Eversave DEALS for today! Friday Oct 21st

Coffees of Hawaii deal for Oct 21st. Click HERE to access deal. 

Pay just $15 for $30 worth of premium coffee and say "Aloha" to whatever weather winter sends your way. Choose from a variety of flavorful roasts and blends available as whole beans, ground, espresso ground and more. We all have that friend who savors her daily Starbucks more than most- send her on a Hawaiian tour with a Three Island gift tin.

New members can get this deal for $12 when they use their $3 credit.

* Be sure to check out Eversave on Facebook and Twitter and let them know NNM sent you! 

Eversave DEALS for today! Mon Oct 17th

 Pay only $20 for a year subscription to both Martha Stewart Living and Whole Living Magazines ($34 value) 

NEW Members will get this save for only $17.00 when you use your $3.00 credit

Click HERE to purchase this save today!

Be sure to follow Eversave on Facebook and Twitter and let them know NurturingtheNaturalMama sent you!

Monday Surf.... yea yea- I'm a day late :)

Some amazing posts I came across this last week or so! Enjoy, and feel free to share yours below!

The Benefits of Co Sleeping by Breastfeeding.com

I love that this article fully addresses all the aspects and myths regarding co sleeping. So many, especially new moms, are so worried about developing bad habits, raising needy children, suffocating the baby, and/or increased sleep deprivation.

And clearly, co sleeping is not for everyone, but there are plenty of ways to safely co sleep. And co sleeping, in my experience, significantly DECREASES parental sleep deprivation. It is far easier to nurse overnight and keep the baby calm in your arms versus getting up and going into the other room, etc.

Additionally, I always felt safer having my babies next to me (I co sleep using a bassinet/Arms Reach co sleeper) versus in a different room. Then I was able to keep an eye on them better- hear all the little noises and feel their breathing pattern without having to listen to a static-y monitor. (I do have a severe aversion to baby monitors- I think they're useless, but that's a whole different story!)

If you've ever read my blog before, you are aware at how much I disagree with the Cry It Out (CIO) method. This is also addressed in this article.

Crying It Out Causes Brain Damage by Peaceful Parenting

As mentioned above, and multiple times prior, I feel very strongly against the CIO method. This re print from Peaceful Parenting just solidifies my feelings. Crying it out causes extreme distress. Extreme distress causes the body to produce increased levels of cortisol, which is harmful to the baby. Additionally, extreme distress inhibits proper growth of certain areas of the brain.

And lastly, you can read some my previous posts on attachment theory, and you'll see that those early responses to your baby's cries- whether you co sleep or not- are what causes your baby to attach to you- physically and mentally. Children who are unattached, or have what used to be termed 'attachment adjustment disorder' not only have trouble forming healthy adult relationships, but can also develop other mental illness and/or social disorders.


A Poem for the Children this Earth Never Had by Peaceful Parenting
Another great post by Peaceful Parenting this week especially in light of October 15th- Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day

I cried for joy when I saw the pink lines

We’d waited and waited for such a long time.

People gave gifts to show their delight,

I could barely get any sleep at night.

I was so excited to experience this life

I felt like I finally had something right.

The family I’d dreamed of for so many years

Was worth the wait, and was finally here.

Then in an instant, the joy was gone

I went to the doctor because something was wrong.

He said not to worry, it would all be ok

But he was wrong, and my baby left me that day.

My heart aches for the child I never knew

He was once in my womb, then with angels he flew.

I’m sure he’s in heaven having a ball

With Jesus, the greatest Daddy of all.

I can’t wait for the day that I see my child

He’ll run to me quick with his arms open wide.

I love him as much as I love my new son

But he’ll forever be my very first one.

He holds a very special place in my heart

He made me a Mommy, though his time was cut short.

My dream has come true and my family is great

I have three kids in heaven, my arrival they await.

Someday we’ll be together and they’ll sit on my lap

And I’ll mother the children that this Earth never had.

~ Tricia Pyatt

And then just a quick shout out to another great website I just discovered- if you're anything like me, and have experience post partum depression, you should check out  www.postpartumprogress.com.


Post your faves from this week below! Enjoy!

NOW Offering EVERSAVE Deals for YOU

Going forward, I am happy to announce that NurturingtheNaturalMama will be offering weekly deals from Eversave.

I have 2 deals for you today:

The first, which you mamas will LOVE, is $30 toward Classic Shapewear for ONLY $15  w FREE shipping!

* Classic Shapewear offers an enormous selection of full body shapers, shaping tanks, maternity shapewear and more in a variety of sizes
* Eversave Extras alert! Spend $70 when redeeming your voucher to earn $10 in Save Rewards

The second, is 2 AMC Silver Experience Movie Tickets ($24 value) for ONLY $13 

* Save Rewards are not valid on this deal - but new members get $3 when they sign up and $2 after they buy and share the deal, giving them $5 towards their next Eversave purchase!

* Act fast, limited quantity available! Check out the deal to learn more about the details.

Enjoy!

Be sure to follow Eversave on Facebook and Twitter and let them know NurturingtheNaturalMama sent you!

Family/ Work Life Balance- Does it Exist?

Individualism vs. Commitment to Family. 

So in this day and age, following the brunt of the feminism movement and a huge thrust in civil rights (while it's all certainly still not perfect); we, as a society, constantly promote self fulfillment and individuality. And as more and more moms enter the workforce, and more and more young parents are forced to have both parents working because of the economy- there is no reason to wonder why 50% of marriages end in divorce, and why more and more children are growing up unattached.

As an intermittent stay at home myself, I can say I have spent a lot of time struggling with my role and maintaining my sanity while staying at home with the kids. Now I am well aware that many moms relish the opportunity to be at home and thoroughly enjoy their time there- I am just not one of them. While I enjoy spending time with my kids, I feel I am legitimately a better mom when I am working and have some time by myself and with other adults.

I have also struggled with the resentment towards my husband after being home with the kids all day,  while he is working, and then we have the perpetual "who does more around here?" argument. He just wants to sit down after a hard day at work... I get mad/resentful that he is just sitting there while I am changing yet another diaper or feeding the kids.... etc. When really- we're all working for the same thing, right??

I am in the process of reading this great book called Towards Commitment , for which the point is clear and precise: commit to your family above all else.

Just to add in another disclaimer: there are clear exceptions- no one is saying to stay in an abusive relationship, etc.

But the authors, married for 47 years, discuss topics like finances, work-life balance, child rearing, school, sex, emotional needs, etc. It's crazy when you think about how really we don't discuss in depth our expectations with our spouse/partner. If you're anything like us, we have surface conversations about how we think things are going to go ; "yea, you'll work this hour to this hour, then the kids go to bed, i'll make dinner" etc. But the nitty gritty about emotional and physical expectations, and problems/issues when the expectations in your mind don't match your reality. In the authors experience, she had to just whole heartedly commit. Commit to her husband, despite their differences, without considering it as "sacrificing her own self fulfillment". I am not going to be able to describe it as she does in the book and do the theory justice- but it is worth a read!

It is more about a family/work fit versus balance, because these days- I'm not sure a true balance actually exists. Would you agree or disagree? and how do you achieve your family/work "fit"?

SAVE America. Start TODAY.

So I saw a poster in a cafe yesterday that had this statement on it:

"We challenge you to change just 10% of your purchases from big box stores to local merchants"

the poster indicated that this small change would create something like 50,000 jobs (and if I remember correctly, that was just considering the state I was in- New Hampshire) and would immediately increase the revenue of the state, and hence America, to help improve our economy.

I believe the group that had sponsored the poster was Seacoast Eat Local. But your 10% shift doesn't just have to be food- it can be anything! But if we take food as an example, it can be your least expensive option. Last weekend, I went over to our local farm Brookford Farm and purchased some fresh veggies (a bag of arugula $3, some leeks $1, and some onions $3), I also purchased some yogurt, cheese, and raw milk. Now, I spent about $20.00.  You need to keep in mind that the yogurt and milk come in LARGE Mason jars.

Additionally, when I am ready for more yogurt and milk, I bring the jars back and get a deposit towards my next purchase. Let's look at the milk. I switch between soy milk and raw milk for my kiddos. Soy milk costs about $4.59/ carton. The raw milk cost $4.50. When I bring back the rinsed Mason jar- I get a $2.50 deposit. My milk ends up costing me almost HALF of if I kept purchasing soy milk from our local Hannaford.

Now this comes right after I heard on Late Night with Diane Sawyer about their Made In America initiative, where they are challenging building contractors to change just 5% of their purchases for building homes to American made supplies. Doing this is predicted to create 220,000 jobs in America!

You can also help this cause by purchasing your very own Made In America T- shirts  which are made of 100% cotton and made, of course, right here in America.

So here at NurturingtheNaturalMama, I am extending this challenge- and I want to hear your stories of how you achieved it! I challenge you to change 10% of your purchases- food or otherwise to American made in the next 30 days. Share the results!!

Was it more expensive? Was it worth it? How did it make you feel? Do you feel you got better or worse product for your money? What type of products did you try?

Belated Confession

Several days ago via Facebook, I promised you a confession. Then I got busy, which is totally unfair as I am sure so many of you were glued to your computers anxiously awaiting my confession. :)


Anyways, I do have something I need to share.

I am an Etsy-aholic.

I love that you are supporting individual people, mostly WAHMs, and all recycling/upcycling for the pre-loved items! I LOVE IT.

So, if you haven't yet discovered Etsy, take a LOOK today! Here are some of my faves;

Guavas and Bananas

Adorn Nursing Necklaces

Rock a Bye Booty

Check it out and SHOP today, supporting WAHMs! <3