Monday, October 25, 2010

Blessingway

This past Saturday I had the great honor of attending a "Blessingway" given for my third birth as a mother. What an incredible little ceremony and I am still overwhelmed by all the love and care shared by the women present! A ceremony to honor and support the mother as she prepares to become a mother (for the first time or once again) has all but fallen from our culture, but many are revitalizing this lost tradition and it is beautiful and special. Here is a link to read further about Planning A Blessingway.

One of the mothers was kind enough to do a henna design on my hands. I am a little too modest to show my huge, stretch marky belly and so the hands were a good alternative. It turned out beautifully! She did it all by hand and it is lovely. I don't want it to fade! :)

(Oh, and just as a side note I finally had all my hair chopped off and some color added. It is pretty short but so much easier to keep care of, and I love the color!)


I love the contrast of the two designs.

There then was a ceremony where everyone brought a bead for each of my girls and one for me to symbolize their wish and blessing for me for labor and introducing a third child to our family. It was opened up with a wonderful story read by a wonderful woman about how our children "choose" us. As each woman explained the reasoning for their choice of bead I was really touched and overwhelmed. It meant so much to me. I will have these beads as I labor and will remember their thoughtfulness.

Each lit votive was from each woman after they gave their advice and care and recited the women who came before them. The long small candles and candle holders we all took away from the ceremony and they will be lit when I start labor and blown out when the little baby boy is here. I think the visualization of all these lights burning all around town for me and us is just beautiful.

This is a picture of my hands and the hands of my girls holding all the beads on my belly. The girls are so excited about their very own strand of beads... each one different and full of meaning and love.
I can't express how thankful I am to my wonderful friend who graciously hosted such a ceremony for me, my family and new expected baby. I can't express how appreciative I am of all the women who came and made it so very special for us all. Truly a lovely experience and I hope to continue to pass on the gift of this ceremony to other friends who embark on this journey of motherhood in the future.

Home Visit!

It has been a long, long while. My thoughts remain with you all though and I apologize for my long absence.

I am still pregnant. :) This afternoon I have a few moments to catch up on the happenings of preparation around here. On the 18th of this month I had my home visit. And, let me just tell you all- it was WONDERFUL! I couldn't have been happier to get everyone who will be involved in the same room and appreciate how we all worked together. My midwife, her assistant, my doula, my husband and myself were all present. Oh, and my youngest daughter who fell in love with my doula and hung out with her most of the time (my oldest daughter was at school). We enjoyed hot apple cider and tea while we discussed the big day or night. :) I had a calm wash over me, because everything is ready... we know the protocol and I love these women! I am so excited to be in an environment that is all our own, warm and beautiful to welcome our third baby. Here are a couple shots of our bedroom all ready to go...


The Tupperware bins are full of all the necessary items my midwife listed for birthing a baby.

I displayed some of the birth art I have done periodically from prompts out of the book Birthing From Within that I think will help me visualize and remember my affirmations.
Although, I am ready to have this baby and the strain on my back and legs is starting to get to me I do hope he holds out until after Halloween. I would like to be able to enjoy the holiday with my girls. My oldest is going to be "Little Red Riding Hood" and my youngest is going to dress up as "Shirley Temple." She has all these blond, beautiful curls. :)