Last June, I had a chance hang out with some wonderful expectant east end parents and get a crash-course on baby care during the first-ever Baby Shower for Expecting Parents, held at Baby on the Hip! The event was FREE, and featured door prizes from some great local east end businesses, including:

• MommyConnections of East Toronto
• Lil Bean N Green
• Belly Bootcamp
• Wholeplay
• Precious Moments Babeez
• ÜmlaPhoto

Here's a photo of the fabulous ladies behind the above businesses. From left to right: Laura (MommyConnections of East Toronto), April (Lil Bean N Green), M.E. (Wholeplay), Dara (Belly Bootcamp), and Debbie (Precious Moments Babeez). If you're wondering where I am, I'm behind the camera. :) As you can see, two of the ladies are expecting babies (both having their 2nd) of their own. Laura actually had her baby boy on June 15th - just FOUR DAYS after the baby shower event!!! :) BOH_BabyShower_June2013-1 Baby on the Hip was gracious enough to offer up their great store space to host the event, and most items in-store were available to attendees at 10% off. Refreshments were provided by Lil Bean N Green, and I was on-hand to take some photos during the event. I snapped the photo below before the event started. Check out the awesome room setup!

BOH_BabyShower_June2013-2 The turnout was great, and it was lovely to see so many beautiful bellies in the room!

Debbie from Precious Moments Babeez gave a great talk about basic infant care. This included swaddling, bathing, and feeding. Here's Debbie in action:

BabyShower_BabyOnTheHip-103 BabyShower_BabyOnTheHip-106 She even had a fabulous prop as a visual aid. Can you guess what it is? Feel free to leave your guesses in the comments section of this post. :)

And here are a few additional highlights from the event.

As you can see, everyone was very engaged. My own daughter will be 5 next month, and I was surprised by how much I had forgotten! This was definitely very informative, and I'm sure that the mommies-to-be were more than happy with the info and fabulous swag that they came away with!

Thanks again to everyone who popped in, and a big thanks to Laura of MommyConnections of East Toronto for organizing this, and to Baby on the Hip for providing space for the venue! I look forward to the next one!