If you had told me before I had my son and joined the online cloth diapering community that I would one day count down the days to a cloth diaper brand’s new release party, then eagerly participate in said event… well I would’ve thought you were nuts.
Firstly: What? Cloth diaper brands have release parties? Secondly: Why would I care?
Well, let me tell you why I care about cloth diaper new release parties!
I will grant that on a professional level, I do have a vested interest in the latest cloth diaper news. It’s fodder for my own blog and Facebook page, and also important for my role as Content Curator at cloth diaper retailer, Lil’ Monkey Cheeks.
But let’s put aside the fact that I have managed to make my adoration for fluff part of my job description. I want to talk about the cloth diaper new release party as a social phenomenon.
Being a stay-at-home Mom can be very isolating. I am very lucky to have a tribe of three girlfriends and their children to whom I can turn for support and companionship, but since we are not neighbours, our tribal gatherings are infrequent. Furthermore, my entire family lives on the other side of the country. I am also very lucky to have a very healthy work/life balance: through the miracles of affordable, quality day care close to my home, I’ve been working part-time (by choice) and staying home with Cub the rest of the time. But it just so happens that we are presently half way through a 4-week stretch in which day care is closed for a well-deserved vacation, and I’ve been full-time stay-at-home-Mom-ing for two weeks.
Many, many, many of you out there are full-time-SAHMs year round. Some by choice, others by necessity (there’s no point working if your entire salary pays for day care). I always thought that I too would be a full-time SAHM, but soon discovered that being able to also pursue my business was important to my own well being. These two weeks spent back on the full-time SAHM train (I started slowly returning to work when Cub was a year old, and he is now almost two) have been lonelier than I expected. My husband works long hours, so I am often alone with Cub for more than 12 hours a day. I’ve felt an emotion I haven’t experienced in ages: boredom.
Don’t get me wrong: there are tons and tons of joys to spending the whole day with Cub. (And no, not just when he finally goes to bed!) But sometimes playing with a toddler is just plain boring. I can’t have an actual conversation with him (although that doesn’t stop me), he doesn’t like to do the things I would do if I could choose (like super girly arts and crafts) and as soon as I sit down to do something I really want to do, he is miraculously in need of my attention.
So as the 1:00 new release party start-time loomed, I was excited! Yes, excited! As I scrolled down the event page, Moms were sharing their 80s-inspired outfits or flashback photos, chatting about 80s trends (the theme of the new release was, well, the 1980s) and guessing what the new colour might be. Suddenly, rather than being alone on my bed with Cub playing stickers at my feet, I was at a giant hang out of Moms just like me!
Is AppleCheeks a genius when it comes to marketing to Moms? Yes. They’re a tough act to follow, but other brands should be (and probably are) taking notes. But for $20, I’m not just getting a diaper cover that replaces cases and cases of disposables and happens to be made right here in Montréal… I’m also getting a sense of community.
So no, the most exciting moment of my day today was not discovering the new colour of a cloth diaper. The most exciting moment of my day was realizing that there’s a tribe of women whose most exciting moment of the day was discovering the new colour of a cloth diaper all together!
Did you attend today’s new release party?
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