Product Review: Motherhood Maternity Secret Fit Belly(tm) Poplin Convertible Pants

Here it finally is, my love letter to the Motherhood Maternity Secret Fit Belly Poplin Convertible Pants (that's a mouthful!) These pants have been my savior over the last few weeks. The Secret Fit Belly is extremely comfortable pulled up our folded down and I really like the convertible cargo capri to long pants style (you never know when those pregnancy hormones are gonna make you hot or cold.) They also make my ever-growing butt look cuter and smaller (awesome) and are a nice enough material to wear to work in a not-too-formal office environment.

While $40 bucks a pop may seem like a lot of money, you'll really get your money's worth if you're like me and wear the pants every other day. Seriously, when I visited the maternity clothing mother ship, Destination Maternity in Manhattan, and my two pairs of pants rang up to about $80, I almost cried. But I was a desperate woman with no pants and now I am comfy all the time in the Secret Fit Belly.

A word of warning: Just like Motherhood's tummy sleeve, the secret fit belly material will snag on jagged fingernails and the like and start to unravel if you do not wash the pants carefully. Keep those nails filed and wash the pants on gentle/cold and you'll be OK. You can even throw the pants in the drier on medium and they won't shrink (but the black pants will get ridiculously fuzzy.)

Enjoy the style and comfort!

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Dr. Stacey Charnes in Forest Hills

I just got off the phone with Susan at the office of Dr. Stacey B. Charnes' (pronounced Charn-ez) and I think I've found my new doctor! Susan was really helpful and didn't treat me like an idiot when pregnancy brain made me forget where Long Island Jewish Hospital was located (New Hyde Park, just in case you're curious). I was able to book an appointment right away despite having left my insurance card at home.

What I learned from Susan: The medical group where Dr. Charnes works in Forest Hills is not an all-female group, so there is a chance you may need to work with a male doctor in an emergency. Dr. Charnes is available Wednesdays and Thursdays (which doesn't help us ladies who work), but I was told I will only need to have a Wed or Thurs appointment the first time I visit the group (I assume this means other doctors will do weigh-ins if I opt for another day of the week.)

My appointment with Dr. Charnes is the second week of August, so I'll be able to give you my thoughts on her bedside manner, etc. then. I'm just hoping I've finally hit the Queens OB/GYN jackpot. Dr. Charnes has been reccomended a few times on UrbanBaby.com, but nothing is very recent. We shall see what next month brings.

Dr. Charnes' info:

6905 Yellowstone Blvd
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 544-8400

Happy hunting to all of you in the same position!

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The Doctor Search Continues: Dr. Richard Roberts $ Dr. Marti Gilbert

I set my sites upon an OB/GYN with great reviews who delivers at several Queens hospitals: Dr. Richard Roberts, who has offices in Glendale, Flushing, and Great Neck. However, I just got off the phone with his office and he isn't delivering anymore! And, the delivering doctor at the practice, Dr. Marti Gilbert (who has received wonderful reviews too), is on maternity leave due to complications with her own delivery. Aiyaiyai.

I hope to have a great Queens OB/GYN to tell you about soon. I do have a lot of requirements--easy to get to by walking/bus, delivers at Long Island Jewish, has great reviews, etc.--but I don't think those are too irrational. I mean, don't we all want our baby to be in the best hands?

Not that I'm saying my husband wouldn't be super careful if he did indeed have to catch the baby football-style, in a car, in a snowstorm. ;)

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Doctor Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

So many of us city borough dwellers work in Manhattan because, well, that’s where so many of the jobs are. (Believe me, enduring a bus-to-two subway trains commute, usually standing the whole way, is not ideal.) Since we’re in the city so much, and because our commutes get us home long after many doctors’ hours, we end up seeing doctors in Manhattan, usually on our lunch breaks.

I even went so far as to see on OB/GYN in Manhattan who only delivers in Manhattan thinking that it would be easier for my relatives to drive to and would be close by if I went into labor during work.

But seriously, am I fricken crazy??

What if I go into labor during rush hour, making the 30-minute trip into an 1:30 minute trip? And really, is it ever not rush hour here? Even more, I’m due in January and, as one very helpful woman pointed out on The Bump last night, what if I go into labor during rush hour during a blizzard? I can only imagine my husband kneeling in the snow outside the car, arms at the ready to football catch our little one.

So, the decision has been made to change to a doctor who delivers closer to home. We’ve actually got a really great hospital—Long Island Jewish—only 20 minutes away and it just seems like the smart and sane thing to do. (The hospital has an online nursery with pictures HERE. I’m not sure what I think of this yet. Cute or scary?)

Also, my last doctor, Dr. Austin Chen in Tribeca, was a little bit too silly for my tastes anyway. She sometimes stopped talking mid-sentence and would turn to me and say “I forgot what I was talking about.” Woah, lady, please don’t forget what you’re doing when you’ve got your hands on (in?) me! To be fair, though, my cousin used her and loved her and she has many love/hate reviews online. Urban Baby reviews of her are HERE.

I’ll be sure to report my doctor findings here to let you in on any Queens gems. I also can’t wait to write about my Motherhood Maternity cargo pants. I’m wearing them now and I am so comfortable even after eating about a pound of cheese.

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Where have I been? And, Product Review Revisited: Motherhood Maternity's Tummy Sleeve

Yikes, where have I been ? I’ve actually been moving from North to South Queens and, what with a baby on the way and poor hubby having to do all the heavy moving and (the horror) unpacking, we’re just starting to see the ground underneath all the boxes in our new place!

But now, back to your regularly scheduled Queens Mama:

Despite the previous post, I never did quite get around to getting the Bella Band and, you know what, I’m glad I didn’t. Despite unraveling a bit, my Motherhood Tummy Sleeves have held up and I’m still using them to hold up the few non-maternity pants I still fit into at 4 months pregnant.

So, here's my final verdict: For those of us looking to save some money and extend the life of our non-maternity wardrobe, you can't go wrong with purchasing one or two Motherhood Tummy Sleeves at $17 each. Make sure to hand-wash them (or use the gentle cycle on your washer) if you don’t want them to unravel too much. And be careful with any jagged fingernails you may have if you don’t want the fabric to snag. But, in the end, these sleeves will serve you well and won’t break the bank while you’re waiting to fit into those maternity clothes of your dreams.

Next up on the review list: Baby Bargains--the mother's baby-product-buying-bible--and Motherhood Maternity cargo pants, my favorite new pants that make all of my non-pregnant friends jealous!

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