Sunday, January 2, 2011

babies are special.

2010 was a good year.
A very good year.

Henry became a big brother and I became an obsessive blogger.

What can I say?

It was a good year.

Taylor and I celebrated our Very Good Year with a night on the couch watching a 
National Geographic documentary about Bali.

To know me is to know that I love all things National Geographic so I considered this a grand plan.

And, we are now official fans of Bali.

Taylor loved how the arts play a vital role in everyday life on the little island.

I loved how Bali's version of Hindu treats babies as gods.

Yep.  
Babies as gods.
I love it.

My favorite ceremony of the documentary was the one that occurs when a baby is 105 days old.  
They place the baby's feet on the ground for the first time and give the baby a name.  
On this day, the Balinese believe the child is no longer a devine deity but a member of it's earthside family.

To believe a newborn is sent from the heavens must be to treat that baby with respect for it's most intrinsic needs: to be cared for and loved.

I like this.
I like this a lot.

It really resonates with me to believe that babies are beyond special and need to be treated accordingly.

The only thing I don't like about this spiritual ceremony is that I didn't know it existed on Liza's 105th day of life.

Of course, we can always follow the Balinese tradition of celebrating a child's 1st birthday on it's 210th day of life.

Who wants to come over for cake and sorbet on March 5, 2011?

3 comments:

Tara said...

oh my gosh. I love this post! I like to read your blog (came across is as I am also in the July BBC moms' group). I think the idea of celebrating the 105th day of baby's life is awesome. Strangely, my husband and I decided on October 31 to have a little ceremony with our baby. Her placenta had been sitting in the back of the freezer needing to be put into the ocean. We drove out to the coast (we live in a very remote part of Alaska) and my husband waded into the water and we said a prayer of thanks and, NO JOKE, right at that moment a whole pod of Belugas swam by! It was so amazing and magical. And if I am doing the math right, it was her 105th day of life. Wow! This gives me something to think about!

Laura @ Our Messy Messy Life said...

Tara, LOVE it!! And, very jealous of the belugas. Makes me think about how we are a bit concerned about burying Liza's placenta due to roving bands of dogs in our neighborhood. Belugas are a much better visitor!

The Balinese bury the placenta on the day of birth because they believe the placenta is the "mystical sibling" to the new baby. Burying the placenta links the baby to the earth, it's ancestors and it's ancient heritage. It's really interesting to me how pervasive the "mystical sibling' concept is in different cultures around the world.

Thanks for sharing your story!

Imogen said...

oh how wonderful! babies *should* be revered. how fantastic :) great post, thanks laura xx