Maternity Goodies - Mama's Choice

I am not sure about other mothers but I am pretty particular about the skincare and oral products I use during pregnancy. And that's because some of the ingredients used in these products may not be pregnancy safe and may pass through our skin and affect the foetus. 

Mama's Choice sent me some of their products and I am quite excited to try them. Their products contain zero harmful chemicals and use mostly natural ingredients. They also hold a huge selection of products, covering all the Mummy's needs from pregnancy to postpartum. There are also products for the baby as well!

1. Stretch Mark Cream ($16.90)

Just to caveat, I already have strech marks from my first pregnancy, so I am basically just trying to reduce the amount of new stretch marks this time round. Honestly, I can't tell whether the product helps to reduce stretch marks. But when I apply the cream onto the reddish/ purplish stretch marks, they do become fainter.

The cream doesn't feel very sticky and is fragrant-free. Tip for new mums: Always apply generously even when your stretchmarks has yet to appear. Also stretchmarks may appear postpartum so do continue to apply even after delivery!

2. Oral Care Bundle ($7.90)

Inclusive of Non-Fluoride Toothpaste ($5.90) and Natural Mouthwash ($3.90)

During my last pregnancy, I have to be honest and admit that I was really bad at keeping my oral hygiene. I would brush my teeth only once a day. There were many mothers in my groupchat which ended up having teeth decay and I was fortunate enough to not be one of them. I received free samples from Mama's Choice previously so I actually used these products before. I would think they are the reason why I kept my pearly whites cavity-free. 

So far, this is the first time I came across oral products targetted for mothers and I was quite amused with the green toothpaste. Basically, both products don't contain alcohol and flouride. For mothers who have bad morning sickness (like me), the products didn't induce nausea. :) Would recommend this!

3. Herbal Oil ($15.90)

This product is insanely good. I have really bad leg cramps during my third trimester and would use this to relieve them. It helps to relax the massage and reduce the frequency of the cramps. The oil is not sticky has a very distinctive scent (fromt the cajuput oil), which is also the secret to treating sore muscles and joints. Never seen a product that works as well as this, strongly recommend all mothers to have a bottle of this at home. 

Updates: I had Mummy's nursing pain in my forearm. It was so painful I considered taking a painkiller. I applied the oil an massage that strained muscle for a month. And voila, within a day, the pain was no longer there!

*

*

*

Note: We will be reviewing more of Mama's Choice products so do follow that tag if you wish to know more!

First Time Mum: Useful Support Groups/ Apps

Really wanted to do more this weekend, but exhaustion has unfortunately struck me. Since I am too drained to delve into anything deeper, I will share something lighter this weekend. As a first time mum, I relied on some support group/ app to go through bad days like this and I thought I will share it here :D

1. Telegram Private Chat

So this is the group which the hubs always call them a cult. I found them on a forum and apparently there is a group for each delivery month. My group is quite chatty and talks about healthy topics (heard some groups talk about sex and complains about their husbands all day). Generally, we compare symptoms, share good news and dish out advise (for experienced mums). Sometimes, the Mums also share when they received bad news from their gynae and other women would comfort them. 

Hubs thinks I am overly active and involved with a group of women I don't even know. But the thing is when I was going through rough morning sickness, this was the group that "understood". My friends didn't go through as bad pukes as me. And this was the group that was patient enough to keep comforting me. To return the kindness of my virtual pals, I also do try to be there as often as possible, particularly for mums going through a bad day (because I have been through it and knows how shitty it is like). 

2. 280 Days

This was the first app I used to track my pregnancy during the first trimester (recommended by the cult too). I downloaded it simply because it was cute and it was the closest interaction we had to the baby. The Hubs also downloaded the app so he could monitor my journals which I filled in quite religiously and he could also send "customised" encouraging message.

Apart from the cute icons of the babies which would change movement everytime you refresh the page, this app didn't hold much use. I soon moved on to the Asian Parent App which had a bigger community and had a whole library of food that could be taken during pregnancy etc. which I thought was a lot more useful. 

3. The Asian Parent App

As of now, this is my more frequently used app cos there is a lot more going on. Apart from the pregnancy tracker, there are polls, articles and libraries of facts to tap on. And you get points which you can use to redeem stuff. But between you and me, the stuff ain't that attractive and it is very hard to accumulate to a substantial amount. 

This app was also recommended by the cult. In fact, the cult also introduced an app that can measure/ track the fetus' heartbeat. Personally, I think placing the phone at the tummy just didn't seem smart so I didn't download it. So far, I just feel my tummy for movements (which Hubs say they are not baby but my gas rolling about in the tummy) Oh wells...but call it a mummy's instinct but I am pretty sure some of them are made my little one trying to connect with me :D

Update: Managed to redeem quite a decent set of toothpaste and mouthwash from Mama's Choice. Will be packing it into my hospital bag. :D