Nikki from Bumps and Giggles Photography is a friend of mine. A wonderfully sweet, hugely talented, friend of mine.

She is currently working on putting together some new promotional materials for her photography business, and is in need of newborn models, preferably between the ages of 5 and 10 days old, to work on a few particular setups.

Interested families will need to bring their newborn model for a 2-4 hour time slot, to Nikki’s home studio in Murrieta, California. The photo session will be done FREE of charge, and families will receive three complementary gift prints (size 8×10 or smaller) for their participation. Each family will be able to choose prints from an online gallery of thirty or so photos, and your complimentary prints will be provided in a high quality dry mounted finish. Additional photos may also be purchased by participants at a discounted 20% off the usual rate.

For readers of MommyTopics.com, Nikki is offering an additional 8×10 photo ($50 value) when you mention this post, in your email to her expressing interest in setting up a FREE newborn photo shoot to take place by mid October 2010. Email Nikki at: nikki@bumpsandgigglesphotography.com

And just look at these photos…

Amongst her ability to capture the radiant beauty of pregnancy, and the adorable moments of childhood, Nikki specializes in posing and capturing the newborn “curl” only prominent in newborns for those first few precious days outside the womb. Even if you aren’t delivering by October, but are “expecting”, live in or are able to visit Southern California, and are looking for a highly talented maternity and newborn photographer… Nikki is your girl!

You can view more from her portfolio by clicking here

And…

If you will have, or know someone who will have a newborn in September or early October of 2010, and would be able to visit Nikki’s studio in Murrieta, California some time within the first ten days or so after delivery, email Nikki RIGHT AWAY, to take advantage of this incredible FREE PHOTO SHOOT opportunity!!!! nikki@bumpsandgigglesphotography.com

For more information about the FREE photo shoot for participating newborn models visit Nikki’s blog.

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March 3rd was “National Help A Pregnant Lady Day.” Which now has passed I know… but keep reading!

I learned about here.

There’s even a Facebook Fan Page for it.

So… in honor of such a brilliant day I thought I would try to inspire you with some wonderful things YOU can do for the pregnant lady or ladies in your life.

Although…

Once I got to working on this post I realized that most of these suggestions are just all around great ideas for pampering any lady, anytime.

So husbands, boyfriends, and best friends, take note… The following is a great list of ways to make any woman in your life feel FANTASTIC, any time of the year.

And… several of the items mentioned, can now be purchased right here from the Cosmetics section of the MommyTopics.com store… check it out.

Taking a daily shower when you are a MOM or a pregnant woman is about far more than personal hygene.

It’s warmth.

It’s muscle relief.

It’s a light massage.

It’s calm.

It’s quiet.

It’s solitude.

If there were chairs in showers, pregnant women might not ever come out.

This Ginger soap by Origins just makes mornings better.

The citrus smell wakes you up and makes you feel like living. The scent also stays on your skin after you wash and continues to invigorate the senses throughout the morning and remind you… the shower will still be there to return to tonight. (Available online at Origins.com and at Macy’s)

And, after an evening shower at the end of a looooong day, this fantastic Mentha Body Wash by C.O. Bigelow can make leaving the shower almost as enjoyable as being in one. This body wash contains a bit of Peppermint oil, so after you’ve lathered it on, washed it off, and have stepped out into the cool air, your skin tingles all over. And after you’ve dried off, dressed, and settled down with a good book or to watch TV, it’s still tingling. It’s amazing! (Available at Bath and Body Works)

Also at Bath and Body Works you can find these fantastic sweet tasting Mentha Lip Shines by C.O. Bigelow. They come in several different tinted shades as well as clear.

The last friend I recommended this to said she put it on for the first time when she got in her car right after buying it and… it changed her life.

I swear.

That’s what she said.

“It changed my life.”

Speaking of changed lives…

This little item changed mine.

Most the time I have a nice long debate in my head while putting on my makeup if I should even bother putting on any lipstick because after all, my lips will be bare again within the first half hour of wearing any.

Not with these babies!

These are the Pro Longwear Lustre Lip Colors by MAC. It’s a two step application with a brush on color you let dry, and then a shiny gloss to apply on top. The gloss does wear away like any gloss does, but the color hangs on all day and into the evening. I’m always startled by my reflection in the mirror come mid afternoon when I have this on. Hours and hours after having put my makeup on, my lips are still colored. What a novel idea!

I will say that the magic of this lip color staying on your lips does have one draw back and that is how dry it makes your lips feel. Really, really, dry. But, it’s so worth it.

And as long as you keep a gloss in your pocket like one of the Mentha ones I mentioned earlier or this pocket size MAC Longwear Gloss Coat, to reapply here and there when you feel the need… you’re golden.

There’s also this lip primer by MAC that helps condition your lips and make them feel fantastic under any lipstick. (MAC products are available online at maccosmetics.com as well as at Macy’s and Nordstrom)

Once again… something that has changed my life.

This little pot holds within it the answer to tired, baggy, puffy, circles under the eyes. Pregnant women have this little issue called insomnia which contributes to the under-eye problem but the Eye Doctor by Origins will fix it instantly.

You know those magazine ads and commercials that show you a face with a line down the middle dividing the side that looks incredible because it supposedly has had a miraculous cosmetic applied to it and the other side that is all droopy and blotchy because it doesn’t have the miracle creme on it. When are advertisers going realize we all know how Photoshop works and they just aren’t fooling anyone?

Anyway, you can play that divided face game in the mirror if you have this creme. Once you’ve applied the creme under your eye on one side, you can immediately see a huge difference between it and the eye you haven’t applied it to yet. It’s fantastic. (Available at Macy’s or Origins.com)

And while we’re talking about eyes, let us not neglect the brows.

I’m obsessed with eyebrows. I love them. Especially really well shaped ones.

This is the Brow Tech by Smashbox. One half is filled with a tinted brow powder to brush on the brows and highlight them. The other half of the pot is filled with a colorless pomade WAX that you brush on the brows to hold them in place. AWESOME. No more clear mascara on your eyebrows.

The Brow Tech comes in 6 different colors to match your hair and brow color perfectly.

You’ll also want to get her this Angled Brow Brush by Smashbox. It’s stiff bristles and slanted angle make it the perfect tool for applying both the powder and pomade to create the perfect brow. (Both Smashbox items can be found at Macy’s and Sephora or online at smashbox.com)

A gift certificate for an eyebrow waxing at a Day Spa would be a great gift too.

In fact…

While we’re on the subject of Day Spas…

A pedicure is always a welcomed gift by most any woman, but a pregnant woman in particular.

Once that pregnant belly pops out there, painting ones toenails becomes an impossibility.

And while full body massages are a “No – no” for pregnant women unless they are specifically a “Pregnancy Massage”, a nice facial or a good long scalp massage are a welcomed treat.

Now I realize… you may adore the pregnant woman in your life, but you might not have the money to pamper her with gifts and trips to the spa.

No problem.

You can make a pregnant woman’s day, with any of the following thoughtful gestures…

- Arrange a time to come over to fold clothes and put away the laundry and dishes. If she has kids, offer to watch them too while she goes and takes a shower, a nap, or simply watches a movie or reads a book in her bedroom.

- Pick up her kids and watch them for the day or a couple hours so she can have the house to herself.

- Come over and watch her kids so she can go out to the spa or the mall without busy little ones tagging along.

- Drop off a Newly Released rented Chick Flick and her favorite candy and pick up the movie the next day to return it.

- Drop off some yummy baked goods, like cupcakes, or cookies, or the Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls, some hand picked flowers, and a nice card or note, telling her what a great friend or wife she is. You could also include a nice copy of this poem.

Now…

If you do have some money to spend you can always mix and match the gifts above with the thoughtful gestures, but if you really have some money… I mean really, really have some money to spend on a dearly beloved pregnant woman, you can get her everything mentioned above… or…

Send her and her hubby or her best friend away for the weekend for some much needed relaxation-before-the-storm, to a beautiful Inn like this.

To stay in a beautiful room like this.

With a breathtaking view like this.

And Spa Treatments that sound like this…

Pumpkin Enzyme Facial

Get your glow back with this 55 minute facial, ideal for dry or dull skin. This extra strength enzyme treatment is a great choice if you need to restore glow to tired skin. The advanced exfoliation is followed by a custom mask, toner and moisturizer. Your skin will look and feel revitalized. This treatment ends with our signature Peppermint Scalp, Neck and Shoulder massage.

Now that would seriously be Helping Out a Pregnant Lady!

And pregnant ladies… you’re welcome. Make sure to send a link to this post to EVERYONE YOU KNOW! Post it on your Facebook page, your blog, and all your emails. QUICK! …THERE’S NO TIME TO WASTE.

And tell your best friend to send it to everyone you know also. Tell her it’s how she can fulfill her duty to you for “National Help a Pregnant Lady Day,” and she doesn’t have to do anything else. Just as long as she makes sure everyone in your life has this post!!!

Here’s one last idea…

You could find a fantastic Photographer like this and purchase a portrait package for the Mommy-to-be. Many packages include pictures of the pregnancy as well as the baby once he or she is born.

What an extraordinary gift that would be!

Nikki, from Bumps and Giggles Photography is offering a promotion for the month of March to readers of MommyTopics.com. When you reserve your photography appointment and pay for the portrait package of your choice in full, mention MommyTopics.com and she will wave the sitting fee ($150). She serves the areas of San Diego County, Riverside County, and Orange County in Southern California.

That’s a great deal! Visit her website and check out the many portrait packages available.

If you have a great gift idea or thoughtful gesture for a Pregnant Mom please share it with all of us by placing it in the comments section of this post.

And if you are a pregnant lady who receives some extra special lovin’ on March 3rd because word got out that it’s “National Help a Pregnant Lady Day” leave that in the comments too. We’d love to hear your story.

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My little baby boy Magellan just turned one last month.  He’s done now with nursing and today he started trying to run… not walk, with his entire baby-turning toddler, might.  It was a precious first year with him rocking and snuggling, cooing and cradling.  It is amazing how quickly we have reached this new stage.

There are so many books and theories these days on the market about:

How to properly run nursing schedules

Whether to rock or not rock

To let baby “cry it out” at bedtime, or to “appease” him with cuddles and nursing

To co-sleep or not to co-sleep

And the list goes on and on

It’s enough to make a mother’s head spin trying to figure out what is best for her baby. Each home is different; each child is not the same, each technique not without its flaws, for some.

For all the first time mommies out there, experienced mommies of little ones just born, and mommies waiting with expectation for a birth coming in the next few months… Whatever you choose, however you raise them…

Cherish the season of baby!

When you’re feeling frustrated because schedules are off and nothing is getting done…

When you’re at your wits end struggling to nurse, and exhausted from lack of sleep…

When you just don’t know what that crying baby wants or when she’s going to stop…

Stop!

Pause.

Breathe.

Realize this season is so very short in the grand scheme of the life of that child and your time with him.

Look at that baby and call her precious.

Look up to God and be grateful for having received this blessing.

Start this moment over with a new attitude and a willingness to lose more sleep, and do more cuddling, to try new things, and to keep on praying.

Just for this season, just for this moment, just for this gift… this baby.

Babies Don’t Keep

By Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullaby, rock-a-bye, lullaby loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peek-a-boo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo

Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?

Lullaby, rock-a-by lullaby loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

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