Top Ten Gifts for an Expectant Mother (Who Plans to Nurse)

By Glenni Lorick, IBCLC

Best Chairs Story Time Series chairs
are ideal for new moms!

Recently a friend asked me if I had a list of gift ideas for expectant mothers. I told her I would come up with one! So I immediately asked our ANM mamas for their suggestions. This list is based on their input combined with my own thoughts of what an Expectant mama really needs. Of course, the assumption here is that mom will be breastfeeding!

10. A comfy chair to rock and nurse baby. Some moms prefer a glider and some a recliner. Either is good, but it needs to be wide enough for mom to comfortably hold a nursing baby. Since this is a real investment, you need to make sure you get a quality piece of furniture that will last. Mom will spend many hours feeding baby in her chair, so she needs to LOVE it!

9. A place for baby to sleep right next to Mom and Dad's bed. A bassinet or Rock and Play will work. But our personal favorite is the Arm's Reach Co-sleeper. This unique co-sleeper adjusts to the height of the parents' bed and attaches securely to the bed via a strap that is secured between the mattress and boxspring. It allows baby to sleep in the separate but proximate environment recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, while keeping baby close enough to easily bring into bed for middle-of-the-night nursing.

The Arm's Reach Co-sleeper is great for new parents!

8. Comfortable nursing clothes, especially loungewear. One of my favorite lines is Baby Be Mine. The soft fabric and innovative styling makes their maternity and nursing sets a favorite of our moms! Any new mom will love the versatility of loungewear that works well for going out or staying home!

7. Motherlove Nipple Cream - this is the most soothing nipple cream I have ever seen. It goes on very easily and does not have to be washed off before feeding baby. Actually the very best thing for mom's nipples is a little bit of her breast milk expressed and allowed to air dry on her nipple. But if she has any soreness or dryness, the Motherlove Nipple Cream is amazing!

6. Gift certificate for a home visit from a lactation consultant. Any new breastfeeding mother will have some questions during those early days when she's home from the hospital. Having a lactation consultant come to her home will allow her to relax in her own environment and get those questions answered. The consultant can actually work with her in the chair she normally nurses in and with the pillow that she has. This is a huge peace-of-mind gift!

5. A massage for mom. A prenatal massage done by a massage therapist certified in prenatal massage is a safe, wonderful way for mom to relax. Some massage therapists are even able to do a massage that will help prepare mom's body for labor.

The best nipple cream ever!

4.  A Baby Carrier. Being able to wear her baby makes a mother's life so much easier. Ring slings and Baby K'tans are the easiest for nursing a newborn. Soft Structured carriers like Tula, Boba or Beco are nice as baby gets older.

3.  A good book. There are several great books that are terrific for new mamas. The Baby Book by William Sears is a classic read for every new mama. Another terrific book is Attached at the Heart by local author Lysa Parker and Barbara Nicholson, the founders of Attachment Parenting International. Finally, the La Leche League classic, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a great read for every expectant mom who is planning to nurse.

2.  Create a Meal Plan. This great site will allow you to set up a schedule for the new mom and invite friends, family, co-workers, neighbors etc. to be involved by bringing her meals during the first few weeks postpartum. This is a terrific idea because the last thing she needs to think about for at least 6 weeks is cooking. This was one of the top gift ideas suggested by our ANM moms!

1. Housecleaning Service. The other top recommendation from our mamas was the gift of a housecleaning service. Mom's job is to take care of the baby and to get breastfeeding established. Giving her several months of housecleaning by a professional is one of the gifts that she will probably cherish the most!

The Gift of Motherhood

Sons are a special gift from God!

By Glenni Lorick, IBCLC
Motherhood is a gift. It takes just a brief moment of intimacy to create a child, then about nine months for that child to develop each finger and toe, eyes, ears and nose, internal organs and hair. From the moment she realizes that her body is cradling a new being, a woman is forever changed. She is no longer just a girl or somebody's wife or daughter. She is a MOTHER with all the hopes and dreams and longings of the universe centered on the tiny baby growing in her womb.

My youngest 2 children, Anna and John Carl fill me with joy.

The one day the miracle that is childbirth brings her face-to-face with the little person she has dreamed of day and night for months. Her newborn knows her voice and gazes at her entranced. As she relishes the feel of satin baby skin she experiences a love unlike anything she has ever known. Knowing that her body is capable of providing baby's sole sustenance for at least 6 months is both empowering and overwhelming. 

It is a gift filled with unexpected surprises like exhaustion, mood swings and aching breasts. There are moments, perhaps, when a new mother might wish for a brief second that maybe she hadn't been given this gift! But those moments are overshadowed by the joy of baby's smile, the contentment of snuggling a baby who has nursed to sleep, and the satisfaction of knowing that she is the only REAL expert on her baby. She is the one who understands his expressions and intuitively knows what he needs before he even has a chance to ask.

My oldest daughter, now a mom herself, is a delight.

It is a gift that keeps on giving. Sometimes it gives frustration when a toddler won't listen. Sometimes it gives hurt when an older child is hateful. Sometimes it gives heartbreak when an adult child makes a bad decision. But it also gives wonderful memories made in the most mundane moments, memories of words adorably mispronounced, of spontaneous expressions of love, and of sweet hugs and kisses. It gives a deep sense of satisfaction as children learn and grow and become amazing people.

Yes, Motherhood IS a gift. For those women whose arms ache to hold a baby and whose eyes are heavy with unshed tears, it is a gift that seems elusive. So if YOU have the amazing privilege of being a mother, enjoy this Mother's Day knowing that the very best gift you could ever receive is the unconditional love of the miracles you brought into this world!

3000 Follower Give-Away

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Every once in a while you approach a milestone that you want to celebrate with your friends. That's where we are with our Facebook page! It's especially fun when your friends help you celebrate. Our friend Ruth Dennison with Shopping Tips and Tricks is donating Ruby, the ladybug red Trunki to help us make this milestone as much fun as possible for you. If you like to save money, Ruth's site is a terrific resource. You can also follow her on Facebook for the most updated announcements of her deals.

Another terrific prize is a beautiful hand-painted Christmas Light of Mine Ornament. These beautiful ornaments are individually hand-painted in a small studio in Lynchburg, VA. Artist Amy Calandra Davis has designed a wide range of  lovely ornaments - some whimsical, some more traditional - that will become a treasured part of your family's Christmas tradition. The winner will be able to choose from our ample selection of boxed or hanging ornaments.

The final prize is a snuggly snowman Angel Dear lovie. The soft texture will make this one of your baby's very favorite cuddle toys.

So are you excited about being part of this terrific contest yet? It's really easy! All you have to do is like our Facebook page and send your friends to like it, too! You can enter the contest below one time when you like our page and one time for sending a friend to like our page. Every friend you send to our page needs to leave a post saying you sent them. You will get one entry for every friend who says you sent them (we'll go in and add your name as many times as we need to! It's gonna be fun!!) We will announce our winners the day after we reach 3000 followers.

Are you ready? Let's Go!!!

His Very Own Chair!

Every time one particular little boy comes into the store, he makes a beeline for a little brown recliner that is just his size. He loves sitting in that chair. What he doesn't know is that on Christmas morning, he's going to wake up to find that chair in his very own living room! I can just imagine his excitement when he sees it. Hopefully his mom and dad will get some good pictures for us to post.

What toddler, preschooler or older child wouldn't love a chair sized just for him or her? At A Nurturing Moment, we sell the Kidz World line of furniture for children and teens. These sturdy chairs are made in the USA.
They are built just like adult furniture with hardwood frames so you can rest assured that your child's chair will be around for years to come!

We have a wide variety of styles and fabrics that you can choose from. If you like John Deere, we've got a girl's version in purple as well as the trademark green. Mossy Oak fan? We've got it - in fact, you can order many of these chairs in child size, tween size or adult size...so if you're a dyed-in-the-wool hunting enthusiast, why not get Dad a matching chair?  Does your little guy love Toy Story? Do you have a little Princess? Then you'll love the Disney line of furniture! Maybe Barbies or dinosaurs are the big thing in your house. We've got a chair for that, too! If Spiderman is your son's hero, why not get him his very own Spidey chair! Maybe you have a family of sports enthusiasts. Thirty-one different collegiate fabrics are available including most of the SEC teams!

Do you think you'd love one of these chairs? If you order by December 1, you'll save 15% off the already very reasonable price!