So, you all know Daisy. The bloggin’ mama who makes the fabulous hair bows. Over the past few months, we’ve gotten to know her over at Swap Mamas www.swapmamas.com too, and let me tell you, the woman is a swapping FIEND. Which, as swapmamas.com’s founder, fills my heart with warm fuzzies.She’s asked me to tell you my birth story. Okay, not MY actual birth, nor the birth of my daughter (53 HOURS OF INDUCED LABOR, thank you very much), but the birth of my second baby, Swap Mamas …
I’ve been a single parent since the second trimester. As if THAT wasn’t a big enough shock, just 13 weeks into my pregnancy, my entire department at the publishing company I worked for, was laid off. I found myself suddenly alone and without income. Thankfully, a few months later I was re-hired, albeit at a much lower salary … it was still a job and I was intensely grateful.
Suffice it to say, money was tight. Without being asked, my friends rallied and mailed me their no-longer-needed maternity clothes. Then, when my daughter was born, they mailed me THEIR daughter’s no-longer-needed clothes. I received boxes of hand-me-downs every few months. Those shipments were a godsend. I bought very little in the way of clothes the first two years of my baby’s life. It definitely made paying the bills a little easier.
But I couldn’t help thinking of all the mama’s out there who DIDN’T have friends to mail them care packages. And then I thought about all the baby clothes out there that must be sitting boxed away in closets across the country. There had to be a way to put the two together. I obsessed over it.
Four years later, Swap Mamas was launched, and after seven months, the site currently has over 2,700 members. I can’t tell you the satisfaction I get from seeing so many mamas helping others like I knew they would. They’re connecting, shipping hand-me-downs across the country and really supporting one another in a very pure and simple way.
Now, it’s MY turn to give back. I like to think of it as Swap Karma. I’d love to have you join us and find out for yourself just how good it feels!
DARCY (Swap Mamas Founder)
I hope you enjoyed this post by our guest blogger! Thanks Darcy!
