Markville Mall - Markham

This mall is currently going through major renovations. They haven't touched the washroom/nursing room yet, but who knows? May be they will transform this room as well?

Right now, the nursing room is located inside the women's washroom in the old food court area (where Best buy is). It is separated from the rest of the washroom area by frosted doors. Equipped with four wide chairs, one change table, a sink and a microwave. Room is spacious, but the lighting is not the best. Also, there seems to be speakers on the ceilings right outside the nursing room and the music is always blasting! If your baby gets distracted easily, the music may bother her. 

Don't worry if someone is using the change table, there are two additional ones in the washroom area! They also have a few large family size washrooms! Very baby friendly I'd say =) Maybe this is why the mall is full of mommies with strollers! I only wish the mall has more elevators for us to get up and down! 

Microwave and sink

Change table to the right

Extra change tables in the washroom area

Entrance to the nursing room on the left, extra changing table on the right.

Hillcrest Shopping Mall - Richmond Hill

I was at Hillcrest Mall the other day getting some candies for baby's 100th day celebration from Bulk Barn.  It has become a habit of mine now to check out the nursing room where ever I go! and I'm glad I did this time around! The nursing room in Hillcreast is separated from the washroom area behind closed doors. A sign on the door clearly marks: for Nursing Mothers Only, please respect their need for privacy =) 

This spacious room has three nursing chairs with side tables. One changing station. One sink. A microwave and a family size washroom! It wasn't busy when I was there but I did notice the same issue as the mother's room in Promenade mall...mall staff using the microwave to heat up their own lunch...It's not really a big deal, just kind of strange~ you would think the mall would have a separate lunch room or rest area for people who work there...guess not =P

Overall I was pleased with this nursing room. However, I've been back a few time since my first visit and noticed that it is not always as clean as it should be.  Last few times I found half eaten lunches on the side table and spilled pop on the floor...just my bad luck I guess =)

Small sink and change table

Family size washroom inside the  nursing room

Relaxing environment

Please respect our need for privacy =)

Located beside EB Games (close to where the food court is)

Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls

The Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls are just minutes from the boarder and is very popular among Canadian shoppers! That's why you will notice that at least half of the parked cars have Ontario licence plates!  Prior to becoming a mommy, my favourite brands were Juicy and Kate Spade. I still like those brands, but this time around, I spent all my time browsing through children's clothing store like: Carters, Gap, Gymboree, Old Navy, Osh Kosh B Gosh and Children's Place. 

We spent a good three hours at the outlets and I didn't even buy one thing for my self! Hard to believe huh?! 

After checking with the information desk, we found out that this mall does not have a nursing room or family washroom. However, they have us nursing moms covered...well...kind of....

The solution was...a chair inside the handicapped washroom! Yikes!  I never feel comfortable nursing in a public washroom. I don't eat in the bathroom myself, so why would I feed my baby there? We ended up finishing shopping real quick and get back into our car =)

Welden Galleria Mall, Buffalo, NY

Shoo~I'll let you in on a little "secret" =)

This mall does not have a nursing room. You can try to breast feed standing up in a family washroom (j/k) or go back all the way to your car if you are not comfortable nursing in public...or...

Head over to Macy's! Right outside the women's washroom on the second level, there is a nice siting area you can use for nursing. Not too private...as people walk in and out...but the chairs are comfortable! And if you positing your stroller the right way, you can block off a lot from people's views!

Babies R Us at Buffalo, NY

I have been busy with my baby's 100th day celebration these past weeks so I am a little behind on my blogging =P  Let's continue with my shopping trip to Buffalo!

Babies r us at 1569 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Buffalo, NY  is a definite stop when shopping for baby stuff in Buffalo! They always seem to have way better deals than our Canadian store! I was there at the right time as they had a "buy one, get the second half off" deal on a lot of the stuff around the store! Plus they were giving out free Tommee Tippee bottles, which was great cause that is the brand we use with our baby!

Unlike other Toys r us store where they only have a "baby section". This whole store is dedicated to babies! You can find everything you need here! (Well...almost ;P)

The best purchase we've made was the Nap Nanny (see review on my other post) which is not available in Canada. 

You can easily spend a couple of hours here, so guess what? Nursing time again! hee hee

Their nursing room is located at the back of the store (towards the right hand side as you enter the store)....

Mother's room are separated from the washroom so it's nice and quiet!

Large comfortable sofas. Private setting.

This nursing room is equipped with a change table, bottle warmer, diaper disposal bin and two sofas. Nothing too fancy but definitely enough for our needs! The room is quite large and lighting is soft! I hate it when they use super strong spot lights in the nursing room (most newly renovated rooms does) as it makes the room super hot and babies often get distracted by the strong light!  

Ok..one down....next up is Walden Galleria Mall!

Duty Free Shop at Lewiston-Queenston Bridge

Cross boarder shopping always involve waiting in line for customs. With the favourable exchange rate for Canadians these days, many are crossing the boarder to shop. That includes us! We planned a one day shopping trip in the Buffalo region specifically for baby stuff! 

You never know how long the wait is to cross the boarder, so it's always a good idea to make a quick stop at the washroom before you enter the line. 

At Lewiston Bridge, there used to be a small building in the middle of the road with the washrooms. We were surprise to see that the building is now gone! Replacing it is a brand new duty free shop on the right side of the lane.  I didn't need to change  or fed the baby but decided to go in and take a look at the facilities to see if it is at all possible to nurse there!

This brand new duty free shop is quite impressive, with LED displays around the shop! I headed straight to the washroom....and for the first time...saw a stainless steel changing table! LOL Now that's fancy! Unfortunately there isn't a nursing room/chair available, but nevertheless, this is still way better than the old washroom ;)

Canada One Outlet - Niagara Falls

With the birth of our new baby girl, we were fortune enough to have relative visit us from all over the world =) In mid September, the family did a weekend trip to Niagara Falls region. This was the first time travelling with our baby girl! Travelling by car from Toronto to Niagara Falls region takes just under 2 hours. This means that by the time you arrive at Niagara region, it's time to feed baby! 

Our first stop at the area is the outlet on the Canadian side: Canada One Outlet located at 7500 Lundy's Lane, Niagara Falls, ON. This outlet is on the smaller side and doesn't really have any of my favourite brands, but they do have Carter's OshKosh , so if you are not planing to cross the border, you can still get some decent deals on children's clothes here! 

Since this is an "outdoor" outlet mall, they don't really have a room dedicated as the mother's room. However, there is a family room you can use for nursing purposes. It is located in the same area as the regular washrooms (beside the security office, close to the food court, and at the back of the building). I was there on a week day so the mall was not busy at all. There were very few visitors/shoppers, so there was not a line up to the washroom. However, since there is only one family washroom, I can image that it would be quite busy on the weekend! When I entered the room, I was surprise by how neat and clean it was! It didn't have that "public washroom" smell and was quite spacious!  Instead of going back to the car to feed my baby, I decided to get everything done there! There was no chair for you to sit on, but there are plenty of counter space ;)

Once baby was changed and fed, we have another 2-3 hours to spend at the next destination ---LUNCH for mommy & daddy! Yeah!!

Bench outside the washroom area