Mothering By Nature Center

Coming soon...

It has been a long time since I've wrote anything. Way too long. So much has happened since last checking in. But today, I sit here in complete silence just thinking. Thinking about change. Wondering if I can really do this. Questioning if NWI is really ready. Here is the story......

C.H.O.I.C.E.S. ~ Choices in Healthy-birth, Offering Information, Communication, Education & Support is a non-profit group that holds free monthly community meetings promoting a healthy pregnancy, gentle birth experiences, breastfeeding & informed parenting. When we started having meetings at the community center in early 2004, the interest in what we were doing really took off. Our group has done an awesome job at reaching families in NWI and it shows with attendance rates that average 20 something adults per month. Not too bad, considering our meetings occur in a little farming town, where most have to drive at least a 20 minutes to attend our meetings.

Then, in early 2007, a vision. What if CHOICES became an actual center. A place where families could find us Monday - Saturday for support, resources, classes, groups, products. The idea looked good on paper, but on the web, it was hard to find anything like this out there. The idea couldn't be put to rest, so in late 2008, Mothering By Nature was formed for this vision in the works. Baby steps, and patience, the timing wasn't quite right yet.

 

Blessed by a great friend, Mothering By Nature became an actual brick & mortar boutique in the fall of 2010. A perfect place inside of an existing business, for a trial of labor, so to speak. Nature's Cupboard Health Food Store offered us affordable rent and a space size of 11 X 7. We watched, waited, and listened to see what the community would do with such a place.

Here we are one year later. Mothering By Nature is taking baby steps again. The vision of an actual center, with support, resources, classes, groups, products is finally about to be completely born. There are a ton of hormones flowing right now and a doula is desperately needed now more than ever before. Ohhh baby, here we go.

~ Coming in October 2011 ~

Mothering By Nature Center

255 Indiana Ave Suite 1

Valparaiso, Indiana 46383

Bonding for a better world

I noticed yesterday while driving how pretty some of the trees are are. Yea, Autumn is really here, the trees are showing their beauty with splashes of red, orange and yellows. The air is getting colder. I dread winter. Where does the time go? It seems week after week, time goes by so fast. It doesn't help to be so busy all of the time, and I'm not sure that is the way one should really carry on. We lost power yesterday for an hour, no computer or tv, or anything electric. I thought how simple (and harder!) life was for people back in the day. Sure there was more work, but there was also more connection with family and the Earth, and more time to just be present in the moment.

This connection and being present in the moment takes me to thinking about Mothering By Nature and much of what is being promoted within the little boutique ... Attachment parenting ways, wearing your baby in a sling, nursing your baby, being nice to our planet. Dr. James McKenna said this so well last weekend, talking about bonding, nursing, sleeping with your baby, and how humans are very premature mammals at the time of birth. They NEED to be skin to skin and carried. Babies WANT to be with mommy and daddy, not in some fancy nursery.

While the power was out, I sat on the porch watching hubby play with our 8 year old. I thought about bonding and how it really never ends. Bonding doesn't end when the baby out grows the baby carrier or when they don't want to nurse anymore. It continues on. Humans desire to feel a connection and acceptance from others at birth, and beyond. Mothering By Nature is just a step in the right direction to creating an attachment to baby, to our children, to our families. Bonding could change the world. So go ahead, let em sleep in the middle. Listen to them. Take moments everyday to just be present with children no matter their age. Be careful with your words, they are extremely powerful. Amazing how we can all make a diference, right here at home, and it doesn't cost anything. From one generation to the next, you can share the love and pass it on ... go ahead, you have much to give and much to gain.

A slow down and be thankful moment

Again, my second day off in a row. It's quiet here. All morning I've thought about Mothering By Nature (gotta get the site done!), the CHOICES meeting tomorrow, and a job opportunity working at a health food store. I've thought about a birth mom who will soon be giving the awesome gift of life to an anxiously awaiting mommy and daddy. I've thought about a friend who just had cancerous polyps removed from her colon. I've thought about how happy it made me feel when my 21 year old waved to me while passing by in his vehicle, and about his bouncing happy puppy who can't seem get enough play time. I've thought about the ground hog prediction of a longer winter and wondering why I live in Indiana. Serious stuff or silly, life is just full of all sorts of things isn't it? We tend to take the good stuff for granted, and expect our lives to go in that direction. When it doesn't, watch out. It's not fair. I guess our experiences ~ good and bad ~ help to form who we become. Today, I can say that I felt a new appreciation for the everyday things that are easily taken for granted like hot water, smiling happy children and the sun shining down on the snow. Today, I had a slow down and be thankful moment. Who knows where the path will lead for any of us. As for me, I'll just follow at a steady pace ~ walking though instead of running.

Gestating Mothering By Nature

It's January, and freezing out there! This is my second day off in a row, and that alone is no excuse to finally, finally, finally get around to doing something with a website I've had for 9 months. Yep, bought it, thought about it, and have done nothing with it. Until yesterday. The website is just about good enough to publish. Mothering By Nature has actually been a place in the works for some time now. A physical, brick & mortar place. I have stressed over it and still am not sure that NWI is nearly ready for something that is natural, holistic and organic minded. In the mean time, I'm selling some goods and plowing on through with CHOICES, the non profit natural birth & parenting network. CHOICES has been more successful than I ever imagined. A birth-day celebration is coming up soon for it, 7 years old of monthly meetings. Wow. Time flies. So the waiting game is on and the gestation period of a website ~ any day now, Mothering By Nature will be born.

My blogging beginning

I am blogging. Finally. After a few years or more of thinking about it and saying, "I should blog that thought," here I am. Hmmm, what to say, what to say. I could start with it being my birthday yesterday, the freezing cold October weather, or my kids who eat constantly. Or maybe not. Maybe you'll share in my excitement at making $125.00 on 10 pieces of kids clothing on ebay that I just sold, or how delighted I was to have my sis want to come to church with me on Sunday. Oh Man, I can see this blogging thing could turn out to be a big deal on my end. I have this feeling my butt may get bigger from sitting here. Oh my. Maybe this blogging thing isn't such a good idea after all!