Product Review: Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Butter

   
    I should probably begin this by saying that I am the worst person to review a lotion as I am terrible about keeping up with a daily cosmetic routine. That said, after reading lots of information about stretch marks, dry skin, and the need to moisturize while pregnant I thought it was worth while to research and invest in some sort of belly cream or lotion. From what I read Mama Mio had great reviews. They're products can be a bit pricey then again most cosmetics are. So when you compare a daily lotion like this to say a regular face moisturizer by Clinic or any high end product the price point is reasonable. Still I didn't want to order a lotion or cream for $50 bucks only to find it too greasy or heavy and waste my money.
     I'm very picky when it comes to the feel of lotion. I can't stand anything that slabs on heavy and seems to weigh down my skin. I was happy to find that Buy Buy Baby carries Mama Mio products and even has samples that you can try. (Sorry, I know it seems I'm pushing Buy Buy Baby but I really do find it a convenient store to shop at for baby stuff). I tried out a number of the skin products that Mama Mio offers and was surprised to like the Tummy Rub Butter the most. Usually any lotion listed as a butter turns me off since it tends to be heavy and greasy but I thought this one rubbed in quickly even though it does have an initial heavy and thick feel. The scent is also nice- not too much but a noticeable lotion scent. Mama Mio has a number of lotions, oils, and creams and even see a "starter sample/ pregnancy kit" but I decided to just go with this one container. The tummy rub butter lists that it should be used daily and can be used from the neck down so it's not just for the belly but can be applied to your boobs, back/ muffin top wrap around area. I don't see why you couldn't use it on arms and legs as well- even though they do see a special leg lotion.
     As far as it controlling of limiting the look of stretch marks I can't really tell how well it works because I do not keep up with daily use of the butter and because I'm only developing stretch marks now. I think I'll be able to comment more on this after the baby if/ when stretch marks become more of a concern. For now I do feel that the tummy rub butter is good at moisturizing, limiting dry skin, and limiting the itchiness that comes from skin stretching. This might be a bit TMI (too much info) but as my boobs grew with pregnancy they itched like crazy and I do feel that the tummy rub butter helped keep the skin moisturized and limited the itch. So overall- I like the Tummy Rub Butter by Mama Mio and would recommend it to others as a good moisturizer. Again I can't speak to it's ability to limit stretch marks or make them vanish but as a lotion/ cream I think it does the job.
     Below are some other products by Mama Mio. I haven't tried them (well other than in the store) so I can't speak of them but it's just for reference of what else they have to offer. The pricing is from Buy Buy Baby where the photo was taken but Mama Mio products can be bought at other retailers, online on the company site, as well as other online sites such as Amazon. I don't know how prices compare or where the best value is. Oh one more note on Buy Buy Baby, they take Bed Bath and Beyond coupons so I was able to use a 20% off coupon so that helped with the cost factor.

Baby Room

     The baby room is finally coming together and it's making it all seem real. A while back we decided that my bedroom would become the baby room. We got almost all of my belongings and furniture out of the room in May. Although my dressers stay there under a tarp for the last two months in anticipation of room painting. It took Teddy much longer than I hoped but the baby room is finally painted. Since I shoulding be around paint fumes Teddy offered to take care of the painting. He primed the walls, painted the ceiling white, and then got the one accent wall before tackling the three remaining walls. It was months of looking at a tarped and taped up room that we nicknamed "the kill room" a la HBO's Dexter; but it's finally done. The walls at least. There's still spots that need touch up paint and the window frame needs painting but we still have time for that.

     After getting the painting done, Teddy and his friend moved my dressers out and the furniture that we'll use for the baby in. Teddy also assembled the crib. Is say the room is 70% done. We still have decals to put up and well as some framed pictures and decorations. Besides that it's setting up the baby swing,mobile, and other baby gifts. I also haven't figured out the baby "changing station." I think changing tables are a waste of money and space. I hoped to place a changing pad on top of the dresser and manage that way but now I'm worried the space is too narrow.

     The other thing I could use is a seat in the baby room. The only glider (baby rocking chair) that I actually liked is well over $1,000. My mom offered to buy it but I can't let her spend that much on a chair. It's just too much. Even the traditional gliders go for a few hundred dollars which I think is outrageous. Not to mention they are so hideous. You'd think someone would come up with an affordable but practical baby chair. For now I placed an ikea lounge chair in the room but it won't work for me and baby because I can barely get out of the chair now. I'm sure we'll figure something out.

     When we get the room all done I'll post more pictures. It's still a work in progress but at least it has a baby room feel to it already. 2 more months to get it all done and welcome the baby.

Registering with Buy Buy Baby

     Before being pregnant I rarely stepped foot into a baby store so the idea of registering for baby products seemed overwhelming at first. Just the choices of what store to register at seemed complicated. Sure you have the big company baby chains like Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby. If you want to be fancy and go the high end route- Bloomingdales and some other department stores have a "baby shop" and offer registries. Then there's Target, Walmart, Kmart, and all of those stores. Lastly, there's the internet and even more possibilities for places to register.  I settled on Buy Buy Baby and Amazon.

     I went with Amazon for one of my registries (yes, I did more than one). I like the convenience of the internet and Amazon has EVERYTHING. Plus prime members can get free shipping (depending on the product). The thing that sold me on an Amazon registry (other than the convenience)  is their "universal button." After installing it, you can browse other websites and link items from other sites into your registry. Sadly, I have yet to figure it out so that I can add the universal button so that I can attach a few items from other sites into my registry. I've gone though the directions a few times and even asked Teddy to do it for me since he's more computer savvy and we still haven't figured it out. If anyone knows how to set up the universal button please message me or comment back on how I can do it.

     For my other registry I wanted to pick a store. Some of my guests, like my grandma, don't have a computer nor would they know how to go about using an online registry so I needed a standard store option. I went with Buy Buy Baby for two reasons. 1) they accept Bed Bath & Beyond coupons and 2) I liked their inventory & customer service.

    Originally I though I'd go with Babies R Us but I hated their customer service during my initial trip to the store. There were limited associates on the sales floor and when I needed help and information on a stroller I spent 20 minutes waiting for help. Maybe it's a bit harsh to make a quick judgment on one bad experience but I also read a few negative comments online about their return policy. So I gave Buy Buy Baby a shot.

    Before beginning my registry I spent hours online ready product reviews, watching youtube videos of parent reviews, and even started following blogs like Baby Gizmo. By the time I went to the store to do my registry I had a huge list of my wants and needs. Turns out I didn't need to do all that research on my own. Buy Buy Baby gives you a booklet of things to consider and register for and they even offer you a personal shopper (free of charge) to walk the store with you, answer your questions, and to make suggestions of useful items. I also didn't realize that I could have done my registry bit by bit rather than spending a half day with a scan gun getting all the items that I wanted. It's ok. I took my mom, rather than Teddy, to complete the registry. We made a day of it. After the initial sign up at the help desk, I was offered water as we are shopping (we got two little bottles) and given a goody bag. I've included a picture of the items in the bag; it was a good mix of coupons, promotions of products, and some samples.

     As mentioned before I was offered a personal shopper but I declined since I already know many of the brands and items that I wanted. If I knew the store staff would be so helpful I would have started my registry earlier. Perhaps then Teddy could have come along to do part of it. He decided against it since he know I already had a ton of items in mind and he'd just be bored following me around the store. Had I not research everything first and just worked on sections of the registry at a time he could have been involved. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.