Nurturing Hands Family Wellness Centre

05/13/2025

We have a few spots available for our June prenatal classes

04/01/2025

Join Lesley this Friday at Watch Me Grow 😊

03/14/2025

To all the hard working Mamas out there ❤️

Breastfeeding for a year. Shocking statistics-

Breastmilk has over 200 beneficial compounds including stem cells & antibodies that protect your baby.

It takes approximately 1800 hours to breastfeed for one year (full time job is 1968 hours)

It takes 500-700 extra calories each day. 182,500-255,500 in one year.

That's equivalent to running 35-50 marathons.

If you feel extra tired it's because your body is WORKING. You should be so proud. ❤️

03/09/2025

“All the eggs a woman will ever carry form in her ovaries while she is a four-month-old fetus in the womb of her mother.

This means our cellular life as an egg begins
in the womb of our grandmother.

Each of us spent five months in our
grandmother’s womb, and she in turn
formed in the womb of her grandmother.

We vibrate to the rhythm of our mother’s blood before she herself is born, and this pulse is the thread of blood that runs all the way back through the grandmothers to the first mother.”

💜 Layne Redmond, When the Drummers
Were Women
🎨 Amy Haderer, The Mandala Journey Birth
Amy Haderer, Artist - Mandala Journey

03/05/2025

01/27/2025

It doesn’t last forever but it sure feels like it does

01/16/2025

This is an amazing opportunity for families expecting in the next 35 weeks.

01/10/2025

In the hospital they usually tell moms to try to breastfeed every 2-3 hours. Wake baby to nurse every 2-3 hours. That way you can make sure to nourish baby and bring in a good milk supply.

Unfortunately this isn’t exactly how it works🙄 this visual was shared in a post from a friend that I shared a couple years ago and it’s incredibly accurate.

It’s basic math that they use in the hospital to give you the “ideal” feeding schedule. This “ideal schedule” equals about 8-12 nursing sessions in 24 hours which means baby would only have to nurse every 2-3 hours.

This is their way of saying that baby needs to eat often, but this isn’t exactly how it works for mom and baby in real life. Which can cause a mom to really struggle when her baby wants to nurse more often than every 2-3 hours! Nothing like setting new moms up to fail🤦‍♀️

Because they push this so heavily, I’ve noticed that parents seem to think breastfeeding is going to be super simple and perfectly spaced out feedings like the cereal picture. It also makes it look as though all feedings should be the same size so they should be nursing for the same amount of time each time. Which also is NOT accurate.

THIS IS NOT THE REALITY. In reality, baby will have big/long feeds sometimes. Or little/short feeds. Or feeding sessions while they are still mostly asleep. Or feeding sessions that aren’t so great. Or anything in between! They are not guaranteed to sleep better just because their feedings are all spaced out perfectly and done for the same length of time.

Instead of watching the clock and timing sessions, let baby lead! Watch for feeding cues from your little one and go from there😊

I also wanted to say that I love the blueberries portion of this visual. It shows more of a reality for how nursing sessions go. Some are bigger. Some are smaller. Sometimes there’s a longer amount of time in between. And in counting the berries, there are STILL the correct number of nursing sessions for the day.

Amazing, right?! Our bodies and our babies know what they are doing. Let them lead💙💚

Image by: .dietician

12/30/2024

Still a couple of spots left for our next session of prenatal classes

12/11/2024

Topic list for Postpartum Support Group starting in January.

Please reach out for more information and to register at anchorandoakcounselling@gmail.com

11/15/2024

Winter & Spring 2025: January, February, March, April, May.

If you are currently postpartum or expecting a new arrival this winter or spring this group may be an added support to your postpartum recovery.

Postpartum Support Group is an in-person support group for parents of newborns to 18 months.

$25 per session, bi-weekly. The group can be covered under benefits for those who have social work coverage. Sliding scale available.

Please reach out through email anchorandoakcounselling@gmail.com to complete a short intake and register for sessions.

*Open group format- participants can join at any stage of the season.
3 group minimum commitment.