Earth Mama Angel Baby – Bring On The Comfort!

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to test out the Breastfeeding Support Kit by Earth Mama Angel Baby®. As many of you know I’m coming to the end of my breastfeeding days with my son, so I asked a local mom with a little one to try out the products and let me know what she thought. It actually worked out wonderful as she needed the added support and I didn’t want to be leaking all over the place!

Thanks to a wonderful mom, Judy Masucci of A Mother’s Boutique & Mommy News and Views, I was able to test out the Breastfeeding Support Kit from Earth Mama Angel Baby. First, of all I just have to say that the packaging is awesome! It’s perfect as is to give as a gift – so if you are heading off to the hospital to visit a new mom or to a baby shower this is seriously the best gift ever and better then a little clothing outfit set.
My hopes were that I would receive some pampering for myself as well as increase my milk supply as I’ve been very stressed lately and I feel that my milk production has decreased. So I’ll let you know about each product included in the kit one-by-one as they each deserve their own spotlight!

Bosom Buddies – Herbal Breast Compresses for Nursing Mamas – this one I almost used wrong so I am so glad that there is a big ole “Don’t Drink Me” label on the top of the jar. I’m assuming that since there is this label that I’m not the only one that almost made a hot tea drink out of it! Basically the concept of this compress, made from organic ingredients, is that instead of just slapping a cabbage leaf or two all over your breasts- you get to do it with style and with some added herbal benefits. It includes two small muslim bags that you fill up with the herbal mixture, then prepare similar to a cup of tea [boiling water, steep for 5 minutes, drain and let cool slightly] then you place the “tea bag” onto your breasts and let the warm herbal mixture do it’s magic.

Now, I don’t know if this is too much information or not but since this is a breastfeeding blog and we are all adults I don’t mind sharing with you. I very rarely nurse from the right breast and because of that my right is much smaller then the left and it gets sore quickly. My son has always preferred the left breast and I got to the point a while ago that I just stopped putting him to that side. So when I do I notice that later that day- oh goodness I am so sore! It’s similar to what I felt those first few days after having the baby and oh I wished I had this kit back then. The compresses really do relax and soothe. I did look weird sitting on the couch with my parts hanging all out with “tea bags” on me- but hey comfort before beauty!

So all in all except for the slight mess that you make filling the bags and the length of time required to prepare, heat, and cool the bags- I really loved Natural Nipple Butter – this lanolin-free, certified vegan, cream-like balm is what is recommended on the Bossum Buddies as a follow up to the compress therapy so it was the next thing that I tried out. Yum- I LOVE the smell. It’s not strong at all and really not overpowering at all, but since I was testing this all out for a review I was really sniffing at the little jar. It does have some cocoa butter in it so I’m 100% sure that’s what smells so yummy. This butter is very soothing and wonderful to put on. I’ve tried other nipple ‘creams, butters, etc’ and one thing that I really dislike is the oily and sticky feeling. I did not have either with this product. It does say that it’s a nipple butter but, um, I put it all over my breasts as it was just so moisturizing and soothing. I tend not to put any moisturizer anywhere near my breasts, so with this dry weather they really needed the comforting mango and cocoa butters.

A great benefit is that you do not have to wash this off before feeding baby. It’s all natural and will not hurt baby- bonus cause when my baby is ready to eat – he’s ready! A big complaint of mine is that the jar is only 1 fl oz and it’s not meant to slather your body with cause – AHH that would be so awesome!

Milkmaid Tea – Organic Herbal Tea for Breastfeeding Mamas- this caffeine free tea is a great soothing tea that ‘encourages’ your milk production. Okay so the caffeine free is perfect for night time, but sometimes in the morning I wish it did have some caffeine in it to give me that extra boost to get going but that’s okay. I really shouldn’t be consuming caffeine anyway!

One of the main ingredients in this tasty tea is fennel – long been used to help increase breast milk supply. So I was really excited to try something that would actually boost my production as stress, exhaustion, and a baby that is sick and not nursing as often as normal can really cause havoc with your supply. It can be prepared as a hot or an iced tea. I personally had to had a little squirt of honey to my hot tea- don’t know if it was just out of habit or I needed that extra touch of sweetness. I loved this blend as an iced tea drink though – like really loved it as it’s now gone!

As I mentioned before, I always tend to nurse my son on the left side and very rarely on the right – I noticed when drinking this product, in combination with the others listed here, that my right side started leaking all the time. So I know that it’s not broken, I can still make milk on that side!

So, what was one down side? The prepackaged tea bags are just bags, no handy sting with a tag attached to it. So in order to get the bag out of your drink you need to use a spoon. Not really a big deal, unless you have gotten comfy on the couch, covered up and into the book you are reading and realize that you have no spoon and there is a bag floating around in your drink.

Booby Tubes – gel-free, microwavable and freezable breast packs to help ease symptoms of breast engorgement and mastitis – last but certainly not least! I saved this one for last as this is by far my FAVORITE breastfeeding support product yet! When I first came home with my son, I was a milk making machine and boy was I sore. You know what I did- run washcloths under hot water and laid them on myself. While it seemed to do the job- it was messy!

The booby tubes are SO much easier- just pop them in the microwave for a few seconds then they just coil so nicely right around your nipple or place right over the sore engorged spot. As a experienced breastfeeding mom, I can tell that if I were just getting started and needed something to help me with getting the let down going then this would be perfect. Heat the booby tubes up, place on the breast about 5 minutes before feeding or pumping and seriously I know it would really help- at the least the mental and comforting aspect would do wonders.

After feeding and pumping one awesome thing you can do is let the tubes cool and whoo! it’s such a rush and feels so wonderful. What’s great about the tubes is they don’t get “too” cold as you would find if you were putting ice or and ice pack on your breasts- ouch! Plus, these are soft 100% organic fabric and can bend and twist in all different ways to really fit each and every breast size and shape. Not breastfeeding anymore, chill the tubes in the freezer then place on the back of your neck it’s just enough to give you a chill!

~ Alaina Frederick, mother to three boys – Hunter, 5; Karter, 3; Parker, 1 – each with their own breastfeeding success story of different lengths and experiences. You can keep up with her and her bunch at Life With 3 Boys.

Earth Mama Angel Baby is one of the few companies that really strives to exceed your expectations with everything they do- from attractive and minimalist packaging, to organic and natural ingredients- they have got it covered! Recently they were even in the news as being the product used by Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital and given to new moms. Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital understands the importance of using natural, organic products especially for little babies that shouldn’t be washed and cared for with products containing formaldehyde!

Earth Mama Angel Baby also keeps in mind mom and her needs- even when the unexpected happens. This is one thing that I love about this company as it doesn’t shy away from keeping in mind those that have had their world come crashing down upon them with the loss of an angel.

Win It!
Earth Mama Angel Baby® has offered to two of our lucky readers $25 Gift Certificates that you will be able to use on anything of your choosing! So how do you become one of our lucky winners? Do item number 1 below. You can get extra entries by doing items 2-4, but be sure to leave a comment for each thing that you do!

1) Visit Earth Mama Angel Baby® and check out their wide variety of products. Comment here on what your favorite product is [besides the ones mentioned in the quoted review].

2) Follow us on Twitter @MommyNews and tweet about this contest. Don’t forget to leave a comment here with the url of your tweet! You can tweet once per day for extra entries! Below is just an example of something you may feel like tweeting:

I just entered to win one of two gift certificates from @MommyNews at http://tinyurl.com/d4sv6f and you can too!

3) Email your friends about this contest and CC contest@blog.mothersboutique.com. Don’t worry we will not spam your friends or add them to any mailing list.

4) Blog about this on your blog and leave a link here in the comments to your posting – you can also add us to your blogroll!

Good luck- don’t forget there are TWO winners and this contest ends April 7th at 5 pm EST, and in Mommy News and Views style we will have a unique way of selecting our winners for sure!

Our winners have been announced – find out who they are in this post with video!!