Mama By Design

Both of my children were born in water; I cannot fathom doing it any other way. The warm, enveloping water buoyed my body and helped me feel protected as I brought my children into the world. Waterbirth International is a not-for-profit organization who’s mission statement reads “We ensure that waterbirth is an available option for all women.” I fully support this work, and that is why I was so dismayed this morning to open an email from the director Barbara Harper, and read about the trouble they are having:

For twenty plus years WBI and Barbara Harper have been guiding mothers and their providers, providing education and birth pools all over the world. Waterbirth International is facing the very difficult truth that the Gentle Birth World Congress – a fabulous success in every way for international and local attendees – drained all of our resources. We may have to close the doors permanently by January 31st.
We need to raise $200,000 in donations to cover the debts from the Congress.
With such a large sum to raise, we need each of you to support this cause. When you support waterbirth, you are making a statement that you want and need options, choices and more control.

Mama By Design participated in the Baby Expo associated with the Gentle Birth World Congress. It was truly a beautiful event. We are hoping to find a way to assist in raising funds for Waterbirth International, as it is critically important that this organization stay active and able to serve birthing women. I am considering a couple of options, including a small run of waterbirth themed embroidered panel Calyx carriers. In the meantime, check out Barbara Harper’s excellent book Gentle Birth Choices, available from Waterbirth International’s store.

I am very aware of the mythology surrounding Thanksgiving. The happy story of the Indians and the Pilgrims glosses over a legacy of genocide and imperialism. As a homeschooling mom, I make a point of avoiding the feel-good myth, and teaching my kids more of the historical fact so they find the truth for themselves.

That being said, I must admit to loving Thanksgiving. I think that setting aside a holiday to reflect on all of the bounty in our lives, to thank our families for their love and support, and to eat the fabulous food harvested over the past season is one of the most meaningful ways we can celebrate. For me personally, I love Thanksgiving because cooking for guests is one of my favorite things to do. I truly enjoy spending a day and a half in the kitchen, using fresh local ingredients, whole spices, dangerously sharp knives and old family recipes to create a delicious meal to feed to my friends and family, and woe betide anyone who says “You didn’t have to go to so much trouble!”

I also love that Thanksgiving is about thanks, food and the harvest, but has nothing at all to do with greed for material things and conspicuous consumption. I don’t see eating a large feast as greed in the same sense as buying hundreds of presents and spending an entire day wallowing in them. Sure, we overeat and lie around groaning, but we don’t do it every day. It’s a special occasion, and we all need those once in a while. A special level of meaning is added when we try to source our feast locally, spending the summer growing and preserving, getting our turkey from a local family farm, finding local butter and eggs, and putting it all together as an edible tribute to our land and community. Plus, there are leftovers for a week. Perfect!

Today is known as Black Friday, because of the huge shopping crowds that rush out looking for bargains. Others, myself included, call it Buy Nothing Day and make a point of refusing to buy anything for the entire day. In a way it’s a silly gesture, because nothing is stopping us from buying stuff tomorrow, but again it is a way of extending that awareness of Thanksgiving and enjoying the bounty that we already have. Plus, after cooking for a day and a half, all I want to do is sit around in my pyjamas eating pumpkin pie for breakfast.

So, in honor of Buy Nothing Day, instead of blogging about baby carriers and what’s new at MBD, I thought I’d share my delicious Slow Food Thanksgiving menu, and a couple of recipes that turned out particularly well. (more…)

My “baby” is now going on 3 years old. She weighs over 30 lbs. Recently I hurt my low back (gardening and Pilates, not a babywearing injury!) and was unable to walk without pain, even carrying only my own body. I’m feeling a bit better now, carrying in arms is still difficult after about 10 feet or so, though I can do a comfortable back carry for a short amount of time.

However, I’m taking my kids to Chicago for two weeks, and plan to visit a lot of museums and other sightseeing. Traveling without Dh does not seem like the best time to push my body to the limit. So, with a heavy heart, I pulled out the old umbrella stroller.

The thing was in sad shape. We purchased it for a trip to San Francisco when Ana was about 1.5 years old, back in the days when the only carriers I had were the OTSBH and the Kelty frame pack, neither of which was particularly comfortable or convenient when walking around a hilly city and hopping on and off cable cars. It has seen some use with Sylvie as well, Grandma uses it when they walk the dog. Note the ripped-out side seam and otherwise faded and decrepit appearance. Since I’m mourning the end of my babywearing days, bemoaning all the beautiful carriers I won’t be able to wear, I thought I’d see what I could do.

The frame was in great shape still, so I unscrewed the old seat and spread it out. As it turns out, it’s just a big rectangle with a little cut in the side, bound with twill tape and folded and stitched to form the seat and go over the frame. I made a new seat out of black twill and this fun anime fabric, and I quilted the dragon with sparkly thread (this cool holographic-coated mylar stuff, called Laser Brights or Kaleidoscope). I even re-did the bag with a coordinating blue asian floral. I’m very happy with it. It might not be a gorgeous new fluffy, but it was a lot of fun to make.

It was pretty cold for Oregon, one neighbor said 32 degrees! Brr… That’s why the butterfly is wearing a wooly sweater. Didn’t I do a good job with the vampire makeup?