Ever since my youngest was born, I had been wanting to go to one of the baby events that I had been hearing about online. I thought they would be a great way to find out about and try new things for me and baby. But, something always came up. Either, I was scheduled to work or there was something else going on at the same time that I had to do. So, I was super excited when I found out I was going to get a chance to attend MommyCon!
What is MommyCon? It's a natural parenting convention that features seminars and workshops on topics like breastfeeding, cloth diapering and car seat safety. There are events held in several major cities around the country. I had the chance to attend the one in DC. It was held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest Washington, this past weekend.
This was my first time attending MommyCon and my first time venturing into this part of the city. In general, I hate going into DC. It's a pain to drive and park there and often the Metro isn't any better. I didn't really want to deal with riding the Metro with our 2-year-old and I felt like we would have to leave even earlier if we took the Metro, so my husband and I decided to drive.
We dropped off my older three kids at my parents' house and then headed into the city. We prepaid for our parking using Parking Panda. (Only $14 for the whole day!) We parked at a garage under a Safeway grocery store. I was supposed to meet up with other bloggers and the MommyCon Media Team at 8:30 that morning, but we didn't even make it out of the house until 7:45 or so. It didn't help that I woke up an hour and half later than I had planned to!
Though, surprisingly, we made it there before 9. Once we parked and walked out of the garage, we didn't really know which way the convention center was. But, we did see several women wearing babies, so we followed them. We figured they were going to the same place -- and they were!
When we got inside the convention center, things got a little confusing. There were lots of people and lots of babies. I wish there was someone who could have been directing people. There were several lines, but I couldn't tell right away what they were for. We got into the first line we saw, and then realized it was the line to pick up our Swag Bags, but we needed our badges first. Then, we saw another line of people going into the Exhibit Hall. Finally, we found the registration lines towards the back. One was for General Admission and the other for Media/VIP/Exhibitors. I got in line at the Media registration, while my husband and daughter got in the other line.
After picking up our badges, we got in line to pick up our Swag Bags. When we first went through the line, the Media bags weren't ready. So, I had to go back later to pick up mine. Here's my husband with his bag. Our daughter wasn't very happy to have her picture taken. I'll put up a separate post about what was in our swag bags.
Next to the Swag Bag pick up area was a little area where you could take a selfie.
So, of course, I had to take one!
The first seminar and workshop was scheduled to start at 9:30, but I wasn't really interested in attending either. So, we decided to get some coffee at the Starbucks in the lobby of the convention center.
Then, we went into the Exhibit Hall. One thing that I was looking forward to doing was visiting the Baby Wearing Lounge. My two-year-old was outgrowing our Ergobaby carrier and I was interested in trying out a toddler carrier.
But, my daughter wouldn't cooperate. She wanted to just run around the venue! I did manage to get her to sit still for a bit at the Little Dippers Craft & Reading Station. She did some coloring, while my husband and I discussed which seminars I wanted to attend.
At around 10:30, they called everyone to gather in the main seminar room for the Beco Babywearing World Record. I put my daughter in our Ergo, though, she didn't really want to be in it. Lately, she can only stand being in the carrier for a few minutes, before yelling, "I want to get out!"
I don't really know if they got a count of how many babywearing parents were in the room, but there were a lot! After that was over, we went back to the Exhibit Hall and then sat down for snacks.
There were a lot of great vendors there. I've heard of all of the products before, but it was fun actually getting to see them in person. There were also some products that I hadn't heard of before, so it was nice to pick up samples and information about them. I had wanted my sister to come. But, my sister was 36 weeks pregnant and didn't want to venture far from home. So, I picked up some things for her and her baby.
One thing that I liked about MommyCon was the fact that everywhere you looked, there was a Mom nursing her child. This was the first time I didn't feel self conscious about nursing my toddler. I had the chance to nurse her a couple times without having to seek a private place to nurse.
I only managed to attend one seminar: "Boobs & Bottles: Epic Milk with The Leaky Boob."
Jessica Martin-Weber was a great speaker and kept my attention the whole time. In the picture above, she had everyone stand up and exclaim, "I am enough!"
After her session, we had about an hour to kill before The Baby Guy NYC (Jamie Grayson)'s Q&A session. We went outside because the venue was freezing! We wanted to warm up. I think if I go again next year, I will definitely bring a cardigan with me.
We didn't stay outside too long, though, because my daughter just wanted to run around. So we went back inside and let her run around there while we snacked some more. If we go again next year, I'm definitely packing more snacks.
A little before Jamie's session was to start, we went back to the Exhibit Hall and hung out by the Baby Guy Gear Area, waiting for Jamie to come back.
Here he is after getting some coffee!
He answered questions and people took pictures of him.
There were a lot of people that gathered around.
I didn't really have any questions, though. I just wanted to get some pictures and listen to what he had to say. My daughter had a fun time during his session. Some of the vendors had already left and there was a huge space for her to run around.
We ended up not staying for the entire convention. The baby was getting tired and needed a nap. My husband and I were pretty tired, too. So, we missed out on Jamie Grayson's seminar on Car Seat Safety and Giveaways.
Overall, it was a lot of fun and I hope to get a chance to go again next year. There are still a few more stops planned for MommyCon this year and already some 2016 events announced. If you're interested in attending, I'm offering a $5 discount on admission.
SEPTEMBER 19 - COLUMBUS, OH
NOVEMBER 14 - ANAHEIM, CA (This is a change)
NOVEMBER 21 - SEATTLE, WA
Hurry and get tickets before they sell out!
That looks like so much fun!! I love all of the pictures, and how the event was set up!! :)
ReplyDeleteI wish these were closer to me. I would love to attend one of these.
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