Nourished Mother

In The Womb

From Amber

I watched this video over a year ago and was recently remembering how amazing it was to see these images, some real and some computer generated, of a baby growing inside its mother's body. There is plenty of fascinating information that goes along with the images too.

This is really a must see for any pregnant woman/couple, and would be especially great for an expecting sibling to watch!

Here is a little preview from YouTube, and here is the link to the website. We got the video from Netflix.

Oh and it's not all as dramatic and well, scary, as this little clip makes it seem. The baby is born in a medicalized hospital environment, but there is some great breastfeeding images and information.

There is also an In The Womb: Animals special, featuring elephants, dolphins, and dogs!!! It's so cool! Another great one for the kiddos.

"The Garden" Trailer

"Trailer for the new film The Garden, which chronicles the complex and emotional story of Los Angeles' South Central Farm. Created from the ashes of the L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farm came to be the largest urban farm in the United States. The film documents the farmers' struggle against the city's backroom deals, and exposes the underlying issues of money, power, poverty and racial discord."

The Cutest Baby- and Most Inspiring Birth Story- on Etsy

From Amber

(Unless your baby is on Etsy of course. In which case, your baby is definitely the cutest! Although s/he has some stiff competition with this little one. If you do have a mothering-related Etsy shop, please link to it in a comment!)

Ever since starting my Etsy shop last fall I have met the most incredible and inspiring people selling their handmade goods or, like me, vintage items on the site. Since Violet Folklore is a clothing shop, most of the lovely folks I've connected with have been fellow clothing lovers.

And, in fact, I met the mama of the gorgeous little bundle above by searching for dirndle-style dresses on Etsy. After looking at the adorable skirt that came up from her shop (below) I clicked through the rest of her items and realized that I had discovered a like-minded mama who was making beautiful, useful, and sustainable products to make mama's life a little easier and baby's butt (and head) a little cozier. And the forest folksy vibe is very similar to what me and my partner Sasha have going on with Violet Folklore!

 Now I know that there are thousands of other mamas doing the same thing, and I'd love to send appreciation and props to all of them, but since that would be impossible, and since I found her story so inspiring, I'll just be writing about my new friend Selene and her shop Bertcha's Bonnets & Baby Blessings (& Vintage Goods!).

 

Selene's son Lucien is almost 7 months old, and she stays home mothering him, selling on Etsy, and making "baby things" :-) for friends. While working in Japan as an English teacher in 2006 she met a man and decided to move to Vermont. Before that she had spent years traveling in Norway, India and Turkey! Though she had never been to the north east, photos convinced her that the climate and environment would feel like Norway, and it did! Speaking of Norway, Selene's goods often tend toward Nordic patterns and imagery, I love it! Like this hat:

 After months of living in the wintry Vermont woods, she and her partner decided to part ways, but she just couldn't bear to leave the Vermont landscape that she had come to love. So she moved to Montpelier, the capital, and worked odd jobs while also working to mend her heart.

About a year later she met Kevin, and here's where her story reminds me mightily of mine. They both knew right away that they would have a child together, and conceived in less than a month!

She says, beautifully, "Our love story has always been about the three of us," a sentiment that sounds familiar to me as well.  

Due to a lung condition Selene was resigned to the idea of a C-section. But then she saw The Business of Being Born, and all self doubt was banished! The belief that she would be able to birth naturally grew with the baby inside and Kevin and Selene found a midwife.

Hello amazingly gorgeous pregnant wood faery mama.

But then, at the last minute, the midwife decided that, due to Selene's medical condition, a home birth was too risky and that she couldn't create a possible liability for herself. So they decided to part ways with her (much like we, for our own reasons, parted ways with our midwife before the birth).

 After undergoing such a huge transformation of consciousness and preparing herself spiritually, mentally and emotionally for a natural home birth, Selene was devastated.

But then her midwife auntie, who had caught babies as an underground midwife in Santa Cruz in the 70s and 80s, flew out from California to attend the birth, her first in over a decade! Selene says, "It was the most loving amazing miracle to have her here and help with the birth--and it was so much more amazing to have her--a woman who has always been an inspiration to me--be present at this event. She's an amazing woman and an awesome midwife. Kevin was the perfect partner through and through, and we had our homebirth just as planned, in our living room, in a tub after 14 hours of labor. So in both cases [the break up with the boyfriend and the midwife], tragedies turned into miracles and I was given beauty out of heartache." 

The family in the birth tub moments after Lucien's arrival.

New baby and new papa.

Midwife Auntie with her first baby delivered in 15 years :-D

Selene knew she would use cloth diapers since she was pregnant, and had bought a pair of wool soakers from an Etsy seller at one point. When she realized she could make them herself, she started her own shop! (Another thing in common- the only thing I've ever sewn in my life was a pair of pants/soakers made from an old wool sweater to use over Mycie's cloth dipes when she was a babe).

Now she sells wool soakers, precious pint sized pixie hats, and spectacular vintage goods (her seller name on Etsy is actually Selenesian, so if you search use that). The overalls pictured on Lucien at the top of this post have stolen my heart, and if the baby I lost in January decides to come through again I am absolutely ordering a pair!

 

To see more of Selene & fam's gorgeous pictures check them out on Flickr.

So, yay for cozy baby butts, yay for mamas empowering themselves where their birth experience is concerned, and yay for the wonders of the internet and its ability to bring folks together!

In Praise of E.T. ... and Childhood

 

from Anna 

I borrowed E.T. from the library yesterday. I remembered it as being the "greatest movie ever" to the pint-sized me... back in those days before cable and VCRs, when watching a movie was a very big deal and meant an exciting trip to experience the magic of the big screen. I was curious to see how the film would stand up to the test of time. And wow, it does. It is a truly excellent movie after all, with great acting, a powerful story, and all that... but what really affected me most was just the image of childhood that it portrays. At the risk of sounding just like everybody's parents who regaled the groaning kids of our youth with stories that started out with "well, back in my day..." I have to say that I was really moved by the sense of innocence and freedom this movie evokes as a time-capsule for the child-culture of the early 1980's.

And when I say "innocence", I mean this in a very specific way... the kids in this movie certainly aren't little angels (who can forget the great moment when the kids' mom can't help but crack up a little as Elliot screams "Penis-breath!" at his brother across the dinner table?). What I couldn't help but notice was that these kids seemed so free of the pressures of commercialization and sexualization. And so comfortable with their neighborhood, the outdoors... the way it's nothing for them to make their way through the forest near their home, or hop on their bicycles and tear through all the shortcuts and backways through their suburb when they are chased. They wear plain, sturdy play clothes--overalls, sweatshirts, jeans-- none emblazoned with brand logos or functioning as ad space (although Michael is in one scene wearing a Space Invaders tee!). Little six-year old Gertie wears simple yarn bows in her hair and clothes as lacking in chic as her big brothers-- no miniskirts or belly-shirts or plastic purses.

I kept thinking how different this movie would be if it'd been produced today, with modern children in mind. It would have to have a rollicking, loud pop soundtrack. Gertie would be dolled up like a little teenager (and probably the mom would be, too-- no more high-necked blouses for you, lady!) The boys would be much more "stylish", too... and definitely more macho. Everybody would be more self-conscious. There'd be way more product placement (if you can even call Reeses's Pieces' cameo a placement) and that cinematic kiss between Elliot and the girl during the frog-freeing scene would have to get amped up... or at least there'd be a few lewd jokes thrown in for good measure. Nobody would know their way around the woods, and there would have to be electronic gadgets for navigation. In general, it'd be much faster-paced, and much less about emotion. I wonder what kids these days think of E.T. when they see it... boring? slow? wimpy? To me, it was a little scary and a lot magical. And so profound! I cried my little eyes out and loved it.

Maybe I am idealizing it all in my mind, but I do remember the era as being much more simple. There was a certain set of girls in my elementary school who really cared about wearing Jordache jeans, and sneakers that weren't "bo-bo"... but there really seemed to be much less pressure to look grown-up, act grown-up, buy grown-up. We played outdoors. We made believe. We knew our way through all the backyards. It wasn't lame to ride your bike, even for the big kids. Getting to wear lip gloss was a big milestone. You could just wear a sweatshirt with a panda on it because you liked it.

Maybe it wasn't like that for everyone. But I recall a time very much like what I saw in E.T. It really took me back. And once again, I cried my little eyes out and loved it. 

Wild Fermentation

from Anna

Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods by Sandor Elix Katz may well change your life. I was pretty excited about my new pickle-making jones before I read this book, and now I think I'm well on my way to total addiction to culturing all kinds of food. I've got experiments bubbling all over my kitchen! There's so much to do beyond pickles... there are so many enticing recipes in this book, each a simple, tasty way to connect to ancient foodways and improve your family's health to boot. Aside from those glorious brine-pickled vegetables, I've made simple cheese, started a sourdough culture, soaked and fermented beans and grains, and infused vinegars. (The cheese and the vinegars, strictly speaking, weren't really fermentation projects-- I didn't allow the cheese to age and the vinegar wasn't homemade-- but they were still recipes from the book and awesome fun!) I've never encountered a cookbook that got me so jazzed up to immediately test out so many recipes-- I guess it is because each one is like a science experiment... or maybe more like dabbling in magic. However, even if you aren't the sort to enthusiastically engage in kitchen wizardry, I guarantee you Katz's book will be a fascinating read. He writes passionately about the ancient origins of fermentation processes, the cultures (!) that sprang forth from their practices, and the varied societies that lend us these remarkable foods that he so obviously adores. There are recipes from all around the globe, as virtually every people have traditional ferments figuring prominently in their cuisines. I particularly love that he is so enamored with the foods of his Eastern European Jewish heritage-- some of our family's favorites!-- and am so thrilled to give it a go with his live sourdough version of his uncle's mother Tobye's Challah recipe. Katz's book also, more than being merely an instruction manual for delicious, nutritious projects, dips into being a bit of a blueprint for the ferment of our own modern society-- he is, after all, a back-to-the-lander communard political gay activist, a long-term AIDS survivor who lives in a rural queer intentional community in Tennesee. He's got plenty to say about living off the grid, milking goats, facing his own death... and can interupt directions for creating delectable foodstuffs to wax philosophic about which pronoun he should use to describe the transgender friend who originally shared the recipe with him. I especially appreciate that he is so fervent in his DIY ethic, and adamant that one does not need to buy a lot of fancy equipment or measure amounts and temperatures with scientific accuracy-- he believes wholeheartedly that the real joy in fermenting comes from allowing truly wild cultures to flourish by nourishing our microbial friends who are already with us, and really enjoying the experience of learning as you go and experimenting with what works for you, in your kitchen. He is certainly inspirational. The book genuinely is, as the backcover blurb purports, a "whirlwind trip" and you are sure to get caught up in it. He ends his book thusly: "Draw inspiration from the action of bacteria and yeast, and make your life a transformative process." Amen, brother. Amen.

(Check out Amber's older post Optimal Digestion for Optimal Health: Fermented Foods and Bitter Herbs for more).

Orgasmic Birth

Well I certainly didn't have an orgasmic birth. But I also wouldn't call it painful. It was more, as a mother in one of Ina May Gaskin's books says "an interesting sensation that required all of my attention". I agree so much with what the wonderful Marsden Wagner has to say in this video about a safe, secure, home-like environment being necessary for an optimal, perhaps orgasmic, birth experience. Also, the concept of birth as a sexual act is one to which more women need to be introduced. Ina May introduced the concept to me, and kissing Graham throughout my labor was verrrry helpful. Here's the trailer for the fantastic looking new film, Orgasmic Birth:

The Power of Menstruating Women

I got this sticker from my herb teacher Kami McBride.

"The menstrual power is one of the most powerful energies in the universe. Women- when they are in their moon- are the only ones who have the power to heal the planet."

~David Winston, Herbalist and Cherokee Medicine Man

I recently read that any spell a woman casts in which she uses her own menstrual blood is sure to come true. The conception of my daughter is testament to that. I didn’t even know I was "casting a spell". I just knew I wanted a baby, and was in that dreamy, creative menstrual space, so I drew three simple marks in my journal, two curved lines forming the edges of a rounded belly, and a belly button in the middle. I learned that the power of my own intention, especially when strengthened with ritual, is immense, and that the old adage to be careful what you ask for because you might just get it is very true!

Gather the women, save the world. Gather the menstruating women, heal the Earth. Honor yourself during your moontime. Model that for our daughters. Feed your blood to the plants for deep nourishment. Consider using cloth pads. Pay attention to your dreams and visions. Know that the emotions that arise are not irrational or crazy, but are pointing to truths that you have repressed. You are at your most powerful when you are bleeding. Utilize that power.

Don’t be ashamed to bleed or to experience what you experience when you bleed. Don’t trivialize it, especially in front of men and boys. And especially in front of women and girls. And don’t try to "act like a man" and push through the pain and tiredness, don’t try to get on with life as usual if doing so seems an overwhelming task. Recreate the Native American tradition of the Moon Lodge. For me, that means asking Papa to watch the babe for a while so that I can crawl under the blankets and lay in bed in the semi-dark, visioning and sleeping. And lots of baths.

I recently had a dream that I was about to give a speech to the whole world (gee I wonder what it was about!). Just before beginning I looked down at my white skirt and saw bright red blood flowing down it. My first thought was to go and change, or at least fish one of my beloved cloth pads out of my purse to contain the flow. But then I thought the better of it, and decided not to hide my blood, the deepest and most powerful part of my womanness. I realized that seeing this, truly Seeing this, was exactly what the world needed in order to heal.

Wow, seems so prophetic in light of that David Winston quote that I just came across this morning.

(I would so be dead if these were the Burning Times).

For more menstruation empowerment check out:

105 Ways To Celebrate Menstruation by my herb Teacher Kami McBride
The Red Spot: Menstrual Culture
Menarche Rituals for our daughters
Period: The End of Menstruation? The Film, featuring Kami McBride
Yoni