Nursing Clothes: Where's the Selection?

When you're pregnant, there's a plethora of maternity clothes out there, from cute to comfortable and even sexy. But, once your body transforms from an incubator to a milk machine, it's a lot tougher to find cute nursing wear. I've always thought this was puzzling, as so many women spend more months nursing than they do pregnant. The only nursing wear I have found in stores near me is the extremely limited section at my local Motherhood store. While it's great for picking up some of the basics like bras, pj's, and t-shirts, there's not a whole lot to choose from in the retail locations for clothing, and certainly not a lot that ever goes on sale. (I rarely buy any clothing that is not on sale!)

I've found some good deals through Motherwear's catalogs and website. The only thing I don't like about some of their clothing is that they seem to get one kind of fabric pattern and re-use it for several styles of clothing...for example I've seen a tank top, a long sleeved dress shirt, and a full dress all made from the exact same fabric. It's kindof a bummer if you like a couple of the styles but don't necessarily want a closet full of the same repeating patterns. Other than that, I've found some great deals in their clearance page. (Just make sure you know the size will fit you before stocking up on clearance items, because sale items can't be returned.)

If you find the right nursing clothes, you can discreetly nurse without even the need for a nursing cover. (by the way, if you'd like to make your own nursing cover, check out this post!) While I do like to have a few pieces of clothing designed specifically for nursing, I have found that by purchasing just a few nursing tank tops from Target's lingerie section, I can turn any of my regular shirts into nursing shirts.

The design problem that is solved by nursing clothes is that the hidden openings they have allow you to nurse your baby without having to pull your shirt way up and show off your bare belly, which seems to show even if you use a blanket or nursing cover. (I don't know about you, but my post-baby belly is not planning on seeing the light of day anytime soon!) However, by wearing one of these tanks underneath a regular shirt, the two together function the same as a double-layered nursing shirt. I can lift up my top layer and still have the tank top layer covering my belly. Getting a couple of these for just $16.99 a piece can save a lot of money versus buying a whole new nursing wardrobe, and they double as your bra as well. Plus, you can save your money to buy new shirts that you can still wear after you're done nursing. I have them in a few colors, so most of the time they even match the color of the shirt I'm wearing and totally blend in.

There are situations, however, where lifting a shirt doesn't quite work right...for instance, when you need to wear a dress, or a swimsuit. For those situations, or when you just want to buy a few nursing shirts for the fun of it, there are actually a lot of places you can shop if you're willing to buy online. Here are just a few I've come across:

Milkstars (recently featured on Daily Candy)

Hadley Stilwell (also featured on Daily Candy)

Expressiva

Figure 8 Maternity

My Nursing Wear

Due Maternity

One Hot Mama

Pea in the Pod

The Funky Mama

Mommy Gear

Tummy Style

Breast is Best

Also, here's an article on the best swimsuits for nursing moms on Babyzone.

So don't settle for the limited selection of your local maternity store...get out there and do a little web surfing! You'd be surprised...you might just find that you can nurse discreetly, and look good doing it, too!

Recipe & Gadget of the Week: Meat Loaf Miniatures + Flat Whisk

Recipe of the Week: Meat Loaf Miniatures
I found this recipe from some old cookbook on my shelf while desperately in search of something to make with the limited groceries we had on hand at the time. It immediately became one of my husband's favorites. It freezes really well too!

Ingredients:
1 C ketchup
3-4 Tbsp Packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp Ground Mustard
2 Eggs, Beaten
4 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 C Crispix Cereal, crushed
3 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 to 1 tsp Seasoned Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Pepper
2-3 lbs lean ground beef or ground turkey

Instructions:
In large bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Remove 1/2 C for topping; set aside. Add eggs, worcestershire sauce, cereal, and seasonings to remaining ketchup mixture; mix well. Let stand for 5 minutes. Crumble beef over cereal mixture and mix well.

Press meat mixture into 18 muffin cups (about 1/3 cup each). bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Drizzle with reserved ketchup mixture; bake 10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Cool remaining loaves; freeze. Transfer to freezer bags; freeze for up to 3 months. To use frozen meat loaves; Completely thaw in refrigerator. Place in a greased baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through, or cover and microwave on high for 1 minute or until heated through.


Kitchen Gadget of the Week: the "Kitchzen Flat Whisk" by Chef'n
Okay, purely by chance we have another gadget by Chef'n this week, and no, I don't get royalties from them. However, if anyone from Chef'n is reading this and would like to mail me an envelope full of cash, I will not object. Heck, I'll probably just use it to buy more Chef'n stuff anyway.

I love this whisk. I actually found it at a thrift store, brand new, still in the package. I know our local Target store often donates brand new product to the thrift stores, so I believe it likely came from there. I find a lot of great new items that way! Here are a couple reasons why I love this whisk...

1) Store-ability
If you own a whisk, chances are it's been the cause of your drawer jamming more than once. That, or it gets tangled up with the other tools in your drawer. Being almost flat, this one fits perfectly in my shallow drawer, and does not get snarled up with my other tools.
2) Scrape-ability
The end of this whisk is not round like most standard whisks. Instead, it has rounded corners. This works fantastic when I need to whisk in a pot on the stove, which do not have rounded bowl bottoms. So, I can scrape around the corners and get everything mixed well.
3) Non-Scratching
Having the end dipped in silicone saves my pans from scratches, and holds up to the heat.
4) Non-burning
If I let the whisk sit in a hot pot, grabbing the handle doesn't burn a metal spring pattern in the palm of my hand. It has a nice rubbery handle.
5) Clean-ability
Last but CERTAINLY not least, one of my favorite things about this whisk is how easy it is to clean. I don't have to try to get inside the cage like a round whisk between wires to clean it. Being almost flat (each wire is about 1/8" separated vertically when laid down on the counter), a wipe of the soapy sponge on the front and back of the wires will clean all sides of the wires. That's hard to describe without seeing it, but trust me, it's a piece of cake to clean!

Happy whisking! :-)

Play with your Food!

Does it really hurt anyone to play with your food? Sure, if your child learns that catapulting his peas across the room is considered acceptable behavior, it may hurt his chances of success later in life when he takes his biggest client out for a business dinner, causes the business to go bankrupt, people to lose jobs, and families to go hungry. However, I think that as long as a child knows when the best of manners are required and complies accordingly, a little break in the meal monotony is okay every great now and then, and may even foster a little creativity. And hey, if it gets your little one to consume some veggies, all the better.

Here are a few fun products that might help put the fun back in dinner time, even if Mommy only allows them to see the light of day on birthdays...

The Food Face plate by Fred & Friends turns your child's food into an edible "Wooly Willy."

My sister got me one of these for my birthday this year...funny, I had that on my list of ideas for her too! The only downside for kids is that they are ceramic and breakable. They run about 10 bucks or so on Amazon:



This dinnerware by Constructive Eating is perfect when you need to excavate your mashed potatoes or bulldoze your peas!


Available on Amazon in a 3-piece set or individually, with a plate also sold separately:


Another great product from Fred and Friends, the Pizza Boss 3000 is fun for kids and handy men alike. Daddy won't let you play with his power tools? Okay, maybe slicing the pizza is the next best thing. After all, while it may have less fiber, it sure tastes a heckuva lot better than plywood.



Nuop Designs takes the curly straw to a whole new level, allowing your child to send his or her beverage on a veritable roller coaster ride to it's final destination. A plain 'ol cup of water never looked so fun.


Yes, Fred & Friends has clearly cornered the market on fun food products...in addition to their human version of their "pick your nose" cups, they also have fun animal noses as well. Who says you can't pick your friend's nose?!




So let your kids be kids at the dinner table just once in a while. Who knows, you could have the next Ju Duoqi on your hands!

DIY: From Band T-Shirt to Baby Sleeper

Before you became a parent, you spent all night rockin' it out at concerts. In enters newborn baby...now you'd jump at the chance to trade in food, hygiene & oxygen just for a couple consecutive hours of REM sleep. Fear not...you can still re-live the memories of your glory days while changing diapers with these awesome baby pj's made from recycled rock band t-shirts.

These open-bottom elastic sleepers are the BEST when you're up at the buttcrack of dawn to nurse your little one and you're too sleepy to see straight, let alone line up all those snaps in baby's pj's after every diaper change. Just slip the bottom up over that cute little tushie, change, pull back down and get back to bed...for a little while.

If you're able to carve out a little free time during your waking hours, get the instructions here from "This Mama Makes Stuff!"

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

I've heard so many moms comment on last night's "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" that I finally had to go check it out online and see what all the buzz was about.



The 2-hour premier airs on March 26 on abc, however, the 1-hour sneak preview aired last night. If you missed it on TV like I did, you can watch the full episode here. Jamie Oliver, renowned British Chef, travels to the most unhealthy city in the US, on a mission to make school lunches healthier.

You'll laugh and cry. You'll be shocked and disgusted. You'll hate the bad guys and cheer for the underdog. Your eyes will be opened to what our kids are eating and you'll see one reason why childhood obesity has more than tripled in my lifetime.

So check it out online if you've missed it. It grabbed my attention enough to give up my only chance at a nap today to watch it, so that says something! ;-) If nothing else, watch it for Jamie's cute British accent. And for goodness sake, do NOT call the cooks "lunch ladies!!"

DIY: 3 Incrediby Useful Baby Items You Can Make with Ribbon

Here are 3 extremely useful baby things that I have made myself by combining left-over and scrap ribbon with a few jewelry/craft findings...



I have this clear zipper bag from some old set of sheets or something I purchased a while back, and whenever I come across a piece of ribbon to recycle, I stuff it in here:

As you can see I have quite a variety after not a long time of collecting them. You'd be surprised how much ribbon you can accumulate if you really pay attention to what you throw away. I've saved pieces off boxes of chocolates, baby gift sets, torn gift bag handles, and even the tie on a wrapper of a giant sucker. They come in handy later for wrapping gifts, making cards or scrapbook pages, and in this case, 3 extremely useful toddler items...

#1: Bib Clip
You may have seen my recent post about bib clips that you can buy. Well, if you'd like to make your own, or make a coordinating set of these three useful items, here's how you can make one yourself!

Supplies:
a) Ribbon, 15-20" or whatever size looks right around the back of your child's neck
b) Alligator clips (Badge clips also work great!)
c) Eyelets
d) Jump rings or split rings
Tools:
Scissors & pliers
Rivet tools (I love the Crop-a-Dile)

Steps:
1) Fold the end of your ribbon over twice. You can sew it if you want or glue it for extra durability.
2) Insert eyelets through ribbon. Repeat on the other end.
3) Put rings on the ends of the clips.
4) Connect the clips to the eyelets with another ring (or the same one if big enough).

Here it is in use. You can do a couple things to make it adjustable. Here I've simply rolled it at the center and clipped it with a binder clip. You could also use one of those spring loaded button sliders like you often see on the hood strings of a jacket. Oh, and binder clips can even work in place of the alligator clips!


#2: Pacifier Clip
If your kid is attached to his or her pacifier, make life easier by attaching it to your child!

Supplies:
a) Velcro
b) 8" Ribbon**
c) Clip (from fabric store)

Tools:
Needle & thread, OR sewing machine, OR fabric glue
Scissors


Steps:
1) Fold about 1/4" of one end of the ribbon over. Pass it through the loop on the clip and fold over about a 1/2". Sew/glue the ribbon closed.
2) Fold the other end of the ribbon over about 1/4" and sew/glue one side of the velcro on the end. Sew/glue the other side of velcro a few inches down the ribbon.
3) Pass the velcro end through the pacifier handle, fold over, and stick to other velcro end!

Variations: Try a button or snap closure instead of velcro!
**Make sure that the ribbon on your clip when the velcro is folded reaches no more than 6" for safety!

#3: Cup/Toy Tether
I'm sure something like this already exists on the market, but this is a contraption I came up with last spring. The thought of my toddler losing his precious puppy or sippy cup on the streets of Paris and trying to fluently say "have you seen my child's irreplaceable puppy blankie?" in French made chills run up my spine. So, I fashioned this little tether from some ribbon that came off of a box of Godiva chocolates that my husband gave me, and some findings that I had salvaged from some old bag years ago...

Supplies:
a) Ribbon (I used 2 wide pieces, with the polka dots, & 1 skinnier green piece)
b) Metal hook
c) D-ring
d) velcro

Tools:
Needle & thread, OR sewing machine
Scissors



Steps:

Tether:
1) Fold about 1/4" of one end of the ribbon over. Pass it through the loop on the clip and fold over about a 1/2". Sew the ribbon closed on the hook.
2) Fold the other end of the ribbon over about 1/4" OR do a zig-zag stitch to finish the ribbon end. Sew a loop of the skinnier ribbon to the end as shown.
Loop:
3) Fold about 1/4" of one end of the ribbon over. Pass it through the D-ring and fold over about a 1/2". Sew the ribbon closed on the D-ring.
4) Sew a piece of one side of the velcro on the front side of the ribbon, up near the D-ring.
5) Sew the other side of the velcro piece toward the opposite end of the ribbon, on the opposite side of the ribbon as shown.



Now, wrap the ribbon on the loop around any part of your stroller so the velcro comes together. Slip the tether through the handle of your child's sippy cup or toy. Now you can simply hook your child's important items to the stroller, un-hooking when needed. It works similarly to the pacifier clip, but the spring loaded hooks and loops allow you to easily swap out which items are attached to the stroller, leaving the loops there. I made two tethers and two loops, and we never lost a single item on our 11 days in Europe! (see below, Sammy in front of Notre Dame, sippy cup safely dangling from the side of the stroller, and his nuk clipped to his coat!)



Priceless items protected by recycled left-overs! It doesn't get much better than that!

ID Mommy Tip: Eating Out With Toddlers

Here's a little handy tip that I came up with after experiencing the same frustration over and over again while eating out at restaurants.

When we go out to eat, often times restaurants will have great kid-sized cups. But, rarely do they ever have kid-sized straws, and we seldom see those cool bendy straws anymore. This undoubtedly results in Sammy having to hold his drink out in front of him and tip it down in order to get the straw to his mouth, sending his drink dribbling out the leaky lid and onto his lap.


Instead of waiting for the fast food restaurants to solve my problem, I finally decided to pack a small pair of folding scissors in my diaper bag. All I do now is whip these babies out, and simply snip off the top few inches of the straw.


Voila! A kid-sized straw and a dry pants. Well, at least until that pop goes through and the diaper leaks... ;-)