……….when you are learning to breath in childbirth class that the breathing doesn’t just help you deal with labor, but is going to be an essential tool in raising your children. The way I see it is that getting through labor and the birth of your children is really just the beginning. So you deliver your baby and really, the first time you nurse your baby you need to take a nice slow deep breath. Then, the first time your baby is getting shots at the doctor’s office and you feel anxious seeing your baby get poked , you need some slow deep breathing to get you through to be able to comfort your baby. What about the first time you let someone else watch your baby? Slow deep breaths and the wonders of a cell phone to call and check in. As you watch your baby stand and teeter you need a few deep breaths to allow them the opportunity to fall and get back up again. Then there comes their first fall where they bonk their head or split a lip and again you need to breath to keep your calm to be able to continue to support and comfort them. Also there is all the well meaning advice that others like to give in which sometimes you need to just take some nice deep cleansing breaths to keep your calm and realize that everything you are doing is not wrong and that you can make the choices for your child based on what you think is best. Then there will be the time that your child discovers the cereal or flour in the pantry, or the toilet paper in the bathroom. So what do you do? You guessed it………. slow, deep cleansing breaths as you divert them from their task and clean up the mess. Then comes potty training, and let me tell you that can demand the fortitude of constant slow deep breathing some days. What about the first time you have to take a trip to the ER? They need you to be calm to get them through the IV, stitches or anything else that may be involved.
Think about their first day of school as you are proud of how big they are getting, yet tears come to your eyes as you aren’t sure if they (maybe really you) are ready. Then there is the first time they come home and tell you about the bully who is harassing them. Slow deep breaths to get you ready to teach them how to handle the situation and not become a bully themselves. Then there are the days that you may feel like a broken record or drill sergeant in your repetition where you have to step back and use the slow deep breathing. While I may not be passed this point yet, I can imagine the situations to come. What about when they become a teenager? I can only imagine the amount of slow deep breathing that is going to require……… their first date, learning how to drive, trying to sneek out with friends, starting their first job, going to college, getting married, having children of their own. The list can go on and on, but the way I see it is that I am going to need those deep cleansing breaths and slow deep breathing the rest of my life as well as my husband to help keep me focused.
