I was recently invited to my midwife’s Blessing Way. I had never heard of this, so I looked it up. It’s an alternative to a baby shower that was originally a Navajo ceremony for women’s rite of passage into motherhood. The modern version is a celebration of the the upcoming birth, a new mother, and/or a mother having another child. I am so excited to be a part of this. At this particular Blessing Way, there will be a belly dancer teaching about the long time tradition of using belly dancing during labor. How cool! Another activity that you might see at a Blessing Way is this:

Prayer Flags: Inspired by Tibetan prayer flags, these are strips of cloth that are cut about 3″ X 18″ (or any other size you choose). They are handed to each guest to write a birth blessing or positive message on it. When the guests are through the mother is given the flags to read and take with her to her place of birth. Messages can be anything. Some examples include: “You are a strong woman.” “You can do all things through God.” “Your baby will be born at the right time.”

I love it!

An aside:

When John and I were talking about this, we could not resist referring to it as ‘A blessing, wey!’ As if we were Mexicans casually discussing a blessing. We are silly.