On a Thursday morning the parking lot is full. Every kind of Mama you could ever imagine is making her way up the stairs to Full Bloom. Some are from Africa, others from Asia and others come from just down the street. Some are just past being teenagers and others are hitting the 40 mark. Some are birth mamas and others are adoptive mamas. In this arena we’re all the same – we’re women holding in our arms the most precious cargo known to women everywhere. Many are first time moms negotiating the slippery slope of motherhood – oh, the journey that has no end. Life is forever changed marked by the day before and the day that, a child brings the new gift of family to your life.
Pat, owner of Full Bloom and the mama guru extraordinaire awaits their arrival as if it was her first day on the job – only it’s not, it’s been some 30 years that she has been spilling over her contagious brand of sheer joy.
Mamas arrive in a steady stream often sharing with Pat their latest concerns and questions about their little ones. She knows these new mamas by name and their babies too and greets each one as if they were her long-lost daughter and grandchild.
To meet with such expertise, wrapped up in Pats warmth, enthusiasm, passion and love for her clients is nothing short of miraculous in the life of any new mama. Pat has created a space in Athens Georgia that is second to none and more valuable than gold.
She is a registered nurse and worked in labor and delivery for some 15 odd years. After she hung up her l&d sneakers she taught childbirth education classes for 25 years. Pat is not knowledgable about all things pregnancy and birth – she IS all things mama and baby; she lives, breathes, eats and sleeps this stuff. You can sometimes find her in a world of her own cooing with a new baby while the mama’s takin’ five.
Inside babies are chattering, gurgling, exploring one another and a new beautiful sunlit environment. Some are rocking on their hands and knees contemplating their first attempt at forward (or backward) independent motion. One little one is crying unconsolably; I can only imagine that his Mama is grateful to be at FB and not home alone.
She says it was my comment to her 8 years ago that spurred her in the direction of Full Bloom. A birthing center in Athens? Why not I said in my utter ignorance of the politics of childbirth in healthcare. A few years later I became a doula (birthing coach) and learned just how commercialized the natural birth process has become. It’s a multi million dollar industry – what used to happen in the bedrooms of homes all around the world in the company of family is illegal in the state of Georgia. Pat is known to even do home visits with clients who need post partum consultation.
Although Full Bloom is not a birthing center, the seeds of change are implanted there.
Pat and I started out partnering many years ago as PTSO co-presidents at our kids local high school (much to their utter embarrassment and horror). We then moved on to exploring the possibility of being business partners in this venture and gradually realized that our passions led us in different directions. Now we’re back again, partnering in a new way to develop products from the Verdae lab for Full Bloom’s private label sold through its lovely retail store. Pat and I are having lots of fun together researching, developing and testing new products and I am thoroughly enjoying being a fly on the wall at Full Bloom especially on “drop in” Thursday with the sun shining and the sound of laughter all around.
Where was Pat when I needed her 27 years ago? I know first hand what it’s like to be alone with a newborn, away from family, friends and familiarity. We lived in Ohio on a 600 acre sheep and cattle farm where the lambs were “lambing” from February to April. The mama lambs and I were tending our young together. It was soothing knowing that in some really funny way – we were doing the same thing. However, having other moms to share with, talk to, compare stories, cry with and set up play dates, forge new and lasting friendships is invaluable. Many of my best friends are women that I met through the gift of children.
So, if you’re in Athens and you want a feel-good, family experience stop in at Full Bloom. Whether you are a mom, dad, grandparent or just curious, you’ll find a warm and wonderful welcoming and a wealth of knowledge and information.
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