Inspired
by the
Baha’i Faith
The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith. The official website of the Baha'i Faith is: Bahai.org. The official website of the Baha'is of the United States can be found here: Bahai.us.
GOT IT
The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.
How do I become Baha’i?
Life

Grow, Little Baby!

Elly Jaresko Jarvis | May 6, 2014

PART 1 IN SERIES Grow Little Baby!

The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.

Interested in Other Topics?

We’ve got something for everyone.
Elly Jaresko Jarvis | May 6, 2014

PART 1 IN SERIES Grow Little Baby!

The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.

This is Part 1 of Grow, Little Baby! :

This past December, I made a birthday wish I’ve never made before — to start a family with my husband, to be a mother, to birth a healthy baby.

As of today, I’m pregnant, just over 4 months along and completely elated.

Of course, every new mother wants a wonderful life for her child. I have so many fond hopes and dreams for mine, so I thought I’d chronicle them here on BahaiTeachings while I take a look, mostly to remind myself, at the Baha’i philosophy of child-rearing. This set of essays will follow my pregnancy and culminate when our little person decides to make the transition from the womb-world to this one.

I feel a huge responsibility to provide a strong start to the being growing inside me, both physically and metaphysically. In fact, I feel that my entire days could easily be filled with preparing myself healthy foods, walking my midwife-recommended five miles per day (5!), finding time to meditate, pray, read, write, reflect, stretch and go to bed.

But in all honesty, I am having one heck of a time juggling all these new requirements for my health and growing-baby’s health between work, unpacking (we just moved), organizing, sewing special projects (I have a vision of a colorful cushion on top of a bookshelf we flipped on its side to act as a bench), all while keeping some perspective (and humor – let’s not forget humor) on my surging emotions, hormones and hunger levels. Oh, and I have to remember to keep communicating with friends and family!

In the early weeks, I began talking to my body, visualizing the tiny zygote embedding in my uterus, seeing my body building its child-bearing membranes including a strong placental barrier. I try to picture all the nutrients I’m eating — beans, quinoa, fruit, yogurt, chicken, fish, kale, beets, sunflower seeds, almonds, plus supplements and tons of water — being carried in the bloodstream through my body and nourishing both myself and the growing light inside me.

Elly’s Ultrasound

My ultrasound

Can I just tell you — it blows my mind that my body is MAKING an umbilical cord!!! That’s a huge new set of veins that I’m building! And believe me, I don’t just credit my body with building it; I credit the wisdom of my body through generations and generations of development.

I am totally in awe of the miraculousness of the human body: that this little being started as TWO CELLS and now can move four limbs around, and start to use kidneys and develop sweat glands and a nervous system and a heart!

Because so many of the changes going on in my body are not apparent from the outside at this early stage, I have to make an effort to connect to this little being inside of me. When I turn to a conversation with God, I use prayer to ask for guidance. I’ve been asking that the Divine will have a loving hand in the development of the physical body and the soul of this little light:

O my Lord, I dedicate that which is in my womb unto Thee. Then cause it to be a praiseworthy child in Thy Kingdom and a fortunate one by Thy favor and Thy generosity; to develop and to grow up under the charge of Thine education. – Abdu’l-Baha, Prayer for Expectant Mothers, Baha’i Prayers, p. 65.

When I reflect on this Baha’i prayer, I am reminded that I am a vessel for the growth of this child’s body and soul, both in utero and in parenting after birth. I am reminded, too, that while this spirit physically comes from my husband and myself; all our spirits come from God, and we each have our own path and experiences in life.

My heart fills with joy when I pray, asking for divine guidance for the child’s fortune and spiritual education. I think of all the wonderful lessons and people that this tiny babe will encounter in the life ahead; and all the opportunities my child will have to practice the attributes of thoughtfulness, kindness, love, initiative and creativity.

So for today, I feel assured that I am part of a partnership: a partnership between my husband and myself to make and birth and raise this beautiful and completely unique individual we’ve started to grow. The three of us also dance in a partnership with God, the source of all life, who grants us this miracle. When I think of it that way, I feel a little less pressure to be in charge of everything. Instead, I want to just do my best, one moment, one meal, one walk, one prayer at a time.

You May Also Like

What Does It Mean To Be Impeccable With Your Word?
Life

What Does It Mean To Be Impeccable With Your Word?

Marital Harmony: Forming a Single Soul
Life

Marital Harmony: Forming a Single Soul

What War Did to Me – and to Us
Life

What War Did to Me – and to Us


Comments

characters remaining
x
x
Connect with Baha’is in your area
Welcome!
What's your name?
Thanks my friend ! We want to connect you with a Baha’i in your area, where would that be?
Thank you so much! How can they best reach you?
To put you in touch with a Baha’i in your area who can answer your questions, we would like to kindly ask for a few details about yourself.
Connect with Baha’is in your area
Connect with Baha’is in your area
Get in touch with the Baha’is in your community.