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Pregnancy

Take the Anxiety Out of Public Breastfeeding with these 3 Solid Tips!

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Breastfeeding in public can be STRESS-FUL and  can cause anxiety in many new mothers. But it doesn’t have to. The key is to ease the pressure is to  prepare for the moments. Here are three awesome tips from fellow mom blogger Carrie Willard on how to breastfeed in public like a pro!

1. Nurse at the first signs of hunger. A nursing baby generally draws less attention than a screaming one! So latch your baby on as soon as you notice that s/he is hungry…rooting, sucking on fist, grimacing face, etc. A crying baby also makes you nervous and you and baby may take longer to get latched on comfortably.

2. Bring a book or large purse to set in your lap for camouflage. Your diaper bag would also work. Set it in front of baby on your knees while you latch baby on. Or hold a book so that your baby’s head and your breast are out of view.

3. Practice latching your baby on quickly and discreetly in front of a mirror at home, so that you know how to do it without anyone really noticing when you’re out and about.

Good luck moms!

DIY: An Elegant Yellow & Grey Elephant-Themed Baby Shower

This weekend, I threw a DIY baby shower for my baby sister who is expecting her second child, a baby girl. With a limited budget, I was able put together a pretty fab shower, I think, by being resourceful, and cutting corners but without sacrificing quality and style. It all looked elegant in the end and as if I spent a lot more.

(A couple of my sister’s friends, one who is a p/t event-planner and baker and another who bakes cakes helped me out a bit. My sister’s future mom-in-law did the games and her aunt-in-law helped out as well and provided the venue, her lovely country home)

My sister, like me, is adverse to pink and purple and traditional girly colors. She wanted a shower theme to match the nursery she was decorating for her soon-to-be-born daughter, (and my future Godchild) Aubrey.

Elephants, Chevron Yellow and Grey is the theme. I strayed a little on the Chevron and we had a mix of yellows but it all came together, visually, well, nonetheless, in the end.

Here is how I pulled it off.

Invitations.

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In lieu of expensive invitations, I got downloadable printables from Fancy Shmancy Notes shop on Etsy for $15 and $5.00 for Cards asking for a children’s story book instead of a greeting card with any gift purchase.  I purchased a pack of 60 Avery brand customizable Note Cards from Staples office supply store. They come with envelopes and cost just $24. Postage stamps were $30.00. The total cost was $74 for invitations.  That move saved me about $100 in lieu of online-ordered customized invitations.

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Discount, Dollar, Thrift and Bulk Stores Savings

I also saved money by hitting up thrift stores, dollar stores and bulk food stores. The party supply store sold paper and plastic table cloths for $9 each. Instead if those, I schlepped to my local thrift store and picked up 3 linen table cloths for $10 total! I washed and ironed three table cloths I already owned, including a very pretty one with grey and yellow in it that matched the color scheme. Score!

At Costco, a wholesale membership food warehouse, I got a huge bouquet of Daisies for only $10.00. I was able to convert that one bunch into 5 vases of flowers of different sizes and shapes that I set up on various tables at the venue. I also got food that would ordinarily cost more at a regular grocery store much cheaper there.

 For example, a large 1 lb container of mixed greens was $4. A big 34 ounce bag of authentic nacho chips was $4. Two quiche pies were $13. An Alouitte Brie Wheel just $6. A large container of fresh cut fruit was just $10.  A similar size retails for about $30 at my local grocers. I know because I looked it up and did comparison shopping.

At the Dollar Store, nice Misaka brand vases were just $1.00 each.  Paper cuttlery, plates, napkins, cups in the theme colors cost $1.00 each compared to $3.00 to 8.00 at the party supply store. Favor boxes were just 10 for $1 compared to $30 for 50 at the party supply store.  I got some craft items for the favors and cupcake toppers there for $1.00 each as well.

Here is the final haul I set up on my dining room table.

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However, to save money, I used some items I already owned. I had a case of sternos left over from a previous event. I used a serving tray and a lead glass chip and dip tray, another serving tray and glass tea light holders I already owned.

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 We saved money on the venue by hosting it at my sister’s fiancee’s aunt’s house in a rural part of a suburb in Maryland. The host, Aunt Nicho, has a bright and sunny Morning room that also has yellow-colored walls and a large airy and bright glass wall that brought in tons of natural light.

The cost of the main cake was offset because another family member donated the cost of the materials and my sister’s dear friend baked it. She has a p/t professional cake baking business and offered the labor for free as a gift to the mom-to-be.

FREE Printables

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Google printables and you’ll find a ton of free and paid ones as well. I was fortunate to find a free one online with the same color scheme as ours.  There were water bottle labels, a candy station sign, and other printable items. When I printed out the printables, they came out darker yellow than on the computer screen, but it worked out because the color complemented well with the table cloth and coincidentally was the same shade of yellow on the the cake! Perfect!

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I got the gumballs, sixlets and lollipop sticks in the color theme at the party supply store  to set up a candy station. (We used the candy display jugs owned by friend who has the P/T event planning biz too) I also picked up steamer strays and yellow serving trays for a reasonable price there too.

I later discovered that Walmart and Target are now in the business of offering specialized modern party supplies. All of the supplies for a candy station, which I set up and is very popular, cost between 25-50% less at these big box stores compared to the party supply store.

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Aunt Nicho had these great decorative juice jugs that we used to hold mimosas and non-alcoholic OJ

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A friend of my sis, Lynee, who is an amazing baker and the one with the p/t event planning company, gifted homemade strawberry and lemon butter cream frosting cupcakes. They were amazingly good! Yum!

lemon cupcakes

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 I got these cupcake toppers for free online HERE. I used the $1 box of toothpicks I got from the Dollar Tree to tape them to the pack of the toppers.

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Here is a serving tray I already owned, a wedding gift from decades ago, that I used to serve the brie and crackers.

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Again, I saved costs with glass tea holders I had from a previous event and a chip and dip tray I owned since my wedding. The tea lights were just $1 for a dozen at the dollar store.

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Aunt Nicho created a very neat tiered diaper cake we used for decoration as well.

We used grey and yellow party favor boxes I got from Dollar Tree at $1 for 10. We filled them with candy from a big bag of Lifesavers I picked up at Target that was $8.00 on sale!

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The roll of tulle and pre-cut Tulle circles are just $1.00 as well at Dollar Tree.

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I printed out maternity portraits from my sister’s shoot using my inkjet printer I reviewed here. It looked like professional quality. I used matte photo paper I got from Target.  The Target brand Up & Up is just $5.49 for 30 count.

Lynee brought this picket fence she found a while ago at a discount store that she filled with faux craft grass and stuck the candy lollipops I got from the party store in them for a nice effect.

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Candy from the party store and the leftover Lifesavers made a nice candy station.

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The shower was a brunch so we set up a Belgian waffle station complete with toppings, and whipped cream. The serving dishes were compliments of Aunt Nicho. I got the pitcher where I whipped up batter from Walmart for $3. My other sister got the great waffle iron that she loaned us for the event. It was on sale for just $24.99.00 at Kohl’s though it is now back to $29.99.

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The Spinach quiche set on a really nice server/carver board Aunt Nicho owns.

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I made my baked salmon with sauteed onions and green peppers. My mom made her signature West African Jollof rice. My sister Adama made hot wings. I whipped up eggs and sausages and Aunt Nicho made home-cooked hash browns and biscuits.

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I set up the mixed greens and fruit on a utility station near the kitchen.

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Overall, it was a great event!

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Parents Can Now Rent Their Kids Toys

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These days, you can rent about anything. From clothes, to handbags to appliances and now with the Pley app, you can rent toys!

The StartUp will send your kid an ordinarily very expensive toy for $9.99 per month or for $19.99 per month, your kid gets unlimited toys.

It makes sense when you think about it. Kids only play with toys for a certain amount of time before abandoning them to the bottom of the toy chest. Those toys stay there until they get crushed by the weight of the toys on top of it or it’s time to go to the Goodwill to clean out the toy room.

The Company was started by a parent, Ranan Lachman, who wanted his kids to spend less time in front of digital screens and more time enriching their creativity and minds with LEGO® play.  After he and his wife spent thousands of dollars getting new LEGO toys, they invented Pley to avoid breaking the bank.

Leveraging the sharing economy, Pley makes it possible for families to save as much as 70% on toys that tend to be short-lived, eliminates clutter while reducing waste.

Pley also donates a toy to underprivileged child for every new member. Nice!

Check out Pley and consider signing up today!

 

 

Had the Baby Before the Wedding? Here are 4 Ways to Still have that Fairytale Wedding on a Budget

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The fairytale wedding that you’ve dreamed of since childhood may be the most magical day of your life. But weddings come with a hefty price tag. The average cost of a wedding in 2014 was more than $31,000, according to nearly 16,000 brides and grooms surveyed by The Knot. The venue alone can cost upwards of $14,000, and the average wedding dress is around $1,357. Don’t forget these numbers exclude the required engagement ring and honeymoon.

If your savings account falls short of your wedding budget, here are four ideas to financially supplement your wedding funds.

Use Your Mobile Phone to Save

One of the top wedding trends for 2014 is using smartphones to wedding plan, such as researching venues and wedding dresses. Couples can also use their smartphones as a wedding tool for saving. Download Unsplurge, an app designed to help you save with visuals and a community aspect.

Enter “wedding” into the app as the event you want to save for, along with an amount and photo. You can even break down “wedding” into smaller goals, such as dress, venue, photographer and florist. Then using visualizations, the app tracks your progress and keeps you on target to reach your goal. The Town, a section of the app where you can see what other people are saving for, can also help motivate you to reach your financial wedding goals.

Become an Independent Business Owner

Earn extra income by joining the direct selling industry as an independent business owner selling products you’re passionate about. Amway provides the opportunity for you to start your own business and work on the side with flexibility and convenience. This means you can still work full time and wedding plan while growing your business in between. Also, as your business and network grows, you’ll strengthen your investment with higher earning potential. Continue your business even after you’re married to help support other major expenses such as buying a house or starting a family.

Get Crafty & DIY

DIY wedding projects can help you stay within budget — and the extra savings do add up. Not only does a DIY approach give your wedding details a personalized touch, but craft projects also provide bonding opportunities with friends and family. Grab a couple bottles of wine, meet up with friends and create the following items:

  • Ceremony decor: Avoid expensive speciality arrangements and adorn your ceremony with vases full of locally grown flowers or candle centerpieces to create a romantic ambiance. Popsugar.com also offers 53 stylish DIY wedding ideas, from a farmer’s market bouquet to a glitter star garland.
  • Favors: Homemade baked sweet treats, such as chocolate bark or heart-shaped cookies, wrapped in a colorful box or cute bags are an affordable, charming wedding favor. Other creative low-cost ideas inspired by Better Homes & Gardens include s’mores kits, recipe cards in brown bags with fresh herbs or custom tea blends in small glass containers with brewing instructions.
  • Invitations and Save-the-Dates: Wedding invitations cost nearly $430 on average. Create stylish invitations for less with a printable DIY wedding invitation kit. Brides Magazine suggests making DIY thank you cards with a three-tiered wedding-cake shape using three layers of patterned washi tape and black pen to draw the stand.

Raise Money for the Honeymoon

As part of the wedding planning process, couples register for wedding gift items like kitchenware, appliances, home accessories and more. But what about registering for a trip to the Caribbean?

Honeyfund is a free online wedding registry, crowdfunding site and fundraising platform where wedding guests can help you afford the honeymoon of your dreams. With Honeyfund, the perfect honeymoon destination is possible across the globe, from the coasts of Greece to the untouched beauty of New Zealand.

Once your registry is set up, tools are available to share it. Friends and family can easily send payment gifts both on and offline to congratulate you and celebrate your marriage.

Chinese Baby Survived 15 hours in a Morgue; Awoke before Cremation



Call it a miracle. A newborn baby in China who had been pronounced dead and was in a morgue for 15 hours suddenly awoke, hours before scheduled to be cremated.

A worker at the Pan’an funeral home in Xiuana, China pulled the infant out of the negative 12 degrees celcius refrigerator for cremation only to hear the baby begin to cry.

The baby boy called Lu was apparently delivered prematurely at the 7th month of his mom’s pregnancy in a hospital in Zhejiang, a a coastal province in southeastern China.

Lu’s dad took him out of his incubator a week before doctors recommended only to later lose his color at home, and rushed back to the hospital where he deteriorated and eventually was pronounced dead by hospital pediatrician Dr Chen Shuanghua. The doc said the baby had no heartbeat and was not breathing.

That evening, around 6pm, the dad wrapped the baby in a cloth and took him to the funeral home where he was placed in the morgue for cremation.

But Lu, the fighter, was not planning to stay there forever. Miraculous!

What a story, eh?

h/t UK Telegraph

 

These Moms Invented a Nursing Bra that takes Anxiety out of Public Breastfeeding (WIN $75 Gift Giveaway)

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We’ve come a long way baby! As the cliche goes, necessity is the mother of invention and a group of Moms got together to create a practical solution for nursing women who don’t want to expose their skin while breastfeeding.

Maternity wear, in general, has evolved. No longer are pregnant women relegated to wear muumuus and overalls for their entire pregnancy. After baby, women who were fashionistas before becoming pregnant are no longer forced to stick with tent dresses until they get back down to her pre-pregnancy size. Our options are abundant.

What is still a bit of a challenge for many new moms is breastfeeding in public.  Part of the discomfort comes from the idea of having your side boob or tummy exposed while nursing, or having the baby pull down a nursing cover.

Thankfully, a group of inventive moms put their heads together and came up with a solution that is Undercover Mama nursing tanks. We’ve teamed up with Undercover Mama to share this fabu invention with you all.

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The innovative strapless tanks, made of 80% cotton and 20% spandex,  clip onto any existing nursing bra or top a new mom has on,  allowing her to be  free to go out with baby without fear that a nursing break could be uncomfortable.

The Undercover mama nursing tank is a solution to the versatility that is needed for public nursing. No more fear of exposed skin!

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This is not your mom’s nursing tank.

To use, simply attach to an existing nursing or sports bra or whatever nursing top you have on. The shirt alleviates the problem of having your sides show.

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And they cater to all body types and look great on each one.

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The Amazon.com reviews of the shirts are mainly positive. Reviewers report that the shirts are durable and top quality. They do not pill after several washes, maintain their shape and are not tattered after months of use, nursing moms who have reviewed the shirts have said.

We got a review version and we can co-sign as to the versatility and durability of the tops construction. It slipped on easily and our in-office reviewer said the top even alleviated the fear of muffin-top exposure in the back! ha!

The clips to latch on to an existing top or bra look stable and like they will endure the stress of time.

And we are loving the price point, starting at just $24.99 which is a virtual steal in this very crowded market where some items are overpriced and heavily marked up without reason. You get quality at a great price with these shirts.

Winning! (smile)

Stock up with a few shirts in a variety of colors. You can save money by purchasing a value bundle, a slimming tank that cinches your waist, or in a lace trim. Get them at Amazon.com.

Or…You can use a generous $75 gift certificate Undercover Mama is offering to be split among three Bellyitch reader to get their very own Undercover Mama Tank!

Enter here!

WIN AN UNDERCOVER MAMA NURSING TANK ($75 GIFT FOR 3 WINNERS)

The 5 Destinations I think You Should Consider for Your Babymoon

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Much is said about the importance of new parents getting a babymoon in before the delivery of a newborn, especially for first time parents who may be woefully unprepared for the drastic and dramatic shift in their lives to come.

I don’t believe they were en vogue when I was first pregnant, but if I could go back in time and do it again, these would be my top 5 destinations and why:

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La Jolla Cove, California– This quaint Orange County city is an absolutely fab place to get away to for several reasons. It’s near the water and provides a wonderful place to have a late evening picnic or to watch the sun rise or set. It boasts a generous amount of day spas for getting a pregnancy massage or a couple’s massage. It has lovely restaurants, boutique shops and brand name exclusive shops along the main boulevard. It’s moments away from bustling down town San Diego where you can find a live band in any genre playing at the varying pubs, clubs, nightspots and hangouts there. Highly rated. I loved going there on my one year wedding anniversary and would highly recommend it as a baby moon destination. If I could live my life over again, I’d apply to get into the University of San Diego which is near this town. Yeah. I love this area that much.

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Las Vegas, Nevada- You wouldn’t ordinarily think this is a wonderful place for a pregnant woman to go especially since many people smoke at the various casinos that litter that town. However, to the contrary, there is a variety of entertainment options offering from Cirque du Soleil to Vegas show girl caberets to world class concerts from music industry legends. Prince, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion and others all headlined major nightly shows there. Even if you go there for a weekend, you’re bound to take in a lot of sights and entertainment. And every time I go, I notice a brand new “it” hotel to supplant the one that was the hottest only a few years prior. Don’t sleep on Vegas as a baby moon option. You can’t get knocked up twice. So what happens in Vegas can stay in Vegas.

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Saint Marteen and Saint Martin, West Indies. This twin island which is a Dutch property to the South and French one to the north provides visitors all the pleasures of vacationing in Europe but with the extra plus of being in a warm tropical hotspot surrounded by water. The few times I’ve visited, I was able to escape to the the North and take in the villas of the French side or walk into a bakery and greeted by the shopkeeper telling me “Bon Soir” just as if I were in Nice. I could also appreciate the wonderful international flavor of its multicultural population. Locals speak over 8 different languages and as you walk from one block to the next you are bound to hear people talking in different tongues. On the Dutch side, there is gambling and haggling. St. Maarten is known as one of THE best places to get a deal on jewelry. Then for an added bonus, for the fee of the price of a tiny ferry, you can take a day trip over to the even tinier island of Anguilla, a famous and often visited getaway for many A-list celebrities because of how secluded the villas and rented mansions are. It’s a great place to go to really get away and loaf on a quiet beach. Love Love it

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Paris, France – It’s not called the city of love for nothing. The museums, cultural sights, restaurants and shopping make this an ideal destination for any occasion. It may be a long while after baby comes that you will be comfortable either traveling with a baby, small child or children or okay leaving the kids for a Paris trip. While you have the opportunity, it may be a great time to take this sojourn across the ocean and to Europe.

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Local Bed and Breakfast – Because not everyone has the budget, time away from work option or interest in traveling too far from family or the doctor or delivery hospital while pregnant, taking advantage of a quick weekend getaway to a nearby inn, bed and breakfast or hotel could do! There are sometimes specials on sites like GroupOn, LivingSocial and other sites that can be taken advantaged of and it saves the cost of car rental and air flight. You can plan to catch a play, movie or head to a local lounge or nightclub in the day and then order in, watch movies, chill by the hotel pool and vege at night. It’s a great option for those who already have kids and want some quiet time alone.

All these options are wonderful for mom and for dad who may have had to deal with an irritable, irate and demanding wife for nearly 9 months. Getting away on a baby moon gives couples that time to reconnect and rededicate their love one last time before the restless nights begin with a new baby!

 

Forget Everything! These are the only Two Things You Need in your Postpartum Wardrobe

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Right after you have a baby, you may be anxious about getting back to the gym and working on getting rid of the pregnancy weight gain. I know I couldn’t wait until after my six week postpartum visit to hit the gym. When you are breastfeeding, you can’t pop diet pills or take any diet aid supplements to help your weight loss effort. There is a risk they may negatively impact your baby’s development and nourishment as well.

The only way to do it is slow and steadily, monitor your eating, exercise sensibly and stay active. Breastfeeding is said to help you burn 500 calories a day from the act itself so there is an added benefit to nursing.

But in the meantime, if you are a fashionista (or even if you’re not but still want to look a bit put together), there are just two things you have to have in your casual wardrobe to get you through.  You can be stylish and comfortable.

My advice is:

  1. Get yourself some uber cute sweats in figure forgiving styles and  yummy colors and Juicy Couture makes the cutest and most comfortable sweats still. They are great for running errands and receiving visitors in and you can hide your still large tummy in them pretty well too.



2. Carry around a fly chic fashionable tote as your babybag! That’s it.

You can pair your fab bag and sweats with some cool shades for balance but that’s all you need for an effortless chic look. So long as your hair is brushed and you have on  light blush and a dust of face powder, you’ll look great!

 

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