You Are Invited: $625 Baby Shower Giveaway

June 8th, 2010

Do you have a great baby shower idea? We are looking for baby shower gift ideas, baby shower games, themes or decorating advice. In exchange for your great ideas, we are giving away pregnancy gifts, new-mom gifts and newborns gifts; totaling $625!

Two Ways to Win! (both require that you register on the site with your contact info so that we can notify you of your incredible winnings!):

1) Comment on this post with your Best Baby Shower Idea. The winner will be based on total number of votes, so use the Tell A Friend button below to encourage your friends and family to vote!

Prize Package: Mama Mio BBB Kit, Happy Mama Birth Bag PLUS that includes over $100 in extras, My Digi Time Capsule (for baby), Earth Mama Angel Baby Breastfeeding Support Kit and a Boppy with cotton blend slip-cover. A $405 value!!!

2) Take a look through our store’s product selection. Incorporate one of our products into your idea. See the baby shower gift idea at the bottom of this page for an example. The winner here will be personally selected by Jennifer, owner of Happy Mama Gifts.

Prize Package: Snug & Tug Swaddle Blanket, Wonder Bumpers. A $220 value!!!

Contest End Date: Labor Day, of course!  Don’t worry if you are throwing a baby shower before this date: Your mama-to-be will always be able to use these great gifts. Plus, new babies are always in season. You can add these great prizes to your gift closet and not have to buy another Baby Shower Gift for years to come!

How to Vote:
Simply Comment “Best Baby Shower Idea!” (as a Reply) under the idea you like most.

Good luck!

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The Perfect Hospital Delivery Gown by Mary Apple

July 16th, 2010

Pretty Pushers and our disposable delivery gowns are my dream; 4 years in the making. I gave birth to both of my children in these gowns and want all of our customers’ experiences to be as great as mine and so many like me. This is personal! I wore the Sushi Gown for the birth itself (it got SO messy and was glad to throw it away!) and then put on the coffee gown afterward  and all of the staff loved it!

The main point of the Pretty Pushers gown…it’s supposed to do its job…look fashionable, function during labor (hence the monitor opening and low cut back for the epidural), and then be thrown away.

I am very involved in every step of the manufacturing of our products and want to take this opportunity to detail the many facets of the gown I love so much:

Style: Just because the gown is disposable, doesn’t mean it has to be lacking in style. This gown truly is adorable; A great way to make those delivery photos stand out amongst the crowd and make mom feel like the star she really is!

Function: All the knots can be untied and adjusted if need be. And if the slit in the front of the gown for the monitor seems too large (this makes sense when you’re on the labor bed with 2 monitors strapped around your belly!), all you have to do is pull the ties in the front passed the actual tie (so that you’re sort of pulling the  dress in with the tie itself), and then you can walk around without feeling ‘exposed’!

There are of course lots of companies that have manufactured ‘delivery gowns’ with lots of buttons or satin trims that cost upwards of $80…but really, what is the point of bringing such a gown to wear during such a messy experience when the hospital won’t wash it for you, and otherwise it would sit soiled in a bag for 36+ hours until you get home?

Environmentally Conscious: It is very important to us that if we are going to offer a disposable product, it really has to be ‘disposable’…and able to break down easily in landfills. So…that is why there are only a couple of seams and no hems, pure 100% cotton knit, and dyed with water-based materials. Yes, we could have made a gown with buttons and spandex and overlocked seams…but that would take 10 years to break down – not 5 months.

Made In USA: We get pressured all the time to take production to China or India, (like many big-box chains), but frankly I’d rather struggle for a few years than to think that I’d fed into this horrible recession, as I think that’s the core of how this whole financial mess got started….greedy American companies shipping our jobs away.

The point is this: If you decide to purchase a gown from Happy Mama Gifts, I am certain that you will love the product and can feel secure in knowing that, although this is a gorgeous delivery gown that you will appreciate in memory for years to come, you are also making a social and economically sound decision. I appreciate your business. Enjoy!

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What To Pack For The Hospital: Your Drug Store Guide

June 23rd, 2010

We have compiled a list of items YOU NEED to pack for D-Day. The hospital, as much as many try, is not a spa and doesn’t always provide top-notch “amenities”.

Feminine Pads: No tampons allowed after birth! Although they provide pads at the hospital for post-birth bleeding, they are bulky and lack the absorbant power many of us are used to. We recommend Always Infinity Pads.

Breast Pads: These will come in handy whether you have decided to breastfeed or not (Your body won’t know that yet!).

“Throw-Away” Panties: Don’t even consider heading to the hospital without these! Hospital issue undergarments are made of a mesh material and only vaguely resemble underwear. Anything you take will take a beating, so a large pack of cheap panties that you can toss after use will do the trick.

Heat Wraps: If you didn’t already get the Earth Mama Angel Baby labor sock, Thermacare Heatwraps will tuck, and stick, nicely to your undergarments and allow you to rest without waking up in pan because that warming comfort has fallen somewhere on the floor!

Extra T-Shirts: This will be for yourself, your coach or other participants that didn’t expect a long haul!

Nausea Aides: Preggie Pops or Psi Bands will help you battle in-labor tummy troubles. Take it from us, nothing is worse than being expected to push while your coach holds a pan for you to throw up in!

Power Bars: Your doctor may not allow you to take part in these life-savers (ask ahead of time) but your support team will likely need nourishment and may not have time to head to the cafeteria.

Toiletries: Included in the Happy Mama Birth Bag

Disposable Camera: Running out of batteries in your digital would be a disaster, so have a back-up. Also included in the Happy Mama Birth Bag.

Champagne: Need we say more? Your hospital or birth center likely has a refrigerator handy and would love to help you and your family have a post-”war” celebration.

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Pregnancy Products to Avoid

June 18th, 2010

Making a miracle can often come with a lot of stress about what you can do and what you can’t do so Emma Willmott of Mama Mio has kept it simple for us: “During pregnancy it is really about avoiding certain ingredients – There are tree main offenders that should be avoided: Parabens, Petrochemicals and Sodium Laureth Sulphates. There are also a few essential oils that you should not use, so it is adviseable to use products specifically formulated for pregnancy and without Parabens, Petrochemicals or SLS.”

Where can these ingredients be found? You may be surprised at the answer:

Parabens can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, cleansing gels, personal lubricants, topical pharmaceuticals and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives in some products.

Petrochemicals can also be found in food products, cosmetic and personal care products and many household cleaning ingredients.

Sodium Laureth Sulphates are commonly used in soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products that we expect to “foam up”.

Don’t let this list of products scare you. Know the list (personal care products seem to be the giant-sized offenders) and take a quick look at the list of ingredients before you purchase. Although these ingredients are cheap and therefore highly prevalent, there are also a widening range of companies out there sticking to their guns and keeping the bad stuff out! Mama Mio is our favorite group of pregnancy products doing just that.

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12 Amazing Things About Newborn Babies

June 8th, 2010

Newborns are amazing for many different reasons. Here are a few:

1. Their sweet, delicate smell.

2. How tiny their feet are!

3. Their nice-smelling breath (that’s because they don’t have teeth yet so no bacteria).

4. They know how to nurse, right after being born, with their eyes still closed – they just know to instinctively look for the nipple, find it and start nursing.

5. They recognize your voice almost right away and turn at your direction when they hear you.

6. How intensely they examine your face when you lean close to them.

7. The way they allow their little body to relax in your arms as they drift into sleep.

8. Their first smile or grin, directed at you.

9. How very tiny they are, so tiny that it’s easy to support their weight with just one arm.

10. How much they love to hear you talk or sing, and how intently they listen when you do so.

11. How they hate having a bath, until suddenly, one day, usually around the age of two months, you put them in the baby tub and they start splashing and loving every minute of it!

12. How small and helpless they are and so completely dependent on you for everything – much more so than any other mammal.

I’m sure there are many more… can you think of any?

Image Credit: Nezemnaya

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Motherly Love

June 7th, 2010

I knew what love was before I became a mom. I loved my parents, my siblings, and my friends. When I met my husband, I fell deeply in love with him. I knew love, and I loved deeply and fully before becoming a mom, but nothing could have prepared me for the intensity of a mother’s love.

Now that I’m a mom, I know love that is deeper and stronger than any love I’d experienced before. It’s the kind of love that takes your breath away when you look at your children, that fills your heart with joy and your eyes with tears. It’s the kind of love that makes you realize that the health, happiness and survival of these little people are your number one priority. The kind of love that will make you sacrifice your life if it meant saving theirs.

No one is truly prepared for the intense emotions that come with being a mother. The frustration and angst is deep and overwhelming, and the love is all consuming. When I try to describe motherhood, I often find that I describe it not in terms of the tasks it involves, but in terms of the emotion it evokes.

Of course, now that I know motherly love, I am more grateful than ever for my own mom and her love to me.

Image credit: D.A.K Photography

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Bonding with Your Newborn

June 7th, 2010

You give birth, the nurse or the midwife places the baby in your arms, you look each other in the eyes and – voila – you’re in love. Right?

In many cases, the answer is “Yes.” For many moms, all it takes is the very experience of carrying their child during pregnancy and then giving birth, to form a strong emotional attachment to their baby, almost immediately.

One way to speed this attachment is to breastfeed right after giving birth – if you’re planning on breastfeeding. There’s no doubt that bottle feeding does not in any way prevent the formation of a strong mother-infant attachment – bottle feeding is a very loving, intimate act of caring for your child – but breastfeeding does seem to speed up the process of attachment.

When I gave birth to my first daughter, the nurses brought her to me almost immediately, and encouraged me to nurse her. Feeling her little body pressed against mine, her hands resting on my chest, her tiny mouth searching for my nipple, finding it and doing just what it’s supposed to do, was an amazing experience. It was like a miracle – this tiny human being instinctively searches for the comfort and food that only I can provide, and my body – a miracle in itself – is providing her with that!

That first experience of breastfeeding my daughter definitely helped with the process of bonding with her.

Still, even after that, and as I continued to breastfeed, attachment took some time to strengthen. There were many moments during those first few days and weeks when I looked at my newborn with some sense of detachment, sometimes even with resentment. Newborns are extremely helpless and completely dependent on their mothers. As a result, caring for a newborn is a draining and overwhelming experience, especially if you don’t have help.

It’s important to realize that when it comes to bonding with your newborn, you need to keep your expectations in check and realize that this is a very individual process and that it can happen quickly, but it can also happen slowly over several weeks. Eventually, though, all mothers and babies, under normal circumstances, form an intense attachment.

This is in fact one of the best things about motherhood – that motherly love and devotion that fills your heart with joy as you look at your baby and that makes her the center of your universe – the intense love that means you would give your life for your baby if it would save her life.

The only thing you should be aware of is the very real possibility of postpartum depression. So if a few weeks have passed since you gave birth and you still feel detached from your baby and resentful towards her, if you find that you don’t really experience joy when you look at her but just feel tired and drained all the time, please talk with your physician about the possibility that you might be suffering from postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is very real, vary painful, and very treatable, so if you suspect you might be suffering from it, you should seek help as soon as possible.

Image credit: timsamoff

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Note to Self: NEVER Forget Your Spanx

June 7th, 2010

Today I was reminded of a few years back, when I was at a bar with a good friend having a few cocktails. Suddenly, I turned around to find her being attacked by another patron for drinking while she was pregnant. My friend ran out in tears. You can imagine how mortifying this public display would be; Especially since she wasn’t pregnant! She is a mom and hadn’t lost that post-baby belly.

I felt awful for her, but if I am being honest, I silently thought that she should really get her act together. It had been..like..months! I now deeply regret those inner thoughts. Why? Read on.

I was in the dentist office this morning waiting for treatment on a tooth that has been killing me for over a week. I was a little scared and a little emotional. Sitting in the waiting area next to my husband, a client from across the crowded room congratulated my husband on his mama-to-be and the bundle of joy we are waiting on. Unfortunately, I am not pregnant anymore either. I began to cry in the middle of the waiting room.

Of course, I sent out text messages to all my close girlfriends in absolute horror. I love them all dearly for the creative names and wishes they had for this man. I also wonder if everyone silently thinks that I need to get my act together!?!

It was so easy with my first child. The pounds just fell off and I was in a bikini in no time. My son was born 8 months ago and the weight has come off the other areas of my body but my tummy has stayed…”troubled.” So, consider me back in the saddle with diet and exercise. And until I feel safe being seen in swimwear again, I will never forget that trusty tummy-sucker again!

Posted in Adventures in Motherhood | 1 Comment »

Things I Miss About My Pre-Kids Life: My Husband!

June 5th, 2010

Parenthood drastically changes the dynamics between a couple. This is another aspect of parenthood that no one is fully prepared for. You spend years building a close, loving relationship, getting to know each other really well, investing time and energy in the relationship and in each other.

Then come the kids. For most couples, the arrival of children dramatically changes everything. Now you are both tired, sleep deprived and overwhelmed. The little energy that you do have goes to the kids -they are now your first priority.

This is especially true for new mothers. Many of us are so absorbed in the intense experience of caring for a newborn, that it sometimes seems as if there’s no room left for anything else – including ourselves and our partner.

Sometimes I think it’s a miracle that relationships survive these first few months (or years) of parenthood, but the good news is, healthy relationships do. The time you spent together building memories and developing the basis of your relationship should take you though the first few months. After that, it IS important to try and find the time – and the energy – to spend time together as a couple. Personally, I have found that a weekly “date night” is hugely helpful in keeping things fresh and interesting and making sure that we still view each other as a man and a woman, not just as parents.

Image credit: adam Jones

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Happy Mama Gifts June Blogger Award: Mom-101

June 5th, 2010

Her blog’s tagline says it all: “I don’t know what I’m doing either.” And it’s exactly this honesty, this willingness to admit that she’s not perfect, that makes Liz so approachable and so easy to read and relate to.

Mom-101 is the exact opposite of what its name would make you think it’s about. It is in no way a stuffy, self-important blog with lots of bulleted articles containing parenting advice. It’s not the type of parenting blog that tells you what to do and how to raise tour kids. If you’re looking for “Top 10 Ways to Get Your Child To Sleep Through The Night” type of posts, you should probably look elsewhere.

And not that there’s anything wrong with “Top Ten” posts! They are often fun, entertaining and filled with useful information. But they do tend to be a little detached. Liz’s writing is never detached.

Mom-101 is about parenthood, but it’s about going through this wild ride together, experiencing the ups and downs, the dilemmas, the tears and the joys. Liz never pretends to have all the answers. On the contrary, just like each and every one of us, she’s constantly asking questions and looking for answers.

My favorite posts by Liz are those that capture the deep pain of being a working mom. I know, we are all working moms, but I mean the type of working mom who works in an office and needs to leave her child with a caretaker every day. I wish it wasn’t so painful for us to leave our children behind. I wish we weren’t getting the subtle messages from the media, those that tell us we’re not good moms, that we should leave our careers and focus on our children 100% of the time. I wish being a working mom was a straightforward, simple choice.

But being a working mom is not a straightforward choice and working moms struggle with guilt every single day. Liz captures this struggle beautifully in many of her posts.

The Constant Battle, for example, brought tears to my eyes, as I’m sure it did to many other moms. That familiar yearning to have a choice, to not be in a place where you HAVE to leave your child at daycare each morning.

And then, in her follow-on post, Being There, she said, “It’s not such a horrible thing, to make our children proud. Through our actions, through our work, through our commitment to them and those in our lives. I have to remind myself that the choices we make now as parents aren’t just to get our children through the days. It’s to get them through their lives.” And I just nodded, again, tears in my eyes.

“I’m starting to feel more and more… that that World’s Greatest Mom Trophy is escaping my reach” Writes Liz in her post Trying to Do Something Right.

Don’t we all.

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