A baby Shower! And it's also a Farewell / Welcome Party!

Toronto:  My awesome roommie is throwing me a combo baby shower & farewell party!

If you're interested in attending, please let me know by leaving me a comment and I'll add you to the list.  It's going to be in the afternoon and evening on Labour Day Monday (no, I do not plan on going into labour on that day) and the shower will hapen from 2:00-5:00 and a pot-luck BBQ farewell party will happen from 5:00-9:00. People can decide for themselves if they want to come for all or part of it.  It's a kid-friendly event and there will be 2 well-behaved dogs there.

Ottawa: My great friend Ariel is hosting me a baby shower & welcoming party in Ottawa!
If you're interested in attending, please let me know by leaving me a comment and I'll add you to the list.  Details are still being worked out.

I'm particularly excited about the Toronto shower because it'll be a great opportunity to see a lot of people that I care about in Toronto before I move back to Ottawa (which will happen on Sept 10!) and I'm excited about showers in general because they're a wonderful opportunity to see if my community might be willing to help me hunt and gather some of the necessary things for the baby-to-be (I love hand-me-downs and thrift stores for baby stuff, FYI.)  It's a lot of work preparing for another (mini) human to join my life indefinitely - and I'm not even collecting as much stuff as some parents do!  Every little bit of help and/or enthusiasm is appreciated. I've already gotten some sweet hand-me-downs from a few friends and a few new gifts from some others and I am super excited about the idea of my baby wearing and using things that were gifts from the community.

If anyone is looking for info on my registry, it's here (including a description of my discomfort with the idea of registering.) http://growyourownsquirrel.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-registry.html

If you get anything from one of those stores, they'll cross it off the list if you tell them they you got it for me.  If you don't do that or if you shop at other stores (yard sales? ♥) don't worry about it. I think that the chance of getting duplicates is pretty slim.

Here are some things that I don't really need help with any more.
- newborn sized clothing (unless you see something that is too precious to pass up.)
- crib (I decided to accept a second-hand one that was offered to me)
- newborn sized diaper covers
- baby carriers/slings
- stroller (I bought a fancy one used on Craigslist)
- baby bathtub (I just don't want one.)

Here are some items from my registry that I am particularly focused on investing in / collecting:
- clothes that are 3-6 months and larger (gender neutral)
- a crib mattress (one that isn't treated with chemical fire retardants, i.e. organic)
- a car seat (I want to buy this new) My Dad bought this for me! Thanks, Dad!
- books that either have good politics or are nostalgic from a child-of-the-70s perspective
- collecting cash towards a diaper service (washing diapers as a single parent at a laundromat is more work than I want to take on, and the price is comparable to disposables)
- diaper covers (for cloth diapers) for a baby bigger than newborn size (i.e. more than 10 lbs)
- I also would really like to hire a doula to support me in labour, but it costs $800 to hire the one that I am interested in (that is unfortunately a pretty much average fee for one) and the cost is way more than I can justify spending on my own. I've pretty much given up on this goal since it's so expensive. I'm going to focus on trying to get a multi-talented group of my friends to help me.
-an electric breast pump (I will be returning to school full time earlier than when I'd prefer to wean.) an old friend of mine has given me hers as a hand-me-down! This is a huge savings and I'm really excited about it!
- Ikea gift certificates so I can buy some thrifty baby items at Ikea (they don't have a baby registry service otherwise I totally would have registered there.)
- Milkface gift certificates so I can buy nursing wear (Milkface is an awesome independent boutique in Ottawa that specialises in nursing clothing and other healthy items to support moms and babies. I don't know my post-baby size yet so I feel like it would be unwise to register for specific items yet.)

If anyone wanted to sponsor me by donating a bit of cash towards a doula or a diaper service, that would be a tremendously helpful gift and it would really help make my birthing and first year easier and more pleasant.   If you want to send money electronically, let me know and I can work it out for you.