My field of training being in metal smithing, I needed to find a different way to honor pregnant women – a way that included the woman herself. It was at that time when I recalled the casting process I used to create multiple pieces of metalwork at the same time. If I could create a mould and cast it for metalwork, why couldn’t a similar process be used on pregnant women to create beautiful sculptures? As I recalled the work of George Segal, a renowned life caster, I began researching life casting and discovered that there was a whole group of artists that were life casters associated with the Association of Lifecasters International or ALI. I immediately joined and began creating test pieces and working with various materials. After a couple months I was ready to venture out on my own working in a new medium.

As an artist I find that most of my inspiration comes from nature. Simple organic lines that form such graceful shapes are truly divine. Beautiful curves occur naturally in the human figure and are accentuated tremendously in the empowered form of the pregnant woman. These words – divine, empowered, even warrior – they are words that embody the female spirit, yet not usually chosen when describing women or the feminine. I wanted to honor these aspects of women while exhibiting their grace and beauty. To show their form and the power and strength that resides in the blossoming womb – the ability to create and nurture new life.

Creating life sculptures of pregnant women is a very unique way to capture a moment from ones pregnancy. Not only is the process of taking the mould soothing and relaxing, the mould itself takes the shape of the woman’s belly at that very moment in time – the shape of her belly, the way the baby is laying, the size, even the tenderness the expecting mother exhibits towards her unborn child as she gently cradles her belly in her hands.

After the mould is taken, it is carefully formed by trimming it to achieve the basic desired shape it will have when the sculpture is complete. Then the plaster masque is re-enforced with more plaster and set aside to cure for 2-3 days. After curing, the mould begins its transformation into a beautiful sculpture to be cherished for years to come. This transformation begins with the plaster being sealed. Then the mould is painted, embellished or given a faux finish based upon the preferences of the client.

I love my work as a life caster. Every time I work with a pregnant client I am reminded of the divine power of women. Our ability to create and nurture life, to grow another being in our wombs and the the unbelievable strength we are given to birth new life. I see the beautiful roundness of a growing belly and am reminded of how truly sacred womanhood is.

Many women are now following the growing trend to have belly sculptures created during their pregnancies. This form of art provides a sensual, erotic and powerful look at the warriors also known as mothers. A few years ago my oldest daughter read a fortune from a fortune cookie. It read, “Mothers are the only Goddesses in which the whole world truly believes.” I firmly believe that ALL women are Goddesses, and through my work, I hope to show that we as women have the right to own our Power…our Truth, our Story.

About the Author
A professional artist for over ten years, Heather studied at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA where she focused on sculpture, jewelry design, and metal smithng. In addition to her extensive freelance work, she has also worked as an advertising designer and layout artist. Heather resides in the Los Angeles, CA area with her husband and two children, where she continues her work as a life sculptor.

For centuries, women and men alike have kept their babies safe and happy by utilizing babywearing techniques while tending to their duties. Cultures that keep their babies close to them have babies who cry much less than in other more modernized cultures that use cumbersome devices to transport and entertain their babies.

Keeping the baby close to your body provides the wearer with awareness of what your baby needs and allows you to respond quickly before the baby has to cry for attention, eliminating much time spent comforting an already upset child and loosing track of what you were doing. Studies (Hunziker, U. A. and Barr, R, G. (1986).) have shown that babies who are carried and/or worn cry 43% less through out the day, compared to babies who were left in devices such as baby seats and cribs.

Babies that are carried or worn see a wider range of their caregiver’s activities, absorbing and learning more from their environment and the alertness of the caregiver. On average, most people will talk more to the baby when it is close and therefore, language and communication skills can develop faster. If a baby is in a stroller or car seat, they are often times left at ground level looking towards the sky, with little or no stimulation from surrounding people.

For parents with multiple children, wearing your infant while tending to the older children allows for more play time and learning time for all the members of the family. For some parents, having a double stroller is not an option due to financial and spatial restraints. These devices can also become an overwhelming piece of equipment that is often unwieldy and difficult to maneuver around stores, use in conjunction with public transportation and personal vehicles, and take up large amounts of room in people’s living quarters.

Many new moms feel uncomfortable nursing in public and find themselves not going out much in the early stages of the baby’s life because of such frequent feedings. Wearing your baby in a carrier keeps them close to the breast and allows for very discreet nursing and easy napping. This also helps to promote healthy production of breast milk for mom, making it easier to continue to breastfeed with confidence that your baby is getting enough and as frequent enough as they need.

So, if there are all these great benefits, why don’t we see more of it? I ask myself this question all the time. Let me introduce myself. My Name is Kaire Downin, and I am the mother of 3 children. I found babywearing to be the most efficient way to run errands and get my responsibilities taken care of, starting with my first child. I wore my son in a sling and a framed back pack, all of which I purchased in department stores or thrift stores; he very rarely ever sat in a stroller or stayed in a car seat happily. After I was done using these carriers I passed them on to friends with babies to try out and they loved them! My only problem with these carriers was they weren’t as comfortable or pretty as I would have liked them to be. I lived with bursitis in my shoulder from wearing a popular low priced sling. I was as determined to wear my baby as he was to be worn, so I didn’t stop when I was uncomfortable.

With my second child, I used the same sling and back carrier as I did with my son and had the same problems and nearly gave up. She was not as high needs as my son was and didn’t mind being left in a bouncy seat, was pretty content on the floor or with another person, but she was only 6 months old when I became pregnant with my third.

When my third child was born, she was more high needs than the rest of them. The need for her to be carried in a way that would allow me the freedom of running after my 16 month old toddler and 5 year old preschooler was also higher and I was sure sick of that ugly old carrier I had. I decided it was time for something new so I did some searching online and found www.thebabywearer.com, where I looked through lists of types of carriers, who made them, how much people loved them and then I bought a mei tai. I loved this design yet, this model was not as comfy as I wanted it to be, and I really would have liked longer straps and different fabrics. So I went to designing a better one for myself. I offered this “new” carrier to my friends and family members and then started offering them for sale. Within 2 months I had a 6 week waitlist and have now sold 100′s of these carriers in beautiful fabrics and have helped many mothers and fathers find a way to tackle their daily challenges and do it with a happy baby, therefore creating a happier family.

So now my issue is helping people understand that babywearing won’t spoil your child, it won’t hurt your back if you get the right carrier for you, it is more convenient than lugging around car seats and strollers, and that most babies DO like being tied to your their caregiver! The problem seems to be a lack of immediate information, readily available varieties of carriers to try on, the ability to experience them first hand, and the misconception that you can only buy baby carriers in stores; which, incidentally, are the ones that turn people off to babywearing in the first place, being uncomfortable, often overpriced and only usable for 3-6 months.

Solution & Research
Find the carrier that is right for you, your family, and your budget. There are several kinds of carriers and several online vendors who make and distribute them with all their own individual tweaks and concepts that make them unique.

There are Ring Slings: a long piece of fabric with rings on one end that you thread the other end through and make a pouch for the baby to sit or lay in. They come in different fabrics from solid colors, to fancy brocades and colorful batiks; they come in different sizes, different shoulder styles and accessories like pockets, cell phone clips and diaper bags.

There are Pouches: very similar to a sling except it is not adjustable and has much less fabric. These are one shouldered carriers that you can do front, hip and back carries, newborn to toddlers, discreet nursing, and give the wearer extreme compact convenience.

There are Wraps: a long piece of fabric used to wrap around you and tie your baby on. These kind of cloth carriers are the most versatile of carriers. The wearer can utilize a cradle hold, a vertical hold, front, back, and hip carries at different levels and heights. These qualities make this carrier a must have from newborn to toddler!

There are Mei Tais, a type of Asian carrier: these carriers are usually a rectangle piece of fabric with 2 or 4 straps coming from it. These can be easily adjusted to the individual wearer making it easy for several caregivers to use without adjusting buckles and clips, and are very versatile for newborns through toddlers, almost all the same types of carries as a wrap can be utilizied.

You can access a whole world of information on www.thebabywearer.com and www.mamatoto.org.

About the Article
You can access my webpage at www.freehandbaby.com for purchasing my mei tais and other Asian style carriers and for a list of links and distributors who carry many kinds for carriers, you are SURE to find one (or 2 or 3!) that suits your needs!

Has it gotten to the point that you want to cry right along with your baby when it’s time to put her to sleep? We’ve all been there. Parents who have much better little sleepers than my baby all have had “THOSE NIGHTS” from time to time.

There does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel. The problem of getting baby into a sleeping routine that all household members can live with seems to be one that’s solved within a year or so.

A year or so you say?
I know, when you’re dead tired and can hardly hold your head up the last thing you want to hear is that there will be a sure fix in the distant future. There are a few things that can be done now. Well, how about we start fresh tomorrow.

That’s really lesson number one, don’t wait till 9pm and baby’s screaming every time there’s a lack of body contact to look for direction! I’m convinced that the best strategy for getting baby to sleep at night begins with a well-laid plan beginning early that morning.

Take a look at baby’s nursery, is it an ideal environment for sleep? The room should be dark and quiet as possible. Room darkening shades for daytime sleeping are a must.

Learn to read your baby’s signals. The moment you see baby’s eyes droop, her little mouth open in a yawn, stop what you are doing immediately and begin your bedtime routine. If you let baby get past this stage without making your move, you will most likely regret it. They can go from pleasantly drowsy to fussy to downright worked into a lather in record time. Timing is important.

Every mother’s procedure for settling baby down is unique, there is no steadfast rule for what should be involved. Whatever your pre-sleep actions may be, they should vary very little from day to day. In order for baby to get a routine, mommy must have one too.

Be very predictable. You will have a calmer and more confident child if she always knows exactly what to expect. This is not to say you should train baby to be in a rut. Where surprises and treats are the frosting on the cake of life, surprises for baby at bedtime are not advisable.

Try to keep to an approximate timetable. Put baby’s jammies on at a certain time and begin working your way toward the crib. A friend whose child had been keeping her up past midnight told me she went through the same steps every night for a week and almost gave up several times, then at the end of the week the baby drifted into an 8pm to10pm bedtime. She still has a little work to do, but as of this writing mother and baby are much happier.

Along with a routine, there’s some baby gear available to make your task more pleasant. Of course, there is the trusty nursery rocking chair. However, if you’ve exhausted all the standard methods for putting baby to sleep. I have a few suggestions you may not have gotten around to that are definitely worth a try.

Have your sleep aid equipment checked, in place and ready to go before anybody goes into meltdown mode:

A baby sling
You carried baby for nine months without a hitch. Maybe she needs a little time to adjust to the world? The motion of your body may be all that it takes to get you through a rough patch and get a few chores done while you’re at it! Start baby out in a ring sling and if it proves to be a workable solution for the two of you, graduate into a mei tai or a backpack.

A fan
Yes a common fan can produce wonderful baby calming white noise. White noise machines are available that mimic the sounds that baby was used to while still happily enclosed in your womb, but the common fan will work in a pinch.

A warm water bottle
How many times have we rocked baby to sleep in our arms only to have them wake when we put them down on a cold crib sheet? Place a warm water bottle in the crib as part of your routine, and when you slip baby out of your arms safely into her crib the sheets will be warmed and the transition won’t be as much of a shock. Always remove the water bottle before placing baby in the crib.

The list of tried and true baby sleep tips is a long one. What works for you one day, may not work every time but there’s one indisputable fact, calm, loving perseverance will be invaluable in building your child’s healthy sleep habits

About the Author:
Jan Bay is a freelance author of nursery decorating articles, baby gear reviews, and the webmaster for UNIQUE BABY GEAR IDEAS.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article and website are for informational purposes only and should not replace medical advice from a doctor or professional. You should always make your own choices on the advice of your chosen professional in matters concerning your baby’s safety.