CityTV shines light on moms in need in Toronto

The New Mom Project is excited to have been showcased on CityTV News this evening, February 26th 2014, with Videographer Audra Brown.  We are very proud of the work we are doing to help those less fortunate in our Toronto community. 

Thank you to our generous donors who have kick started our Canadian Baby Box by providing lots of baby essentials. We are always in need of newborn and small sized sleepers and clothing, as well as blankets and hats.  Other items like carriers and strollers are needed as well.

We have made connections with amazing agencies in Toronto that provide services to mothers in need. Our Canadian Baby Box is being distributed to mothers and babies through several of these agencies this week. 

We are so hopeful for this project to flourish and are inspired by the generosity of the Toronto mothers and grandmothers we have met so far.

Thank you to Sara Butler for being a "doer" and helping me make this idea a reality. 

West End Drop Off Announcement!

Our beautiful volunteers hard at work.

We are so thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive response to The New Mom Project.  This has taken off faster and more furiously than we could have imagined.  This certainly reflects the serious need for services like what we are trying to provide.  So many people have responded with donations and interest in volunteering.  We will be announcing a volunteer orientation meeting in the near future due to the large number of people passionate about helping us.  

Several people have also expressed a need to have drop off locations throughout the city.  We would like to announce that The New Mom Project is pleased to partner with Mommy Connections West Toronto and offer a West End Drop Off for donations of gently used or new baby items. Unfortunately, we are not accepting car seats.
 Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 4th, 2014 between 11am-12:30 at the Swansea Town Hall.  Please check out Mommy Connections on Facebook, as they provide great programs for families as well.

Some contents of a Canadian Baby Box as made by TNMP.

Many thanks to Meri Perra and the great people at BunchFamily for helping us spread the word about this initiative. We are very proud of how The New Mom Project has inspired people to care about the less fortunate families in Toronto.  

Our goal of providing marginalized families with a Canadian Baby Box is being realized.  

We are very encouraged to be finding like-minded individuals who believe that families come first.  Thank you to everyone who has helped get this project started. 

Drop Off Monday!

A huge "thank you" to everyone who has shown an interest in The New Mom Project.  We are overwhelmed with the great response and encouragement.  We are very motivated to continue to strive forward and provide marginalized families with our baby kits and other necessities.
Due to the large amount of people who wish to make a donation, we have organized DROP OFF MONDAY as a chance to accept these items.  Our volunteers will be on hand to accept your gently used items,  this coming Monday February 24th  2014.
Please join our Facebook Group -The New Mom Project- for more information, location of the Drop Off and how to arrange a pick-up if you are unable to make it on Monday.
We hope you are all as excited as we are about this Project. We believe this is going to make a significant impact on the quality of motherhood in Toronto.

Happy Family Day!

As I sit by the fire tonight, I am so thankful for the amazing family I came from and for the amazing family I have. 

We are spending this long weekend at our family cottage to celebrate the winter season at the Dorset Snowball.

 I have been stopped no less than five times to be asked about my winter coat, an M coat, or more specifically, a winter coat tailored to baby wearing. With my 7 month old warmly snuggled into me, I guess we must me a sight!

I have worn all my brood this way, I love babywearing.  In the winter it's like having a hot water bottle nestled under your coat. And anyone living in Toronto this winter will understand the need for a hot water bottle! 

Babywearing is such an important part of bonding with a new infant. Not to mention an essential thing to do if a mom is to get anything done. 

At The New Mom Project, we completely support babywearing and all it's benefits. We are pleased to donate some of our carriers to new moms through our connection with local midwives so they might enjoy the beauty of babywearing. 

There is nothing so lovely as to be able to kiss the top of your baby's head and feel their warm cheek on your chest.  This is the love only family brings. Happy Family Day, from The New Mom Project. 

We are thrilled to say that donations are rolling in from our generous supporters! We have received a large donation of clothing that is very appreciated. Our volunteers are putting together a few "baby kits" to drop off to a local midwife clinic in Etobicoke this week.

A huge "thank you" is in order for everyone who has helped us reach this point.  As we strive to make sure our New Mom Project reaches the moms who need it's help, we are heartened by all the love and support we have received, which we are able to reflect back to our clients.

The support offered to Canadian mothers is severely lacking.  When we compare ourselves with countries that value family, Canada falls short.  If you haven't heard of the Finnish baby box, you should take a look at the fabulous way their government is making an effort to establish prenatal care and outfit the new family for their lives with a baby.

It is with efforts like this in mind that The New Mom Project is working to fill the voids we find in Canada.  We would endeavor to see all moms get a similar "baby box" in Canada, so we will start with moms in Toronto that need it most. Through providing new moms with some essential baby items like those found in the Finnish box, we can help start their journey into motherhood with love from the community.

With Valentine's Day approaching, don't forget to show your mom, mom friends, and all the moms you know, love and appreciation for all their hard work.

Creative Ways to Support New Moms

Becoming a new mom is a huge life changing experience that is like something no one can ever truly tell you.  Every mom's experience is different and unique.  Some moms are confident with their body's ability to produce the perfect baby food, whipping out a boob to feed their baby.  Everyone needs to eat, right? But some moms need encouragement to feel comfortable in public.
Society has over sexualized women's breasts to the point where it has negatively impacted breastfeeding practices in Western culture. The recent incident of a breastfeeding mom being asked to leave a Texas Victoria's Secret comes to mind.
Yes that really happened. Click here to see the story.  There is just so much wrong about this. Sadly it's not the first time this has happened and unfortunately will not be the last.
Any creative way to make people more aware of and comfortable with breastfeeding in public is very welcome.



I came across a very cute Aussie song that is trying to normalize breastfeeding in public.  We need more songs like this and more advertisments about breastfeeding to change society's views toward breastfeeding in general.
Congratulations to all the new mom exhibitionists :)

Welcome to The New Mom Project

Welcome to The New Mom Project! Thank you for taking the time to see what we are all about.

As a Toronto based group, we are trying to fill a void that has become noticeable to all involved.  That is: women starting their new lives as mothers without the basic necessities to care for a baby.  This is not acceptable. In Toronto.  In 2014.  So let's do something about it.

The New Mom Project was started to provide marginalized families with some basic baby necessities to get them off to a great and loving start.  We feel that there are lots of families with lots to give to people who truly need it.
We would like to provide a forum for people to donate gently used or new items to families in need who may not be able to search out this service on their own. We hope to encourage Midwives, Doctors, Nurses, Social Workers, Housing Workers, Hospital Staff, etc to refer clients to The New Mom Project.

This effort is staffed by committed volunteers, is confidential if needed, is non judgemental and always free.

We believe that no matter what, a mom and a baby matter. They matter to each other, and they matter to us.  We hope that they matter to you.

There are several baby packages ready to be distributed, so please let us know when and where to deliver them.