[redsoxdoula]

:

I'm hosting a Blessinway for a friend of mine on Saturday. I would love to hear some of your stories. Please share if you were the mother celebrated or if you attended a Blessingway.

And I'm always open for helpful suggestions.

My friend is having her second child. This will be her second homebirth. We both love Jesus. We feel childbirth can be an outlet to connect with the Lord and discovering strength, through Christ, within ourselves during the birthing process. I know that will be incorporating our spirituality in the Blessingway, if that will help with any suggestions.

 

[Calidris]

you might want to look at this thread (it is very long, but just the first post will do)
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ht=blessingway

 

[`guest`]

I seem to remember there being a huge controversy about if blessingways were appropriate, maybe do a search on them, and see...

 

[SiobhanAoife]

I don't think that anyone objects to the having of a ceremony to celebrate your coming child though (the controversy seems to surround calling it a blessingway) -- so perhaps if people have done any sort of mother-blessing or celebration of this huge life transition, they could share their thoughts?

 

[Mama_Leah]

I don't know if you aware of it but there is an alternative called "Blessing God's Way" which is the basic idea but with a Christian them. I have not been involved with one but know some people who have and they enjoyed it.

 

[Belle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calidris you might want to look at this thread (it is very long, but just the first post will do) http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ht=blessingway

Post #14 sums up my feeling about that thread.

I would have loved to have had one, but no one wanted to throw one for me.

 

[Calidris]

well, I certainly hope you read a little bit further than that afterwards

 

[honeybee]

We have been having these (call them what you will) for all the pg moms in our Natural Parenting Group. We have a LOT of moms due in Aug/Sept, so we're having about one a week in August, lol!

Everyone brings a prayer, poem, blessing, or what have you with some words of inspiration for the new mom. Our group tends to like to paint henna on the new mom's belly. We have had a professional henna artist come, but most of the time everyone just dives in and adds some part of the decoration. We bring good food, and spend time just talking. Our Blessings are generally done with moms and babes-in-arms only. Dads get to watch the older kids.

Then there is usually something special planned, and we tailor this to mom's needs/wishes and her personal beliefs. For one mom, we passed around a lit candle and everyone gave their tips/words of inspiration. Then the mom kept the candle, and could light it as a focus point during labor, and remember all the women who were with her in spirit, encouraging her. We also all held onto a circle of string, and said a prayer, then we cut the string into bracelets/anklets for each of us, and kept those to think/pray about the mom & baby until labor... the idea was that labor would come as the strings wore down and fell off. But, please note, don't use hemp! It took forever for those to wear off, and this mom went to 43 weeks!

For another mom, we made a "recipe box" for a peaceful and gentle labor, birth, and postpartum. Everyone wrote their "recipes" on an index card, so mom could pull out some encouraging words at any time she felt the need. The categories for the recipes were: Practical Tips (like sitz pads for pp), Inspirations (appropriate scripture passages or affirmations for labor), Heart Warmers (warm fuzzy birth stories, poems, etc.), and Just for Laughs (birth/baby/bf comics, amusing stories or sayings, etc.). We also brought the mom flowers, and said we hoped she would give birth before they were done blooming (she was fairly close to her date and ready to go... she did end up giving birth earlier, btw, so I would recommend the flowers over the hemp string idea!).

For another mom, we wrote simple affirmations/encouragements on a big poster-board, so she could read them (or have someone read them to her) during labor. The organizer also painted some wooden beads and had a poem or saying that went with each bead. We took turns pulling the beads out of a basket, reading the symbolism/meaning cards, and then strung them into a labor necklace for the mom.

We still have at least 3 more Mother Blessings coming up in the next month (including mine!), and another one the next month, so I'm excited to see what else the creative ladies in our group come up with!

Oh, btw, for Christain scriptures related to birth, this is a great resource. http://www.ajoyfulbirth.com/Scripture

 

[redsoxdoula]

Hey, thanks for the thread. We actually named our celebration "Blessing God's Way". The mother celebrated prefers her feet not be washed. Having a foot-washing is not only pampering, but it is also an example of Jesus washing the feet of his friends. What a humbing experience it can be!

Honeybee, I just love your ideas. Thx!

 

[Belle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calidris well, I certainly hope you read a little bit further than that afterwards

I read about 10 pages of it.. I feel the same way. See my post #253

 

[2+twins]

Well, whatever you want to call it, I had one thrown for me and it was really nice. I've only been to one other which was more traditional than mine was - mine was more like a gathering of friends/show of support. They did create a birth necklace for me, which I wore. The other one I went to did a lot more traditional ceremonial stuff - all the women were tied together with a red piece of yarn, to show how we're all connected, the mom-to-be got a foot bath, there was henna belly painting done for her (and the guests got something done as well as a bonus), we made these little cloth banner/flags for her with words/phrases/paintings of inspiration which she strung together on twine and hung in her birthing room to draw on for strength and inspiration, sage was used to cleanse the space, etc. Songs were sung and blessings to the mother were offered up by each friend. I'm no expert on the ceremonies so I might be saying things a bit off, but that's the gist of what I've seen done.

 

[treehugginhippie]

A few things we did at my Mother's Blessing was for each person to bring a bead for me to make a birth necklace. Also, we had fresh flowers for everyone to make a head wreath...that was fun!

I also had one of my favorite pregnancy pictures with a white mat around it up for people to sign and write inspirations on it so I have it as a focal point during my labor.

 

[catnap70]

My group of mom friends had one for me in conjunction with two other friends who were due at the same time. Like the pp, everyone brought a bead for a birth necklace and told their birth story/ies. They selected beads that in some way represented their feelings about their birth stories. Because they are fantastic, everyone also brought frozen dishes for us to take home and fill up our freezers! I loved it and definitely felt blessed!

 

[bellymama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redsoxdoula Hey, thanks for the thread. We actually named our celebration "Blessing God's Way". The mother celebrated prefers her feet not be washed. Having a foot-washing is not only pampering, but it is also an example of Jesus washing the feet of his friends. What a humbing experience it can be! Honeybee, I just love your ideas. Thx!

that's so awesome. i think it's really cool that you were inspired by the concept of the Blessingway, but were able to find a way where you were being respectful and at the same time making it more meaningful for you. i think that's really cool.

 

[Love_My_Babies]

Friends of mine just held a beautiful one for me last week...
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=941356

 

[DWAXSMOM]

We had one for my sis a week before her preemie was born. We knew the baby had IUGR and my sis had health issues. We felt it would be helpful to pull together all of her support so she could go into this birth knowing we were thinking about her and the baby. We had the hair wreath, made a birth bracelet that her husband held in the OR, the bracelets that were wrapped around us in a circle. We each had a bead and said what it meant and why we chose it for her. I really think it helped. We had a traditional baby shower right after that was attended by the remainder of her friends and family. It was a great day!

 

[GracesMama]

My friend did one for me and called it a "Mother Blessing". Each woman introduced themselves and explained how they knew me. Each woman also brought a bead to contribute to my "birth bracelet". We had enough beads to make a bracelet for my 2 1/2 year old daughter too. They also decorated a large candle for me and small candles for themselves to be lit while I was laboring. We had a lot of good finger foods. Oh, and each woman brought me a gift to help me with labor, birth, or nursing. I got a lot of good chocolate, a nursing tank top, lots of lotions and massage oils. It was an awesome experience and I think it really helped me with my homebirth.