L'ovedBaby Review & Giveaway

My Son, Everett Lucas

  L'ovedBaby is a clothing company for your little ones that specializes in cute, modern, unique outfits. I came across it while looking for some atypical baby clothes for my son, Everett. I wanted something that could be mixed-and-matched, was of durable quality, and came in more than the typical blue for boy, pink for girl colors. I found all of this in L'ovedBaby! I was so stoked when I saw the clothes! They were super cute and modern! I fell even more in love when my orders came in and the clothes were super soft, of outstanding quality and, of course, super cute. 
  We brought Everett home in head to toe L'ovedBaby: The cap in clay gray, a white gl'oved-sleeve bodysuit, and a clay gray sleeveless overall [my favorite piece]. Every piece I have purchased has worn well and receives tons of compliments when he wears them! I love the color selection that L'ovedBaby offers: white, pink, blue, sand, caramel, brown, gray and green. They're adding more colors this fall along with some new styles. 

  When you stop by the site to check things out, don't forget to check out the photo gallery, and to sign up for Big Find Thursdays! Big Find Thursdays are where one item will be available for $5! But only for that day and while supplies last. There are special deals for facebook friends and twitter friends occasionally that you also won't want to miss. The photo gallery has photos of customers wearing their L'ovedBaby duds. Everett is in there as are so many adorable little babies.

  L'ovedBaby wants to give one of our lucky readers a chance to win some awesome L'ovedBaby gear for your little one! One reader will win one pair of signature pants AND one sleeveless bodysuit! Winner's choice of colors and sizes!

HOW TO ENTER:

each one is a separate entry. leave a new comment for each one for more chances to win.

*Like L'ovedBaby on Facebook

*Make sure you are a Milan Maternity Facebook fan

*Follow this blog [on the right side of this page]

EXTRA ENTRIES:

*Follow L'ovedBaby on Twitter

*Tweet this Giveaway

*Facebook Status this Giveaway

*Follow Milan Maternity on Twitter

And if you can't wait, head over to L'ovedBaby and stock up!

Winner will be chosen at random. Giveaway ends Wednesday May 18th, 2011 at 11:59 PST

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Mothers Day Laughs

Have a Super Wonderful Mothers Day Weekend!!!

 

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Pick Your Own

  There's a website you may or may not have heard of called: PickYourOwn.org. It's a website that compiles lists for every state and some countries of farms where you can pick your own fruits, veggies, pumpkins and Christmas trees. We use this to help us save money on those fruits and veggies and to support our local farming community! Plus we all know that fresh definitely tastes the best. Our girls are going to go picking Strawberries this weekend [which are in season and ready!] It's a fun family activity that gets everyone out of the house. The farm also has other fun activities that you can find at other farms across the country : petting zoo area, hay rides, pony rides, playground and other fun stuff. Many host birthday parties also! So look up some local grown fun on www.pickyourown.org

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Milan Maternity Mother's Day Makeover Giveaway!

We want to wish ALL of you a Happy Mother's Day this weekend! We're hosting our Mother's Day Makeover again this year and want your nominations. One lucky mom will be surprised this Sunday with a $150 Milan Maternity gift card! If you know someone who deserves a little pick-me-up, needs a maternity wardrobe update, or works hard and never takes time for herself, let us know! Tell us why you think this special woman deserves our Mother's Day Makeover giveaway. E-mail your nominations to service@milanmaternity.com.

A few rules/details:

-Nominations must be received no later than this Saturday, 5:00pm PST.

-You cannot nominate yourself (so if you want in on this, tell your husband or your sister how awesome you are, and give them our e-mail address!)

-You can remain annonymous if desired (we can e-mail the gift card to your nominee if you have an e-mail address for them)

-The winning nomination will be notified by Saturday, 6:00pm PST.

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First Years Wave Stroller Review

While pregnant I was on the hunt for the best affordable baby gear I could find. I read hundreds upon hundreds of reviews [which I do before I purchase anything!] on hundreds of different products. When it came time to pick a stroller, it was no different. The fact that this is our last baby made me want to get something different than my usual. Unfortunately what I wanted was quite a bit out of our price range. Think: the Inglesina baby pram stroller or the UPPAbaby Vista. I really wanted a vintage type of stroller, especially a pram. So, I looked high and low and decided there wasn't one in my price range. Then out of nowhere a few months later, I came across The First Years Wave Stroller. I totally squealed! Could it really be a fraction of the price of the Inglesina with almost all of the bells and whistles & even some features that made it BETTER!

One of the features that makes this better than the Inglesina is that the bassinet is not a separate purchase. It's also part of the next step seating as the bassinet actually transforms into the regular stroller seat. For something you actually don't get to use that long [approximately 4 months or so], it's a great money saving value! Something that might remind you of the Graco Flip-It Stroller, is the spinning feature. Spin with a flip of the wrist from front facing to rear facing. Also good for soothing a fussy baby. The change in direction helps to keep things fresh for baby. What makes it far superior to the Graco Flip-It stroller is the fact that the wheels on the Wave stroller don't change position. Meaning that you still get ease of the front swivel wheels as opposed to the back locked wheels, which was the biggest complaint about the Flip-It. You can clip the compatible car seat, First Years Via, or use a Graco or Evenflo car seat with it because it comes with a car seat adapter. Yet another piece typically sold separately that comes with the Wave.
Flaws? Well, nothing is perfect. The only flaw I can truly find is the smaller under basket. I have a large diaper bag and it won't fit, but I hang it from the handle with no issue. Oh, and I bought a separate cup holder thing for about $10 since it doesn't come with one. Considering how much cheaper this is to the high end strollers, these are small things. Below is a video demonstration/review that helped me and sealed the deal! I love it when a product works like it's supposed from other moms. Especially when it's a good deal!

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Going Natural and Homebirth

On ‘Going Natural’ and Homebirth-

{The homebirth experience of my amazing friend Leslie!}

When I was pregnant with my first baby, I took the ‘Prepared Childbirth Class’ at the hospital and for the first time considered a natural birth. Prior to that point, I had subconsciously reserved a place in the crazy section for women who chose to opt out of painkillers for childbirth. I mean seriously—pain in all the wrong places, right? I came (literally) from a mother who had all five of her children via c-section and so didn’t even realize what a vaginal delivery was until my mid-teens. Talk about a reality check!

So at 7 months along, I read a lot in Lamaze Magazine and the all-knowing internet and from various Bradley/Thinking Woman/Gentle Birth literature. The points made for natural birth resonated with me and I decided I would ‘go natural’ if possible. I’ll admit that when my due date came and went and during an especially difficult part of labor (I found out later that was what transition feels like!) I had to call on the reserves of dedication to natural childbirth, but overall it was rewarding and very right for me.

With that experience behind me, I became a ‘going natural’ kind of gal. When I found out I was expecting my second baby, I looked for a midwife instead of an OB and was unsuccessful until I was 30 weeks along. A friend who was expecting her fourth baby raved about her midwife and her experience with homebirths. At that point, I had not ever considered a homebirth (again…I had a spot reserved for those people) but I was intrigued. I called the midwife she recommended, introduced myself and asked a lot of questions and was amazed. She made me feel so ‘able’ and at ease and she didn’t pressure me into using her or that homebirth was the only way to go or what I had to do. She simply asked why I wanted to have my baby that way and let me work it out in my mind for myself. I am a believer in prayer, so….I prayed about it. I had good vibes and decided that I wanted this wonderful woman to take care of me and my baby and that I wanted to give birth at home. This decision was met with incredulity from many sides; my OB, of course, my pediatrician, my mother-in-law. In our country it is unusual and unexpected. Many people are not well-read on birth options and only know about ‘the one story they read in the news’ and so have preconceived ideas about homebirths. I was already aware of this and so I was able to shrug off the inevitable negative criticism and embrace the people who supported me and my educated choice.

Fast forward to my 40 week appointment: nothing was happening and I was of course feeling sorry for myself AND having nightmares about having an 11 or 12 lb baby two weeks late. My midwife was good-natured about my pessimism and reassured me that everything would be fine. On my 'calendar' due date I left my 2 year old home with my husband so that I could go do all the things you can’t do 9 months pregnant with a 2 year old. You know—a little retail therapy, a peaceful lunch and pedicure with a friend. Later that day I started to have regular, non-intense contractions 5 minutes apart and so I went about my usual routine. Before bed I felt like the contractions might be more serious but I still expected them to subside. Well...I woke up at 2am after dreaming for 3 hours about labor and decided it was definitely real and definitely more intense. I made calls to family and my midwife just after 5am, and by 7am when everyone started arriving at my house, I was dilated to 7cms and working through some big contractions. I got in my bathtub (insert here that not only did I settle on a natural homebirth, but also a waterbirth) and felt sort of giddy, because when I was that far along with my first, he was born less than two hours later. Not so with #2. Two full hours later, I was still laboring in the tub and felt worn out, but still positive thanks to my husband and midwife. Another 2 hours after that my midwife broke my water during a pushing contraction and my baby boy was born three contractions later.

He swam out and my midwife steered him right to my arms. He was all sorts of color—blue and green and white. He had oxygen for a few minutes which pinked him right up. He didn't cry. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and looked at all of us. I held him until the blood stopped pulsing through the umbilical cord and then me and my baby were separated and my husband held our new little son. He put him on the scale shortly thereafter and that cute ‘little’ baby weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 8 oz, SERIOUSLY. I totally called it. And no wonder getting him out was hard!

I delivered the placenta in the water and then my husband helped me to my own warm bed. There was a lot of blood, so my midwife gave me a shot of pitocin almost as soon as a laid down to stop the bleeding. I had to have stitches, and you know what? For just having pushed out a huge baby, I sure felt wimpy crying over a few stitches. In the meantime, my mom and my mother-in-law gave my son his first 'bath' and dressed him in his own clothes. When I was strong enough to hold him again, they brought him back to me and....we started recovering!

I love natural birth because of the way it makes me feel and the way my baby and I are able recover. While this choice is not for everyone, I encourage every Mom I know to read about it so that you can glimpse how incredible your body is all by itself. Also, when choosing someone to assist your birth—whether it is a midwife, an OB, a family doctor or whoever—choose someone who believes in you and builds your confidence in yourself and your abilities.

And here, a plug for midwives: Midwives are incredible. My midwife had been practicing for decades and had been through everything I was doing before. She came with a whole car load of medical equipment and supplies to take care of us and she was so capable and gentle and kind. And she was just a regular person, not an extreme hippy-type like I think many people envision midwives to be. She stayed with me for several hours and then came back to my house two days later to check on us, and again two weeks later to be sure that we were recovering well. She was the best thing that happened to me during my pregnancy and I’ll be forever indebted the friend who gave me this woman’s phone number.

Being at home to recover was the best present I could have given myself. I got to rest and sleep in my own bed and I felt so comfortable. I loved welcoming family and friends and then being able to go to the other room for privacy when I needed it. I felt better so much faster! My labor/birth/recovery process was everything I hoped it would be.

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Hapari Swimwear Giveaway

It's that time of year! We're all excited for summer, but being pregnant or having been pregnant can leave you less than excited trying to shop for swimwear that will flatter your new figure. Hapari swimwear has you covered. Literally. They design great modest suits that will cover and smooth the curves you don't want to show, and flatter your body in all the right places. I love their selection of modest tankini suits, especially and that the bottoms are sold separately so that you can mix and match your selection to fit your own style. Check out their Tummy Tuk bottoms; they're PERFECT for a "less-than-flat" post-partum belly. I can't wait to try them out! I also like that all of the tankini tops can be worn in 3 different ways: a halter, tank, or criss-cross. That way you can change it up and choose what is most flattering on your body. Hapari also offers Mens, Plus Size, Girls and Juniors, and Masectomy swimwear.

Hapari is generously giving one of our readers a $96 Gift Card!

How to Enter:

Head on over to your blog, Facebook or Twitter, and post a link to your favorite Hapari.com page. You may use any of these links:

http://www.hapari.com/
http://www.hapari.com/womens-swimwear/
http://www.hapari.com/plus-size-swimwear/
http://www.hapari.com/modest-tankinis/

Example: (You could post something like this in your FB status, then link back to this giveaway)

"Visit Hapari for cute and modest swimwear for the entire family! http://www.hapari.com/ "

Once you've posted, come back and leave a comment on where you posted and leave the link to where you posted. Be sure to include your name and e-mail address so that we can contact you if you are the winner.

Bonus Entries:

You can submit one entry for each place you post a link: your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. Do all three and get an entry for each! (Submit a separate comment for each entry)

UPDATE: Get an entry for each day you post a link on facebook or twitter! So if you tweet daily, come back and post a comment each day you tweet with the required links.

Giveaway open until Friday, May 6th 11:59pm PST.

Good Luck!

*Disclosure Policy- I was provided the featured item(s) at no cost by the manufacturer to review and share my opinions. My opinions were not influenced in any way by monetary means.

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