Thriving in Motherhood {Guest Post}

We thought we would wrap-up our Baby Week with a special treat!

A guest post from our friend,

Britton Lunde!

She is a proud mom of three beautiful daughters

who can relate to all the challenges that motherhood brings!

Her passion is to reach out to all new mothers

and empower them to be the mommies that they are made to be!

She continues to support expectant mothers

with her mother/baby support program throughout

Orange County, California.

Here is what Britton shared with us about her lovely business…

“Thriving in Motherhood, LLC 

 is about 10 years in the making and was officially born in 2009.

 I first started the class at Irvine Regional Hospital in 2001

when my second daughter was just 3 months old.

I saw a real need for a new moms support group

and found that need not being met in Orange County.

With my teaching background, I developed the curriculum

and started the program in the Spring of 2001.

I wasn’t sure how the program would do,

but I obviously met a need for new mothers,

because it grew very quickly.

My passion has always been teaching,

but now I found exactly where I was supposed to put that passion…

into new moms and their babies!

I taught at Irvine Regional Hospital for 7 years until it closed its doors in 2008.

I then was asked to bring my program to Kaiser Irvine

and started in 2009 where I have been for 3 years.

My class has grown to be very successful and I am finally expanding!

 I am excited to now offer my classes in multiple locations.

 My goal is to reach as many new moms as I can,

and help them adjust to their crazy new journey…  

motherhood!

My desire is to have no mother feel like they are just surviving motherhood.  

I want them to thrive in it!

So…

if you are looking for a comfortable and nurturing place

to get out of the house and bring your baby,

then come and share some special time

by meeting other moms going through the same phase of life!

Learn relevant, useful information to help you transition

into your new role as a mom. 

I offer a unique mother baby support class

with informative topics each week, such as

Infant Sign Language…

Infant Massage…

Feeding…

Sleeping and Routines…

Soothing Your Fussy Baby, and more!

The class is designed to empower moms and expectant mothers,

while providing a stimulating and engaging environment for infants

{newborn to 9 months}.  

All new mothers have mixed feelings of joy and fear,

love and doubt,

empowerment and also feelings of inadequacy.  

My goal is to help you find new and supportive friendships

with other moms and receive the support that you need to be successful!  

My passion is to help mommies and babies thrive!”   

{Britton earned her Bachelors Degree in Social Science with an emphasis in Child Development from UC Irvine.  She received her Childbirth Educator Certification and Postnatal Educator Certification through the International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) and is a certified Kindersign Instructor. She has 12 years experience teaching Early Childhood, Kindergarten, Childbirth, Parenting and Postnatal classes.}


Visit Britton’s informative website…

{Thriving in Motherhood}

to view her blog, gather resources & register for local classes!

You can also email Britton at

{thrive2motherhood@gmail.com} 

for information about private consultations & classes.

 {Click HERE}

to “like” her Facebook page for updates!

**********************

Britton is a wealth of knowledge in the field and a fabulous resource,

so take advantage of her classes and pass on the information to other mommies you know!

It is so great to support other local moms

that are reaching out to help empower women!!!

 

Bellies and Babies

 From Bellies to Babies

bellies to babies 7

bellies to babies 2

has been a small window of time in my life.

My babies are 6 and almost 4 (going on 15).

As a mother, I do have a small regret.

I deeply wish that I had a professional photographer

capture my belly {maternity photography}

and that I also had the precious moments of our

first quiet, yet sleepless days spent

at home with my tiny babies.

My excuses seem silly to me now,

but at the time of my pregnancy with Mason,

I had braces, was on and off bed rest,

and was working full time.

Both times my image of what pregnancy

should look like stood

in the way of capturing this moment.

My pregnancy with Madeline seemed to go by

within the blink of an eye,

as I was chasing a small toddler around.

As mothers, we are often the figures behind

the camera and not the one’s in the picture.

If I could bestow one small piece of advice

to a new mommy, I would say that this part

 life is very important.

The smell and the time I still recollect,

but the pictures of my little family together during

my pregnancies and the first days… I can’t get back.

Luckily, I do know of a wonderful photographer.

{Candace Rock Photography}

 She happened to feel the same way as I do.

She has turned her passion into a career

of photographing these exact moments so that they

can be part of your memory keeping.

Here are some of the lovely families she has captured.

bellies to babies 3

bellies to babies 4

bellies to babies

bellies to babies 6bellies to babies 1

These photographs are stunning and are a wonderful

representation of motherhood.

Candace has the talent of catching the right

light and feeling of these moments.

I truly believe that being a mother has

helped her instinct in shooting

the emotions and love that her clients

will treasure as their family milestones.

I am hopeful that a new mommy will toss aside

the lack of time and or body image issues of the moment

and enjoy being the beautiful mama in front of the camera.

As the years pass it will not be a

regret but a happy memory.

Go over and check out Candace’s website and like her

Facebook page where she has updates of upcoming

photo sessions and snap shots of her

adventures in motherhood.

nicole signature via simply happenstance