Heavenly Home

 

Map of NSW with Jervis Bay circled in red

After spending almost 8 years stuck in Sweden, I finally came home. I must say, it's really good to be home. I've left Australia for 10,5 years and here I am. I forgot how incredible this place is. Everything about it is so beautiful, the nature, the animals, the people. One thing's for sure, there's no place like home. 

Beautiful Hyam's Beach

A little wallaby in the forest by the sea

My first dip after landing

The local sea eagle flying hovering above us after our first dip

Me, Richard and Sandra, my beautiful Aussie family

Found a mob of kangaroos

Peaceful moment on the beach

Found a mama kangaroo and her two joeys chillaxing on someone's lawn

One Gregorian Year Old Ralephka

Gothenburg

Happy Birthday to Ralephka!

It's been a year now since Ralephka was born. I'm very proud to say that we have not used any disposable diapers at all during this whole time. Although laundry days can be super tiring, but it definitely is worth all the trouble considering how much plastic is covering the surface of this planet.

The little munchkin has grown so much. Half an hour before reaching midnight of her birthday, she did her first four steps on her own.

Ralephka has 4 teeth now

Ralephka's first few steps

Potatoes and creamy spinach sauce for my birthday. So simple yet so heavenly.

Indonesian dessert as my cake since Ralephka is allergic to wheat.

Mushroom season! Mats collected some Carl Juan mushroom in the woods. 

Gathered some apples infront of the apartment 

Apple tree just outside the apartment window

Until next time
1ove <3

“And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time." -Libba Bray

Let There Be More Free Store

Gothenburg

HAPPY NEW GREGORIAN YEAR 2018!

Thank you daddy for the super cute picture of us! <3

Ralephka is 3.5 months now and she is still unregistered within the system. We have always thought about not having our child inside of the system and let them decide later when they have grown up. The only downside for not registering her is that we don't get the baby benefit that newly parents usually receives every month. But even without it, we have been able to live comfortably. 

One thing that really amazes me is a place called Free Store. This place is basically a facilitator for people who wants to get rid off there stuff they don't use anymore and for people who needs them. I think it's brilliant, considering how much people throw away, especially living in a consumer culture. There should be more places like this everywhere!!

It wasn't snowing on Christmas day but it snowed a few weeks before. It was beautiful!

Me and Ralephka getting ready to go out for a walk 

Ralephka being able to hold her head up when she was 2 months old

2.5 months old Ralephka

3 months old Ralephka in her cute new dress from grandma

We have been living for 5 months in Kortedala now. Hopefully, the next time I write my blog, we will be in a different place. It's really interesting how much I've moved around since I lived nomadic (more than 4 years now), that living in one place for 5 months feels like 5 years. I am hoping for the universe to move us to another place soon. 

1ove <3

Unconditional Love in Sweden

Gothenburg - Sweden

After going through a non pharmaceutic-ally intervened childbirth, I went through a rapid healing process which took 1,5 week. I think giving birth in the water really helped as well, so there were no rips, therefore no stitches were needed. Ralephka herself has been growing strong rapidly. From day 3 she was able to start using her neck muscles. After a week, she was able to focus her eyes. It's so amazing how quick babies change each day.

Being a mother has given a great change in life. I could say that she is my first love as I have never felt this much love for a being before. This may be the greatest challenge in my life to be able to love unconditionally, meaning being able to not let my emotions take over me; being able to not overly protect and spoil her so that she grows stronger mind, body and soul; being able to not have expectations and attachments.

1 week old Ralephka. The background painting is my latest artwork on the wall.

2 weeks old Ralephka.

3 weeks old Ralephka posing while sleeping in my arm.

4 weeks old Ralephka contemplating in bed.

5 weeks old Ralpehka saying hi to everybody. "Hi world!"

6 weeks old Ralephka lying on daddy's chest.

That's all from us for now. Until next month.

1ove <3

Unassisted Home Birth to Ralephka

Kortedala (Sweden)

It was 4.15am on the 15th of September and after 4 days of prelabor, my water finally broke. A few hours before we just had a little celebration of my 37th birthday when the clock striked 12. 'Is Babeb going to be born on the same day as my birthday?' I thought to myself.

Mats started to fill up the birth tub with hot water. For another 30 hours, I was in and out of the birth tub, guided by Mats and sometimes Nanette, to continuously focus on the breathing, especially during contractions. At the night of the 16th, I was sleep deprived and feeling really exhausted. By that time, I haven't slept a full hour for almost 6 days.
I wanted to give up and go to the hospital. But I really don't want to go to the hospital because then all my effort of not having to do with pharmaceuticals and not even subjecting Babeb to ultrasounds would be a total waste. So I stayed strong and powered through.
'If most women can go through child birth naturally, then why can't I? I can do this!' I thought to myself.

As the contractions become more intense and closer to each other, I spent most of the time in the birth tub. Between each contractions, Mats would gently lay my head to lean on the birth tub to preserve my energy and allow me to sleep. As the pushing sensations became stronger and stronger, my body instinctively wanted to be in a squatting position, and then I breathed out Babeb's head.
"Something's out! Head! Head's out!" I called out to Mats full of excitement.
His hands dived in to the water and immediately caught her head. Then her body followed quickly.
She was finally born at 7.30am on the 17th of September 2017.

Since her arrival, my exhausted body and mind suddenly somehow recuperated. I continued on not sleeping for another 48 hours. I was extremely excited and overwhelmed with love and joy. I could never ask for a better midwife than Mats. His love and support really helped me go through the whole process, including the overdue pregnancy which went on for approximately another 2-3 months.

My gratitude as well for Nanette for being there to help out and most of all, for allowing the birth process to happen in her apartment.
Through a great team work of the 4 of us (myself, Babeb, Mats and Nanette), we succeeded to have a natural unassisted child birth.

Now it has been 2 weeks since Babeb came in to our lives and we finally have decided a name for her:

Ralephka Thothiana Ganesh Matsdottir Manaf Lagnevall

My decision to give birth unassisted at home is definitely one of the best decisions I've made in my life. It is a hard one to make, especially when I never subjected Ralephka to any ultrasounds to see how she was developing throughout the pregnancy. But having read enough to understand more about child birth gave me the confidence to the decision I made. I wrote about it in my previous blog (April 2017), check it out. Just click on the link: truth about childbirth.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Ralephka's grand entrance in to this world.
Welcome to this life Rara.

Me in the birth tub with a candle lit atmosphere and smell of sage in the air

Candle light everywhere

My last meal on the first night of pre labor before I only went on liquid diet throughout the labor

The night of the 16th when I was really exhausted and sleeping between contractions

Little Babeb when she made her grand entrance

Grandmother visiting a few hours later, with the placenta still attached to Babeb

Burning the umbilical cord

Ralephka's favourite place to sleep.. Nothing like snuggle wuggle with daddy

A week after Ralephka was born. She's gained more weight and starting to fill up her clothes.

Until next month.
1ove <3

Waiting patiently in Kortedala

Kortedala

'Cows to the Valley' is what Kor-Te-Dala sounds like it means. It's a nice area to live in Gothenburg, due to the location of it which is on one of the hill top of Gothenburg. So the air is fresher than other parts of this second largest city in Sweden.

What I love mostly about Sweden is that it has such a vast land, yet not highly populated, so even the second biggest city in Sweden has so much greenery in each suburb. Perfect place to be able to go out for a daily walk in to the forest. Not to mention an unimaginable amount of fresh water they have as well.

The air is starting to get cooler again as the autumn weather starts to seep through overlapping the remaining summer weather. But with my pregnancy, I don't feel the cold as much as I would.
Yes, that's right, I'm still pregnant. Still waiting patiently for the little one to enter the world.

So, during the month of August, I've been exploring the forest area of Kortedala and spending most of my time doing my usual routine, yoga, tai chi, meditate.

We have the birth tub installed in our room which I have used once when I felt a strong contraction for half a day. But so far, the little one is still not ready to come out yet. Apparently, what I was experiencing is called prodromal labor.

Sometimes a feeling of frustration does overwhelm me on this waiting period, but I believe that everything happens for a reason and I also believe that the baby determines when he/she wants to enter this world. I just want to be the best mediator/facilitator/provider for the baby to enter this world in the most loving, caring and comfortable way, because I understand that how the baby enters the world really affects the remainder of his/her life.

This is the forest that I normally go to for my daily walk

Me, in the birth tub soothing my body from the prodromal labor I was feeling that day.

Walking to the top of the hill one sunny day

I found a cute little bunny hopping around the apartment block and one rainy day, the little bunny was soaked and just sitting outside of the block, so I took her in to stay dry and warm for a couple of days. We named her Trudy.

Nypon Soppa
Mats made a traditional Swedish delicacy from rose hip

Nypon (Rose hip)
Going to gather some more of these beautiful babies to make some more yummy Nypon soppa

The fly swatter mushrooms are out, autumn is here!

And last but not least, a picture of me with my belly belly.

So, I have decided that during this waiting period, I won't be updating my blog until the little one enters the world because I don't think there will be anything interesting to publish on the blog. But I truly hope hope that the little one will show an appearance this month.

So, until next time.

1ove <3