You are in the final countdown before your baby is born. You are filled with emotions from excitement to anticipation. You have waited 9 months and you know your baby will be here any day now. How do you want to spend these last few days before your family dynamic is changed forever? These last few days before you realize just what it feels like to love another human being so deeply that you would do literally anything to keep him safe and happy.
Your baby is coming soon; there is no denying that. It could be tonight, tomorrow, or a few days from now. So often, as doulas, we are asked what can be done to get things going. The anticipation! You want to meet your baby now!
Check any mom’s group online or check the search engines for ways to induce labor and you will find pages upon pages that talk about walking, squatting, using herbs, going up and down stairs, eating spicy foods…the list goes on and on.
This is the beginning of your birth story.
Right now, in these last few days, you are starting the beginning of your birth story. When people ask me what they can do to speed things along, I ask them “What do you want your birth story to say?”
You will remember your birth and birth story forever. You will likely tell it again and again through the years. You will tell your daughters and sons what their births were like and you will likely tell their partners as they start their own journeys into becoming a family.
How do you want your birth story to begin? Do you want to share a story of how you squatted so much that your legs shook and became weak beneath you? How you walked so much that you were sore for your labor? How you ate so much spicy food that you had heartburn for days? Do you want to tell the story of how you sat with a stopwatch to count every contraction for hours upon hours waiting for things to pick up?
Is that the birth story you want to remember and tell?
The weeks leading up until now have probably been spent preparing for your newest arrival. Enjoy these last few days and court each other. Remember why you fell in love in the first place or enjoy falling in love with each other all over again. Start by turning off your phones to enjoy some quality time together. Make a special meal together, light some candles, and reminisce about all the memories you have shared. After dinner, cuddle up on the couch to watch comedy movies and laugh until you cry. Then retreat to the bedroom and make love or fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Enjoy these last few days together as a family of two.
You are writing your birth story right now! What do you want it to be?