How to make a belly mould July 6, 2011

The best keepsakes I have, from both of my pregnancies(besides my lovely girls, of course), are my belly moulds!  First time around I bought a kit on ebay for £12, and second time I just ordered the bandages & got a bottle of PVA glue from the local art shop!  Number 2 turned out better.  They are so much fun and a great way to celebrate your pregnancy!

What you need:

To be about 36  to 38 weeks pregnant
ModRoc Plaster of Paris bandages (I got 3 rolls..I think I got the 6cm by 2m ones)(available online, or perhaps at an art shop or pharmacy)
Warm water
A tub of vaseline
PVA glue
Friend/s or a partner
Warm bath or shower to jump into afterwards

How to do it:

1. Cut bandages into strips long enough to cover your bump, cut some smaller pieces for breasts, nipples, cleavage, belly button
2. Put towels or an old shower curtain down
3. Get naked or wear old nickers
4. Cover any hairy bits with vaseline (or else you’ll know about it later!!)
5. Get a biggish bowl of warm water
6. Stand up or sit on a covered chair (arms above your head if you want your boobs looking extra perky)
7.  Time for your friend/partner to work fast…run the bandages through the water and start sticking.  It’s a good idea(I learnt second time around) to work from above your breasts, right down to your pubic hairline, and all the way around the sides of your body.
8. Do 2 or 3 layers, continuously smoothing it over with their hands.. bearing in mind mod roc dries quickly (not so quick that you need to panic!) You can add a bit of water to bits that need smoothing over.
9. Now add a big dollop of PVA glue to the water, give it a stir and continue. (about half water, half glue…so you may need to reduce the amount of water you have in the bowl) This strengthens it and stops the cast from going crumbly too fast
10. We did 4 or 5 layers in total, at which time the mould was coming away from my body.  I removed it and we very carefully painted the inside and outside of it with the glue/water solution and left it to dry.
11. We had a Mother & Father Blessingway(instead of a baby shower), where our friends each painted something on it, using acrylic paints. I put a glossy varnish over it once it had dried. What a wonderful memory and keepsake.

My friend did it for me at 36 weeks when I went to visit her in Brighton, and my two friends and I (well, mostly them actually) painted it with meaningful symbols/pictures that we chose together.

My hubby did this one for me, and we painted it at our blessingway, everyone painted their own picture(We painted the base layer the day before).  Both were done at 36 weeks pregnant.  The second one is stronger due to using glue and going further around my sides.

13 days to go… May 31, 2010

Feeling really tired today. I tossed and turned with an achey back in the night, and was worrying about our cat who we hadn’t seen for over a day (she’s back this morning!).  The sun has come out though and I am determined to go get some…it always helps to recharge my batteries. Just had a little snooze with Erin too.  I think I’ll have another swig of go-go juice too, as possibly I just have low iron today, as tends to happen in pregnancy when your body is producing much more blood.

The good news is…Erin slept through last night for a change!  She woke up at about 6.30 very proudly announcing “all night Peppa Pig bed!” Very sweet!  She’s been a little unsettled lately, I think it’s the sense that things are about to change. I feel bad that I won’t be able to give her the attention that she gets now, but it will be lovely for her to have a sister in the long run.

Our blessing way yesterday went really well. A blessing way is an alternative to a baby shower, perhaps boring to some, but no silly games or horror stories and more focusing on positivity for the birth and preparing for being parents to a second little one.  Normally it is a woman only thing (Mother Blessing), but I feel that the father’s journey is as important and also needs to be acknowledged and celebrated, therefore ours was a Mother & Father Blessingway.  After all, Steven will be my birthing partner and he is the most fantastic dad and husband.

More people turned up than expected (some had not responded to my invite and brought their children along too), but it was really lovely, if not a little too chaotic for a while.  We had snacks, wine and juice out on the table for people to help themselves, and got down to the business of painting my belly mould.   Erin even added her touch on my right boob.  Here’s the almost-finished product…still to be varnished, trimmed and ribbon threaded through the top so I can hang it.  Isn’t it wonderful??  Very farmy and appropriate to the time of year too, I think. Steven did the yin-yang, which represents masculine and feminine, dark and light, pisces (the fish – steven’s star sign) and gemini – the twins(baby’s star sign…unless she’s way overdue, which she won’t be!).  The writing on the yin yang was me…it says “we can’t wait to meet you, to hold you, to love you and keep you in our hearts forever. May your journey be gentle” I also did a chinese symbol for tiger, as it is the year of the golden tiger. We have a lotus at my heart, a dragonfly which we’ve recently spotted at the pond, lots of beautiful buds and flowers,  sunshine, the symbol of creativity and the tree of life.

We also did hand-binding ritual with some hemp string. We sat in a circle and passed the ball of string around, wrapping it around our left hands. Once it had gone all the way around the circle (uniting us, and giving us a moment for thoughts for the birth and new baby) we passed scissors around and cut between each person, which we then tied into bracelets.  We will keep these on until the baby is born.

Steven and I also gave out candles to be lit when I go into labour and blown out once the baby has been born.

This morning we also did a trial run of setting up the birthing pool…it was all very quick and easy. It’s just the filling it that may prove a bit of a task.  You attach a hose to the tap of course, but we will need to keep the Rayburn stoked to keep the water hot.  Let’s hope my labour is this relaxing! The top ring is not fully inflated as it needs to be filled with water first.  It’ll make a great swimming pool for Erin afterwards too! 

I’ve had one cup of raspberry leaf tea in today…and need to have 3 more! I love the stuff, even if I do have to put honey in to disguise the herbiness a bit.  I think it’s doing it’s job as I quite often get braxton hicks contractions, all good. Tone those uterine muscles baby!

Which reminds me…perineum massage is next on my to do list!! I certainly want to avoid tearing if I can!

I’ve also set Steven the task of brushing up on his massage and breathing skills to help me in labour, so tonight we’ll be studying the Active Birth book again together!

Thank goodness for my natural pregnancy kit! What would I do without it?!

Hello world! May 30, 2010

I am two weeks away from my due date for my second child.  Erin is now 2 years & 2 months old and is looking forward to meeting her little sister, although I’m not sure she knows exactly what is in store!

Firstly, she’ll be sharing booby with her little sister (little sister goes first, of course, as “she has no teeth to eat food, so needs mummys milk”).  I am slightly concerned about how she’s going to take to this, but since she is only feeding at the most 3 times per day (morning, nap time and night), I’m hoping it will not be an issue.

Secondly, the undivided attention she’s been getting from mummy and daddy, is now going to be very much divided. But this shouldn’t be too much of a problem, she doesn’t seem the jealous type.

Bump is healthy, her head is down although not engaged. It is uncommon for the head to be engaged early if it’s not your first pregnancy and can often only engage in labour…so I’m not worried.

The birthing pool is in it’s box…we must do a trial run blowing it up sooon!  Erin came on her due date so I am expecting this one to be about the same.  It’s idyllic on the farm where we live with our friends, especially at this time of year, so I am holding thumbs for a wonderful homebirth.

The delicious aromatherapy Mum-to-be Stretch Mark oil has done it’s job so far…no stretch marks. And weirdly, no linear nigra yet this time. I had one with Erin but can’t remember when it appeared.  I’ve had my swig of Floradix, which has given me some extra oomph, made a delicious vegan chocolate cake, hung the washing and am shortly going to get ready for our Blessingway ceremony.

Hubby and I made a belly mould this week (week no.37) from plaster of paris, and we’ve given it it’s base layer of paint and today at our blessingway we are going to get everyone to paint a symbol, picture or word on it.  I’m really happy with it although the edges need neatening up.  Here’s a sneaky before pic.This is Erin’s one…completed. I was 37 weeks pregnant when hers was made too.