I got so distracted by my blown-up ankles (and the ongoing drama that is my current work situation...*sigh*) that I didn't yet write about my shower last weekend!
Last Sunday, I had a shower hosted by Meriah & Anne, my mother-fairy-godmothers (i.e. the friends who have been-there/done-that and have been offering endless support and advice all along --not that others of you haven't as well, but I was looped in through their pregnancies more closely than others so have been learning since before I was even ready to be pregnant, much less was pregnant!). It was a bit of a debate whether to do it as a shower for Mo & me or just me. I've always thought it was a bit of a strange tradition that we do showers just for the mom, since partners are transitioning to a new phase too. (Just ask Mo, who doesn't deal well with change and is now FREAKING OUT with the imminence of the huge change to come, now that we're a month out.)
But I also really appreciated Jessica's mother blessing and the all-women space it created, since it IS different for the mom than it is for the partner. And since Mo's work is having a shower for us too, we decided to go with the all-women shower. (Which turned out to be a good thing since we unknowingly scheduled the shower during the Superbowl, and this year Mo cared about the Pack since he went to Cal when Aaron Rodgers did...)
So, last Sunday (on the record-shatteringly hot day) we gathered in the community room of Anne's building for the shower, and my community of women came. It's always nice to have them all in one room, though also a bit nerve-wracking, worrying about if people are enjoying themselves.
They only subjected us to one game, thank goodness. But it was a fun one! Even though I failed, miserably. We were tasked with diapering a stuffed cow -- whoever did it fastest won. I was so focused on doing it quickly that I failed to get the diaper to cover the butt. Minor detail. Who says that's important?! Alas, a non-mother managed to edge out the expert diaper-changing mothers in the room, so that was sweet victory! Go, Natasha!!
Then we copied Jessica's mother blessing, and I was blessed with well-wishes from everyone in the form of a necklace made of a variety of beads from each woman that I get to wear during labor. It was very beautiful to receive all that support, and I'll wear the necklace with pride at the delivery.
Of course, then came the awkward part about gifts, which always feels strange to me, since the shower is sort of a begging for stuff. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think it's an important community ritual, because you DO need a lot of stuff, and if everyone chips in one thing, it makes it more manageable. But still. It's awkward. And I want to show off the homemade things my mom made for us! We're so blessed, as we now already have a stack of homemade blankets, all with special meaning for Blueberry to be able to pass on: one quilted by Grandma, one knitted by Aunt Liz (Mo's brother's wife), one sewn by Auntie CC (my good friend -- and our doula!), and one sewn by Grandma's aunt for when Grandma was born (!). I like having stories behind the 'stuff' that can be passed along. In fact, CC had the great idea of taking pictures of everything and making an album of it all, describing the history of everything that's been passed along to us, as part of Blueberry's story. Just another project for the list ... :)
Thanks, Meriah, for the photos!!
Last Sunday, I had a shower hosted by Meriah & Anne, my mother-fairy-godmothers (i.e. the friends who have been-there/done-that and have been offering endless support and advice all along --not that others of you haven't as well, but I was looped in through their pregnancies more closely than others so have been learning since before I was even ready to be pregnant, much less was pregnant!). It was a bit of a debate whether to do it as a shower for Mo & me or just me. I've always thought it was a bit of a strange tradition that we do showers just for the mom, since partners are transitioning to a new phase too. (Just ask Mo, who doesn't deal well with change and is now FREAKING OUT with the imminence of the huge change to come, now that we're a month out.)
But I also really appreciated Jessica's mother blessing and the all-women space it created, since it IS different for the mom than it is for the partner. And since Mo's work is having a shower for us too, we decided to go with the all-women shower. (Which turned out to be a good thing since we unknowingly scheduled the shower during the Superbowl, and this year Mo cared about the Pack since he went to Cal when Aaron Rodgers did...)
So, last Sunday (on the record-shatteringly hot day) we gathered in the community room of Anne's building for the shower, and my community of women came. It's always nice to have them all in one room, though also a bit nerve-wracking, worrying about if people are enjoying themselves.
Then we copied Jessica's mother blessing, and I was blessed with well-wishes from everyone in the form of a necklace made of a variety of beads from each woman that I get to wear during labor. It was very beautiful to receive all that support, and I'll wear the necklace with pride at the delivery.
Of course, then came the awkward part about gifts, which always feels strange to me, since the shower is sort of a begging for stuff. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think it's an important community ritual, because you DO need a lot of stuff, and if everyone chips in one thing, it makes it more manageable. But still. It's awkward. And I want to show off the homemade things my mom made for us! We're so blessed, as we now already have a stack of homemade blankets, all with special meaning for Blueberry to be able to pass on: one quilted by Grandma, one knitted by Aunt Liz (Mo's brother's wife), one sewn by Auntie CC (my good friend -- and our doula!), and one sewn by Grandma's aunt for when Grandma was born (!). I like having stories behind the 'stuff' that can be passed along. In fact, CC had the great idea of taking pictures of everything and making an album of it all, describing the history of everything that's been passed along to us, as part of Blueberry's story. Just another project for the list ... :)
Thanks, Meriah, for the photos!!
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