hi there, my name is michelle and i live in new zealand. i'm not with the father of the baby but am still excited about the pregnancy and meeting my little one! the father and i have a positive and open friendship which is really great for the future of our baby. we are going to co-parent the child and do so with openness and good communication at all times, even if we are a little angry at each other, the welfare of and benefit to our child will always come first.

my pregnancy (i'm 8 weeks tomorrow) is going well so far, i am making an effort to have a positive pregnancy, eating well, sleeping well and generally taking good care of me and bubs. i've had no morning sickness, just need to pee lots, more tired than usual and hungrier than the hungry caterpillar!

my raising ideologies are well founded in the following excerpt from kahlil gibran's 'the prophet':

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

07/07/08

i'm 23 weeks now and feeling great! a few more bits of info about what i'm planning, all going well! i'm having a home-water-lotus-birth. i'm an advocate for as little intervention as possible, ie. i won't be having any 'drugs' during the birth, i want to be completely present.

for those of you who don't know what a 'lotus' birth is, it's when the cord isn't cut at all. baby is placed on your chest as per normal and when the placenta is birthed, it is washed, treated, dried and placed in a cloth nappy and then into a 'placenta bag' which i am going to make. the cord with the placenta still attached then drops off normally of it (and babies') own accord within 3-7 days just as the cord stump will (although the stump can take longer). why do i advocate this?

well for starters doesn't it seem wrong severing the only life connection your baby has known for some 9 months? i've heard it feels like cutting through grisly almost soft bone like flesh. and baby gets the benefit of having that connection for longer and being more in control of the 'letting go' process. have a read of this (http://labouroflove.org/birth/lotus-birth/) for another mama's point of view.

more information about lotus birth:

http://joyousbirth.info/articles/lotus-birth.html

update: 16/07/08

i'm feeling great and baby is growing well although i can't wait until i really 'burst forth' as then people will stop saying you are carrying so small!

Madame Zaritska, our resident clairvoyant, wants to help you prepare for the arrival of your child. Here she does her best to predict certain aspects of your labor and birth experience.

What she senses for you
The day you deliver, outside will be hazy. Your baby will arrive in the early evening.

After a labor lasting approximately 8 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and will be 18-1/2 inches long. This child will have hazel eyes and be completely bald.

The only thing I don't agree with is the 'completely bald', I had heaps of hair when I was born!