What Babies Want

I know E.R. was always the TV show for the hottest men to be all medical and hot, but I never watched it, so I never fell in love with any of the "doctors."  Well, I'm in love with Noah Wyle now.  I just watched What Babies Want for maybe the 4th or 5th time.  It just gets better.  This film addresses the way pregnancy, childbirth, and early bonding imprint our children permanently.  There are some really amazing stories in this film, and there is heartbreak too.

As a former teacher, this film reminded me that there is so much we can't do for one another when the damage that has been inflicted is so basic and so early.  At the same time, I was heartened by the way hypnosis and therapy were used to heal pain that in some cases had gone on for decades.  It really inspires me to not only continue my HypnoBirthing teaching, but to some day expand my hypnosis training.  Hypnosis has such healing powers, and I'd love to explore that further when my life opens up the time and energy for that.

For now, finding the energy to do the dishes is a challenge some days, but films like this reenergize me too.  There were so many things that I instinctually did, and can't imagine doing otherwise, that were explained.  It seems so basic that you would not want your child taken away from you, isolated in a nursery, and left to cry alone in the first hours or days of life.  I am so grateful for my healthy pregnancy and birth that allowed me to be at home and never out of sight of my daughter for the first several months of her life.

I particularly loved the idea that being close with your child early on and then allowing them to explore the world when they are ready leads to them being more confident and outgoing when the time comes.  No one else held my daughter other than my husband and I for at least the first couple months, and some people expressed concern that she would be a total mama's girl.  Yes, she loves me plenty, but she is one of the most outgoing children I've ever seen.

I'm rambling in the afterglow of the lunar eclipse, but I wanted to add a post and definitely wanted to let others know about this film.  Such a great positive look at pregnancy, birth, and beyond.