Forget Manic Monday, it’s a MOCKTAIL MONDAY Baby! Our resident foodie, Ray, has provided us with a pomegranate martini, or for the sake of wordplay: momtini.  I am just going to let him explain this one to you…

This simple pomegranate spritzer is kinda sweet, kinda tart, but totally refreshing. A uniquely zingy pick-me-up for any warm day. While this can quickly be whipped up with pomegranate juice, I’d highly recommend you give pomegranate molasses a try. It’s a common, but super tasty and simple middle eastern ingredient with a bevy of uses. An outstanding base for mocktails, it’s also great drizzled over warm roasted vegetables, used in sauces, marinades or in a vinaigrette. It takes your hummus to a whole new level with just a few healthy glugs. It packs a uniquely seductive flavor — not terribly sweet, not quite sour, tangy and bright. [Editor’s Note: he likes adjectives.]

While pomegranate molasses may sound exotic or complicated, I assure you that it’s anything but. You can totally make this, at home, in sweats and slippers with very little effort — plus, you’ll be able to impress your friends with your refined palate! You can find it at specialty markets and it’s also widely available online. Check out my fail-proof recipe:

Juice version [8 oz serving]

In a glass filled with ice add:

• 3 Tablespoons pomegranate juice
• 1 teaspoon of simple syrup (if desired)
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Top with sparking water or club soda

Pomegranate Molasses version [8 oz serving]

In a glass filled with ice add:

• 3 Tablespoons pomegranate juice
• Top with sparking water of club soda (ginger ale is also a nice alternative)

To make your own pomegranate molasses you’ll need:

32 oz pure 100% pomegranate juice (if you want to juice your own pomegranates, be my guest, but this is the fast version)

3-4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup of raw sugar

Instructions

Pour pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice into a small pot. Heat at low/medium until liquid begins to just simmer ever so slightly. Stir to dissolve sugar. Allow liquid to simmer for approximately 60 minutes. This can burn, so make sure you’re stirring every 10 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by 75% to about 1 cup (8 oz) or about a quarter of what you started with. Don’t let it reduce too far, or it will harden after it cools.

When the liquid just coats the back of a spoon, remove the pot from heat. The syrup will continue to thicken as it cools. If you’re unsure about the consistency, measure the reduced liquid– it should be between 1 and 1 ¼ cups of syrup. If it’s a lot more liquid than that, continue reducing.

After the syrup cools completely, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

His description is most likely longer than actually making, drinking, and remaking the momtini.

Make it, drink it, love it, post it, share it. @motherhoodmaternity #mocktailmonday

Cheers!

Daina & Ray

Hey there September! I used to get so nervous this time of year. First there was the whole going to school after Labor Day thing, and then I was a teacher for a few years. Now, September is my favorite month. In fact, autumn has become my favorite season. The weather is always so pretty and everything in nature is at its ripest before winter. Style is at its best, the streets are clear of kids on bikes, Halloween is almost here. It all falls into place. [See what I did there?]

When I gave birth to Val back in 2016, I returned to work right after Labor Day, so I felt like I had the summer off and then school began. All of those end of summer blues came flooding back to me.  This time I came back the very first day of July, giving me a few months under my belt. In other words, I can really enjoy the end of summer and the start of autumn again.

Going back to work with 2 kids has had its moments. It is hard to get out of the house, twice as hard in fact. It’s been tiring, sometimes isolating, but also oddly refreshing. I work with a lot of my best friends, so I enjoy talking their ears off all day. I am not sure how they feel, but whatever, this is about me! [Editor’s Note: I am going to watch them read this, then wait for them to cringe.]

This month we are all about honoring our working mamas, the ones expecting and the ones who have to return after their maternity leave, well, leaves. Motherhood® Maternity was founded by a pregnant woman who couldn’t find any professional clothing for expectant mothers, so Rebecca Matthias made them herself. And today we are the largest retailer of maternity and nursing clothing.

To honor her and all working moms, those who are raising families, educating the youth, creating art, instructing yoga, earning their degrees, working in healthcare, giving someone a new look, coming up with the next best idea, running to their meeting, sitting in their desk, typing from a coffee shop, or getting the job  done wherever that happens… we have YOUR work wear for anywhere.

Our newest campaign is all about mamas wearing the pants! We will be breaking down our best professional bottoms that would make our founder proud. No worries, we have some career-worthy styles to top them off with too. For boss babes with a bump, and new moms making it work – we’ve got you covered from 9 to 5 and them some.

In case no one has told you lately; I am so proud of you. You are amazing!

Let us keep you posted. @motherhoodmaternity – Daina

Yes, yes, yes, we know – Labor Day marks the end of summer and the start of school. We are so trained to feel this sort of sadness, or at least we are impacted by the transition from season to season. But for those of us who work all year around, and more specifically those of us who work with pregnant women, Labor Day means more than just the Monday off.

Labor Day here is still both the end and start of something. The end of pregnancy marks the start of motherhood. And as our name suggests, Motherhood® loves motherhood. For all of the mamas counting down to their personal labor day, I wanted to provide some sage advice, as well as some suggestions for your hospital bag. I am not the expert in giving birth, but I have done it twice, once within the past 6 months, and I haven’t gotten so far removed that I, “forget what birth is even like”.

#1- Comfort is the actual key. I know there is a part of you that is worried what the pictures will look like. But when push comes to shove, quite literally, you’re not going to be thinking about how you look. BUT there are aspects you can control. For starters, we have a labor gown that doubles triples as a pregnancy and nursing dress. It allows access to fetal monitors and an epidural in a snap, again quite literally. There are snaps in the front, back, shoulders and sides for skin-to-skin, IV drips, and breastfeeding. Get yours in black, florals, or gray. If you do wear this for labor and delivery, it probably will need a good washing, so pack 2 more outfits for your hospital stay.

#2- If you plan on nursing, you’ll need the support. This support I speak of is both tangible and then also emotional. On one hand, you should have bras that are made for breastfeeding. If you bought one during pregnancy, it already has the nursing access, so throw that in your bag. You can go topless if you choose, but family, friends, people you speak to once a year but are local, just might come see your baby; you may want the coverage. Also, take the lactation consultant’s advice, or at least hear her out. You may be so drained at that point with doctors and nurses coming in and out, but she is there to help you and make sure baby is getting your milk. Take the support.

#3- Smile… you’re on a not very candid camera. People will be snapping away all willy nilly. Either you have your cell phone out, or someone else will. I was shocked at how the hospital was more than okay with cell phones everywhere. Aren’t they supposed to be the dirtiest things in the world or something? The first thing my nurse said was to get the phone ready to take baby’s first picture. So, dress up, but act casual about it. Maternity or postpartum leggings look put-together with a cute graphic tee or one of our new nursing styles. Ya know, something you just threw in your bag.

Are you due in September? Are you due this week? Is your labor day on Labor Day? Let us know and congratulations! @motherhoodmaternity #mymomtruths

– Daina

This past weekend marked the 6-month point of providing only breastmilk to my little Roni girl, or as I call her my macRONI [DNA confirmed I am 78% of Italian descent so…] I am so proud of myself. It has not been easy, because I am down to making 1 bag of milk a day, but I had enough freezer stash to get me this far. How will I celebrate, you ask? By cutting my remaining milk with formula.

No judgements, but baby girl has to eat, and I just don’t make it like I used to. I have previously stated I will pump until I pump air, which remains true, but supplementing is how I plan to stretch my milk. This is #mymomtruth today. I didn’t mean for my journey to wind down as National Breastfeeding Month also is, but I also can’t help if my timing is impeccable.

Although I am deeply saddened by knowing there will only be a few months left of nursing and pumping, I also am happy to start regaining some alone time. [Editor’s Note: There is no alone time. Alone time ended in 2016, but for the sake of my sanity, let’s allow me to believe I will be able to have some time for myself without an infant or a machine attached to me.] I am also excited that as the days get closer to my breakup with breastfeeding, I can start to drink my favorite licorice mint tea again. If you don’t know, mint is said to lower milk production and help reduce your supply. Maybe one of these weeks I’ll have Ray, Ray make a recipe for some teas!

To wrap up our August Campaign: Real Mom. Real Stories. Real Life., I chose some quotes from our model mothers. For all the other posts you may have missed from this campaign, click here.

And without further ado, I leave you with the best about the breast from our moms.

 “I remember spraying everywhere… right in the beginning, I was overproducing so it was just milk-mania at first!”– Lauren

“I work in construction and I wasn’t going to pump on the job, so I was like, “Yaknow what? Let’s just get him on the bottle, it’ll be easier for [Kim] to transition to feed him at home with our crazy toddler running around.”– Sarah

“There’s nothing like having a nursing baby fall asleep on you. Everything feels at peace in the world.”–Kim

“I’m okay not breastfeeding at this point. I feel so happy that I was able to do it and it was such a beautiful experience, but at the same time I am happy to have my body back.”– Thara

“When they were first born, the amount I had to feed was wild! I was having to feed constantly; I don’t know if it was as much challenging as it was shocking. The time to myself was gone” – Audra

“I have no problem breastfeeding in public. I have an aversion to putting a hood over my baby’s head. I saw the ‘lactation suite’ and thought what has the world come to that we have to hide away and do that? It’s a shame. I’m very happy to nurse in public.”– Narelle

“You’re trying to teach yourself and your baby something brand new that you never had to do before. Even if it’s your second or third kid, you still never had to breastfeed that child, so it’s like learning something all over again.”  – Alex

“I’m sure every mom who’s had to pump has her little cups all out and Dad comes home and says, ‘let me help’ and inevitably knocks something over. Oh man, it’s so heartbreaking when you see that and you think NO. I just sat here for so long, and there goes all my hard work! I was literally crying over spilled milk.”– Darlene

“I think that’s the coolest part about being pregnant is you do feel a connection with baby. It’s indescribable almost, but definitely the best feeling, because I just know he’s going to be a momma’s boy.” – Chakari

What’s your story? @motherhoodmaternity #mymomtruths

At the end of the day, we sell clothes. That isn’t shocking, but you know what can be? Showing up to work in a dress feeling cute just to realize you’re going to be [almost] completely naked soon in a little room hooked up to a machine.  It happens to the best of us… but it doesn’t have to.

When it comes to nursing clothing, we listened to our customers. I am not a number’s girl, but I do know more than 65% of you return to work in some capacity. Oh, and I know you like to leave the house. And for these reasons, I wanted to sit down with our in-house designer, Jennifer Sack, and chat about the team’s inspiration behind the pieces. 

Jen has been with the company for over 8 years and has been helping design nursing/pumping clothing for over 3. The actives styles [seen on Thara below] are brand new. Jen said “versatility of the end use” is how they approach creating new clothes. They thought about the customer’s journey after birth, where she will be home for a while [hopefully] and then have to transition back into the working world.

The postpartum workout pants are what Jen referred to as the compression capsule, which now includes double fabric to help reduce chafing, as well as a pull-string to tighten and loosen as the body recovers. There is also a workout top with cross straps that offers different levels of lift and support. Jen and her team decided to include an inner-shelf bra, so that our girl doesn’t have to wear another underneath. There are also new clip-down functions that feature a sliding clasp, which is less noticeable, so that she feels like herself. For Jen, it’s those little details that make all the difference.

Keep reading to shop the shoot and see what Jen has to say about some of the featured styles. 

Thara is wearing our Nursing Hoodie and our postpartum active leggings.

The lift-up hoodie is perfect for when this unbearable humidity finally goes away! When we say lift-up, we mean there is a separate layer on the sweatshirt that you, well, lift up to get easier access to your breasts. This way you can feed your baby or pump without having to remove your top completely.

The pants must be worn after birth, so mamas-to-be, wait this one out. They feature stomach muscle compression, which is only safe once baby exits the body. These are workout specific, so they have a side pocket, are moisture wicking, UPF50, chlorine resistant and ready to run with you.

Audra is wearing our maternity overalls. That’s right – MATERNITY! Keep these in your closet for the comfort alone.

Darlene is wearing our plus size waist-tie maternity dress in leopard print. Again, another maternity style that is more of a wear now/wear later look.

Alex is wearing our ruffle hem nursing dress in a floral print. This dress works with a mock layer underneath, so when you undo the wrap, you have the ability to breastfeed or pump without disrobing completely. [See my opening paragraph!]

Sarah is wearing our nursing hoodie. This kind is my favorite. The hidden zippers are on the side and they go from mid-stomach up to mid-nipple. I wore one when we went to the LatchOn Event in Philly. It was roomy enough to stick a Willow pump in! Jen told us that this drawstring hoodie has been a best-selling maternity top for years, so it made sense to extend the option to nursing moms.

Chakari, who was pregnant at the time of the shoot, is wearing our wrap maternity dress in golden floral. [Insert hands praying emoji.] If you are pregnant, which I am sure most readers are, then what else do you need for fall? This dress will be perfect for after baby too; it’s nursing/pumping friendly!

What pieces do you pump in? What fashions do you feed in? We showed you ours; now show us yours. @motherhoodmaternity #mymomtruths

Welcome to the first edition of YOUR MONTHLY CRAVING.

Get ready for some easy, healthy and delicious recipes – OH, and we’re bringing back Mocktail Mondays. I’m EXCITED for you to get to meet another copywriter who works for Motherhood®: Ray Peraino.

Head’s up – he’s a wordy one! Over to you Ray:

“I’m a copywriter with a background in fine dining who’s afflicted with an insatiable sense of curiosity. I’m impulsive and excitable like a newly rescued Pitbull pup. I carry around a comically small notebook full of half-baked ideas, quotes, recipes I’ll never make and ridiculous doodles.There’s a lot of similarities between the marketing world and the professional kitchen — the pressure to create, the stress, the camaraderie, the indescribable urge to cater to others. Serving creativity on a fork or on a page both take a lot of thought, consideration, and time — most of which goes unseen or unappreciated, but I blissfully carry on in service, because, well, it’s what I love.”

It was through Ray that we met his friend Lauren, one of the “real moms” from our video series. Lauren shared about being a new mom and how it made her realize that taking care of herself first is vital in order to take care of others.

Lauren said, “Being a working mother and breastfeeding and pumping and juggling everything is very difficult. For my first pregnancy with Maui, nursing with him, I lost a lot of weight. I was not taking care of myself because you’re just trying to provide and you kind of forget about yourself. With the new baby, I’m going to really take care of myself and my son, and really focus on our health and making sure we’re all good.”

Ray recently called Lauren to see how her second pregnancy is going. He asked about how she is now taking care of herself after experiencing that difficulty with her first son.  She used to buy bulk bags of granola to pick on all day because she was so exhausted. But this time around, she gets low-glycemic fruits and adds protein powder with different nut milks in a blender. She told him it changed her energy, which is good since as an optician she is on her feet all day!

In honor of Lauren, doing double-duty as a mom and a mama-in-the-making, Ray has provided us with a smoothie bowl [he’s so hip] topped with granola, because Lauren didn’t ditch the granola, she just knows that mama’s gotta eat more!  Make it; tag it; I want to see it. Take it away Ray Ray! – Daina

Berry Smoothie Bowl with Protein & Granola

This simple recipe was inspired by Lauren’s go-to pregnancy breakfast. I jazzed it up a bit to pack in a few extra nutritional benefits. Oats and oat milk are a great source or iron which is a must to increase milk supply in nursing mothers. The toasted walnuts on top add some omega-3 ALA and the berries are loaded with antioxidants, low in sugar and high in fiber. The Omega-3s are a great source of healthy fats and have been associated with many benefits for baby like brain health and development.

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

2-3 overflowing cups of mixed frozen berries

A few ice-cubes

Some splashes of Oat Milk (Sub almond or coconut milk). Remember, this is going to be something you’re going to be eating with a spoon, not pulling through a straw, so you want it to be thick- be conservative with the milk here. Add it a splash at a time to get things moving.

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 cup of organic, plain instant oats/oatmeal (These blend better, you don’t have to cook them before hand, they’re easier to digest than whole rolled oats and they add fiber to your smoothie without a ton of calories.)

1 Fistful of spinach (You won’t even taste it, scout’s honor.)

1 Serving of the plant-based protein powder of your choice (I highly recommend vanilla here.)

Instructions

• Place everything in your blender, mixing until smooth, adding oat milk as needed.
• Pour into bowls, top with your favorite organic granola and some toasted walnuts.

Motherhood’s blog is back and we’re keeping it real: Real Mothers, Real Stories, Real Life!

Hi, I’m Daina and I work for Motherhood® as an editor and copywriter. I also reside in the real hood of motherhood.

I have two daughters: Val is a little over 3 and Roni is fairly new at only 5 months.

I came back to work this summer after giving birth and have been doing that crazy balancing act of nursing in the morning, pumping at the office and trying not to cry about the reduction in my breast milk. [Editor’s Note: I’ve cried.]

At the moment I am an exclusive breastfeeding mom. I was able to get my first daughter to 7 months with nursing. I would pump at work, wake up in the middle of the night to pump [by hand so no one would wake up from that oh-so-soothing noise] and yet by 9 months I would produce a total of 3 ounces a day.

With the change in my hormones, the loss of my milk and the day-to-day life of being a person I never was before with responsibilities I didn’t even know existed… I was drowning, unfortunately not in breast milk.

You see, with Val, I felt it was my sole job to provide every last drop of breast milk. When she was born, she was not a peachy pink or even a plucky red. This kid was purply-blue. Having what the doctors thought was a seizure, she was immediately taken to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to be put on a cooling bed.

Now despite me watching the first 6 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, before Denny came back from the dead, I am not a true medical expert. But I believe the cold was to slow down any brain damage that may have happened when she didn’t get that first breath of life.

While I was left alone, my mind kind of went numb. The only thing I asked for was a pump, because I had to do something, anything.

It was not until day 5 that she was able to eat. She was being sustained with sugar water via a feeding tube through her belly button. I blame my now toddler’s need for fruit snacks and chocolate milk on her introduction to life. Jokes aside, she latched, and I was in awe. I was warned by the lactation specialist that she may not because she took a bottle and pacifier prior to a nipple. I think she was just starving. And despite her traumatic entrance into this world, she is a normal little girl. She remains a drama queen, but the apple doesn’t fall too far, ya know?

So, this time around I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t allow nursing and pumping to cause any heartbreak for me. But, at month 5 Ron hardly wants much to do with these boobs. I had an oversupply early on, so luckily, I have enough frozen bags to thaw for the babysitter and at night. I must put my pride aside and succumb to the adage that fed is best.

I still pump at work. What began as 3 times, quickly became 2, because meetings are scheduled, deadlines approach and work is due. Drinking water has taken the backburner to forgetfulness, and I am left with producing 4-6 ounces a day. I am refusing to set an alarm for 2 a.m. pumping, but lucky me my baby doesn’t sleep all the way through the night, so I feed her then. She isn’t as picky in those wee hours; bottle be damned.

The fact that the start of National Breastfeeding Month is not lost on me. I clearly support breastfeeding and pumping and understand the frustrations of feeling embarrassed when in public. In 2019 women should not feel that shame, but it still happens. Every time I am out, and my baby gets hungry I get that hot body, cold sweat hoping no one will notice me doing something so natural. But again, it happens.

If I am away from my baby, but need to pump to keep my supply up, I am frantically searching for a private room or bathroom stall with a plug as to not cause a scene. It’s rough. It’s still taboo and it shouldn’t be. I am fortunate to have access to nursing bras and nursing clothing, as well as a workplace that provides an actual pumping room. But, women all over the country are still in dark offices and repurposed supply closets.

The easiest and quickest thing we can do is be real about the struggles and successes that come with breastfeeding and pumping. This is National Breastfeeding Week and as a company we really wanted to get people’s truths about this topic.

I am attending a Global Big Latch On event in Philadelphia. We also sat down with 10 moms to talk about their experiences, including the good the bad and the ugly beautiful.

Whether you have been here before, or you are new to us and motherhood – welcome to this crazy new life of yours. Learn more by visiting us at motherhood.com.

With Understanding – Daina

Our #1 best-selling sleep pillow is all about bumps in the night! What makes the total body pillow, The Snoogle, so amazing? Well keep on reading…

Leachco, the company behind the pregnancy pillow says, “The Snoogle was uniquely designed by a Registered Nurse and Mom to follow the natural contour and shape of your body from head to toe. Use to make sleeping and relaxing more cozy without the extra body heat.”

What we love about it is the way you can snuggle up to it with your belly facing the pillow, as extra support when the bump starts to feel heavy. Or, how it wraps around your back acting like a stabilizer during sleeping, coming up between your legs and creating a natural lift.

The Snoogle is not only amazing for sleeping, but also for binge-watching and chilling on the couch. Just coil yourself up in the soft, yet structured polyester pillow. We sell removable covers for quick cleaning and replacing too, which are washer and dryer safe. So, go ahead and have that midnight snack with reckless abandon. The evidence can be washed away!

Once you take it to bed, you won’t want to be without it. We know our customers continue to use it as a nursing pillow post-pregnancy too. Oh… and guess what… The Snoogle is $20 off, making it $40 (originally $60) from Thursday, October 4^th through Saturday, October 6^th! Save in stores and online. Savings are taken at checkout.  Send us your bumps in bed photos with #thisisgoingtobefun @motherhoodmaternity.