Labor of Love; support & education for pregnancy, birth & parenting

When you imagined feeding your baby did you see yourself snuggling with your wee one with milk and love hormones flowing? Did you think of it as natural and therefore automatic? Is your reality completely different than your image? La Leche League is here to support you through the trying times until feeding gets easier. Thursday Jan 20 10-11:30 PST FREE... Online RSVP https://facebook.com/events/s/i-thought-it-would-be-easier/3090081581265946/

What's happening with your mom bod? Let's talk about it. Shoulder pain from nursing? Low back pain from baby wearing? Sagging outsides or insides? Diastasis, scars, or dysfunctional pelvic floors? Eek! There is lots you can do to turn the ship around.

Have you had trouble with recurring plugged ducts or mastitis? There can be lots of reasons for this which is why it is best to talk to someone trained in unwinding human milk feeding problems rather than Dr. Google. Once you receive guidance on what may be going on for YOU consider adding this herbal remedy to your list of possible solutions. Some women are finding it helpful. https://www.wishgardenherbs.com//happy-ducts-lactation-sup

Why do I feel embarrassed when he struggles at handover and cries out for me? Why do I feel like I've messed up somewhere along the way? Why do I race ahead on ...the walk home so that the other mums can't see me carrying my four-year-old? What am I afraid of? To be seen to be mothering too hard, for too long? Do their hearts suddenly outgrow us, just because their legs did? Why is so much value placed on early independence? Why do we so heavily praise the well-behaved, the resilient, the brave, the ones who smash those arbitrary milestones, the ones who can soothe themselves? What about the clingy ones? The 'difficult' ones. The ones that keep us up all night. The ones that struggle with change, transitions and...pants. The ones that just need us that much and for that long. The childlike children. Is there not merit to be found there too? Something actually quite lovely about *that*? What is the big rush? Is there supposed to be a cutoff to this intensive mothering of mine? Is it three, four, five... twenty-five? No more apologies. I am his mum and I always will be. ------------------------------------------------- Art by: @thelexmarie (www.lexmarie.com) Words: Karen McMillan (Mother Truths) Taken from "Warm Like Summer: Little Stories of Early Motherhood" Available to buy worldwide on Amazon: https://linktr.ee/mother_truths #repost Mother Truths For support in your gentle parenting journey, pick up a copy of our gorgeous spring issue - with beautiful FREE pregnancy journal - from supermarkets throughout NZ and newsagents throughout Australia! To find your local stockist, or to subscribe, visit https://linktr.ee/TheNaturalParentMagazine

Read the comments. They are priceless.

Need a little feeding support TODAY? Join La Leche League Leader Alexandria Elizabeth Porter and other human milk feeding parents @ 5pm.

Let's talk about it! MaMa Mentoring is a free supportive space to bring your thoughts and feelings about mothering. Gather tips, tricks and parenting ideas to smooth your way forward. Cause let's face it we could all use a bit of support now and then.

Topic: Help Me Celebrate It was December 1957 and a heavily pregnant mother of 2 boys under the age of 4 somehow managed to pull off a festive Christmas for her growing family. Three days later I came into this world at Kaiser hospital in Oakland, CA. My mother had labored in the standard maternity ward with beds lined up all together in one large room. Women were made to lay down in bed and shushed and shamed by the nurses if they made noise. When she was ready to push she w...as wheeled down to the delivery room. My mother has almost no memory of these events because she was given an amnesiac drug to sedate her. She really doesn't remember giving birth. Her first clear memory was the next day in the postpartum ward when the nurse brought me in to feed. That's the story of my birth. Next Tuesday is my Birthday! You can help me celebrate. Mothers, birth, babies, and children are my passion. Rather than creating a Facebook fundraiser where I would have to choose one organization to ask you to donate to, I am leaving it wide open. Please find an organization that fits with my passion. Something that supports mothers and children or helps move birth further toward a mother friendly baby friendly experience for all. You can be totally anonymous. Ideas: Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative United Way One that supports foster kids and their families La Leche League International, USA or SLO Noor Foundation CAPSLO ICAN Center for Family Strengthening Money tight? Think of all the amazing ways you support your offspring. Then love on your family today.

Those last weeks of pregnancy seem to last forever. It could be worse. You could be a salamander! Thank you to author artist Maja Safstrom for her charming book Amazing Facts About Baby Animals.

The IRTH app takes the Bias(B) out of BIRTH. "In many ways, they were my peers. We went to the same schools, we worked at some of the same places, but in terms of my life circumstances, they were not my peers. And so how much better it would have been for me to understand what that hospital experience was like for someone who was actually like me." Kimberly Seals Allers, author Mocha Manuel to a Fabulous Pregnancy The irth app is a new tool for people of color and their allie...Continue reading

Looking for clear guidelines from a women's health physical therapist for what you should and shouldn't do in the first weeks after birth? Want to know how to use what you are sensing in your body to guide whether you are ready for the next step back to your new you? This inexpensive eBook is for you! Packed with info plus videos for how to safely transform your body from the pregnant state to a nonpregnant state. This is not about losing weight or looking pretty. Beyond Birthing's eBook targets the physical health of your pelvic floor and core in a slow and careful way so you heal and protect yourself from organ prolapse during this critical stage in your physical life. Thank you to author Sophie Villeneuve. THIS is what women need. https://beyond-birthing.com/products/

This Tuesday in MaMa Mentoring we will dive into communication from in the womb through toddlerhood. This free support group is open to all mothers and others who are caring for infants through preschoolers.