The two photographers set up tiny scenes using very, very little people and props.
How could you not love a polar bear water skiing through marshmallows?Thi
Source: reddit.com
Sunday, January 5, 2014
This Makes All Other Pictures Of Food Look Boring. It’s Deliciously Creative.
No, these photographs aren’t just beautiful and tastefully arranged
pictures of food (although they are making me a little hungry). They are
tiny dioramas set up and photographed by two artists named Pierre Javelle and Akiko Ida.
The two photographers have always been drawn to food photography for
different reasons, but they decided to take this normal medium and do
something incredibly awesome with it. This is Minimiam.
The best kind of photography always involves food (or puppies). Now, if only the next Minimiam series could involve puppies…
Source: reddit.com
Source: reddit.com
How This Man’s Epic Beard Saved A Duckling’s Life Is Brilliantly Beautiful. A Must See.
If we asked you to think of your favorite cute animal, you might not immediately list a duck, but when you see this Reddit user
and his pet duckling Peeps you may change your mind. Peeps is fuzzy,
he’s lovable and he grew up in a beard (really). The man initially
bought Peeps as an egg, thinking he was a chicken. He was wrong, but he
didn’t care, it turned out to be one of the cutest friendships ever.
The man who raised Peeps still can’t quite determine if the duckling
is a male or female, since the tail feathers haven’t come in yet. They
should in about 4-6 more weeks. But, while he waits, he is incubating
more duck eggs, hoping to form a little family for Peeps so he wouldn’t
be lonely.
Saving ducklings… THAT’S why you have a beard.
Source: reddit.com
When attempting to hatch chicken eggs, the man got an incredible surprise: this fuzzy little duckling!
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The chicken eggs didn’t hatch, but the hardy duck egg did very well.
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However, ducks are social creatures, so he knew that he needed to
hand raise this little guy and make sure that he was well-socialized.
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He was afraid to let little Peeps get too far…
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So, he kept a little bed for him close: his beard.
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Peeps was quite comfortable and able to let his daddy know when he was thirsty or hungry.
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The duckling didn’t have a mother’s wing to go under, but his beard was just fine.
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Letting Peeps hang out on his shoulder and in his beard had some pooping issues…
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And maybe some pecking issues…
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But it was well worth it.
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The (constant) pooping and socialization issues aside, Peeps was doing very well.
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It didn’t take Peeps long to imprint on and get used to his new daddy.
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25 days later, Peeps was still growing.
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This majestic, fuzzy duckling was going strong.
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At 41 days old, Peeps couldn’t fit in his daddy’s beard any longer, but he still hung out on his shoulder when he could.
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Watching TV and nap time were the best for this duo.
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Saving ducklings… THAT’S why you have a beard.
Source: reddit.com
Sunday, November 24, 2013
How a man's sex drive is linked to a breast milk hormone: Men who lack desire have low levels of it.
Men with a poor sex drive may have low levels of a hormone traditionally associated with breastfeeding.
A study has found that men with reduced levels of prolactin had worse health both sexually and overall.
Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland, which lies under the brain. It is best known for its role as the hormone that stimulates breast development and milk production in women.
But it also has many other functions, including providing the body with sexual satisfaction. The hormone is thought to counteract the effect of dopamine, which is responsible for sexual desire. Until now, it was thought that high levels it affected a man's performance in the bedroom, so the researchers say they were surprised by the new findings.
The study, reported in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, assessed 3,000 European men aged between 40 and 79. They had levels of the hormones testosterone and prolactin checked, and also their cholesterol, blood sugar and BMIs measured.
A study has found that men with reduced levels of prolactin had worse health both sexually and overall.
Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland, which lies under the brain. It is best known for its role as the hormone that stimulates breast development and milk production in women.
Worried: Men with a poor sex drive may have low levels of the hormone prolactin, a new study has found
But it also has many other functions, including providing the body with sexual satisfaction. The hormone is thought to counteract the effect of dopamine, which is responsible for sexual desire. Until now, it was thought that high levels it affected a man's performance in the bedroom, so the researchers say they were surprised by the new findings.
The study, reported in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, assessed 3,000 European men aged between 40 and 79. They had levels of the hormones testosterone and prolactin checked, and also their cholesterol, blood sugar and BMIs measured.
Prolactin is best known for its role as the
hormone that stimulates breast development and milk production in women,
but is also involved in sexual desire. Finally, they answered questions about their general and sexual health, alcohol consumption and whether they smoked. Men who had low levels of prolactin also had signs of poor sexual and psychological health, LiveScience reported. If
a man had a lower than average level, he was more likely to report
feeling depressed, poor sexual functioning and was less likely to enjoy
orgasms.
These
men were also more likely to feel less healthy overall, and have
indicators of poor health such as high BMI, blood sugar, and doing less
physical activity.The
results of the study contradict what has previously been thought about
prolactin - that high levels hamper performance and desire. In fact, previous studies found that rats who had their prolactin levels increased got a boost.One
theory is that poor health in general causes low levels of the hormone.
Men who drink alcohol to excess and smoke are known to suffer sexual
performance problems such as erectile dysfunction. Another theory is it's possible that low prolactin 'mirrors a change in the
levels of signaling chemicals in the brain that regulate sexual behavior', the website reported.
Not for the faint-hearted: World's tallest roller coaster to be built in Florida at 520 feet tall
If you enjoy the
sensation of falling several hundred feet to the ground, then you'll be
glad to hear that the world's tallest roller coaster will be built in
Florida. The
'Polercoaster' will extend 520 feet into the air and reach high speeds
of 60 miles per hour. Plans for the roller coaster show that is will be a
tower, and only 150 feet in diameter. By
the time it's constructed in Spring 2016, the coaster will outrank the
current world record holder - Six Flags New Jersey's Kingda Ka which is
456 feet tall. Unlike most roller coasters, customers will get on the ride at the top. Guests
ride trains which take them to the top of the tower where there will
also be a double-decker restaurant and shops. In other words, a good
last minute excuse to chicken out and not get on the ride. If
you have last minute doubts, you can take a glass elevator to the
observation deck to look out and consider whether or not you're afraid
of heights. For those who decide to brave the ride, they will experience all the usual sharp dives, rolls, loops and inversions.
The exact location of the Polercoaster hasn't been announced yet, as the purchaser plans to rename it in the coming weeks. Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, would be surprised if the Polercoaster ended up in any of Orlando's main theme parks.
'I think it might be in one of the associated, ancillary I-Drive [International Drive] type things, something of that nature,' he told the Orlando Sentinel. International Drive is a main thoroughfare in Orlando that goes through the heart of the city's tourist district. A spokesman for the Walt Disney corporation said they have 'nothing to announce at this time'. The Polercoaster will cost between $20 - $60 million and work is estimated to begin this summer.
Source
The exact location of the Polercoaster hasn't been announced yet, as the purchaser plans to rename it in the coming weeks. Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, would be surprised if the Polercoaster ended up in any of Orlando's main theme parks.
Second thoughts? Customers will board the ride
at the top of the tower where there will also be a double-decker
restaurant and retail shops - entertainment for those too scared to get
on the ride
Where? The exact location of the Polercoaster has not yet been released, but is expected to be announced in the next few weeks
Thrill: The ride will feature dives, rolls, loops and inversions and reach speeds of 60 miles per hour
'I think it might be in one of the associated, ancillary I-Drive [International Drive] type things, something of that nature,' he told the Orlando Sentinel. International Drive is a main thoroughfare in Orlando that goes through the heart of the city's tourist district. A spokesman for the Walt Disney corporation said they have 'nothing to announce at this time'. The Polercoaster will cost between $20 - $60 million and work is estimated to begin this summer.
Source
Thursday, November 21, 2013
The painfully honest diary of a surrogate mum
Undoubtedly, it’s the most intimate
experience of all. So what would make any woman agree to give birth to
another woman’s child? Last
month, Jennifer Scott-Hitchcock gave birth to Archie, before handing
him to his biological parents, Jane and Gary, a couple in their 30s from
the Orkneys. Here,
Jennifer, 30, a mother-of-two from Kirkcaldy, Fife, who is married to
Justin, 35, a civil servant, shares the diary of her surrogate pregnancy
— her third — and gives a glimpse into a hidden world of joy, pain and
extraordinary self-sacrifice . . .
December 2012
I’ve just told Justin that I’m ready to be a surrogate again. It’ll be my third time in three years and it hardly came as a surprise to him.We’ve talked of little else these past few months. He just smiled, and said he’d be with me all the way.You might wonder that he agreed so easily. But, trust me, it’s taken a long time for him to be so accepting. When I first broached the idea of surrogacy five years ago, he was horrified and forbade me from even considering the idea. He imagined, as many people do, a backstreet trade in babies. Something murky, immoral, heartless even. He didn’t understand how any woman could give away the baby she’d given birth to. Almost everyone I talk to says the same thing.
Yet my sister says she always knew I’d be a surrogate. She remembers me, aged just seven, saying I’d have a baby for anyone who couldn’t have one of their own.
I’m not quite sure what prompted my youthful thoughts, but I do know that I’ve always loved children.
Indeed, I have two children from my first marriage: Ellie, who’s 11, and eight-year-old Cael. When I met Justin, he had three children of his own, so we both agreed we didn’t want any more. Five was quite enough for any couple to cope with.Strangely, however, although I felt ‘done’ with childrearing, I just didn’t feel that way about pregnancy.I adore being pregnant; the buzz starts from the moment I see the blue line on the test. If I am being honest, I would say it’s almost like an addiction.
It took a year for me to convince Justin to allow me to become a surrogate, and I’m so glad he came to see my point of view.Finally, he can understand what a difference I can make to people’s lives — people who hadn’t been so fortunate as us, with our five, happy, healthy children between us.
Surrogacy is not, and never could be, a ‘career’ for me. I cannot, by law, be paid for what I do, unlike in America. It remains a compassionate, not commercial, act in the UK and I think that is right.
The baby’s parents reimburse me for any expenses, like maternity supplies and the cost of travelling to appointments (which would rarely amount to more than a couple of hundred pounds), but there’s no reward beyond the satisfaction I get from helping them.
When I gave birth to my first surrogate baby in 2010, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I’d had a blissful pregnancy and had no regrets as I handed the baby to her ecstatic and grateful mother and father.
We’d met them through COTS — an online community for surrogates and ‘intended parents’ (the name given to the resulting baby’s biological mum and dad) and had got to know them well.
Such was my elation, the overwhelming buzz of giving someone such a huge gift, I barely paused for breath after giving birth before finding a second couple to help. Their son was born in 2011.
Some people wonder whether it’s fair on my children to give so much of my time and energy to someone else’s child. But, thankfully, Ellie and Cael are thrilled by the whole process. As a family, we pull together and make people’s dreams come true. Rightly, they’re proud of that. And here we are, ready to do it all again. I cannot wait.
February 2013:
Implantation Day
I’m in Glasgow, in the same clinic I’ve used for my previous two surrogacies, ready for embryo implantation.
I’m doing this for Jane and Gary, a couple from Orkney, whom again we met through COTS. Unable to have children naturally, they already have a little girl, born by a surrogate two years ago, and are desperate for another. Both Justin and I have spent a long time getting to know them, with plenty of dinners and chats on the phone. I think it’s important we have a bond before we decide whether to embark on this incredible adventure. Today, they feel like old friends.I texted Jane to confirm we’d decided to help them. We had a very emotional phone call soon after — she wept, racking great tears of relief. But through the sobs, there was a real feeling of excitement. We were like a pair of little kids.Because Jane and Gary had embryos left over from their last treatment, the whole process has been simple. I took drugs to thicken my womb lining, then, when the time was right, the embryos were defrosted and implanted through my cervix.Now it’s just a question of all four of us keeping our fingers crossed. It’s a delicate stage in our relationship. You have to be very considerate of the parents’ feelings at this stage — the smallest thing may upset them. Just complaining about a cramp could send them into a panic.
And falling out is not an option once a baby’s on its way. Before our treatment began we had to iron out the details of our arrangement with the help of an agreement drawn up by the agency.
Some couples don’t want to see their surrogate after the baby’s born. Some surrogates don’t want to see the babies. You need to be compatible.I don’t want to let go completely. I like to be kept up-to-date with the occasional email or photo. We’re Auntie Jen and Uncle Justin, not too involved but not forgotten. That’s what suits us and all the couples we help.
Week 1
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, so I did an early pregnancy test. The suspense was agony. I was so disappointed when it came up negative. But I tested again this morning and I’m thrilled to say, I am pregnant. Jane and Gary were over the moon when I rang them and so are we all.When I told Ellie the news she said: ‘Mum, I think it’s a wonderful thing you do.’ I asked if she might do the same when she’s older, half-hoping she might have caught the same maternal bug I had. ‘No way!’ she said, without a moment’s hesitation. ‘It all sounds WAY too painful!’
Week 2
Jane and Gary travelled from Orkney for the first scan at the clinic, and we all saw the flicker of a heartbeat. The due date is November 20 and all is well. So begins a new chapter.They’re hoping to come down for every scan. I didn’t dare point out it’s more than 300 miles to the Orkneys, and it takes at least six hours to get here. Flights are limited and there aren’t any boats after 6pm. I’ll try to bear that in mind when I go into labour. It would be awful if they missed the birth.
Week 12
I might be a bit of a pro at surrogacy, but I don’t remember a first trimester this hard. I’m utterly, utterly drained. I have no energy at all, which has made it hard at home with two busy children to look after. But seeing Jane’s reaction at today’s 12-week scan was exactly the boost I needed.I beamed when I looked at the little speck on the screen, but when I glanced at Jane, tears sprang to my eyes, for rivers of tears were streaming down her face. This was her baby, after all. She was full of questions about its health, but all looks well.
On a more practical note, I’ll need to let work know soon. This is my first pregnancy in my new job as an NHS phlebotomist.A lot of people don’t realise that surrogates have the same rights to maternity leave, before and after the birth as if they’d been carrying their own baby. Paid maternity leave — but without the sleepless nights. There are definitely some compensations to surrogacy!In my old retail job, several colleagues said it was unfair that I was being paid to stay at home. Of course, I could see their point. But what would they have done in my shoes? I took full advantage of my maternity rights and loved every minute of it.
Week 16
The last month has been tough. On top of the usual sickness and a few fainting episodes, I’ve been floored by a serious kidney infection. Pregnant women are particularly susceptible, but I’ve never had one before. Despite huge doses of antibiotics, I’ve been in and out of hospital.
I’ve been keeping Jane and Gary up to date, but it can be hard knowing what I should tell them. I don’t want to worry them unnecessarily, but if there’s something that could affect the pregnancy, it’s their right to know.
I can also see that they’re feeling a little guilty to hear I’m suffering so much, but to be a surrogate you have to be the sort of woman who thinks ‘What’s a few days of pain or a few weeks of morning sickness, when you can make a family for life?’.I’m always telling Justin he has to see the bigger picture, too. Despite this, he says his first concern is always me, and not the baby. Understandable, I guess: it’s hard for him not to worry about what I’m putting myself through.And while I’m always upbeat, at my sickest I did feel pretty low. But then the baby gave me a few good kicks as if to say, ‘You’re not alone. Pull yourself together!’ I did. I have to, after all.
Week 20
It’s a boy! I could tell as soon as I saw him on the screen — I’ve seen enough scans to be something of an expert — but I kept quiet until the sonographer broke the news to Jane and Gary. I think it’s important not to intrude too much. Although we’re all in this together, I try to make it feel as much like their pregnancy as possible.They always said they wouldn’t mind a boy or a girl, but I think they are especially pleased to have a complete set.They’re going to call him Archie, a sweet name.That rush of maternal love and possessiveness, which I got instantly with my two, is just not there. It’s difficult to explain to anyone who hasn’t done this, but the emotions involved are very different when you are carrying someone else’s child. Of course, knowing the baby and I aren’t biologically related helps me to keep my distance, although obviously it’s the most intimate act of all.After the scan we popped to the shops to look at a few baby things. I saw a lovely teal blue pram which I thought would be perfect for a little boy, but they’re set on a red one. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that these are not your decisions.
Week 22
I had the fright of my life earlier today when I started to bleed heavily. I’ve never bled during any of my previous pregnancies. My first thought was for the baby, of course, but a dash to the hospital and a scan later set my mind at ease.He’s doing just fine, but the bleeding was caused by placenta praevia, which means my placenta is lying low over the neck of the womb. If it doesn’t move out of the way, I’ll be heading for a caesarean — my second. I can’t get Justin’s concerned expression out of my mind. I know he’s very worried about me, but we have to get on with the business of having someone else’s baby.The second I knew the baby was OK, I called Jane. She is worried for me, as a friend, of course — she knows I don’t relish the thought of surgery — but her overwhelming concern is what this means for her baby. It doesn’t help that I’m due to go on holiday to Spain next week. I’ve promised Jane I’ll stay in close contact and take it very easy. I desperately need a holiday, but this scare has made me nervous. Given that I don’t speak the language and surrogacy is illegal in Spain, I hope I don’t need to see a doctor when I’m there.
week 30
I’m starting my maternity leave. It’s early, but this pregnancy has been the toughest yet. It’s time to really look after myself, and the baby boy I am responsible for.I met his grandma and his great-auntie at the 28-week scan, as Jane brought them with her. My kids were there too, and everyone waved ‘hello’ when he appeared on the screen.A fantastic moment, it brought home how much surrogacy touches the lives of everyone involved. It’s not just about me, and the baby’s parents. And, great news, the placenta has shifted, which means I’m all set for a natural birth.
35 weeks 2 days
At 6.30pm last night my waters broke, just after I’d got into the bath. Excitedly, I called Jane and Gary to let them know we were heading to the hospital.
They were thrilled, but their high emotions were rather tempered because they were almost certain to miss the baby’s birth. There were no boats or flights until morning. I felt so sorry for them.
When they wheeled me into theatre, Justin was by my side and he was the first to hold little Archie, who weighed 6lb 8oz — which is a good weight, considering he’s a month early. I was offered skin-to-skin contact but declined. It simply is not my place to do this. It is such an intimate bonding experience between a mother and her child, I would feel like I was trespassing. I have to remain aware of the boundaries.
But I truly believe I’ve managed to train myself out of feeling like a mother in moments like this. Despite having just given birth to him, he felt like someone else’s baby and I had no inclination to breastfeed him.
For Jane and Gary, the agony of missing his birth was prolonged by a nightmare journey from Orkney. Their flight was cancelled, so they didn’t meet Archie until hours later.
As I handed him to Jane, we both wept. Between my rush of hormones and her ecstasy, it wasn’t long until the trauma of the last few hours faded. Helping another woman fulfil her dreams as a mother is the ultimate high. The question I’m asked most often is ‘why?’ ‘Why would you carry another woman’s baby?’ But anyone who has children knows they are the greatest gift. And as a healthy young woman, I can turn a desperate couple into a happy family. So, for me, the question has always been: why wouldn’t I?
But while my head and heart are still committed to surrogacy, perhaps my body isn’t. This pregnancy and birth were the hardest yet. Deep down, I know that I can’t go on having babies for ever.
But, just one more? I’ll never say never. The need for me to have babies, even if they’re not my own, is deep-rooted. I know we will all — as a family — be sorry to see the day that surrogacy is no longer a part of our lives. But we have achieved so much for those we’ve helped, and that will stay with us for ever.
Surrogate mother Jennifer Scott-Hitchcock (left) with baby Archie , 3 weeks old, and new mother Jane (right)
December 2012
I’ve just told Justin that I’m ready to be a surrogate again. It’ll be my third time in three years and it hardly came as a surprise to him.We’ve talked of little else these past few months. He just smiled, and said he’d be with me all the way.You might wonder that he agreed so easily. But, trust me, it’s taken a long time for him to be so accepting. When I first broached the idea of surrogacy five years ago, he was horrified and forbade me from even considering the idea. He imagined, as many people do, a backstreet trade in babies. Something murky, immoral, heartless even. He didn’t understand how any woman could give away the baby she’d given birth to. Almost everyone I talk to says the same thing.
Surrogate sisters: Jennifer (right) and Jane
(left). Jennifer says that helping another women fulfill her dreams as a
mother is the ultimate high
Yet my sister says she always knew I’d be a surrogate. She remembers me, aged just seven, saying I’d have a baby for anyone who couldn’t have one of their own.
I’m not quite sure what prompted my youthful thoughts, but I do know that I’ve always loved children.
Indeed, I have two children from my first marriage: Ellie, who’s 11, and eight-year-old Cael. When I met Justin, he had three children of his own, so we both agreed we didn’t want any more. Five was quite enough for any couple to cope with.Strangely, however, although I felt ‘done’ with childrearing, I just didn’t feel that way about pregnancy.I adore being pregnant; the buzz starts from the moment I see the blue line on the test. If I am being honest, I would say it’s almost like an addiction.
Jennifer Scott-Hitchcock (left) carried baby Archie, 3 weeks old. He is the biological child of Jane and her husband Gary
It took a year for me to convince Justin to allow me to become a surrogate, and I’m so glad he came to see my point of view.Finally, he can understand what a difference I can make to people’s lives — people who hadn’t been so fortunate as us, with our five, happy, healthy children between us.
Surrogacy is not, and never could be, a ‘career’ for me. I cannot, by law, be paid for what I do, unlike in America. It remains a compassionate, not commercial, act in the UK and I think that is right.
The baby’s parents reimburse me for any expenses, like maternity supplies and the cost of travelling to appointments (which would rarely amount to more than a couple of hundred pounds), but there’s no reward beyond the satisfaction I get from helping them.
Jennifer Scott-Hitchcock (left) has helped three women like Jane (right) become parents through surrogacy
When I gave birth to my first surrogate baby in 2010, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I’d had a blissful pregnancy and had no regrets as I handed the baby to her ecstatic and grateful mother and father.
We’d met them through COTS — an online community for surrogates and ‘intended parents’ (the name given to the resulting baby’s biological mum and dad) and had got to know them well.
Such was my elation, the overwhelming buzz of giving someone such a huge gift, I barely paused for breath after giving birth before finding a second couple to help. Their son was born in 2011.
Some people wonder whether it’s fair on my children to give so much of my time and energy to someone else’s child. But, thankfully, Ellie and Cael are thrilled by the whole process. As a family, we pull together and make people’s dreams come true. Rightly, they’re proud of that. And here we are, ready to do it all again. I cannot wait.
Baby Archie's parents Jane and Gary were heartbroken when travel problems made them miss his birth
February 2013:
Implantation Day
I’m in Glasgow, in the same clinic I’ve used for my previous two surrogacies, ready for embryo implantation.
I’m doing this for Jane and Gary, a couple from Orkney, whom again we met through COTS. Unable to have children naturally, they already have a little girl, born by a surrogate two years ago, and are desperate for another. Both Justin and I have spent a long time getting to know them, with plenty of dinners and chats on the phone. I think it’s important we have a bond before we decide whether to embark on this incredible adventure. Today, they feel like old friends.I texted Jane to confirm we’d decided to help them. We had a very emotional phone call soon after — she wept, racking great tears of relief. But through the sobs, there was a real feeling of excitement. We were like a pair of little kids.Because Jane and Gary had embryos left over from their last treatment, the whole process has been simple. I took drugs to thicken my womb lining, then, when the time was right, the embryos were defrosted and implanted through my cervix.Now it’s just a question of all four of us keeping our fingers crossed. It’s a delicate stage in our relationship. You have to be very considerate of the parents’ feelings at this stage — the smallest thing may upset them. Just complaining about a cramp could send them into a panic.
Jennifer (right) says she hasn't ruled out being a surrogate again, but says that this pregnancy was the hardest yet
And falling out is not an option once a baby’s on its way. Before our treatment began we had to iron out the details of our arrangement with the help of an agreement drawn up by the agency.
Some couples don’t want to see their surrogate after the baby’s born. Some surrogates don’t want to see the babies. You need to be compatible.I don’t want to let go completely. I like to be kept up-to-date with the occasional email or photo. We’re Auntie Jen and Uncle Justin, not too involved but not forgotten. That’s what suits us and all the couples we help.
Week 1
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, so I did an early pregnancy test. The suspense was agony. I was so disappointed when it came up negative. But I tested again this morning and I’m thrilled to say, I am pregnant. Jane and Gary were over the moon when I rang them and so are we all.When I told Ellie the news she said: ‘Mum, I think it’s a wonderful thing you do.’ I asked if she might do the same when she’s older, half-hoping she might have caught the same maternal bug I had. ‘No way!’ she said, without a moment’s hesitation. ‘It all sounds WAY too painful!’
Jennifer (left) knew that baby Archie was a boy
when she saw the scan, but waited until the sonographer told Jane and
Gary because she didn't want to spoil their special moment
Week 2
Jane and Gary travelled from Orkney for the first scan at the clinic, and we all saw the flicker of a heartbeat. The due date is November 20 and all is well. So begins a new chapter.They’re hoping to come down for every scan. I didn’t dare point out it’s more than 300 miles to the Orkneys, and it takes at least six hours to get here. Flights are limited and there aren’t any boats after 6pm. I’ll try to bear that in mind when I go into labour. It would be awful if they missed the birth.
Week 12
I might be a bit of a pro at surrogacy, but I don’t remember a first trimester this hard. I’m utterly, utterly drained. I have no energy at all, which has made it hard at home with two busy children to look after. But seeing Jane’s reaction at today’s 12-week scan was exactly the boost I needed.I beamed when I looked at the little speck on the screen, but when I glanced at Jane, tears sprang to my eyes, for rivers of tears were streaming down her face. This was her baby, after all. She was full of questions about its health, but all looks well.
Jennifer says that her husband Justin is behind her being a surrogate every step of the way
On a more practical note, I’ll need to let work know soon. This is my first pregnancy in my new job as an NHS phlebotomist.A lot of people don’t realise that surrogates have the same rights to maternity leave, before and after the birth as if they’d been carrying their own baby. Paid maternity leave — but without the sleepless nights. There are definitely some compensations to surrogacy!In my old retail job, several colleagues said it was unfair that I was being paid to stay at home. Of course, I could see their point. But what would they have done in my shoes? I took full advantage of my maternity rights and loved every minute of it.
Week 16
The last month has been tough. On top of the usual sickness and a few fainting episodes, I’ve been floored by a serious kidney infection. Pregnant women are particularly susceptible, but I’ve never had one before. Despite huge doses of antibiotics, I’ve been in and out of hospital.
I’ve been keeping Jane and Gary up to date, but it can be hard knowing what I should tell them. I don’t want to worry them unnecessarily, but if there’s something that could affect the pregnancy, it’s their right to know.
I can also see that they’re feeling a little guilty to hear I’m suffering so much, but to be a surrogate you have to be the sort of woman who thinks ‘What’s a few days of pain or a few weeks of morning sickness, when you can make a family for life?’.I’m always telling Justin he has to see the bigger picture, too. Despite this, he says his first concern is always me, and not the baby. Understandable, I guess: it’s hard for him not to worry about what I’m putting myself through.And while I’m always upbeat, at my sickest I did feel pretty low. But then the baby gave me a few good kicks as if to say, ‘You’re not alone. Pull yourself together!’ I did. I have to, after all.
Week 20
It’s a boy! I could tell as soon as I saw him on the screen — I’ve seen enough scans to be something of an expert — but I kept quiet until the sonographer broke the news to Jane and Gary. I think it’s important not to intrude too much. Although we’re all in this together, I try to make it feel as much like their pregnancy as possible.They always said they wouldn’t mind a boy or a girl, but I think they are especially pleased to have a complete set.They’re going to call him Archie, a sweet name.That rush of maternal love and possessiveness, which I got instantly with my two, is just not there. It’s difficult to explain to anyone who hasn’t done this, but the emotions involved are very different when you are carrying someone else’s child. Of course, knowing the baby and I aren’t biologically related helps me to keep my distance, although obviously it’s the most intimate act of all.After the scan we popped to the shops to look at a few baby things. I saw a lovely teal blue pram which I thought would be perfect for a little boy, but they’re set on a red one. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that these are not your decisions.
Week 22
I had the fright of my life earlier today when I started to bleed heavily. I’ve never bled during any of my previous pregnancies. My first thought was for the baby, of course, but a dash to the hospital and a scan later set my mind at ease.He’s doing just fine, but the bleeding was caused by placenta praevia, which means my placenta is lying low over the neck of the womb. If it doesn’t move out of the way, I’ll be heading for a caesarean — my second. I can’t get Justin’s concerned expression out of my mind. I know he’s very worried about me, but we have to get on with the business of having someone else’s baby.The second I knew the baby was OK, I called Jane. She is worried for me, as a friend, of course — she knows I don’t relish the thought of surgery — but her overwhelming concern is what this means for her baby. It doesn’t help that I’m due to go on holiday to Spain next week. I’ve promised Jane I’ll stay in close contact and take it very easy. I desperately need a holiday, but this scare has made me nervous. Given that I don’t speak the language and surrogacy is illegal in Spain, I hope I don’t need to see a doctor when I’m there.
week 30
I’m starting my maternity leave. It’s early, but this pregnancy has been the toughest yet. It’s time to really look after myself, and the baby boy I am responsible for.I met his grandma and his great-auntie at the 28-week scan, as Jane brought them with her. My kids were there too, and everyone waved ‘hello’ when he appeared on the screen.A fantastic moment, it brought home how much surrogacy touches the lives of everyone involved. It’s not just about me, and the baby’s parents. And, great news, the placenta has shifted, which means I’m all set for a natural birth.
35 weeks 2 days
At 6.30pm last night my waters broke, just after I’d got into the bath. Excitedly, I called Jane and Gary to let them know we were heading to the hospital.
They were thrilled, but their high emotions were rather tempered because they were almost certain to miss the baby’s birth. There were no boats or flights until morning. I felt so sorry for them.
When they wheeled me into theatre, Justin was by my side and he was the first to hold little Archie, who weighed 6lb 8oz — which is a good weight, considering he’s a month early. I was offered skin-to-skin contact but declined. It simply is not my place to do this. It is such an intimate bonding experience between a mother and her child, I would feel like I was trespassing. I have to remain aware of the boundaries.
But I truly believe I’ve managed to train myself out of feeling like a mother in moments like this. Despite having just given birth to him, he felt like someone else’s baby and I had no inclination to breastfeed him.
For Jane and Gary, the agony of missing his birth was prolonged by a nightmare journey from Orkney. Their flight was cancelled, so they didn’t meet Archie until hours later.
As I handed him to Jane, we both wept. Between my rush of hormones and her ecstasy, it wasn’t long until the trauma of the last few hours faded. Helping another woman fulfil her dreams as a mother is the ultimate high. The question I’m asked most often is ‘why?’ ‘Why would you carry another woman’s baby?’ But anyone who has children knows they are the greatest gift. And as a healthy young woman, I can turn a desperate couple into a happy family. So, for me, the question has always been: why wouldn’t I?
But while my head and heart are still committed to surrogacy, perhaps my body isn’t. This pregnancy and birth were the hardest yet. Deep down, I know that I can’t go on having babies for ever.
But, just one more? I’ll never say never. The need for me to have babies, even if they’re not my own, is deep-rooted. I know we will all — as a family — be sorry to see the day that surrogacy is no longer a part of our lives. But we have achieved so much for those we’ve helped, and that will stay with us for ever.
Behind bars with America's most notorious serial killer
Proving that he has not lost his
ability to unnerve or to disgust, Charles Manson rages throughout a new
interview which reveals his history of bisexuality, plans to marry a
25-year-old follower, heads a group of America's most notorious
murderers and rapists behind bars and of course, that he is innocent.
The interview in Rolling Stone details how repulsive serial killer rubs shoulders daily with men such as Phillip Garrido, who raped and held 11-year Jaycee Dugard prisoner for 18-years - Manson's infamous charismatic personality unable to resist bringing other inmates into his fold. Held inside his 'protective housing' unit at California's Corcoran State Prison along with 15 other high profile inmates, Manson tells how he finds the time to dispense musical advice to serial killer Juan Corona, who was responsible for killing 25 people in 1971 and 'gets along just fine' with Mikhail Markhasev, who killed Bill Cosby's son Ennis in 1997.
The revelation that Manson, 79,
spends his days happily mingling with the dregs of American society is
just one of many in a bizarre and unsettling interview the serial killer
has given to Rolling Stone.
The most eye catching is that the mass murderer is to marry his 25-year-old follower named Star - a name given to her by the iconic 1960s cult leader.She moved near to Corcoran State Prison when she was 19, just to be closer to him and has recently carved an X into her forehead to match his swastika as seen in these intimate photographs of Manson and her taken from inside the jail where the killer will most likely die.
'Yeah, well, people can think I'm crazy,' she told Rolling Stone magazine in the lengthy article about her beau. 'But they don't know. This is what's right for me. This is what I was born for.'
Star, who runs multiple websites calling for Manson's release, said she knows she will be his wife.
'I'll tell you straight up, Charlie and I are going to get married,' she said. 'When that will be, we don't know. But I take it very seriously. Charlie is my husband. Charlie told me to tell you this. We haven't told anybody about that.'But Manson sounded a little more apprehensive when the interviewer asked him about his impending nuptials to Star.'Oh that,' he said. 'That's a bunch of garbage. You know that, man. That's trash. We're just playing that for public consumption.'Star, an artist, was born in St Louis, Missouri to a religious family who locked her in her room throughout her high school years after she refused to go to church and started taking drugs.While in high school, a friend told her about Manson's environmental writing and she decided to contact him, Rolling Stone reported.When she was 19, she took $2,000 she saved working in a retirement home kitchen and jumped on a train headed to California.
She now visits him every Saturday and
Sunday for up to five hours a day and claims that her parents like him,
and have even offered them to move in with the family if he ever gets
out of prison.
Photographs on Facebook and websites calling for his release show the couple posing beside each other and touching during the lengthy visiting hours - which she said was not enough.
'I just want to be alone,' she said. I don't want to be always in that visiting room with people staring at me. But that's the only time I get to see him, in that room, with people staring. It's hard. But things change, you know. And who knows what could happen?'He is also pictured in the images with Craig Carlisle Hammond, 63, whom Manson called 'Gray Wolf'. In March, Hammond was accused of trying to smuggle a cell phone to Manson during visiting hours, raising questions over the apparent freedom Manson is enjoying with his visiting friends.If his marriage to Star does go ahead, it will not be the first for Manson, who has two ex-wives and at least three children.He married Rosalie Willis in 1954 but they divorced in 1957 - a year into his prison term for stealing cars. After leaving prison in 1958, he married a prostitute called Candy Stevens. But again, she divorced him when he was sent back to jail.
In the interview with Rolling Stone, he also hinted that he is more fluid about his sexuality than previously thought.'Sex
to me is like going to the toilet,' he said. 'Whether it's a girl or
not, it doesn't matter. I don't play that girl-guy s***. I'm not hung up
in that game.'He also
recounted an incident from when he was 17 in which he said he asked a
man to have sex, and when the man refused, he brandished a knife and
promised to take the blame if they were caught. The man agreed.'
I picked a razor blade up off the shower floor and said, 'If we get
caught, I'll tell them I made you do it.' So, he let me do it. But I
don't know. Maybe he thought I was going to cut him,' recounts Manson of
the gruesome incident.Manson
is described in the interview exactly as he would be imagined: blazing
eyes, unkempt hair, rotten teeth and grizzly beard - with a Swastika
tattooed on his forehead.This
image is seared on the public conscious, four decades after Manson and
his ‘Family’ slaughtered Sharon Tate, the actress wife of Roman
Polanski, eight and a half months pregnant, and three of her friends at
her home above Beverly Hills.Stephen
Parent was a fifth unfortunate victim that night. He had driven to the
property to see if caretaker William Garreston wanted to buy his AM/FM
Clock radio and had stayed on for a beer at the guest house.He was shot multiple times when he wound down the window at the electric gate as he left.The following night the Family butchered small business owners Leno and Rosemary La Bianca, in their home in Los Angeles.
Famously,
in the summer of 1969 he became obsessed with the lyrics of songs from
The Beatles' White Album, in particular the track Helter Skelter.In
Manson's tormented mind, the words 'Helter Skelter' became a battle
cry, a signal that the time had come to instigate a race war to wipe out
everyone outside The Family.
In the course of the interview, Manson's denial of Bugliosi's 'Helter Skelter' theory rings out the loudest.
Bugliosi told the court during Manson's trial in 1970 that the murder's that Manson inspired were an attempt to start a race war, 'after which the blacks, who had won the war, would beg him to come be their leader, because they could not lead themselves.'However, a raging Manson exclaims, 'that doesn't even make insane sense' as he fixes up his battle with Bugliosi, or 'Bug' as he calls him as a fight between two long-time adversaries.Indeed, because Manson was not present for any of the murders the Family committed, he has always tried to claim that he never knew or inspired the killings and twists the blame onto his followers.
Hedegaard writes, 'He reserves a goodly amount of venom for [the prosecuting attorney] Bugliosi. 'He knows I'm too stupid to get involved in something of the magnitude of Helter Skelter.'So how could he convince himself of that for all these years? He made the money, he won the case.
'He's a winner! He got over! He's a
genius! He took 45 years of a man's life for his greedy little grubby
self. And he's going to go to his deathbed with that forever on his
conscience? Is there no honor in him at all?'
But as has often proved the case with the repellent Manson, he then speaks such ill of the victims that his lack of remorse is shocking.Dismissing the murder of Sharon Tate, Manson says, 'It's a Hollywood movie star. How many people did she murder onscreen? Was she so pretty?'She compromised her body for everything she did. And if she was such a beautiful thing, what was she doing in the bed of another man when that thing jumped off? What kind of shit is that?'One of the more bizarre revelations from the interview is that Manson is allowed to make as many phone calls as he wants, as long as they are a maximum of 15 minutes long and all collect.
Hedegaard describes some of the more randoms beginnings to phone conversations with America's most notorious serial killer.'Here's
how he has begun some of his recent conversations: 'Hello, hello. Are
you ready? OK. There's seven steps from the death chamber of holding to
the death chamber of release.'
'I forget — was you mad at me or was I mad at you?'
'Would you come and swing upon a star? Carry moonbeams home in a jar?'
'Why don't you go ahead and say what's best for you, and then I'll go along with it and meet you later over on the beach.''I've got something important I'd like to explain ... ’
In one chilling episode, Manson explains to Hedegaard how killing someone to get more air is righteous.
'Whoever gets killed, that's the will of God. Without killing, we got no chance.'
'He paused, then went on, 'You might want to keep that out of your paper and say to yourself, How can that work for me?''At the time, I didn't think much of it. It took a while for what he was suggesting to sink in.'
He was originally given a death sentence but spared execution after the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional.In 1977, his sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Manson will next be eligible for parole in 15 years, when he will be 92-years-old.
When he was denied release in 2007 the parole board ruled that he 'continues to pose an unreasonable danger to others and may still bring harm to anyone he would come in contact with'.
Source
The interview in Rolling Stone details how repulsive serial killer rubs shoulders daily with men such as Phillip Garrido, who raped and held 11-year Jaycee Dugard prisoner for 18-years - Manson's infamous charismatic personality unable to resist bringing other inmates into his fold. Held inside his 'protective housing' unit at California's Corcoran State Prison along with 15 other high profile inmates, Manson tells how he finds the time to dispense musical advice to serial killer Juan Corona, who was responsible for killing 25 people in 1971 and 'gets along just fine' with Mikhail Markhasev, who killed Bill Cosby's son Ennis in 1997.
Crazed: Charles Manson, imprisoned for life for
association with a series of murders in the 1960s, has befriended a 25
year old woman named Star and there is speculation they will marry soon
The most eye catching is that the mass murderer is to marry his 25-year-old follower named Star - a name given to her by the iconic 1960s cult leader.She moved near to Corcoran State Prison when she was 19, just to be closer to him and has recently carved an X into her forehead to match his swastika as seen in these intimate photographs of Manson and her taken from inside the jail where the killer will most likely die.
'Yeah, well, people can think I'm crazy,' she told Rolling Stone magazine in the lengthy article about her beau. 'But they don't know. This is what's right for me. This is what I was born for.'
Charles Manson, a charismatic ex-convict,
assembled a group of runaways and outcasts. In the summer of 1969, he
directed his mostly young, female followers to murder seven people in
what prosecutors said was part of a plan to incite a race war
Charles Manson, imprisoned for life for
association with a series of murders in the 1960s, has befriended a 25
year old woman named Star (right)
'I'll tell you straight up, Charlie and I are going to get married,' she said. 'When that will be, we don't know. But I take it very seriously. Charlie is my husband. Charlie told me to tell you this. We haven't told anybody about that.'But Manson sounded a little more apprehensive when the interviewer asked him about his impending nuptials to Star.'Oh that,' he said. 'That's a bunch of garbage. You know that, man. That's trash. We're just playing that for public consumption.'Star, an artist, was born in St Louis, Missouri to a religious family who locked her in her room throughout her high school years after she refused to go to church and started taking drugs.While in high school, a friend told her about Manson's environmental writing and she decided to contact him, Rolling Stone reported.When she was 19, she took $2,000 she saved working in a retirement home kitchen and jumped on a train headed to California.
Star, (left) a name given to her by the
79-year-old cult leader, moved next to California's Corcoran State
Prison when she was just 19 to be closer to him and has recently carved
an X into her forehead to match his swastika
Manson, (pictured with Star) now 79, is serving a
life sentence at Corcoran State Prison in California for the seven
Manson Family killings and the murder of an acquaintance, Gary Hinman,
who was stabbed to death in July 1969
Manson and his 'fiancé' Star (right), an artist,
who was born in St Louis, Missouri to a religious family who locked her
in her room throughout her high school years after she refused to go to
church and started taking drugs
Sick: Phillip Garrido is seen in court as he
pleads not guilty to kidnapping 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard (right) and
holding her captive for 18 years in Placerville, California
Photographs on Facebook and websites calling for his release show the couple posing beside each other and touching during the lengthy visiting hours - which she said was not enough.
'I just want to be alone,' she said. I don't want to be always in that visiting room with people staring at me. But that's the only time I get to see him, in that room, with people staring. It's hard. But things change, you know. And who knows what could happen?'He is also pictured in the images with Craig Carlisle Hammond, 63, whom Manson called 'Gray Wolf'. In March, Hammond was accused of trying to smuggle a cell phone to Manson during visiting hours, raising questions over the apparent freedom Manson is enjoying with his visiting friends.If his marriage to Star does go ahead, it will not be the first for Manson, who has two ex-wives and at least three children.He married Rosalie Willis in 1954 but they divorced in 1957 - a year into his prison term for stealing cars. After leaving prison in 1958, he married a prostitute called Candy Stevens. But again, she divorced him when he was sent back to jail.
Victim: Among those killed by Manson and his
followers was actress Sharon Tate, pictured right with her husband
director Roman Polanski and left. She was eight months pregnant when she
was killed in 1969
Convicted murderer Charles Manson shows up to
his penalty trial with his long hair cut off in 1971 (left) and (right)
Charles Manson reads a statement at his parole hearing in San Quentin
in 1986
Marks of a killer: Charles Manson with his 'fiancé' Star in a picture the serial killer has signed and marked with a SwastikaThe violence was so mindless and so
brutal and the motivation, when it emerged, so incomprehensible that the
myth of Manson and his hippie cult-like Family has stalked common
consciousness ever since.Today
serving a life sentence in California, Manson has always maintained
that society gradually turned him into the person he became.Manson uses his interview with
Rolling Stone's Erik Hedegaard to repeat his denial of the infamous
'Helter Skelter' theory, put together by prosecuting attorney Vincent
Bugliosi that led to his conviction for the murders of Tate and seven
others - even though Manson was not there.
Uncanny Similarities: As Star became close to
Manson - many of the serial killer's supporters and disturbed acolytes
pointed out that Star bore an uncanny similarity to original 'Family'
member Susan Atkins (left). Known within the Manson family as Sexy Sadie
- after The Beatles song - Atkins participated in eight murders carried
out under the orders of the sick messianic figure. Atkins was present
on the evening of August 9th, 1969, at Roman Polanski's Beverly Hills
home, where Sharon Tate was murder along with Steven Parent, Jay
Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger. Atkins was responsible
for writing 'PIG' on the door of the property as they left in Sharon
Tate's blood.
Manson family members and murder suspects (left
to right) Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkle, and Leslie van Houto in
1970 as they arrive at court to be tried for their part in eight murders
in 1969
Bugliosi told the court during Manson's trial in 1970 that the murder's that Manson inspired were an attempt to start a race war, 'after which the blacks, who had won the war, would beg him to come be their leader, because they could not lead themselves.'However, a raging Manson exclaims, 'that doesn't even make insane sense' as he fixes up his battle with Bugliosi, or 'Bug' as he calls him as a fight between two long-time adversaries.Indeed, because Manson was not present for any of the murders the Family committed, he has always tried to claim that he never knew or inspired the killings and twists the blame onto his followers.
Hedegaard writes, 'He reserves a goodly amount of venom for [the prosecuting attorney] Bugliosi. 'He knows I'm too stupid to get involved in something of the magnitude of Helter Skelter.'So how could he convince himself of that for all these years? He made the money, he won the case.
Marriage: Star (left) has announced in a Rolling
Stone magazine that she is to marry Charles Manson (right) the most
infamous and stories serial killer in American history
Forty-four years after the Tate-LaBianca
murders, Rolling Stone's Erik Hedegaard has waded into California's
Corcoran State Prison to spend some time with Charles Manson and his
'fiancee' Star
Corcoran, California: Star (left) has become
friends with Charles Manson (right) who is serving a life sentence in
prison. She has known the befriended murderer for six years and there
has been speculation that Star will wed Manson
Fall: Manson (pictured left after he fell out of
his bunk in July) has given an interview to Rolling Stone magazine in
which he ha insisted on innocence and revealed details about his life
behind bars in Corcoran State Prison
The Corcoran State Prison compound is seen in
central California, where convicted mass murderer Charles Manson has
been serving a life prison term since the 1970s
But as has often proved the case with the repellent Manson, he then speaks such ill of the victims that his lack of remorse is shocking.Dismissing the murder of Sharon Tate, Manson says, 'It's a Hollywood movie star. How many people did she murder onscreen? Was she so pretty?'She compromised her body for everything she did. And if she was such a beautiful thing, what was she doing in the bed of another man when that thing jumped off? What kind of shit is that?'One of the more bizarre revelations from the interview is that Manson is allowed to make as many phone calls as he wants, as long as they are a maximum of 15 minutes long and all collect.
New Family: Charles Manson and his follower Star
(right) pose for a serious looking picture inside Corcoran State Prison
where Manson is has served over 40-years for his part in nine murders
carried out in his name by his followers
Charles Manson, perhaps the most infamous
convicted killer of all time, is 79 years old and still locked up in
California's Corcoran State Prison and is reportedly going to marry Star
(left and right with the murderer)
Friends: Gray Wolf (left) are friends of Charles
Manson (right) who is serving a life sentence in prison since 1972.
They have befriended the convict and visit him every weekend in prison
in California
Denial: When Star was confronted with a question
about her resemblance to Atkins, she intensely exclaimed, 'That b---h
was f-----g crazy. She was a crazy f-----g whore.'
'I forget — was you mad at me or was I mad at you?'
'Would you come and swing upon a star? Carry moonbeams home in a jar?'
'Why don't you go ahead and say what's best for you, and then I'll go along with it and meet you later over on the beach.''I've got something important I'd like to explain ... ’
Creepy: Grey Wolf, Star and Charles Manson pose
for a picture as they mark 44-years since the Sharon Tate murders in
Beverly Hills - a crime which Manson still protests his innocence over
Shady: And Star told Rolling Stone she can prove
Manson is more devoted to her than any other girl: 'I'll tell you
straight up, Charlie and I are going to get married,'
Weak and old: Manson became one of the 20th
century's most infamous criminals in the summer of 1969, when he
directed his mostly young, female followers to murder eight people
'Whoever gets killed, that's the will of God. Without killing, we got no chance.'
'He paused, then went on, 'You might want to keep that out of your paper and say to yourself, How can that work for me?''At the time, I didn't think much of it. It took a while for what he was suggesting to sink in.'
He was originally given a death sentence but spared execution after the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional.In 1977, his sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Manson will next be eligible for parole in 15 years, when he will be 92-years-old.
When he was denied release in 2007 the parole board ruled that he 'continues to pose an unreasonable danger to others and may still bring harm to anyone he would come in contact with'.
Source
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