The Bradley Method of Parenting

When I was pregnant w/ Baby Girl, Jeff and I had a good friend that was kind enough to have us over for an evening and give us the low down on the Bradley Birthing Method. This method is a form of natural child birth. I knew I was going to get an epidural, but also knew that I wanted to labor at home for as long as possible. So, we decided to take Lamaze and then meet w/ Allie for an overview and some quick tips on how to remain strong and positive while in the throws of labor.

As we visited and watched a few videos, the over-riding lesson is to remain positive. As cheezy as this may sound, it really taught us that my body was made to give birth and that all the pain and drama is my bodies way of preparing for the arrival of our child. So, in order to maintain this level of thinking and excitement for what is occurring, the Bradley Method really incorporates the husband as a strong coach that cheers you on while you labor. Someone there to rub your back, tell you what a great job your doing and to help you realize that as strong as those contractions are and as quickly as they are coming...they are all helping move me one step closer to birth. We did our best not to say things like "Does that really hurt?" or "That was a big one...bet that sucked". Instead, we said things like "Awesome...that contraction was off the paper...we're really getting somewhere!" or "You're at one centimeter (after 5 hours of labor)...that's one closer to 10!" Crazy as it all sounds...it REALLY worked! I bore down and labored as hard and as well as I could and when the time came, I was prepped and ready and so pumped to endure all the work for what was handed to me afterwards!

So, how does this tie into parenting? Well, I was driving and thinking today and as many of you have read, our Baby Girl is in the throws of the TWOS! Probably as much pain and drama for her as labor for me. It seems every morning after 10 minutes, I was weary and just itching to complain to someone. Then it hit me today. This is ALL part of life...it's part of the routine of things and our natural sinful nature knows nothing other than to behave like a wild banchee sometimes. So, rather than wallow in how "hard" things seem right now or how nice day care sounds...I just have to bear down and know that these things are creating character and faith in me and allowing us to mold and shape her heart to be one that obeys and understands discipline and boundaries. It's all hard and it's painful and can physically cause me to ache inside...but regardless of these trials now...the outcome of watching her turn into an amazing and Godly woman will all be worth it in the end!