Just a Leisurely Soak in the Tub

So it's 10am and I just ate souvlaki for breakfast...

Just thought I'd share that.

First of all, thank you for all the middle name ideas! Keep them coming, this is fun! I still haven't talked to Antonis about middle names yet but I think I'll make a massive list of all my favourite ones and maybe just let him pick from there. Or maybe he has his own ideas. Oh, that didn't even occur to me....that was a bit rude of me wasn't it? I just realized I'm being a bit of a name nazi. I totally high-jacked this whole process! Poor guy! I guess the best thing to do is bring it up right away and get him involved. Who knows, maybe picking names isn't as exciting for him as it is for me. I think it's been one of the best parts so far! Picking a name, the acrobatics that are going on in my belly and ultrasounds...all my favourite parts so far. And speaking of ultrasounds, I heard I'm supposed to be getting one more of those in a few weeks! I have a routine doctor's appointment on the 16th so I'll ask about it then and if it's true then I'll see if we can book an appointment with the clinic that does the 3D ultrasounds. Maybe we'll get to see her cute little squishy face in 3D soon!! Ohhhh I hope so!

So, today I'm finally going to tell you about the baptism we went to last Sunday. I was going to take some video so you could hear a bit of what it sounds like...I like the chanting the priest does even though I have absolutely no idea what he's saying...but poor little Eliza was so beside herself with what was going on that she was screaming and crying the whole time. Poor little thing. Because of that I scrapped the video idea but don't worry, there's sure to be another wedding or baptism soon. A wedding will probably be my best bet, there isn't usually someone hysterically crying through the whole ceremony....usually!

It's always hard to get in close to the action because everyone crowds around to watch so I opted to stand back a little further and just catch what I could...the belly makes it a little hard to slip in and out of a crowd! They do have some chairs in the church but unlike our churches it's not rows and rows of chairs. Or pews I guess they're called? Here there are a few chairs, usually built into the side of the wall so old people and pregnant women can sit down, but usually everyone wants a piece of the action so they form a near mosh-pit-like group around the priest and baby. But you can also walk around to get a better view or go sit down or even go outside if you want to, any kind of movement is totally normal. It's not so formal like Canadian churches tend to be where if you get up and walk out everyone stares at you and every footstep echos off the walls and creates what seems like a sonic boom effect. Also you can talk without people shushing you here, which is nice but it can be annoying sometimes if to many people are talking at the same time.

So what's happening here, even though you can't see it, is the baby is in the bath tub. I don't actually have any experience with Canadian Christenings or Baptisms or anything so I can't really compare but from what I understand we usually just take a little bit of water and drip it on the baby's forehead or the priest paints water in a cross on the baby's forehead. Not here. Here they have a basin of warm water and oils and the baby is put inside naked like they're taking a normal bath. Some babies react as if it's a normal bath and they love it! They splash around and have a great time. Others are not so impressed....poor Eliza, as I mentioned before, was probably the least impressed I've ever heard. It doesn't help though that the priest is usually a man they don't know and he has a big bushy beard..babies always seem to be freaked out of men with beards. I'M freaked out by men with beards. Anyway, so the baby's 'taking a bath' and the priest is chanting.

 Then they take the baby out of the bath and dress her/him up in the baptism clothes, which is usually something fancy. This is a little hard to see but the baby in the center of the picture that's getting the hat put on her head is Eliza. She's still crying but she's a little bit happier to be held by Yiayia (Greek grandma). Oma (Dutch grandma) is the lady on the left in the black and white dress, and Yannis her Baba (dad) is the guy in front of Oma. Throughout the baptism process the parents don't touch the baby. This I would find extremely hard. Most foreigners do actually. It's just the priest, the god parents and whoever has been appointed to help dress the baby, which in this case is Yiayia. The Greeks tell you not to worry about the crying, that the baby doesn't remember it. Plus the baptism itself has such an important meaning to them that a little bit of crying is really not such a big deal. Us foreigners are just too soft I guess. Although I did start to wonder, if the baby kept crying would I start lactating?? First Time Mom Thoughts...it will be a blog post one day.

Here the baby is being walked around in a circle 3 times with Malena (I don't know why they walk around in a circle and I don't know why it has to be 3 times)...but Malena is not the godmother. Usually the godparents do this part but this is a special case because Malena's daughter Phillipa is actually Eliza's godmother and Phillipa is 4. So she can't exactly participate in this part. This is the first time I've heard of a child being a godparent and I've been asking around to find out if this happens often or not and I've been getting a huge range of responses. Some say you can name anyone you want as the godparents. Others say you could never have a child as a godparent (although clearly it's not "never" since we have evidence). Others say you have to do the traditional thing which is the best man and maid of honour from your wedding become the godparents. Anyway, whatever it is, whether there is a rule or not I think Phillipa will be a fantastic godmother and this will be so much fun for them to tell their friends when they're in school.

This I just couldn't resist. She's 10 months old and men are bowing to her already! Kidding, but seriously though it was really cute to see 3 grown men be so smitten. She IS pretty darn cute though. This is Miltos and Maria's daughter, the baby from yesterday's post, Antonis was holding her while they discussed hairbands. Here Miltos is holding her, Yorgos is in the suit bowing (or maybe he's just checking out her sparkly shoes) and Nikos is on the other side. Nikos is godmother Phillipa's Baba. Oh, and Yorgos was the best man from Tara and Yannis' wedding and he is the godfather to their son, whose name is also Yorgos. And Yorgos and Yorgos have the same birthday. Confused??

I didn't get any pictures of Eliza's big brother Yorgos because he was often outside during the ceremony. Being every bit the protective big brother, he was really upset that his little sister was crying and he wanted to go to her. Oma or Opa took him outside to distract him whenever it got to be too much for him. He's 2. You can't explain these things to a 2 year old. But anyway, it was very sweet.

I don't remember what is happening at this point but I decided to add this photo because Greek churches are pretty.

So now the ceremony is over and everyone is coming up to congratulate the parents, the godparents and the baby. I only managed to get a picture of Tara and Eliza though. Eliza is much more calm now that she's with mommy.

Also, Eliza is now officially Eliza and not Beba anymore. Although I don't know if Tara and Yannis followed this "rule" but traditionally a baby does not have a name until the baptism. The baptism, while it's a religious rite of passage it's also a naming ceremony, so the priest is blessing the baby but also technically giving the baby its name. Of course the parents have already chosen a name for the baby and they just tell the priest the name that they've chosen but most Greek parents won't use this name until after the baptism because it's thought to be bad luck. Instead they call girl babies Beba and boys Bebe until after they're baptized. I'm also told that you have to choose a Christian name. It depends on the priest but some priests may take this very seriously and refuse to baptize the baby if the name isn't Christian, or they'll make you choose a different name. Eleni is one of the accepted names, and the baptism is one of the most important things in Greek life so she will be baptized. I've already started calling her Eleni though and I'll be calling her that as soon as I get to meet her but I can understand if the rest prefer to call her Beba until the 'official' naming. Oh, and for my Greek friends who are reading this, traditionally in Canada the baby is named the minute it's born. While mom and baby are still in the hospital, Dad or another family member takes care of the paperwork that needs to be done there for the baby's birth certificate. For us, as soon as a name is on the birth certificate, it's official and this is done within the first day or few days of the baby's birth. Also, we think that the name is one of the first words that the baby will learn to respond to so that's why we use it immediately and often. For us, learning to respond to their name is part of the baby's developmental process....which why it won't be bad luck for me to say Eleni before the baptism.

There I go again...rocking the boat! 

That Canadian is relentless! She understands nothing!

After the ceremony everyone goes for tea and coffee and cakes. We went to Kastro which is Yorgos' family's restaurant (Big Yorgos, not 2 year old brother Yorgos...although big Yorgos really isn't that big at all but that's not important). Here's our best little family again, Miltos, Maria, Apostolis and baby!

And finally, a very sweet moment between father and daughter. Everyone's happy and smiling now, all the trauma from earlier forgotten.