Aloha Friday: Newborn Essentials

Category : Featured Reviews, memes & carnivals, pregnancy & babies

It’s time for Aloha Friday, the day that you take it easy and look forward to the weekend, in Hawaii and blog land anyway. Over at An Island Life, Kailani decided that on Fridays she would take it easy on posting and ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

In eleven days I am going to be having my second child, a sweet baby girl (we’re doing a planned c-section, that’s the reason I know the date). So of course I’ve spent the last several weeks trying to make sure I’ve got all the little things we’ll need for our new little bundle of joy. We had to buy a new infant car seat (we sprung for this Graco Travel System) since we gave our old one away but a lot of things, like a crib, co-sleeper and pack and play we still had from our first baby – and we got a lot of great baby clothes between the gender neutral infant clothes we held onto and things we’ve been given from family and friends. So while there are still things I want (some baby wraps and carriers would be lovely and I’m very interested in trying cloth diapers this time around) we’ve got a lot of our newborn essentials down… I hope.

My Aloha Friday questions this week are:

  • What are your newborn essentials? What things are a MUST?
  • If you could splurge on one great thing for your next baby, what would you get?

Giveaway: Pocket Dots – They Grip So Pants Don’t Slip!

Category : Featured Reviews, Giveaways, Reviews & Giveaways, clothes shoes & accessories, pregnancy & babies

I’m getting to that point in my pregnancy – even my longest of maternity shirts are no match for my bulging expectant belly and I find myself constantly pulling my shirts down. Another strange phenomenon? As my belly gets larger, the rest of me seems to be getting smaller. I know, to have such problems. But that means my pants are getting bigger – and constantly slouching down, which doesn’t help with the shirts that are rising up. It makes for a lot pulling up and pulling down and wishing my clothes would just stay in place!

pocket dots - they grip so your pants don't slip!

Enter Pocket Dots, whose catchy slogan, “They grip so pants don’t slip!” really does say it all. Designed for anyone, pregnant or otherwise (seriously even when I wasn’t pregnant I think I was having the same slippage problem – anyone else?), by fellow mother, Annie, whose been there, done that, AND come up with a brilliant solution. They are kind of like suspenders without the big strap – you just take one end and clip it to your back pocket, then take the other end and clip it to your shirt, camisole, undershirt or belly band. Now you are good to go!

I’ve tried my Pocket Dots a couple of times and they really do work – there was no more tugging and pulling – and it got me to thinking – if you can use them on the back pocket, why not the front pocket, too? And guess what? It worked. So whether you are having problems in the front or back, Pocket Dots will have you covered, literally.

just clip one end to your back pocket and the other end to your shirt, camisole or belly band

My only real complaint is a minor one that is more funny than problematic – bathroom breaks (something that happens a lot being pregnant). The Dots are so effective that I literally forget I’m wearing them until I go to the ladies room and find that I cannot pull my pants down! That shows you how strong they are! I’m willing to bet most women have a memory bank large enough to remind themselves to un-clip before they unzip, but this is me – the woman who has to walk back to the car several times just to make sure it’s really locked. So if you are memory impaired like myself, I suppose that’s something to keep in mind – not that it’s stopped me from wearing them!

Win It!

The fabulous Annie is offering up one pair of Pocket Dots to one lucky winner!  Here’s how you can enter to win:

  1. Check out the Pocket Dots website and tell us which color you’d prefer. This is mandatory – if not done, all other entries will be null and void.
  2. For a second entry you can tweet about this giveaway once a day until giveaway is closed. Leave a comment for each tweet – Need some tweet-spiration? “@mommasreview is giving away one pair of Pocket Dots – they grip so your pants won’t slip! www.mommasreview.com
  3. Post about it on your blog and leave a comment here with the URL of your post and get five extra entries. Leave five comments for this extra entry opportunity.
  4. For a final entry, subscribe to our RSS feed, leaving a comment here to tell us you’ve done so. We’ll be posting more giveaways on Momma’s Review soon so subscribing will be a great way for you to stay informed about all the great things you can win in the days and weeks to come.

This giveaway is open to US readers only! The contest will close at 12:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday July 8th.

Maggie Maternity: For Effortless Maternity Style

Category : Featured Reviews, Reviews & Giveaways, clothes shoes & accessories, pregnancy & babies

I love maternity clothes. Imagine entire lines of clothing whose sole function is to make your bulging belly look good – and make you feel comfortable in your skin for those nine months while you are waiting for baby. I have enjoyed pampering myself with a few fun maternity tops with this pregnancy and one of my favorite maternity tank tops is definitely the Model Tank which I received to review from Maggie Maternity. I got the tank top in plum and the color is as luxuriant as the ultra soft fabric. It’s versatility can’t be beat – dress it up with a nice skirt and cardigan or down with some yoga pants or denim jeans and you are good to go.

Versatility and effortless good looks seems to be an area that Maggie Maternity excels at. They created the Maggie Box which is sold as a complete ensemble allowing for ultimate versatility. With four classic wardrobe pieces that can be worn together or mixed and matched with the rest of your wardrobe, it creates an entire look for you and ensures you’ll never be without that one crucial piece. You are covered with a great tank top, long sleeve blouse, dressy pants and a skirt with their classic box, but they also sell a Summer Maggie Box which comes with a short sleeve tee instead of long sleeve and their 4th Trimester Box which can help transition your wardrobe out of maternity clothes and back into the rest of your life, seamlessly and stylishly.

I love the rich, high quality feel of my Maggie Maternity tank top – it’s so comfortable I could live in it. Their clothing line is a bit on the pricy side, especially if you are shopping places like Target for the majority of your maternity wardrobe but if you are splurging on yourself with this pregnancy or if you want to buy something really nice for a mom-to-be in your life I think the Maggie Maternity clothing line would be an excellent choice.

Ready for the ultimate in pampering? You lucky Mommas Review readers can get 10% off your purchases at Maggie Maternity through May 15th with the following code: BL2009T

About the Momma:

Jen is a Stay at Home Mom and Loving Wife. She spends her time online reading RSS feeds and posting in her blog. If you haven’t heard from her in awhile, she’s likely lost in a good book, sleeping or watching Grey’s Anatomy.


Book Review: Waiting For Birdy

Category : books, pregnancy & babies

Grade: A+

I read a lot of books during my first pregnancy and shortly after giving birth to my son – but I found it was the handful of memoir-style books that appealed to me the most – real stories in all their imperfection helped me cope and deal and plan much moreso than the technical tombs like What To Expect…, etc. When I got pregnant a second time last fall, I began searching out similar books but based on a second or third pregnancy, etc. I already know what babies are like and how to go about raising them, for the most part – what I was looking for was a book about learning how to “stretch your love” so to speak – the feelings of this pregnancy are different than they were with a first pregnancy. You know the basics and understand why your body is changing, but the idea of a new baby coming into the world and competing for love and affection with your current brood can be daunting. Am I making the right decision? Will I be a good mother of more than one? Am I completely crazy?? (That last one usually gets asked when I find myself in the middle of not dealing terribly well with something my 2 year old is doing.)

There isn’t much out there – at least not much that I’ve found – so I lucked out that the one that I found – Waiting For Birdy by Catherine Newman – was perfect and exactly what I was looking for. Not only is she pregnant with her second child and raising a just turned three year old boy (dealing with potty training and typical toddler turned preschool mayhem) she is hesitant. Constantly – “Am I doing the right thing?” comes up a lot. Which for me is a godsend, because an entire book of, “I’m so happy and together,” probably would have driven me insane. Now I feel slightly better prepared – armed – she was just as scared silly and just as normal and she made it through okay – she loved her new baby and eventually her son came around and decided to like the new baby okay, too.

This book was filled with relate-able humor and I found myself laughing a lot. It was real – I found myself worrying a lot, too, but everything worked itself out in her life which makes me feel like maybe everything will work itself out in mine. Life is full of the occasionally seemingly insurmountable odds, but it’s full of laughter and kindness, too, depending on where you look. You’ll find all of that here. And Newman is a terrific writer – this book was originally a weekly column at babycenter.com called “Bringing Up Ben and Birdy” – learning this made me laugh hard, because I read babycenter.com all the time – heck I map my pregnancy by it, thoroughly week by week, as my regular readers well know. So this is also kind of pretty cool proof that this blogging thing can be more than just a hobby, can be real and fulfilling and for some of the lucky, can lead to bigger things.

In short, I loved this sweet, funny memoir on second time pregnancy and recommend it to any mother, new or old.

Giveaway: Vera Bradley Diaper Bags

Category : Giveaways, pregnancy & babies

I went to a baby shower a couple of years ago and the mother received a Vera Bradley diaper bag (stuffed to the brim with adorable baby things of course) and I can vividly remember being amazed at not only how much it could hold, but how well it could hold it all! You may think a bag is just a bag, but it would seem that where Vera Bradley is concerned, that simply isn’t true. I’ve coveted these bags ever since and was so excited when I got the opportunity to receive a bag of my very own to review! You guys should be excited, too, because we also received two bags to give away to two lucky readers!

Here are some of my favorite things about my Vera Bradley bag:

  • First off, the bag has 11 pockets inside and out, giving everything a place of it’s own, making it ideal for the most organized (or most in need of organization) mothers. You can not only fit all of your baby’s needs inside this bag, you’ll easily be able to find everything inside it!
  • The interior of the bag is lined, making it easy to clean after any of life’s messes. The bag also comes with a terry-covered changing pad with coordinating trim that’s also easily washable. My friend washes her entire bag and changing pad in the washing machine with no problems.
  • Lastly, I love the length of the shoulder straps (12″ drop) and how well it distributes it’s weight. It felt instantly comfortable, even once filled and hung just right over my shoulder.

Want a Vera Bradley diaper bag to call your very own? We’re giving away two bags to two lucky readers (bag styles available are the Cupcake Pink and Cupcake Green). Here’s how you can enter to win:

  1. To be eligible to win one of these bags, check out Vera Bradley’s Signature Collection and tell us which other bag style is your favorite in the Signature Collection. You must do this to be entered into the contest.
  2. For an extra entry, you can follow us on Twitter. Post a comment here with your Twitter username.
  3. For a third entry you can tweet about this giveaway or post about it on your blog and leave a comment here with either the URL of your post or your twitter profile.
  4. For a fourth subscribe to our RSS feed, leaving a link here to tell us you’ve done so. We’ll be posting more giveaways on Momma’s Review soon so subscribing will be a great way for you to stay informed about all the great things you can win in the days and weeks to come.
  5. As a final entry donate $1.00 (or more if you’d like) to the I Heart Tucker fund. This can be done through PayPal and your donation would be greatly appreciated! Just visit I Heart Tucker and click on the donate button on the right sidebar, you can also enter raffles on the I Heart Tucker site with donations you have made! Make sure to let us know that you have donated by commenting here.

This giveaway is open to all US Residents (sorry international readers)! The contest will close at 12:00 p.m. EST on Monday March 2nd.

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