I just wanted to share how good my week was this past week 
Tuesday night was my home visit from my mw and her apprentice (whom I really, really like and am excited to have at our birth - she's a beginning apprentice and I think she'll be a wonderful mw). I also had my Mother Blessing.
The Mother Blessing was really special for me because I just moved to my town. In fact, we moved into our house and the day the moving truck arrived with our stuff was my best TTC day
So we somehow fit that in and managed to get pg, lol! But I'm very new here.
So some of the girls from my LLL group have also been clients of my mw and she called and asked them if they'd plan the blessingway for me. They did, and got several of the other gals from from LLL to come as well. It was so very special to me still being pretty new here!
We started with a circle and sang quite a few family/baby songs (from Rise Up Singing) while the ladies brushed my hair, and massaged my feet and hands (felt soooooooo good!!!). Then they asked me if I had any specific things I'd like to have stories shared on. The only thing I could think was I'd like to hear about positive pushing (lol!) because I've always felt a bit overwhelmed during pushing my babe out, and would like to be able to enjoy feeling my baby come down more this birth. And it was really wonderful just the experiences and perspectives everyone shared. My mw and one of my friends also shared how birth (and postpartum) had helped foster a stronger connection with their hubby and I enjoyed that sharing too. DH and I have a very close relationship and I like to think that this experience will help us be even closer
Each friend had brought a candle for me and during the stories we lit them and they shared with me about the candle if it had a special significance. Then I blew all the candles out and have them waiting here (beautifully!) on my desk to light when my labor starts
:
We wound ourselves together with wool yarn then cut the yarn to make bracelets to wear until my babe is born. We also cut a length for my mom, who lives too far away to attend, but I know she was there in spirit
My mw used a sage/cedar smoke to walk through and "clear" the house, and bless it for the birth. By this point my DH and kiddos had gotten back and they loved walking through pointing out everything mw needed to bless
We also made a little yarn bracelet for each of them.
Then we had a potluck yuuuummmy! And did my home visit (babe was perfect!).
It was such an incredible experience for me. So very genuine and loving and it made me feel really, really good. I heard "we're really glad you're here" and "we really appreciate your mothering wisdom" several times and that just made me feel so good and supported, even though I still feel very new on the "mama scene" here. I love seeing my bracelet and knowing I have that support, and I know I'll draw strength from seeing the candles lit during my baby's birth. It was wonderful:
Then this weekend my MIL had a baby shower for me. It was small - just family and then one of DH's coworkers that I've made friends with (and her mother and DD). My MIL did such a wonderful job with the shower though, I felt really loved and supported through that.
It was tons of fun playing the shower games she picked and just getting to talk with everyone. I was really happy with the gifts too - we got quite a few adorable new outfits. But MIL made me quite a few flannel baby blankets and they're so soft and much bigger than the store-bought kind. She and DH's grandma also crocheted wonderfully soft blankets. I really, really like little "pilot cap" baby hats and I'd mentioned this to MIL at some point. And she made one for the baby!!! It is so wonderful, with soft corduroy on the outside and the softest Sherpa on the inside:
She also gave me a little tiny baby boy ring - it belonged to her dad (DH's grandpa) as a baby, and then DH wore it as a baby (for pictures lol), and she passed it on to me as DH and I are having the first grandson (lots of granddaughters!) in the family. That was really special and I'm looking forward to getting some pictures done with my LO wearing it just like Daddy and Granddaddy wore it. I think I'm more sentimental about that than DH is
But overall it was just really special and it made me feel really good that my MIL worked so hard to put that together for me. All the gifts and especially the handmade ones were really wonderful. I feel like I have so much support all around for this LO and it's really, really wonderful for me.
Anyways, I know this got long but I wanted to share!
Tuesday night was my home visit from my mw and her apprentice (whom I really, really like and am excited to have at our birth - she's a beginning apprentice and I think she'll be a wonderful mw). I also had my Mother Blessing.
The Mother Blessing was really special for me because I just moved to my town. In fact, we moved into our house and the day the moving truck arrived with our stuff was my best TTC day
So we somehow fit that in and managed to get pg, lol! But I'm very new here.So some of the girls from my LLL group have also been clients of my mw and she called and asked them if they'd plan the blessingway for me. They did, and got several of the other gals from from LLL to come as well. It was so very special to me still being pretty new here!
We started with a circle and sang quite a few family/baby songs (from Rise Up Singing) while the ladies brushed my hair, and massaged my feet and hands (felt soooooooo good!!!). Then they asked me if I had any specific things I'd like to have stories shared on. The only thing I could think was I'd like to hear about positive pushing (lol!) because I've always felt a bit overwhelmed during pushing my babe out, and would like to be able to enjoy feeling my baby come down more this birth. And it was really wonderful just the experiences and perspectives everyone shared. My mw and one of my friends also shared how birth (and postpartum) had helped foster a stronger connection with their hubby and I enjoyed that sharing too. DH and I have a very close relationship and I like to think that this experience will help us be even closer
Each friend had brought a candle for me and during the stories we lit them and they shared with me about the candle if it had a special significance. Then I blew all the candles out and have them waiting here (beautifully!) on my desk to light when my labor starts
:We wound ourselves together with wool yarn then cut the yarn to make bracelets to wear until my babe is born. We also cut a length for my mom, who lives too far away to attend, but I know she was there in spirit
My mw used a sage/cedar smoke to walk through and "clear" the house, and bless it for the birth. By this point my DH and kiddos had gotten back and they loved walking through pointing out everything mw needed to bless
We also made a little yarn bracelet for each of them.Then we had a potluck yuuuummmy! And did my home visit (babe was perfect!).
It was such an incredible experience for me. So very genuine and loving and it made me feel really, really good. I heard "we're really glad you're here" and "we really appreciate your mothering wisdom" several times and that just made me feel so good and supported, even though I still feel very new on the "mama scene" here. I love seeing my bracelet and knowing I have that support, and I know I'll draw strength from seeing the candles lit during my baby's birth. It was wonderful
:Then this weekend my MIL had a baby shower for me. It was small - just family and then one of DH's coworkers that I've made friends with (and her mother and DD). My MIL did such a wonderful job with the shower though, I felt really loved and supported through that.
It was tons of fun playing the shower games she picked and just getting to talk with everyone. I was really happy with the gifts too - we got quite a few adorable new outfits. But MIL made me quite a few flannel baby blankets and they're so soft and much bigger than the store-bought kind. She and DH's grandma also crocheted wonderfully soft blankets. I really, really like little "pilot cap" baby hats and I'd mentioned this to MIL at some point. And she made one for the baby!!! It is so wonderful, with soft corduroy on the outside and the softest Sherpa on the inside
:She also gave me a little tiny baby boy ring - it belonged to her dad (DH's grandpa) as a baby, and then DH wore it as a baby (for pictures lol), and she passed it on to me as DH and I are having the first grandson (lots of granddaughters!) in the family. That was really special and I'm looking forward to getting some pictures done with my LO wearing it just like Daddy and Granddaddy wore it. I think I'm more sentimental about that than DH is
But overall it was just really special and it made me feel really good that my MIL worked so hard to put that together for me. All the gifts and especially the handmade ones were really wonderful. I feel like I have so much support all around for this LO and it's really, really wonderful for me.
Anyways, I know this got long but I wanted to share!
