Great Cloth Diaper Change 2012

Do you know what the Great Cloth Diaper Change (GCDC) is?

Did you attend the Great Cloth Diaper Change in 2011?

Are you planning to come to the 2012 event at our new location?

If you don't know the answer to any of these questions, read on, my friend, read on.

First of all - if you have never heard of it, The Great Cloth Diaper Change is a worldwide event that started last year when a small group of visionaries (Real Diaper Association) got together and wanted to raise awareness of how real diapers (i.e. cloth dipes) are so easy to use and so much better for the earth we live in. So, they came up with the Great Cloth Diaper Change that took place on April 11, 2011.

The point of the event is to break the Guiness world record on how many cloth diapers can be changed at one time. Last year the event set a record, and since so many participants weren't counted for one reason or another (apparently Guiness has *very* strict rules), the event organizers are thinking that this year will set an even higher record!

Through this event, we can help show our community, state, nation, and world how many of us are already using cloth diapers and loving it! So, come join us and help us break another world record!!

Last year's event:

If you are an Elegant Mommy reader and don't live in the Sioux Falls, SD area, check out the GCDC website for more locations...hopefully there is one close to you that you can attend!

~Evie

P.S. You can register from the top right side of this blog for our event at Elegant Mommy

Childbirth Professional Day - Meet Teresa Buell

1. What is your Childbirth Profession? Midwifery 

2. Describe your profession and why someone would want to choose your profession for support in pregnancy and/or childbirth. Midwife means "with Woman" and is one of the oldest professions in the world. Midwives are best known for pregnancy and birthing care of women, but we also take care of women throughout the lifespan--providing healthcare and self-care support for teens through menopausal women. Midwives listen to women, are "with them"" through labor and birth (big difference from physicians who mostly see you for delivery only--we are there to support your labor and through the first hour or so after your birth), and advocate for them. Midwives are passionate about serving women, participating with the women in her care and helping her have a birth positive birth experience. We are guardians of normal, natural birth and strive to provide high-touch, evidenced based care that is cost-effective and individualized.

3. Why did you get started in your profession? Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to deliver babies. (Didn't know then that moms did all the work!). About 20 years ago I read, "I don't know if you choose to be a midwife or you are born into it" and I thought "AH HA" that's ME. I didn't think it would happen in SD in my career lifetime, but midwifery is growing in SD!!! I was the only midwife in Sioux Falls when I started and now there are seven of us at the two hospitals and two others doing home births in the Sioux Falls area. 

4. In detail, what is your personal childbirth philosophy? I think that women have an innate ability to create and birth their babies. Women's bodies are wonderfully made for this and most births can happen naturally if we are patient and women feel respected. We need to keep working to reclaim normal, natural birth. Accomplishing this on a large scale takes efforts on many fronts as pregnancy and birth are affected by so many things. Women's psychosocial, physical and spiritual wholeness is influenced by their place in society, their resources, their support systems, their significant relationships and their self-worth--and during childbirth, their care providers. Therefore, as much as possible women need to be supported in all those things and they then can be powerful in birth. They know their bodies and their babies the best. I believe each woman and birth challenges me to be better at this. I want women to feel trusted, listened to and empowered to make decisions that impact their own care and their babies. Every day it is a privilege to walk along side women and learn from them and do my best to honor them. Each birth is a blessing.

5. If you could tell all pregnant women in the world something, what would it be? "Birth works!!! You are strong and can be powerful in birth. Trust and nurture you body and spirit and surround yourself with people that honor you."

6. How long have you been in your profession? Are you certified? If yes, by who? I have been a midwife for 15 years. I am a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives and certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and licensed to practice in SD by the Board of Nursing and the Board of Medicine. I also recently became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.

7. Do you have a business name? How can people contact you for pregnancy and childbirth support? Sanford Women's Nurse Midwifery Service. You can contact me at 328-4600 or midwives@sanfordhealth.org

8. Where do you practice? I practice with three other midwives at Sanford in Sioux Falls.

Time for Gratitude - Meme Humor

Ok, so I don't know how many of you are on Facebook...I'm assuming many, if not all, of you are. If you are, you likely have seen the picture collages that have been going around about life choices, hobbies, etc that show the different depictions on what people around us think of those life choices and hobbies...I think they are called meme's...at least I hope that's what they're called since it's in my title - ha! :)


Yesterday a reader posted one on our facebook page and I had to laugh...it was the cloth diapering one below, and for real - it fits me to a TEE! The one I can't find and think definitely needs to be done, though, is a Work at Home Mom one! If any of you are super creative and have ideas for one, I'll throw it together...I just need your ideas for pics that would fit it :)

Seriously, though - whoever came up with the original one is brilliant and should get a ton of credit...unfortunately, I have no clue who was the creative genius behind this concept. I do know, though, that I have seen several that apply either to me or some or many of my friends that I totally get a kick out of. I've posted some of them below...if I have been able to track where they came from, I am citing credit, but if I don't know (or if I get the credit wrong!) I apologize in advance for not giving credit where it's due.


If you have any others you have seen and would like to share, please post a link in the comments...I think they are all wonderful and most if not all of them have put a smile on my face. I hope they do the same for you!

Today I'm super thankful for humor - it helps me get through my days a little happier!

~Evie

By: Babywearing Doula

By: Not sure...?

By: Carolina Cloth

By: Buddha Bunz

By: Holly Helps Us - Birth Services

By: The Guggie Daily

By: Primitive Mommy

By: Colleen MacRamos

By: Guggie Daily

Newborns and Giveaways

Oh, my goodness! I cannot even tell you how much fun it was to get all these precious newborn baby pictures! I sincerely can't thank you enough for sharing your beautiful babes with us all!

Our Vienna (no, this picture is not part of the contest - I just wanted to share
since I shared Porter's the other day *wink*)

Ok - so, we all know this is a contest and giveaway, but what are the rules?

Here's the deal: Out of all the pictures below, vote for your favorite. That's it. Just type the picture number and name of your vote in a comment. Whomever's baby picture receives the most votes will get a personalized hooded towel from me. Please only vote for one picture, and also please make sure that if you are an "anonymous" comment-er that you also type your name and email address in your comment.

But wait - there's more! Just for voting for your favorite you will automatically be entered to win a six-pack of cloth wipes-slash-baby washcloths also made by me.

You will be able to vote until Friday at 4:00 p.m. CST when I will tally the winning vote-getter and draw for the wipe winner.

Fun, huh?

Well, the fun hasn't even begun yet...just wait until you see these precious babies! Oh, my word, I just want to snuggle each and every one of them! Thank you so much to those of you that shared - seriously, you rock!!

And the winner of the most votes is Baby #12 - Danika!

The winner of the drawing between voters is JMX!

Congratulations and thanks for sharing and voting everyone!!

1. Denise Winter

2. Maxwell

3. Toni's Babe

4. Cooper

5. Aubrie

6. Aryia Jade

7. Hazel

8. Carter James

9. Trophy Wife's Babe

10. Devin

11. Liya Elizabeth

12. Danika

13. Parker Tammen (special note: Parker was born on 2/12/12 at 33 weeks!)

14. Jayden

15. Kalyssa and her big sister Lydia

16. Madaline Donna

17. John

18. Alli

19. Kapri Mae

20. Jax

21. Amanda's Babe

22. Heidi's Babe

23. Jerzi

24. Caleb

25. Maddie

26. Allison

27. Mariana

28. Ezekiel

29. Maci Leigh

30. Mason

31. Jacob

32. Ellis

33. George Logan

34. Logan

35. Camila

36. Trenten

Valentine's Day Post and Giveaway

Ok, so usually I don't post on Sundays...at our house we set this day aside for Jesus, family, etc. BUT - I wanted to make sure that you all have a chance to help me out with Tuesday's Valentine's Day post.

I want to post your super-cute-and-cuddly newborn pictures!

We all love to take pictures of our babies and kiddos, and no matter how old your kids are now, I would *love* to see your favorite picture of your newborn...it could be from immediately after birth, it could be from a professional photo shoot, it could just be a candid snapshot - just make sure it's a newborn picture...no older than 3 months. The more "Valentine's Day-ish" the better, but it really doesn't matter. I just want to share your beautiful children with all our readers! Note: if you have more than one child, please only send one picture.

This is our Porter-boy...he was about a week old here

And to make it even more fun, how about we combine this with a giveaway...or two?

Ok - here's the deal. I will post all the newborn pictures I get. Then I will ask all our readers to vote for their favorite. The picture with the most votes will win a personalized hooded towel from me, and then to sweeten the deal, I will draw randomly from the "voters", and one lucky voter will win a set of six cloth wipes-slash-baby washcloths from me!

So, send me your newborn baby pictures! Please email them to media@elegantmommy.com no later than 10:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday. I need them by that time if you want to be entered to win!

Good luck and I can't wait to see all your precious babes!!

~Evie

Educated Mommy Silent Auction

So, we want to take this opportunity to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that participated in the Educated Mommy online silent auction last weekend! It was a huge success and brought in over $2,300!!

We got two times as many donations as last time, and raised almost twice as much! We are absolutely thrilled to be that much closer to bringing Educated Mommy to you!

We couldn't have done this without you, so whether you donated, purchased, or promoted, THANK YOU!

We will be doing a few other fundraising things in the coming weeks to meet our goals, and because of you, we have a wonderful beginning to the end!

We are almost there!!

What is Diapapallooza Anyway?

For those of you that know us and have been around for awhile, you probably have an idea what Diapapallooza is...some of you have even participated so are really familiar with it. For those of you that are newer, you have possibly heard of it. There may be some of you out there, though, that really don't have any idea what Diapapallooza is...well....let me fill you in.

Elegant Mommy is much more than just trendy used maternity clothes. We specialize in all kinds of things, including breast pumps, nursing bras and accessories, baby supplies (accessories, some clothing, bibs, etc), and yes - cloth diapers! It is a passion of ours and a calling to help families throughout their young-family stages...like our tag line says "From your baby bump to your baby's rump, we've got you covered!".

So, what is this "diapapallooza thing", anyway? Well, basically it is a cloth diaper swap. It is an event designed for moms/families to sell their used cloth diapers and accessories, and families that are looking for really good deals on cloth diapers - either to start out or increase their stashes - to purchase them at a reasonable price.

Sellers are able to set their own price on their items, and there is a consignment fee on items that they sell. Purchasers just go through all the diapers and accessories that are for sale and pick out what they want. They purchase through Elegant Mommy - not the actual seller - so there is no need to worry about payment method (i.e. only cash, etc).

When my husband and I first decided to start cloth diapering, I did a bunch of research trying to determine what kind of diapers would work best for us. Once I had an idea of what I was looking for, I attended a diapapallooza and Shelly was so helpful (this was the first time I met her...and long before I began working for her)! She helped me to find what I wanted in several different styles, so I was easily able to determine what I wanted more of after trying them all out. I knew I wanted to sew the majority of our stash, so once I figured out what I liked best and didn't like about different styles, I was able to design my own that I really love for our little man.

If you live anywhere near Sioux Falls and are interested in beginning to cloth diaper your little one(s) or are already a cloth diaper expert and just want to increase your stash, I highly recommend checking out our next diapapallooza the first weekend in March. Our employees are extremely knowledgeable and will help you with any question you may have...even if you have done no research and don't know what you want!

You can get tickets here (Don't worry - they are free! We only have tickets so we can get an estimate of how many folks will be there...please note that if you want to sell some diapers you MUST "purchase" a seller's ticket). If you have any questions ahead of time, you can comment here, ask on our facebook page, or give us a call or shoot us an email. We are all here to help you with your cloth diapering needs, and Diapapallooza is the perfect place to start!

See you in March!

~Evie DeWitt