By the pricking of my thumbs, Something awesome this way comes!

I have had my Doc's appointment yesterday - just the usual scan & check-up.  Turned out I gained 2 kilos since my last visit 2 weeks ago. 2 kilos is good.  It looks like Creature is putting on weight rapidly since from my end, the only thing to get bigger has been the belly as far as I can tell.

It is now getting to a point where Creature is filling in, meaning limbs are becoming a bit hard to tell apart on the sonogram machine's monitor.  I didn't get measurements this time as I couldn't see them clearly from where I was laying down, angle-wise.  The only one I could see was the abdominal circumference [AC] as being 35cm - that's 2.5cm-ish bigger than a couple of weeks ago!

Profs, [my doc is actually a Professor] said that he is thinking I may be induced a week early, depending on Creature's developments.  The moment he said it, a light bulb went off in my head.  On my paperwork, the Estimated Due Date is the 7th of February - a week early would make it... Imbolc!

"What?"
Imbolc is the first Sabbat to happen iwthin the Modern Day Calendar [in Paganism, the New Year would start on Samhain a.k.a. Halloween], which is followed by Yule and then Imbolc].  In Christianity, Imbolc is known as Candlemas, and it also happens to be known as Groundhog Day in the States.

Imbolc coincides with St Brigid's Day.  Brigid, also known as Brighid, Bríde, Brigit, Brìd) is the Gaelic goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft.  As both goddess and saint she is also associated with holy wells, sacred flames, and healing. The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months

"Who?"
Brigid is borderline Goddess/Saint.

This to me hold a very particular meaning.  As I'm writing, I have come to realise that there is a hell of a lot going on, most of which you might dismiss as being a pattern I'm seeing only because I am biased.  I will not attempt to convince anyone of anything.  Let us just say that I do not believe in coincidences.  There is a lot that will become clear to me and to those around me in due time.

If Creature turns out to be a redheaded girl, it will be the finishing touch to it all.  I know I'm being cryptic, and for that, I apologise.

If I may, I will try to explain myself.

A while back, I got a tattoo on my forearm... a female dwarf called Bridget. Bridget Stouthammer.  Although she is tattooed in Black & Grey shading, she is a redhead.  In other versions of the same dwarf - namely ones in colour - this feature is highlighted - excuse the pun.  I got her done not only because of my love for dwarves within the fantasy world - especially female ones as they seem to be pretty uncommon.  My reason for getting her done, and placed on my left forearm, is for her to symbolise the Warrior aspect of the Goddess.  She has a pleasant smile on her handsome face, but her right hand is holding a Hammer that is casually slung on her shoulder, and her left hand is on her belt, right next to her short sword.  Piss her off, and you'll pay dearly for it.

Now.... today after the realisation that Creature might be born on Imbolc, I tried calling a very dear friend of mine, to let her know.  I knew she would understand immediately why I was somewhat excited about it.  She was too.

As my mother and I were walking past a pet store on our way for coffee, before the Prenatal class started, I noticed this plant:

Well, not the plant itself, anyway.  The sign above it saying "Madonna Lily".  The plants were unremarkable, as they were not flowering so they weren't much to look at.  I just recall thinking to myself "Hmmmmm.... huh? Cool name. I like Lily." and immediately started singing this song in my head.

I thought nothing of it... until now. 

Plant motifs associated with St Brigid include Madonna Lily (since medieval times, also associated with the Virgin Mary) and the Brigid anenome (the Windflower or Poppy Flowered Anemone, since the early 19th century), while Cill Dara, the church of the oak, is associated with a tree sacred to the Druids.

- from Wikipedia's article

Another thing I realised whilst reading the Wikipedia articles about both the Saint and the Goddess is that there is also a connection to the Black Madonna.  Another good friend of mine was always passionate about the Black Madonna - and all the information I know about Her is thanks to him.  We grew apart nowadays - as tends to happen when life gets in the way - however we still have long chats whenever possible.  After not hearing from him for a while, he messaged me two or three days ago, and the subject of the Black Madonna came up again.

Now... nothing might come out of all this.  For all I know, Creature might be a boy.  Either way, I wanted to put this out there, just in case.  I didn't want to write about it after Creature's birth as I didn't wish for any of this to be thought of as mere fabrication.

Be it a boy or a girl, I believe that Creature will be bringing quite a bit of magick in my life - not simply in the manner that children tend to - but in a more esoteric sense.  Who knows?

I'm excited!

Hush little baby don't you cry, Mum is going to sing you a lullaby

I came across this flyer a couple of days ago, and it made me wonder whether the whole reason behind it is purely because people are really that gullible or whether it is to be considered as a nice experience to share with your child.

Before you get ready to rip my head off, allow me to explain whether I consider it to be an utter waste of time and money.

The Official Event description promotes it as a "totally tut-free, baby-friendly concert for parents and young babies providing mums, dads and carers with the chance to experience and share high quality live music with their infants in an informal atmosphere every month." [clicky here for the event's official website.]

This kind of live music event, to me, is purely an opportunity for the Theatre & the event's Mastermind to make an easy Euro.  In all honesty, how many of us can recall life experiences before the age of 2?  My earliest memories are from that age, fine - but all I recall is this seemingly huge chest of drawers where the "teacher" kept a change of clothes for whoever peed or pooped their pants.  That, and a duck [or was it a goose?] that lived in the "teacher's" front garden.

So far we've got a theatre full of screaming children and frustrated parents who are by now €5 poorer.

"Ah, but classical music will turn my baby into a genius!" you're bound to be thinking. 

Sorry, but that too is bullshit.

There is no scientific evidence that playing Mozart to your baby will affect his/her intelligence in any way.  Nor is it proven that if you play Black Sabbath to him/her their intellect will be affected.  If anything, Black Sabbath might be a better option due to the greater-than-average emphasis placed on the bass guitar - I'm told that it tends to have a soothing effect on babies [or so my Bassist acquaintances tell me].

The event claims it to be a great opportunity to expose Baby to his/her first Live Music experience... Are you honestly telling me that you don't know a single musician?  If you're not a musician yourself, I'm sure you know at least 5 - 10 guitarists - regardless of how much they suck.  All you'd have to do is either invite one of them over, or arrange for a visit.  It'll be more pleasant as it'll be just your own screaming Baby you'd have to deal with - and it won't cost you as much financially either.  Plus! You get to spend time with a friend too!

Also, is a lullaby sung by your probably off-key self not to be considered as live music?  There _was_ indeed a study that proved that live music can indeed be beneficial.  This study was conducted on premature babies.  Clicky here for the article.

One thing that makes me wonder is the forethought the event's organisers have put into regulating the sound levels to make them suitable for younger ears.  With live music, it is much more complicated to establish a safe decibel level.  Yes, I'm sure that the Sound People hired by the theatre are professionals.  This doesn't mean they're Baby Safety experts though.

I know all this must be somewhat confusing... I first became aware that there may be possible risks whilst in an earlier stage of my pregnancy.  I had the opportunity of going to a live gig and be in an area where I wouldn't be risking getting knocked over and being bumped into, or dragged into the mosh pit.  A thought crossed my mind - so I googled the possible effects of live music on foetuses, and came across this article.  I figured I'd also assume the same of going to the cinema to watch a movie - basically it's OK as a treat, but not something to be done on a weekly basis.

As mentioned in the article re: live music & premature babies earlier, there are still investigations ongoing as to what decibel levels are safe and which aren't for babies.  In the meanwhile, this link has a long list of articles relating to music and hearing loss.  I was particularly amused by this article which states that Classical Musicians are at higher risk that Rock Musicians.  I would say that if live music can be so risky in adults, then it is even of a greatest risk for young ones.

Either way - if you would like to go to a live concert, see if you can find something that is being organised open-air.  Sound waves are dispersed more in an open environment, and it will be somewhat harder for the location's acoustics to cause as much harm to your baby's ears as attending the same kind of event indoors.  Clicky here for more assistance on how to protect your own hearing.