~ A Blogtastic Extravaganza 2.0~ It's Here!

August 17th, 2011
12:01am

Hello Everyone! Welcome to Knocked Up and Nursing. To read a little about me and this blog click here. Wow, has this summer gone by quickly or what?! A Blogtastic Extravaganza 2.0 is here and I have 2 great prize packages for you to enter to win. To enter the Miniature Scientist user the Rafflecopter. To enter the Budding Scientist comment on this post with your entries (read the rules below). My theme is "The Miniature Scientist" as children are naturally curious. f you have nay questions, please email me at knockedupandnursing@gmail.com


The Miniature Scientist (Ages 6 months+):
This prize package will include:

• A Solids Starter Kit from Mumi &Bubi
• 2 Pairs of soft soled infant shoes from My Baby & Co.
  
• 2 Wooden Teethers from Mandy and Randy
• Wooden teether from Indie Bambino
• Lil Racer Car from The Wood Lot 

Scroll down to enter the Budding Scientist giveaway.

The Budding Scientist (Ages 2-6 years):
This prize package will include:

• Wooden Tea Cup Set from The Wood Lot
• Mini List Taker and Matching Key chain (for mama) from Bits n' Pieces, etc.
• Crayon Wallet with Shaped Crayons from Posh Paper Creations
• Nature Bingo set Wooden Moose

To enter the Budding Scientist giveaway:

• Mandatory: Comment on THIS blog post telling me you have become a follower of Knocked Up and Nursing via GFC
• Optional: Follow me on Twitter 
• Optional: Follow Me on Facebook
• Optional: Tweet about this giveaway. You can use: "Win a prize package w/ Wooden Toys from preschoolers @knockedupnursin  http://knockedupandnursing.blogspot.com/"
• Optional: Share this giveaway on Facebook. Leave me a link.

Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hrs to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Must be 18 year old to enter. Open to US and Canadian residents only. Subject to changes. Sponsor responsible for fulfillment.


Please visit all the participants of A Blogtastic Extravaganza 2.0

Loveable Labels Review and Giveaway

August 18th, 2011
11:00am

When Lovable Labels contacted me about doing a review, I was so excited. I feel like I'm always misplacing stuff and labeling it is a great way to make sure it gets back to me! I get out of the house a lot (I'm not going to let three kiddos slow me down), but, I'll admit, when I do go out it is a bit hectic. I have to make sure James isn't jumping off a store display and that Sally isn't off exploring. Luckily, Charlotte is in the sling, giving me my hands. When I get all three children in the same place, I tend to take off, sometimes leaving things behind (at least I've never left my kiddos).


Lovable Labels is a mom-run business based in Canada that Laura started in 2003. When Lauren's daughter started daycare, Lauren was told to label everything that she brought in for her daughter; shoes, cups, clothing, backpacks. Laura did her research and created a huge line of labels that include regular (microwave and dishwasher safe), slimline (microwave and dishwasher safe), shoe, iron-on (washer and dryer safe) labels and bag tags. These labels are bright, fun and will last through what kids can put them through!


The Press and Stick Clothing Dots are great a great way to make sure that clothing returns to its rightful owners. I put some on my maternity clothes. I always seem to have a few friends who are pregnant and keeping my maternity clothes in a box just seems wasteful. I put the Press and Stick Dots on the tags of the clothing and when my friends are done borrowing my maternity clothes, I'll get them back. This way there won't be any questions of "Is this one yours?".

The Slimline labels are great for waterbottles and sippy cups. These are usually the items I leave behind. I'm the lady who carries a water bottle with her where ever she goes but sometimes my absentmindedness rears its ugly head.


Have a child with allergies or a medical condition? Lovable Labels has you covered! They have labels for food allergies and medical to alert childcare providers or teachers about your child and his or her needs. Lovable Labels also has medical and vital wristbands for your child to wear. These are a great way for medical professionals to access your child's information should an emergency arise. There is enough space on the card inserts to write your child's medical condition, medication they may be taking, two emergency contacts and any other information you may find helpful.

Lovable Labels has something for everybody! They have a great line of organizational labels. These include labels for crafts, the pantry and household files. I love the garbage bin labels. These make finding your garbage bin a little easier. This past spring, we had a huge wind storm in Texas. When the garbage bins were out, they blew all over the street! This would have been handy to have. They also have stationary! The "Connect With Me" cards are a brilliant idea. The Connect With Me cards are similar to business cards. They are great for handing out to new friends, arranging play dates, and giving your children to keep your contact info on hand.

Garbage Bin Labels

Connect with Me cards are perfect for notifying people of a new address.

Why choose Lovable Labels? Because children loose things. Even I loose things! When children go to camp, school, childcare, dance class etc., (or when you go to work) they might misplace their belongings. With durable, affordable and unique designs lovable labels has you covered.

Overall Opinion: I was sent the "Back to School" pack to review. I chose the Polka Dot Me pack. The Back to School pack contains: 

•15 Regular Sticker Labels
•80 Slimline Sticker Labels
•48 Press n'Stick Clothing dots
•12 Shoe Labels
•2 Mini-Metal Tags (two 20mm double S rings included)
•12 Square Labels

The colors are pretty spot on from the website. The printing is high quality and the labels stay put! The different sizes are great for labeling everything that you'll need for back to school or daycare (or for sticker crazy kids). The mini metal tags are perfect for hanging on your diaper bag.

Lovable Labels are a great way to ensure that lost things will come back to you. I would like if they had a place to put your phone number on the labels, though.

The Giveaway:

Lovable Labels has generously supplied us with a pack of "Back To School Pack" for one lucky winner!  Thanks, Lovable Labels! Enter on the rafflecopter form below.

Green Bottoms Review and Giveaway

 August 17th, 2011

 4:00pm

Green Bottoms is an Etsy shop run by Dina. After making all of the diapers for her twin boys, Dina became very comfortable with experimenting with diaper patterns. The end result is a well thought out product for you and your baby! Green Bottoms shop has All in Twos (AI2s), Fitteds,  and pocket diapers along with diaper covers. If you want to be brave, she even has supplies to make your own diapers. Take a look at some of the cute fabrics she has.

Love the girly print on this diaper cover.

Berry Vines Fitted Diaper

Fitted Diaper

The Review:

I got the chance to review a Green Bottoms pocket diaper in a lovely purple flower print. The print is really striking. I like to show off my baby's diaper and try to pair them with shirts that match. The pattern and colors in this print offer so many color combination opportunities. Dina includes a hidden layer of PUL (polyurethane laminate) under her cotton outer prints. This Green Bottoms Diaper is a sized, pocket diaper with two rows of snaps. There are four snaps on each side of the diaper to acheive the best fit for baby. The wings has three snaps each, two for the waist and one for the thighs. This is helpful for babies who have larger or smaller thighs than tummies.The pocket is in the front of the diaper for easy access and washing. The front of the diaper has a slight dip in it to fit nicely on the tummy; similar to a low rise fit. Dina has chosen color coordinated snaps with perfectly matched thread color!


Ease of Use: Six snaps will have this diaper on your baby. The thigh snaps make it easy to avoid leaks if you have a baby with skinny legs or chunky thighs! The front stuffing pocket is wide and accomidates for larger hands.

Fit: I was sent the pocket diaper without an insert. It was nice to be able to adjust the absorbency. Obviously, the more inserts you add, the fluffier baby's bottom will be. I mainly used this diaper with an extra GoGreen Pocket Diaper microfiber 3 layer insert. It was nice and trim. The hip snaps were a great addition to this diaper. It was great to have for my chunky thighed babe. The medium size we were sent fit great! It fits babies 15-30lbs.


Performance: We did experience some wicking with this diaper. The times that we did it was overnight. To be truthful, I really think that I needed to add more absorbency to the diaper for night time use. Consequently I used this diaper mostly during the daytime. Remember that I did not use one of Dina's inserts (although they look really great). Perhaps I wouldn't have had any issues if I were using one of her insets. This diaper was great for us for day time and it was one of the first diapers I grabbed after diaper laundry.

Care: I washed this diaper with my normal wash routine (cold rinse, hot wash, cold wash) and it did great! There were some sticky poo messes (Charlotte was just beginning solids) and there are no stains on the microfiber. That's the one thing I really like about microfiber, the stain resistance. I would reccommend drying on medium. There was more wicking if I line dried the diaper.

Materials: Cotton outer, microfiber inner, hidden layer of PUL.

Cost: $13 for the medium pocket diaper. Diapers in the Green Bottoms shop run from $10- $30.

Overall Opinion: This was a great day time diaper for us. The fit was wonderful and provided full coverage, even on my high rise baby. The ability to adjust the thigh seperate from the waist was a big plus for us. Green Bottoms diapers are a great, inexpensive way to expand your cloth diaper stash!


Not into sized diapers? Dina also offers a one size option. See her Facebook page for more details.

The Giveaway:

Dina is offering one reader a custom cloth diaper (choice of fabric and size).

Bits n Pieces Review *** A Blogtastic Extravaganza 2.0

August 13th, 2011
11:25pm

A Blogtastic Extravaganza 2.0 is right around the corner! Not too long before the big event. I'd like to introduce you to one of my great sponsors, Bits n' Pieces, etc. Charmaine, owner of Bits n' Pieces, etc., has great organizational solutions for anyone who is on the go. Have you ever gotten to the grocery store without your shopping list? Have you needed to make a quick note of something but had no pen or paper? I hear some of you snickering in the background thinking, "Isn't that what Smartphones are for?". Well, even though I have a Smartphone, I don't use it for those reasons. If I put it in my phone, I'll forget it's there. I'm a paper-list-taking type girl. I need to write things down to remember them. Charmaine has the perfect thing; The Mini List Taker. (See the review below for more info on the Mini List Taker).

Crayon Wallet in Groovy Guitars

Bits n Pieces, etc. also has coloring wallets for kids. These, along with all the other items in the shop, come in an array of bright, vivid fabrics, designer fabrics. Coloring wallets are a great way to give children the freedom to draw whenever, and where ever they want to. The wallets come with slots for crayons and a pad of paper. These are great to keep in your purse for doctors visits, long car rides, plane trips, anywhere little idle hands need to be kept busy!

The Review:

Charmaine sent me a Mini List Taker in Black Ironwork Swirls by Michael Miller and a matching key chain for review. The Mini List Taker measures 9" x 6" when opened, and 4 1/2" x 6" when closed. There is a button attached to the front of the organizer and an elastic loop that goes over the button for a secured closure. There are two pockets of equal size on the inside; one for a 3x5" pad of paper and one for coupons, gift cards, shopping lists and other things that you need to keep in one place. The pocket is a great way of keeping track of receipts. The organizer even has a pocket for a mini pen or pencil. Charmaine sent me a mechanical pencil that looks like a regular pencil. I love it! I've kept this little organizer in my purse and, believe me, it has come in handy! There have been a few time where I've been out with the kids and had to wait in long lines. They were able to draw a few pictures and play with the list taker while we were waiting. While talking with a friend about books suggestions, she blurted out about 5 titles. Knowing I would never remember them, I took out my list taker and jotted down the titles. Perfect! Life with kids can be disorganized and slightly chaotic. At least I know where to find my notes!

The key chain came at a perfect time. My key chain that I had for years recently broke and I was waiting for the right one to come along. The key chains made by Charmaine are so sturdy, I'm confident it will be here for the long run. There is a trigger clasp at one end and a regular key ring on the other. Its the perfect size at ____ long. This key chain makes it so much easier to find my keys at the bottom of my diaper bag!


Check out some of the great items over at Bits n Pieces, etc.

Connect with Charmaine and Bits n Pieces, etc.:

Facebook
Etsy

Stay tuned for A Blogtastic Extravaganza 2.0 where Bits n Pieces, etc. will have a Mini List Taker with a matching key chain!

Coupon Code:
Charmaine has offered a coupon code for all you readers out there! 20% OFF your purchase! If you don't win one, buy one!

Use code KNOCKEDUP for 20% off your purchase.

Bling My Mama Nursing Necklace Review

August 7th, 2011
9:40am


With World Breastfeeding Week just ending, I thought I'd share this nursing related review and giveaway.
Today I'm reviewing Bling My Mama nursing jewelry by Crown My Baby.

Looking into the eyes of your nursling is indescribable. The touch of soft, graspy fingers on your chest and the warm, wiggly body in your arms is something to treasure. Over time, the graspy fingers can become claws though and that's when its time for nursing jewelry. Nursing jewelry, or teething jewelry as it is sometimes called, is a great accessory for any mother to have. It gives baby something to play with while they are getting a meal or being held. They are especially great for babies who are in slings or carriers often.

There are many nursing necklaces out there but most are made from some sort of plastic. I'm the type of person who prefers my baby not play, eat and teethe on plastics. Bling My Mama uses natural stones for her pendants and they are hung from a leather cord. I've never seen such unique shapes in mama bling before! Each piece will be a little bit different because of the handpicked stones. No one will have one just like yours!

The Review:

I have to admit, I'm a little behind on reviews. We've been testing this out for quite sometime now and I love it! Charlotte was just starting to get grabby and wiggly when nursing when this piece came in the mail. I chose the Orange agate necklace. The pendant is 2.5" long and 2" at its widest. It hangs low on my chest, just about at arms reach for a nursling. Charlotte enjoyed having something to play with while nursing and I loved not having baby claws in my skin!

We try to get out of the house as much as we can (I'm one of those people who needs to get out almost everyday or at least be outside). This means Charlotte is in the sling a lot when we're out. Wearing the necklace gives her something to do when she gets bored looking around. She can put the cool stone in her mouth and teethe on it. The coolness of the stone feels soothing on her gums. (*** Bling My Mama necklaces are not intended to be used as teething toys and should never be left unattended with a child***)

These necklaces are stylish, fun and very unique. If you are looking for a great piece to add to your jewelry collection this is a great investment! You can wear it now and after baby is grown. My only complaint, after wearing it for some time, is that the length of the necklace is not adjustable. If I'm just wearing the necklace as a necklace and not as a wearable baby toy, it seems a little low to me. That is my preference though.

Cost: $18 to $32 depending on style and personalization.

To purchase these great necklaces from Bling My Mama email LaShawn at crownmybaby@aol.com with your choice from this page.

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