Hello and Welcome to Baby Steps!
I am Mariana Lücker, creator and founder of Baby Steps. I call myself a child “translator”, someone who sees the child’s emotions and behaviours, their little conquests, accomplishments and their true love for their ever expanding environment.
As a 6 year old I would make mental notes (and written ones as well !) of moments and feelings that I perceived memorable and also easy to forget once I would become an adult. What made me write those notes? I am not 100% sure, some would say my inner guidance, my intuition, but whatever source of inspiration I had back then has always stayed with me. This then developed over time in a strong sense of commitment to advocate for children to allow the children to share the gifts they hold for us. In 2000, I became an Infant Montessori Educator.
Growing up, I had made it my mission to stay in tune with the needs, struggles and feelings of children around me. I started to see myself as a translator of their emotional and behavioral signs. In sharing with parents I noticed that somehow I was making possible for them to see and understand the work that these little souls do (that we all did!) in order to adapt to our environment and become human beings of our space and time.
For the past 17 years I have been a passionate Montessori infant and toddler educator, a mentor and parent consultant, an empowerment guide, and a passionate child + family advocate. Although I was born in Mexico City, Vancouver became my home in 2004 when I decided to continue my Montessori education now as a Preschool and Kindergarten teacher. In 2015 my husband and I moved to Squamish and made this unbelievably gorgeous town our new home.
My own motherhood journey started in 2016. The sweets and lows of being a new mom hit me hard a few times; lack of sleep, try to be the perfect mom (c’mon you are a teacher you should know what to do!), more lack of sleep and the insatiable comparisons with other moms. But I had my good days, many good days actually, and in those days memories of what I felt as a child, was my life mission came back to me and I knew there was something to do for children and for all of those courageous and powerful moms, who like me are trying their best and forget to notice their hard work.
One day of May 2016, inspiration came to me to create ‘baby steps’. My family and I were visiting the local climbing gym (Ground Up was my son’s second most visited place in his first year of life:)). I saw my son trying to grab one of the jugs with his two little hands and I thought to myself : hey, he is taking baby steps. To my surprise - and I say surprise because at that point I had been a Montessori educator for 15 years - I realized I was also taking very teeny tiny baby steps towards motherhood. The awakening moment I experienced then had forever changed me and my life purpose: Motherhood is a journey you walk not a place you arrive once you give birth. I realized then that during my ‘after baby’ journey of self discovery I was going to take baby steps, subtle, graceful and gentle steps to first take care of myself and then of my family. I hope with all my heart that in Baby Steps you find a place of support, vulnerability, fun, learning and most of all of friends! Thanks for stopping by and reading me. I can’t wait to meet you and your little one!
