Kabrita Goat Milk Toddler Formula and Goat Milk Yogurt Review #ad #momsmeet

Thanks to Moms Meet I was able to sample and review Kabrita Goat Milk Toddler formula and Goat Milk Yogurt with my family. Both products are non-GMO and easy to digest options, especially for those that may have a cow milk sensitivity (symptoms such as digestive discomfort, colic, constipation and eczema).

My son was a bit too old to use the Kabrita Goat Milk Toddler Formula, but I was able to pass it along to a friend who's son has a cow milk sensitivity. Her son liked the mild, sweet taste and happily drank it down. His mom loved that it had 22 vitamins and minerals including folic acid, DHA, ARA, and iron. She said that there was no adverse effects to drinking it either (regular cows milk gave him issues). DHA is naturally present in human milk and essential for visual and cognitive development; ARA is an essential fatty acid found in human milk, which may support normal brain development. The iron is needed for the formation of blood cells and is often depleted by toddler age.

My son was a huge fan of the Kabrita Goat Milk Yogurts. They come in three delicious flavors:

• Mixed Berry 
• Mango Peach
• Banana and Natural Vanilla Bean 

My sons favorite flavor was the Mixed Berry, followed by Banana and finally the Mango Peach. He loved them so much (which is great when your toddler can be a bit picky) and was disappointed when they were gone.  I loved that they don't need to refrigerated and easy to squeeze BPA free packaging so they are easy to take on the go and that they are super gentle on his stomach.

They also contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives and no added sugar or water. Now that's something that I can feel good about giving to my children. They are also packed with plenty of vitamins and nutrients (Vitamins C, D & E, contains protein and fiber).

Kabrita Goat Milk Toddler Formula retails for $21.99 for 14 oz. and $41.99 for 28 oz. Kabrita Goat Milk Yogurt and Fruit retails for $2.19 for 4 oz. and a 6-pack retails for $11.99. Prices can vary by retail location. Click here to search for retail locations near you or you can buy online at KabritaUSA.com. If buying online, you can save 20% on your order using code: MM2016.

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program (greenmomsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.

Love at First Bite - #TheAmuseBouche Lipstick from Bite Beauty

I've never been much of a lipstick fan...until now!

I was lucky enough to be selected to receive the Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche lipstick VoxBox from Influenster and it has turned me into a lipstick lover. I always had issues with lipsticks before because of the texture, odd smells or the fact that they would never stay on. I felt like it was never worth it when I hated the smell or how they felt on. Then came along Amuse Bouche!

Sleek and fabulous packaging.

Bite Beauty's newest launch of their Amuse Bouche line of lipsticks is spot on.  These lipsticks ($26 each) are highly pigmented and provide amazing colors that go on seamlessly and beautifully. When I first swiped the color on my lips, I was impressed with the intensity and saturation of the color and the creamy texture. It didn't go on chalky and left my lips feeling super moisturized while still feeling lightweight and non-greasy. The color lasts a long time too! I applied mine before lunch and by dinnertime (6 hours later), there was still significant color remaining despite eating and drinking.

This shade is Pepper.

The citrus scent alone of these lipsticks is intoxicating. They each are made with 12 edible oils (avocado, olive and coconut oil are among them) that leave your lip healthy looking and feeling and a scent that is made from fresh pressed fruit. Another bonus: they are paraben, sulfate and phthalates free because no one needs those terrible chemicals (linked to cancers and reproductive issues) on a product that is likely to be somewhat ingested.

Left to Right: Beetroot, Gazpacho & Pepper

Beetroot, Gazpacho & Pepper

 I was sent three bold and bright colors. These would likely never be colors that I would have picked out on my own as I tend to stick to more neutral tones, but I was shocked at how much I loved having a bold lip added to my normal makeup repetoire. There are 34 shades in the Amuse Bouche line and it's incredibly likely that I'll be adding at least a few more to my makeup obsession (shown below) and checking out the rest of their makeup line.

Peachy Nude

Dusty Mauve

Rich Toffee

If you're interested in checking out Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche line of lipsticks, check out their selection on the Sephora website.


I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, but all opinions are my own.

A Green Smoothie That Will ShamROCK Your World

Today's St. Patrick's Day is a whole new world compared to the celebrations that we had ten years ago. Ten years ago I would have already been at the bar for a few hours with a group of my closest friends drinking green beer, dressed head to toe in ridiculous green outfits and maybe even pretending to have an Irish accent while drinking beer out of a leprechaun hat...it happens.

This year, I've folded laundry, kissed boo boo's, changed more diapers that I want to admit and am sipping on a green smoothie with my two mini leprechaun children in tow. LOL. Worlds apart from years past. I did buy a corned beef brisket to cook, but just realized I have no cabbage. #MomFail. Hopefully, the toddler is in the arts and crafts mood later because I have some art projects planned to celebrate today.

Today's green smoothie is about as close to a green beer as I'm getting. This green smoothie is my new go-to afternoon pick me up and it's great for sneaking some veggies into my veggie avoiding toddler. It's packed with fruits and veggies and the greek yogurt adds a protein punch.

Ingredients:

1 banana (I prefer super ripe as they're more sweet and I like to freeze them)
1/2 cup pineapple (add juice if you want it sweeter)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
2 large handfuls of spinach
1 tsp coconut oil (add this last and melt before adding)

Add all ingredients together and blend until smooth. If you find that you need more liquid, you can add pineapple juice or a splash of milk. This prepares 1 large serving.

My two year old chugs these down and always ask for more. It's definitely a new staple to our diet and I love it too because it satisfies my sweet craving while providing some nutrition and protein.

Do you have a favorite green smoothie recipe?

 How have your St. Patrick's Days changed from years prior? Let me know below. 

Simple & Savory Red Enchilada Sauce

The other day I was doing my usually refrigerator inventory to see what needed to be used. We've been on a mission to make sure that we don't waste any food and so far it's being going really well. Food is entirely too expensive to waste and being conscious of what we have has prevented us from eating out or ordering take out (my postpartum waist line is thanking me for this). What I've been doing is taking stock of what we have and developing a meal from there...basically putting together all the odds and ends and making a meal of some sort. I had tons of ground beef, black beans and soft tortillas, but wasn't feeling the ordinary taco dinner. I've had a hankering for enchiladas, but definitely didn't want to leave the house with a willful, tired toddler and newborn so I decided to try my hand at my own enchilada sauce....

SO GOOD.

I'm never buying it pre-made again. Not only is it good, it's healthier, has simple ingredients (nothing questionable) and super easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
Dash of cayenne powder (or more, depending on how much heat you like)
Salt, to taste
2 cups chicken broth

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned. Add spices and mix well. Slowly mix in chicken stock and reduce temperature to low. Stir occasionally and allow to simmer for 15 minutes (mixture will reduce and thicken over time).

That's it!

I filled whole wheat tortillas with a seasoned beef and black bean mixture, rolled them up, placed in an oiled pan, and smothered them with enchilada sauce and cheese. 40 minutes in the oven and dinner is served.  Simple, easy and filling meal.

Taking Back Postpartum: Harnessing the Power and Supporting All Moms

I remember when I first saw the #takebackpostpartum tag begin on Instagram.  It was just several days after I had delivered Brielle and I felt such an intense satisfaction and felt like yelling, "go mama!" for each positive, real and heart-warming picture that I would see. This movement put a change and positive spin on detrimental ways I had seen postpartum used before.

As always, I shared much of my pregnancy journey on Instagram for the world to see. The good, bad, happy, sad, tough and sometimes TMI moments. I like to think I keep it real and would rather portray motherhood and pregnancy for what it really is: amazing and fulfilling, but not without it's tough moments. So many times throughout, I would be spammed whenever I would use certain tags, most specifically: #pregnancy, #momlife, #newmom. I'd be spammed by many different health, beauty and lose-weight-quick promoters during this time when many already have varied and sometimes negative feelings toward all the changes going on with their body.

It would infuriate me seeing this because I felt like it was preying on those that already may have doubts during a time in which they should feel like superwomen. I mean, you're building a baby. How much more bad ass and strong can you be? Your body created, sustains and births a baby and then continues to nurture and support it via breastfeeding and on little to no sleep as well. The last thing you should immediately worried about is losing weight, stretch marks, baggy eyes, and the host of other things that society deems as wrong. Instead woman (and the men in their lives), should be empowering each other, letting bodies heal, somehow finding a new normal when your life gets twisted and turned around by that squirming, beautiful baby/babies that you just birthed.

So when I saw that January Harshe, the mom blogger and creator of Birth Without Fear movement posted and started the trend I couldn't be happier. By putting a new spin on #Takebackpostpartum (also #takingbackpostpartum ), it took away that power from those that try to push the notion that a postpartum body is a bad thing.  It's not. Not at all. Is it different than before? Possibly, and most likely. Own those changes for they are part of the journey. Also, if you don't like them, that's okay too, but society needs to back off and take the pressure off women to immediately worry about getting back to their "pre-baby body" and stop with the insinuating that if you don't return to "pre-baby" that you're not good enough or that it's not ideal.

Just stop already.

How about we just start supporting each other instead of tearing each other down? Let's create that tribe; that space in which we can be who we are and comfortable with it. Motherhood can be isolating enough without the body shame so let's put a stop to it.

Seeing all those posts on Instagram tagged #takebackpostpartum made my heart swell. Witnessing all these mama's embracing and loving themselves is a powerful thing. It helps others develop those feelings, build their confidence and allows them revel in the amazing changes that their bodies have went through. I know it helped me. It normalizes it and blocks out all the "not good enough" feelings and the pressure from society to conform to a norm or expectation that's just not reasonable or attainable for most.

My Instagram post: "On the left is three hours before Brielle was born while in the midst of contractions every 4 minutes. The right is 12 hours post all natural, med-free delivery. The body is truly an amazing thing: 10 months of growing and sustaining a baby, 40 pounds gained and uterus growing and shrinking, breasts growing and producing milk to continue to sustain this new life, producing a new organ for pregnancy (placenta), contractions that allow the beautiful, tough and amazing process of labor, and so much more. 

Treat yourself well, mamas. Be kind to yourself, nourish your body & mind and all that it is able to do."

So thank you strong mamas! Keep on being your amazing, powerful, smart, beautiful selves!

If you've participated in the #takebackpostpartum movement, I'd love to know. 

Share your link below in the comments or find me on Instagram. 

Playdate conundrums: What's "too sick" for playdates and school?

Awhile back I wrote a guest post for The Scientific Parent, a public health blog that is curated by some awesome mamas. The post discusses playdates and sick kids and the chaos/sickness that follows.

There is nothing that drives me crazy more when parents bring their sick kids to play dates and events. I understand wanting to get out and not wanting to cancel, but I'd much rather re-schedule than start a weeks long process of sickness moving through our house, especially with a newborn in the home.  This post was the love-child borne after our family became ill after a well-meaning visitor came to our home. Their intentions were good, but the remnants of their illness set our family on a month long process of sickness moving from one person to another and several long nights with a miserable toddler.

If you'd like to check it out, click HERE.  While you're there, show the site some love and check out the other fabulous, fact-based posts by other medical and public health professionals.

 

What's your thoughts on sick kids and play dates? 

What do you consider too sick to be able to participate? 

Birth Story of Sweet Brielle Adalyn

Nearly three weeks ago I was in labor with this beautiful soul. She came rushing into this world just minutes before midnight. I can't believe that so much time has already passed and that the first month is already nearly over. I'm desperately wanting time to slow down, especially knowing that this is most likely our last. I'm trying to absorb every tiny newborn detail and fully appreciate everything as I won't likely have this opportunity again. There's a certain sadness that comes with your last baby. It's your last first everything when it comes to parenting and mothering...

When I went into labor with Aiden, I was fairly certain from the first contraction that I was in labor. With Brielle, it was a bit different. My stomach had been slightly upset for most of that Monday morning and I had some minor cramping. I had had cramping the last week or so as my body was most likely preparing for labor (I had just seen my midwife the Friday prior). After a few hours I realized that those cramps were indeed contractions and were consistently occuring. Around 10am I decided that I should probably give my husband, Ryan, a heads up that I thought labor was imminent as he was at work. I had been very nervous most of this pregnancy about how quickly that labor could progress considering that Aiden made his appearance quite quickly (he was delivered less than 2 hours after arriving at the hospital). I told him to just keep his phone nearby in case things began to progress as my contractions were still 8-9 minutes apart at this time. I decided to give my parents a call as well to let them know that we would likely be having a baby that day! My dad was our on-call babysitter for Aiden so I wanted to be sure he had plenty of time to leave work and get to our house.

The rest of the afternoon I spent puttering around the house, trying to relax and snacking on food when it sounded appetizing. Ryan made his way home and my dad also came over so we could leave quickly if need be. For most of the afternoon my contractions weren't too uncomfortable and slowly began to get closer together and more intense. I spent a lot of time just sitting on the couch with my first baby, Aiden, soaking up the last moments of him being my only 'baby' and bouncing on a yoga ball to help ease contractions and help Brielle move into position.

We made our way to the hospital around 6pm when my contractions were less than 5 minutes apart. When we got there, they checked me and found I was only 2cm dilated and 60% effaced. I won't lie, I was disappointed as that was barely any progress from my appointment the week before and began to become a bit worried if I could handle the pain and go medicine free again. They decided to have me stay a bit to see if I'd progress and Ryan and I walked circles in the hall hoping to get things moving. I was really, really hoping that this was true labor, as I wasn't ready to go home and continue to feel this way. Thankfully, my contractions slowly moved closer together and they admitted me. After walking around for what felt like a 100 times, we ventured back to the room to relax a bit. I bounced on the ball and we halfheartedly watched The Bachelor (haha) to try to distract myself.

This was such a different experience than with Aiden. With Aiden, I arrived at 4cm and within 45 minutes was at 10cm and pushing. Everyone always tells you that your second labor is quicker, so I was expecting to have progression move much more quickly. The slowness made me begin to doubt myself at times.

At about 7cm my contractions became more intense and painful. I was regaining confidence in my decision to avoid using any pain meds or an epidural, but there were moments that doubt would sneak in. I continued to trust that my body could do this on its own and I focused on each contraction and visualized that it was working to help prepare my body and her for delivery. I really believe that keeping calm and focused helps my body to relax enough to continue labor on its own. During both my labors, I get into a deep focus and really start to tune everyone and everything else around me out. It's easier for me this way and allows me to really immerse myself in the experience and tune into my body.

I should mention that I had originally planned on having a midwife be there for my delivery. I saw a midwife for all my appointments and had extensively talked to her about my wishes and desires. That morning when I called the office (she worked under several OB's), I was informed that she had to have emergency surgery and the other on call midwife wasn't able to assist either. I was bummed and nervous because now I had NO idea of who would be taking care of me and baby. I knew that the hospital I was choosing to deliver at were open to midwifery and their practices, so that gave me some comfort. That evening at the hospital, they had very few doctors on hand and I didn't know until an hour or so before labor who would be delivering. Thankfully, we had a great doctor who didn't try to rush anything and let labor take it's own course. I never once felt rushed or that my wishes weren't respected (I did have a general birth plan that my midwife has signed). I really can't say anything but great things about the doctors and nurses that took care of us.

At 11:10 they checked me again and I was nearing 8 1/2 cm dilated and they decided to break my water (I've never had my water break on its own). I felt the warm gush and my contractions became even more powerful and intense. I'd have one extremely tough contraction and the next would be weaker. It allowed me to gather some strength and focus between those intense contractions, but my goodness, some of those contractions were incredibly tough to get through. I remember trying to vocalize and ride them out. Some of the nurses were laughing a bit because I'd almost sing through them because for some reason it made me more comfortable. I really try to avoid screaming, cursing and so on because for me it doesn't seem to help and instead makes me feel frustrated and frightened. It's always amazing to me to see the different ways that people deal with the pain and labor experience. I always feel a bit bad because I really tune people out. My wonderful husband is so helpful and encouraging throughout it all, and I feel like I barely respond.

I vividly remember feeling her move and turn into the birthing canal. It was an unreal feeling and I knew at the moment that it would be very soon that we would meet our little Brielle (unnamed at that time) would be there soon. Several incredibly intense contractions passed and the intense pressure and feeling of crowning and she was nearly here. After 14 minutes of pushing and one last powerful push that took the last of my energy, and she arrived! 11:56 PM on January 25, 2016. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 21 inches of adorableness.

They quickly placed her on my chest so we could meet and I was in awe. She came into this world quietly and was wrinkly and purple. The distress from labor caused her to have some issues with respiration so unfortunately our immediate bonding time was very short lived. After Ryan cut the umbilical cord, they quickly moved her to the newborn station (which was in the room with us) to suction more, do the APGAR and monitor her to make sure that she was improving. She slowly improved and after about 20 minutes I was able to hold her again and marvel at all her tiny, delicate features. It was definitely a bit nerve-wracking waiting those 20 minutes, but I was assured that she was okay and that they just wanted to make sure that she improved and to monitor her closely. It wasn't ideal, but at that moment I only cared that she was going to be okay. Due to her increased respiration we weren't able to breastfeed until about an hour after birth. This initially concerned me, but she latched like a pro and we haven't had any issues since. Daddy finally was able to hold her as well and meet his little girl.

The relief that comes after labor is immense. I felt my body relax immediately and that surge of adrenaline. I swear that getting through labor makes you feel like you can take over the world. There's such an intense and raw high that you get from it.

The last few weeks have been a sweet bliss. I can't stop staring at that sweet face and smelling her newness and newborn smell. Seeing the love that her brother has for her, makes my heart explode a hundred times over.

Welcome to the world precious Brielle Adalyn. We can't wait to see the journey you take in this big, bright world!