PARK SLOPE — A maternity store offering anything a new mom might need — from a baby sling to a place to breastfeed or a shoulder to cry on — will open this fall on Bergen Street.
Wild Was Mama will open at 464 Bergen St. between Flatbush and Fifth avenues in the space that was occupied by Bump Brooklyn until July.
The store's name is meant to honor new parents who follow their own instincts rather than guide books or advice from intrusive in-laws or strangers, said owner Adriane Stare.
"We're here to remind parents that they're doing a great job," Stare said — even if they're doing things that might raise some eyebrows, like extended breastfeeding and babywearing.
Stare, a mother of two, opened the maternity shop Caribou Baby (now also called Wild Was Mama) in Greenpoint in 2011.
She said she's been besieged by requests from Park Slope moms to open a location in the neighborhood and jumped at the chance when Bump Brooklyn's owners decided to close.
The Park Slope branch of Wild Was Mama will be smaller than the Greenpoint version, and will offer a "slightly edited" selection of Greenpoint's merchandise and resources, Stare said.
The store will specialize in babywearing and teaching parents how to use baby carriers properly. The shop will also offer bra fittings, maternity and baby clothes, and a natural apothecary with baby-friendly lotions and potions.
Like the Greenpoint store, the Park Slope location will have a "nursing lounge" where moms can relax, breastfeed, and share war stories about sleep training.
“We feel like that’s sort of the heart of our store — people forming connections and community,” Stare said.
The Bergen Street shop may also offer breastfeeding support classes if there's a demand for it, but Stare noted that Birthday Presence and La Leche League already serve that need in Park Slope.
Stare says her goal is to create a welcoming environment where the emphasis will be on helping new parents, not selling them a bunch of gear they don't need.
"People can come in any time to feed a baby, change a baby, anything they need," Stare said.
"I feel like we're a real resource for people who are coming into this transitional moment in their life. A lot of people in New York don't have immediate family in the city or friends with kids. It's refreshing for people to come into our shop and feel like we’re going to really listen to you."
