When expectant mother Amy Gordon was invited to a baby shower on Sunday, she thought she’d get the usual blankets, bottles and binkies.
What she got was about $600 worth of baby gifts, as did 16 other mothers or mothers-to-be connected with the 32nd Medical Logistics Battalion.
The only thing missing from the lavish gift basket was a silver spoon.
“It’s amazing,” said Gordon, while admiring the overflowing baby supplies during the afternoon shower at a Fort Bragg community center. “I figured, we’d get together, get to meet everyone, but I never managed anything like this.”
Gordon’s husband, Jason, is a soldier in the 32nd unit and serving his third tour in Iraq. The couple is expecting their third child in December.
The other women invited were either active soldiers or married to men deployed to Balad, Iraq, 50 miles north of Baghdad.
Operation Baby Shower was the brainchild of several caring and cyber-savvy parents. Lena Morrissey, a wife and mother from St. Louis, wanted to do something for new and expecting moms who were working in the 32nd Battalion of her relative, Lt. Col. Mark Stubbs.
She put the word out on her Web site (www.lenasnotebook.com) and also contacted Kris and David Jackson of www.cleverparents.com.
The idea of a baby shower for the military moms was born.
In about one month, more than 50 companies from 25 states and individuals donated gifts. The Jacksons estimated Sunday’s merchandise totaled about $10,000.
“They told me it was going to be a baby celebration,” said April Catlaw, who attended with 6-week-old Kiley Rain. “I thought maybe we’d get a pack of diapers.”
Catlaw did get diapers, along with a diaper bag, clothes, shoes, books, toys, DVDs and baby products.
The gift that was the hit of the party was a onesie, fit for a military baby. The words “Active Doodie” were displayed on the bottom.
The tiny garments from www.rocknsprouts.com were in camouflage pink or green.
The onesie is perfect for 3-month-old Gabriel, whose dad, Shawn, is in Iraq and mom, Monica, who also served in the Army.
“(Local organizer) Lois (Stubbs) told me it was going to be a lot, but I didn’t expect this much,” Monica Stamper said. “A whole box for everyone. That’s crazy.”
The Jacksons, a nonmilitary family from Raleigh, hope to make Operation Baby Shower available to other military families around the country. They and Morrissey are in the early stages of forming a nonprofit organization.
As for the military moms from the 32nd who helped host the party, some had a slight case of Operation Baby Shower envy.
“I wish they did this 10 years ago,” said Crystal Daulton, mother of a 9 and 8 year old.
Staff writer Hilary Kraus can be reached at kraush@fayobserver.com or 323-4848, ext. 331.
Article reprinted with permission from The Fayetteville Observer (www.fayobserver.com)
Read the article and see pictures of the event on The Fayetteville Observer website.
Read the Clever Parents summary of the shower celebrating 17 military moms from the 32nd Medical Logistics Battalion.
By Kris on 06/4/07 in Charity, Featured, News, Operation Shower
tag this | permalink | trackback url
July 25th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
[...] Miss the news on Operation Shower? See the vidcast from the baby shower for 17 Army moms in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, check out a list of all of the goodies they received and read some stories from the press about the event. [...]