Belly Photos

4 weeks to go...

The mystery - 10 days to go...

What is goin on down there?

A Blessingway - December 30, 2008

With only 4 weeks left to go, it feels like our baby is practically in our arms, at least most of the time. But there is also a suspended quality about this time...as if that day will never come.

We finished our birth class which was a wonderful experience. The class was modeled after the Birthing from Within book by Pam England. We went through the class with another couple who lives close to us. It was a time of reflecting, expressing, and growing closer to each other. Both of us feel mentally, physically and spiritually prepared for the labor experience. And we are working on feeling prepared for the experience of parenting. The collection of books is growing.

We consider ourselves very fortunate to have stumbled upon a group of 8 other couples who are giving birth within a few months of each other. We all live within a two mile radius of each other (since we live in a very rural and hilly area, this is quite unusual). Many of us are recent transplants to the area as well, so it has been so wonderful to have this new-found community. We have met on a few occasions, including for a new years eve party. A few weeks ago there was a blessingway ceremony for 5 of us who would be giving birth within the next two months. It was a time of gaining strength from other women and of being grounded in community. The experience was very powerful.

Christmas was a relaxing time spent with Richard's family in Toronto. Although the drive wasn't too much fun we were glad that we went. It was so nice to be with family for the holiday. We received some beautiful gifts for the baby - thank you everyone! And we enjoyed being in the big city so we could eat delicious greek food, go to the Art Gallery of Ontario, and see a movie









On December 30th our dear friends Lori and Liz had a blessingway for us. Friends from SIT, our work colleagues, and people we have gardened with came to show support for us as we enter this new stage of life. It was a special time of sharing with other women. Thank you to everyone who blessed us with poems and beads - there is a growing string of gorgeous beads which will be keepsakes for many years. I feel very supported by such a wonderful group of women, both those who could be present and those who were there in spirit. The men joined us after a couple of hours and shared with us the artwork that they had made. Their paintings are beautiful. And then we all had a big potluck and shared good conversation. It was a deeply spiritual day that really had the feeling of building community.

A reminder about gifts...refer to our previous blog post about "gifts of action" for baby berkfield. This is our top gift request. But if you feel that you must gift something more tangible remember that we are registered at http://web.smart-shop.com/re-gifts.com/baby-registries/angela-and-richard-berkfield-p0/
Another way to find gifts that are good for people and the environment is at www.ecomall.com They have all kinds of things, but clink on the babies link to find dozens of links to online stores.