So come on in and make your selections. Stock up now on your Skin-So-Soft bug repellent products because they will be gone in the fall! This is a great way to get some teacher gifts or Dirty Santa presents (after all, Christmas is ONLY 6 months away!) Or just indulge yourself - you're a mom, and you deserve it.
Showing posts with label MOM Foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MOM Foundation. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Get Terrific Avon Insect Products and Help out Low-Income Moms!
So come on in and make your selections. Stock up now on your Skin-So-Soft bug repellent products because they will be gone in the fall! This is a great way to get some teacher gifts or Dirty Santa presents (after all, Christmas is ONLY 6 months away!) Or just indulge yourself - you're a mom, and you deserve it.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Melissa's Story: Why I Do What I Do
By Melissa Florence, MA, IBCLC, RLC
The number one question I get asked is “How in the world did
you decide to become a lactation consultant?”
That is a very good question because looking back my goals were to get
married, become a nurse/teacher and have 3 children all before I turned 30 (because
30 is old). Ha! I am now a 35 yr old
divorced and single mom to one awesome girl.
It is funny how things change, how we change. If you know me well then you have heard me
say at least once “Everything happens for a reason,” and that is so true. The
good and bad happen to us for a reason. So what does this have to do with me?
If I had not had my daughter I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Before I had my daughter I had decided to “try” to
breastfeed. I had my daughter in September 2003, and breastfeeding went well
for a few days then rapidly went downhill. At this time in my life I was going
through a divorce, was living with my parents and had very little money. I was
a WIC mom. When things started getting rough I called the lactation consultants
that I was told to call. I was one week post-partum and had a C-section. I was
not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds, nor was I supposed to drive, but I
wanted to breastfeed so bad that I ignored all of that -- my child comes first! I set up an appointment
and went in. I had $50.00 to my name. The appointment was around thirty minutes,
and it cost me $45.00. Twenty five
minutes into the consult my daughter latched and started nursing well! I was
ecstatic until the time was up. I asked if I could stay until she finished and
was told, “Sure, but it will be another $45.00” which I did not have. I pulled
my daughter off (she was screaming), put her in the car seat and walked out.
Needless to say we both cried the whole way home.
The next few months were spent nursing, pumping,
supplementing and popping fenugreek like it was candy. All while going through
a divorce, dealing with a newborn that had horrible reflux and a not-so-great
latch, who was screaming almost all the time and absolutely could not be put
down. So when I say I feel your pain, I really do! I would say that I had the
“perfect storm” of things going wrong. After 4 ½ months I dried up -- no more milk.
It was because of the stress I was under. I was devastated, and I was ticked
off. Why couldn’t anyone help me? Why was it so hard to find breastfeeding
support? I made a decision that “God willing” I would not let what happened to
me happen to another mother.
I was raised in
believing that if you have a problem you fix it yourself. That is what I set
out to do. I wanted to figure out where I went wrong, learn how to fix it and
help other moms in the process. For the
sake of this blog not being 10 pages long I will fast forward a little bit.
After much, much research on the internet I learned that not only did the
tremendous amount of stress I was under lead to my breastfeeding demise, but
the fact that I have hypothyroidism also contributed to my milk troubles. Wow! During all this time Jesus and I became BFFs.
I prayed and talked to him constantly, “Please Lord help me understand why this
is happening to me. I know there is a reason.” Little did I know just what God
had in store for me!
In 2005 I received my Bachelor's degree; my daughter was 2
years old. In 2008 I became a CLC (Certified Lactation Consultant). In 2009 when my daughter was 5years old I
received my Masters degree in Maternal & Child Health with a focus in
lactation. In 2010 I received my IBCLC certification! I stayed busy! I spent numerous hours away
from my daughter going to school. I had many sleepless nights working on my
thesis while my wonderful daughter was next to me sound asleep. The three
things that got me through all of that were
1. God (remember we were Bffs. We still are…)
2. My family’s love and support. They helped take of my
daughter so that I could pursue my passion.
3. My daughter. I wanted my daughter to see that you CAN do
anything that you put your mind to. That no matter what happens, God has always
“got your back” and that family ALWAYS helps each other out in times of need.
Lastly, I wanted to show my daughter that everything happens for a reason.
In 2011 I had the tremendous blessing of becoming a part of
A Nurturing Moment, The M.O.M. Foundation and the ministry of helping all moms.
It was then that God revealed the reason.
So here is God’s reason for what I went through, the good
and the bad. God put me through all of this so that I could help YOU. He
allowed this so that I could help ALL mothers who need breastfeeding support. I
went through this so no other mother would go through the pain that I went through,
if I can help it. I am a part of The M.O.M. Foundation because I was that mom who needed help and didn’t have the
money to pay for it. If God had not allowed me to get married, have a baby
while going through a divorce and struggle to make it all work there is NO way
I would be able to do what I do today.
So, if you need help, I am going to be there for you
physically and spiritually. I will help my moms succeed, I will pray for every
mother that I work with and I will NEVER turn away a mom because of her inability
to pay for my services. Remember, at one time I was “that” mom! So that is why I do what I do.
You can bless The M.O.M. Foundation tomorrow.
Tomorrow if you go to Woody Anderson Ford and test drive a
car they will donate $10.00 to a non-profit of your choice. If you have time
tomorrow it would be a blessing to The M.O.M. Foundation if you could do this
for us and in turn for the moms that we help everyday. I am truly blessed by
God to have the privilege of working with Glenni Lorick, of helping moms, and
of showing everyone -- especially my daughter -- that God is good and that
“Everything Happens for a Reason”!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
A TRULY Happy Birthday!
| I finally caught up with Herbie! |
- I have an amazing Savior whose sacrifice has made it possible for me to know without a doubt where I will spend eternity.
- I have been married to a wonderful man for 28 1/2 years!
- My 4 children are all doing well and fill my heart with such joy!
- My mother is still in good health and lives less than a mile from me. It's great when your mom is one of your very best friends!!
- I have the most precious church family I could ever imagine. We have been privileged to be at our church for 8 years now and love our little congregation so much.
- Every day I get to come to the best job imaginable - working with moms and babies.
There are just three things I am wishing for this birthday. Maybe you can help or know someone who can.
Funding for Military Moms Project
We are trying to provide hospital grade breast pumps and free lactation consultation to all military moms. If their babies are in the NICU or there is a medical condition, Tricare will cover it, no questions asked. However, if they don't have that situation, we have to raise the money to cover it.
- Do you have any connections with people or companies that might be willing to help with a grant?
- Would you like to make an end-of-the-year tax deductible donation to our non-profit, the MOM Foundation?
- Could you please vote for us to receive an Intuit grant and share with your network of contacts?
Gently Used Nursing Bras
It sounds silly to say I want used bras for my birthday, but I do! All sizes!!! We provide the bras to mothers in the WIC food program, and it breaks my heart when we don't have the size a mom needs. We call it our Bosom Buddy program, and YOU are the key to it's success. If we don't have a steady stream of bras coming in from our customers, we start to run really low.
| I'm not getting any younger, so I better make this year count!! |
My birthday challenge to our readers is to see if we can get 53 gently used nursing bras in honor of my 53rd birthday. We received 9 today, so only 44 to go! I'll keep you updated on the progress!!
A Growing Team National Network of Moms
We are part of the most amazing co-op/purchasing group that I've ever seen. It's sort of like Costco, Direct Buy and Sam's Club on steroids! We have our Nurturing Moment team that includes some pretty amazing people, and is continuing to grow. Members save money on everything from automobiles to furniture to ink cartridges and q-tips. The best part of all, though, is that they pay you for word of mouth advertising. It's a vehicle that is blessing families around the country by allowing moms to stay home with their children.
However, it is also blessing A Nurturing Moment because in this tough economy, it is helping us keep the doors open. If you're looking for a way to save money or make an extra income (no get-rich quick here...you do have to work at it), then give me a call. We promise that there's no product to sell, no pressure whatsoever, and no pushiness!
Thank YOU
In closing, I want to say thank you to each one of you who enrich my life in so many ways. Our ANM family truly is a family. You bless us in so many ways. I just hope that the long-term vision I have for ANM (that's for another blog another day) will continue to bless moms all over North Alabama!
Hugs to you all!!
| Herbie says Thanks, too! |
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