Thank you, dear friend.

It was four years ago when I was pregnant with our third child, our baby girl, that a friend introduced me to Mothering Magazine. The same dear friend that gave me her well worn and oh so super soft original Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers that both her daughters used so that we could try them with our new little one. You see before that I was an attached mama who didn't know there was a name for it. I trusted my instincts to wear my babies, nurse them exclusively, and co-sleep with them, but I also felt like I was the only one who was doing those things.

I was the first of my college and high school friends to have a child, when I was a mere 24 years old, as well as the first in my immediate family to have a baby. You can imagine that the first grandchild on both sides of the family was just showered with gifts. And, there was a lot of advice, from family and friends alike. I immediately felt the instinct to hold and nurture my baby constantly, and that meant to me exclusively nursing, co-sleeping, baby wearing, and being an attached mama from the start. But, because I did not have the support of like-minded women in my circle, I questioned my instincts at every turn, making my natural choices sometimes very hard. There was no intention behind this, yet without that support it was very lonely at times. And, it wasn't until I met some very dear friends that said, "hey, I nursed my babes, too, I wore them in slings, too, and we have a family bed, too" that I realized my natural instinct was well, natural.

My friend gave me an old copy of Mothering when I was pregnant with our third and I read it cover to cover crying the whole way through. I was happy to realize that there was a whole community of like-minded mamas out there, and I was sad to realize that I had ever questioned my instincts based on others' advice. I was also mad at the predominance in our culture of corporations that push products that aren't safe for mamas and babies, and mad at the healthcare industry that makes a birthing mother just another number, a patient instead of recognizing birth as the most natural part of life. It's hard to balance all of those emotions as a first-time mama, and even as a third-time mama.

So when I read my first Mothering Magazine and opened my world to what mamas all over the world know, a mama's instinct is always right, my confidence soared. I grew emotionally and spiritually. And, I committed myself to educate others so they would know of alternative ways. However you parent your children, you know what's best for them, yet as a young mama, it does help to see others doing it the same, for there is comfort in community. It was during my last pregnancy and during this awakening that the idea for Eco Womb was born. To provide safe, eco-friendly products and information all in one place and locally sourced. We have started slow, we work when the kids are asleep, our family business centers around our family. So, when given the opportunity to work with Mothering on this last promotion for our store and Giveaway, we jumped at the chance. We feel so grateful to have come full circle on this journey. Mothering was our support in those early days of recognizing the power in trusting our natural parenting instincts, and now we are hoping to educate new parents on the resources available and support out there to raise their families in a safe, eco-friendly way.

Thanks to everyone who has newly friended Eco Womb, we are excited to have you along on this journey! And, thanks to Mothering for being a leader in supporting natural parenting, and supporting start-up businesses like ours trying to do our part to help our families, communities, and Mother Earth.