Keep those baby legs warm

Baby Legs are back and more stylish than ever at Hot Mama Maternity! Check out the fun colors and happy patterns for boys and girls. They make great gifts and there are so many ways to wear them: as leg or arm warmers, or tights. It's the style accessory for fashionistas of all ages.

Baby Legs also are a great compliment to potty training.

Prices vary from $9.00 and $12.00 per pair.

Preggie Pop Drops

Most of the time, there is a bittersweet prelude to sharing the good news: morning sickness and first-trimester nausea. In those early weeks, what felt like perhaps the onset of a cold or flu turns out to be a little being in your bump-to-be. To ease the malaise that can make these first weeks or months difficult, try some Preggie Pop Drops. Made with brown rice syrup and cane juice, these little treats are a natural way to bring relief to morning sickness and nausea. Drug-free and doctor recommended, Preggie Pop Drops come in a variety of flavors such as raspberry, green apple, lemon and tangerine.

Organic swaddle from Aden + Anais

The Darling Organic swaddle, perfectly named for its pure softness and adorableness.

The organic collection by Aden + Anais is not only made out of certified organic cotton but are made in a planet-friendly, socially responsible way. Woven with a dash of recycled water, sunshine (solar power) and a whole lot of love, these swaddles will keep your baby warm and safe. All Aden + Anais organic swaddles are stamped with the Global Organic Textile Standard label. Now available at Hot Mama Maternity.

The Diaper Bag that's a Daily Bag

New Storksaks are in!

If you're looking for a cool, hip accessory that makes a fashion statement and can double as a diaper bag, then Storksak is for you.

Olivia

Jess

Emily

A Little Help from the Belly Bandit

This nifty post-partum wrap is many things in one: not only is it an abdominal compression binder designed to shrink your belly back to shape, but it also provides leg and back support as well as posture support for breastfeeding moms.

The best part is no one will know you are wearing one under your clothes! With a sleek construction and made out of breathable material, the Belly Bandit® will work its wonders as you go about your day. Especially if you've had a C-section, the Belly Bandit® made of bamboo will not irritate skin as its fibers are anti-bacterial and oh-so-soft on skin.

If you ever wonder how those celebrities get their pre-pregnancy figure back so quickly, wonder no more. Hot Mama Maternity has all sizes available in the bamboo version. Stop by the shop and check out the Belly Bandit® today! (LL)

Hot Mama Maternity and Baby aWEARness are proud to announce Hawaii's 2010 Hot Mama: Dana Pinho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just like so many of the nominees, Dana is an amazing woman whose positive energy, perseverance, and ability to be a mother, friend, wife, and community leader gracefully encompasses what being a Hot Mama is.

Along with having an awe-inspiring, energetic and creative energy, Dana maintains her positive attitude and still has what it takes to put on a pair of stilettos to walk proudly into a room full of strangers. As if being a mother of four isn't challenging enough, Dana is starting a non-profit to assist other mothers who share similar struggles that she herself faced.

As the face of Hot Mama Maternity and Baby aWEARness, Dana will enjoy an entire day of pampering at Allure Spa & Salon, followed by a professional photoshoot with Island Style Images. Once Dana has picked out her favorite shots, we will begin featuring Dana in all of our advertising and community outreach materials.

Since the contest has introduced so many wonderful women into our lives, we are going to begin hosting several fun Hot Mama inspired events to continue to recognize, appreciate, and most importantly unite all the soulful, driven beautiful women on this island. Please stay tuned as we work out the details of our growing Hot Mama Network!

We hope that you will continue to be a part of our Baby aWEARness/Hot Mama 'ohana. We will make sure to keep you in the loop on special events and as always, you are always welcome to stop by to say hello, seek advise, check out the new products and classes we have to offer, or simply just to get out of the house! We are always looking for ideas on new classes to host, products to carry or any other ideas you may have.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a part of this wonderful celebration. We have enjoyed hosting this contest and being truly have been inspired by all of the heartfelt stories we received.

Dana, proud mother of four was nominated by two of her sons, Kris and Kyler Younge, with the assistance of their dad Chris. In their loving words, they describe Dana as such:

What celebrity mom or historical/political figure are they most like and why?
Our mom is like Jenny McCarthy. Jenny McCarthy took challenging circumstances that her family experienced and used it to educate and empower other families. She took her sons diagnosis of Autism and fought endlessly until she found ways to help alieviate his struggles. Her steadfast dedication and love for her son affected many in great ways.

While Jenny McCarthy experienced autism, our mom experienced prematurity. All of us were born premature, varying from 25-34 weeks. Each time, our mom was there right by our side. Even through news that would have crumbled the resolve of the average woman, she always stood strong and never waivered. She would not accept no for an answer when it came to our wellbeing. Even through months and months of hospitalization, she still came nearly every day to see us. Even when we were to sick to be held or touched, she would come just to look at us and tell us that she was there.

Even through our struggles with prematurity, our mom finds ways to give back. She makes sure we know that the March of Dimes helps babies that were born like us and encourages us to donate a part of our allowance to them. She really tries to get people to support the March of Dimes March for Babies and their other efforts to raise funds for sick and premature babies. She tells us it's so that one day no family will have to go through what our family has gone through.

Our mom is a shiny lip gloss, mascara, bright-pink cape wearing super mom, just like Jenny McCarthy.

What would their family say makes them the best mom ever?
Our mom is the best mom because she is perfectly imperfect. Sometimes she forgets to brush her teeth (and hair), but she always carries a toothbrush and toothpaste in her bag so that when she remembers she won't have morning breath. That's a great thing, too, because sometimes we forget and at least we can borrow hers. Once in a while she lets us eat popcorn and kaki mochi for lunch, but she always puts in furikaki (because we need our veggies, too!) When we're sick and accidentally vomit on the carpet or on the bed because we thought we weren't going to be sick, she always checks to make sure we are okay before magically making the stink and smell dissapear.

In all seriousness, our mom is incredible. She has sacrificed so much, asked for so little, gives more than what everyone expects, is loyal to a fault and loves so freely. When she found out she was pregnant with our twin brothers she went on a quest to give them a fighting chance at making it as closest to term as possible. She gave up her favorite foods and drinks because they weren't good for pregnant woman to have, good-bye to her favorite fish and caffinated drinks she so loved and hello to organic and local grown produce! She eliminated as much stress as possible and added exercise to her day to provide the most perfect environment for her growing babies.

When our twin brothers were born prematurely at 26 weeks despite all of our moms efforts to keep them in as long as possible, she did everything she could to provide the best for them. She pumped breastmilk every two hours around the clock for over 3 months because preemies have risks for an intestinal disorder called NEC and breast milk is the best prevention for NEC. She pushed for them to co-bed as soon as possible because it was good for growth. Even when doctors told her that she wouldn't be able to breastfeed her twins until many months later, at 30 weeks she realized that one twin had signs of being ready to nurse and fought to do so. Surprising the doctors and nurses, our tiny two and a half pound brother nursed for 7 minutes and never took a step back since then. When 2 months later she stopped producing as much milk, she consulted every professional she could reach in order to find out how to keep up production of milk to feed twins. Though many doctors said that most moms can't and won't make enough milk to successful exclusively feed twins, she managed to find someone to help and has managed to provide them with breast milk till this day.

Then through December and January one of our twin brothers was hospitalized. Our mom made this incredibly stressful situation as easy as it could be on our family. She allowed us to learn about our brothers condition and participate in his care, so that his equpitment at home would not be as intimdating for us. She allowed us to see that he was the same brother we had, he just had a few extra "accessories" now. During this time our baby brother refused feedings by everyone but our mom, so when she should have been celebrating the holidays she instead spent weeks driving back and forth from our home to the hospital in order to feed both of our twins (since one would only breastfeed and the other had never had a bottle before). Some days she spent hours driving back and forth from the hospital to our home (sometimes five or six times a day), or waiting in the parking lot of the hospital for hours because one of our twin brothers was not allowed to visit and he still needed to eat. Our mom still manages to spend time with us all and provide our brother with the medical care he needs, most of the time single handedly. When he was discharged, even though our schedule still is booked with our twin brother's medical appointments we still get to do fun things.

Our mom does everything she can to better us as a family. She has done everything from adding better foods to our diet and showing us why local, organic produce is the best for us (we even tried to grow okra) to allowing us to participate in making our twin brothers baby food (our favorite is applesauce because we eat it too). She gives us enough room to grown, but enough guidance to keep us grounded. She loves us so much, but allows us to make our own mistakes.

Why should they be Hawaii's Next Hot Mama?
Our mom is Hawaii's Next Hot Mama because she is the mom that everyone would die for. She manages to mix cookies while carrying both of our twin brothers. She manages to make tofu taste like steak. Our mom rocks because even when she has challenging days with our little brother, we still get time with her alone. OUr mom is the best because she still manages to be humble and has incredible amounts of love despite going through so much.

Nursing Bras, a Mom's Breast Friend

Breastfeeding frees a mother from all the usual diaper bag paraphernalia -- bottles, cooler, water, formula powder-to-go -- but there is one key item that all nursing moms should have on herself: a good nursing bra.

Many new mothers may think a nursing bra is more of an accessory, but it really is a necessity. They provide comfort, support, and convenience while helping a mother to perform one of the most important maternal acts: feeding baby from her very own body. Nursing bras are designed with cups that open or lower at the front with snaps or hook-on straps. The best nursing bras allow moms to undo a cup quickly and easily with one hand.

Hot Mama Maternity store manager Anna suggests that pregnant moms come in sometime at the end of their eighth month or after week 36 to get an initial fitting. "A mother-to-be can increase up to two cup sizes and even gain an inch or two in their ribcage during pregnancy."

A proper fitting by a professional can avoid problems down the line as an ill-fitting bra, or the construction of a non-nursing bra, sometimes can lead to plugged ducts and/or mastitis (breast infection). The added pressure on lactating breasts by regular underwire bras can also lead to clogged ducts.

Buy one or two nursing bras to have on hand for those first weeks after baby's birth. Once a mother's milk is established and she becomes acclimated to her new breasts, getting more nursing bras, usually in that first postpartum month, is fine. Three to five bras should be enough to meet a full-time nursing mother's needs.

Once you have your nursing bras, don't forget to get cotton nursing pads to absorb leaking milk. Also look into a few good nursing tops that provide added discretion for when you feed your baby in public settings. For at-home comfort, breastfeeding moms can also wear nursing camisoles, tanks, nightgowns, and pajamas.

At Hot Mama Maternity, we offer a complete line of fashionable and high-quality nursing bras and wear that will make mothers feel comfortable, beautiful, and stress-free through their breastfeeding relationship with baby. (LL)