Friday 27 February 2009

Hand made gifts are my favourite and the wondrous Placenta

There is something so special about a hand made gift. It takes time, effort, love and dedication to gather materials and make something.

This first pic is of a felt and knitted doll the a very talented friend of mine for my daughters first Birthday. The picture does not do it justice. It is a bit brighter in person, and my daughter adores her 'Dolly Jo' unfortunately for her however, her older brother loves Dolly Jo too. So she is adored by everyone here.

Thank you so much again Jo!!




The next pic is very special. It is a knitted placenta with felt, made by the very wonderful and awesomely(it's a word!) talented April. A mumma April knows wanted her baby's placenta, however, sadly the hospital did not respect her wishes.

The Mumma now has this woolly placenta and was very grateful for the thoughtfulness and loved it.


April made the woolly placenta just from her own ideas and thoughts, she is very cleaver, and I would love even a smidgen of her talent.

What is special is that it was made by a fellow Mumma, who understood the sadness and disappointment.

To some a placenta may as well not exist. Too often, almost every time actually, in hospital the placenta is never seen by the mother, or parents. It is cut too early form the baby and then discarded. Gone. Spoken of like something that looks awful, gross and even disgusting. People screw up their noses at the very word. Why? How did people get to the point where they associate disgust with the organ that was made of the same cells and womb as their baby?

For me, I do not understand this view. The placenta gives every baby the nutrients it needs to stay alive inside us. How can people find it gross when it has en their baby's lifeline?

The following is taken from Birthowl blog Follow the link and you will also see a placenta cake. What a great imagination and patience to complete!! It looks wonderful.



The placenta is a beautiful organ. It is the only organ that develops and
grows within another organ. It is responsible for growing a healthy baby. It is
the bridge between a mother and her baby in the womb. In some cultures, it is
called the called bucha-co-satthi, meaning baby’s friend.(1) Others see the
placenta as the baby’s protective older sibling.(2) For these reasons alone, it
is unique, amazing and beautiful.
The baby and the placenta are made from the same cells, which are formed through combination of the egg and the sperm.
Once implantation occurs on about day six after fertilization, the gestation
period begins and the fertilized egg and the placenta begin to develop
separately, still connected. The placenta stays attached to the uterine wall
while the fetus has the ability to move around the uterus.


The placenta is the fetus’s only source of food, blood, oxygen, vitamins and nutrients. All of these vital resources are carried from placenta to fetus via the cord. These
resources come from the mother’s bloodstream, which is why a healthy nutritious
balance of whole foods is so important during pregnancy. Iron is especially
important because iron increases the hemoglobin level in the blood; hemoglobin
carries oxygen in the body. Once the baby is born and the cord stops pulsing,
that baby is no longer getting its oxygen from the placenta. When baby takes a
first breath, the lungs begin to work and baby begins breathing on his or her
own. In order for the baby to receive all the blood and oxygen required, the
cord must stop pulsing before being cut.
The placenta is an incredibly important and spiritual piece of life. It has many uses, both spiritual and medicinal. It can provide whatever is needed and should not be wasted. We are responsible for treating the placenta with respect for everything that it has done.




If you are stuck for ideas of a present for someone maybe you could make something for them.

I have another special handmade gift to post about real soon!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh awesomeness clare! I was itching to see what you came up with for your extra placenta bit, and the cake, yay, love it!

and *poke poke* you need to post some pics of that other knitted handmade gift ;)

Clare said...

Yeah, I love the cake, looks great.

lol at the poke poke, that is why I put in the last line, he he

tiff(threeringcircus) said...

That is a very cool placenta!

Clare said...

It is very cool, Toggy :) She now has some orders for more, which is great.