How the times have changed....

[Shanti]

It was interesting today. We had our relatives over for DH's birthday lunch and I was in our baby's nursery with my Mum, MIL, & DH's two Aunty's.

I was showing them the baby things we've bought and they asked about the baby hammock. I told them this is what our baby will be sleeping in for the first few months of life and told them how it works and how it's proven babies sleep better in hammocks than cots and how they wake up and it can rock them back to sleep without you having to go into them and also reduces colic and reflux in babies etc as they aren't lying flat on their backs..... I instantly had them ALL say "haha ok whatever you reckon! You'll see...." and I just said "okaaayy..." moved on to next topic...... like they were sort of saying "oh its your first baby you have nooooo idea"!!! So I instantly felt quite shot down!!
But I've done my research and believe in these baby hammocks!

Then later on..... we were all talking about labour and someone said to me "take ALL the drugs you can get!"and "tick every box just take it all!" and I just smiled and said "i'm going to see how long I can last without it first" but immediately they (Mum, MIL and two Aunty's) all just started going on about when they had labour and took all the drugs etc etc......I just said quietly "I believe we were born to do this and that I know i can do this and I'll just see how it goes, i'm not really scared about it though and don't see why i should be"

Isn't it interesting how the times have changed?? If you talk to younger people you're more likely to hear "yeah just see how you go you may not need anything!!"

Whereas if I talk to people from my Mum's generation they all just make out like birth is the most horrible thing ever and you just don't get much positive stuff out of it!!
They are sooo PRO-drugs and all that stuff.....

I feel so empowered within myself from what i've read here on BB and in my pregnancy books and by talking to others and watching DVD's (such as business of being born) and things like that, I just feel so knowledgable compared to someone who may have birthed their baby 30 yrs ago and had no support or help or knowledge about birth in general. I think talking to Mum and MIL etc you really get the feeling that perhaps they weren't very supported in their own labours because they had horrible experiences!
I also feel that they must think that because I haven't yet gone through labour/birth and this is my first pregnancy that I must be "naive" and "clueless" but actually I'm rather switched on and feel very prepared!!!!

I know babies will keep me up all night long, I know labour is going to hurt, I know that I can have drugs if I want to...... but who says just cos they did it one way that I need to do it that way too?

Thanks for reading. Does anyone else experience this?