Pari's M2B

Designing of the Nursing Wears.

Continuing from my last post, what are the needs of a nursing mom.
I looked back to reflect on what had been my 1st garment requirement. My 1st requirement was for home wear, availability had always been nighties.Now nighties are frowned and looked down upon by the elders, simply because it is not something to be worn in front of visitors. And this same feedback was given by our regular wear customer's. Their demand also was no zip's as zips hurt baby and mommy and zips break! I immediately connected with the zips hurting/breaking part as I had badly suffered due to them and decided to design without zips.

Nursing Gown Discreet Feeding Buttons

So the nursing gown had to have....

A decent look with no frills!
Discreet Nursing Facility
No Zips.
Cottons as they are all weather wear
And availability in all sizes.

I sat with my master cutter with all these demands and he literally went berserk and said to me, I quote,'Have you seen what everyone is selling? Ladies want convenience, zips are convenient and you want without zips? You want under bust buttons and slits? Who will buy your crazy designs?' When the samples were ready he took back his words and all the customer's who saw them were very happy and I am happy to state that all our discreet nursing wear is loved and appreciated by all our customer's and Dr's too :-)

So the order of nursing wear's produced were..

1st came Nursing gown's, with no zips, decent look,cottons,in all sizes and discreet nursing facility.These we made with under bust buttons. http://amzn.to/1N5f32O

Slit In Nursing Dress
and Nursing Kurtas

Next nursing dress as not all mum's like to wear long gowns, many prefer dresses, same facilities like the gown but with slits in the inner panel. http://amzn.to/1eC9OLJ

I will conclude in the next blog about designing discreet nursing wear for nursing baby in pubic places.

I would love to read your experiences so please do share with me and our readers.
Do write me your queries either on my email id parishc@gmail.com or on our FB page and I will get back to you at the earliest.

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My Story of Trials Nursing Mother 1

My story of trials as a nursing mother!

Nursing a baby is a very personal and a private time between a mother and baby. Apart from sustaining the baby, nursing creates a wonderful bond between mother and child.

Petrified!

I remember my first time, sigh!!!!! I was soooper excited and nervous at the same time. I did not know how to even hold my son properly, biggest fear,'What if I drop him? He is so delicate, will I hurt him?' Latching and/or burping was another (Oh God, eyes rolling!), you know what I mean! I was very, very afraid that something would happen to him.

My mother and husband were at the hospital with me when I nervously took my son from the nurse. Mom was looking on very tenderly and husband had an awe filled look on his face, where as I had a petrified look!

Mother’s instinct took over when he latched on and I cried at the marvel of nature!

Nursing baby at the hospital was fine with hospital staff and family, but when I went home and visitors started pouring in is when I faced a huge dilemma! How to nurse baby without exposing the body? Agreed it is the most natural thing, but do people give you privacy? Are we sitting there doing ‘Janata Darshan’ that they fixedly stare at you and behave as though they have nowhere else to look? I was feeling highly embarrassed and did not know how to react!

I got the typical comments of, “You have something different that we have not seen or got?” “What’s the big deal?”

See, my take is, is it about the other’s or is it about me! They may have seen other girls while they were nursing their baby, but I have not exposed myself to so many and why should I? Nursing my baby is a very personal and a private time between my baby and me!

So when I sat down on the drawing board to design Maternity and Nursing wear, it was these and other experiences which were my guiding force. And the focus was to make them from an expectant mommy and a nursing mother's perspective and need.

Do read on, on how I used my above personal trials as a Nursing Mother to design discreet nursing wear in my next blog.

I would love to read your experiences, so please do share with me and our readers.

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Image courtesy http://www.babycare.onlymyhealth.com/imported/images/2012/May/30_May_2012/Newborn-Baby-Care-ci.jpg

Stretch Marks and what to do about it!

This is a question which plagues almost all expectant moms. So 1st let us start with-

What causes a stretch mark? During pregnancy our body stretches way faster than our skin can keep up. Our skin is elastic and when it cannot keep up with this, the elastic fibres which are just under the surface of our skin break, causing marks.
How to prevent stretch marks?

#Eat a skin nourishing diet-
Foods rich in antioxidants, which help nourish and protect skin. Eat plenty of spinach, blueberries, strawberries, and other fresh fruits and vegetables.
Foods containing vitamin E, which protects skin cell membranes. Eat nuts, seeds, avocados broccoli, and collard greens.
Foods containing vitamin A, which repairs skin tissues. Eat carrots, sweet potatoes, mango, squash, and red bell peppers.
Foods containing omega 3s, which keep cell membranes healthy and make your skin glow. Eat fish, fish oil, walnuts, eggs and oysters.
#Stay hydrated-

Water helps detoxify your body and keeps your skin cells plump, which makes your skin healthier and more likely to bounce back from the stress caused by stretching. Get plenty of water by practicing these habits:

Drink 8 glasses of water a day. If you find it difficult to ingest this much water, carry a large water bottle that holds the equivalent of 2 glasses (16 ounces) of water. Refill it 4 times throughout the day, rather than having to refill a single glass 8 times. It will make drinking enough water less of a hassle.
Drink herbal tea. Choosing teas without caffeine helps your body stay hydrated, and can alleviate the boredom of drinking only water every day.
Eat watery fruits and vegetables. Eating vegetables that contain a lot of water is another great way to hydrate yourself. Eat big salads filled with cucumbers, fresh bell peppers, and celery. Choose watermelon, strawberries, honeydew, and other watery fruits instead of eating baked.
#Exercise during pregnancy-

Exercising helps the skin retain its elasticity by improving your body's circulation. As an added benefit, exercise will help prevent you from gaining too much weight, too quickly, nipping stretch marks in the bud. Incorporate exercise into your daily schedule in the following ways:

Perform exercises meant to make pregnancy easier on your body. Stretches, kegel exercises, and other simple movements can help keep your blood moving and keep you more comfortable during pregnancy.[3]
Try pregnancy yoga and other low-impact exercises. Yoga and pilates give you an excellent workout without requiring you to move in ways that may feel uncomfortable while you're pregnant.
#Gain weight gradually-

Stretch marks happen when you gain a lot of weight, fast. If you follow your doctor's guidelines for gaining weight gradually, rather than putting on your pregnancy weight all at once, you greatly reduce the chance that you'll end up with stretch marks.

Avoid "eating for two." You should be eating more calories that you did before you were pregnant, but not twice as many.[4]
When you feel cravings coming on, have a little taste of the food you really want - say, ice cream - and a hefty serving of strawberries or fruit. You'll satisfy your palate and feel full.

Inputs for this note have been taken from webmd.com and wikihow.com.

Read about-Start a New Skin Care Regimen to Prevent Stretch Marks and how to make the stretch marks lighter if not disappear by maintaining a Good Routine After You Give Birth. Read both these points on http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Pregnancy-Stretch-Marks

I am very much there to guide you, so please dont hesistate to connect with me. You can reach me at parishc@gmail.com for any queries, doubts or clarifications or inbox on the FB page at https://www.facebook.com/parism2b