The MOM Foundation presents the first annual MOM Calender

Photo by  Wagon wheel Photography

by Glenni Lorick, IBCLC

I am so excited to announce that The MOM Foundation is putting together a calendar filled with beautiful pictures of North Alabama mothers nursing their babies. Thirteen North Alabama photographers are providing an incredible assortment of lovely breastfeeding photos. These tasteful photos show mothers in a variety of settings from a cotton field to a woodland setting to a comfy nursing chair. Some are taken from a distance to show the surroundings, while others are close-up pictures highlighting the beautiful expressions of the nurslings.

This calendar makes the perfect gift for any breastfeeding mother. It will look wonderful hanging in a physician's office, a WIC office, or any business that works with mothers and babies. It is the perfect gift to encourage an expectant mom who is looking forward to breastfeeding her child.

Your Support is Vital

All proceeds from the calendar will benefit The MOM Foundation. This North Alabama 501c3 organization is dedicated to supporting low-income and teen mothers in natural parenting practices. We offer Sliding-Fee Scale professional breastfeeding support services. We never ask for any proof of income; we just want to make certain that any mother who needs breastfeeding help gets it as quickly as possible without money being an obstacle. We also sponsor the Bosom Buddies project at A Nurturing Moment which provides gently used nursing bras to low-income and teen moms  If we don't have a donated bra to fit a mother, we will provide her one from store stock. Those mothers who are receiving WIC are also eligible to rent a hospital-grade Symphony breastpump at half the regualar price.

Photo by Earthy Moon Photos

In addition to supporting a wide variety of breastfeeding initiatives, The MOM Foundation also sponsors The North Alabama Cloth Diaper Bank which provides diaper grants to low-income families. Many families struggle to buy diapers, so we make sure they have enough diapers to adequately diaper their babies.

All of these efforts are completely dependent upon donations from our amazing mama community. Your donations of bras, diapers, time and money have enabled us to continue offering all the services we offer. We hope that this calendar project will provide much-needed funds to be able to continue providing for as many mothers as possible, and also to expand the services we are able to provide.

Who Is Involved?

We are so excited about the response we have received from local photographers. The following photographers have agreed to be part of this project:  Jamie Clauss of Count it Joy Photography, Amanda Argo of DoodleButt Photography, Sarah Buchanan of Sarah Buchanan Photography, Jessica Molepske of Wild Child Photogrpahy , Ashley White of A. White Photography & Creations, Wendella Graham of Pitter-Patter Photography, Melanie Kolowaski of Melanie Kolowski Photography, Adrianne Moon of Adrienne Moon Photography, Mary Ellen Pollard of Lighthouse Photography, Corey Anna Straits of Earthymoon Photos, Krystal Ness of The Paper Jay, Jennifer Myers of Jennifer Myers Photography, Mallory Clemmons of Oliver Fair Designs and Photography, and Brekke Johnson of Wagon Wheel Photo. When I mentioned this idea late Saturday night, I was overwhelmed by the response from so many talented photographers!

Photo by Adrienne Moon Photography

Get Your Calendar Now

Calendars will arrive the week of Christmas, just in time to be the perfect Christmas gift!  Each calendar will have a page of coupons worth well over $100. You can reserve your calendar NOW with a minimum gift of just $15 to The MOM Foundation. You can send your gift via PayPal to anm@knology.net or simply click the button below. Be sure to include your phone number. Or you can come into the store and make your donation in person.  If you don't live close enough to pick up your calendar at A Nurturing Moment in Huntsville, please include  your address. Shipping cost is $5 for 1-2 calendars, $7 for 3-5 calendars, and $10 for 6 or more calendars. Be sure to include shipping with your gift, please. Our goal is to raise $7000 by the end of the year, and we are on our way. Our Huntsville Mommy Milk Meet-up group has over 1300 members. Even if half our members donate, we will surpass our goal!

Win a Calendar!

We are going to give away a calendar to one lucky winner. Enter today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

21 Days of Thanksgiving

From West Seattle Montessori School

In November our thoughts often turn to thankfulness. At A Nurturing Moment we have much for which to give thanks. The outpouring of support and encouragement since I posted our long-term vision last month has been overwhelming!

Our Moms Say Thank You

Several moms who have benefited from the programs which The Mom Foundation supports have taken time to express their thankfulness for the program. In the interest of privacy, some names have been changed if a mother has communicated with us in a private manner.

Marla was referred to us by Motherhood Maternity. Because she was on the WIC program, she was able to take advantage of our Bosom Buddies program. She says, "I am sooo thankful for the bra program. If I hadn't heard of it (from an employee at Motherhood), I would be wearing the wrong size bra. I did that with my last baby. The two bras I received are the only nursing bras I have. I just can't afford $50 for a bra, so the program has been a lifesaver. Thank you so much!!!"

Samantha had this to say, "I'm thankful for Glenni always being there when I needed her no matter what!"  

Brittany added, "So thankful for Glenni and your sliding scale." 

Jennifer said, "I am VERY thankful for the sliding scale! I wouldn't have been able to come in otherwise! Thank you so much! God will bless you for all you're doing!"  

From Struggle to Victory.

We Say Thank You

God does bless us each day through so many of you. Just days after I posted our vision blog, one of our moms came in to talk to me about a foundation for which she is a board member. They have given us a $1000 grant to put toward our work. We are seeking to match that grant, and are already 1/3 of the way there! You can make a tax deducible donation to The Mom Foundation here, or via check made out to The Mom Foundation.

Each day for the rest of the month we will post something we're thankful for on our page. We invite you to participate with something you're thankful for each day, too. It's amazing how giving thanks in every circumstance really DOES change your attitude, make you happier, and contribute to increasingly more positive outcomes!

What are YOU thankful for today?

My Birthday Verse

My lunch-time view at the Marriott World Resort in Orlando!

I've just returned from an absolutely incredible weekend of training, encouragement and fellowship with some of the most positive people I've ever met. Many of you know that I work with an amazing program that is committed to providing value, saving people money, and allowing them a vehicle to achieve their dreams. One of the things that most impresses me at every convention I attend is the emphasis on faith by so many of the speakers, and the multiple expressions of thankfulness to God from person after person crossing the stage. The culture of this company from the President/CEO down is one of faith and thankfulness. I love that!

Yesterday people who had achieved the distinction of helping 4 other people make at least $4500 were recognized and each shared a nugget of wisdom. One lady from Virginia made mention in passing of her "birthday verse” as having been a guiding force in her journey. She explained that she was born on September 16, and God had used Exodus 9:16 to encourage and motivate her.

Me with my dear friend, Anita Eno who tried to show me
this business 7 years ago, but I wasn't smart enough to listen.

I was intrigued. My birthday is December 13, so I began searching the Bible for every book that had a verse 13 in the twelfth chapter. There were several good ones, but nothing really hit me between the eyes until I happened upon Romans 12:13, “Share with God’s people in need. Practice hospitality.” WOW!!!! I couldn't believe that I found a verse that so perfectly describes what I want to do and who I want to be! And I couldn't believe how aptly this verse unites the various parts of my life into one common thread that I fervently desire to see woven into every fiber of my being. 

I began to think of the various ways that I can fulfill that verse and came up with the following ways I can share.

Sharing Knowledge

The field in which I am most knowledgeable, of course, is breastfeeding. It delights me when I am able to help a mother who is in despair be able to nurse her baby successfully. Because I do want to keep A Nurturing Moment afloat, I charge a fee, but if a mom can’t afford to pay that fee, it doesn't matter. I still love helping her. My motivation isn't money; rather it is the joy of seeing a mother happily nursing her baby, especially when she was struggling to do so before we met.  

Each of us has a gift or ability that we've been given. When we use that gift to share with others who need it, it is the richest blessing imaginable. As I watch various mothers whom I've gotten to know over the years use their talents to help others, I am so honored to be a part of their lives.

Sharing Practical Necessities

Every breastfeeding mother needs nursing bras, but some are hard-pressed to be able to afford them. That’s why we began our Bosom Buddiesproject which provides gently used nursing bras to mothers on the WIC food assistance program. Any time a mom donates bras to the program, we offer her a discount on her in-store purchases that day.

One of our ANM moms, Sarah Bailey, is coordinating a wonderful program called Share the Love which provides cloth diapers to families who must choose between buying diapers and buying food. We are thrilled to be a drop-off location for this amazing program!

Sharing Hospitality

At A Nurturing Moment we love to have moms drop by to hang out, nurse their babies and visit

We love having moms hang out at A Nurturing Moment!

with each other. We offer comfy chairs, nursing pillows, nursing stools and bottles of cold water to our guests (if we ever fail to offer you something, don’t hesitate to ask for it!) In our final “dream” location, we will have a much larger nursing area/ classroom/ playroom/ internet café where you will be able to hang out, meet friends and even get healthy snacks! It does my heart good to hear moms enjoying each other’s company, building friendships, and encouraging each other as they nurse their babies together!

Sharing Hope

I often see new moms who are simply distraught and overwhelmed. Our Nurturing Moment family has a very special way of reaching out to and helping each other. You can’t begin to know how proud I am of each one of you who takes a few moments to share hope with another mom. Whether it’s through a Facebook comment, a phone call, or even just a quick (or not so quick) word of encouragement to a new friend you've just met in the store, you shine a ray a hope into the life of a mom who may be truly despondent. Thank you for creating a culture around A Nurturing Moment that shares hope.

Share with God's People in Need. Practice Hospitality

Sharing a Plan for the Future

When I have a mom sitting in front of me wiping away the tears as she talks about returning to work and leaving her baby, my heart just breaks. Sometimes I will mention in passing that I’m part of a company that can help them create a substantial income. But let’s face it, the truth is, I don’t ever want to offend or turn off a customer. I do pray each morning for God to show me who needs to hear about this opportunity, and there are certainly some of you I've shared with because I just knew I was supposed to.

However, after seeing so many people this weekend whose lives God has changed through this company, so many moms who are now able to be home with their children, I just want to make sure that you understand my heart.  I am willing to give 100% to help you be successful in building a business that will allow you to save a lot of money, but enable you to make more than you ever imagined possible if you’re willing to work. It is NOT a “get-rich-quick” scheme. Honestly, anything worth doing requires time, energy and commitment. Nevertheless, I promise you that there is no product to sell, no kind of quota and never any pressure….just me and my desire to “Share with God’s people in need.”

A TRULY Happy Birthday!

I finally caught up with Herbie!

I'm 53 today! I don't feel 53, but the calendar says I am. And I guess calendars don't lie! I am so richly blessed, and I just wanted to take a moment to share with you all why I feel so blessed!

• 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.

All I can say is "Thank you, Lord, for being so good to me!"

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!

Action Step 8: Continuity of Care

This is the third in our series of articles based on the the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee has suggested a specific focus for each day of August. Today we're actually looking at the focus from Wednesday.  The text below comes from Pages 45-46 of the Surgeon General's document.

Action 8. Develop systems to guarantee continuity of skilled support for lactation between hospitals and health care settings in the community. 

Image from Wikipedia

Upon discharge from their stay in the hospital, many mothers are unable to find and receive skilled breastfeeding support. Mothers often are left on their own to identify resources to help with questions and problems they may have with breastfeeding. Furthermore, hospitals, clinicians in the community, and community organizations typically lack systems to help connect mothers to skilled persons who can offer support for breastfeeding. Ideally, there would be a system to ensure that breastfeeding mothers and their infants would receive skilled support with lactation from informed and available health care teams. Hospitals, primary care clinicians, and community organizations share responsibility for creating such systems.

Implementation Strategies 
Create comprehensive statewide networks for home- or clinic-based follow-up care to be provided to every newborn in the state. Follow-up support for breastfeeding needs to be integrated into home visitation and postpartum care programs. Staff training in breastfeeding management would be fundamental to this care.

Establish partnerships for integrated and continuous follow-up care after discharge from the hospital. Communities often provide a variety of resources to help breastfeeding mothers, including peer support networks, breastfeeding clinics, lactation consultants, and support groups. Health care systems can ensure that their patients are informed about such resources and can facilitate connections to these resources. They can also help to strengthen or create these programs.

Establish and implement policies and programs to ensure that participants in WIC have services in place before discharge from the hospital. Community partners and key stakeholders, such as hospitals, lactation consultants, and other clinicians, can work with WIC to establish continuity of care for WIC participants who breastfeed their infants. In addition, WIC state agencies can collaborate with state hospital associations to identify key barriers to the provision of WIC services within the hospital setting. WIC state agencies and hospitals can partner to establish policies to ensure that WIC participants receive in-hospital
education and support for breastfeeding, including identiication of a WIC peer counselor and scheduling of follow-up support for breastfeeding by WIC staf in the community.

Getting Involved

We try to work as closely as we can with our local hospitals and physicians.  We deliver rental breastpumps to patients in their hospital rooms at Crestwood Hospital. Our Postpartum Support program is a tremendous resource for new mothers who don't have family nearby to help them after baby is born.

Our Bosom Buddies program is specifically designed to help WIC moms by providing them nursing bras. Furthermore, our sliding scale for lactation consultation services in our office ensures that no mother who needs help will ever be refused it due to her inability to pay for an IBCLC.

Be a Bosom Buddy and Help a Local Mom

One of our passions at A Nurturing Moment is helping low-income and teen moms. One way we do this is through our Bosom Buddy Program which provides free gently used nursing bras to breastfeeding mothers on the WIC program.  Each WIC mom is eligible for 2 bras every 6 months as long as she's nursing. We will fit her during the last month of pregnancy.

The key to this program's success is YOU! The way we get our gently used bras is from our customers. When you bring in clean gently used nursing bras (the size on the tag should still be visible, and the bra shouldn't be stained), we give you a discount on anything you purchase that day.

1 bra = 5% discount

2 bras = 10% discount

3+ bras = 15% discount

This discount will be over and above any other discounts you are entitled to!

Currently, we are really running low on certain sizes: We don't have any 34 D or DD. We need 36 C, D & DD, 38 D & DD, and 40 C&D. Of course we appreciate any size bra you bring in! You can be certain that another mother will be glad you took the time to donate!

 When a woman is struggling to pay bills, she often doesn't have $50 or even $35 for a good, supportive nursing bra. That's why this project is so critical. Not only will breastfeeding save significant money when compared to infant formula, but Mom won't have to spend a lot of money on a good nursing bra! Recent moms who have received bras through our Bosom Buddies project include a teen mom who is very committed to breastfeeding her baby, a single mom who is planning to finish school, and an army wife.