When I was expecting our sixth baby I started to sew these tiny little felt birds. Initially they were going to be a token thank you/favor for our birth team, but my kids fell in love with them. Every Christmas we collect a new ornament for each child so last year the birdies ended up being the kids' ornaments. You can see them hanging on the favor tree in this photo as we prepped for our baby's arrival:
They were so simple and fun to sew that I decided to make some for the babies whose births I attend. It's a simple thing I can work on during a longer labor, something that keeps me close to the mom but doesn't make her feel like she's being watched! 🙂 (I heard that a woman in labor is soothed by someone knitting - perhaps because it signifies that all is well or else they wouldn't be knitting? I remember our birth assistant knitting during our sixth labor, I did find it comforting! I should learn to knit. I wonder if crocheting helps the same?) But I also love the symbolism of the bird - to me it represents the laboring woman's efforts to help that tiny little baby grow strong and enter this world, knowing that someday our children grow more and fly!
Here are the little ones I'm working on now. I've not yet had a chance to work on a bird at a birth (my moms keep delivering so fast!) but I'm hoping to give these to the four babies whose births I attended in the last few months.
