Meet 4 Incredible Moms of the Seacoast: The 2019 Nom-A-Mom Winners

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Allison
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We are indebted to our sponsors for helping us honor and spoil these four deserving Seacoast Moms. Thank you Bare Waxing Boutique, Blue Oasis Salon, Cake Vegan Bakery, First Impressions Salon & Spa, Inside Out, Solari Salon & Spa, Laney & Lu, Let's Glow, Studio 59 Salon, Muse Boutique, Portrait Modern, Pretty Poppy and Thrive Fitness for Women.

May is all about moms. While Mother’s Day is over, our mission to lift up local moms is not. This year was Seacoast Moms’ First Annual Nom-A-Mom where readers wrote in from all over the Seacoast nominating deserving moms. The prizes were incredible: pedicures, facials, cupcakes, and photo shoots — just to name a few! The nominees? Amazing. 

We learned about moms who are stretched thin yet continue to love and be there for their children. We read submissions about women who, even though some odds stack against them, they carry on. Basically, everything we thought about moms was confirmed.

Here are the 2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom Winners

Kelly Boston

2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom
Portsmouth’s Kelly Boston and her son, Jack.

Kelly is a single/choice mom of 6 year old Jack. She’s a native of Portsmouth and has lived here most of her life. Kelly works tirelessly for her son and her community: volunteering with the local chapter of the United Way (did you hear about that community baby shower?!), serves as the treasurer of her church (St. John’s Episcopal in Portsmouth) and sits on the board of the Mark Wentworth Home. Kelly is a beautiful example of growing up in a low income neighborhood with a single mother who taught her the value of money, integrity and hard work. She went on to attend Southern University of New Hampshire to get both her Bachelor’s of Science and later on her Masters of Business Administration. She uses her degrees as a Sr. Manager of Project Controls at a local Biotech company. 

Kelly’s best friend, Rhonda, nominated her because, “in addition to being an amazing mom, anyone who knows Kelly is better off for it. She lifts people up and makes them feel important and cared for. Kelly deserves to some pampering.”

Caitlin Foster

Caitlin Foster is a mom, wife, daughter, sister, teacher, and lover of Jesus. She currently lives in North Berwick, ME with her family. Caitlin teaches third grade at Coastal Ridge Elementary School in York and her husband is the Assistant Principal at Newmarket Jr/Sr High School. She loves working with children so much and is incredibly active in her church, Eliot Baptist. 
2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom Winners
Caitlin Foster with her husband, Matthew and children Tucker and Elouise

Caitlin and her husband thought their family was complete, but around December felt “a calling” to have another child. They pregnant quickly and felt thrilled. But Friday, April 19th rocked their world: the day they thought would be so full of joy, ended up being full of sorrow and pain. They learned then that their baby did not have a heartbeat and had passed around 8 weeks. Caitlin says, “It was a whirlwind, but I had a D&C that day and began trying to comprehend our loss. I am so grateful for a husband who held my hand through it all and a family that dropped everything they were doing to support us. It’s been a month since all of this happened and we still don’t have answers. However, everyone around us has poured out blessings upon blessings and we are so very grateful. We are surrounded with love, shoulders to cry on, prayers, meals, wine, and distractions. Our faith is in God’s greater plan and we are full of hope for what is yet to come. We really have started to see the joy amidst the sorrow.” 

Caitlin and her husband learned how common this type of loss is and how many women suffer silently through this overwhelming experience. She hopes that sharing her story and talking about what she and her family went through will help support other women going through similar situations. 

Rebecca Bergman 

2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom WinnersRebecca is a full-time mom who lives in Dover, NH with her husband, 2 biological children (5 and 2.5) and are currently fostering two children now (ages 4 and 2). Becca’s passions lie in raising awareness about foster care/vulnerable children and changing the dialogue around miscarriage.
 
Becca’s angel babies are Matthias James (he would be 3 June 10) and Ellis hope (she would have been due this July 4). She miscarried both of her babies later on in her pregnancies (13, weeks and then 17 most recently). She shares her stories because she wants women to feel comfortable mourning. Women should be able to mourn without judgment or being made to feel like their baby isn’t worth being sad over.  
Becca volunteers at her church, organizes clothing drives for foster children in the area, and is pursuing going back to school to get her MSW to become a child life specialist. 
 
Meaghan, Becca’s friend, says, “Rebecca Bergman. WHOA. This lady is a force to be reckoned with. She’s an advocate for foster care here in the Seacoast, she’s an encouragement to every one of her friends, she challenges them to be better moms, and has walked alongside many in difficult times. The Seacoast would be poorer without her.”

Jessica Harris

2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom Winners

Jess Harris lives in Portsmouth, NH with her husband, Joel and two children. She went in for a baseline mammogram at 40 and they called her back a day later for a diagnostic appointment.
 
“I went by myself, expecting to be told to come back every 6 months for monitoring or something. Instead, they led me down the hall to my ‘cancer liaison’. I needed to come in to have 9 biopsies done: that’s when we learned it was cancer. I have no family history, felt no lumps, I’m fairly active, and I breastfed two babies. Nothing would have prepared me for that diagnosis. The current recommendation is to start getting a mammogram at age 45. Some organizations even recommend 50 for people (like me) with no increased risk. If I had waited even to 45 I have no doubt this would be metastatic with a very different prognosis.”
 
Jess is currently recovering from a double mastectomy and wants her story to be shared so that more women will go get mammograms.
 
Jess’s friend Jodi says, “she’s raising two kind, sweet, adorable children and is an inspiration to moms who feel like they just can’t. We can. Because, Jess. She inspires me and makes me realize, if it happened to me, I could handle it. Because JESS. And I’m getting a mammogram because of HER.”

Thank you to all of our incredible sponsors for allowing us to pamper these amazing women! Each of our winners received a bag of goodies with something from our list of Best Gifts for Moms on the Seacoast. 

  • Best gifts for moms on the seacoast
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  • Best gifts for moms on the Seacoast
  • Best Gifts for Moms on the Seacoast
  • Best Gifts for Moms on the Seacoast
  • 2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom Winners
  • Mother's Day Gift Guide 2020
  • 2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom Winners
  • Untitled design (47)
  • Untitled design (45)
  • 2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom Winners
  • Untitled design (48)
2019 Seacoast Moms Nom-A-Mom Winners
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Allison
Allison’s mission in life is to notice the extraordinary in the ordinary. Her commitment to see beyond what’s in front of her was fostered by her degree in Philosophy and Theology from Boston College. Allison’s a book nerd and credits her parents and inspiring English teachers for her love of reading and writing. She went on to earn her Master in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College and then taught high school for several years, both in New England and San Francisco. After moving from San Francisco to Boston with her engineer husband, she began teaching yoga and working as a social media marketing consultant. Now a Portsmouth resident, she spends most of her days with her three daughters (she does not have enough arms) and does her best to find the bliss amidst the endless snacking, dance parties and tiaras. With all the beautiful chaos in her life, she’s grateful to have her partner-in-crime (husband Charlie) and fellow movie quote enthusiast alongside her. Her passion for writing first drew her to Seacoast Moms as a contributing writer, and her desire to connect moms of the Seacoast with businesses who serve and interest them led her to become SM’s owner. Being able to write about the ordinary grace present in motherhood, while interacting with incredible Seacoast business owners is a dream come true.

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