While it seems sometimes overwhelming to try to be aware of everything you consume or are exposed to during pregnancy, the reality is that your unborn baby is experiencing it all, too. Obviously, your choices of what you eat, how you handle stress, and what you do for recreation all affect your own wellness and biochemistry. By the time you baby is born, the basic pattern she experiences is already in many ways a reflection of your choices.

This can be an exciting and inspiring piece of information. I know several couples who played beautiful music for their unborn child, and then got to witness the recognition and joy in their baby when she heard the same music again after birth. While we are quick to notice that a baby has a relative’s physical features, it’s not as common to trace the baby’s characteristics to more subtle influences.

Your own ability to express feelings in a healthy way is the best contribution you can make to your baby’s immune system (assuming you are already eating healthy and getting exercise and rest). Take the time to inventory where you could improve, and get the support to take the next step.

Of course, all of the above is also true for your infant as she grows. Being exposed to toxins and feeling abandoned or ignored all contribute to biochemical changes that are not optimum for health. Modulating and shielding your baby from these types of disturbances can go along way to minimizing effects.

You don’t have to attend workshops or travel to weekly sessions in order to assemble your own best set of tools. The key component is learning to trust your innate abilities. Common sense often trumps expert opinion in this vocation. The more you develop your own common sense, and learn to trust your own voice, the more your confidence grows.

As parents today, our vulnerability is ripe for exploiting. Never have there been more choices, and more pressure to enroll in services, purchase products, and participate in information and consumption overload. Parenting has in some cases become a business, preying on parents’ fears.

I offer objectivity and support for developing your own cycle of self-reliance. In a collaborative way, we address immediate concerns and then look at overall values and goals that you want to implement. Getting rid of extraneous stuff that is draining your energy is vital at this important stage of your life. Your confidence is your best ally. Clarity and continuity are part of the support system I provide.

Of course, our own child’s behaviors trigger us at times. She may exhibit a pattern or habit that we don’t like in ourselves. He may somehow remind us of a relative or person we have memories of, and that may be pleasant, joyful, sad, or annoying. Every time such an event comes up, it’s a chance to choose what we do.

Many parents revert to the pattern established by their own parenting. Others have studied approaches that may have appealed to them, and are trying to implement those. Some are influenced by friends and peers, others allow their own parenting style to emerge as they meet their baby.

The choices today in parenting styles are many. How do you choose the way that is right for you? What do you do if the way you have chosen isn’t working?

How do you best use parenting to grow yourself as a person? The results you experience are very much up to you. Having excellent support increases the chances of the outcome being what you desire.

When you decide to become a parent, you sign up for all that, as well as all the rewarding and heart-warming moments that make up being a parent. The rewards are huge, and so are the challenges. Preparing ahead of time is wonderful, and I encourage you do that. However, the best preparation in the world does not anticipate the unforeseen developments that come with a new baby.

Whether it’s a temperament or patterns that are not what you were told about in your parenting class, your baby is almost sure to bring you some unexpected challenges. Also, the predictable pieces can still create stress and discomfort for parents. How you handle this will determine the overall quality of your parenting experience.

Lining up excellent support is a wise decision before your baby is born. Knowing that there is experienced and wise support available is important. Call upon it when you need it.

I’ll be there both days, and would love to see you!

If you’re in Colorado and have a chance to stop by, please do – Colorado Convention Center in Denver, lots of valuable information, fun, and lots of shopping!

www.ohbabybabyexpo.com

Hope to see you!

Our children, even from their very youngest moments, reflect some of our own qualities and trigger some our our most difficult emotions. While most of us experience great joy and wonder looking at our offspring, it isn’t long before some pattern emerges that reminds us of something we haven’t quite worked out ourselves. That is the prime moment for growth, if we choose to use it. That is the opportunity to reflect on what is being triggered in ourselves, where it originates, what purpose it serves in our present lives, and the choice to release and go forward, or not.

No one talks much about the incredible opportunity for self-examination and growth in child-rearing. Maybe it’s because young parents are exhausted, overwhelmed, and accepting what they’ve been told about the realities of parenting. Still, in those instances where it is welcomed, we have the chance to look at who we are, how we are, and what we might want to edit out of our own behaviors.

For expert and experienced support in being the parent you want to be, contact me at 303.776.8100 or email me at babyparentingcoach@gmail.com.