YOU are the hero of your own pregnancy, birth and postpartum story. You, your body and your baby are so smart, smarter than you likely realize. If you are pregnant or have recently had a baby, remember that your body was made to do this. It is brilliant and it knows what to do. Within every individual lies a deep reservoir of wisdom and intuition.
You might more easily believe this to be true during pregnancy since pregnancy is uniquely positioned to reveal this to you. You can trust your body's ability to navigate these truly transformative experiences. Sure, you probably have some worries along the way, but you probably have faith that your baby will grow according to plan and that your body will support that growth. Maybe this is because we have very little control over this process. But, somehow, we are often able to give it over to our bodies to handle.
When it comes to labor and birth? Sometimes you wish to grab the reins back and try to steer the course. But, your body has so much wisdom. It truly knows what it's doing during labor. Your body and your baby work together in harmony to start labor and take baby on the journey from inside to earthside. The more you can cut out the noise, fear, and overwhelm, the better your body and your precious baby can tune into one another to do this awesome work.
Let's not forget about your tiny co-star. Your baby is super savvy. Have you heard of the breast crawl? This is when babies placed on their birthing parent's chest right after birth find their way to the nipple, on their own!, to have their first meal. Witnessing this (live or on video - check it out here) is often enough to completely change your beliefs about babies being helpless. Newborns have survival instincts just like you and all other living beings do. Are you surprised? Babies know what to ask for and how to get it. For example, they have many reflexes, which fade over time, that help them to survive and thrive - like rooting, crying, mouthing, and many more. At birth, babies can see most clearly at the distance from your breast to your eyes (how perfect is that?). They have a great sense of smell and can distinguish your nipple from the rest of your body because it smells similar to the amniotic fluid on their hands and body. This helps them find their food source (and their favorite person). I can't be alone here in thinking newborns are extraordinary.
Try to trust in your body and your baby as best you can. Strip away the overwhelming volume of information and look inside. After all, your body and your baby have their own innate intelligence.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to skip the childbirth, newborn and infant feeding classes. I teach these, after all, for a reason. Our bodies know what to do but sometimes are brains feel like they forgot. Or we just don't trust. Further, most of us don't grow up learning all about pregnancy, birth and newborns as part of our day-to-day life. So, it's not your fault if you don't 'just know' everything and, therefore, it can be really helpful (and calming) to enroll in some classes.
Bottom line, try to put your trust in your body and your baby while enhancing this innate intelligence with some outward knowledge by reading, researching and taking some classes to help close the loop. And remember, I'm happy to be your personal search engine. Contact me any time!
-Hilary
Go from pregnant to parent with confidence. I've got your new family needs covered.
