My family, including Sourav's parents had a wonderful Mother Blessing Party for me on Saturday. It was truly special and was exactly what I wanted, no gifts, just the opportunity to spend time with everyone I love and gather their blessings for the upcoming birth and labor. Sourav's mom performed the first blessing, followed by the rest of my family. Then, everyone contributed to a labor banner with drawings, pictures, words of encouragement and notes to support me during labor. I will hang the banner up in the room during labor and delivery as a reminder of everyone's love and support. The party was so special and I think everyone was in tears by the end. I feel like every mom should be treated this way.
A little bit of information about a mother blessing party in case anyone is interested in having one or throwing one for someone. It is basically an alternative to a traditional baby shower in which commercial gift giving is not emphasized. Instead, guests are encouraged to spend time with the mother, sharing their good wishes and blessings. The tone of the party should be positive as well, replacing the horror stories of labor and parenting that usually surface with words of encouragement and celebration. Along with creating a banner like we did at my party, other activities can include drawing henna on the momma's belly, making a labor necklace for her to wear or making a belly cast to celebrate her body. This type of party is becoming more popular as more and more women are pursuing natural pregnancy and childbirth, believing that their bodies are strong and wanting to do what is best for their babies. Instead of leaving the party with arms full of too many blankets, bouncies, and bibs, the mother leaves with a heart full of love and a mind full of positive encouragement that she carries with her and passes on to her baby on the big day.
2 comments:
That sounds so nice- such a refreshing change from the typical. From your description of how you want your labor to be, I was thinking you should look into hypnobirthing. It's not as goofy as the name suggests. It does not mean that you are hypnotized but rather that you are able to teach yourself to focus inward and get your body to do the work it is capable of without any drugs. One of my girlfriends took classes and used it during her labor. She had a natural delivery with only 1/2 hour of pushing and she really felt like it helped center her before and during the birth. This was her first child and all the nurses and her doctor were so impressed with her delivery. I borrowed the books from her classes and I really wish looking back that I had actually taken the classes.
Thanks, yeah we are in the process of learning about different techniques and finding out what will work best for us with our Doula. We are getting so excited!! I can't wait to meet him. Thanks for the gift by the way!! I am sure I will get a lot of use out of it.
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