

Since we were only there for a couple of hours and is only a trial period (it was also a Sunday), there weren't a lot of kids.

At the end of the two-hour trial, our daughter was crying. She is still exclusively breastfed and rarely drinks formula milk from a bottle. 

She was sleepy by then and she usually throws a tantrum when overtired; when she's at this point, breastfeeding is the best way to comfort her. 

It was a good thing the CCAs were very patient, even when our daughter refused her milk and refused to be held. We arrived a few minutes after her meltdown, thank goodness.

Upon pickup, the CCAs gave us a "report" about our daughter's behavior, her activities, what she ate/drank, etc. 

One more thing is that only the parents or registered guardians are allowed to pick up your child. Otherwise, you need to prepare an authorization letter and IDs for your substitute guardian.

Reliable operating hours

Amuma is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

However, from reading the comments and reviews, if you plan to drop off your kid at night, it's best to inform the office at least a few hours ahead so that they can prepare accordingly.

I agree that it makes business sense to only operate at night when there are actually kids to take care of, and as a responsible adult, I do believe that setting appointments is a good courtesy to make :-)

Our verdict

So far, our experience with Amuma was better than expected. We thought our daughter would cry the whole time!

We are definitely going back, but maybe only during the weekends and only for a few hours, until our little girl is ready to be left there for a longer duration—or until she finally weans (lol).

If you plan to check out Amuma, you can schedule a facility tour. 

Just email them at amumachildcare@gmail.com with the subject "Facility Tour Request." 

They have tour schedules from Monday to Saturday. Just be sure to book a schedule at least a day before.

For more information, please message them through their official Facebook page (you can also click on the photo below):

DISCLAIMER: 

I am not an employee of Amuma Childcare. I'm just a happy parent who is sharing my experience with them. 

For your questions, please contact them through their Facebook page provided above :-)

Mealtimes aren't exactly my favorite part of babycare, much more when caring for a toddler.

You have to make sure your little one is in the perfect mood to eat, lest you encounter tantrums and flying eating utensils.

My one-year-old daughter often simply accidentally knocks over her eating utensils, particularly her drinking cup. Either way, it's not always fun to clean up after her.

Which is why I've been on the lookout for a baby-proof tumbler—something that isn't easily knocked over and spilled.

I found my godsend through Baby Company's All Things Baby Sale special offer for Mom Card holders: the no-spill MIGHTumbler.

The MIGHTumbler has five fun designs to choose from, each with dainty pastel colors perfect for babies and toddlers, with cute animal prints to spark your young one's imagination.

It's also ideal for on-the-go moms and babies, as it can hold up to approximately 500 mL of liquids, keeping you fresh and hydrated when you go out for a stroll. 

The size of the tumbler, however, was bigger than I expected. Nevertheless, it can still fit snugly into your diaper bag (or a large handbag).

Here are the available designs at the Baby Company Boutique at SM Seaside Cebu. They don't have the lime green panda, but they will probably restock soon!

The MIGHTumbler is an exclusive offer to all Mom Card holders as part of Baby Company's #AllThingsBabySale.

It's available at an affordable price of P299.75 with every P500 single-receipt spend from Baby Company. The promo runs from July 1 to 31, 2018.

Mom Tip: If you don't have a Mom Card yet, you can get it for only P100 at any Baby Company branch, either at their stand-alone boutique or inside the SM Department Store.

Just fill out the application form, and you can get your card in just a few minutes on the same day.