Rock a bye baby on the tree top
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall
And down will come baby
Cradle and all
Of what is this nursery rhyme a picture? Although some folks feel antipathy when hearing this rhyme I see it as a lovely picture of the process of coming to the earth from realms above. Being cradled in a treetop. How nice!
Can you imagine the beautiful branches swaying in the breeze and creating patterns to please the baby? The baby is cooing and reaching for the leaves. When the bough breaks the cradle softens the fall protecting the baby from harm. It could also be a picture of the mother’s womb, which holds the baby until the waters break, and the baby falls. The cradle, in this case, being the warm embrace of the parents. There is so much falling in the early years for the child and finding their way on the earth and into their new home of their chosen body and community. This is a real picture.
What is the cradle?
I see the cradle as an extension of the womb and the arms of the mother.
Although initially we feel we could hold our babies forever and this is so important for the purposes of bonding with the parents we simply cannot hold our babies all the time. Surely we can pass them around and allow others to hold them, however this, too, does not always benefit the baby. I believe it is essential to create the external nest to replicate the womb in the early weeks following birth. Whether you choose to sleep with your baby or not is a personal choice. Regardless of this choice there will be many hours in the baby’s pre-locomotive days where he or she will be sleeping without you.
In the first weeks it is ideal if the birth mother sleep and rest as much as possible alongside the baby. In the first six months (before the baby moves about freely on their own) I found a cradle or large bassinet in the parent’s bedroom to be the next step and a perfect place for the newborn to rest. Many people choose to carry or wear their babies in these early days. Perhaps this is another article more about movement. For now allow me to share my story with you.
Silk Veils
I was very blessed to have been held in the arms of a Waldorf Community before the birth of my first child. I had also received training from a Steiner College. As I began to nest and prepare for baby, one of my friends and colleagues told me about a special silk veil I could place above the cradle. Her friend had used one in Europe. It sounded enchanting. However she seemed so specific…certain colors for certain reasons. Hmmm? I became curious. Perhaps I would find it in that book I had wanted to read on Conception, Birth and Early Childhood written by Dr. Norbert Glas, A physician who attended the medical lectures of Rudolf Steiner.
It is of the greatest possible support to the forming and shaping of the child’s organs if it can see and hear objects that have an inherent artistic beauty. The delicately colored veils surrounding the baby take away the hard contours from the things its eyes perceive.”
Norbert Glas M.D. Conception, Birth and Early Childhood (Page 81)
I proceeded to enlist my recently acquired skills from my training in natural silk dying, rouse my creative and nesting forces, and got to work on the cradle veils.
I agreed there was no better material than silk for this purpose.
The silk is made under the influence of sunlight- at sunset, the silkworm stops spinning, and at sunrise it starts work again. If you use silk clothing you will feel its enclosing qualities. Silk embodies the natural rhythms of nature.”
Paulien Bom & Machteld Huber, Baby’s First Year (Page 27)
I am sure this is why it feels so good!
Sourcing Cradle Veils
I still have my handmade veils, which I used for both my first and second child. Today, I am happy to announce it will be infinitely easier for you to source these veils, which are now available from Sarah Silks.
Sarah and Mike Lee have worked carefully with their team to create the most beautiful and easy-to-install Cradle Veils. Not only will they protect and nourish your newborns growing body, they will provide many hours of creative play for your child as they blossom into a young child.
Babies Need Beauty and Love
We do not have to think long to answer the question “What do babies need?” Babies need a responsible adult to be a consistent, loving caregiver. No one would argue this point. The list goes on however of conditions under which babies will flourish and here many experts differ. Some believe babies need to be protected from too much stimulation in the early weeks and months. Some believe life should go on as usual for the family and the baby should adjust and the sooner the better!
I am of the first mind. The transition for the infant from the womb to the three-ring circus of modern life should be slow and gradual. At birth the baby’s body is barely ready to handle the outside world. Growth of the major organs and bodily functions continues steadily as the baby matures and is able to feed itself in its second year of life. How can we best support this intense period of growth? Through beauty and love at the same time. Love can be enkindled here in the form of protection.
Preparing the environment to allow the baby to slowly unfold into the earthly world is advisable. Taking our cues from the baby is advisable. The newborn baby doses in and out of the most delicious sleep in between intense periods of eating and pooping and small amounts of alert time. During the first two months they seem to be intent on visiting the heavenly realms from where they came more often then their new home on earth. How can we make this transition gentle and slow for them? The home environment is of utmost importance. And within the home a safe nest for baby where they can delight in falling asleep and waking again and even playing under the canopy of vibrant silk.
It is important to remember the baby is developing a relationship to the outside world of many sense impressions and their own inner world through their bodily processes. Digestion and integration is happening on many levels. The baby’s beautiful, reliable bed is a safe place for this to unfold. Once the baby begins to move this early period is complete and the crib will be only for sleep.
A baby needs protection from any bright lights and harsh contours in its surroundings. Veils made from silk or fine muslin material hung around the baby’s cradle to facilitate this are strongly recommended. A delicate light blue color is very suitable, and a rose pink veil under a blue one is also very appropriate as the resulting color is somewhat like that experienced by the fetus in the uterus. We know babies who have benefited very much from such veils having been draped around their cradle and later their cots(beds). They are relaxed and contented, sleep well and enjoy going to bed.
Dr. Gilbert Childs & Sylvia Childs, Your Reincarnating Child (Page 22)
As you begin to prepare for your baby, think of creating a place in your bedroom where your baby can be sheltered from the noises of daily life. Is there a window where soft light comes in?
Using a cradle veil protects the baby and adds beauty to your home. This sets up an ideal environment for the child who is so near to heaven. The child can slip in and out of the dreamy world of sleep and waking in a gentle soft and gentle manner. The child needs time to awaken slowly from its dreamy state, which resembles its consciousness.
It is so nice if the cradle becomes a place the child recognizes as “home, sweet, home”. As its awareness grows it begins to recognize shapes outside the cradle. Perhaps the play of light from a window, the movement of branches. The varying lights as day passes into night. The parent will know when to remove the Cradle Veils as you observe your growing changing child.
After showing a colleague a picture of my child in their cradle with the veil, she said, “A heaven! My parents made this for my crib and then passed it on to me for my children. We call it a heaven.”
Why not give your child a little bit of heaven?
Do you have a Cradle Veil story to share? We would love to hear it!
Many blessings on your parenting journey,
Miss Donna
Donna Stusser currently directs the Roots and Shoots Parent & Child Program (from Birth to Age Three) at Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm.
Notes: The pictures in this story are shared by Donna Stusser , the Randolph family, and Sarah’s Silks. In order of appearance: thanks to Angelika Randolph for sharing her daughter’s birth announcement – a drawing of a veiled cradle (1971); Melissa Randolph Wood for allowing us to use photos of the hand crafted cradle and veil (1971) her parents put together when her mother German Angelika couldn’t source such a cradle in the US; Miss Donna Stusser for sharing a photo of her two daughters (1999); Sarah’s Silks for the cradle veil product photo (2012); and Kosima Randolph Grundy for sharing her daughter basking in the glow of the silk lined cradle veil (2002).
