Life with two-year olds! Birth doula news! And a Stella & Dot event!

Hello dear mamas,

Thank you for bearing with us through a relatively silent spell online. We continue to be active with Mama Haven behind the scenes, though we're acutely aware that it's meant some seeming quietude from us. We've each been doing some travelling in Canada and the US, one of us is renovating a house and getting ready to move soon, one of us is pregnant, one of us is preparing to return to working outside the home and likely moving too, and we're each juggling our wild, wilful, bright, and beautiful two-year-old daughters. Those of you with toddlers (or those who were once toddlers) may appreciate the sweet chaos that can bring, and how little time it may leave for other people, plans, and projects! However, we remain committed to our chosen cause, and will soon have some 2013 retreat info up and online for you to peruse. We hope you'll consider joining us at a future Mama Haven retreat!

We also want to let you know that we have done our DONA International birth doula training (though ongoing related education shall continue) via Douglas College (British Columbia, Canada), and Mama Haven is delighted to announce that we are now offering our services as birth doulas. We are both members of the Doula Services Association and will work with the DSA to offer our services as volunteer doulas to women in need (please email their referral coordinator to see if you qualify). Otherwise, the flat fee for our birth doula package ranges from $500 to $750. You can read a bit more on our Birth Doula page, coming soon. Please email us for details, if you'd like to know more about what we offer. 

And, for you spontaneous women, night owls, and/or jewellery lovers, a last-minute reminder about an upcoming event, tomorrow! We're partnering with the gracious and lovely Cheryl Cameron from Stella & Dot, to offer an afternoon tea and jewellery trunk show, in support of Mama Haven. Click here for the details to our event in North Vancouver on Saturday, November 10th from 2-4pm. If you can't attend in person but wish to browse or shop the beautiful baubles (plus bags, wallets, scarves and teach cases), please click right here.

Mama Haven is slightly more active on Facebook and Twitter, so please also feel free to respectively Like and Follow us here and here!

Many thanks, and wishing you all a wonderful long weekend with your loved ones!

With gratitude and best wishes,

Kajsa and Terra
xo

Mama Haven still on summer holidays but . . .

Hello, and happy summer! 


Our Mama Haven retreat in May at Bodega Ridge on Galiano Island, BC was a success, and we will be sharing some photos here and on our Facebook page soon.


We are still more or less on holidays here at Mama Haven, so we apologize for the lack of updates, but we continue to plan behind the scenes . . .


Up next, the Mama Haven mamas are set to receive their birth doula certification (Doula of North America, DONA International) this August and October 2012! 


And, stay tuned for the details of our 1-night Mama Haven eco-luxe retreat in downtown Vancouver this fall. More soon.


Many thanks for visiting! 


Kajsa & Terra

Ten days until Mama Haven's weekend retreat on Galiano Island!

ocean views from the grounds at Bodega Ridge

The 10-day countdown to Mama Haven is on, and we are thrilled to soon be welcoming our mum & baby pairs to our retreat at Bodega Ridge on Galiano Island this month: May 25-27 (Friday morning to Sunday afternoon). We are offering a weekend of wellness and relaxation, as well as the community and nurturing support that many mothers of young ones very much crave and need. 


Mum & baby yoga, organic meals for mums and their wee ones (under 2 years), a workshop with a naturopathic doctor, private life coaching session, one-hour massage for every mama, compassionate & experienced childcare in our on-site nursery, accommodation in one of 7 cosy & well-equipped cabins, eco-friendly gift bags full of treats for mothers and babies, morning meditation, afternoon nature walks, mid-day gatherings in the main lodge, evenings with organic wine and raw chocolate . . . Can you understand why we are so excited?!

Bodega Ridge, Galiano Island, BC

For all the details of this month's Mama Haven weekend, please click here on our wellness retreat page.


If you are attending this retreat, (and we're delighted that you are!) you may wish to click here to make your BC Ferries reservations. Contact us directly if you need us to help facilitate carpooling.




If you want to attend Mama Haven this month, but have not yet booked with us, please contact us via email here, as there are limited spots available in the cabins. You may also register and pay online on our Pricing & Payment page. 

two of the seven sweet cabins at Bodega Ridge

Our heartfelt thanks to our 30 generous sponsors, who are contributing goods or services to the eco-friendly goodie bags that all mamas at our retreat will receive. The bags are piling up and they are getting heavy with treats! We are very thankful, and are so excited to share these with our Mama Haven mothers at the retreat. Please view our updated list of sponsors here.


You can also keep up with our news on Facebook.com/mamahaven and @mamahaven on Twitter. And, as ever, feel free to contact us with any comments, questions, or requests for future Mama Haven retreats!


With gratitude,


Kajsa and Terra
co-founders, Mama Haven

I love my mom

I love my mom. I always have and always will, but along the way, especially in my teenage years, she drove me a bit nuts… and I know she felt the same about me. But life goes on and we both grew older and now I feel very blessed, knowing that we have built a strong relationship as mother & daughter, and are also now becoming better friends as the years go by. 

(Grannie, Auntie Sherry, Mom, Terra @ 2 years)

As a single parent and career woman, my mother worked harder than anyone else I knew and did her best to maintain a joyful and carefree environment for me. Though she was required to bring schoolwork home at night as a teacher, she made up for it on the weekends with bike rides & other activities and managed to ferry me to and from skating & swimming lessons, baseball & soccer games, choir & piano lessons, and the list goes on, while encouraging me to do my best at whatever I was doing.

Even though I was loved and cared for, I suffered emotionally without a constant father figure and like most teens that I knew, I yearned for independence and caused my mother some grief. It was a tough few years. Though I knew my mother’s actions and words were of good intention, I never fully understood them until I became a mother myself, to which most of us can attest, I’m sure. If I haven’t already said it about my teenage years, here it is: “I’m sorry, Mom, for being such a jerk.” And I will say it a million times more. My daughter will probably say it to me after she has her first child. 

When I was planning for my daughter’s birth, a home water birth, I was able to choose who would attend. I had my midwives there along with a friend/photographer, my stepchildren and a friend to look after them and of course, my partner. I had thought about my mother being there, but the logistics didn’t work out as she was living a plane ride away, and secretly, I also wanted to “Do this for myself,” meaning “Without my mother holding my hand.” (Though I must say, she was always very good at that.) My daughter Amelia graced our presence within the last few strokes of the clock on Father’s Day and her birth experience was amazing to say the least: it was the most momentous day of my life and changed me forever, for I had crossed the threshold into motherhood.

My mother came out the very next day and although pleased to see her and thankful for the help, I was overwhelmed by emotion and uncomfortably asked her to stay a few days less than she had planned. I was so worried that I would hurt her feelings but she graciously heeded my request, either from being there herself many moons ago or from a deep love for me, her once little baby, feeling only compassion and understanding for her daughter, a very new mum. Whatever the reason, I am grateful to her for giving me my space, which has only drawn me closer to her.

I often catch myself doing or saying things to Amelia that remind me of my mother. Sometimes these are “Oh my gosh, I sound like my mother!” moments, but mostly they are the beautiful moments that I half-subconsciously share with and pass on to my child, in the most gentle eyelash flutters of a butterfly kiss or the soothing tune of an ages old lullaby. These are the moments when I truly feel connected to my mother again as if I were a child once more. I have missed my mom more since I have become one myself, finally “getting it” and understanding all the love that was behind every intention, dream and hope that she had and still has for me. My mom has been and still is my biggest fan. I appreciate her more and finally realize how hard it sometimes was for her, parenting as a single mom, trying to pay the bills while finding her role as a nurturing while disciplining mother/father figure.

I remember the day my grandmother died and feeling the weight of my mother’s loss in depths of me as though my body was filled with sand. I felt helpless to comfort her, as I was always the one to be comforted. For a moment she was the child, and I, still a child myself, felt awkward and was completely oblivious to the passage of time and realities of life. Looking back on this now as I watch my parents grow older, I am faced with the harsh reality of life and reminded by a 19^th century sentiment “We bloom today, tomorrow die,” which reminds me to live in the present and to honor every moment and relationship with my daughter, my mother and the other precious people in my life: accepting, forgiving and moving forward toward love.

I am continuously amazed at how much I learn about my mother whenever we visit. I relish the opportunity to get to know her better as a woman, as I’ve known her for so long as my mother. I am reclaiming my own sense of self and learning what it is to be a woman and a mother. I am constantly inspired by my mother’s energy and good nature, her love of travel, dancing & photography. I cherish the moments that we spend together and am truly looking forward to connecting with her more once she moves to the West Coast and continues to Zumba! away in her 60s. Amelia is so blessed to have such a Grandma, and I, a mother and dear friend. I love you, mom.

(And by the way, it's a good thing I was typing this out and not using pen & paper since I would have smudged the words with all of my tears. It's amazing what a little reflecting can do. I think I would suggest it once and awhile :) )

Terra xo

Five+ weeks until Mama Haven on Galiano Island!

Happy April, Mamas!

Cherry blossoms, daffodils, the scent of the salty ocean air, snow on the north shore mountains, sporadic sunshine... These are a few of the things we've been waking up to in Vancouver this spring, along with the realization that our upcoming Mama Haven retreat at Bodega Ridge on Galiano Island is just over five weeks away. Do you remember what it was like when you were that many weeks away from giving birth? Waking in the morning (or night, getting kicked awake by the ever-growing baby within) with a sense of curiosity, love, tenderness, and wonder. Or were you just ready to birth that baby already, 'cause he or she was getting really heavy and making it hard to get a good night's sleep? Oh, wait . . . Sleep. When is this wellness retreat getting started (May 25-27), and what time is my hour-long massage scheduled for? ;-)

Perhaps you have just welcomed a baby into your life, or your best friend recently became a new mum, or your daughter adopted twins, or you're taking a casserole to your neighbor who just had a home birth for her fourth child. Either way, we celebrate all new parents and we're very glad to have you here. Mother's Day is, of course, coming up next month (Sunday, May 13), and perhaps you are looking for a remarkable way to mark the grand occasion.

Our upcoming Mama Haven retreat is designed to give a mother something that's hard for her to give herself: pampering, a sense of community among new mums, and a holistic weekend retreat. As you may already know, this 3-day / 2-night weekend retreat (Friday to Sunday) is all-inclusive and offers accommodation, organic vegetarian meals (for mums and wee ones), daily mum and baby yoga classes, a body-rolling bliss class for mums, on-site childcare for babies (when you are having a massage, or just need a time-out), a workshop with a naturopathic doctor (plus individual consultations for each mother), private life-coaching sessions, morning meditations, nature walks, and more. Plus, each mum who attends Mama Haven will receive a fabulous eco-friendly gift bag full of wonderful products courtesy of our 20+ community sponsors. These sponsors include Aquaventures Swim Centre, Choices Market, Dilly Dally Kids, Lotusland Vineyard, Lunapads, SPUD, Vancouver Aquarium, and Whole Foods Market. Peek at all of our generous sponsors on this page.

To learn more about the Mama Haven retreat in May, click on this page. If you're ready to book it and register online, click here for Pricing and Payment. If you don't see a payment option that works for you, just email us here and we can work out payment for a group gift (i.e. contributing to a friend's baby shower gift), set up a gift certificate, or anything you like. We can even deliver, in the greater Vancouver area. Please, try your special requests on us!

Every mother deserves such special treatment, and we're sorry we won't have room for them all. There are only seven cabins at this retreat, and they are filling up. So if you've been thinking about it, now is the time to reserve your own spot, or purchase a gift for the special mama in your life.

Wishing you all good health, a good night's sleep, and a joyous spring!

xo
Kajsa and Terra

Stella & Dot trunk show, and Welcome to New Sponsors!

Good afternoon lovely people! We are hosting the Stella & Dot Trunk Show March 29th in Vancouver. Come by to meet us, Kajsa & Terra, learn more about our coming retreat at Bodega Ridge on Galiano Island, May 25-27, 2012, and peruse the gorgeous jewelry from Stella & Dot while sipping some wine and nibbling on delicious appies.

If you would like to buy jewelry but are not able to attend, you will still be able to buy in support of Mama Haven, either online or by phone.

Online: Go to http://www.stelladot.com/style/trunkshow/6ca1cb08-625b-11e1-a206-005056b55330 to shop and place your order. Using the online ordering option, be sure to select the “ship to hostess” option to take advantage of the reduced shipping rate if placing an order prior to April 1st.

Phone or Email: For personalized service, call or email our Stella & Dot Stylist, Cheryl Cameron with your order: 604-990-4323 or email Cheryl by clicking here.  

Every registered Mama Haven guest who buys a piece of jewelry, either tonight or through us by the end of the month (March 31), will be entered into a draw for a surprise prize from one of our fabulous sponsors! Check them out on our sponsors page.

We would like to extend a warm welcome and thank you to our newest sponsors, Whole Foods and Womyns'Ware! We are very excited at the growing list of retreat sponsors and know you will love the fantastic (and eco-responsible) goodie bags that all registered mums & babes will receive upon arrival at Bodega Ridge!!

Hope to see you all tonight, we can't wait! Babies are welcome but please note that no childcare will be available, though there will be some toys and a bouncy chair or two :)

 

 

 

Terra & Kajsa xo

 

March 14, 2012

Happy Wednesday, Mamas! We remain busy behind the scenes, building a beautiful retreat for you at Bodega Ridge on Galiano Island this spring (May 25-27), growing our community of fabulous mamas and friends, and now you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter too.

Have a peek at our May retreat page, which we have just added information to. We want to make sure you know that we aim to provide excellent value and lots of activities (or opportunities to nap, after your massage!) for your weekend away. Many of you have also asked about transportation on the island or carpooling, and we are happy to help connect you. Feel free to email us at by clicking here - let us know that you're comfortable sharing your email address with potential Mama Haven carpoolers, and we will do our best to facilitate.


We're thrilled to have many mamas registered and signed up already, and we're looking forward to meeting the rest of you!


If you don't know about our Mama Haven cocktail party later this month in Vancouver, check out our Events page for details. We hope to see you there on Thursday, March 29! Please bring good cheer and your questions! Babies are welcome too (though there is no childcare at the party).


As you'll have a chance to meet us at the cocktail party and ask us any questions, we thought it only fair that we extend our early-bird pricing until the end of the month, March 31. It also gives you a bit more time to pass hints to your spouse, friends, and baby's grandparents that attending Mama Haven is a great gift that you really deserve for Mother's Day! (Email us if you would like us to send a "get the hint" e-card to your special someone, or ask us about gift certificates, or how to organize multiple people contributing to a Mama Haven gift for you.)


We're also delighted to have so many sponsors on board already (and more to be announced), and they are really making the goodie bags (which all mums attending the retreat will receive) something special. Lots of local businesses, organic products... very exciting!


Thanks for being so lovely!


Kajsa & Terra


p.s. we just did a day trip to Galiano Island this month, and this was the actual sunset on the ferry back (no Photoshop!)