Summertime often brings family vacations that require traveling away from home.
For some, that can involve a road trip, or a flight out of state. An airplane ride involves planning and coordinating and in some cases frustration, patience, and exasperation.
I recently took a flight to lead a Postpartum & Infant Care Doula training in Arizona, and I was struck by the similarities between a day in an airport, and parenting.
Below, I’m listing 5 reasons why I drew those conclusions.
Planning helps it all go smoothly
Childbirth education sets parents up for the journey to parenthood. We learn the ins and outs of pregnancy and birth. We learn what to expect and what to plan for. This is exactly like when we are planning a journey or vacation. We research the destination, how to get there, what the cost is, when is the best time to go and what tourist spots to visit. Gathering Information is empowering.
Birth Plans are our itineraries and maps
A birth plan helps parents have some guidelines for the upcoming birth, but sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances, those plans need to change for the health and wellbeing of the laboring person and their baby.
Likewise, while we often arrive at the airport with a certain plan in mind- our plans may have to be altered. Departure gates are changed, flights are delayed and connections are missed.
Collect your things and get traveling
Preparing for parenthood often involves gathering your supplies and heading to the destination where the bab(ies) will be born.
Similarly, we pack our bags and head to the airport. For both situations, in order not to forget the important things (like a camera and a change of clothes), we use a packing list.
Be open to change, be flexible
Once baby has arrived, we have an idea of the types of parents we want to be but those ideals are sometimes changed based on our lifestyles and circumstances.
Much like our arrivals to our destinations, we may have an idea what they will be like- but until we are in the new place with all of its hidden hot spots, rush hours, and seedy hotels, we may have to change our itineraries to fit in all the fun things we have planned.
Patience and Creativity go a long way
There is a lot of waiting in pregnancy, and birth, and it takes a copious amounts of patience when learning the personality of our babies and learning how to parent them to the best of our abilities.
Layovers….oh layovers. What can I really say here?
Finding ways to pass the time requires patience, and some creativity.
Suffice it to say, there are many parallels between becoming parents, and traveling to our destinations.
These are just a few of my observations.
Do you have any of your own?
Feel free to share them in the comments below.
