GABIT attendees thread

[lame moose (mocha)]

17days, 1hr, 56 min 51sec till christmas 75 days, 20 hrs, 10 min, 22sec till AT7

[NZNeep]

And 6 hours till my birthday!

[Nolamom]

[llp]

17days, 1hr, 56 min 51sec till christmas 75 days, 20 hrs, 10 min, 22sec till AT7

But who's counting!

[llp]

Happy Birthday Neep!

[SWMBOTGSG]

Very many happies to the Neeplet! (and her twin)

Huggles

Mumsey

[EH-T]

And 6 hours till my birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday to you and your sister!

[NZNeep]

N'aawww thanks guys!

(my sister's bday is tomorrow )

[Jolinar_of_Malkshur]

Hey everyone, not visited GW for months! Finally found a spare 5 minutes to get on here, and I hope you don't mind but I have a bit of a dilemma re: AT7 so just have a couple of questions. I feel really silly about all this, but I'm going with my gut instinct on a couple of options re: attending.

Backstory: Back when I bought my ticket I found out I was pregnant around the same time - double excitement! I didn't think much to the two things clashing at the time, but now that AT7 is getting closer, I feel torn on how to go about things...

Dilemma: My baby is only going to be around 22 weeks old when AT7 takes place, and he is exclusively breastfed and still will be by then. He often needs me nearby to fall asleep as we also co-sleep (sorry for the boring mom stuff that most people don't care about lol). Being naive as I was before he came along I assumed it'd be easy to do it all, I could leave the baby with my partner/family for 4 days, no problem! But with the way I've chosen to parent him in the end I don't feel that's possible

Here are my questions re: possible solutions, and any advice would be greatly welcomed!

1) Has anyone ever taken a baby along with them to a previous Gabit event? If so, how is this sorted out, eg would I need to arrange anything extra with staff and get permission? Would this even be allowed at this kind of event? (And for anyone wondering, I'm not one of those annoying parents that would let my kid disrupt things - if he was grizzly for any reason I'd be straight out of the room as quickly and quietly as possible so everyone can still enjoy things without a crying baby nearby )

2) If the answer to any of the above is "No way!" my other option (though a reluctant one, as I've waited 12 years to meet Amanda!) would be to try and pass my ticket on. I've looked into the rules for this and the way I understand it is it would be offered to the first person on the list of people waiting for a ticket, and I'd only have until then end of this month to sort this. So, is there even a list of waiting people this year? If so, would I realistically be able to sort this in such a short window of time?

3) Are there any other possible solutions I'm missing?

Sorry for the long post, I'm just feeling a bit lost on what to do with all this, and trying to come up with the best solution all round. Obviously my son is my priority so if I had to miss the event altogether then so be it, but if it's at all possible to find a middle ground and bring him along with me, I'd love to be able to do so as I doubt I'd ever get the opportunity to go to a Gabit event again (babies are expensive! Who knew? lol).

Thanks in advance for any help (and well done for making it all the way through my ramblings!)

[becky_preen]

Hi there. The main hall isn't really a suitable environment for a young child of baby. The light levels fluctuate the noise can go from very quiet to loud and racous in milliseconds! Even the most settled baby can become upset.

We have had babies in the past and for everyone's sake have the following policies

Parents with babies/small children must notify us in advance so that suitable seating off to the side at the back can be allocated where you can park a pram. When in the hall the baby and parent must sit in those seats and not in the main blocks. No car seats on the floor. Too easy to trip over in low light. Any grissles the parents must remove the child immediately and move away from the outer doors of the hall as noise can travel. This can mean you miss talks and other activities in the hall.

Babes in arms do not need their own ticket but they also don't get their own photo or auto allowance. (However I should point out having your picture with the baby is allowed. Ie babies don't count as elaborate props!). Please just be aware that there will be lots of people waiting for thier ops too so be considerate of others.

Absolutely no persons under sixteen are permitted in the cocktail party. If you have a cp ticket you will need to find a baby sitter or give it up.

Your best option would be to bring your partner along to babysit during the talks cp etc. . If they need you they can ask a steward at the door to get you. The hotels these days don't have sitter services due to child protection. GABIT cannot take responsibility for the baby and you shouldn't leave him with attendees you have only just met.

The hotel has nice ladies rooms where you can go to breast feed if you want some easy access privacy. But everyone should note you have a legal right to breast feed your baby in public and that would include the hall or the lobby and anyone who is offended by this need not bother complianing to GABIT you would be wasting your own and everyone else's time. We don't give refunds for narrow minded ness.

Best to email reg with your full name and then we can discuss your options further.

Best Becks

[ChristmasNevermore]

Hi all...super duper new here, so I apologize for the lack of avatar, etc. I won't personally be at GABIT, but Christmas Nevermore will!! ;-)

Speaking of...I just wanted to share about Christmas Nevermore, a new book by a friend of Amanda Tapping's, Marc Cadieux (@sreelmarc on Twitter). Here's some info:

Christmas Nevermore is an enthralling ecological fable for kids (and adults!) of all ages. It is an award-winning finalist in the 2013 USA Best Book awards. By posing the question, "What if Christmas ceased to exist?" the story highlights climate change and the sometimes damaging effects of industry in an innovative way. It has GORGEOUS original illustrations by graphic novelist Christina Zakhozhay (http://www.thebookofcontradictions.c...e-author/c20js).

Our hope is that the message of the book will remind people of the importance of family, culture and protecting the world that we live in this holiday season. A portion of the book's proceeds will benefit Sanctuary for Kids, a 501c3 organization (www.sanctuaryforkids.org), which was started by Amanda and the cast of Sanctuary (as many of you know). Also, in keeping with the "green" message of the book, each hard copy will be printed on 30% post-consumer recycled paper.

Here's what Amanda said about Christmas Nevermore:

"This is a beautiful story, richly told and wonderfully illustrated. It's a heartwarming tale with amazing young heroes and a great message. I am so proud to share this with my daughter. It inspires. A must read for kids of all ages." - Amanda Tapping, Actor and Executive Producer

I'm hoping you'll join us in spreading the message of the book. An autographed copy will be up for auction at GABIT!!! Please visit http://www.christmasnevermore.com, buy a copy of the book (pretty please!), and like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristmasNevermore. The more people that we can get to buy the book, the more money we can donate to Sanctuary for Kids! Anything you can do to help spread the word is greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks, everyone!

[NZNeep]

But everyone should note you have a legal right to breast feed your baby in public and that would include the hall or the lobby and anyone who is offended by this need not bother complianing to GABIT you would be wasting your own and everyone else's time.

I have nothing to add, just a high five for Becky.

[lame moose (mocha)]

Absolutely no persons under sixteen are permitted in the cocktail party. If you have a cp ticket you will need to find a baby sitter or give it up.



Best Becks

did you mean she has to give up the baby or just the cocktail ticket?

[becky_preen]

The ticket.

did you mean she has to give up the baby or just the cocktail ticket?

[EH-T]

Hi all...super duper new here, so I apologize for the lack of avatar, etc. I won't personally be at GABIT, but Christmas Nevermore will!! ;-)

Speaking of...I just wanted to share about Christmas Nevermore, a new book by a friend of Amanda Tapping's, Marc Cadieux (@sreelmarc on Twitter). Here's some info:

Christmas Nevermore is an enthralling ecological fable for kids (and adults!) of all ages. It is an award-winning finalist in the 2013 USA Best Book awards. By posing the question, "What if Christmas ceased to exist?" the story highlights climate change and the sometimes damaging effects of industry in an innovative way. It has GORGEOUS original illustrations by graphic novelist Christina Zakhozhay (http://www.thebookofcontradictions.c...e-author/c20js).

Our hope is that the message of the book will remind people of the importance of family, culture and protecting the world that we live in this holiday season. A portion of the book's proceeds will benefit Sanctuary for Kids, a 501c3 organization (www.sanctuaryforkids.org), which was started by Amanda and the cast of Sanctuary (as many of you know). Also, in keeping with the "green" message of the book, each hard copy will be printed on 30% post-consumer recycled paper.

Here's what Amanda said about Christmas Nevermore:

"This is a beautiful story, richly told and wonderfully illustrated. It's a heartwarming tale with amazing young heroes and a great message. I am so proud to share this with my daughter. It inspires. A must read for kids of all ages." - Amanda Tapping, Actor and Executive Producer

I'm hoping you'll join us in spreading the message of the book. An autographed copy will be up for auction at GABIT!!! Please visit http://www.christmasnevermore.com, buy a copy of the book (pretty please!), and like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristmasNevermore. The more people that we can get to buy the book, the more money we can donate to Sanctuary for Kids! Anything you can do to help spread the word is greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks, everyone!

Welcome super newbie.

Just to clarify, will other copies of the book be available for sale at the Gabit event or just the one at auction?