As any mom knows, the last month of pregnancy is already an exercise in patience. You are becoming progressively more uncomfortable and you're ready to meet your baby. Plus there are just so many things that you are missing, like having a lap, sleeping on your front, drinking wine, having a hot dog, having sushi, not being swollen, having a deli sandwich, etc.. The list goes on and on. During your pregnancy, your due date is like the light at the end of the tunnel. You think, I just need to make it to that date and then I will have a beautiful baby and things can start getting back to where they belong.
When you exceed your due date, it is hard to see beyond your impatience. This year, it seems like everyone I have ever met became pregnant. On top of that, in the course of the last week, 5 people I know delivered their babies. FIVE. One of them on my due date. Some of them were even early. For someone who is already impatient, this only adds insult to injury.
In light of my need to relax and just let Hailey come when she is ready, I have put together some tips for practicing patience.
Tips for Practicing Patience
1. Breathe:
Deep breaths have the power to increase your calm and slow down your heart rate. When you are impatient, you create your own stress and in my case stress can actually delay labor. Practicing deep breathing can help you reduce your impatience. This is a great time to take a yoga class or go for a nice swim. Take a bath or a long shower if you can. Anything that makes you more relaxed.
2. Distract:
A great way to increase patience is to distract yourself from whatever it is you are waiting for. If you dwell on whatever it is that is making you impatient, it will only increase your impatience. Find something to distract yourself like playing with your kids, de-cluttering, grad school homework, anything that will take your mind off of what you are waiting for. I am supposed to take my last final this week. So I have studying to distract me. Of course I also have the concern that she'll finally decide to come when I have to take my test, but my professor has stated that arrangements can be made.
3. Think:
Remind yourself that the thing you are impatient about is beyond your control. Instead, think about any benefits or positives in the situation. In my case, I have several positive thoughts to help me through my impatience. My baby is definitely not a premie, so we don't have to worry about the health issues that can come with that. We have gotten extra time to finish any last minute preparations for Hailey. Tyler gets a few extra days being the only child. I didn't have to spend Mother's Day in the hospital. The later she comes, the more of the summer I have off on maternity leave. This very much links back to looking at the silver lining which we talked about last week.
4. Figure Out Plan B
When you are waiting on news or results, its easy to be consumed with the waiting. Instead take this time to figure out plan B. What will you do if the answer is what you wanted? What will you do if it is not? In this case, I know that my doctor will not let me go past 42 weeks the latest and every few days I will schedule an appointment to make sure Hailey is OK in there. Knowing that I will not go beyond May 20th still seems like forever at this point, but at least its a maximum. Hopefully, Hailey decides to make her exit much earlier.
There are some great resources out there about things you can do to increase your patience including here and here. However, many of these tips are for developing patience for some future situation. These four tips are for the here and now. If you are already in a situation where you are impatient, these tips can help you relax and be more patient.
Fingers crossed that Hailey is here by Friday. If not, I will definitely be continuing to put these tips into practice. In the meantime, I am gratefully accepting any prayers and positive thoughts that Hailey will grace us with her presence.
Cheers,
Emily
In May of 2018, Hailey is going to become a big sister and Tyler is going to be a big brother again! That's right, baby #3 is on the way. We couldn't be more excited and maybe a little nervous. Can you say #outnumbered!