Mocha Milkies Podcast Launch!!!!!!

Hey Everyone!!!


So here it is here is the first (kinda) episode of the podcast. I wanted to come out sooner but life got in the way a little bit. This episode is a little rough around the edges and has some choppy editing but I am pretty pleased with it I think and it will get better with time!


The new Podcast is Mocha Milkies Café and will serve as an educational tool for moms that are seeking advice or just some reassurance that they are doing things right. I have a co-host Shlonda Brown Smith from Georgia who is awesome and is a CLC to help spread the word about breastfeeding with me. Hopefully we make as awesome of a team as I imagine in my head that will keep you entertained and informed!


If you have questions for the show please contact us MochaMilkies@gmail.com we will try to read as many questions as we can during the podcast. If your question is deserving of more time we may just create a whole podcast around it to make sure that we can answer it fully and clearly to the best of our abilities!


So here it is I hope you enjoy it just a little and will come back to listen to 1B which will have Shlonda :). All podcast can be found on the CMK website for now.


http://www.chocolatemilkkisses.com/#!podcasts/c21be

Happy Family Organic Super Foods Review

Hey guys!!! So Happy Families Brand arranged for me to review several of their products and I think I can do it all in one posting. I am going to review  Happy Munchies, and their Happy Tot Morning.


I do try to encourage mothers to make their own foods for baby and to have baby eat what the family eats but not all families like that option or are capable of that so it is important for their to be other healthy options out there.


Happy Munchies
We chose their rice cakes. This product is for children aged 7 months or older who can sit unassisted and grasp items and put them in their mouths. Teeth would make eating this product easy but not necessary with adult supervision. The saliva can soften it enough for baby to break off an appropriate amount. This product is certified organic and we chose the flavor Berries and Beets. The company highlights that there is no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives and is lightly sweetened with fruit juice. We also saw apple flavored but we wanted to try something different with our pallet ;) The ingredient list is pretty limiting which is good (Organic Brown Rice, Organic Apple Juice Concentrate, Organic Red Beet Juice Concentrate, Organic Blueberry Puree, Organic Black Carrot Juice Concentrate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1) ) and gives warning that the product may have been exposed to other products that contain soy (meaning they used the same equipment).



What I like:
 Before giving it to my girl I tried some. The flavor is very light, not overwhelming at all and must have just the right blend of berries beets because the awful taste of beets was not there. The rice cake is a slight purple color but I assume that is from the light flavoring from the juice. It feels and looks like the traditional rice cake except a smaller portion. When giving my girl her own serving she handled it well. Its made perfect for little chubby fingers. She was able to break off the appropriate amount so I was not concerned about chocking. She was not a fan of the taste at first but I assume she grew to love it because she finished the rice and cake and signed for more while yelling "More please!" I do like how they are easy "to-go" snacks. If you are in the position where you can not keep fresh fruits and veggies cool or maybe you are not a position to handle the mess I think these are nice and convenient and can fit nicely in a snack cup. I sometimes send these for snack with my older girl for school. There is only 1g of sugar and 20 calories according to the package.



What I do not like:
There is not much that I do not like about this product accept that there is not too much going on nutritionally according to the package, there is no protein, no vitamin C, no vitamin A, no calcium and no iron but this could also be due to the fact that beets and berries do not have too much of these ingredients and according to the packaging they only used very little flavoring so one would assume not much of the vitamins and minerals landed in the product.



Over all I think this snack is great and should be treated as a snack and not to replace full balanced meals.

Happy Tot Morning
We chose banana, blueberry yogurt flavor just to see how it compares to mama's homemade blend ;)
This product is aimed for children 12 months and older who can sit unassisted and grasp items and can place them in their mouths. No teeth needed as its the same consistency as a puree. The product is certified organic and the company highlights that there are 750mg of omega3 from Salba, its made from whole grains and oats, and 3g of fiber. The ingredient list is pretty limited which is good(Organic Banana Puree, Water, Organic Blueberry Puree, Organic Whole Milk Greek Yogurt (Organic Cultured Whole Milk), Milled Organic Salba Chia Seed, Organic Whole Grain Oat Flour, Contains 1% or Less of the Following: Organic Natural Flavor, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Organic Lemon Juice Concentrate.) and the yogurt used is Greek yogurt for those that are into Greek yogurt.


What I like:
My girl is picky all of a sudden so its hard to get something worth anything into her body now unless its breast milk. This seems like a good wholesome options that includes a blend of several different healthy options. I have never been a fan of the pouches and the slurp yogurt tubes so I squeeze the contents into a bowl and offer it my girl with a spoon (or fingers which ever she's in the mood for). The texture to me was more like yogurt and had a tan coloring. It smelled like bananas and it tasted it like it as well. My girl gobbled it up quickly and wanted more! Its packed full of good stuff like 210mg of potassium, 6% DV of iron, 2% DV of Folate, and 6% DV of magnesium. There's only 2g of Fat. We use this in addition to other breakfast options or I cut up pieces of bananas and berries and add to the blend for more texture.


What I do not like:
Again as I mentioned earlier I am not a fan of the fact that its a pouch. I like to be able to see what is going on inside and like to see if there is any spoiling or molding. I remedy this by putting the contents in a bowl but the item is marketed as the child being able to just "drink" the blend from the pouch. Another thing that I am not a fan of is that there are 10g of sugar but I am going to attribute that to the fact that it has so many different fruit and fruit juices added.




Overall I think for the mother that can not or chooses not to make her own yogurt blends for her child to eat this is a great option. In my opinion it is a healthy option and can be incorporated into a balanced diet but should not be the only source of nutrients.

Free Swag!!!!!

*** This review is part of a Giveaway that will go live on the Facebook fan page 11/17/14 or you can click here  ***




**This blog is not intended to give nutritional advice and questions about your child's nutrition should be addressed to your child's pediatrician or nutritionist.**

Time for Lift Off

So as most of you all know I am now a certified lactation consultant. It was a long and tough road to get here but I am here and I am loving every moment of it!

Since becoming certified I have started to see private consultations. I will say this... I am in LOVE with this and I WISH I could do this full time!!!! I love going to mamas' houses and seeing them all settled and relaxed holding their wee ones and I get to sit right next to them and converse casually with them and their families all while watching baby behave  naturally in mom's arms. All so very comfortable and less medical. I am able to get babies to feed more readily and cooperate a ton better then I can here, at my work office, and the mothers are more relaxed and less frazzled. The older kids are comfortable and playing happily instead being a distraction to mom and baby (which is normal when they are bored). I find that when I visit families at their homes the dad's are more receptive and they are more hands on then in the office and I am finding even more supportive.

Its just something about being at home!


I visited with a mom and we chatted about the news, the weather, her birth, the hospital food, and older children and how receptive they were of the new baby and her fears about going back to work until she realized that baby was nursing and there was no pain! She was so relaxed and laid back she had no idea I had positioned baby tummy to tummy with her (even though I asked her if I could position baby) and that I had deepened baby's latch in the process. She called me "stealth helper" hahahaha I am okay with that.

This is how it should be so comfortable and casual and laid back.

I do dream of one day working in the hospital setting or maybe in a pediatric office full time so that I would not have to charge mama's directly for my services, or if maybe all insurances covered lactation consultant visits I can do home visits full time.

But for now I will continue down my path. I like it so far it feels good!

Here's to start of something good! Hopefully more good in on the way!!!