Breastfeeding is glamorous...really?

On the eve of the last day of the 20th edition of World Breastfeeding Week, here in Quebec we have gone as far as making the act of feeding your child a glamorous act. Mahée Paiement is the spokesperson for the week long event and she recently released a video where she has presented breastfeeding as being a very glamour. Dressed in a sexy black dress, hair all made up and posing in a velvet and leather decor with a baby on her boob. You can see the picture right here
If I am a mom who is presently breastfeeding, I fail to see how this represents my reality. On the other hand, if I am a mom who had trouble breastfeeding or failed to breastfeed, I still do not see how this can help. Finally if I am a mom to be and have no idea what to expect from breastfeeding, should this be the example in my mind???
Being 32 weeks pregnant with twins getting ready to breastfeed again after a very short break (my son was weaned only a few weeks before I got pregnant at 14 months) this sort of publicity stunt bothers me. I can see that having a celebrity endorse breastfeeding has the potential to encourage some women to take on the challenge. Only 48% of women in Quebec actually breastfeed.
I am no marketing guru by all means, but this seems to me like this was an amazing publicity opportunity to promote breastfeeding that missed the target. I could imagine many different scenarios that are very real and concrete where one promotes breastfeeding. A mom at the restaurant, or in the shopping mall, perhaps a shot at home with some other mom friends who are also breastfeeding. But all dressed up to go to a gala or something...how is that real? I, for one, if my presence was required at a gala and I had to breastfeed, I would do it before I put my sexy black dress on, or I would use the pump. One thing is for sure, I would not be wearing my 6 inch heals sitting on the edge of a leather office chair!

Stretch marks during pregnancy: prevent or embrace?

There are many ailments of pregnancy that I have to endure, the back pain, the mood swings, the cravings, being nauscious, did I mention the back pain? Thank goodness stretch marks are not one of them!
There are things a girl can do to prevent them, or at least minimize them. Lets look at the options, but first, we should understand why stretch marks happen in the first place.
In a nutshell, stretch marks occur when the skin is stretched but is unable to return completely to its previous state. According to my extensive internet research, genetics play a major role in this. So if you already have some stretch marks or if your mom has them, chances are you are going to get them during pregnancy. Its important to mention that they dont look the same on everyone, depending on your skin tone it can be more or less visible.
If heredity is not in your favor, its best to work on prevention and early treatment. Having been in the natural cosmetics world for a while now and learing about different ingredients, your best friend in this case would be cocoa butter. Although  it cannot make stretch marks completely go away, (there is no miracle product out there!) the moisturizing action of the product on the skin does increase the skin's overall elasticity. Dry skin makes it more difficult for skin to return to its previous state. Skin is better able to stretch when it is hydrated therefor I recomend to hydrate twice a day every day. Not too much so your skin is not greasy, just enough for the skin to absorb completly.

Magic in a bottle!

We do have a great product at the store I often recomend, its called the triple butter balm; a mixture of cocoa, shea and mango seed butter that has been whipped to help application. Its quite wonderful. I did use it during my first pregnancy and I am currently using it with the pregnancy of the twins. I love the natural smell of the cacao, its so yummy!!
There is another option out there if you lose your battle with stretch marks. Accept them as your battle scars for having to go through the most wonderful experience of your life; road to motherhood!

The adventures of a momentrepreneur expecting twins

Owning a business has its challenges. Trying to juggle family and work being one of them. I am trying to figure out how I am going to do all this with twins and a toddler. The coming year is going to be filled with lots of fun and not so fun moments I want to share with you. My adventures juggling business, toddler and twins sure promises to be entertaining to say the least.

Varak and my belly hanging out in the bedroom 5:45 am