Annual Dickson County Community Baby Shower aids those expecting

Aug 01, 2023

By Sharon Lurie | on August 23, 2023

Welcoming a new addition to the family can be both full of excitement and fraught with anxiety. Kristen Emery and her team want to provide expecting parents with all they need to mollify the latter.

The eighth annual Dickson County Community Baby Shower was held last Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Dickson County Government Building in Dickson. Approximately 250 attendees came from far and wide to learn about what to expect when they’re expecting, meet vendors and healthcare providers to assist them with all aspects of the parenting journey and receive gift bags including things such as diapers, baby thermometers and first-year calendars.

According to Emery, the event began 10 years ago at TriStar Horizon as the Happy Birthday Baby Shower and was held there for six years. However, after a two-year break due to COVID-19 and new visiting policies at the hospital, the event needed a new location and was moved to the Dickson County Government Building and the name changed to Dickson County Community Baby Shower.

The event is planned each year with community partners including the Dickson County Health Department, UT Extension Dickson County, Drug Free Dickson, Highland Rim Head Start, TriStar Horizon, Imagination Library and Centerstone. Visitors attend the shower, listen to the information provided for new parents, learn about the various community services to help new parents, are given goody bags and get to register for raffles and door prizes including cribs, pack and plays and car seats. Emery said this year’s shower had 30 different information booths.

The event is open to anyone, though those who pre-registered were eligible for door prizes. Emery believes events like these are important to let those in Dickson know of all the resources available to expecting families right in their own county.

“There are so many organizations in our community who do so many wonderful things. Events like this allow you to go around and talk to actual people from the organizations. For instance, labor and delivery nurses were there, so families could learn more about the L&D unit at Tristar Horizon. Bloom and Blossom Lactation was there, so families could talk about how to get in-home help with lactation support. Mike Osman with the Fire Department was there with others doing car seat checks. Frontline CPR was there teaching the invaluable lifesaving skills. Plus, so many other people there to learn from. On top of this, attendees have the opportunity to win some truly awesome prizes. Our community is so blessed to have donors around that make this event possible each year,” Emery said.

For more information, visit the Dickson County Community Baby Shower page on Facebook.