The Journey of Parenthood…

Mommy Goody Basket Giveaway!

Everyone knows I started this blog as a way to store memories for myself and my family. I do my best to keep up with everything that happens in my life and especially things I learn with parenting. It always means so much to me when new moms or soon-to-be moms or even pro-moms contact me and let me know how this blog has helped them or ask me for further help/advice. Recently SEVERAL of my friends (both in “real” life and “blog” life) have become pregnant or have just had babies. It’s be wonderful to be in contact with them about pregnancy, natural childbirth, babywise, and breastfeeding. I want to work on putting more resources in this blog for people to go to when they have questions (I totally plan on blogging about what I recommend registering for as that’s been a common question!) and I want to continue to help my friends during such exciting times in their lives!

I am passionate about many aspects of parenting but there is one area that I feel like doesn’t get as much “attention” as it needs to and that’s breastfeeding. People may know that it’s best for the baby but they don’t really realize exactly what it’s all about. So often moms give up on nursing because it’s tough. The media misleads us. Every article you read is all about how wonderful breastfeeding is, how naturally the baby takes to it, how perfect the whole journey is for moms. That’s not always the case. It’s not always easy, it’s not always natural, and sometimes it’s far from perfect. So many moms hit those bumps in the breastfeeding road and give up. They think something is wrong with them, that they “can’t” do it, that the baby isn’t getting enough food, that they aren’t producing enough milk. Etc. Etc.

I will be the first person to tell you that I had my own struggles with breastfeeding but that I am SO thankful I stuck with it. That it does get easier. That is IS worth it!!! However, if you read this blog then you probably already know my breastfeeding experiences and my opinions on it. My goal has been to find other moms and to have them share their stories so you pregnant ladies, or new moms, or someday moms can see that each nursing journey is different. My hope is that you will find encouragement from each of these stories and know that the tougher times are SO worth it!!!

This week I’m having a week devoted to sharing many of the stories I gathered from friends, blog followers, and fellow breastfeeding mamas. I think it’s going to be so fun to hear their tips, learn from their struggles, and share in their joys. If you submitted a story THANK YOU! If you’re passionate about breastfeeding and want to share your story then please do! I don’t mind adding more to the bunch 🙂 Or you can feel free to blog it on your own blog! On the last day I’ll be posting my own story and will provide an opportunity to link up your blog entry with mine so all the readers can check yours out too!

In honor of this fun week I thought it’d be nice to have a giveaway! My original idea was to have lots of breastfeeding related items but then I know many of you don’t breastfeed, may not have kids, may have older kids, etc so it’s turned into more of a fun goody basket!

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

  1. an adorable blue tray with cool modern blue and black flower print on it, by Room Essentials (perfect for your hubby to treat you to breakfast in bed with!)
  2. a fun kid thing – frog feeding set including a bib, cup, bowl, and spoon (Kye loves his!)
  3. 2 of my favorite bibs (they don’t stain like cloth ones, are really big to cover all areas of the clothes, and are machine washable)
  4. a great kids divided plate, the Boon Saucer (perfect for that picky “I don’t want my stuff to touch” eater)
  5. my go-to parenting books: Babywise and What to Expect the First Year
  6. a made with love Hooter Hider by my super good friend Crissy (she DOES sell them and you can contact her via Facebook or through me for more info as she will customize them with any fabric you want!)

Also included in the goody basket will be three amazing gift certificates that you don’t have to be a mommy to enjoy!

  1. A mini photo session from Captured by Colson! It includes a 30 minute session as a location in the Valdosta area (not local? Come visit ME!) and a cd of all the images fully edited with copyright release. Lindsay is an awesome photographer! I LOVE the photo shoot we did with her in September (and even used her pics for my Christmas cards) and enjoy having some of the pictures framed around our new house. 
  2. A $15 gift certificate towards any item at Darley’s Creative Corner. Amy and I met through our guys playing football and she’s got some adorable personalized items on her blog! You get to pick ANY item you want to use your gift certificate towards – how great is that? So you can get the cake stand (I want one!) or the baby wipes case (too cute!) or anything else that you want and you get to have it personalized just for YOU!
  3. I mean I am doing the giveaway so shouldn’t I hook you up with some Stella and Dot too??? On top of all the other great things you’ll win you will also get a $25 Stella and Dot gift certificate!!! With summer around the corner, you KNOW you want some new pieces to add to your jewelry collection!

That’s a total of NINE prizes!!! If you win and aren’t a mommy, just let me know and I can draw for another winner for the items you don’t want or heck you can save them for a baby shower gift right? 🙂

Ready to win??? Here’s how to enter (you can have up to SIX different entries!):

For your 1st entry: Check out the sponsors of this giveaway. Go to each site (here’s the links: Captured by Colson, Darley’s Creative Corner, and Stella and Dot) then leave a comment telling me ONE thing you want or like from each site! (Sample Entry: “I love Lucy’s engagment pics from Captured by Colson, I’d love to own the personalized cake stand from Darley’s Creative Corner, and I want to own the Carnival Necklace from Stella and Dot!”)

For your 2nd entry: “Like” my Stella & Dot page on Facebook as well as Captured by Colson on Facebook. Then come back and leave a comment saying you did so. (sample entry: “I Like your Stella and Dot page on Facebook and I Like Captured by Colson on Facebook!”)

For your 3rd entry: become a follower of this blog, if you’re already a follower just leave a comment telling me so (sample entry: “I’m a follower!”)

For your 4th entry: become a follower of both Captured by Colson’s and Darley’s Creative Corner’s blogs. If you already follow both blogs then leave a comment telling me so (sample entry: “I’m following Captured By Colson! And I’m following Darley’s Creative Corner!)

For your 5th entry: blog about the giveaway with a link to this post! You need to have a blog (obviously) in order to blog about it but once you’ve posted it leave a comment with the link to your blog post (sample entry: “I blogged! www.emilyandzachparker.blogspot.com”)

For your 6th entry: Talk about this giveaway on your Facebook page and include a link to this post, then leave a comment here saying you did it. (sample entry: “I gave you a shout-out on Facebook!”)

Entry Rules

  • You must leave a comment on THIS blog entry in order to enter
  • You must leave a separate comment for each entry (it’ll make it easier to pick a winner)
  • Up to 6 entries per person but you don’t have to enter all 6 times
  • Your entry must meet the above requirements or it will be removed from the running
  • The winner will be randomly selected at random.org
  • The winner will be announced on Tuesday March 22nd at 11:00 PM EST (I’m giving a little longer than a week because I’ll be in ATLANTA for a visit this weekend, anyone want to get together???)
  • Once the winner is announced you will have one week to contact me or another winner will be chosen. If you’d like to leave your contact information (e-mail address) with your entries, that’s great, or just contact me if you’re the winner!
  • ANYONE can enter to win! Submitted a breastfeeding story? You can still enter! Sponsored this giveaway? You can still enter! If you’re a sponsor and win then we’ll just  pass your donated prize along to another winner. 

I hope you all enjoy reading the breastfeeding stories, I REALLY appreciate all the moms who participated and the sponsors of the giveaway! PLEASE be respectful of the women who so sweetly are sharing their personal stories – let’s leave plenty of supportive, loving comments on their posts for them! 🙂

Good luck on the prizes!!!

Emily Parker
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