Attending Baby Fairs, Expos & ShowsConversation surrounding the details of organizing your own table to host at an event.
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I'm back from BRU! I had a lot of fun - talked to LOTS of pregnant women, got a lot of interest in my bellycasting and "What's a doula?" questions, and met two women who had been looking for a doula and took my card to give me a call later this week! that they call I signed up to do the one in October too.
yeah! It sounds like you had a very productive day. Even if you don't sign clients from it these things seem to lift your spirit and get you motivated to work toward your next goal. Hmmmm, I need to do something like this soon!
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thanks for sharing that! I hope to do one soon, but will have to wait until I am certified Really hope that you get those calls, keep us posted.
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"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals". ~J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Good work! Go girl! We went to BRU today also. It wasn't very crowded though being 104 degrees outside I wouldn't go out either if I was preggo. We had a great time talking with all of the vendors and businesses there and networking. I love birth talk! And we didn't even have to be certified, plus Medela sent LLL boxes of freebees for moms! Guess who got the leftovers...
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J. Mac
CD(DONA)
"In other words, everyone must begin to see the water that many doctors and hospitals are swimming in and ... it is full of sharks which may not eat the doctors but may sometimes eat women and babies."------Marsden Wagner, MD, MSPH
Well, my BRU event was not nearly as productive as Amy's.... We were supposed to get there at 10:30 to set up for the day. I was there on time as was one other table. There were only a total of FOUR tables. That, by itself, was a little diheartening. It also didn't help that it was hot as hell here. I had also told the lady in charge of the baby fair weeks ago that I could only stay for half the time because I had a doula presentation I was part of. I only talked to a few people, one being from out of state, so she was not a prospective client. One lady I talked to had already been referred to another local doula and was just stopping by to say hello. Unfortunately, it seemed to be picking up when I had to leave to go to the doula presentation .... But, just the opportunity to educate one person on what a doula is, or Happiest Baby Educator, for that matter, is worth the time. So, head's up.
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"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get." -- Dave Gardner
Awww Dottie I'm sorry yours wasn't too productive Only complaint I had was I was next to the 4D U/S lady (is it just me, or are those things creepy?!?), but it was pretty busy. I thought it wouldn't be b/c it was 75 degrees for the first time after a week long heatwave. They (at least mine) have another one in October - are you going to give it a 2nd try?
At our BRU, no babies or children are allowed to attend with those working the table. Even a baby in a baby sling is against their policy for the fair. I won't go there at all now. Imagine, no babies allowed at BRU, what a joke.
At our BRU, no babies or children are allowed to attend with those working the table. Even a baby in a baby sling is against their policy for the fair. I won't go there at all now. Imagine, no babies allowed at BRU, what a joke.
I dunno, it kind of makes sense to me. I've done fairs where I've had my kids with me and ones where I haven't, and if I didn't have a choice where I could leave my kids home with dh I would only do the ones where I could take my kids until they were bigger. It's a liability issue for BRU I bet.
I have very mixed emotions about this. I *love* seeing sweet, happy babies in their sling, but you have to admit not all babies are up for it. Unfortunately, not every vendor has the good sense to only bring children that are *not* likely to be a distraction. I've seen it happen before where a baby that is ordinarily quiet and happy feels overwhelmed and overstimulated in such an environment. And quite honestly, I felt bad for the vendor because she missed out on a lot of potential business by needing to care for her baby (and this was not a freebie table).
If you're feeling good about conferences that allow vendors to bring their babies, LLLI really impressed me this year. I wasn't able to go (since I was in STL at DONA at the same time) so the IL DONA State Rep went for the booth instead. The lady organizing it said she was *welcome* to bring her baby, and to let them know if she needed to attend to her baby (diaper change, etc) so they could send a conference assistant to watch her booth temporarily. Talk about living out their values! And, from what I hear, her baby was a big draw and brought in some people who might not have ordinarily stopped at a doula booth. I'm happy that such a positive image was presented to people who might not see this sort of thing in their everyday lives.
I have to agree...I think its fine to say no vendors can bring their kids.
how do you say only bring your well behaved children or quiet babies? It can be a really long time for a kid to be well behaved.
that they call 
I signed up to do the one in October too. 
good job!
thanks for sharing that! I hope to do one soon, but will have to wait until I am certified 
Really hope that you get those calls, keep us posted.
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