Eclipse Family Blog

You have two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and so on. Your ancestors double with each generation. And although this may seems very logical and correct, it actually isn’t true! In fact it’s impossible. Take a calculator and keep doubling your ancestors every 25 years or so. Before you get back 2000 years your ancestors outnumber the total world population at that time! And remember, we’re not talking about anyone else here, just your ancestors. Mathematicians, genealogists, and anthropologists have examined this apparent enigma and have come to one conclusion: human history is loaded with cousins marrying cousins. DNA evidence and the human genome project have led to the cooperation between two complementary sciences: genealogy and genetics. While scientists argue about the exact degree of relationship, one fact is quite clear: We are all cousins. Many scientists now estimate that no person in the world—including various so-called “races”—can be no mor...

Image from medguidance.com Yep I’m talking about morning sickness! Well for me it started with night sickness, then to all day sickness, and then to just morning sickness.  They say that morning sickness only lasts in the first trimester, for some woman this is true, but for others it a big fat lie. Honestly, you cannot base your body on what a book says or on how others tell you it should “generally” go. Your body is different from everyone else’s so, it’s going to do its own thing and beat to its own drum, or should I say little kicks? So you might be wondering what I went through. Well I will happily tell you, because although it’s embarrassing, it makes me laugh now.  I had the classic, try to eat anything and your body plays a funny joke of accepting it until you have to go somewhere. I swear every time I ate something and had to go somewhere I would get sick, but not if I was just staying home. For example, one afternoon I had an apple with peanut butter, pe...

So now that my baby news is out, everyone wants to know “What’s your birth plan?!” I've been asked this question many times by my family members and friends, and usually if that person is already a mom they proceed to tell you what they’re birth plan was. So then you’re sitting there with tons of stories swirling in your head. Some mothers-to-be know right away what they want and how it will all go down, I on the other hand had no idea what my concrete plans would be until about the beginning of my third trimester. Since I did choose the facility midwife and decided to go away from hospital norms, my birth plan is pretty basic. I want it to be all natural, no drugs, and I basically want to do anything that will help me at that moment. I may even give water birth a try if it relieves the pain. For me I’m more relaxed knowing that I can move around, won’t be hooked up to monitors, and people I don’t know won’t be rushing in at random moments. I didn't choose to do a hos...

April 2012. Our little one 4 ½ weeks! It’s hard to believe that the tiny little circle on the sonogram is going to grow into a little being whose kicks have you convinced they are going to be the next David Beckham. So what do you do first? Tell everybody, start buying baby clothes, buy all the baby books you can, and stalk up on diapers? Well if you’re anything like me, you wouldn't be able to think straight for at least a month being in a state of awe. It’s sad that my husband ended up reading and highlighting all the baby books before I did. I’m a new mom to be, currently in my 36th week (I swear I can see the finish line!), and have had tons of learning experiences so far from doctors, my midwife, and other moms who have shared their stories.  But I have much more to learn!  I wasn't expecting to be a mom for a while, but when it happens I guess you just roll with it. Now I couldn't be happier or more excited to meet my little one. So where to start with P...

“You cannot stir a flower, without troubling a star” is a transliterated quote from 'The Mistress of Vision' a mystical verse by Francis Thompson, a tormented English writer who specialized in transcendent and ascetic poetry. You can read the original poem here:  http://www.bartleby.com/236/240.html .  Here is a transliterated version;   “Pierce thy heart to find the key; With thee take only what none would keep; Learn to dream when thou dost wake, Learn to wake when thou dost sleep. Learn to water joy with tears, Learn from fears to vanquish fears; To hope, so thou does not despair, Rejoice, so that thou does not grieve; Plough thou the rock until it bear; Know, for thou else could not believe; Lose, that the lost thou may receive; When earth and heaven lay down their veil, And that destruction turns thee pale; When thy first sight blindeth thee To what thy fellow-mortals see; Their sight to thee is sightless; Their living, death; their light,...