Prenatal breastfeeding class at Evymama!

THE KEYS TO BREASTFEEDING SUCCESS!

A NEW class at our Danforth store!

Attending a prenatal breastfeeding class can help you to make important decisions that will impact your breastfeeding success. After this class, armed with evidence-based information and lots of practical know-how, you and your baby will be off to the very best start possible.

Date: October 26th from 6:15 - 9:00 p.m.
Cost: $75.00 per couple (partners are encouraged to attend)
Instructor: Taya Griffin - Lactation Counsellor and Homeopathic Doctor
Email info@evymama.ca to register!

Grand Opening & 4-year Anniversary!

Friday Oct 14 through Sunday Oct 16

Fri & Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5

At both of our Toronto locations! 

230 Danforth Avenue, Toronto &

266 Jane Street, Toronto

Enter for a chance to WIN a $1,000 wardrobe shopping spree at Evymama! 

Promotional gift bags for the first 100 customers at each location

Gourmet truffles and fruit wine 

In-store promotions 

For web customers: 

Free domestic shipping & samples today through Sunday!

OUR 1st EVER PRE-SEASON M COAT SALE!!!

For a limited time, the fabulous 3-in-1 M coat is 25% off at Evymama, both online and in our two Toronto, Ontario, Canada Nursing & Maternity stores!
 http://evymama.ca/collections/maternity-and-babywearing-coats/products/the-m-coat-more-colours-1

This maternity coat is for pregnancy, for wearing over your baby carrier to keep you both warm, and for just you alone (without the special panel in place) it's a luxurious, warm, trendy down coat.

-100% Canadian materials and workmanship
-Lifetime manufacturer warranty
- Evymama offers FREE Xpresspost shipping of the coat to Canadian and Continental USA addresses!

Regular price: $480.00
Limited Time Sale Price: $360.00

Hurry! The M coat sale ends September 30th!

Shop online at www.evymama.ca

Order by phone at 416.913.0546 or 416.465.9991

Blissful maternity shopping and dressing: what to buy, when, and why, Part I

Shopping for a new maternity wardrobe can be daunting and confusing. To demystify this process for pregnant women, here are my suggestions as a mother of two, and as a maternity boutique retailer, to make the process more enjoyable, more beautiful, and more efficient.

Begin your maternity wear shopping when your lingerie (especially your bras) are becoming uncomfortable in any way, and/or when your trousers and skirts are getting snug.

Why? Correctly fitted nursing-maternity bras will not only save you from discomfort, but will save you from possibly doing damage to your growing breasts. Ill-fitting pants and skirts were not attractive when you weren't pregnant, and the same holds true(r) when you are pregnant!

I do not recommend using safety pins, rubber bands, or other makeshift contraptions to keep your unbuttoned trousers up, unless said item is a BellaBand. BellaBands are an adequate stop-gap for the period in-between regular-pants-that-will-not-and-should-not-close, and maternity pants. All other items leave you in danger of a wardrobe malfunction. I leave that to your imagination. Keep in mind that the BellaBand is just a temporary solution. It's not the pregnancy wardrobe "magic bullet" that some might suggest it is.

In addition to the improved appearance of maternity bottoms that fit, over your regular ones that do not fit at the moment, is the comfort factor. The skin on your belly needs tender attention, and chaffing waist bands (or safety pins!) will not be helpful in that regard. Begin using at this stage a pregnant belly salve, lotion or oil designed for pregnancy and which preferably does not contain chemicals or ingredients that you would not find in an organic grocery store. It will spare you itchiness and discomfort down the road as the skin on your abdomen grows taught. The jury is still out (I feel) on whether these creams will actually reduce the incidence of stretch marks, however!

Correctly fitted nursing-maternity bras will not only save you from discomfort, but will save you from doing possible damage to your growing breasts. I strongly suggest visiting Evymama for your breastfeeding brassieres if you live in, near, or are just visiting Toronto, not only because it is my business but because I know that the Evymamas will take good care of you. Of this, and a few other things in life I am sure. For others in urban centres having a shop with a wide selection of nursing bras and a competent staff, go there. If you live in a remote area, I do not suggest going to the local department store or mall-chain maternity shop without at minimum consulting our bra fitting guide first, as you will undoubtedly leave with the wrong size- and not by any fault of your own. You will be quite, quite alone in making your choices in one of those stores, and they (strangely) are unlikely to carry your size, no matter what that size may be (more on this another time- it's really a fascinating phenomenon!) I will not trouble to comment too much on the selection of nursing bras in big box stores. Suffice to say that the nursing bras at Evymama are superior in quality, size range, and appearance. I say this without boasting. It would be difficult to do worse than they do. Truly, if you live in a remote area, I humbly suggest shopping for your nursing bras in our online boutique, evymama.ca. We offer phone support for long-distance customers in addition to our online bra fitting guide, and one free return ship!

Please do not, under any circumstances, buy regular, non-maternity clothing in "a size up".

Unless your intention is to spend good money on clothes that absolutely do not and will not at any stage fit you, do not do this. People may advise you to do this. I won't say anything about those people, except that they are giving out advice that they aren't qualified to give.

Although the reasons NOT to do this will be obvious to many, they might not be obvious to one and all. Let's look at what we know about regular clothing "in a size up" against what we know is happening with your body.

Clothing that is too large for you is just that. It is large in the shoulders, at the neck, at the small of your back, in the arms, in the crotch, and in the leg. (And yes, at the waist, but not large enough for your purposes.)

Fortunately, you will likely not be carrying a child in your throat, shoulders, or knees. Your breasts will grow, yes, quite a bit. You may swell a little in the arms and face and elsewhere. Your child and his entourage of placenta and waters, and your uterus, will grow massively. If your purpose was merely to cover your pregnant belly with some form of clothing, you would need to wear regular clothes "in four sizes up" to be "successful" in your endeavour (if such a thing could be considered a success by anyone but your enemies.)

When your waist has vanished, you will come to appreciate your lovely shoulders, your neck, your rib cage, your fabulous legs (your hair, your nails...) Why would anyone hide these features under yards and yards of improperly cut (I should say improperly selected) clothing?

I beg you not to do it. It's wasteful and misguided. You will have to buy a maternity wardrobe as well, in the end.

Coming up next: Blissful maternity shopping and dressing: what to buy, when, and why, Part II.

Maternity & nursing wear clearance sale at Evymama!

Our Summer Clearance Sale is on until August 15th! Enjoy an additional 15% off of our already discounted Summer maternity and breastfeeding fashion clothing in our two Toronto locations or shop online and use discount code SummerSale2011 in Evymama's online boutique, http://evymama.ca/

All of our beautiful maternity dresses, maternity skirts, maternity shorts, maternity trousers, and nursing tops and nursing dresses are on sale! Excludes new arrivals.

Evymama Nursing & Maternity WEST
266 Jane Street
Toronto, ON
M6S 3Z2
416.913.0546

Evymama Nursing & Maternity EAST
230 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON
M4K 1N4
416.465.9991

Listening to your "Mother's Intuition"

There are so many confusing signals, advertisements, pieces of advice, words-to-the-wise, articles, radio discussions, podcasts and forum posts out there, telling us how "best" to raise our children.

I have found, with my two children, that the only decisions I have regretted making regarding their health & upbringing were the times that I listened to something or someone while disregarding my own "Mother's Intuition"or in other words, ignoring what my heart was telling me.

My Mother's Intuition has saved my children's lives on occasion. It has averted dangerous situations, kept them happy and smiling, and frequently been proven true by one study or another at some later date.

I keep informed, of course, and have books on natural remedies, and read books and articles on parenting and children, selectively sorting out what I think makes sense and what I think is utter nonsense best left to rearing canines.

I breastfeed until the children quit on their own. I follow my hunches. I know that I know my children almost as well as they know themselves and what is "normal" for them. I believe in myself and my babies as we labour together when they are born. I trust our dyad to know instinctively what we need to do at all times, in all situations.

I have at times glimpsed the fact that "my heart" is actually my children themselves, the ones who made me into a mother, and who truly do know in their hearts what is going on with them, what they need, what is best for them.

The result is that I never feel defensive, haunted, or guilty when questioned about my parenting, my extended breastfeeding, or most anything I have done in my career as a mother while mothering from my heart, that is to say, following my children's cues and signals and really listening to them.

The other times will likely trouble me forever.

Why online shopping often makes sense for moms

Expectant mothers sometimes look at us like we're a little crazy when we suggest that they, who might live in Toronto (where Evymama Nursing & Maternity is located), should shop our web store when the baby comes along and have their nursing pyjamas, nursing pads, and nursing tops delivered to them.

"Why would I shop a Toronto store online when I live here?" or "why would I pay for shipping when I can pick it up for free?", they might be wondering.

Well, your time becomes extremely precious when you have a child, and your "free time" is even more so. You might need a few things when the baby is born that you would really love to rush out and get, but you really could be relaxing and getting breastfeeding off to a good start instead, which is what I humbly suggest that you do for the first ten days or so.

Don't feel silly for shopping a local store online. I do it all the time, and my kids are 6 and 4 years old. I don't really have time for shopping except for late at night when my little people are asleep, and my shop is closed.

If cost is your concern, just think of what your fuel is costing, or that a TTC round trip is $6.00. The $8.00 expedited shipping rate from Evymama to get the breastfeeding supplies you need starts to look pretty manageable, especially since you can sip your tea [coffee] as you shop, and never have to so much as put on your shoes to get them.

Check us out, even if it's just to choose your items in advance of a real-life visit: we have a "pick up in store" option, so you can actually shop our store from home and have your parcel picked up, avoiding shipping fees and saving you lots of time.

We'll take good care of you either way, and the tea is on the house when you stop in.

http://evymama.ca/