Blessingways Part II

My original post is here with ideas on Blessingways.

Yesterday I hosted a blessingway for a dear friend and fellow birth professional. We were able to surprise her with it by scheduling a "doula brunch" (which is something I do every few months since I began training, which is the subject of another post.) The guests all arrived about half an hour early so we could set up and the mother-of-honor came half an hour later. She says we did manage to surprise her!

Some of the activities included delicious food (there was some healthy stuff, I promise) -

And lots of visiting, but we also wrote out scriptures and affirmations on cards to be read to the mom during labor. I had candles for each mom to take home and light when they receive word she is in labor (though many of us will be actually AT the birth!) There was a larger candle for her to light to remember our prayers during her labor. And I did small candles - you know, with hopes for a short labor. 🙂

And guests brought (or sent, if they had to miss) a bead or a couple beads to make a birth wishes bracelet. Each bead comes with a special hope or well wish for the mom's birth, and she can wear this to remember our encircling support:

Then we used a red ribbon wrapped around each of our wrists then passed to the next woman in the circle until we were all connected. We cut the string and tied the ribbon for the woman next to us, and we wear the ribbon until she births. (You can see it tied around our wrists in this photo.) It was neat to see all of us literally connected in this circle of support around our friend.

I've attended blessingways or mother's blessing celebrations before and it's always been such a neat, moving experience. Even with a traditional baby shower there are neat activities you can incorporate that help the mother feel honored and supported through her amazing transition to welcoming a new baby. If you've participated in a blessing way, what activities did you most enjoy? Please share them in a comment below!