I was sat in the doctors waiting room the other day and it occurred to me that I was feeling calm and relaxed. Something I would have not felt before baby. I would have been sat worrying about and second guessing what the doctor would say. Like many people, I’ve battled with a mild undercurrent of anxiety on and off over the years and previously got myself to a point whereby I couldn’t drive my car or go to dentist/doctors appointments because I got myself so worked up. But in me there has been a shift. Not only am I far too distracted by making sure my baby has everything she needs but I also feel much more confident in my body and what it is capable of.
Before giving birth I worried about how on earth my body would be able to rise to such a challenge. Let’s be honest, I think we all wonder at some point whether its even possible and why on earth we are designed this way. However, after reading some books/articles about Hypnobirthing I started to feel empowered to realise that in many cases all that stops us from achieving what we want is our own mind. This isn’t intended to be about hypnobirthing but I realised that some of that research is what led me to this way of thinking about myself.
Running an ultra marathon feels impossible to me yet people do it and in the same vein, giving birth seemed impossible to me yet people do it.
After successfully giving birth it was confirmed to me that all that made it scary was my own mind telling myself it would be. We’ve all had different birth experiences and taken away our own emotional baggage from the experience but however you gave birth, you did it.
Using this realisation has helped me to cope with other situations which I previously would have struggled with. It’s not the most serious of examples but when on holiday in Cornwall I was faced with being at the bottom of the steepest hill (I swear it was nearly vertical!!) armed with pram full to the brim with baby, baby crap and beach paraphernalia. I just thought to myself “I can physically do this. It will be tough and I might struggle but my body can do this” and so I did. I didn’t stop half way and pretend that I needed a drink as an excuse to catch my breath, I didn’t think about how hard it was as I was walking, I just did it.
We are all different and all have battles, demons and dreams. Whilst I wish my body was a bit less squidgy and lumpy but I’m hugely proud of what it has achieved and what it will continue to achieve. Whatever kind of birth you had, your body did it and that is amazing and as the doctor said to me once I made it into the room “you’ve given birth, you can do anything”.
By Sophie
First Published on Mumming It
Image by Pixabay
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