Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Spring Babies

Spring is most definitely in the air.  The trees are blossoming, the lawn has had its first mow of the year and the clocks spring forward on Sunday.  We associate spring with new life; a short drive out of any town and you’ll soon come across fields full of lambs.  



 There’s something quite magical about bringing a new life into the world in the spring or summer, for a start the house isn’t cold when you have to get up at 3am to do night feeds!  Little bodies don’t need to be wrestled into fiddly coats to leave the house, a baby gro and a soft blanket is all that’s required.   

On warm summer evenings you can take your baby on gentle walks, even popping into a beer garden for a quick drink with your partner.  Then there are picnics with new mummy friends, simply finding a shaded tree to sit against to feed your baby whilst watching the world go by. 

Yes, there is the wonderful feeling of new life arriving all around us, now that’s enough to put a spring in our step.

Thursday, 15 March 2012

Mum Always Used To Say...

It takes having a child of your own to make you fully appreciate your own mother.  And, as you grow and develop as a mum in your own right, do you have that feeling of 'I'm turning into my mum.'  Fear not.  Generations of accumulated wisdom pass down the female line this way, from mother to daughter.  It's tradition to repeat those phrases and words of wisdom that mum used to say.

These are some of our favourites...
  • You'll understand when you have children of your own (perhaps now we do)
  • I don't care what other mothers do
  • If everyone else was jumping off a cliff would you
  • One hour's sleep before midnight is worth two after
  • You only need three of anything: one on, one in the wash and one in the drawer
  • Always wear clean underwear in case you're run over by  acar and have to go to hospital
  • There'll be tears before bedtime
  • If a job's worth doing it's worth doing well
  • Manners cost nothing
  • Crusts will make your hair curly
  • How do you know you don't like it if you haven't tried it
  • You'll thank me later
  • This isn't a hotel you know
  • The wind'll change and you'll stay like that
  • I don't care who started it - I'm finishing it
  • You'll feel better after a nice cup of tea
And remember whoever your God, he could not be everywhere, therefore he created mothers.

Monday, 5 March 2012

Retailer Competition


Our retailers are, quite simply, lovely!  They do a great job helping mums and mums to be find the right maternity lingerie (which naturally is us) as Emma-Jane provides quality maternity lingerie that is ultra-comfortable at a cost-effective price!  

To say thank you to all the people we work with, we have a fantastic £300 worth of Emma-Jane products up for grabs!

We’d like to see how you use our images and videos on your websites and within social media. The best use of Emma-Jane’s images will receive £300 to spend on Emma-Jane products.

Simply post a link showing how you’ve used the images and make a comment describing how they’ve benefited your business on our blog.

We look forward to seeing your comments!
Entry Deadline Friday 23rd March.

Monday, 20 February 2012

Awards Keep Coming...

We are delighted that the lovely ladies have been reviewing our products and have awarded our Tankini a bronze award.

As all pregnant ladies know, getting a quality swimming costume that makes you feel good, that suits you and will last is not always the easiest so we're delighted to have been recognised for helping women feel good in their Emma-Jane Tankinis!

The testers had this to say:

"Smart looking tankini, nice colour, feels good quality. Lovely style, the top is nice and long...Very comfortable to wear and doesn't ride up...I will defiantly continue to wear this; even now after I've had my baby I think it's still suitable..." Jenny Yaxley – Sophie & Ray 2 years and 4 Weeks 
 While Angelina Newman – Mum to be awarded The Emma Jane Tankini 4.5/5 and said; "Looked lovely and loved the colour. Emma Jane is a well-known brand so not surprised was high quality. I really liked the style of the top and the bottoms were a really good fit. It grew with me during my pregnancy and loved wearing it. Very comfortable to wear and enjoyed swimming in my Tankini. Made me feel very smart. Gave me good support on my bust and very comfortable. This also washed really well and has been in the washing machine a few times now. I have really enjoyed wearing this and I would imagine I will still use this after my pregnancy (well until I get my old figure back)"
And Alison Grieves – Mum To Be gave us a 4.2/5 and said; "Arrived well packaged. Looked very appealing and good quality. I really did like the style with a long top and matching bottoms as looked more like a swimming costume during the earlier stage of my pregnancy. The top was really comfortable to wear and did not ride up when in the pool...The whole look was lovely and made me feel attractive and comfortable when at the pool and also on holiday. This is very easy to wash and dries really quickly. I will definitely continue to use this as I do like the style. The quality is excellent and I have already recommended...."
Thank you ladies!  Very much appreciated!

Thursday, 16 February 2012

AND THE WINNER IS.....

We hope you had a fantastic Valentine's Day with your loved one. But more importantly, we hope that our Love Yourself blog posts have made all the mums and mums-to-be out there realise just how amazing they are.

We put every person who commented on our posts and all the people who liked us on Facebook into a random number generator. And the lucky number was 15 - Caroline Emptage! Caroline we've got in touch via Facebook and we'll get a bix of yummy chocolates sent to you.  Congratulations.


To everyone else, thanks for your support. If you haven't joined us on Facebook yet, please do. We'd love to hear from you. If you know of any mums in need of a pick me up, who perhaps is being hard on herself or feeling less than gorgeous, please send her this way as we're always here to give a little bit of comfort and support. And if it's your breasts or bump that need comfort and support, check out our range here. Keep on loving yourself ladies!

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

LOVE YOURSELF - VALENTINE'S DAY - A WHOLE NEW YOU

Today is all about loving the new you - even if you're not quite sure of who you are anymore. This is the culmination of our Valentine's Day Love Yourself campaign. If you haven't been following it, read back over the last weeks worth of posts for plenty of reasons why mums-to-be and new mums should love themselves.

So today we wish everyone a very happy Valentine's Day. And while you are sending out cards, kisses, cuddles and love to the special people in your life, don't forget to Love Yourself too.
 
A whole new you
It is impossible to understand how your life changes once you've had a baby until you've had one. Many people say it won't change them. And perhaps it won't. But they'll be the exception rather than the rule. For most women, becoming a mother changes everything.

It's not just the changes in your body or how often you can go out. It's not just that your friends change, as do your holidays. It's not just your career, which often gets put on hold or stopped altogether.  It's not just how your relationship with your partner gets altered. What really changes most is you.

You realise that you see the world through different eyes. Those things discussed on the news about schooling and health care now mean something. You understand the importance of having a network of friends and family so much more. You feel fear like you've never known before and joy beyond anything you could have previously imagined. You sacrifice so much because you want to be the best mum you can, to the extent that you completely lose sight of who you originally were. That pre-mummy person becomes a distant memory.

The thing is, having a baby gives you the opportunity to become a whole new you. It's virtually impossible to stay the person you were. But it is important to hold onto some of the things that made you what you are. Don't lose all of your former self. Don't feel guilty about doing something for you. Do use this life changing time to redefine who you want to be. Don't be afraid to try something new. Be confident, even if you don't feel it.  Realise that you are changed and embrace the change. Love the person you have become.

It's your last chance to leave us a comment (we'd love to hear how motherhood has changed you) or Like Us on Facebook to be entered into our draw to win these fab choccies. We'll announce the winner later today.

Monday, 13 February 2012

LOVE YOURSELF - DAY 7 - RELATIONSHIPS

We're almost there - tomorrow us the day you're swamped in flowers and jewels and chocolate from your beloved, with a lavish night out at an expensive restaurant. Or possibly not. Perhaps just a quiet night in front of the telly with a mug of cocoa and the gift of a him doing the night feed. In today's Emma-Jane Valentine's Day Love Yourself post, we're looking at relationships.

Before you had a baby, you were Alice and Bob (or insert your own names here). Two individuals in love. Then along comes a baby. And all of a sudden things change.

All those kisses and cuddles you used to give to him, now get doled out on the baby. You stop talking about whether to go to Fiji or Barbados for your next holiday, and instead discuss the contents of this morning's nappy. Sleep is infinitely more appealing than sex. You start to resent that it's always you who has to pack the change bag and that it's you who never gets to leave the house while he heads out the door to work in the morning. And can't believe that he can merrily snore through the baby crying - again.

Before you know it, you start to wonder if you even love each other anymore. You realise that you've become a resentful nag who looks like a frump and you wouldn't be surprised if he was off chasing secretaries at the office, because what the hell would he see in you right now? And quite frankly, you're not even sure you care. But you do and you feel rubbish about it.

You blame yourself (well you also blame him but deep down you blame yourself). You start to think if only I looked better. If only we could go back to what we used to be like. I wish we could communicate more. And you once again beat yourself up about where you're going wrong. Worst of all, you think it's just you two that are having these problems while all those other smug, married parents are blissfully happy.

They're not. Almost every couple goes through a massive period of readjustment after a baby is born. Each of them is a new person. They have new roles. And they're trying to figure out how to overlay these two new roles onto their existing selves. It takes a while. A long while. The key is to communicate. That can be much harder than it sounds. After months of sniping about whose turn it is to get up in the morning, you've probably forgotten how to just talk like you used.

So practice, whenever you can. Try to get out as a couple regularly - or simply spend an evening playing a board game and chatting over a glass of wine at home. You need to learn to love him in his new role. And you need to learn to love yourself in your new role. Give it time. Most importantly though, you need to realise that this is normal. Believe in yourself and you as a couple and it will be alright in the end.

Just in case you need something to nibble on while spending a romantic evening talking to your partner on Valentine's Day, leave us a comment below on how having a baby has affected your relationship or Like Us on Facebook, to be entered into our draw.