February marked the 4 year anniversary of Nurture; happy birthday, Nurture. Four years ago, with a three month old baby and a two year old son, I started this journey with a dear friend of mine. Time flies, it is hard to believe that my daughter is already four, but looking back it is not so difficult to believe that Nurture is four, given all that we have done in that time.

February also marked the beginning of the final chapter of Nurture. It is a bit of a sad chapter, but I hope the last few pages will be full of reflection on the beauty that Nurture has brought.

On April 14th we will close our doors. Each of our wonderful wellness professionals will continue their amazing work in other spaces throughout the Portland community, and we will keep the website updated with information about where to find each of us as we move.

There are so many things I want to say, but what it all boils down to is thank you. Thank you to each and every person who has been a part of this incredible community, space, experience… you are what made Nurture what it was, and I will always carry with me, in a very special place in my heart, the admiration and awe that I feel in the presence of such brilliance that is in each of you.

And now, I will quietly begin to close this book and wait to see where the next trail will lead me….

Midwifery students Maura Jansen and Courtney Jarecki will be teaching a 4 week childbirth education class. This series is designed especially for mamas preparing to birth at home with midwives.

Topics to be covered in class include, but are not limited to:

• The physical, emotional and psychological aspects of pregnancy and labor at home
• Nutrition, exercise and sex during and after pregnancy
• Labor support at home with a birth partner
• How pain plays a part in labor
• Fetal positioning
• Practice time for comfort measures during labor
• Pushing
• Transport interventions
• The first hour after birth
• Breastfeeding
• Life with a newborn

Each participant in this class will receive handouts and community resource information. The class also offers time to connect with other homebirthing families.

This is a 4-week series beginning Sunday, February 26 and ending Sunday, March 18.
Class times are from 11-1 on the following dates: 2/26, 3/4, 3/11, 3/18.
Homebirth Classes are held at Nurture in NE Portland at 1626 NE Alberta St.

This class is offered at a sliding scale rate for homebirthing families: $100-150 per couple for 4, 2 hour sessions.
Minimum of 3 couples, max of 6.

Call us at 503.737.8834 or email courtney@fullmoonsdaughter.com to be added to the class list.

Go to www.fullmoonsdaughter.com for more information.

Nurture warmly welcomes our newest Family Wellness Professional Member, Amber Hincks.  Amber is an East Asian Medicine Practitioner with a special interest in women’s health.  Read on to find out more about Amber and all that she has to offer:

Amber Hincks, L.Ac.
Vital Moon Healing Arts
www.vitalmoonpdx.com
971.267.2229

Greetings!  I am a licensed acupuncturist in the state of Oregon, and acupuncture is one of the many services I will be offering now at Nurture.  Chinese medical theory provides the foundation for a holistic view of health that sees the individual as a unique and complex whole person.  While I look at symptoms and how to resolve them efficiently, I also seek to bring the person back into balance with themselves, as well as with nature and community.

Along with acupuncture and its associated modalities, I use Chinese herbal medicine, massage, and dietary and lifestyle counseling.  I am also a trained birth doula.  I love working with women or couples who are starting new families, wherever they are in that process.  It is such an important time to feel supported and have the resources you need.  I also enjoy working with digestive disorders (herbs are great!), musculoskeletal conditions (tuina massage is incredible!), and emotional wellbeing.

Chinese medicine has so much to offer at any stage of life, and I look forward to adding my skills to the wonderful community at Nurture.  Please contact me with any questions at 971-267-2229 or vitalmoonpdx@gmail.com.  I look forward to meeting you!

We love our new space and have spent the summer moving in and getting it ready. But it still needs a little more love. So we are having two work parties, and you are welcome to join us. It is a great chance to see our space and meet us, if you haven’t done either of those yet.

Sunday, October 2nd from 10am-? (maybe 4pm)

& Sunday, October 9th from 10am-?

We will be getting the porch ready to paint, painting the porch, painting the metal railings of the porch, painting the front door, painting the indoor stair railings, and a few other small but important jobs

We would love to see you and would really appreciate the help!

It’s that time of year again! The time of year that brings the wonderful gathering of families and the rich collection of services  for families available in Portland… The Green Sprouts Festival!

Nurture will have a booth (under the tent this year) with information about our services, rebozos for the first 40 families who commute there by bike, door prizes, and a Kids’ Craft Table featuring Bead Art.  We have every kind of bead imaginable, including charms and letters, for fun creations!  An added perk is that we are not supplying messy materials!  There will also be a reading quilt set up to take a break and read a story or two. A collection of children story books will be on hand. if you’re looking to relax and stay clean, please come by and see us!  We will be located in the tent area of the park.

Luna Lactation will also have a special tent for breastfeeding again this year! Stop by and say hello to our wonderful lactation consultant, Melissa Cole.

Thriving relationships need very specific kinds of habits that are not always obvious, but are totally doable once you learn about them.

All ages & diversity (lesbian, trans, straight, or bi) of women are invited to get together with Shannon Batts (MS, LPC in Oregon) AKA the Relationship Gardener, for support, inspiration, and to get a grip on relationships!   These love habits are also present or not in all your relationships and will impact how interactions at work, in your family, and with your friends grow or not.  Let’s start our upgrade and have better connections.

Join us to learn about

• specific kinds of positivity needed to have the foundation for being able to have not only a more rewarding relationship, but a necessary part of what makes conflict work out
• which kinds of responses to everyday chit chat lead to divorce-early and late, and which one leads to the long lasting happy path
• the 4 poisons are and their antidotes
• specific tools for taking on difficult conversations that root out defensiveness and give you that being heard feeling you are seeking
• finding more meaning in your relationships
• what your first date communication predicts for your relationship outcome and how to improve your odds of lasting
• affair proofing
• how experts create a healing path after infidelity-and what to stay away from in typical advice.

NEW DAY: Saturdays, 4:30-6pm. Inquire directly to Shannon (503-348-0405, or couplescoach@gmail.com)

Class/group information is based on tools gleaned from 30 years of following couples and researching all about them at the Gottman Institute.

You can totally afford this because in 2011 all the RG groups and interactive gatherings are by donation! Woo hoo!!! You pick your payment amount.

Just my Year of The Rabbit special for you!

I am a straight, but LGBTQI? affirming licensed counselor-recommended by the founder of DayStar Education http://www.linkedin.com/pub/shannon-batts-m-s-lmft-lpc/27/331/823

Examples of who could benefit from Women Connect:

If you have a new Love Thang and you want to know the relationship keys-what makes a difference in whether your relationship will last and be happy or not.

If you are struggling because you have done all you know to do and your relationship is a piece of work.

If a relationship ended and you want to pull yourself together and aim yourself for thriving relationships.

If you are not in a relationship, but you want to be ready when you do find the right one.

Childbirth Education Classes

Through your birthing education class, you will learn about different philosophies of birth.

You and your partner will learn information to make empowering choices for the type of birth you want

You will learn to understand what to expect of your body and how to trust your body to labor as it was made to.

Class topics are personalized to meet the expectant parents’ needs and interests and include:

• Pregnancy and Prenatal Health
• Optimal Fetal Positioning
• Anatomy and Physiology of Birth
• Stages of Labor and Birth, what to expect and how to cope
• Relaxation and Comfort Techniques
• Your partners role in pregnancy, birth and postpartum
• Postpartum Care and wellbeing
• Baby Care and Breastfeeding
• Informed Care choices for you and your baby

These classes encourage parents to let go of assumptions and fears and cultivate a healthy outlook towards their upcoming birth.

Classes run for 5 weeks, Saturdays from 2-5pm $100 for 5 week session (Minimum 3 couples)

Nurture 1626 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211

Session 1: Sept 17th-Oct 22 (no class Oct 15th) 2011

Session 2: Nov 19-Dec 17th 2011

Session 3: Jan. 7th-Feb 4th 2012

Contact Tia Rich 971-533-6496 tia@inner-serenity.org www.Inner-Serenity.org

A monthly meditation group for mothers seeking a practice of renewal and striving toward mindful parenting. We support the journey of mothering as a exercise toward inner growth that uplifts the family. If you find youself surrounded by busyness, pressured by the unknowns and responsibilities of parenting, and seek a group that supports your ability to slow down, breathe, and listen to your inner wisdom, then mama meditation is for you.

Slowing down and allowing ourselves to just be present without judgement can provide an opportunity for acceptance, connection, and understanding. Whether our experiences are challenging or joyful, we can embrace them for what they are and grow from that understanding.

Join us, as we develop our restorative practice together and individually. Learn how to create sacred space, make time in your daily routine, develop a tool belt of simple techniques and come to understand the benefits meditation has on your ability to be more adaptable, present, steady, and balanced through day-to-day tasks and in your relationships. (We will explore meditative techniques from various yogic traditions, all of which support renewal, quietude, and inner harmony.)

Share your meditative wisdom by fostering a space of dedication to your practice and allow others to witness your sacred connection. Meditation has so many benefits, supporting you, your children, your partner, and your friends too.

Note: If you are a women who nurtures others, then you qualify as mom. Offered monthly on the third Monday @ Nurture 1626 NE Alberta 7:30-8:30pm.

Facilitated by Elaina Beam. Love offering ~ $5 for members, $7 for non-members, free for Heartwise Mamas

The Alberta Street Fair is this Saturday! We will be open for families to find a little bit of quiet for nursing or changing diapers, or regrouping during the wild fun out on the street.

We hope that everyone who comes through our door feels nurtured.

Here is a little list of just some of the wonderfulness we will have:

• Creative Recycling and Green Crafts will have supplies to make nursing necklaces ($5) or a toadstool (by donation)
• Shannon Batts, LMFT, LPC will be offering a relationship tune-up quiz and answering your relationship questions
• Lovely Henna will be there if you would like to add a beauty to your beautiful self (price varies by design)
• Starting at 2:30, Sage Body will be there to help you relax with $1/minute chair massage
• A little tea party in the garden for a noonish spot of tea