Today I just wanted to listen to radio and I had to change the channel a record 15 times in a 20 min journey. I couldnt listen to Jessie J ‘doin it like a dude’ and then came Nicole who ‘didnt want you to wash your mouth out cos she likes it dirty’. Then there were some lame ad breaks we listened to and then came on Nicki Minaj who wanted to know whether you knew who the ‘F’ she was. I then decided to give it one last shot and there was RiRi telling me how much she loves ‘whips and chains and SEX’

In the end it just had to be ’1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive….’

On so many levels this music and lyrics are disturbing, but the immediate issue for me is that my daughter is 3yrs old and she repeats everything…and I mean everything. Yesterday she told my husband ‘mummy said you need to stop nagging her’ so I need to be careful what I say and also what she listens too. I couldn’t  live with myself if I heard her repeating any of the lyrics above.

There will be a time soon when I will be worrying that she is listening and mimicking these so called ‘divas’ of music and the influence they have. There are many women role models for her – its a shame they arent in the mainstream all the time. I just wish that the tone of the lyrics could be improved – as Im not sure why such language has to be used – but thats my age coming out!

I feel if we make it so acceptable to have these lyrics so open in the mainstream where are kids are exposed to it, we are in essence saying that the behavior the lyrics support is acceptable and the norm. Perhaps a watershed would work as it does in TV.

So I have now created a CD which has selected songs from Adele, Michael Buble and Phil Collins and if I ever want to listen to radio I will stick to Magic and Heart!

Today I was lucky enough to be invited to the breastfeeding conference in Hillingdon which has become a yearly event for the past 3 years. Organised by the Breastfeeding co-ordinator for the borough  - Its an event which you walk away feeling relieved that there are so many professionals and volunteers who are so passionate and focused on providing mothers with support in those first few hours/days/weeks/months and beyond of having a baby.

As I am about to experience the maternity service again this year – it eased my anxiety about ensuring that I had support around me to help me breastfeed. The first time round I was lucky that my husband fought for me to get the support I needed and I can see how in the last few years the support network has GROWN!

From increased breastfeeding peer support workers to improved breastfeeding drop-in session in the area, its a true testament to the dedication of those involved in this.

What surprised me even more was the support given by the CEO of the North West NHS trust and the Mayoress of the borough to the cause and their own views and influence in the subject.

The amount of work which goes on to improve breastfeeding rates at a local level is amazing – and I am sure other local areas are the same. Its only through these professionals that the rates overall are increasing – though some local areas still have issues.

It was quite humbling being in a room of professionals and volunteers whose sole aim was to support women through childbirth and beyond…..and NO none of them were preaching about breastfeeding. It was about giving women an informed choice and then providing them with an environment which supports and nurtures that decision to breastfeed. Right down from the language used by GP’s to the local cafe who makes you feel welcome and comfortable to feed.

I was there to show the support Milkbug provide women by offering breastfeeding clothes which enable women who are feeling unsure of feeding in public to feed anywhere in comfort and discretion. The response was really positive and many mentioned how many mums were saying they didnt want to feed in public. This is of course an wider issue – but in our small way it was reassuring to know that the reason Milkbug was set up was appreciated by the health professionals.

I almost fell of my seat when I when I read this diet which Lady Gaga is following! Actually it seems its not just her but its other stars too who will be seen by our children as ‘role models’!

I suppose I can understand the pressure that these women are under to be slim, but with the millions in their bank accounts – surely they can afford a personal trainer and chef who can help them stay slim. We here about these diets all the time, but this one has taken the biscuit as sales have increased dramatically for some of the brands. Whats worrying is that some so called dietitians have recommended this as a detox diet.

When I started weaning my daughter – I didnt give her baby food unless I really had to, she had fresh food all the time and still does. I found the baby food jars were tasteless and bland…. So I am surprised at how this diet has taken off.

As our children grow up in this world which is different to the one I grew up in, I worry for my daughter as she will be faced with all sorts of information on how to preen and prune herself, and I can just hope that I bring her up to be confident in herself and just hope that she is surrounded by better role models than those of Gaga who follow these diets at a danger to themselves – knowing that millions will emulate their actions.

My own experience of the early days all went by in a daze – but I remember reading the notes that my midwife made on me as part of the handover to the health visitor and I was surprised how much she had deduced from just looking at me as she never asked me direct questions on myself. I had some trouble breastfeeding at first and that was were all my focus was and the midwife had made notes on my mental health, the support I was getting and also my physical health – all this without talking to me one to one. It never really dawned on me until recently that she may have made a number of assumptions on me (she actually happened to be right….but only because I didnt intentionally hide my feelings)

The only time my well being was questioned was with my health visitor as she completed an postnatal depression form – so it was a formality. There was a general conversation on using netmums and some classes, but I was left to fend for myself.

I remember the first weeks were so lonely as my friendships with my NCT group hadnt fully formed at this stage and I didnt know what classes my daughter would benefit from – so we spent hours walking around in her pushchair.

It took a while, but I did develop lifelong friendships through NCT and the health clinic and I had the time of my life while I was on maternity leave.

While I believe that babies are the most important and their wellbeing is key  - I also think you cant have one without the other. The mother also needs to be looked after and given support in order to equip her to feel confident to look after her baby.

I would be interested in your experiences and whether you feel you got the support you needed which focused on YOU.

I finally get to try out some of the clothes that we sell at Milkbug. I set up Milkbug after I had stopped breastfeeding my daughter so never really got a chance to indulge in any of the clothes – but with the new spring summer collection here I have had a shopping frenzy!

Whats great is that I can really try for myself what works and what you guys like about what we sell. I have always been dubious about the dual function clothing – i.e those that are both for pregnancy and nursing, but the Majamas collection is great for this and I found the clothes do accommodate my ever growing belly! If I remember after my daughter was born my mum tum didnt go away for a while and I begged my husband to wear his t-shirts. Which is why I can see how the dual function will be great after as it wont hug my belly!

So while I am having a great time with a new outfit every week – our spring collection has been flying of the shelves. We have had mothers en vogue in so much demand  and as I wear one of the maxi dresses I can see why.

I might not be the belle of any ball – but this time round i do feel like lot sexier than the first time round. Though I wonder how I will look when baby is here and I have to endure the sleepless nights again! But rest assured I know I will look good in my breastfeeding night suit which I have just picked out from Majamas.

Have a look at the collection at : http://www.milkbug.co.uk/Spring-Summer-collection/

We attended fashions show, fun days and provided loads of goodies, discounts and vouchers for new mums to use.

The biggest thing this week was attending a breastfeeding conference organised by the breastfeeding co-ordinator for Hillingdon for all the health visitors and midwifes in the area. We were invited to attend to share with the health professional what we do, the items we stock and also talk more about the clothes parties we do.

It was great to hear so much good feedback from those that work in the front line trying to support women breastfeeding, and we are even in discussions to become a peer to peer volunteer where we help new mums in hospital in breastfeeding.

I know from my own experience that the support you get those first few weeks is crucial to a mum continuing breastfeeding.

The work these health professionals do and the breastfeeding co-ordinator is truly humbling and the passion they show sweeps you away. We will be getting more involved to help, and on a local level Milkbug will be organizing an breastfeeding event for new mums in this area, where they get advice and support. More details to follow

This coming Sunday we will be attending the Mother and Baby Exhibition near us, and am really looking forward to working with the local businesses on this. We will update here after the event.

We also are working on some initiatives for Milkbug – and are so exciting at launching these step by step over the coming months. We have a clear marketing and brand strategy, and offering mums breast pumps is one step – it will all become clear as we reposition ourselves as more than just clothes, as we all know breastfeeding is so much more than that .

Majamas® was one of the first companies to offer a nursing tank top for women. Their Original Nursing Top first hit the market in 1999 at Nordstrom Department Stores. Since then, Majamas®  has become one of the best selling nursing collections for new mothers and now offers more than 80 styles under their Majamas® and their Nixilu™ labels.

It all started with The Original Nursing Top. After having her first baby, owner and founder Germaine Caprio was tired of wearing a nursing bra so she designed a top to replace it. Nordstrom was the first to buy her patented tank top. Over ten years later, Germaine and her husband still make their garments here in the United States wholesaling them all over the world. Their  Majamas®  garments focus on women’s basic needs and their Nixilu™ garments focus on seasonal fashion. Due to popular demand they’ve introduced a new line called Eliseo for ALL women.

We have selected  a great collection from the styles for summer, the dresses are great as they come in bold/floral prints perfect for this seasons trend, made of modal material – they are super soft and fit any shape very well.

Majamas also has a great range of sleepwear, and we have introduced a selection, with much more still to come.

Its a pleasure to have Majamas and its a pleasure to be working with Germaine to bring this to the UK, new ranges are always coming out, and we cant wait to bring them to the UK

We have been busy pulling together our spring summer collection for you and are so excited to be launching it over the coming days! We have some great designs and have managed to secure a design label which is getting rave reviews in the US and we love the styles.

There is a press release which we will post here and is due to be going out soon as well, but we have captured the range to style, colours and designs to suit all tastes and is in line with the new bold/floral prints for this summer

We now stock a sample collection from Mayreau, but we see this getting larger as the response has been great, and we have some real colourful items from Blissful Babes

In response to some of the feedback that you have been giving us, we now stock a selection of nursing swimwear, this is great for the summer hols, but also when taking bubba swimming. Swimming early on has a range of benefits for babies and feeding can be a nightmare.

We will post the full press release here soon, but take a look at the early items already

In addition we have re-branded have a look at our new logo:

See below the press release which will be going out – we are so proud and welcome any comments!

Milkbug announces the re-launch of its website, to improve customer experience.

Milkbug a leading online retailer of nursing clothes have launched their new look website with the aim of improving customer experience which it predicts will drive sales growth.

The new site will include a range of new features from a detailed zoom function which allows customers to see its breastfeeding clothing in detail to information on stock availability. The site will also include suggested complimentary products to assist customers in their choices.

Improved navigation and a wider image format throughout makes the site user friendly and easy for customers to use and find items.

The retailer has also introduced a quick checkout process, which is a key requirement asked by customers from the research that Milkbug conducted in helping shape the design of the site.

A slideshow functionality on the homepage enables Milkbug to showcase its nursing designs in an interactive and fun way for customers, making it unique for Milkbug.

The new site incorporates Milkbug’s new brand image and corporate colours, which are considered to be more inviting and appealing to the target audience whilst maintaining its professionalism.

User feedback has been extremely positive, with visitors commenting on the improved homepage and detailed zoom function giving them a level of insight into their purchase which wasn’t available before.

The site will run on a new platform which will enable it to support its increasing user base and will allow them to build further enhancements to the site and further improve customer experience.

“It was becoming increasingly obvious to us that in order to set us apart in the market we needed to improve our online customer experience and image” says Taj Randhawa, MD of Milkbug, “by embracing some new customer experience tools we have developed a new look and feel while displaying our website in a simple and compelling way to our visitors”

Milkbug have proven they are a strong player in the niche market of breastfeeding clothes and have shown a strong sales turnover since 2008 when they entered the market. The company has an ethos of sourcing the best nursing fashion which help mothers breastfeed whilst retaining a sense of style.

www.milkbug.co.uk - 

We are so proud to be offering the largest collection of Momzelle in the UK as this collection of breastfeeding clothes is truly remarkable. What we love about Momzelle is the practical style and the fact that each design is lovingly made from soft cotton. These tops are soft for both mum and baby and are specially designed for post pregnancy figure therefore giving perfect fit for new mums.

Momzelle was designed and launched by Christine and in conjunction with her brother Vincent, they have taken the momzelle brand froms strength to strength! Momzelle has got some of the best PR we have ever seen and endorsed by some major names in the fashion industry, but also by mums who repeatly buy Momzelle items.

What we love even more is that Christine endorses her products and can be seen as the model for some of her items (isnt she a true yummy mummy?)

Have a read of her interview and go and view the full Momzelle collection here……………

You created your own nursing top when you had your daughter – did you have a background in clothing design, or is this something that developed out of your own need to have a comfortable nursing top?

I am what a lot of people call a “mompreneur”. I was doing my Ph.D in French literature when I had my daughter; it is the nursing top that I created for myself in order to be comfortable breastfeeding her in public that started it all. The first one to tell me I should market the product was my midwife, and soon my friends asked me to make some nursing tops for them. I had not thought of starting a business before, but the idea of helping other women feel good about breastfeeding in public was very attractive. Knowing that Momzelle truly helps other mums has been giving a meaningful purpose to my life ever since I started the business. 

You set up Momzelle with your brother, Vincent – how have you both found it working together as siblings, but being business partners also?

That is a good question! I love working with my brother, he is the best business partner I could dream of! During the beginning stages of the business, he would look after my daughter while I was working on the Momzelle prototypes. This is something that could not have been possible if he had not been my brother. We balance each other very well. Vincent is excellent with numbers, and I take care mostly of the creative side. We both know that Momzelle or not, we are going to see each other for the rest of our lives, so we try to be very respectful of each other and keep the brother/sister fights to a minimum!

Momzelle is doing so well on an international level, what is it about the designs that mums say they love so much?

The first thing a mum is looking for in a nursing top is practicality. Mums usually start by buying one or two Momzelle pieces that quickly become their nursing wardrobe staples because they are easy to wear and easy to nurse in. The most beautiful nursing top is useless if nursing in it is awkward! Momzelle tops combine style and ease of use, and there is no better combination.

Each Momzelle design/colour and style is so unique, where do you get your inspiration for your collection from?

This is one of my favorite parts. Each month, I go out in the trendiest streets of Toronto and look at what people are wearing, style and colour-wise. I believe nursing mums should be “in the know” and have access to current fashion. I also attend the MAGIC show in Las Vegas and get access to the future trends over a year in advance.

What new items do we have to look forward to from Momzelle in 2010?

You can expect more nursing dresses and a nightgown or two, and many new colours for Spring-Summer. Mums have told us that they love Momzelle extra-long tops, so you can also look forward to new lengths!

We would like to thank Christine for taking the time out for this interview

visit the collection at www.milkbug.co.uk/momzelle_clothing