Tomorrow night I am having a Blessing Way for a friend who is due to birth her twins soon. I have had a Blessing Way for each of my babies and I like to do it for my woman friends and women whose births I attend.
A Blessing Way is traditional to NOrth American Indians who mark the transition a woman makes when she births her baby. It's a more spiritual take on a "Baby Shower".
This time is seen as a time of recieving for the mother. A time when she is nurtured and honoured by her community of women. The Blessing Way ceremony acknowledges the commitment and energy involved in being a mother and gives her a time where all the energy is available for her to recieve.
Tomrorrow evening we will all share a meal that all of the woman friends have contributed to. There is always much laughter, love and warmth at a blessingway! Each of the women tomorrow night will bring threee beads. One each to represent the babies and one for the birthing Mama. These will be strung into a necklace that the birthing mother can wear for the remainder of her pregnancy and through her labour journey. The beads will represent our love and support for her and her babies. When we give the beads we will give with them our blessings, our positive thoughts and hopes for her labour and birth. Most of the women will have some special words for the Mama. Some women like to bring something that is personally special or significant to give to the birthing woman. I will bring the candle that burned on the night I birthed my last child...
Finally we will all wind some red string around our left wrists until we are joined in a circle. Each woman will cut the string around their neighbours wrist. The red string will remain on our wrists as a reminder each time we look at it of our birthing friend and the connection we all have. Each time we see it we will send out our love and positivity to send her on her journey.
At the end of the night each woman will take home a candle. When our friend enters labour I will begin the phone tree and we will all burn our candles and await the birth...
I've never been to one but what a beautiful idea, I love it! I'm sure you'll all have an incredible night, what a special thing to do for the mum-to-be.
ugh sez not really good reeeaaaally swollen i am having trouble getting thongs on and feeling sick in my tummy not sleeping e.t.c.
and you ... 91 days OMG ! wow
im sorry i have popped into PAML a few times but i just cant keep up with everyone my brain isnt here but huge love to you all xoxoxo
Well it was a beautiful night... We ate yummy food and talked babies, birth, relationships and celebrated our special woman friendships. There were 8 of us including the birthng Mama.
The beads everyone brought were so different but so beautiufl and we made two bracelets to be worn together (twins!). I read a poem I plagarised and adjusted (I am not a poet but it was so beautiful so I added and subtracted to make it personal!!!
We tied red string around our wrists so we were all joined in a circle and then we cut and knotted it and we will wear it until the birth.
We all left the evening feeling so much love and support for our beatiful friend and her babies (and each othertoo). Now we await the birth...
Sorry Cherie that I didn't answer you straight away - I wanted to answer when I had time and time wasnt' happening!!!!
I don't really have any rituals as such for the birth. Well, not like the BlessingWay.
I always choose music that fits for me at that time to play during the birth. I find focusing on music really helpful in labour. (I would be happy to copy some for you if you are interested) I also have candles and find these really important for my focus and because it's important to me to have a dark room when I birth. The candles become a focus.
Before the baby is born I bake a special "Birth Day Cake" and freeze it. When I think the birth is imminent I ice it and it comes to the birthing place with us. We have it the next day and sing happy birth day to our new baby.
We always have a Placenta Planting Ceremony and plant a tree over our baby's placenta. We say some special words, take photos and I like to do that on a full moon.
So, I guess I don't have any very spiritual rituals around the birth just things that are important and that I like to have around me.
Deb - I would be interested in the music for birthing. You have successfully achieved the births that I am hoping for so any guidance as to how to achieve that would be wonderful.
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