Dylan on The Today Show

So it took a little longer than I hoped for Dylan’s first national media gig (ha!) but she had the good fortune to appear on a Today Show spot, which aired on June 23rd. The spot is about baby food, and the piece was hosted by the lovely and engaging Jenna Wolfe, who is expecting her first baby girl this year! So,where to begin…

Well, the opportunity arose when The Baby Grocery Store posted on their Facebook page about a “national media opportunity”.  I immediately jumped on that shizzle!! I hunted down the cutest pictures of Dylan I could find, and e-mailed them over on a Friday night while drinking wine.

For the record, this was the photo magic that sealed the deal:

 

So I heard back from Allison at TBGS with an e-mail saying something like, “You’ve been selected for our media opportunity. Shhh it’s a secret! The Today Show is coming to TBGS!” and gave a few logistical details. I submitted a short bio, and then my next step was to show up the day of filming.

I wasn’t exactly sure how to prepare for the big day. I didn’t know if just Dylan would be on TV, or if I would be on TV as well…just to hedge my bets, I put on a kabuki mask full of makeup and the only pseudo-decent outfit I own right now. I tried a frilly white dress on Dylan…but the funny thing about her is, she looks uber-weird in girly dresses. Maybe it has to do with her boy name? I put her in a casual cotton romper to max her cuteness (and minimize awkwardness).

We arrived and I chatted with Darren (awesome founder of TBGS), and he gave me the lowdown on filming. There were 4 babies and 4 mommas there. The babes would eat some homemade baby food, and get as messy as possible while doing it. Then, the Today Show crew would direct us – so we moms may or may not be filmed. Thank sweet baby J for my kabuki mask!

The Today Show crew rolled in, including beautiful Jenna. I immediately liked her. She made lots of jokes in the realm of “what the eff do you do with a baby?" (To be clear, she didn’t say “eff” or any version of that…that’s Organoblonde paraphrasing). I remember that feeling well. Even after reading 20+ baby books – I’m not joking – I still was like, um, how do you work a baby? And people always tell you that you’ll just figure it out, or you “just know” when they come. I never used to totally get that, but guess what: I said that exact phrase to Jenna! Geez.

Side note: check out Jenna’s blog on pregnancy. It’s hilarious and a tad snarky, which I dig.

Que?

So the four adorable babies were strapped into high chairs and given some sweet homemade baby food to play with while the crew filmed. It was so cute, but the room was strangely silent. I looked like a Toddlers and Tiaras mom, flailing around on the sidelines to get Dylan to smile. PS: It didn’t work. She was fixated on Jenna the whole time, sporting a solid neutral face.

Then Jenna came on the scene and conducted an extremely hard-pressing interview:

 

Up next was a fabulous demonstration on how to make homemade baby food, given by Cynthia – who I really enjoyed chatting with. She is a local Happy Family rep, and even conducts small classes on baby health topics. Her presentation was one of the highlights of my day, and it was so whack that her demo didn’t make the segment. After her demo, Jenna interviewed the four mommas on if/how we make baby food.

After the babes changed into fresh clothes, we filmed one more bit…a stroll in front of the baby food aisle while being questioned by Jenna. This also didn’t make the segment, for which I am actually thrilled. I look and sound like a constipated chipmunk and GOOD GOD why didn’t someone tell me not to wear skintight white pants on TV?!?! See amateur iPhone footage shot by Shawn. (I hope this isn’t violating some media law by showing you unaired stuff).

 

At this point we were just about done, but I know Jenna, Darren, and other TGBS crew filmed a bit more, as it ended up in the segment.

One fascinating nug I heard from Jenna before we left was about a time she attended a baby talent audition in LA. She said that there is a room full of babies that look “just like that one” (pointing to Dylan! Gah!) all trying out for one role…and that they were like dogs responding to commands. The baby that could crawl, smile, and coo on demand would get the part. So we would be screwed. Dylan only knows how to smile on demand (just fake sneeze at her).

So, without further adieu….here is the clip!

http://www.today.com/video/today/52288151#52288151

Um……would you judge me if I told you I slept through the original airing?! I wish I had some legit excuse like a yoga class, but I was faceplanted in bed after a truly fabulous wedding of dear friends (which I officiated by the way!) But you should have seen my smug stage-mommy grin as I watched my baby’s giant blue eyes on DVR. Amazeballs!

So, did baby model agents come knocking down our door? Is Dylan set to star in the next Adam Sandler movie? Will you see her gummy smile on a Pampers box? Eff no (partially because I am not down with Pampers). My dreams of instant fame and a college fund are still in the works. But was it a cool, unique experience? Absolutely! And I really cannot thank The Baby Grocery Store enough for the fantastic experience. I’m so happy they got some national press because the store is just fabulous. Check it out if you are in Charlotte!