A post by Peregrine

It wasn’t long after we returned back to India with our little Sakeenah that I had the realization that I’d been judging the traditional custom here of “peeing” babies. I’d seen mothers holding their tiny children in a squat over the drain outside, making a “shuuu shuuu” sound, and I thought it silly that a baby could hear this as the sound of pee and then have a response. It seemed to me a waste of quite a bit of time in which mommy and baby wait squatting.

I’ve since been learning that not only was I underestimating the wisdom of traditional cultures, but I was also underestimating the incredible ability God has created these little beings to have to communicate, and the incredible bond that an adult and a newborn can form from the beginning to communicate with one another.

From finding out I was pregnant up through the present, I’ve had one revelation after another about the inherent wisdom within the body, the beauty of what God made to just work without us even having to intellectually understand or control the process. I guess it’s something I never explored before, and hadn’t been exposed to much in western culture that so values control, efficiency, and ease.

I got to live in awe for the 8 months knowing I was pregnant and creating a little being inside me, with no effort or knowledge needed on my part. Unmedicated birth was by no means easy, but it was rewarding to grow my sense of trust in the God-within-me bringing forth life. Producing milk for my baby, understanding her multitude of ways to communicate, watching her grow, thrive, and develop… I’m in awe and more certain than ever that God moves toward Life. Sometimes I’ve needed to cling to my belief in this God of Life when I’ve seemed to be surrounded by death, externally and in myself.

Now, though I’m still a bit guarded, I’m excited to see what else I may learn from my neighbors about caring for an infant and early motherhood.