Lift And Support And Fit…Oh My!


I just received a brand-new nursing bra in my store (making it 50 different types of nursing bras that I carry – HOLY COW!). It is called the Smoothing Underwire Nursing Bra and it is made by Elomi (part of the Eveden family of bras designed specifically for women with larger busts). I ordered this bra because I am always on the look out for good nursing bras – especially ones that come in large cup sizes. And one combination that seems to be especially difficult to find is a bra that comes in large cup sizes AND has an underwire. I don’t know why – but this is almost impossible to find! Well – it’s impossible to find one that is comfortable anyway….

Well, I’ve found it! And when I tried this bra on, I found myself singing “Lift and Support and Fit … Oh MY! Lift and Support and Fit …. OH MY!” (to the tune of Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!) This bra is fantastic! It gives great lift (important when your breasts are the size of small or in some cases large melons!). It gives great support - again very important when you have large breasts and it fits FANTASTIC!! The underwire is comfortable, the cups are flattering to your figure and it places your girls – right where they belong – IN THE CENTER OF YOUR CHEST - not down in your belly!

This bra comes in sizes 34-48, DD-K. The sizing is a “funky” in that they use some European sizing standards which we North American’s are not accustomed to – but I have put “equivalent” sizing on my site so that you can get a better idea of which size to order.

If you have large breasts – then this is the bra for you! Try one out today! “Lift and Support and Fit … Oh MY! Lift and Support and Fit …. OH MY!”

Disclaimer: I received a free sample of this bra in order to decide if I wanted to order it for my store or not. I was not expected nor asked to write a review of it. I did that purly of my own volition because I was so super impressed with how truely wonderful this bra is!

Product Review: Waterpik Dental Waterjet

December 28, 2009 by Mommy News  
Filed under Contests, Product Reviews


A few months ago, I was contacted by Waterpik to do a review of one of their products. I am very selective about the products that I review on this blog, because this is meant to be a breastfeeding and parenting blog, so I will only review products that are relevant to being a new mom. So when I was contacted by Waterpik, I was IMMEDIATELY thrilled!! Why? You might ask – well let me tell you why. Take a look at the image below from their website:
Better Than Flossing

“Waterpik® dental water jets are clinically proven to be up to 93% more effective than dental floss at improving gum health (1)”

I, for one, HATE to floss! And every time I go to the dentist I get the speech about flossing. I am really good for 2-3-4 or even 6 months and then I fall off the wagon again. I just hate to floss and I find it impossible to work it into my daily routine. How does this relate to being a new mom? Well, if you are like me and you already hate to floss, then throw having a new baby (or a baby and a toddler) into the mix and all of a sudden you have a recipe for disaster – flossing falls to the bottom of the list of important things to do.

I was so excited when my Dental Water Jet arrived! I took it out of the box and set it up and my son and I tried it out. We had a great time with it – and my bathroom soon looked like it was located near a waterfall.Water on Mirror This was caused partly by a learning curve and partly by what happens when using a waterjet with a four-year-old. I have to admit, it took me a good month of using the waterjet to get used to using it and to really like it. When I first started using it, I sprayed water everywhere almost every time I used it and I really wasn’t too fond of it. But now that I have been using it for a few months and I have learned to work around its quirks and my quirks, I really, really love this gadget!!

How you use it:

dentalwaterjetTo use the Waterpik Dental Water Jet, you put on the appropriate attachment, fill up the reservoir with water (or mouthwash) and aim the water at your gum line. You can control how hard the water sprays. There is a button on the handle which you press to STOP the flow of water. It took me a long time to get used to this at first because I am used to an electric toothbrush which you press to turn on and then press to turn off. With the waterpik you have to press and HOLD to stop the spray and I was constantly forgetting to “hold” it. Now that I am used to using it, it is like second nature, but it take me a while to get used to it. The instructions say to empty the water reservoir after each use – which I don’t do. It needs to be refilled after about 3 uses, so I just leave the water in it and empty and rinse it out when it needs more water. The instructions also say to let the flow of water just drain out of your mouth as you are rinsing your gums, but I found that to be too messy – so I close my mouth and hold the water in until my mouth is full and then stop the jet and spit the water out and continue – repeating until I am done. I can tell it is working (sorry this may be TMI) because I can see “particles” coming out with the water that weren’t removed with my toothbrush. So it is definitely more effective than just brushing alone would be.

What I like about this product:

  • I love the fact that I don’t have to floss anymore. Now the jury is still out on this one – because until I go to my dentist (in February) and she tells me that my gums look great or at least better than they did the last time I was in, I won’t know for sure if this claim is true – but if you read the literature – it appears that the Dental Water Jet is at least as effective at flossing. And for me – it is more effective (see the next bullet to find out why)
  • I actually use this devise! For me this is probably the most important thing – since I never flossed regularly and even when I did – it was a constant struggle to remember to do it and I hated every minute of it. With the Waterpik Dental Jet – I use it every day, sometimes twice a day and I really don’t mind using it. I have easily fit it into my routine.
  • My son loves using it! Flossing a 4 year-olds teeth is not very much fun – but using a Dental Water Jet is an adventure every time – he loves it, I have fun doing it and as long as the bathroom isn’t covered in water at the end – it’s a great time for everyone.
  • There are lots of different attachments - so no matter what your problem area is – there is something for you – a regular water jet, a tongue cleaner, a toothbrush, an attachment for use with braces and even an attachment for getting into deep areas or areas that have had significant dental work. This is great for me because I have a tooth that is an implant and I really want to make sure it gets cleaned well.

Things that I would change about this system:

  • The toothbrush doesn’t vibrate. As mentioned above this system contains a toothbrush attachment. When I first received it, I thought this would be the attachment that I used the most – since I could accomplish two tasks at once – brushing and flossing. But for me, this didn’t work out. I regularly use an electric toothbrush and this tooth brush attachment is more like a ,non-electric toothbrush. It doesn’t vibrate. I found that I didn’t like using it and preferred to use the electric toothbrush followed by the Dental Water Jet. I think if you are used to manually brushing your teeth, this solution would work well for you – but for me it didn’t. Also, when using it this way, because you are squirting water into your mouth while brushing, it would rinse away all of the toothpaste before I was done brushing. If I had to change this, I would make the toothbrush attachment more like an electric toothbrush where it actually vibrated and aided in the cleaning of your teeth.
  • The on-off button is not intuitive. As mentioned above, it took me a long time to get used to using this without squirting water all over the bathroom mirror. I don’t know if this is just me – or if others would find this frustrating as well, but it seemed like the machine should start squirting water when you pressed the button and then stop when you pressed it again (like an electric toothbrush does). But instead, it starts squirting when you turn the machine on and stops when you press (and hold) the button on the hand-held portion of the devise. I did get used to using it this way, but still find it to be counter-intuitive.
  • I can’t bring it with me. This is a good thing for the makers of the Water Jet – because it means that I really like it – but when I was packing to go on vacation, I was really sad that my Water Jet was too large to bring with me. I have the countertop version. After browsing their website, I do see that there is also a cordless and more compact version. So if I had that one, I would have been able to bring it with me.

All-in-all, I really like my Dental Water Jet and I used it daily (sometimes more than once per day). I think that this devise would help any new mom who is worried about her dental health but just doesn’t have the time or energy to put into taking care of herself. Let’s face it, as a mom, our own health and well-being often falls to the bottom of the list after taking care of our families. So if you could have something that enabled you to take better care of yourself – and it was easy to incorporate into your daily routine – wouldn’t you want it?

Well today is your lucky day because the makers of the Waterpik Dental Water Jet have offered to give away one of their Countertop Dental Water Jets to one lucky Mommy News & Views Reader.

To enter this contest, simply visit the Waterpik Webpage and then come back here and leave a comment letting me know why you think this Dental Water Jet would help you with your daily routine. This is mandatory in order to be considered for a prize. One lucky winner will be chosen by random draw at the end of this contest.

For bonus entries, please do any of the following activities. Just be sure to come back here and leave us a comment for each one – letting us know which ones you completed.

1) Follow @Waterpik on Twitter.
2) Become a fan of Waterpik on Facebook.
3) Blog about this post ! Be sure to come back here and leave a comment with a link to your blog post so that we can find it!
4) Spread the word! Tweet about this post and link back to it – be sure to include @MommyNews in your tweet and a link back to this page, and leave a comment here with a link to your tweet (you can do this once per day during the contest).
5) Spread the word some more! Post about this contest on facebook and tell all of your friends about it! (you can do this once per day during the contest)
6) Don’t have a blog, not on facebook or twitter? No problem, we want you to have extra chances to win too – so go ahead and send an email to any of your friends. Be sure to cc: us on your email (info@mommynewsblog.com) and leave a comment here too! We promise not to add anyone to any mailing lists unless they specifically request to be added.

That’s it! Lots of ways to win a Waterpik Dental Water Jet!! This contest ends 1/30/10 at 5 PM. All entrants will be verified and must complete the mandatory entry before completing the ‘extra’ entries. Invalid entries will be disqualified. This contest is open to people with US-based mailing addresses ONLY. Winner must respond to email within 48 hours or we reserve the right to choose another winner.

Disclaimer: We received a complementary Countertop Dental Water Jet as part of this review. This gift enabled us to properly review this product and did not affect the objective nature of our review.

Product Review & Giveaway: The Golden Pickle – CLOSED


logoAs part of my blogiversary celebration, Judy Kirby, author of The Golden Pickle, sent me her CD to review (and giveaway!!). Her company makes an audio CD for children called “The Golden Pickle” and it is full of stories that she told to her own children when they were young.

I’ll be honest, when I first received the CD, I didn’t know how I was going to get my son to listen to it. He is always so busy and very visually oriented. If it was a movie, I’m sure he’d watch it! But just an audio CD? I was skeptical…

A little bit about the CD. The CD has stories mixed with riddles and rhymes from traditional children’s lore. The stories have 2 main characters “A Pirate Boy” and “A Balloon Girl”. Most stories feature one main character or the other. In each story, The Pirate Boy or The Balloon Girl are in search of a “Golden Pickle.” Interspersed between the stories are riddles and rhymes targeted at children.

Once upon a time there was a boy. A pirate boy. And he had a ship. A pirate ship with monkeys. A hundred pirate monkeys with banana swords. The Pirate boy was looking for a golden pickle. Just like every other day.

Here are two clips from the CD for you to listen to (you’ll need to click the link below and then click the link again when the new page appears – I’m not sure how to insert the clip in an easier way):
1) Davy Jones – one of the Pirate Boy Stories
2) Rhymes Set 1

One day, I decided to just start playing the CD while my son was playing. The first time I did it he was too busy and he didn’t pay attention. I was playing it on my computer. But the second time I did it, I put the CD into our DVD player while my son was playing in the living room so that the sound actually came out of our TV. Within minutes, my son was sitting next to me on the couch “watching” the blank TV while we listened to the stories on the CD. He was giggling and asking questions and really getting into the story!

In today’s world, which is filled with TV and video games, it was so refreshing to sit down and listen to a story that relies on our imaginations to make it complete! My son had to VISUALIZE the story! As soon as the first story ended, he asked to “watch” it again! I convinced him to go on to the next story instead. so we listened to each story on the CD and after each one he would say “Can we watch that again?” Or “Can we watch the one with the Pirate Boy?”

Did you notice that my son asked to “watch” the stories over and over? Maybe it was his limited four-year old vocabulary, but I actually think he “saw” the story unfold in his mind. To him, we were watching the Pirate Boy and his band of monkeys or the the Balloon Girl and her friends the baboons! We listened to the entire CD and at the end he asked to listen to the very first story again! My son doesn’t even get this engrossed by movies! I was stunned and so pleased! It was fun to sit on the couch and snuggle up under the blanket with my son and listen to these wonderful stories. And watch his expressions. He really “lived” the stories. And I enjoyed the time it gave us together giggling and listening. And if you have a daughter, she will easily connect with the stories focused on the Balloon Girl. This CD was a life-saver when we took our 12 hour flight to Hawaii just recently – my son listened to it and it kept him occupied for at least an hour on the flight! And there aren’t many things that can keep a 4 year old occupied for a whole hour!!

This CD has something for every child – from toddler hood, through preschool and beyond – for boys and for girls! Don’t be surprised if your little one starts their own quest to find the Golden Pickle!

Would I change anything? There is always something you’d change right? Remember how I mentioned about the riddles and rhymes that are interspersed between the stories? Well, for my son’s age group (age 4), I would get rid of them. Maybe when he is older he might enjoy them more, but we basically just skipped over them and went on to listen to the next story. The only other thing I would change would be to list on the CD cover which stories feature which characters. My son often asked for “the one with the Pirate boy” or the “one with both the boy and the girl” and I had a heck of a time figuring out which one he wanted to hear!

All in all – I was pleasantly surprised by how much my son enjoyed this CD. We will definitely be in line when the sequel comes out!!

cover_tails_of_the_golden_pickleGuess What – We have reserved a copy of The Golden Pickle CD for you to listen to with your child!! To enter, leave a comment telling us what your child’s age is and what their favorite story is. (Mandatory)

One lucky winner will be chosen by random draw – so spread the word. You can get extra entries to win by tweeting, facebooking, myspacing or blogging about this contest. Leave a separate comment for each activity. You may enter for each activity once per day. Do you want to get a preview of this CD? It is available on iTunes! Purchase an iTunes story for your child and you will get 5 extra chances to win the whole CD – be sure to come back here and leave us a comment with your order number!!

This contest ends 11/22/09 at 5 PM. All entrants will be verified and must complete the mandatory entry before completing the ‘extra’ entries. Invalid entries will be disqualified. This contest is open to people with US mailing addresses only. Winner must respond to email within 48 hours or we reserve the right to choose another winner.

Disclaimer: We received a complementary CD to evaluate as part of this review. This gift enabled us to properly review this product and did not affect the objective nature of our review.

Product Review: Blue Whale Invitations – CLOSED


I met Melissa, the owner of Blue Whale Invitations when I was first starting up my business. She was actually my adviser at the Small Business Development center where I went for mentoring and classes. Melissa was great to work with during that time because she was compassionate, knowledgeable and supportive. She was also a mom – so she knew what it was like to be a mom and she could relate to my “breastfeeding-themed” business. After helping other small business owners (like me) get their businesses off the ground for years, Melissa decided to start her own small business. So she started Blue Whale Invitations. When Melissa offered to make me some invitations to review on my blog, I thought it would be perfect to include her review (and give-away) as part of my blogiversary celebration!!

For my invitations, I sent Melissa some photos of my son in a fireman outfit and asked her to make up Halloween cards for him to send to our family. Melissa sent me FIVE different designs to choose from. They were all so fabulous – it was difficult to choose just one!! The five designs that she sent us are below:
Blue Whale Invitations

My husband and I narrowed it down to our two favorites and let our son be the tie breaker for the version that we choose:
Finalists

Our son (age 4) looked at all of the invites and ended up picking this as the winner. It has his name, in large raised letters and a little firetruck – which I think was what sold him on this design.
final

Blue Whale Invitations typically sends 3-5 different styles when someone asks for a custom invitation. With their standard invites, the proof is sent via email as a PDF, but for custom designs they send you actual physical samples to choose from. The turn-around time was very quick and her designs were all unique. In addition to custom invitations, Melissa also offers some template designs that you can add your own text/personalization to. And her prices are super reasonable!! She guarantees turnaround times within 2-7 business days after proof approval and she offers FREE SHIPPING on all domestic orders!! You can’t beat that!

We are so happy with our Halloween cards we can’t wait to send them out!

Melissa also sent us two samples of Baby Shower invites (because she thought those might be something a new mom or mom-to-be would be interested in!), so we have included photos of these too for you to see. The designs are supercute!! Take a look:
Baby Invite Samples

bluewhalelogoNow for the best part – Melissa of Blue Whale Invitations has offered to give one Mommy News & Views Reader a complementary custom design with 20 free cards/invitations to send to your friends and family!

In order to qualify for this contest, please visit Blue Whale Invitations and let us know what your favorite design(s) are. She has so many gorgeous designs, we are sure you won’t be able to just pick one favorite! Then come back here and leave us a comment telling us which one you like best. Also tell us what occasion you will use them for if you are the winner. This activity is REQUIRED in order to be eligible for the drawing.

There are many more ways to enter – you can complete any or all of the activities below for extra chances to win this great invitation/card giveaway! Be sure to come here and leave a comment for each activity that you complete so that you will get all of your chances to win.

1) Blog about Blue Whale Invitations and this contest. Be sure to include a link back to this contest and leave us a comment with a link to your blog post.
2) Tweet about this contest – help spread the word and show moms and dads everywhere how they can get some great invites. You can do this once per day during the contest. Be sure to leave a comment with a link to your tweet and be sure to link back to this contest as part of your tweet.
3) Tell all of your friends on facebook about this contest. Send out a message to your facebook friends and encourage them to come and sign up for a chance to win too.
4) Send an email to your friends and family telling them about this great contest and encouraging them to come here and sign up. Make sure you cc: blogiversary@mommynewsblog.com on the email that you send out and leave a comment here telling us that you did it. We promise not to email anyone – we just need to see the email for verification that it was sent.
5) Purchase anything from Blue Whale Invitations and leave us a comment telling us what you purchased along with your order number. You will get TEN extra chances to win for each purchase made!!

That’s it! Lots of ways to win a custom designed invitation/card with 20 cards!! This contest ends 10/21/09 at 5 PM. All entrants will be verified and must complete the mandatory entry before completing the ‘extra’ entries. Invalid entries will be disqualified. This contest is open to people with US mailing addresses only. Winner must respond to email within 48 hours or we reserve the right to choose another winner.

Disclaimer: We received a custom designed invitation (pictured here) along with 20 free invites to evaluate as part of this review. This product did not influence the objective nature of our review.

Product Review: Schlage Keyless Door Lock

September 10, 2009 by Mommy News  
Filed under Items We Like, Product Reviews


Schlage Lock on Front DoorWhen I was contacted to review the Schlage Keyless Door Lock, I was thrilled. I have always hated my front door lock. It is difficult to open, I often can’t tell if it is locked or not and because of this, I never use my front door. Well the wonderful folks at Schlage contacted me and asked me to review their Keyless Door Lock. They have several choices of styles, colors and door lock types. I choose the deadbolt lock in aged bronze to replace the lock on my front door.

I have heard many moms say that installation was a piece of cake and I’d have to agree. I didn’t do it myself, but had my Dad do it for me and it took him about 30-45 minutes. It took a little longer than some others have quoted because my door wasn’t quite configured properly, so we had to really squeeze it in. But once it was installed it was SUPER EASY to program and EVEN EASIER to use.

What I liked:
1) This lock is very good looking. so no matter how fancy your door is, you’ll love to have this lock as an addition.
Schlage Lock Outside View2) This lock is super easy to program. I can have separate codes for my housekeeper and my neighbor – I can activate and de-active the codes as needed. This keeps my house safe and secure and doesn’t compromise the security of the code that I use myself. The “master” code is for my husband and I to use – and no one else uses it. When we go away and we have the neighbor watch our house, they get a code that is easy for them to remember. The housekeeper only comes once every two weeks, so she also has her own unique code that is easy for her to remember. When I change housekeepers or go away on vacation, I can deactivate her code in a jiffy!
3) This lock is even easier to use! I LOVE LOVE LOVE not having to dig around for my keys when I am coming home. I just punch in my 4-digit entry code and my door is ready to be opened. It is fantastic!! If I am carrying groceries or carrying my son, all I have to do is punch in my code and I am good to go! If I am in the car and I forget something, I don’t have to turn off the car and take my keys with me. I just run up the front steps and open the door. Did I mention that I love this feature?…And for a new mom carrying a baby and a diaper bad and god-knows what else – this lock is a LIFE-SAVER! Now that I have one for the front, I’d love one for the back and side doors as well!
Schlage Lock, inside view4) The inside is as easy as the outside. To lock the door, I simply turn the lever to the lock position. To unlock, turn it again. It couldn’t be easier. It’s so easy, that I have a child-proof knob on the handle so that my son doesn’t escape all by himself!

What I wish this lock had:
1) This list is going to be short….in summary, I wish this lock either came in more colors or had matching door handles that could be purchased along with it. I love the aged bronze color, but it doesn’t really match my existing hardware. My hardware is aged bronze (but a different shade) on the outside and shiny bronze on the inside. I would like to have either been able to match my existing hardware better (different color outside than in) or even better yet, get new hardware for my door to match this beautiful lock! Schlage does sell handlesets separate from the keyless lock, but they have regular locks included, so it doesn’t’ appear that they have just the handle to pair up with the keyless lock.

The Schlage locks, in all of the styles and finishes, are available nationally at The Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement stores, and Menard’s.

Do you have keyless entry on any of your doors? What do you like about it? Do you wish you had it? How would you use it if you did?

Reviews & Giveaways Featuring Our Boutique

September 7, 2009 by Mommy News  
Filed under Contests, Product Reviews


We always like to keep you posted about any reviews and/or giveaways for items in our boutique and today we have five great items to tell you about.

Ameda Purely Yours Ultra Breastpump1) Ameda Purely Yours ULTRA Breastpump: When we heard that @MommyMelee was going to BlogHer and was going to be away from her baby for nearly a week, we jumped at the opportunity to help her out and we sent her one of the most fabulous breast pumps available – the Ameda Purely Yours Ultra! Well, she loved it! You can read her entire review here.

“Every pumping session went great. More than great. Actually, so great I sort of wanted to marry the pump. I was able to pump more than 100 ounces to freeze for my trip….” READ MORE.

PumpEase_Black2) PumpEase Hands-Free Pumping Support: Well, @MommyMelee knew she would need to be hands-free while she was away, so she purchased one of our hands-free pumping supports and reviewed it as well.

“It’s an awesome little band that goes over your nursing bra and fastens in the front. It holds the “honkers” (pump shields) snugly but not too tightly against your chest while you pump…” READ MORE.

And not only did @MommyMelee love this item, but she is going to be giving away one to a lucky reader, so stop by and sign-up to win! Contest ends 9/8/09.

Annee Matthew Melia Top3) Annee Matthew Melia Ruched Top: Recently @HappyMomAmy contacted us on Twitter to see if we wanted to sponsor her Breastfeeding Awareness Week Celebration on her blog Makes Mom Happy. We checked her out and looked at all of the great items she would be reviewing as part of her breastfeeding celebration and decided that it was the perfect match! So we happily sponsored her. Well, then she told me that she didn’t like nursing tops. Since I founded this company because I loved nursing tops and wanted to make them easier for moms to have access to – I had to try and convince her otherwise. I sent her our Melia Ruched Top – which was one of our best-selling tops this season and she loved it!!

“It’s versatile, it looks great, and it works well. It’s high-quality fabric and it’s really comfortable. Basically, I wish I’d known about nursing tops like the Annee Matthew line when I started breastfeeding!…” READ MORE.

And she is giving away TWO – yes that TWO gift certificates to our boutique – so be sure to stop by and sign up to win! This contest ends 9/19/09.

A Mother's Boutique Logo4) A Mother’s Boutique – that’s right – Your Mama Reviews took a look at our boutique and decided we were worth mentioning! They wrote a fantastic review of our store.

“Thank god for the Internet and websites like A Mother’s Boutique. A Mother’s Boutique is run by a very smart and helpful mother who has managed to find the best of the best for all things mama…” READ MORE.

To celebrate – we are working with Your Mama Reviews to give away another TWO gift certificates to our store. Be sure to stop by and enter to win – this contest ends 9/10/09.

Reviews & Contests Featuring Our Boutique

August 13, 2009 by Mommy News  
Filed under Contests, Product Reviews


We always like to keep you informed about the latest reviews and contest featuring items from our boutique and we have two more to tell you about today.

The first is a review of our stunning Vanna Tank Dress. This dress is perfect for use while pregnant and also great for after the baby comes as it offers gentle rouching to help cover up your tummy and super easy nursing access. This dress is one of my personal favorites and you have all heard me talk about it before. So now, I am going to let the Metropolitan Mama tell you what she thinks of this fantastic dress!

“…The Vanna Dress is an excellent “little black dress” for nursing moms. It’s simple, classic, and ideal for a date night out with your husband…”

READ MORE of this fantastic review! And – best of all, The Metropolitan Mama Blog will be giving this dress away to one lucky winner. This contest ends 8/16/09, so visit her blog to sign up today!

The second review that we want to tell you about is a review of our Capri Pajamas on the Blacktating Blog. As Elita says

“…These PJs are super comfy! The cotton spandex blend was very soft against my skin and had plenty of stretch to move with me…”

READ MORE of this great, honest review here!

Have you tried either of these items? Well try them today and save 15% by using coupon code MAMAREVIEW at checkout. This offer is good in our boutique for one week only – so act fast! (expires 8/20/09)

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