When I chose the name of my business years ago, I was a childbirth educator. Linette Lao, dear friend of mine from high school, designed my logo. At that time, I was thinking about how the birth process caused moms and dads to bloom into parenting. Since I taught natural childbirth I added "naturally". Since my time with parents ended soon after the birth that is all I really focused on.
As time went on, I shifted into breastfeeding education, and lactation work. I changed my business name to Bloom Into Breastfeeding, because I was focused on just that part of parenting. But yet it was too narrow and confined. I wanted to share more of my knowledge than just about the boob. I became a certified health coach through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute. After some soul searching, I changed my business name back to Bloom Into Parenting.
My soul searching included delving into what "bloom" really means and contemplating the nature of flowers. Do they bloom or open once and then shut? Well, some do. Other flowers will repeatedly open and close, and they do so to protect their precious pollen from the dew of morning. Some plants continuously flower, and others have a limited number of blooms.
My next thoughts went to the word parenting and how that means to raise. Parenting doesn't end when our children grow, it shifts and changes. For me today, that shift is from a baby girl I birthed, breastfed, bathed, changed diapers, held, cried over and with, to a young woman who will show me around UTC where she will attend starting in August.
Today, I take the day off of working with new mamas, and I get to celebrate my accomplishments as a mama, as I continue to bloom into this journey that is parenting.