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Advice on Buying Maternity Wear

03/07/2008 by

Just because you are 8 months pregnant with a stomach out to there, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still care about your appearance. In fact, when you’re feeling hormonal and down in the dumps, a good shopping trip for stylish maternity wear may be exactly what you need.

General advice:

The first instinct pregnant mothers have when shopping is to go directly for something that is large and baggy. Please avoid this as maternity clothing that is layered or has bold prints or horizontal stripes will only make you seem bigger. Everyone knows that black is slimming so if you want to appear smaller, go for maternity clothing in one solid color. Don’t compromise your style. If you find maternity clothing too plain, try going to plus size stores or shop at your usual haunts but buy a bigger size. This will allow you to go for styles that you would normally have preferred pre-pregnancy.

Maternity wear budget:

Be careful with your budget though, as you have to remember you won’t be that big for that long! If you want to save money, borrow other people’s maternity clothing. Most mothers’ keep their maternity clothing in case of future pregnancies or as a keepsake and they’ll probably be happy to let their used maternity clothing be used by you. Or, you could try yard sales or consignment shops for a good bargain.

Shoes;

If you are well into your pregnancy, you don’t want to buy high heels. Flat shoes or flip flops are the best way to go. If you must have heels in your shoe, try kitten heels as they are not that high and will be comfortable to wear.

Maternity formal wear:

The best kind of formal wear won’t hide your shape. Be proud of your new pregnant shape and show it off. Formal wear for expectant mothers can be found in suits or dresses. The most common colors are black or midnight blue as it is one solid color that is slimming to all shapes. The best maternity dresses are empire cut, which means it is cut right under the bust, to provide maximum room for movement of your growing belly. Maternity suits are also alternative and very flattering to those who are four to five months pregnant.

Maternity swim wear:

If you are only four to six months pregnant, you can probably get away with going to plus sized stores and purchasing larger swimsuits as maternity swim wear. In this way, you will get a greater range of swim wear to choose from without having to change your style. Maternity swim wear is not readily available all year round so make sure to head straight to your favorite maternity clothing store when the sun comes out if you’re planning a tropical holiday during the winter.

Whatever your shape or size, you are bound to find maternity wear for any occasion! Don’t just stick to the boring styles you often see in maternity stores; be inventive when mixing and matching to create your own maternity wear style!

About The Author

Article written by Sarah Mitchell of NamesToBe.com (www.namestobe.com). Read this article and many others at: http://www.namestobe.com/baby-articles.html or http://www.namestobe.com/buying-maternity-wear.html. Article free for reprint as long as this author bio is present and all hyperlinks remain active.

Filed Under: Articles · Tagged With: Maternity

5 Ways to Spend Time With Your Child

02/07/2008 by

By Rita Webb

Like adults, no two children are alike. Therefore, children need to be treated as individuals. With three children in our family, it is hard to find one-on-one time to talk, listen, and nurture each child's personal needs.

In our house, we schedule one night out of the week to spend with one child alone. On a rotating basis, each child gets one night out of the month. While siblings go to bed, the child has a special date with mom and dad. It is in these special moments between parent and child that children can get the one-on-one time they need.

Share a Special Treat
Sitting together with a bowl of ice cream is a great opportunity to just talk to your child. It is at these moments that I find out things about what makes my little girls tick, what they like, what they think, what happens in their little world that impacts them. A treat seems to do wonders at pulling this information out of them without any effort of my own.

Play Games
Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory Game, and puzzles are great to play with your child. It is a great opportunity to teach being a good sport and enjoy some laughter and conversation. Another idea is to get on the floor and play with blocks or with little people just like they do.

Bake Cookies
Baking in the kitchen is easier with only one rather than the whole caboodle of children. It is easier to give instructions and to make the process fun without getting frustrated. Working in the kitchen teaches home economics, work ethic, and creativity.

Paint Pictures
Sitting with a child while they paint is great for telling stories together. "This is the rocket spider," my child says, painting a red rocket with a smiley face and eight legs. She tells me an amazing adventure story, an opportunity I never would have had with her sisters in the room.

There are many other art projects that would be frustrating to do with younger kids, but your older children would enjoy. This is a chance to gear it to your child's age level without toddlers getting into everything or to give the toddler a chance to do what toddlers like to do.

Read Books
I noticed that when Makani was three and Rowena was one, I would read at Makani's interest level. Being older and having a larger attention span, Makani was interested in what the words say, but Rowena needed the kind of interaction with books that Makani got when she was younger. I found that separating my time with them gave me the opportunity to meet their individual needs and interests.

Rita Webb is a homeschooling mom for three young children, aged two, four, and six. Rita researches many homeschooling resources and writes reviews on these materials in her http://mrkreview.blogspot.com blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rita_Webb
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Filed Under: Articles · Tagged With: family date night, family night, multiple children, Parenting

Storks – The Ancient Folklore of Storks and Babies

02/07/2008 by

Ever wondered why storks are so synonymous with childbirth? Why is it that people have been using them for their signage while announcing the birth of a child? There is an ancient history to this phenomenon, which has made this bird an integral part of pregnancy. This is why they are commonly used in every stork sign.

When it was taboo

In the earlier days subjects like reproduction were considered taboo to speak about, especially to kids. Hence kids used to be told that they got delivered by a white stork. Therefore the notion grew that it was indeed these white birds that delivered babies to peoples' doorsteps. In fact the white version of this bird is often perceived as a symbol of prosperity as well as happiness, which is often used in a stork sign. This is an important aspect of traditional American folklore.

Heralding the arrival

Most expecting couples choose to use a customized stork yard sign in order to announce the arrival of their child. Usually the sign is placed on the front lawn portion and is used to send the message to visitors and neighbors. Today this process has become a part of tradition especially since it has been prevalent for so many ages. Today the picture of a stork automatically conjures up the image of a new baby and this has been used in many a stork sign.

Why the stork?

There are reasons why this particular bird has been selected in a lawn greeting sign. These birds are white in color, migratory and there are more than 20 species present today. Other characteristics include the practice of monogamy, the large size of this bird as well as its loyalty to a nesting site. These qualities help in making the storks especially appealing to expecting couples who would like a symbol of loyalty, faithfulness and childbirth for announcing their new child. Nowadays almost every expecting couple in America uses a stork sign to declare the birth of a child.

Parental care

The stork is also perceived as a symbol of parental care and love as well as kindness. In fact the word in Hebrew means 'kind mother'. You can even find instances of white storks delivering babies in nursery rhymes from Holland! In fact in Western culture a stork lawn sign is the best and most symbolic way of announcing the birth of a new child. Today if you wish to tell the world you can get a custom made and attractive stork sign from sites such as Stork Delivery.

Decorative piece

A lawn greeting can not only help in announcing your new child to the rest of the world but it also serves as a nice way to decorate your front lawn. There are plenty of colorful and attractive looking signs available these days. Sites like Stork Delivery have been specializing in providing this unique service and all their signs are airbrushed and very high quality.

Author Bio: Check out the Storks and stork signs available at Storkdelivery.com. They have an amazing selection of lawn greetings for everyone on your list.

Filed Under: Articles · Tagged With: baby, baby sign, Baby Signs, baby stork, lawn greetings, Stork Signs, Storks, yard cards, yard stork