Nine Months Is A Long Time To Be Uncomfortable!

I Found a Skin Care Line That Honestly Works – GIVEAWAY

karlatrotman — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:00:47 +0000

I have been on a lifelong quest to find a regimen that works for my busy lifestyle. My experimentation has lead me from Clinique, BeautiControl, Clarisonic to Neutrogena, Olay…the list is endless. Like you, I have received little packet-sized samples of skin care products, but there is barely enough of a sample for one to realize a clear result. That is until I attended the Face 2 Face Event. Christina from Therapon gave each attendee a FULL skin care kit to try so that we could adequately test her company’s products.

Therapon

I decided to test the products out because of my quest AND I was intrigued by the company’s story. Dr. James Beckman is a board-certified plastic surgeon and chemist. He developed the family of Therapon products starting with a creme that was used to help burn patients regain full mobility of their skin-grafted hands. This creme penetrated the deepest layers of skin and had dramatic results on the appearance of skin. I knew that my small skin issues were nothing in comparison to what Dr. Beckman was able to do for his patients, so decided to test them out.

It has been a little over a month since have been using the Theraderm Skin Renewal System and I can honestly say that it is the best skin care line that I have ever used. Why, well because the overall appearance and condition of my skin has visibly improved. My dark spots have lightened dramatically, my complexion is brighter and I love how my skin feels. I have had zero acne breakouts and my makeup appears to goes on smoother. The actual skincare regimen is super easy. I just wash (using my Clarisonic Skincare Brush), wipe down with the exfoliant, use the repairative gel and creme and am done. Its a 3 minute routine, max. With two little boys, that is all that I have time for.

If you are looking for products that actually work on improving your skin and encourage you to try the Therapon family of products. To help you out, I am giving away a Theraderm Skin Renewal System courtesy of Therapon.

How to enter (Mandatory):
All you need to do is let me know what is it about your skin that you wish that your products would address. Include your name (first name) AND e-mail address. Enter all information BELOW (as a comment).

Increase your chances with 8+ additional entries (Even if you already “like” and follow leave individual comments for each new entry in order for it to count. Make sure to leave your e-mail address):

“Like” Therapon on Facebook
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Follow @TheraponSkin on Twitter
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Follow my blog’s RSS feed
Share this giveaway on Facebook and make sure to tag with BellyButtonBoutique and Therapon (Limit 1x per day)
Tweet about this post and make sure to tag with @BButtonBoutique and @TheraponSkin (Limit 1x per day)

This giveaway will end on Monday, June 25th at 11:59pm EST. The winners will be selected through random.org and announced on Wednesday, June 27th. Winner must respond within 12 hours of the e-mail to claim their prize, after which a new winner will be selected.

Prize is provided by Therapon and is not transferable. This giveaway is open to those who have a mailing address in the US.

Delivery Day Made Easy: A Checklist for the Home and Hospital

karlatrotman — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00:12 +0000

No matter how many children someone has, getting ready to bring a baby home is an exciting experience. Whether it’s getting the nursery set up or trying to ensure that everything is ready for the day of delivery, there are plenty of activities the entire family can participate in, and some prior planning can go a long ways toward making this already exciting experience more enjoyable.

Courtesy of Jonny Goldstein

At Home

There are so many products for newborns and young children on the market today that it can be somewhat confusing to figure out what is really necessary. The following items are almost always needed:

• Somewhere for baby to sleep (crib, bassinet, co-sleeper)

• Clothing

• Blankets

• Diapers

• Wipes

• Infant car seat

While other items can make life with a newborn easier, they are definitely not required. For example, while buying toys for baby can be fun for mom, it will be at least a few weeks before the baby shows any interest in them. The following list can make life easier and more enjoyable directly after delivery, but are not necessary for having on hand right after the baby is brought home:

• Changing table or pad

• Baby tub

• Infant swing

• Baby monitor

• Pack and play

• Diaper canister

• Bottles

• Bottle cleaner

• Breast pump

For the Hospital

When preparing to bring a new child into the world, the main thing mom should be focused on is giving birth. Ensuring that she has everything she needs prior to heading to the hospital will save a lot of confusion on the day of delivery when she’s trying to get herself out the door to the hospital. It also can keep mom from needing items brought to her during her stay. For the typical birth, packing the following items and bringing for the stay can be helpful:

• Clothing for mom

• Clothing for baby

• Toiletries for mom

• Camera

• Insurance information

• Birth plan

• Emergency contact information

• Reading materials

Other Things to Consider

• Cord blood banking, the process where the blood remaining in the umbilical cord after birth is collected and stored for potential future use. Having a source of cord blood stem cells available to your family can be beneficial if the need for a stem cell treatment should ever arise. The decision to bank cord blood needs to be made ahead of time, so discuss it will your doctor and choose a cord blood bank that’s right for you.

• Circumcision is an optional procedure for a baby boy. If you’re unsure if you want your son to be circumcised, speak to your doctor before you deliver to ask about the benefits of circumcision and how the procedure is performed at that hospital.

This article was written by Katie Moore. Katie is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche. If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact by visiting her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter @moorekm26.

Mother’s Day Gifts From Small Children

karlatrotman — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:00:01 +0000

Every year I rush around trying to purchase Mother’s Day gifts for not just my mother, but my mother-in-law, and two grandmothers. I hand the gifts to my two boys to present to our “mothers”, but I realized last year, there is a huge disconnect. My boys would love the opportunity to contribute to that celebration of the women who have given us so much support. So this Mother’s Day is our chance to do just that. This year, I decided to have my boys “create” their gifts.

About a month ago, we went to Color Me Mine and spent an afternoon painting flower pots. The boys treated each pot as a commissioned piece of art, letting me know that, “this one is for GG”, (then Nana, Gagie and Nini respectively).

About a week later I picked up the finished pieces (total cost was around $90). The boys were really excited to give the pots to their “mothers”, but we had one last thing to do.

My 4-year old and I went to the nursery where he picked out the four plants that we planned on transferring to the pots. It took about 15 minutes to do all four. Check out the finished result:

So this year, with great joy and excitement, my boys will give a meaningful Mother’s Day gift that they themselves created. I’m sure that all of the “mothers” will LOVE their commissioned pieces and the fact that it was made by their boys.

What do your children do for the “mothers” in their lives?

Stonyfield Greek Yogurt FOR KIDS!!!

karlatrotman — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:00:41 +0000

Since I have started on my healthy kick, my newest love is greek yogurt. First introduced to my by a worldly co-worker, I opened it up and thought, “there is no way I am eating this chunky stuff”. I mean it looked like cottage cheese. That was enough for me to throw it away. But when I was looking for additional sources of protein, I found the greek yogurt has TWICE the amount of protein than regular yogurt, so I made the switch.

As with most moms, whenever I sit down to eat something that is uniquely different from what my children are eating, they want some. This however did not happen with my greek yogurt. In fact, they had the same disgusted looks on their faces as I did. I really wanted them to try this new yogurt that I have grown to love. Luckily, Stonyfield came out with a greek yogurt for kids that is smooth and creamy and has the same kid-friendly graphics as the other brands.

The result? My kids didn’t even notice the difference. I thought FOR SURE that the boys would tell me that they wanted the Spongebob yogurt instead, but I heard nothing. I also had them try the regular Stonyfield YoKids and they PREFERRED the taste of YoKids OVER their tried and true brand.

As a mom, I feel good about sneaking in nutrition where I can. I’m glad that I didn’t have to force it on them. Now if I can just find a healthy fruit snack…

Disclaimer – I was given coupons to select free samples of Stonyfield YoKids regular and greek yogurt. My children gave me honest feedback, as only children can. All opinions were their own, I just translated them to written word.

Busy Mom – Not Ecofriendly

karlatrotman — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00:13 +0000

In January of this year I was on a show called, “The Revolution”. They wanted to show a typical family and how our “convenient” lifestyle impacts the earth. The show connected me with Annie Leonard from YouTube viral video sensation, “Story of Stuff”. Annie gave me some great ways to reduce. Here is the followup podcast interview:

What simple changes can you make to impact the environment?

BULLY

karlatrotman — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:00:41 +0000

When you are a mother of little ones, the moment they are out from under your cover and introduced into the world, you worry. You want them to be safe, cared for and guarded, but you know that no one is going to do it to the same high level of caution as you the parent. Then introduce school…my eldest son is in Kindergarten and has ALREADY complained of some child bullying him. So when I was given the opportunity to preview the movie “Bully”, I had to go.

“They punch me in the jaw, strangle me, they knock things out of my hand, take things from me, sit on me. They push me so far that I want to become the bully.” – Alex, age 12

“Bully” has 5 individual stories intertwined throughout. The most difficult to watch, for me, was Alex’s. Maybe because his bullies were so bold as to torture him on camera – from banging his head into the seat WHILE riding the school bus, to stabbing him with pencils. One of his harassers threatened a felonious assault using words as eloquent as a truck driver who dropped out of the first grade. Oh, did I mention? Alex is in the SIXTH grade.

13 million students are bullied each year. 3 million are absent each month from school due to bullying. And its not “kids being kids”, it has gotten progressively worse over the scores of years to the point where kids are choosing death over endurance.

Kirk and Laura Smalley spoke on behalf of their son Ty. At the age of 11, Ty committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree. He had been bullied for two years. After his death, Ty’s parents created Stand For The Silent. This organization shows people the affects of bullying with the goal of creating an empathetic awareness of bullying.

This movie is powerful and important and I’m not going to ruin it by going into further detail, but I do encourage you to see it. Your emotions will kick in as the other stories are just as powerful and difficult to watch. And as a parent (or future parent), your eyes will be opened to a problem that won’t go away unless we face it head on.

*Disclosure – I was invited to a free screening of this movie. I did not receive any compensation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Pregnancy Over 35 – The Most Common Issues

karlatrotman — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:00:35 +0000

Although it is said that the pregnancy of women over 35 is risky, it looks like these risks have been exaggerated. In the majority of the cases the outcome is perfect. It is true that the chances of the appearance of certain complications is higher than in case of younger women, but still the most influential factor in this case is the health of the mother before conceiving. This is good because it is a factor that you can control.

Photo Courtesy of Kristin Banks

The Time of Pregnancy

It is a proven fact that there are some conditions that older women are prone to develop while they are pregnant, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and placenta praevia. In case these conditions appear, they could have some serious effects on your pregnancy and this is why you should be monitored.

The chances of the appearance of the conditions increases as you get older. Nonetheless the studies that have been conducted regarding pregnant women over 35 have shown that in the majority of the cases the mother and the baby were good after giving birth. In this case the chances of stillbirth are quite high, but the actual number of stillbirths is very low.

Technology

As it has been mentioned before, there are only a few pregnancies that don’t end well and all this is due to the modern technology that can be found in the maternity units. In case you learn that you have some kind of health issues while being pregnant and you make steps to improve your condition or to control it, you can greatly reduce the risks involving you and the baby.

Genetics

One of the problems that the little one could be faced with is having genetic birth defects. Just as in case of the health issues that have been mentioned before, in this case also the chances of actually being faced with genetic defects increases with time.

There has been a study conducted regarding Down syndrome, that it a genetic defect. According to this in case of women between the ages of 35-39 the syndrome appears in 2 cases out of 1000, for women between the ages of 40-44 this rises to 4 and over the age of 45 this is of 14. In case you are more than 40 you should really consider genetic testing in order to know what to expect.

Miscarriage

It is known that chromosomal abnormalities are one of the reasons of miscarriage. This is another risk that increases as you get older. According to specialists the higher number of stillbirths in case of women over 35 could also be caused by chromosomal abnormalities.

C section

In case of women over 35 it is more likely to have induced labor, caesarean section or instrumental delivery. Nonetheless there is no clear explanation for this phenomenon.

Preparing

In case you are over 35 and you would like to have children, you should consult with your obstetrician. It is a good idea to take a look at the family history.

This is a guest post by ThePregnancyZone.com. The blog offers complete pregnancy week by week information and topics relating to preparing for the pregnancy, pregnancy symptoms pregnancy stages, labor & delivery, pregnancy issues, health issues, prenatal care, etc.

Time Out for Mommy

karlatrotman — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:00:39 +0000

Earlier this month my lovely blogging buddy Jo-Lynne invited me to an exclusive event. It was called Face 2 Face with Theraderm. It was an opportunity to get pampered and learn about products and services that you may have seen before, but never tried.

Face 2 Face Event by Therapon

The event took place at the Desmond Hotel in Malvern on a gorgeous Saturday morning. If you have never been to this hotel, its quite a little gem. I have been there for several events, but never in their suites. We were treated to Mimosas and lovely danishes to gnosh on while we waited for our treatments. Minutes later, it was my turn to go into the Therapon suite for my facial.

During the facial, Christina explained the history of the company. The founder, Dr. James S. Beckman is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. He wanted to improve the quality of life for his post-op burn patients by restoring full function and mobility in their skin-grafted hands. Dr. Beckman developed a cream that penetrated the deepest layers of the skin allowing it to bend and move as it did once before. Additionally, (and unexpectedly) the skin also looked more youthful. That single product lead to the development of a skin care line, Therapon. I figured that if it can enhance grafted skin, it could do wonders for me.

After the facial, my skin felt extremely clean and supple, so I sat down for a manicure from Spring Nails in Paoli. As my mani dried a lovely girl massaged my back and shoulders as I chatted with my friends Sherry and Jessica about social media.

When I was dry, the makeup artists from Ulta (yes, the store) glammed me up! I wasn’t planning on going anywhere later that day, but what girl can turn down being made up? I let them have free reign over my face and to my delight, I LOVED it. And unlike department stores, where they show you the $900 worth or makeup that they just applied, the makeup artists from Ulta do not work on commission. They are just capable makeup artists who happen to enjoy making people up and giving them options. SO REFRESHING.

I was so sad to leave, because I totally enjoyed having some girl-time, which all mommies should have.

*Disclosure – I was not paid for this post. The facials, manis and makeup application was a part of the event. All opinions are my own. Each attendee was given a canvas tote bag from Lands End (pink and white and so springy), which had a delicious perfume and hand cream from Ulta, Therapon skincare products and some other amazing things in there as well.

*Photos courtesy of Jo-Lynne and Sherry

Finally, a Fast and Easy Way to Take Your Child’s Temperature

karlatrotman — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:00:08 +0000

As a mom, a thermometer is the one tool that you must have handy at all times. And not one of those thermometers that you have to put under a squirmy kid’s arm for like 12 minutes. I’m talking one that you can grab at two o’clock in the morning when your child is groaning, you have one eye open, and need a quick read on the situation.

Vicks Behind Ear Thermometer

I recently received a sample thermometer from Vicks to try out. As a total gadget girl, I was really excited to start taking everyone’s temperature. I became super busy and knew that I didn’t necessarily have time to read the instructions. Much to my chagrin, there really wasn’t much to the instructions. All I had to do was place the orange ring on my son’s neck, behind his earlobe and press a button. I got an instant temperature reading.

At ages 5 and 3, we have thankfully passed the squirmy phase and they will sit for a thermometer, but do I remember the times in life where I had take extreme measures to assist in the temperature reading. Forget about sticking something in their ear. My boys were not fans of invasive procedures, especially while they were sick. So I can totally empathize with moms which is why I think that this thermometer is great for infants and small squirmy children.

The cost for one of these bad boys is between $40 – $50, but I have seen a few advertised in the $30 range. You really want a good thermometer because its something that you will constantly use. Its definitely something to put on your baby registry and to keep in your child’s room.

Click here Vicks Behind Ear Thermometer to buy one today.

Disclosure: I was not paid to do this post. Vicks wrestled me to the ground and forced me to take one. I complied and tested it out on my sons. They now use it as a toy. The product links are affiliate links.

Is Your Family Prepared in the Case of an Emergency?

karlatrotman — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:01:02 +0000

March is Red Cross Month. It is a time to educate everyone about the work of the American Red Cross and how its survival relies solely upon public donations. Take some time to make sure that you and your family are prepared in the case of an emergency.

Ask Yourself The Following Questions

1. Does you family have an emergency plan/preparedness kit?

Personally, I don’t know what I would do in the case of a late night fire or earthquake. The Red Cross has created a checklist for families who are in my predicament.

2. Do you know how to talk to your children about disasters?

Even though my children are ages 5 and 3, I want them to be armed with information about what to din in the case of an emergency, even if mommy and daddy are not around. Thankfully, the Red Cross has created a list of topics to discuss with your children with tips on helping children who cannot read yet.

3. Do you do more for your family than cross your fingers?

Thankfully, my church nursery had all of its teachers learn infant/child CPR. My poor husband is out of luck. Just kidding. But in all honesty, it is something that you may want to look into. Most certifications can happen within one afternoon’s time. Aside from CPR, the Red Cross has many tips for family safety.

4. Does your babysitter have Red Cross Training?

Finding a good babysitter is hard enough as it is. Add to that one that is trained in CPR, first aid, appropriate care and knows how to make sound decisions under pressure? If you find one, you may want to check for wings sprouting from her back. The Red Cross offers training for babysitters ages 11 – 15. You may want to contact them for a reference or to send your own preteen/teen child for training.

5. Do you know what else the American Red Cross does?

Aside from disaster relief, they American Red Cross helps people prevent and prepare for disasters. Their worldwide networks provides 24-hour support to the military, veterans and their families across the world. They also collect and distribute 40 percent of the blood supply in America.

Check them out on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to make a donation, please click the banner on the right side of the screen.

Nine Months Is A Long Time To Be Uncomfortable!

I Found a Skin Care Line That Honestly Works – GIVEAWAY

Therapon

More From karlatrotman

Delivery Day Made Easy: A Checklist for the Home and Hospital

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Mother’s Day Gifts From Small Children

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Stonyfield Greek Yogurt FOR KIDS!!!

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Busy Mom – Not Ecofriendly

More From karlatrotman

BULLY

More From karlatrotman

Pregnancy Over 35 – The Most Common Issues

The Time of Pregnancy

Technology

Genetics

Miscarriage

C section

Preparing

More From karlatrotman

Time Out for Mommy

Face 2 Face Event by Therapon

More From karlatrotman

Finally, a Fast and Easy Way to Take Your Child’s Temperature

Vicks Behind Ear Thermometer

More From karlatrotman

Is Your Family Prepared in the Case of an Emergency?

Ask Yourself The Following Questions

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