Connecting With Baby

Here are some things I have been doing or plan to do to connect with Lily before she's born:

• Reading: I have been reading some of my favorite stories to Lily on a regular basis.  From the special edition Winnie the Pooh books that my dad brought home when we were little that I dug out of my baby box to a fairy tale book that I picked up at a local consignment shop, I love to read to her before I fall asleep. (Cortney said that her baby room was Winnie the Pooh when she was a little babe!  Yay!)
• Singing: I have been singing my favorite songs to Lily.  I sing to her at work and in the car.
• Talking: A coworker of mine said that him and his wife talked to their son, Kento, all of the time while he was in the womb.  They described to him what they were doing.  After 26 weeks, babies have more developed hearing and can recognize the voices of the people who have been around them the most.
• Meditation: Taking a few moments to tune out the rest of the world and just put the minds eye in the womb to sit with Lily.  I often wonder what her days are like, what she feels, and if she's happy.
• Pausing: When I feel her kick or move, I pause to say hello.
• Altar: I created a baby altar as a place to connect with Lily.  I continue to add to the altar, including the friendship stone that Kali brought back from Canada for Lily.
• Prayer: In the mornings, I light a candle as a prayer for health, safety, and/or love for baby Lily on her altar.
• Memory Book: I picked up a Winnie the Pooh memory book for Lily in which to begin recording notes.
• Time capsule: Gather some items and put them into a container to be opened at a later time.  I plan to do this, and here are some of my ideas of what to put into it: pictures of preggers mom, family, and friends, letters from family, pregnancy diary, tape measure with belly size marks, money with year printed on it, picture of the place we live when she's born, list of popular songs, and list of predictions for what our life will be like or the world will be like when we open it.
• The Places You'll Go: Not something to complete before birth, but a really neat concept that can be applied to various ideas.  I heard on the radio last month about a dad who spent 13 years collecting messages from his daughter's favorite teachers in a copy of Dr. Seuss' Oh the Places You'll Go to give to her for graduation. 
• Letters: My friend Norma said that she writes a letter to her daughter every year and she collects letters from various people in her family.  They tell Shaadi about what was going on that year.
• Nesting: A great way to connect with Lily has just been getting ready for her to make her debut.  Thinking about what we needed was scary at first, but all of this helps me visualize our life together and holding her in my arms.

Add notes to a jar about good things that have happened during pregnancy.
Put those notes in a scrapbook, memory book, or frame when baby is born.

Original note jar idea from pintrest.com: "Start the year with an empty jar and fill it with notes about good things that happen. Then, on New Year's Eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year."

Lily has a huge extended family, and they have connected with her by:

• Talking to her,
• Talking to her in funny voices (Cortney!),
• Spoiling her with goodies,
• Offering second hand baby items,
• Offering to come help with baby after birth,
• Researching baby stuff and sending me links,
• Feeding mama and baby, 
• Sending their love, and 
• Dropping everything to be there for us when we needed support.

Lily will certainly know that she is loved.