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post #21 of 38
6/14/07 at 8:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kathteach View Post
I like the beads/postcards idea but I'd do candles too. I'd love it. Plus beads wouldn't cost much to mail for us cheapo mommas.
Actually, I'm thinking it would cost more to mail than a single candle since we would be sending one to everyone participating, which could be more than 1 or 2 books of stamps. But it doesn't really matter to me one way or the other. I think a poll would be a great idea!
post #22 of 38
6/14/07 at 9:50am
Thread Starter 
I've done the candle exchange with smaller groups for friends' births. It was nice. This time, it doesn't excite me as much...probably because dd2 would eat it before I could use it. Or, to keep her from eating it, I would put it in a "safe" place and then never be able to find it again.:

We didn't do a birth necklace/bracelet for my Mother Blessing with dd2. We did a belly mask and my friends painted meditation stones and presented them to me. One of the friends who gave me the Mother Blessing also co-hosted my baby shower with my sil and she bought a bowl full of beads and put them out with a note asking people to write down a wish for the birth and tape a bead to it. We were going to string them later. No one did it. So, I ended up with this bag of beads and beading supplies purchased by one, albeit a very loving, person.

We kept trying to work out a time to string them together, but couldn't. Then, I began struggling with preterm labor and every time I would try to touch those beads my contractions would increase. I decided to wait until I got to 37 weeks...and that's when I gave birth!

Sooo, I want a birth necklace/bracelet really bad! My 2 friends who gave me the Mother Blessing just moved away...we don't have any family around...my shower with dd2 was a "guilt shower" from family because no one did *anything* when I was pregnant with dd1...and I don't think that anyone else will think to give me a Mother Blessing this time. I've been a terrible friend for the last year and have already had to ask for so much help with this pregnancy (meals every night that dh is gone, etc), so there's no way I'm going to ask anyone to do it for me!

I think a poll is a good idea...but, I just *had* to share my pitiful story with you all to try to sway your votes in my direction!
post #23 of 38
6/14/07 at 10:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scheelimama View Post
Actually, I'm thinking it would cost more to mail than a single candle since we would be sending one to everyone participating, which could be more than 1 or 2 books of stamps. But it doesn't really matter to me one way or the other. I think a poll would be a great idea!
Thats what I wsa thinking....also I hope we can do atleast one more swap before we all get super close either like a specific dipe swap or just another regular one. I dont want people to be swapped out though.....
post #24 of 38
6/14/07 at 1:55pm
I like this idea! Would there be some kind of requirement though, that those participating had to be actively involved in the ddc, or atleast have feedback here or someplace else? I mean, since we'd be giving out addies to people we don't actually know IRL, I think it'd be good to take some precations. Sorry, am I just paranoid?

My friend had a blessing way for me last time, and we did candles there. Our church had a cloth diaper shower for us (we were blessed with a cloth-diaper loving youth pastor's wife, who did it!), and everyone picked a bead, said a prayer, and gave it to me for my necklace. My labor was so quick and crazy that we brought everything to the birth center, but it all just sat in a bag the whole time (yeah, whole time...I was there 37 minutes before DS was born).

Quote:
Originally Posted by wwisdomskr View Post
I've done the candle exchange with smaller groups for friends' births. It was nice. This time, it doesn't excite me as much...probably because dd2 would eat it before I could use it. Or, to keep her from eating it, I would put it in a "safe" place and then never be able to find it again.:
Again, are our kids hanging out together?

And, I'm just like you. My "safe" places are hard to find...for anyone, including me! :
post #25 of 38
6/14/07 at 2:21pm
Okay, I guess the question I should have asked is if the MDC swap rules would apply to this. When I originally stated my question above, I had forgotten that MDC had a swap section, so I hadn't thought about checking the rules.
post #26 of 38
6/14/07 at 5:23pm
I love all of these ideas, but the birth beads is my fav!

~* Laura
post #27 of 38
6/14/07 at 6:08pm
I love the bead idea. I would definately do it!
post #28 of 38
6/14/07 at 11:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rikki Jean View Post
Again, are our kids hanging out together?

And, I'm just like you. My "safe" places are hard to find...for anyone, including me! :
:

They must be psychically linked... Or...wait a minute...does your ds use your cell phone a lot? My dd as been making LOTS of calls...
post #29 of 38
6/14/07 at 11:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wwisdomskr View Post
:

They must be psychically linked... Or...wait a minute...does your ds use your cell phone a lot? My dd as been making LOTS of calls...
YES!!!

He has quite an obsession with my cell phone! I have a few stories...he's even called 911 before!

Last weekend, we were going to meet our mw, and I had just called her twice because I couldn't get through to her vm, and was trying to let her know that we were lost. Then DS got ahold of my phone (I guess in my frustration I didn't realize that I handed it right to him!), and called her again. Of couse, HE got through to the vm! I apologized to her quite a few times, because I was sure that she was going to think we were crazy and harassing her!

One of the mws that we interviewed told us that she gets a few calls a week from her clients' toddlers.


Whoops, thread hijaked!
post #30 of 38
6/14/07 at 11:48pm
Thread Starter 
OMG, Erica! That's classic.

I worked with a cantor last summer and kept her info in my cell phone. Well, in the fall, she asked me to please take her number out of my phone because my dd2 kept calling and waking her up at 7am in the morning!: I was mortified! I really had no idea...
post #31 of 38
6/14/07 at 11:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wwisdomskr View Post
OMG, Erica! That's classic.

I worked with a cantor last summer and kept her info in my cell phone. Well, in the fall, she asked me to please take her number out of my phone because my dd2 kept calling and waking her up at 7am in the morning!: I was mortified! I really had no idea...
: I'm dying laughing over here!
post #32 of 38
6/15/07 at 12:17am
Hey! I was the organizer for the Sept. birth bead swap. I thought I'd tell you how we did it...We made a group on yahoo b/c you can't do it on Mothering unless you use the swap forum and you have to have a certain # of posts before being able to view it (some of our mommas didn't so yahoo was easier).
Then everyone sent 40 (we had 40 mommas participate!!!) beads along with a sweet note attached (in a baggie, etc) to me. Also a SASE.
When I got everyone's beads and notes in I went through and seperated them - making 40 piles of all the combined notes and beads. Put them back in the bags they had sent and mailed them out. (So you wouldn't be mailing 40 beads out yourself to different people...just your one package of beads to the organizer.)
Hope that makes sense. If you have any questions please pm me! I don't mind. It worked well for us! Check out our thread and see the pics of them strung. (I didn't string them - you do that when you get them back.)
HTH!
post #33 of 38
6/15/07 at 2:07am
Beads!

I also love the idea of post cards as I can see myself using them as a focus durring labor.

I would love to be a part of this, loads of stamps and all. LOL

Blessings,
Kimmy
post #34 of 38
6/15/07 at 2:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stacyg View Post
Hey! I was the organizer for the Sept. birth bead swap. I thought I'd tell you how we did it...We made a group on yahoo b/c you can't do it on Mothering unless you use the swap forum and you have to have a certain # of posts before being able to view it (some of our mommas didn't so yahoo was easier).
Then everyone sent 40 (we had 40 mommas participate!!!) beads along with a sweet note attached (in a baggie, etc) to me. Also a SASE.
When I got everyone's beads and notes in I went through and seperated them - making 40 piles of all the combined notes and beads. Put them back in the bags they had sent and mailed them out. (So you wouldn't be mailing 40 beads out yourself to different people...just your one package of beads to the organizer.)
Hope that makes sense. If you have any questions please pm me! I don't mind. It worked well for us! Check out our thread and see the pics of them strung. (I didn't string them - you do that when you get them back.)
HTH!
Wow! What a great way to do it, Stacy! The one I participated in we all sent one bead each to about 20 different people- This way makes much more sense!

Also, did you come up with a good way for the beads to get to their destinations in-tact? We had trouble with beads popping through their packaging and empty envelopes reaching the final destination Even with "fragile/hand-cancel" written on the outside.
post #35 of 38
6/15/07 at 2:26am
I haven't been around much, due to my wild toddler! But I would love to participate in the bead exchange! What a great way to encourage each other and show support to one another.
Rachel
post #36 of 38
6/15/07 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LittleBrownDog View Post
Also, did you come up with a good way for the beads to get to their destinations in-tact? We had trouble with beads popping through their packaging and empty envelopes reaching the final destination Even with "fragile/hand-cancel" written on the outside.
They just had the beads in a bag - then put that in a bubble mailer. We didn't have a problem.
post #37 of 38
6/15/07 at 11:52am
I think if you are sending 40 or so beads at one time, they will be less likely to break/get lost, than if you were just sending a single bead in an envelope.
post #38 of 38
6/15/07 at 4:27pm
Count me in, I really want to do this!
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