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.

Not much else changes your life in so many ways as having a child does. Pregnancy and childbirth are life altering events for women and their involved partners. Many women enter their birthing facility as a private and reserved individual only to succumb later to the throes of labor and literally let it all hang out.

Having a baby can tell a woman a lot about herself that she previously did not know. Like the strength of her endurance, the magnificence of her body, and yes, the fact that there exists an occasion where she will not give a hoot who sees her in the most private of body positions. I strongly encourage pregnant women to embrace this truly magical time, a time when their own soul allows the entrance of another into this world. The following is a list of the five things I advise every expectant couple to know.

1. Understand what is happening.
Pregnancy is a time when you should be educating herself on the many wondrous changes your body and that of your unborn baby undergoes. You and your partner should learn about the course of childbirth, what birthing choices are available to you, and what to expect in both a normal delivery and one that requires medical intervention. Know what can be expected for your particular prenatal health status and draw up a birthing plan based on your educated wishes. But please remember, a birth plan is a list of wishes for your birthing experience. Changes in your, or your baby’s, health status may necessitate having an entirely different birth than what you initially wanted, and being prepared will put you in a position to better cope. Sign up for childbirth preparation courses and tour the birthing facility before the big day approaches.

2. Learn various options available for pain management.
Epidurals, though very common, are not without risks. Low blood pressure, slowing of your baby’s heart rate, back pain, severe headache, and seizures are all associated with administration of epidural anesthesia. The inability to recognize the natural urge to push your baby out is also a side effect of it. Water birthing is a marvelous birthing option which has been shown to be as effective as an epidural for pain control. Acupuncture, Reiki, and even hypnosis can also assist in obtaining effective pain management. Research these wonderful options, you owe it to yourself and your baby.

3. Avoid becoming submissive.
I strongly urge expectant parents to take an active role in their birth experience while discouraging submissiveness. So many times I have seen couples surrender their experience to the authority of their well-meaning, but very occupied, physician. What you need to know is that you must work to make the birthing experience your own.

No matter how caring the physician is she has a ton of other responsibilities she must be mindful of while attending to your birth. Many of the procedures she orders are routine and quite possibly can be negotiated in terms of your vision for your individual birthing experience. Say for example, you prefer to not have intravenous fluids during birth because you desire to walk about unencumbered by an I.V. pole.

Intravenous fluids are often routinely ordered, not so much because the birthing woman is at risk for dehydration, but to ensure easy access for medication administration via I.V. route should the need arise. Your physician may agree to only having intravenous access by the use of a saline-lock, an I.V. catheter inserted and taped to your arm but not hooked up to the tubing and bags. If the course of the pregnancy has been uncomplicated there is no reason why laboring couples cannot experience the birth of their child without medical intrusion.

4. Consider a Midwife.
Certified midwives are skilled and competent clinicians who advocate non-intervention in the normal processes of pregnancy and childbirth. These caring practitioners encourage active participation of their patients and their families as well as providing education, emotional, and social support throughout the childbearing experience. Always working with a physician as a back up measure in the event of an obstetrical emergency, the certified midwife is a safe, highly satisfying alternative to an M.D. for normal pregnancies.

5. Consider expert support during labor.
Doulas and labor support specialists, like myself, are also a very nice option for the birthing woman. We are certified professionals who work to improve the normal progress of your labor. We provide emotional support and use various comfort measures such as positioning, massage, and effective relaxation techniques during this momentous time. Having this type of assistance for pregnant women has been proven to reduce the need of medical intervention. Ask anyone who’s had a doula during their birthing experience and more than likely you’ll hear raves.

About The Author
Christine Ramos is a Registered Nurse and Certified Childbirth Educator, with experience in High-Risk Antepartum and Maternal/Child Health. In addition to writing articles Christine offers private maternity services. Her first book, entitled ‘A Journey Into Being. A Guide to Knowing Our Children as Spirit and How to Nurture Their Inner Being’ will be due out in June 2006. She is the mother of 2 boys ages 15 and 12, and a girl age 4. Visit Christine at www.IntuitiveNurturing.com for more information.

Love, respect, and appreciation for music are easy to share with our children and build life skills at the same time. During the first years of our child’s life, musical skills build self-esteem and enhance expression. Musical rhythms spur motor development. Learning melodies and words stimulates listening capacity and help children develop receptive language. Specific areas of child development and learning are positively affected by exposure to and training in music. Preschoolers given piano and voice lessons, for example, have been found to improve dramatically in their ability to put together picture puzzles of animals. Playing the piano at the preschool age influences development of the cortex, the part of the brain used for thinking, talking, seeing, hearing, and creating. Music training contributes to the ability to learn or enhance mathematics skills.

Music clearly is a resource for living, growing, and learning and can be an integral part of our children’s growing experiences.

Exploring Sound, Rhythm, Melody and Music

Music is controlled movement of sound, in time.

Music is three basic components: Sound + Rhythm + Melody = Music

Sound
To help children understand music, it is helpful to look at each component separately. First there is sound, one that we make or one from another source. A few examples of sound are a bird chirping, a teakettle whistling, and a child banging on a pot with a spoon. If music were compared to a painting, sound would be the background color. In our bodies, sound corresponds with our central nervous system. A pleasant sound opens and expands us. It can energize or calm us. A shrieking sound puts our nerves on edge. Like the background in a painting, sound is the first step in creating music.

Here are some ways to explore sound with our children.

• Have your children listen to the sounds around them. How many different sounds can they find in the kitchen or backyard?
• Encourage children to be creative making sounds. Have them use their voices or household objects to make sound. Allow them to make pretty, irritating, or silly sounds. They are all music if they reflect creative exploration or honest feelings.

The purpose for creating sound is not necessarily to make *beautiful music* but to foster self-expression and open up our children’s ears to the world around them.

Rhythm
The second component of music is rhythm. Rhythm defines and organizes the sound through a beat. For example, is the whistling of the teakettle long and steady or short and choppy? Is the child’s banging on the pot fast and upbeat or smooth and slow? In a painting, the rhythm would be the overall movement or flow of the composition. When you first look at the painting, where do your eyes go? Is the painting easy to look at or is it busy and annoying? This is its rhythm.

In our bodies, rhythm corresponds to our own internal body rhythm-our pulse and breath. If the musical beat is quick and steady, our heartbeat and body movements will mirror it. If we are tired, listening to African drumming can kick our body back into gear. On the other hand, if a two-year-old is running around out of control, slow rhythmic music like Bach or Vivaldi restores inner calm and slows most children down. Explore and add rhythm to the sounds that children make.

• Have your children play with different beats: fast, slow, steady, and erratic.
• Have them practice listening to the different rhythms around them, like the water dripping from the faucet or the ticking of a clock.
• Ask them if they can feel the vibration of a musical beat in their bodies, and if so, where? How do the different rhythms feel in their body? How do their feet want to move with the different beats?
• Try hand clapping to the rhythm of a poem and foot tapping to a favorite piece of music. These activities are every child’s favorite, free entertainment.

Melody
Finally there is melody. Melody corresponds to our emotions. It gives sound and rhythm its feeling and sensual quality. It is the part of music that expresses the hills and valleys of an individual’s experience. It goes straight to our heart and feeling center. Melody can uplift our spirit, calm us during times of stress, or move us to tears. Returning to the painting metaphor, melody would be the overall feeling that the painting evokes as we look at it. Does the painting draw us in and create a feeling of peace, excitement, distress, or discomfort? Introducing melody to the earlier sounds and rhythms will help children learn self-expression.

• Have them hum a tune or create a melody, adding emotion to sound.
• Experiment expressing sounds that are emotional: happy, sad, funny, etc.

Melody turns a sound into a personal and unique statement. By playing with sound, rhythm and melody our children discover a new vocabulary and tool to use for expression when words are hard to find.

We can use creativity and imagination to choose different styles of music by which our children can express their feelings, relax, stimulate their minds or allow their creative juices to flow. A variety of selections, rhythms, tones, and melodies allows children to develop their own musical tastes and sparks their natural curiosity to explore the world of music on their own.

About the Author
Dr. Caron Goode is a parenting expert who speaks and writes about how parents can nurture their children’s gift. Go to http://www.InspiredParenting.net to order *Nurture Your Child’s Gift, Inspired Parenting,* and sign up for the online parenting magazine. To discover your personal parenting styles, click on the Four Tool Every Parent Needs.

It’s hard to admit, but like it or not, your baby could be running your life. She cries, you pick her up. She’s hungry, you feed her. She fills her diaper, you change it. She wants to play, you play. She needs a nap, you drive around the block twelve times until she falls asleep. She wakes up in the middle of the night, you’re up too. The ancient rabbis of the Talmud described it pretty well.

The first stage of life, they said, “commences in the first year of human existence, when the infant lies like a king on a soft couch, with numerous attendants about him, all ready to serve him, and eager to testify their love and attachment by kisses and embraces.” It’s all happening on your baby’s schedule, not yours.

Being out of control is hard for anyone, but it’s especially discombobulating for people who feel the need to be in control all the time. Before my oldest daughter was born, I was incredibly anal about time; I always showed up wherever I was supposed to be exactly when I was supposed to, and I demanded the same from others. But, as you now know, going on a simple trip to the store with baby in tow takes as much planning as an expedition to Mt. Everest. And getting anywhere on time is just about impossible.

You may be a great salesman or negotiator or a cult leader but your ability to turn adults to your way of thinking won’t work with a baby. Babies are, almost by definition, irrational and not at all interested in your timetables. In no time at all your baby will figure out what you’re most rigid and impatient about and she’ll begin pushing your buttons. That leisurely walk in the park you planned might have to be cut short when the baby panics and won’t stop crying after a friendly dog licks her face. Or you might end up having to stay a few extra hours at a friend’s house so as not to wake the baby if she’s sleeping or, if she’s awake, not to upset her nap schedule by having her fall asleep in the car on the way home. And just when you think you’ve figured out her routines and the sure-fire tricks to comfort her or get her to sleep, she revamps everything.

So you’ve got a very Zen-like choice to make: you can either learn to accept change and bend or you can break. It took a while, but I eventually learned that trying to be a father and Mr. Prompt at the same time just wasn’t going to work. Most of the new parents I’ve interviewed over the years have said basically the same thing: Since becoming parents, they’d learned to be a lot more flexible and tolerant—not only of themselves and their limitations, but of other people’s as well.

About the Author:
Armin Brott, hailed by Time as “the superdad’s superdad,” has written or co-written six critically acclaimed books on fatherhood, including the newly released second edition of Fathering Your Toddler: A Dad’s Guide to the Second and Third Years. His articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, American Baby, Parenting, Child, Men’s Health, The Washington Post among others. Armin is an experienced radio and TV guest, and has appeared on Today, CBS Overnight, Fox News, and Politically Incorrect. He’s the host of “Positive Parenting,” a weekly radio program in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit Armin at www.mrdad.com.