HUG-A-MOM COLORING CONTEST UPDATE

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Hug-a-Mom and kid coloring contests!

The submissions were fantastic, so we are having a hard time choosing the winners, but stay tuned - we will be announcing the winners shortly! 

~MomsBloom

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Make a difference

Be the one to lead the way

You can shape the future with what you do and say

Make a difference

Help someone’s dream come true

Seize the moment the power is in you

A Farmer plants a tiny seed and soon the roots will grow

He waters it and cares for it more than you will know

And as the tree begins to grow it shades all those around

For from this tiny acorn seed a mighty oak is found

Children are like tiny seeds they need our love and care

Nourish them and help them grow with friendly words you share

A farmer or teacher anyone can light the way

Knowledge is power that guides them through each day

Each seed is very special and every child is rare

Though they grow so differently a common thread they share

For when they start to wilt away it’s up to you and me

We must keep them growing strong into that mighty tree

Make a difference

Be the one to lead the way

You can shape the future with what you do and say

Make a difference

Help someone’s dream come true

Seize the moment the power is in you

HOW MOMSBLOOM WAS BORN

Sara Binkley-Tow with her children

 

Today we celebrate all kinds of new and expectant moms. For the first time, Sara Binkley-Tow, Executive Director and Co-Founder of MomsBloom, writes about her experience with postpartum depression.  MomsBloom believes everyone is deserving of support regardless if they suffer from postpartum depression or a related illness. Emotional and physical support for all new moms is greatly lacking in our society and is why MomsBloom was created.

Warning: If you are currently struggling with PPD, the story below may be a trigger, so proceed with caution.

Sara’s Story

“When my daughter Samantha was born, I didn’t feel the love or euphoria everyone talked about, so within seconds of her birth – I questioned my abilities as a mother.”

I attended the birthing classes, I read parenting books until my eyes bugged out, I spent hours painting and shopping for the baby’s room, but in the end I was not prepared for what I encountered the days, weeks and months following her birth. My weepiness and exhaustion quickly turned into feelings of hopelessness, guilt and disconnection from everything around me. Things I once enjoyed became muted and I walked in a world of haze. Breastfeeding was a miserable chore and only added to my feelings of insecurities and guilt. Why couldn’t I handle it? Why didn’t I feel the joy that so many new moms talked about? I continued to spiral downward and soon the intrusive thoughts began. I avoided walking by our open basement stairs because of the images of me tossing her down to the bottom became too difficult to bear.  I refused to turn on the ceiling fan in her room for fear that she would become entangled in the blades by my own two hands.  I was told to sleep, but restful sleep would never come. The anxiety I endured became a noose around my neck and I found myself gasping for air while I became obsessed with the breath of my daughter, checking on her numerous times each night. I lost enjoyment in food, and would often forget to eat. My weight dropped quickly while friends and strangers praised me for losing the baby weight so fast, but it was only a physical sign of the darkness I hid inside. Out of fear of judgment, I told no one about how I was feeling, not even my husband.

I wish I would have known that this was all unnecessary – that what I was experiencing was postpartum depression, the number one complication of childbirth. I wish I would have reached out and shared my thoughts with a trusted friend or doctor. I wish I could have that time back, even for a moment - to hold my baby girl in my arms and tell my insecure self that everything was going to be ok. I wish I would have known how strong my love for her would grow…I wouldn’t have been so afraid.

When I do talks with groups around town, I often share how I felt robbed of those early years. It became the driving force behind why I co-founded MomsBloom. I decided long ago that I didn’t want another mom or family to go through what I did. In 2006, when I began researching the idea of MomsBloom, I had no idea that the journey I was about to enter was going to be so difficult. I often feel it’s an uphill battle fighting against the misinformation and stigmas that exist around motherhood and postpartum and anxiety disorders. Generational beliefs that women should “go it alone” have created the image of the fictional “super mom” that cannot and will not ever exist. I’ve heard too often from individuals in religious communities preaching that a mom or dad is suffering because their faith is not strong enough. I witness news stories and groups spreading myths that postpartum depression is somehow the mom’s fault or that women with postpartum depression will hurt their kids.

This all adds to the stigma that exists and that prevents people from getting help. I wish it would stop, but I won’t stop fighting. Will you join me in the fight? Feel free to leave a comment below or contact bloom@momsbloom.org or call 616-828-1021 for more information.

Bloom on. ~Sara

SPECIAL ROLE MOMS

 

There are many ways a mother is born.

Today we celebrate Birth, Surrogate, Adoptive, Foster, and Stepmoms. 

Meegan shares her experience of motherhood through adoption, and all of the emotions that go with it.

“Being an adoptive mom changed so many of my beliefs about myself, and other moms.  The moment when I realized just how far reaching our decision to adopt Reeve had really progressed was when a neighbor announced that they were going to have a baby.  My then six year old birth daughter asked, “Well, are you adopting or pregnant?” 

We had forever altered a child’s mind set about how babies make families.

 

I will say, however unpopular the statement is, that unless you are prepared to set your own needs aside, you should not adopt.  Frankly, you should not parent.  But most certainly, you should not knowingly, willingly, and over the course of years, proceed with a focused decision to incorporate another life into your own unless you are willing to also incorporate the lives of the birth family.  Would you do this to your own birth child?  Limit their access and knowledge to their history and genetics?  Curtail their emotional needs out of your own fear?  You must accept that your adopted child is blissfully, happily, ecstatically yours to raise and love and nurture. 

They also have two other parents.

Every Mother’s Day, and truthfully, all other days, I am mortified by how I entered the adoption process: my own perceived need to have another child being the focus.   I will always and forever be indebted to Tiffany for trusting me to raise her birth daughter, but my true gratefulness is that this young woman, with every possible trial and tribulation in her midst, showed me what being a mom is.  Tiffany, at age 17, demonstrated more maturity and devotion than I have ever seen in any ‘grown up’. 

Five years later, much to the shock of physicians everywhere, I delivered a sweet little 8 pound bundle.  The only person I wanted to see in the world was Tiffany.  Watching her hold my birth child, while I was raising hers, forever sealed the motherhood between us. It didn’t take a new baby to make a new mom, it took another mother.

 I wish her all the joy and wonder in the world on this Mother’s Day.”

WARRIOR MOM

Motherhood is challenging enough, but add in extra challenges- and warrior moms are born.  Her journey of motherhood may not have been the route she would have picked, she may face challenges we know nothing about. She may stand weary behind her smile.  She continues on, because of the love in her heart.

We celebrate you the Warrior Mom and your unwavering strength in the face of challenges.

Bernadette’s Story

“Last night we were visiting friends and as usual got home a little late. I asked the kids to get ready for bed while I hurried to get us ready for the following day.  Hazel stood quietly beside me at the sink for a few minutes, her eyes watchful. Just as I began to hurry her along, she asked me, "Mama, is it stressful for you to be a parent, to take care of us, especially when you are by yourself?" I stopped in my flurry of activity and turned to look at her. I told her that yes, sometimes it is stressful. She said she was sorry and stepped closer to put her arms around my waist. I said that sometimes my many responsibilities in life feel overwhelming. That sometimes I make the work harder than it is, and I take for granted what I have. I told her that I would never change a thing about her and her brother, Liam, that every challenge is paid back hundredfold by who they are. She told me she loved me and she scampered off to prepare for bed.

This morning, after I'd had a rough night of sleep, Hazel had gotten out of bed before me and I found her in the kitchen slicing peppers and washing strawberries to pack in lunches for her and Liam.  When Hazel was born, we were wholly unprepared for such a sensitive child. We often joked when our arms were sore from holding a screaming baby all day, our hearts raw from being unable to soothe her, about leaving her in a box at the fire station. If you've ever had a baby who truly hated being a baby, you know what I mean. Many times lately I have felt deeply honored to witness who she is becoming. The terrifying sensitivity she expressed as an infant has evolved into immense sensitivity towards others, compassion, and deep insight. It's payback. A hundredfold.”

EXPERIENCED MOMS

Preschool to prom, diapers to driving and everything in between

Military moms, single moms, working moms, or stay-at-home moms…each of us have so much in common, but the most important is all that we do for our children – the everyday moments of growing our future generation into amazing adults! Your children will not remember the extraordinary, they will remember and treasure the way you loved them.

The days are long, but the years are short!

Do you know a mom of young children who is “in the trenches” of motherhood?

Send her a little encouragement today.

Also, don’t forget about our fun coloring page for a child or grandchild to decorate. Post a picture of their creation on Facebook and use the hash tag #momsbloomunevent or email it to bloom@momsbloom.org for a chance to win a gift basket from Scholastic Books valued at over $250. There are also passes to the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum and more!

WISHING YOU WERE HERE AGAIN

The loss of mothers and mothers of loss and infertility  

“A mother is not defined by the number of children you can see, but by the love that she holds in her heart.“ ~Francesca Cox

 

There are no words to express the ache we feel when a mother cannot hold her child. Mother’s Day isn’t quite as wonderful when a child or mother is gone.

 

If we have lost our mom, even though we may be grown, we still want to hug her, hear her voice, and know that she is near. We long to have her see us now, the children we are raising, the life we are making.

 

Some women can only hold their baby in their dreams.  Some long to carry a baby to one day call her own.  Her heart may ache seeing others around her welcome new babies, while she struggles with infertility or pregnancy loss.   Others have faced the unimaginable, saying good-bye to her child.

 

It does not matter if a mother and child were together for a day, a few weeks, months, or years, a mother’s love is unending.

 

We celebrate you and the immeasurable love in your heart.

HAPPY "ALL KINDS OF MOTHERS" DAY!

Motherhood is more than just a day- it is a lifetime of ordinary and extraordinary events.

We all know that motherhood is anything but uneventful. 

This year instead of holding a physical event, MomsBloom is holding an UnEvent.

Women- celebrate Mother’s Day YOUR way!!

"MomsBloom’s 1st Annual UnEvent, Anything But UnEventful" is a week-long, virtual event to celebrate the women that help us to BLOOM.

MomsBloom has been encouraging, nurturing, and supporting women at the beginning of the journey of motherhood for over 6 years.  This year we celebrate ‘All Kinds of Moms’ and the women in our community who encourage and empower one another to build strong foundations for all West Michigan families and beyond.

Often it is not just ONE woman who helps us to bloom, rather a bouquet of women in our families and community.  Peers, friends, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, neighbors, teachers, mentors….the list could go on. Some of these amazing women are veterans of motherhood, passing down knowledge and love from one generation to the next. Others are strong leaders, inspiring, supporting, and empowering others in their journey.

Who has helped you BLOOM?

Help us pay tribute to these special women!  Today is our official “Hug a Mom” observance.  All you have to do is hug a special lady in your life and tell her how much she means to you. 

Do  you want to have fun and win some cool prizes too?  Visit the "Hug-A-Mom Observance" link in our Garden Shed tabs to learn how you can enter our “Hug-A-Mom” contest!  You can also visit one of our sponsors, make a donation in her name, post a photo or story of motherhood on facebook.

#momsbloomunevent

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GROW!

The Power of the Flower

Good luck to all of the runners/walkers in the Fifth Third River Bank Run! It has been an honor to serve as one of the selected Charity Partners. Jamie Allen, a Fifth Third River Bank Run Road Warrior, also chose to represent MomsBloom in this year’s event. We hope you will take a moment to read Jamie’s story below. We are incredibly grateful for Jamie and everyone running and volunteering on behalf of Team MomsBloom. To date they have raised over $1,800 for our programs!

Hug-a-Mom Observance STARTS TOMORROW!

Don’t forget to post your pictures or videos starting tomorrow, Mother’s Day, of you hugging a mom or another important woman in your life. If she is no longer with us, you can still honor her by posting a favorite picture of her.

To enter: Post a picture or tribute to your Facebook page starting Sunday, May 11- Friday, May 16 by using the hash tag: #momsbloomunevent. Accepted entries include:

·         A fun, instructional video on “How to hug a mom”

·         A picture of your hug on May 11 (or other day this week).

·         A “throw back” picture or memory of that special person in your life.

 

Everyone who posts a photo or video with #momsbloomunevent will be entered to win a prize from one of our amazing partners. Limit one entry per photo.

 

Jamie’s Story

“I first learned about MomsBloom a few years ago while working at a local television station. As a producer, I had the opportunity to go along on a MomsBloom story and do the interviews. After talking with a volunteer and client, I quickly saw the mission of the organization in action. I observed the close bond a single mother and caring volunteer had formed through cooking meals, doing laundry, playing with the baby and through meaningful conversation. It was a service that not only had a meaningful impact on the mother, but also on the volunteer.

As a mother of two, I’ve experienced those difficult weeks after having a baby. Your life is thrown for a loop and it’s your spouse, family members, and friends that are your respite. I can only image how daunting it must be to face the challenge of parenting alone. I love the work that MomsBloom does because it serves as that critical support system for West Michigan moms.

Another reason why I admire the work MomsBloom does is their mission to combat post-partum depression. While I didn’t suffer from post-partum depression with either of my pregnancies, I have struggled with depression and anxiety over the past 10 years. Depression can strike in many forms, but regardless if it’s short term or long term, it can be debilitating and affect not only the person struggling, but their entire family. The fact that MomsBloom is there to step in and provide emotional support to mothers in need, is a tremendous service that is so important to our community.

I’m very excited to be running for MomsBloom. I look forward to seeing many of you on race day!

BLOOM YOUR PROFILE FOR MOMSBLOOM

Unity.  It feels good when many stand behind the same cause with you.  It is validating to be understood and supported.

Today you have an opportunity to unite and show your support of MomsBloom and our mission-- raising awareness to the importance of supporting mothers after a baby is born.  If you want to know why MomsBloom exists, please check out our Facebook page.

We invite you to attach a MomsBloom Twibbon to your Facebook and Twitter accounts! 

What is a Twibbon?  It is a virtual ribbon that you can "stick" on your profile picture to show support for the cause or organization.

Click here to check out our Twibbon campaign: MomsBloom Twibbon.

You are cheering us on so we can continue to help nurture and care for moms so they can grow happy, healthy families.

Let’s brighten up cyberspace with our blooming flower!

MOM AND KIDS, BLOOMING TOGETHER

MomsBloom came into conception with the knowledge that when a mother blooms and grows, so do her children. People say, “When mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy!” This has become a common phrase because there is real truth to it! The converse is true as well: when mama’s content, it gives her children a secure ground upon which to grow. They are free to explore their environment, both inside themselves and outside in the world, when they are sure that their mother is a safe haven for them to come back to. MomsBloom is here to help mothers reach that steady place of surety within themselves.

The Coloring Page Activity begins Tuesday, May 13^th. It was designed to allow your children to show their appreciation for what you’ve given them. Simply click on the "Kids Coloring Page" from our Garden Shed Tools Tabs and print the page.  Give the picture to your child with instructions on to show them how they appreciate you. Some ways they can do it:

·         Color with crayons, markers, or paint

·         Write a poem about you in the blank spaces

·         Write about the ways that you have helped them grow

·         Write about what they love about you

·         Let them come up with their own ways of expressing themselves

Coloring inside the lines is optional! Sometimes we and our children need to color outside the lines to find what works best for us; what allows us to be the best us!

Make sure to take a picture and post it between May 13-17 to your preferred social media site: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or wherever else you want to share your child’s work. Just make sure to #momsbloomunevent. We will pick a winner and the prize will be a gift basket from Scholastic Books, valued at $250! Winners will be announced May 17^th.

FEELING GOOD ABOUT GIVING

MomsBloom Volunteer, Judy, holding a baby while mom gets some respite time

From Board Member, Taggart Town

 

If you’re like me, when it comes to donating I want to feel good about how my resources are used and know that my donations are making a positive impact on my community.  In short, I want to feel good about giving.

 

As a member of the MomsBloom Board of Directors I am fortunate to see the impact that we make in the community every day.  Each year MomsBloom and our team of dedicated volunteers provide very real support to approximately 250 West Michigan families.  Sometimes support comes in the form of an extra pair of hands or a listening ear.  Other times it’s providing education or connecting parents to resources that grow their support network. See Danielle’s story below for a real-life example of how MomsBloom provides practical and essential help to mothers.  --Taggart

“My MomsBloom volunteer was not only exemplary, she was also vital during a big transition in our family’s life. Having an adult to talk with was a huge comfort during the evening hours when my husband was away at work. My volunteer shared tips and tricks learned from raising her own children and she helped to address issues like sibling rivalry caused by the new addition to our family. I became much more patient with my family, and myself, because I always knew help was never far away; it provided me the opportunity to focus on what was truly necessary. I found myself thriving instead of just surviving.” ~Danielle, mother of 3

How can you support MomsBloom?

You can donate safely through Network for Good. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. 
Link to our Network for Good page HERE: Network for Good

or you can send your donation to:

            MomsBloom

            3292 North Evergreen Drive NE

            Grand Rapids, MI 49525

Still looking for a way to honor your mother this Mother’s Day?  

Honor her, or any important person in your life, by making a donation in their name to MomsBloom and we will recognize them on our UnEvent website.  We look forward to giving a HUGE shout to all of the awesome women out there!

Thank you for your support and for being a member of the extended family for the twenty-first century!

COMMUNITY GIVE BACK PARTNERS

“Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give.” ~ Ben Carson

Today we are highlighting a very important tool called "Community Give Back Partners.” We have the privilege of partnering with businesses that want to throw some support our way! 

 

During our UnEvent week (May 11-17), businesses have the opportunity to offer some discounts and perks for YOU and the best news is that MomsBloom benefits as well! 

 

Do you know of a business that can partner with MomsBloom for one day?  Please share your ideas with us!  It can be a store, restaurant, coffee shop…anything!   Contact us today at angie@momsbloom.org or in the comment section below. 

 

Options for Give-Back Partners:

• Offer a percentage of your sales to be donated to MomsBloom for a day or time period

 

• Offer a discount to people who mention MomsBloom at the check out

 

• Offer a coupon for a discount during the week of May 11-17

 

• Offer a freebie…free coffee, dessert, etc.

 

 

Why participate?  You get to feel good about helping AND you get the publicity of being mentioned and recognized throughout our UnEvent! 

Our first Community Partner is EcoBuns. 

They are there for your earth-freindly baby needs!  Shop EcoBuns and present our special MomsBloom Flyer below during the week of May 11-17 and MomsBloom will get 5% of the sales.  Online sales count as well!  You will need to use this link: 

EcoBuns Gives Back

 

QUESTION: WHAT DO MOMS LOVE?

Answer: Hugs!

“The most precious jewels a mother can have around her neck are the arms of her children”

MomsBloom UnEvent, Anything but Uneventful was created to pay tribute to all kinds of moms. Our first activity is “Hug-a-Mom.” The official Hug-a-Mom observance will take place on Sunday, May 11th. 

On May 11^th we are looking for pictures or videos of you hugging your mom or another important woman in your life. If she is no longer with us, you can still honor her!

To enter: Post a picture and tribute to your Facebook page by using the hash tag: #momsbloomunevent. Accepted entries include:

·         An instructional video on “How to hug a mom”

·         A picture of your hug during the UnEvent May 11-17.

·         A “throw back” picture or memory of that special person in your life.

Everyone who posts a photo or video with #momsbloomunevent will be entered to win a prize from one of our amazing partners. Limit one entry per photo.

Prize contributors include:

Grand Rapids Children’s Museum

Noodles and Company

Yoga Heat

Scholastic

Noonday

Gift basket from Supermercado Mexico

Pine Rest

Baby Mine

INTERNATIONAL BEREAVED MOTHER'S DAY

“There is no footprint too small that it does not leave an imprint on the world”

Today is InternationalBereaved Mother’s Day.

Around the world we gather to honor a motherhood that goes unrecognized by so many. We hold these mothers in our thoughts today. 

While we cannot change the world, we know we can help families in West Michigan that are suffering a perinatal loss.  MomsBloom offers the same tender support that we give to so many families through our Flourishing Families program, to those who have experienced loss due to miscarriage, stillbirth or other perinatal loss.  Our Cameron’s Garden Perinatal Grief support program gives newly bereaved families somewhere to turn when so few understand.  We want all bereaved families to know:  you are not alone.  We honor your grief process, and will be there for you through mourning your loss and the journey to healing.

Today with the rest of the world, we honor all Bereaved Mothers who have had to say good-bye to a child of any age or gestation.

For more information, or to find out how you can help, please visit Cameron’s Garden, a Perinatal Grief Support Program.

INTRODUCING THE '"TOOLS" IN OUR GARDEN SHED

Over the past 6 years, MomsBloom has held many different events. This year YOU get to decide how you want to celebrate the ‘mom’ in your life by using our Garden Shed “tools.”
At the same time you will be supporting MomsBloom!

Here are some of the “tools” you will find in the Garden Shed:

·         “Hug-A-Mom Observance” – Prizes will be awarded!

·         “Color Your Bloom” – A kids activity where prizes will be awarded!

·         “Social Butterflies” – Links to social media and our hashtag #momsbloomunevent

·         “Community Give Back Partners” – Businesses will have the opportunity to show their support. It’s not too late to become a partner!  To learn more, email us at bloom@momsbloom.org.

·         “Grow, Bloom, and Go” – Donation tool to help fund MomsBloom’s programs.

Use the tabs at the top of the page to navigate through all of our helpful Garden Shed Tools!

 

THE POWER OF THE FLOWER

One week from today, you will see a pack of people representing Team MomsBloom, recognizable in dark purple “The Power of the Flower” t-shirts. This year, MomsBloom holds a Charity Partner designation for the Fifth Third River Bank Run! Additionally, Road Warrior Jamie Allen, is running on  behalf of our organization. Read more about Jamie here: www.53riverbankrun.com/rw14/jamie.php.  To date, Team MomsBloom has raised over $1300!

So, what is so powerful about MomsBloom?

It is our volunteers, and the ripple effect of their compassionate support. It’s about women supporting women without judgment, competition, or mommy wars.  Our volunteers provide nonjudgmental physical and emotional support, while simultaneously helping mom navigate the challenges of motherhood in her own special way. This support gives her the confidence to bloom.

“My MomsBloom volunteer came into my life during a very fragile time.  She was very in tune with my needs, could identify them without me having to ask, and made gentle suggestions as to how she could help.  She was something stable I could count on when everything else was so unpredictable.  She made me feel confidant by validating my mothering” ~Lillian

“It was difficult to ask friends and family for help.  My MomsBloom volunteer was so comforting and trust worthy.  She made me feel like a parenting expert; empowering me and allowing me to feel accomplished and confident.” ~Lisa

Imagine the powerful changes we can make in this world as we empower even more moms like Lillian and Lisa!