Blessingways: A Guide to Mother-Centered Baby Showers--Celebrating Pregnancy, Birth, and Motherhood

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Summary: A woman-centered celebration
Review: Blessingways: A Guide to Mother-Centered Baby Showers is a resource especially for planning and hosting Blessingway baby showers that foster a bond of community, support and connectedness for the mother-to-be. The distinguishing feature of a Blessingway baby shower is that it is a woman-centered celebration, that especially focuses upon the strength, beauty, and metamorphosis of the female powers of the expectant mother, rather than the more typical baby-centered parties used to accumulate goods for the newborn. Blessingways outlines how to plan and host a mother-centered bonding, rituals such as music, evocations, grooming actions including hairbrushing, headwreaths, and belly art, sharing circles, reaching out across long distance, and much more. Notes on Blessingway variations in response to adoption or grieving the loss of a baby are also included. Black-and-white illustrations and simple music for the songs that can be sung round out this uplifting, meaningful guide to helping new mothers across a difficult yet fantastic journey.

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Summary: Book For Those Who Appreciate the Beauty of Pregnancy
Review: Here is a wonderful tool for planning a really personalized baby shower! This book is great for those wanting to plan a different kind of baby-shower for the pregnant woman in your life. It has so many wonderful ideas and suggestions to make any baby related event meaningful and fun for all involved. It is easy to follow, engaging and fun to look at, and filled with suggestions you can draw from. I have even modified ideas from this book to create an event around other life changes such as for a friend who was moving away and a graduation of a daughter. It really has a lot to offer.

The book also makes a great gift for a pregnant woman. Blessingways is packed with great ideas which a pregnant woman may want to take advantage of on her own. Pregnancy is such a short time and I tell the pregnant women I work with to be intentional about what they want from these 9 months. This book is a great place to go to get some ideas to be sure you make the most of your nine months pregnant with this child.

Finally the book is a good resource for professionals who work with pregnant and expecting couples, providing them with ideas on small touches they could add to their services which would enhance a couple's experience. I highly recommend it!

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Summary: "Blessingways" builds sisterhood and honors motherhood
Review: Not only does Maser inspire us to create beautiful, personalized ceremony for our pregnant friends and family, she writes about the process with wisdom and simplicity. I bought "Blessingways" to give as a gift, but found myself reading it diligently. I am not pregnant, nor do I have close friends or family who are expecting; and yet I was engaged entirely by the history, stories and creative suggestions included in this wonderful book. Every woman should own a copy of "Blessingways", and every woman should consider offering the incredible gift of a blessingway to her loved ones.