her who had pushed her in she said, ‘Oma’. I nearly dropped the juice because I always used to call my grandmother Oma (I’m Dutch Indonesian and Oma is the word for grandma I used when I was growing up) and as far as I can remember I had never spoken of her to Ashley. She died when I was about ten years old. I do remember her, though, and my mum always used to say to me that the first time I had solid food it was my grandmother who fed me.
Jessica also found her baby had a link with someone who had passed on:
The Entertainer
My daughter is 14 months and as soon as she was old enough to babble she would talk to pictures of my father. I didn’t think there was anything unusual about this, but then a month or so ago she said she had seen an angel. I asked her what it had been doing and she said juggling. Then I asked what it had looked like and she pointed to a picture of my father.
My eyes filled with tears of joy, because although my father died before I was born, my mother told me that he used to be a brilliant juggler. I haven’t talked about him to my daughter yet and my mother certainly hasn’t, as she lives abroad and the last time she saw my daughter was eight months ago, but I’m so happy my daughter is getting to know her grandfather and being entertained by his juggling.
It is very heart-warming that some babies not only see their guardian angels but get to play with them as well. Here’s Reuben’s story:
‘Play with Me’
My son has just turned one and from the day he came home from hospital he has always been looking at little things around the room that we can’t see. At the moment he is really into playing ‘peek a boo’. Last night, when I peeked through the door of his room to check he was alright, I realized that he was actually playing boo with someone I couldn’t see. I went into his room to play it with him, but he wouldn’t play with me! I felt really put out at first, but then I had to smile.
Sam is also delighted that her toddler, Sally, has a playmate. Here’s what she told me:
Sally and Sammy
A couple of weeks ago when my husband was giving Sally a little massage on her back she jumped up and started to look around her as if she was looking for someone. This isn’t unusual–in fact it happens so often that we have called the invisible person Sammy. I’m not sure who or what Sammy really is, but ever since Sally started playing with him/her/it, she’s not been frightened of the dark anymore. She used to scream and scream at night and I got really worried about her, but now we have the most peaceful nights ever.
Many parents tell me that a beautiful calm descends over their babies when they see their guardian angel and this stops them stressing about the apparent strangeness of it all. In fact, the babies almost always appear more settled and happier afterwards, which suggests to me that it is a perfectly natural experience. Jane sent me this story which beautifully illustrates the point:
‘Missing You’
When Lucy was born we had no idea how Simon, our five year old, would react to the baby and the change in the family dynamic, as he was a much longed-for and adored child who was used to being the centre of attention. When we brought her home we told him that he should not be near her unless one of us was present.
One day he disobeyed us and went into her room. We soon noticed he had gone and searched the house. As soon as we got upstairs we heard him talking in a quiet voice to Lucy. We tiptoed to the nursery door to watch him and listen to what he was saying. We heard: ‘Can you tell me about the angels again, because they were always with me, but I don’t see them anymore and I miss them.’
It seems we are all born with the ability to see angels but as we grow older we stop believing what we are seeing. Some of us do remember what we’ve seen, but some of us don’t. It’s a bit like dreaming. All of us dream but only some of us remember our dreams. Some people don’t think they dream at all, but they do. They just can’t remember.
Babies can see angels as soon as they open their eyes, but until they are about three they can’t communicate well enough to let anyone know what they are seeing. And then they find out that their parents and teachers can’t see what they see. This can be a shock and can lead to self-doubt. Then there is a process that narrows their psychic gifts even more–let’s call it conditioning. This is when many children are told that an apple is red, an orange is orange, some things are real and some things, like angels and spirits, aren’t. Children are incredibly receptive at this stage and keen to please their parents, so if they are told often enough that what they are seeing isn’t real they will lose their ability to see, hear and sense angels.
Instead of worrying or feeling anxious, parents should try to cherish the fact that their infant sees angels close by and should allow them to strengthen that special connection with the world of the invisible. It is a perfectly natural thing for babies to see people who were with them before they were born, or spirits who are about to be born into this world, or angels who are watching over them. After all, every baby is a miracle fresh from heaven.
Chapter 3
Unborn Angels
‘A baby is an angel whose wings decrease as their legs increase.’
Author unknown
In this chapter you’ll see that the special bond between babies and angels isn’t just created when they are born. It already exists in pregnancy and may even be there long before a child is born, conceived or even thought of by their parents. And if for some reason–abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth or some other misfortune–a baby dies in the womb or soon after birth, angels continue to watch over and protect that child in spirit.
Angel Pregnancies
Falling pregnant is one of the most amazing but also life-changing episodes in a woman’s life, so it is hardly surprising to me that so many letters and e-mails have come in regarding encounters with angels during this time. Having a baby is also potentially a period of spiritual growth for both mother and father, and angels always draw closer when they sense that a person is going through a period of great spiritual change and is in need of their support, reassurance and guidance.
My mother always told me that about two months before I was born she saw an angel in her room. It had beautiful orange wings. Eventually it vanished into the bookcase–perhaps an early indication of my future career as a writer? My mother told me it was her guardian angel. We always used to laugh about the fact that it faded into the bookcase, but my mother said it was very real.
Many stories have been sent to me by women who believe they met their guardian angel during pregnancy. Sometimes the angel appears in traditional form but in other instances it appears in the form of the spirit of a lost loved one. Gail told me about this visitation during her pregnancy:
‘I Wasn’t on my Own’
Fifteen years ago I was pregnant with my daughter and was living alone in a flat in Leigh. I was very scared of the prospect of becoming a mum alone, but tried not to get stressed, as I had epilepsy and didn’t want to have a seizure. Anyway, I started to dream about this man with a goatie beard. I recognized the man: it was my dad. It was the first time I had ever dreamed about him and I had barely known him, as my parents divorced when I was six months old and then my dad died when I was four years old.
Even stranger, one night I got up to use the bathroom and heard someone laughing in the living room. As I went in I saw my dad leaning on the TV just laughing. For about a week afterwards I could feel a presence in there, so I slept on the couch to see if he returned. He never did, but from that moment on I was so chilled out about having the baby. I asked my aunty, my dad’s sister, if he had ever had a goatie, as I didn’t have any photos of him with one, and she said he had had one a few years before he had married my mum. I told her what I had seen and she said she thought he was just letting me know that he was there and that I wasn’t on my own.
Madison kindly took the time to write to me and tell me about a visit she had from an angel at the end of her pregnancy. But, as you’ll see, was this her guardian angel or was it someone else?
Somewhere