WFMW: BellaBand

Now that I’ve hit week 13, my pants are getting a bit tight.

Ok, that’s such a lie – my pants were “a bit” tight at negative-three weeks pregnant, so now it’s past the point of no return.

Thank goodness for the BellaBand!

The BellaBand is a fun little contraption that fits around your mid-section. It’s fitted and elasticky (is that a word?) and it’s great for when your pants just won’t button any more. Slide on the BellaBand and you can wear your pants unbuttoned!

The best part is that the BellaBand is helpful at every stage of pregnancy – helping out with the too-tight regular pants, holding up the too-loose maternity pants, making sure your gianormous belly doesn’t peek out under your shirt, and, in the post-partum days, once again helping out with your too-tight regular pants!

The BellaBand comes in lots of different colors. I have the black one with lace trim, and I wear it just about every day. They are for sale in many stores and tons of websites. I bought mine at Mom4Life – free shipping on all US orders – need I say more?

I’m sure this comes as no surprise, but the BellaBand was created by a mom who couldn’t button her pants either… and we all love to support the businesses of other moms, right?

I love my BellaBand – it works for me!

For other great Works for Me Wednesday ideas, check out Rocks in my Dryer.

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WFMW: SnugTuck Pillow

I’m sure this will come as a great surprise to you all, but the idea of transferring Kate from her crib to a regular bed caused me some anxiety. I liked the fact that when I put her in her crib, I knew that she was there to stay. Not to mention that at the time, we lived in a really old house that had really steep stairs (so steep, in fact, that Jenny used to make me carry Joshua down them for fear she’d trip), so the thought of her being able to get out of her bed at will seriously freaked me out.

So I just kept her in her crib… until she was about 28 months old. She looked kinda ridiculous being as big as she was in a crib, but hey, she was safe. Or at least that’s what I thought until one night as I sat at the computer in the room next to hers after having put her to bed and she appeared like some kind of ghost at my side. She could climb out of her crib. Great.

So we bought another house.

Ok, that was only part of the reason. But anyway, when we moved, we decided not to set up her crib and put her in a “big girl” bed. The spare bed we had happened to be a double, so that’s what she got.

As I said, the thought of this freaked me out (surprise), so I scoured books and the internet (surprise) for tricks and tips on making this transition easier.

The best tip I got was about the SnugTuck pillow.

This innovative product is designed to take the place of bed rails… they’re a more comfy, safer alternative. It’s basically a long, tubular pillow that has elastic attached to both ends. The pillow goes over the fitted sheet, and the elastic goes under the mattress. The pillow is firm enough not to be a suffocation hazard, and yet is great for the child to snuggle up next to. The standard one is six inches in diameter (which is what we have), so if the kid decides to crawl over top, she isn’t falling from very high. It also works great for deep or pillowtop mattresses, which I understand can be a problem for traditional bed rails.

We originally bought only one, thinking that we’d put the bed up against the wall on one side and have the SnugTuck pillow on the other side. However, the way Kate’s headboard and bed are made, this left a pretty big gap between the matress and the wall, which seemed pretty unsafe to me. I ordered another pillow and moved her bed, so now she has a SnugTuck pillow on either side of her.

We’ve used them for almost a year now, and I can see her using them for another year or more. She’s never fallen out of bed, and she doesn’t try to crawl over them to get out of bed, she just gets off at the foot of the bed instead.

The pillows come in different sizes and diameters, and you can pick from every color fabric imaginable. Kate has one in cobalt and one in lime, both of which are very fun. Organic cotton is available, as is fabric with characters like Thomas the Train and Strawberry Shortcake. I also discovered yesterday that they will make a pillow from your own fabric, so if you want the pillows to coordinate perfectly with your room, this would be a great option.

The only downside is that they are kind of expensive… however, the nice people at SnugTuck Pillow have created a coupon code just for Mommin’ It Up readers! Just put “MWS” into the coupon code section of the order form and recieve 15% off your pillow!! How cool is that?

So if you’re like me and dreading the crib-to-bed conversion, head on over to the SnugTuck Pillow website and order one (or two) up!

That works for me!

For more fun “Works for Me Wednesday” stories, take a look at Rocks in My Dryer.

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WFMW: Bows2Cute

Swiss Flowers Bows

It’s Works for Me Wednesday and I’ve been dying to do this particular post! So here goes:

My nine-month-old daughter was born with TONS of hair. I was very excited, as I just looove a little baby with hair. But about the time she got to be five or six months old, her bangs got really long, so I needed something to keep them out of her face. No WAY was I ready for her first haircut! However, I’ve never been good at doing hair; my best friend used to do mine for me on the way to school in the morning (thankfully she has three daughters to use her mad hair skillz on.)

Then I happened upon an ad for Bows2Cute and my problems were solved! I discovered Bows2Cute about a month before Emily & I started Mommin’ It Up and I’ve been planning this product review ever since. I can’t keep this to myself! Jamie, the designer and owner, makes amazing creations and sells most of her bows for only $2 (and her shipping rates are extreeeeemely reasonable)! Sophia has about ten of them (including the purple & white flower pictured above), and they stay in really well and don’t bother her at all. She acts like she doesn’t even know they’re there. Jamie has several bow types and dozens of ribbon colors to choose from. She can do simple, flouncy, or in-between, and also has fun animal and fruit styles! You can easily have a bow custom-made just to match your little girl’s birthday or holiday outfit. You’ve seen the bows she’s donated to my Big Birthday Giveaway, now check out all of her styles at her website. They make great gifts as well for any little girl you know, and they’ll stay in fine, thin, and even barely-there hair!

Thanks, Jamie, for providing a great, affordable product that I use literally every day!

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

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