Meet Brianne....Our Latest "Feel Better Campaign" Recipient

"I plan for the future, live for today and cherish every moment I have with those that I love, because you never know what tomorrow will bring" ~ Brianne

This is Brianne.  She is a 20 year old college student who was diagnosed at birth with cystic fibrosis.  We are extremely happy to announce that Brianne is our latest recipient of our "Feel Better Campaign".  You can read more about our "Feel Better Campaign" on our recently updated website here:  FEEL BETTER CAMPAIGN

We are very excited about this campaign because we both have seen how much a nice, beautiful, dignified, designer hospital gown can help in the treatment and healing of a person dealing with a difficult diagnosis.  We have had so many women wear our gowns and express such gratitude for how our hospital gowns made a difference in their hospital stays, radiation treatments and rehabilitations.  We feel truly blessed because while each of these women thank us for designing our hospital gowns, we thank them for teaching us so many life lessons!! 

When we read stories of women dealing with tough diagnoses, we immediately want to give each of these women one of our hospital gowns.  The "Feel Better Campaign" is a small way in which we can give back to some of these women and we encourage you to read about our campaign and give back as well!!  We plan to give at least three gowns per year to a deserving person.  You can help us by nominating someone that you feel would benefit from one of our hospital gowns and may not be able to afford to purchase one themselves.  Our nomination form can be found here: NOMINATIONS

We would like to share more about our latest recipient Brianne.  Brianne recently wrote to us about how much she loved our designer hospital gowns.  She has had to spend plenty of days in the hospital and always dreads wearing the oversized, dingy, standard hospital gowns.  She loved that our hospital gowns were chic and provide dignity by covering the back side completely.  She also loved the fact that our gowns come in many sizes, including extra-small!!  Brianne chose our "Susan" gown and we think she looks fabulous in it.

Brianne is a very family oriented girl and recognized that we shared this value with her when she saw that we named our company and all of our hospital gowns after family members who we loved and were important in our lives.  Brianne is now living at home due to an increase in the number of lung infections she has had and decrease in her lung function. Her immediate and extended family are a huge support to her and to her brother and sister who are also living with cystic fibrosis.

Brianne graduated with honors from high school and completed two years of college away from home before having to move back home due to more medical problems related to her cystic fibrosis.  She is a go getter, however, as she still attends junior college near home, gardens in the backyard when she can with her mom, and enjoys going to jazz concerts with her dad.  She tries to live the most normal life that she can but her normal is very different from that of  the average person. 

Brianne spends four hours a day doing breathing treatments and chest percussion. She also takes 15 pills a day, needs to eat 4,000 calories a day to maintain her weight, and attempts at least 20 minutes of exercise a day to strengthen her lungs. When she is sick, she adds another hour to those treatments and 4-5 more pills a day!!!

With all those pills and treatments, Brianne remains so very positive which is what we love so much about her.  She recently told us the following statement, which really inspired us and made us realize that she is a perfect candidate for our "Feel Better Campaign":

"I have learned over the years that a positive attitude and outlook on life goes a LONG way.  Why waste my time being upset over the things I personally have no control over.  Sure, I have bad days where I really hate Cystic Fibrosis, but most days I am able to smile and find the beauty and good in my life. One thing I've learned about Cystic Fibrosis is that you never know what will happen. So I plan for the future, live for today, and cherish every moment I have with those that I love, because you never know what tomorrow will bring."

After the Loss of Twins Delivered at Six Months, Amy Celebrates The Miracle of a New Baby Girl!!

In February, we were SO excited to see a beautiful new mama had posted the most adorable pictures on our Annie & Isabel facebook page!  Amy looked so chic and stylish in her "Evelyn" Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown as she welcomed sweet baby Lucy Valentine.  We absolutely love when our customers post pictures on our facebook wall as it gives us great pleasure to see women enjoying their stylish hospital gowns!! 

Here is what Amy said about her experience receiving and wearing an Annie & Isabel hospital gown:

"I can't even begin to express my love for my Annie & Isabel gown.  My hubbie and I had just faced delivering little 6 month twins that we lost the previous year where I stayed in the hospital for a month and lived in my normal dreary hospital gown.  So when we were blessed on our 9th cycle of IVF with another little miracle I couldn't have been more excited to receive the most AMAZING gift from a dear friend and fellow Annie & Isabel devoted fan.  It seriously was the biggest HIT at my shower and had the entire room in oooh's and ahh's!  I was so excited to slip it on after my c-section from delivering our little miracle Lucy Valentine!!  It truly made me feel like a million bucks and I loved how bright and cheery it made me feel!  We are already back on our IVF cycles trying for another miracle!!!  Annie & Isabel, you truly made our most amazing experience in life a million times even more exciting! All thanks to you!!  

All my love, Amy xoxo"

Amy....we are keeping our fingers and toes crossed for another miracle in your family! Thanks so much for sharing your story and first pictures with us.    

UPDATE!!! June 2012

Amy and her husband Bill were once again blessed with another little miracle baby girl! She welcomed Lola Love into this world and was able to rock her Evelyn gown again! What a GORGEOUS family!!!

Super Model, Shea Anne, Wears Annie & Isabel Hospital Gowns For The Birth of Her Second Child

norellecosmetics.com

In March, 2011, we were introduced to Shea Anne, a beautiful model who was expecting her second son in May of 2011. Shea is affilitated with the online magazine, Mom's Advice Magazine. Two online issues of Mom's Advice Magazine have published so far and it is a really wonderful, packed with loads of information for moms and moms-to-be! We were asked to become a sponsor of this magazine and, because we loved the exciting things they had planned, we jumped right in.


She is absolutely gorgeous and is an incredibly sweet person.  She wore two of our Annie & Isabel hospital gowns for the birth of her baby this past May. She chose the "Elizabeth" and the "Isabel" designer hospital gowns and looked beautiful in both. Here is a little video from right after her baby boy was born in her "Elizabeth" hospital gown.  There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of a baby's first cries after birth and we feel honored that she is sharing such a special moment with all of us.

We thought it would be fun to do a little Q&A with Shea!

A&I: How long have you been modeling and working in photography?

Shea: "I've been modeling since I was 16 and have been doing photography for about 2 years now".

A&I: What are some of your most memorable modeling jobs that you have done?

Shea: "Working with brands such as the J Lo campaign, Speedo, Daks, cover of Pregnancy & Newborn, and Fit Pregnancy".

http://www.pnmag.com/

A&I: Are you planning on focusing more on photography and Mom's Advice Magazine now, or will you continue to model, or both?

Shea: "I am focusing on the magazine! I still model, but only for clients that I've been working with for years as it is not my main focus anymore. I'm trying to encourage and help other moms through the magazine".

A&I: What did you like most about your Annie & Isabel designer hospital gowns?

Shea: I loved that the back of the gown was not open, so I could actually walk around!! They are also great looking. I love the fact that I looked different than anyone else in the hospital because having a child is supposed to be a special time so you want to look special as well".

Below is the latest online issue of Mom's Advice Magazine. Be sure to check out pages 47 for Shea's story on wearing her Annie & Isabel hospital gowns and page 52 to see our ad. Thank you Shea for including Annie & Isabel in your fall issue and for supporting mom owned businesses! Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy!

Jessica Welcomes Georgia Jane in The Anita Hospital Gown

This is Jessica with her beautiful baby girl Georgia Jane in the Anita designer hospital gown. Jessica is a local Sacramento mother who was able to take advantage of our partnership with Brenda Bisharat Photography... as you can see by these beautiful pictures of Jessica and Georgia just days after her arrival! If you are local to the Sacramento area and haven't heard about this amazing opportunity with award winning Bisharat Photography, please read HERE.

Here is what Jessica had to say about her experience wearing a custom Annie & Isabel hospital gown for her birth and recovery,

"I was five months pregnant with my second child and was scratching my head trying to find a really unique and fun baby shower gift for one of my best friends having her first baby. Of course, gifts for the baby are so much fun, but special gifts for the mommy are just as cherished. 


I remembered when I had my son Jackson, almost two years ago, how dingy I felt in those worn out hospital gowns. At the most beautiful time in your life, you want to look and feel as great as you can... you know those pictures will make their way around! I remembered hearing about Annie & Isabel hospital gowns and thought, that's perfect!! Who wouldn't love and appreciate that?!


Sure enough, at the baby shower the hospital gown was a huge hit! All the mothers repeatedly said, as the box was passed around, "why didn't they have these when we had our babies?!" The best thing about it, was the darling packaging and keepsake fabric. 


So, naturally I had to buy one for the birth of my daughter, Georgia Jane in April. The Anita gown was so comfortable fitting and looked great in pictures!"


~Jessica, Sacramento, CA

Such a special photograph ~ 4 generations

Jessica and her mother Janie are about to embark on a very exciting adventure. Tomorrow, September 1st, will be the grand opening of Puddles... a children's boutique in Lyon Village on the corner of Fair Oaks Blvd and Munroe in Sacramento. Click on their name to check out their site and learn more!

Survival ~ A Cancer Warrior's Lessons Through Poetry

Survival

The meaning of survival

may be different than you've heard.

It doesn't mean you're cancer free.

It doesn't mean you're cured.

It doesn't mean you're through with treatment,

or that your hair is growing back.

It doesn't mean your scars have healed.

No, it doesn't mean any of that.

Survival means that you've decided

to live each moment of your life,

and to never let the sun go down

on anger, hate or strife.

Survival means you seize each day

and live your joy out loud,

and you look for silver linings

behind each and every cloud.

Survival is not a timeline

and it's not just a prognosis.

It's the way you decide to live your life

after diagnosis.

You can count days on a calendar

but there's a better way.

Survival is not measured in tomorrows

but in the value of today.

© Molly Shoemaker Schaechtele

Have you ever met someone briefly, by chance, that left an unforgettable imprint on your life??  That is how I feel about Molly Schaechtele, the woman who wrote the above poem.  Molly has been fighting cancer for twenty two years.  She was diagnosed in 1989 with colon cancer and again in 1990.  She enjoyed being cancer free until she was diagnosed in 2006 with breast cancer and, with further testing, due to this second diagnosis, also discovered she had stage IV colon cancer that is considered incurable.  While most people would throw in the towel, and feel a lot of self pity and possibly give up the good fight, Molly has not. She has a heart of gold and truly does see the "silver lining behind each and every cloud." She lives life to the fullest and appreciates and savors each and every day she has.  She has a lot of life lessons to teach and I wanted to share her story because I think we can all learn from her.

I was introduced to Molly when she contacted us recently after we were featured in a local magazine "Inside East Sacramento".  She had just been discharged from the hospital (the third hospital stay in only a couple of months) and she thought an Annie & Isabel hospital gown might be just the thing she needed to cheer herself up in the event that she had to return to the hospital.

Molly purchased the Anita and Evelyn hospital gowns.....so perfect for her bright and cheery personality, don't you think?!

She, however, gave me a bigger gift.....two books of poems that she has written and published about her journey with cancer and the life lessons it has taught her.  Each book is small and includes poems that will make you smile, a couple that might make you cry, and most that will make you realize that even if you are fighting a beast like cancer, there is so much more life to live and treasure!!

If you want to be inspired or help inspire someone going through difficult times then this book might be just the perfect gift! 

I leave you with one last poem from Molly that demonstrates so well her undefeatable spirit!!!

It's A Matter of Scheduling

You tell me that I'm going to die,

that I should put my affairs in order.

'Tis easier said than done, my friend-

Quite frankly,I'm a hoarder.

You tell me that I'm going to die

and soon will be departed.

but there are projects I must finish

that are only half-way started.

You tell me that I'm going to die

but how can that be true?

I must update my will and trust,

and my life insurance too.

You tell me that I'm going to die

but I still have rooms to paint

and curtains to hang and trim to fix

before my house is truly quaint.

You tell me that I'm going to die

and the thought just makes me dizzy.

so if you don't mind, I just won't die...

Quite frankly, I'm too busy!


© Molly Shoemaker Schaechtele

Thank you Molly for reaching out to us.  You are a true inspiration and I feel blessed to have been touched by your outlook and love of life. 

Molly's Schaechtele's books can be purchased through ebay here:

Tickle Me Pink

Dad-2-Be Joe Goes Shopping For The Perfect Annie & Isabel Hospital Gown

It is always fun when a husband purchases an Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown for his wife.  When we first met Joe, we were displaying our hospital gowns at Sacramento Magazine's,  the "Best of Sacramento" event. We were thrilled to be chosen by this popular local magazine as the "The Best Gift for the Expectant Mom".

Joe's wife, Becky, is the Marketing Director for Sacramento Magazine and was one of the main coordinators of the "Best of Sacramento Magazine" event.  She also happened to be pregnant!  She made sure to bring her husband by our booth and subtly let him know which Annie & Isabel hospital gown was her favorite. 

A few weeks later, we were in contact with Joe as he wanted to surprise his wife with an Annie & Isabel hospital gown for Christmas.  He came over to our office and what a joy it was to meet him.  This was their first child and you could see the excitement in his eyes and the love he has for his wife...which was so sweet to see!

We received lovely testimonials from both Joe & Becki and they were also fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of the partnership we have with Brenda Bisharat Photography who took some amazing pictures of their new family in the hospital.

Here is what Joe had to say about his experience purchasing an Annie & Isabel hospital gown:

"After seeing the Annie and Isabel gowns at Best of Sacramento, my wife had implied as to which one she would like if we were to get one for our daughter's delivery.  (We were 4 months pregnant at the time) I purchased the gown as one of my wife's Christmas presents.  Upon opening it Christmas morning, my wife said "look baby girl, now I'm ready for delivery."


I worked with Anna and Selena from the company and they helped me to pick the right size and confirmed that I had ordered the right print.


Enclosed was an offer for Brenda Bisharat Photography to come to the hospital and do a free photo shoot with our newborn.  She was so amazing and was able to capture many amazing photos.  We wound up buying quite a few pictures from her because we liked so many but it was definitely difficult to narrow our selection down!"

Here is what Becky shared about her experience with her "Evelyn" Annie & Isabel hospital gown:

"We found out we were expecting about the same time I first learned about Annie and Isabel gowns.  A few months later, I saw them in person and my husband and I loved them.  I quickly decided which one I wanted to wear when I delivered our daughter.

One of the gifts I opened on Christmas morning was the Annie & Isabel gown.  I was so excited that I tried it on right away and "modeled" it for my husband.  As we neared out due date, it was one of the first things I packed to bring to the hospital.

When I went into active labor, I decided I'd save the gown for after the delivery.  It was so nice to shower and put on my beautiful gown that smelled fresh out of the dryer and hold our daughter, Cleo.  It was so soft and comfortable, as well.  I recommend your gowns to everyone!"

"My husband called Brenda Bisharat Photography to arrange for her to come to the hospital and take pictures.  I am so glad we took advantage of this wonderful opportunity.  We wouldn't have these first photos as a family and Brenda captured moments that would otherwise just be a memory.  The complimetary 5x7 is beautiful and there were so many great images, we ordered several more.  We even used these for the birth announcement (which I'll hopefully have mailed out before Cleo is in Kindergarten).

Thanks again!!"

~Becki, Sacramento, CA

Chris Welcomes Daughter in Her Annie & Isabel Designer Hospital Gown

 

This is Chris who recently welcomed her second daughter Olivia. Thank you Chris for sharing all these wonderful pictures of your delivery day wearing the Annie gown! You look gorgeous and we are so happy you enjoyed celebrating another baby girl with our pink designer hospital gown!

Here is what Chris had to say about her experience wearing an Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown,

"My girlfriend was my labor and delivery nurse and when she first came into the room she immediately commented on how cute my "Annie" gown was and then made me promise that when she has a baby... I'll get her one!! The delivery of my second child was filled with excitement and challenges. My delivery was less than 2 hours, but my recovery was over 10. Due to the circumstances, I was unable to shower until after 9pm. Throughout that time, I was happily wearing my Annie & Isabel gown. While I hated not being able to clean up, I loved that I was in something that was mine. I was able to be comfortable moving between rooms, between care takers, and unexpected visitors because I had full coverage! I loved that I could breastfeed without problems and that I had a bit of fashion while waiting to clean up! I hope I don't have to use my hospital gown for medical purposes in the future, but I'm appreciative to know that if I was ever to be admitted to the hospital, I'd have my own comfortable, back covering, super cute gown to bring with me. Thank you so much for designing such a wonderful product."