Like so many good things, it began with “yes.” A few years ago, I was driving my morning commute to a job that I had once loved but was starting to feel unfulfilling.
The night before weighed heavy on my mind, my thumb still tender where my four-year-old son had bit me. Hard. I felt like a failure — at this job thing, at this mom thing, at all of it.
The tears started flowing. I was overwhelmed. So I did what I often do for comfort. I called my mom.
In the course of talking through things with her, she mentioned she was going to get certified to teach a course for couples to keep their relationship happy after baby comes. And suggested I join her and get certified too.
It sounded like a wonderful class, something that I was interested in, but what would I do with it and when? I had no idea…and then I said “yes.”
That was the turning point of thinking maybe there could be more for me.
I know just how difficult it can be to navigate career, marriage, motherhood and personal fulfillment. I’ve not only been there, I am there in the thick of it now.
Married for 15 years and together for 20, my husband and I have two gregarious boys, seven years apart. We know what it’s like to try and find the time (and energy) to connect with each other.
But over the years, I’ve learned that one of the best ways to raise happy, well-adjusted kids is to do our own work tuning in to ourselves and our emotions and to work together with our partner to maintain a positive, stable relationship.
It’s pretty simple, but it’s not easy. And it’s so worth it.
That’s why I’m delighted to give couples the great tools and support through The Gottman Institute’s Bringing Baby Home workshop.
My friend once pointed out that all the jobs I’ve done throughout my career have been about helping people in some way and giving them information they can use to better their lives.
I have my degree in Library Science and started out as a research and corporate librarian, then I shifted and became an editor of digital content for a food retailer focused on healthy eating and I did that for over seven years.
Now I am a certified Bringing Baby Home educator and am excited to be growing a business that supports women and families.
And what about my mom who helped guide me to listen to that inner calling? She and I team teach Bringing Baby Home classes in Houston and Austin!
Here’s more about her…
Bonnie Bartman became a registered nurse in 1971 and has been a Lamaze-certified childbirth educator and breastfeeding educator for over 30 years and a certified lactation consultant since 1997. For 23 years, she developed and implemented a program of classes for new parents in Hawaii, working with families from the third month of pregnancy to the third year of life. Today, she is an education and development specialist creating programs for families at a leading Houston children’s hospital.
Allison Burch Coaching 