Let's talk about something different!
Ear piercing! 
Background story: when our daughter, Hazel, was about 6 months old, we got her ears pierced at a common mall shop. They assured us that they had four years of experience piercing babies/kids, and were confident in their abilities.
Well, they sucked. They pierced one ear in the "normal" earring part of her earlobe, and the other ear was literally 2cm from the edge of her earlobe. I was so worried that it would get caught on something and get ripped out, that I just took them out after a short time.
Fast forward seven years, it's almost Hazel's 8th birthday, and for her present, she wanted her ears re-pierced! I vowed NOT to go back to that mall shop, but to do a little more research.
I came to the conclusion that the best option to pierce her ears was at a ... local TATTOO SHOP! I've got several tattoos, myself, so we're very comfortable in tattoo shop settings. My next step was to find one that had experience and was comfortable piercing kids/babies earlobes.
That's when I found Tattoo Alchemy. I emailed them first, to let them know Hazel had old holes that were not symmetrical, etc. They confirmed that it would be no problem!
They only accept walk-ins for piercings, and we decided to go this past Saturday. We got there and completed two forms (for liability and minor authorization). They needed the forms to be notarized, which they can do in house for $10!
After completing the forms and paying, we hung out in the small lobby while Cristen prepared the piercing room. After just a few minutes, she brought us back. Cristen was FANTASTIC. She cleaned the earlobes, marked where the holes would be, confirmed with us that it looked good, and before we knew it, she was done!
Our daughter was so brave and happy that it took less than 5 minutes to do. She feels (and looks) like she's so much older -- don't grow up too fast babygirl!
In summary, I HIGHLY recommend Cristen at Tattoo Alchemy for your kid's piercing needs. She was respectful, professional, and everything was quick and clean! Check her out, and let her know we sent you!
