In March 2009 my husband was on his way to Iraq for his second deployment and I was on my way to Europe to visit my parents who were living there at the time. Fast forward a few weeks and I was on my way home, sitting in the middle seat of the airplane. After 20 hours of travel I was home, tired and sore. As I crawled into bed I realized that I was LATE! The next morning I took a pregnancy test and surprise!!! I was so shocked, overjoyed, scared and excited. I instantly wanted to call my husband and tell him our exciting news....but I couldn't. There were no cell phones or direct lines in Iraq to reach him on, so I was at the mercy of the satellite phone he was able to use. Thankfully I only had to contain my excitement for 30 minutes before he called!
Fast forward a few weeks and I was at my 20 week anatomy scan. Our first little bundle was a girl! With my husband still gone and lots of time on my hands I pulled out my sewing machine and an old pair of my husbands unserviceable uniforms and made a blanket for our soon-to-arrive daughter. I posted pictures of my little project on Facebook and I had so many people asking me "where did you buy that!?" Then I had people requesting me to make a blanket for them. I did a few and there was still people wanting more. Thus Baby Battle Rattle was born! I looked around and there wasn't another business out there making baby items like mine for Military families. There were plenty of purses and bags and home decor for families to show their pride in their service member, but nothing for the littlest supporters.
In April 2010 I opened my shop, Baby Battle Rattle, on Etsy.com. It is currently where you can find baby accessories for every branch of the Armed Forces. Although we are a Marine Corps family, I grew up a Navy Brat and my Grandfather was Army. Each Branch has it's own unique customs, but we are all linked and the Military family is like one big extended family. As such, I wanted Baby Battle Rattle to help even the smallest military supporter show their pride in their service member.
