Tuesday, May 02, 2017

Nipples galore!

*NOTE:  PLEASE SHARE THIS BLOG POST!!!!!  (Read below to see why!)


Me & Pocket  ~  3.29.17

HEY, GUYS!  You might remember the below picture I posted on my personal Facebook page and my Hartley Hooligans Facebook page back in November of 2016 which was shared over 8,100 times. You may recall my plea for now discontinued Playtex latex fast flow nipples, the ONLY kind of nipple our Lola is able to use and how her dwindling latex nipple supply was in a world of hurt. You may remember my many nipple posts/tweets/memes/inappropriate comments (You're welcome). You may also have noticed that I've not updated you guys in a LONG while about #Nipplegate2016, and so I wanted to give you the 411 (Did I just date myself?!?! Shout out to Mary J!) on what's been goin' down the past 5 months!  

Reeeeeeeeally freakin' hard to find these bad boys in 2016 & beyond, yo...

Mrs. I Can't Do Things Like Everyone Else Because I Am A Creature Of Habit And Also A Real Freakin' G

The most awesome part of this whole nipple fiasco is that not only was my post shared a ton, but my desperate pleas were also ANSWERED.  My daily post office visits resulted in box after box and envelope after envelope filled with nothin' but nipples.  Every single day I would gather my stash in udder utter (tee hee!) delight that people cared so much to take the time to send me unused nipples they found in their basement or got from a friend.  You have NO IDEA what this has meant to us!  I offered to pay for the nipples and/or shipping, and every single time, I was told no.  The final tally of nipples we received was................ <DRUMROLL PLEASE!> .................. 357 nipples!!!!!!!!! 357!!!!!!!!!!!!  FAITH. OFFICIALLY. RESTORED in the human race, you guys.  OMG. Still in shock SO many of you took the time to send these to us.  We have been using them for the past 5 months, and honestly, I don't know what we'd have done if it weren't for all these nipples we were sent. They've been a LIFESAVER for our girl!

And on top of that, I got to hear the funniest man on the planet -- my hubby, Scott! -- drop the best comments EVER about "what better package could one possibly receive than a box full of nipples" or he'd coin a new term (Nipplemania, Nipplefest, NipNipNip, Nipply AF, #nipplesalldayerryday, Nipocalypse, Nipped Out, Mount Nipple, #nipsfordays... you name it!) or he'd sing, "Today was a good day" in his best Ice Cube voice after we'd get like 12 more packages of straight nipples.  He even threatened to have professional pictures taken of him (possibly buck nekked) amidst all the nipples strategically placed (which could or could not be a complete insult to him as a dude!) to cover his special parts.  (I won't mention how many times I've had nightmares of this very image since this threat was made!)   

Oh hot damn!   My daily P.O. run for awhile there looked like this!
What a teat, I mean TREAT!, it was to go pick up so many packages every day to help our girlie!!!

One day's loot!

We also got some extra bottles & bottle liners that people weren't using.  You guys are THE BEST!



Our "Thank You" for everyone who donated nipples/bottles/liners!

If for some reason you didn't receive yours (there were 2-3 that I could NOT find addresses for that were bought off eBay & some that bounced back to me), PLEASE send me your address via email or DM so I can get this out to you right away!  

The other side of things that I wasn't able to discuss until it was finalized was that I was in talks with Playtex Baby since the beginning about possibly helping us out with Lola's nipple dilemma.  They were originally trying to locate any remaining latex inventory not only in North America but also worldwide.  Their search came up empty.  After more consideration, they reached out to me about doing a production run of these latex nipples for Lola.  We discussed her special, unique situation, how we knew latex "expired" in three years' time, how we would hopefully (God willing) need this to be an ongoing thing for Lola, as bottles were the only way she could take her formula/liquids (since putting her under anesthesia to place a g-tube was not possible).  We talked about her needs, her requirements for # of nipples, the kindness of outsiders sending us their unused/used latex nipples, and where to go from here. We were ELATED to hear that Playtex Baby decided to send us 1,095 latex, fast flow nipples (one nipple a day for 3 years' time) for our Lola!

Not only did these nipples arrive a few days ago, but with them came an email from the General Manager of Playtex Baby stating that they would do production runs for 1,095 nipples for Lola at every three year interval after that as well!!! SO GRATEFUL that they still had the equipment available to produce these discontinued nipples for us and that they cared enough to do so.  A HUGE thank you to James MacIntosh and Carolyn Abbass for taking the time to discuss Lola's needs & for making the thoughtful decision to help her.  You will NEVER know what this has meant to us. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.

Note:  I wanted to clarify one important point, on behalf of Playtex Baby.  This was a VERY special situation with unique circumstances involved.  Playtex Baby receives many requests for specific products or help with discontinued items.  They do their best to always accommodate those in need, but it's not always possible to do so. We are eternally grateful they were able to help us, but I just wanted to make note that this is not always something within their capability to do.    


Our Playtex Baby shipment is here!!!

Zoom in to read the enclosed note... So much love.

GRATEFUL.


Lola is so happy!!!!!!!

Thank you, Playtex Baby Team!!!



As promised... 

#Nipplegate2017

My heart (& tub) is full!!!!!!!

For the record, our final nipple tally from everyone who shipped us nipples plus what Playtex donated was 1,452!!!

ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY TWO!!!!!!!!  

1452, you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY NIPPLES!!!



I could NOT resist!!!

And before you all freak out, all the nipples were sealed in plastic bags
and will be boiled before the first use!  No doggy germs or bodily fluids here.

I will spare you the pics of Scott though.  HA!

True story.
Especially up in here!

Thank you ALL so much for your kindness & generosity toward our Lola.
You will NEVER know what this has meant to us that you stepped up in such a HUGE WAY during our time of need.

This.  Sooooo much this.


All I know is this:
  1. My faith in humanity is restored.  Across the freakin' board.
  2. I am a loyal Playtex Baby customer FOR LIFE.
  3. Every chance I get to pay it forward to others in need, I intend to do so.
  4. Playtex Baby deserves soooo many props for how they are helping our Lola for the rest of her life.
  5. Sharing this blog post as much as possible will get Playtex Baby the credit they SO deserve!!!
  6. To my longtime followers & those who helped us by sending nipples to Lola -- You guys are THE BEST!!!  We love you so very much. 

xo

8 comments:

shelbyjolicoeur said...

YAAAAAAY!!!So happy for Miss Lola <3 <3 <3! This story totally started my day off right, :) And thank you to Playtex Baby fo' shizzle! :D

Unknown said...

Beyond wonderful.

Charity Lyon said...

Woohoo! Thank you, Playtex Baby, for being so kind and generous to Miss Lola and all the Hartley Hooligans. These pictures crack me up while my eyes are filling with tears! Strange combo. Lola...laid back, with her nipples in her arm and her Bok in her hand...I can hear Snoop Dog now! 🤣 Love you guys!

LPK said...

Awesome! So happy that both the "common folk" and corporate America came together to make this happen. As you say, faith restored!

Ren Chen said...

Those nipple jokes are cracking me up! As a mom of two girls-- and, ya know, as a human being, I love to read about your family

jane said...

I have a daughter with 13 q minus and I remember way back when having two nipples for premature babies that were given to me by the hospital. She could not suck well enough for regular nipples. Then it took years to teach her to drink from a glass which she still doesn't do all that well at age 45. She drinks from a glass and then toward the end tips it up too far and pours it down her front and into her bowl. Just can't keep her from doing it. Good luck with your nipple supply and a big dose of respect to the people who answered your call.

Unknown said...

How awsome is that? So glad that lola has her nipple supply without the worry. Love and hugs all xxxx

Unknown said...

Do you know any place that I can currently get the playtex latex brown nipples

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