Product Review: Halo Sleep Sack
Sam's Halo Sleep Sack
On the scale of unnecessary to gotta have it, this is totally a gotta have it item.
Lots of moms I know already have and use the fabulous Halo Sleep Sack to keep their kiddos warm at night. The uninformed might ask: why not a blanket? Well, there is the SIDS risk associated with loading kids’ cribs up with blankets. More importantly, when your little dude or dudette reaches a certain age — for Sam, it was around four months or so — they develop the ability to kick blankets off. Furthermore, they develop the desire to chew on blankets and throw them all over the crib. And, at least for us, putting Sam to bed in just pajamas is a little bit too chilly for the little man. (Have you ever seen a six month old baby’s lower lip quiver uncontrollably because of the chill in the air? It’s ridiculously cute. But, you know, I guess you can’t leave him that way.) Of course, you could swaddle, but many folks report that swaddling past three or four months can cause some issues with the babes, particularly with their hips.
For a long time, Sam wore a generic brand sleep sack as his pajamas. We then covered him with a blanket (not his face, mind you) to keep him warm. He was in our room at this point, so I felt comfortable having him nestled in a blanket — I was right next to his co-sleeper after all! Note the link I posted to the Carter’s Sleep Bag — that thing goes from 0-9 months. My not-so-little dude is totally beyond that now (he’s in twelve month clothing at just shy of six months). The size issue, and the coldness issue that came with the move to the crib, made me very interested in investing in several quality sleep sacks. And Halo is the biggest name in the business.
What’s great about the brand? They have a wide range sizes — from an XS that fits five pounds to an XL that fits 36 pounds — that should carry Sam on towards his second birthday (OMG I can’t believe we’re pummeling head on towards his first! Sniff sniff! My baby boy!). Halo also carries other versions of their sack — one for walkers and one that swaddles just the arms, for infants who like to be swaddled. They also come in a wide range of colors (we have green, white, and blue with a dog themed print) and fabrics (cotton, velboa — a soft chenille like fabric — and microfleece). The microfleece is great for the winter, and the velboa is almost just as warm. I plan on purchasing another for the summer in the soft cotton fabric.
A minor drawback? They are a little expensive compared to the sleep sack you might pick up at Walmart. But they are super quality! We’ve never had a zipper issue — and they actually zip up from the bottom for fast and painless middle-of-the-night diaper changes! Love love love that feature. The fabric is also of such a high quality that any night time blow outs are caught by the sack and not the sheets in the crib!
Another minor issue is that Sam cannot roll as easily in the Halo Sleep Sack — he can do it, but the leg action is certainly restricted. As he has grown stronger, it is now easy for him to roll back and forth and find his comfortable place in the crib. I put him down on his back, and he rolls to his tummy to sleep. In the morning when I go get him, he’s happily on his back, cheerfully eating his feet through the sleep sack.
So, go get it already! You can find them at Amazon and Diapers.com … that is where I have purchased mine. We currently have three in rotation (two microfleece and one velboa), and this has worked perfectly. I would recommend one in fleece for the winter, one to two in velboa for winter, spring, and fall, and one in cotton for summer.
One of our best purchases! Gotta have it!
We love the sack!
Your Guide to “Natural” Disposable Diaper Options
Sam in a Seventh Generation Disposable
Recently, Sam has been in a lot of disposable diapers. He’s been battling a terrible diaper rash (which we now think is due to teething), and the hardcore rash creams are real tough to get out of the cloth diapers in the wash. Sucks, but true. (Note: this would not be a problem with a diaper service, as they have industrial washers that can get most anything out.) Anywhoo, I’m not as down with the regular disposables that are made with chlorine.
Let me tell you — there are a lot of misconceptions out there about so called “green” or “natural” disposable diapers. I certainly love our Earth’s Best and Seventh Generation diapers, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call them “natural.”
One of the big misconceptions is that “natural” disposables are biodegradable. This is absolutely not true. Yes, there are some disposable options that are biodegradable — but these do not include the more popular brands of natural disposable diapers. Seventh Generation, Earth’s Best and Huggies Natural all contain just as much SAP (sodium polyacrylate — the super-absorbent gel that holds your kid’s urine) as regular disposable diapers, and — news flash — that stuff does NOT biodegrade! Even diapers with no SAP — made with absorbent wood pulp — will not degrade in a landfill inside of a plastic trash bag. Nothing does.
What makes these diapers “natural”? The above options contain wood pulp that is not processed with chlorine. This means they may not be as irritating to the skin as other disposable diapers, and it means that the process by which they are made is much more environmentally friendly. (I can’t find a real, solid explanation regarding why chlorine is used to process any kind of diaper material — I assume it is a bleaching process for the wood pulp, which still doesn’t make sense to me.) This process is more “environmentally friendly” because it is not releasing chlorine into the environment. For your baby, this means chlorine-treated wood pulp is not sitting next to the skin. Some of these supposedly eco-friendly diapers boast that they use fewer petrochemicals to make the diapers, though it is not entirely clear what that means. The benefits pretty much end there.
I’m not saying the world wouldn’t be a slightly better place if moms everywhere used chlorine free diapers, but it’s not as huge a step in the right direction as advertising seems to suggest. Those moms who opt for the more “natural” options are still generating a truly staggering amount of trash. When using disposable diapers in this household (we do change frequently, every two hours or so, because of Sam’s propensity to diaper rash), we produce at least two full trash bags of diapers per week. We’ve also raged through 14o diapers in far less than a month. It makes me cringe — that’s just lots and lots of trash. And it’s trash filled with human waste. Gross.
I still advocate for the use of chlorine free diapers — and SAP free diapers, if you find a brand that you like. I still highly advocate for cloth, but until they find something that works as well as goopy, sticky Desitin but doesn’t stain cloth diapers and cause urine to repel right off of them, I’m stuck in the limbo world between disposable and cloth.
Info on your eco-friendly options:
Manufactured with more organic materials: Huggies Pure and Natural ARE manufactured with chlorine — the way the get away with being “natural” is the use of organic cotton in their product.
Chlorine Free: The following brands of diapers are chlorine-free: Seventh Generation, Earth’s Best, Nurtured by Nature, Nature Babycare and 365 (the Whole Foods brand).
Chlorine free and SAP free, and compostable: For the most environmentally friendly choice in disposable diapers, look for Broody Chick, which are 100% compostable and SAP free. (If you’re into composting, or you have a trash center that accepts compost, these are a great option!) Bambo Nature and Attitude are also compostable.
Hybrid options: Flip diapers, gDiapers, and GroVia diapers are all hybrid systems, with waterproof covers and disposable and cloth insert options. For my money, I would recommend the GroVia or gDipaer inserts inside Flip covers. (All of the disposable options are chlorine free, and they are manufactured with far less SAP than conventional diapers. I have found them to be highly absorbent and effective. gDiaper inserts even have a flushable piece that can be torn away, so you are not throwing human waste into the garbage.) These options are more environmentally friendly not only because they contain less SAP and no chlorine — they are just less surface area than regular diapers, and would take up less space in a landfill if used exclusively. The drawback to this system is that breastfed poop can get into the PUL covers, causing you to wash them (a minor pain). But they are fabulous because you will get 100% fewer blowouts because of the way the PUL covers are made (especially the Flip covers — they are bulletproof).
For the money, I would recommend going with Seventh Generation or Earth’s Best if you have an Amazon subscription. (Chlorine free is better for the environment, if only minimally.) In my experience, they work as well as (if not better than) Huggies and Pampers, and they STINK way less. Get Subscribe and Save and Amazon Mom, and you’re set. The other options tend to be far more expensive — though some of them are far better for the environment. Of course, cloth IS best for the environment, particularly if you have an HE washer. If you prefer the convenience of disposables, check out the above options — but remember, anything that goes in a landfill STAYS there. It doesn’t biodegrade … and it doesn’t go away.
Amazon Mom = Awesome
Signing up for Amazon Prime was a pretty good decision on my part (80 dollars a year for free two day shipping on most anything you can desire), and getting the Amazon credit card has already earned me $25 in rewards. Pretty sweet. Amazon Mom is probably the best of all — it’s free (unlike Prime), they don’t need any info, and it saves 15% on a whole bunch of mommy items, diapers and wipes in particular. If you sign up for Subscribe and Save, another service from Amazon that allows you to — you guessed it — subscribe to certain items, you can get another 15% off. If you can snag an Amazon coupon (often available in the Parents or Parenting magazines), you can end up getting a whole bunch of diapers for 50% off.
Since Sam has had some horrifying rashes, we’ve had to use some heavy duty creams that can stain cloth diapers or cause them to repel, so we’ve been in disposables a bunch these days. Being somewhat environmentally conscious, I prefer Earth’s Best or Seventh Generation diapers, which are manufactured without chlorine. This mostly means that they are produced in such a way that lessens impact on the environment — and for me, it means that they STINK a lot less than other brand sposies. (Next time you get next to a disposable diaper full of pee, give it a big whiff. It smells disgusting — and not like pee. Like really harsh chemicals. Blech.) Anyway, I prefer the non-chlorine brands. And they are expensive. With Amazon Mom, and Subscribe and Save, I can save 30% on a giant package of said diapers. Still expensive, but a lot better. (The 30% off on Amazon actually brings Earth’s Best size 3 to $0.18/diaper, which is the same price you would pay per diaper for the Diapers.com brand diapers. SHAZAM. And they’re better for the environment!)
So if you love saving money, go check out Amazon Mom (Subscribe and Save info is at the bottom of the page). You won’t regret it!
The Arm’s Reach Mini Co-Sleeper: A Review and Other Commentary
Asleep in the co-sleeper - one of the few times!
I have thought a lot about infant sleep over the past four and a half months. I think about it for a good part of my day — how to get Sam to nap, where to put him to sleep, and what makes him most comfortable. Generally, he’s a nurse-to-sleep (which every sleep book recommends against, but it works for us) or rock to sleep kind of guy. If he wakes a little, he either fusses it out or gets rocked again until he falls asleep. Sleep experts can tell me all day long that I’m ruining him — but one of the things I think about is this — this system so very naturally and intuitively works because it’s been what most of humanity has done for tens of thousands of years. Not one hundred, not a thousand, but tens of thousands of years. Ever since humans were humans, we’ve been nursing and rocking.
What else have we humans been doing? We’ve been co-sleeping. We’ve been bed sharing, snuggling, cuddling, and nuzzling in the night. We’ve done it for warmth, safety, security, comfort, intimacy and love. It’s who we are as humans — privacy and space are modern notions. Indeed, they are notions very specific to the first world, and not even all of the first world. As such (and with hyper-worry over SIDS and kid safety), co-sleeping has not been looked upon kindly in this country.
These are just my thoughts — not my point of view. In my heart, I love sleeping next to Sam. I’ve found I get more sleep when he’s tucked nicely next to me. I wake up quickly when he wants to nurse, and then back to sleep. As for safety, he’s a big dude. I would sure as hell feel it if I rolled on him. And I never have felt that I would. Since he was a tiny newborn, I’ve known he was safe (perhaps, safest) sleeping next to me. I observed that when he slept apart from me in those first few weeks, his breathing was irregular and spotty. When he was next to me, his breathing feel in tune with mine. That’s just nature for you. Makes sense that the spot next to mama is the best one. (There are lots of studies that say co-sleeping PREVENTS SIDS, but I won’t get into that here.)
That’s what I feel in my heart. In my body, which reflexively scrunches around Sam in the night, I feel otherwise. My hips hurt. My back hurts. My arm falls numb underneath my head. My body becomes not my own when I sleep next to Sam. My time becomes not my own when I take him into the bed when I go to sleep. It doesn’t belong to me and my husband. It is his. He is the priority — and of course, he always is. He should be.
So why have I co-slept? Why have I shared my bed?
I’ll tell you — I did it BECAUSE of a product that is meant to stand in place of bed-sharing, the Arm’s Reach Mini Co-Sleeper. This is a hot item to have as a new parent. I’ve seen multiple parents post pictures of it before baby is born, and in fact, most of the moms I know have had one. It gets good reviews on Amazon, and lots of people will recommend it to you. And why not? It is, in theory, a great way to keep your child in your room without keeping him in your bed. It is supposed to prevent sharing the bed. In my experience, it has encouraged it. (And I’m not the only mom who has said this.)
Why? Why does this happen?
Before I was a mom, I thought that you could put a baby anywhere and it would sleep if it was tired. This is a ridiculous viewpoint on my part, but anyway, it’s what I thought. I also thought that I could manage putting the baby back in the bassinet after nursing. Easy peasy.
In the dead of night, you will do anything for sleep. This I have learned. Anything. And you will fall asleep nursing. You will, for sure. The first few weeks, Sam slept great in the co-sleeper. But after falling asleep nursing him ONE TIME, he figured out that it was an option to sleep next to mommy. And oh yeah, he got the picture that that was WAY better than the co-sleeper.
The co-sleeper is small. It is colder than mom, no matter what you put in it. It is harder than the bed (even with the fancy mattress we purchased to go in it). And around one month of age, Sam decided that it absolutely sucked to be in there. Even before he started smiling, cooing or looking me in the eye, he had developed a strong preference for sleeping next to me. When I put him in the co-sleeper, he cried. He screamed, and he yelled. It seems like you could wait this out, but at 4AM all bets are off.
Did you hear me? At 4AM, all bets are off. I’m serious about this. You will think you are stronger than me, and perhaps you are! But really, until you experience repeated wakings, you don’t know what it’s like. It’s crazy insane torture to be kept awake at 4AM after only three hours of sleep prior. So the thought process goes something like this: Ok kid, it’s just you and me. What do you want? I’ll do ANYTHING for you to sleep. Anything. Do you hear me? What is it that you want? Oh you want my boob, and you want to be next to me. Yep, I’ll do that. Yes, now. Sleep. And just like that, a habit is created.
Perhaps you are better than I. Perhaps you will have success with this product. I have very mixed feelings about it. I had to keep trying Sam in the co-sleeper before he would sleep in there. By the time he would consent to sleep in it, he was around three months and already 14-15 pounds. He was rolling on his side, flailing about, and waking himself up frequently. When infants start rolling both ways, it’s recommended that you not place him or her in the bassinet anymore. Well, Sam has just recently accomplished those feats. If you want your infant in your room longer than four months, well dang, the co-sleeper just isn’t right for you.
Our current solution? Sam sleeps in his crib between five and eight hours a night, and then he’s in bed with me for the remaining hours. (As I said, it’s hard for me to hold strong at 4AM. Rocking him in the cold-ass nursery at that time is more than I can manage most of the time. I can make it through the first one or two wakings getting him back in the crib, and then next to me it is!) The bassinet is storage for blankets and clothes.
As I said, I have mixed feelings about this product. It’s a good place to put your kiddo when he or she isn’t in bed with you, but that’s really all it is. It’s not particularly safe once your child starts to move a bunch. I wouldn’t feel comfortable having Sam sleep in it without us in the room. And it doesn’t last that long — 23 pounds is the weight limit, but really, I wouldn’t recommend it after rolling begins. It’s also uncomfortable as it is sold — the folding mattress is flimsy and hard and made of scratchy-sounding plastic. (I would highly recommend purchasing a separate mattress.) Also, it’s a short little device. We had to purchase separate risers for it to reach our bed appropriately. It’s also kinda flimsy feeling, unless you purchase the expensive wooden version.
So what will I do when the hypothetical little brother or sister of Sam comes into the world? I’m not sure. As I said, I think about sleep too much. I think that the co-sleeper has limited usefulness, but it does have usefulness. It was great for the first three weeks or so — after that, I may move the next little mister or miss to the crib. Or perhaps I’ll simply bed share from day one (this doesn’t sound like a fun option, as much as I love the snuggles). It is likely that I’ll just use the co-sleeper in the same way — it’s a place to put the kid when he’s not demanding the spot next to mama. After that, it’s a place to put the kid before he moves to the crib. For us, crib time is now. (And yes, it’s been a wonderful thing in all of our lives.)
Would I recommend it? A big fat maybe. Overall, I feel that the co-sleeper is kind of gimmicky. It plays to the distinctly American fear of bed-sharing, but it puts the baby in such close proximity to the mother and father that it’s convenient for baby to wind up in bed.
Make your sleep plans as you will. If they include a co-sleeper or similar device, figure out how you feel about bed-sharing before your baby arrives. I tell you now — you MUST discipline yourself if baby is to end up in the actual co-sleeper. It’s dang hard at 4AM. Everything is. Room sharing has its benefits, and so does the crib.
If we had more room, I would so keep Sam’s crib in our room. In fact, I would sidecar it — see how here.
But alas. Our room is 13 X 13 and wouldn’t house such a set up.
The co-sleeper worked for a while, and soon it shall be in the attic. Be aware, future moms and dads. This is how it is — at least from my perspective!
Five of Sam’s 2010 Favorites
1. Favorite Book: Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joose. Actually, this is my favorite, and I read it to Sam just about every night, so of course it’s his favorite too. It’s a beautifully illustrated book, and the bright colors and intricate designs stimulate Sam to touch the pages. It’s also not too long for his attention span (like some of the Dr. Suess books). The story is also sweet and reassuring and contains a cultural component to pique his curiosity in later years. Love it!
2. Favorite sleep aid: Cloud B Sleep Sheep! This is an extremely cute, fuzzy sheep. It also plays several white noise type sounds — rain, the ocean, a babbling brook, and whale song. (I’m not sure why a sheep would have whale noises, but it’s cool I suppose. I really like whales.) You can set the sounds to run 25 or 45 minutes in order to get Sam through his fitful sleep cycles at the beginning of falling asleep. The best part is that the sounds are not annoying — Eric and I can fall asleep to them as well. This is a lifesaver for fitful nights and unwanted naps!
3. Favorite stuffed animal: Jellycat Bashful Bunny. Sam’s bunny is his new lovey for night time and nap time. He holds onto it (picture in previous post), and he loves touching the ears and … well, chewing on its face. That’s the best thing ever right now in his life. Chewing on faces.
4. Best teething toy: Sophie the Giraffe! Sophie is soft, bendable, and non toxic. She also has thin legs and a thin neck — perfect for little infant hands to grasp. As with his Bun Bun, Sam likes to chew on Sophie’s face. Yum! I see Sophie everywhere! She must be quite popular with all the kiddies.
5. Favorite all-around toy: Manhattan Toy Winkel. Whatever this is, it’s a big hit. Sam loves to hold onto it and gnaw on all of the loops. He also loves to look at the colors and shake it to hear the rattle. A definite must!
The best thing is that these were all gifts! Many thanks to Lucila, Nicole, Emily, Lynn, Deb and the SLUTS (Southern Ladies Under Tremendous Stress — my aunt’s friends, who really have the best name of all). Sam is so lucky to have so many people who love him and give him such wonderful things.
Pregnant ladies, in particular — these are great items for your registry, birthday list, or holiday 2011 wish list!
Product Spotlight: Nosefrida the Snot Sucker
We are sick. I’ve been handling it by swilling orange juice and sleeping in past a respectable hour. I’m mostly over it now.
Well. The pediatrician told us, yes Sam has a cold. It should take about ten days to get over it. Ten days! The heck you say. Why so much longer? The infant immune system is so much less developed that it takes a lot longer to get over the same cold an adult can kick in three days.
And — this had never occurred to me the first time that I heard it — an infant cannot blow its nose. I mean, obviously if you thought about it, that totally makes sense. But I hadn’t thought about it until I actually saw one of those little snotsucking bulbs given at a baby shower:
Bulb Syringe
That’s what it looks like. You see doctors using them on Grey’s Anatomy for suctioning during surgery, and they also suction out baby noses.
We had about three of these to begin with. The dog got one, I left one at my parents’, and the remaining one is crappy and doesn’t really work that great. They’re all slow to function (you have to suck a bunch of times out of each nostril to get to the stuff), they all make Sam scream at the top of his lungs, and they’re all pretty impossible to clean out (though BRU sells one that has two pieces, which is nice).
Enter the Snot Sucker! I ordered one of these guys off Amazon:
Snot Sucker
Yes, it is $15. But if you’re like me, you’ll probably go through three or more bulb syringes with a curious dog and a penchant for losing stuff. Also, it is gross. See that red piece? It goes in your mouth. The opposite end goes in the baby’s nose and forms a seal. To get snot out, you suck. There’s a filter so you don’t get boogers in your mouth, but yeah, it’s still pretty gross I guess.
So WHY? Why would you do this?
Because it WORKS so much better than any other method. And it takes a lot less time and effort. Once you get your sucking technique down pat (from the cheeks, not the lungs), you can get out a lot of the stuff that’s making your little one scream and make horrible snorting/choking noises. Sam hates it just as much as the bulb syringe, but it’s quicker, better and easier than the bulb syringe.
Is it worth $15? To me it is. It’s a pretty clever little device.
On a side note: YES, you need one of the two of these devices. There’s absolutely no surviving without dealing with snot at some point. And you’ll know when your infant needs a snot suck — the snorting/choking sounds are a sure sign. Combined with whistling while breathing. Yeah. Lots of noise. Get in there and get those boogers out.
I just thought I should let you know.
Product of the Week: CJ’s BUTTer
Since I’m a cloth diaper geek at this point, and somewhat crunchy in terms of what goes near my baby, I’ve found a whole lot of amazing products made by WAHMs. What’s a WAHM? Why, that’s a Work at Home Mom. She’s a SAHM — but usually with a page on Etsy or Hyena Cart, or even her own big time website.
I’ve also learned that you should be pretty particular with what you put on your baby’s butt when your baby’s butt touches your nice cloth diapers all day. Lots of baby balms and diaper rash creams have sticky cod liver oil (A&D Ointment) that can make your diapers smell like fish, or they have zinc oxide (Desitin, Aveeno, Bordeaux’s Butt Paste) that can stain your diapers and make the repel liquids — i.e. leak. But you need SOMETHING to put on baby’s skin. Why? Because it’s getting wiped constantly — every two hours or so. It can get red and raw from the wiping, and it can get red and raw from sitting in moisture.
So what’s best? You can find natural, cloth-safe diaper creams at the store or online at Amazon — California Baby, Angel Baby, and Grandma El’s all make good stuff. But … I found the BEST stuff, and it’s made by a small business owner WAHM. (Gotta love supporting work at home moms!)
CJ's BUTTer
CJ’s BUTTer is the Best Stuff Out There. I love it! CJ is a WAHM who makes this lovely butt cream. The cream itself is all made from food grade products. I myself have the spray as well as the tube of cream. The spray includes: coconut oil (naturally antibiotic), olive oil, castor oil and vitamin E. My cream includes: shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, lanolin, beeswax, cocoa butter and vitamin E. I also broke down and ordered her yeast formula, which includes all of the same ingredients as the regular cream but excludes lanolin and adds sesame oil and neem oil (natural antifungals).
What fabulous ingredients! Non-irritating, rash preventing, and overall safe for baby (and mom!). I use it at every diaper change. Since my thrush has been in full swing (and acting up again), I’ve been using the yeast formula every day as a preventative. I don’t want to deal with a yeastie rash — and the one time his bum flared up and got all red and bumpity was when I went to my parents’ and forgot my CJ’s yeast formula. That alone recommends her products to me! And when Sam was just a couple of days old, he got a tiny rash that cleared up with the application of CJ’s BUTTer.
Well, now maybe I have some of you mildly interested. Perhaps. Why would you buy this over Desitin or Aveeno if you don’t use cloth diapers?
Because you can use it for everything!
Round here I use it for …
- Dry, cracked nipples (and the yeast formula works for thrush externally!)
- Dry patches on baby’s (or my) face
- Dry hands
- A leave-in conditioner
- Stretch mark cream (soothed itching in late pregnancy)
- All purpose lotion
And if that wasn’t enough … it comes in all kinds of delicious scents. I have it in New Mown Hay, which smells sort of like baby powder but also fresh and crisp. She even has holiday scents, like Apple Spice. Yum!
If you want to buy from a site with free shipping, I fully recommend Sew Crafty Baby and Vermont Country Baby. They are fabulous websites run by WAHMs, and they always have free shipping. (If you like them on Facebook, they always have discount codes as well.)
Here’s what others have to say about CJ’s BUTTer. Happy shopping!
The Bras You’ll Need for Pregnancy
Yes, this is a post about bras. It’s not going to be provocative or salacious, because maternity and nursing bras are none of those things. They can be reasonably pretty, but you won’t be left feeling terribly randy after putting one on.
First of all, as a pregnant lady, you’re going to have to accept that you’ll have to spend a little money on bras. And, if you’re like me, a chick who places a high premium on extreme comfort in the breast-y area, you’ll want to lay down a bit of change on a FEW very nice brassieres.
I said a FEW. I said NEED.
How many bras do you wear regularly? Before I got knocked up, I probably wore about three or four in a rotating basis, with a nice sports bra on the side. Vicki’s was my brand of choice, and I got a lot of those off Ebay (big shocker). At $20-$30 a bra, that totals $80-$120 in all. Not so bad. And since Vicki’s holds up so well, I don’t really buy bras but every two years or so. Right now, I’ve got all of those lovely ladies stashed away for thinner, less chesty times.
So how many maternity and nursing bras do you REALLY need? My answer: four is all you need, and a sports bra on the side. Seriously. Let’s see how we can do that for less than $120, since that totals my bra stash in “real” life.
1. You’ll need a sports bra. I did have one preggo friend who didn’t want to wear one, because you know, they don’t separate and lift. But trust me, there are some days when you’ll be all like, this is the only thing I can wear. At all. Seriously. (Seriously, ladies, your boobs will hurt at various stages in pregnancy.) Buy one in a couple of sizes larger than your favorite work out bra. I got mine at Target so I could try it on. I would suggest you do the same. I tend to like Champion — this looks like a good one, especially since it goes up to XXL. ($24 on Amazon.)
2. Next, you’ll need a nice maternity bra that lifts and separates. I tried A LOT of different kinds of brassiere — cheapies from Target, Playtex, Bali, Haynes, Barely There … but DANGIT, the absolute best thing ever was from A Pea in the Pod. I’m sorry to say it, I know it ain’t cheap, but that sucker is comfortable and it makes my bosoms look sexy. Here it is. I LOVE it. I wear it with all of my nicer dresses and work clothes, and the ladies at APIP helped me pick out the best size. It’s super supportive, very soft, and has a big supportive band in the back. I can’t recommend it enough. ($36 on apeainthepod.com)
3. For later pregnancy, you’ll want to start buying nursing bras, which let you nurse your kiddo in comfort. You might not start wearing them, but I sure started wearing this one when I found it. I love love love it. For later pregnancy, your bubbies will start growing a second time (they start growing for reals in the later part of your first trimester), and they’ll be a bit sore. Get this lovely brassiere, and you’ll want to wear it all day long, and it will hold over into your nursing stage. Fabulous. It doesn’t LOOK like it has a tremendous amount of support, but it does, and the it has … how can I put this delicately … it has … nipple pads … that keep your ladies looking … smooth. (Yeah that’s a problem in pregnancy you might not expect, but there it is, in heat and in the AC.) Those pads will come in handy when your milk comes in as well. So, hooray for this extremely comfortable purchase. Worth every penny. ($38 on apeainthepod.com)
4. And for those days at home, in pregnancy and in breastfeeding, you’ll need a lovely inexpensive sleep bra. This is comfortable, soft, doesn’t give a lot of support, but is essential for supporting when you’re chilling. And during breastfeeding times, you’ll need one of these to sleep in since you’re boobs will be all over the place and producing some unpredictable fluids at unpredictable times. I got the Medela Sleep Bra, and I enjoy chilling in it. It’s not fabulous for going out out, but it’s fine for the grocery, or Babies R Us, or a walk in the park. ($17 on Amazon)
Hey yo! That’s $115. I did pretty good. And remember, you’ll get some use out of these for a year or so, and if you have a second bambino, two years. Can’t argue with that!
Tips:
If your budget is tight and you don’t want to spend all at once, then don’t! I lived on the APIP maternity bra, the sports bra and a couple of my old Vicki’s for months, until the Vicki’s weren’t cutting it any more.
Do splurge. I swear. Just splurge on those two bras, and you’ll be set. Honest.
I don’t recommend going on the cheap, particularly for nursing bras. I did buy a couple of Playtex nursers at the Leggs Haynes Bali Playtex outlet (of which there are many in the world), and after wearing them a few times, I can attest that they dig into my skin and leave red marks on me at the end of the day. Those clips that let your boob free? On the cheap bras, they’re ugly, crappy plastic and poorly placed. They HURT. Like heck. Not cool. When you’re nursing and want a really nice bra, get this one instead of a cheap two or three.
Get measured! Don’t GUESS what to get. And go in the store and try them on! The only one I ordered from the online was the sleep bra.
Sorry, I don’t recommend the Bravado line. I find that they have stiff feeling material, and they dig in the skin. Not cool. And they are more expensive than APIP bras, believe it or not.
I won’t comment one way or another on Motherhood Maternity bras. Try them on, but see if they are comfortable. Walk around in one for a day with the tag on so you can return it if you need to. I really don’t like any of their other stuff though, since it has poor fit.
Don’t overbuy! You don’t need more than four. Wash often, hang to dry, and keep them nice.
Buy them in nude. Nude works with everything. Don’t bother with white or black. Nude it is.
And that’s it … I’m going to try to roll with what I’ve got for nursing, so we’ll see how that works out. I might have to get maybe one more, but that’s all. And I’m done.
Best Paint for Pregnant Ladies
Hey everyone! I was just looking at my blog stats and saw that one of the more common searches that led people to my page was “best paint for pregnant ladies,” so hey, I give the people what they want.
The best paint for pregnant ladies is, of course, the lowest of the low-VOC, the paints that are qualified as no-VOC.
The paints that I have used are:
1. Benjamin Moore Natura — I got this guy mixed to match Glidden’s Fresh Guacamole for the nursery. The big advantage here is that you can get Natura mixed to match just about ANYTHING. Another advantage is that it has very little smell at all. Any paint sample you find anywhere? You can get it in Natura. The disadvantages are that you have to go to a Benjamin Moore store to get it, and it’s hella expensive at about 60 bucks a gallon.
2. C2 Lovo (available at Benjamin Moore Stores) — I used this for the master bedroom (in Potato Leek) and the nursery closet (in Chelsea). The advantages are that it comes in lovely colors and that it has very little smell. Again, you have to get it at Benjamin Moore stores, and it runs 55 bucks a gallon. And it’s low-VOC, not no-VOC. But it’s worked well for us in a couple of places.
3. Freshaire — Now, this is the best paint of the lot, I do believe. Major advantages include: you can get it at your local Home Depot, it has a small but very nice selection of colors, and it’s way cheaper at 30 bucks a gallon. It’s not going to be your cheapest option (you have to buy higher VOC paint options for that), but it’s probably down there with the cheapest of the cheap no-VOC options. Oh yeah, and for a cheaper paint, it’s super high quality, thick, and goes on smooth. And with absolutely no odor that we can detect! The only disadvantage I can see is that the color options are limited and somewhat muted. As in, you probably won’t be able to find a bright, charming nursery color — but if your tendency is toward the more subdued, you may be in luck.
A paint I’ve heard about a lot but have not used is Mythic Paint, found at Lowe’s. Check it out! I think it may have more color options than Freshaire, so it’s worth a look.
Of course, many of you pregnant ladies won’t have occasion to paint, or may be totally freaked out by the idea altogether. I will say that the no-VOC is just that. It has no volatile organic compounds, which is the nasty stuff that can give you headaches (and if you drink it, it probably won’t be good for your baby). But there’s no reason to shy away from using the no-VOC paint. It’s an excuse to exercise your nesting instinct in your baby’s room, and perhaps in other areas of your home. It’s water based, green, and non-toxic. As for painting, go for it! Get someone else to get up on the step stool, and take care of your back since you’re up and down a lot during the painting process. And enjoy!
Slow FE
A plug for this amazing iron supplement …
Over fifty percent of pregnant ladies have anemia at some point in their pregnancy. I am one of those ladies. For weeks, and weeks, I have been feeling like total crap. Worn down, drug out, and totally fatigued. I found out I had low hemoglobin on Monday and started taking the iron pills my doctor recommended last night. Today, I’ve felt better than I have in a long time. (Just like my doc said I would.) Anyway, of course ask your doc what to do when you’re preggers and anemic, but I’m loving this supplement. It’s supposed to be a little less harsh on the stomach than most iron supplements, and it releases slowly throughout the day.
Of course, it’s cheaper on Amazon. Find it here.
Welcome to the Savvy Mom Space
I’m a liberal feminist that believes that liberal, feminist ideals should gel with embracing your gender and motherhood (if that’s what you feel like doing). I support all kinds of moms and dads and parents. Oh and, although I totally love that natural vibe and not harming the environment, I supplement my organic milk and fresh fruits and veggies with the occasional Twix, the frequent Oreo, and the daily Coke Zero. I’m opinionated, not easily offended, and a loudmouth in person and on the internet. I am what I am. Welcome.
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