Pregnancy Awareness Month Event with MomsLA

Happy Cinco de Mayo, drunks! Or in my sober-non-caffeinated case, Happy Pregnancy Awareness Month! Last weekend, I attended the MomsLA blogger reception prior to diving whole hog into the Pregnancy Awareness Event in Santa Monica. 

The purpose of Pregnancy Awareness Month is to create a community of support for expectant parents. As a pregnancy virgin, this is fantastic. (This will be the only time I can still call myself a “virgin,” so let’s go with it.) There is a whole economy dedicated to pregnancy, because, hello, #murica! In the same vein, this creates a population who depend on each other for advice, support, and camaraderie.

At the reception, we were treated to massages, makeovers, lunch by Paleta, and a visit by Dr. Greene, who introduced us to a new lighbulb! Yes, lightbulb. There’ve been studies that show even a dim light will mess up your melatonin production, thus screwing up your (and Baby’s) sleep patterns.

Below, that’s me and Sarah, one of the founders of MomsLA! Later I got to meet Yvonne, the other co-founder of MomsLA! I also got to see Mommy Crunch again. She and I met at Baby BBC in San Diego! Also, shout out to The Gaming Angel who brought her daughter Pumpkin to the event.

Pregnancy Awareness Event – MomsLA – Santa Monica

While the smart people were listening to panels, Hubs and I went out to check out vendors. This was important because we both hadn’t had time to research anything for Spawn, and this was like an all-in-one for us. I did, however, send an email to about 10 mom-friends, asking for their top essentials. *points to head* See, I’m thinking – why reinvent the wheel when your friends already have a short list of their favorite items?

First up, Motherlove. I cannot tell you how many women have raved about Motherlove’s nipple cream. I can imagine a gremlin gnawing on one’s breast and feeling cracked and in pain. Rest assured, that has gone on my registry list.

Britax – again, a majority of my mom-friends own a Britax B-Agile stroller and carseat combo. They showcased their newest stroller, the Affinity, that also transforms into Optimus Prime. Just kidding. But it is pricey at $699. Check out that baby carseat! Doesn’t it look so snug and safe?! It would be perfect for Spawn.

Down below – Bravado (again, a hit with my mom-friends), Eat Cleaner wipes, and Babytime bath products. The latter two are new to me, and bonus – they’re woman-owned businesses, too!

Pregnancy Awareness – Britax, Mother Love, Pump Station, Eat Clean, Babytime

Speaking of woman-owned businesses, Evolue Beauty helped get my eyebrows back in order. Thank you, Courtney, for my clean brows!

I stepped right up to the Josie Maran Cosmetics table and checked out her new line of makeup. (You do know I love me some QVC Friday Night Beauty, right?) I’ve used her Argan Oil before as a moisturizer and loved it. In fact, it helped clear up and smooth out my skin. All of her products are natural, and that’s great – I do not want any extra chemicals absorbed into my skin and body and indirectly absorbed into Spawn.

Pregnancy Awareness – Josie Maran Cosmetics and Evolue Beauty eyebrows

Ergo(baby)… we meet again. The Ergobaby people had a big display of their new Ergobaby 360 Carrier, which I already have, thanks to Baby BBC! I also have the Wrap which I managed to choke myself the first time I tried to show Hubs what I learned. This time, I went back and asked for help on how to wrap the Ergobaby wrap around me. What better way than to have a real person help me (twice)?

Pregnancy Awareness – Ergobaby Wrap – in a few easy steps

 The Pump Station was a major sponsor of the event, and again, they have gotten rave reviews from my mom-friends. Fortunately there is a Hollywood store that is closer to me than the Santa Monica store. They’ve got monthly classes like breastfeeding, baby care, Mommy & Me classes, and how to train your dragon.

Cord blood banking is something that we’ve been looking into. We were able to speak to two banking companies, which helped our process along. (If you have an opinion on this, send it to me!!)

Hubs and I came home with a giant bag of products to try. This includes samples from Plum Organics, Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA (yay!), Moby baby hat, Chewbeads bracelet, Josie Maran (hurrah for my skin!), Bella Band, Angel Dear baby soft rattler, The Honest Co., and so many more!

Pregnancy Awareness – Samples from Vendors/Sponsors

Thank you to the team at Pregnancy Awareness and the founders of MomsLA for inviting me to this event! Even though I didn’t get to sit in on the panels, it was educational for me to get through the vendors and learn more about what products would make our lives easier as parents and baby.