Thank You!

Dear Spectrum,
I want to start this letter off by saying, THANK YOU!
Thank you to The Spectrum Mothers Support Society. Your wonderful community service does
what it intends and shines the light into the lives of mothers when they need it the most.
Thank you to Anne Louise. An absolute gem, our awesome caregiver who is always smiling,
and eager to go go go have the best time with Maribel.
Thank you to all the donors and everyone involved. The program helped me become a better
parent. The amazing support and care I have received will follow me for the rest of my life.
My name is Nicole Hiebert and I became a mummy on Oct 31 2018 to my precious daughter,
Maribel. After having Maribel for the first few months I found it unimaginably more difficult than I
expected. As I have always been very independent and unwilling to accept help, the transition
into needing and seeking help was a challenge. Suffering from depression and addiction issues
in the past , I was very proactive in seeking help for Postpartum Depression , for the sake of my
daughter. Within that wonderful support group I was referred to Spectrum. I have been blessed
with the spectacular support of spectrum since and I will be eternally grateful.
Before Maribel was born, I thought I would be able to handle it all myself. I have always been
very independent and I have a hard time asking for help. I have no family in town and my
partner works very long hours and sometimes no days off. Although my partner's family live in
town, they have limited capabilities and do the best they can. So I knew before having Maribel
that I would be doing it mostly on my own with minimum support. I was blindly willing to
welcome this new phase of motherhood.
After Maribel was born, I found the overwhelming change of lifestyle, responsibilities, pressures
of motherhood to be more than what I could handle on my own. The sheer reality of becoming
a mother changes your life forever and can be overwhelming. This is something that you will
only understand once it happens to you. You can prepare for it as much as you want but until it
actually happens , you have no idea how challenging it will be.
It's undeniably hard and support is essential to becoming a healthy positive parent.
However, when I accepted Spectrum's help I was nervous …. Sceptical … I even felt unworthy.
I thought , “why should I accept this help? There must be someone who needs it more than me”.
People would tell me not to think like that, and that this program is for mothers just like me.
All worried feelings aside, I knew I needed help so I was willing to give this a try.
From the very first visit Maribel was comfortable and happy spending time with our caregiver.
We had our first visit indoors (precovid) and after that I obliged to letting her go off for a walk. I
have not let anyone before this take Maribel from my side. The first time was very hard. I live
near a highway and every siren that went by sent me into near cardiac arrest. Of course she
came back safe and sound. Each visit it got easier to let go and soon I was looking forward to
doing it. Watching the bond grow between my daughter and caregiver was a joy to watch.
Week after week , every visit was a positive one and filled my heart with appreciation and love.
The hardest part will be having to say goodbye. Understandably so, more families are in need
and I would not want to keep this wonderful service from reaching someone else.
The time I have had to myself has given me the opportunity to work on a passion project that I
started with some local moms in the community. Together we have made a beautiful website
with helpful resources and community information for the north shore. The website is called
www.northshorekids.ca and it has fun ideas and activities for families on the North Shore.
I also have a small business of my own called LoopiLasso. I recreate and design amigurumi and
crochet items. This is something I did before Maribel, and would love to continue in the future.
Thank you so much
What you do for mothers and families in need is absolutely heartwarming and appreciated.
Sincerely
Nicole Hiebert