Anahata Chakra

Make every effort to not get swept up in fake holiday frenzy and instead to focus on the meaning and beauty of Valentine's day. As said best by my daughter's teacher Heidi Burke, (who calls Valentine's day the Birds' Wedding Day):

We are now at that half-way moment between the winter solstice and spring equinox.  It is a moment long celebrated in human history with many festivities and rituals. The seeds and roots are quickening beneath the earth and in the Midwest, those who tap the maples for its delicious maple syrup are celebrating the nearing of time for maple sugaring. When there is deep snow cover in the north, we can observe that the warmth of the sap rising from the tree roots actually melts an open ring near the base of the maples! The cardinals begin 'pair feeding', passing sunflower seeds from male to female, female to male, as a prelude to spring mating. It is the season to recognize and spread warmth of heart, something we as humans can offer to the world!  

Turn your back on commercialism and consumerism. For exchanges - natural, reused, or recycled is best. Paint rocks, sew a felt pocket, string a seashell, transform a popsicle stick...

simplicité

Utkatasana: fierce, lightning bolt, wild pose.

Dressing well is a source of inner peace. It shows consideration for the self. When we dress our body to reflect our inner soul, we feel an immediate sense of harmony. Our clothes can be our friends or our enemies. They can show us off to our best advantage, protect us, or communicate a false image of ourselves. They even have the magical power to change our behavior. 

- Dominique Loreau, L'art de la Simplicité

Quality is the key. Choose the best. Don only your finest. Squat to stay young. 

how we hold

Throughout the day, we hold ourselves in a constant state of alertness, as if we don’t believe that whatever is underneath us is truly supporting us. We do not feel at ease in our body, and we compensate for that in ways that are so automatic they’ve become our “normal.”

The way we hold ourselves,
and the armor we engage
keep us separate, hard,
and unable to release into the support
available to us.

- Deep Listening Jillian Pransky 

mmmmm bop !!

Some bébés just LOVE to put everything in their mouths, watch INTENTLY as others eat, and REEEEACH for any visible morsel of food; our second born is one of those babies - so much so we have given her a few samples before her official six months. But be aware, babies have an open gut until about six-months and allergies are a possibility.

OUR* first foods :

~ egg yolk, runny from a 4-minute egg with a pinch of sea salt

~ stewed peaches, because they were in season

~ lemon

~ butter, grass-fed, sucked off corn-on-the-cob

~ mango, dried mango is an amazing chew toy !!!

Next on the menu :

~ avocado

~ plum apple butter
~ pickles, lacto-fermented , in a strainer pouch

Then perhaps :

~ banana

~ squash, peas, sweet potato or other veggie ... one at a time

~ coconut oil, added into one of the above

~ pureed meat

~ soup stock or bone broth, to thin any of the above

~ cod liver oil and/or desiccated liver, although I myself take the cod liver oil and nurse, so perhaps this is redundant. 

All ORGANIC, grass-fed, free range, and local if possible. 

We hold off on all grains for as long as we can. 

*This is just what we happened to do this time of year with this baby taking into account what we read, what our parents did, and advice from our pediatrician and midwife. From there we use our INSTINCTS and INSPIRATION.

trust yourself to the water

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float. ~Alan Watts

you are not stressed

You are stressing. 

Stressed is not a state-of-being. Stress does not magically happen to us. Stress is something we do. It is a controlled (albeit fairly subconscious) reaction that - yes - we can change.

Drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw, wiggle your fingers and toes, breath deeply, smile, maybe even laugh? Fake it at first! Then, eventually, take more walks, get fresh air, commune with nature, meet up with a friend, absorb yourself in a favorite hobby etc. etc

Most importantly, stop saying you're "stressed"!

babies don't do yoga

Babies ARE yoga.

Free of preconceived notions, one with the Universe, ever-present, pure LOVE... can we teach children yoga? NO. We can learn yoga from them.

GIVE to New MOMmy rather than New Baby

Although I preach less-is-more and all-you-need-is-love I do realize you likely do not wish to show up to showers and so forth empty handed ...

I am not one to always follow this advice, and do have a soft spot those impractical items that all of us cannot resist (newborn knit bunny hats!), but this is what new mommies really want and NEED:

1. 4th Trimester / Postpartum Items :

Basically, anything from the lady section in the grocery/pharmacy...

 'Recovery' Bath Soaks and Salts

Earth Mama Angel Baby products 

Mama Teas (milk and uterus)

Cute hot/cold packs 

After birth:

Food basket

If you know her well:

Real underwear, nursing bras, nightgowns, a robe!

Pretty light scarves as nursing covers, stroller covers etc.

2. Thank You Note Set

Small extra special cards that speak for themselves so mama doesn't have to write much.

3. Books

If you had any go-to's, these will save her soul from the wrath of the internet!!

Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives Deepak Chopra

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding or similar

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer Tracy Hogg

Bringing up Bébé Pamela Druckerman

The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Childcare Morell and Cowan

Your favorite baby books are also always appreciated and usually loved for a very long time ...

4. Siblings

Bring a little something for an older child or hand your gift to that child for 'their baby'.

a house becomes a home

As we enter into the fourth season in our fresh abode it gradually begins to feel like a home, yet it certainly isn't anywhere near ready for it's interior photo shoot - but, is a home ever finished? Of course not! Here's to evolving and making progress.

20-weeks, halfway, pregnancy #2

Favorite tips for all trimesters:

FAT is your pregnancy friend. 

(Whipped) cream and butter, avocados, olives and their oil, coconut everything, egg yolk...

You are a client not a patient. Pregnancy is not a medical condition; find HIGH-QUALITY care and support that treats you right.

- Midwife - She is your everything.

- Acupuncturist - Keep the energy channels flowing, receive overall wellness assessment (you may even find one to function as you primary care provider, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, in the future.)

- Chiropractor - Get your endocrine system on point and your mama-body perfectly aligned for delivery. Will also ensure baby is in position.

- Masseuse - A great massage is always a good idea.

Natural body care only, please.

- Honey for skin and hair.

- Coconut milk and castille soap shampoo. 

- Apple cider vinegar hair rinse. And drink 1TBSP a day too.

- Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide for teeth. Coconut Oil pulling/mouth swishing. 

- Coconut oil and Shea butter all over.
- SpaRitual nail polish.

Other than that - enjoy!!

And take lots of cute pictures to lift your spirits and to see how you look - probably way better than you feel.

Bonus points for waiting until birth to find out the sex of the baby. 

This allows for months of bonding with bébé in utero without any preconceived notions, attachments, or projections. It also makes pregnancy more spiritual and less about shopping. This simple decision will align your principals and priorities, keep you present, and allow you to experience life's greatest miracle and mystery. Which brings me to one last point, do you really need that Ultrasound? ...

calm mama happy baby

Children are pretty well programmed by age five; the rest of their life experienced is determined largely by what happens in these early years... 

Stress lies in the discrepancy between what you believe you should feel and what you actually feel... The reflection of your thoughts, mood, and behavior will show up with laser like precision in the mirror image of your child... When you live in your own center, you teach your child to live in her center, too... 

- calm mama happy baby

How you do one thing is how you do every thing.

And thinking of doing something and actually doing it are not the same thing.