Gift Ideas For The Mom To Be

April 30, 2018 By Cori

There is nothing quite like the excitement of expecting a new baby– whether it be your own, a close friend or relative. Currently, I’m giddy with excitement because one of my best friends is expecting her first!! She is 6 months along now and I cannot even tell you how many adorable baby outfits I’ve been collecting since first hearing the big news.

Adorable onesies, teeny socks, tiny shoes–there is just so much cuteness to be purchased for a new baby’s arrival– But what about a the Mama to be?

Well if you are on the hunt to get a great gift for the expecting mom in your life– whether it be for a birthday, holiday, Mother’s Day or just because she is all sorts of amazing– I put together a list of gifts ideas she is guaranteed to love!

Gift Ideas For The Mom To Be

Loungewear

A great pair of pajamas is worth the investment for new moms and Mom’s To Be, take it from someone who had 3 babies– via c-section. The more comfy the better.

Belabumbum is my absolute top pick for high quality pajamas and loungewear for the Mom-to-be. I’m still wearing mine because there is just nothing like them. Right after the baby is born, many people will see Mom in her PJ’s when they come to visit at the hospital. What I love most about Bellabumbum is that their loungewear fights the frump that you inevitably feel, are super super soft, and many of the styles are made for nursing moms.

A great robe is also a must-have not only to pack in the hospital bag, but for everyday when you are living in the new mom inevitably enters that stage of living in her PJ’s with a sleepless newborn– and lets keep it real.

I also love these monochromatic Mommy and Me PJs by Everly Grey.

Everly Grey Mommy and Me Pajama set, $89.99

And also these socks are kinda perfection, right?

Socks available on Amazon

Funny Mama T-Shirts

Because we mamas know, somedays if we don’t laugh we’ll cry from of exhaustion... or hormones!

Food & Fat Pants T-shirt available by pebbyforevee on Etsy

Pampering– or a surprise Babymoon?

The changes our bodies experience during pregnancy can bring about aches, pains and just over all discomfort which is why a little surprise pampering is always a win. From a simple Mani/Pedi or Facial to a full blown day at the spa.

Fellas that may be reading this or ladies looking to make a subtle request, might I suggest a surprise babymoon to really take maternity pampering to the next level?

An overnight or weekend getaway is a fun way to get a little rest and relaxation before baby arrives. Some hotels even offer special maternity pampering packages!

Give Her A Mom-osa Moment

Preggatini– Mommy Mixology + Mom-osa Champagne Glass

A Great Camera

Every Mom takes 18 zillion pictures a month of their babies. Having a great point and shoot or DSLR may be the most useful and treasured gift ever. I have the Cannon t3i DSLR and its been great but if you are looking for something a little less clunky and simplistic, point and shoot cameras take pretty amazing pictures these days. I’ve heard great things about the Cannon PowerShot. You can check out a full comparison of point and shoot cameras from the experts at PC Mag.

Also, I received a book during a photo workshop that has been AH-MAZING for teaching you how to use your camera to capture every day moments with your kids. I’ll be posting more about this book and my photo-journey in the coming weeks/months, but check it out.

Moments That Matter by Farrah Brannif

Fun Books

Speaking of books, there are so many fun books out there that will make a Mom-to-be smile, so I am just going to list some of my favorites finds:

Belly Laughs (** this was my favorite book when I was pregnant with my first)

Once Upon A Time, The End.

We’ve gifted this book several times and it never gets old. Anyone who has ever been held captive of the “Just one more book” pleas at bedtime has been guilty of reading abridge versions of some those books just to speed along bedtime.

A Body Pillow

Boppy Body Pillow

The end of pregnancy can be extremely uncomfortable. A really great body pillow can be the only thing that helps a mom-to-be get a great night’s sleep– and believe me she will thank you profusely when she hits the third trimester.

Celebrating Your Pregnancy and Your Bump Style

October 26, 2013 By Cori

The experience of being pregnant is not only different for every woman, it’s also very different from one child to the next. Some women will say they feel more gorgeous than they ever have, while others will tell you they felt miserable and bloated.

With just 6 days left of my 3rd (and no doubt, final) pregnancy, I can tell you I have experienced all ends of that pregnancy spectrum.

With my first, I was retaining more water than the Hoover Dam… Which may or may not have had to do with my living on bread and Caesar dressing.

My second, pregnancy was better. I wasn’t retaining water at the rapid rate I was with the first – which was good enough for me! But I still spent 9 months feeling envious of the “cute pregnant women” and just over all frump-tastic.

Feeling self-concious about your growing pregnancy curves can really put a damper on the over all experience.

This time around I had a goal –to embrace the bump for better or for worse and allow myself to celebrate not only the anticipation of the baby, but living with the baby inside.

I wanted to be one of “those” women who I never understood, who felt radiant– and more importantly, I wanted to have documentation of it all, to remember waiting for that first kick, hormonal crying without a valid reason, as well as pictures of the growing curves.

Learning to love the bump

The thing I think we need to understand here, ladies is this…..

These 9 months are possibly the only time we’re encouraged to show off a big belly instead of trying to hide love handles. Instead of “Suck it in” people are saying “stick that belly out! “. Seriously. Think about that for a minute. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing, my expecting friends.

So I did everything opposite. I kept active, ate healthier and celebrated this last pregnancy the way I wish I had with my previous two.

I had fun seeking out cute maternity styles, hiked in the gorgeous Red Wood Forest in San Francisco, accepted an opportunity to walk the cat walk at Lincoln Center… in a non-maternity dress and heels, had professional maternity pictures taken and I journaled along the way.

None of it came naturally at first…. but it quickly became a beautiful journey that I am so very thankful I had the chance to experience again– The funny thing? I gained 1/2 the weight I did with my first (Steering clear of italian bread drenched in Caesar dressing probably helped).

And while I’ve been spending the last 3 wks living in that inevitable land of back pain, hot flashes and Fred Flintstone toes– eagerly nesting and waiting to see this little one’s face and find out if it truly has the height of the basketball player I feel has taken over the entire length of my stomach…

For the first time, I think a small part of me may actually miss this bump when its gone.

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Celebrate Your Bump For A Chance to Win!

Beginning this week, Pampers and Target are asking expecting Mama’s to celebrate their pregnancy by uploading a photo to the official Pampers Facebook page for a chance to win some truly great prizes–

$500 in FREE diapers from Pampers
$300 in FREE diapers from Pampers
$150 in FREE diapers from Pampers

So don’t be shy, upload that favorite pregnancy pic or snap a bump-selfie and enter!

Contest details:

Entry period – Oct 22 – Nov 9. Finalists will be announced – Nov 12. Voting period Nov 12 – 30. Winner announced December 2

Need A Good Diaper Sale? –We do!

Pamper Swaddlers is a hospital favorite. We always use them for our newborns, and I am a little ashamed to admit that with just 6 days til’ our little one arrives- we’ve only purchased 1 package! We were waiting for a sale and… well– ok. We slacked. Which is why I’m super excited to have found out about the Pampers sale going on at Target this week!

Last call! (ends 10/26): Free $15 Gift Card with purchase of 2 Pampers Giant Packs
Starting Sunday: 10/27 – 11/2: Free $10 Gift Card with purchase of 2 Pampers Super Packs

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Baby Center and Pampers.

What To Pack For The Hospital When Having A C-Section

October 25, 2013 By Cori

OMG, you guys!!!!! My C-section is officially one week from today!

Next Friday, this time I will be holding our newest little person in my arms. The whole thing seems so crazy. Where did my pregnancy go?

I realized today that not only did the pregnancy seem to fly by because we have 2 children to keep up with this time around but also because of our move. While our household is as chaotic as any other family’s, I still like to feel like I have some sort of “organization to the chaos” if that makes any sense. But instead, we’ve been living out of boxes for 6 months not really knowing when we will be able to move into our permanent residence.

So I’ve spent 9 months, trying to remain sane with the “we have time” mentality, well at now 38 weeks we don’t have time, and I need to start washing baby clothes.

Last week, I finally got around to tackling packing my hospital bag for my c-section (Did I mention it’s NEXT Friday? …oh ok.), and while you would think I’d be a pro (being that it IS my 3rd time around), I totally wasn’t. That being said… I managed to pull it together and get it done because if there is one thing, my prior birthing and parenting experience has taught me, it is this:

[Tweet “When it comes to pregnancy and parenthood, its always best to have a plan and expect the opposite.”]

Video & List For Packing Your Hospital Bag

{Click here to view video on my YouTube Channel}

Ok, What’s in my bag?

– Large bag– preferably with wheels
– Cord Blood kit – We chose Viacord, but CBR is also an excellent choice.

Side note: My Dr advised against investing in Tissue banking by the way. So if you are thinking about storage, you may want to ask your doc’s opinion before picking a plan.

– Baby’s “take me home outfit” Instead of gender neutral we went with buying two outfits just for fun. One will inevitably be going back…but will it be the pink or the blue??
– Soft cotton pajamas I don’t like ANYTHING touching my c-section area, so I always opt for a nightgown. The one in my video is the before and after ruffle dress by Belabumbum.
– Robe Some people like to opt for a zip up sweatshirt, either way think layers! It can get quite chilly in the hospital. The Robe in my video is the Queen Bee Robe by Belabumbum.
– Warm Socks
– Comfy Bra Comfort is key. The nursing bra in my video is the Bravado Embrace Bra which is made of this magical material that fits like a glove. I’m hoping the Bamboo sleep bra arrives in time too, because I always sleep in sports bra and had no idea “sleep bras” even existed! 🙂
– Underwear If we are being honest here… the underwear after you deliver gets trashed no matter how you deliver. With a C-section, I highly recommend asking the hospital for a few extras of those mesh undies they provide. They’re disposable and by far the most comfortable for your incision.
– Phone charger
– Real deal camera We are bringing our Cannon t3i
– Belly Band-it belly support Ok, so like I said I don’t like anything touching my incision area, but I’ve heard great things about this product and so I am going to bring it with me to see how it goes. I may decided not to use it right away- we’ll see.
– Toiletries
- – Facial Wipes The ones in my video are Olay’s Fresh Effects Swipe Out. I also love the Neutrogena cleansing wipes. They’re thicker, softer and have more to a package.
- – Lotion The one in my video is Olay Fresh Effects– Long live moisture satin lotion (Whew! That’s a mouth full, huh?)
- – Contact Lenses & Case
- – Contact Solution
- – Body wash
- – Tooth brush & tooth paste
- – Hair ties and bobby pins
– Cosmetic-y things
- – Lip Balm The one in my video that I highly recommend EOS. BEST lip balm EVA, you guys!
- – BB Cream The one in my video is Garnier Skin Renewal.
- – Basic blush The one in my video is “The One Sweep” by L’oreal.
- – Mascara The one in my video is Benefit’s “They’re Real” mascara.
– Sibling and Daddy Gift It’s nice to make the siblings feel special. This is a big day for them! So we got gifts “from the baby” to the kids.

In my video, Laina’s gift is Molly Brown London’s pink bean necklace. It’s super cute and like Tiffany for girls. [My review here] Ry’s gift is a Miami Heat Jersey… hard to find something sentimental and exciting for an 8 yr old boy… but he’s going to love this!

– Mama’s Coming Home Outfit Like I said, I don’t want anything touching my incision area (per me)… so while sweats sound comfy, a dress is my only option. Finding a dress for the fall chill? Kind of challenging.

I found a comfy casual shirt dress on clearance at Motherhood that typically, I’d have paired with boots.

However, after much discussion… I came to the reality of.. boots are going to be impossibly hard to put on after the C-section. So I swapped them out for brown flats like the ones below-

As one person told me, who’s going to be looking at your feet when you have an adorable baby in your arms? 😉

What’s on my day of list

– License and insurance card
– Pillow
– Eye Glasses
– Makeup
– Camera battery
– Hair brush
– Double check for phone cord

** One update to the video… The Boppy. While I personally am not packing it this time, I’ve heard it is helpful for nursing moms. I also have personally found that if your car is a sedan it is excellent for c-section Moms to sit on, on the way home because it helps absorb some of the bumps. So in either of those cases? I say the Boppy is a bring!

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Ok… now to wash those itty bitty clothes.

{Pregnancy Update} Week 35: Home Stretch Anxiety & YAY! No more breech!

October 1, 2013 By Cori

(Photo Credit: Tammy Cedar Photography)

Just 4 More weeks! I can’t even believe it.

Life.

The kids are back to school and this is the time I thought I would use to really prepare for the arrival of our little “Blueberry”. Unfortunately though I have been dealing with a lot of back pain, fatigue and over all discomfort. So I’ve been spending a lot more time attempting to find comfort and energy and less time actually being productive.

It seemed to have turned on like a switch from one day feeling great to the next feeling DONE – But didn’t I call this in my last update?

Between my late night partier doing dances, back pain no matter which way I lay and the anxiety/breathlessness that has returned, sleep has already become a thing of the past… as has my morning coffee which only makes me more breathless {insert coffee lover pout here}.

Photo credit: Tammy Cedar Photography

We have at this point accepted that the house will not be done til after the baby arrives, and so we have began preparing a small space in our room. We have stocked up on all of our baby essentials, and are just kind of ready!

When we had Laina, I spent a whole day doing freezer cooking for 2 weeks after the baby was born. It was possibly the best thing I did to prepare us, the food was good, home cooked and kept us away from dialing in pizza while I healed. This time around I am dealing with a much smaller kitchen as well as freezer space, my Mother In Law is letting me use her kitchen and freezer. Now to remember what exactly I cooked…..

Getting To Know Babe

At 33 weeks, the baby measured at 4.5 lbs.

It seems my calm little one was waiting to start moving around like crazy until around 33 wks… just when there was basically no room to move.

We checked at yesterday’s doctor appointment and though the Dr. doubted it would happen, little b-berry showed him by kickity kicking its way into position around 34 wks and is no longer breech! Woohoo!

Cravings and Weigh-ins

With just 4 weeks to go, I am up 21 lbs. and have officially broken out my “Pregnancy Food Check List”. So I will probably put on 21 more this next month.

My Pregnancy Food Checklist consists of all my guilty pleasure foods that I have to have before baby arrives because I don’t usually eat when I’m not pregnant…. and certainly don’t plan on eating while I’m trying to lose baby weight.

I’ve done this checklist with each pregnancy. Each time its slightly different.

So what is on the list this time?

– IN-N-OUT Burger (CHECK! Got that in San Fran)

– Carrot Cake (Like, REALLY good carrot cake)

– Fondue.. Cheese and also Chocolate (Which is planned for my birthday this Friday… Hooray for The Melting Pot!)

– Lasagna with meat sauce (My stepfather got this one! Planned for the weekend before Blueberry’s arrival)

– Disco Fries (because, well.. obviously!)

The Name Game

Yep. Still nothing. Well not NOTHING. We have 3-4 boys names and 3-4 girls names and I can’t lie, I am beginning to panic a little that we aren’t going to be able to decide on one when the baby arrives.

Photo credit: Tammy Cedar Photography

And The Carseat We’ll Be Using Is….. The Maxi Cosi Mico AP!

September 17, 2013 By Cori

The Maxi Cosi Mico AP is Available at Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us online from $199

{Some favorite features}

Superior Side Impact Performance: Featuring Air Protect® technology
Upgraded soft cushion material
Flip-out canopy visor for extra sun protection
5 point harness
14 vibrant color options
Rear-facing: 5-22lbs
Height Range: up to 29″

This Infant carseat is compatible with:
Baby Jogger, Bugaboo, Bumbleride, iCandy, Jeep, Maclaren, Mamas & Papas, Micralite, Mountain Buggy, Phil&Teds, Quinny, Stokke, UPPAbaby, and Valco Baby

Disclosure: I was sent the Maxi-Cosi for review consideration. However all opinions are my own. We plan on using this product with our newborn because we truly love it compared to some of the others we’ve seen.

{Baby Buzz} Win The Nursery Of Your Dreams With Bravado Designs And Project Nursery!

August 28, 2013 By Cori

We are long over due for a Baby Buzz post– don’t you agree?

With 9 weeks to go, our nursery is weighing heavy on our minds and oh, what I would give to have a little help from a pro!

(See my video plea for help at the end of this post)

So while I have a few more baby products I’m scoping out, today I wanted to share an amazing contest that is going on for anyone looking to put together their dream nursery!

To celebrate their Essential Embrace Nursing Bra, Bravado Designs has teamed up with nursery design experts Pam and Melisa from Project Nursery to give you the chance to win the ultimate nursery for you and your baby!

The grand-prize is an expecting mama’s-dream-come-true and will include nursery design and decor by Project Nursery design experts, as well as furniture and accessories from top baby brands such as Serena & Lily, Monte Design, Babyletto and Nursery Works.

Two runners up will receive a Bravado Designs nursing wardrobe and a custom design board from Project Nursery.

Entry is super simple!

Share why you would like to receive this amazing Embrace Space makeover in your home by posting a quick 2 minute video!

Here is my video (*fingers crossed*)

From the Bravado Design website:

Video Instructions

To submit a video of your current Embrace Space or an area in your home that you would like to turn into that special spot for nursing, get our your phone, camera or any other device you are comfortable with and get ready to shoot! During your brief (maximum 2 minutes) video, please be sure to answer the following questions:

Tell us about you and your expanding family! Introduce yourself (first name, family members) and tell us where you live.
Take us on a quick tour of where you want to create or makeover your Embrace Space.
Please answer ONE of the following fun facts so we can learn a bit more about you:Last thing! Don’t forget to tell us why you want to win an Embrace Space!
- Tell us about a pregnancy craving!
- How did you share the news that you were expecting?
- Did you (or will you) find out the gender of your baby?
- What was your one pregnancy must have?
- What was your family’s reaction to the name you chose for your child or are you keeping it a secret?

You Can Find Full Contest Details HERE