our home birth journey :: getting ready

In the midst of trying to clean through all those nooks and crannies that can get ignored for so long... and noticing the stronger echoes of spring... and my burgeoning belly.... our home birth preparations continue.

This week I hope to sew up all the lightweight woven organic cotton fabric I have into blankets (including the softest muslin, so lovely for the summer).

And we've repainted the old wooden bureau I used as a kid, covered it in fresh white... and filled it with all our collected clothes and diapers. And the cutest shirt - a vintage one from 1980 my brother wore, and my daughter wore a few times (photo, above).

And instead of using shower curtains or plastic sheeting for the birth, we used some PUL paired with cotton flannel on sale - all in comforting shades of brown. Hoping to have a softer all-purpose birth cover, and a great camping tarp later on. PUL isn't biodegradable and it isn't all natural but it's one of the safest forms of waterproof materials that exist, and at least it won't be used just once.  An imperfect solution, but one that seems cozier than a plastic sheet.

Oh, and our freezer. Slowly being stocked with some of the most fabulous local organic freezer-ready food we've ever found. Here in Ottawa! Bryson Farms, local organic growers extraordinaire, recently branched out into frozen organic foods. Their sweet corn is delicious - it honestly tastes just like it was picked and their frozen organic heirloom tomatoes make the most delicious sauce.  And it all travelled just a handful of kilometres. Local. 100% organic. And so convenient. For those months until this year's harvest starts to ripen around here.