Military Mom Makes Connections at Star-Spangled Babies® Shower
Petty Officer 2nd Class Estelamerity Tiu joined the Navy in 2022 to broaden her horizons and find a stable career post-COVID-19 pandemic. She was studying international business and political science at the University of Tampa in Florida but when COVID hit, she stopped attending classes and had no job.
She has since deployed to the Pacific and is currently stationed in San Diego, California, where she works as a personnel specialist and lives with her husband, Geovanni Laureano, a stay-at-home dad.
Estelamerity and Geovanni have no family support in San Diego, and when she got pregnant, they looked for resources that could help.
For the couple, pregnancy had previously come with complications.
“This baby was our rainbow baby,” she said, adding that the couple experienced two miscarriages.
Their son, Fa’amemelolo’ualofa Tui-Laureano, turned 6 months old in May. His name is Samoan in honor of Estelamerity’s heritage. They nicknamed him Melo.
After Melo was born, Estelamerity’s friend and fellow service member told her about a special baby shower being hosted for military families by national nonprofit Operation Homefront.
“I loved it. It was very emotional because it was so welcoming.” – Petty Officer 2nd Class Estelamerity Tiu
Operation Homefront’s Star-Spangled Babies® program is dedicated to supporting service members and their growing families. The program has provided vital baby supplies to more than 21,000 military moms since 2008.
The baby shower filled a gap for the Tiu family. They received a wealth of gifts and baby items from diapers to wipes. She also enjoyed the support.
“I don’t have family here,” she said. “It’s just me and my husband so we did not get to have a shower.”
The diapers she received came in handy right away, too. Melo weighed more than 9 pounds at birth, and the new parents used the bigger sizes immediately.
Overall, Estelamerity said, she was “blown away” by all the gifts, resources, and volunteer support.
“I loved it,” she said. “I was very emotional because it was so welcoming and the vibe was very colorful and warm, especially as a mother who never had a baby shower before. I made good connections and got really good advice.”
