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Milan Maternity Spotlight

>> Wednesday, November 30, 2011


I admire any mother of multiples, and Trish is no exception! She is mom to a 4 year old daughter and 1 year old twin boys. Her first birth she didn't get an epidural (something I wasn't brave enough to try the first time around, so I admire her for that, too) and had to have a c-section with her twins. She spends her spare time sewing, and I've seen her work and have to say, she's super talented. She is a busy woman, but she made some time to answer some questions for our spotlight. Find out what Trish had to say...

The first time you were pregnant, was there anything that surprised you or caught you off guard about pregnancy?
*I was surprised at how easy it was for me. After hearing horror stories about morning sickness and feeling awful, I was so lucky to not have anything like that. The only time I felt bad was when I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey. I got headaches for a couple days because of the lack of caffiene.

Have you announced your pregnancies to your husband or family members in any fun and memorable ways?
*When I found out I was pregnant the second time I had my daughter tell my husband. Then I made her a "big sister" shirt to wear when we told our parents and waited to see when someone noticed. It was fun waiting to see who saw it first

What was your favorite part of your pregnancies?
*feeling the babies move. It was so exciting to me the first time I was pregnant to feel and eventually see my baby moving. Also, people can be really nice to you while you are pregnant!

With your first child, was there anything you wish you had known about labor that you weren't prepared for?
*There is no way to explain to someone the pain you will go through. People will try to explain and prepare you for that but I think it's impossible.

How did you come to the decision to have your daughter without any pain medication and was it easier than you thought it would be?
*There are a few reasons I decided not to have any pain medication. One, I didn't want my baby to have pain meds in her new little body as soon as she was born. I'd read that they can make the baby drowsy for the first few days too. Another reason was that we were paying for her birth out of pocket so I was going to try my best to not get an epidural. All those good intentions, then when I was actually in labor and dialated to 8 and begging for an epidural, they told me it was too late. I'm glad they didn't give it to me anyways because she was born a very short time after I asked for it.

What did you find helpful in coping with the pain of labor?
*Honestly, I think I just zoned out. My husband tells me things I did and said that I don't remember. For a while the nurses wouldn't let me move because they had a monitor on my daughter. Then the doctor came in and told them to get the monitor off her and I was able to change positions instead of just laying on my back. So, I think trying to move around a little through contractions might help.

When you found out you were having twins, what was your first thought?
*No way. It's not possible! I had no idea how this was going to happen. How would I be able to carry 2 babies for 9 months? What about after they were born? Would I be able to leave my house ever again? How is my daughter going to handle this? All those questions and more went through my head in about 2 seconds. I was in disbelief for a while. Then, once I realized it really was happening, I felt like the luckiest person in the world.

I think we all have those one or two things that have to get done around the house that we hate. What are those things for you and what do you do to make doing them more tolerable?
*All of it. I don't like cleaning. When I win Publishers Clearing House ( because I don't play the lottery) I will get a house keeper. But to narrow it down to one I'll say doing the dishes. I've never liked doing them even when I was a little girl. To get myself to do them I remind myself that it really doesn't take that long to do and when I'm done the kitchen will look so much better. And I tell myself to just do it!

What things do you do with your daughter when the two of you get to spend time together?
*I ask her what she wants to do. She likes to color and do puzzles so that's what we do a lot of times. We do crafts too

Is being a mom to twins harder or easier than you thought, and how so?
*I prepared myself while I was pregnant that this was going to be quite the journey. It is hard. For probably the first 6 months I hardly slept. They were not good sleepers til about 11 months. They are 13 months now and they are good babies but they are normal 13 month-olds x2. Twice the crabbiness while teething, twice the messes, twice the climbing...etc. One thing that I'm surprised about being easier for me to deal with than before is the crying. The times when both boys and my older daughter are all crying for whatever reason, thankfully that doesn't happen too often, I just laugh. I think, this is like a movie. All three of my children are crying at once, they all want me to hold them and for some reason I'm not sitting on the floor with them crying also.

As mothers we have some special moments with our children that we always remember and cherish. Do you mind sharing one or two of those experiences?
*I love that my daughter is in love with her baby brothers and they love her just as much. It's sweet how excited they get when they see each other when they've been away from each other. Something else I love is that my boys like to cuddle with me. My daughter is the biggest daddy's girl you've seen so it's nice to have my baby boys to cuddle with

Who has been a great example to you as a mother and what have you learned from that person?
*This may sound cliche, but my Mom and Mother-in-law are both wonderful women that I hope to be like some day. My Mom gives her time to people like no one I've seen. You know she will be there to help you no matter what. She's so caring of others. My Mother-in-law is a wonderful wife and awesome mother. My in-laws have 6 kids and my MIL cooked 3 hot meals, the house was always clean, she home-schooled them all, I could go on and on. They are both an inspiration to me.

When you are having a rough day, and counting down the hours until your husband gets home so you can get a break, what is it that you are looking forward to do as a stress reliever?
I like to sew. It's one of the few things I can do where you can actually tell I've gotten something done.

When we are pregnant or have kids, it seems like we get all sorts of advice, wanted or not, from all sorts of people. Some good some bad. What is one of the best pieces of advice you have gotten?
*Do what YOU feel is right for you and your baby. There is so much out there to make you feel like you aren't doing enough or you are doing too much. Just do your best!

What is your families favorite meal?
*Chicken enchiladas and sweet corn cake. We all love this meal. I've brought it to some other families and I've been asked for the recipe several times.
Kids obviously keep us super busy and it can be hard to spend time with our significant other. On the occasions that you and your husband are able to get out of the house together, how do you like to spend that time?
*Date night! I love when my husband get to spend some time together. We aren't the most exciting people when we go out. Mostly we go out to dinner. We go out to eat at places that we cant bring 3 active kids to!

What is the best thing about being a mother?
* Before I had my children, moms would tell me you can't imagine the love you will have for your kids. I knew I would love my babies but they were right! I LOVE my kids! I love that they love me too.

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Have you seen these?!?!

>> Monday, November 28, 2011

Don't forget! Milan Maternity is still offering 25% off your entire order through the end of today (Monday). Enter code "BLACKCYBER" at checkout. Also, all orders qualify for $6 flat rate shipping, no matter the order size. So read this post, and then go shopping!



I do believe we are officially in the holiday season, and Huggies has done it again. Remember when they came out with the jean diapers? I remember because this commercial for them was the funniest thing EVER.



Well, imagine my joy when I saw these at Target last week:

And while doing an internet search for them, I found out that Huggies now has slip on diapers...ya know, for our sweet little ones that just can't seem to lay down and stop squirming for a 5 second diaper change.

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A trick of the trade

>> Wednesday, November 23, 2011


As you probably noticed in my "Mother of 2"? post from last week, my son wears his pj's backwards. Allow me to explain...

You see, when you are an experienced mother (not like me) you know little tricks like turning pj's backwards. It was about this time last year that we started finding my son, then 2, in his crib. In his crib without his pj's on. In his crib without his diaper on, too. In his crib naked after doing...the deed.

I was beside myself. I found some footed pj's that had a zipper in the back, but they were way too expensive. I'd had people tell me to cut off the feet of his footed pj's and turn them backwards, but seeing as how my son would freak out about a little hole in the toe of his pj's, I didn't think that would fly too well. When I took my problem to facebook (because that's where all problems are solved) an experienced mother told me that I didn't have to cut off the feet of the footed pj's to turn them backwards. All you have to do is twist the bottom part of the legs so the feet face front when the zipper is in the back.

It was wonderful and welcome advice. I didn't need to spend an arm and a leg on the special backwards pj's and I didn't have to ruin all of his perfectly good pj's cutting the feet off. It takes a little bit of practice to get the feet just right, but after nearly a year of having to do this, we are definitely pro's.

Not to mention the comic factor of it all.
Happy Thanksgiving from our backwards super hero family to yours!

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Party time

>> Monday, November 21, 2011


I'm not going to lie, I love baby showers. In fact, I think I need to find some more friends that are going to be having their first baby soon, just to insure that I can go to their baby shower.

If you are hosting or having one soon, here's some cute ideas for baby shower invitations:



You can get this jpg file that is customized for your shower that you can than print off wherever you'd like at etsy.

Here's a couple of cute ones I found on pinterest that can easily be made (although the links to their origin weren't working)



And how cute are these sweet, hand painted invites on etsy?
Needless to say, I didn't even scratch the surface of all of the cute invites out there to buy or make.

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Mother of 2?

>> Thursday, November 17, 2011

(Do me a favor. Either 1) Pretend that my house isn't so messy or 2) Be glad to know that you aren't the only one with a messy house.)

I've been thinking recently about the life as a mother of two. Just when you think you have the whole motherhood thing figured out, another child comes along and everything changes. Here's a list I came up with for what it's like with 2 children (although I'm sure this applies to any number of children beyond 1.)

You know you're a mother of two when:

-Silence isn't golden, it's scary. Any time both of your kids are being quiet, you wonder what trouble your kids are getting in to.

-You regret not following everyone's advice with the first one to nap when the baby naps, because now that you have 2 you can't find any time to nap.

-When you have to leave at 3 to go somewhere, you start the process (and I mean process!) of getting the kids shoes and coats on at 2:15.

-The sentence "Be nice to your brother/sister" comes out of your mouth approximately 1,573 times a day.

-It seems like you have to schedule in your own potty breaks because you are either too busy to go, or your kids seem to try to kill each other the second you try to walk into the bathroom.

-You find yourself running to grab a camera to capture the moment every time your kids are actually playing together (or beside each other, as the case may be) peacefully.

-You remember clearly giving your first child a bath on a regular basis, but now you can't remember the last time anyone in your house has bathed.

-Your number one goal in life is getting your two kids on the same nap schedule.

-Running errands with only one child feels like a vacation.

-Sleep.... What's that??

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Oh, snap!

>> Monday, November 14, 2011

Sometimes babies grow at an alarming rate. Which is great since our whole goal as parents is to keep our children healthy and growing. The downside: clothes fit for approximately 2 seconds. Which is especially hard when something is so cute and they only fit in it once. So I was so excited when I saw these two items.


First is Disney's Cuddly Bodysuit. They are so cute, come in styles for boys and girls, and have 2 rows of snaps so they can fit your growing baby a little bit longer. Why did it take me so long to find out about these?













Second is another item that I am kicking myself for not finding out about sooner. Onesie extenders!
My kids could have gotten so many more uses out of a lot of cute onesies if I'd had these!

Both of these items will make great baby shower gifts, and will make me feel a lot better about spending money on clothes that I know won't fit for very long otherwise.

You know you're a mom when you get excited about double snap onesies and onesie extenders.

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$11 off--Today Only!!

>> Friday, November 11, 2011

Today only, 11/11/11, take $11 off your order of $50 or more with code "ELEVEN11"!


It's the perfect opportunity to get a great deal on our new styles!

Happy Veteran's Day, everyone!

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nesting instinct?

>> Thursday, November 10, 2011

I had to laugh when I saw this. When I was pregnant, everyone kept telling me that I would know the baby was coming soon when I started nesting. The nesting instinct never came, but like this woman, the desire to eat ice cream all day long did.

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Saranoni Blanket Combo Winner!

>> Tuesday, November 8, 2011







And the coordinating comment:





Congratulations! Please e-mail service@milanmaternity.com by November 10, 11:59pm PST to claim your prize, or another winner will be chosen.

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It's that time!

>> Monday, November 7, 2011



It's boots season. I LOVE boots. Like, LOVE love. (As a side note, that means my husband HATE hates boots)

Need the perfect pair of boots to go with your maternity outfits? Or need the perfect pair of boots to make you feel like a million bucks after having a baby? My favorite place to look is




Here are some of my favorites:











































Happy Boot Season!

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What I Wish I Had Known #1

>> Friday, November 4, 2011


Although I didn't take child birth classes or anything, I felt like I educated myself pretty well on pregnancy and childbirth reading books and articles online. There were some things that I still wasn't informed of, though, that I wish I'd known.


If I was asked which thing I wish I had known the most, just so I could prepare myself mentally, it would be that they will push and massage your stomach after birth to make sure there are no blood clots and to help the uterus contract and go back to it's normal size.

From my perspective, it was the most painful part of the birthing process. I think I may have cried when they did it, but ya know...it's all a blur. But I do so clearly remember how painful it was.

From what I've read online, some people say it isn't necessary. All I know is that they did it after both of my babies were born. I've also read that some people didn't think it was that painful, so I guess it's a matter of perspective or your level of pain tolerance (Although I did birth a baby with out an epidural, so I'd say my pain tolerance is pretty high.)

So there you have it. Now you can prepare yourself mentally for this part, a benefit I didn't have first time around. You're welcome.

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New Arrivals- Sneak Peeks!

>> Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Here's a peek at our new styles coming next week!


Marianna Maternity/Nursing top in White or Teal Blue


Mia Maternity/Nursing top in Crimson or Midnight Gray



Julianna Maternity/Nursing wrap dress in black


Lauretta Maternity/Nursing top in Dark Walnut


Elena transitional cardigan in Black


Elisabetta Maternity/Transitional top in Black

P.S. Did you post a Halloween pic on our Facebook page yet? Post a Halloween photo of how you celebrated,(costumes, jack-o-lanterns, decorations, or your traditional Halloween recipe) by noon today and we'll chose a winner at random to get a $50 cash card! PLUS...the photo with the most likes gets their choice of one these new pieces! So post your Halloween photo and tell friends and family to "like" it! Hope everyone had a fabulous night last night!

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