A few months ago, I wrote about how I’ve made the events in my life that I participate in (weddings, engagement parties, birthdays) as structures to help me live on purpose and, ultimately, the life of my dreams. If you missed this, you can read about it here. Well, I just had my baby shower and it was a blast! We had a ton of fun with family and friends.

The day before the event, I was taking a walk with my husband when we began talking about the next day. On my end, I had been thinking of the following questions:

What is a baby shower for?
What is the point of having one?
What do I want out of my own baby shower?

When you look at one of the more “official” definitions of a baby shower, it states that it is “a way to celebrate the pending birth of a child.” I love the idea of celebrating the pending birth of a child. What does that celebration mean? Well we all have a different definition for celebration, but this is what it meant to me:

It was an opportunity to get our tribe together and strengthen these relationships as we embark on this important journey. I remember a long time ago, I was speaking with a friend who had just had a baby and explained to her how scared I was at the idea of taking on such a responsibility. At the time, I couldn’t imagine doing everything that needed to get done. She told me: “Judith, this is why they say that raising a child ‘takes a tribe’”. I felt a surge of relief. Of course! I’ve heard this saying before and it all now made sense. It does take a tribe! My baby shower was an opportunity for me to get our tribe together and celebrate. It was an opportunity to strengthen relationships and bring our tribe together in a beautiful bonding experience. It was an opportunity for our tribe to get closer to us as parents, and to start to help us raise this future child. It was great.
It was also an opportunity to surround our baby with what the actions of love and joy feel like, as well as what a celebration of life looks like. How often do we celebrate life? Celebrate the abundance that we have: that we can read, that we can see, that we can breathe, that we have friends, that we have family, that we have food, that we have cake, that we have the ability to take a warm bath. 1 billion children in the world live in poverty; according to UNICEF 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. If you are reading this article on a computer or phone, you have a lot to celebrate in life. Let’s teach our babies how abundant they are and how important it is to be grateful. A baby can hear words and feel feelings at this stage; I am confident that our little one felt the love, joy and celebration that was present at our baby shower. We have planted a see within him for more gratitude in his life.

So there you have it. This is what my baby shower meant to me and my husband. Because we discussed this before the event, the day of was absolutely beautiful. Instead of having an event with superficiality and drama, we ended up showing our baby how we like to live our lives and all of the wonderful things that await him.

I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below. If you liked this post, please share it with friends and family!

Lots of love,

Judit

God, universe, meditation and mindfulness for more motivation, inspiration.

A unique opportunity to live on purpose