My Brest friend Breast-feeding Review and Package giveaway!! Closed

Our First feature is My Brest Friend!!!

My Brest Friend

When you think nursing pillows many think of the Boppy pillow,  but if you have never heard of the My Brest Friend you will be amazed!! If you are a new or soon to be mommy you will want this prize package!! Everything you will need to breast feed at home or on the go! Also, nutritional support from the vitamins you need as well.

The Original Pillow

      I love love love this nursing pillow! It is so easy to use and when I had my son, and he was in the NICU, this was what I brought with me. When I called saw my Doctor i the hospital, I mentioned I was having trouble nursing he had a lactation consultant on staff. So he called her and she ...called me later that day! Rose Marie was awesome. She had my hubby pick the My Brest Friend pillow up from their office to borrow for as long as I needed and then had the Lactation specialist at the hospital help me till Nico was discharged. It literally saved me. My back was killing, the boppy sagged in the middle and kept slipping all over the place. If you know newborns they have no muscle control and can't help with the nursing till much later in life.

      I had a lot of trouble feeding Nico but with this product (not the pretty one I received from My Brest Friend) I found positioning him much easier. It has small bumps in the pillow for the infants head and is much firmer then most. It wraps around, and you strap yourself in. No sliding pillows anymore. It supports you back and helps your posture for breastfeeding.  I really can't say enough good things about it! If you are nursing, or will be soon get one of these or...WIN ONE HERE!!

The Pillow sells @ Babies r us for $39.99

Me feeding Nico, who is huge now! He is 10 months old now!!

From the My Brest Friend website:

My Brest Friend was developed in a laboratory of new moms, babies, and breastfeeding experts who set out to create a pillow whose sole purpose was to answer all the needs of breastfeeding moms and babies. 50 prototypes and a global patent later, the pillow is loaded with features moms love:

•Wrap around design secures to the body helping mom and baby maintain positioning and latch-on

•Back rest helps you maintain good posture during feeding and prevents sore back and neck

•Firm, flat cushion keeps baby from rolling

•Adjustable, silent-release strap fits Moms or Dads comfortably and unlatches without waking baby



•Arm and elbow rests eliminate shoulder stress

•Convenient pocket keeps water bottles, burp cloths, phone, and other items within reach



Adjustable Nursing stool
$24.99 in stores

         The stool is a great thing to have when nursing it helps position the baby and also helps with back pain. I really liked the stool and so do my twins who are 3, they use it to sit on, to wash their hands, to reach things they are not supposed, and much more. It is really easy to adjust and use. I like it with my glider at night as well!

From the website:

My Brest Friend’s nursing stool can help a breastfeeding mother minimize lower back, shoulder, neck, and wrist pain by helping her to maintain a supportive, comfortable position throughout the feed.

•Adjustable to different angles for optimum nursing support

•Provides comfortable positioning for breastfeeding

•Alleviates stress on you back, shoulders and neck

•Becomes a step stool after nursing

•To use adjust the stool to the desired angle and turn knobs securely into place.



Nursing Cover
$26.99

This is great for those of us who are not pro's or a little shy of whipping them out in public. I love mine and use it all the time. It is easy and expect for the fact that Nico likes to look when eating now it works great. I just tuck in the ends under my arm and I can walk and breastfeed if necessary as well. I also use it with my Ergo. I nurse in the Ergo and cover up with the cover! I love it and I just shove it in my Diaper bag and run. I never have to worry about the blanket falling or any of that.


The easy view design lets moms easily check on their nursing babies while staying completely covered. Other features include:




•Private easy view design

•Adjustable for all sizes

•Breathable 100% cotton

•Convenient pocket

•Great with My Brest Friend nursing pillow

.

Here are the supplements that My Brest friend is offering as well. These are brand new!! I really like them. They have some great  lactation herbs them.

Breastfeeding Essentials Contains 28 essential vitamins, minerals, and herbs to help breastfeeding mothers maintain overall good health.  Breastfeeding Essentials provides the added dietary intake of critically important, optimum nutrients and health for both the nursing mother and her baby.

• Contains the highest quality folate and chelated minerals available to ensure the greatest absorption of nutrients.
• Over 100% daily value of vitamin B6, B12, C, D3,E, riboflavin, thiamine, and pantothenic acid to help you meet the increased nutrient demands of lactation, enhance energy, maintain antioxidant defenses, and support overall well-being.

Fenugreek The most popular herbal remedy that has been used by millions of women around the world for increasing milk production.

• Research suggests that diosgenin, a natural compound found in the Fenugreek seed, may be responsible for stimulating milk production by up to 40%.
• An increase in milk supply is generally noticed with 1 to 3 days after supplementation.

Omega- 3 Lemon Fish Oil Loaded with DHA and Omega-3 fatty acids which supports heart, lung, joint, skin, brain and nerve functions.  They are especially crucial for development of proper neurological and visual functions in infants.

• Potent 50% EPA/DHA content: the concentrated amount of Omega-3 fatty acids is well above the EPA/DHA found in other brands.
• Molecular distillation and advanced filtration processes remove heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cholesterol, PCB’s, pesticides and other impurities often found in fish.

10  chocolate chip or 10  pumpkin seed oatmeal cookies, your choice of flavor!!
Sounds good to me!!

How can you win??

My Brest Friend is giving one lucky Momccupation reader the whole set to get you started!! Over $150 worth of stuff, a whole nursing set up!!!

How to enter: (Please include your email address so I can contact you when you win!) You will have 48 hours to respond to the email before I choose another winner!!

Mandatory Entry:

You must do BOTH mandatory entries before completing ANY of the Extra Entries!


-You MUST follow Momccupation via Google Friend Connect (GFC)! and
-Follow My Brest Friend on Facebook! Let them know i sent you if you like!!
-Follow  Kai's Kookie Shop on Facebook. (from 2/1 on)

Please leave ONE comment with both mandatory entries and your email address.


Extra Entries:

My Brest Friend
Go to their site and  tell me your favorite Item or print!!! 1 entry

Facebook:1 entry each
- Follow Momccupation on Facebook.

-Follow Kiddie Loot on Facebook.


One comment each listed below!!

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Use my "USE YOUR BOOBS" button and get 2 more!!



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This giveaway is open from Jan 31st 12:01am PST- Feb 14th 11:59pm PST

Happy winning!!

***Open to US and Canada  residents only. This giveaway will end on February 14, 2011 at 11:59 PST. Random.org will be used to determine the winner who will have 48 hours to respond to my email before another winner is chosen. Good Luck!***



Use you Boobs week on The Momccupation!! A little Inspiration

This week has officially become Breastfeeding Week or as I have fondly named it "Use your Boobs" Week.

 So, with this first post  is my story:



Gabirel and Reese 3/2008

 March 2008
I really really really wanted to breast feed my beautiful twin boys. I had a lot of trouble in the beginning and with preemies it was difficult. The boys were our first and it was so stressful after a c-section and one being in the NICU that I was extremely discouraged.  The boys did not latch on well and trying to feed 2 at a time was rough. The Dr. soon recommended supplementing them and being a new mom I was too tired, and scared to tell the nurses and Dr ... NO!

SO with that I was discharged and my Dr did not have any support for me on breastfeeding. I was disappointed and did not produce enough milk to keep up with their hungry appetites. I pumped for 6 weeks, totally exhausted and finally I quit.  I was sick of listening to super screaming in my ears while I tried to nurse them and I was beyond stressed. I know at least they got the good stuff for a little bit but I was disappointed myself as well. * I do have to say I had a breast reduction 5 years before they were born for back pain, so I know that was a issue as well.

March 2010
When I found out I was pregnant again, I was determined to get it right! I did my research and lots of searching and reading. I found out what supplements to take and I had all the teas, you know the drill. When Nico was born, he was rushed off to the NICU becasue of fluid in his lungs, his bilirubin was high and they thought he was getting pneumonia. Oh my god, here I was all prepared for my full term 8lbs, 2 oz. baby and he was in the NICU. I was so fursterated because the nurses would not let me see my son until 8 hours later. And as many of you know that is crucial in breastfeeding. Those first few hours are precious and here I was stuck after another C-section waiting for info from my husband. I forced him to go down every 3 hours to feed him until I could feed him.

At 2 AM I was finally able to go see him. The nurse woke me up and My hubby wheeled me down to see him. He was so little. Even though the twins were littler, he looked so tiny in that box. So, at first try he latched on adn was off and running.  After a few days I was raw and about to cry everytime he latched on.  On the 4th day I had a different Lactation consultant help me and we did much better from there. ALthough I had issuse with lack of milk production. I spoke with my new Dr. The Best perinatologist in the world, Dr. Wilkes, if you live in Vegas, he's AWESOME!!
He gave me the number for the lactation consultant at his office and she told me to have someone stop by and she had a nursing pillow for me to use and a supplement to try.  Until then I was nursing with a boppy and it sagged, gave me no support, ugh, I hated it. Rose Marie gave me a My Brest Friend to use for as long as I wanted and a supplement called Goat's Rue.

We will get into how great it worked later!!! I used it the entire time I breast fed.

It was more of a struggle to keep my milk supply up the getting Nico to nurse, and he did all the time! The My Brest Friend  pillow was so great it helped give Nico a better place to feed and helped support my back.I was a much happier Mama once he came home after being in the NICU for 6 days. I did have to up my water intake sooooo much, I drank 2-3 gallons of watwer a day to help with the BFing. I had oatmeal, Malt drinks, all the tea you could drink. The goat's rue was the best supplement I found! It worked so great. I did double and triple my milk supply while taking this and drinking lots of water.

The cracked ouchy Nipples did heal after a while and I had a great nursing cover for when I went anywhere.
I had more of a horrible time with the horrendous Heartburn I was still having despite giving birth. It never went away. No one could figure out what was wrong and then 2 week after Nico was born, it started getting even worse. So painful I was crying throwing up anything I ate or drank after breakfast. I called the OB crying finally to tell them what was going on, they recommended a Gastroenterologist, saw him, he couldn't find a thing.

I called a couple days later in more pain, unable to breastfeed because I was in so much pain. The nurse said "just go to the emergency room". So I called my hubby and he took came home and took me in. I called a few favors in and the neighbor came over and watched the twins and we took Nico with. 2 weeks after my C-Section and here I was in the hospital again. They immediatly knew what it was... I had Gallstones!! It is very commom in pregnancy and extremely painful. I had sugery the next day, and had to have a different neighbor watch the boys again. We don't have any family nearby., which made things hard.

Once my gallbladder was removed everything was smooth sailing for me in the breastfeeding department and I breastfed Nico until a few days ago which took me to 11 months!! He weaned himself, boo hoo, but good for him. So you can do it! If I can, then so can you!!

With fake boobs, little boobs, reduced boobs, or anything else you can do it!! Stay tuned for a supplement article later in the week!!

So here they are now, almost 3 and almost 1 in March. Aren't they cute little boys...Stinkers!

Bummas Wipes Review and giveaway! Closed

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From Bummas: The Eco-Friendly Cloth Baby Wipe.

We’re glad you found us and your baby will be too! That’s because you can virtually eliminate irritating diaper rash without the use of powders, talcs, and ointments. Bummas are small soft, luxurious baby-sized cloths made especially for drying baby bottoms, as well as blocking those surprise squirts. And with a little douse of water, they can also replace wet wipes for clean up of sensitive bums. They are small enough to conveniently carry on the go and durable enough to wash over and over again and won’t pill shrink or fade.

We think you will find Bummas to be an indispensable item in your diaper changing regimen.

Eliminates the use of talcum powder.


100% Cotton - Woven Velour Terry Cloth milled in the USA.

Variety of color combinations for nursery themes.

Handy 5” x 7” size. Won’t pill, shrink, or fade.

Wash in like colors before use. See Warranty here.



Durable. Just throw them in the wash and use again.

They will last until your little one is out of diapers and beyond!

Made in the USA

Bummas

This is what I recieved from Bummas (Tropical) and was super excited to try them out!. The front 2 wipes are colored and the rest are white. They wash super well and always come clean. I use them for wipes or even wiping up messy faces. The are super soft and absorbent. I was extremely happy with the performance of the wipes. Sorry, no pics of them in action but do you really want to see bare booty?

Here is what Bummas recommends for thier wipes:
Grab a Bumma cloth wipe before opening the diaper. Sneak “attacks” are frequent and will happen the second you open the diaper! Place the Bumma over the privates while tending to the other parts.


One Bumma will soak up an entire pee. Clean up baby with a regular wipe or wet a Bumma and clean up sensitive skin. Use another Bumma to thoroughly dry baby off. Re-diaper. If the cover Bumma gets soaked rinse it off and throw it in the wash. The payoff- a dry bum, no diaper rash, and no surprise squirts. Save money on diapers, and save by not having to buy powder, and ointment.

Bummas Cost $16.99 for 10 wipes.

You can use any cloth wipes solution with them and they work fantastic.

I use these on my twins and my little 10 month old!! They love them, not scratchy at all!

Want some of your own??

How can you win??

Bummas is Giving one Momccupation winner a set of Bummas Wipes in tropical color!!

How to enter: (Please include your email address so I can contact you when you win!) You will have 48 hours to respond to the email before I choose another winner!!

Mandatory Entry:

You must do BOTH mandatory entries before completing ANY of the Extra Entries!


-You MUST follow Momccupation via Google Friend Connect (GFC)! and
-Follow Bummas on Facebook! Let them know i sent you if you like!!

Please leave ONE comment with both mandatory entries and your email address.



Extra Entries:

One comment each listed below!!

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- Go to the Bummas website and tell me your favorite color!

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{ @momccupation is having an awesome Bummas #giveaway!! Come check it out and enter to #WIN http://bit.ly/gw6iV3 }



This giveaway is open from Jan 8th 12:01am PST- Jan 22nd 11:59pm PST

Happy winning!!

***Open to US and Canada  residents only. This giveaway will end on January 22nd ,2010 at 11:59 PST. Random.org will be used to determine the winner who will have 48 hours to respond to my email before another winner is chosen. Good Luck!***

Sweet Babylegs deal 75% off all clearance when you spend $75

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Check out this awesome deal, I went to check out the deals and got $84 worth of gifts n more for $21!!

Whether you've been naughty or nice, BabyLegs has a gift for you! 75% off selected Fall/Winter styles NOW! 50+ styles to choose from! Order $75 worth of clearance items and use coupon WINTER75 for 75% off! Once these styles are gone, they are gone for good, just like Frosty the Snowman! Cannot be used with other coupons and only works with clearance items. Ho Ho Ho! Clearance

We love ours and if you don't win the giveaway get some!!

Agoo Leg Huggers Birthday Review and Giveaway!!

This Giveaway is now closed!!

If you have never heard of  Leg Hugger's they are a great little new gem of a product. They are leg warmers, arm warmers, cute leggings, covers for your crawling babies legs and what ever else you can think of. I like them because they are made of bamboo, so they are antimicrobial as well. They wear really and i love them!!

Agoo make children's clothing out of sustainable fabrics. "Our innovative, eco-friendly accessories are made from sustainable Bamboo fibres. No complaints about being itchy our Bamboo baby leg warmers are so soft and silky." Says Agoo. They aren't kidding!

Here is Nico wearing his Agoo Racer Arglye Leggings!! They are great. If i put him in a onesie at night for bed and his legs are cold later i just throw these on and he is good to go! The fabric is super soft and better then cotton as far as wear.

Agoo makes 33 different leggings for boys and girls. More for girls but why would you resist if you had a girl. Look at their site and see what you think. They are great for potty training, cloth diapering because they don't get in the way. I know all you mom's that use tights know what a pain it is to take off everything everytime your little one need a change or potty time. And yes even boys can use them as well. My favorite pattern is the puzzle leggings, which are in the mail now because i just got them. The blue argyle could go for boys or girls. Over all these are a great product.

After cutting up Daddy's socks up for my twins so they could wear shorts but crawl around the floor, these are great. Since Las Vegas is, dare i say HOT, these breathe very well too!!

They are one size fits baby through tween, as stated on the website and they do fit my 5 month old as well as my twin 2 1/2 year olds without a problem. You can see the sizing also in the picture above but they have lots of strech!

The Great Points:

•Breathable

•Wicks Away Moisture

•UV Protective

•Odor Resistant

•Antibacterial

•Soft and Comfortable

•No Chemicals or Pesticides

These are just a few of the styles available and soon more will be too!!! So look out!!

So where can you get these:

Agoo Leggings

You can buy Ago leggings for $10 on the Agoo website listed above.

Or you can win a set for yourself!!

How to win:

How to win: Mandatory entry

-You must be a follower of this blog (publicly) , visit Agoo  and tell me what style leggings you would like if you win.  Leave a comment with your pick as well as your email address so I can contact you.

And Be a fan of Agoo Leggings on facebook - Leave a comment that Momccupation sent you!!
Extra entries: (Be sure to leave a new comment for each additional entry!)

-Follow us on facebook

-Blog about this entry and leave a link to your blog

-Post about this giveaway in your facebook status and leave a link to it.

-Comment on any other post on this blog (excluding giveaways) and tell what post you commented on. (Must be a new comment here)


This giveaway will end September 3rd at midnight. A winner will be chosen with Random.org and contacted via email. They will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Good Luck and remember that you must leave a seperate comment for each entry!!

Where are we going in the economy today?

      After working in many different fields, i find myself in the Stay at home mom role. Mind you I love it and wouldn't change it for the world but in the economy how many of us are looking to bring in extra cash to our home is some manner. Like Etsy, Ebay, blogging(haven't figured it out all the way yet), online businesses, working from home, etc are all great ways to go about it. What happened to when 1 income was good enough to live on? I mean really I don't want to go back to the 50's and be all oppressed...woman served her man thing but really what is happening in the world today?
      I find myself in the mist of major breakthrough...but what is it? I can't beleive that hard working people who pay all their bills on time, have a home, job, kids, the car are being forced to budget down to the last penny. I am a budget expert...I don't really want to look at how much more i could strip down our houshold budget anymore. Coupons are great but rather addicting and you have to remember not to buy it if you don't need it even if it is a quarter.
       I love that I use cloth diapers. My favorite thing about cloth diapering is that i don't have to scour the papers and deal sites for the best diaper deal anymore. I really love not having to buy disposable diapers anymore. I am sure i may add to the stock at some time but I love what i have for now. A $200 investment(with expert shopping) for my stash is great. I feel good about myself every time I wash a diaper off, lol. Even my husband doesn't mind anymore. Why did i not try this before?
       I have gone to making my own detergent...Yes, even that... I really don't mind it.
Here is the recpie if you dare to try:

The Duggar family Recpie:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value




4 Cups - hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*

½ Cup Borax



- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.



-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.



-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)



-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.



-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.



-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)



-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)



*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

It looks a little cottage cheesey but it costs only $10 to get the supplies and a couple bucks per batch which makes approx. 640 loads. Worth the time to me.


Lastly, a couple budget recpies for fabric softeners
Inexpensive Fabric Softener Recipes




Recipe #1

1 Cup White Vinegar

Add vinegar to rinse cycle. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.



Recipe #2



1 Container of Name Brand Fabric Softener

4 Inexpensive sponges, cut in half



Pour entire container of softener into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice. (2 parts water to 1 part softener) Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.



So now after my husbands 3rd paycut in 6 months where do you go from here... Any more cost cutting ideas you have to share??

What are your essentials in your diaper bag??

I have really come a long way from the twins giant diaper bag to nico's which can fit everything for 3 kids!
I know that having a newborn is differnt then what i have in my diaper bag..for a 5 month old even. I do carry a lot in the car in case of emergencies too. So the cooler stays in the car unless we go out to eat
What do i have in mine?  or what do i bring with me when i leave?
1. Diaper bag- Lexi Barnes Bag- Love love love it! mamabargains.com thank you
   -Changing pad
   -Skully Wet bag- by mini me- Great for wet CD's, wet clothes, nasty bibs, and anything else
   -Gro baby shell and inserts
   -Emergency Disposable diapers
   -Teething tablets
   -Infant Tylenol
   -Epi-pen - for my poor allergy ridden Reese!
   -Wipes
   -A extra onesie for Nico
   -My nursing cover
   - Sunscreen - we live in Las Vegas
   -Desitin
   -Emergency formula and bottle- Baby's only organic and avent bottle...I nurse but I am always prepared for the worst!

   -
2. Lunch size cooler for Snacks for the boys.
      - Water for the boys
      - Snacks for the boys
      - bottle if needed for Nico
      - santizing wipes - for cleaning off nasty dirty tables/highchairs and such!
      - Ikea bibs- They are a must have for kids when eating out! They cover the arms and have a pocket to catch everything and they aren't bulky!! I just rool them up and shove them in the side mesh pocket! They are by far the best find ever!!! And look at the cute new colors..Must get some more!

3. Ergo if needed that day!

4. My purse! Which is a PPB small diaper bag. lol
     - A small first aid kit
     - benadryl chewables
     - Emergency snacks
     - Lipgloss and powder and.. ELF All over color
               I never get a chance to fully do my make up so I can leave and put some on when we get where we are going if I never had a chance.
     - Emergency diapers just 3 - 1 in each kids size - so i can run in w/o the diaper bag sometimes!!