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Celebrating Holidays and Festivals with Young Children

11/30/2015

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Celebrating Holidays and Festivals

With Young Children
 
 By Dianne Bearinger
 
The Waldorf approach offers many rich and beautiful ideas for celebrating the round of the year. Young children thrive on the magic and excitement of holiday traditions. They also love anticipation. One of the first things about creating holiday traditions in your family can be paying close attention to the build up. All of it can be special. The way the house is prepared. The food that is cooked or the music played. Your children can be included in all of it.

One of the keys to remember is that young children like to do things that same exact way over and over again. Keep that in mind as you plan what you want to do for the celebration, you will probably be asked to do it the same way the following year…and yes, they will remember.
 
 I like to think of the dining room table as the center, or heart, of my own home. Some families have a small alter in their home. I have my table. Most family holiday celebrations happen around a special meal, so the table is a good place to start.
   
For a Spring Celebration I would start slowly, maybe weeks before, with a simple vase of new spring flowers. Growing grass seed or wheat grass seed in a basket, (with a plant saucer in it), can be a nice alternative to “Easter grass” that you buy at the store. Even very young children can be responsible to keep the grass seed watered, (a spray bottle or mister works well for this). Slowly eggs and nests start to appear and then an egg tree, all laid out on a spring green silk.
 
Young children love to celebrate things close to their own direct experience. Flowers blooming, grass coming up and turning green, eggs and nests everywhere….these things are miraculous to young children. There is little need to purchase any extra “stuff” to create a beautiful festival. So much can be gathered from your environment. There is also the consideration of the expectation that you establish as part of your tradition. If your family celebrates every Holiday by giving elaborate gifts, that will be what your children expect the holiday to be. If the holiday is about something special that you cook together only at that time of the year, or some special songs that you sing together, that is what the expectation will be.
 
I also like to think in terms of complete cycles. I once went to a demonstration where these Tibetan Monks made an amazing and elaborate  mandala, out of different colored sand. After it was finished and they said a few prayers over it, they wiped it away, and cleaned off the table that it had been on. The work to build it had taken weeks, it was completely gone in an hour. Their belief was that the mandala was attractive to a particular healing spirit, it would draw the spirit’s attention and the spirit would grant a blessing, but then you had to destroy the mandala, in order to release the spirit or else it would get really angry.
 
I think that when we create a family holiday or festival it is like that, we create an opening for magic to take place.  It is also important to release the magic, to clean everything up, and carefully put it away for next time. This can add to the fun like getting together with friends to have a winter bonfire to burn Christmas trees. When my kids were young, we always smashed up the eggs from the egg tree to make a beautiful multi-colored “magic dust” to help our garden.
 
From the Waldorf perspective the round of the year can be seen as a breathing process: with the winter solstice as the extreme in-breath, and the summer solstice as the out-breath, the equinoxes, (which literally mean equal night, or the time when day and night are in balance), as the points of balance and rest, in between. The colors we use in the classroom reflect this…deep blues in the winter and bright yellows in the summer. Many stories and song reflect the play of light and dark in the round of the year. Celebrating these is also something from the child’s direct experience.
 
Light and dark, miracles from the natural world, these themes are universal, something that we all share, festivals based on these can also help to bring us all together, whatever religious or spiritual traditions we follow.
  
 


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PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION for a more balanced Postpartum recovery

11/23/2015

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The placenta has amazing abilities during the postpartum period. It can heal, sustain and strengthen a woman's body, mind and spirit when she is experiencing rapid hormonal shifts, sleep deprivation and fatigue. It is considered the "force of life" in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Rich in vitamins, minerals and hormones that nourish the baby in the womb, it is perfectly suited to the mother, replenishing hormones and iron levels, increasing energy, enhancing milk supply and balancing mood.

Traditionally, placenta capsules are used to:
  • balance your hormones
  • enhance your milk
    supply
  • increase your energy

Other significant benefits may include the following:
  • Significantly reduces post-birth bleeding
  • Helps the uterus contract
  • Encourages a quick and healthy milk supply
  • Replenishes essential hormones, such as prolactin, oxytocin (the "love hormone" which helps bonding between mother and baby), thyroid stimulating hormone, cortisone, interferon (stimulates the immune system), hemoglobin (replenishes iron) and others that support the immune system, reduce inflammation and assist with healing and blood loss.
  • Replenishes essential nutrients such as Vitamin B6 and iron
  • Reduces stress levels
  • Prevents or eases the "baby blues"
  • Leaves new mothers feeling calmer
  • Gives mothers with newborns the energy to cope with a busy day
The thought of ingesting the placenta may not appeal to many moms, however the encapsulation - usually done in the doula's home - makes it simple and palatable (the placenta is  steamed and dried, then ground into a powder and put into capsules; they have no real odor by the end).

We have been providing encapsulation services to women in the Charlottesville area for a few years and have received such positive feedback, from first time moms as well as second, third, and even a mom of six!

Here is a testimonial from one of our clients:

"I first heard about placenta encapsulation through my doula, Jen. We were discussing my severe mood levels after the birth of my first child and how I was scared of going through that again.  I never experienced true post-partum depression, but the intense change in hormones definitely did something to me that was unwelcome and unexpected.  She immediately suggested that I eat my placenta.  I literally almost gagged and looked at her like she was insane.  She explained to me the process of encapsulation and it seemed like a no brainer to me. Those first days/weeks after a new baby can be so challenging, so what is the harm in trying something that can be so beneficial?

That’s when I began my own personal study on the topic.  I found that it is such a common practice in other countries and the philosophy behind it makes so much sense.  If you put back into your body this super rich nutrient dense supplement your body can then rebuild itself in magical ways!  Having not taken my placenta with my first and having done so with my daughter, I can tell you there was a significant change.  I was brighter and cheerier, I never experienced that intense shift in my mood that made me feel “crazy”.  I was handling a 3 day old and a 2.5 year old with a smile on my face. Sure, it was challenging but the feeling of bliss just seemed to resonate over the constant diaper changes, feedings, and toddler attention.  I really enjoyed this time in such a different way than with my first.  And bonus - my milk supply was GREAT!  I ended up with some issues down the road that affected my breastfeeding but the placenta helped ease that emotional transition as well."


You can find more information on the placenta encapsulation at month10.com. Or contact us at month10doulas@gmail.com with any questions! We'd love to hear from you and enable you to access all the benefits from your placenta.

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We support Local Businesses

11/23/2015

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    Month 10 

    Month 10 is a group of doulas serving families in the Charlottesville area and surrounding counties. In addition to postpartum services we also offer prenatal and birth doula support. 

    Each of our doulas works independently and you can choose one that feels right for your family

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