Rosie Pope of Pregnant in Heels Creates Exclusive Capsule Collection for A Pea in the Pod

Thanks Primetime Parenting for sending this Save1Person founder on another fun assignment. This past Thursday I had the unique opportunity to mingle with Rosie Pope, the star of Bravo’s Pregnant in Heels, amongst a large crowd of Moms and Moms-to-be at Destination Maternity’s Flagship Store.

The purpose of this gathering was to showcase Rosie Pope for A Pea in the Pod™, an exclusive capsule collection available at A Pea in the Pod® and Destination Maternity stores nationwide. I can honeslty say the clothing was sexy, glamorous and spacious for that expecting mom and expanding belly.

In addition to her maternity fashion creations, Rosie specializes in coaching Manhattan new moms and moms-to-be through every step of their pregnancies, from style advice to infant CPR training to the latest trends in birthing options. Rosie currently lives in NYC with her husband Daron, two sons J.R. and Wellington, and newborn daughter VivienneMadison. Yes, she is looking amazing as ever just 5 weeks post delivery!

Rosie Pope with husband Daron Pope (left) and Chris Daniel, President of Destination Maternity Corporation (right)

Not only is Rosie Pope beautiful on the outside, she is beautiful on the inside as well. I found it interesting to know that Rosie Pope’s career began when she worked at A Pea in the Pod. She also explained the inspiration behind her collection— she was pregnant at the time she designed it— and desire to make versatile pieces for moms-to-be to feel stylish and comfortable from day to night.

For a bunch of moms and moms-to-be, this was quite a lively group of women. What’s not fun, especially when shopping a new collection while sampling a sweet selection of candy and sipping on mocktails provided by Dylan’s Candy Bar. Even without being pregnant, Dylan’s is my go to place to satisfy any craving!

Even though I was pregnant a few years back, it was so wonderful to see how glowing and glamorous pregnancy can be (and should be) with these versatile and comfortable pieces created by Rosie Pope. The heat last Thursday didn’t stop the large crowd of moms-to-be for showing up. In fact, the first 50 moms-to-be that arrived were treated to a Rosie Pope Maternity Diaper Clutch. The first 100 moms-to-be that arrived received a Destination Maternity giftcard with a mystery value up to $250.

Whether you are pregnant or want to give a gift to a pregnant friend, keep up with the world’s leading maternity brands Motherhood Maternity^® and A Pea in the Pod^® visit www.destinationmaternity.com. Make sure you follow @DestinationMat on Twitter and Like Destination Maternity on Facebook.

This was not a paid post. Lauren Finkelstein attended this event in order to review the new line that Rosie Pope created for A Pea in the Pod.

 

Photos from: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Destination Maternity

 

5 More Weeks Till the Birth of My Disney Baby

I know what you are thinking. No, I’m not pregnant, but primetimeparent contributor Audrey Matalon-Rogers is! Here is her latest post! You can also keep up with her primetimepregnancy at http://primetimepregnancy.wordpress.com/

Contributed by Audrey Matalon-Rogers

What’s a Disney Baby, you ask? A Disney Baby is a fashion forward babe, a babe who’s $$$ conscious… a practical babe, who also loooves a good time… especially with his or her favorite Disney buddies.

I can’t wait for the arrival of my new Disney Baby in 5 weeks, who’ll get to experience Disney’s great, lovable characters while using top of the line products like NUK, Born Free, Graco, Safety 1^st, Kids II, Huggies, and more.

The Summer Begins

Things have been very busy in the life of this primetimeparent. So busy, that I have enlisted some other primetimeparents’ to join this site and share news about new foods, entertaining at home, baby care, and travel.  I want to welcome primetimepappy (our dad blogger), Audrey, and Tracy and thank them for their contributions. I must admit that I have been updating my facebook fan page more frequently and you are welcome to catch up with me there as well.

My Mother’s Day With R Baby Foundation In Central Park, New York

30,000 babies born in the U.S. last year will not make it to this Mother’s Day.

When I first learned about this fact, my eyes swelled up and my heart ached for the mothers’ that had endured such unfortunate circumstances. It is these types of life experiences that bring life to non-profit organizations like R Baby Foundation.

This type of life altering experience was real to Phyllis Rabinowitz. When you meet Phyllis, a gorgeous slender brunette with a resume only the finest companies would consider, you would never imagine that she had lost her own baby at just nine days old. I had the privilege of meeting Phyllis and listened as she gave over her own personal story of loss as if it had just happened. Her and her husband took their unfortunate situation and gave life to a cause that should have been identified years ago. A short but very impressionalbe video about her situation is now available, you will need tissues, trust me. 

Whether your baby is whisked away to the NICU (Neonatol Intensive Care Unit) or you bring your newborn/infant in for fear of an illness or virus, all mothers and their babies depend upon the nearest medical institutions.

 After 13 hours of being hooked up to IV’s, and heart rate monitors, I finally managed to push out my son into the arms of the nurses and staff waiting patiently on the other side. I hadn’t even caught a glimpse of my newborn baby boy when they took him away for some necessary intervention. My husband and I had no idea what was wrong. We waited in silence for somebody to tell us exactly what happened. We feared the worst and prayed for the good. After two hours of waiting for some word on our newborn son, my husband  walked over to the NICU, the scariest steps he had ever taken, in search of news about our newborn son. Thank G-d, he was able to see him beneath the breathing tubes and IVs coming out from his newborn frame. Thank G-d the NICU had the resources and medical technology to help his labored breathing get up to speed with the demands of life outside of the womb.

Even in the constant care of the nurses and rounds of Pediatric specialists, our hearts were heavy with concern and our physical stamina was shot. We visited the NICU every chance we had and took notice of the other newborns in the same room. We thought about them and prayed that they would soon be in the arms of their mothers and fathers.

 Thank G- d, we were able to take our son home with us when I was dispatched from the my two day stay at the hospital. We are forever thankful for the NICU at North Shore University Hospital and the incredible nurses, interns, and physicians that helped us during that time. As I write this post, I know of mothat least one mother that wil spend her Mother’s Day with her premature baby in  the NICU.   I can’t emphasize enough how much it means to me that R Baby Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that babies, including those in the first month of life suffering from viral infections and other infectious diseases, receive the highest quality of care and service through supporting life-saving pediatric training, education, research, treatment and equipment.

I will be walking with R Baby Fondation this Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 9, 2010 (8AM to 11:30AM) in NYC’s Central Park. Even thought registration is now closed, you can still participate as a “Virtual Walker”, make a donation or search for someone who has already registered.

Last year, over 9,000 people participated and helped raise over $750,000 for pediatric emergency care. Help R Baby Foundation increase these numbers for 2010! Click here to view the 2009 website.

Start your Mother’s Day by taking a step towards improving emergency medical care for babies everywhere.

Join R Baby Foundation in the park for:

• Family Activities
• Live Entertainment
• Sports Clinics
• Arts and Crafts by apple seeds
• Snacks
• Giveaways, prizes and much more!

Mother’s Day? How About Mothers Week!

Moms, it’s all about us and it’s not just for one day anymore, we’re celebrating motherhood all week long. What a blessing it is to be a mom, and if you’re not a mother yet, you’re probably a SavvyAuntie. There is something for everymom this week. 

 Open Mom Night

On Thursday, May 7 from 6-8 pm, Role Mommy will celebrate Mother’s Day with a collection of laugh out loud readings and performances at New York City’s Comic Strip Live featuring some of the most talented authors, bloggers and television producers living in the tri-state area. The MC for the event will be Fox 5 NY’s technology reporter, Brett Larson – who also happened to be a stand-up comic before crossing over into news.

National Moms Night Out

The evening will consist of local events held across the country, as well as mom-organized parties and virtual activities. To allow moms everywhere to join in on the fun, mothers will be invited to throw their own mom’s nite out event by downloading party ideas and elements from The National Mom’s Nite Out website. The night of the event moms can join in the fun through online chats, Skype and Twitter tweet-ups.

 Big City Moms Annual Mother’s Day Celebration

If you and your mom, grandma, and/or best mommy friend and baby will be in Manhattan this Friday, May 8, you won’t want to miss a fun afternoon at Kidville NYC at the Annual Big City Moms Mother’s Day event.  Pamper, Play & Shop. You’ll just love Mary Ann Zoellner & Alicia Ybarbo, Authors & Today Show producers. Join us in celebrating their new book, “Today’s : Essential for Surivvng Baby’s Frist Year”. If your baby is potty trained and you don’t know what to do with an extra box of size 6 diapers, bring them for the Baby Buggy Diaper Drive.

What will you be doing to celebrate? I’d love to know. If you know of more events in the New York area, please leave it in the comments below.

If Mom’s Looking Out For Everyone, Who’s looking Out For Mom?

Have you ever had one of those days when your babysitter cancelled, the toilet overflowed, your kids had more mucus coming out of there noses than ever, and your DH (Dear Husband) had to work late. Or, you’re newly married, pregnant with your first child, and new to a neighborhood without family around the corner(been there, done that). This could bring any pregnant women into an emotional frenzy. With my first pregnancy, newly married, and away from my family, I was extremely emotional. Whenever I spoke on the phone to my family, I would start getting so ferklempt that I would start crying. Not because I wasn’t happy, but because all that was familiar to me was a plane ride away. My poor DH, he tried everything to cheer me up when I was experiencing one of my crying sessions (clothes, starbucks, blockbuster). He couldn’t understand (only a woman could relate)the bond a woman has with her sisters and mom. If you had the type of mom that always had a way to make you feel better, that’s my mom. She was always looking out for everyone, including her parents (they both fell ill at the same time). I can honestly say I never saw her stress out about her parents health issues. I was all of 5 years old, not to mention my 3 older siblings, who were 8, 10, and 13 at the time. Even the days, weeks, running from doctors appointments to hospitals, she never lost her cool. If she did, I never knew about it. She always made everything all right, I’m forever thankful for her ability to do so. Now, as a mom of 3 kids, 4 and under, I rarely have a minute to myself, I can’t imagine how overwhelmed she must have felt. Throughout that entire period of caring for her parents, she always put on a smile, tucked me in bed, and looked out for me. She kept herself well, physically and mentally. She played tennis and got together with other moms on a regular basis. And just think, this was before email, cell phones, voice mail, and instant messaging. If you needed to be reached, you literally had to wait by the phone. Call waiting, not even an option. If somebody was schmoozing it up with a girlfriend 35 years ago, you’d miss that important call from the doctor. So, my question is, when did mom have time to take care of herself?

Well, it seems as though moms and having time to take care of themselves has always been an issue. With today’s social media at our fingertips 24/7, if you forget to have regular doctor appointments, programs like Queens City Council’s newest initiative:  NYC Women First: Health Starts with You, will remind you.  This initiative was launched by Christine C. Quinn, Speaker, and it’s incredible. Christine expressed, “Too often, women prioritize the needs of others first – at home, at work, with family,with friends, and in relationships. Please join with me and women across the city in making the next year one in which we focus on ourselves and our health as a major priority.”

This is what the program has provided , and will provide, to women in New York
October - Women with Get Screened For Breast Cancer
November-  Protect Yourself Against Diabetes
December- Protect Yourself From HIV
January- Get help if you are experiencing domestic violence
February- Keep your heart healthy
March –  If you’re over 50, get a colonoscopy
April, Get a gynecological provider
May, Practice safe sex and know your reproductive health options
June, Protect yourself against osteoporosis
July, Get help if you are experiencing depression
August, Quit smoking, and
September, Have a healthy pregnancy.

We all know that Mother knows and does best for us, here’s a chance for her to get what’s best for her health. Even though we’ve all grown up and live away from home, we still need you, mom.

For more detailed information, please visit NYC Women First New York City Council

Spring It On: Sane Fitness and Sane Fitness Preggers Giveaway

What happens when people still ask if you know what you’re having and (they don’t mean for lunch) you gave birth over a year ago? If you are pregnant, how do you keep off the first trimester fifteen and avoid another lecture on weight gain from your OB/GYN?

There is a solution. You don’t have to go out at get a gym membership (definitely not in this economy) or eat cabbage soup for an entire week (I’d tell you why but that’s TMI).  What you need is the SANE FITNESS QuickStart Deck.  This is the perfect portable fitness trainer. The deck features six weeks worth of full body workouts on easy-to-follow portable cards (and the pictures are great). The SANE FITNESS QuickStart Deck also includes a cardio plan outlining 20 minutes of cardio that’ll target the areas where you want to trim down…just in time for spring.  You’ll look better and you’ll feel better. Plus, this year, Sane Fitness recently released a Sane Fitness Preggers QuickStart Deck

 

 

 

 

 

My previous attempts to incorporate fitness and a healthy diet into my busy lifestyle (3 kids, 4 and under, getting out of the house takes 30 minutes) have never been achieved.  According to the National Eating Disorder Information Center 70% of women are currently dieting and 40% are continually gaining and losing weight. You should see how many different size clothing I have in my closet! It has been proven that healthy eating and exercise adds energy and efficiency to your life.  You can actually get more done in a given day and feel physically better at the same time.  With all the demands of the workplace and your home life, Sane Fitness can put some much needed sanity into your daily routine.  SANE FITNESS introduces – a fitness trainer in a box! The SANE FITNESS QuickStart Deck is a card set that offers a steady-as-you-go, reasonable way to incorporate regular exercise and good eating into your jam-packed days.  The QuickStart Deck is the perfect travel item for those business trips and vacations!   Sane Fitness was created for the woman-on-the-go who wants to stay feeling fabulous all day long and into the evening as well! 

 SANE FITNESSTM QuickStart Deck: Portable Fitness Trainer
The SANE FITNESS QuickStart Deck is the perfect portable fitness trainer. Take it with you on those business trips and revive yourself.  The deck features six week’s worth of full body workouts on easy-to-follow portable cards.  Each week the SANE FITNESS QuickStart Deck offers a different combination of weight training and stretching exercises to increase one’s fitness level. When on-the-go, users can take one week’s worth of workouts with them to help them stay on track with their fitness routine.  The SANE FITNESS QuickStart Deck also includes a cardio plan outlining 20 minutes of cardio before your weight lifting. SANE FITNESS makes it easy to take less than one hour out of your day to get a great workout each and every time. Beverley Caen has developed a three-part plan for success while traveling by incorporating the SANE FITNESS workout into your busy schedule. The following are Beverley’s tips for staying fit on the fly:

 

 

The SANE FITNESSTM Experts
SANE FITNESS was not invented by a diet guru who preaches endless hours in the gym and a diet consisting of no sugar, no carbohydrates and basically…no fun!  Instead, Sane Fitness was invented by Beverley Caen– a wife, mother and business woman– for women just like her, who never seems to have enough hours in the day to focus on themselves.  Beverley Caen is the perfect example of an overextended working mother and wife who has found a way to make fitness and healthy eating a part of her everyday life. With a little help from fitness expert John Cruz, this Wall Street career woman and mother of three, developed an exercise program that could fit into any busy woman’s schedule. 

 

 

 About SANE FITNESS Preggers 
Once you are given the ok by your own obstetrician to exercise, Sane Fitness Preggers is a complete program that begins in your 2nd trimester– the stage in your pregnancy when your body starts to really change. SANE FITNESS The Preggers Deck contains 24 weeks of full-body workouts that you can do at the gym or at home with minimal equipment. The card set is enough to get you through your entire pregnancy.  The contents of the box include 72 cards, an instructional brochure and a ring with a stylish lanyard, for conveniently transporting the card set around town. 

I Have One (1) Sane Fitness QuickStart Deck and One (1) Sane Fitness Preggers Deck To Giveaway

 

I have arranged for two of my readers to get either the Sane Fitness QuickStart Deck or the Sane Fitness Preggers!  If you’d like either one fo these, here’s what you need to do:

 

Leave a comment on this entry. 

Check out the Sane Ftiness website (QuickStart Decks linked above) and tell me which of these Sane Fitness QuickStart Decks would be most helpful for you and why!

 

This gives you one additional entry:

 

1. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify. Or use something like this:

 

RT @primetimeparent  is giving away Sane Fitness QuickStart Decks!

 

You have until March 28, 11:59 am

 

Spring It On!!

Our Mothers Know Best

You Complete Me

 

 

 

 

Everything I know about parenting I learned from my mom. I didn’t know this until I became a mom myself. 

She was there for me when in the delivery room as I was pushing out my first baby. When I had my second baby, she was at my house with my first baby, and when I had my third baby, she was at my house with my first and second babies. Mom, you’re my hero. I also feel triply blessed, as my sister, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law are all so fantastic with newborns. I was so overwhelmed with my first baby that my sister-in-law drove over an hour to visit with me and wrote down the steps to soothing a fussy baby. I still go by those notes to this day.

There are times in the middle of the night when all new moms experience a wave of panic.  A combination of sleep deprivationand hormonal overload can make even a constipated baby seem like an emergency (really, how can a baby go for days without pooping?).  Not wanting to wake up our families at that hour, my husband and we would turn to the 24/7 resource on our laps, and just google it. Our love affair with social media has been part of our lives ever since. From the What To Expect Series to buying diapers and wipes on Amazon, we’re linked together.

Everyday, more and more marketing executives from big brand companies in the pharmaceutical, consumer products, toy, automotive, airline and resort industries, are getting on-line with social media.  They want to reach parents, and they want to reach moms. Why haven’t they done this already? There is a fear of the blogosphere, as it enables consumers to post both negative and positive product reviews and customer service experiences.  (like this example involving the painkiller Motrin). The Wall Street Journal published an article on SXSW Roundup: “Moms Who Tech” as recent as yesterday.  Companies have to become more transparent and get their blog on. The article ended with the following question, ”If you were in a room full of marketing and customer service execs from major companies that you use, what sort of feedback would you give them on how better to reach and serve you?” As a mommy blogger and social media savvy stay-at-home-mom of 3 kids, 4 and under, I just had to comment; 

I am a stay-at-home mom of 3 children, 4 and under and I joined Twitter about four months ago, not really knowing what to do with it. Once I started using the search tool, I found thousands of moms using Twitter to share information. Everything from recipe ideas, money saving tips, and coupons to breastfeeding, 2 year old temper tantrums, and travel tips. It is because of these technical resources that I am a wiser consumer and a resource of information to my circle of moms. I think it is extremely important that advertising executives and public relations strategists increase their on-line presence. Have more contests to engage your audience and use social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to reach us. You already know that we make 80% of the purchasing decisions in the household, catch us on-line before we start shopping for a new car, birthday present for niece, healthy cereal, or places to stay near Disney World. We’re already out in the blogosphere, you should be too.

40 years ago, a stay-at-home-mom had no choice but to call up her pediatrician or neighbor to get answers (that’s without call waiting or voice mail). Today, we have those answers right in front of us.  We can shop, plan, bake, read,  blog, and make money (best during nap time) while at home with our kids.  It’s not that we don’t love getting out and going into stores, just getting the kids dressed and out of the house is a job.

40+ and Expecting

I just love hearing these sprouting stories.

Molly Ringwald, Rachel Griffith, Mira Sorvino

It’s so in to be 40+ and pregnant, Molly is writing a book about it. Are you 40+ and expecting a baby? Congrats!!! Let me here how you’re doing?

Pregnancy

My son is almost 10 months old and I am still getting asked, “are you pregnant”. Even in my tightest spanx, and fleexes, my pregnancy shape is still very obvious. Is it because I was blessed with children close in age, or is it my age, 40+ that makes shedding the pounds more challenging.

I must admit, I love chocolate and the taste of oatmeal cookies just out of the oven. In fact, I have never had such a lack of restraint during dessert time. Just savoring those delicious moments of warm baked cookies puts a smile on my face, as well as an extra cushion on my tuchis.

I know that I will eventually lose that pregnancy look, but maybe deep down inside I really want to be pregnant again (my husband and entire family would freak) because I felt so present in my life. Even with my third pregnancy (blessing), I would go to babycenter.com everyday and check out my birth club. Even though I had been through it all before, I was ecstatic to be there again. I think I was probably the only person not to complain about waiting over an hour so see my doctor, I was just happy to be there.

So, the next time somebody asks you if you’re expecting because your control top failed you that day, how does that make you feel? My heart goes out to all of the women who are trying to conceive, and get asked that question. You never know what that woman has going on in the fertility department.

So, the baby weight I am still carrying is a constant reminder of how miraculous it is to have been pregnant. Go ahead, you can ask me. But you may ask a woman desperately trying to get pregnant and you’ll never forget her response, and especially how you felt when you heard her say it.