Ep 279: Holding Fast with an Open Hand

What is the balance when it comes to preparing for our birth, but also holding it all with an open hand, knowing that outside factors can contribute to our experience?   Sara West and her husband Andrew live on Florida's sunny Space Coast with their four children. Her passions include writing, singing, drawing, and crocheting, though she has a little less time for those things while starting her homeschooling journey and bringing up toddlers! She hopes to one day finish a novel... or at least get a Substack up and running.   Episode Roundup:   I love how Sara chose to grow with new information.  She didn’t hold onto her past ways of doing things, and she also didn’t punish herself for not knowing what she didn’t know.  She simply gained the new information and put it into action for herself and her family.  No blaming, no shaming, just growth. I also appreciate Sara’s perspective how she wanted to enter her birthing experience.  She didn’t feel like she had to control everything, and in fact, she was very aware that she could not.  She simply took control of the areas that she could, and then held the rest with an open hand and mind.  She was comfortable with the idea that she couldn’t predict every little detail, and that she would be willing to make the decisions that made sense in the moment.   And finally, just– how beautiful is it to hear a mother experience their first unmedicated birth and think at the end, “That was easy!”  What a joy to see just how wonderfully we are made, and how beautifully birth was designed.  Whether you come to the end of labor thinking, “that was easy” or “that was intense,” my prayer is that you feel a sense of deep strength at what you’ve been designed to do.  You were made with intention and love, as is your baby.  I want you to feel flooded with that knowing as you bring your baby into your arms.  Links: Samaritan Ministries | samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth Happy Homebirth Academy | happyhomebirth.thrivecart.com/happy-homebirth-academy-checkout/ Interview Application | interviewwithkatelyn.my.canva.site/direct-to-landing-page Youtube | youtu.be/aHZ87iPxgH8?si=d9yi4q6XPGlQFV1Z