Wednesday 26 June 2013

Guest Guru: Bonding with Baby through Birth Art



It's been WAY to long since I've done a guest guru post...plus I've been booked of from work so have some time on my hands... turns out stress and a UTI are not friends with a 34 week prego uterus :) go figure ;)
 
 Today's post, in keeping with all things Baby in my life is Written by my good friend and Doula-in-Training, Jeanine.

 
 
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Bonding with Baby through Birth Art
Much of this content is inspired by Birthing from Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz
Sometimes words are not enough. In pregnancy, the emotions carried by the parents can often be limited by language. Have you ever woken up and “felt” your dream even though you couldn’t communicate to someone what had happened in it?
Birth art can express emotions and fears and offer a place where parents-to-be can explore the upcoming miracle of birth. Don’t panic here if you think you’re not an artistic person! Sometimes left-brained people, verbal or thinking types can be the most apprehensive or uncomfortable about making birth art. Many times, though, these people are the ones that benefit the most from the activity as it leads to expression.
So, where do you start? Any time in your pregnancy is a good time! Set the scene by becoming calm and connecting with your baby inside. Be curious and explore your feelings about the subject you choose. Be raw, honest and spontaneous and don’t be tempted to plan and carefully calculate perfection. Be receptive and not goal-oriented. It is nice to work with a friend or a small group and especially remember to involve the father-to-be. Most importantly, give yourself TIME.
Choose a topic to give you a picture in your mind. Here are some examples:
·         A womb with a view
·         How you see yourself as a pregnant woman
·         Create an image that can help you relax, open and bring your baby into the world
·         A journey or landscape of birth (symbolised by nature)
You can choose any materials that you have available. Anything from pencil sketching, watercolour, acrylic or collages to sculpting modelling clay or making a belly cast (this can be decorated later and displayed). Make sure to date and save your art.
 
 
 
 
 When you are done, ponder on your work. Be curious and explore what emotions you felt when working on it. Are their hidden fears you can recognise about what you think will happen during the birth? Are their unresolved issues in your preparation for baby or even missing information you feel you need before the big day? I encourage you to do this regularly and see how your feelings develop through each trimester.

 
 
 
I close with a reply given by a 106-year-old man when asked what it was like to have lived 106 years. He answered, “I didn’t live 106 years. I lived one moment at a time”. Take this to heart when doing your birth art, just as you will when going through your momentous birth experience: One step at a time and eventually you will look back and see a wondrous work of art!
 
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Seems like an interesting way to document your preganancy :)
Thanks so much Jeanine ! If you looking for a Doula in the Pretoria Area please le me know and I'll be happy to pass on her contact details
 

Monday 24 June 2013

Baby update: Week 33

I started this post yesterday but due to network problems didn't get it posted

How Far Along: 34w 1 day 

Size of Baby: Baby Should weigh about 2.1 kg and be about 42cm long


Picture of Baby:


Depending on which site you look at baby Sprinkle is comparable to either a pineapple
 
 
 
or a honeydew melon
 


Belly:




 
Sorry for the bad cellphone shot!!


Sleep:struggling with hip and back pain while sleeping which means I wake up pretty regularly to change positions. Also havong pins and needles in my hands quite often which is wierd
 
Best Moment of the Week: My Niece asking if she can please see where her cousin is inside my tummy... :) too cute

Movement: Slowing down now... but if I concentrate I can feel her wiggle


Symptoms: Constant Back pain... pretty much all body pain, I have so many aches and pains its pathetic :)
 
Food Cravings: Still just very Hungry...

What I Miss: Still ease of movement... even getting in and out of cars or off the couch is a mission
 
What I'm Looking Forward to: hopefully a productive week!! 40 days to go!! :)






Friday 14 June 2013

Baby Update: Week 31-32

First off Apologies for no post last week. Honestly on Friday I had no energy to try and come up with a post so I left it thinking I'd catch up somewhere during the week and surprise surprise that didn't happen.

How Far Along: 32w 6 days , 50 days to go :) (eek!!!)
Size of Baby: Baby Should weigh about 1.9 kg and be about 40.5cm long
Seeing as she weighed 1.8kg two weeks ago I'm willing to bet she's already gone over 2kg's and believe me I'm feeling it!
Picture of Baby:

The internet cannot agree on a suitable comparison for this week :)

Belly:



Sleep:Last night was the best sleep I've had in almost two weeks (the night before was very rough and I was not a happy camper yesterday)

Best Moment of the Week: the conversation of two little boys where I work regarding the Baby in my Belly (from Facebook):

"So three little boys at work today were trying to hug me and hold my hand  ...the one turns to the other one and says did u know she's got a baby in her tummy... His friend looked at him sceptically so he says its true even though she looks like she ate to much"

Movement: Slowing down now... but if I concentrate I can feel her wiggle


Symptoms: Constant Back pain... the re-appearance of 1st trimester nausea :(
Food Cravings: Still just very Hungry...
What I Miss: to sound like a stuck record, ease of movement... I'm really slowing down and I'm annoying myself ;)

What I'm Looking Forward to: the weekend!!!







Thursday 6 June 2013

styling...

So this post is as far from my usual content as can be... But seeing as the whole point of this blog is my random musings on life I guess that's OK right?
 
 
I'm wouldn't exactly call myself a fashion guru. I can match things and usually (in my opinion) don't look to bad but I don't have the knack to take something ordinary and make it look fantastic or to accessorise things well. I also am cheap . So buying 'grown-up' clothes is a challenge for me as everything seems SUPER expensive.
 
So when I started on Pinterest I started looking at some idea's for updating my wardrobe to try and find a style that works for me. While browsing my Good Looks Board I started noticing a trend.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Apparently I am more predictable than I thought ;) If only everything you pinned magically jumped into your cupboard!!;)
 

Featured :)

While I definitely don't Blog for the recognition its always nice when people recognise your idea or like something you've done:)

This week my Nursery pinwheels were featured over at House of Hepworths .


 
If you coming over from there welcome and I hope you stick around :)