I had read about blessingways in my book The Gift of Giving Life. I had never been to one, but thought it was such a beautiful idea.
A celebration of the mom as she journeys towards birthing her new baby.
I had the opportunity to help co-host 2 different blessingways in August for 2 dear friends. I was in charge of the activities.
I wanted to keep it simple so we did 2 things.
Bead Necklace/Readings
I had each guest bring a meaningful bead to give to the mom along with a writing of some sort to share. Such as a poem, quote or personal feelings.
After visiting for a bit, once everyone was there, we sat in a circle and each guest presented the mom with her bead, explained why she picked it and then shared her reading.
It was so beautiful to hear the things each person had to share with the Moms. By the end there were many tears shed. The feeling of love for the mom was palpable.
Tied together with love
We were all feeling so connected, so it was the perfect time to tie us together. I took bracelet string and looped it around each persons wrist and then said something along the lines of
We are all connected to Wendy/Angela with love as she makes this journey to mothering this new baby. We will remember this by keeping this string tied to us until her baby is born. Then I cut the string between each person and they tied it on.
Making the Necklace
Then we made the necklace for her. My mom gave me this cool tool where you can lay out the necklace in the order you want, so I had the mom organize her necklace and then we helped her string it together.
Other Fun Ideas to Think About Doing
I loved that the things I did were so simple and none were too “out there”. One of the moms was worried about that because she wasn’t sure how her relatives would react if it was too different. I think you could even incorporate those activities into a normal baby shower.
- Henna Painting
- Washing feet with essential oils
- Make a Belly Mask
It was Awesome!
I am so glad to have been a part of both of these blessingways. To me they were so much more meaningful than a traditional baby shower (which are fun too.) It was really a chance to share our encouragement to Angela and Wendy as they prepared for birth and welcoming a new baby into their families. It wasn’t about physical gifts and games (like a more traditional shower) but about spiritual and emotional gifts.
I was at Wendy and Angela’s birth and while they didn’t wear their necklaces, they were close by as they birthed.
