Baby naming ceremonies for rainbow families can be a great way to build a strong community. Take your village on the journey with you and you’ll never parent alone!
Same sex couples rarely become parents accidentally. Whether you take the turkey-baster approach, conventional surrogacy or a more technologically advanced route, the journey is fraught with risks and pitfalls and probably a few false starts.
So when you get there, it’s worth celebrating!
All children deserve to be celebrated, but when their birth is an especially deliberate effort, it is especially important to mark the milestone.
Possibly one of the most oft-quoted truisms about parenting is the old “it takes a village to raise a child”. And if it takes a village, you need your village on the journey with you. I am a firm believer that the strength of a community is built in celebration and tested in tribulation.
That’s why I think baby namings are more important in non-religious families than we usually give them credit for. And for rainbow families specifically, who are even more likely to be subject to inappropriate questions and challenges, it is even more important to strengthen that village.
In times past, your ‘village’ may have joined you at a local church to see a man in a dress sprinkle a little of whatever’s-in-that-bowl on the little one’s head. I’m more likely to wear a kilt personally, and the most likely liquid to be landing on the little one’s head are the sprinkles from your champers! But the principle is essentially the same: gather your village and take them with you!
A baby naming can be an extravagant affair or a simple celebration. For rainbow families, the story of how the little one came into the world can be especially moving. You can make promises or vows and you can involve guideparents and grandparents. Or you can just pronounce a simple blessing for the little one’s life and pronounce their name.
Rituals you might consider including in a baby naming:
- Welcome
- Story of how the little one came along
- Commitment of Parents
- Commitment of Guideparents/Godparents
- Commitment of Grandparents
- Planting a Tree or Sowing Bulbs
- Sand Ceremony
- Reading
- Blessing
- Name-Giving
However you choose to do it, I encourage you to celebrate the moment. Rainbow families especially have a lot to celebrate when they successfully add to their family.