Rocking Chairs for Nursing and Nurturing

When I told Leslie that I was going to write a page for our website titled "Rocking Chairs and Nursing", she asked, "What do you know about it?"  I decided to expand the title so I could claim some direct experience of the subject.  But I do know, from watching her, that rocking and nursing brings great pleasure to mothers and babies.  I know that rocking soothes babies.  And I know that some of the most centered, contented, and cherished times of my life were spent rocking my children, even in the middle of the night.

        A Weeks Rocking Chair in a Nursery

Unfortunately when our children were small, Leslie and I didn’t have a comfortable chair for rocking.  But with a cushion in the seat, a pad for our lower back, and a pillow on the armrest, we got by without pain.  Despite the awkwardness of the chair and paraphernalia, the memories of the moments are sweet, warm, and deep.

As a people we have made the rocking chair a symbol of hearth and home and nurturing.  As families we make our rocking chairs into heirlooms  (if we have a good one).  Powerful and rewarding as the nursing and the nurturing are, their time is short, leaving the chair and the memories.  From a proud and fortunate few I hear, "I have the chair my mother rocked me in, and I will not part with it."

When a worthy object has a family’s history invested in it, it does become an heirloom.  We build rocking chairs for this purpose.

The Weeks Rocker is excellent for nursing and nurturing because:  The seat is generous and scooped deeply to relieve pressure on the hipbones.  The splats support the lumbar and relieve the muscles of the lower back.  The motion is balanced and near effortless.  The headrest rests the head.  And critically, the armrests are positioned and contoured to softly support the arms as they nestle a baby to breast, chest, and lap.

After the child or children have decided that they would rather read to themselves, the Weeks Rocking Chair has no shabby upholstery, broken springs, or failing mechanisms.  It remains a favorite place to sit for family and guest and graces its space with elegant lines and the color, figure, and character of fine wood . . .
while it waits for the next generation.