It will be December in 4 days! If pregnant and due in December you may have already got a head start with all your Christmas shopping in preparation for the birth of your baby. If not, then you may be getting ready to brave the crowds. Here in Singapore where the local schools are already on holiday and the shops started playing Christmas songs in November, Christmas shopping is quite a challenge!
Here is a script for some RELAXATION! Good to prepare for labour and just to calm you down if you feel stressed after shopping!
1. Get into a comfortable position sitting or lying on the sofa.
2. Shut your eyes and let your body relax by going floppy. Relax each body part from head to toe as quickly as possible while breathing slowly in and then slowly out. Not deeply, but slow and long.
3. Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth and let your jaw drop.
4. LET GO.good.
5. Now in your minds eye picture a beautiful stretch of beach. You are walking along the sand near the ocean and the water is lapping at your feet with the gentle waves. You can feel the sand sinking underneath your feet as you walk. You feel cool and calm, everything is wonderful.
6. The sand is a pale golden colour and the water azure blue. Look around you, what can you see?
7. Bright palm trees gently blowing in the breeze, boats bobbing on the ocean? you choose.
8. Now I want you to see yourself walking towards a small hut, as you get closer to it you can see that it is not a hut but a beautiful little house nestled on the edge of the water.
9. Look inside and you can see and hear people chatting and laughing. You are quite close now and they can see you too, they wave and call out your name. Wave back. Now you see that they are your family, they have been waiting for you.
10. You smile and walk towards them ad as you do you notice that you are cradling your baby in your arms, he/she has been born, the birth was exactly as you imagined it would be, gentle and calm and
you feel exhilarated, empowered and happy.
I love working in the the delivery ward with a couple having a baby over the Christmas holidays, it really is a jolly time. HAPPY CHRISTMAS to one and ALL.
