When I became a Mom and subsequently started pumping, it wasn't long before I started to dread my long, boring and sometimes painful (thanks to my pregnancy-induced Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) pumping sessions!  Being the resourceful gal that I am, I went online to find something that would hold the breast pump on my behalf.  The three main products that I found were the LLLI pumping bra, the Made by Moms pumping band and of course the Easy Expression™ bustier and halter, none of which overly impressed me and the price tags and online feedback were mediocre to boot!

I shop online a LOT - even more now that I have kids - and I am pretty savvy with regards to evaluating the quality of the product as well as its inherent value for my hard-earned dollar.  Of course I always consider the time I'm saving NOT driving to the mall and possibly paying for parking, fighting crowds, etc.  This balances the shipping costs to a degree (that is as long as the shipping costs are not 'padded').

I guess what I'm trying to say is, when I started Snugabell™ Mom & Baby Gear, my mission was to create products that, are very high quality (that we stand behind 100%), have a reasonable price, don't cost an arm and a leg to ship and most importantly, make women feel GOOD about themselves and how they look when they're breastfeeding and pumping!

So here are the top 10 reasons (in no particular order) why PumpEase™ is better than our main competitor, Easy Expression™ Products:

#1  PumpEase™ ships for $4.00 or less anywhere in North America and for about $8 internationally.  Easy Expression™ doesn't sell directly off their site.  Their online retailers charge a myriad of shipping prices, most of which are ALL over $4.00 within North America (make that a lot over $4.00).

#2  PumpEase™ are available in fun, fabulous and colorful prints.  Easy Expressions™ are available in plain white, clinical white, hospital white and sterile white....oh boy! - how will I ever decide? ;-)

#3  PumpEase™ are guaranteed for 1 year against defects in materials or workmanship.  The Easy Expression™ website doesn't list a return policy, guarantee, warranty or even a privacy policy for that matter!

#4  PumpEase™ are made from a technical knit fabric that will NEVER 'bag out'.  Easy Expressions™ are made from a cotton/spandex knit fabric that WILL 'bag out' and lose its shape after repeated use and washing.  This is an inherent quality of cotton/spandex knits.

#5  PumpEase™ are guaranteed to work with ALL pumps on the market or your money back.  The Easy Expression™ website states that it works with "most pumps" - sounds like a guessing game to me...hmmmm.

#6  PumpEase™ have a 3-position hook & eye closure at center front which gives you a means to adjust the size of your PumpEase for fuller or less full days.  It is also a closure that most women are completely familiar with and can fasten/unfasten 'blindly'.  Therefore, when you are trying to pump in the dark in the middle of the night or you are sleep deprived and not functioning too well, donning your PumpEase will be a cinch!  Easy Expressions™ has a zipper.  I am dumbfounded that a zipper was chosen for a product that is supposed to be worn so close to the body.  A zipper is the most awkward closure possible for 'stuffing 10 lbs of potatoes into a 5 lb sack' ...if you know what I mean.

#7  The bold graphics and colors of the PumpEase™ fabrics are stimulating to your baby if you pump on one side and nurse on the other.  According to Dr. Sears, "The best way you as a parent can stimulate baby's vision is using black and white stripes or light and dark contrasting colors.  So what about those nice soft pastels that used to be so popular in baby toys and nurseries?  While these may look pretty to you, they do nothing visually for your baby.  Research has proven that black and white contrasts register powerfully on baby's retina and send the strongest visual signals to baby's brain.  Stronger signals mean more brain growth and faster visual development.  Surround a baby with soft pastel colors, and you might as well be blindfolding him.  Surround your baby with black and white or light and dark pictures, and watch your baby's eyes light up."  Easy Expressions™....ummm see Reason #2.

#8  PumpEase™ has a fun, current, interactive and modern website with a blog, up-to-date resources page and password-protected online wholesale ordering for our retail partners.  The Easy Expression™ website doesn't appear to have been updated in literally years.  I know for a fact that their testimonials haven't changed or been updated in well over three years.

#9  PumpEase™ is working hard, through lighthearted humour, frank education and social networking/blogging, to raise the awareness around breastfeeding, pumping and human milk banking.  We support the BC Women's Milk Bank monetarily as well as by donating any PumpEase™ that don't 'cut it' with my Mom (she's our Quality Control Department and she runs a pretty tight ship I tell ya!)  The PumpEase™ we donate have only cosmetic deficiencies and therefore are still fully functional.  Easy Expression™....hmmmm...don't know who they really are or what they're up to?

#10  A PumpEase™ hangs to dry in about 20 minutes.  Due to the fact that the Easy Expression™ is made of a cotton/spandex blend, it will take more than double that time to hang-dry.  Neither fabric should be put in the dryer as heat 'kills' spandex.

Leave a comment below....which would YOU choose?

My sister Denise, who was induced for her first daughter's delivery (Olivia is now 5-years-old), laboured at home for about 20 hours.  When we got to the hospital, she was fully dilated and delivered the baby in about 20 minutes and 3 pushes!  Way to go Denise!  Dr C, our amazing family doctor, didn't quite make it in time, but the nurses as Royal Columbian Hospital were fantastic.

Oh and I should mention that Dixie has a really good latch, has been feeding beautifully and Mom Denise will be pumping in 4-6 weeks with her PumpEase™.  She is also looking forward to using her MoBoleez™ once the snow melts and she can get out of the house!

Dixie, named after my Dad Richard - who almost always went by "Dick", is a truly beautiful baby.  What an amazing Christmas present!  Drop a comment below if you are a Christmas baby or if one of your children are.

Happy Holidays to all of our customers, readers, friends and family!  To celebrate Dixie's arrival, we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders until New Year's.  Use coupon code 'FREESHIP' at check-out.  No worries if we're out of stock in your preferred size/print, order anyways as we are expecting production to arrive from our factory any day now.

Amazingly enough, Claire's and my husband work together and therefore we met purely by chance.  Our first 'conversation' was via Facebook and we immediately clicked!  We have now worked together on two commercial shoots as well as two family photo sessions - one environmental and one in-studio.  What a difference a professional photographer makes!  No more cookie-cutter family photo sessions for us (sorry Sears)!

The most recent family photo session had SO MANY fantastic shots that there was no clear 'best picture'.  We had a helluva time picking!  With Sears (sorry again....well, not really), we were lucky to find one shot that would suffice for sending out to family and friends for a Christmas card... and now we have the opposite problem!

If you live in the lower mainland of British Columbia, leave a comment below and you will be the lucky recipient of a coupon for $100 off a session with Claire Reid herself.

A - helps avoid allergies; immediately available; antibodies are passed from mother to baby through her milk; nutrients are more easily assimilated

B - creates close bonding between mother and child; reduces risk of breast cancer; contributes to optimal brain development; breastmilk doesn't stain clothing

C - comforting for baby; convenient; changes as baby grows; no constipation; colostrum is the perfect first food

D - digests more easily; cannot be duplicated; allows delay of solids; fewer dental problems (promotes proper jaw, teeth and speech development so there is less need for expensive orthodontics later)

E - easy; enjoyable; enhances relationship with your baby

F - fulfilling; always fresh; gives you a free hand for reading, etc; fewer health problems means a happier baby

G - giving of yourself; a great way of meeting emotional and physical needs; less garbage and other environmental wastes

H - breastfed babies are healthier; babies are meant to have human milk

I - inexpensive; immunity factors are only found in breastmilk

J - joyful experience; ready in a jiffy

K - spend less time in the kitchen (mixing, washing, sterlizing, warming...)

L - loving; you can join a fun mother's group like La Leche League; less spitting-up and stomach upsets

M - delays the return of postpartum menstruation (but not necessarily ovulation); something only a MOM can do for a baby

N - perfect balance of nutrients; night feedings are easier; natural

O - prevents overfeeding; less diaper odour; reduces the chance of obesity later in life

P - prolactin helps you feel motherly; helps prevent serious health problems; milk supply is pure

Q - quiet time together; best quality nutrition; pratically unlimited quantity

R - relaxing; less rashes for baby; recommended by the Canadian Pediatric Society, the World Health Organization and The Breastfeeding Committee for Canada; completes the reproductive cycle:  conception, pregnancy, birth, lactation

S - satisfies all the senses; superior infant food; saves time, effort money and resources

T - always the right temperature; travel is easier; time-tested through the ages

U - uniquely suited to each baby; contracts uterus helping to expel the placenta and control blood loss; universality of breastfeeding is a link with mothers all over the world

V - especially valuable in special situations (prematurity, jaundice); taste of breastmilk varies from skim to creamy during each feeding

W - helps mother's weight loss by using extra calories; no need to worry about baby's food supply; encourages normal weight gain for baby; called "white blood" because of the life-giving properties

X - x-tra cuddling builds strong ties of love

Y - it's yummy of course!

Z - these are only a few of the zillions of advantages to breastfeeding your baby!

I'd love to hear about any other ABC's of Breastfeeding that you can think of!

adapted by Sandra Yates, 2003, from the original by Mary Clarke, Andrea Meyer and Mary Jo Rodgers, Minot, ND, USA, with a few additions by yours truly, Wendy Armbruster Bell, 2008

"About 20 years ago I was in an antique store, somewhere in Oregon, or maybe it was California, it doesn't matter, really.
As I was rummaging through an old box of used postcards and black and white photos I happened across an envelope, small and unassuming, with the name 'Alice' neatly scripted across the front.
I moved it aside, without looking at the contents, because at the time I was more interested in the postcards.
I made my selection, 3 or 4 of them if I remember right, and then reached again for the letter to put it back in the box, but instead curiosity got the better of me, so I took it to the front desk with the postcards.
I paid for the lot, including the letter, and I remember he didn't bother to look at it either, nor did he charge me for it, he said, "If you want it, take it, it's of no use to me"...so I took it. I eventually read it and it remains one of my favorite little 'found' treasures, I kept it safely tucked away for years, until I came across it again the other day, in the back of a drawer.
I have faithfully typed it out, page for page, line for line and word for word, as it was written almost 90 years ago, (including all the errors and lack of punctuation).
I thought it was appropriate to share, on this Remembrance Day".

~yvonne

515834 J Goode
No 4 com 4th Div Train
Armourie
Halif
NS

Friday
25/6/16

My Dear Alice

We have been inoculated again to day and my arm is sore, thats our second dose, we have another to have yet. Well dear I don’t feel to good I havent had a word from you or anybody yet I am worrying how you all are We are going to sail Tuesday or Wednesday for sure I would like to hear from you before we sail it is trying my patience

We are suppose to sail on the Olympia a very big and fast boat I have not much to write dear That fellow asked me if you knew Lower Lodge Factory he used to work there. Say Alice quite a bunch of us boys have written postcards and stamped them and they have been sent to a womans  house in Vancouver one of the boys mothers place, when we arrive in England we between us are sending a cablegram to this woman and she will post all our cards letting you know when we landed you will know sooner that way I hope you all are behaving yourselves at home as well as you can now your overseer is away on his vacation You can address my mail to the Armouries Halifax until you hear from me in England. Well dear sweetheart be brave and take great care of the dear kiddies for me don’t whip them any more than is necessary I often bring out their picture and look at it it seems to console me when I get lonesome Don’t forget to send me that one of your sweet self and another of the dear kiddies don’t ever leave them at night never take heed how the neighbours might try and persuade you I am always proud to feel I have such a good wife to sacrifice so much with such a brave heart. You will always be able to hold your head up and know you have done your bit I cant help it Alice writing this sentimental stuff but it is my sincere feelings in writing If I am spared to come back and enjoy the comforts of home again I will want a good lot of persuading to leave it again but I am going through with this job to the last. Well dear kiss and hug all the dear kiddies for me tell them their Papa is always thinking of them night and day try and persuade them to study don’t let them run the streets to much they get tough and cheeky. I will write them a funny letter when I get on the boat. Well dear I hope you wont upset yourself reading this letter-but I will feel better when I hear from you so God Bless you all

With fondest Love from your True and Loving Husband

Jim

I'd love to hear any special stories you have about those that have fought for their country, past or present, young or old.

But that's good news for you!  Every PumpEase™ that leaves our house for yours is checked several times by different members of my "very particular" family.

After we receive our production from George, Elaine and Lana at our wonderful factory, the PumpEase™ head over to Mom's.  She snips threads and checks that everything is 'as it should be' with regards to construction.  I keep telling her that I'm going to get her some  Quality Control stickers.  Not because we need to track her work (she is our only inspector at this point), but rather to tell the world that "Mom" is checking your PumpEase™ and who could possibly be better suited for the job?  Honestly, I think she LIKES rejecting the PumpEase™ that aren't up-to-snuff!  Funny, the other day she was complaining about 'this job she has that she doesn't get paid for'.  Hmm... next there will be rumblings of a union starting - IIBMU (International Inspected By Mom Union Local 500).

Then my (currently very pregnant) sister Denise visually checks the PumpEase™ again, fastens the hook & eye closure, neatly folds them and inserts them into our packaging (which she has previously assembled).  She then adds our bar code label to the back and our size label to the front.

Finally, our shipping department (that's currently yours truly) makes another visual check before placing the PumpEase™ package in our crisp white bubble mailer with our pretty Snugabell™ shipping label on the front.  Then it is off to the Post Office to see Colleen!

So as you can see, we work hard to make sure the product you receive is in pristine condition.  If you EVER receive a shipment from us that does not meet your expectations, please let us know.  Our customers' happiness is very important to us.  If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

I suffered from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome after (not during) both of my pregnancies.  They were very different experiences:  with my first daughter, I got it in my left wrist pretty much as soon as she was born; with my second daughter, I didn't get it until 1 year postpartum, however, I got it in both wrists and I still have problems today (and my youngest will be turning 2 on January 2nd).  I remember asking my GP about why pre and post partum women suffer from CPS, and even though his wife had suffered so badly that she had to have the surgery on both wrists, he couldn't really answer me.

I asked Dr Debbie "why" and she explained it so clearly and logically to me that I asked her to share her knowledge with all of you.  Watch her in action below...

Visit Dr Debbie at
Thrive Chiropractic Wellness Centre
1546 West 2nd Avenue
Vancouver BC
604.730.0111
info@thrivewellness.ca

© Human Milk Banking Association of North America, Inc.  www.hmbana.org

It really made me angry to read this news story this morning on the CBC - although I'm not surprised...

H&M Breastfeeding Incident Sparks Human Rights Protest:  video / article

This incident has sparked calls from breastfeeding advocates for a "nurse-in" at H&M this Thursday, August 7th at 12:30 pm.  Organizers hope hundreds of nursing mothers will descend on the store to publicly breastfeed.

And this is sure bad timing for H&M considering it is World Breastfeeding Week!  When are people going to realize that women weren't given breasts to offend, turn-on or garner attention from those around them?  Women have breasts (aka mammary glands) so that they can feed their young - just like every other mammal on earth!

H&M talks all about their Corporate Social Responsibility on their website.  Isn't abiding by the BC Human Rights Commission being socially responsible?  Their Head Office "claims" that shuttling nursing mothers off to breastfeed in a change-room isn't their corporate policy.  So what happened at the downtown Vancouver, BC store then?  Poor training?  Miscommunication?  Or is this just a cover-up and will the staff at the Vancouver store be H&M's scapegoat in a very public faux pas?

We all enter and exit this world naked.  We also, within our genders, all have the same parts - just different sizes, colors and shapes!  It is estimated by anthropologists that people first started wearing "clothes"  between 100,000 to 500,000 years ago. The first clothes were made from natural elements: animal skin and furs, grasses and leaves, and bones and shells. Clothing was often draped or tied, however simple needles made out of animal bone provide evidence of sewn leather and fur garments from at least 30,000 years ago.  These first pieces of clothing were donned primarily for protection from excessive heat, cold or adverse conditions, NOT for fashion or to "cover-up" in modesty.

If you are offended by someone breastfeeding, then that is YOUR issue.  There is nothing more natural than a mother feeding their young - any mother. Are you offended by a cow nursing its calf as you pass a farmer's field?  Do you cover your eyes at a litter of puppies feeding at their mother's teats in the pet store?  Are you "up in arms" when you see a whale nursing its calf on the Discovery Channel?  If not, then you are bordering on hypocrisy and have fallen victim to our society's sexification of the breast and the female body in general.  Think about it.  What's the big deal?

If a mother "whips out her breast" to feed her child and isn't that discreet about it, then that person would most likely offend you whether she was breastfeeding, eating, talking, driving or doing any other daily task.  Some people simply lack tact - it isn't the breastfeeding that is offensive - it is the person.

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is the greatest outreach vehicle for the breastfeeding movement, currently being celebrated in over 120 countries worldwide.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now.      

My table was between Seattle Midwifery School (SMS) and Mother-Art. How ironic that I was situated between a school (I love to learn) and an artist (I love collecting unusual and beautiful pieces of art and jewellery).

On Day 1, I talked to Annie Kennedy about the courses that they have available. Annie is the Director of the (Penny) Simkin School at SMS. Both Annie and Penny are founders of DONA. I would love to learn more about lactation and breastfeeding so that I can understand my customers needs better. Note to self: sign-up for their 6-day Breastfeeding & Lactation course.

I also talked to Susan Kirk of Mother-Art and her lovely 16-year-old daughter (her name escapes me at the moment). Susan is an artist working in many different media from her garden studio in Chico, California. I perused Susan's table, filled with ceramic figurines, vessels and pendants as well as matted prints and notecards all honouring motherhood, telling myself that I didn't 'need' anything.

On Day 2, I purchased her Water Mamas print. Everytime I looked at her table, it spoke to me. I love the colors and I had to own it.

On Day 3, I purchased the Frida Wrap print. Susan looks after her neighbour's baby. She had Frida in the Maya wrap, looked down and saw this beautiful sight. She was so inpsired, she painted it! I was also in awe of her beautiful ceramic pendants! I bought a Nursing Mother Goddess in turquoise (shown below, top right), and Susan makes many other styles. In fact, I'm thinking of possibly selling them on our website. What do you think?

Oh....and then I 'had' to have this silver pendant, (don't tell my husband), which is the logo for the Seattle Midwifery School....doncha just la-la-love it?

OK, gotta run now. I still have to deal with the smoking credit card.

Welcome Carnival of Breastfeeding Readers! 

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child at 38, a good friend of mine asked me if I was going to pump.  I looked at her quizzically and asked, “Why would I need to?”  She went on to tell me that she and her husband had chosen to pump primarily so that he could feed the baby and therefore bond with her as she was.

That night, I talked to my husband about it.  My husband, Mike, is one of the most endearingly sensitive men I have ever met.  He cried when he said his vows at our wedding, he cried when our daughters were born and he cried when he kissed my belly for our pregnancy photos.  He said the pumping sounded like a good idea.  (All this and he rides a Harley too!)

After our daughter was born and we waited the recommended 4-6 weeks before introducing a bottle, I sat down at the kitchen table and stuck these plastic funnel doo-hickeys on my breasts and lo and behold, the milk started flowing into the bottles!  Who knew?  And needless to say, Mike cried the first time he fed each of our daughters.

When I started to pump on a daily basis, I experimented with various positions and locations around the house.  I leaned-up against the kitchen table to try to pin the horns between my body and the table so that I could at least turn the pages in a magazine, however it didn’t work too well - I couldn’t turn the pages (even with my elbows) and it was pretty uncomfortable.  I tried to simply hold the horns with my hands, however, my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome caused them to go numb and ache within a few minutes.

So I plunked myself down in front of my computer and Googled “pump hands-free”.  I found a handful of products, all of which were expensive, fiddly and “less than attractive” (insert eye roll here).  Why is it, that when we become a mom, it is assumed that we no longer have any style?

I let the idea stew in the back of my mind for a week or so, and then I decided to try to construct something on my sewing machine that would hold the horns for me.

Three years of research and development later, my website selling PumpEase™ hands-free pumping supports went live!  I now have the freedom to stay at home with my two girls (3-1/2 years and 17 months) and be a WAHM and entrepreneur.  Equally as important to me is knowing that I am helping pumping moms everywhere to pump with style and comfort, to pump pain-free, to extend their nursing relationships with their babies and to make much-needed donations to breast milk banks.

Be sure to check out these great posts from our blogging friends:

• Raising Baby Bee writes about pumping at work (and shares a great ‘do not disturb’ sign).
• Breastfeeding Mums says “electrify me!”
• Breastfeeding 1-2-3 writes about exclusively pumping for a baby with a cleft palate.
• Hobo Mama writes about donating milk for an adopted baby.
• Adventures of a Breastfeeding Mother shares her pumping tips.
• The Attached Mother writes about pumping and becoming a milk donor.
• Mama Knows Breast invites you to enter to win a free Medela Freestyle pump.
• Motherwear - our gracious host - writes about breastfed babies and bottles.

Last night I exhibited at the DSA (Doulas Services Association) Product Information Night/AGM.  I met many fantastic women and made some great contacts.  There were three of us talking about breastfeeding in public including the Mom (sorry Mom, I don’t remember your name) of Jen Casey - the owner of Dimpleskins Naturals - fantastic product line by the way!  Jen’s Mom proceeded to tell us a story of an incident that she recently witnessed while shopping at Sears.  A mother sat down on a couch in the furniture department to feed her very hungry baby.  A female employee told her that she couldn’t do “that” here and would have to leave.  The mother countered, stating that her baby was hungry and that she had to feed him/her.  The Sears employee told her she would have to go to the bathroom.  Jen’s Mom, overhearing the conversation, piped-up and said to the Sears employee, “Would you like to eat your dinner in the bathroom?”  Brilliant, just brilliant!

Federally, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms affords publicly breastfeeding mothers “some” protection.  Provincially, only British Columbia and Ontario’s Human Rights Codes specifically detail the rights of breastfeeding mothers.  Believe it or not, in the USA, there are only 39 states that have laws with language specifically allowing women to breastfeed in any public location!  I “thought” it was 2008….apparently I thought wrong?

The other woman that we were chatting with, a doula, added her two cents as well:  “When I happen to drive by a field of cows and some are nursing their calves, I warn everyone in the car - Don’t look!  You might get offended if you see an udder!”

If there is one thing that “gets my goat”, it is hypocrisy!  I will never forget the cow analogy and will share it with everyone I meet that appears to be “misinformed” in this regard. J

And I’ll be sending this cartoon to the doula…

On January 27th of this year we participated in our very first consumer trade show - Westcoast Moms’ Vancouver’s Largest Baby Shower. It was a ton of fun, we made a lot of great new contacts and PumpEase™ hands-free pumping supports were very well-received.

We interrupt this blog post for a very important message: A big thank you to my hubby for staying up until 3 am with me the night before! Those “little” give-aways take a long time to make! And also to my bff Lorelei for riding shotgun the day of. We now return to our regularly scheduled blog post.

The morning of the show, I woke-up to 2 feet of snow here in Coquitlam (the show was in East Vancouver - about a 30 minute drive west). Now some of you might be thinking, “Two feet of snow….big deal!” However, if you are saying that, I would guess that YOU don’t live here in the lower mainland where a mere dusting of snow causes sheer panic and chaos. We never get snow = people don’t know how to drive in snow = sheer panic and chaos.

I had to work really hard not to let all the negative thoughts into my head… a much harder task when you’ve only had 3-1/2 hours of sleep!

• no one is going to show-up
• we’re going to get into an accident on the way there and there will be pumping supports strewn all over the freeway
• Lorelei, my bff, won’t make it to ride shotgun (Lorelei doesn’t like to drive in the best of weather, let alone snow!)

Well positive thinking prevailed once again: it was sunny with absolutely no trace of snow in East Vancouver, the people were lined-up around Heritage Hall to get in and Lorelei beat me there!

The Westcoast Moms Baby Shower format is primarily targeted to first-time parents, most of which are still expecting. I have a display on my table at trade shows: a woman’s torso with a nursing bra, a PumpEase™ hands-free pumping support and breast pump horns - pretty much the works. It always cracks me up watching the expressions of people, especially the “Dads to Be” as they walk past my display. It ranges from giggles and nervous laughter, to disbelief and shock, to pure and utter horror. If I get the chance, I always make light of the display and make a point to assure the Mom or Dad-to-be that after experiencing the miracle of childbirth, a breast pumping display is “old hat”. “You’ll get over it!”, I say to them with a big smile on my face. (I’m so mean, but it is so true!)

So Lorelei and I notice Shaw Cable making their rounds at the show. Bianca and her cameraman approach me because of the display. She said it was a “good visual”. Well the rest is history. Watch the clip below.

For the record, Mike and Toni are our two darling daughters, Michaela and Antonia, 1 and 3 years old respectively.

Because our whole approach is one of lighthearted humour, we wanted a lighthearted name.  As I’ve mentioned before, we feel people are WAY too serious about the most natural thing we can do for our babies - feed them as nature intended.

We tried to have a focus group to brainstorm a new name, however it was a scheduling nightmare.  Most of the members of my target market were too busy (with their families) to attend.  I thought a Facebook Group would work……but not much happened there - people joined, but didn’t really discuss…hmmmm.  So we turned to our old friend Survey Monkey.  We LOVE Survey Monkey yes-indeedy-do!  We got a fantastic response to our
itty-bitty survey.  Thank you so much to everyone that participated!

I would like to share some of the suggestions we got for naming the pumping support.  I’ve never laughed so hard!  I was once again reminded that I know some wonderfully creative people!  And for the record, I REALLY wanted to use Boob Tube - thank you Kim!

Here are some of my faves:  Titty Taps, Deliver-Eze, Meloneez (too bad my name wasn’t Melanie), Juggies, Plug ’n’ Play, Milk-a-Matic, Mammy Milker, Num Nums, Nummies, Pump’ems, Suckies…..you get the idea.

And I know you can’t make everyone happy.  There is ALWAYS going to be someone who doesn’t like the name.  And there is ALWAYS going to be someone that you offend.  Oh well, it’s good for press!

Stay tuned for the unveiling......

Breast milk banks - there are currently 10 in the United States as well - provide supplies to mothers who cannot produce enough milk or are not able to produce their own due to illness or being on medication.  Banks are also used by parents of adopted and foster children.

Many Canadian communities are pleading for more milk banks to be opened, however few hospitals are willing to supply the required funding and resources and the government isn’t stepping up to the plate to help (surprise, surprise).

Here at Mike & Toni’s™, we are committed to raising awareness around the need for donations (both breast milk and monetary) through our website, blog J and promotional materials.  And of course we will talk about it with everyone we meet!

We will also donate at least 1% of our profits to the BC Women’s Milk Bank to assist mothers and babies in need.

How can you help?  If you are nursing and have an abundance of milk, please consider donating!  If you are in the Greater Vancouver area, they will even come to pick it up.  Then they pasteurize, test, freeze and ship it out to those in need.  Of course, you can use your Mike & Toni’s™ hands-free pumping support while collecting the milk!

If you can’t help with a milk donation, you can help by donating monetarily.  Currently the milk bank cannot pay for the inward shipping of donations outside of their cachement.  A donation could help to change this!

For more information, you can visit the Human Milk Banking Association of North America at www.hmbana.org.  Our very own Frances Jones, Coordinator of the Vancouver Bank, is the Chairperson of the Board.  It is actually a pretty interesting read!

You can also find information about the Vancouver Bank here.

Thank you for your support (pun most definitely intended)!

The first one that comes to mind is a lighting company by the name of Kichler (www.kichler.com).  The previous owner of our house had some lamp posts built, but had not gotten around to installing the carriage post lights and so they were included in the sale (in their boxes).  When we had our electrician install them, we were dismayed to find one of the finials missing.  I contacted my local Kichler retailer, however, they informed me that we couldn’t buy “just the finial”, but would have to buy the whole light ($200).  After mulling over this for a while, I decided to email the parent company.  The fellow I corresponded with told me that he would check if he could send me a finial.  He told me exactly when he would get back to me and that’s exactly when I heard from him.  He then told me that he unfortunately could not send me just the finial and in the same breath offered to send me an entire light FREE OF CHARGE - he even covered the shipping!  Of course I was ecstatic…. I would have been happy to get it wholesale!  I wasn’t even the original purchaser of the lighting (and he knew that).  But I tell you….I sure will buy Kichler lighting in the future!

Just telling you this story has exuded in me the same excited feeling that I had on that day and that was over 2 years ago!  This just goes to show that providing exceptional customer service is worth every cent of your money and every minute of your time.

Here at Mike & Toni’s™ we strive to provide the same exceptional customer service to each and every customer - the kind that takes your breath away and makes you say, “Wow!”

Stay tuned for another great customer service story….

Unfortunately, I also have a really bad memory. It never used to be bad, however has steadily declined ever since I went back to school in my late 20’s and started using a DayTimer to keep track of all my assignments. Of course this has now turned into a Palm Pilot and may soon turn into a BlackBerry. My advice to you is to keep using your BRAIN and don’t be tempted by teeth that are blue, berries that are black and phones called “Chocolate” or “i” ….. it’s a conspiracy! I used to be able to retain a list of
20 (yes T-W-E-N-T-Y) tasks in my head and now I can’t remember anything! And then I went and had 2 babies over the course of 3 years just to really make sure my brain was mush!

So while I’m doing the laundry or making the beds or brushing my teeth and all these thoughts and ideas are popping into my head, I have to stop what I’m doing and run out to the kitchen to write them down. Sometimes I find myself running back and forth like a crazy woman! I’m paranoid that if I don’t write my fantastic thought or idea down, that I’ll remember later in the day that I had the fantastic thought or idea, but I won’t remember what the fantastic thought or idea was! Then I stress about the fact that I’ll probably never have that same fantastic thought or idea again!

If I’m in the shower or some other “penless” place, I chant the thoughts or ideas in my head over and over until I can make note of them. I’ve even resorted to keeping a Dictaphone recorder in my car so that when (not if) the ideas come to me while I’m driving, I can record them without causing a 10 car pile-up!

But now I have a blog - a means to record and share my fantastic thoughts and ideas with the whole universe! OK, maybe not the WHOLE universe….but hopefully you will find humour, insight and useful information in these posts. I plan to blog about being a WAHM, mompreneur, wife, parent, consumer, breastfeeding advocate and much, much more “as the mood strikes”. Come to think of it, this blog is pretty much destined to become one of life’s little instruction books because as you now know, “I am always thinking….my brain never stops.”

Welcome inside my mind, er blog. I hope you enjoy the ride!