Star Wars and Birth

It's finally here!  After a long 10 years after the last movie, the latest movie in the series has been released.  Sitting here watching the previous movies in order of story line with my children, we are preparing for our time to see the latest movie.  Considering the first movie ever made came out when I was a 1 year old, it has been a part of my life as long as I can remember.  The waiting is exciting, and nerve wracking as we hope nobody spoils the movie for us. We hope the movie holds up to the hype, and it is just as amazing as the previous movies.  

But what if it isn't?  What if we see it, and are disappointed?  What if we build the event up so high in our mind that no movie could ever live up to it?  We run that risk when we anticipate such an event.  What would we do it that happens?  What does this all have to do with your birth?

Just like a long awaited movie, the arrival of a baby is filled with anticipation, excitement, and nerves.  We build up the big day in our minds, and picture what will happen and exactly how it will be at that moment when we meet our new baby.  But what if it isn't how we pictured?  What if the birth doesn't go as planned?  What if the process isn't as smooth as we imagined?  What if the baby isn't exactly how we pictured?  What then?

Even if things don't go as planned you can still have an amazing experience. Try to go into your birth without any pre-conceived ideas of how things will go, or how your baby will look/act.  We all get that perfect picture in our heads, which can lead to disappointment if things don't go perfectly. When we place the process so highly in our minds that it can direct our feelings about our birth, we may never be truly satisfied.   If you plan for a natural birth and end up with an induction, or hope for a home birth and have a c-section, it may be truly disappointing and lead to bad feelings about your birth.   In the same way, if we do get the natural birth or home birth that is planned, we may still come away feeling the event was less than perfect if we built it up so high in our minds.  Accept that whatever will happen is how your birth will go.  We can not always control exactly how the process will occur, and if we try to picture it and plan it out, we risk letting ourselves down.  Bring an open mind to your experience.   That is the best thing you can pack to prepare for your birth.  

I will take my open mind to the movie when our family does finally see Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Hopefully, we will not be let down, but also pleasantly surprised with the whole experience.

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