Intentions for a Homebirth

Pregnancy to-do lists can go on forever.  I think of things to add faster than I can cross them off!   I'm due May 27th... so, after going over all of the details one last time, I'm putting this list of intentions down and not looking at it again!  Too much thinking makes me crazy.  It's time to just settle into these last few days and be present with whatever energies arise.

I'm so grateful for all of the people and experiences that have brought me to this place in my journey -- for the beautiful shower and blessingway, for the hand-crafted birth-mala, for the heartfelt note-cards, the abundance tree, the gift of a beautiful nursery, for my awesome midwives, and for every supportive word and vibration!   I am so blessed!!  I'm also excited about delivering this baby at home.  I didn't write a birth-plan because I know that plans change and I think it's better to have a "birth-general-idea" than something seen as set in stone.  Still, there are quite a few things that I'd like to remind myself to do or try when labor begins.  Here's what I'm visualizing:

light candles

turn on lavender diffuser

take a shower

call midwives & call or text friends and family

meditate

cut all blessing-way bracelets

fill the pool and bless with essential oils

make bed

put sheets on the co-sleeper

bake baby a birthday cake with big sister and daddy

listen to mantras

walk

use the birth ball

try Marjaryasana/Bitilasana - cat/cow pose

try Kaliasana - goddess/squat pose

talk to baby

breathe & connect with breath

meditate 20 minutes every hour

eat whole grains, almond butter, and drink water

stand on patio under oak trees

repeat mantra, "supported, present, and trusting."

The mantra (above) is the short version of the birth intentions I set last month:

• To know I am supported in every breath by my family and by an amazing network of beautiful and strong mamas. 
• To be fully present, aware, and connected with the magic of each moment
• To release, let go, and trust my body's ability to open and give safe passage to this baby.

My midwives have the most beautiful quotes up on their websites.  Colette's say's, "We have a secret in our culture... it's not that birth is painful. It's that women are strong." Laura Stavoe Harm.  

Laura's says, "There is power that comes to women when they give birth. They don't ask for it, it simply invades them.  Accumulates like clouds on the horizon and passes through, carrying the child with it."  - Sheryl Feldman  

I'm ready to welcome that power.  I've cleared my mind of can't, I'm releasing my fears with the waning moon, and I'm ready to welcome this new life into the world.  I feel supported by friends, family, and the age-old lineage of strong, able women who safely delivered their babies naturally.

What a gift it is to be at the center of the universe creating itself.  What an honor it is to have so much support. 

Greening the Toy Box

Because A.'s birthday is coming up in August, we've been thinking about toys a lot lately.  Last year we made a commitment to stop buying all things plastic, to purchase or make only natural and Waldorf inspired toys, to support our local toy seller, and to encourage everyone we know to give up their dependence on Wal Mart.

We extracted two large garbage bags full of old toys for donation from A's room and we've enjoyed learning to make wine cork dollies with scraps of old fabric and wool roving hair.  We even tinkered some fairy furniture after finding inspiration at The Magic Onions.  This weekend we are set to make some wet felted Zen stones like these (above) from Etsy merchant Elinart.

All this thinking about toys reminded me of another toy story  -- the one recently in theaters.  Then I stumbled across this blog at Beliefnet...

It's a shame that a movie about the enduring pleasures of imagination and re-purposing and recycling treasured toys is also one long infomercial for more than 300 new products specifically tied to "Toy Story 3." Susan Linn of the Center for a Commercial-Free Childhood writes: "A search for toys licensed by the Toy Story franchise brings up more than 300 items on ToysRus.com, most of which squelch exactly the kind of creative play the film celebrates."

You can read more here: http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/2010/06/the-other-toy-story.html#ixzz0tm0eGOHK

Three-hundred toys?  Isn't this irresponsible -- if not appalling?  Hasn't anyone at Disney or Pixar heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Just one thousand miles off of the coast of California, lies a pile of plastic the size of TEXAS.  

Check out this four minute video:

Knowing this, how can any of us in good conscience purchase plastic toys?  There are so many other choices -- such as making your own natural toys or supporting an Etsy merchant such as Nushkie, Little Red Whimsy, or Mamma4earth who use natural and eco-friendly materials.  Or, support a store like Bella Luna Toys or the Natural Kids Store whose products support your child's imagination rather than a feed corporate giants like Disney and contribute to the destruction of our Earth.

When our kids touch natural, simple, non-noisy toys they are connecting with nature.  Touching the Earth this way supports your child's understanding that all things are connected and helps them see themselves as stewards or custodians of this beautiful place we call home.  What's more, playing with simple, non-noisy toys requires kids to use their imagination thereby stimulating their creativity and innovation.  And if we ever hope to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it's going to take some innovative thinking.

Making smart choices doesn't mean missing out on any of the fun.  To the contrary, it often means discovering a world you never knew existed.  The next time your child is in the market for a new toy, hop on your computer and do a little research first.  Before resorting to old habits, let your child see what else is out there.  Each eco-compassionate choice we make teaches our kids to live consciously.  At this juncture in human history, I can't think of a more important lesson to share with our children.

Wisdom, Waves, and Water Sprites

We began our W week with twenty-four new words: with, will, which, when, what, where, we, was, walk, warm, write, woman, way, wish, white, where, way, want, would, work, went, womb, waves, and water.  

Rather than memorizing the correct spelling through written repetitions, we've been combining skills by writing complete sentences using our W words.  Our goal is to have A. writing paragraphs by the first day of summer with 3-5 coherent, meaningful sentences that stay on topic, make sense, and use natural vocabulary.  I think she's well on her way to reaching that goal.

We've also been enjoying word problems and found this great resource for first and second grade math games and worksheets.  While I'm not a big fan of worksheets, I have to admit that since implementing a new house rule of at least one per day, A.'s math skills are showing marked improvement.  She actually enjoys the three-minute timed drills; however, I have a rule that, in my classroom, there are no mistakes -- only learning -- and I've banished all red pens in favor of erasers.

Yesterday we enjoyed a mindfulness practice and brought a bowl of water to our morning circle.  We wet our hands, turned our palms up, closed our eyes, and tried to feel when the water was dry by focusing our attention just on the bodily sensation of having wet hands.  Then we made ripples by tapping the center of the water and discussed how people are like waves of the same sea and how, when we have peace within, we create peace on earth through our relationships and interconnectedness.  I asked A. to recall the morning not too long ago when the lake was calm and reflecting the sky.  Then I asked, "How is the water like our mind?"  She answered, "When our mind is calm, it reflects how things really are... just like the lake reflects the whole sky. When they're rough, everything looks wonky."

Then we named some of the things we can do to help keep our mind reflecting what is real.  While I suggested eating healthy, organic foods and exercising, A.'s answers surprised me.  Her first answer was, "By doing things where we concentrate."  I couldn't agree more.  Engaging our mind in an activities like music or art requires mindful awareness.  Through practice, we can develop an abiding clarity of mind.  

Her second answer was, "By trusting ourselves."  She went on to explain how she's been learning to make sharp turns on her bike without training wheels.  When she worries, she misses the turn.  When she trusts herself, she succeeds.  I think this is quite an insight for a Kindergartner.

Today we read a Jataka Tale, The Prince and the Water Sprite.  Jataka Tales are folklore-like literature, much like Aesop's Fables, only native to India and relating to the adventures of the Buddha in his former existences.  Today's story was filled with W words and features a mischievous water sprite who captures all who enter his pond except those who give the right answer to one question: "What are the good fairies like?"

The youngest princes answer incorrectly and are carried off to the the water sprite's lair.  The eldest brother, who is wise of heart, answers correctly saying, "The good fairies are like the pure in heart who do no wrong, the good and kindly in word and deed."  His wisdom saves his brothers and the three princes go on to rule their kingdom together in kindness. 

Wisdom is a recurring theme in our home studies.  It's what happens when we learn to send our intellect down into our heart and allow our actions to flow from compassion.  Sadly, it's missing from Fry's 300 Instant Sight Word list  because it doesn't fall into the category of seventy-five percent of the words children are most likely to encounter in literature.  Today we added it to our vocabulary list as word number twenty-five.

W is for Water

The spring rain has given itself to our studies this week.  We're working on the letter W and looking deeply at water.  Yesterday we took a long walk in the rain and collected drops to add to a pretty bottle we're displaying on our nature table. 

Water moves in a great cycle, evaporating from the surface of the ocean, forming clouds and producing rain.  Our feelings are often represented by images of water.  We feel "bathed in love" and experience "waves of emotion."  Water rolls in waves and scientists were astounded when they discovered the wave–particle duality of matter.

Water represents seventy percent of the earth's surface and seventy percent of our physical bodies. Our life began in water... in the gentle rocking waves of our mother's womb -- and it is from water that the first life on earth emerged.  In the Tao Te Ching, we see water as a great teacher... “Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.” 

American author and poet Henry David Thoreau said, “Water is the only drink for a wise man."  Yet, despite water's essentially for survival, it has become the victim of indifference.  The average individual daily consumption of water in America is 159 gallons, while more than half the world's population lives on only 25 gallons.  Eighty percent of our water bottles end up in landfills - many of them in India - and every minute, one person in India dies of a water related disease. (from GOODMagazine.com) What's more, one sixth of the world's population does not have safe drinking water. (from: http://www.mindfully.org/Sustainability/Americans-Consume-24percent.htm).

What can we do?  We can talk to our children about water.  Their awareness is always the first seed of change.  We can also model healthy habits...

On a recent trip to Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center,a woman in the restroom caught my daughter's eye.  She was at the sink basin and, after wetting her hands, turned the faucet off to lather rather than letting it run.  Without a word, I watched my little one step up to the sink, turn on the water, wet her hands, and then turn it off again.  Our actions speak more loudly than our words and our kids are always watching.  

The next time it rains, try siting quietly with your child and listening.  Listen for the sounds of the drops on the roof, the rustling of the rain in the trees.  Sit and breathe and listen.  Then turn your palms upwards - as if the rain were falling gently into your hands.  Try sending your awareness down to the center of your hands and sensing your body from within.  Can you feel the gentle patter of the raindrops? 

We'll continue looking deeply at water throughout the week... thanking each drop that falls from the sky.  Then, this weekend, we're taking a mini-vacation to the ocean.  Standing in awe of the ocean's vastness is always a reminder that the water flowing on earth is the same water flowing in our own bodies. When we see that the four elements of the cosmos are the same elements in our body, we learn to honor both.