A record attendance of 641 people arrived for the 2nd Annual Family Expo & Big Latch On at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens on Saturday, August 3, 2013. The event surpassed last year’s attendance and of any in Texas, making The Big Latch On in Fort Worth the largest in the state.
Hosted by the Tarrant County Breastfeeding Coalition and Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas, The Big Latch On served as an opportunity to support the breastfeeding community and raise awareness for breastfeeding support and knowledge.
The event began Friday, August 2 with "Latch&Splash". Children and families arrived at the splash pad in Bicentennial Park in Crowley, Texas to support breastfeeding while enjoying an afternoon in the sun and water. There were 18 recorded children nursing at this event.
Saturday's Big LatchOn began in the morning as attendees visited with vendors in the Family Expo. The expo had it all, from birth professionals and IBCLC’s to jewelry, baby clothing and more. The children also had a spot to play, as Winks and Wiggles provided demo classes throughout the day, including baby and toddler yoga, and play and sign story time.
The official count for The Big Latch On began at 10:30am. Mothers and children sat on blankets throughout the garden while volunteers counted the breastfeeding moms. Volunteers recorded an outstanding number of 194 moms and babies breastfeeding simultaneously.
The youngest baby in The Big Latch On was 12 days old, and the oldest child was 47 ½ months. At the event were also three sets of twins and one tandem-nursing mother.
Event Chair, Jacque Gober-McCollum said she was excited to have a record number of mothers breastfeeding in The Big Latch On, but also reflected on the importance of the 250 other dads, grandparents and friends that came to support.
“This should go a long way to help normalize breastfeeding as the natural way to feed a baby,” she said.
View more pictures from The Big Latch On in Fort Worth here on their Facebook page. And, if you would like to learn more about The Big Latch On and it’s international events, visit their website here.