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A baby shower isn’t in the cards for many pregnant service members and spouses stationed far away from family and friends.
But 21 local military mothers-to-be were dealt a lucky hand Dec. 13 when the Southern Colorado March of Dimes hosted its annual Mission: Healthy Baby Shower at Fort Carson.
“With you moving here and there so often, a baby shower like this can often go overlooked,” said the event’s emcee, Heather Skold, a weekend KRDO anchor. “Your moving around so much is a sacrifice. We want to acknowledge that today.”
Moms with baby bumps large and small were treated to a buffet of healthy snacks and sweet treats like fuchsia-tinted rubber-ducky punch and a white cake with glittery grape-colored frosting.
As they dined, they swapped due dates and war stories.
It was exactly what Moyra Hower, March of Dimes’ Southern Colorado division director and an event organizer, hoped to see.
“I hope you make friends here, because friends are family, especially in the military,” she said.
Hower spent 25 years as a military wife and gave birth to her second child in England, away from the support of family.
“Having a baby while in the military can cause just a little bit of stress,” she said with a knowing grin. “I don’t want you to feel alone in your pregnancy and in having a new baby.
“I know the sacrifices you make. I want all of you moms to feel pampered and treasured.”
After eating, the moms — some in Army maternity uniforms and comfy flat shoes — circled up and played popular baby shower games like “left, right” and “guessing jar.”
There were door prizes, too — toys, boxes of diapers and wipes, and a nursery monitor with a video display.
It was just the beginning.
“We’ll bring it to you — don’t move,” Skold said as volunteers carried a box of baby supplies and a baby gym to each guest.
Yasheera Willis immediately opened her box and started rummaging through the onesies, bottles and teethers inside.
Because her husband, a Fort Carson soldier, was away at training, she attended the shower alone.
It was good preparation for what lies ahead: Her baby is due Jan. 22, and her husband is scheduled to deploy to Kuwait in February.
“It’s been different without him, because when you’re pregnant, you’re not supposed to be carrying heavy stuff,” said Willis, a former Army mechanic who left the service last month.
Because she wasn’t in uniform, Willis was able to wear the silver pageant-style “Mommy to Be” sash given to her at the door.
Others, like Pfc. Kelsi Redding, stowed their sashes in their pile of goodies to take home.
“I’ve never been to a baby shower,” said Redding, who was 16 weeks pregnant. “I’m so excited to bring my husband and enjoy it with others as well.”
Redding had convinced fellow military policewoman Jennifer Thomas to tag along.
At an uncomfortably pregnant 36 weeks, Thomas had been hesitant to attend, especially without her husband, a military policeman who was on duty.
That was about to change.
“I know a lot of you wanted to win this car seat and had your eyes on it,” Skold said as she stood near the last door prize of the event.
As attendees fumbled for their drawing ticket stubs, Skold examined the wining ticket.
“This one says, ‘Everybody wins one,’” she said.
On cue, doors in the back of the room opened, and soldiers and civilian volunteers marched a car seat to each woman.
Jaws dropped, and the room erupted in exclamations of “woo-hoo,” “this is crazy” and “wow-wee!”
“They’re serious,” Thomas said to Redding.
She broke into a smile.
“We already have a car seat, but we needed an extra base for my husband’s car,” Thomas said.
She became emotional, and her voice trailed off.
“Now he has a car seat, a whole car seat,” she said. “I’m so excited.”
Brittanie Silvertooth gets applauded by other expectant moms as she wins a prize during a shower game. The March of Dimes had a mass baby shower for expectant moms at Ft. Carson on Thursday, December 13, 2012. Photo by JERILEE BENNETT/THE GAZETTE
Krisanne Coker and her husband, Sgt. Samuel Coker, look at some of the baby gifts that they and other expectant moms received during a mass shower party at Ft. Carson. The March of Dimes gave the party for the expectant moms on Thursday, December 13, 2012 Photo by JERILEE BENNETT/THE GAZETTE