natural

Vaccine awareness is on the upswing.  Everybody wants to know- are they safe?  effective?  useful?  I have decided to start us off with a basic article dispelling 10 common myths and countering them with truth.  If you aren't open to changing your mind, read no further.  The website I took this from is one of my faves.  Expect lots from here in the future.

When you're pregnant you are probably spending some time thinking about your upcoming labor. What are your options? What are your plans? You might be thinking through all the different scenarios, and trying to decide what you might do in any given situation.You may have already spoken with your partner, and the people you have invited to your birth, trying to work out what might happen. Of course you won't know until you're in the middle of it, but that doesn't stop us from wondering.

Heather (who does the Hathor the Cow Goddess comics) blogged her baby's birth. In semi-comic form. Go check it out.

http://www.mama-is.com/the-birth-story-of-ean-campbell/

Here's a new blog I'm excited to follow:

http://curiously-wrought.blogspot.com/

Mom of six Tammy plans to blog the pregnancy and birth of her new little one expected in December. She started the blog on April 10th and only has a few entries up so far, so you can still start reading her journey from the beginning. She and her husband are planning a home waterbirth in Guatemala.

Click through to see this beautiful photograph:

http://www.blisstree.com/breastfeeding123/bonding-at-the-breast/

Really, you can do it.  Remember, not too long ago, people used to make everything from scratch.  Not just bread, cookies, and ice cream...everything includes yogurt, butter, flour, vinegar (you know, the basics!).

This looks like lots of fun.  And easy.  And delicious.  Could be cheap, too, if you have a source of cream.

When I saw this poem I knew I had to share it with all the pregnant mamas out there. Click through to this post by one of my favorite bloggers: http://balancingeverything.com/2009/01/08/waiting/

I am a Christian, wife to Norm and mother to four: Glen (5), Tasha (3), Jamie, and baby Lorelai. It was an honor to be asked to work with Corrrine and the other ladies in the Pinkpeas family. Pinkpeas is just the right home for some of my many interests. We are a homebirthing/waterbirthing family. I am a La Leche League Leader.

Our daughter Isabela was born September 14, 2004. Isabela was born in the hospital. We had the best hospital birth experience one could pray to have and we will never do it again God willing! I like to say that we really just paid to rent the room at the hospital, they left us alone for the most part which is exactly what we wanted. For that money we could have had her at the Four Seasons!

So, here is Liliana's birth story as written by my amazing wonderful midwife Corrine, I love hearing it from your perspective! I will preface it by saying this was our first homebirth, our amazing daughter Isabela was born naturally in the hospital. My husband will say that the most powerful aspect of our homebirth as compared with our hospital birth was how empowered we were as parents.