Bottom of the Ninth, Bases Loaded
“Enjoy the end of your pregnancy…” “Take these last few days to relax and enjoy each other before baby joins you…” “Just spend this time feeling the baby move inside you and savor the moment…”
Pleeeeeease! Can you imagine saying this to the major league ball player in the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded? “Just enjoy the end of the game…” “Take these last few at bats to relax and have fun with each other…” “Spend this time savoring the sound of the crowd and the feel of the bat in your hands…”
While I will encourage any mom in the last few weeks of pregnancy to get a pedicure, have dinner out with dad, schedule a massage, or write a few special moments down in a precious baby book – when you are the one facing ten months and a watermelon bouncing on your pubic bone, these ‘special moments’ don’t come across as optimal at the time. Rarely. Your primary thought is this so-called imminent labor. When will this baby get down to business and why isn’t my body working right?
Trust, my friends. Your body is working perfectly. There are so many things that are working together to bring this baby into the world and – although it doesn’t always seem like it – your body knows exactly what to do. (A good web article on the Six Ways to Progress in Labor – www.thedouladifference.com/six_ways_progress_labor.htm – your body is working hard!) Your baby has a time to be born and the hormones at work in you have a job to do. Whether it’s a long wait, a long start, or just a long labor – there’s a reason for everything. Each mom is uniquely designed and no two labors are alike. Ever. This birth belongs to you and your baby – it is not your mother’s birth, not your sister’s birth, not your best friend’s birth, it certainly is not the birth of the check out lady at the grocery store, and it’s not even one of your other children’s births.
From someone who’s been there (and not all that patiently… ask my doulas!), take heart. The bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded, can be torturously thrilling ~ but the win is just ahead. Pretty soon your score board will read…
