Take Your Time and Savor Each Moment

My first baby, Sarah, with her baby, Nicholas!

In Sunday School this morning, a friend and I were chatting about how fast time flies. She has four grandchildren, and I have one. It seems like they're growing faster than we can believe!

But it didn't always seem that way. I remember being so eager for my first baby to take her first steps, to be able to put her little arms around my neck and tell me she loved me, to play games with me, to be able to interact with other children and learn to share.

 It seems like just yesterday she and her friend Amber were silly eight year olds experimenting with the ceiling fan to see what would happen if they put a sock over the light. (I called the fire department because I thought something was on fire somewhere in the house. As the firemen arrived the girls mysteriously disappeared across the street to Amber's house....)

It wasn't too long ago that she was all dressed up for prom. Then before I knew what had happened she was off to college and a life of her own.

Now she's a mother right in the middle of dealing with a teething baby. I'm sure there are days she wonders when that first tooth will finally pop through and when Nicholas will be able to put his chubby little arms around her neck and tell her he loves her!

There's no hurry, Mama! Take time to savor each precious day with your baby. Treasure that first smile, that first giggle, that first hug. Don't be in a hurry for the next milestone, Just enjoy the memories you're making today. Time may seem to drag right now, but I promise you that before long you'll look back and wonder where the time has gone and marvel at all the amazing changes in your little one.

My baby is 14. He's counting down the days until he can get his learner's permit and start driving. I can promise you I'm not in a hurry at all for that to happen! I'm taking my own advice and treasuring every day!

Back to the Basics!

If you've been around A Nurturing Moment for a while you know that our passion is moms and babies. Basically, we're a boobies, bums, baby carriers and unique baby stuff store! (Try saying that 5 times fast!) Last year we bought Huffman's Baby Furniture and branched out quite a bit. Some of the branching out was really good, and some wasn't as good. 

Beautiful Rug Market rugs are 75% off!

The bottom line, however, has to be OUR bottom line...what really sells for us! The things that really sell are breastfeeding supplies, cloth diapers, Nosefridas, Baltic Amber, Books, Best Chairs, Melissa and Doug toys, Woombies and Miracle Blankets, Aiden and Anais, and the unique little things that you just can't find anywhere else. So we are downsizing. We're cutting our overhead in half, but we're keeping all the things that you, our loyal customers, love!

Tomorrow is our last full day in Suite B. So we're looking to wheel and deal. We've still got a couple of beds a couple of desks, some bookcases and a couple of dressers that we'd LOVE to sell! We've also got lots of cute nursery rugs, oodles of wall art and tons of bedding. All of it is 75% off! Tomorrow  all maternity and infant clothes are 60% off (not including Brandi's All Stitched Together custom clothing.) Even the nursing gowns are 40% off tomorrow ONLY.

Looking for a picture frame or diaper bag or cute toy? They're all 50% off!

Saturday we'll be open from 10 - 12. Then starting at noon we'll be moving like crazy! Monday we'll open in Suite H (right between Victoria's Cafe and Ruth's Good Nurtrition).

If you want a sneak peak, you can come to our Save and Earn night on Saturday at 7:00!

Choose Your Childbirth Class Carefully!

Photo from www.Bradley.com

I remember the excitement I felt 24 years ago when I signed up for Childbirth Classes at Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham. My husband went with me faithfully as we learned the basics of childbirth, saw an epidural needle and basically learned what we needed to know for a good epidural birth. We had one couple in our class who was planning an unmedicated, natural birth; quite frankly, I thought they were crazy! I remember that our instructor did spend time talking to them individually, but I really didn't give it much thought.


By my second baby, however, I knew I wanted a natural birth. We lived about an hour from the nearest hospital with a midwife, so we didn't attend a class. But our midwife gave us lots of good reading material and spent time helping us prepare for our natural birth. With our third baby we actually took a Christian Childbirth class and learned so much that we used with both our third and fourth babies.

Choosing Your Childbirth Class
The Childbirth Class you choose can make a huge difference in your childbirth experience. Both Crestwood and Huntsville Hospital offer Prepared Childbirth classes. If you know that you want an epidural, then a hospital class is perfect for you. One of the benefits of a hospital class is that you will get a tour of the facility. Another benefit is the tremendous flexibility in scheduling your class. You can schedule a 5 week evening series or an intensive weekend class. Everybody can find something that works for their schedule!

However, if you know that you really don't want an epidural, and you would prefer to learn more in-depth pain management techniques, then you might want to consider a childbirth class that is not associated with a hospital. The childbirth educators who teach in the hospital have to teach specific things that the doctors want taught, and there are certain topics they tend to avoid. An independent childbirth educator has no such constraints. There are several options available at A Nurturing Moment for local moms:

• Bradley Childbirth Classes 

The Bradley Method of Husband Coached Childbirth offers intensive preparation and education for expectant parents. The class size is limited to just 5 couples so that there is plenty of individual attention. This 10 week series covers everything from the anatomy and physiology of birth to birth plans and relaxation techniques. Students learn exactly what to expect at each stage of labor and practice various scenarios. Husbands and wives work together to achieve the goal of a medication-free birth. A Student Workbook with over 130 pages and 75+ pictures is included in the price of the price of the class. .Jen Berry has been a Bradley instructor for 8 years, and has helped numerous families achieve the birth they wanted.

• HypnoBirthing 

HypnoBirthing - The Mongan Method  is a unique method of relaxed, natural childbirth education that uses self-hypnosis techniques. Classes emphasize pregnancy and childbirth as well as pre-birth parenting and the consciousness of the pre-born baby. Women learn to use their natural instincts to achieve a safe, comfortable birth, Participants learn to view labor as hard work and pressure rather than pain. Marsha Mathes, Certified Hypnobirthing Instructor teaches our Hypnobirthing classes and also limits her classes to 5 couples. Participants in the 5 week series receive the HypnoBirthing text as well as the Rainbow Relaxation CD.

• Christian Childbirth Classes

Courtney Buckley is a childbirth educator who has created a distinctly Christian childbirth series. Her class combines all the practical aspects of childbirth with an emphasis on relying on the Lord and growing spiritually through pregnancy and childbirth. The class includes specific instruction on fear and how to alleviate and release your fears. It also deals briefly with Genesis 3:16-17 and how that relates to us today. Other practical aspects of instruction include positions for labor and birth, how to write a birth plan and preparation for husbands.

Whether you choose a hospital class or a private class, be sure to get signed up early and play close attention. You'll be glad you did!