The Great Stroller Debate & Covered Goods Giveaway!!

This week on Mamalogues we are talking about strollers and we are giving away a Covered Goods Multi-Use Nursing Cover!!!

What does a multi-use nursing cover and a stroller have in common, you might ask? Well, gone are the days of just a regular old cover up for nursing your baby. Covered Goods has upped the breast feeding game by creating this four in one wrap that covers you from all angles while nursing your baby, but it can also be used as a shopping cart cover, scarf, and best of all, it can be used as a stroller cover that protects your most precious gift from mother nature's elements (and also all those hands you don't want touching your little cherub while you are out and about!).

                         

So now that you know what this multi-purpose cover has in common with your stroller, let's talk about single versus double strollers!!

If and when you decide to have a second child, one thing to consider is whether or not you will get a double stroller once you have two children in your household.

We think that having a double stroller, like most things in parenting, is a personal choice and may not be for everyone. For Dani's family, the decision was to opt out of getting a double stroller. This was because there wasn't enough storage for it in our garage and because Dani feels the double strollers are obnoxious in size when being pushed around.  Also, Dani decided that she preferred carrying the baby in the baby bjorn when her older daughter was in the stroller.  If her daughter decided to walk, then she put the baby in the stroller. So the need for the double stroller wasn't really there for Dani's purposes.

Dani's family continues to use their Graco Snug Fit Car Seat and Stroller combo even after having their second child.  It is a single stroller with clip in option for the infant seat. You can use it without the car seat and it functions wonderfully as a forward facing toddler stroller with a shade. It can also recline into more comfortable sitting positions, or if the child is still quite small, it can be made into a bassinet by reclining entirely and flipping up a foot rest to keep the baby from wiggling their way out.

Mary Beth's family is on the fence with this double stroller decision. As many of you who watch Mamalogues on YouTube may know, MB is expecting her second child.  So naturally, she told Dani she wanted a double stroller and Dani listed all the reasons why she should not make this purchase. MB's family currently uses their Britax stroller that she loves because it functions a lot like an umbrella stroller. It is very simple to collapse with pressing just one button. Although closing up shop seems easy with this stroller, the con for MB is that it folds out on itself leaving it open to getting dirty when it gets thrown in the trunk of her car, or worse, when it's being tossed around by airport personnel.

So what should Mary Beth do?? Leave us your opinion below! You can find out what sort of advice Dani gave Mary Beth by watching the episode below!! 

                         

Do you agree with Dani? Is a double stroller a waste of money and storage space?

While you think that one over, don't forget we are giving away TWO of these gorgeous four in one covers featured in this episode.  Find out how to win one yourself by entering our giveaway below!

Thanks again to Covered Goods for their generous gifts to our viewers and readers!!

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Cake Maternity Nursing Bra Review & $100 Gift Card GIVEAWAY!!!

Here at Mamalogues we try to feature a product we LOVE in every episode of our YouTube show. This week we are doing a $100 GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY from Cake Maternity!!  We are so excited to share our thoughts with you on the nursing bras we received from them.  Let's start by saying we were SHOCKED that they had our exact sizes with no issues.

Dani's size is pretty standard, 36B, but rarely do all 36B's fit on the first try. As we all know, no bra company creates their bras equally. Mary Beth, on the other hand, has a very difficult time finding the right bra, and sometimes needs a custom order. Thankfully, Cake Maternity had her correct size AND IT FIT PERFECTLY!!!

The next thing that struck us was how great these bras look and feel! They're super cute and they are even more comfortable. Dani recieved the Waffles 3d Spacer Contour Nursing Bra in black. Pictured below:

While it may be true that Dani is no longer nursing her children, she has A LOT of experience with uncomfortable and down right hideous nursing bras - you know the ones we're talking about! Cake Maternity's nursing bra is hands down THE BEST nursing bra Dani has ever worn.  So soft, and even sexy to wear. It's sad how often we feel un-sexy while nursing, so it was really heartwarming to see that Cake understands a nursing mama still wants to feel good about the lingerie she is wearing.

As we mentioned above, Mary Beth has a more difficult time finding the right bra because her size is less common.  She has an even harder time ensuring that those bras offer the appropriate back support and comfort, while also keeping her feeling sexy. Mary Beth was blown away by the Croissant Smoothing Flexi Wire Spacer Nursing Bra that she received in Beige, pictured below:

Did you notice the super cute lime colored accents? We did, too!! What a fun way to spice up a nursing bra, right??!!  Mary Beth loved the comfort and security she felt while wearing this bra which is super important to any mom that is pregnant like she is! She's already ordering more bras as we speak!!

Would you like to try out Cake Maternity's selection of nursing bras, maternity lingerie and more?? Well you are in luck because we are running a giveaway that ends on June 13th at 11:59pm.  What will you win? A $100 gift card to their website so you can order your very own bra, too!!! 

Hooray!!! Check out the link below to find all the ways you can enter our raffle and GOOD LUCK!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

XO! 

Dani and MB

$100 Gift Card from Cake Maternity!!!!

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Hello and Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the Mamalogues Blog! This is the home for longer pieces about the pleasures and pitfalls of pregnancy and parenting by members of the Mamalogues community. We always aim to give you the best advice on a range of topics that we struggled to find information on during our own journeys in pregnancy and parenting. Enjoy!

Check out the Mamalogues YouTube channel for new videos every Tuesday.

For tips, tricks and articles, follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mamalogues123/ 

Exercise During Pregnancy

By Cassy Pressimone Beckowski

Whenever a friend asks me for pregnancy advice, “Exercise!” is my go-to answer. On more than one occasion, my enthusiasm has been met with a dubious smile or exhausted stare. And I completely get it. I remember how utterly wiped out I felt during my entire pregnancy.

But I can’t help myself. I’m convinced that exercise was the magic ingredient keeping me from falling apart – at times mentally, at times physically – during my pregnancies.

You may already be doing some guesswork about the kind of person I am. Let me assure you – I am not someone who grew up a natural-born athlete. As a middle schooler, I tried to be a sprinter because I thought it meant I’d have to do less running. In college, I started running to counterbalance the large quantities of cheese fries and ice cream on which I subsisted. I started running even more in grad school to manage stress and to make up for the half a pizza I could polish off in a sitting. And yes, I run even more now, and yes, I eat less pizza (because I have to share it with my kids), but I am by no means a fitness guru.

Nevertheless – I am a big fan of exercise during pregnancy. Here are a few of the reasons it made a big difference for me.

Exercise gave me some time to myself. When I was pregnant with my second son, I had a two-year-old at home clamoring for my attention. Those naps I had enjoyed during my first pregnancy? Those hours of watching TV with my feet up? Yeah, that never happened second time around. One of the best ways for me to actually hear myself think turned out to be exercising. For me, that often meant running. Sometimes it meant walking. Sometimes it meant yoga. Regardless, when I was exercising, I was doing something good for myself and the little guy in my abdomen, and it often gave me the space to mentally decompress that I needed.

Exercise alleviated some of my pregnancy aches and pains. I was lucky to have two healthy, low-risk pregnancies, but that does not mean that I felt great all of the time. For example, the larger my belly grew, the greater the pain in my low back – a dull, persistent ache that left me squirming in my office chair. But pelvic tilts – one of the simplest exercises out there – almost instantly made the pain go away. Some days, I would head into the bathroom at work and take a few minutes to merrily tilt away. Was it worth the occasional awkward run-ins with colleagues? You had better believe it.

Exercise empowered me. I happened to be in pretty good shape at the start of my second pregnancy, so with my OB’s approval, I kept running throughout the whole 42 weeks (you read that right). There was something about weaving belly-first through the throngs on the Wildwood Boardwalk that made me feel like a total badass (even though I’m glad there’s no video footage). And when I logged a few miles on a treadmill on my due date, I felt more confident about my impending labor. Whenever I was feeling anxious during my pregnancies, exercise always helped me to feel like I was in control.

Exercise helped me mentally prepare for labor, delivery, and everything that followed. Remember how I said I was in good shape at the start of my second pregnancy? My first pregnancy was a different story - when I found out in August that I was expecting, I had just gotten back from an amazing road trip that involved LOTS of eating. My first trimester was hot and uncomfortable, and my feeble attempts at running left me feeling drained. I ended up turning to prenatal yoga, which was a game-changer. I learned yogic breathwork (pranayama) and poses that strengthened parts of my body that I would need for labor. I practiced mindfulness that helped carry me through some pretty agonizing Pitocin-induced contractions and later helped me cope with sleepless nights as I attended to my crying infant. Also, I was able to practice prenatal yoga in my living room, thanks to a great selection of classes available on what continues to be one of my favorite websites – YogaDownload.com. 

Exercise during pregnancy motivated me after pregnancy. Taking care of a newborn (or a newborn and a toddler) is exhausting and time-consuming, and makes showering – let alone exercising – seem impossible. Because I was used to making time to exercise during my pregnancies, however, I was able to make it a priority to resume exercising once I had recovered from delivery. All of the benefits I had experienced when I exercised during pregnancy – getting some personal space, feeling healthy and in control – continued after I had my babies. And while it took way longer than I had hoped it would, I did eventually lose my baby weight. Exercise probably helped with that, too.

So now that I’ve made my case, I’ll dish out my usual pregnancy advice – while you’re expecting, consider making exercise a regular part of your self-care! Of course, you should talk to your doctor or midwife before you begin any new fitness program, and be sure to set reasonable goals and limits for yourself. I wish you and your baby a happy, healthy pregnancy!