Nursing Bra Express - cotton nursing bra

Nursing Bra Express

I am assuming most of you are like me and absolutely hate the time when you need to buy a new bra. It is such a pain to find a bra that will do the job well, be comfortable and easy to care for(when it comes to washing vs dry cleaning). I find it even harder to shop for a nursing bra. Most likely you are going to be shopping for one while you are pregnant and after that your body changes so much anyway that you can't even fit into the ones you just got! That happened to me. I had bought 4 new bras and after Corbin was born-none of them fit!

When Kristina told me about Nursing Bra Express, I thought we should try them out immediately! They sent me a cotton nursing bra by QT Intimates and a sleep nursing bra by La Leche League International (to be reviewed next week). My first impression of them was "Yay! New clean bras!" Haha. I instantly loved the color of the soft pink sleep bra. Since I had a boy, it was nice to have the little bit of girly for myself. The cotton bra made me really nervous at first because A. It has no underwire. Every bra I have ever owned has had the underwire-even my old nursing bras and B. It was not padded. I prefer a little padding just in case there is a little leakage and the nursing pads don't quite cut it. It turned out ok!

A little about Nursing Bra Express:

"Our mission at Nursing Bra Express is not only to provide nursing moms with the best breastfeeding products on the planet, but also to keep our nursing (or soon-to-be nursing) moms happy and satisfied with her purchases! We greatly appreciate your business and our customers always come first!"

What I love about them is that they have a large selection of brands and sizes-including plus size as well as great customer service. They have a generous return/exchange policy and their prices are great. If you aren't sure what size you need, they have tips on how to measure yourself to get an appropriate fit. They also offer breastfeeding tips, advice and anything else you would need for nursing your little one. Along with the great advice and nursing bras, they also sell nursing tanks, sleepwear, postpartum shapewear and accessories for breastfeeding.

Did you know you should wait until after your baby is born before buying a nursing bra? Here is why!

The Molded Cotton Nursing Bra by QT Intimates is a nude color but also comes in black, pink and white. It is a cotton material making it breathable and comfortable. 

The larger sizes come with a slightly wider strap making it much more comfortable for your back. 

I was nervous at first because I normally wear an underwire bra that is lightly padded. This one had neither but was none the less very comfortable. Since it is molded it didn't need the underwire because it was supportive enough without one. 

There is a light padding along the underside of the cup which also helped with the lack of underwire for me.

 As for the nursing clasps-they were easy to undo and reclasp with one hand. They also had a nice quiet click-seems silly unless that click wakes your sleeping babe up who knows that noise to mean dinner! I do like how this bra has a full "arch" over the breast once the clasp is undone. I found that with my other bras that didn't have this, they tended to stretch out quickly and caused drooping with the material. I have had no issues with that with this bra. 

 The only issue I had with the bra was the back where you hook it. There is a small section that has a different type of stitching and that did cause me to have some redness where it rubbed against my back. I just adjusted the c-hooks and that seems to help. 

Another odd thing for me was when I wear reusable nursing pads-the outline shows through the bra and my shirt if I am not also wearing a nursing tank. Not a big deal but kind of awkward if you are out in public and your 3 year old comments on it because you forgot to throw on your nursing tank. :)

Overall I found this bra extremely comfortable and easy to use. It does say to hand wash in warm water-however I have thrown it in the wash with some other delicates on a light cycle and hung it up to dry with no issues. I liked that this bra was so comfortable and light weight. It is nice to wear on a warm day! 

This bra retails for 22.00 and you can buy it HERE.

Be on the look out next week for our review of the Sleep bra and a little giveaway as well!

EZ Squeezees

EZ Squeezees makes a great reusable squeeze pouch for babies and toddlers. I have used many of these with my 18 month old so I appreciated the great product that EZ Squeezees makes. I got a three pack of their pouches to review and they were an instant favorite of my daughters. The first time I used them, I didn't get my mixture thick enough so Coral dumped her food on her lap. After that, I made my purees a nice thick consistency and had no more mess like that.

The EZ Squeezee has a ziplock type closure on one side and an expanding gusset fold on the other to enable more food space. The pouch is easy to fill and close, which is great when you have a demanding little one ready for a snack. I had a little bit of a hard time trying to fit too much food into the pouch and making a mess. It says that it's about a 6oz capacity but I had a hard time getting that much in there. The closure is wonderfully secure and never once opened or leaked while in use.

On the back of the pouch there is a place to write the contents. This is great if you are sending it to daycare with your child and want to keep track of the date. Also, it's wonderful for helping keep track when making a variety of pouches for balanced meals.

The side opening is easy to access and makes for easy filling.

Here is a picture of the other side with the gusset. After a few uses and washes, there are some creases in this fold that concerned me. It looks like little cracks in the seal but they don't actually leak. I filled the pouch with water and nothing came out. Phew! I loved these pouches.

Here's about 4oz of applesauce in the pouch. Check out how the pouch just sits there ready for filling. It's so handy!

Here is the toodler-squeal inducing pouch all full. Coral will be up soon and I know when she see's it she will be so excited for breakfast. It's in the fridge now but I will place it in warm water for a bit so bring it just above room tempurature.

On EZ Squeezes website, they have an amazing variety or recipes for your healthy child. You can get these wonderful pouches in 3-packs there as well! They are offering a coupon code for our readers. Code is CLOTHADDICT buy TWO 3-PACKS of pouches and a bag of replacement caps, the cost of caps will be taken off at checkout when you put the code in. Just add it in when you check out.

Go "like" EZ Squeezees Facebook page for updates.

The generous folks over at EZ Squeezee are giving away 2 prizes to our readers. Experience the baby-bliss for yourselves!



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Pony Up Design

We have seen some great examples of WAHM's this week. I have enjoyed meeting new crafters/sellers and am excited to share my own creations with you.

 

My business, Pony Up Design, has been keeping me busy since 2006. I began sewing utensils set cases to provide a convenient and Eco friendly alternative to plastic cutlery. I have been pleasantly surprised at the interest in my products from a wide range of people. As my business grew, I had special requests from event planners, campers, and mothers for variations of my flatware-to-go concept. I also started to sew a mixture of personal items as well as I come across materials and ideas that strike me.

This is the basic concept that I began with. Lightweight, bamboo utensils in a cotton roll & tie case.

 

Each utensil has it's own pocket and you just roll it up and tie the knot! (this set available on Pony Up's Facebook page)

 

 

 

 



After a few years, I wanted to get more creative and my husband suggested using antique and vintage silverware. I loved this idea because it was one more step towards a sustainable product. Below is a set of vintage silver spoons for a baby. These are great for a diaper bag or to send to daycare with your toddler. My daughter has just started using spoons and she loves this size.

All rolled up, they stay clean and the case is machine washable. This baby spoon set is up for raffle this week and will go to our lucky reader.

Please visit and "like" Pony Up Design's Facebook page and visit the Etsy shop. The Facebook page has exclusive offers of items not available through Etsy, so check 'em out and message me if interested!

For our readers, I am offering a coupon code "SHIPSHIPHOORAY" for free domestic shipping for the Etsy shop and just mention this post to get free domestic shipping for items from the Facebook page. Shipping is included in the price so discount will vary.


Raffle ends Friday the 15th.

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Log Cabin Crafting

I don't know about your baby, but bibs are a huge battle in our home. Every mealtime a bib would go on and quickly get pulled straight off! Velcro bibs, snap bibs, and even pull over style bibs were no match for Ava's hatred of the bib. So when I discovered the baby aprons, or Baprons, made by Jessica of Log Cabin Crafting, I was so excited to try one. It's been a huge success at our house and I am thrilled to be able to share our bib triumph with you all, but first let me introduce you to the mama behind the shop!

Becca: So Jessica, tell me a little about yourself!

Jessica: I am a single mom of a 16 month old boy who keeps me very busy and we live in a log cabin in southern New Hampshire. 

B: How did you get started with your Etsy shop?

J: I started making things for him as a way to save money and almost every time I left the house people complimented me on them. When people started asking if I sold my crafts I thought it was time to figure out how to go about that. 

B: What types of crafts do you enjoy making and how long have you been crafting?

J: I love to knit, crochet, and sew. My grandmother taught me how to sew when I was about 8 years old. I learned to knit and crochet from my mother a couple years ago. 

B: What is your favorite item to craft?

J: I don't have a favorite item to make. Some times I sew a lot and don't do much else. Other times I knit or crochet and don't sew for a long time. It just depends on when my son falls to sleep and how much time I have. 

Jessica has been lovely to work with and has a great Etsy shop with a selection of Baprons, washcloths, towels, and diaper bags, just to name a few of her handcrafted items. I am just loving the Bapron she sent me to review. I received the toddler size because Ava has just turned one year old and is tall for her age, but Jessica makes a baby size as well for smaller infants. Here is a picture of the front of it:

The Bapron has a great pocket on the front, an over the arms design, and ties in the back. Here is a picture of the back:

I just had to include a close up of the adorable labels Jessica uses:

As you can see from the close up picture, the quality and craftsmanship are fantastic. The Bapron is so cute and fits Ava great! The genius part about the Bapron that I just love is the "sleeve" design. Since the Bapron goes over her arms and then ties behind her neck, Ava thinks that it is a shirt and so doesn't try as hard to get it off. The times she does try and take the Bapron off, she is completely unable to! The size has been great as well. It is wide and long enough to cover Ava's whole shirt and protect it from food spills.

As you can see, it covers the whole front of Ava's shirt to totally protect it and the pocket catches all the food she likes to shove under her tray. (Don't you just love this cheesy grin?)

We used the Bapron during her birthday party to protect her shirt from her first cake and it worked so well!

She was a very happy girl and I was a happy mama to have a bib that stays put during meal time!

I just had to include this cute shot of Ava waiting for me to take the Bapron off!

The Bapron is a fantastic bib, and I think that it is a must-have baby/toddler item. I am excited to tell you all that Jessica has offered to giveaway a Bapron to one of our readers! Enter the giveaway below.


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Homemade Baby Food & Vital Baby Press 'n' Pop Mini Freezer Pots

I love making baby food for my kiddos. It's super duper easy, so much cheaper, fresher and tastes incredibly better than the jarred stuff. I had a magic bullet that I used to use, but I got a food processor at Christmas and it has made things SO much easier. We just started solids with our youngest about two weeks ago. He's had bananas, avocados and now sweet potatoes. I typically keep enough fresh food on hand that I don't have to freeze things, but I also like to have food in the freezer in case the bananas go bad (or get eaten by my big monkeys!) or whatever the case may be. So, earlier this week, I whipped up some Sweet Potatoes for the freezer. I also purchased some Vital Baby Press 'n' Pop Mini Freezer Pots a few months ago. In the past I've used ice cube trays, but I didn't particularly like all the chemicals that were leeching into my children's food (one of the reasons I make it all myself).

I steamed my sweet potatoes.

Then I threw them, a couple slices at a time, into my food processor. This doesn't make them totally pureed and runny, like your typical Stage 1 jars of food. This has a bit of 'chunk' to it. It is easily mashed in to more of a white mashed potato consistency, but, since we delay solids a bit with our kiddos, I don't worry as much with the chunk. Any who...

Once the sweet potatoes are all chopped up, I dished the potatoes into the 1 ounce Vital Baby cubes.

Popped the top on them...

Piled them up and stuck them in the freezer.

When it's time to pull them out of the freezer, you can see why they are called "Press 'n' Pop" cubes.
The cubes look small, but it is a decent amount of food for a 'lil guy {or gal!}

On the bottom of each cube is a soft area...

Put your finger on that and ...

Press!
Out POPS the food - even in a completely frozen state! I did find that it was easier to let the straight-out-of-the-freezer cube sit on the counter for just a few minutes before press and popping.

There's your frozen cube of food ready for thawing and chowing.

And then, you have a very happy baby who is digging the new tastes and textures!

Do you make your own baby food? Have your tried the Vital Baby Press 'n' Pop Mini Freezer Pots or another baby food cube?

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for this review. I purchased my own set of Vital Baby Press 'n' Pop Mini Freezer Pots for our own use. All opinions are my own and you may have a different experience.

Strawesome Review

I mentioned last week when I reviewed the CaliBowls that I love finding things that help me make my home a safer place, and that fun get bonus points. Well, enter more fun, Strawesome glass straws! Get a load of some of these designs:




Each of the designs are limited edition, so if you love it, snag it, because it may not be there when you come back! Also, each straw is handmade by a SAHM in Michigan!

I was so excited to be able to review a glass straw, but confess that I am super clumsy and was very worried I would break it within moments of its arrival! Thankfully, Strawesome has a lifetime guarantee - you break the straw, they will replace it (whew). I'm going to take their word on that one, as mine is still in one piece! Don't think of these as your average glass either. These straws are made from the strongest commercially available glass - borosilicate, to be specific. And better than that, glass doesn't leech toxins into your food or drink, so you can use Strawesome straws knowing that you are protecting those you love.

I chose the Skinny Bent Straw to review and it has definitely been a conversation starter! Friends will come over and just stare until I finally start talking about it. Every one thinks it is a neat idea and most have never heard of Strawesome or even a glass straw.


I confess that after a month of using my glass straw, I'm pretty much addicted to 'my' straw now. It's very rare that I have a glass of water or tea in hand without this straw. It was a bit difficult to drink out of at first...my first sip may or may not have spewed everywhere (apparently, I bite straws while drinking? But I quickly got the hang of not biting!) Cleaning of the straw is easy, just pop it in the dishwasher. Strawesome does make cleaning brushes, and you can get one free with the purchase of a set of 4 or more straws, but I have found that without one, my straw is very clean. I have not had to transport my straw anywhere, and I just store it sitting in one of our glasses in the cabinet, but they also make (gorgeous) carrying cases to protect your straws.

Strawesome also makes custom straws. You can have logos or names laser engraved, or even designed with the colors of your wedding or party! If you let them know it is for an occasion as such, they will ship them pre-washed and ready to use! What a great party or wedding favor!

If you are interested in purchasing a straw or set of straws, visit the Strawesome website to see all the straws they have to offer, and remember, it is constantly changing!

Disclosure: I received the Skinny Bent Straw free for review. All opinions are mine own, and yours may differ. Strawesome is sponsoring the giveaway of one (1) straw.

Kaboost Review

Last spring, we had a problem in our house. Our 3 year old could sit at our kitchen table with out the assistance of a booster seat, but our 1.5 year old could not. This wouldn't be a problem, but whatever big brother does, little brother wants to do! Benjamin (our 1.5 year old), would get so frustrated that he couldn't reach the table (and forget the booster seat, that was just asking for a huge tantrum!) We needed a solution fast.

That's when a friend introduced me to a Kaboost! At first, I was very skeptical, I really didn't think it would lift the chair enough to make a difference, but it was perfect. The Kaboost is essentially 2-sided: place it one way and you get a boost of 4.5inches, place it on the opposite side and you get a boost of 3.75inches - it grows with your little one. The legs expand and swing around to fit virtually any chair. And because the legs swing, it makes packing the Kaboost and traveling with it super easy.

The Kaboost comes in some great colors: A dark Chocolate color, a mute Natural, a solid Charcoal, and if you like a little funk, a bright Green!

The chair has a great grip to prevent it from sliding around with wiggly children. The only problem we have had is that the Kaboost is so 'grippy' on the bottom, I couldn't easily move our chair that it was attached to making sweeping the kitchen a bit difficult. We solved that problem with a package of felt dots from WalMart and placing one dot on each arm of the Kaboost.

This has been a dinner-time-life saver for us. We love our Kaboost, and it definitely makes for some conversation when friends and family come over, as they usually haven't seen a product like this!

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review. We purchased a Kaboost with our own money. All opinions are my own, and your experience may differ.

CaliBowls {Review}

A couple tidbits of information about me:

1- I'm always on the hunt for products that can make my home a safer place to live.
2- I'm kind of lazy. For example, I'd much rather rip off the paper towel and throw it in the trash than dig through the drawer to find a cloth rag and then walk it back, over toys, with kiddos on each leg and a baby in the sling to throw said rag in the laundry basket.

Anything that can make my home safe, and is an easy "switch" for me gets points in my book.

Enter The CaliBowl! Check out those bowls! (By the way, fun gets bonus points!)

The CaliBowl bowls are BPA free and unbreakable (while being dishwasher and microwave safe), and come in bold colors (like Retro Aqua Blue and Sunflower Yellow) and amazing sizes (95oz bowl, anyone?!)

A neat thing about these bowls that set them apart from any other bowl out there is the wave-lip around the rim. I can hear you now, "Why does my bowl need a wave?" I didn't think my bowl did either, until my bowl did! This special wave keeps the yumminess (aka: food) on your chip or spoon (I apologize for these pictures - I am not a food photographer, and well, chili just isn't pretty!)

Here comes the first bite out of the bowl

See how the wave-lip keeps the yummies on the chip?

Here you can kind of see how the wave sticks out a bit

And the yum yum stays on the chip!

We also purchased the Toddler bowls and while my boys, at ages 2 and 3.5, don't quite get how to utilize the wave to their advantage, they still love the bowls. The fact that it's made from safe materials makes me feel better about them using the bowls at meal times.

You can read about The CaliBowl philosophy, including their "Recycle-A-Bowl" program:

As an effort to eliminate all landfill contribution in line with Simple Wave’s “Zero Landfill Policy”, at the end of a product’s life, participants will have the option to return the CaliBowl™ product to Simple Wave to be recycled into new product. In return the participant will receive a 20% discount on their entire subsequent order through the CaliBowl™ online store.

Sounds great to us!

I would eventually love to replace all our bowls with CaliBowls (in coordinating colors!)

disclosure: I purchased The Santa Barbara Kid Pack and the La Jolla Bowls at discount for review. All opinions are my own.

Happy Baby Food review

My little guy recently started eating baby food. Its always fun to watch them try to get the food in and keep it in. Luckily Z likes to eat and caught on really well. So, every since I started cloth diapering I have been looking at more eco-friendly and organic items available to me as a parent for my children. That's how I came across Happy Baby Food. Happy Baby Food offers all organic food for babies and toddlers. Here is what they say about their products:

HAPPYBABY is committed to providing families with the healthiest, most optimal nutrition possible. Besides using the best organic ingredients, we also incorporate the best nature has to offer when it comes to added nutrition, like our sustainable source of DHA, pre and probiotics, and supergrains like Salba and Quinoa.

I looked around on their site and decided to see if any stores local to me carried their products. I found two listed and they said they carried the Happy Baby products. I was sent some coupons to get products to use and review and headed over to my local store. I couldn't find the items anywhere! So I contacted Trina, my Happy Baby Contact, who was WONDERFUL to work with, and asked for her help. She looked up my local stores and found that they carry the cereal and the puffs, but because I couldn't find them she sent me an AMAZING package of items to review.


I got HappyMelts, HappyBellies Oatmeal cereal, HappyPuffs, and a variety of their HappyBaby in different stages and their HappyTots snacks.
Here is a picture of their baby and tots food. They come in neat squeezable packaging with a twist off cap. I like their nice bright colors and pictures used on their packaging. The only thing I didn't care for with the packaging was that the tops seem like a choking hazard to me. I made sure I put the cap in the cupboard or in my pocket so my toddler couldn't get a hold of it while i was feeding the baby. I do like the fact that these can easily seal back up when baby doesn't eat the whole thing in one setting.

When I received the pack of goodies Z wasn't quite yet on fruits. We were still working on his veggies so I decided to introduce him to the HappyBellies Organic Oatmeal. It is DHA and Probiotic. I opened up the can and thought it looked like a great product.
The oatmeal isn't as flaky like some other oatmeal cereals I have seen. It still has the same light weight consistency but looks way yummier. You can mix this with breast milk, formula or water. I use formula. I also had an extra formula scoop so I keep that in the oatmeal contain to measure out how much Z gets. This is also handy for Daddy when he has the boys in the morning and needs to know exact details for feeding baby Z. I usually do 3 scoops of oatmeal and about 1-2 ounces of formula to get the right consistency. Some babies need their cereal thicker some need it thinner. Adjust the amount of liquid you add in to fit your babies needs.

Here is Z after eating a couple of bites of HappyBellies Organic Oatmeal...
Lets just say he's a HAPPY BABY!
When we finally reached the point of introducing fruits to Z, we started with pears. I opened up the pears that HappyBaby had sent in my package. The mouth of the container is pretty small. You can squirt the food directly onto your spoon and save a dish or you can pour it into a bowl and scoop it out with the spoon. I tried putting it directly onto the spoon but found it to time consuming. I would rather wash the extra dish. I put about half of the pack into a bowl and let Z have a bite.His first bite of fruit (Pears), He loved them! Of course he likes to eat pretty much whatever we give him.
We have tried a few of the other items now as well and I am very happy with them. I gave one of the HappyTots to my toddler to eat but he was not interested in it at all. I think because it was 'baby food' that his brother eats. I think if it were packaged a little differently he would have been okay with it. I do like though that with the HappyTots, you can unscrew the lid and give it to the toddler. They can drink out of it like a straw and its extra good when cold. Or you can put it into a bowl and they can use a spoon.

We have been giving Z some of the happy puffs now and he loves them! We gave him the banana flavor...my toddler even enjoys them as well! They are a cute little ring shape puff but for just starting out with a 'hard' type of food we break the puff into about six pieces so he doesnt choke. The pieces dissolve very quick too!

I still keep looking at the stores that were listed to see if they carry the Happy Baby foods but haven't found them. I did however find some at my local Target store and bought two more cans of oatmeal and two cans of the puffs.

My experience with HappyBaby products:
I am extremely pleased with their products. I have tried other name brand foods and even though they are good they are not organic. Which isn't a bad thing but if you are looking to provide your baby with only organic items I would recommend these. There is one other company that I know of that packages their products in pouches and I found those at my local supermarket so I bought a couple to try. I was no where near as happy with them as I am with HappyBaby. I can say that even though Happy Baby is a little more than other brands I will purchase Happy Baby before others because of the quality they provide in their products.

Would you like to purchase Happy Baby Products for your little one? Go here to see if there is a local retailer near you. Otherwise you can purchase online here.