She had such nice things to say and it made my day. Among her many compliments:

Everything I have ordered has arrived very quickly and wrapped beautifully with free samples.  Their customer service is the best that I have ever encountered for an online company. In addition, they have a huge selection of everything you could possibly want or need. I would (and have!) recommend Maternitique to anyone I expecting.

If you’d like to leave a review of Maternitique on Yelp, please do. I appreciate the feedback and other moms who are trying to decide where to find pregnancy products will, too!

I’m relatively new to Yelp and still getting the hang of it (and waiting to claim my business page there). In the meantime, you can see other customer feedback, including notes from our celebrity customers like Alyssa Milano, on our website Notes page (which is also in need of updating…so much to do.)

Love,

Tara

Serendipitous that I should be the one to get that bottle of tea, no? Made me smile.

Love,

Tara

So while you’re in the sweet spot in the middle of pregnancy, here are 7 ways you can get the most out of your second trimester:

1. Flaunt Your Fuller Hair.

By this part of your pregnancy, your hair has begun to grow more thick and full. Be forewarned, after you give birth, it will start to fall out. So while you have it, flaunt it. Find some fun new hair styles to try with your longer, thicker, fuller hair. Experiment with hair accessories and practice ways to make easy, stylish tresses.

2. Get Noticeable Nails.

The hormone surges responsible for your thicker, fuller, glossier hair are also the same ones making your fingernails stronger and longer. After baby arrives, you won’t have time for manicures like you do now (and who needs to wear nail art while they’re changing diapers all day?). The second trimester is the time to enjoy your beautiful fingernails. Whether you paint your own nails at home or head out to the salon for your manicure, choose a pregnancy-safe nail polish to avoid absorbing carcinogens and toxins into your bloodstream.

3. Glow, Baby, Glow.

The pregnancy acne that’s so common during the first trimester may have calmed down by now and the increased blood through your body and hormones are creating that famous “pregnancy glow.” Enjoy how little make up you need at this stage of pregnancy and just let your natural beauty shine. In order to prevent “the mask of pregnancy” from putting out your pregnancy glow, protect your natural shine with a pregnancy safe sunblock.

4. Prevent Pregnancy Stretch Marks.

If you haven’t begun your pregnancy stretch marks prevention regimen, the second trimester is the time. Get a stretch mark oil and use it in the mornings after bathing. Use a companion body butter or stretch mark cream in the evenings before going to bed. Enjoy the process of moisturizing by getting Daddy in on the oil application, and remind him that he needs to rub it onto your belly, hips, thighs, bottom and breasts.

5. Get It On.

I thought I was a freak of nature in the second trimester of my pregnancy and all I could think about was sex. I had frequent sex dreams and felt “in the mood” all the time. Although not all women experience the “second trimester turn on,” it turns out that many women do. Again, the increased blood flow and hormones are largely to credit, making genitalia more sensitive and leading to more intense feelings of sexual arousal. Plus, you’re feeling better in the second trimester and no longer using contraceptives during sex.

6. Dress Pregnant, Not Fat.

Many women gain a little weight in the first trimester or have a little tummy that’s easily be mistaken for minor weight gain. Dressing your pregnant body in the first trimester often requires tunic tops and other loose clothing that really just makes you look heavier, rather than pregnant. By the second trimester, however, you’ll actually get a full baby bump and, darn, you’re just going to *have* to go shopping for new clothes. Enjoy choosing more contour-hugging tops and dresses now, and having people know that you’re becoming a mom.

7. Travel Now.

The discomforts of the first trimester of pregnancy usually keep women at home and in bed, battling with fatigue and morning sickness, when they’re not working or otherwise trying to carry on with their lives. In the third trimester, you’ll start to face restrictions on travel. The second trimester is the best time to hit the road, hop on a plane, and have a footloose- and fancy-free vacation before your little bundle of joy arrives.

I hope you have a wonderful second trimester of pregnancy! What ways are you making the most of your second trimester?

Love,

Tara

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, so the saying goes. Sometimes, we have a difficult time choosing gifts that are intended for the recipient, rather than ourselves. It’s easy to laugh and accuse men of being guilty of this, but the truth is, we all do it. Especially when we live with the gift recipient. I’ve caught myself, on several occasions, ready to purchase items for either my husband or my daughter, that after a pause,  I realize I really wanted to have myself.

With Mother’s Day this weekend, I thought I’d poke a little fun at good intentions that go wrong when it comes to giving Mother’s Day gifts to pregnant women. This week’s Friday  Funny pregnancy humor illustrates what you should give a pregnant woman for Mother’s Day, and what you most definitely shouldn’t.

Give her a maternity rocking chair, not the leather recliner with a beer cup holder that you want for your man cave.

Give her a new van or family-sized crossover, not a sports car.

Give her a year of maid service, not a new vacuum cleaner or appliance.

(I have no objection to your purchasing a new vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, or any appliance. Just don’t make it a gift. It’s not a gift, it’s a household necessity. Besides, a study suggests that housework induces premature labor).

Give her an e-reader, not a parenting book.

Give her a night of culture, book reading or poetry reading, not a psychic reading.

Give her breakfast in bed, not a mess in the kitchen.

One final thought, in all seriousness, about what to give a pregnant woman for Mother’s Day: Give her thanks, not complaints.

Hope you enjoyed some laughs. Have a wonderful weekend and a happy Mother’s Day this Sunday.

Cheers,

Tara

(Actually, don't click this. Details are below.)

I’m a big fan of pregnant bellies, and after living with my own stripes that developed in my final weeks of pregnancy, I’m an even bigger fan of protecting pregnant bellies from stretch marks.

I had taken to heart the “it’s-all-genetics” argument when I was expecting my daughter and did nothing to try to prevent stretch marks during my pregnancy. Sixteen years later, I still struggle against the lines on my stomach, hips, bottom and breasts.

Along with not taking enough photographs of my body during pregnancy, my other regret is that I did absolutely nothing to even try to prevent pregnancy stretch marks.

Would my skin still have been rippled with deep purple (now silver) lines if I had used stretch mark prevention lotions while pregnant? Because of the strong influence of genetics with stretch marks, yes, I probably still would have gotten some. But they may not have been as severe, they may have healed better, and I wouldn’t have been kicking myself for the rest of my life if I had at least tried to moisturize, support and protect my skin while pregnant.

I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did during my pregnancy, so I’m giving away three (3) Your Best Baby Bump Duo pregnancy stretch mark prevention sets from Belli Skin Care (retail value $49.99, product value $58). Think of it as my gift to you for Mother’s Day.

Here are the ways you can enter to win our Stretch Marks Prevention Giveaway:

1. Leave a comment here on this page about your stretch mark thoughts – 1 entry
2. “Like” the Maternitique Facebook page – 1 entry
3. Become a new follower of Maternitique on Twitter – 1 entry
4. Share our Facebook post about this giveaway to your Facebook friends – 1 entry
5. Re-tweet the giveaway on Twitter & include a link to this page – 1 entry for every RT
6. “Like” on Facebook one of my Pinterest pinboards – 1 entry

Complete your entries by Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 7 pm PDT (10 pm EDT). I’ll throw your name into a bag for each of your entries and have my daughter randomly draw out three winners on Monday, May 21.

Let the sharing, commenting, and stretch marks prevention begin!

Good luck,

Tara

~Rajneesh

Browse through more ideas for Mother’s Day quotes.

According to a recent national survey conducted by online shopping site Totsy in conjunction with BSM Media, pregnant moms named gift certificates as the most desired items for their baby showers.

In this year’s annual “Moms’ Shopping Trends Report,” the number one choice for baby shower gift to a pregnant woman was gift certificates, with 33% of women saying that was their preferred gift.

Since Mother’s Day is coming right up, I thought you should know! Thanks to my friend Maria Wen Adcock at Bicultural Mama for sharing this news.

Make a pregnant mom happy and give her a gift certificate (or two) at her baby shower or for Mother’s Day.

Cheers,

Tara

Check off all that apply!

Love,

Tara

While in between competitions, I had the opportunity to zip quickly through the National Gallery of Art.

What a treat!

Admission to the National Gallery is free, you can photograph items in its permanent collection, and the museum hosts thousands of incredible works of art.

In the short time I was able to tour it, I was able to see works by Degas, Matisse, Picasso, Pisarro, Toulouse-Latrec, Monet, Manet, Mary Cassatt, Vermeer, Renoir, and the only Da Vinci in the western hemisphere.

It’s always a delight to see in person those art works I’ve become familiar with through posters or their use in popular culture.

But the Vermeer work entitled “Woman Holding a Balance” was one I hadn’t seen anywhere before and it struck me because the model appears to be pregnant. Clearly, the balance she’s holding suggests that she’s weighing–or about to weigh–something important, and because she appears to be pregnant, that only adds to the suggestion. Doesn’t every pregnant woman feel like her life–and her baby’s–is hanging in the balance of fate, or her choices, or the will of God? In the background appears a painting of Judgement Day.

According to some scholars, the woman isn’t pregnant. They argue that it would have been offensive during the 17th century for a woman to have admitted her pregnancy, much less to have been painted as obviously pregnant. These scholars suggest that the type of clothing women wore at that time simply made them look pregnant. I find that theory odd. If a pregnant woman’s body was offensive and inappropriate, why would clothing make every woman look pregnant?

Here’s a photo I took of Vermeer’s “Woman Holding a Balance” at the National Gallery:

What do you think? Is she pregnant?

Cheers,

Tara

PS: I have a pinboard started on Pinterest called “The Pregnant Muse,” where I’m collecting works of art that pay homage to the pregnant woman’s body and experience. Check it out at http://pinterest.com/maternitique/the-pregnant-muse/