A mother blessing (or blessingway) is kind of an alternative to a baby shower... but not. Originating from the Indian American culture, it's a gathering that acknowledges a rite of passage - that of womanhood to motherhood. Myself and H organised a mother blessing for our friend Gem, consisting of good friends, food and frivoility. Whilst not too heavy on the potential ceremonial aspect of a blessingway, we catered to the taste of our friend, it was her shindig afterall!
In preparation for the big evening, (it seemed big to us as we'd left the older children with Dads!) we had asked all participants to bring a bead for the mother, some food and their birth stories. Not the story of their children's birth but, of how their mother gave birth to them. Some interesting nuggets popped up, none of which i shall post here. Discretion and all that jazz. So with henna in hand... we arrived to reign chaos upon the mother's tummy. In a gentle, loving way!
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| A mama's gift to the mother. Stones wishing the baby and mother positive vibes |
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| Being palpated! Luckily Gem's Mum is a midwife! |
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| And the artistry begins! |
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| Ta dah! And yes, we may have got a little silly... |
You can see in the last photo that Gem is wearing a red bracelet. We made these from red wool, plaited and each participant was asked to wear one, only cutting it after the birth when we knew mama and baby were safe. It kind of represents the umbilical cord and our connection to each other through friendship. Yes, yes, very hippy. But sweet. Several participants made gifts for the mother, the blessing stones, a herbal tea mix and chocolate brownies! Every milking mama needs brownies for those midnight feeds!
We giggled late into the night and the oxytocin was flowing in abundance. I wish I could say that she went into labour there and then... but alas her bubba stayed safe and warm for a week longer. However, Mama Gem gave birth to a happy, healthy baby boy and they're currently being snuggly and cute - which is making me far too broody!
