Ain't No Mom Jeans

How to Pack for a Summer Post-Partum Road Trip (Or For Anyone Who Wants to Be Really, Really Comfortable While Traveling)

Reader Question:

Hello! I just had a baby 3 weeks ago. We are driving to Arizona June 30th to visit family. It will be a long road trip, with baby and my two other boys ages 6 & 8. My question is …..what do I wear?! I am severely postpartum and about a size 16/18 right now. My belly is still pretty flabby ( from my 8 year old? Haha) I want to be comfortable, but I refuse to  wear yoga pants or maternity gear! After following your site for awhile and agreeing with your style…I am hoping you can lend some advice!! I am usually very good at packing and putting together outfits, but this soon after baby has me mystified ;)
 
Shannon

Answer:

Wow, girl!!  A road trip, several weeks postpartum, with two boys and a baby!  Impressive.  Let's see if we can't figure out some insanely comfortable, yet stylish outfits for you to pack.

In-Line Double Stroller Review: Baby Jogger City Select vs. Phil&Teds Vibe

 As I may have mentioned before, I have a serious stroller affinity.  I walk a lot, more than I drive (in sunshine, rain and even knee-deep snow), and take my two wee ones, both well under three, with me everywhere I go.  So, I consider my stroller to be an alternate vehicle and it needs to function as such.  

Since reluctantly giving up my Micralite Toro early last year for a Phil&Teds Vibe ($809 with extra seat) in anticipation of our Little Lou, I’ve acquired three additional strollers to meet my various strolling needs.  These include an umbrella stroller, a higher-end umbrella stroller with recline and a Maclaren Twin Techno.  

The question is, though, why, after paying an arm and a leg for a Phil&Teds Vibe + doubles kit, the in-line stroller that’s touted as an all-around solution, did I purchase three other strollers where previously just one Micralite Toro did the job?  A good question indeed.  One my dear husband has oft asked, until he too fell for my latest and greatest stroller acquisition, the new Baby Jogger City Select ($660 with extra seat), which I now take everywhere I go. 

Mamas, it's sad but true.  Just 28 months into parenthood, I finally figured out what you may already know. When it comes to a stroller, for me at least, it’s all in the fold and that is Baby Jogger's speciality.

Found! Toddler Proof Cell Phone Cases (for iPhones, Blackberries and Others)

Raines and I visited my parents in Gulf Shores last month. The first day we spent on the beach, I made sure my cell phone was safely zippered into an inside pocket of my bag.  Upon unpacking that night, I opened up the zippered pocket to find that *someone* had carefully unzipped the pocket, filled it with sand, and then zipped it back up.

I can't imagine who.

Immediately after, the main button on my iPhone became very hard to push.  You could practically hear the grains of sand scraping against the underside of the button.  So upon our return, I took my iPhone to the Mac store.  I simply wanted them to open it up, blow out the sand, then return it in one piece. HA!

Reader Question: Cute and Comfy Shoes for a Trip to NYC?

Reader Question: Please Help! I am going to NYC for the first time for a weekend trip in three weeks. Can you recommend some cute and stylish yet comfortable (oxymoron,yes?) shoes that I can walk around in all day? Thanks!-Jen 

Answer:  NYC is a tough one as a tourist.  You want to look edgy and up-to-date, but New Yorkers walk, on average, two miles a day, and tourists probably walk more.  So, to get the absolute most out of the city, footwear choices have to be spot-on.  

Best Breastfeeding Tip EVER: Power Pumping

The past week has been rife with life lessons for me.  1.) When you plan a romantic weekend away whilst breastfeeding, make darn sure your pump is working well and that you're working well with your pump.  2.) Having not heeded lesson one, when you get home on the brink of mastitis (romantic, I know) and your milk supply is demolished, power pump.  3.) When your toddler, who has a pernicious stomach virus, mentions poop even in passing right before a bath, save the suds for later.

I think lessons one and three are pretty self-explanatory, but I have to share the best breastfeeding/pumping tip I have ever heard during my 20-month (over two babes) breastfeeding tenure.  Let me repeat: ever. 

Three days after returning from said romantic getaway (during which I lost most of my milk because I just couldn't seem to let down for the pump), I called the lactation consultant at the hospital where both my boys were born to see if there was any hope--my poor little guy was hungry and my milk seemed to be dwindling further!  With precipitously plummeting prolactin levels and on the brink of tears (Rants aside, I'm a breastfeeder.  I don't ween until my kids can talk and walk.  Period.), I nodded through all the advice--pump after every feeding, fenugreek supplements, etc., and then she hit on a tidbit so priceless I can't even believe I'd never heard about it before: power pumping.

It's difficult and super time consuming to essentially double your nursing time by pumping after every feeding, particularly if you have an active or sick toddler on your hands in addition to an infant, so when the lc told me about power pumping, I saw light at the end of tunnel and got straight to work.  She told me to pump for ten minutes, rest for ten minutes, on and off, for a total of one hour (of course I did two), to simulate a growth spurt.  The best part: you can do it whenever you have time, so I was able to rebuild my milk supply after my guys were already in bed for the night. 

I power pumped and took fenugreek three nights in a row and saw a huge increase in my milk that I hadn't seen with the fenugreek + sporadic pumping regimen I'd been futilely practicing for most of the week. For three days,Little Lou had been taking full 8 oz bottles at bedtime after 20 frustrating minutes of succor-less suckling.  After the first power pumping session, he nursed for 20 minutes and took 4 ounces.  The second night, he nursed for 20 minutes again and took a 2 ounce top up.  The third night, he nursed 20 minutes and fell fast asleep, milk drunk.

Power pumping would not only be great for re-gaining a lost milk supply, but would also be a stellar way to stockpile milk if you're going back to a paid job or on a trip away from the kiddos.

Power to the pump, mamas!  Let it set you free. (And thanks much to the fab lc at St. Joes!)

- M

 

A Gift Guide To Help Guys Who Google "wife christmas"

My husband is trying to find me a present.  I know this because he submitted a question to "Ask Ain't No Mom Jeans".  I think he thought it would be anonymous somehow.  In any case, he was getting desperate.  His highly creative Google search of "wife christmas" yielded (in addition to a link to the 1988 Julie Harris movie, "The Christmas Wife")  ideas like, "pictures of kids" or "bouquet of flowers".  Barf.

But I was surprised at his concern.  I am usually pretty predictable, gift-wise.  I love all things shiny or sparkly or wrapped in a tiffany blue box with a white bow.  I mean, really - any item off of M's holiday accessories post, or even our Perfect Winter Party Shoes, and I'd be delighted.  Home run.

But this year, Mike detected something different.  Or perhaps he noticed that I already went on a small shopping bender, coming home with fun holiday party items. <<giggle>>  In any case, he was questioning his usual methods.  Which made me think:  What do moms really want for Christmas this year?

I'm not sure if it's the sad state of the economy, or if Raines' turning two (and acting like it), or my husband's crazy schedule (work + school), but life has felt a bit hard lately.   I find myself already looking to the new year and wanting to do things differently.  Simpler, somehow.  I want to spend more time with family, but at a slower pace.  Think long walks with self-brewed coffee instead of crazy running from place to place and hitting Starbucks drive-thrus.

I don't think I'm alone.  So this year, my Christmas picks reflect this need to slow down, to simplify. 

...And to wear something pretty everyday.  Because some things never change. 

Gifts To Help Get Us Out Of The House

It's one thing to get out with the kiddos when the sun is shining and shoes are optional.  It's a WHOLE DIFFERENT BALLGAME when it's freezing, and your two year old not only doesn't want to wear shoes, but throws a screaming fit over long-sleeve anything.  Not to mention that once you've stuffed the little screamer into his snowsuit and are now hauling him football-like down the stairs, you yourself drenched in sweat....by the time you get outside (and cooled off), you realize that the hat your grabbed for yourself is the one with the moth holes, and that you are missing a glove.  Not that this has happened to me (cough),  I'm just sayin.  In addition, over the last two years, my diaper bag has mysteriously gotten heavier.  It's the same bag.  With the same stuff.  It just bugs me more.

So here are a few items are help ease this process.  Nothing but time will cure the kiddo's long-sleeve phobia, but here are a few goodies that inject a little bliss into the "we're having fun, dammit!!" process.

   

I've been coveting the Lug Life Glider Sling Bag, currently on sale at ebags.com for $50.  This is the perfect long-walk diaper bag.  It sits close enough to your body to feel like a backpack, but is urban enough to look cool.  It comes in a wide range of colors, including ocean (pictured).

I'm also in love with J.Crew's Merino Trapper Hat, $45, and their Ribbed Merino Glittens, $24.  They are soft, warm and cute.  Cream may not be the most practical color, but it's beautiful and snow-bunny-like.  And they are just expensive enough to feel like a gift. (I think nothing of dropping $200 on jeans, but a $50 hat? Whoa!) 

Lastly, if your lady sports a ponytail even half as much as I do, try Juicy Couture's Faux-Fur Earmuffs, $55 at Neiman Marcus.  The key with earmuffs is that you want to choose a color OPPOSITE to her haircolor.  Blond?  Choose a darker earmuff.  Brunette?  Go light.  Else, they blend in too well and from a distance it will look like she has hair spurting from her ears.

Ballet Flats for Moms (Who Really Love Heels)

At five-foot-four-and-seven-eighths, and apparently lacking even one sensible bone in my body, you’d better believe that the word “flats,” pre-babes, was not even a word in my vocabulary, let alone a staple in my wardrobe.  I used to wear heels under any and all circumstances.  I flirted with the idea of wedge sneakers.  Rejecting that misbegotten notion, I settled on MBT trainers not for their benefit to my thighs, but for the added height.  I used to navigate Manhattan subways and walk several blocks to work every day in three-inch heels.  I took the subway instead of cabs in order to have more money to buy high heels.  It’s fair to say I was an addict. 

Alas, pregnancy quickly broke me of my habit.  About 6 months in, with loose joints, a quickly shifting center of gravity, swollen feet and early winter snowstorms, I realized my high heel habit was both a disservice and a danger to my unborn child.  I eased myself in with a low heeled boot essentials wardrobe:  two pairs of riding boots (one cognac, one black), and a pair of chocolate brown UGGS.  Now, two years and two babes later, I’m branching out.  Flats are fabulous, and necessary, as I learn to chase a toddler whilst baby-wearing my 2-month-old.

This season’s focus on detail, from metallic neutrals to ladylike ruffles and bows, hardware and serpentine textures, update the traditional ballet flat and provide interest, even for those of us who prefer the view from three inches up.  Here are my picks:

Bejeweled Ballet Flats
The trend in bejeweled footwear is a lovely, but expensive one.  My hands-down fav is the Oscar de la Renta Embroidered Flat in Bordeaux, but with two kiddos to save for, it would be beyond ridiculous for me to drop nearly $600 on a pair of shoes.  Next would be the Tory Burch Emily Embellished Ballet Flats in black, available for pre-order at Saks, but at nearly $300, it’s really just a lesser degree of insanity to think I might actually pay for this look when there are other viable options, like the Vince Camuto Richie Flat in Pewter - $97.95 or the Geox Donna Lola Flat in Black Patent - $129.95.  I’m also planning to keep my eyes peeled at the big box discount stores for similar finds.  Since this style is fairly flashy, I’m feeling them with simpler ensembles, like a black cardi over skinny or straight jeans—make sure they’re hemmed to show off the glitz.

Give Your Kids (and yourself) a Vacation from Their Toys – My Busy Bucket

It's three hours to takeoff.  You survey the mounds of gear and baggage surrounding . . . no, caving in around you.  You’ve packed diapers, sippy cups, favorite snacks, enough clothing for an army of toddlers, jackets, gloves and boots, the babe's lovey, her favorite blanket, a convertible car seat, the stroller, stuff to do on the airplane and a few of your personal effects, too.  You’re sure you meant to pack something really critical, but as your kiddo melts down and begs to be picked up . . . you can’t . . . quite. . . think. . . what. . . Your hubby yells from downstairs to find out what you’re doing: he’s showered, shaved, packed and ready—why aren’t you?  Oh yeah, and you’re going someplace fabulous.  Like Detroit.  In December. 

Do you really need to contend with packing (and lugging, and paying an additional checked luggage fee for) an extra duffle of toys your beloved son or daughter barely plays with anyway?  Well, no, actually, you don’t.  Two Colorado moms with child development and education backgrounds, Audrey Zardkoohi and Elizabeth Baumgarten, came up with the idea of My Busy Bucket, a toy rental company that ships boxes of high quality toys for kids ages 0-6 anywhere in the contiguous United States (except APO/FPO and P.O. boxes). 

Each Busy Bucket follows a theme (bugs, cooking, music, alphabet and counting, etc.), includes age-appropriate books, puzzles, activities and other toys worth at least $200.00 and arrives at your vacation destination via FedEx (monthly and bi-monthly plans are available, too).  All the toys arrive clean (sanitized with a non-toxic disinfectant) and ready to play with.  For $55.00, including shipping both ways, you and your kids have fun playing for up to three weeks, pop them back in the box and drop them off at a FedEx location on your way home (or pay an extra $5.00 to have the box picked up). 

Genius.    

M.

Airplane Travel Made Easy - Ditch the Carseat for a CARES Harness

bump.  "Excuse me! Oops - so sorry! Oh my gosh - Raines, no kick!  So sorry about that!"

bump bump.  "Excuse me! Oops - so sorry! Yes, it IS hard to fit through."

bump.  "Was that your toe?  I'm so sorry!"

bump bump bump. "Oh!  I'm sorry.  Oops! Yes, I do have a laptop in this bag."

bump.  SIGH. 

Raines was in the Ergo, my diaper bag weighed about 50 lbs (it was stuffed full of dipaers, wipes, clothes, a laptop and various toys/dvds/non-messy art supplies), and I was attempting to wheel the car seat to the very BACK of the airplane, where the stewardess had so very helpfully assigned us two seats.  THANK YOU, UNITED.  And it turns out that while our car seat DOES indeed fit down the aisle of the plane, it only fits by INCHES.  THANK YOU BRITAX.  Or maybe, THANK YOU BOEING.  Not really sure who to blame for this one.  But one thing was clear:  never again would I bring a car seat on-board an airplane.

 Once at our destination, I ordered a CARES harness (pictured at left) and used it on the return trip home, as well as all on all of our subsequent trips.  Instead of wrestling the ridiculously heavy car seat down the aisle, the CARES harness weighs roughly 1 lb, and fits into a 6" stuff sack.  It's completely easy to install on the plane and Raines has spent many a flight snoozing in his harness. 

The only two downsides are that the harness isn't as comfy as his car seat, so we've tried to induce him to sleep by flying during naptimes or at 6AM.  Also, CARES is only for kiddos who are over a year old.  

This product is officially approved by the FAA as a car seat replacement on an airplane. It retails for $75.

So now, travel is easy.  I check the car seat with my luggage (virtually all airlines check it for free), throw the little man in the Ergo, and off we go!  Now the only thing I end up apologizing for is my singing.

ps.  To the dude in 16C on Frontier Flight 652 last week, I am especially sorry for the many, many, MANY renditions of the hokey-pokey you had to endure.  But trust me - it was still better than the alternative.

xo,

S