Written by nurse mommy on 27 January 2010
Website under Construction – please excuse the messiness of the site; and while we’re on it excuse the mess which used to be known as my living room!!
First-time “mommy anxiety”, or what I like to call the Chicken Little complex, can be overwhelming; especially when you constantly feel the sky could drop on your head at any given second. Women who have never been anxious in their lives, will develop fears and panic they never thought they could have; and mommies who are prone to over-react to what life brings them (I’ll call these women the severely empathetic), can be absolutely mortified throughout every moment of the day!
I ran into a first-time mother at the pediatrician’s office yesterday. When she first entered the waiting room, you could see the excitement on her face, proudly showing off her 6 week-old pride and joy. Remember that feeling when you got to leave the house with your perfect infant for the first time, after being cooped up for six weeks? You’re craving all the praise for your efforts of making it thus far, and in a sleep-deprived stupor, wish for the pediatrician to grant you the Mother of the Year award. You are just sure no other mother could possibly understand what you have just been through in the last month and a half. Sleep really does prevent insanity and delusions…
This new mommy left hubby and baby in the waiting room for a few minutes, and then returned from the bathroom in a panic. I recognized the anxiety, so I consoled her, had her sit down and call her OB/GYN immediately. Now one of the pediatric Nurse Practitioners in the office brought her back to a room to be observed, and then I don’t know what happened after that, for our name was called and we were moved to a room to share our stories of mucus…AGAIN. But I said a little prayer that this new mom was okay – and she probably was, but it was so apparent the anxiety was at an all-time high for this mother –her fears were palpable.
It’s situations like this that seem to arise just when you least expect it. A clarity, which hits you in the brain-house so hard you have to share it with others. Here is my idea: If you see a new mother who looks scared, confused or panic-stricken, stop and talk to her. Ask her if she is okay. Listen to her complaints. Feel free to give her positive advice and encouragement. This is my new pledge for 2010. It’s the “Save a First-Time Mommy” campaign. Look for them in waiting rooms, the grocery store, or in the baby aisle at Wal-Mart or Target. Help them so when they get their life under control, they can pass it forward and help the next Chicken Little.
©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.
Tags: anxiety, Chicken Little Complex, mommy, mucus, nurse, stress
Posted in Motherhood | Comments Off
Written by NurseMommyLaughs on 20 January 2010
Here is today’s article from the KC Star. My next blog will continue on Wednesday!
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THE KANSAS CITY STAR (January 20, 2010)
STACEY HATTON COMMENTARY
Slow down and take a deep breath
While leaving my children’s preschool one morning, I fortunately was reminded what every parent needs to hear at the beginning of the day: slow down!
Who would say that to your face? No one with any sense of decorum — maybe with the exception of hall monitors or lifeguards. I was indirectly asked to slow down by a woman walking behind me who let out an audible exhalation. Actually, she could have blown me out the door with it!
Now, she didn’t realize she had done this, because when I turned around and mentioned it, she was embarrassed, so sorry. But I think she did me a favor. I am here to pass on her exhalation to you parents of young children out there. (Please, insert yours here. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.)
As the caregivers of our offspring, today’s society has programmed us to be in high gear all day long. How many times have you gotten through the kids’ nightly bath and thought, “Where did the day go? Didn’t I just have my first cup of coffee a minute ago?”
We are creatures of habit and nurturers, so we run through the day repeating: feed, clean, feed, clean, feed, clean, clean, read aloud, fall into a pile of mush and pass out. Doesn’t this sound familiar?
I think breath-holding has become an epidemic problem. We need to start a movement to change this behavior. No more walking through life with our shoulders up to our ears, wracked with stress! No more headaches brought on by forgetting to eat or drink water for half the day! No more absentmindedness from multi-tasking to the extreme when you really aren’t doing anything well because you can’t focus on one thing at a time! No more weekly appointments to the massage therapist or chiropractor! OK, I take that back. I didn’t mean to say that.
Let me break down this problem medically. Our body needs oxygen (and food and water) to survive. When we are stressed, humans have a tendency to take shorter inhalations and not exhale completely. Breathe in oxygen; breathe out same amount of carbon dioxide. That’s what we should do.
Many of us stressed individuals walk around holding our breath the majority of the day. This is not good for us or the plants, which need our carbon dioxide to survive. It really isn’t just something made up by yoga instructors or granola crunchers of the 70s. You need to get rid of extra carbon dioxide in your body. And if Whitney Houston can do it, so can you! No waiting to exhale.
So when you feel your stress creeping up on you, stop and exhale. Exhale daily and deeply. Think about it. You might even save a plant.
Stacey Hatton is an Overland Park pediatric nurse and freelance writer. Her blog is at http://nursemommylaughs.com.
Posted on Tue, Jan. 19, 2010 10:15 PM
©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.
Tags: deep breathing, kansas city star, nurse, Parenting, slowing down, stress
Posted in Kansas City Star | 2 Comments »
