Cocktails and diapers - not what it sounds like!

Last night I attended a really fun event - the Mother's Day Diaper Drive Cocktail Party hosted by helpamotherout.org, NYCityMama.com and ComplicatedMama.com at the lovely Affinia 50.

I heard about the event on twitter and that was actually how I found out about Baby Basics NYC, recipients of the diapers donated and money raised last night and, as you know, the organization I am supporting with my spring giveaway and fundraiser.

A crib full of diapers were collected and there were tons of great raffle prizes...

I donated a $200 alethea cheng fitzpatrick photography gift certificate, and it was fun to see how excited Michele, the winner was:

I was pretty excited myself to win a $50 Spa Finder gift certificate!

But most of all, it was great to meet a lot of bloggers and other people, all doing interesting things and supporting a great cause. I don't have all the links (almost no one had cards!) but luckily, Corine has them all in her blog post covering the event and I have copied them here for your (and my) convenience:

Carol/NYCityMama
Corine/Complicated Mama
Monica/Macaroni Kid
Jessica/Mommas Gone City
JenRab/NextKidThing
Isabel/AlphaMom
Kim/Mom In The City
Fredrick/New York Dad Blog
Michelle/MommaLioness
Nancy Horn/Mommies With Style
Matthew/Back 2 Go Forward
Ofelia/OfeliaNJ
Holly/The Culture Mom Blog
Theresag/My City Life
Adam/Dada Rocks

You can also follow the #HAMO hastag on twitter to see some the attendees, follow the post-party chatter and find out about other Help A Mother Out events.

And of course, I also got to meet Brenda Grassey, founder of Baby Basics NYC.

It was great to meet Brenda in person and hear about her commitment not just to giving diapers but also education and support. I feel better than ever about supporting her organization. If you are able to make a donation as part of my giveaway, I strongly encourage you to do so. And thank you to those who have already donated.

If you entered and did not donate, it's not too late - make a donation now and I will give you your extra entry (or entries)! Just don't forget to use the additional option in the blue box to "notify someone by e-mail" and enter hello@aletheafitzpatrick.com.

Here is Brenda with two of her volunteers.

And here are our two hostesses, Carol and Corine. Thanks for throwing a great party, and thanks to Affinia 50 for providing the venue and great food and drinks!

Throwing an event for parents or families with young kids (or expectant parents)? Hire alethea cheng fitzpatrick photography as your event photographer! I'm willing to partially or fully exchange services for sponsorship and promotional opportunities. I am also interested in partnering with other businesses - contact me to talk more.

Disclosure: I was a raffle sponsor for this event.

nyc baby, child and family photographer alethea cheng fitzpatrick is based in brooklyn and specializes in contemporary, natural light portraiture. view her portfolio of babies, children or families or send her an e-mail here!

What does a baby shower for 300 moms to be look like?

Fourteen months into being a mother and immersed in the business of running a business and chasing after a toddler, I feel far removed from the product researching and buying frenzy that accompanies a first pregnancy... and yet when I stepped into the room filled with vendors, including so many that I know and love, putting the final touches to their displays and getting ready to welcome three hundred pregnant women for big city moms' Biggest Baby Shower it all came back to me. I actually felt a little teary remembering that time filled with anticipation and hopes and dreams and this vast unknown new world stretching ahead filled with mystery. Because no matter how much you read and you research, no matter how much people tell you or you observe second hand, you just don't know what it's going to be like until you go through it.

And until it happens all you can do is wait. And buy stuff!

And oh what a full time job that can be, the researching and buying of stuff. The good news is that there are so many beautiful, stylish AND practical items out there now to choose from. The bad news is that it's utterly overwhelming to figure out what to get. The good news is that oh but pretty, shiny, cute!

And the really good news, that you don't realize until afterwards even though everyone tells you this too, is that it doesn't matter! From a practical point of view, it doesn't matter, because you'll figure it out, and if you don't have the right thing, you'll get it, or someone will get it for you, and most of the stuff you're not going to need after a year anyway.

What matters is the emotional aspect. Get what makes you happy. Get what makes you feel good, and prepared, and confident. Get what makes your heart skip a beat. Get what fills you with excitement and love and anticipation.

Make a beautiful space filled with beautiful things for you and your baby because when you're sleep deprived and sore and wondering how you're going to make it through the day, that space and those things are going to remind you of the excitement and love and anticipation with which you prepared for this and you will feel better. And on the good days you'll just feel even better!

I never attended an event like the Biggest Baby Shower when I was pregnant (I attended yesterday as a photographer) but I definitely recommend it! There's no other way you can see, touch, and feel so many different products, and speak with vendors about them, in such a fun and friendly environment, all the while collecting coupons and entering to win prizes and getting to take home information and goodies (note to attendees - check your gift back for your alethea cheng fitzpatrick photography print credit!) - definitely worth the price of admission and more. And definitely the biggest baby shower I've ever been to!

For more photos, you can view a slideshow of highlights (43 slides), or go for the full version (100 slides). You can also check out the gallery and leave comments or click on "share" to connect to facebook and twitter or to copy links to the images for your blog or website. Contact me if you are interested in non-watermarked files.

Disclosure: I was a photographer and goody bag sponsor for this event.

nyc baby, child and family photographer alethea cheng fitzpatrick is based in brooklyn and specializes in contemporary, natural light portraiture. view her portfolio of babies, children or families or send her an e-mail here!