Farm Family News

Big news for the family...Beatrice is going to be a big sister! In September. Most of our friends sarcastically say, "Oh, good timing!" But compared to Bea's birthday in July, September looks great. We will have a great crew of apprentices and workers who will be old timers with farm work by the time September rolls around. By some divine miracle, Patches was bred in late December. This means we'll dry her off (stop milking) in August so she gets a 2 month break before she calves in October. We couldn't ask for better timing. A break from milking before & after the baby comes will be like a little gift of time. We'll probably be suffering from dairy withdrawl but we'll have to deal with that when it comes.

Over the course of the next year, besides pregnancy, I'll probably also be mentionning homebirth quite a bit. We had a really wonderful homebirth with Bea with a midwife and doula. We had a water birth and it was a blessing to be able to labor in the tub. (Not in our bath tub. We used a new stock tank from Agway - the kind for watering cows & horses or in our case washing vegetables.) After I got in I couldn't imagine getting out. I won't launch into her birth story now but I will say it confirmed by belief that home was the best place for me to have my baby. And so we're getting ready for our next one! We've already met with our midwife Elayne and are really excited.

If you are interested in homebirth there are some great resources out there. Mothering Magazine and their website is a great place to start (see sidebar link). Ina May Gaskin the great & inspiring midwife has written several books including Spritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.
Also there is a new film out called The Business of Being Born. It will be showing at the Triplex in Great Barrington this month on Sunday February 24th at 11 am. This is sure to be a powerful film about the medicalization of birth in this country and the alternatives. Check out the trailer on their website! Just the trailer is moving!