Aruna's Birth Poem (Hypnobirth)

Today is Aruna's 3-month birthday.  With this lovely spring sunshine warming the cockles of our souls, Christmas already seems like a long time ago.  I want to celebrate again with a little poem for Aruna.  It's taken me a while to complete it, but today seems appropriate.

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The dark winter night slowly passes

Though rest, for me, is fleeting

Many months I have come to know you

Now I yearn for our first meeting

It is Christmas and our house is peaceful

Gifts are prepared for tomorrow

Gently I waken my beloved

To get ready for what will soon follow

We begin to prepare everything carefully

While inside my womb ripens and tenses

Colours sparkle before my eyes

A myriad of stars penetrates my senses

Phone calls are made and candles are lit

The room feels safe and welcoming

Fragrant with lilies and lavender oil

A place where all things end and begin

A gentle hand strokes my back

Though I am not afraid

Only filled with wonder

That we finally enact our plans long made

Warm water envelopes my body

My birth paradise fills my mind

I am transported to a place deep within

Angel's wings leave what is old far behind:

Fresh verdant hues, bright, a beautiful sunlit valley

A soft winding path leading up,

I walk to the end of the rainbow, and find my tranquil pool

Dappled, clear, an overflowing cup

In the water, my wings set aside, only one thing left to do

Concentrate. The moment is due.

The pinnacle of my womanhood is fulfilled

As the waves of the swell surge over me

A journey of love just beginning

A tiny new life, a spirit set free

In that moment you were born

I looked upon you and loved you

Aruna. My beautiful child

Our blessing this Christmas dawn

The Deodorant Stone

For some reason, I have a particular bug-bear about the waste generated by using deodorant.  I am quite smell-conscious, so would not go without, but hate the thought that I am using a thick plastic container every few months that will then require hundreds, if not thousands of years to break down in landfill.  Since Unilever do not provide refills, if I am to remain an accepted member of my social circles, I have to buy a new pack each time. 

Interestingly, Unilever does have a "Sustainable Living Plan" which suggests they are developing strategies for reducing packaging and providing refills.  See here.  They even boast a Walmart Gold Award for Sustainable Packaging in 2009 for making refill pouches for a shampoo in China.  Hmm.  Would it be churlish of me to suggest they, as a global multinational, could be doing more?  A lot more.  And probably without negatively affecting their brand images.  In fact they could make radical changes and then even the most hardcore eco-conscious would be doffing their caps in respect and buying more of their products.  Well, maybe not.  Sadly, they are not here for our good, or the earth's good, only their own good. 

I discovered the Deodorant Stone while browsing the Natural Clothing catalogue, a small, very ethical company who's woolly baby clothes I adore.  Any natural alternative has to have comparative odour-bashing properties, otherwise, I will just begrudgingly return to Unilever.  It is a crystal made of potassium alum which you wet first then apply.  My 60 g stone looks set to last several months with daily use.  Whatsmore, it looks nice on the bathroom shelf!  No plastic!

Where previously, I was using anti-perspirant deodorants, which I have since learned are the cause of those horrible stains in the armpits of your clothes, that seem to reactivate with sweat, I am now content with this deodorant stone.  It isn't anti-perspirant, but thinking about it, is it healthy to block moisture secretion in this way?  It does what it says on the tin, although I will keep my deo stick in the bathroom cupboard for that rare occasion, say a job interview, where one just can't take any chances.

In the meantime, I will await with interest any research to suggest there may be adverse health consequences associated with using aluminium salts in this way. 

PS Beware any synthetically produced versions.

Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle III

NAPPIES, WASTE and EC

I am a hoarder.  Since my parents were both children during WWII and grew up in the ensuing era of frugality, we (my brother and I) have always had it drilled into us: "Waste not, want not!"  Hoarding is both a blessing and a curse for me.  I feel strongly about the issue of consumption and waste, and feel proud to care.  And, having children has only heightened my concerns about waste.  However, I often face frustration at the continual battle for space in a house occupied by many almost redundant items.  (One of these days, I'm going to get a cupboard, put it all in, and call it the Everything Cupboard.)  One battle I am prepared to put up with for now, however, is the issue of nappies. 

When William was born, my main aims for using cloth nappies were waste reduction, energy conservation and cost savings, as well as better for baby's skin.  We have an A+AA rated washing machine, sanitise at 40 degrees and no tumble dryer, so I knew we would be able to reduce our environmental impact.  Also, a general dislike and distrust of corporate giants has steered me clear of the bigger brands of disposable nappies (corporate responsibility?).  We do occasionally use eco-disposable nappies, which seem to be continually improving, even in the short time between my 2 babies.  However, as they ultimately end up in landfill, their biodegradability is going to be dictated by local conditions, usually anaerobic, and so is likely to be delayed considerably from the optimum.  (I'm still working on persuading Raj that we could put these on our compost heap at the allotment.)

If only we had one of these in Liverpool....

Maishima Waste Incineration Plant, Osaka, Japan

Built by Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Generates 32,000KW electricity.  Beautiful.

Since having Aruna, I have considered the use of cloth in more detail, and now wonder about the many types of cloth nappies available and what their individual merits are, from an environmental perspective.  I like to try out new things so I have many different cloth nappies, rather than one particular system in use.  (This will be the subject of a further blog post soon.)

The most exciting way we are able to achieve a considerable reduction in nappy use is with the practice Elimination Communication (EC).  I found out about this when William was tiny and we got going with it, achieving a reasonable degree of success.  I say 'found out' because prior to my babies, it never occurred to me that babies were already equipped to tell us about their elimination needs - something that people in other (non-Western) parts of the world take for granted.  EC is just a fancy term for listening/watching for baby's cues about their wees and poos.  Babies are born with an instinct to not want to soil themselves. (Anyone noticed a newborn suddenly weeing when you take their nappy off?)  Sadly, for our convenience however, we wrap them up in paper and cloth and train them out of this.

I started EC with Aruna when she was 3 days old because it was soon obvious she disliked the feeling of being in a wet nappy and even seemed to dislike the sensation of passing water.  This was going to mean a whole lot more nappy changes.  She really took off with it and, although in our cold English climate, she doesn't go nappy-free so much, I am able to understand her cues most of the time and a large number of wees and poos end up in the bowl (then down the loo) rather than in the nappy.

Two great books on the subject are "The Diaper-Free Baby" by Christine Gross-Loh and "Infant Potty Training" by Laurie Boucke.

Starting the allotment again

After some deliberation and my persuading Raj, we, or should I respectfully say he, is getting the allotment going again.  We've come to a compromise though, just to keep a half plot and keep things simple and manageable with one or two beds for now.  Since I am not so keen on back-breaking digging etc while carrying Aruna, I will mostly just spectate for now.

There are so many uncertainties on the horizon, such as where William will go to school, whether we should move into a more spacious rented house somewhere a bit nicer, and whether or when I will return to work at the practice nearby, so this way, a small investment will not be a great loss if we no longer live around the corner. 

SW view - greenhouse is boundary

NE view - shed is new boundary of 1/2 plot

Other news...
Well, we made it over to Alder Hey for William's hearing check and all has been deemed satisfactory by the Audiologist, but due to the glue ear season, we'll have a follow-up in July, hopefully for the last time.