Warm Love Circle Sisters! If you have been following ymib/me on twitter (http://twitter.com/ymib) then you may already know, but, if you have been wondering why the site has slowed down, it is because I am pregnant!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! I have been DYING to tell you all(especially to get all of your motherly advice for pregnancy!), but I wanted to wait to officially announce the news until my first trimester was pretty much over. I am in my 11th week now and we heard the tiny heartbeat on Friday, and we also have a sonogram at just 6 weeks! I had never had one that early before..there were no eyes and all, but the organs were there and you could see the heart..it was darling! Anyhow, I wanted to let you all know that I am still here, but I have been SO VERY tired. I mean really tired, I have been sleeping a lot, but I hope that my energy will regenerate itself soon...LOL! But when i do not feel like blogging on ymib or jubella, you can usually find ymib twittering!
My stomach was feeling REALLY tight at the beginning, but it feels normal and relaxed now. The only thing that I was NOT too happy about was the fact that they found a fibroid...it is the size of a dime. I cannot lie, this made me super nervous, I know it's small, but I am super scared of this thing getting bigger during and/or after pregnancy. I always felt like if this baby turns out to be a girl, then she would teach me to take better care of myself, both physically and mentally. I think our kids are meant to teach us something about ourselves. Anyhow, she has already started, because I would have never known about the fibroid nor would I have looked up the speculated causes..which i thought was funny, because I found a lot of research saying that worrying, especially about security/finances can effect the chakra where the ovaries/womb is located..and sure enough, I found myself really worried about that a while ago, and the whole economic commentary on cnn probably does not help either..LOL. So I am learning to relax! I have also started taking more bubble baths, usually I rush through a shower, but my womb was telling me to slow it down(i felt a bit dizzy after standing up in a hot shower). So now, I light my candles, sometimes play music, and rub my belly with warm water...it's nice!
We are also working on a site makeover, so I am also SUPER excited about that, but it will take time, so bear with us!
Ok, ladies, please do feel free to offer up any advice regarding pregnancy health and taking care of the pregnant spirit...i know you all have some wisdom to share!!!!! :) I will be posting the news to JuBella, and then hopefully I will be back here to post some bites/articles. Please know that you all are welcome to submit bites/articles, and we would be more than happy to review them to publish! Ok, bye & I hope you all have a wonderful and creative week!!!!!
With Sisterly Love,
Ericka Taylor
Editor-in-Chief
ymib.com
I'm just now seeing this
I'm just now seeing this post more than a year later but I was excited for you all the same. I know that when I'm ready to have a child I want a Black midwife. I think 22 comments is the most I've seen for ANY blog on ymib. You go girl! Hope all is well.
"Knowing love, I will allow all things to come and go... As Rasa would say, 'Life is right in any case.'"
Congratulations!
That is BEAUTIFUL news!! And I'm so glad you are taking the time to relax and take care of you and that new little life inside, that's what's most important. Blessings to you and the family on this exciting new phase of your journey :D
Black Butterfly: Arts and Culture from Brooklyn to the Bay and Beyond!
http://www.soulgoddess.blogspot.com
Hey Mama!!! LITERALLY!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! You're gonna have a baby! okay, so I'm reeeeeeeeeal late...but I'm so happy for you! If there are any questions you have, anything you need, let me know, please! USPS, plane tickets, and gasoline don't exist for no reason, Sista. Please, don't hesitate.
Lovingly be,
The Fly Lioness
Only those who go to far can realize how far they can go...
Congratulations Sis!
Fulljoy this time, I will keep this pregnancy lifted in prayer. Many Blessings to you and your family!
(sorry, that I am late with this news as well!)
But my blessings are just as sincere all the same.
Love & Strength.
Congratulation on your
Congratulation on your recent pregnancy. I have log on for a while since I was in Nigeria and had little time or access to a fast computer. Now that I am back, I want to wish you a healthy, beautiful pregnancy full of joyous memories. Whether a male child or female child, the world welcomes the ancestor returned and we look forward to the lessons and experience we will have via YMIB, as we hear about the progress and development of your newest family member.
Iya Agan Isese Agbaye
Congrats!!!
I am so late, Oh My GOSH!!! Congratulations!!! I'm so happy for you, it's such a blessing to be able to bring forth life. Let me know when the baby shower, LOL (seriously). I'm so happy, that news brightened up my day.
Princess Ominah
Be Virtuous and Wise,
Shalom,
Lover/Fighter. Artist/Writer. Spiritual/Natural
A Great Joy!
Many congratulations Sister! I don't really have any advice to add because all of the wonderful mothers before me have done the job above and beyond what I could have offer. I just send love to you and your expanding family.
If they have lied about me, they have lied about everything- Miss Lissie
What a Blessing!
Many congrats to you on the news of the new spirit! It is such a blessing to be chosen as a vessel through which a new life enters this plane. Being that my first pregnancy is still underway, I'm by no means an expert on pregnancy and motherhood, but I still felt inclined to put in my two cents. These are some of the things that have been helpful to me during my pregnancy.
1. Listen to your heart and body.
One of the biggest lessons I've learned throughout my experience (I'm due next week) is that in order to preserve the spirit of pregnancy I must listen to my heart and body so that the experience will continue to be my own throughout the process. If I'm at peace, then naturally I'm providing a more peaceful environment for the one growing inside of me. If you want to do things all natural and at your own pace, by all means do that without apology. If you want to go in a more "mainstream" route, do that without apology. Either way, it is to no advantage to the growing spirit for you or any other mother to be pressured or forced into unnecessary or frightful procedures. (Although I'm partial to a more traditional childbirth outside of hospital, I do not believe in forcing that model of care onto someone who would be tense in a home or birthing center.) In the beginning of my pregnancy, I knew I wanted to deliver at home with a midwife, no drugs, etc. But at the time, I was having a hard time finding support because of the area I was living in (West TN) and my family was a little nervous about a home birth. I was less firm because I kind of felt like I had no other options...as a result I was a little more stressed and felt it physically. Once I relocated back to CA and eventually to TX, I found the support I needed and it's like a load has been lifted because I don't feel as if I'm having to compromise.
2. Water
Drinking it and bathing in it can be life-savers. I will admit that I still sometimes have problems taking in enough water, but for the most part I try to drink at least 1/2 gallon per day. (My midwife recommends drinking 1 gallon per day.) If you plan to breastfeed, water will also be key in maintaining your supply of milk. And as you mentioned, there's almost nothing like bathing in it during pregnancy. Baths, especially with music and energizing aromas, are soooo refreshing.
3. Get a massage or two during your pregnancy.
I've had one professionally since I've been pregnant, but my love gives me massages frequently and that helps to keep me relaxed. On days when my energy is higher, I also sometimes give him massages--to maintain a degree of intimacy during the pregnancy, and to relieve some of his stress or help him to relax because even though he doesn't always want to admit it I know that work and preparing for the baby also take a little out of him. (If you are able to make love during the process and you feel comfortable with it, I would also recommend that.)
4. Watch what you eat (physically and spiritually)
In terms of diet, I do agree that easing some of the dairy out is a great idea. Dairy, worrying, stress...all of that can contribute to the growth of fibroids and other physical discomforts. I would suggest not going too fast with changing the diet because you don't want your body to detox and start releasing an excess of toxins into your bloodstream at this time, but I do know that you will feel a change in your energy and overall state of being during this time as you remove some of those things from your life. In the last month or so, I've cut out meat (except fish) completely, slowed down on the dairy, and increased my veggie and fruit intake, and I can see and feel some of the differences in terms of my energy level, bowel movements/lack of constipation, and just overall well-being. In terms of spiritual and other non-physical aspects of your well-being, cut out other things that are unnecessary. I can be a little obsessive compulsive with my to-do lists and completing tasks. I got a little overwhelmed because I moved twice across the country during this pregnancy, didn't have stable prenatal care for the first few months, and just preparing for the baby in general...but I really had to assess what things were priorities and what things I had control over. Sometimes it's necessary to let that book be out of place in the living room or leave dishes in the sink for a couple of hours just so you don't overwork yourself. And of course, you definitely want to stay away from negative vibes and spirits who cast doubt upon your experience.
Anyway, I've been writing for a good minute. Some of these things I've written you probably know more about than me because I think I remember reading in a past blog that you already have one child. This will be my first baby, but the things I've mentioned here are things that have been helpful for me during my pregnancy.
Don't know what other resources, books, websites, etc. you've explored but these are just some of the few that I enjoy and have found insightful:
Websites/Blogs:
-www.blackmidwives.org
-http://mochamilk.blogspot.com/
-http://thevoraciousvegan.blogspot.com/
-http://breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/
Books:
-Holistic Parenting From The Pan-Afrikan Perspective by Iya Raet
-Birthing from Within by Pam England
-Compleat Mother Magazine
-Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
-Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin
-Husband-Coached Childbirth/The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth by Robert Bradley
Also there seem to be quite a few doulas and a few midwives in our sister network here. It would be great to have more info about pregnancy and motherhood shared in the blogs and bites because there is so much to be learned about the rite of passage known as pregnancy/motherhood and how we are naturally gifted with the ability to bring forth life without assistance if we trust our spirits, minds, and bodies in guiding us.
Blessings to you Ericka!
Lesedi
Follow the ways of the sun and sit at the feet of the ants.
~Lesedi
"What is well planted cannot be uprooted. What is well embraced cannot slip away. Your descendants will carry on the ancestral sacrifice for generations without end."
~Tao Te Chi
& Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please do keep us posted on the delivery of your baby...are you having a boy or girl? I am so excited for you and I will visualize a warm and safe delivery!
SoulLiving ~ Every Minute Counts
THANK YOU!
Oh my, this is PERFECT, and although I have had a baby before, it never hurts to be reminded of all of the things that I can do to enjoy a pregnancy, and your comment/advice is so on point!!! I quickly read through it, and I will be back to read in depth after my bath:)
Thank you so much to everybody, I am so happy and thankful to have a Circle of Sisters to go to. I did not have this with my first pregnancy. It really does make a difference when one can ask for help and advice, or just simply vent to. You guys are so fabulous it's ridiculous! Love You All!
SoulLiving ~ Every Minute Counts