SO! Last week I attended an event in San Francisco called "The Biggest Baby Shower Ever," hosted by Big City Moms. This was the first time it ever came to San Francisco, and my first time attending! Before you get any ideas, no- I am NOT pregnant, but my dear friend (and cousin-in-law) is, so we went together!
I've talked about this event before, and if you are pregnant and didn't make it this time, let's hope it makes it back to SF again before you have your babies! There is a reason they call it a "shower"... they shower attendees with every bit of information you could need about products, nutrition, health, feeding. Endless resources and extremely friendly and helpful people at every booth. And the swag bags? Ohhh my gosh, they were not kidding when they said they were overflowing! Bottles! Pacifiers! Bottle Cleaners! Teethers! Snacks! Tees! Honest Lip Balm! Diaper creams! Need I go on? If someone did not get another shower, they may actually be set just with the swag bags here.
Obviously I'm not pregnant, but I have children and was SO interested in some of the offerings... particularly the stroller systems- my gosh, HOW have they changed (read: improved) so dramatically in the last four years? I'm in the market for a new one because we finally tossed the monstrous beast of a stroller that completely fell apart on us, and we're down to an umbrella stroller with a broken clasp, which is less than ideal for our adventurous, bus-riding lifestyle. ANYWAY. I watched demonstrations of beautiful strollers, saw the colors and specs in person, and enjoyed every second of it. I firmly believe investing in a potentially pricey stroller that is lightweight and has all the amenities is worthwhile, especially for city moms with no cars... it's your mode of transportation, essentially! There were such gorgeous options!
Peeled Snacks' new apple clusters
The food booths were some of my personal favorites. Peeled Snacks!? Amazing. We're definitely buying those again and my children are going to have to have quick hands to keep me from eating all of them.
Ella's Kitchen trick? Stick the pouches in the freezer for older kids to create smoothies!
Ella's Kitchen also had some winners that I took home and let the girls gobble up in two seconds. There were also mini sandwiches, sliders and chow mein provided by the hosts to keep all the attendees from getting hungry!
I loved hearing Dr. Alan Greene speak about nutrition. You guys, there was so.much.wisdom. My favorite tidbit he gave is that if your children don't like a certain food, give it 6-10 tries and once you have? 95% of the time, they'll tell you they like it. Most parents (i.e. me), give up after a couple times, but DON'T. Just keep trying. It's so important to get children loving nutrition early in their lives. I'm a total believer in creating healthy meals and not backing down when my children complain... consequently, my girls are pretty big fans of things like broccoli & spinach... and especially peas. Good nutrition isn't something to mess with.
Okay, the verdict is: if you can possibly get to one of these events near you, GO. It's worth the time, worth the money (VERY worth the money), and will help new moms and moms-to-be really become equipped with the resources they need!
XO,
Kate
I received a ticket to attend but was not compensated for the post. All opinions are my own.