Kanga Care Natural Parenting Expo and Great Cloth Diaper Change 2013!

Just a couple weeks before this year's Natural Parenting Expo & Great Cloth Diaper Change, we asked one of our biggest fans (and most ADORABLE blogger ever) to cover the event for us! Please help us welcome Katie Mitchell of Standpipe and Sprinkles to the Kanga Care blog!

---

Everything about this year's Great Cloth Diaper Change just seemed to fall into place. 

First, a dear local friend asked if I wanted to go with her. "Yes!" I said. I wanted to attend last year, but frankly, I was still wrapping my new mom brain around getting an 11 month-old out of the house without breaking my back or forgetting anything. This year, with an almost 2 year-old, Kanga Care's Great Cloth Diaper Change actually sounded like a lot of fun!

Then, the lovely ladies of Kanga Care contacted me, asking me to write a guest blog post on the event. Needless to say, I was thrilled! We switched to cloth diapers when our Maile was a few months old, after some gentle coaxing by a friend. We haven't looked back, and I am seriously a walking advertisement for Rumparooz, haha. I'll use any opportunity I can to tell people about how much we love our RARs!

Even though Maile and I arrived right at 9 AM, we actually had a lot of fun waiting in line with our fellow cloth diapering parents and littles! And let me tell you, the conversations in the queue to get into a natural parenting expo can't be made up -- hilariously endearing, and one of many reasons I love the natural parenting community in Denver. Of course there were the mamas wearing slings, dressed from head to toe in probably-organic fabrics. But there were also Rockabilly moms, with perfectly waved hair, and bright red lipstick. A heavily tattooed dad, with his adorable son's hair shaved into a mohawk. A mother with dreads, wearing a velveteen skirt. Such a unique crowd we were, but all there for the same reason! Our children.

Despite our just-in-the-nick-of-time arrival, Maile was still one of 300 registered babies to receive a The Bump swag bag, and all of the contents were great, but my personal favorites were definitely the limited edition "I heart RAR" Rumparooz cloth diaper, and the reusable snack bag by Itzy Ritzy. I also can't wait to try our new BunchaFarmers stain stick!

Though the prizes were ridonculous, (including an Uppa Baby Vista Stroller from Naturally Loved and a Diono car Seat from The Giggling Green Bean!) I didn't participate in the raffle, but we were able to meet a couple of members of the Kanga Care team (SO exciting!), browse a few exhibitor's tables -- like The Bump and Bamboobies, The Leaky Boob Nursing Lounge, and even hit up the Instabooth before settling into our spots for the Great Cloth Diaper Change!

First, we got to hear a bit from Jamie Grayson (aka, TheBabyGuyNYC), who, yes, is as awesome in person as he seems on social media. Also, his Twitter background photo is him with Martha Stewart. Can you ask for more? Nope. But he gave more, by being a sport and wearing the largest cloth diaper ever. On stage. In front of hundreds of people. Well, he was on Broadway! My friend and I positioned ourselves by one of the stage doors and Jamie was a total doll about our little ones playing peekaboo on the stairs, too.

Next, it was time to set up for the Guinness World Records Great Cloth Diaper Change! I have to say, I've secretly always wanted to participate in a Guinness event. One that doesn't involve growing my fingernails to the floor, or stuffing scorpions in my mouth, of course. Changing my daughter into a cloth diaper, while thousands of other parents around the world do the exact same thing, at the exact same time? Perfect. And it will be so much fun to tell Maile about someday.

So, at 11 o'clock, on the dot, we danced to "Celebration" as we changed our kiddos (my kiddo danced and wiggled, too), held them up for the world to see -- Lion-King-Pride-Rock style -- and that was that! A wonderful way to spend a morning, if you ask me. Tons of fun, and hopefully record breaking, too!

---

Thanks so much, Katie for your excellent recap of this year's event! And we just got word that we did, indeed, set a NEW Guinness World Record- all without having to grow your fingernails out or put anything horrifying into your mouth! Hooray!

"It’s official! The 2013 Great Cloth Diaper Change (GCDC) set a new Guinness World Record of 8,301 babies changed into cloth diapers at one time. The record was set on April 20, 2013 when participants around the globe gathered at 11:00 am local time to change babies into a 100% reusable cloth diaper. We achieved this goal with the hard work and dedication of 182 GCDC hosts in 20 countries around the world."

Great Cloth Diaper Change events were held in:

• Australia
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Chile
• Finland
• Hong Kong
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Philippines
• Puerto Rico
• South Korea
• Spain
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States

Thanks to ALL of our amazing sponsors of this year's event, our volunteers and of course, the families choosing to use cloth diapers every day! We can't wait to see you all again next year!