This post is sponsored by Aeroflow Breastpumps.

I've really enjoyed sharing my experience with pregnancy and motherhood so far, and I'm excited to have been given the opportunity to try out not one, but two different breast pumps recently! Today I wanted to tell you a little bit about the Motif Duo, which I've been using for the past week or so.

I'm looking for a few things from my breast pump: effective suction is #1, but after that I want it to be easy to put together, easy to clean, and it gets bonus points for having a battery option and/or is easy to move (I like to pump on the couch at night but at my desk during the day).

My original pump was the Freemie Freedom Double Electric Breast Pump and it really didn't work for me. At first I liked that it had cups that went inside your bra instead of containers that stuck out, but after actually starting to pump I realized that that wasn't a super important priority for me. Technically it's nice to be able to pump inside your shirt, especially if you're at an office, but the cups stick out and are not nearly as discreet as they say they are. Plus, that thing is LOUD.

Moving on--most of the time at home I use my Lansinoh SmartPump, which was also sent to me for review (I wrote about it a little bit here). I really love it, so when Aeroflow reached out to ask if I'd be willing to try the Motif Duo as well, I was excited. As soon as I opened the box, I was relieved to see a "Quick Start" guide with an easy-to-read illustration that showed you how to put the pump together (it took me forever to figure out how to put together my first pump). I plugged it in and gave it a go! Here's what I noticed:

• It's super easy to put together and take apart. They also sent me a nice tote that holds everything so you can take it with you. (This is exactly what I have.)
• You can charge the pump and the battery will last 2.5 hours--I think this is awesome. My Lansinoh pump has the option to add batteries but I never do (plus it's just a little big to be carrying around with me at home or in a bag).
• The pump's suction isn't super strong--I used both sides at first but then decided to see how it would be if I just did one at a time, and it was a bit more effective. 
  • Originally I felt like this could be seen as a drawback, but because the pump itself can be charged ahead of time and has pretty substantial battery life, I think this is the perfect pump to take with you on the go. 
  • I decided to test it out and pumped (one side at a time) in the car (I was buckled up and Rob was driving) on our way to a family BBQ about an hour from our house. Sophie was going to want a bottle while we were there and we were going to be gone long enough that I would have been feeling uncomfortable if I didn't pump or breastfeed, so it ended up working out perfectly! I put the milk I pumped on the road in the fridge when we got to my aunt's house and we were able to give it to her on the way home.

The pump is definitely on the lightweight side, but I think that was intentional (it was designed to be used on the go and it does that really well). The pump itself is only a pound and fits in your hand, so it's not going to take up a ton of room in your bag, and I really like that you can plug it in and charge it and not have to worry about batteries. It's also kind of pretty, which I don't think you can say about many breast pumps.

I hope this helps! I remember being totally overwhelmed when I was trying to pick out a pump at first, and I wish I had read a few more reviews before making a decision. If you have a pump you like, I'd love to hear about it! And thanks so much to Aeroflow for sponsoring this post--I love being able to share content like this with you guys.

This post is sponsored by Boppy.

Motherhood so far has been pretty amazing, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t learn something the hard way every couple of days. For the first few weeks, we’d lug around our stroller (which I love) everywhere and walk Sophie around pretty easily, but if she got fussy a lot of the time I didn’t know what to do to calm her down. A lot of the time I’d take her out and one of us would carry her, but that left us with an empty stroller to awkwardly push around.

Finally, I decided to try wearing her instead, and it was a huge success right away. She loved being super close to me and I loved having my hands free. I’d leave the stroller in the car or even at home and know I could go wherever I needed to with just my diaper bag, the baby, and my carrier. It made things so much easier, especially after Rob went back to work and I was starting to run errands on my own.

Because babywearing kind of became our thing, I was so incredibly excited when Boppy reached out to me to try out their new Boppy™ ComfyFit® Baby Carrier--we use and love both the Boppy Pillow and the Boppy Newborn Lounger, so I figured whatever else they came up with had to be just as good. The Boppy Carrier is inspired by yoga wear (something else that’s kind of my thing), so it’s soft and stretchy and super comfortable to wear.

It’s also really easy to put on, and I only needed Rob to help me get her in it the first time I used it (it’s always good to have someone else help you to make sure you’re wearing it right and have loaded your baby in correctly). It has arm holes and clips in the back, so you aren’t spending a bunch of time wrapping it around you or tying knots to hold them in.

My absolute favorite features, though, are 1. the little piece at the top that supports their neck so their head doesn’t flop around and 2. the POCKET at the bottom! There’s a pocket which is so great for holding your phone or your keys—it especially comes in handy for me when I’m walking Ender every morning (something I definitely wouldn’t be able to do without babywearing).

Any time someone asks me what my number one baby item is, I always tell them it’s this carrier—it makes going out super easy and getting things done around the house possible. I’ve taken Sophie on coffee dates with friends, to lunch, to visit Rob at work, to the barre studio, even to a couple different vineyards in Sonoma. It’s come in handy time and time again and I know it’s going to be a lifesaver when we take our first big trip by plane at the end of May. I really can’t recommend it enough, and I can’t thank Boppy enough for sending me one!

You can get yours at Target online or in stores!

I’d like to close today with this beautiful video Boppy created to celebrate the launch of this new piece. They say once you’re a mom, you’re never not a mom—something I can already understand to be true.

What baby gear was a game changer for you? I’d love to hear about it!

This post is sponsored by La Crema.

My brother and I always cook together whenever we're lucky enough to spend time together (one of my favorite recipes is his tropical crème brûlée), so when he was staying with us for Christmas and New Years, we decided to whip up some homemade pho broth and delicious Vietnamese meat balls. It was the coziest way to start the new year, and we ended up eating it for breakfast, a snack, and dinner later that night--with enough leftover for me to have lunch the next day when he and his girlfriend flew home.

Pho has always been one of my favorite comfort foods--my friend Corri and I used to meet for lunch or get takeout so much that now when I visit Charlotte, we always have to get pho together. I couldn't think of a more relaxing way to celebrate New Years Day than a slow morning with Sean, Jane, Rob, Sophie, and Ender all cuddled up together on the couch as rich, spice-infused broth bubbled away on the stove.

I was surprised by how easy it was to put it all together (although to be fair, Sean did do most of the work setting up the broth), and our meatballs turned out absolutely delicious. Usually you'll find beef meatballs when you order pho, but we decided to use pork instead to switch it up.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef or pork
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well until everything is incorporated. Use your hands to work the meat mixture together until it becomes slightly sticky (this can take 10-15 minutes). If you have time, place the bowl in the freezer for 20 minutes or so to really let the meat firm up. (You could also use a food processor or electric mixer.)
2. Roll heaping tablespoons of the mixture into balls with your hands. You want them to be on the larger side of bite-sized so you can pick them up and eat them in one bite or use a spoon to cut them in half easily.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and fill another bowl with ice water. Carefully lower the meatballs into the boiling water and allow them to cook until they float to the surface, then continue to simmer for another 3-4 minutes. (7-8 minutes total.) Remove from pot and transfer to ice water for 3-4 minutes.
4. When you're ready, reheat the meatballs in pho broth and serve. 

The company was great and the wine, of course, was delicious--we paired our soup with La Crema's Monterey Chardonnay, which is one of my favorites. We set out all the toppings and let everyone doctor up their own bowls the same way you do when you're at a restaurant, only we enjoyed everything from the comfort of my couch, complete with sweatpants and a whole lot of Netflix.

Don't forget to stop by the La Crema blog today to get my pho broth recipe! I hope you love it.