The Birth of a New Era

Welcome to the first edition of the Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival, hosted by Authentic Parenting and Mudpiemama!
In the month of January, we start afresh, a new year, new ideas. Hence, our participants have looked into the topic of “Birth and New Beginnings”. Take a look at the end of this post to find a list of links to the entries of the other participants.

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Photo by HUgo Quintero

In April 2010, we welcomed our fourth child into our family with the birth of our second daughter. As with our other children, she was born peacefully at home with an unassisted birth. Later, as our older children were off playing and we were marvelling at this new human being, my husband turned to me and said, “You know. This is the start of a new part of our lives. We are moving from child-birthing to child-rearing.”

I bristled at that statement. After all, we had been child-rearing for 7 1/2 years, ever since the birth of our first child; it wasn’t anything new. However, what I struggled the most with was the idea that I wouldn’t be having any more babies. Were we really finished having children? Would I never again feel kicks and rolls as I carried our child in my belly? Would our new daughter be the last child to nurse at my breast?

I continued to struggle with this idea. When I began giving the baby boy clothes away and then later when I gave away newborn girl clothes, I cried a bit. Later on, size small diapers and our space saver high chair went. I told myself that it was time for the clothes to go. They had been purchased when our first children were little. If we were to have another baby, by the time he or she wore them, the clothes would be quite out of date. I could make new little diapers if need be and a highchair would be easy to pick up. I thought about not having any more children and about having a fifth child every single day.

Sometimes my husband would make a casual comment about having another baby and I would cry out, asking him why he tortured me so when I was already torn up about the idea. It wasn’t that I was set on having another child. I think not knowing was the worst for me. I wanted to settle on an idea – either of planning to have another baby or of trying to accept that my pixie of a fourth child was my last baby.

Sometime last summer, my husband’s comments about having another child escalated. One day, I realized that he was struggling with the idea in his own way – wanting to have another baby but thinking four children was a good number for us. That was a turning point for me. It helped knowing that I wasn’t struggling alone. We left it at that. We aren’t opposed to having a fifth child but neither are we planning on having another. I have given most of the little baby things away, but I’m still holding onto our baby scale just in case we might need it. Our slings and carriers are still in heavy use, so I haven’t had to visit the idea of passing those on yet.

I still vacillate between the decision to have another child or not. One day a couple of weeks ago I was completely set on not having any more children. A few days later, I saw a picture which had me remembering my children as little babies and the desire was back. We haven’t made any headway into making a firm decision about having another child or not, but what I have found is peace.

Birth is profound; magical and ordinary at the same time. It changes us in ways we can never envision. It creates parents out of people. Birth has given me much besides just my children. I have grown so much by being a mother, and I continue to do so every day. Every day is a new beginning with new possibilities and new opportunities from which to grow and learn. It isn’t something we can plan but it is something we can accept and find our own peace.


Visit Authentic Parenting and MudpieMama to find out how you can participate in the next Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
(This list will be live and updated by afternoon January 27 with all the carnival links.)

• Becoming Intentional with My Time Valerie at Momma in Progress shares the beginning of her year-long journey toward more intentional living. 
• Alirik’s Birth Story: Sweet Surprise Lauren at Hobo Mama tells the sweet surprise unassisted home water birth story of her second child.
• My Rebirth: An Honest Look Darcel at The Mahogany Way talks a little about some of the fear and insecurity she’s felt over the years since starting her parenting journey and her blog.
• Trusting My Body: Ailia’s Birth Story After a very challenging birth with her son, Dionna at Code Name: Mama was nervous about having another natural birth. But practicing relaxation techniques and birth affirmations proved to be just what she needed to have her perfect, peaceful, unassisted homebirth.
• My Homeschool Philosophy Paige a Bay Dust Diaries shares her new year’s resulution about homeschooling. 
• Yet Another Resolutions Post... Zen mummy‘s resolutions for a better 2012
• Renewing Green Passions in the New Year Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction talks about renewing a passion for green living in the new year
• Birthing and New Beginnings… And Better Mothering Sheila at A Living Family shares her first ever New Year’s resolutions to be a more mindful, compassionate and respectful mother to her two-year old daughter after the recent birth of her son.
• An Open Letter to MTV Regarding 16 and Pregnant Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama delivers a pointed message to MTV about how they misrepresent birth and parenthood on 16 and Pregnant.
• Setting Intentions Megan at The Other Baby Blog shares another way to ring in the New Year.
• Spencer’s Birth Story Momma Jorje shares her family’s story of birthing her son with Down syndrome.
• Looking Forward, Looking Back Erica @ ChildOrganics shares how she is able to look back at the loss of their daughter and yet move forward with her family at the same time. 
• Unique unto Itself. Melissa of Vibrant Wanderings has chosen a word for her second child’s birth: awareness.
• The Unassisted Birth of The LIttle Buddha. Laura at Authentic Parenting shares the birth story of her new baby
• Birthing and Resolutions: Keeping Good Things in Motion. MudpieMama shares her VBAC story and why she skipped making resolutions in the traditional way. 
• The Birth of a New Era by Mandy from Living Peacefully With Children

The Sexy Husband Stalks His Prey: A Poem in Parenting

I sit in the hallway outside the bathroom, my four children taking a bath

Quietly working on my laptop as they play under the guise of getting clean

I hear my husband sneaking up the stairs

His quiet commentary begins

“The sexy husband stalks his prey”

He makes it to the top of the stairs behind me

Reaches out his hand to my bum and says in a high-pitched voice, “Goose!”

I kiss him, his face smooth after shaving earlier in the evening

He looks at my kindle sitting next to me and says,

“Oooooo. Is that a time machine?”

I love that man.

Invisibility Cloaks

A great addition to any Harry Potter fan’s dress up trunk is an invisibility cloak. One of the deathly hallows, the invisibility cloak, by definition, renders the wearer invisible – a handy thing to have when battling evil forces, sneaking around Hogwarts, or playing make believe.

Traditionally, my children have grabbed whatever was handy to use as an invisibility cloak – blankets or play silks have been the most popular items. However, they have a distinct disadvantage in that they are opague, leaving the wearer essentially blind and bumping into things. When stealth is your objective, muttering “Ouch!” is contradictive.

I had a couple of 5 yd. pieces of sheer fabric in our declutter pile aournd the time that I was thinking of easy gifts my 4 year old might like to make for his siblings. When I asked him if he would lik eto make invisibility cloaks, he eyes lit up and giggles erupted. All he had to do was cut each piece in half, and we were suddenly the proud owners of four insivibility cloaks.

The kids were all thrilled to receive them. It is understood that if someone is wearing one, no one else can see that person. It gets rather comical when someone wearing an invisbility cloak begins speaking and none of the other people can see him or her. The cloaks have received quite a bit of use to date and are proving to be a popular dress up item for the older (by which I mean ages 8+) kids who come over.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

This soup came out amazingly delicious. I want to make bulk amounts to freeze, but I think I may need to only freeze it in parts due to the almond milk.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup:

• 4 chicken breasts, diced and cooked
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups almond milk (or your choice of thicker milk)
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, shredded (I used a vegetable peeler for long, thin slices)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup fresh spinach, cut into thin strips
• 1 T. canola oil (or olive oil)
• large pinch of dried thyme
• 1 lb. gluten free gnocchi (or glutenous gnocchi for theose of you who eat it)
• freshly milled salt and pepper

Saute onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in the oil. Add chicken, chicken stock, almond milk, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a gentle boil and add gnocchi. Boil for 4 minutes. Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Add spinach and cook for 1-2 additional minutes. Enjoy!

The Fallback Plan

Esther has just finished college and moved back in with her parents. Recognizing that her childhood is now over, she realizes that the next stage in her life is ready to begin. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know what that next step is. Pushed into a babysitting job by her mother in an attempt for her to do something other than eat cereal in her pajamas, she spends a good portion of her time imagining that she is the mother of her charge and the lover of her charge’s father. The rest is spent smoking pot with some friends and sleeping with the guy she is attracted to but doesn’t like.

Leigh Stein’s The Fallback Plan is nothing if not consistent. Mirroring the main character’s aimlessness, the book drifts along without any real purpose. Perhaps those in a similar situation would find the book enjoyable, but it is hard to rally for characters who are apathetic about their own selves.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

The Shadowing: Hunted

Callum Scott is predominantly a normal boy. He does well enough in school, plays rugby, and keeps a low profile. The only problem is that for as long as he can remember he has seen ghosts. Now his premonitions are growing and he is being chased by a large creature from another place. Life is about to get interesting.

Adam Slater’s The Shadowing: Hunted would be a mediocre paranormal young adult novel with characters who are screaming to be further developed. However, he has managed to weave new aspects into his brand new paranormal series which may just set the foundation for a great story.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Free Range Chicken Gardens

Jessi Bloom’s Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard, available at the end of January, is the quintessential book for chicken owners and gardeners alike. Chock full of information for the chicken novice, Bloom’s book makes a compelling argument for allowing chickens to free range in your garden to create a symbiotic environment benefitting plants, chickens, and their human counterparts. With pertinent and practical information, this inspirational book will have the urban or suburban (or even rural) gardener or chicken owner making the cross-over to a mutually beneficial and sustainable free range chicken garden.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.

Egyptian Treasure Boxes

My 9 year old worked hard this Fall, helping a neighbor clear out tree limbs from a tree that had needed trimmed. When we realized the neighbor didn’t want the limbs anymore, he asked if he could have them for a project. He wanted to make some tree blocks for his brother and sisters for the holidays. We carefully looked over the limbs for the best ones and neatly stacked them up against the house so that we could cut them the next evening.

The next day we got home after a field trip and realized that the electric company, who had been trimming trees along electrical wires, had seen our neatly stacked limbs and apparently decided to dispose of them for us. Carefully laid plans for a young buy’s gift for his siblings were quickly waylaid. A friend offered a couple of logs, and we once again planned to make some tree blocks to go with our standard unit blocks. When I tried to help him cut them, we quickly realized that our saw was not appropriate for the size logs we had. Once again, he needed a new gift idea.

As Yule approached and we were running out of time for him to make something, we took a trip to the store. Looking around, he found some small and inexpensive wooden boxes that were perfet for treasure boxes. He picked out a different color of paint for each person and painted them at home. Then he used a black sharpie marker to write each of their names in Egyptian heiroglyphics. These were well received. All of the kids have stashed little treasures away in them. My four year old even listed his treasure box as one of his favorite gifts.

Bearded Women Stories

Dehumanized by a world  which has used their oddities for entertainment purposes, the women in Teresa Milbrodt’s Bearded Women Stories challenge our thoughts on genetic variances and humanity and how we view our own selves. With wit and charm, she beautifully weaves short stories about women who are as real as we, who are strong in the presence of adversity, and whose only desire is to live their lives, embracing those aspects which make them so different than those around them. These stories of women cause us to examine our own thoughts and challenge the big top freak spectacular.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

The Garden of the Purple Dragon

In the second book in the Dragon Keeper series, Garden of the Purple Dragon,
Carole Wilkinson takes the story of former slave turned dragon keeper, Ping, to a new level. Faced with the dessertion of Danzi and the responsibility of raising his son, Kai, Ping is forced to grow in new ways. As always, Ping represents a strong female character in the middle grade fantasy genre and Wilkinson’s prose paints a beautiful picture of not only Ancient China but also of the diversity of human character. In my opinion, this is a buy-worthy series for families who enjoy reading aloud or individuals who enjoy reading on their own. All of my children have been excited over the series, and I like being able to share some books which portray females in strong roles, despite typical treatment of them in the era.