Mine for Nine Giveaway!

This week I am giving away a $50 gift code to a truly unique website. It's all about maternity clothing, I know, stop groaning. Trust me, I have worn three sets of maternity clothes and had to buy new stuff each time. It was not fun for me or my budget. I wish I had known about Mine for Nine.

Mine for Nine is such a find! It is all about getting the clothes you need for those special nine months and then returning them when you are done. No need to kill your budget and spend a fortune on maternity clothes with Mine for Nine. Simply pick what you want, pay way less than you would retail (yes, you rent them!) and then ship them back when you are done. It's easy, there's no storing of the maternity clothes later and it works really well if you have a special occasion and don't want to spend a fortune.

How are the clothes? Gorgeous! They are trendy, classic, and come from all over the world. You cannot go wrong with Mine for Nine.

I'm giving away a $50 gift code to one lucky reader! To enter visit here and tell me if you would wear such a think while pregnant. I will choose a winner at random on August 26, 2011. Good Luck!

For additional entries:

Follow me http://twitter.com/#!/veamason on Twitter

Retweet this giveaway!

Like MPR on Facebook

Become a Follower of The Mummy Chronicles

Massage Envy Contest!! Plus Prenatal Massage Tips & Benefits

Prenatal massage is an ideal treat that also offers several health benefits for pregnant women. It can relieve discomfort, muscle tension, joint pain, and hormonal changes, as well as improve sleep, lower blood pressure, alleviate morning sickness, and even ease labor pain.


Massage Envy’s prenatal experts at each of the 15 locations in DC work with each client to customize their massage therapy regimen to meet their needs and address any problems or concerns. Before introducing massage into prenatal care Massage Envy offers a few Do’s and Don’ts to help with a wellness plan:

If receiving prenatal massage do:

Consult a physician: Because prenatal massage involves both mother and baby, Massage Envy requires that women consult with their physicians prior to adding massage to their prenatal care. For women with normal, low-risk pregnancies, massage can be integrated at any point but it is advised that massage regimens align with care from a physician or midwife.

Begin prenatal massage as early as your first trimester: Massage can be integrated into prenatal wellness early in the first trimester.

Stay mobile and hydrated: Staying active throughout pregnancy and regulating water intake increases tissue pliability allowing massage therapists to better manipulate the muscles and address problems.

If receiving prenatal massage don’t:

Apply too much pressure: Massage Envy prenatal therapists are specially trained and certified in this modality and most often use gentle to medium touch while avoiding sensitive pressure points.

Stop prenatal massage during your third trimester: If experiencing a healthy pregnancy it is advised to receive regular massage at least once a month throughout the final trimester. This will help increase circulation and flexibility which can ease labor pain and improve the birthing process.

Forget the importance of homecare: In between massage appointments keep feet elevated and regularly rubbed to help relieve edema, swelling due to excess fluid, and strain. Because feet may be difficult to reach try placing a tennis ball on the floor and with slight pressure roll along the bottom of each foot.

Pregnant?  How did you tell your significant other? Massage Envy wants to know!  Read the benefits of prenatal massage and then enter the contest.  As part of the prenatal awareness campaign, they are launching an online contest giving one lucky expecting or new mom a free three-month membership to Massage Envy!!

The Contest:

*Surprise! - How I told my partner I was expecting

*Simply share your story in 140-characters or less for a chance to win a free three-month massage membership to Massage Envy.  Participants tweet to @massageenvydc or email mom2010@massageenvydc.com to enter. More information and contest rules will be available at Massage Envy on Facebook .

Deadline: Sunday, May 16, 2010 11:59 p.m. ET


For Contest Rules: Check out Massage Envy on Facebook. Gift card for three-month membership may only be redeemed within the Washington, DC area (15 area locations)

Full disclaimer available at: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=112612052109600

Book Review- Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven

Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, the Skinny Bitches themselves, have done it again with their latest book a guide to hanging tough and staying healthy throughout your entire pregnancy- Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven ($14.95) follows the same diet and nutrition premise as the duos first books (being vegan meaning no dairy, no meat and more) with the added information that is needed for those of us with ahem.. buns in the oven.

Having never read and only heard about the Skinny Bitch series I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this new addition and see what it was all about. To say it is "straight talk" is an understatement. This book is a very no holds barred, in your face guide that should only be read by those who can dish out as much as they can take. Handle with Care or give to a friend with care is probably my best advice. This book is not for those who scare easily or have issues with foul language. If that is the case, then this is not a book for you. However, all that being said it can be quite an entertaining and a sometimes eye-opening guide.

It's a great book for those who want a vegan pregnancy and/or can't do all those sickly sweet pregnancy books. There are over 75 sample menus, low calorie recipes and loads of research and AMA approved tidbits in this book. So even though I am not a vegan I could appreciate this book and learned a thing or two. I've made some of the recipes and found them to be fantastic! It's a good step by step guide to having a cautious pregnancy and really thinking about what you are putting in your body before you act. Something I think we all need to do pregnant or not. It certainly made me think twice about shoveling some of the Halloween candy into my piehole as of late.

Overall this book may not be for everyone. If you are not already on board or know about the Skinny Bitch philosophy you might want to check it out before you buy 'Bun in the Oven'. While it is informative and funny it does require an overhaul in the lifestyle department if you are not a vegan or into a more healthy lifestyle. It dispels food and food industry myths and runs in the same vein as books like 'Fast Food Nation'. 'Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven' can be laugh out loud funny and possesses a lot of useful information. I think it makes a good accompaniment book to the slew of other baby/pregnancy books we all read when we do indeed have a 'bun in the oven.'

Fun Find- New Mom's Survival Guide

Want to reclaim your body, health, sex life and most of all sanity post-pregnancy? Who doesn't?! I'm about to have my second child and I found Dr. Jennifer Wider's book, 'The New Mom's Survival Guide' very helpful despite thinking, "Heh! Been there. Done that."

While reading this book I couldn't help but fall in love with Widner's easy-going, sometimes funny and non-preachy approach. It was like sitting down to talk with a very knowledgeable girlfriend. I couldn't put the book down even when I found that I knew some of the information from my last pregnancy. There was still something new to learn in each chapter. This comprehensive guide will satisfy you emotionally, mentally, and medically. The upbeat (but not disgustingly perky) tips, advice and facts are all there from just before delivery questions to post-partum depression and everything in between.

From Amazon-

Why can’t I lose the extra weight?
Why am I shedding like my pet golden retriever?
I’m just too tired to have sex— and it hurts. What should I do?
How can I tell the difference between the “baby blues” and a real depression?
Why am I having so many fights with my husband?

If this sounds like you or someone you know then you should definitely pick up a copy of this book! Bonus: I'm giving away a copy of this great book ($15). It makes a perfect gift for any new mother or even one who has been there, done that. Just add your survival tip in the comment section with your email address (so I can contact you) and I'll randomly choose a winner on Wednesday, October 29, 2008. Good luck!

Fun Find- Drink to Glow with Glow Mama!

It's especially important to stay hydrated when you are pregnant and never more so than in these hot summer months. If you are like me you might also be tired of the whole water, lemonade thing summer brings and are jonesing for something new. I was and was so glad when Glow Mama sent me some samples to try of their refreshing kiwi-flavored drink. I know. I know. You are thinking, kiwi?! But, it's so light and such a nice alternative that even if you don't love the taste or idea of kiwi you probably will still love Glow Mama.

I tested it out for a few days and was pleasantly surprised. Served cold this lightly flavored drink tastes almost like a fusion or tea drink. It goes down real easy and is full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and the all important fiber. It has no caffeine, preservatives or other nasty things we pregos need to stay away from and still manages to tastes great while hydrating you.

When I looked on the website for ordering information I was happy to find out that Glow Mama is packaged in an Eco-friendly way as well. The website also contains many recipes for mocktails that use Glow Mama which is a wonderful idea for everyday imbibing, for parties and baby showers. I can't wait to try the Pina Co-Labor.

For purchasing information visit the website here and here. Glow Mama is also endorsed by the American Pregnancy Association.

Basq- Pregnancy Skincare

The bigger I get with this second pregnancy the more worried I am about stretch marks and moisturizing my skin. I put on some sort of moisturizer at least twice a day to relieve not just the itchy and scratchy feeling, but to alleviate my worries about stretch marks. So far so good. Let's knock on a whole lumber yard of wood, shall we? Recently, Basq, makers of the high-quality pregnancy skincare line, sent me some samples to try.

First, things first. The company, created by two women, has created products that are not just relaxing to use but also to look at. They are safe too. I loved the fact that the aromatherapy line is very gentle and has a pregnant woman at its heart, because sometimes that treatment is actually not all that good for those of us with swollen bellies. Also, the line is not actually just for pregnant women. It's for ALL women. I love that most of all. So how did the products perform?


Made from all-natural oils to tone and moisturize your tired skin, the Resilient Body oil ($38-4.3 oz) with almond oil, Vitamin E, hazelnut, grapeseed and rosehip soothes your skin on contact. I wished for more than the tiny vial I was sent when I reviewed this stuff. It absorbed quickly and didn't leave any oily or greasy residue behind. There was nothing to stain my clothes or stick to them and yet my skin felt mercifully calm and soft all day long. I didn't feel the need to apply any nighttime lotion or more oil before bed either.


Next, I tried the Citrus Sugar Body Polish ($20) scented by exotic Neroli and Sweet Orange. Yummm... Just divine in scent and the texture is nice too. The essential oils, natural sugar and shea butter all melt into your skin while exfoliating. I would love to say how this product really worked exfoliating my skin, step number one in moisturizing properly, however the sample I received was far too small to even test it out. Samples for body anything, let alone scrub should never be sent in quarter or nickle-sized containers. You simply cannot get a good read on the product and while it smells nice and the finger dab test I did worked well on the back of one hand it isn't enough to say how it works over the long haul or on your body. That was very disappointing.

Overall, I think Basq Skincare is really on to something. The products work well and smell wonderful. Who wouldn't want to use them? Even the packaging is restful. The gift sets are great and at fairly reasonable prices too. I would certainly spread the joy of these products to my pregnant and non-pregnant friends alike. To find Basq products visit their website and purchase online or visit here.

PBN- Body, Soul, and Baby by Tracy W. Gaudet, M.D.

Dialoguing and Dreamagery. These two words make me cringe. The beginning of the book, ‘Body, Soul, and Baby’, by Tracy W. Gaudet, M.D. asks women to turn their attention inward and focus on their souls asking it questions relating to their pregnancies. It was all a bit much for this literal soul. I thought back to my pregnancy and how I viewed it and what was going through my mind at that time. It was then that I realized I actually did some dialoguing and dreamagery daily. I just didn’t have a name for it. I guess I am a bit more in touch with my soul and body than I thought.

As I continued to read this incredibly comprehensive guide to pregnancy it really brought me back to all those books I pored over while I myself was pregnant. I began to seriously dialogue with myself regarding my thoughts on having another child. “Was I really ready?” “ What was stopping me from taking the plunge a second time?” By using the reflection and observation exercises (Quick Pic or Body Scan) in the preconception chapter I figured it out. My soul is a bit more at rest now as is my brain. I know my reasons and found that once I had them organized I could convey them easily to my spouse, who is ready for another child.



‘Body, Soul, and Baby’ is like a journey, like pregnancy itself. Gaudet presents all the options for you in detail explaining them in a non-judgmental voice that is refreshing. There is no definitively right and wrong way to become pregnant, go through pregnancy and give birth. The book begs you to ask yourself the questions, “What is the best way for me to go through this process?” “Am I doing what I need to do to be healthy and prepare my body for possible pregnancy?” “What are ALL my options in this process?” and “What sort of medical treatment and birth do I want?” Each of the seven sections is broken down into categories such as ‘Reflection and Observation’, ‘The inside Scoop’, ‘Medical Care’, and ‘Self-Care’. Having the book layed out like this, sets it apart from so many other guides to pregnancy. I particularly appreciated Guadet’s approach using CAM, the integration of complementary and alternative medical practices. Many books typically go one way or the other.

‘Body, Soul, and Baby’ at first freaked me out. I wanted to run for the hills with its touchy feely approach. Once I realized that in my own way I actually do these things and accepted it, I found this book to be a terrific resource. It’s perfect for anyone who is thinking about getting pregnant, wants to be pregnant and IS pregnant. I learned so much about how I view motherhood and pregnancy as well as lots of information regarding the medical, nutrition, and preconception side of it. ‘Body, Soul, and Baby’ is all about frame of not just a person’s mind, but the journey of life and the questions we ask ourselves in the process.

I will definitely recommend this book to other women and friends for it’s truly an interesting read and impeccable resource. I will use it again whenever it is that my body and soul are ready to have another child. ‘Body, Soul and Baby’ by Tracy Gaudet, MD is an excellent way to ignite a stronger bond with your own body and soul and your baby.

Find the book!

Fun Finds Friday!

You've got your flavored water, your plain water, and your chocked full o' vitamin water, but water for a pregnant woman? Have you tried that one? Saphia Water is just that.

Water plays an essential part in a pregnancy. The two founders, Gretchen Cook-Anderson and Angela M. Patterson MD, both mothers themselves, know that a healthy pregnancy needs a lot of nutrients and hydration to be successful. While it's not a replacement for those sometimes incredibly large and awful tasting pre-natal vitamins, Saphia Water is a great way to get that extra boost in your day, take some time for you and that incubating baby or unwind. The three wonderful flavors, BlissfulBerry, LovinglyLemon, and PacifinglyPeach are sure to quench your thirst no matter what you might be craving that day. It's even great for nursing moms! Let's face it, anything goes down easily when it tastes better. So drink up Mama and ENJOY!

Saphia Water can be purchased online, in stores such as Babies R Us and Motherhood Maternity.