At the moment I’m writing this, I am just about 38 weeks pregnant with our baby girl, who could make her grand entrance into the world any day now! Although I’m hearing with first-time pregnancies that it usually takes longer than 40 weeks, I’m feeling like she’s going to come early. Who knows, maybe it’s just wishful thinking as I get more and more uncomfortable… 😅

Since the start of the third trimester I’ve been doing so much to honor and celebrate the journey of pregnancy, and I wanted to share with y’all what it’s been like.

Baby Shower

This is a very common way to celebrate a baby on the way, as most of you know! My wonderful friend Janessa was kind enough to offer to throw me a baby shower, and since she has two kids of her own (one of them my daughter Mila’s age, 9) I figured she knew what she was doing and gratefully accepted the offer! I have never been to a baby shower before except my own, so I truly had no idea what to expect. Together we planned out the general theme, what day/time it would be, food and beverages offered, and felt like everything was pretty much set to go. Then, a couple weeks before the big day, Janessa and her family unfortunately came down with COVID. Everything turned out to be fine, but we had a bit of a scare as I worried I might have to throw the baby shower on my own!

Anyway it makes sense that they call it a “shower,” because by the end of the day I truly felt showered with so much love, so full to the brim. 

As much as a baby shower can be generic and just about opening gifts and playing games (nothing wrong with either of those things), this experience felt just like a gathering of our community, of our people who love and support us and want the very best for our family (of course, gift opening was involved as well!). I could feel, for the first time, the collective support system we have here and knew that after the birth, these are the people we can count on. As a recovering people pleaser, it can be really hard to get into the “receiving mode” — to receive with gratitude and release any guilt or obligation. This was a day where I really practiced receiving and I enjoyed every moment I got to spend with all these special people.

Sacred Mothers Prenatal Retreat

I’ve realized that there are really limited opportunities for pregnant women to indulge in a retreat that is catered specifically to us. Therefore I am SO grateful that this retreat found me! I was lucky enough to meet my friend Alexandra Durigan, RN, pelvic care specialist and founder of The Embodied Temple, at a new moon circle in November and learned shortly after that she was offering a Sacred Mothers Prenatal Retreat the last weekend of January. After discussing with my husband I decided to commit and take the time for myself to integrate everything I’d experienced in pregnancy thus far, going into the last leg of this journey with extra nourishment—and that is exactly what this retreat was.

I expected to be with a handful of women who were based in the Boulder/Denver area (this retreat was in the mountains of Nederland, CO) but was surprised to find I was the only local there! There were 5 of us pregnant mamas and the others came from Texas, California, and Ohio. We ranged from 17 weeks to 27 weeks pregnant, with me at 33 weeks and another woman close behind at 32. I cannot emphasize enough how special it was to be around other pregnant women! It was great, too, that we were a smaller, more intimate group and could really connect with each other personally and as a group without feeling overwhelmed getting to know so many different people.

The retreat included delicious prepared meals, a prenatal breathwork journey, pelvic massage as sacred birth preparation and body connection, a mini blessingway ceremony, prenatal sound healing meditation, “Calling in the Village” postpartum care creation, a fear releasing ceremony, sacred movement, and lots of other opportunities for ceremony, ritual, and rest. Honestly, it was so special and expansive — I will create another post dedicated to sharing what this entire experience was like. Ultimately it was a beautiful opportunity to connect with my pregnant body, with other pregnant mamas, and to prepare for the sacred journey and rite of passage that is birth.

Blessingway

Ah, the Mother’s Blessing or “Blessingway.” I had never really heard of anything like this until I was 15 weeks pregnant, at a Sacred Sister retreat held by my now near and dear friend, Kayla Shaw, back in September. If a baby shower is when folks bring gifts and celebrate the baby, a blessingway is kind of like a “mama shower,” in that it involves gifts and rituals focused on the mother and blessing her way into birth and motherhood. This was one of the most extraordinary, sacred gatherings I’ve had the honor of being part of, and to be in the center of it all was so incredibly magical and nourishing for my soul.

My friend Kayla was so sweet and offered to facilitate this occasion for me, holding space so beautifully. [The art of the blessingway is outlined in great detail in a book I highly recommend, The Natural Pregnancy Book (also in the Resources section of this blog)—for those that want to learn more specifics about what is involved.] The general outline for a blessingway is the opening, the body or ritual, and the closing. My blessingway started with Kayla welcoming guests (there were 20 of us total, gathered in a circle in my living room which we decorated with flowers, candles, and an altar). We passed around palo santo in order to smudge the room and purify the space, then Kayla led the invocation, which involves calling in spirit guides to assist the mother on her path.

Upon invitation, guests were asked to bring several things to the blessingway: a dish or snacks to share for the potluck celebration after the ceremony, a small homemade or natural gift for the mother, objects that symbolize pregnancy and life, as well as a bead to contribute to a birthing necklace). The body/ritual involved nurturing me and encouraging support and empowerment for a safe and joyous birth. Each guest introduced themselves, shared how they knew me and a few loving sentiments, as well as what they brought to contribute to the altar. Kayla read a few blessings and then we sang a song and moved into the grooming and nurturing; women volunteered and took turns soaking and rubbing my feet (so I may walk this path with grace and strength) and brushing/adorning my hair with ribbons and braids (so I may keep a clear headspace). A couple of women also oiled and rubbed my hands. It was basically 20 minutes of complete pampering! Those who weren’t actively participating in the grooming wrote out blessings on pieces of paper, which we collected from everyone afterward. Before presenting gifts, Kayla led everyone in a loving touch ceremony where I lay in the middle of the circle while guests embraced, stroked, and massaged me. It was so divine!

Gifts were presented, happy tears were shed, and beads were collected for a beautiful and unique birthing necklace which Kayla later strung together and I will wear for the birth. We closed the ceremony with a song and indulged in all the delicious food and drinks everyone had brought! 

Truly, this was one of the most special experiences of my life. I felt so held, nourished, cherished, and supported by these women who poured their hearts and souls into making me and my baby girl feel loved. I will never forget it.

Maternity Photoshoots

My amazing and talented friends, Alishaunia and Kelsey, did beautiful maternity photoshoots with me which were so much fun! You’ll see how different they were and it was really special to me that I could have both of these experiences and capture different aspects of this journey. Photos below 🙂

The last couple of months have been so jam-packed with the honoring and celebration of my pregnancy journey. On one hand, I’m so ready to meet my baby girl… and on the other, I already miss being pregnant. It has been such a beautiful experience, challenging in many ways, and yet in other ways incredibly natural and easy. I’ve learned so much about myself, about the power of my womb and my body, and I feel like I’ve gotten closer to the true essence of who I am as a woman and mother. All of the experiences above have been a part of that. If you have any questions or thoughts to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I would love to connect with you.

Love & sisterhood,

Allie