MommyCon Portland

First, I want to express my gratitude to Xza for so generously allowing me to experience MommyCon like I did. Watching her at work keeping things running smoothly while checking in on all the different vendors and presenters - she is amazing. It's truly inspiring me to get organized and accomplish a few of my own goals.

This will be a relatively quick overview. There was just too much great stuff to fit into one little blog post. So trust me when I say, I could gush a lot more than I'm going to.

If you've looked into MommyCon, you know there is an option for VIP events. And if you're like me, you won't have a grasp on what those events actually are. I got to join in on the Birth Without Fear Breakfast and the Leaky Boob "Meet and Leak" or "Leak and Greet". I have to say - if you're considering making that extra investment, just do it. These events are very informal, but you get the opportunity to come face to face with some AMAZING bloggers (including Xza herself!). And the swag you get? I wish I'd bought my own tickets to the events! What you get in return is worth WELL above the ticket price, and that's not even taking into consideration the awesome opportunity you get for photos like this:

And now I get to pretend that we're BFF's who hang out all the time. Just don't let her know or she may start referring to me as the "Creepy-Stalker-Blogger I met at MommyCon." In case you don't know who she is, it's Jessica of The Leaky Boob, and she's pretty much awesome-incarnate. She is as lovely and likeable in person as she seems online. Actually, even more so.


The actual convention Saturday was pretty much the best thing I've been to in a LONG time. I honestly keep thinking how much I wish I had been to something like this when I was pregnant - both times. There were rooms set up throughout for meeting with doulas, cloth diapering experts, babywearing experts, home based learning organizations, carseat safety experts, and the like.

I didn't make it into any of the workshops, but I sat enthralled through the seminars. My absolute favorites, of course, were January of Birth Without Fear, and The Leaky Boob (you know, my BFF).

I'd somehow never heard of Birth Without Fear before all of this, but I'm pretty well obsessed now. January had some pretty traumatic birth experiences with her first children, but went on to have some really empowering, educational, and enlightening experiences afterward. She's now working to help others with her experience, and I have to say - I could not contain my tears during her seminar! I love birth stories anyway, but the passion she speaks with, and the stories she's shared were phenomenal. I have very quickly become one of her biggest fans, in all honesty. If you haven't checked out her blog before - do it. Now. Or find her on Facebook. Or anywhere. I love her.

This event was so much more worthwhile than I had anticipated. It was also so much more emotional for me than I would have guessed. I know Xza is already planning out the next two years for MommyCon, and I am planning to buy tickets. I would highly recommend this event for anyone with young children or planning a family. My two kids are beyond breast-feeding and diapers now, but I still got a LOT out of the experience. More than once, a speaker was able to put to words emotions I have experienced myself that I thought I was alone with. I seriously LOVED it.

If you are interested in attending MommyCon or just learning more, be sure to visit their website or Facebook page for more information. I was given a media pass for the conference. No other compensation was received. As always, all views and opinions expressed are my own.