mamaroots

this moment- blessings for Maggie

{this moment} - A Friday ritual via Soulemama that I was keen on doing this week- a simple sweet moment from the past week.

This moment of cutting away my blessingway yarn in celebration of a little girl who was born into the loving arms of her mama and daddy yesterday.  One of my favorite traditions of blessingways- the mama cord is what we call it.  At the end of the blessingway- joining together the mamas with a single strand of yarn, calling forth our maternal lineage, howling of course, and then cutting the strand into our own bracelets that we wear until the baby is on earthside.  

I will have the pleasure of wearing many more bracelets in the upcoming months!

remembering

Nine years ago I was holding my 2 day old baby- my little bridge between incredible life of my baby boy, and the heartbreaking death in New York.  We were heading home from the hospital, recovering from being so so sick, taking in the loss of my homebirth, but so joyed by this child that would continue to grown into my son I am so proud of.  We sheltered our selves in our nest, my milk came in, tears ran.  Remembering . . .

moon pads for Haiti

During my last Wyld Womyns Retreat, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman who had traveled to Haiti after the earthquake to help with the women giving birth.  It was amazing to hear of her travels and to find that she is returning to Haiti and taking students with her.  We found there to be a need for cloth menstrual pads- especially post-partum.  She said that often the women are given the worst rags of the household for bleeding.  The Crafty Mamas decided this would be a great project for us to help with.  Last Thursday was our first gathering to develop a pattern and cut up fabric.  We decided to make the pads a bit bigger with 2 inside layers.  

For ease of making and use we went with a basic all in one pattern, flannel exterior and recycled towels on the inside.  Our goal is to meet once a week between now and September when the group is headed there- we are hoping for a couple hundred if possible.

If you are interested in helping with the project here is a couple ways to help.  Locally- any mama wanting to join contact me and I will give you directions and times to my house.  You may also want to follow The Womb Room facebook page for the weekly reminders.

We have several layers of old towels that we cut up but are in need of flannel.  If you would like to donate flannel for help pay for some flannel e-mail me and I can guide you on how to donate.

   

Lastly if you would like to actually make some pads and send my way to include in the box here is the basic pattern and instructions for making them.  There are pretty quick, start to finish.  If would be a great way to involve your children too.  Jasper helped me with the logo and is wanting to do some sewing also- I did have to laugh though because he thought we were sewing pads that were actual moon shaped- good opener for the discussion of how mama's bleeding cycles mirror the moon cycle- may by boys be ever so knowledgeable in the ways of women's cycles and birth- they will have some lucky partners some day!  Thank you so much if you are able to help in any way- 2 down, many more to make! 

If you want to contact me for more information on how to help you can e-mail me at willow@mamaroots.com

Download Moon Pads Pattern 

when I see the redbuds

 

I have never seen the Redbud trees the same since Silas' birth.  5 years ago I was patiently and at times not so patiently waiting for this little person in my belly to emerge.  I was approaching my 43 week of pregnancy, holding steadfast to my home VBAC desires and hoping for labor to come soon.  One of the best pieces of info another friend had told me who had a her home VBAC was the she had to do everything different so that her psyche did not hold the memory of the C-section from her first birth. That was one magical gem.  I had a completely different support team.  On one of my many prenatal visits at my doctors house we sat on a blanket under her redbud tree and had a check and accupuncture. I remember looking up at the trees so lush and purple.  She asked if I had ever nibbled on the blossoms.  I had never heard or tried that and it was a beautiful sweet little treat from that tree.

I was continuing to trust the process and journey of that birth and would walk out on my deck and nibble from my own redbud tree and rubbing my belly.  Once my baby Silas did enter the world on that April day it was incredible in my arms, in my home, surrounded by amazing people.  Some friends brought a tree for Silas to celebrate his birth about a week later and low an behold it was a Redbud tree.  We had a ceremony and buried the placenta under the redbud tree.  Every year since then we all nibble from the tree and take in a part of ourselves.  

I told Silas yesterday we we remarked on how incredible the redbuds are that he will always know his birthday is near when he sees the redbud trees!  Go nibble on a blossom and try its sweetness, try one for Silas!  One more week to go till my babies birthday!  Remember I warned you on the sentimental posts!! haha-

There is no way I can ever see Redbuds the same- pretty fitting for Cesarean Awareness Month- remember ICAN this April.

 

 

power of women

Yesterday I had the divine pleasure of spending the afternoon and evening with some amazing women.  I was with a tribe of maidens, mothers, and a wise wise crone sharing her stories of the power of women. I say crone in a most honored place.  I have had the pleasure of knowing MorningStar for a few years now and am so honored to be included in her most recent book in both story and photo- it is so humbling. 

I have shared so much with her and my amazing birth tribe preparing for and accomplishing my powerful VBAC, now almost 5 years ago in April with my Silas.  It is days like this that reminds how lucky I am to be in the presence of such a tribe of women that I am fortunate enough to call friends!

 

 

While we were gathered in circle I worked on another in the 3-Sisters series I have done since the fall.  I was inspired to bring in elements of the moon and nature to reflect this trio.  I like how the maiden and crone shelter either side of the mother because I find that often I need to remember the innocence of my maidenhood and listen to the stories of the crones to balance out my role as mother.  

If you are interested in this amazing book you can get a copy through Midwifery Today- such a powerful book!  You will not regret it.

binding and cutting the cord

Loving that Friday is here and the weekend is on the horizon.  That means Friday night picnic downstairs with the boys tonight- I think I have been challenged to checkers by Jasper!  It also means some crafty time and the honor of hosting a blessingway for a friend at The Womb Room this weekend.  It is such an amazing ceremony to have for a mama before she gives birth.

One of the key elements that I have enjoyed doing and I think have done at almost every blessingway is the mother cord ritual.  Usually done at the end of the blessingway, a ball of yarn is started with the circle of women, each woman winding it around her wrist, sometimes giving a blessing, other times she may give her maternal lineage.  Once the yarn makes it to the honored mother everyone is connected- bound together in strength for this one mama. Everyone then cuts the yarn and creates a bracelet to wear until the baby is born.  Each time you see or feel your bracelet your thoughts go out to that mama.  Every time she sees her bracelet the power and beauty of her ceremony come back to her.  How is that for powerful united intention!

This is just one small part of any number of beautiful pieces of ceremony that is the blessingway, binding us as that name many of us share- "mother"  The above beautiful picture was taken by the ever so talented Papillion Sky Photography- who I am so proud to call my friend and hope to honor her with her blessingway later this year for baby numero 3!

Wouldn't this be a great ceremony to have for other rights of passage, like first bleeding, healing, etc . . you have to love the simplicity and power of yarn!

healing stitches

Big thanks to everyone for your sweet birth-day wishes to my Jasper and me for his "birthing" day- love the mama support that know that when you celebrate your child's birth you are also celebrating the birth.  As many of you know Jasper was my planned homebirth, then early induction and ultimate c-section due to me getting pre-eclempsia.  It was very hard giving up my homebirth but ultimately making the best decision based on my health at the time.  I often said that healing from the stitches of the c-section was alot easier than the soul healing that had to occur for me to then give birth at home 3 and half years later to Silas.

As I was thinking about his birth this year I was reminded of the process of healing.  We all process events in our lives differently.  I know that different things happen for different reasons.  With Jasper's birth I had to do pretty intense healing work in order to move forward.  I wanted to share with you what I did.  I did lots and lots of journaling, and because I am a crafter I knew I wanted to make something.  I decided to make a healing quilt.  I sent out the call for folks to send me a square of fabric in red, pink, or white.  I looked at my gathered fabrics, wrote about them, cut and pieced them together as I was piecing my whole self back together to get back to a place to think about homebirth again.  I made the pattern to mimic a simple open yoni also, to see in my next birth. 

I did this work for about 6 months leading up to Jasper's birthday in 2003 and then I had a "healing-way"- think reverse of blessingway.  I gathered my women support system and had them shares words of healing with me, brought beads that I made into a bracelet, and then they helped me finish the quilt.

Now my quilt hangs in my studio right above my sewing machine.  It is a part of my creative space, which is very much like a womb for me at home.  Good thing my hubby doesn't mind that I love dark red paint!

Many wonderful thanks again and my best wishes out to the powerful women getting ready to birth this September! 

A book on my reading list, a book recommended by my good friend Amy, it is called Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser-  I will have some down time to get all caught up on reading as we head to bluegrass festival land with friends later this week, I can hear the banjos calling!

yarn brains or yarn on the brain?

Knitting has been one of those crafts that I just have not added to my basket, mind you I can crochet up one heck of a single chain!  But that does not stop me from buying up yummy yarns all the time and completely fun accesories!  I found this great yarn bowl when I was birthday shopping for Jasper from a neat Etsy shop called Skeletal Dropkick.  The boys always seem to be in need a snippet of yarn for various art projects and since our redone art area has taken on a monster theme it works great!  They think it looks like the monster has yarn brains!

I also came across an idea in an old Waldorf  book about surprise balls of yarn and so I started to put a few in the shop as a fun treat for kids learning to knit.  When they get to the center there is a cutie pie wooden animal waiting them!  The first is a yummy spice color with Earl the Squirrel in the center.  If you know this story he has a lovely knit scarf in the story!  I used the Lion Brand Organic cotton line.  I love the feel of this yarn!

I think I am resting well from the birthday weekend and having memories of this day eight years ago- I was laboring all day long and would have been last night also working on bringing my baby into the world.  That would have not come until 3:55 tomorrow morning.  Let's see if I wake up again tomorrow morning like I have done in years past!  I look forward to celebrating my fella's birth tomorrow!

just to share

I had this forwarded to me from a midwifery list and it is really just so lovely to watch that I had to share it here.  There is nothing like a birth video or slideshow to continually bring me to my knees of the power of women!

Of course the photos are just stunningly beautiful- I am so happy I had our birth photographed- if you are local and need a great photographer, here are a couple of my very talented friends:

Papillion Sky Photography

Anastasia Pottinger Photography

enjoy this beautiful video tonight!

http://www.lifeinmotionphotography.com/slideshows/amerlyn/

Headed to the shelves

Brand new on the shelves tomorrow is the book by Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake called Your Best Birth- I will be buying a copy of the book to add the The Womb Room Library and also there are copies for sale tomorrow at the local bookstore where I work.  I look forward to reading this.  I also have a copy of the DVD The Business of Born in the movie library available for check out in case you have not seen it yet.

I just found out also that they launched a new site that I just went and signed up on- love it when the empowering message of birth can spread and grow- be sure to check it out!