Last weekend I packed up my little family made the drive from Delaware to Washington, DC for MommyCon. For those of you who don’t know MommyCon is a natural parenting convention (so baby wearing, breastfeeding, cloth diapers, etc galore). I’d had dreams of attending MommyCon for years, but was in Hawaii when I first discovered this awesome event existed and when we got to the mainland in 2012 I’d missed the event that was closet to me. Finally this year I got to attend and I got to take my whole crew with me including my mommy!!! 

The week before attending MommyCon I created my strategic plan that included what vendors I had to visit (I also researched the vendors I didn’t recognize) and what sessions I absolutely had to attend. MommyCon does an awesome job giving you the necessary info to be prepared and I definitely appreciate that because I’m a chronic planner. I also worked out my budget which I ended up staying within.

“Our mission: Try all the things.”

When I walked into  the Walter E. Washington Convention Center I immediately felt at home and a had a “These are my people” moment. There were baby wearing mommas everywhere, so many cloth diapered booties, and no one cared if a momma stopped to breastfeed her kid with or without a cover. It was ah-maaaa-zing!!! 

My crew and I registered and grabbed our awesome gift bags then headed straight to the vendors. Our mission: Try all the things. I also had a covert mission of my own: To bring my mom and hubby to the crunchy side and understand why I love natural organic living so much and that I’m not the only one who does. My husband is a “roll with it” kind of guy and supported the cloth diapers, breastfeeding and seeks out some natural alternatives. He’s also cool with babywearing, but I can’t get him to do it. My mom is new aged old school meaning for some things she’s old school (not so natural cleaning products) and for other new school (the convenience of disposable diapers). 

We went to every table and talked to every vendor. I finally got to see some products that I’d been eyeing online up close, hearing about some new products, try out some baby wearing options, and sample some delicious organic products. I was in Crunchy Momma Heaven.

After visiting the vendors it was time to go to some to some sessions. I attended three sessions: The Playdate: Parents, Children, and The New Expectations of Play, Navigating Life as a Parent of a Special Needs Child: Tips from a Special Ed Teacher and a Mom Like You and Car Seat Safety with Mat York. I walked away from these sessions with some much new knowledge and some cool new friends. I even met some fellow Autism Moms from Delaware and was able to share some information with them to help them and their children in regard to ABA. I also got to talk ABA with some parents who had never heard of ABA (disseminate disseminate). 

I found my crew on the MommyCon Website

Talking ABA services with some ladies I met in the special needs mom session.

The last event of the day were the giveaways. From teething necklaces to strollers the giveaways were awesome. I’m not totally down with how the giveaways went down. It began with items being given away by using a randomizer to  choose numbers which were on the back of the event badges we received at registration. I thought this was an awesome idea, but then things started being chucked into the audience and random games like “guess the number” and “who’s the most pregnant military member PCSing next week” were played to determine winners. I didn’t think that was the best way to handle the giveaways, but I figured that they’d ran out of numbers quickly because of people leaving the event early and had to come up with something on the spot.

Overall I really enjoyed myself at MommyCon DC and I plan to attend another event next year. As of now MommyCon is not returning to DC, but luckily Philly is close by and I wouldn’t mind traveling for the Orlando MommyCon. My mom has already said that she’ll tag along too.

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Here’s some MommyCon tips:

1. Plan ahead. Utilize the information MommyCon puts on the website and plan a budget. Budgets are so important because I kid you not, once you walk into the vendor hall you will immediately want to buy EVERYTHING.
2. Join the MommyCon discussion Facebook group for whatever event(s) you plan to attend. I got acquainted with a lot of moms before we got to MommyCon and these groups are filled with information.
3. Don’t bring a massive stroller. I have a massive double stroller that I’m glad I left at home. Baby wear if you can or bring a lightweight stroller. We brought an umbrella stroller for Bunny and AwesomeA to take turns in. AwesomeA enjoyed walking around rocking his event badge and filling his bag with tasty treats and other cool stuff. The stroller become our “stuff holder”, which leads me to Tip #4.
4. Bring something rollable to carry all of your buys and freebies. We got lots of reusable bags during the event but they got heavy quickly. I saw many people with rolling carts and suitcases.
5. If you’re affiliated with the military email MommyCon and ask about the military discount. I was sent a coupon code that made my tickets half off. Also, MommyCon offers various ticket scholarships.
6. Pack a lunch. Food options were limited at the convention center. There were restaurants in walking distance, but at higher price points. I wanted to spend more time at the convention and have more money to leave with the vendors. We ended up grabbing subs from a cafe inside the convention center that quickly sold out.
7. Bring some people with you. My husband and mom both discovered things that I’d missed because I was so focused on something else. There is so much at MommyCon and extra pairs of eyes are very handy. Plus the extra people increase the chances of winning giveaways.
8. Expand your community. Take the time to actually talk to vendors and MommyCon goers. I made so many connections at MommyCon both business and personal. You’re at MommyCon so there is a great chance that you at least have one thing in common.