Momzelle Nursing Top Review & Giveaway

Back when I was pregnant, Blacktating sponsor and all-around wonderful company Momzelle sent me a cute nursing top to review on the blog. This was my first ever piece of nursing clothing, if you can believe it. With Miles I was totally clueless and bought a couple decent nursing bras and just nursed from the top of my shirt whenever I needed to. By the time I realized there was even such a thing as nursing tops and dresses, I was a pro at nursing in public and didn't think I needed any special clothing.

Now of course, this is still true. You really DON'T need to buy special clothing in order to breastfeed in public. But damn if it doesn't make it so much easier! Since getting a few nursing tanks and tops, I don't know how I ever did without them. They just make everything so much easier and convenient and lots of brands like Momzelle make stuff that's so cute you can wear it while pregnant and after your nursing days are long over (yes, I rocked my Momzelle top while pregnant. It was so comfy and stretchy and *still* looks good, 7 months later).

Momzelle sent me their v-neck t-shirt in Dahlia, a beautiful plum.

I'm short so this length was perfect for me, but if you're a tall girl they do come in Xtra long. See how flattering this top is in the tummy area? (And bless you, Momzelle, for using a model who actually looks like she gave birth and is indeed breastfeeding). I am a US size  14 and got a size Large which was perfect for me (and like I said, I wore it throughout my pregnancy as well and only at the very end did the nursing openings begin to show because of my big belly and I had to put it back in the drawer). When I am nursing in my Momzelle top I feel completely covered and find access to the breast is easy with the generous nursing openings.

Momzelle also makes tanks, long-sleeve tops, dresses, nightgowns and bands that can be used to cover up your tummy under any regular shirt to make nursing a breeze. Besides their great products, you can feel good about buying from Momzelle because they really do care about breastfeeding mothers. Christine, the mom behind the brand, regularly donates to support breastfeeding causes, including giving nursing tops to low income teen moms.

Want to treat yourself to something from the Momzelle store? Momzelle is offering one Blacktating reader a $25 gift card to the store. This giveaway is open to all and everyone can take $5 off any Momzelle order with coupon code BLACKTATING.


Please use the Rafflecopter widget to enter and leave your comments below!

The Children's Place Holiday Collection & Giveaway

It's no secret how much I love shopping at The Children's Place. They produce quality clothing for kids that is cute and stylish and, best of all, really lasts. I have been lucky enough to get invited to shop their new collections every season, and a few weeks ago I headed to one of their stores in Miami to check out the holiday duds.

Now, as you may recall, I went two weeks past my due date and in the final days before I went into labor, I spent a lot of time walking in the mall. I ducked into The Children's Place and fell in love with the little girl holiday party dresses. I wished I had a bigger girl to shop for because not only were the dresses beautiful but reasonably priced (they have been killing it with the sales lately!)

I finally got to take my time and look through all of the new fashions during their media shopping event. It was my first outing after Aminah was born and as I was only two weeks postpartum I had my husband tag along. It was definitely a bit tricky getting out of the house with such a tiny baby. We ended up having to stop twice during the long ride to Miami so I could nurse her and change her diaper. She fell asleep right as we arrived so I was able to concentrate on the shopping at hand!

I ended up picking out matching outfits for Miles and Aminah to wear to services at the holidays. Although I loved the "Fur, fun and fabulous" collection

and the florals

I decided to dress the kids in perfect plaids.

                                          

The entire holiday collection is so cute and fun, and filled with lots of sparkly shoes, leggings and headbands for the girls. The boys collection has classic pieces like blazers, vests, plaid shirts and striped sweaters. You can't go wrong at The Children's Place, whether you're shopping for your own kids or picking up gifts.

The Children's Place was nice enough to offer a $25 gift card to a Blacktating reader. Enter the giveaway below with Rafflecopter. If you're new to Rafflecopter, watch a video here on how to use it to enter giveaways.

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Miki House Clothing (and a giveaway!)

Head over to my review page to enter to win a $20 gift card to Bloomingdale's and learn more about Japanese children's clothing line Miki House.

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Mother's Day Giveaway!

Are you looking for a new scent? I have a bottle of Escada's latest perfume, Marine Groove, to give away, just in time for Mother's Day! Head over to my review blog for the details on how to enter.

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Simplisse Breast Pump Review & Giveaway

I've got a fabulous giveaway for a Simplisse manual breast pump and breastfeeding accessories over at Blacktating Reviews. The total prize is worth over $100! Go enter now. 


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See's Candies Giveaway

I have a sweet giveaway, just in time for Valentine's Day over on Blacktating Reviews: a two-pound box of See's Candies chocolates. Enter now, the contest ends on Friday!




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Baby Star Nursing Blanket Review & Giveaway

I've got a review and giveaway for the Baby Star Nursing Blanket over at Blacktating Reviews. Enter by Friday, December 11th for your chance to win!




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Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

I have a review and giveaway of a copy of the new book Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? by Claire Mysko and Magali Amadei up at Blacktating Reviews. Claire, a beauty activist, and Magali, a former model and ED sufferer, interviewed over 400 women and men about the effects of pregnancy and motherhood on a woman's body and self-esteem. The book aims to show:

- How you can learn to trust your changing body, appreciate it, and yes…even work it!
- Why you should be wary of the Hollywood "bump watch" and post-baby weight loss stories– and how to take the focus off the scale
- How to deal with your raging hormones—in the bedroom and beyond
- How to recognize when your body issues get extreme—and how to get help



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$100 Yummie Tummie Giveaway!

My review of Yummie Tummie Shapewear is up at Blacktating Reviews and I've got a $100 gift card to give away to one lucky reader. Go enter now!

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$25 Gift card to Tiny Prints

Head over to Blacktating Reviews to enter to win a $25 gift card to Tiny Prints!


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Giveaway: Baby's Bliss Nipple Cream for Mommies

**CLOSED**
I was recently contacted by Mom Enterprises to review & giveaway their new nipple cream, Baby's Bliss Nipple Cream for Mommies. The name of the product sounded very familiar to me, so I did some Googling and realized I had blogged about this company before. In June 2008, the FDA recalled the company's Mommy's Bliss nipple cream due to precautionary concerns over two of the ingredients, phenoxyethanol and chlorophenesin. A lot of moms were disappointed to hear about the recall because the nipple cream was one of the few that was free of lanolin, which causes an allergic reaction in a small percentage of the population.

For those of you who were fans of the old formula, I'm pleased to let you know that Mom Enterprises went back to the drawing board and created a new product, Baby's Bliss Nipple Cream for Mommies.

The new product is an entirely new nipple cream that is all food grade, petroleum and paraben free and has received the Whole Foods Premium Body Care approval. Although I am way past the days of nipple soreness, I remember the cream I used was very greasy. This nipple cream is not at all greasy, and contains soothing ingredients like shea butter and avocado, which make it thick and rich and creamy.

The nipple cream is available for purchase online for $12 and can also be found at your local drug store or health & wellness store.

The company is very excited about this new product and has offered a tube of the cream to one Blacktating reader. Bonus? The packaging contains a coupon for $1 off your next tube. Want to win? Just leave me a comment telling me who's going to get the nipple cream if you win!

Contest opened to residents of the US & Canada only, please. Contest will run until midnight EST on Wednesday, September 16th. Winner will be selected via Random.org and notified via email & on this post. Winner will have 48 hours to respond, at which point another winner will be selected.

Congratulations to ZealandsMom! Please check your email and send me your address so I can get your gift out to you ASAP.

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Blogiversary Winners & Discount Codes!

Thank you to everyone who entered my huge giveaway to help me celebrate my Blogiversary! Thanks also to my sponsors for the wonderful gifts! Here are the winners for the fabulous prizes.


WHOZAT won The Complete Book of Breastfeeding

Talina won 25 Things Every Nursing Mother Needs to Know

Sweeps Mommy won The MilkBank breast milk storage system by Dex Baby

Mama Seoul won the $50 Gift Certificate to One Hot Mama

Xenia won The Wonders of Mother's Milk

Execumama won The Black Woman's Guide to Breastfeeding

Paula H won the 2-pack of organic velour diapers from sloom

Congratulations, everyone! Look out for an email from me with further instructions.

And because my sponsors are so generous and wonderful, they want to offer some special discounts to my readers. Mishawn Purnell-O'Neal is offering FREE shipping & handling on any purchase of The Wonders of Mother's Milk. Simply email your order to mishawnpurnell@msn.com and you'll receive the book for $14.99. Buying the book directly from Mishawn allows you to support a mom who is a lactation consultant working hard to increase breastfeeding rates in the black community.

Roxanne from One Hot Mama has also offered a discount code for my readers. Receive 10% off ANY order at Onehotmama.com by entering "blogmom " in the box that says customer code during check out.

You can also get 10% off any order at sustainablebabyish/sloomb with coupon code BLACKTATING.

Pass along these discount offers to as many friends & family as you'd like!


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Do You Know What Today Is? It's My Blogiversary!

*CLOSED*

Happy Birthday, Blacktating! My blog is now 1 year old! I started this blog a year ago, never thinking anyone besides me and a few friends would ever even read it, and now I am totally part of a wonderful community of breastfeeding moms online. Smart, wonderful moms who I respect read my little ol' blog and it's a wonderful feeling. I couldn't let today pass without doing something big!

OK, actually my blog's birthday was on April 28th, but I've been working for the last few weeks to put together a great blogiversary party and giveaway for you guys, so I'm running a little late (you know black folks, always on "CP time"!)

Anyway, I am thrilled to offer you the following fantastic prizes from some amazing sponsors!

- The Black Woman's Guide to Breastfeeding, the only breastfeeding book written specifically for African-American women, by Kathi Barber.

-A 2-Pack of Organic Velour Flat diapers and pins courtesy of sustainablebabyishSloomb. Bamboo velour is ridiculously soft...perfect for baby's skin!

-A $50 gift certificate to One Hot Mama. You can get yourself a nursing tank, bra, Mama Spanx, maternity gear...the options are endless! One Hot Mama has stylish options for every mom or mama-to-be.

-A MilkBank breast milk storage system. I reviewed this product and thought it was great. And don't tell anyone, but sometimes I still let my son have his milk in a MilkBank bottle.

-A copy of the 3rd edition of The Complete Book of Breastfeeding by Sally Wendkos Olds, a classic breastfeeding book.

-The Wonders of Mother's Milk, a gorgeous hardcover multicultural children's book about breastfeeding, by Mishawn Purnell O'Neal.

- 25 Things Every Nursing Mother Needs to Know. A compact, beautifully illustrated breastfeeding book. A perfect shower gift!

As you can see, there will be seven winners! To enter, leave me a comment telling me which prize(s) you’d like to win and why. I can't guarantee you'll get your first choice, but I'll try to accommodate as many of you as I can.

To get extra entries, do any of the following:

- follow my blog (see Google Friend Connect widget on sidebar, where it says "Boobaholics")
- Tweet the giveaway, and post the tweet URL (to do this, right click below your tweet on “5 seconds ago” or whatever the time is, and copy that url)
- blog about this giveaway (please add post URL)
- become a fan of the Blacktating Blog on Facebook

Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry. 5 entries possible per person! The giveaway will end on Wednesday, June 3 at 11:59 PM and the winners will be notified via email and posted here. US ADDRESSES ONLY PLEASE. Good luck and thanks for rockin with me the past year!

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Breast pump giveaway

The last giveaway from Breast Pumps Direct and Breastfeeding 1-2-3 was so popular, they are running the contest again! One more lucky prize winner will receive a Phillips Avent Isis On The Go Set (pictured above), BornFree BPA Free 5-oz. Glass Bottles Triple Pack, BornFree BPA Free 9-oz. Plastic Wide Neck Bottle Twin Pack, Philips Avent Nursing Reminder Bracelet, and Lily Padz Nursing

To enter, see this post on Breastfeeding 1-2-3. Good luck!

Breast milk pendant giveaway

Remember those French artists who created breast milk jewelry? Think they were the inspiration behind this mom's etsy store, where she sells breast milk pendants? I think this is such a clever idea and a sweet way to remember the time you had breastfeeding your baby. If you're interested in ordering the pendant, you ship hollyday designs your breast milk in a milk storage bag and she does the rest. I personally love the teardrop pendant.



Win it! My SentimentExactLee is giving away a free breast milk pendant. The winner will be responsible for shipping the breast milk to hollyday designs. You can enter the giveaway here. Good luck!

Medela Nursing Camisole Giveaway

One of my favorite new blogs, Mama Speaks, is currently giving away a Medela Nursing Camisole.


















The camisole retails for $45. Want to get your hands on a size medium in black? Simply send an email to giveaways[at]mamaspeaks.com with Medela Nursing as your subject. Giveaway ends 12.23.08

Cool breastfeeding give aways

Blossumz Soothing Breast Therapy Packs. Retail value: $35. Enter by 10/28.




Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Breastfeeding Support Kit. Retail value: $45. Enter here by 10/29.

Good luck!

Giveaway: a copy of The Black Woman's Guide to Breastfeeding

Welcome to the first giveaway on my blog! I am raffling off a copy of The Black Woman's Guide to Breastfeeding. Leave me a comment on this post telling me why you'd like a copy of the book. Do you need some breastfeeding help? Do you know a woman who is pregnant, and you'd like to give it to her as a gift?
You can receive an extra entry into the contest by linking to this give away on your blog (be sure to leave your link in your comment!) The contest ends Saturday, August 30th at midnight.
Happy commenting!

Another cool contest!

One of my new favorite blogs, Baby Cheapskate, is offering 12 bumGenius cloth diapers to a lucky reader (retail value $200). If you're thinking of switching to cloth diapers but were afraid of the initial investment, this is the one for you!